[0:00] Thank you. Thank you, Brother John. Thank you for your prayers. I want to thank the young men, the young women, too, for your standing today for truth.
[0:15] It's not popular to stand for truth. It's not easy to stand for truth. And when we walk with the Lord in the light of his word. So I thank you for that. It's encouragement to all of us, older ones, to see you standing.
[0:30] Continue to stand for truth. I am going to be... Just for the youth that were back in Pennsylvania, you're going to hear some things that...
[0:45] I'm going to be saying some things that you heard back there. I listened to some of the messages. So it's for a good reason. It's to stir up your memory as well, so that you can keep remembering what God did in your lives back there.
[0:56] It was good. And you guys came home with some wonderful testimonies. And the Lord's working that in you. So my... My theme here this morning would be a vessel for recovery.
[1:12] We've heard that term used in the past. But God is working to prepare a vessel.
[1:22] And I see that going on here and in other places. I'm encouraged in that. And I'll go on in here. We'll understand a little bit more what I mean by a vessel of recovery.
[1:35] Early in my life, I did not appreciate the foundation that God had... Given in a family life.
[1:47] As we grow older, we begin to appreciate that more and more. As a young believer, I was just zealous to get out and evangelize. And that was the utmost for me.
[1:58] I couldn't see the value in raising a family much at that time. I couldn't see the value in parents walking together, working together, building together and so forth.
[2:12] And, you know, there is much value in that. We are called to evangelize. We are called to go do the works that Jesus has called us to do.
[2:23] Today, there's... The last few weeks, there's been a lot of commotion about this eclipse that's coming tomorrow.
[2:38] Some of the... Part of the country is going to get us to see a complete or a full eclipse. But I appreciated just one comment on that. And we as a church would be reminded that that eclipse is a sign of God's order and faithfulness.
[2:56] I mean, that thing is so perfect. They can... We can so perfectly see how it's going to happen, that eclipse. Because God's a God of order. God's a God of completeness. And He's got that thing under control.
[3:09] I mean, how the sun and the moon and all work together. We can see order in that. But a lot of people are using that to say this and that. So I'll leave that for now.
[3:22] I want to say that we're in a battle. The Son of Man, according to 1 John, was revealed. Let me see. Let me just come to the verse here.
[3:32] The Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil. That's why we are in this... In the church today, we're here to...
[3:44] To realize that there are things that need to be broken down and destroyed. And we're a part of that. We can be a part of that. I mentioned already there is a strength and a stability that a faithful people can bring into a society.
[4:06] It's the home and the family structure. That's being lost so much today. Just the way we function in society as far as our business practices, integrity and honesty and so forth.
[4:22] That's important in our society. It's lost. And we are reaping the destruction in this day from a society that's departing from that.
[4:35] That we're seeing the destruction all around us. And I want to just look first at...
[4:46] In 1 Timothy 4. I'm going to spend a little time here in the New Testament. Then I want to spend a lot of time in the Old Testament. Because there's a picture there that we can... We can get from some of the things that took place in the Old Testament.
[5:03] But 1 Timothy 4. And I'd like to pray yet again.
[5:18] Thank you for John praying. But Father, I just ask that in the name of Jesus, you would cover us with your blood this morning. We have pleaded for your help here this morning, for your grace.
[5:31] But just cover us with your blood today. I believe we're in a battle. And would you just help us in this battle this morning? We ask in Jesus' name. So 1 Timothy 4 says, The Spirit speaketh expressly that in latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies of hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry and so forth there.
[5:58] We see that so much today in the church, departing from the faith. That departure is what I'm after today. God wants to bring us to return.
[6:10] But there is a departure from the faith. And I've seen that in my own life. We live in a society that's very dangerous in that there's so much opportunity for us that we can...
[6:22] We sometimes let things break down. And one thing we let down is relationships. We get busy. We as men, we can get out and we can earn a living. And all of a sudden, we're a little bit more into it.
[6:35] We're a little bit more into it. And we put a little more time out there. And what suffers? We lose the value where God puts value. And that is in relationships and in building that foundation.
[6:50] You young people heard about back in Pennsylvania. The foundations in life. You know, we are called to be out and to be busy, to do our work. But when we forget the other, when we lose that...
[7:03] And so I want to look at some of these things that... That deception comes, that departing comes in my life. When I get too over busy with just being busy and not seeing God's...
[7:17] Where God has his... The most important things in life. And we got to come back to that. I want to say that these doctrines of the devils...
[7:30] Just look a little bit what Satan has done and what he has broken down. There's no truth in Satan at all. I have a sermon notes from here.
[7:40] It was preached and I didn't write down who preached it a couple of years ago. But that statement, there's no truth in Satan. Just stop and think about that. What do you have when you have no truth?
[7:55] You have deception. You have... You have everything breaks down when you have no truth. Just stop and think. That's the enemy we're up against. So we have truth. We have truth.
[8:06] We have all truth here. The Jesus Christ, the Word of God, we have truth. And our enemy has no truth. Just stop and think a little bit.
[8:19] Truth is... Truth is... Truth is... Is major in this battle, what we're after. Because...
[8:30] It's in... It's in the deceptions. Departing the faith through deception. The seducing spirits and doctrines. That's where the breakdown comes. That's what's broken down.
[8:40] So we're in an age when truth is destroyed.
[8:50] It's just broken down again and again. I want to... I'm just going to stop right here and read. This has come into the church so much.
[9:02] I gave this tract this week to a... A young man at a gas station. I just... I'm going to read it. Heaven, how do you expect to get there? These are some of the things I want to think about.
[9:15] Is this your answer? When I arrive at the pearly gate, I hope I will be good enough. God says, By grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God.
[9:29] Not of works, lest any man should boast. Or are you saying this? All roads lead to the same place. You're taking the road taught by your church. I follow the one taught by mine.
[9:41] We'll arrive at the same destination. You ever heard that one? Isn't that out there in our world today, in our church world? There is a way which seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
[9:55] Jesus said, I am the way. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Or do you think it's presumptuous to say that you know that you are going to heaven?
[10:07] God says, He that believeth on the Son of God hath a witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
[10:20] And this is the record that God hath given to us. Eternal life and this life is in his Son. You may ask, why shouldn't I go to heaven?
[10:31] I take good care of my children. I pay my taxes. I'm upright and honest in all my dealings. God says, Perhaps you're thinking, I'm sincere.
[10:49] As long as one is sincere and has faith, that's enough. But God says, Believest thou that there is one God? Thou doest well.
[11:01] The devils also believe and tremble. Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Or do you expect to enter this way?
[11:14] I came from a good family. My parents were good church members. I was reared in the church. My name's been on the church roll for years. God says, All our righteousness are as filthy rigs.
[11:28] And you may join in with those who say, Why shouldn't I go to heaven? Many of my friends are going to make it, are not going to make it. We can have good times together in hell just as well as here.
[11:40] But God says to that, In hell the rich man lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that he may dip his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented with this flame.
[11:58] I've just seen in that the contrast. There's so many lies out there and deception in our world, and we've allowed that to be. But we have the truth. We have the truth to stand against that.
[12:09] So this departure from the faith has come through some of those, there's excuses that have been made. The easy way, I can take this road and I can still make it and so forth.
[12:23] Nevertheless, the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, the Lord knows them that are his.
[12:34] And that everyone that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. So in a great house, there are many vessels, some to honor and dishonor.
[12:48] I'm reading in 2 Timothy. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
[13:02] So to be that vessel of recovery, that we are speaking of today, to be the vessel of recovery, God is calling us to set, to be set aside.
[13:14] And, uh, to be prepared, to be useful for every good work. I wrote a comment here. Jesus does his greatest work in the darkest hour.
[13:28] Jesus does his greatest work in the darkest hour. We think of doing every good works. We think on a sunny day, we're out just getting things done, but Jesus did his greatest works in. In the darkest hour, when he suffered on the cross, to destroy the works of the devil.
[13:47] In your life, in my life, and in those around us, just this week, the, uh, billboard ministry, they send out prayer requests. Uh, a girl had called in several times.
[14:01] And of course, they give her names, gave her the name Esther, but her life has been destroyed by it. She's been in human trafficking, uh, for years.
[14:11] And just, just the hurt and the pain of that. We live in that day when that's going on, human trafficking. And lives are just being destroyed with that. Uh, but again, I'm coming back.
[14:23] The son of man was manifest. Son of God manifested. I keep putting that son of man in it, but he was, they call the son of man, also the son of God to destroy the works of the devil. There is hope for those whose lives have been destroyed.
[14:39] We can bring them back. As we point them to Christ and point them to the resurrection. So I've looked at some of these things in the, here in the, uh, Timothy and so forth.
[14:56] Um, just reminded again that the old Testament, the things that happened there in the old Testament are examples for us.
[15:13] First Corinthians 10 says that they're written for our admonition on whom the ends of the world are come. Um, so I'm looking there at some of these things in the old Testament today.
[15:24] And I want to, I want to start looking back at, um, the picture that Jeremiah gives us. Hopefully I can kind of bring this together here, but Jeremiah is, um, a prophet to Israel in a time of when, when they are almost all of them have been deported.
[15:50] To Babylon. Other words, they're going into bondage. And so. To get a picture of that, I, I kind of a setting of that.
[16:02] I want to, I want to read in first or second Kings chapter 22, where we see some of the Kings that, uh, Jeremiah was a prophet in the, in the day of Josiah.
[16:15] If you look at the first of the first, there right at the beginning of the book, he was a prophet. When King Josiah was. In Judah was king over Judah.
[16:28] And he was a, as a young, he was put in as king as at eight years old, says he began his reign. And so there were others that were kind of watching out for him when he was, as an eight year old, he wasn't quite capable of that time, but there were others that were around him.
[16:46] And I believe one was Jeremiah who was speaking into Judah at that time. Uh, also Hilkiah, the high priest was one that I think helped a lot there, but Josiah, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, at the, at his 18th year.
[17:04] It's the first mention. Now he, um, um, um, um, I'm reading in chapter 22 of second Kings came to pass in the 18th verse three, second Kings 22 verse three, it came to pass in the 18th year of Kings, Isaiah, a King sent Shaphon and, uh, just gives who he's the son of and the son of to the house of the Lord saying, go up to Hilkiah, the high priest that he may sum the silver, which is brought or add up the silver, which is brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people and let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work that have oversight in the house of the Lord and let them give it to the doers of the work, which is of the house of the Lord to repair the breaches of the house under the carpenters, the builders, the masons to buy timber and a hewn stone to repair the house.
[18:02] How be it? They were not reckoned made reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand because they dealt faithfully and so forth. And as he, as a high priest, then he goes and, and takes care of that work.
[18:17] This is a day that Josiah is having to rebuild, uh, the, the breaches of the house of the house of the Lord.
[18:29] There's something was tore down. And, and if you go back, the king before him, you see what he tore down. Um, and I looked just over that little bit and I, this is kind of the setting where Josiah comes into.
[18:43] Hezekiah, his father had built up Jerusalem again, had restored a lot of things. He now, uh, Manasseh, his son comes in and immediately he builds high places that his father had destroyed.
[18:57] He rears up altars to bail. He makes groves to worship the hosts of heaven. He builds altars, uh, to the hosts of heaven in two courts of the house of the Lord.
[19:11] He made his son pass through the fire. He observes times and chancements. He dealt with familiar spirits and wizards. He wrought much wickedness in the side of the Lord to provoke him to anger. He set up a graven image in the grove that he made in the house, which the Lord said to David and to Solomon in this house and in Jerusalem, have I chosen out of all the tribes.
[19:31] Will I put my name for other forever? And so forth. You just see the, you see the departure of Manasseh, the king. He just, he, he does everything in wickedness to destroy what his father had broken, brought back into, uh, to Judah there.
[19:49] And he said, it says he even shed innocent blood very much till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another. You know, he just, the devastation that he brought there. So Josiah comes in at this time and, you know, probably could have overwhelmed him, but God was with him and moving.
[20:07] And so he's there to restore the breaches and so forth. And now he, he begins to, to, to, to bring back and restore. And I just appreciate his heart, um, going on to chapter 23 here.
[20:23] I'm, I'm in here in this, because this is where Jeremiah was ministering. He was in there speaking into the, uh, King's life at this time.
[20:34] Okay. They found the book of the law and brought it to, to King Josiah in chapter 22. I want to read that first.
[20:46] And he's, he hears this. They read the book of the law to him and he realizes where, how far they've departed. And, uh, he just, he breaks before God.
[20:57] It just, it breaks him. He has, he realizes how far they've departed from the Lord and his heart. He just, uh, he tears his clothes and, and he goes before the Lord and just, and breaks before him.
[21:13] And, but out of that, you know, out of that, he goes forth. There's a word that comes through a, uh, a prophetess, a word that comes, it says, I'm still going to destroy Judah.
[21:26] They're going to be sent into, into captivity. But you know, that doesn't stop Josiah from, from really getting urgent to restore what could be restored.
[21:36] And so he, he goes out. And, uh, in chapter 23, the King commands, the high priests and the priests of the second order, the keepers of the door to bring the temple forth out of the temple of the Lord, all the vessels that were made for bail and the grove.
[21:53] And for all the hosts of heaven, he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and carry the ashes of them into Bethel. And he put down the idolatrous priests whom the Kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense.
[22:07] In other words, he's just tearing down what his father had put back up. And it takes courage to do that. He brought out the grove from the house of the Lord without Jerusalem. I mean, under the book Kidron and burned it in the brook Kidron and stamped it small to powder, cast the powder, therefore upon the graves of the children.
[22:25] Remember I'm seeing here. He's, he's tearing down. He's breaking down. The son of man came to destroy the works of the devil. And he's just after it with all of his heart. He broke down the houses of the Sodomites that were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the grove.
[22:40] He brought all the priests out of the cities of Judea and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense from Jabeah and Bereshia.
[22:51] Sheba and break down the high places of the gates that were entering into the gate of Joshua. Nevertheless, the priests of the high places came not up to the order of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat the unleavened bread among the brethren.
[23:05] And he defiled Tophah, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom that no man might make his son or daughter to pass through the fire of Molech. And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the son at the entering into the house of the Lord.
[23:22] And then in verse 12, the altars that were on top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah made and the altars, which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down and break them down from thence and cast dust on them, cast the dust of them in the book Kidron.
[23:41] And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon, the king of Israel had built it. And he names a different God here that he had set up.
[23:55] The store, which is abomination of Zidians and Shemash, the abomination of the Moabites, Milcom, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And these, the king did defile. He break in pieces, the images and cut down the groves and filled their places with the bones of men.
[24:11] Moreover, the altar that was at Bethel, the high place, which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had made Israel to sin, both that altar and the high place, he break down, he burned the high place and stamped it small to powder and burn the grove.
[24:26] And so forth. And he continues. He finds other things and he just, he's out getting rid of everything that he sees is going to be a hindrance. And then it comes down here and I want to see, verse 25, as he's worked through here, likened to him.
[24:45] There was no king before him that turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses, neither after him arose any other like him.
[24:59] And it says, then, even with that, Josiah knowing that Judah is going to go into captivity, but he's still, he's determined he can do what he can.
[25:13] He's going to break down, everything that's been a abomination before God. So I'm, I want to bring that picture in there a little bit. This is King Josiah.
[25:25] He, he is, he's out to do all he can to bring things right back in to Judah.
[25:35] So I want to go back to Jeremiah now and just look there. Jeremiah is speaking and his, given his words of prophecy in when this is going on, when he's watching Josiah rise up, but he also knows Josiah, just Jeremiah has to speak, continue to speak to say that Judah is gone into captivity.
[26:00] And he, he gets ends up in prison because of that, because he, he speaks those words. You know, there's something that goes on here in the life of, of Judah at this time.
[26:13] Some have already gone into captivity. Others are still there. The, the King of Babylon allowed some of the people to stay there.
[26:25] But in that time, there are other prophets that rise up and Hananiah is one of these prophets. You see, right when God is moving, there's always that dispirited deception that comes in.
[26:37] That we mentioned there. You know, first Timothy that those, those deceiving spirits will be there. And there was deceiving spirits that rose up.
[26:49] They claim to be prophets, but they would rise up when Jeremiah gave that word and said that you're going to go into captivity. They would write up. Nope, it's not going to happen. No, for sure. We're going to, it's only going to last a short time.
[27:02] We're going to rise up again and we're going to defeat the Babylonians. And, uh, you know, that, of course, the King would listen. Now we're, he's talking Zedekiah is another King after Josiah.
[27:16] Um, I believe it's one of his sons. And so he puts Jeremiah in prison because he doesn't like what Jeremiah said. He likes to listen to the, the, the deceiving prophets.
[27:27] And, you know, we're in that hour today. It's so easy to hear, pick who we want to hear. We choose to hear this because they're speaking good things to me. I like what they're saying.
[27:38] That's the hour we live in. It's an age of deception. We're in. And we, you know, there, we can pick who we want to listen to. And then, and the King chose the prophet. He wanted to hear it.
[27:48] Sounded good. Yeah. God's going to deliver. Uh, I want to hear that. That, that would, that would help me and help my business. If I can, uh, we have good times coming again and so forth.
[28:00] So we, so we pick, who we want to hear. Isn't that true today? We, we pick the ones we want to hear. And often the true prophet.
[28:15] So I'm going to read in Jeremiah 29 here. He's just dealt. Jeremiah has just dealt with these false prophets and, uh, they've told the King and so forth. Yep.
[28:25] We're going to, we're going to prosper. We're not going to get carried away. Um, Jeremiah comes on. And when he says in, in, in chapter 29, to those that are going to go into captivity, you're going to go, but go, when you go there, build houses, dwell in them, plant gardens, eat the fruit of them, take wives and beget sons and daughters.
[28:51] And then verse seven, seek the peace of the city, whether I've caused you to be carried away. Captives, pray under the Lord for it, for in the peace thereof, you shall have peace. This is some direction that he's given for thus saith the Lord of hosts to the God of Israel.
[29:06] Let not your prophets and your diviners that be in your midst deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams, which you've caused you to dream for they prophesy falsely under you in my name.
[29:16] I have not sent them, saith the Lord. For thus saith the Lord that for 70 years, that after the 70 years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word towards you in causing you to return to this place.
[29:33] And here comes this, this verse that we, we like to claim for, I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and of not evil to give you an expected end.
[29:44] Then you shall call upon me and you shall go and pray unto me and I will hearken unto you. You shall seek me and find me when you shall search for me with all your heart.
[29:55] Those verses, those, that word came right in the midst when Jeremiah is saying, you are going to go into captivity and it's going to be for 70 years that you're going to be there.
[30:07] That's the, that's the, he gives that message right when he's saying you're in, you're gone to captivity. No matter what the false prophets are saying, you are gone into captivity. But when you go, go in there and seek the peace of that city.
[30:21] I have plans for you. It's, you're going to be 70 years in, in captivity, but yet I have plans. And Jeremiah has to bring that message in the midst of deception, in the midst of knowing things are falling apart, things are broken down.
[30:36] And that's where we're at today. Things are falling apart, broken down in our society. God has an answer for us. There's still some things that we can be doing. And one thing is for our young people to be walking in truth.
[30:49] I just love to see that. Get in that foundation. Keep building that foundation that you guys heard about. And keep standing where you know you can stand. Because there's a battle and there's, there's people that you can help.
[31:02] There's people that you can help in this day. So, you know, as Jeremiah is, is saying that they're going into captivity, he can, he keeps bringing a message of hope that God is going to bring return.
[31:19] And this is what I'm, this is what I'm bringing here today. This vessel of recovery, God is going to bring a return. He, and that's the heart of the prophet.
[31:29] But he continues to mention as he goes on here, that I'm going to bring you back. You're going to be, you're going to be brought back again. And that he brings that out. Let me just look here.
[31:43] You know, I actually took a little example from my wife. She had to prepare. So she got on the computer and she printed it out. And I tried to do that this time.
[31:54] Cause a lot of times my notes are so scattered. I get lost and I get, I just, I confused myself. So I tried to print it out this time. I'm trying to follow where I, where I wrote it, but I still lose my way here.
[32:05] Let me take a little time to look at this. Okay. Jeremiah in chapter 30, he says these things. Okay. The low, low, the verse three of chapter 30, low, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people, Israel and Judah, and I will cause them to return to the land that I give to their, I gave to their fathers and they shall possess it.
[32:32] I, you know, I was listening, I'm just reading through here and thinking how it must've been for Jeremiah to, to, to have to constantly be prophesying that they're going into captivity.
[32:43] It's going to happen. And yet, yet out of him could still come that hope that I'm going to bring my people back. I'm going to cause them to return. And he, he says that again and again through here.
[32:55] It comes out in the next few chapters. He just brings back. There's going to be a return. I'm going to bring them back. I'm just looking here. I wrote down a couple of these places where he says that I want to get to those here.
[33:14] Uh, uh, over in verse chapter 32, he says at the end of the chapter, uh, again, he says, men will buy fields.
[33:33] They will subscribe evidences. They will seal them. They'll take witnesses in the land of Benjamin. and in the places about Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the valley, in the cities of the south.
[33:48] For I will cause their captivity to return, saith the Lord. His heart was that he was going to bring them back. And, you know, this is where I came from in this.
[33:59] We're in a day that, you know, I have, I was listening to Brother Aaron, his message on revival. And that, I was with, you know, years ago, some of us were able to hear Danny Caniston.
[34:16] He preached revival many times. I heard him preach on revival. And there's some of those messages put seeds in my heart. That's over 25 years ago when I would hear him preach those messages.
[34:28] And I, you know, I still haven't seen the full revival that God, the return that God wants to bring for his church. But it's still here. There's still seeds here. And those seeds are going to come forth.
[34:42] There's just maybe seeds. Many times they've kind of been covered over with dirt. But they're going to come forth. And what I'm seeing today, and that just, Jeremiah had to keep that, keep his, though he knew, he knew things were not going to happen right now.
[35:00] There was going to be 70 years that the people of Israel were going to be in captivity. Yet he could still speak and still say, I'm going to bring you back. I'm going to bring you back.
[35:11] And that's the hope that I have in my heart. God's going to bring us back. He's going to bring that. He's got that recovery plan to bring us back. Do I want to be a part of that? There's so many things that can throw me away from that and that can get me sidetracked and off of that.
[35:28] And so I'm encouraging you young people, don't get sidetracked with the things you heard. Along the way, even you sisters that were there, along the way, you're going to, there's going to be things that are going to distract you.
[35:41] But remember the foundations. Go back to that and hold on to the things that God spoke and put in your life. Because we're in a battle. I'll bring that out again.
[35:51] We're in a battle. We're in warfare. There's people around us deceived. There's a deception. There's eyes that are blinded. And they've gotten all bound up. But we have answers for them.
[36:04] We have a truth for them. We have hope for them. And that young guy that I gave the track to, he, I asked him if he goes to church. He said, I just don't like the whole structure of that thing of church.
[36:21] I just don't like that, he said. And I couldn't say much more. He got a phone call. So I left it at that. But I think that's some of the things that's out there.
[36:33] That hinders people. Maybe they've been hurt by church or something. There's been something that's turned them off. And we have an answer for that.
[36:47] We have an answer for things like that, that people have been turned off and hurt. We can point them to Christ. That God is, we have a hope in our lives that God is building his church.
[36:58] And one thing that comes out as we read through here, I have been, you know, we get hurt by somebody in church.
[37:13] Maybe it's someone just didn't do right, didn't speak right. Maybe the preacher didn't say things right and so forth. So we nurse those hurts. But you know, all through, all through the Old Testament, we continually hear these men say the word of the Lord.
[37:31] The word of the Lord, or thus saith the Lord. Yet it came through man. God speaks through men. He speaks through men. He speaks through the pastor that stands here and preaches Sunday after Sunday through Brother John, Brother James.
[37:45] He speaks through them. And that's how God works. I need to settle that in my heart that that's how God speaks. I can get in here and study myself. I can, but I still need people into my life.
[37:59] I need them to speak into my life. And, of course, Zedekiah didn't like what he heard.
[38:14] And so he put the prophet in prison to keep him quieted down. And because he wanted to hear what he wanted to hear.
[38:27] But that didn't mean, that didn't stop what God had planned. It still went on. What God purposed to do, it still happened. And we see this, Jeremiah had this word that, he said, I will, after 70 years, I will visit you, perform my good word towards you, and cause you to return to this place.
[38:54] If we go over to Daniel, the ninth chapter, Daniel is one of the men that went into captivity. He was young when he went there.
[39:07] And now, I believe, later in his life, he is realizing the time has come. And he explains why in chapter 9.
[39:20] In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by books the number of years whereof the Lord, the word of the Lord, came to Jeremiah the prophet that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
[39:43] And, you know, Daniel knew that God was going to accomplish this. He knew the time had come. Does he just sit back and do nothing?
[39:55] No, he sets his face to seek the Lord by prayer, supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. And he makes his prayer to the Lord. And if you read down through there, it's a prayer of confession, a prayer of just recognizing how much they need the Lord and how much the Lord had done for them and so forth.
[40:16] But I brought that in because Daniel is, as one of the captives, he's in that foreign land. He's in captivity. And in that, he begins to recognize the Lord said, we're going to return after 70 years.
[40:35] Daniel was one of the men that was used for that. He believed he was part of that return. Just in his prayer here and helping others get ready for that.
[40:46] And if you go back to Nehemiah, he is another one of the vessels that God uses for that return. And I'll just read here a couple of the things for in the book of Nehemiah, the first chapter.
[41:03] He also realized he heard from his brethren concerning the Jews that had escaped. I'm in the first chapter. And he said unto them, the remnant of them, the remnant of they that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach.
[41:23] The wall of Jerusalem also is broken down and the gates thereof are burned with fire. It came to pass when I heard these words that I sat down and I wept and mourned certain days and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
[41:37] And he said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments.
[41:48] Let thine ear be attentive and thine eyes open and hear the prayer of thy servant which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel, thy servants, confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against thee.
[42:03] Both I and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee and have not kept the commandments nor the statutes nor the judgments which thou commandest thy servant Moses.
[42:14] Remember, I beseech thee the word that thou gavest commandest thy servant Moses saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations. But if you turn unto me and keep my commandments and do them, though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of heaven, yet will I gather them from thence and bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
[42:41] Now these are the servants, thy servants and thy people whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power and by thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attended to the prayer of thy servant, the prayer of thy servants who desire to fear thy name and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day and grant him mercy in the sight of this man for I was the king's cupbearer.
[43:07] So Nehemiah is part of that return. He gains favor from the king and goes back to Jerusalem to rebuild and again, he's part of that rebuilding that goes on and goes back to rebuild the walls, restore the gates and so forth.
[43:29] He's part of that return that God had promised. Though they were gone for 70 years, now they would come back and they come back to rebuild and Nehemiah is part of that vessel.
[43:45] You and I can be a part of that return. We can have some things in place while while we wait for this return.
[43:58] While we wait for God to restore. We can have said those foundations, keep those foundations there.
[44:17] Some of the things that Josiah had, there were keepers of the door and doers of the work. Let's just keep being faithful, being keepers of the door and doers of the work.
[44:29] We can just keep faithful in those small things day after day. That's what God uses, faithfulness. As we wait, as we expect, as we hope, as we look for God's restoring, we can just keep doing the things that we're called to do.
[44:49] you know, I found it very interesting. The one Brent Bayer preached a message on Korah's sons, if you guys remember that.
[45:08] And I had just been reading some of those, trying to find out what he was talking about. some of the sons of Korah, obviously, it says there that all that pertained to Korah was, was, in Korah's rebellion, as long as those, with those other men, all that pertained to him, it says it went, they went into that pit that God opened up the earth, and they were swallowed up.
[45:35] But later, you see some of the sons of Korah being used by God. And how did that come to be? I, I picked up from the message there that some of those sons of Korah, maybe they were at a moment of decision, and while they, they saw what was happening, Korah and the others with him, they had taken their stand against Moses and Aaron, and they got all the people on their side, yet, they were at a place to decide, okay, I don't think that's right, but, which side should I go to here?
[46:18] And I hear these men, they're saying one thing, Aaron and Moses, which side am I going to be on? And I think they were at a point of decision, and they had to make that choice right there, and apparently some of those did, some of those made a choice to get on the side with the Lord, though it would cost them, they chose to stand with Moses, and they got away from the destruction that day, because later you see, there are some sons of Korah that God used, they were, they were actually the sons of Levi, Korah was one of the sons of Levi, so they were part of the work of the tabernacle, and they're used there, God uses them, people, I just brought that up because these men later write some of the psalms, and I want to look at a couple of them, it makes sense when you read that, one of the psalms that they have just stands out here,
[47:26] I think it's psalms 84, and it actually says here, not all of the Bibles have that, but it says here, a psalm for the sons of Korah, so apparently some of them have lived through that, and here he says in psalms 84, how amable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts, my soul longeth, feigneth for the courts of my Lord, my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God, the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for her young, where she may lay her young, even thine otters, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God, blessed are they that dwell in thy house, they will still be praising thee, blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, in whose heart are the ways of them, who passing through the valley of Baca, make it a well, a rain also fill the pools, they go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God,
[48:33] O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer, give ear, O God of Jacob, behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed, for a day in thy courts is better than a thousand, I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness, that struck me that those, these guys would have been, some of them would have remembered the tents of the wicked and how they were destroyed, and he said, I'll be just a doorkeeper in the house of my God, doesn't matter, I'm not out for that, I just want to be where God is, I want to be consumed with all that God is, if that's where our heart is, we're going to receive from the Lord, if our heart is there, I want everything that God has, you know, the opposite of that, is I can just kind of nonchalantly show up when I want to, I'll do it my way,
[49:35] I'll just take the easy road, and I'm saying that because I've found myself there at times, I found myself just liking the comfort, liking the easy way, it's easy just to take that, that, you know, just to stand back and take it easy, and not be in the battle, and, so I'm just saying, if we want all that God has, let's, let's go for it, let's, let's be faithful, day by day, just faithfully doing, and God is going to meet with us, keeping up relationships, keeping up with the things that are important to God, and putting our all into it, I see that as a difference between mainline Christianity today, a lot of your big mega churches come in and have this great service, and we go out and we live the way we want to live all week long, and we've given our, like we said, we give our two hours to the Lord and the rest is ours.
[50:51] I was going to call you guys to help me remember, there were three things that were mentioned in that one message, surrender, and then worship, which brings transformation, and there was one more thing that he gave as a part of that, you guys remember what that was, endurance, endurance is what we need as we go on, let's continue to endure, and so I, you know, you that shared from the meetings, the youth that shared, I'm sure you would come back now and have a little bit more to share of what God's been doing, a little bit more that God has put on your heart, and you guys got up here and gave testimonies after you came back, but I'm sure he's done a little bit more, right, he's added a little more to your lives, he's going to keep adding a little bit more, and you just keep getting in there,
[51:56] I just want to put a little fuel to the fire here today, keep getting in there, keep letting him add things in your life, because he's going to use you, you're going to be a part of this return, God's bringing back the captivity of his church, we've been too long bound by the lies and deception of the enemy, and we've too long allowed people around us to go on, I, yeah, just thinking of that testimony, that girl that called into the cam with the billboard, just the life that's wasted, there is one that can be helped, but there's many more like her that need help, need to be brought out of that captivity, and yet God needs us today, needs us to be in that place, to be ready, when they're ready to come out of that, we can be there, we can give them help, help them through some of these things that they've experienced, we have hope for them, we have comfort for them, brother, you should, there's comfort, we can give comfort to those in that time, and we can help them through that, so which side am I on, am I, where do I want to be, do I want the easy chair, do I want to just take it easy and coast along, or do I, do I want to get in and give all,
[53:23] I'm challenging myself, I want to give all, let me finish up in Revelation, one of the words to the first church there, the church of Ephesus, he had spoken to them, he said, I know thy works, your labor, your patience, you can't bear the evil, them which are evil, you have tried them that say they're apostles and are not and found them liars, you've born, you've had patience, and for my name's sake, you've labored and have not fainted, but then he says this one thing, I have one thing against you, you've left your first love, remember, repent, and do the first works, remember, repent, and do the first works, God wants us to remember, remember what we had, let's repent from where we've gotten, where things have come into our lives, and let's go again and do the first works,
[54:32] I find that, you know, at times that's a hard word that comes, but other times I find hope in that, because God says you can come back, you can come back to me, I'll restore you, so I find a word of hope in that, I can restore you, maybe you've gotten off, maybe you've lost your way, maybe you've listened to the wrong voices, but I can restore you, and I can again do a work in your life, so he's willing to do that, and then again in the last, in chapter three, I know thy works, chapter three, verse 15, I know thy works, thou art neither cold nor hot, I would that you were cold or hot, because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth, you say I'm rich, I'm increased with goods, I have need of nothing, but really what you are is wretched and miserable, poor and blind and naked, and he says,
[55:44] I counsel you, I have advice for you, buy of me gold tried in the fire, and you'll find true riches and white raiment that you can be clothed, and the shame of your nakedness would not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eye salve that you may see, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore and repent, what a beautiful word, if we're hungering after God, that's a word of hope, because he offers us a return, he offers that we can return, and he offers that for his church, I believe that's his heart, he wants a church yet that going to glorify him in this last day, let's be a part of that, let's give all and be a part of that, praise the Lord.
[56:40] Thank you.