[0:00] Thank you, Bibles. If you wouldn't open with me to the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter 37. I want you to pray that piece of property, when it gets developed, will have housing.
[0:11] So when James Meashton wants to come home, there'll be a house sitting there. That's one of the things that'll be going on in the next five years. Wild and crazy things. You owe me to Jeremiah chapter 37.
[0:24] You ever needed to hear from God? You ever wanted to hear from God? I want you to go back there. We're back where we were Thursday night.
[0:34] We're going to finish that message. Look, if you went to Jeremiah 37 and 17 again, I think you'll enjoy it again. The Bible says, is there any word from the Lord?
[0:46] And Jeremiah said, there is. He asked the question because they were in horrible conditions. He has no idea how horrible the conditions are.
[0:58] The city is surrounded. They retreat, but they're going to come back. They're going to be destroyed. The city will be burned with fire. And oh, is that a guy who's a really messed up guy?
[1:13] Before the story is over, not tonight. I'm giving you a preview. Not supposed to do this. Telling you what's coming up. But since you've already read the script, you probably know. He's going to watch his son slaughtered before his eyes.
[1:27] And then they're going to put his eyes out. This old boy's in trouble. And he said, boy, I really need somebody to get me a word from the Lord. And that's what we looked at, at the horrible conditions.
[1:39] And he asked Jeremiah. He sins to ask Jeremiah, is there a word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, there is. By the way, Jeremiah tells him before this chapter is over, if you'll just do what God says, you will lose the city, but you'll live.
[1:57] You'll be blessed if you'll just do what God says. Obey God and be blessed. But Jeremiah will choose not to obey God. Then we saw last week that there was an honest choice.
[2:10] You get to choose what kind of preacher you want to listen to. They're everywhere. There are preachers that are popular. There are preachers that preach positive messages. There are preachers that make you feel good.
[2:23] There are preachers that promise you prosperity. And then there's preachers that just say, this is what the word of God says. And Jeremiah was one of those. And Zedekiah chose not to listen to him.
[2:36] Go with me, if you would, again to 3717. And you'll see Zedekiah, a hesitant coward. He refuses to obey God or to be seen talking to God's man.
[2:49] If you recall, when we started in Jeremiah 37, it starts off saying, well, you had never listened to God. You haven't ever obeyed God. And then when Jeremiah wanted to find out if God had said something, he didn't want to go see the preacher.
[3:03] He didn't want the preacher to come see him. He sent an imbissary and said, you go ask him if there's a word for the Lord. I don't want to be seen with him. And then in Jeremiah 37, verse 17, he calls for a secret meeting.
[3:17] Read with me the word of God. Then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. And the king asked him secretly in his house, is there a word, any word from the Lord?
[3:30] So he sent first and asked, and now he's got him at his house. But he wants everybody gone from the room. He wants to be alone. And he wants to hear, is there a word from the Lord? I'm sure he's trying to save.
[3:41] You don't need CNN and Fox News and all the others spreading the word that you're going to get killed and you're going to get destroyed. And he wants to ask in private. He wants to know the truth, even if he plans on rebelling against God.
[3:57] Look in chapter 38, verse 14. Zedekiah the king sent and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him. Under the third entry that's in the house of the Lord, the king said unto Jeremiah, I'll ask thee a thing, and don't you hide a thing.
[4:11] Hide nothing from me. Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I tell you the truth, you'll kill me. If I declare unto you, thou shalt surely put me to death.
[4:25] And by the way, if I were to tell you what God wants you to do, you wouldn't do it anyway. Look at the verse. He says in the verse, If I give thee counsel, wilt thou hearken unto me?
[4:36] Question mark? Oh, come on. If I tell you, you'll kill me. And if I advise you, you won't listen to what the Bible has to say, what God has to say. So in verse 16, Zedekiah makes a secret oath that he won't kill him.
[4:52] I will not put you to death. So Jeremiah tells Zedekiah in verse 17. Read it with me. Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel.
[5:05] If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, thy soul shall live. And the city shall not be burned with fire. Thou shalt live.
[5:17] And your kids, and your kids, thine house. Thine house. He won't do it. Now listen to this. But if you do not go forth to the king of Babylon, you don't go out, flag a truce, surrender your sword, admit you're beaten.
[5:36] If you don't go out there, they will burn this city with fire and you will not escape. Surrenders to admit failure.
[5:48] That would have directly attacked his pride. But he could have surrendered and lived. But Zedekiah is afraid. He doesn't care if God says he'll live.
[5:59] Look at verse 19. Zedekiah said, I am afraid. I'm not even afraid of the Chaldeans. I'm afraid of my own people that have been taken over to the Chaldean side of things.
[6:11] And if I surrender, they'll turn me over to them and they'll mock me. They'll make fun of me. In verse 20, Jeremiah says, that's not going to happen.
[6:23] They shall not deliver thee. Listen to him. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord. Listen and obey God. Do what God wants you to do and it will go well with you.
[6:36] And your soul shall live. Zedekiah said, well, I still don't want anybody to know about all this. In verse 24, Zedekiah said unto Jeremiah, let no man know these words and you won't die.
[6:52] Zedekiah is a very hesitant coward. He wants to know what God says, but he doesn't want to do it. He wants to act brave, but he's not brave.
[7:04] He wants to put on a face for his people, but he's not. And I'd like to ask you a question before we go to the real thing I want to talk to you about tonight out of this chapter.
[7:15] And that is, how often do I act the part of a hesitant coward? How often do I fail to mention Jesus for fear of what others would think? You know, it's amazing how many Christians turn out to be 007 secret agent Christians.
[7:33] We come to church on Sunday and we come to church on Sunday night and here we are at church, but at work. We don't really want them to know we're a Christian.
[7:45] We don't obey God because of peer pressure. We don't want to do the right thing because people would think differently of us. We want to hide our relationship with God so people don't think poorly of us.
[7:59] Do I live in fear that if I surrender my life, God will ask too much of me? So many parents, whether they mean to do it or don't mean to do it, teach their children, be real careful.
[8:13] God might ask too much of you. As a guy who's been raising and training up young missionaries and preachers for the last 30 something years, I would tell you that most often parents are the ones that would get with their kids and say, don't listen too much.
[8:33] Stay away from those guys. If you get around them too much, you might end up doing something for God. They didn't say that part. They worded it right. They covered it up. They camouflage it.
[8:44] But they're saying, if you surrender your life, it might not be the most comfortable thing for me. I might not get what I want. If I surrender my life, I might not get what I want.
[8:55] If I were to tell God you can do anything you want with me, I hope you do tell him that. I try every night. The lights are off and cover's pulled up.
[9:07] And I've just gotten back in bed from one of my frequent trips to the bathroom. I like to say to him, boy, I love you, God. You can do anything you want with me. If you want to take me to heaven, take me to heaven.
[9:20] If you want me to preach, I'll preach. You just tell me what you want me to do. God, just show me. I want to do what you want me to do. You don't have to be afraid of God. You don't have to be afraid that God wouldn't do you right.
[9:32] You don't have to worry. If God says go outside and surrender to the Chaldeans, God will take care of it. If God says go and preach, if God takes your children, you can trust God.
[9:42] Do I leave fearful of being a giver because of how it might affect me if I really obey God even with my money? Now I want to take you down to Jeremiah chapter 37 and verse 12.
[9:58] Zedekiah and Judah use hurtful cruelty against Jeremiah. After Jeremiah answers the request of Zedekiah and tells him what God said, he leaves to return home.
[10:10] So what happens is the story, verse 12, Jeremiah leaves Jerusalem and he wants to go to the land of Benjamin. He wants to get away from everybody. The preacher's looking for a place to be alone.
[10:24] He has been in the middle. He has been in the middle of all this stress. He's been in the middle of knowing Jeremiah says, Ben Zedekiah is going to kill me. The princes are going to kill me.
[10:35] The people don't like me. I stand all alone and I think I'd like to just go somewhere. See, they're going to put him in prison. And in Jeremiah 37 and verse 4, it lets us know he hasn't been put in prison yet.
[10:49] But the message Jeremiah preaches makes people mad. He's not preaching about some petty little get a haircut or give some money. He's telling them your country's going down.
[11:02] He's telling them that the enemy is here and you're going to be destroyed. Go back up to 37, 6. The word of the Lord came unto the prophet Jeremiah saying, Thus said the Lord, the God of Israel, Thus shall you say to the king of Judah that sent you to inquire of me, Behold, Pharaoh's army, which has come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt and to their own land.
[11:30] So here was the city of Jerusalem surrounded by the Chaldean army. And Egypt is on its way down. And they're like, glory to God, we're going to be okay.
[11:43] Doesn't matter what Jeremiah's got to say. Everything's going to work out. Egypt will come, the Chaldeans will run, and we'll be free. And he said in verse 8, The Chaldeans shall come again.
[11:59] They will fight against this city. They will take it, and they will burn it with fire. It's going to happen. Now, that's not what people want to hear.
[12:12] We don't want to hear somebody give an alarming message. And Jeremiah doesn't leave town until the Chaldeans pull away.
[12:23] In verse 11, the Chaldeans broke up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army, and they left. And in verse 13, the people come to Jeremiah, and they grab him.
[12:33] They think he's trying to escape. All he wants to do is go home and sit in the shade a while. All he wants to do is go home and drink a dyed Mountain Dew. Need another butter cookie. And he's headed out of town.
[12:45] And when they catch him, and they grab him, and they say, You're trying to run away to our enemies. Look if you would in verse 13. Last phrase of the verse. You fall away to the Chaldeans.
[12:56] In verse 14, Jeremiah said, That's not true. I am not trying to get away. I'm not trying to go to the enemy. But in verse 15, they hit him. And they put him in prison.
[13:06] And they are very angry with him. And Jeremiah's kind of confused. In verse 18, the Bible says, He said unto Zedekiah, How have I offended you?
[13:20] What have I done against your servants? What have I done against his people? Why are you putting me in prison? I've just said what God told me to say.
[13:31] I just want to, we read this story. We're like, well, what's it got to do with me? So I won't tell you what I think it's got to do with you. We are going to be facing some hurtful cruelty as Christians.
[13:46] And we need to get ready for that. We have been led to believe that a guy like Jeremiah would never get beat up and put in prison.
[14:00] By the next chapter, they're going to throw him in a well that's just full of mud. They're going to throw him in there and leave him.
[14:11] And there's no food in the city because the Chaldeans have him surrounded. And they're going to leave him there to die. He's God's man.
[14:23] Is he going to live? Is he going to get out of there? He's the good man. He's doing the right thing. And he's suffering. We love the story of Daniel and the lion's den.
[14:37] Because Daniel stood and Daniel got in trouble, but God delivered Daniel. We love the story of the three Hebrew children. The three Hebrew children were put in the fiery furnace and the Lord showed up and the Lord delivered them.
[14:51] We don't like the story of Jeremiah being put in jail or John the Baptist getting his head cut off. We don't like the story of Naboth and what happened to him.
[15:01] But here's the Holy Spirit saying God's man can be mistreated. And he better still stand.
[15:12] Amen. You might think to yourself, but is that in the New Testament? I am glad you asked. So go with me if you would to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 10. God's people should expect to receive hurtful cruelty from the lost world.
[15:28] Now I need you to understand something. And I am not preaching this because of what's going on politically. I really am not. I don't much care what's going on about that. I'm preaching because I'm in Jeremiah and the man of God suffering cruelty and you ought to expect that you will.
[15:44] And then I'm going to show you what I think we ought to do with it. Which is what you're going to find that Jeremiah did. If you'll go with me to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 10 and read with me what the Word of God says.
[15:56] I hope you got a paper Bible open and I hope you'll underline it. Here's what the Bible said. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[16:07] Now you need to circle the word blessed. That actually means happy. That actually means God's being good to you. And that's not what that verse means to us.
[16:17] We like to read it blessed because that's a southern way of reading blessed. You ever notice that? In a Bible word it's always blessed. You don't blessed nothing else. Did you bless the food or has that been blessed?
[16:30] But if it's a Bible word it's a blessed thing you know. And since it's a blessed thing we don't know what that means. But it's saying here hey when you get persecuted you should be happy about it.
[16:41] And we're like excuse me. You mean when people mistreat me I ought to be happy about it? Look at verse 11. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you.
[16:53] And persecute you. And say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Now would you notice what it says in verse 11? Revile you. They're going to accuse you.
[17:04] Say ugly things about you. They're going to persecute you. They may beat you up and throw you in a dry well. They'll say all kinds of ugly things against you.
[17:17] But you are blessed. Verse 12. Rejoice. And be exceeding glad.
[17:28] For great is your reward in heaven. For so persecuted they the prophets who were before you. Now Jesus is talking. And you know what he ends up saying to them? He's basically saying this.
[17:39] Now look guys. If y'all decide to follow me. You're going to get the living slop beat out of you. You're going to get put in jail. People are going to insult you. Bad things are going to happen. You're going to get whipped.
[17:50] You're going to get Hebrews 11 treatment put on you. And you should just say well praise God. He put me in the same group. He put the Old Testament fellows in. By the way in the book of Acts.
[18:02] When those boys get caught. And those boys go to jail. You know what they do? They rejoice that they're able to suffer. They're putting into practice what's said right here. In the book of Matthew.
[18:14] Go with me if you would to 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 12. 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 12. All who truly live for Jesus will suffer persecution.
[18:26] All who live for Jesus will suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3 12. Word of God. Yea and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
[18:39] You know what some old fashioned Russian and Chinese Christians told some spiritual leaders that went over those places back in the early 2000s.
[18:50] I was there in 1999. Communism was 50 years old in China. I met with some Christian leaders and I prayed for them to have freedom. And the guy said please don't.
[19:01] We know what it did to y'all. It didn't help you. He spent 20 years in prison and would rather go back than be like us. If you live godly you're going to suffer persecution.
[19:15] And here's what he said in verse 13. Evil men and seducers are only going to get better and better. That's not what it says. And I don't know what's happening in 2021 2021.
[19:29] I don't know what's going on. But I know this much. We were warned to be ready for persecution. And it's been written down here for almost 2,000 years for us to look at. Go with me if you would to John chapter 15 and verse 18.
[19:44] I heard a preacher say one time from a persecuted country. He said the biggest doctrine that's not preached or taught in the United States is the doctrine of persecution. That we ought to learn and be ready for what the world might do to us.
[20:00] We're afraid to go preach where something might happen to us. We're afraid for our children to go where something bad might happen for us. We're kind of nervous right now because we're not sure what's going to happen in our country.
[20:12] And maybe they're going to do something to us. And if we were honest, there's a lot more of that going on in this room than y'all would ever admit to. And what in the world is about to happen?
[20:24] What's going to happen? Are they coming after us? What's going to happen? Well, Jesus said, I mean, y'all ought to get excited if they persecute you because you love me. Jesus said, hey, I can expect to be persecuted.
[20:38] John 15, 18. He said, if the world hate you, you know, it hated me before it hated you. You reading that with me? Jesus looked at them and said, now guys, it shouldn't shock you people don't like you.
[20:53] Don't like me. They don't like me before. They don't like you now, but they didn't like me first. And then for one of us, no, you're not dumb. I know you know this.
[21:04] You could be a Buddhist and they won't be persecuting you. You could be a Muslim and they won't persecute you. You could be a Hindu and they won't persecute you, but everybody hates Christianity.
[21:15] It's not Christianity they hate. They hated Jesus to begin with. And they still hate him. John 15, 18 said, man, don't be shocked.
[21:25] They hated me first. Verse 19, he said, if you were of the world, they'd love you because they love their own. But you are not of the world because I chose you out of the world.
[21:37] So the world hates you. And when we wake up in the morning and we're like, I love you, Jesus. And we come to church today. We open our Bibles and we pray and we give our money and we sing our songs and we magnify the name of Jesus.
[21:50] And they hate everything about it. And then we stand up and say, this is what marriage means because that's what Jesus said. This is what I'm supposed to do because that's what Jesus said. And they're like, we're tired of hearing what Jesus has got to say.
[22:03] Jesus warned us of that, didn't he? Verse 20, John 15, 20. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
[22:18] If they have kept my saying, they'll keep yours. Jesus basically said, they didn't do what I said do. So they ain't going to do what you say do. They ain't listen to my preaching. So they ain't going to listen to your preaching.
[22:29] And he said, they persecuted me. So y'all can just expect persecution. I'm just telling you now, I chose only a handful of verses. The Bible is literally full of the fact that we're going to get persecuted.
[22:44] I think it'd probably be more biblical to be a persecution preacher than a prosperity preacher. If you read the Bible and you read the Old Testament, I would say to you that every one of us are going to have to decide before it's over if this church will stand for what Jesus said.
[23:02] Because I'm pretty sure that they're coming. Will you give when they take away your tax-free status? Will you give when they, will you come when they tell you not to come?
[23:17] Verse 21. But all these sayings will they do unto you. Underline this in your Bible. For my name's sake. It's pretty easy to be a Christian in the United States of America.
[23:32] It's expected. It's really been the last few years when I walk in a room and people don't just look at me and know I'm a preacher. I spent most of my life. I'd walk in, they'd say, you're a preacher, aren't you?
[23:44] And I'd say, was it the suit? I could be in blue jeans. They'd say, are you a preacher? I'm not even wearing a cross. Ain't got a backward scholar. I just walk in. They think I'm a preacher. Nowadays, that's not so light.
[23:56] Look at Matthew 5, 44. Now, what are we going to do to those people that are persecuting us? What are we going to do to those people that are persecuting us? I don't think you're going to like this.
[24:11] We don't get any Second Amendment rights here. Not that I don't like guns. Because I do.
[24:23] And I got a couple. But look what it says. Chapter 5, verse 44. I say unto you, love your enemies. Love your enemies.
[24:39] Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. They curse me. Bless God. I'm cursing them back. They hit me. I'm hitting them back.
[24:50] They shoot at me. I'm shooting back. That's not a biblical response. Can I get an amen there? When they spit on us, you know what we're supposed to do? Love them. One of my favorite anecdotes, stories, not a Bible thing at all, was when David Wilkerson went to New York City in the 60s.
[25:11] And there was a gang leader there. He was a Hispanic kid. His name was Nicky Cruz. And Nicky Cruz was a gang leader. He was a guy that cut people and killed people.
[25:21] And he was a mean and bad fellow. And David Wilkerson walked over to him and tried to share the gospel with him. And Nicky Cruz told him, you can get out of here. I'll kill you.
[25:32] And he said, I love you, Nicky. I don't care what you do to me. I'm going to love you. And he went to his house at night and knocked on the door and woke Nicky up and said, Nicky, I just came by. I tell you, Jesus loves you and I love you. Nicky pulls his switchblade one time, sticks in his face and says, if you don't shut up, I'm going to cut you into a thousand pieces.
[25:48] And David Wilkerson says that Nicky replied, David replied, or Nicky said, David said, well, if you do, all thousand pieces are going to say, God loves you.
[26:00] And I love you too. That's a great story, isn't it? As long as it's not me. As long as they've got the switchblade in my face. Love your enemies.
[26:12] Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you. This probably wouldn't go over in the average church because right now they want to plan revenge. All right.
[26:22] We don't do revenge. We don't get ugly. We don't get ugly. Pray for them.
[26:34] Pray for who? The ones that despitefully use you and persecute you. In Romans 12, 14, the apostle Paul repeated that. He said, bless them.
[26:47] Pray God's blessings on them. Do good stuff to them. Bless them. Don't you curse them. It's about a very unusual day in my life and ministry as a preacher.
[27:01] I'll just be honest with you. This morning's message about wrecked me. And tonight, I don't know that you like me. But look at 1 Peter 3, 14. A bunch of bad stuff's going to happen sooner or later.
[27:17] I don't know if it'll happen here. Maybe we'll all die and it never happened. Maybe it'll be to our children or our grandchildren or our great-grandchildren. But the Lord told his people to be ready for it and to expect it and not to be shocked by it.
[27:32] We ought to understand that people might pick on us because we love Jesus. But, 1 Peter 3, 14. But, and if you suffer for righteousness' sake, if they make you hurt because you're loving Jesus and doing right, well, get happy about it.
[27:51] And don't be afraid. Read the Bible. Be not afraid of their terror. Don't be troubled.
[28:01] Don't get anxious. Don't get all worried about it. Look at 1 Peter 4, and verse 12. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you.
[28:15] When all this junk starts happening, don't be shocked. Instead of being shocked, verse 13, rejoice, because you're getting to partake in Christ's sufferings.
[28:31] Look at that. Partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. Verse 14, if you be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you.
[28:49] You mean if they make fun of me, spit on me, fine me, arrest me, because I'm trying to honor Jesus, I should be happy.
[29:01] That's what it says. I thought Sean did a very great job this morning with the offering devotional when he said it was already fixed. Well, it should be fixed in our hearts, what we're going to do when junk happens.
[29:13] Because when junk happens, we're going to say, I decided a long time ago I love Jesus. No, I'm not going to quit going to church. No, I'm not going to quit praying. And all through your Bible, the stories you like are of people that stood when the junk happened.
[29:27] It's the story of those three Hebrew children you like. It's the story of Daniel who went to a lion's den because he wouldn't quit praying. It's the story of old Naboth when Ahab said, I want to buy your vineyard.
[29:40] And Naboth simply said, you know the word of God says I can't sell it. I can't. The king said, but I'll really be good to you.
[29:51] And he said, I just can't. It's what God said. So he died. Go with me to Revelation chapter 2 and verse 10. And for your information, if you're a Bible student, this isn't tribulation period in Revelation 2.
[30:10] This is church age in Revelation 2. There are seven churches mentioned that take us through the seven stages, basically, of church history, very likely.
[30:21] And here's what it says to a church. Fear none of those things which you are about to suffer. Don't be afraid of what you're going to suffer.
[30:34] Behold, the devil's going to throw some of you guys in prison. The devil's going to throw some of you guys in prison so that you can be tried. You are going to have tribulation.
[30:47] Be faithful to death. You should underline that. Be faithful to death. John and Betty Stamm were missionaries in China when the communists killed them because they decided they'd obey Jesus.
[31:04] And they wouldn't deny them and they wouldn't walk away. When the Roman Empire was in place, they hung our people on poles and burned us to have lights for their gardens at night and on the road.
[31:18] And that's what's happening. When these guys are writing scripture here, that's what's going on. For some reason, we think that because of the United States Constitution, no one will ever be able to do us any harm and that's not going to happen.
[31:33] That's simply not what the Bible says. If you were a born-again believer living in China, believing with all your heart that you live in a religiously free country, but you could be arrested for going to church.
[31:48] If you were living in Nigeria in the north corner where the Muslims are in charge, they might just kill you. If you were living in Russia, Richard Wurmbrand's life story has been written.
[32:00] He finally escaped. But Richard Wurmbrand was in prison. They made him take his excrement and his urine and serve the Lord's Supper to him. They made him pray on his knees so he couldn't sit there any longer.
[32:15] The guy in China I met said that he was forced to stay on his knees up to 12 hours a day. He would fall asleep and they would beat him when he fell. It's not an unusual thing for us.
[32:28] My last verse. Aren't you happy? 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse 3. Persecution is to be expected. That no man should be moved by these afflictions.
[32:43] Y'all don't get upset that I'm in jail and that our people are being taken. You do remember, we love the story of Peter in the book of Acts and not the story of James.
[32:54] James. In the book of Acts, they came and got James and arrested James. And they killed him.
[33:05] They ran him through with a sword. You know, you imagine when Peter goes in and they pray all night and God delivers him. James' wife is like, when they take care of her husband, oh, it's going to be okay.
[33:16] But it wasn't okay. In Hebrews 11, 35, and following our story after story of horrible things. I want you to read verse 3.
[33:29] No man should be moved by these afflictions for yourselves know we are appointed there too. He has plans for us to go through mess. Verse 4.
[33:47] For truly, for verily, when I was there with you guys, I told you before that we were going to suffer persecution, tribulation, even as it has come to pass and you know it.
[34:01] So I want you to imagine the Apostle Paul in a church meeting and I think it'd be extremely different than anything we're used to. And the Apostle Paul meets when he's got his brothers and sisters like us in a room and he said, now guys, if you're going to follow Jesus, you're supposed to deny yourself and take up your cross and follow him and you don't love your mother and you don't love your father and you don't love anything else and you're going to be willing to die.
[34:24] And then Paul looks at him and said, Thessalonians, hear me. Stuff's going to happen. And so when I get arrested, nobody needs to be shocked.
[34:36] Nobody needs to be caught off guard. I'm telling you now, be ready. The bad stuff's going to happen. And Jesus said, in this world, you will have much persecution and affliction.
[34:52] Many other verses I could have used. So I would like to say to you that Jeremiah was just doing right. And when Jeremiah got arrested, Jeremiah actually said to the king, what have I done wrong?
[35:07] What'd I do? You asked me to tell you the truth and I told you the truth. And the king said, I told you I wouldn't kill you, but that don't mean I can't beat you up and throw you in a pit. I just want you to know that he was terribly, cruelly treated as the man of God.
[35:30] We should understand and expect the world to hurtfully, cruelly treat us for being his followers. Maybe one of the things that's most bothered me this year is we're not ready if they come.
[35:51] I'll not make it. I'm not saying anything to make you mad, Zedekiah. I just like to be friends. I want to be politically correct. And then you can let me go home.
[36:02] You don't have to hit me. You don't have to beat me up. You don't have to throw me in a pit. I do know what God said, but I'd rather not say. I like old Micaiah when they call Micaiah in to speak to Ahab.
[36:16] And Micaiah says, when they come to get me, they said, you need to know what we're saying so you can say something we're saying. He said, ain't no way. I say what God tells me to say. And then they bring him in and he looks at the king and says, it's all going to be all right.
[36:27] Just do whatever you got planned. It's going to go good. And the king, the wicked king looked at him and said, me and you both know that ain't right. I already know I ain't doing right. You know I ain't doing right.
[36:38] I know God didn't say that. You know that God didn't say that. So just tell me the truth right now. It's an amazing story. I want to challenge you to be prepared for when bad stuff might happen.
[36:55] You might lose a job because you're a Christian. They might take away some of our rights. But we stand for Jesus.
[37:05] Can I get an amen there? We stand for Jesus. You know, I like to think of all the people in China. First time I went to a church in China was 1999.
[37:21] It's the wildest thing you've ever seen. Preacher told me, he said, no, the service will start at about seven o'clock. We're going to get there at 645. The others will get, this guy was really scary. And so we walked in real quietly, went in the house and we sat in a circle.
[37:35] And they set everything up to look like an English class and then they got the Bibles out. And we sang real quiet and we talked real quietly. Brother Bruce, you don't know him, but he was in charge of the thing and the preaching was pretty quiet and somebody knocked on the door while we were in the middle of the Bible study.
[37:57] And they were there to deliver the water bill. But nobody knew it. You ain't never seen Bibles fly so fast in your life. Bibles are being thrown. Hymn books are being hidden.
[38:08] And everybody came in and we had English books out waiting. And it said, water bill. I can remember thinking, Lord help me. They scared me to death. They've done that in many countries.
[38:24] You want a word from the Lord? Let me give you some helpful counsel and I'm done. If we want to hear from God, we should obey what we already know and what we've already heard. This guy says, is there a word from the Lord?
[38:37] Jeremiah said, yeah, there is. But if you don't ever obey what God says, we should humble ourselves and admit that God is right. Not us.
[38:48] The king will end up getting his eyes put out. Being carried away to Babylon anyway. We have to choose truth over what makes us comfortable. We have to choose truth over what makes us comfortable.
[39:03] We have to seek God continually and seek his truth. We have to stay very sensitive to the Holy Spirit. I'd just like to end with this. As I read the chapter and I saw all the things, the thing that most stuck out to me was that God's people get mistreated.
[39:21] And I don't know when that might happen, but we need to be ready for it. We need to be ready to say, I will love Jesus no matter what. What if they take my house and my car and my land and my wife and my kids?
[39:37] We serve Jesus. Father in heaven, I love you. And I pray your name would be glorified and magnified.
[39:47] I pray you'd show your power and I'll give you all honor and glory that I can. God, I know we worship in wonderful comfort right now, but I want to be ready no matter what you do or what you allow to be done.
[40:01] I want to be ready to love you no matter what happens. Come what may, I want to love you. I want to be faithful to you and I want to serve you.
[40:12] With your heads bowed and your eyes closed, I challenge you to say to the Lord in prayer right there where you're seated, I love you and I love you more than all the things I have.
[40:24] I love you more than I love my family. I love you more than I love my bank account. I love you more than I love my own life. I love you and I want to honor you.
[40:37] God, I need you to strengthen me because persecution might come in America. It might come to my children that are on the mission field. I don't know where or when it might happen, but it might and I want to be faithful to you.
[40:50] Tell him he hears you. It's between you and him. Tell him he's first. Tell him he's first. Tell him you'd rather die than deny.
[41:04] Tell him you'd rather die than deny. Tell him. Tell him you're not serving him for the toys he gives you and the money he gives you.
[41:18] You're serving because he's God. Wonderful, all-powerful, almighty God in heaven. Father God, do a work tonight.
[41:30] Bring honor to your name and I'll give you praise for all you do. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you very much.