April 17, 2025 • 23 mins
God's discipline is always aimed at restoration, not punishment, as seen through Jeremiah's prophecy to Israel before their Babylonian captivity. The Lord's promise of a new covenant—one written on hearts rather than stone—points to Jesus and offers hope even in our darkest moments.
• Christians should expect to look "strange" to the world as we are aliens passing through
• Believers find strength through connectedness to the body of Christ during trials
• Praying for enemies is powerful and demonstrates the gospel's transformative work in us
• God answers prayers according to His will and timing, not always according to our schedule
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Thank you for reminder for us to recall in
today's divisive and darkculture, from foundational
truths and scripture to the hottopics of today's culture.
Allow this podcast to inspireand motivate you on your faith
journey.
Well, hey, pastor, steve, goodmorning, glad to be here with
you again.
Good to be here.
We are on episode 15 today, so15 in, and it seems like people
(00:44):
have been responding well to it.
I think I got one remark theother day about them liking
walking through the Scripture,and so I know that the one we
did on Catholicism doctrine andBaptist doctrine or Protestant
doctrine was one that peoplereally liked.
And then your testimony.
(01:04):
So appreciate you being here.
It's been a joy, my pleasure.
So we're going to be in Jeremiah, chapter 29 today.
We're going to be in verses 10through 14, and then Jeremiah 31
.
So I'll go ahead and read thatand then we'll jump right in.
So Jeremiah 29, 10 through 14.
For thus says the Lord whenseventy years have been
(01:24):
completed for Babylon, I willvisit you and fulfill my good
word to you to bring you back tothis place, for I know the
plans that I have for you,declares the Lord, plans for
welfare and not for calamity, togive you a future and a hope,
Then you will call upon me andcome and pray to me and I will
listen to you.
You will seek me and find me.
When you search for me with allyour heart, I will be.
(01:58):
And then we're also going toread 31 through 34.
Behold, days are coming,declares the Lord, when I will
make a new covenant with thehouse of Israel and with the
house of Judah, not like thecovenant which I made with their
fathers in the day I took themby the hand to bring them out of
the land of Egypt, my covenant,which they broke although I was
a husband to them, declares theLord.
(02:18):
But this is the covenant whichI will make with the house of
Israel.
After those days, declares theLord, I will put my law within
them and on their heart.
I will write it and I will betheir God and they shall be my
people.
They will not teach again eachman, his neighbor and each man
his brother, saying Know theLord, for they will all know me,
from the least of them to thegreatest of them, declares the
(02:40):
Lord, for I will forgive theiriniquity and their sin.
I will remember no more,declares the Lord, for I will
forgive their iniquity and theirsin.
I will remember no more.
So in verses 11 through 12, theLord assured His people that
what had happened to them, thecaptivity, was not by mistake,
that he had a plan and a purposefor it.
(03:00):
And I think that really bringsto mind the reason God placed
Israel in captivity was torestore relationship with them.
You know you preach this Sundayon marriage and talking about
family and disciplining kids andhow you don't discipline for
punishment, you discipline forrestoration.
That's right and that's what'sgoing on here in Jeremiah.
And he says he encouraged themto pray, for he would listen to
(03:24):
them if they prayed and repentedand went back to him.
And I think verse 13 is one ofthe greatest evangelistic texts
where God says if you seek me,you will find me with all your
heart.
And God assured them that ifthey sought him, that he would
be found, that if they soughtHim, that he would be found.
(03:46):
And you know, I think a lot ofpeople read this and take it out
of context and think, okay, I'mgoing through this specific
situation and God's going toturn it into this way, because
this is what I think would begood for me.
But God's bigger than ourproblems and specific things,
that's going on in our life.
He has a greater plan.
(04:06):
So, in talking about discipline, you know, jeremiah was sent to
do an impossible task.
He would preach to ahard-hearted people, a
stubborn-necked people, and theywouldn't listen, they wouldn't
repent.
But Jeremiah did it anyway, andwe talked a little bit about
that the last episode.
But Jeremiah did it anyway andwe talked a little bit about
that the last episode.
So what's God's purpose indisciplining Israel and what is
(04:30):
His purpose in disciplining ustoday, in 2025?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Well, I think it goes back to what you said a moment
ago.
I think Scripture gives us thepattern for restoration.
You always see God use the wordyou want encouraging, begging,
pleading, teaching his people toreturn.
I believe that's positivereinforcement, and so I always
(04:58):
see him trying to get his peopleto reach back out to him, to
return to him, to return to thatfirst love, before there's
punishment.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Right.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
And you know, I think that's a great pattern for us
as human beings.
So I always believe in positivereinforcement, first of all
because of the pattern I see inScripture.
But when positive reinforcementfails, then God takes the
attitude okay, you're notgetting it or you refuse to get
(05:31):
it.
So I got to help you get it,because I love you too much to
leave you to your own decisions.
That's going to lead you down aterrible path, and so there is
punishment in Scripture, butit's not for the sake of
punishment, it's to bring themback to Him.
(05:52):
And what I think is important inthis passage, they're going to
go into captivity for 70 years.
You, basically, you're going tolose this generation that
refuses to respond to him.
Right, and he's going to startwith a new generation.
And so this is encouragingbecause we still go through
(06:16):
these cycles as societies eventoday.
And in America, you know thesociological guys.
(06:50):
They want to brand everybodywith a name boomers and this
millennials and Gen Z marriageagain that the millennials were
not.
And so you don't necessarilylose the whole thing with a
generation, right.
Sometimes the Lord will move ageneration out of the way to
accomplish His goal.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Right, and that's an excellent point, steve, because
that reminds me of theIsraelites wandering in the
wilderness.
Yes, he let a whole generationgo and raised up a new
generation with Joshua to takethe promised land.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Yeah, and this is hard for us to understand.
He is holy God.
He will accomplish his intent,his goals, and if we can't be
obedient and respond, he'll justuse someone else.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Yeah it's not a problem.
That's right.
Yeah, this idea of seekingwelfare of the city, I think
this can be overlooked becauseit's so simple.
You know, jeremiah prophesied.
The Lord said pray for thiscity.
And I mean, if you think aboutit, that would be like another
(07:54):
country taking us over andsomeone saying the Lord has said
to pray for that country, butreally that country's prosperity
that's taking you over wouldmean your prosperity, yeah, and
so that's what the heart of thepassage is.
And I think it's so interestingbecause it seems like I know,
for me, being in America, if acountry were to take over us and
(08:16):
the Lord were to say, hey, youneed to pray for this country,
I'd be like, are you kidding me?
I'm ready to fight.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Right, right, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
The welfare of the city and the significance of God
writing a new covenant.
So what does that mean for us,this new covenant written in our
hearts?
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Well, the new covenant is that there's a
remnant that they're not donewith this generation.
He's going to raise up a newgeneration when he brings them
back home and you know, there'llbe a generation that'll love
God and he'll love them andthere'll be his people and he'll
be their God.
That's how we named our school,that's how we named our church,
off of that passage.
You know, a lot of people thinkwe're reformed when they hear
(09:04):
the word covenant.
But I didn't know, the reformedguys owned the word.
I take it at its purest meaningthat we have an agreement with
God.
We'll be his people, he'll beour God.
And so the new covenant is apromise to the Israelites that a
new day is coming.
(09:24):
It's not going to be this old,messed up way forever.
A new day will be dawning,right, yeah and I try to.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Anytime I'm reading the Old Testament passage, I try
to put myself in their position, just to get a better grasp on
what's happening, and I wouldimagine for that generation it
was.
They would have been saddenedby the truth that they're going
in captivity and God's going touse someone else and that new
covenant's coming later, not nowwhen I'm here.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Right.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
And, like you said earlier, god is sovereign and
he's got a plan, but sometimesit's hard to accept that Sure it
is.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Well, and here's the really tough part for a human
being, there was a remnant thatwas being faithful okay, a small
remnant, but they also wentinto captivity, right?
And so you know, in asimplified form we'd say, the
mass often suffers for the sinsof a few.
(10:27):
In their case, the few sufferedfor the sins of the mass.
So there were some that died incaptivity, that were obedient,
that did love the Lord, who didtry to honor him, but God
brought out of probably theiroffspring, that new remnant you
(10:49):
know that future covenant thathe was talking about, because I
don't believe they stopped beingfaithful because they went into
captivity.
So I'm sure they raised theirchildren to love the Lord and
that would be the remnant thatcame out in the new covenant.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Right, right, yeah, amen.
So bringing it home to us.
We see Israel going throughwhat they've been through.
We see the words of our Lord tothem.
It was harsh.
They would have felt it wasreal.
Jeremiah, in many ways, facedlots of persecution because of
the truth he spoke.
(11:29):
How do we, as believers, findhope in the midst of trials, in
the midst of this?
Speaker 2 (11:40):
dark generation that we're in today.
Yeah, we find encouragement.
We know that Scripture tells usthat God is consistent the same
yesterday, today and forever.
We know that he is not mocked,that he is the ultimate
authority, he is in control, andso we have to keep our focus on
(12:01):
Him and not on social paradigms.
Where we make the mistake is wetend to think social paradigms
should shape us Right, and theyshould not.
For the Christian, for thebeliever, the Word of God should
shape us, and sometimes we'regoing to look strange to the
(12:23):
world around us.
This is not our home, right, wehave a home in heaven.
We are aliens.
The Bible teaches us passingthrough, so it's really, I think
, an anomaly that the averageChristian would expect to fit in
.
We really should not evenexpect that.
(12:46):
We should know that it's goingto be hard.
It's going to be difficult,that we will be mocked and
ridiculed by some.
We are blessed in America.
We actually have an easy timeof it compared to most of the
world around us.
And so I talk to Christians who, you know, they lose a friend
(13:12):
at work and they can't figureout why God would let that
happen.
And I'm like come on, really,really, you lost a friend at
work.
We have no idea in America whatreal persecution is.
This is real persecution.
These people lost their entirelives and were taken into a
(13:32):
foreign country and made to doslave labor for a generation.
Yet, as I said earlier, therewas a remnant that was still
very faithful to the Lord.
It is in the tough times in ourjourney that we find out if our
(13:52):
faith is real or not.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
And Rick Warren said it well many years ago.
He said Christians are like teabags you never know what's
inside until you drop it in thehot water, you know.
And when a Christian getsdropped in the hot water, you
know.
And when a Christian getsdropped in the hot water, you
find out pretty quick if they'rereally all in or not.
You know.
(14:15):
Not that a legitimate believercouldn't struggle with some
things.
Sure, they do, but they don'trun around with their hair on
fire when it's hard.
And so we must focus on ourSavior and on His Word and on
His promises.
That's how we navigate thedifficult world that we live in.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Amen.
One of the things I've seen too, steve, and I know you have as
well.
The believers who are committedto the body yes, the body
supports them in those moments,yes.
Who are committed to the bodyyes, the body supports them in
those moments, yes, and they getthrough it yes.
But if they're disconnectedit's much harder.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Hardest thing in the world to teach people.
You know, we have a largenumber of people who come in
here on Sunday morning fiveminutes after the music has
started and they leave duringthe invitation.
They never speak to a pastor.
Most of them never speak toanother human being.
They slip in, slip out and yousee them in the grocery store
(15:20):
and they act like they're yourbest friend.
You don't have a clue who theyare because I've never
interacted with them and so theynever get involved.
What we know is, if you becomepart of a church, if you have
not, within a year, connected tosome other believers and begun
to become a part of thatcommunity, you're most likely to
(15:42):
drift out.
You're going to leave, you know.
So, yeah, it's vital.
God, in His wisdom, created Hischurch.
It is our family and it servesto function every way.
A family should function tocare for one another, support
one another, encourage oneanother.
(16:03):
That's what the body of Christis His church.
He died for His church.
Scripture's clear about thatover and over and over, and so
obviously we're not talkingabout buildings, we're talking
about the living, breathing bodyof Christ human beings.
And to get a lot of people tounderstand the importance of
(16:26):
that is really difficult.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Right.
Why is it significant?
And we see in the Scripturethat Israel was commanded to
pray for their captors becauseit would also mean blessings for
them and prosperity for them.
But for us, why is it importantfor us in this day and time to
pray for our enemies?
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Well, jesus is clear that we should pray for our
enemies.
If you believe in the power ofGod and I do, and if you believe
in the power of God and I do,and if you believe in the power
of prayer and I do, I firmlybelieve our prayers are answered
when our hearts and our prayersalign with the will of God.
(17:11):
I don't think we can move Godto fix or change anything that's
not in His will.
But in prayer, I think ourhearts, our minds, become more
aligned with His will.
The Scripture says He'll giveus the desires of our heart.
You know, sometimes I wish ithad explained that a little
(17:34):
better, but I firmly believewhat that means is when we're
aligned properly with His will,then those prayers will be
answered.
We know that prayers can moveGod and that he does respond to
prayer, and so it's vital for usto be praying people.
(18:00):
This is another area I'm afraidwe don't understand the
importance of it.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
A lot of people probably need to hear this
definition, but what wouldconstitute as an enemy towards
us?
Speaker 2 (18:22):
constitute as an enemy towards us.
Yeah, I would think an enemy isanybody who has the intent to
cause or do harm to you, whetherphysically or in some other way
.
You know it could be somebodywho just wants to keep you from
getting a promotion at work or apay raise because they don't
like the fact that you're aChristian.
We need to understand also thatpersecution happens when you're
(18:44):
being mistreated because ofyour faith.
A lot of Christians do dumbthings and they think they're
being persecuted, but in factthey did a dumb thing and
they're reaping what they sowed,and so persecution is only
truly when you're beingmistreated because of your
(19:07):
stance as a believer in the LordJesus Christ.
And that still happens, I think, daily here in our country.
It's much more subtle here,behind the scenes, quietly mask
and veil statements, those kindof things you know.
(19:36):
But yeah, we have to understandthat to be persecuted is to be
mistreated for our faith, ourstance in Christ.
And what more powerfulstatement than us lifting that
individual to the throne room ofGod in prayer and one day
seeing that person come tosalvation in Christ?
And so we have to be remindedthat the Lord always seeks to
restore.
(19:56):
He came to seek and to savethat which was lost, right.
And so our enemies oftentimesare lost and we're not going to
reach them through reciprocalhatred.
Nobody's ever been one to theLord because a Christian hated
them, right, ever been one tothe Lord because a Christian
(20:18):
hated them.
So, yeah, we're to have a verydifferent response than a lost
person would have tomistreatment.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Amen, amen.
What does it look like or whatdoes it mean to live faithfully
while waiting for God's promises?
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Yeah, this is probably one of the hardest
things for any of us.
I know it is for me.
You know, I can rememberpastoring my first 20 years in
the ministry and I'd pastorchurches that had good people in
them.
I think they loved Jesus.
But God wired me to reachpeople for the kingdom and
(21:04):
although every church I've everpastored grew, I would stay so
frustrated because there werealways some barricades that kept
us from reaching certainneighborhoods or certain ethnic
groups or whatever you want tocall it.
We were limited in reachingpeople and boy, I would pray
(21:29):
Lord, I just want to serve achurch where we can be the
church.
You know, that's what I want todo and for me, at least in my
lifetime, this church is theclosest thing to the answer of
that prayer that I've had.
You know, I just am so thankfulfor our church family and their
(21:52):
openness to whoever walksthrough those doors, to love
whomever comes in, whatevertheir background, whoever they
are, because we're here to reachthem for the kingdom Right.
We're not here to check a box.
For certain people and for me,I know that has been hard for
(22:12):
20-plus years.
Boy, you pray and you just feellike God wasn't listening.
You know, Boy, you'd pray andyou'd just feel like God wasn't
listening.
You know, but the truth is,even though I had that prayer, I
probably wasn't ready for whatI was praying for you know
that's good.
And so God, in His wisdom,answered my prayer, I think in
(22:36):
His timing, Right when it wasthe best time for it to happen.
Yeah, yeah, amen how doesJeremiah's prophecy of the new
covenant point to Jesus?
Well, he is our new covenant.
I mean, through the newcovenant we no longer do the old
(22:59):
sacrificial system.
We're not bound by the law,we're bound by grace, you know.
So that is a picture.
Everything in Scripture leadsto Jesus ultimately.
Wa Criswell said there's a fine, thin red line that runs from
Genesis to Revelation, and it'sthe redemptive blood of Jesus.
(23:23):
And so, yeah, jeremiah is apicture of what the Savior will
do for us down the road.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Amen, amen.
Well, I appreciate you, brother.
That's it for this episode.
Thank you, good to be here.
We'll see y'all next time.
Thank you for reminder for us to recall in
today's divisive and darkculture, from foundational
truths and scripture to the hottopics of today's culture.
Allow this podcast to inspireand motivate you on your faith
journey.
Well, hey, pastor, steve, goodmorning, glad to be here with
you again.
Good to be here.
We are on episode 15 today, so15 in, and it seems like people
(00:44):
have been responding well to it.
I think I got one remark theother day about them liking
walking through the Scripture,and so I know that the one we
did on Catholicism doctrine andBaptist doctrine or Protestant
doctrine was one that peoplereally liked.
And then your testimony.
(01:04):
So appreciate you being here.
It's been a joy, my pleasure.
So we're going to be in Jeremiah, chapter 29 today.
We're going to be in verses 10through 14, and then Jeremiah 31
.
So I'll go ahead and read thatand then we'll jump right in.
So Jeremiah 29, 10 through 14.
For thus says the Lord whenseventy years have been
(01:24):
completed for Babylon, I willvisit you and fulfill my good
word to you to bring you back tothis place, for I know the
plans that I have for you,declares the Lord, plans for
welfare and not for calamity, togive you a future and a hope,
Then you will call upon me andcome and pray to me and I will
listen to you.
You will seek me and find me.
When you search for me with allyour heart, I will be.
(01:58):
And then we're also going toread 31 through 34.
Behold, days are coming,declares the Lord, when I will
make a new covenant with thehouse of Israel and with the
house of Judah, not like thecovenant which I made with their
fathers in the day I took themby the hand to bring them out of
the land of Egypt, my covenant,which they broke although I was
a husband to them, declares theLord.
(02:18):
But this is the covenant whichI will make with the house of
Israel.
After those days, declares theLord, I will put my law within
them and on their heart.
I will write it and I will betheir God and they shall be my
people.
They will not teach again eachman, his neighbor and each man
his brother, saying Know theLord, for they will all know me,
from the least of them to thegreatest of them, declares the
(02:40):
Lord, for I will forgive theiriniquity and their sin.
I will remember no more,declares the Lord, for I will
forgive their iniquity and theirsin.
I will remember no more.
So in verses 11 through 12, theLord assured His people that
what had happened to them, thecaptivity, was not by mistake,
that he had a plan and a purposefor it.
(03:00):
And I think that really bringsto mind the reason God placed
Israel in captivity was torestore relationship with them.
You know you preach this Sundayon marriage and talking about
family and disciplining kids andhow you don't discipline for
punishment, you discipline forrestoration.
That's right and that's what'sgoing on here in Jeremiah.
And he says he encouraged themto pray, for he would listen to
(03:24):
them if they prayed and repentedand went back to him.
And I think verse 13 is one ofthe greatest evangelistic texts
where God says if you seek me,you will find me with all your
heart.
And God assured them that ifthey sought him, that he would
be found, that if they soughtHim, that he would be found.
(03:46):
And you know, I think a lot ofpeople read this and take it out
of context and think, okay, I'mgoing through this specific
situation and God's going toturn it into this way, because
this is what I think would begood for me.
But God's bigger than ourproblems and specific things,
that's going on in our life.
He has a greater plan.
(04:06):
So, in talking about discipline, you know, jeremiah was sent to
do an impossible task.
He would preach to ahard-hearted people, a
stubborn-necked people, and theywouldn't listen, they wouldn't
repent.
But Jeremiah did it anyway, andwe talked a little bit about
that the last episode.
But Jeremiah did it anyway andwe talked a little bit about
that the last episode.
So what's God's purpose indisciplining Israel and what is
(04:30):
His purpose in disciplining ustoday, in 2025?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Well, I think it goes back to what you said a moment
ago.
I think Scripture gives us thepattern for restoration.
You always see God use the wordyou want encouraging, begging,
pleading, teaching his people toreturn.
I believe that's positivereinforcement, and so I always
(04:58):
see him trying to get his peopleto reach back out to him, to
return to him, to return to thatfirst love, before there's
punishment.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Right.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
And you know, I think that's a great pattern for us
as human beings.
So I always believe in positivereinforcement, first of all
because of the pattern I see inScripture.
But when positive reinforcementfails, then God takes the
attitude okay, you're notgetting it or you refuse to get
(05:31):
it.
So I got to help you get it,because I love you too much to
leave you to your own decisions.
That's going to lead you down aterrible path, and so there is
punishment in Scripture, butit's not for the sake of
punishment, it's to bring themback to Him.
(05:52):
And what I think is important inthis passage, they're going to
go into captivity for 70 years.
You, basically, you're going tolose this generation that
refuses to respond to him.
Right, and he's going to startwith a new generation.
And so this is encouragingbecause we still go through
(06:16):
these cycles as societies eventoday.
And in America, you know thesociological guys.
(06:50):
They want to brand everybodywith a name boomers and this
millennials and Gen Z marriageagain that the millennials were
not.
And so you don't necessarilylose the whole thing with a
generation, right.
Sometimes the Lord will move ageneration out of the way to
accomplish His goal.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Right, and that's an excellent point, steve, because
that reminds me of theIsraelites wandering in the
wilderness.
Yes, he let a whole generationgo and raised up a new
generation with Joshua to takethe promised land.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Yeah, and this is hard for us to understand.
He is holy God.
He will accomplish his intent,his goals, and if we can't be
obedient and respond, he'll justuse someone else.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Yeah it's not a problem.
That's right.
Yeah, this idea of seekingwelfare of the city, I think
this can be overlooked becauseit's so simple.
You know, jeremiah prophesied.
The Lord said pray for thiscity.
And I mean, if you think aboutit, that would be like another
(07:54):
country taking us over andsomeone saying the Lord has said
to pray for that country, butreally that country's prosperity
that's taking you over wouldmean your prosperity, yeah, and
so that's what the heart of thepassage is.
And I think it's so interestingbecause it seems like I know,
for me, being in America, if acountry were to take over us and
(08:16):
the Lord were to say, hey, youneed to pray for this country,
I'd be like, are you kidding me?
I'm ready to fight.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Right, right, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
The welfare of the city and the significance of God
writing a new covenant.
So what does that mean for us,this new covenant written in our
hearts?
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Well, the new covenant is that there's a
remnant that they're not donewith this generation.
He's going to raise up a newgeneration when he brings them
back home and you know, there'llbe a generation that'll love
God and he'll love them andthere'll be his people and he'll
be their God.
That's how we named our school,that's how we named our church,
off of that passage.
You know, a lot of people thinkwe're reformed when they hear
(09:04):
the word covenant.
But I didn't know, the reformedguys owned the word.
I take it at its purest meaningthat we have an agreement with
God.
We'll be his people, he'll beour God.
And so the new covenant is apromise to the Israelites that a
new day is coming.
(09:24):
It's not going to be this old,messed up way forever.
A new day will be dawning,right, yeah and I try to.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Anytime I'm reading the Old Testament passage, I try
to put myself in their position, just to get a better grasp on
what's happening, and I wouldimagine for that generation it
was.
They would have been saddenedby the truth that they're going
in captivity and God's going touse someone else and that new
covenant's coming later, not nowwhen I'm here.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Right.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
And, like you said earlier, god is sovereign and
he's got a plan, but sometimesit's hard to accept that Sure it
is.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Well, and here's the really tough part for a human
being, there was a remnant thatwas being faithful okay, a small
remnant, but they also wentinto captivity, right?
And so you know, in asimplified form we'd say, the
mass often suffers for the sinsof a few.
(10:27):
In their case, the few sufferedfor the sins of the mass.
So there were some that died incaptivity, that were obedient,
that did love the Lord, who didtry to honor him, but God
brought out of probably theiroffspring, that new remnant you
(10:49):
know that future covenant thathe was talking about, because I
don't believe they stopped beingfaithful because they went into
captivity.
So I'm sure they raised theirchildren to love the Lord and
that would be the remnant thatcame out in the new covenant.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Right, right, yeah, amen.
So bringing it home to us.
We see Israel going throughwhat they've been through.
We see the words of our Lord tothem.
It was harsh.
They would have felt it wasreal.
Jeremiah, in many ways, facedlots of persecution because of
the truth he spoke.
(11:29):
How do we, as believers, findhope in the midst of trials, in
the midst of this?
Speaker 2 (11:40):
dark generation that we're in today.
Yeah, we find encouragement.
We know that Scripture tells usthat God is consistent the same
yesterday, today and forever.
We know that he is not mocked,that he is the ultimate
authority, he is in control, andso we have to keep our focus on
(12:01):
Him and not on social paradigms.
Where we make the mistake is wetend to think social paradigms
should shape us Right, and theyshould not.
For the Christian, for thebeliever, the Word of God should
shape us, and sometimes we'regoing to look strange to the
(12:23):
world around us.
This is not our home, right, wehave a home in heaven.
We are aliens.
The Bible teaches us passingthrough, so it's really, I think
, an anomaly that the averageChristian would expect to fit in
.
We really should not evenexpect that.
(12:46):
We should know that it's goingto be hard.
It's going to be difficult,that we will be mocked and
ridiculed by some.
We are blessed in America.
We actually have an easy timeof it compared to most of the
world around us.
And so I talk to Christians who, you know, they lose a friend
(13:12):
at work and they can't figureout why God would let that
happen.
And I'm like come on, really,really, you lost a friend at
work.
We have no idea in America whatreal persecution is.
This is real persecution.
These people lost their entirelives and were taken into a
(13:32):
foreign country and made to doslave labor for a generation.
Yet, as I said earlier, therewas a remnant that was still
very faithful to the Lord.
It is in the tough times in ourjourney that we find out if our
(13:52):
faith is real or not.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
And Rick Warren said it well many years ago.
He said Christians are like teabags you never know what's
inside until you drop it in thehot water, you know.
And when a Christian getsdropped in the hot water, you
know.
And when a Christian getsdropped in the hot water, you
find out pretty quick if they'rereally all in or not.
You know.
(14:15):
Not that a legitimate believercouldn't struggle with some
things.
Sure, they do, but they don'trun around with their hair on
fire when it's hard.
And so we must focus on ourSavior and on His Word and on
His promises.
That's how we navigate thedifficult world that we live in.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Amen.
One of the things I've seen too, steve, and I know you have as
well.
The believers who are committedto the body yes, the body
supports them in those moments,yes.
Who are committed to the bodyyes, the body supports them in
those moments, yes, and they getthrough it yes.
But if they're disconnectedit's much harder.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Hardest thing in the world to teach people.
You know, we have a largenumber of people who come in
here on Sunday morning fiveminutes after the music has
started and they leave duringthe invitation.
They never speak to a pastor.
Most of them never speak toanother human being.
They slip in, slip out and yousee them in the grocery store
(15:20):
and they act like they're yourbest friend.
You don't have a clue who theyare because I've never
interacted with them and so theynever get involved.
What we know is, if you becomepart of a church, if you have
not, within a year, connected tosome other believers and begun
to become a part of thatcommunity, you're most likely to
(15:42):
drift out.
You're going to leave, you know.
So, yeah, it's vital.
God, in His wisdom, created Hischurch.
It is our family and it servesto function every way.
A family should function tocare for one another, support
one another, encourage oneanother.
(16:03):
That's what the body of Christis His church.
He died for His church.
Scripture's clear about thatover and over and over, and so
obviously we're not talkingabout buildings, we're talking
about the living, breathing bodyof Christ human beings.
And to get a lot of people tounderstand the importance of
(16:26):
that is really difficult.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Right.
Why is it significant?
And we see in the Scripturethat Israel was commanded to
pray for their captors becauseit would also mean blessings for
them and prosperity for them.
But for us, why is it importantfor us in this day and time to
pray for our enemies?
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Well, jesus is clear that we should pray for our
enemies.
If you believe in the power ofGod and I do, and if you believe
in the power of God and I do,and if you believe in the power
of prayer and I do, I firmlybelieve our prayers are answered
when our hearts and our prayersalign with the will of God.
(17:11):
I don't think we can move Godto fix or change anything that's
not in His will.
But in prayer, I think ourhearts, our minds, become more
aligned with His will.
The Scripture says He'll giveus the desires of our heart.
You know, sometimes I wish ithad explained that a little
(17:34):
better, but I firmly believewhat that means is when we're
aligned properly with His will,then those prayers will be
answered.
We know that prayers can moveGod and that he does respond to
prayer, and so it's vital for usto be praying people.
(18:00):
This is another area I'm afraidwe don't understand the
importance of it.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
A lot of people probably need to hear this
definition, but what wouldconstitute as an enemy towards
us?
Speaker 2 (18:22):
constitute as an enemy towards us.
Yeah, I would think an enemy isanybody who has the intent to
cause or do harm to you, whetherphysically or in some other way
.
You know it could be somebodywho just wants to keep you from
getting a promotion at work or apay raise because they don't
like the fact that you're aChristian.
We need to understand also thatpersecution happens when you're
(18:44):
being mistreated because ofyour faith.
A lot of Christians do dumbthings and they think they're
being persecuted, but in factthey did a dumb thing and
they're reaping what they sowed,and so persecution is only
truly when you're beingmistreated because of your
(19:07):
stance as a believer in the LordJesus Christ.
And that still happens, I think, daily here in our country.
It's much more subtle here,behind the scenes, quietly mask
and veil statements, those kindof things you know.
(19:36):
But yeah, we have to understandthat to be persecuted is to be
mistreated for our faith, ourstance in Christ.
And what more powerfulstatement than us lifting that
individual to the throne room ofGod in prayer and one day
seeing that person come tosalvation in Christ?
And so we have to be remindedthat the Lord always seeks to
restore.
(19:56):
He came to seek and to savethat which was lost, right.
And so our enemies oftentimesare lost and we're not going to
reach them through reciprocalhatred.
Nobody's ever been one to theLord because a Christian hated
them, right, ever been one tothe Lord because a Christian
(20:18):
hated them.
So, yeah, we're to have a verydifferent response than a lost
person would have tomistreatment.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Amen, amen.
What does it look like or whatdoes it mean to live faithfully
while waiting for God's promises?
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Yeah, this is probably one of the hardest
things for any of us.
I know it is for me.
You know, I can rememberpastoring my first 20 years in
the ministry and I'd pastorchurches that had good people in
them.
I think they loved Jesus.
But God wired me to reachpeople for the kingdom and
(21:04):
although every church I've everpastored grew, I would stay so
frustrated because there werealways some barricades that kept
us from reaching certainneighborhoods or certain ethnic
groups or whatever you want tocall it.
We were limited in reachingpeople and boy, I would pray
(21:29):
Lord, I just want to serve achurch where we can be the
church.
You know, that's what I want todo and for me, at least in my
lifetime, this church is theclosest thing to the answer of
that prayer that I've had.
You know, I just am so thankfulfor our church family and their
(21:52):
openness to whoever walksthrough those doors, to love
whomever comes in, whatevertheir background, whoever they
are, because we're here to reachthem for the kingdom Right.
We're not here to check a box.
For certain people and for me,I know that has been hard for
(22:12):
20-plus years.
Boy, you pray and you just feellike God wasn't listening.
You know, Boy, you'd pray andyou'd just feel like God wasn't
listening.
You know, but the truth is,even though I had that prayer, I
probably wasn't ready for whatI was praying for you know
that's good.
And so God, in His wisdom,answered my prayer, I think in
(22:36):
His timing, Right when it wasthe best time for it to happen.
Yeah, yeah, amen how doesJeremiah's prophecy of the new
covenant point to Jesus?
Well, he is our new covenant.
I mean, through the newcovenant we no longer do the old
(22:59):
sacrificial system.
We're not bound by the law,we're bound by grace, you know.
So that is a picture.
Everything in Scripture leadsto Jesus ultimately.
Wa Criswell said there's a fine, thin red line that runs from
Genesis to Revelation, and it'sthe redemptive blood of Jesus.
(23:23):
And so, yeah, jeremiah is apicture of what the Savior will
do for us down the road.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Amen, amen.
Well, I appreciate you, brother.
That's it for this episode.
Thank you, good to be here.
We'll see y'all next time.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.