Jeremiah 31:1-14 | With Lovingkindness I Have Drawn You | 4.9.1997

In Jeremiah in chapter 31 beginning at verse 1, Jeremiah writes, "At the same time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus says the Lord, the people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness, Israel, when I went to give him rest. The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying, "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness, I have drawn you. Again, I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, oh virgin of Israel. You shall again be adorned with your tambourines and shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria. The planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food. For there shall be a day when the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, "Arise and let us go up to Zion to the Lord our God. For thus says the Lord, sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations. Proclaim, give praise, and say, Oh Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them, the blind and the lame, the woman with child, and the one who labors with child together. A great throng shall return there. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way in which they shall not stumble. For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the aisles a far off. And say, he who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd does his flock. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he. Therefore, they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, streaming to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat and new wine and oil for the young of the flock and of the herd. Their soul shall be like well-watered garden a well-watered garden and they shall sorrow no more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance and the young men and the old together. For I will turn their mourning to joy will comfort them and make them rejoice rather than sorrow. I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, sayaeth the Lord. You can see why we're only going to look at 14 verses, can't you? What an incredible portion of scripture. Now, when we got into chapter 30 last time we were together, it was a passage that was dealing with the Lord making promises to the nation, a promise concerning Israel and Judah, a promise of restoration. Because the Lord has stated, and we've gotten to this point so far, and we've seen this, that the nation of Babylon was to take the nation of Israel into captivity. And Babylon has been doing that. But Israel has been promised by God that their captivity was going to be a temporary one. Though the false prophets had been stating things like within two years they'd be restored to the land, yet the nation of Israel has found itself in Babylonian captivity now for a number of years. God has stated to them that they are going to be there for 70 years. In other words, when the Lord said, "I'm going to bring judgment on you and chastise you. I'm going to punish you for your sins." He was saying to them, it's not going to be something that just takes a year or two. It's actually going to take some generation. And so, the Lord has promised the nation of Israel that he was to chastise him. And indeed, he is. But now, he's promising a restoration to them. And when we got together last time in chapter 30, Jeremiah was sharing concerning that restoration. And we know that this refers not simply to the things that are occurring in their lifetimes or even within the 70-year time limit that he had given concerning their Babylonian captivity. But we also know that it's something that pertains to the nation in what he calls the latter times. Now, how do we know that? Well, remember how he had concluded in verse 24 when he had said in chapter 30, in the latter days you will consider it. So, we know that these events that we looked at in chapter 30 were not just near events in terms of the future of Israel, but actually pertain to a time that would be in the latter days. And so, in verses 1 and 2, he begins by saying, "At the same time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel." So, he's making a promise. And the promise that he's making is a restoration, a restoring of the 12 tribes of Israel. Now remember with me that during the time of King Solomon, King Solomon being the son of King David, during the time of King Solomon, King Solomon's heart was not knit together with the Lord's and didn't follow the Lord the way his father David had done. And God had stated to Solomon that if he were to remain faithful to him, even as his father had, that he would bless him. But if he were to turn away from him, the Lord said, "I will bring punishment upon you." And ultimately, as we studied before in First Kings 11, the Bible tells us that Solomon had many wives, many foreign wives. And ultimately, under the influence of these wives, they turned his heart away from the Lord. And his heart was not perfect in following the Lord, even as his father David's heart was perfect. So the Lord said, "As a matter of grace, graciousness towards you for the memory of your father David, I will not remove the kingdom from your hand in your lifetime, but I will remove it from your son." Now, we know that he had a son by the name of Rehoboam. And Rehoboam was responsible for the splitting of the 12 tribes of Israel. And during his lifetime, Rehoboam by following bad counsel was responsible for a division in the nation. This occurred somewhere around 930 years before Christ. And so the 10 northern tribes followed one who was named Jeroboam. And the two southern tribes, Judah and Benjamin, followed the king who was the son of Solomon, a man by the name of Rehab. Now Jeroboam established um alternative worship to God. He erected two different sites of worship, two altars. One was found up in the northern portion of Israel in the region that is called Dan. And the second is found in the southernmost tip of the of the of the 10 tribes geographic location which was in a place called Bethal. And so what he did is he established a rival system of worship to keep the people from the north from going down into the south to worship in the temple there at Jerusalem. He erected these temple altars or these alternative alternative altars. When we go to Israel, by the way, we have had the opportunity of going up in the region of Dan and they have actually found the the uh alternative altar that was erected up there and it's called Jeroboam's altar and you can actually see it to this day and you can see the ruins of the site where the nation would actually go up nine centuries before Christ to worship. And so at the time of the writing of Jeremiah, Jeremiah was written 300 years later. For three centuries, the nation of Israel has been divided. The nation of Israel divided 930 BC. And this is written somewhere around 600 or so before Christ. So over three centuries of history have passed. And so when you read these promises here, when God says in verse one of chapter 31, at the same time, I will be the God of all the families of Israel and they shall be my people. This is an indication that the Lord is going to be bringing a restoration. In other words, the 10 northern tribes will be reunited with the two southern tribes and God is going to perform his promises to them. These promises obviously have to be future promises. Because during the time of the captivity in Babylon to the time where they came back from Babylon and once again inhabited the nation of Israel, the 12 tribes were not reunited. So we know that the Lord has promises that are close by. He's going to do certain things for them. But he also is speaking concerning promises that are yet what the scriptures would say a far off. And these are last days promises that he's making. Now notice with me in verse two when it says, "Thus says the Lord, the people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness, Israel, when I went to give him wrath, this is an illusion and it's actually it's got a double image and I want to give to you both of the images. He's alluding to the history of Israel and especially is alluding to the Exodus when the nation of Israel had been taken from Egyptian captivity and had been taken out through the uh miraculous working of God through his messenger Moses. And so when he speaks in verse two and says the people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness, that's an illusion to what God had already done in their history. And he's calling to their remembrance his mighty works of salvation and deliverance on their behalf. And yet at the same time it has a far-reaching implication because it's something that he will also be doing in the future. In the book of Nehemiah in chapter 9 verses 19- 24 in chapter 9 there's a recorded recorded prayer a prayer that was made by the priestly clan of the Levites and it will remind you a bit of what we're going to be looking at right now. Nehemiah chapter 9 in verse 19 and the priests are praying, the Levites are praying and in verses 19- 24 this is what they say. They say because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. You gave your good spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your mana from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. For 40 years, you sustained them in the desert. They lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet become swollen. You gave them kingdoms and nations, allotting to them even the remotest frontiers. They took over the country of Zion, king of Heshvan, and the country of Og, king of Bashan. You made their sons as numerous as the stars in the sky. And you brought them into the land that you told their fathers to enter and possess. Their sons went in and took possession of the land. And so that's part of the cultural history. That's part of the religious history of the nation of Israel. And so when Jeremiah in chapter 31 begins to speak here, thus sayeth the Lord, he reminds them first and foremost of God's past works in their life. And I believe by way of application that it's a very healthy thing for us to remember God's past workings in our life. Don't you? How God has been faithful to us in the past? because his faithfulness in the past is a guarantee of his faithfulness in the present and it's a guarantee that we might hope in him to be faithful also in the future. And so I think it important for us to remember the works that God has done in that past because in remembrance there is an experience a reminding of ourselves of God's goodness, a stirring up of the emotionality of our lives that are in relation to those kinds of things. And God chose himself to be faithful then. And it stirs up hope in me to know he's faithful now. And it gives me confidence to know that he'll be faithful in the future. There are so many things that the Lord has done in my own life just to illustrate this in a personal way. And I've shared a lot of these things with you. Some of the things that I share with you are very significant because they show me God's hand. Some of the things I share with you are real positive. Other things that I share with you don't necessarily put me in the best light. Let me do that right now. Just to show you what I'm trying to say, how I have to remember these things, both the good and the bad. Years ago now, I have a I have a brother-in-law. His name is Ronnie. Ronnie's 32 years old now. But years ago, when Ronnie was probably about 12 or 13, Marie and I and two other couples had an opportunity to go to the Anaheim Convention Center. there were going to be several Christian bands uh doing concert a concert and I wanted Ronnie to go and to hear the music and was praying that perhaps if he would go to these concerts and he'd hear the music and the message in the music and then hear the gospel preached afterwards that Ronnie would commit himself to Christ. And so Marie and I drove from Chino and we had some friends who were meeting us and they both came in two separate vehicles. So there's three cars altogether. We came from Chino. They were coming from Norwok and the Anaheim Convention Center was filled. And some of you have been there when they have 9 10,000 people there. And the parking lot was completely congested. And you know that even if you were driving in caravan, there's no guarantee you're going to be parking in the same place in that in that lot because if you're if you find a parking space, it's a good thing. But you don't normally find two or three next to each other. So, we said we would meet them there, but we didn't tell them where we would meet them. And so, we just said, "Well, we'll see you there." I didn't realize there were going to be thousands of people there. I thought it was going to be a smaller thing. And when we got there, I told Marie and Ronnie, I said, "Oh, no, man. It's like not oh no, but oh wow, look, there's so many people here." And so, we climbed off the car and we walked in and and it's in the in the round. And so, Marie and Ronnie and I were just standing there. there's no no way we're going to find our friend. And so I told Marie, "Honey, you go that way and I'll go this way and we'll meet, you know, and I'll go with Ronnie and uh we'll meet you and if you see them, you know, hold them and uh if I see them, I'll bring them to you." She said, "Okay." So we began to walk and I remember stopping and opening up one of the doors and looking in, but there are no lights, you know, not enough light for me to be able to see. And it was pitch black in there really. And the light was on the stage area, but the music's really loud and you can't hear a thing. And we're we're walking and as we were walking, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said, "Tell your brother-in-law, tell Ronnie that you're all going to be together at 7:00." And I thought, "No, that's presumptuous. There's no way I'm going to do that." He said, "Tell him you're going to be together at 7:00." It was 5 minutes to 7. And so, I didn't say a thing. I just thought, "Boy, you know, that salsa really got to me." And as I was and as I was walking around, we're stopping and looking, everything. We came around and I see my wife Marie walking towards me. And as we're walking up, we stopped. When we stopped and I said, "Well, I can't find them." We heard a knock on the glass door and the the four people were standing right outside that glass door. Marie and I and Ronnie are there and God was so good. He put a clock right in front of me and it was 7:00 on the nose. I have never forgotten that. I have never forgotten that. And I turned to Ronnie and I said, "Ronnie, I sinned against God. God told me to tell you that we were going to be together at 7:00. I should have told you. And he goes, "Oh, that's really neat." But you know, it would have been neat if I'd have obeyed. What I did was wrong. Oh, no. I'm tearing myself up. I'll tell you another story. My brother, my cousin Rey and I are at church. The invitation is given. The Holy Spirit speaks to my heart and says, "Tell your cousin you'll go forward with him if you'll give himself to the Lord. He doesn't want to go up. He's afraid. Tell him you'll go up with him." And I turned and I looked at my cousin Ray and I said, "No, because if I go forward with him, they're all going to think I'm getting saved." And I've been a Christian for two years. So, no, I'm not going to do that. Anyway, that's just me thinking. And so the invitation's given, it's all over. Ray was living at my parents house at that time. We were in my parents' kitchen and I'm sitting there drinking some soda and he looks at me and he said, "You know, today when they gave the invitation," I said, "Yeah." He said, "I was waiting for you to ask me to go forward so I could get up and give my heart to Christ." Yeah. You know, these things that happen, I know that they're for a reason. and they're to they're to tell me God is in control and God God does speak to your heart. God does give you these spiritual impulses. Obey him when he says so. Because there's so many things that he does that he wants us to do so that we might remember his faithfulness, how he does guide us by his holy spirit, how he does encourage us as long as it's in line with his word in the way that his spirit is is recorded as working within the confines of holy scripture. And so God would have us to know that the things that were written for time were written for us so that by studying these scriptures we might have hope that we might know that God is faithful to his word. And so the Lord had given to them in the Exodus uh an example of of how he delivers them out of captivity and he's calling them to remembrance of that once again here in chapter 31:2 when he says the people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness Israel when I went to give them rest. The people he said found grace in the wilderness. In other words, God graciously supplied them with their needed protection, with needed provisions as he led them. In verse three, the Lord has appeared of old to me, saying, "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness, I have drawn you. Again, I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, oh virgin of Israel. You shall again be adorned with your tambourines and shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria. The planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food. For there shall be a day when the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, arise and let us go up to Zion to the Lord our God. So he says in verse three, "The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying, 'Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love." Now, I don't know about you, I underscore my scriptures. I know some people are real uncomfortable with that. They think that the paper is from heaven and so they don't want to put any pin marks on it. But I I I underscore scriptures that speak to my heart and I encourage you to to underscore the words everlasting love. I have loved you with an everlasting love. What a great kind of love to have God pouring towards you. Don't you think? An everlasting love. Not the kind of love that you had when you were 13 years old and you had a crush on a boy or a girl. Preferably if you were a boy, you had a crush on a girl. an everlasting love, a love from a far off. It's really translated an eternal love. God's love has no beginning or no end for you is the point he's making. It's just a complete total eternal love. I have loved you with an everlasting love. Not a temporary love, but an everlasting love. And that kind of love is the kind of love that we need. The Bible in Isaiah 54:8 says, "In a little wrath, I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on you, says the Lord, your redeemer." Bible tells us in 1 John 4:1 19 that we love him because he first loved us. I could never as a child say to my mom and my dad, "I loved you first because that's crazy. My parents hopefully loved me first." They loved me and then I responded by loving them. The same is true with my own children. I love them as their father long before they had an ability to respond to my love. I loved them when they were in their mother's womb. Well, it's true. I didn't know everything about them or the things that would make me not want to love them. I did love them. I loved them even when they were in their mother's womb. From the moment that I knew that I had a child, though I'd never been a father before. And God gives to us Karen. I had a love as a father would have for a daughter or a son. I didn't know which it was when we were told. And the love that a dad has for the baby begins. And that baby's conceived. And that's a human love. God loves me and God loves you. Long before you even knew there was a God, by the way, long before you even were responding to his grace and his kindness and his mercy. Long before you heard the gospel. Long be before you knew anything about God. Long before you knew your neighbor or could walk or tie your shoes, God loved you. God loved you before your mother and dad loved you. God has loved you with an everlasting love. It has no beginning really and it has no end. It's just there. Now, do you take advantage of that? I would hope not. I would hope not. So when I was reading to scripture today and I've I've seen this scripture of course many times and I've I've referred to this in messages because this verse when he says I've loved you with an everlasting love therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you. I shared recently and I believe this at this time so very much and I think I will always believe this. God has called us as preachers of the gospel to teach the full counsel. The full council of God includes God's mercy and God's wrath. Which means that ultimately as a righteous and just God, there is a punishment due to us as per whether or not we receive forgiveness for our sins or not. God stands ready to forgive, the scripture says. But we need to repent, turn to him, confess our sins, and be forgiven. If I do so, then all of my sins are wiped completely clean. The Bible says if we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So see, when you and when I confess, Father, forgive me a sinner. Lord, have mercy on me a sinner, the Lord's mercy spread out upon us and he forgives us. He loves us and it motivates him to action. Yet at the same time in the whole council of God includes the fact that if I reject him, if I reject his love, if I reject his forgiveness, if I say to him, "Some other time I'll hear you on this matter and never open myself up to him and I die in sin, then I have to receive due penalty for the life that I've lived in rebellion to him." That's justice. And you can't plea bargain out. You can't take a misdemeanor count. you are dead because God as a righteous judge will allow you the full extent of the wrath that has been allotted to you based on your rejection of him and a lifetime of sin. It's just that sometimes in these years that I've followed the Lord, there have been times when I have heard ministers speaking about hell and it almost seems like they're glad there's a place called hell. But God's word tells us that he doesn't rejoice in the death of the wicked. It's God's love. It's God's goodness. It's God's mercy. It's God's kindness that I like to encourage people to. I can get action from my children by using threats or promises. I prefer the loving approach. I prefer seeing their obedience out of a love for their father. There have been times, of course, when I've had to discipline my children, and yes, I've spanked them. But I prefer them just responding to a father's love. And it's true that sometimes they can take advantage of that love. Absolutely. And it hurts. But you know, even as I'm growing older now in the Lord and even as I'm watching my children as they grow older, I am more and more confirmed in the desire to love them into repentance. Like that little boy, you can force him down. He's running around the house. Father sat him down. You can force him to sit down, but like he said to his dad, I may be sitting down on the outside, but I'm standing up on the inside. That rebellion is still there regardless of what the outer thing is doing. I I believe that when the Lord says, "I've drawn you with these bands of loving kindness and I've drawn you with my love." That's what he does with us. He says, "Look at I love you guys so much." And it's not even that. and I love you, but if your name is God would say so much that it hurts that it hurts. And his son Jesus dies on a cross for us. Now, if that doesn't motivate us to serve and love him, what will? I can still remember when people would say, "Oh, there's a hell." I I don't even believe in heaven, let alone hell. But when you start talking to me about breaking a father's heart, I understood that because I'd done that. I've told my wife as well as my children. I don't know if I've told you the reason I came to Christ, I had broken a young girl's heart and I wanted to prove to her that I could change and had broken my parents' heart. And I was so ashamed of the kind of life that I was living that I wanted to make my father proud of me. I wanted to change. There were things inside of me that I hated about myself so much. I love these things. These are the things I am. I don't like it. My dad's such a good man. My mom, why do I hurt them? That's what I was sharing recently. Say, "God, something's wrong with me. Something's wrong with me. It's not them. It's me." When I went into service, I've mentioned to you I was with the 82nd Airborne. The reason I went to the Airborne wasn't because I needed the extra 50 55 bucks a month. It did help. It was because I wanted my father to be able to go to his friends on the job and say to them, "My son's with the 82nd." That's why I did that. So he could brag about his son. I figured I had made him so ashamed for so long. I wanted to give him something to boast about. I believe that love motivates behavior. Don't you? I really do. And I want my children's obedience out of love, not out of fear. Though there is a right fear to have. There is a right fear to have. But see, God says, "I have drawn you." See, the beginning of our relationship, the Lord is saying to the nation, and I think by application to us, the the beginning of our relationship, the Lord says, is not with you. It's with me. And and I'm showing you how good I am towards you. and I'm bringing you to myself through my love. So he makes promises to them in verses 4-6 and he says, "I will build you and you shall be rebuilt, oh virgin of Israel. You shall again be adorned with your tambourines and shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria. The planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food. For there shall be a day when the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, arise and let us go up to Zion to the Lord our God. So he says again, I will build you and you shall be rebuilt, oh virgin of Israel. So he speaks of Israel as being pure before him. He's simply saying, I still love you. I still love you. And the promise that he's making is that the nation will be restored. Notice with me that he speaks about planting vines on the mountains of Samaria. He says that in verse 5. Planting vines is a picture of a peaceful life in Israel. And he's speaking concerning a worship that will take place. Because when he says, "For there shall be a day when the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, arise and let us go up to Zion to the Lord our God," he's speaking that there will be a time of peace and a time of worship. Now, this is a temple worship that he's referring to. And I have to be careful not to get carried away at this point. kind of I'll be kind of careful not to be too carried away because you need to know that he's speaking concerning not just their return soon but also is referring to a time in the nation of Israel when they are going to be living in peace and all a time that will occur in what is called the millennial reign of Christ in the Old Testament book of Micah in chapter 4 let me read some scriptures interest to you in that passage Micah 4 at verse 1 and I'll read Micah 4:es 1-4 you see temple worship will be reinstated not temple sacrifice as in sin offering for Jesus Christ has already completed that but memorial worship will take place during that time and in Micah 4:es 1-4 Four, Micah writes, "In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways so that we we may walk in his path. The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord, from Jerusalem. He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken. In Micah 4:6, in that day, declares the Lord, I will gather the lame. I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. I will make the lame a remnant, those driven away, a strong nation. The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever. As for you, oh watchtowwer of the flock, oh stronghold of the daughter of Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you. Kingship will come to the daughter of Jerusalem. So the Lord is making promises to them of a restoration of peace, a time in the land where they're going to be cared for by him. when he speaks concerning the watchmen in verse 6 back in Jeremiah chapter 31 when he says there shall be a day when the watchmen will cry in Mount Ephraim arise and let us go up to Zion to the Lord our God those watchers are the ones appointed as lookouts normally they were the ones who would shout out the warning when invading troops came in but here they're giving directions they're giving directions to visitors who are coming to Zion to worship the Lord they're saying come and worship the Lord and the people are coming they're saying where where is is it that we can worship and they said go in that direction and you'll find that you can worship the Lord in Jerusalem. I was sharing with you just recently that I read this book again called the reproducers. I was sharing this on our Sunday sermon recently and uh something in that book reminded me of something and I made a notation here that I'd like to share with you just as a way of application again because when we first got saved I don't know if I think there's a lot of you who will understand what I'm saying even if you your Christian heritage is only a year or a week old. When we first got saved, there weren't a whole lot of churches like Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, there weren't a lot of church. As a matter of fact, there were very few. There was there was what was called the Jesus movement. The Holy Spirit was moving in different places, not just located in one small chapel, but it was happening in different portions of the United States, different places in Oregon, in Washington, even on the East Coast, and various places in the in the Midwest. But but there was a a real outpouring that was taking place here in Southern California. And I can still remember that when people when you'd begin to share with the people about the Lord, you know what I would say, and this is true of a lot of people. And I was reading this in this book and and it just once again reminded me. We would say, "Have you ever heard of Calvary Chapel?" That's one of the first things we'd say. Have you ever heard of Calvary Chapel? I can still remember we were driving from St. Louis Abyispo and we're coming down south and we picked up a hitchhiker and from just like you know I forget maybe a half hour out of San Lucis all the way up to Oxnard I witnessed to this guy this hitchhiker and you know hitchhikers man you know say whatever you want as long as you give me a ride as far as you're going so you got a captive audience you're not going anywhere and I can still remember saying to him, "Have you ever heard of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa?" Because for me, that was the only church that existed. There was only one church. I don't care where you from. Well, I'm from New York. Hey, have you ever heard of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa? No. I said, "Man," and we'd do that, "Man, you've got to go there." And we would bring our friends. We would bring our friends. We'd say, "Man, you know what? I really can't explain to you. It's not like the places you're used to. It's different. There's something different about But I can't explain to you. I I don't know how to tell you. I'm only a week old in the Lord. But man, you got to come and see. You just It's like the woman at the well when Jesus was speaking to her in John chapter 4 and begins to minister to her. Woman, give me something to drink. The well is deep and you have nothing to draw with. How is it that you being a Jew, speak to me, a woman of Samaria? Oh woman, if you knew who it was who speaking to you, Jesus said, you would have asked for living water and I'd have given it to you. Oh, give me of this water so that I never thirst again. Go get your husband. I have no right. You're you're right about that. You've had five and you're living with a guy right now. And this you've rightly spoken. Hm. Sir, I perceive you're a a prophet. H well and then she gets religious. You know, our our ancestors say you're supposed to worship here in Jerim and you Jews say that you're supposed to be worshiping in Jerusalem. So, she wants to have a religious debate. Salvation comes from the Jews. Jesus says, "Let's not argue about this. Okay, you're going to lose. Don't you know you're talking to God? Shut up. You You can't win the argument." You see? And after Jesus speaks to her, what does she do? She runs off and she speaks to the only ones that would talk to her, the men. Because the women women would not speak to her. You know that they wouldn't speak to her. That's why she was there at noon. Cuz the women would come in the morning and late at night. And drawing water was a woman's job in Israel. But she had to come at noon when it was hot. It's because none of the decent women have anything to do with this woman because she had a reputation of being an immoral lady. And but there were people who would talk to her. There were the men. And and you know what it is? And I' I've been so impressed by this reality. See, this lady had nothing to lose anyway. She already had lost everything. Her reputation was down to two. She didn't have anything to lose. I've discovered something about people like that. By the way, when people who have nothing to lose get saved, they're very bold in their witness because they're not living for the opinion of men anymore. They're living for Jesus. They a long time ago learned that men could be cruel. So why worry about what they're going to say? Let's just lift for the Lord. And you know what she does? She runs off to the only people who would normally listen to her, the men. She says, "Come and see a man who has told me all things that I have ever done. Could this be Messiah?" Bang. She goes out and grabs him. And here they come. They hear the gracious words of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that they believed him not because of simply the testimony of the woman, but after they heard him for themselves. And so we very much are like that lady. Come and see what the Lord has done. Just come. Now, I can't tell you very much yet, but I just want to point you to him. I just want you to go there. And a lot of people were doing that in seven and they're still doing it now. They're still doing it now. They come driving by churches like this. They still go to Calvary Coast Mason and do the same thing after all of these years. And they still walk in there and they still sense the presence of the Holy Spirit. And they sense the love of God in the congregation. And they realize that they're not a whole lot different than these people other than one thing. These people know Jesus and I don't. And it's a simple thing to introduce somebody to the Lord if they're willing to meet him. And that as I was reading this passage when it said the watchmen will cry and not Ephraim arise, let us go up to Zion to the Lord our God. They're just pointing the way. Let's just go and worship God. And that's what we're called to do, by the way, isn't it? Let's just go and worship God. Let's just worship the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's be like those watchmen pointing people to where they can worship him. Now in verses 7 and 8, thus says the Lord, sing with gladness for Jacob and shout among the chief of the nations. Proclaim, give praise and say, Oh Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, thou will bring them from the north country and gather them from the ends of the earth among them, the blind and the lame, the woman with child and the one who labors with child together. A great throng shall return there. So obviously this has a dual fulfillment in the near future. The Lord is going to bring them back from their captivity in Babylon. But also there's a fulfillment in the last days when they return to Israel. Notice when he said, "Thus says the Lord, sing with gladness for Jacob and shout among the chief of the nations. Proclaim, give praise and say, Oh Lord, save your people the remnant of Israel. I will bring them from the north country." Notice and gather them from the ends of the earth. that has to have a further application than the north country. The way the term north country has been used in Jeremiah is in reference to Babylon. But when he speaks concerning from the ends of the earth, this has to have a larger application. And so it's a last days kind of reathering that he's referring to. And notice the joy that they have. Sing with gladness for Jacob. Shout among the chiefs of the nations. That's the one thing about being a Christian that is so important, guys. The joy of the Lord is our strength. I've run across too many Christians who look like they've been IVed with lemon juice. They're unhappy. I mean, you know, you're witnessing to somebody, you got to get you got to get right with God or you're going to hell. You know what? What if I wanted to be miserable like you? What do I want with you have? You're a miserable person. you. But when I encountered, and I have when I've encountered joyfilled people, now how can you be joyfilled in such a lousy country, think about it. I mean, turn on the news. Does that leave you saying, "Oh, praise the Lord." No. It's bad news. It's all bad news. You pick up the newspaper, look at the magazines, just just hang around and and you can get so depressed. You can get absolutely defeated. I know you can. I can, too. I do. There are many times, many times I'll be watching TV and some commercial that's filthy comes on. I say, "Man, this is this is just regular TV. This isn't cable. This isn't R-rated. This is commercials with women running around in their underwear. What's going on here? This is nasty." And you want to know something? You can you can you can see that you can get these throwaway papers at your house that are absolutely it's it's used to be called soft porn. Now it's advertisement. and and you see the things that are going on and you can remember some of you are old enough to remember when Disneyland was supposed to be a wholesome family centered place. no longer that way. Just money grubbing. And as you watch these things, if you watch it close enough for long enough, you can get depressed. So only Christians can really have joy. And the reason I can have joy is because I can be knocked down, but I can't be knocked out. The Lord is my strength and it's the joy of the Lord that is my strength. And in my walk, it may be like a 12 round fight. And there are times during that first, second, third, fifth, sixth, ninth round that you may get knocked down. And yes, you can. And yes, you have been. And some of you maybe were knocked down even today. Even before you came, you can get knocked down. The enemy can throw a a a sucker punch. You might be turning around and bang, he hits you. Something happened to your kids, something happened to your car, something happened to your family, whatever. And then you're reeling and you come walking in like, man, I can't believe this. But see, the fight's not over yet. And in the Lord, we are victorious and we can rejoice. And that's what keeps me going. That really does. That's what keeps me going because I read the last verse in the last chapter and we win in Christ. And I know that. And so that stirs me and that stimulates me and strengthens me. I was talking yesterday to my to my staff and uh I was sharing with them that my in staff devotions and I was sharing with them I'm never going to retire. Where do you put an old pastor anyway in an old pastor's home? Can you imagine how bad it would be? Picture R. Reese and Greg Lori and Macintosh and me and all of us hanging around together all Do you know Ral Ree not only talks in his sleep but he preaches in his sleep? I know that's true cuz I've bunkked with him. I spent several days with him and in the middle of the night I could hear him. IT'S NEAT he does. I answered his invitation just to get him to shut up. I'm serious. He does. He preaches in his sleep. Picture that. A bunch of us old scenile guys hanging together. No thank you. I just want to stay in the pulpit until I die and go home to be with the Lord Jesus Christ. I expect to retire. You never retire out of serving Jesus, do you? You know, they give you a little gold Bible and go sit down somewhere. No, no. The joy of the Lord. Jesus has a sense of humor. Look at us. He's got a sense of humor. And you know what? He he gives to us this joy that wells up from the inside and it makes me I I'm just, you know, without his joy, I'd be most miserable to be honest with you. And so he says with gladness, sing, sing with gladness for Jacob. Shout among the chief of the nation. Proclaim, give praise and say, "Oh Lord, save your people, the rem remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them from the north country. Gather them from the ends of the earth. And notice among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child, the one who labors with child, together a great throng shall return." In other words, I will provide for them even for those who have difficulty making it in their difficult situations. the blind, the lame, the pregnant women, the woman who's going into labor. In all of those situations of difficulty, I'll still bring them. I'll provide for them and make sure that they get here. God has given to them promises of this. Verse 9 says, "They shall come with weeping and with supplication." He said, "I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way in which they shall not stumble. I am a father to Israel. Ephraim is my firstborn." They will come with weeping and with supplications. This is a picture of repentance. And as they come with this weeping and with this prayerful supplication, the Lord says, "I will lead them. I will lead them by the rivers of waters." That's a statement concerning a refreshment that he will give to them. A refreshment by his spirit. Because as you as you break before the Lord and humble yourself, picture of weeping and making prayer, God says, "Then I'll fill you and I'll give you refreshing." Times of refreshing will come to you. So many times I've discovered people want from the Lord that which he has said he would give only after we repent. So many times people don't want to repent. Lord says, "No, if you repent, then I can refresh you and I will lead you in the straight path. Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, verse 10. And declare it in the aisles a far off, and say, He who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd does his flock. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and ransomed him from the hands of one stronger than he. Therefore, they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, streaming to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat and new wine and oil for the young of the flock and of the herd. Their soul shall be like a well-watered garden and they shall sorrow no more at all. And so the Lord is making promises to them. He says to them, "Hear the word of the Lord declaring the aisles a far off." In other words, the mercy of God should be broadcast throughout the world. And he speaks to the Lord is being a shepherd. And as a shepherd, he said God will provide for his sheep and God will protect them. Isaiah in Isaiah 40:es 10 and 11 says, "Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." Picture of the good shepherd that we have, a shepherd who cares for us, his sheep. when he says the fruit of the Lord's redemption of Jacob will be joy, they will also be provided for materially. In other words, every need is provided for them by the Lord. And they're also going to have an overflow of the spirit. I believe that this by way of application is also true for us, those of us who love the Lord because I do believe that the Lord in verse 11 when it says the Lord has redeemed, I believe that the Bible teaches very specifically even he has redeemed us. And so he says in verse 12, they shall come and sing in the height of Zion. So there's the joy that we have of serving him. There's the song of the redeemed. He speaks of streaming to the goodness of the Lord for wheat and new wine and oil for the young of the flock and the herd. The Lord provides for you your daily bread. And he says, "Their soul shall be like a well-watered garden. They shall sorrow no more at all." We have the joy of salvation and the power of the Holy Spirit. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance and the young men and the old together. For I will turn the mourning to joy, will comfort them and make them rejoice rather than sorrow. I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance. And my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, says the Lord. The priests will rejoice as they serve him. Their needs will be abundantly cared for and they will rejoice as they serve him. In ministry, and we'll close with this verse, verse 14. In ministry, there are tremendous blessings that God gives to you. I honestly could never really communicate the depth of how I feel about that one phrase. Just a blessing of serving the Lord. It's just such a wonderful life. I could never imagine a different one. I would never want a different one. Like Spurgeon told his young pastor students, if you can do something else, then please do it. But if you can't, maybe that you're called in ministry. There's nothing that causes you greater joy than even as John said than when your spiritual charge when your children walk in truth. Not just my babies, when this fellowship is walking in the ways of the Lord. I have to tell you, man, it is such a joy. But obviously because we're all still vessels of clay and we still can fail in our service to the Lord. There are a lot of times when you hurt for people, you sorrow for people. People remind me sometimes of any any kind of animal. For example, like sometimes we can be like dogs. You can have a great little dog and the dog hurts itself. Generally, if it's hurt pretty bad, will withdraw into a corner. Then, if you try and reach that little dog as you normally do, that dog might bite you. People can be like that. People get hurt, they withdraw, you reach for them, they bite you. Is that a surprise? Some Christians are surprised at that. They think, gosh, I thought when we got saved, everybody would become instant angels. Doesn't work that way, does it? We've discovered that, huh? And some of the deepest wounds you have have been from brothers or sisters who have misrepresented the Lord. Absolutely. Why? Because we love them and we trust them. We share with them our hearts and then next thing you know it became a prayer request and all of your friends know that you blew it in this area or you have this trouble in this area here. You get ashamed, you get mad, you withdraw and somebody says to you, "What's wrong? You haven't seen you. I'll never go back there again. Those people are such hypocrites." So what happens? You're like a little wounded animal. You're biting at the hand that's reaching out to minister to you. So a minister can have joy and service sometimes because love hopes all things. You just anticipate God's work in their life in the future. Love believes all things. You don't get hard to it. You know that the Lord is going to have his way. But these priests here are satisfied. Why? Because the people are being so blessed by God that it's just a joy to serve them and to serve with them. And that, I have to tell you, is when ministry really is fun. It's when we're all together moving on in the things of the Lord. And that's how it's going to be. And that's where we'll pick up next time we get together.