[0:00] Jeremiah this morning, Jeremiah chapter 41. Thank you for being here this morning. It's good to see you.
[0:16] In church, I like to preach to people, not the pews. And so I'm happy you're here. Made the right choice. Come to church Sunday morning.
[0:26] All right. In Jeremiah, this is a, man, I love this guy. I love this book. And there's so much of it I could flip through and kind of set the stage here.
[0:37] We'll just try to make a point here and then maybe do a little back story in a little bit. But if you know the story of the nation of Israel, how God redeemed them and brought them out of the land of Egypt.
[0:49] They made an exodus. You can read it. There's a book named after that. They exited Egypt and they went through the Red Sea and they went into this wilderness land and traveled to a mountain where God gave his laws and brought them north.
[1:03] And then sought to bring them into the promised land that he promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, so forth. This exodus was with power, with signs and wonders. The Bible refers to them as terrible acts that he did in Egypt.
[1:18] And God tells his people that as he brought them out of Egypt and set them on a track to go into a land that he promised to these men, a land of rest.
[1:31] He said, don't you ever go back to Egypt. That's a place you're never to go back to for any reason. I don't care what it is. You stay out of Egypt. Egypt, that's not a land for you. And Egypt, I want to let you all make sure we all understand this.
[1:44] Egypt is a picture or what we call a type of the world. And some of you understand that clearly, others maybe not as much. And so let me just piece it together. If you read through that book of Exodus, those people of God were in bondage.
[1:59] They were slaves. They were made to serve with rigor. There was taskmasters over them. It was not a pretty thing. And God then delivered his people out of that.
[2:12] He delivered them and took them through the Red Sea. A picture and type of the blood of Jesus Christ. And them coming out and being a nation now. A new nation like the new creature in Christ when you get washed from your sins and delivered from the world.
[2:28] And now God sends them on a walk of faith where they will trust him. He will protect them. He will provide for them through this wilderness that cannot supply their needs. But God can supply their needs.
[2:39] And he brings them through that into ultimately the land of rest. The land of Canaan. And so the picture is very easy to understand. If you're saved you can see things like that. That God's people now have no business in Egypt at all.
[2:55] And so the Lord even tells them that. You're never to go back there. Now he tells them also that as I bring you into this new land. It's a land that's flowing with milk and honey. It's a land of peace and prosperity and safety for you.
[3:08] And if you'll obey my laws it's all good. If you disobey you're not going to stay. If you disobey me I'm kicking you out. The land will spew you out like it did the heathen before you.
[3:21] And so they did that. They disobeyed. Down the road generations passed and they disobeyed. And God in fact cast them out. But he doesn't cast them out to go to Egypt.
[3:32] He sends them to Assyria. Because God doesn't want them to go to Egypt. And so he has the king of Babylon come over. And Nebuchadnezzar and his armies. And they besiege and they take through maybe you'd say phases or stages.
[3:44] And deport God's chosen people Israel and move them out. And all he leaves in the land is just a remnant of people. Just a few that remain there the poor people of the land. They were left to take care of the land.
[3:55] So it doesn't just rot and become the nothing. And the king even established a form of government over them. Now in Jeremiah 41 I want you to notice verses 17 and 18. There was in this land of Israel after the deportation.
[4:11] After there's a remnant there. There's some trouble. Some conflict. And there's some fighting going on. And it says they departed in verse 17. And dwelt in the habitation of Chimham.
[4:23] Which is by Bethlehem. To go to enter into Egypt. All of this remnant is heading to Egypt. And I'll skip over to chapter 43.
[4:37] I'm not going to give you the whole story. Jeremiah preaches to them and says don't go to Egypt. And in verse 43 verse 7 it says so they came into the land of Egypt. For they obeyed not the voice of the Lord.
[4:51] Now moving through into chapter 44. The Jews are in Egypt. And Jeremiah there preaches a message to them again. And they refuse to repent.
[5:02] They insist upon continuing with their idolatrous ways. Which has gotten them kicked out of their land. They insisted upon these things. They've even tempted the wrath of God more.
[5:13] And blatantly disregarded the preaching of Jeremiah. So let's read a few verses here to get this. What they're thinking. It's beyond. It blows my mind.
[5:25] Verse 15. We'll begin reading here for a little bit. In chapter 44. Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods.
[5:35] And all the women that stood by a great multitude. Even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt. And Pathras answered Jeremiah saying. As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord.
[5:46] We will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth. To burn incense unto the queen of heaven. And to pour out drink offerings unto her as we have done.
[5:56] We and our fathers and our kings and our princes in the cities of Judah. In the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of victuals. And were well. And saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven.
[6:09] And to pour out drink offerings unto her. We have wanted all things. And have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. And when we poured our burn incense to the queen of heaven. And poured out drink offerings unto her. Did we make her cakes to worship her.
[6:20] And pour out drink offerings unto her without our men. The women are speaking here saying. Our men knew exactly what was going on. And they didn't stop us. They participated. Alright Jeremiah then reasons with them in verses 20 through 23.
[6:33] And he says. Then Jeremiah said unto all the people. To the men. To the women. To all the people which had given him that answer saying. The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah. And in the streets of Jerusalem. Ye and your fathers.
[6:44] Your kings and your princes. And the people of the land. Did not the Lord remember them? And came it not into his mind? So that the Lord could no longer bear. Because of the evil of your doings.
[6:54] And because of the abominations which ye have committed. Therefore is your land a desolation. And an astonishment. And a curse. Without an inhabitant as at this day. Because ye have burned incense.
[7:06] And because ye have sinned against the Lord. And have not obeyed the voice of the Lord. Nor walked in his law. Nor in his statutes. Nor in his testimonies. Therefore this evil. Has happened unto you as it is day.
[7:17] Now this is amazing. That they say that to him. And then he replies. In the way he did. And one more thing. Look at verse 28. I just want you to see one line. From this verse.
[7:27] I'll read the entire verse. Verse 28. Yet a small number. That escaped the sword. Shall return out of the land of Egypt. And the land of Judah. Into the land of Judah. And all the remnant of Judah.
[7:37] That are gone into the land of Egypt. To sojourn there. Shall know. Whose words shall stand. Mine. Or theirs. In the end of this thing.
[7:48] Jeremiah is saying. You're going to know. Who was right. You're going to find out. First hand. Now this is amazing to me. That in Egypt. The people are.
[7:59] People are reasoning. It's because we slacked in our worship. To the queen of heaven. That's why things are the way they are. So we're going to go back. To doing that. And then Jeremiah says.
[8:09] No. No. No. It's. God was patient with you. And long suffering. But he could no longer bear it. And so he kicked you out. It's. They say.
[8:20] It's because we left worshiping the queen of heaven. Jeremiah says. No. It's because you left the Lord. To serve the queen of heaven. And I got to just say. In. As.
[8:31] As the people of God. It astonishes me. To read. To read. To read. To read. To read. To read. Of their. The words of their mouth. In Egypt. Saying.
[8:42] We will not listen to you. Jeremiah. You holy man of God. Prophet of the Lord Jehovah. We'll do whatever we want to do. And this is why. We believe. This is why.
[8:53] We're in this situation. This is why. We don't have food. This is why. We're. A remnant. That's barely escaped with our lives. It's because we stopped. Worshiping. Our idols.
[9:05] And. Just as a. Side. Thought. Like. I can't. I read this and think. What? What is wrong with you people? Have you lost your mind?
[9:17] Completely? How can you even think that? How can you much worse? Say that. And believe that. And practice that. It doesn't make sense.
[9:30] Their name is Israel. They're named after. Their God. And yet they've left. Their God. To worship. Some other God. This is a. There's a couple times.
[9:41] In Jeremiah. He talks about this. I'll read one. In Jeremiah 2. Verse 11. He says. Hath a nation. Changed their gods. Which are yet no gods. The answer is no. The heathen don't change their gods.
[9:53] They just continue worshiping. Even if it doesn't work out. They cut themselves. They sacrifice their children. They do crazy things. To appease their gods. Which are no gods.
[10:04] But then he says. But my people. Have changed their glory. For that which doth not profit. Another time in chapter 18. He says similar things. Can't believe.
[10:14] It's something that's astonishing. That people don't leave good things. In 18. It's about the snow of Lebanon. Or the flowing cold waters. You don't leave that stuff. For something else.
[10:25] Which doesn't profit. You stay with what works. But my people. They've left me. It blows my mind. Not as just a Bible believing Christian.
[10:37] But these are the people of God. They're God's nation. That have just said. Forget you. And then came to this place. To where they were ignoring. And rejecting. The truth.
[10:47] Right in front of their face. And they're in Egypt. They've forsaken Jerusalem. And this. In this case. The remnant purposely. Left Jerusalem. And left the temple of God.
[10:59] To go to Egypt. Where they don't belong. And continued worshiping their idols. So here there's two different views. There's man's carnal concept. That makes sense to them.
[11:11] Regardless. That they're the people of God. That they bear the name of God. That they have the laws of God. The truth of God. Regardless of all of that. All they're just spewing out. Is a man made carnal concept.
[11:22] That makes sense to them. The number one view. Is man's carnal concept. Versus God's word. Revealed in this case. Through his preacher. Jeremiah. If you only had the two choices.
[11:36] Which one has never been wrong? Man. And the way he sees it. Or God. If they only had two options. Which one is coming from the creator?
[11:48] Which one is eternal? Versus drops dead? Which one never changes? Versus man. Ever changing.
[11:59] Which party has never been wrong? Which one is all powerful? Versus the one that's running for their lives. Out of fear? Which one is holy? Versus the one.
[12:10] Not even close. Two different views here. And then whose word shall stand? You're going to know whose word shall stand. Mine or theirs. The conflict here is man's wisdom.
[12:21] Versus God's word. And it seems easy. It seems like duh. The choice is right in front of your face. It's obvious. Yet man. Even God's people.
[12:33] Sadly. Even God's people. Consistently. In many ways. Insist upon relying on man's wisdom. And ignoring God's word.
[12:45] And you've done it. Not just a lost man. Who's on his way to hell. But even God's people. Insist upon making their own mind up. Rather than obeying the words.
[12:57] Of our holy and eternal God. Now how do you get to this place? How did they find themselves in this place? I want to pull out of this passage. A few reasons why.
[13:08] How you get back to Egypt. And so the message is the way back to Egypt. They're living a life in the world. In no way reflecting what God has for them.
[13:21] The purpose they exist. There's no evidence of a relationship with the true God anymore. They're completely carnal. Worldly. Idolatrous. And no interest in the truth.
[13:33] No interest in knowing God. No interest in seeking the Lord or pleasing Him. They're blinded. They're foolish. Just like what we read in Sunday school. They sound just like the Gentiles.
[13:45] They're back in Egypt. I want to point out a few things from these passages. Of how to end up back in Egypt. And the first one is this. The way back to Egypt.
[13:56] Number one you got to forfeit faith. Forfeit faith. You start walking by sight. And you just let go of faith. Faith is a fruit of the Spirit Christian.
[14:08] It's a fruit. It's evidence that you're walking in the Spirit. And as you walk in the new man. He is just holding on to God. He's got a connection to God. A rope. And one of those things that starts showing up is faith.
[14:21] He just believes God. He believes. He believes He'll work it out. He believes He knows. He trusts Him. He's got a lot of faith. He's got a lot of faith. But when you forfeit faith. You start making decisions based on fear.
[14:33] You react to pressure. You allow emotions to play a factor. You allow your mind to wander away from trusting God. And now you're in the flesh.
[14:44] And you find yourself back in Egypt. I'll give you the back story here. I won't turn you through the passages. Maybe I'll skim them and mention a few things from the verses.
[14:55] But in the situation I mentioned Nebuchadnezzar. King of Babylon. Came to the land. Appointed by God for their sin. He came with his armies and he took them. He overran them.
[15:05] He took them out. And he besieged them as captives. And pulled them out of their homes. And took them to his land to make them servants. This happened more than once. And this here.
[15:16] The final captivity has taken place. It started north in Israel. Now it. What do you want to say? Just filtered its way down into Judah. To where Judah and the last was finally taken.
[15:30] So Nebuchadnezzar comes. And he takes over the land. And he removes the Jews out of it. He appoints a man named Gedaliah. To be the governor of the land. You can read this in chapter 40.
[15:41] He puts Gedaliah in charge. And five men come to Gedaliah. After the. After the armies have left and gone back. And the captives have taken away.
[15:53] Some of the Jews that have ran for their lives. They ran to Moab. They ran to Ammon and Edom. They start trickling back into the land. It's kind of you know. The storm's over. It's calmed down. So there's the poor people that remained in the land.
[16:05] And some of the Jews then returned. And so they're. They're kind of together. Trying to figure out. So what are we going to do? Gedaliah was made governor. And Gedaliah tells these men. He says.
[16:15] Fear not to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land. And serve the king of Babylon. And it shall be well with you. And he was right. This was of the Lord.
[16:26] The best thing we can do. Is just stay here. Do our jobs. Do what he tells us to do. It's in God's hand. He was right. But some of the men didn't seem fit.
[16:39] They didn't agree with that. And one man by the name of Ishmael. The Bible says he was of the seed royal. And so he took ten men with him.
[16:49] These guys were princes. And he took them and said. This guy Gedaliah is not going to rule over anything. He's not the seed of David. He doesn't belong on a throne. Or in any place.
[17:00] He said anything. We're going to take care of him. And they show up. And they kill him. And now some of the other men. These are men that kind of have leadership. And qualities.
[17:10] And some people behind them. Two of the other men. Realize. They go after him. They take care of him. And they realize. We're in a bad place. The king of Babylon already was here.
[17:23] You saw what he did. And now he set up this government. And now these guys assassinated him. What do you think he's going to do when he hears about it? Now Ishmael had been killing people on the side.
[17:35] Because the thing was not known yet. But little by little. Of course the word's going to get out. He killed some of the soldiers of Babylon. I mean he was making a mess. And so this other guy, Johanan. You read about him in chapter 41.
[17:48] Johanan says, we've got to get out of here. If we stay here, we're dead men walking. The king of Babylon, he's coming back. You can count on it. When he hears about what we've done.
[18:00] What's taken place in land. That his soldiers were killed. That others were murdered. He's not going to allow us to stay here. We messed up. We've got to go. And his idea was, we're going back to Egypt.
[18:11] And that's what we read in chapter 41. So Johanan and another man, Jezaniah, in chapter 42, go to Jeremiah. And they say, Jeremiah, would you pray for us before God?
[18:23] And he says these words, pray for us unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant. And he says that the Lord thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk. And the thing that we may do. And Jeremiah said, okay, I'm going to tell you exactly what God tells me.
[18:37] I'll keep nothing back. Whether it's good or evil, I'm going to tell you exactly what God says. What you should do. Now he already made this plan. They already moved, I read it earlier, to where they're going to enter into Egypt.
[18:48] And what Jeremiah says in his reply in chapter 42, he begins 10 days later, verse 7, and it starts going through. He says, if you abide in this land, in verse 10, then I'll build you up and not pull you down.
[19:01] I'll plant you and not pluck you up. For I repent of the evil that I've done unto you. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Be not afraid of him, saith the Lord, for I am with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand.
[19:13] I'll show you mercies. But, verse 13 says, but if you say, we will not dwell in this land. And he says, and in verse 14, if you decide you're going to the land of Egypt, you better understand that I'm against you.
[19:27] And if you go to Egypt, that's where you're going to die. And he also says, you think you're escaping to Egypt to a place of peace and it's off the radar and they've got a strong army and the Babylonians won't mess with us here?
[19:38] God says, I'll be against them. And I'll do to them what I did to your land. And so, that's the message Jeremiah preaches to them. And now, how are they going to make a decision from that?
[19:53] So, we want to go to Egypt to get away from here. The preacher said, stay. How do you get back to Egypt? Well, you forfeit faith.
[20:03] It doesn't make sense to stay in the land with all this stuff going on, except that God clearly said, stay. The word of God. It doesn't make sense to serve the king of Babylon.
[20:16] No king should ever, no Jew should ever bow to a Gentile authority, except the word of God said so. We need to go someplace safe. We need to go someplace where we can get off the map.
[20:30] And in doing that, they're forfeiting faith. They're leaving it behind. And they're not trusting God anymore. You know, it may not always make sense, things, how to work things out in situations, but that's where faith displays itself.
[20:48] When it doesn't make sense. This Bible's filled with this from cover to cover. Men and women who displayed faith. The book of Hebrews chapter 11, just one after another.
[20:58] They're examples of by faith, they did this. It didn't make sense for Abraham to leave his father and the land that he grew up in and the establishment that they had, a wealthy man, and to go travel hundreds of miles away to a land that God was going to give to his seed.
[21:16] But he would never give to him and he would dwell in tents. Who wants to leave a fortified home and go just dwell in a few tents and be moving around to sojourn and be called a pilgrim for the rest of his life.
[21:27] That doesn't make sense. And that's where faith comes in. Abraham believed God. Abraham's not the only one. There's enough to spend some time with.
[21:39] Another one would be, a good one would be David. David had an opportunity to kill the man that was seeking his life. His men said, God delivered him into your hand. Kill him. It made sense to take care of it in his own hands, but David knew the word of God.
[21:53] It said, I'm not to lay my hand on the Lord's anointed. I'd be violating the scriptures. If I did it, I'm going to have to trust God. I'm going to have to sneak out of here and live to see another day and just trust God.
[22:05] And David acted in faith. It didn't make sense. It made sense to everybody else to kill him. But David said, nope. He exercised faith. Think about Joseph getting sold into Egypt, into slavery away from his home, and then ended up in a prison and have an innocent man in prison and no family and no hope.
[22:26] And yet he continues to do what's right. Why? Who cares? Who's watching? Who are you affecting? They don't worship your God. Why would you do that? That man exercised faith every step of the way.
[22:38] God spoke to him as a young man, showing him, they're going to bow to you one day. And he believed him. And Joseph exercised faith. You want to end up back in Egypt?
[22:50] You want to end up deceived and fighting against God? Just allow your mind to wander from faith. Forfeit faith. Your mind will give you excuses.
[23:00] Your mind will justify. It's got plenty of... You walk in the flesh, and your flesh will take you right back to where its home is. Egypt. The way for this people didn't look pretty.
[23:13] Serving Nebuchadnezzar, not having a king. They felt like hostages in their own homes, surrounded by poor people. All the might, all the princes, all the pomp, all of it is gone. This is not the land they grew up in.
[23:24] It doesn't look the same at all to them. And so they decided to make their own way. And they ended up back in Egypt. There's something else I want you to consider that way back to Egypt, you just forfeit faith, you'll end up back there.
[23:38] Another thing is you can forsake the word of God. Look at this in the passage in chapter 42. And see it in chapter 42, verse 21, where Jeremiah is preaching.
[23:51] He says, And now I have this day declared it to you, but ye have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God, nor anything for the which he hath sent me unto you. Look at chapter 43, in verse 4.
[24:04] So Jehanan, the son of Korea, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Judah.
[24:16] In verse 7, So they came into the land of Egypt, for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord. Look at chapter 44, in verses 4 and 5. The Bible reads, Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, and saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.
[24:36] But they hearken not, nor incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods. Wherefore my fury and mine anger and so forth.
[24:47] Look at verse 10. They are not humbled, even unto this day. Neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you, and before your fathers.
[24:59] One more in verse 16. We read this already. As for the word, that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord. We will not hearken unto thee. Forsaking the word of God.
[25:11] Their problem is they would not submit to the word of God. They would not submit to it. They would not humble themselves and obey it. They'd rather do it their way. We'll figure it out.
[25:23] We'll make the decisions for ourselves, and if it doesn't work out, we'll deal with it. I remember as a young man, knowing it was wrong, but because I'd been put too much Bible and truth into me as a young man, but still knowing it was wrong, to go chase after sin in the world, I just thought to myself, I'll deal with it.
[25:41] Whatever happens, happens. I just want to do it, and I'll face the consequences myself. And if I could talk to Toby 25 years ago and say, you fool, you fool, you know what's going to happen.
[26:00] Don't do it. But you forsake the word of God, you end up back in Egypt, and it'll happen to you too. The word of God has been set forth, not just to believers, it's been set forth to all mankind.
[26:16] The Lord God has set forth his word, as he said through Jeremiah there in chapter 44. He set it forth, and when man refuses to hearken and to receive it, there's a void that he can't fill in his heart and his mind, because man seeks after knowledge.
[26:34] Man's always sought to know, to understand. I mean, what is the reality I live in? Why does it exist? It doesn't matter if you're in the jungles and the Amazon.
[26:45] Eventually, you're going to think to yourself, I came from my mom and dad. Mom and dad, they're mom and dad. So where did it begin? Eventually, your mind starts to look down the road, starts to look back, and think of some things, and search for some answers, and understanding.
[27:02] It doesn't matter if you're in a university, or in the jungle, your mind still searches for some truth. God placed that inside of you. It's an empty place, if you don't have the truth.
[27:14] And so man has always asked why. He's always sought for the cause, and a reason, and to understand things. How did I get here? Where did I come from? Where's my beginning? And then there's the word of God, who just starts from the very first line, in the beginning, God created, gives us the account.
[27:34] It tells us where we came from. It tells us who we came from. And when man won't hearken to that, there's that empty place that's not full, so he has to find some answer.
[27:46] So one man says, in the beginning, God, no, no, just forget that for now. That can't be true. So, what is true? And one man says, maybe this.
[28:00] And he throws out a little theory, and then say, hey, that might be something to that. And they study and think on it, and another man says, no, because there's this. And another one says, well, wait a minute, what if it was this way?
[28:13] And I could go on. That is all that has ever been put forth by man. It could be this. It could have been this way.
[28:24] We believe, doesn't matter what you believe, but this is, we think that, blah, blah, blah, billion, billion, billion years ago, we think that, and they put out a, a theory, just a thought.
[28:38] That's all it is. Just something to fill that void of, we don't understand, but we want to know. Because they've rejected the word of God. Reject the word of God, you reject truth that God reveals, you're going to end up in deception.
[28:55] I'm running, I'm getting behind on time, I'm going to run through something, I want to read, if you can be fast, you don't have to go, I'm just going to read Romans chapter 1, and I'm going to cross reference it, with a verse we read this morning, in Ephesians 4, and look at these two verses, here together, when a man rejects, what God reveals, when he rejects light, watch what the Bible says, in Romans 1, 21, I'm just going to go, catch up if you can, verse 21 says, because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain, in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened, now notice that their heart was not darkened, but it became darkened, there was light, and it says, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, and said, get out of here, and then became vain, and they started coming up, with other imaginations, that have no substance, no truth, and no evidence, and in that vain, imagination, of position, their heart, their foolish heart, was darkened, they rejected light, now in Ephesians chapter 4, we read this this morning, in verse number 17 and 18, this I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth, walk not as other Gentiles, walk in the vanity, of their mind, where they get their vain imaginations from, having the understanding, darkened, through the ignorance, that is in them, because of the blindness, of their heart, their understanding is darkened, why we know why, because they rejected the light, the evidence, the truth, when man rejects truth, when he rejects light, he opens himself up, to receive lies, and to receive deception, and eventually, something makes sense to him, or that's the best I've heard, so I'll go with that, and of course, for decades now, our children in this land, across the world, have been, just had this lie, plugged into them, they don't seek it out, or search it, they just teach it, as if it's truth, and they've received a lie, and now they're full of darkness, there's ignorance in them, because they've received vanity, things that aren't real, things that don't even add up, it's not true, but they believe it, you want to end up in Egypt, just forsake the word of God, all the truth, that God reveals, is in this book, you want to end up in Egypt, lost, against God, and a God against you, just forsake the word of God, and one more thing,
[31:39] I want to point out here, from chapter 43, in Jeremiah, we're back in Jeremiah 43, forfeit faith, and forsake the word of God, and then thirdly, follow the crowd, they'll take you back to Egypt, Jeremiah 43, verses 5 through 7, but Johanan, the son of Korea, Judah, and all the captains, of the forces, took how many, all the remnant of Judah, that were returned, from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah, even men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every person, that Nebuchadnezzar ate, and the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, what did he do with them, they came into the land of Egypt, how many of them, all of them, look at chapter 44, and verse 15, then all the men, which knew that their wives, had burned incense, unto other gods, and all the women, that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people, that dwelt in the land of Egypt, they said, we're not listening to you preacher, we don't want to hear, about that word of God, every person, all the men, all the women, a great multitude, follow the crowd, they'll take you right to Egypt, if you don't want to end up in Egypt, then you're going to have to, step out of the crowd, you're going to have to stand out, it's sad to see the church, the church, the people of God today, making their way back to Egypt, it's sad to see it, it's, they're deserting, a position, and things that have been fought for, and just, entertaining themselves, with a smile, right back to Egypt, never satisfied, with their situation, and these guys, just living in fear, forsake the word of God to them,
[33:38] I wonder if you were there, if you were there in the land, and the chaos, and the assassinations, and the captivities, and running for your life, and coming back, and finding, this is not a good situation either, I wonder if you were there, if that kind of pressure was on you, where would you go, would you go with the crowd, to Egypt, think about it, what's inside of you, because you know it's easier, it's always easier, to go along with the crowd, they're all going, I don't know if I want to, but I guess I'm going to go, it's easier to go, even if you disagree, would you stand up, and would you, personally, would you resist, fathers, men in here, would you say, family, family, we're not going, I believe that preacher, we're staying, but then what if it was, your daughters, in Jeremiah 43, the men, the women, the children, the king's daughters, every person, what if it was your daughters, that were leaving, what if it was your wives, what if it was your husbands, that were leaving, would you stand, would you stay, would you, forfeit faith, and say,
[34:56] I guess I better go, with the crowd, because the crowd, will take you to Egypt, I don't want to take, there's more scripture, here to turn to, there's so much more, in this passage here, God's, in Jeremiah, he was looking for a man, you can look at chapter 5, in verse 1, he's looking for a man, and he couldn't find any, and so this judgment came, and Ezekiel, a very, a contemporary to Jeremiah, Ezekiel, a preacher in the north, he said, he's, God says, I sought for a man, he was looking for somebody, that would stand in the gap, so I wouldn't judge this land, but I found none, he was always looking for, he's not looking for a crowd, he's looking for a man, that'll come out from the crowd, separate himself, and seek the truth, he might be looking for you, to separate yourself, from your family, to seek the truth of God, to separate yourself, from your culture, and the what they think, and teach, and believe, and find out what God said, is true, he may be asking you, to separate yourself, from everyone, and everything you've been taught, and seek truth, but if you want to end up in Egypt, with no hope, follow the crowd, the crowd will take you to Egypt, the crowd will take you away, from the blessings of God, it'll take you away, from a life of faith, it thinks it's going, to something easier, but it doesn't work, how do you know, whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs, if you're not saved, the crowd will take you to hell,
[36:37] Jesus Christ said, in Matthew chapter 7, that there's a broad way, and many there be, that go, it leads to destruction, but there's another way, that leads to life, there's a way to get to eternal life, and Jesus Christ is that way, but he said, few there be, that find it, the crowd will take you to hell, the crowd crucified, the Lord Jesus Christ, you can read, the very same words, from this time in Jeremiah, in the gospels, it was the priests, it was the people, it was a multitude, that took, and murdered, the Lord Jesus Christ, just followed the crowd, there they are again, killing Christ, the crowd, in this case, that's on the wrong side, of God, and receiving his judgment, in Egypt, so if you want to be deceived, and you want to live a lie, you want to destroy your life, or worse, end up in hell, follow the crowd, of unbelievers, or just follow, the worldly carnal fools, the crowd that says, it's the queen of heaven, and they can't recognize, the hand of God, they think they're avoiding,
[37:50] God's judgment, and yet they're clueless, when, I wonder, when is the multitude ever right, so don't follow the crowd, now there's some real, applications we can make, to this thought, and a lot of these thoughts, in a lot of ways, and I'm just going to fire these out quickly, as some things to chew on, consider this application, of where it's man's belief, versus God's word, man's view, versus God's word, consider man's belief, about salvation, you know what man believes, man believes, salvation can be earned, you look at any, I don't care what it is, any religion, in this world, every single one of them, tells you, it can be earned, you can earn your way, to God's favor, and this is the path, these fools say, all roads lead to heaven, you just, whatever one you're on, just follow it, those liars, you know what they are, they're blinded, there's ignorance in them, because those roads, all lead to hell, and many there be, that go in there at, man came to Jesus Christ, and said, what good thing, must I do, to inherit eternal life,
[39:08] I want to do something, what can I do, just tell me what it is, I've done a lot of good already, and you say the word, I'll do it, because man thinks, he can earn it, and yet the Bible's view, God's view of salvation, is that it's by grace, through faith, and it's a gift, that must be received, by faith, not by works, you can't earn it, you can receive it, because it's already been earned, by Jesus Christ, he's already paid for it, there's a difference, between Bible salvation, and man's belief, about salvation, in Acts 16, 31, this man, or 30, the man says, what must I do, to be saved, and Paul didn't tell him, what he must do, do, do, do, do, this, this, keep the sacraments, be baptized, and go to church, and give, and pray, and he didn't give him, any of that garbage, man gives you that garbage, the apostle Paul said, believe, on the Lord Jesus Christ, you want to be saved, you want to find, a home in heaven, believe, believe on Jesus Christ, you exercise faith, in the gospel of Jesus Christ, no one religion, in the world, believes that, not one of them, if they believed it, they'd preach it, and they'd receive it, and they'd obey it, and they don't, any religion, that even claims, they have a Bible, they don't believe it, they don't believe,
[40:30] Jesus is the way, they believe, they've got the way, it's man's belief, how about another one, man's belief, about the Bible, is different, than God's word, about the Bible, the scriptures, man believes, it can't be trusted, man believes, it was given to us, by God, in the original, languages, and writings, and that was God's word, but that's long gone, so how do we, possibly know, how can we possibly, trust anything, to be truth, and God's word, man believes, you'll never know, for sure, you only have copies, and copies, and those copies, were done by men, by the way, so they could be, full of errors, and not only that, today we read, and preach from a translation, of those copies, so, everybody knows, you lose something, in translation, duh, so how can you, possibly know, you lose stuff, man's belief, about the Bible, is that it cannot be trusted, 100%, and my question is, if that's your view, which, where is it wrong, and where is it right, and how are you, the one to judge, how are you to judge, that's telling you the truth, about your salvation, much less just some, little place, or whether it existed, or not, or whether it's a, the article should be there, or not there, or he, or he, or God, or something, some little, who judges which, what's right and wrong, what does the Bible say, about the scriptures, it says it, it endureth forever, it says it cannot be broken, it says it will not pass away, the words, will not pass away, it says that God gave it, that God keeps it, and God preserves it, forever, and that's cover to cover, that's, that's in John, and Isaiah, and Revelation, and Matthew, and the Psalms, and more, what does the Bible, so I believe what the book says,
[42:29] I believe God kept his words pure, as he said he would, what about decisions in life, what about man's belief, about decisions in life, man just says, well you can never know, good luck, you know do your best, I guess take a shot, if it works out, if it pans out, good for you, you made the right choice, but you'll never know, until you try it, and man says, just go with your heart, time will tell, if you're right or not, what else does he have, to draw from, other men's experiences, but what does men have, their belief, about decisions you make, it's different, than what the Bible says, what God's word teaches, it says, in all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he, shall direct thy paths, this Bible tells us, we can put our trust, in the Lord, that he'll lead us, in the way of righteousness, that he can, in a personal relationship, lead us, in the right way, I've experienced, that leading, in my life, in some major decisions, and I believe it, that God can give you, an answer too, he gave the Jews, an answer, in chapter 42, he gave them an answer, they asked for an answer, he gave them an answer, but they refused, to follow it, and they ended up, back in Egypt, and so whether it's, salvation of your soul, or the truth, of the scriptures, or whether it's, decisions and choices, you make in life, or a multitude of topics, there's a drastic difference, between the truth of God, and believing, and following it, and what a bunch of, worldly, backslidden Christians, even, or man promotes, man's view, versus God's word, it's easy to end up, back in Egypt, church, you forsake, or you forfeit, faith, you forsake the word, and just follow the crowd, now do you want, to stake, your eternal soul, on whether, man is right, or wrong, or do you want, to go to God's word, and find out, what God has already, said about it, that you can know, you have eternal life, do you want, to live your life, based upon, what mankind, declares is acceptable, in this day and age, or do you want, to go to something, that you can trust, and believe the word, of God, remember that line, and don't forget it, that you shall know, whose word shall stand, mine, or theirs, there's a big difference, and you too, will find out one day, if you don't want, to find out today, you'll find out in the future, who is telling you the truth, man, or God, my advice this morning, is don't wait, till it's too late, to get saved, to trust Christ, and realize eternal life, is through his blood, don't wait, till it's too late, to choose to live your life, for Jesus Christ, and find out, you blew the whole thing, and had more chances, than you deserved, and you decided,
[45:36] I'll do it my way, man's wisdom, versus God's word, I wonder which one, you're going to stand on, because one of them, will always take you, back to Egypt, let's bow our heads together, this morning, let's bow our heads, with heads bowed, and eyes closed, let me ask you a question, do you know for sure, that you're going to heaven, when you die, and if you know for sure, how do you know for sure, where do you get, that certainty from, is it because, your mom told you something, when you were young, is it because, you went to church, and they said some things, and you feel pretty good, about it, or do you know, because you understand, what the Bible says, about your sin, and about your soul, and about the future, of heaven or hell, for you, I wonder, is there anybody in here, that says, nobody's looking, nobody at all, is there anybody, just slip your hand up, real quick, and say, I don't know, and I want to know,
[46:37] I don't want to go through life, with this uncertainty, I want to get it fixed, and figured out, right now today, would you slip your hand up, you don't have to come up here, you don't have to move, out of your seat, I just want to know, who you are, where you are, so I can pray for you, and if you're willing, talk to you, and open up God's word, and show you, not what man's religion say, but what God said, he's the authority, we want to go straight to him, and we can do that this morning, does anybody here, say that's me, just slip your hand up, take it down, nobody's looking, Christian, you find yourself, back to Egypt, heading back that way, you've been forsaken faith, not trusting God, letting things slip in there, and get a hold of you, and turn your eyes, away from Jesus Christ, you've forsaken the word of God, you don't think it applies to you, oh it applies, and it's always right, you follow in the crowd, they're not going to help you,
[47:43] I challenge you this morning, God wants you to, to separate from the crowd, he wants you to stand out, for Jesus Christ, let the world look at you, and not see you with them, let them see you with Jesus, they said that about the disciples, they've been with Jesus, is that what they say about you, when the world looks at you, they've been with Jesus, or do you have too much of man's wisdom, in your heart, and in your mind, controlling the way you think, and act, I challenge you to, analyze that this morning, and give your heart to the Lord on this, and let him speak to you, surrender it to him, if you need to, let's take some time here to pray, if you need to pray, give you an opportunity to pray, we're going to sing a song here, and as we sing, if you need to talk to the Lord, do it, don't waste this opportunity, if he's dealing with your heart, do it,