1 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:10,480 Pastor Ronnie, if you would come. And there's somebody I want to recognize today. 2 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:14,280 This wasn't in the plan, but what do I 3 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:18,040 do with the plan? I always. But is. Is 4 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,840 Ms. DJ in here? She was sitting back there. 5 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,560 No, she was here. She was. She was. She was here. 6 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:33,160 Well, Praise the Lord. D.J. matthews has served in children's 7 00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:36,560 ministry for 16 years, and here she is. 8 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:40,320 Okay. She doesn't have to come down here unless she wants to. Oh, 9 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:44,080 you want to come down here? Come on. Come on down here. Okay. Come 10 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:44,400 on. 11 00:01:05,020 --> 00:01:08,620 Ms. DJ has served Children's Ministry for 16 years 12 00:01:08,620 --> 00:01:12,020 and is stepping down after many years of 13 00:01:12,020 --> 00:01:15,740 faithfulness to our kids ministry. And I've asked Pastor Ronnie to come and share a 14 00:01:15,740 --> 00:01:16,220 few thought. 15 00:01:21,830 --> 00:01:24,150 I. Yeah, I'll give you a hug here. 16 00:01:25,670 --> 00:01:29,390 I want to say thank you. From. The 17 00:01:29,390 --> 00:01:33,110 bottom of my heart for what you mean and 18 00:01:33,110 --> 00:01:34,710 have meant to my family. 19 00:01:37,030 --> 00:01:40,870 Margaret was here. You were the most faithful person 20 00:01:41,030 --> 00:01:44,870 she had in the children's ministry. 21 00:01:45,220 --> 00:01:48,820 And I know that it wasn't easy. I know that there were times when it 22 00:01:48,820 --> 00:01:52,620 was hard to get the money together for the gas, and there were 23 00:01:52,620 --> 00:01:56,380 times when the car didn't want to start, and there were times when 24 00:01:56,380 --> 00:02:00,180 you didn't feel well, but, oh, my goodness, 25 00:02:02,180 --> 00:02:06,020 she could always count on you. And then 26 00:02:06,020 --> 00:02:09,660 my little ones. I'm only sad that 27 00:02:09,660 --> 00:02:12,980 you're doing this because June's not going to get to 28 00:02:13,700 --> 00:02:16,580 have you as a teacher. But Jack and Bo, 29 00:02:17,380 --> 00:02:20,980 oh, they would talk about Ms. D.J. all the time. She 30 00:02:20,980 --> 00:02:24,260 meant so much, so very much to them. 31 00:02:25,060 --> 00:02:28,580 And, you know, what God rewards 32 00:02:29,860 --> 00:02:33,460 and what man considers to be, you know, 33 00:02:33,460 --> 00:02:37,140 big and important, has nothing to do with what God rewards. 34 00:02:38,020 --> 00:02:41,560 God rewards faithfulness. And 35 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:45,320 there's a. When I. When I think of you. 36 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:49,080 Kevin asked me as I walked in the church this morning to say 37 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:52,720 something, and I said absolutely. The 38 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:56,120 first verse that came to mind for me, though. Here. 39 00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:58,760 Did I leave my phone with you? Michelle. 40 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:05,000 Michelle will bring the verse. The first 41 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:05,480 verse. 42 00:03:14,850 --> 00:03:17,410 I know you've not had children of your own, 43 00:03:18,850 --> 00:03:22,290 but I'm also very confident 44 00:03:23,090 --> 00:03:26,650 that one of these days on the other 45 00:03:26,650 --> 00:03:29,970 side, you're going to find out how many children you've got. 46 00:03:31,170 --> 00:03:35,010 And the verse that came to mind is Isaiah 47 00:03:35,010 --> 00:03:38,720 49:21. Then you will say in your heart, 48 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:42,600 who has borne me these? I was bereaved 49 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,760 and barren, but who has brought up these? 50 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,080 I was left alone. From where have these come? 51 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,800 They've come from your faithfulness. And there's going to be a 52 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:58,480 multitude of young men and young women. I don't know how young 53 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:02,210 they'll be. Maybe they'll look old. I don't know. Maybe. But 54 00:04:02,210 --> 00:04:05,930 they're going to be coming up to you and going, thank you. You really meant 55 00:04:05,930 --> 00:04:09,650 so much in my life. And I just want you to. Just 56 00:04:09,650 --> 00:04:12,610 want you to know that. I don't know what, Kevin, I hope he's giving you 57 00:04:12,610 --> 00:04:15,210 a house or a car or something, but 58 00:04:17,770 --> 00:04:20,490 that's up to him. But. Yeah, 59 00:04:21,450 --> 00:04:24,850 I love this woman. She's been faithful. Amen. 60 00:04:24,850 --> 00:04:28,060 Yeah. 61 00:04:37,250 --> 00:04:39,090 Well, Stan, let me give you a blessing. 62 00:04:41,490 --> 00:04:45,290 God is so good. And not just because Hal got a hole 63 00:04:45,290 --> 00:04:49,090 in one on the golf course yesterday, but 64 00:04:49,090 --> 00:04:52,930 because he is who he is. God is faithful. 65 00:04:53,330 --> 00:04:56,740 And, man, I'm just so grateful. Well, 66 00:04:58,580 --> 00:05:01,220 today's going to be one of those messages, and 67 00:05:02,660 --> 00:05:05,220 I just pray that your hearts are open today. 68 00:05:08,020 --> 00:05:11,780 Okay. I'm not going to say what I was thinking to say there. Before 69 00:05:11,780 --> 00:05:15,100 we get started, I want to remind you we started midweek this past week, and 70 00:05:15,100 --> 00:05:18,540 if you are not here, you missed a treat. Pastor Barbee opened her series, the 71 00:05:18,540 --> 00:05:21,980 Eye of the Needle. And really, truly, if you haven't seen it, you can go 72 00:05:21,980 --> 00:05:25,780 online and watch it. But I invite you to come and be 73 00:05:25,780 --> 00:05:28,420 a part of it. It was so rich, and it's going to continue to be 74 00:05:28,420 --> 00:05:32,060 rich. The youth ministry met, children's ministry is up and going. Young 75 00:05:32,060 --> 00:05:35,860 adults following that. So really, if you have capacity Thursday night, six o', clock, 76 00:05:35,860 --> 00:05:39,499 come and join us. And then today, we have open tables right after 77 00:05:39,580 --> 00:05:43,300 service today. So it's. Open tables is an opportunity for you to connect 78 00:05:43,300 --> 00:05:45,860 with people here in the church. And all you need to do is go to 79 00:05:45,860 --> 00:05:49,100 the app. You can sign up there for a restaurant. They're listed there. You can 80 00:05:49,100 --> 00:05:52,740 see Cole. She's right here. And she'll get you pointed in a direction, 81 00:05:52,740 --> 00:05:56,060 because if it's one thing I know about church folk is we like to eat. 82 00:05:56,220 --> 00:05:59,780 Okay? So let's do it together. All right? Today we're 83 00:05:59,780 --> 00:06:03,580 continuing the greatest stories ever told. And we're going to talk about a man 84 00:06:03,580 --> 00:06:07,340 named Jeremiah who's known as the Weeping Prophet. 85 00:06:07,340 --> 00:06:10,540 And so we're going to stand today, and you guys are going to read this 86 00:06:10,860 --> 00:06:14,700 to convince me that you're awake and ready to receive what God has 87 00:06:15,270 --> 00:06:18,790 for us. Okay? So with gusto. Are we ready? Here we go. 88 00:06:19,270 --> 00:06:22,950 Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 89 00:06:23,510 --> 00:06:26,830 How then can they call on the one they have not 90 00:06:26,830 --> 00:06:30,390 believed in? And how can they believe in the 91 00:06:30,390 --> 00:06:34,150 one of whom they have not heard? And how can they 92 00:06:34,150 --> 00:06:37,790 hear without someone preaching to them. And 93 00:06:37,790 --> 00:06:40,950 how can anyone preach unless they are sent 94 00:06:41,740 --> 00:06:45,420 as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of those 95 00:06:45,420 --> 00:06:48,860 who bring the good news. And one verse from Jeremiah, 96 00:06:49,100 --> 00:06:50,220 if you've raced, 97 00:06:54,220 --> 00:06:57,700 how can you compete with horses? Father, thank you for your 98 00:06:57,700 --> 00:07:01,540 word. Thank you that it brings life. I pray, Lord, that you would pierce 99 00:07:01,540 --> 00:07:05,180 our hearts today. And Lord, that you would remove the distractions today 100 00:07:05,180 --> 00:07:08,950 so that we can lean into the eternal thoughts and purposes of of your 101 00:07:08,950 --> 00:07:12,310 plan today. We love you and we thank you for this great gift. In Jesus 102 00:07:12,390 --> 00:07:15,590 name, amen. You may be seated. This morning, 103 00:07:16,630 --> 00:07:20,230 we're going to talk about Jeremiah today. And one of the main 104 00:07:20,230 --> 00:07:23,670 reasons I put Jeremiah 12:5 up there, because that's actually a life 105 00:07:23,670 --> 00:07:26,870 verse of mine. I love 106 00:07:27,270 --> 00:07:30,870 the book of Jeremiah and I believe that it conveys some real important 107 00:07:30,950 --> 00:07:34,270 reminders and truths for us. Going to do a little bit of a flyover of 108 00:07:34,270 --> 00:07:37,350 Jeremiah and get kind of to the crux of what I want to talk about 109 00:07:37,350 --> 00:07:40,220 and draw from Jeremiah's story, 110 00:07:40,610 --> 00:07:44,330 Jeremiah's book. But before I do, I've got to give some historical context 111 00:07:44,330 --> 00:07:48,130 to kind of set up where I want to go. So Israel, the nation 112 00:07:48,130 --> 00:07:51,930 Israel was really divided up into 12 tribes. And you remember we 113 00:07:51,930 --> 00:07:55,530 learned about King Saul. The people said, we want a king. And the Lord said, 114 00:07:55,530 --> 00:07:58,770 all right, I'll give you a king. And he gave them Saul. And Saul actually 115 00:07:58,770 --> 00:08:02,210 started out as a pretty good king, but he went 116 00:08:02,210 --> 00:08:05,930 downhill pretty fast. And his son David took over the kingdom and 117 00:08:05,930 --> 00:08:09,570 then King Solomon. And so these kings ruled The Israelites, 118 00:08:10,610 --> 00:08:14,310 the 12 tribes, Israel. And then Solomon 119 00:08:14,310 --> 00:08:18,110 died and his son Rehoboam became king. Now when 120 00:08:18,110 --> 00:08:21,950 Rehoboam became king, the people went to him and said, 121 00:08:21,950 --> 00:08:25,750 hey, we want you to lessen the taxes and lessen 122 00:08:25,750 --> 00:08:29,430 the burden of work you're placing on us that your 123 00:08:29,430 --> 00:08:33,230 father did. And instead of listening to the people and doing that, he 124 00:08:33,230 --> 00:08:36,630 listened to some friends of his. And his friends said, no, you should 125 00:08:36,630 --> 00:08:40,430 multiply the taxes, you should multiply the work, make it harder. And that's what 126 00:08:40,430 --> 00:08:43,710 he did. And what that did is it caused a division with. 127 00:08:44,570 --> 00:08:48,130 And what happened is they divided into two different sections. 128 00:08:48,130 --> 00:08:51,290 The 10 tribes broke away, 10 tribes 129 00:08:51,530 --> 00:08:55,130 rebelled and broke away and went to 130 00:08:55,370 --> 00:08:59,090 created the northern kingdom, which was Israel. And two tribes, Judah and 131 00:08:59,090 --> 00:09:02,650 Benjamin stayed and were the southern kingdom. 132 00:09:02,970 --> 00:09:06,730 So at this period of time, we've got two the divided 133 00:09:06,730 --> 00:09:10,250 nation. We have Israel and we have Judah. And this is the makeup of 134 00:09:10,330 --> 00:09:14,110 the tribes. And Israel in 135 00:09:14,110 --> 00:09:17,710 the north, as is in keeping with rebellion, Israel in the 136 00:09:17,710 --> 00:09:20,710 north started to walk away from the Lord started to 137 00:09:21,670 --> 00:09:25,310 dabble into sin, get into sin, get into false gods, and get 138 00:09:25,310 --> 00:09:28,830 into some things that they obviously shouldn't have been getting into. But they 139 00:09:28,830 --> 00:09:32,310 basically walked away from the Lord. Now in the southern kingdom, that's where Jerusalem 140 00:09:32,390 --> 00:09:35,990 is. And that's where. So they disconnected from everything. They moved away. 141 00:09:36,230 --> 00:09:40,080 And guess what? What happens when we rebel is we. 142 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,840 We lend ourselves to destruction. And so in 722 BC, Assyria 143 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:46,360 conquers Israel because of their sin. 144 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:51,560 Israel is destroyed at this moment. These people are destroyed. 145 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:55,480 They're conquered because of their. Because of their 146 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,440 sin. Sin lends to 147 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:02,760 destruction. And the tribes of Judah, the two 148 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:05,430 tribes of Judah watched it happen. 149 00:10:06,630 --> 00:10:10,470 And the reason I wanted to set this historical context is for this 150 00:10:10,470 --> 00:10:14,230 point right here, the tribes of Judah watched 151 00:10:14,310 --> 00:10:17,830 Israel be taken over by the Assyrians because of their 152 00:10:18,070 --> 00:10:21,590 actions. And in the context of today's message, 153 00:10:21,990 --> 00:10:25,710 I would like to suggest that in our world and the 154 00:10:25,710 --> 00:10:29,310 people we see and walk alongside every day, I believe that the church 155 00:10:29,310 --> 00:10:32,880 is watching it happen too. The church 156 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:36,560 is watching it happen too. 157 00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:43,360 So this downfall happens with 158 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:47,159 Israel. The two tribes are watching it. And all 159 00:10:47,159 --> 00:10:50,840 of a sudden what starts happening in Judah is 160 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:54,680 that they start to. They start to dabble their toe into some 161 00:10:54,680 --> 00:10:58,360 sin. They start getting comfortable and complacent and. And they 162 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:01,880 start to listen to some false prophets. It wasn't that Judah stopped 163 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:05,360 believing in God, but they got real comfortable 164 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:09,120 that they started to listen to some voices that paraded around 165 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:12,800 as if it was coming from the Lord, but it wasn't coming from the Lord. 166 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:16,000 So the Lord raises up a true prophet by the name of 167 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,520 Jeremiah. And I love how the book starts in Jeremiah because 168 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:23,560 he. He looks at Jeremiah and he calls him, and he says, jeremiah, 169 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:27,240 I want to use you. I knew you before you were 170 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:31,090 even created. I knew you in your mother's womb. And 171 00:11:31,090 --> 00:11:34,930 I believe that. I want to use. Lord says, I want to use you 172 00:11:35,330 --> 00:11:38,930 to be my mouthpiece. I'm gonna put my very words 173 00:11:39,250 --> 00:11:42,810 in your mouth and I want you to be obedient to speak them. I love 174 00:11:42,810 --> 00:11:46,570 how the book starts, because here's the thing. When God calls you to something, when 175 00:11:46,570 --> 00:11:50,210 he raises you up for something, he always equips you. And he will give you 176 00:11:50,210 --> 00:11:53,930 his word. He will always. He will always provide the foundation 177 00:11:53,930 --> 00:11:57,650 that you need to walk on. And because it comes from him. And he raises 178 00:11:57,650 --> 00:12:00,910 up a Jeremiah who's going to car the very 179 00:12:00,910 --> 00:12:04,670 heartbeat of his God, who's going to carry the very heartbeat 180 00:12:05,630 --> 00:12:08,750 of his God. And so he raises up 181 00:12:08,750 --> 00:12:12,510 Jeremiah. And Jeremiah goes around and he begins to proclaim 182 00:12:12,510 --> 00:12:16,190 the word of God. And he says to the people of Judah, he says, 183 00:12:16,190 --> 00:12:19,470 listen, turn from your wicked ways. 184 00:12:20,030 --> 00:12:23,630 Turn to the real true God. Don't 185 00:12:23,630 --> 00:12:27,230 dabble in this sin or you're going to be exiled. 186 00:12:27,870 --> 00:12:31,670 This is going to happen. And some other false prophets 187 00:12:31,670 --> 00:12:35,390 were conveying a different message, an opposite message. 188 00:12:35,470 --> 00:12:38,510 They were saying, there's going to be peace. There's going to be peace. 189 00:12:38,990 --> 00:12:42,350 Jeremiah, moved to tears, continued to 190 00:12:44,590 --> 00:12:48,070 proclaim what God was saying to the people of 191 00:12:48,070 --> 00:12:51,670 Judah. Move toward God. Look at God. God 192 00:12:51,670 --> 00:12:55,030 doesn't want you to be exiled. But this is going to happen if you don't 193 00:12:55,030 --> 00:12:58,810 turn from your ways. Well, lo and behold, just like people, they continued 194 00:12:58,810 --> 00:13:02,250 in their ways. They continued in their ways 195 00:13:05,210 --> 00:13:08,650 and they were exiled. In 586 BC they were exiled 196 00:13:09,050 --> 00:13:12,090 to Babylon, just like Jeremiah foretold. 197 00:13:13,210 --> 00:13:16,650 So that gives us a flyover of what we're dealing with here with 198 00:13:16,650 --> 00:13:20,010 Jeremiah. And we're going to focus in on Jeremiah 199 00:13:20,570 --> 00:13:23,970 and his heartbeat and his posture toward people and the people. In 200 00:13:23,970 --> 00:13:27,250 Jeremiah 6 it says this. They dress the wound of my people as though it 201 00:13:27,250 --> 00:13:30,770 were not sin serious. Peace. Peace, they say, when there is no peace. 202 00:13:30,850 --> 00:13:33,570 This is coming from the mouthpiece of the false prophets. 203 00:13:34,610 --> 00:13:38,090 There are people who are parading around as if they knew Jehovah, 204 00:13:38,090 --> 00:13:41,850 God, and they were proclaiming this false word. Can I 205 00:13:41,850 --> 00:13:45,490 tell you, it's dangerous to listen to false prophets. It's 206 00:13:45,490 --> 00:13:49,010 dangerous to listen to people who are proclaiming a 207 00:13:49,010 --> 00:13:52,210 gospel or a truth that does not line up with the word of God. 208 00:13:53,660 --> 00:13:56,380 But whose responsibility is it to know the difference? 209 00:13:57,660 --> 00:14:01,460 It's yours. It's yours. Jeremiah 9 210 00:14:01,460 --> 00:14:04,900 says this. Oh, that my head were a spring of water, my eyes a fountain 211 00:14:04,900 --> 00:14:08,460 of tears. I would weep days and night for the slaying of my 212 00:14:08,860 --> 00:14:12,220 people. Jeremiah, weeping, crying, 213 00:14:12,940 --> 00:14:16,500 heartbroken over the condition of the 214 00:14:16,500 --> 00:14:19,430 people, the condition of the people 215 00:14:20,470 --> 00:14:24,030 of God. And so this brings us to the crux of what I want to 216 00:14:24,030 --> 00:14:27,270 talk to you today about. And it is this. 217 00:14:28,550 --> 00:14:30,950 Do you have tears for the lost? 218 00:14:34,230 --> 00:14:36,710 When was the last time 219 00:14:37,910 --> 00:14:41,510 you shed tears over someone's 220 00:14:41,990 --> 00:14:45,680 eternity? When was the last 221 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:48,720 time you shed tears for someone 222 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:53,160 who was lost? When was 223 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:56,560 the last time you even thought that there were people who were lost? 224 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:08,000 There's coming a day when God is going to split this sky open 225 00:15:10,010 --> 00:15:13,290 and he hasn't done it yet. Why do you think he's relenting to do so? 226 00:15:13,370 --> 00:15:17,090 Why do you think he's not in the heavens yet? Why? 227 00:15:17,090 --> 00:15:20,930 Why do you think he's not open the skies because there are people, there 228 00:15:20,930 --> 00:15:24,170 are still people who need to hear the good news of the gospel of Jesus 229 00:15:24,170 --> 00:15:27,690 Christ. And so today I want to 230 00:15:27,690 --> 00:15:31,130 examine three possibilities of why we may not carry tears 231 00:15:32,170 --> 00:15:35,130 for the lost. The first reason is this. 232 00:15:36,420 --> 00:15:38,820 We are so distracted. 233 00:15:40,020 --> 00:15:43,820 We are so distracted. And many times the 234 00:15:43,820 --> 00:15:46,580 biggest distraction in our life we carry around 235 00:15:48,180 --> 00:15:52,020 because we will open our phone, we will look at our phone, we will talk 236 00:15:52,020 --> 00:15:54,580 on our phone mo more mo mo 237 00:15:55,700 --> 00:15:59,540 talk on our phone more than we will open the word and talk to the 238 00:15:59,540 --> 00:16:02,950 Lord. We will be 239 00:16:02,950 --> 00:16:06,590 devastated if we lose this thing. Some of us are trying to find where the 240 00:16:06,590 --> 00:16:09,350 last place we put our Bible was so we can make sure we have it 241 00:16:09,350 --> 00:16:09,950 for church. 242 00:16:13,070 --> 00:16:16,830 We are so distracted. Culture, society 243 00:16:16,910 --> 00:16:20,110 moving so fast. Distraction, distraction, distraction, 244 00:16:20,110 --> 00:16:22,590 distraction. Constant things in front of us 245 00:16:24,270 --> 00:16:28,030 that just take our focus off of the things that would allow 246 00:16:28,110 --> 00:16:31,790 our hearts to break for what breaks his. We 247 00:16:31,790 --> 00:16:35,550 are so distracted. My wife and I took our kids to the Grand 248 00:16:35,550 --> 00:16:38,870 Canyon a couple years ago. If you ever get a chance to go to the 249 00:16:38,870 --> 00:16:42,150 Grand Canyon, I highly recommend it. I was so excited for my kids to see 250 00:16:42,150 --> 00:16:45,350 the Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon is vast and 251 00:16:45,590 --> 00:16:49,150 majestic and beautiful. And so we were driving out there. And if you ever made 252 00:16:49,150 --> 00:16:52,550 that drive, it's a drive. You gotta plan your day to get out there. 253 00:16:52,790 --> 00:16:56,270 So we got out there to the Grand Canyon, and I'm so excited to show 254 00:16:56,270 --> 00:17:00,120 Hadassah, Lucy, Ruby and Nora. I'm so excited to show them the Grand Canyon. 255 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:03,840 And we get there, and my breath was literally taken away. 256 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:07,760 And I just wanted them to see this moment, to remember 257 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:11,600 this moment. And they were so excited 258 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:14,800 when they got there and saw this squirrel. 259 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:22,720 They spent our entire two or three hours chasing this squirrel 260 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:26,780 and paying zero attention to the wonder that was right 261 00:17:26,780 --> 00:17:30,540 before us. Can I tell you that you 262 00:17:30,540 --> 00:17:34,220 have a God who's standing right before you? But we pay too 263 00:17:34,220 --> 00:17:36,460 much attention to the squirrels all around us. 264 00:17:38,300 --> 00:17:41,660 Some of us are too distracted that the pastor didn't say hello to us this 265 00:17:41,660 --> 00:17:44,580 morning, that we can't listen to the word or worship or get through it. We 266 00:17:44,580 --> 00:17:47,780 are so distracted by the things that don't matter. We're so 267 00:17:47,780 --> 00:17:51,580 distracted by things that come by so fast and move us so 268 00:17:51,580 --> 00:17:54,540 fast, by the text messages and the sounds and the phone 269 00:17:55,260 --> 00:17:58,680 and the ads and the reels and the Instagram and the Facebook and 270 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,840 all of the things that we're so distracted that we can't focus 271 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:06,560 enough to really hear the voice of God, let alone carry the 272 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:09,960 heart of our sovereign God. We are so 273 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:11,640 distracted. 274 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,560 And what happens in the distraction? I want you to go with me for a 275 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:20,760 minute here. What happens, I believe, in the distractions 276 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,890 is we only pick up from fragments of what the Lord 277 00:18:24,890 --> 00:18:28,450 is actually saying to us. But when we are in a 278 00:18:28,450 --> 00:18:32,290 mode to project or to share or to rend what God's 279 00:18:32,290 --> 00:18:35,930 given us, we speak fully from a fragmented position. 280 00:18:36,490 --> 00:18:40,010 And what happens is the truth begins to get diluted and 281 00:18:40,090 --> 00:18:43,610 shallow because we only present the gospel from a 282 00:18:43,610 --> 00:18:47,290 shallow perspective. Because we take a fraction and we make it the whole thing. 283 00:18:48,170 --> 00:18:51,690 Can I tell you, this is what happened in Judah, this is what happened in 284 00:18:51,690 --> 00:18:54,890 Israel, is that generation after generation is getting 285 00:18:55,350 --> 00:18:59,110 fragment of who this glorious God is. And so they begin to tip their 286 00:18:59,110 --> 00:19:02,510 toe into sin, but try to keep their toe in the kingdom. And I want 287 00:19:02,510 --> 00:19:06,310 to say we're not too far from that, folks. Can 288 00:19:06,310 --> 00:19:10,030 I tell you today that Satan, our 289 00:19:10,030 --> 00:19:13,710 enemy, he is after your kids. He is 290 00:19:13,710 --> 00:19:17,190 after the generation to come. And this little 291 00:19:17,190 --> 00:19:20,990 booger of a devil, he is the most. One of the 292 00:19:20,990 --> 00:19:24,700 most patient beings on the earth. He will just 293 00:19:24,700 --> 00:19:27,780 wait. Because if he can plant a seed, 294 00:19:28,900 --> 00:19:32,620 one little seed in your life to distract 295 00:19:32,620 --> 00:19:36,180 you enough, he doesn't have to do any destruction. You'll destroy yourself. 296 00:19:37,140 --> 00:19:40,820 You'll destroy yourself. The enemy is after 297 00:19:40,820 --> 00:19:44,380 our kids. Why was Moses put in a 298 00:19:44,380 --> 00:19:48,180 basket? Why was he literally put in a basket? He 299 00:19:48,180 --> 00:19:51,320 was put in a basket because he was. They were trying to save his life. 300 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:55,640 Kill the kids. Why did Jesus have to flee to Egypt? 301 00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:00,640 Kill the kids in our society, 302 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:04,400 in our generation, what is the enemy 303 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:08,120 doing to attack the next generation so that the word of God doesn't go 304 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:11,960 forward? Well, let's make sure divorce happens in the homes so that we 305 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:15,640 lose the sanctity of marriage and we pollute 306 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,680 marriage so it's not attractive to kids to get married. 307 00:20:19,930 --> 00:20:23,770 So let's have broken homes. Let's distract 308 00:20:23,770 --> 00:20:27,490 them enough and numb ourselves enough that we don't even know how to have a 309 00:20:27,490 --> 00:20:31,130 common conversation and shake somebody's hand and say hello, let's get 310 00:20:31,130 --> 00:20:34,810 distracted enough. Why? So that there's no connection 311 00:20:34,810 --> 00:20:36,890 between individuals. They just hook up. 312 00:20:39,610 --> 00:20:41,530 Abortion, let's kill the kids. 313 00:20:43,530 --> 00:20:46,810 Identity issues in our generation so that there is no 314 00:20:46,810 --> 00:20:50,580 procreation, there is no supplying the 315 00:20:50,580 --> 00:20:54,260 next generation, because guess what? He wants to kill off the generation. 316 00:20:54,260 --> 00:20:57,980 Are you following me? You have a responsibility, 317 00:20:58,140 --> 00:21:01,500 parents. Because here's the problem. And in pews across 318 00:21:01,580 --> 00:21:05,300 America, parents come and sit in sanctuaries in the 319 00:21:05,300 --> 00:21:08,940 pews, will shout hallelujah and amen and show their kids something 320 00:21:08,940 --> 00:21:12,460 different when they get home, we're part of the problem as well, 321 00:21:14,790 --> 00:21:17,190 because we will come in here and we'll put on a smile. I love you 322 00:21:17,190 --> 00:21:19,990 so much. It's so good. I love you. Oh, you're so great. And then we 323 00:21:19,990 --> 00:21:23,630 will get home and we will gossip, we will chatter, we will slander, we will 324 00:21:23,630 --> 00:21:27,110 watch things, we will do things. And we are painting for our children 325 00:21:27,430 --> 00:21:31,070 something completely different than we are projecting when we're around the things of the 326 00:21:31,070 --> 00:21:34,870 Lord. What does your life look like? We are so 327 00:21:34,950 --> 00:21:38,710 distracted. Why don't we have tears for the lost? Maybe it's 328 00:21:38,710 --> 00:21:40,070 because some of us are lost ourselves. 329 00:21:43,670 --> 00:21:47,230 Tears for love. We are so distracted. It's one of the reasons why you cannot 330 00:21:47,230 --> 00:21:50,950 convince me that children's and youth ministries are the most important ministries of a church. 331 00:21:51,910 --> 00:21:54,950 It's the most important because we are investing into 332 00:21:54,950 --> 00:21:58,790 undeveloped minds every day as parents 333 00:21:58,790 --> 00:22:02,630 and in the church, raising kids up who are 334 00:22:02,630 --> 00:22:06,430 hearing the word of God's truth and man. I can 335 00:22:06,430 --> 00:22:09,990 tell you, in that undeveloped state as an educator, in that undeveloped 336 00:22:09,990 --> 00:22:13,690 state of. We are training them by our actions when we render 337 00:22:13,690 --> 00:22:16,930 some type of truth. They are watching you to see if you walk out. What 338 00:22:16,930 --> 00:22:17,850 you say you believe 339 00:22:20,650 --> 00:22:24,010 the enemy's out. The enemy's out to kill generations. 340 00:22:25,610 --> 00:22:29,170 And the people of Judah were distracted because they had one foot in the 341 00:22:29,170 --> 00:22:32,770 kingdom and the other in the world. The second reason I believe that we don't 342 00:22:32,770 --> 00:22:36,130 have tears for the lost is because we accept the counterfeit. 343 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,680 We are willing to accept the counterfeit. 344 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:45,680 Let's look at some counterfeits today, shall we? If it's not Mountain 345 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:47,480 Dew, it's got to be Mountain View. 346 00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:53,960 If you've not seen the Lion King, check out the lion thing with 347 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:55,000 Chufasa. 348 00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:00,760 Looking for something to dip in your milk? Try cream between. 349 00:23:03,790 --> 00:23:06,670 Now, I love me some Adidas, but I'm not too fond of AIDS. 350 00:23:09,790 --> 00:23:13,430 And I've washed my body with Dove. But I'm not so fond of washing it 351 00:23:13,430 --> 00:23:14,110 with Dave. 352 00:23:18,670 --> 00:23:22,390 I can't believe it's not butter. Well, how about I think it tastes like 353 00:23:22,390 --> 00:23:22,830 butter 354 00:23:26,030 --> 00:23:28,670 and if it's not Sony, it must be phony. 355 00:23:30,500 --> 00:23:34,220 Listen, the enemy's greatest talent is creating 356 00:23:34,220 --> 00:23:37,700 counterfeits that look like the real thing. The 357 00:23:37,700 --> 00:23:41,380 enemy's greatest talent is creating counterfeits that look like the real 358 00:23:41,380 --> 00:23:45,019 thing. I used to. This is no shame, what I'm about to say, so let 359 00:23:45,019 --> 00:23:48,860 it fly out. Don't be offended. You know, I 360 00:23:48,860 --> 00:23:52,700 used to go to Kroger or somewhere and I 361 00:23:52,700 --> 00:23:56,420 would be buying chicken. I like some Chicken. And I would 362 00:23:56,420 --> 00:24:00,130 just go and get the cheapest chicken. And then one day Ronnie 363 00:24:00,130 --> 00:24:03,930 said, have you ever actually had real chicken? He actually said, 364 00:24:03,930 --> 00:24:06,570 have you had like real chicken? And I'm like, why eat chicken? You know? He's 365 00:24:06,570 --> 00:24:10,330 like, no, no. Have you had no injection, like actual, like real 366 00:24:10,330 --> 00:24:13,930 chicken? And so I went out and got some $30 chicken piece 367 00:24:14,250 --> 00:24:18,050 and I put it in a fry pan. It's 368 00:24:18,050 --> 00:24:20,170 the best chicken I've ever tasted in my life. 369 00:24:22,250 --> 00:24:25,750 But I had become so accustomed to counterfeit. 370 00:24:27,270 --> 00:24:30,990 I become so accustomed that I didn't even really know that 371 00:24:30,990 --> 00:24:34,750 there was something better. I believe that in 372 00:24:34,750 --> 00:24:38,070 our lives we can get to a place where 373 00:24:38,390 --> 00:24:42,110 we so lean into the counterfeit that we actually take 374 00:24:42,110 --> 00:24:45,510 God's label and we slap it on the counterfeit. We say, this is my God. 375 00:24:51,360 --> 00:24:54,960 Counterfeits are dangerous because they keep you comfortable until 376 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:58,600 it's too late. Over in Second Corinthians, Satan 377 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:02,360 himself masquerades as an angel of light. Is it 378 00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:06,159 not surprising, then his servants also masquerade as servants 379 00:25:06,159 --> 00:25:09,680 of righteousness? Their end will be what their actions 380 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:13,440 deserve. And I tell you that the 381 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:16,920 enemy of your soul knows how to put on a shirt that says I love 382 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,740 Jesus. He knows how to smile. He knows how to speak 383 00:25:20,740 --> 00:25:23,300 the lingo. But here's the thing, 384 00:25:26,420 --> 00:25:29,780 when it comes to counterfeit, they actually employ people 385 00:25:30,420 --> 00:25:33,859 in this country to look for counterfeit dollar bills, 386 00:25:34,100 --> 00:25:37,860 okay? If you get employed to look 387 00:25:37,860 --> 00:25:41,540 for counterfeit dollar bills, you don't spend time 388 00:25:41,540 --> 00:25:45,340 with the counterfeit learning what the counterfeit holds. You spend time 389 00:25:45,340 --> 00:25:48,940 with the real thing so that when the counterfeit comes, you can recognize this 390 00:25:48,940 --> 00:25:52,760 is real. And can I tell you, the way that 391 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:56,520 you recognize a counterfeit is by spending time with the real 392 00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:00,120 God, by spending time with truly who he is, by getting 393 00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:03,280 in his word. Because let me tell you, the counterfeit 394 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:07,320 sounds very familiar. This is why when you go 395 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:10,120 to that store and they, you give them a 20 ounce counterfeit, they have to 396 00:26:10,120 --> 00:26:12,920 hold it up to the light because they're trying to make sure. Why? Because it 397 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,770 looks just like. Looks just like it. And 398 00:26:16,770 --> 00:26:20,090 some of us will order our entire lives based on a 399 00:26:20,090 --> 00:26:22,450 counterfeit because we don't know the real thing. 400 00:26:25,490 --> 00:26:29,210 Reason we don't have tears for the loss is because we settle for the 401 00:26:29,210 --> 00:26:32,449 counterfeit. And the people of Judah accepted the counterfeit. 402 00:26:33,250 --> 00:26:36,890 Might I suggest today that counterfeits don't just live on shelves, they live in 403 00:26:36,890 --> 00:26:39,570 pulpits, playlists and priorities. 404 00:26:42,380 --> 00:26:45,300 We turn on the TV and we just hear somebody, as long as they say 405 00:26:45,300 --> 00:26:48,580 Jesus Whatever else they're saying, we just buy into it and believe it. In fact, 406 00:26:48,580 --> 00:26:52,340 some of you have mailed checks for 1999 to people that have just said Jesus 407 00:26:52,340 --> 00:26:53,740 and the rest of it was garbage. 408 00:26:56,380 --> 00:27:00,100 Playlists that we have in our ear, lies just feeding into us. And we just 409 00:27:00,100 --> 00:27:02,380 buy into them and we just live our lives with the lie. 410 00:27:03,580 --> 00:27:07,180 Priorities. Now, I'm all about some 411 00:27:07,180 --> 00:27:10,820 boundaries. You read that book, Boundaries. I'm all about some boundaries, okay? But sometimes we 412 00:27:10,820 --> 00:27:13,650 use that as an idol in our life to not do the things we're supposed. 413 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,280 Supposed to do. Your 414 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:20,280 priority is what the God of the universe tells you to do. 415 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:25,360 That's your priority. And for Jeremiah, it was go share my word and 416 00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:28,760 they're going to throw you stones at you, they're going to spit at you. 417 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,760 That was Jeremiah's priority because it was God's calling 418 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:33,480 in his life. 419 00:27:41,490 --> 00:27:45,170 And lastly, I believe it's because we settle for the shallow. 420 00:27:46,290 --> 00:27:48,690 We settle for shallow. 421 00:27:50,450 --> 00:27:54,050 A deluded truth. This is what 2 Timothy 422 00:27:54,050 --> 00:27:57,770 tells us. @ the end of times, there's going to 423 00:27:57,770 --> 00:28:01,490 be terrible things that happen. People will be lovers of 424 00:28:01,490 --> 00:28:04,930 themselves, lovers of money, 425 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,840 boastful, proud, abusive, 426 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:13,920 disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 427 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:17,680 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self 428 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,280 control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, 429 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:25,120 conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. 430 00:28:25,360 --> 00:28:28,880 Having a form of godliness but denying its power. 431 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:31,840 Do you know any of these people? 432 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:38,640 And then he continues. He didn't stop there, does he? He says, don't have anything 433 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:42,400 to do with these people. The people 434 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:43,320 of Judah, 435 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:49,880 rubbing elbows with people who are all of these things, 436 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:55,680 building strong friendships and relationships and marrying the people who 437 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:57,640 are engaging in all of this stuff, 438 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:02,720 and it leads to their exile. Might I suggest to us 439 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:07,120 that we need to have our eyes open to the areas in 440 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,680 our lives that this might describe. 441 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:14,480 Why is this important? Because we need to have tears 442 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:18,280 for the lost. We need to 443 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:21,240 shed tears. Why should. Why do we need to. Why should I cry for the 444 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:24,560 lost? Because we're talking about a matter of life and death. 445 00:29:26,130 --> 00:29:29,650 We're talking about a matter of life and. Can I, guys, 446 00:29:29,810 --> 00:29:30,610 Can I just. 447 00:29:33,490 --> 00:29:37,290 If my kid runs out into the road and a Mack truck is 448 00:29:37,290 --> 00:29:40,810 coming at one of them, there is nothing on this 449 00:29:40,810 --> 00:29:44,410 planet that would stop me from jumping as far as I can into that street 450 00:29:44,410 --> 00:29:48,210 to push them out of the way. And Jeremiah's heart, 451 00:29:48,930 --> 00:29:52,290 his heartbeat, and the love that he had for the people was to say, 452 00:29:52,290 --> 00:29:54,930 destruction is coming at 100 miles an hour. 453 00:29:56,850 --> 00:29:59,770 And he's willing to jump out in front of that Mack truck to push them 454 00:29:59,770 --> 00:30:02,050 out of the way. What about you? 455 00:30:03,650 --> 00:30:05,330 What about you? What about us? 456 00:30:07,330 --> 00:30:10,450 It's the same heart problem as Judah's day. 457 00:30:11,089 --> 00:30:14,330 And as surely as. And just as surely as Babylon came for 458 00:30:14,330 --> 00:30:17,730 Jerusalem, Jesus is going to return for his church. 459 00:30:18,370 --> 00:30:22,050 He's going to come back. Here's the good news. The gospel is 460 00:30:22,050 --> 00:30:25,710 this. Jesus Christ came and he lived an impeccable 461 00:30:25,710 --> 00:30:29,390 life, a perfect life. Why? Because God the Father 462 00:30:29,390 --> 00:30:32,190 told him to go. And he said, yes, I'll do it. He came down, he 463 00:30:32,190 --> 00:30:35,990 lived a perfect life. And guess what? We sin. And 464 00:30:35,990 --> 00:30:39,190 there's a penalty for our sin. There's a penalty for all these things, and that 465 00:30:39,190 --> 00:30:42,790 penalty is death. And Jesus came. Jesus Christ came to this 466 00:30:42,790 --> 00:30:46,510 planet to pay the death penalty because 467 00:30:46,590 --> 00:30:50,080 only he could pay it. And so he pays this death 468 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:53,800 penalty. But here's the power behind the story. He told us that 469 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:57,640 three days later, I'm coming back to life. And guess what? He did. He 470 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:01,240 came back to life. Today he's sitting by the right hand of God. I believe 471 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:04,960 he's alive and well today. And because of the power of the 472 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:08,680 resurrection, you and I can now have eternal life with Jesus 473 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:12,480 Christ forevermore. And that's something to be excited about. That's 474 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:15,880 something to. If you want to praise him for something, don't praise him because he 475 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:19,130 met your water bill. That's a good thing to praise him for. Praise him because 476 00:31:19,130 --> 00:31:21,690 there's food on the table. That's a good thing to praise him for. Praise him 477 00:31:21,690 --> 00:31:25,170 because you went from death to life. And not only from death to life. 478 00:31:25,330 --> 00:31:29,090 The promise is, is that he's coming back one day for you. He's coming 479 00:31:29,090 --> 00:31:32,450 back. And there's somebody here. I believe there's somebody here today. 480 00:31:33,170 --> 00:31:36,650 All in my spirit. There's somebody here today that you feel as if you have 481 00:31:36,650 --> 00:31:40,050 gone so far that you have no way back. Can I tell you, this verse 482 00:31:40,050 --> 00:31:43,090 is coming up later. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. 483 00:31:44,050 --> 00:31:47,890 His mercies are new every single morning. And I believe that 484 00:31:47,890 --> 00:31:51,270 today, if you are here in a place and you're. That this guy could have 485 00:31:51,270 --> 00:31:53,990 anything to do with me because you don't know what I've done. Let me tell 486 00:31:53,990 --> 00:31:57,590 you. He knows everything you've done. And this morning he said, I want you. This 487 00:31:57,590 --> 00:32:01,030 morning he said, I love you. This morning he said, come to me. Come to 488 00:32:01,030 --> 00:32:04,750 me. I will change your life and show you things that you can. 489 00:32:04,830 --> 00:32:08,590 Indescribably extraordinary things. And it's available for you today. 490 00:32:08,830 --> 00:32:11,510 Let me tell you, there's a dying world out there that also needs to hear 491 00:32:11,510 --> 00:32:15,230 that message. And there's a dying world out there that you are passing by 492 00:32:15,310 --> 00:32:19,010 every single day. Guys, do you have tears for the lost? Do 493 00:32:19,010 --> 00:32:22,850 you have tears for those whose eternity is going to be separated 494 00:32:23,010 --> 00:32:26,730 from the Lord? It is dangerous to walk a lukewarm 495 00:32:26,730 --> 00:32:30,530 lifestyle. It is dangerous when you've got one foot in the world and 496 00:32:30,530 --> 00:32:34,050 one foot in the Lord. It's a dangerous thing because you taint the gospel 497 00:32:34,130 --> 00:32:37,690 when somebody's looking at you and say, do you really model what you're saying, what 498 00:32:37,690 --> 00:32:40,930 you preach, what you're wearing on your shirt where you say, I love the Lord? 499 00:32:43,980 --> 00:32:47,500 Jeremiah was rendering actual truth because who he was 500 00:32:47,500 --> 00:32:49,980 listening to was the mouth of God. 501 00:32:54,060 --> 00:32:57,340 The God you've created can't save you from the hell you ignore. 502 00:33:00,860 --> 00:33:04,500 See, we like to believe because. And we do, we serve this 503 00:33:04,500 --> 00:33:08,180 glorious God who is a promised, abundant life, and we lean into that so 504 00:33:08,180 --> 00:33:11,790 much. But, guys, I just have to tell you as your pastor, 505 00:33:11,790 --> 00:33:15,510 there's coming a day where those who have not acknowledged the 506 00:33:15,510 --> 00:33:19,230 Lord Jesus Christ are going to be separated from Him. Now, 507 00:33:19,230 --> 00:33:21,630 will there be a lake of fire and all those things? That's what the scripture 508 00:33:21,630 --> 00:33:25,390 says. But let me tell you what hell is. Hell is separation from God. Hell 509 00:33:25,390 --> 00:33:29,110 is separation from God if God is 510 00:33:29,670 --> 00:33:33,350 love, joy, patience, peace, if God is all. I mean, none of that. 511 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:40,240 And we create many gods all the time, 512 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:44,240 and he can't. They cannot save you from the hell you 513 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:48,280 ignore. And so I would suggest to us this 514 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:51,760 morning that we not mistake God's patience for God's approval. 515 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:57,200 Because if you're wallowing in sin and you're living a lifestyle and you're doing 516 00:33:57,200 --> 00:34:00,600 this thing over and over and over again, and you've just decided God is so 517 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:04,090 patient with me, I'm just going to continue to lean into it. Do not mistake 518 00:34:04,090 --> 00:34:07,890 in God's patience for his approval. His patience is there 519 00:34:07,890 --> 00:34:11,650 because He's. I believe that he so is. Is pursuing 520 00:34:11,650 --> 00:34:14,810 you and wanting you to come home. But there's going to come a point where 521 00:34:14,810 --> 00:34:18,610 he says, that's enough. And the reason 522 00:34:18,610 --> 00:34:21,970 we have the story of Israel and Judah and the 523 00:34:21,970 --> 00:34:25,810 exile is because there comes a time when God, when he says, enough 524 00:34:25,810 --> 00:34:29,519 is enough. It's going to be enough. When he splits the sky. It's really 525 00:34:29,519 --> 00:34:33,319 going to happen. It's not a myth. It's not a fairytale. It's the truth. 526 00:34:34,999 --> 00:34:38,719 And so there is an urgency. Why is there an Urgency because 527 00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:42,359 people are dying. Why are people dying? Because we live in a sinful world. 528 00:34:42,679 --> 00:34:46,439 The urgency also comes because we don't know the hour or day. We could decide 529 00:34:46,439 --> 00:34:49,799 to go to open tables today. And glory to glory. The trumpets are sounding. 530 00:34:54,210 --> 00:34:56,290 Will everybody at your lunch table be going with you? 531 00:35:00,450 --> 00:35:03,730 Lord, would you break our hearts for what breaks yours? 532 00:35:06,130 --> 00:35:09,690 God, would you put something in us that gets our 533 00:35:09,690 --> 00:35:13,530 mirror out of our face? Where every decision, everything we do has to 534 00:35:13,530 --> 00:35:17,010 start with how this makes me feel, how this makes me look. 535 00:35:20,460 --> 00:35:23,820 Tears for the lost. It's a matter of life 536 00:35:24,220 --> 00:35:27,020 and death. Look at your neighbor and say, it's a matter of life and death. 537 00:35:29,020 --> 00:35:32,060 Went shopping yesterday, and I got this fish. 538 00:35:33,340 --> 00:35:36,900 He matches my blue here. It's a blue 539 00:35:36,900 --> 00:35:40,540 fish. I didn't know that God created fish that look like this. 540 00:35:41,100 --> 00:35:44,660 And it's pretty cool. Do y' all see them back there? You see them over 541 00:35:44,660 --> 00:35:46,740 there? Let me help you. 542 00:35:49,940 --> 00:35:51,700 I'll just kind of pull him out here. 543 00:35:54,420 --> 00:35:58,180 Let's see here. Come here, little buddy. This is Max, by the way. 544 00:35:59,620 --> 00:36:01,940 Max, let's see here. 545 00:36:03,380 --> 00:36:06,260 He's got a little leaf in here. Come here. 546 00:36:08,500 --> 00:36:11,950 All right, now I got him. All right, who wants to see him? Oh, stop 547 00:36:11,950 --> 00:36:14,990 wiggling. All right, anybody want to see him? 548 00:36:15,630 --> 00:36:18,870 Want to see him now? If he flies out in your dress, don't be mad. 549 00:36:18,870 --> 00:36:21,670 See a blue. Look how this blue. I didn't know he made blue fish. This. 550 00:36:21,670 --> 00:36:23,790 This blue. Look how blue that is. 551 00:36:25,390 --> 00:36:29,070 Max landed in somebody's dress last service. Yeah. 552 00:36:29,630 --> 00:36:33,470 Oh, look at him. Oh, he's kind of convulsing like something's wrong. Okay, 553 00:36:33,550 --> 00:36:37,230 let's see here. Oh, he's shaking. Come here. 554 00:36:37,230 --> 00:36:40,390 He must be nervous to show Charlotte. Come here. Oh, 555 00:36:40,390 --> 00:36:44,150 Melanie, look at this blue fish. Oh, come 556 00:36:44,150 --> 00:36:47,710 on now. Yeah. Oh, he's 557 00:36:48,030 --> 00:36:51,790 kind of moving slower now. Wonder what's going on with that. See, 558 00:36:51,790 --> 00:36:55,070 it's a blue fish. You see? See the blue fish? 559 00:36:56,030 --> 00:36:56,590 Huh? 560 00:37:00,430 --> 00:37:04,110 What? Oh, you want me to put him 561 00:37:04,110 --> 00:37:05,230 back? Oh. Oh. 562 00:37:19,540 --> 00:37:22,980 Now, Tina, why did you come and take that fish out of my hand? 563 00:37:24,100 --> 00:37:27,340 Because the fish was dying. There was an urgency in you because the fish was 564 00:37:27,340 --> 00:37:30,780 outside of the environment that it's supposed to live. Guys, we care so much more 565 00:37:30,780 --> 00:37:32,620 about fish than we do the people around us. 566 00:37:35,410 --> 00:37:39,090 And you have got to have the boldness and confidence to do 567 00:37:39,090 --> 00:37:42,730 whatever it takes to introduce the dying 568 00:37:42,730 --> 00:37:46,530 people to the world and the kingdom to which they should belong to. 569 00:37:48,050 --> 00:37:51,690 Are you bold enough to actually even say the name 570 00:37:51,690 --> 00:37:55,170 Jesus at the supermarket to your 571 00:37:55,170 --> 00:37:59,010 waitress or waiter? Are you? I 572 00:37:59,010 --> 00:38:00,850 mean, while you're cutting that person off the road, 573 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:05,640 right? Or why they're cutting you off 574 00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:09,080 when you get overcharged? 575 00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:15,000 Because here's the thing, I don't know why it is. Barbie, have you ever expected 576 00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:17,000 a non Christian to act like a Christian? 577 00:38:19,720 --> 00:38:23,280 I mean, so here it is. We get offended 578 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:26,880 as Christians who are supposed to be bringing the truth, expecting 579 00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:30,280 non Christians to act like we're supposed to act. But then we return the favor 580 00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:33,630 without acting like a Christian. Now where's that going to lead us? Let me tell 581 00:38:33,630 --> 00:38:36,630 you. To exile. That's where it's going to lead us. 582 00:38:37,270 --> 00:38:41,070 I believe somebody said, turn the other cheek. Now, he 583 00:38:41,070 --> 00:38:44,390 wasn't just talking about when you get punched in the face, turn the other 584 00:38:44,550 --> 00:38:48,070 cheek. When somebody wrongs you, turn the other cheek. Guys, 585 00:38:48,310 --> 00:38:52,150 do our lives look like him? Do our lives look like him? 586 00:38:52,150 --> 00:38:55,870 The part of having tears for loss isn't just about streams of water 587 00:38:55,870 --> 00:38:59,550 coming down your face. It's about doing something about it. Listening to the 588 00:38:59,550 --> 00:39:03,340 Holy Spirit, being willing to be a Jeremiah in 589 00:39:03,340 --> 00:39:06,380 a world that needs to hear the truth of God's word. 590 00:39:10,780 --> 00:39:14,300 We are a people who have hope. In Jeremiah 591 00:39:14,300 --> 00:39:17,900 31, I have a chick fil a story I'll tell you sometime. It's not going 592 00:39:17,900 --> 00:39:21,700 to happen today. Jeremiah 31, it says this. 593 00:39:21,700 --> 00:39:25,260 The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a 594 00:39:25,420 --> 00:39:29,230 new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of 595 00:39:29,230 --> 00:39:32,950 Judah. Now I want you to pay attention to this. Remember 596 00:39:32,950 --> 00:39:36,750 we talked about Israel at the top of the message? This 597 00:39:36,750 --> 00:39:40,150 tells me that God doesn't forget about anybody. 598 00:39:41,190 --> 00:39:44,990 Israel was destroyed. It was captive, it was taken by 599 00:39:44,990 --> 00:39:48,750 the Assyrians. Guess what? God has not forgotten about Israel. And God has 600 00:39:48,750 --> 00:39:52,470 not forgotten about you. He's not forgotten about that person who did 601 00:39:52,470 --> 00:39:55,590 X, Y and Z. He's not forgotten. He says, I'm going to make a new 602 00:39:56,230 --> 00:40:00,070 covenant, a new promise. We lament, we cry 603 00:40:00,070 --> 00:40:03,750 because judgment is real. But we hope because salvation 604 00:40:03,750 --> 00:40:07,350 is still available. Salvation is still 605 00:40:07,430 --> 00:40:10,550 available. It's available right now. It's available today. 606 00:40:11,909 --> 00:40:15,710 And so Jeremiah 29:11 says. For 607 00:40:15,710 --> 00:40:19,310 I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans for you to 608 00:40:19,310 --> 00:40:23,080 prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a 609 00:40:23,080 --> 00:40:26,800 future. Let me tell you something. Driving down the street, this was the 610 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:30,520 chick fil a story. Driving down the street and I'm in a car with another 611 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:34,360 guy. He sees a billboard. And the thing that was on the billboard led to 612 00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:37,720 his salvation. If God can use a 613 00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:41,280 billboard, he can use any scripture in his word 614 00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:45,320 to speak to people. I Understand that we talk about how the word of 615 00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:48,960 God is written for us and not to us in some instances. 616 00:40:49,290 --> 00:40:52,250 But don't tell me God can't take a verse and minister to you with it. 617 00:40:53,050 --> 00:40:56,650 His word is alive and active. He has plans for you people. 618 00:40:57,690 --> 00:41:00,890 He has a hope and a future for you. I can lean right into that 619 00:41:00,890 --> 00:41:04,730 scripture and claim it all day long, but guess what? It makes 620 00:41:04,730 --> 00:41:08,250 me want to learn more so I know the entire context because there's much more 621 00:41:08,250 --> 00:41:11,770 to be learned. I don't just take that as a 622 00:41:11,770 --> 00:41:14,810 fragmented verse and stand my whole life on it and say, well, there's nothing else 623 00:41:14,810 --> 00:41:17,990 for me to do. It encourages me to grow more. 624 00:41:19,030 --> 00:41:22,790 Jeremiah 29:13. You will seek me 625 00:41:22,790 --> 00:41:26,390 and find me when you seek me with all of your heart. 626 00:41:26,470 --> 00:41:29,590 Guys, we just come with that half. Little piece of my heart. 627 00:41:30,310 --> 00:41:33,870 Little piece of it. No, all. All of our 628 00:41:33,870 --> 00:41:37,670 heart. But this 629 00:41:37,670 --> 00:41:41,270 I call to mind, and therefore I have hope. The steadfast love of the Lord 630 00:41:41,270 --> 00:41:45,080 never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every 631 00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:48,560 morning. Great is your faithfulness. 632 00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:50,400 Worship team. You can come back. 633 00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:58,560 I cried so much in the first gathering 634 00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:03,360 because I'm asking the Lord to break my heart for what breaks his. 635 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:08,480 I want to be a church who sees the lost 636 00:42:10,250 --> 00:42:13,690 that we're not. Guys, we have. We have a beautiful 637 00:42:13,690 --> 00:42:17,130 facility. We have great 638 00:42:17,130 --> 00:42:20,690 programs here. We have wonderful things you can 639 00:42:20,690 --> 00:42:24,410 participate in and be a part of. Somebody told me today that the Kate 640 00:42:24,410 --> 00:42:27,850 is doing an amazing job in the cafe as they ate that gooey cinnamon roll 641 00:42:27,850 --> 00:42:31,610 this morning. Got some hot coffee out there. We got all of these 642 00:42:31,610 --> 00:42:35,440 wonderful things. But, guys, none of that is the purpose. Purpose. All 643 00:42:35,440 --> 00:42:39,120 of it has to do with this essential truth that there are people dying 644 00:42:39,120 --> 00:42:41,360 and there's life available to them. 645 00:42:43,680 --> 00:42:47,360 And so our lives must model Christ. 646 00:42:49,040 --> 00:42:52,040 And if you don't get anything right. Listen, if you don't get all that religious 647 00:42:52,040 --> 00:42:55,120 stuff right, you don't do everything. Let's do that. How about we love, right? 648 00:42:55,760 --> 00:42:58,960 Let's just start there. Let's just. Let's just lean in. If you can't think, oh, 649 00:42:58,960 --> 00:43:02,030 man, I'm not supposed to do this. I'm caught up in this. Okay, forget about 650 00:43:02,030 --> 00:43:05,750 all that for just a moment. Let's just lean into love. Let's just examine 651 00:43:05,750 --> 00:43:08,510 and learn. What does God say about how to love? 652 00:43:09,470 --> 00:43:12,430 Lean there. And I think that rest of that stuff will start to just creep 653 00:43:12,430 --> 00:43:16,230 in there because guess why. Guess. Here's the thing. This is cool how this works. 654 00:43:16,230 --> 00:43:19,750 You start to learn about how to Love others. You're going to start learning you're 655 00:43:19,750 --> 00:43:23,470 actually loved by the creator of the universe as well. And then 656 00:43:23,470 --> 00:43:27,120 your identity is no longer in question. Right? He 657 00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:29,800 begins to move. Guys, we are at war, 658 00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:35,760 and we win the battle in the end. There's some 659 00:43:35,760 --> 00:43:39,600 casualties on the way, and you might literally 660 00:43:39,600 --> 00:43:43,280 be sitting next to one of the casualties just because you were 661 00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:46,880 not obedient to introduce them to the God of the 662 00:43:46,880 --> 00:43:47,480 universe. 663 00:43:50,760 --> 00:43:53,490 And so today, this is what I want to do to close the service. I 664 00:43:53,490 --> 00:43:57,010 have some chalkboards. Would you roll those out for me, Pastor Barbie? 665 00:43:57,490 --> 00:44:00,450 I have some chalkboards here, and we're going to turn them around because there are 666 00:44:00,450 --> 00:44:04,050 already some things written on them from the early gathering. 667 00:44:08,210 --> 00:44:10,850 I chose chalkboards this morning for a reason. 668 00:44:12,050 --> 00:44:15,650 We're going to put names up here of people 669 00:44:16,530 --> 00:44:20,260 that we're believing for salvation for. And 670 00:44:20,260 --> 00:44:23,220 I put them on chalkboards because we're going to believe that the names are going 671 00:44:23,220 --> 00:44:26,740 to be erased off these boards and written in the Lamb's Book of life. 672 00:44:27,380 --> 00:44:30,820 And when they're written in the Lamb's book of life, they ain't going anywhere, okay? 673 00:44:30,900 --> 00:44:33,580 So here they can be erased. We're going to erase them off of here because 674 00:44:33,580 --> 00:44:37,340 we're going to believe the Lord. If you came today and you've got somebody on 675 00:44:37,340 --> 00:44:41,180 your mind, maybe it's somebody that you were supposed 676 00:44:41,180 --> 00:44:44,580 to minister to. Maybe it was somebody. Maybe you missed it. Maybe it's. Maybe it's 677 00:44:44,580 --> 00:44:48,400 somebody, and that's okay. There's great. Hey. The steadfast love of the Lord never 678 00:44:48,400 --> 00:44:50,680 ceases. His mercies are new every morning. 679 00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:55,760 But today I'm going to invite you to come and add a name to this 680 00:44:55,760 --> 00:44:59,320 board, okay? If you've got somebody who you believe 681 00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:03,920 needs salvation. But. But there's 682 00:45:03,920 --> 00:45:07,680 more. If you're a leader here and you're planning to pray with 683 00:45:07,680 --> 00:45:10,840 people today, would you come on up right now before I have everybody standing? 684 00:45:20,910 --> 00:45:24,470 I believe that sometimes it's easier to believe for somebody else 685 00:45:24,470 --> 00:45:27,950 rather than. Or more so than it is to believe for yourself. 686 00:45:30,350 --> 00:45:34,190 And I. You know, I sometimes miss the Holy Spirit, 687 00:45:34,190 --> 00:45:37,990 but I believe this morning the Holy Spirit told me there is somebody who's 688 00:45:38,140 --> 00:45:39,900 eternity is going to change in this room. 689 00:45:42,380 --> 00:45:45,900 And all of these people behind me have laid down their lives 690 00:45:46,940 --> 00:45:50,780 not so that we can have wonderful programs and coffee and all that. 691 00:45:50,780 --> 00:45:54,540 They've laid down their lives because they want to introduce people to Jesus. 692 00:45:56,220 --> 00:45:59,820 And so if you're here this morning and you have never 693 00:46:00,060 --> 00:46:03,860 asked Jesus to be in your life, today 694 00:46:03,860 --> 00:46:07,610 is the day of Salvation. Salvation. He who calls upon 695 00:46:07,610 --> 00:46:11,050 the name of the Lord will be saved. Will be saved. 696 00:46:12,570 --> 00:46:16,170 And the Holy Spirit of God knew that you were coming to church this morning. 697 00:46:16,250 --> 00:46:18,810 I'm talking about the one who had to rush out to the car. The kids 698 00:46:18,810 --> 00:46:21,810 were screaming, you were in a bad mood. You ran the red light. He knew 699 00:46:21,810 --> 00:46:25,290 you were coming this morning in your mess. 700 00:46:25,690 --> 00:46:29,450 He knew it. And in 701 00:46:29,450 --> 00:46:32,180 knowing that, he's saying, come, 702 00:46:33,780 --> 00:46:37,060 leave the life. It's okay, come. 703 00:46:37,380 --> 00:46:40,580 Doesn't matter what you come is what he's saying. 704 00:46:41,860 --> 00:46:45,660 And so if that is you today, I'm going to invite you to come this 705 00:46:45,660 --> 00:46:49,420 morning and pray with one of these people up here. And it will 706 00:46:49,420 --> 00:46:52,980 be the greatest privilege and joy of any one of these people's lives 707 00:46:53,060 --> 00:46:55,380 to lead you to the God who breathes stars. 708 00:46:57,950 --> 00:47:01,790 And so we're going to come for three reasons. Number one reason is to 709 00:47:01,790 --> 00:47:05,230 write names on this board of people that we need to be believing for. 710 00:47:05,390 --> 00:47:09,190 Number two is if you want today to change everything, let me also say this. 711 00:47:09,190 --> 00:47:12,910 I'm going to really step on a toe here. Are you ready? Some 712 00:47:12,910 --> 00:47:16,110 of you say, oh, I'm saved because I've been in church all my life. 713 00:47:17,150 --> 00:47:20,950 Some of you say, I'm good. I'm good because my parents have faith enough for 714 00:47:20,950 --> 00:47:24,410 me to believe. Let me tell you why you can't ride on the 715 00:47:24,410 --> 00:47:27,450 coattails of your parents, because your parents aren't Jesus. 716 00:47:28,970 --> 00:47:32,330 So I'm saying to you this, and I'm gonna get real Baptist on you. There 717 00:47:32,330 --> 00:47:36,010 needs to be a point in time where you point back and say, everything 718 00:47:36,170 --> 00:47:39,770 changed. There needs to be a point. He says, whoever confesses 719 00:47:39,770 --> 00:47:43,570 his sin, then he's just to forgive. Forgive his sin. So today may be 720 00:47:43,570 --> 00:47:46,650 a day where you've been, you've been walking around and you've been participating in the 721 00:47:46,650 --> 00:47:50,470 things of the kingdom, but you, you've never acknowledged him as Lord with someone. 722 00:47:50,470 --> 00:47:54,230 You never had that moment where you said, God, I'm 723 00:47:54,230 --> 00:47:57,990 a sinner and I need your blood. Would you forgive me? 724 00:47:57,990 --> 00:48:01,510 I need your blood. I accept you into my life. I want to live for 725 00:48:01,510 --> 00:48:04,310 you. If that's you, today's the day of salvation. 726 00:48:05,830 --> 00:48:09,550 So that's number two. Number three, some of you are sitting 727 00:48:09,550 --> 00:48:12,750 here, some of you are crying right now because you know somebody right now that 728 00:48:12,750 --> 00:48:16,390 either needs to hear this message, it's not saved. It's probably the same person. You're 729 00:48:16,390 --> 00:48:19,950 gonna put their name on this board, come to one of these 730 00:48:19,950 --> 00:48:23,630 believers, and let's believe together for the people's 731 00:48:23,630 --> 00:48:27,430 names. We're Writing on the boards, there's somebody you want to pray with. And, 732 00:48:27,590 --> 00:48:30,230 guys, this is. If you're. If you're praying with people, let me have your eyes 733 00:48:30,230 --> 00:48:33,350 for a second. Here's the prayer. We're gonna pray for salvation, 734 00:48:33,750 --> 00:48:37,590 okay? But you're gonna pray that the Lord gives that 735 00:48:37,590 --> 00:48:41,400 person the courage and the confidence to be the conduit of grace for that 736 00:48:41,400 --> 00:48:43,080 person's life, okay? 737 00:48:45,080 --> 00:48:48,720 Once all of that happens and we start moving here, the 738 00:48:48,720 --> 00:48:51,720 prayer for the church that I have this morning that I need for my life 739 00:48:51,720 --> 00:48:55,439 is break my heart. God, give me tears for these names. Give 740 00:48:55,439 --> 00:48:59,000 me tears for Josh and Tasha and Caleb and Chris and Rich and John 741 00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:02,640 and Michaela. Give me tears for these people. And so as you go 742 00:49:02,640 --> 00:49:06,200 back and worship, it's not the time to suck down your. Your latte. It's time 743 00:49:06,200 --> 00:49:10,040 to lean in. Lean in and carry and 744 00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:13,640 ask the Lord. And maybe you don't feel anything. Maybe you're emotionless toward it. Then 745 00:49:13,640 --> 00:49:17,000 just stand there and go, Lord, would you break my heart? Lord, would you break 746 00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:20,240 my heart? Well, Lord, would you tender up my heart so I can see them 747 00:49:20,240 --> 00:49:23,880 the way you see them? I believe Jeremiah, he wasn't coming at them like 748 00:49:23,880 --> 00:49:27,440 this. He was coming at them broken with tears. 749 00:49:28,800 --> 00:49:32,450 So, Lord, would you break our heart as a church to the 750 00:49:32,450 --> 00:49:35,810 names that we're going to render before you today. Would you stand with me? We're 751 00:49:35,810 --> 00:49:39,410 going to worship three reasons to come forward, to write names on the board, 752 00:49:40,290 --> 00:49:43,970 to pray for people who need to hear salvation. And if you 753 00:49:43,970 --> 00:49:47,729 today want to change your eternity forever, come and 754 00:49:47,729 --> 00:49:49,010 pray. Let's worship.