23/06/2019 13:37
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Date: 20 June, 2019
Text: Jeremiah 38-39
Title: Put Thy Trust In Me
Introduction:
Have you ever had misplaced trust. You trusted in something in which you should not have trusted?
ill. Little neighbour girl who promised me a radio controlled airplane.
exp. It was probably a good lesson for me to learn - many things in life will let us down.
1.) Finances
2.) Health
3.) Family
4.) Government.
Only God is worthy of man's complete trust.
My message title this morning is taken from chapter 39:18
....BECAUSE THOU HAST PUT THY TRUST IN ME"
Put thy trust in me! Is God the object of your faith this morning?
Jeremiah 38
I. The world should trust God.
exp. Our world is prone to unbelief. We could nearly sympathize with them as there is so much false information being promoted in our day.
Fake news - hard to know who to believe today.
ill. US and Britain intelligence suggests that Iran exploded mines on the tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
exp. Opposition leader for Labour - Jeremy Corbin - "Britain should act to ease tensions in the Gulf, not fuel a military escalation that began with the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement. Without credible evidence about the tanker attacks, the government's rhetoric will only increase the threat of war."
Fake science - millions and millions of years.
1.) Life does not begin until birth.
2.) You can chose your gender.
3.) There is no god because we are the product of science.
ill. Speaking with a friend in the community who prayed to trust Jesus as His Saviour about 6 years ago. He said, "I don't think you can believe the Bible because so much is proven wrong." He was speaking about evolution."
False religion - tainting men's view of God.
ill. People are saying...."Religion causes all the problems in the world." Murder's in the name of God.
ill. Sexual abuse in the false religion of the Catholic Church. Money lust of the catholic church.
ill. Charlatan's (faith healers and health and wealth Gospel) picking the pocket of people.
Falsehood of the human heart.
exp. On top of all the falsehood in the world is the falsehood in the heart of men.
ill. Scientist are seeking to find alien signals from space. Huge listening devices trained on distant planets. One quote from the article I read said, "It's really quiet out there." No contact yet. Why are they working so heart and so convinced that there is something out there - BECAUSE THEIR PERVERSE HEART CONVINCES THEM THAT THEY ARE RIGHT AND GOD IS WRONG.
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
note: God's description of Jeremiah's audience.
Jeremiah 9:
2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
app. What would God have us to say to a world that is so wrapped up in unbelief?
A. Put your trust in me (world) - I am Jehovah.
1 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying,
2 Thus saith the LORD,
Exp. Jeremiah's message was not, "I say...." His message was GOD SAYS! THE "I AM." THE ETERNAL SELF EXISTENT ONE.
ill. Moses - called of God at the burning bush to lead Israel out of Egypt. Had a humble question for God. He said, "I'm a nobody. Who should I say gave me this message of deliverance?"
Exodus 3
11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying,
exp. Moses was to say, "Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah" That is the authority behind this message.
app. The world ought to trust this message - IT IS FROM JEHOVAH. You are foolish today if you resist God instead of trusting Him. HE IS JEHOVAH! HE IS GOD AND GOD ALONE!
B. Put your trust in me (world) - my Word is sure.
He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.
3 Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.
exp. It happened just like God said through the mouth of his prophet Jeremiah. Zedekiah refused to believe him and had his eyes put out after the king of Babylon had killed all his children. It wasn't a coincidence!
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
ill. Posh area of Gracemount - man cleaning front garden. Do you believe in God? No
"Where do atheists go when they die? Hell doesn't disappear just because you don't believe in it." He said with unrestrained smirking, "I guess I'm going to hell then." I said, "To get their you'll have to step over the dead body of the Lord Jesus."
app. You can disbelieve as much as you want. Sit in a corner and say, "There is no God, there is no God, there is no God." But, guess what? There is a God and you are going to face his judgment as soon as you die.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
WORLD - BELIEVE GOD! HE IS JEHOVAH! HIS WORD IS SURE!
II. God's servants should trust Him.
exp. Let's turn our focus now to God's servant Jeremiah who is having to stand up for God against an unbelieving world. IF YOU'RE GOD'S SERVANT - TRUST IN HIM!
A. Put your trust in me (Jeremiah) - I know what they are saying.
4 Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
exp. Jeremiah's message was not too different from ours.
1.) It was hated. "Let this man be put to death."
exp. They didn't laugh and say, "Jeremiah stop those ferry tales." They knew that what Jeremiah was saying was "GOING DEEP INTO THE HEART OF HIS AUDIENCE " and they hated it.
app. Have you noticed that when you stand up for God against sin, people don't laugh. They might mock but you can tell that the WORD OF GOD is hitting their wicked human heart.
2.) It was despised. "he weakeneth the hands of the men....the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them."
exp. Jeremiah's trial would have been short and simple. "He's a hate preacher. He makes people feel bad. He makes people think God is against their lifestyle."
ill. Our world is so sensitive today that it is nearly illegal to have an opinion which is contrary to that of another person/ and our government.
app. Those who stand with God will be despised.
3. ) It was impuned.
"For this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt."
exp. It was a lie. Jeremiah was preaching to them God's message because he loved his nation.
Jeremiah 9:1 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
app. Christian have you quieted your message because of what the world is saying. Put your trust in God - God knows what they are saying.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
B. Put your trust in me (Jeremiah) - I will be with you.
5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.
6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
exp. Jeremiah was doing God's bidding. He was giving God's message. He is put into a pit prison where his feet were in the mire.
ill. Walking around Linlithgow Pallace - decided to let Duchess off lead. She ran along the trail and then dove off into the reeds along the side of the lock. The problem was that all the rotting vegitation covered her from the belly down with muck. She looked like two different dogs as I took her back to clean the filth off of her.
exp. Jeremiah's feet slipped down through the filthy ooze. He couldn't sit down. It was dark. He was abandoned by men to die.
"Put your trust in me Jeremiah - I am with you."
ill. Just read Nate Saint's bio. The Jungle Pilot - seeking to reach an unreached people group for Jesus the Wa'aranni tribe - called "Auca" indians. Fierce killers.
1. Five missionary men worked together on this project.
Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming and Roger Youderian
2. Exchanging gifts from the air.
3. Planning a meeting location.
4. Ready to lay down their lives to reach this tribe and they did.
"As we weigh the future and seek the will of God, does it seem right that we should hazard our lives for just a few savages? As we ask ourselves the question, we realize that it is not the call of needy thousands. Rather it is the simple intimation of the prophetic word that there shall be some from every tribe in His presence in the last day and in our hearts we feel that it is pleasing to Him that we should interest ourselves in making an opening into the Auca prison for Christ.
As we have a high old time this Christmas, may we who know Christ hear the cry of the damned as they hurtle headlong into the Christless night without ever a chance. May we be moved with compassion as our Lord was. May we shed tears of repentance for those whom we have failed to bring out of darkness. Beyond the smiling scenes of Bethlemhem may we see the crushing agony of Golgotha. May God give us a new vision of His will concerning the Lost and our responsability."
note: As they departed for Palm Beach the men joined together and sang....
We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender,
We go not forth alone against the foe.
Strong in Thy Strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go."
app. You may suffer as God's servant. But, you can trust Him. He will be with you no matter where His will takes you. Heb 13:5 ....for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
C. Put your trust in me (Jeremiah) - I am in control.
7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
8 Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying,
9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.
10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
exp. Just when it seemed like....
1.) No one cared.
2.) No one believed his message.
3.) No one would have courage to stand up with him....
GOD GAVE HIM A CONVERT. Ebedmelech - the Ethiopian....
ill. Nate Saint was the pilate for the group. He kept radio contact back to Shell Mara
"Nat had said he would call at twelve-thirty. Ruth Keenan in the other MAF house tuned in. Right on the appointed time, Nate's voice came booming through the interference into the loudspeaker at Shell Mera.
He was airborne when he called. He had just flown over Terminal City and was about to land at Palm Beach. 'Have just sighted a commission of ten," Nate informed the girls with supressed excitement, "it looks like they'll be here for the early afternoon service. Pray for us. This is the day! Will contact you next at four-thirty."
At three-twelve Nate's wristwatch was suddenly smashed agaisnt a stone and the hands stopped moving as the muddy water of the Curarray River seeped into the broken case."
exp. When the 5 men died on Palm Beach. It seemed to the world that all was out of control. But, the world was seeing something in the wives of these men that showed that God was in control.
1.) They were not hysterical.
2.) They didn't need sedatives.
3.) They served meals to everyone and Marj helped with the radio contacts of the rescue efforts.
When they were told that they had all been killed....
Marj and th eother wives and Rachel accepted the final news that all five were dead in the same spirit thaey had shown thorugh the interminable days of waiting. They gathered that evening with the children in the living room while some of the older men present opened the Bible and read various passages about heaven.
Military officers and others in the house sat listening. The women were thankful that their men had been faithful to the Lord. Marilou went ot he piano and began to play the song that the men had sung the morning they lef for Paulm Beach. Then Betty's clear soprano took up the words:
We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
And needing more each day Thy grace to know
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go.
app. Even when life is difficult, those who know Jehovah and serve Him, can walk in confidence becauseTRUSTING HIM BECAUSE HE IS IN CONTROL.
transition: Servant of God are you trusting Him today?
1.) He knows what they are saying about us.
2.) He is with us.
3.) He is in control.
III. New converts should trust Him.
ill. Uber is making an pilotless drone copter which they say will be in use in the next few years. I don't know about you - but I'm not keen to get into something that flies without a pilot aboard. It seems crazy to think this is the future....
note: But, 100 year ago - people felt the same way about cars.... and later air travel.....
exp. We don't think much about driving or flying. Our faith in those modes of transportation is strong through experience.
exp. I'm not a new believer. I got saved when I was 5 years old. I've had to learn to trust God through many life experiences and God has always been faithful.
app. There are people around us who haven't had time to learn to trust God. They are new converts. They just need to trust God like God's servants do and the world should do.
A. Put your trust in me - I will take you from the miry pit.
11 So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
12 And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
13 So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
exp. Jeremiah didn't mind how filthy those cast clouts and rotten rags were. They were the only way God's salvation for him. They would take him up out of the miry pit. He put them on in faith and let God deliver him.
ill. James Small Wrote a hymn etitled, "I've found a Friend, oh, such a Friend"
exp. I wonder if he wrote this hymn after reading this story of Jeremiah.
I've found a Friend, oh, such a Friend!
He loved me ere I knew Him;
He drew me with the cords of love,
And thus He bound me to Him.
And round my heart still closely twine
Those ties which naught can sever,
For I am His, and He is mine,
Forever and forever.
app. There are many today who are - who are sinking in the mire and filth of their sin. THEY NEED TO LOOK UP FROM THEIR PIT. God has lowered the old Cast Clouts of Calvary stained with the blood of the Lamb. How many are too proud to put those blood stained garments around them to bring them out of the pit. Friend - is that you today? You can trust Him - He will take you from the miry pit!
B. Put your trust in me (Ebedmelech) - I don't forget those who fear me.
Jeremiah 39 15 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
16 Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian,
ill. Seeking a witnessing opportunity with a man - "You'll never convert me" He was a rich man. I said, "God can."
note: If he was converted to Christ - I would know that he was because his actions would be different. Where he bristled at the idea of joining God and would lovingly stand with God.
exp. I believe Ebedmelech is a new convert. Why?
He believed God's message of judgment,
He stood up for God's servant at personal risk and stepped onto God's side.
He helped God's servant.
note: God had Jeremiah record His goodness to Ebedmelech. He didn't forget what this man had done out of fear of God.
Psa 31:19 Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
app. Are you afraid to stand for God! It would be better for you to fear God than men. TRUST GOD - he won't forget the stand you take for Him.
C. Put your trust in me (Ebedmelech) - I'll judge the world but deliver you.
saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.
17 But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD:
exp. That city would be destroyed and the inhabitants killed because of the judgment of God.
BUT THOSE WHO BELIEVED AND OBEYED GOD COULD BE SPARED!
Jeremiah 27:12 I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.
13 Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
app. If you refuse to convert and submit to King Jesus you'll be judged by God!
- why will ye die? Those whom you fear will perish and you will with them. Put your trust in Him. The world will be judged by He will deliver you - IF YOU GET CONVERTED.
D. Put your trust in me (Ebedmelech) - I will deliver you from your fears.
...and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.
18 For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.
exp. Ebedmelech had motivation to help Jeremiah. He feared God and the wrath of God. IT IS A WISE MAN WHO FEARS GOD.
Ill. Thought about my conversion recently. Nobody said to me, "Benjamin, you need to go get saved." I just heard my dad preach on hell - fire, eternal, separation from God - AND I WAS AFRAID.
app. If you aren't saved - you ought to be afraid of death and hell. One wrong step and you'll enter eternity WITHOUT GOD! PUT YOUR TRUST IN HIM - HE WILL DELIVER YOU FROM YOUR FEARS.
CONCLUSION:
There are many things in life that we mistakenly put our trust in.
We need to put our trust in God.
The world should trust in God! We have the sure Word of Jehovah!
God's servants should trust in Him.
1.) He knows what they are saying.
2.) He's with us.
3.) He's in control.
New converts should trust in Him.
1.) He will take you out of the miry pit.
2.) He won't forget those who fear Him.
3.) He will judge the world but deliver you.
Date: 20 June, 2019
Text: Jeremiah 38-39
Title: Put Thy Trust In Me
Introduction:
Have you ever had misplaced trust. You trusted in something in which you should not have trusted?
ill. Little neighbour girl who promised me a radio controlled airplane.
exp. It was probably a good lesson for me to learn - many things in life will let us down.
1.) Finances
2.) Health
3.) Family
4.) Government.
Only God is worthy of man's complete trust.
My message title this morning is taken from chapter 39:18
....BECAUSE THOU HAST PUT THY TRUST IN ME"
Put thy trust in me! Is God the object of your faith this morning?
Jeremiah 38
I. The world should trust God.
exp. Our world is prone to unbelief. We could nearly sympathize with them as there is so much false information being promoted in our day.
Fake news - hard to know who to believe today.
ill. US and Britain intelligence suggests that Iran exploded mines on the tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
exp. Opposition leader for Labour - Jeremy Corbin - "Britain should act to ease tensions in the Gulf, not fuel a military escalation that began with the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement. Without credible evidence about the tanker attacks, the government's rhetoric will only increase the threat of war."
Fake science - millions and millions of years.
1.) Life does not begin until birth.
2.) You can chose your gender.
3.) There is no god because we are the product of science.
ill. Speaking with a friend in the community who prayed to trust Jesus as His Saviour about 6 years ago. He said, "I don't think you can believe the Bible because so much is proven wrong." He was speaking about evolution."
False religion - tainting men's view of God.
ill. People are saying...."Religion causes all the problems in the world." Murder's in the name of God.
ill. Sexual abuse in the false religion of the Catholic Church. Money lust of the catholic church.
ill. Charlatan's (faith healers and health and wealth Gospel) picking the pocket of people.
Falsehood of the human heart.
exp. On top of all the falsehood in the world is the falsehood in the heart of men.
ill. Scientist are seeking to find alien signals from space. Huge listening devices trained on distant planets. One quote from the article I read said, "It's really quiet out there." No contact yet. Why are they working so heart and so convinced that there is something out there - BECAUSE THEIR PERVERSE HEART CONVINCES THEM THAT THEY ARE RIGHT AND GOD IS WRONG.
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
note: God's description of Jeremiah's audience.
Jeremiah 9:
2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
app. What would God have us to say to a world that is so wrapped up in unbelief?
A. Put your trust in me (world) - I am Jehovah.
1 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying,
2 Thus saith the LORD,
Exp. Jeremiah's message was not, "I say...." His message was GOD SAYS! THE "I AM." THE ETERNAL SELF EXISTENT ONE.
ill. Moses - called of God at the burning bush to lead Israel out of Egypt. Had a humble question for God. He said, "I'm a nobody. Who should I say gave me this message of deliverance?"
Exodus 3
11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying,
exp. Moses was to say, "Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah" That is the authority behind this message.
app. The world ought to trust this message - IT IS FROM JEHOVAH. You are foolish today if you resist God instead of trusting Him. HE IS JEHOVAH! HE IS GOD AND GOD ALONE!
B. Put your trust in me (world) - my Word is sure.
He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.
3 Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.
exp. It happened just like God said through the mouth of his prophet Jeremiah. Zedekiah refused to believe him and had his eyes put out after the king of Babylon had killed all his children. It wasn't a coincidence!
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
ill. Posh area of Gracemount - man cleaning front garden. Do you believe in God? No
"Where do atheists go when they die? Hell doesn't disappear just because you don't believe in it." He said with unrestrained smirking, "I guess I'm going to hell then." I said, "To get their you'll have to step over the dead body of the Lord Jesus."
app. You can disbelieve as much as you want. Sit in a corner and say, "There is no God, there is no God, there is no God." But, guess what? There is a God and you are going to face his judgment as soon as you die.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
WORLD - BELIEVE GOD! HE IS JEHOVAH! HIS WORD IS SURE!
II. God's servants should trust Him.
exp. Let's turn our focus now to God's servant Jeremiah who is having to stand up for God against an unbelieving world. IF YOU'RE GOD'S SERVANT - TRUST IN HIM!
A. Put your trust in me (Jeremiah) - I know what they are saying.
4 Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
exp. Jeremiah's message was not too different from ours.
1.) It was hated. "Let this man be put to death."
exp. They didn't laugh and say, "Jeremiah stop those ferry tales." They knew that what Jeremiah was saying was "GOING DEEP INTO THE HEART OF HIS AUDIENCE " and they hated it.
app. Have you noticed that when you stand up for God against sin, people don't laugh. They might mock but you can tell that the WORD OF GOD is hitting their wicked human heart.
2.) It was despised. "he weakeneth the hands of the men....the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them."
exp. Jeremiah's trial would have been short and simple. "He's a hate preacher. He makes people feel bad. He makes people think God is against their lifestyle."
ill. Our world is so sensitive today that it is nearly illegal to have an opinion which is contrary to that of another person/ and our government.
app. Those who stand with God will be despised.
3. ) It was impuned.
"For this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt."
exp. It was a lie. Jeremiah was preaching to them God's message because he loved his nation.
Jeremiah 9:1 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
app. Christian have you quieted your message because of what the world is saying. Put your trust in God - God knows what they are saying.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
B. Put your trust in me (Jeremiah) - I will be with you.
5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.
6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
exp. Jeremiah was doing God's bidding. He was giving God's message. He is put into a pit prison where his feet were in the mire.
ill. Walking around Linlithgow Pallace - decided to let Duchess off lead. She ran along the trail and then dove off into the reeds along the side of the lock. The problem was that all the rotting vegitation covered her from the belly down with muck. She looked like two different dogs as I took her back to clean the filth off of her.
exp. Jeremiah's feet slipped down through the filthy ooze. He couldn't sit down. It was dark. He was abandoned by men to die.
"Put your trust in me Jeremiah - I am with you."
ill. Just read Nate Saint's bio. The Jungle Pilot - seeking to reach an unreached people group for Jesus the Wa'aranni tribe - called "Auca" indians. Fierce killers.
1. Five missionary men worked together on this project.
Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming and Roger Youderian
2. Exchanging gifts from the air.
3. Planning a meeting location.
4. Ready to lay down their lives to reach this tribe and they did.
"As we weigh the future and seek the will of God, does it seem right that we should hazard our lives for just a few savages? As we ask ourselves the question, we realize that it is not the call of needy thousands. Rather it is the simple intimation of the prophetic word that there shall be some from every tribe in His presence in the last day and in our hearts we feel that it is pleasing to Him that we should interest ourselves in making an opening into the Auca prison for Christ.
As we have a high old time this Christmas, may we who know Christ hear the cry of the damned as they hurtle headlong into the Christless night without ever a chance. May we be moved with compassion as our Lord was. May we shed tears of repentance for those whom we have failed to bring out of darkness. Beyond the smiling scenes of Bethlemhem may we see the crushing agony of Golgotha. May God give us a new vision of His will concerning the Lost and our responsability."
note: As they departed for Palm Beach the men joined together and sang....
We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender,
We go not forth alone against the foe.
Strong in Thy Strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go."
app. You may suffer as God's servant. But, you can trust Him. He will be with you no matter where His will takes you. Heb 13:5 ....for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
C. Put your trust in me (Jeremiah) - I am in control.
7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
8 Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying,
9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.
10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
exp. Just when it seemed like....
1.) No one cared.
2.) No one believed his message.
3.) No one would have courage to stand up with him....
GOD GAVE HIM A CONVERT. Ebedmelech - the Ethiopian....
ill. Nate Saint was the pilate for the group. He kept radio contact back to Shell Mara
"Nat had said he would call at twelve-thirty. Ruth Keenan in the other MAF house tuned in. Right on the appointed time, Nate's voice came booming through the interference into the loudspeaker at Shell Mera.
He was airborne when he called. He had just flown over Terminal City and was about to land at Palm Beach. 'Have just sighted a commission of ten," Nate informed the girls with supressed excitement, "it looks like they'll be here for the early afternoon service. Pray for us. This is the day! Will contact you next at four-thirty."
At three-twelve Nate's wristwatch was suddenly smashed agaisnt a stone and the hands stopped moving as the muddy water of the Curarray River seeped into the broken case."
exp. When the 5 men died on Palm Beach. It seemed to the world that all was out of control. But, the world was seeing something in the wives of these men that showed that God was in control.
1.) They were not hysterical.
2.) They didn't need sedatives.
3.) They served meals to everyone and Marj helped with the radio contacts of the rescue efforts.
When they were told that they had all been killed....
Marj and th eother wives and Rachel accepted the final news that all five were dead in the same spirit thaey had shown thorugh the interminable days of waiting. They gathered that evening with the children in the living room while some of the older men present opened the Bible and read various passages about heaven.
Military officers and others in the house sat listening. The women were thankful that their men had been faithful to the Lord. Marilou went ot he piano and began to play the song that the men had sung the morning they lef for Paulm Beach. Then Betty's clear soprano took up the words:
We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
And needing more each day Thy grace to know
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go.
app. Even when life is difficult, those who know Jehovah and serve Him, can walk in confidence becauseTRUSTING HIM BECAUSE HE IS IN CONTROL.
transition: Servant of God are you trusting Him today?
1.) He knows what they are saying about us.
2.) He is with us.
3.) He is in control.
III. New converts should trust Him.
ill. Uber is making an pilotless drone copter which they say will be in use in the next few years. I don't know about you - but I'm not keen to get into something that flies without a pilot aboard. It seems crazy to think this is the future....
note: But, 100 year ago - people felt the same way about cars.... and later air travel.....
exp. We don't think much about driving or flying. Our faith in those modes of transportation is strong through experience.
exp. I'm not a new believer. I got saved when I was 5 years old. I've had to learn to trust God through many life experiences and God has always been faithful.
app. There are people around us who haven't had time to learn to trust God. They are new converts. They just need to trust God like God's servants do and the world should do.
A. Put your trust in me - I will take you from the miry pit.
11 So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
12 And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
13 So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
exp. Jeremiah didn't mind how filthy those cast clouts and rotten rags were. They were the only way God's salvation for him. They would take him up out of the miry pit. He put them on in faith and let God deliver him.
ill. James Small Wrote a hymn etitled, "I've found a Friend, oh, such a Friend"
exp. I wonder if he wrote this hymn after reading this story of Jeremiah.
I've found a Friend, oh, such a Friend!
He loved me ere I knew Him;
He drew me with the cords of love,
And thus He bound me to Him.
And round my heart still closely twine
Those ties which naught can sever,
For I am His, and He is mine,
Forever and forever.
app. There are many today who are - who are sinking in the mire and filth of their sin. THEY NEED TO LOOK UP FROM THEIR PIT. God has lowered the old Cast Clouts of Calvary stained with the blood of the Lamb. How many are too proud to put those blood stained garments around them to bring them out of the pit. Friend - is that you today? You can trust Him - He will take you from the miry pit!
B. Put your trust in me (Ebedmelech) - I don't forget those who fear me.
Jeremiah 39 15 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
16 Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian,
ill. Seeking a witnessing opportunity with a man - "You'll never convert me" He was a rich man. I said, "God can."
note: If he was converted to Christ - I would know that he was because his actions would be different. Where he bristled at the idea of joining God and would lovingly stand with God.
exp. I believe Ebedmelech is a new convert. Why?
He believed God's message of judgment,
He stood up for God's servant at personal risk and stepped onto God's side.
He helped God's servant.
note: God had Jeremiah record His goodness to Ebedmelech. He didn't forget what this man had done out of fear of God.
Psa 31:19 Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
app. Are you afraid to stand for God! It would be better for you to fear God than men. TRUST GOD - he won't forget the stand you take for Him.
C. Put your trust in me (Ebedmelech) - I'll judge the world but deliver you.
saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.
17 But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD:
exp. That city would be destroyed and the inhabitants killed because of the judgment of God.
BUT THOSE WHO BELIEVED AND OBEYED GOD COULD BE SPARED!
Jeremiah 27:12 I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.
13 Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
app. If you refuse to convert and submit to King Jesus you'll be judged by God!
- why will ye die? Those whom you fear will perish and you will with them. Put your trust in Him. The world will be judged by He will deliver you - IF YOU GET CONVERTED.
D. Put your trust in me (Ebedmelech) - I will deliver you from your fears.
...and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.
18 For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.
exp. Ebedmelech had motivation to help Jeremiah. He feared God and the wrath of God. IT IS A WISE MAN WHO FEARS GOD.
Ill. Thought about my conversion recently. Nobody said to me, "Benjamin, you need to go get saved." I just heard my dad preach on hell - fire, eternal, separation from God - AND I WAS AFRAID.
app. If you aren't saved - you ought to be afraid of death and hell. One wrong step and you'll enter eternity WITHOUT GOD! PUT YOUR TRUST IN HIM - HE WILL DELIVER YOU FROM YOUR FEARS.
CONCLUSION:
There are many things in life that we mistakenly put our trust in.
We need to put our trust in God.
The world should trust in God! We have the sure Word of Jehovah!
God's servants should trust in Him.
1.) He knows what they are saying.
2.) He's with us.
3.) He's in control.
New converts should trust in Him.
1.) He will take you out of the miry pit.
2.) He won't forget those who fear Him.
3.) He will judge the world but deliver you.
Date: 20 June, 2019
Text: Jeremiah 38-39
Title: Put Thy Trust In Me
Introduction:
Have you ever had misplaced trust. You trusted in something in which you should not have trusted?
ill. Little neighbour girl who promised me a radio controlled airplane.
exp. It was probably a good lesson for me to learn - many things in life will let us down.
1.) Finances
2.) Health
3.) Family
4.) Government.
Only God is worthy of man's complete trust.
My message title this morning is taken from chapter 39:18
....BECAUSE THOU HAST PUT THY TRUST IN ME"
Put thy trust in me! Is God the object of your faith this morning?
Jeremiah 38
I. The world should trust God.
exp. Our world is prone to unbelief. We could nearly sympathize with them as there is so much false information being promoted in our day.
Fake news - hard to know who to believe today.
ill. US and Britain intelligence suggests that Iran exploded mines on the tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
exp. Opposition leader for Labour - Jeremy Corbin - "Britain should act to ease tensions in the Gulf, not fuel a military escalation that began with the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement. Without credible evidence about the tanker attacks, the government's rhetoric will only increase the threat of war."
Fake science - millions and millions of years.
1.) Life does not begin until birth.
2.) You can chose your gender.
3.) There is no god because we are the product of science.
ill. Speaking with a friend in the community who prayed to trust Jesus as His Saviour about 6 years ago. He said, "I don't think you can believe the Bible because so much is proven wrong." He was speaking about evolution."
False religion - tainting men's view of God.
ill. People are saying...."Religion causes all the problems in the world." Murder's in the name of God.
ill. Sexual abuse in the false religion of the Catholic Church. Money lust of the catholic church.
ill. Charlatan's (faith healers and health and wealth Gospel) picking the pocket of people.
Falsehood of the human heart.
exp. On top of all the falsehood in the world is the falsehood in the heart of men.
ill. Scientist are seeking to find alien signals from space. Huge listening devices trained on distant planets. One quote from the article I read said, "It's really quiet out there." No contact yet. Why are they working so heart and so convinced that there is something out there - BECAUSE THEIR PERVERSE HEART CONVINCES THEM THAT THEY ARE RIGHT AND GOD IS WRONG.
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
note: God's description of Jeremiah's audience.
Jeremiah 9:
2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
app. What would God have us to say to a world that is so wrapped up in unbelief?
A. Put your trust in me (world) - I am Jehovah.
1 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying,
2 Thus saith the LORD,
Exp. Jeremiah's message was not, "I say...." His message was GOD SAYS! THE "I AM." THE ETERNAL SELF EXISTENT ONE.
ill. Moses - called of God at the burning bush to lead Israel out of Egypt. Had a humble question for God. He said, "I'm a nobody. Who should I say gave me this message of deliverance?"
Exodus 3
11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying,
exp. Moses was to say, "Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah" That is the authority behind this message.
app. The world ought to trust this message - IT IS FROM JEHOVAH. You are foolish today if you resist God instead of trusting Him. HE IS JEHOVAH! HE IS GOD AND GOD ALONE!
B. Put your trust in me (world) - my Word is sure.
He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.
3 Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.
exp. It happened just like God said through the mouth of his prophet Jeremiah. Zedekiah refused to believe him and had his eyes put out after the king of Babylon had killed all his children. It wasn't a coincidence!
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
ill. Posh area of Gracemount - man cleaning front garden. Do you believe in God? No
"Where do atheists go when they die? Hell doesn't disappear just because you don't believe in it." He said with unrestrained smirking, "I guess I'm going to hell then." I said, "To get their you'll have to step over the dead body of the Lord Jesus."
app. You can disbelieve as much as you want. Sit in a corner and say, "There is no God, there is no God, there is no God." But, guess what? There is a God and you are going to face his judgment as soon as you die.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
WORLD - BELIEVE GOD! HE IS JEHOVAH! HIS WORD IS SURE!
II. God's servants should trust Him.
exp. Let's turn our focus now to God's servant Jeremiah who is having to stand up for God against an unbelieving world. IF YOU'RE GOD'S SERVANT - TRUST IN HIM!
A. Put your trust in me (Jeremiah) - I know what they are saying.
4 Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
exp. Jeremiah's message was not too different from ours.
1.) It was hated. "Let this man be put to death."
exp. They didn't laugh and say, "Jeremiah stop those ferry tales." They knew that what Jeremiah was saying was "GOING DEEP INTO THE HEART OF HIS AUDIENCE " and they hated it.
app. Have you noticed that when you stand up for God against sin, people don't laugh. They might mock but you can tell that the WORD OF GOD is hitting their wicked human heart.
2.) It was despised. "he weakeneth the hands of the men....the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them."
exp. Jeremiah's trial would have been short and simple. "He's a hate preacher. He makes people feel bad. He makes people think God is against their lifestyle."
ill. Our world is so sensitive today that it is nearly illegal to have an opinion which is contrary to that of another person/ and our government.
app. Those who stand with God will be despised.
3. ) It was impuned.
"For this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt."
exp. It was a lie. Jeremiah was preaching to them God's message because he loved his nation.
Jeremiah 9:1 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
app. Christian have you quieted your message because of what the world is saying. Put your trust in God - God knows what they are saying.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
B. Put your trust in me (Jeremiah) - I will be with you.
5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.
6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
exp. Jeremiah was doing God's bidding. He was giving God's message. He is put into a pit prison where his feet were in the mire.
ill. Walking around Linlithgow Pallace - decided to let Duchess off lead. She ran along the trail and then dove off into the reeds along the side of the lock. The problem was that all the rotting vegitation covered her from the belly down with muck. She looked like two different dogs as I took her back to clean the filth off of her.
exp. Jeremiah's feet slipped down through the filthy ooze. He couldn't sit down. It was dark. He was abandoned by men to die.
"Put your trust in me Jeremiah - I am with you."
ill. Just read Nate Saint's bio. The Jungle Pilot - seeking to reach an unreached people group for Jesus the Wa'aranni tribe - called "Auca" indians. Fierce killers.
1. Five missionary men worked together on this project.
Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming and Roger Youderian
2. Exchanging gifts from the air.
3. Planning a meeting location.
4. Ready to lay down their lives to reach this tribe and they did.
"As we weigh the future and seek the will of God, does it seem right that we should hazard our lives for just a few savages? As we ask ourselves the question, we realize that it is not the call of needy thousands. Rather it is the simple intimation of the prophetic word that there shall be some from every tribe in His presence in the last day and in our hearts we feel that it is pleasing to Him that we should interest ourselves in making an opening into the Auca prison for Christ.
As we have a high old time this Christmas, may we who know Christ hear the cry of the damned as they hurtle headlong into the Christless night without ever a chance. May we be moved with compassion as our Lord was. May we shed tears of repentance for those whom we have failed to bring out of darkness. Beyond the smiling scenes of Bethlemhem may we see the crushing agony of Golgotha. May God give us a new vision of His will concerning the Lost and our responsability."
note: As they departed for Palm Beach the men joined together and sang....
We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender,
We go not forth alone against the foe.
Strong in Thy Strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go."
app. You may suffer as God's servant. But, you can trust Him. He will be with you no matter where His will takes you. Heb 13:5 ....for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
C. Put your trust in me (Jeremiah) - I am in control.
7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
8 Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying,
9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.
10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
exp. Just when it seemed like....
1.) No one cared.
2.) No one believed his message.
3.) No one would have courage to stand up with him....
GOD GAVE HIM A CONVERT. Ebedmelech - the Ethiopian....
ill. Nate Saint was the pilate for the group. He kept radio contact back to Shell Mara
"Nat had said he would call at twelve-thirty. Ruth Keenan in the other MAF house tuned in. Right on the appointed time, Nate's voice came booming through the interference into the loudspeaker at Shell Mera.
He was airborne when he called. He had just flown over Terminal City and was about to land at Palm Beach. 'Have just sighted a commission of ten," Nate informed the girls with supressed excitement, "it looks like they'll be here for the early afternoon service. Pray for us. This is the day! Will contact you next at four-thirty."
At three-twelve Nate's wristwatch was suddenly smashed agaisnt a stone and the hands stopped moving as the muddy water of the Curarray River seeped into the broken case."
exp. When the 5 men died on Palm Beach. It seemed to the world that all was out of control. But, the world was seeing something in the wives of these men that showed that God was in control.
1.) They were not hysterical.
2.) They didn't need sedatives.
3.) They served meals to everyone and Marj helped with the radio contacts of the rescue efforts.
When they were told that they had all been killed....
Marj and th eother wives and Rachel accepted the final news that all five were dead in the same spirit thaey had shown thorugh the interminable days of waiting. They gathered that evening with the children in the living room while some of the older men present opened the Bible and read various passages about heaven.
Military officers and others in the house sat listening. The women were thankful that their men had been faithful to the Lord. Marilou went ot he piano and began to play the song that the men had sung the morning they lef for Paulm Beach. Then Betty's clear soprano took up the words:
We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
And needing more each day Thy grace to know
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go.
app. Even when life is difficult, those who know Jehovah and serve Him, can walk in confidence becauseTRUSTING HIM BECAUSE HE IS IN CONTROL.
transition: Servant of God are you trusting Him today?
1.) He knows what they are saying about us.
2.) He is with us.
3.) He is in control.
III. New converts should trust Him.
ill. Uber is making an pilotless drone copter which they say will be in use in the next few years. I don't know about you - but I'm not keen to get into something that flies without a pilot aboard. It seems crazy to think this is the future....
note: But, 100 year ago - people felt the same way about cars.... and later air travel.....
exp. We don't think much about driving or flying. Our faith in those modes of transportation is strong through experience.
exp. I'm not a new believer. I got saved when I was 5 years old. I've had to learn to trust God through many life experiences and God has always been faithful.
app. There are people around us who haven't had time to learn to trust God. They are new converts. They just need to trust God like God's servants do and the world should do.
A. Put your trust in me - I will take you from the miry pit.
11 So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
12 And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
13 So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
exp. Jeremiah didn't mind how filthy those cast clouts and rotten rags were. They were the only way God's salvation for him. They would take him up out of the miry pit. He put them on in faith and let God deliver him.
ill. James Small Wrote a hymn etitled, "I've found a Friend, oh, such a Friend"
exp. I wonder if he wrote this hymn after reading this story of Jeremiah.
I've found a Friend, oh, such a Friend!
He loved me ere I knew Him;
He drew me with the cords of love,
And thus He bound me to Him.
And round my heart still closely twine
Those ties which naught can sever,
For I am His, and He is mine,
Forever and forever.
app. There are many today who are - who are sinking in the mire and filth of their sin. THEY NEED TO LOOK UP FROM THEIR PIT. God has lowered the old Cast Clouts of Calvary stained with the blood of the Lamb. How many are too proud to put those blood stained garments around them to bring them out of the pit. Friend - is that you today? You can trust Him - He will take you from the miry pit!
B. Put your trust in me (Ebedmelech) - I don't forget those who fear me.
Jeremiah 39 15 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
16 Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian,
ill. Seeking a witnessing opportunity with a man - "You'll never convert me" He was a rich man. I said, "God can."
note: If he was converted to Christ - I would know that he was because his actions would be different. Where he bristled at the idea of joining God and would lovingly stand with God.
exp. I believe Ebedmelech is a new convert. Why?
He believed God's message of judgment,
He stood up for God's servant at personal risk and stepped onto God's side.
He helped God's servant.
note: God had Jeremiah record His goodness to Ebedmelech. He didn't forget what this man had done out of fear of God.
Psa 31:19 Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
app. Are you afraid to stand for God! It would be better for you to fear God than men. TRUST GOD - he won't forget the stand you take for Him.
C. Put your trust in me (Ebedmelech) - I'll judge the world but deliver you.
saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.
17 But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD:
exp. That city would be destroyed and the inhabitants killed because of the judgment of God.
BUT THOSE WHO BELIEVED AND OBEYED GOD COULD BE SPARED!
Jeremiah 27:12 I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.
13 Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
app. If you refuse to convert and submit to King Jesus you'll be judged by God!
- why will ye die? Those whom you fear will perish and you will with them. Put your trust in Him. The world will be judged by He will deliver you - IF YOU GET CONVERTED.
D. Put your trust in me (Ebedmelech) - I will deliver you from your fears.
...and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.
18 For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.
exp. Ebedmelech had motivation to help Jeremiah. He feared God and the wrath of God. IT IS A WISE MAN WHO FEARS GOD.
Ill. Thought about my conversion recently. Nobody said to me, "Benjamin, you need to go get saved." I just heard my dad preach on hell - fire, eternal, separation from God - AND I WAS AFRAID.
app. If you aren't saved - you ought to be afraid of death and hell. One wrong step and you'll enter eternity WITHOUT GOD! PUT YOUR TRUST IN HIM - HE WILL DELIVER YOU FROM YOUR FEARS.
CONCLUSION:
There are many things in life that we mistakenly put our trust in.
We need to put our trust in God.
The world should trust in God! We have the sure Word of Jehovah!
God's servants should trust in Him.
1.) He knows what they are saying.
2.) He's with us.
3.) He's in control.
New converts should trust in Him.
1.) He will take you out of the miry pit.
2.) He won't forget those who fear Him.
3.) He will judge the world but deliver you.
