Jeremiah 20:1-7 (Captivity and Commission)

Thank you for subscribing to the Shepherds Church podcast. This is our Lord's Day Sermon We pray that as we declare the

Word of God that you would be encouraged Strengthened in your faith and that you would catch a greater vision of who

Christ is May you be blessed in the hearing of God's Word and may the Lord be with you

We had a membership meeting yesterday where we introduced

Lawrence and Lawrence was able to talk to the members about what? Who the CREC is and I realized after the meeting that I've told a few people how we got to this point

The story of it, but I hadn't told everyone so I thought I would share with you Why we're here not just as the

Shepherds Church, but why we're inviting Lawrence here to preach We were about a year ago

Wrestling with the idea of baptism and one of the things that that I always want this church to be is a place where we

Can say what does the Bible say? Whatever question we have What does the Bible say not what is church tradition say?

Not what is this pastor say or that pastor say what does the Word of God say? So we don't want to come in with our assumption

So we went to the Bible and re -evaluated our position on baptism or we re -evaluated our theology on covenant

We re -evaluated things that we accepted as norm and we came out of that Believing differently on baptism

We believe that all of God's people should receive the sign of baptism from the smallest to the tallest with Adults who convert and believe in Jesus and and also children of believing parents should receive baptism

So that then we asked ourself the question. Well Are we going to be alone in this are we going to join a group?

So we started researching We started looking at different denominations. That might be a good fit and I had read a book called the case for covenant baptism

I love the title because it takes the focus off of the baby and it takes the focus on the covenant making God It's covenant baptism

Well, the author his name is Greg. His name was Greg Strawbridge. He since passed away

He's a wonderful man But in a moment of zeal I said, you know what? I'm gonna go on Facebook and see if I can find this guy

Because I loved the book then I found him and sent him a friend request and he approved it in like five minutes

I was like, all right Well, I'm gonna I'm gonna go one step further and I'm gonna message him and see if he'll if I could talk to him sometime

Just you know text or whatever and he messaged me back. Hey, give me a call sometime and he sent me a cell phone number

I was like, this is the author of the book What's he want to talk to me for? So I called him and talked to him for a couple hours the first time he was so gracious with his time

The next time I called him It was either the second time or the third time that we talked

I was on the phone We were on the phone for an hour. I had to go on an errand while I was on the phone

I went to Lowe's did some shopping Came back to the church was still on the phone with him and was on the phone for another 45 minutes after that Like he was just the most gracious man

Really he wanted to get to know us he wanted to get to know How we came to the covenant baptism position and all of that and in that conversation he said

He said what do you guys think about children in worship? I said all we want our children to be in worship and then he asked me

Well, what do you think about the eschatology and I said all we believe that Christ is gonna have victory, you know

And then we said he said what do you believe about creation? I said well we believe that God created the world six literal days like it says in the

Bible and I didn't realize he was asking me all these questions to see where we were at But at the end of it, he said you sound a lot like us and I said well who is us and he said well

We're in a denomination called the CREC. I said what is crack? I've never heard of this before So at just the same time we were researching denominations.

We were looking at various different groups I met this guy and he said you sound just like us Why don't you add the

CREC to your list of denominations that you're that you're trying to get to know? And over time we just found wonderful relationships with the

CREC brothers. I've been to multiple events I've met with multiple leaders We've not made a decision yet on whether we join or not join

Some of you may have found our name on the CREC website. That was an accident We didn't we didn't actually mean for that to happen

So we have not fully joined But one of the things that we wanted to do is we wanted to invite Lawrence Lawrence is the presiding minister of the

Augustan Presbytery So in a denomination in a Presbyterian denomination, there's various presbyteries all over the country that kind of represent regions

Augustan is from North Carolina to Maine, which is a massive region Lawrence is from Virginia Now he's here to preach the word to us

But he's also here after service if you want to get to know him meet him ask him any questions about who the

CREC is We'd love for you to get to know him because in our process of praying through what the next

Chapter of the life of the Shepherds Church is we want to have wisdom and we want to know what the

Lord wants for us So if you would join me in please welcoming Lawrence my brother up to preach the

Word of God Well, good morning,

I Thought I'd share with you something that I recently shared with our church

You know the Lord continues to work in the lives of individuals the lives of families the lives of churches and lives of nations and The spirit is moving and we our church really just wants to do

What the Lord Jesus Christ would have us do if he were here talking to us, right? I mean, that's what the church is all about.

It's his bride It's his work and we are just to be aligned with him

So I'd invite your attention to Jeremiah chapter 29 and I will read for our hearing the first seven verses about what

Where our church is just like two weeks ago and where we're going now.

So let me read this for you Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent

From Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were carried away captive To the priest the prophets and all the people whom

Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, so this is the letter to the captives in Babylon, you know the story right

God's people sinned Continued to sin. They didn't listen to the prophets that were sent to them.

And finally God chastened them by taking them out of their own country and Bringing them to Babylon and to all the surrounding places in Babylon.

This is uh, this is something that that Nations have done before in conquest

They displaced the people from their own homes their own countries and move them to other places in the world just to scatter them

That's one way of conquering a people verse 2 now this happened after Jeconiah the

King the Queen Mother the eunuchs the princes of Judah and Jerusalem the craftsmen and the

Smiths had departed from Jerusalem the letter was sent by the hand of Elashia the son of Shaphan and Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah Whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon saying

Thus says the Lord of hosts the God of Israel to all who were carried away captive Whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon Here's the message

Are you ready build houses in Babylon Build houses and dwell in them plant gardens and Eat their fruits

Take wives and beget sons and daughters and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands

So that they may bear sons and daughters that you may be increased there and not diminished really sounds like Be fruitful and multiply from Genesis chapter 1 doesn't it?

Right no longer in Eden, but you're supposed to plant gardens

Verse 7 and seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive and pray to the

Lord for it and for its peace and in its peace

You will have peace Let's pray So Lord we ask that you would bless

The reading of your word in such a way that we would be changed we pray that our attention would no longer be

Bide for from our hearts from our plans, but Lord that we give full attention to this That you would speak to us

Lord that we might hear we ask this in Jesus name. Amen So let me ask you this if you are a wife like a literal wife

Do you think that there are places in the Bible that God talks to you

That God speaks to you, but you could turn to some passages. Do you think that? Do you think that there are passages in the scripture?

to wives Under normal circumstances life is normal life is just good.

Everything's going just right all the dogs are barking right and God Speaks to wives.

Do you think that now? Do you think that the Bible? speaks to wives that are going through abnormal circumstances bad and tough circumstances

Well, if you're nodding your head you're right You're right. Does the Bible speak to soldiers?

to widows To pastors to nations to young men to tax collectors to the wealthy to orphan orphans to fathers to false prophets to churches to the depressed to the joyful to the glutton to the leader to the follower

Does the Bible speak with specificity? To people in different positions in different stages in life does the

Bible speak specifically to that Right. So if you check those out, I mean if you're a dad and the

Bible talks to dads And wouldn't you want to like maybe that's the go -to first place you stop and you in you read all those

Or if you're a wife and you're in abnormal circumstances Wouldn't you want to do that if you're joining the military?

Wouldn't you think if the Bible says anything about soldiers and I'm a Christian. I really should check that out.

Does that make sense? Doesn't it? Because God cares

Because God knows life. He knows what's going on in each person's life, and he speaks to us

So whoever you are in whatever circumstances you are

It would be the height the wisdom to check out what God says about you and your situation.

So today I Want to talk about where the church is and the church is in Captivity We are not the head

We're the tail right now We're not in charge People don't respect the church they laugh at the church.

They think our beliefs are primitive They think that we're naive that we're backward that we're stupid

They think that we're mean They think that we don't care. They think that we are hostile and rude and Intolerant and they say that to us stop being intolerant, right?

One. Oh, there's one two three coming back. Anyway The pagans right now are reeling from the the

Roe versus Wade reversal, right? But make no mistake. They are

Regrouping as they always will and always do and for the most part we have to understand this

We live in their house We're in captivity and God we trust is

Threatened it's They're all around us. I mean they have almost all the major institutions

That wasn't like that back in the day Not at all

You go to Europe and the the most beautiful architecture was built by Christians designed by Christians And not just churches music

The greatest music that people still play to this day Christians But not so anymore

Our nation supports and exports and has for a while divorce pornography sodomy entitlement and as a direct consequence a form of godliness through the liberal church that has no

Jehovah or Jesus or Holy Spirit The the the nations that are not

Christian Think that everyone in a nation that calls itself Christian is

Christian. And so in their mind the Christian nation is a bunch divorce pornography entitlement

Baby killing sodomites They associate that with Christianity you think well, they shouldn't do that.

Well If the shoe fits So we are under captivity

But our mission though, here's the good news But our mission whether we are the head or the tail remains the same and that mission is to make disciples hasn't changed

You think where should we build houses and plant gardens and get married and have kids and then those kids get married and have kids

And we just keep on growing a building. Where would we do that? well, of course we would do that in Eden or we would do that in the promised land once we moved in and yet Jeremiah Through speaking the voice of God says to the captives in Babylon do that there right there right now

It's interesting and important. I think to consider that when Jesus taught his first disciples the

Beatitudes You remember that don't you? In fact, you've just recently been there Maybe in one of your studies or something

But you know He sits down every calls his disciples and they're sitting there and then in Matthew chapter 5

The multitudes are listening and it's an open classroom But he's teaching them and as he's teaching them

He says blessed are the poor in spirit, etc, etc So you this you will be a city set on a hill whose light cannot be it so so let your light so shine like that light in the house that men may see your good works and Glorify your

God which is in heaven. So our lives our good works are light light for what so that they can see who can see the other people and What do they see they see the glory of our

God you get that and Jesus was teaching His disciples to start his church and they were under the heel of Rome They weren't free people they couldn't do just whatever they wanted to do they were also in captivity

So really I guess if there was a title and don't use this title Captivity schmack tivity

Right If that gets out that I said that you know, I'll never longer be a presiding minister though like, you know

Yeah, Lawrence now you're the janitor Jesus was saying like Jeremiah to the disciples in a way you are surrounded.

It doesn't matter This is what you do. This is who you are

Of course, there's authorities in the world and there are people in the world in fact above that there are principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness and high places, but I Am telling you how to live your life throughout all of that as If it's your power or your numbers or your ingenuity or your talents or your strengths, it's not

I Will use you and I will make of you People that are just potent

Right Seek the peace of the city. There's three points here

Whether I've caused you to be carried away captive and pray unto the Lord for it for in the peace thereof

You shall have peace. So let's look first of all, we're gonna look at three things seek.

That's our responsibility Seek the peace of the city We're all supposed to pray for God's intervention in the city.

And then the peace that we are supposed to Want the city to have is the welfare of the city now welfare is not a

Pleasant word, right? But when you think about it, you just turn it around you want the city to fare well

You want the neighborhood to fare? Well You want you and this farewell this goodness?

We don't even use that word We in fact, you know, I've had some of you asked me how many kids I've had We had five and you know some things stay with you even after the kids are all adults

Huh? I would love to remember to say when people leave my home something like farewell

Our Godspeed, but I'm still stuck with bye -bye Bye -bye like how old am

I bye -bye But for the city to farewell

Under the gospel the city to farewell because people are being Born again and are growing in God's Word like Psalm 67 that we read earlier

We want to do that. So how do we seek the peace of the city? The word seek means to look with interest to inquire

This is a Christian principle because we're not supposed to look on our own stuff. We're supposed to also

Look on the things of others to prefer others above ourselves to love our neighbor as ourselves, right?

And so this just takes the consistency of what the gospel message is

And you and I are supposed to of course look out for our family but we're also also supposed to seek with interest and inquire and see how we can be involved in Making the city fare well

Well, we're talking about this city here that you have your church in or the city that you have Commuted from to this place of worship this morning that if we're in captivity and the church is speaking specifically with Specificity to where the church is in the world right now at this time.

What are we supposed to do? Well, we're supposed to live our lives Build houses plant gardens have kids have weddings

But also to seek the peace of the city, how do you you how do you do that?

You're probably thinking I haven't thought about it says right now. So don't rush me. Don't put pressure on me

You know, give me a moment here. Well, you could say to me. Well Lawrence you did this a couple of weeks ago in your church

How are you doing and I got to tell you we're gonna figure that out We're praying about it.

But if we're in captivity, this is what the church is we have to do this So it does mean the gospel.

This isn't a social gospel. We're not just gonna help people by handing out bread, right? We're gonna do this in the name of Christ and we it means that we answer the fools and the foolish we tell them the

Truth and love that's a given isn't it if we're gonna be talking to them. We tell them the truth

People need the truth. Oh my word. I Don't know how you live without the truth.

Do you I don't know how you live without knowing God I can't imagine I still remember being an atheist.

I still remember how I felt back then I don't know how people go day to day and not know Jesus They need to hear the truth, but they need to hear it spoken with compassion

With seeking the peace that they can have Your apologetics your presentation of the gospel your defense of the faith should be with warmth

It should be genuine. They can tell they can look in your eyes and they can tell if you really do care about that Here's a verse for you

God so loved the world If he did that's how we're supposed to dress the world and You can raise your voice and you can stick your finger out right and you can interrupt

But man, they need to read in your eyes. They need to pick up that you're doing this out of concern

That you were once like them if by if it wasn't for God's grace, you would be them, right?

We point out that sin is the problem in their lives We tell them that we're a bigger sinner than you are and Sin is always the problem.

I love the the the thing that happened and I can't remember the guy's name Who wrote the book blue like jazz anyone read that book?

He was he and three other Christians only four Christians in this whole liberal campus four guys

And I can't remember the campus, but it was one of those liberal campuses small liberal campuses in the country and One one night a year they had this some kind of event and it was so decadent and so depraved that Staff and and faculty would not even be on campus.

They didn't want to be They would didn't want to be complicit by Having knowledge about what might take place.

It was that bad And so these Christians these four guys were thinking What can we do?

during this decadent Depraved sick thing that goes on campus once a year.

What can we do and when the guy said? Why don't we build a confession a confessional booth and the other three goes are you an idiot?

No one's gonna come especially during this time where? Anything and everything goes no one's gonna come and confess their sins

He said no, no Sorry I didn't explain it we'll build a confessional booth and We will be confessing to anyone that sits in the booth

That as Christians, we really don't love people As Christians, we're really into ourselves

As Christians we are racist as Christians we are we're self

Selfish and and entitled as Christians were afraid as Christians we say that we care about you, and we sing about caring for you

We pray about caring for you, but we don't we don't And they did

They confess that and a lot of Christians are there.

It's we do it here, but we don't do it out there Think about it

You're in Babylon Baba -freakin Babylon, right?

You're supposed to care about the people Who think you're less than and they do right now in our own country?

That you're ignorant you're backward you're not sophisticated you're not cool You don't you don't care, but we we care about people you you don't care about people and We are to seek their welfare

Them to farewell not just to increase. Yeah, go take out Egypt next no

But to farewell under the grace of God under the Lordship of Jesus Christ So We don't point out that sin is a problem.

We use biblical language We help them with their marriage with their parenting with their character with biblical directives and principles at work

Someone says I'm having a problem. Why do you upset? I'm having a problem my husband and my wife or my kids or or finances or or this thing this addiction

I'm fighting we help them in the name of Jesus Christ We say if it wasn't for God's grace,

I would be there or you can say It's only by God's grace I am

NOT still there because I was there and that's honest and that's open and that's genuine isn't it that?

communicates What are you doing? person by person You're seeking the peace the welfare of the city.

We're not talking about buildings and streets. We're talking about people right We care for their elderly their children.

We rake their yard. We take out the trash We invite them to our dinner table our front porch our backyard.

We talk about composting and education and elections and justice and law enforcement and taxes all from a biblical perspective,

I remember I remember back in the day when we were at a

Restaurant and we started talking about Jesus. We would lower our voices Talking normal about movies and about books and things like that and we get to talking about Jesus and we lower our voice

That's that's been gone in my life a long time ago now. Not only I talk about Jesus and About the church and even the sins of the church and the problems of the church.

I talk maybe I actually I Actually, maybe lift my voice a little higher and I've even asked people sitting next to me

So what do you think about that? They're like, well, you know And they're like, oh, I didn't know you thought you knew I was eavesdropping

And then they start talking to me and we have this conversation. I mean make it public talk about everything but talk about it as Jesus's world and Jesus's rules right

They are concerned about the economy they're concerned about the war they're concerned about disease they're concerned about clean food

They're concerned about their future Where are they gonna find hope?

We're gonna find perspective What people group on the earth can help them?

the church can now that might mean That you have to dig in That might mean that you need to read more and have more conversations yourself

It might mean that you need to be equipped. Think about it Jesus Equipped these as disciples for three three and a half years and then sent them out, right?

Are you a disciple or are you just warming that seat? Right Are you all in you love

Jesus and you want to follow him? You're so grateful for his salvation and and what he's done in your family's life and and and all in and so Are you a disciple or are you just here and if you?

Can honestly say, you know what? I think I'm just here. All right. Well then become a disciple Make a change drop from this this

Empty and angry and fearful rhetoric about everything in life and get to doing something about it

Line up with Jesus Christ. I remember Working on construction crews and sometimes

I would be with all Christian crew and we were you know, we were playing

Michael W Smith and Sandy Patty on the on the tape players and And we're you know drumming hammers building reframing houses and painting all this stuff

And we at we would pray and we talked to each other and at lunch We pray before we ate and it was all good.

It was great. But after all I got bored Because I'd also been on all pagan construction crews

And these guys don't care what they say and their lives are such a mess and they laugh about their messy busted up lives they laugh about it or sometimes they come in hungover because of it and And and and I'm an only

Christian on those construction crews and that was fabulous Just awesome

Because I would pray for them And I'd fast for them Everybody breaks for lunch and I would just go off for my 30 minutes and I would pray for them and then oh

You'd be going in the toolshed to get some more equipment and you turn around and there's the manager that you've been praying for And he starts asking you about what you believe or the other manager calls you at 2 in the morning

Does he see you out there cutting those stones? for the chimney and for the facade of the house

Nine to five every day in the Sun I I Got to know what

I got to know what's going on with you and you give him the gospel This is what you can do this is what we all can do you pray for opportunity you look for opportunity

You ask God to give you divine appointment so you can talk to people and you share your faith

Seeking the peace of the city we have to understand something That when Jesus said we're the salt of the earth when he said we're the light of the world he was basically saying

That we are the contagion We're the contagious ones

We're the ones who are supposed to affect change. It's dark. Yes, it's dark and we are light

Isn't that awesome? We're light We shine he shines through us

We're the ones who are supposed to be affecting change and it doesn't matter if we're the head or the tail

The job description remains the same and so if we are captive who cares? Let's go forward they are all around us and let's look again at who they are

They are the people That God said he loved the world and sent his son

To die for them did Jesus by his own words say he came to heal

Those who were not sick. He came to heal the sick

Was he talking about? colds Was he talking about kovat? Was he talking about?

you know Barry Barry, whatever that is Was he talking about poison ivy?

He was talking about sin He came to heal the sick giving his life are these people sick?

Yeah, they're sick They're terminal Right God another place

God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us

It goes on some the height of human love is that some would give themselves for somebody and Maybe for a noble person someone would even die for a noble person

That's the height of human love that we would die maybe for someone that we think Deserves it some there would be a moment

Someone's about to die and we just think so much about this person that we would step in that's the height

But Jesus died for sinners For people who we look at and we would think they're not worthy

But he died for them. Do you not know that the unrighteous? Will not inherit the kingdom of God do not be deceived

Neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers no homosexuals nor sodomites nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards

Nor revilers nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God So you can't if you're that and he continues and such were some of you

See, that's who we were But you are washed but you are sanctified by you sanctified

But you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the

Spirit of our God You are no longer those people because you have been Transformed and all the people around us in the city around us at the workplace in the neighborhood

Even in among our own friends our classmates and our own family members

God can Transform those people and we have to believe that they are militant.

They are obstinate. They are mean they are angry They're valid volatile, but so what?

We have the gospel We know that the gospel is the most offensive thing to an unbeliever possible and We know that the gospel is powerful

Brought Paul says that it is dynamite. It's Explosive so when you share the gospel with someone you are blowing up their world

You can't take pleasure in that I mean honestly sometimes I do And I shouldn't and I'm actually praying

I feel it like ah, I was good and I'm praying Lord I shouldn't think that way please Help me with that, right?

It's just my personality God's done a lot of sanctifying in my life Seek is an operative word it implies knowledge it and familiarity with the location

It's also synonymous to the command to go Right Keith green and if your kids don't know who

Greek Keith Green is you know? Indoctrinated Keith Green would say we don't have to pray about going.

It's commanded We do not have to pray about whether we should seek the peace of the city or not.

We are told to We have to It can be creative Innovative it can be simple it can be you it can be you and your family could be you and your whole church

But you need to think about what you can do, so what is your children do?

What is your children? What are you? What is your church doing right now in? Seeking the peace of the city.

What is your church doing our church? It's taking baby steps.

You know there are some things we've been involved in we've been involved at the abortion mill in our Town we've been outside pleading with women that are bringing their

Unborn to be slaughtered we've been appealing to them Trying to get them to not do that, and you know that's not real successful.

I I do a Bible study every Monday night at the rescue mission the local rescue mission

I sit with the men and we talk and and you know Sowing the seed

I mean you're trying to seek the peace of the city we We make meals You know paper bag meals for kids

We're in Appalachia, and there's a lot of kids That are sleeping on their aunts, so if it might not even be their aunt

There they might have one parent or no parents, and they don't have anybody making them a meal an evening meal so we make

These lunches and drop them off every week, so we're feeding the little kids in the city We're not doing near enough

There's a couple other things we do But we want to do things that that the that changes our city so that they fare well

And we have to think about it. We have to think about what we can do They would too in Captivity they would have to think of that as well

We have to think of that We have to pray about it. We have to ask God to to reveal to us things that we can do

And this is something that everyone can be involved in in some measure But you have to think about it

So we seek we pray unto the Lord for the city our prayers are to be biblical which means

That we want God honored in everything we do So we're asking him to change the city and yet.

We are his hands and his feet We are his mouthpieces you know as The father has sent me

Jesus said so send I you and So we go into the sea.

We're praying that God will change We want God's will to be done in the city as it is in heaven

Taking a line from the Lord's Prayer, right and so that means maybe we go to City Council maybe another church starts in town near us and Their whole thing is social gospel or liberalism, and we meet with them and we say you know that's no good

I Mean it runs the spectrum of us so many things that we can do Maybe we meet with them, and we say we think maybe they're like a polis they need

Further learning we need to help them with something here. I Don't know what it is I don't know what it is yet for where we are but we are looking intently into it because we are a church and we are in captivity and Here's what we're supposed to do

So we pray But we have to think You have to think of the the the apartment complex you live in or the street that you live on and you have to think

What can I do? What would this street look like what would this neighborhood look like what would this apartment?

Community look like if God's will on earth was like it is in heaven

How would that what would that look like and what can

I do to move it that direction? That's what we look at think of think of people in captivity like Joseph Joseph is just this for all intents and purposes.

He's just a guy you know he's a guy He bad bad things happen to him family family bad and then he got he got a job and that went south real quick, and you know now he's in prison and Then you know by God's intervention and by God's Orchestration which really is all of us

He knows where each and every one of us are right now and What's going on in our lives right now, and he knows by design by his own plan by his own

Will what each and everyone else can do in the situations. We are in right now

Joseph Saves Egypt He saves a nation that doesn't acknowledge

God and Pharaoh is talking to Joseph and wants to meet Joseph's family and Joseph is

Recognizing our Pharaoh is recognizing Joseph's God What about Nehemiah Nehemiah privileged position, but in captivity as a captive as a servant to the king begins to pray and the king

The king thinks it's his idea, but God works on the king and the king says you know what

I think It's a good idea and my idea, but it's you know. It's really not to to finance your

Rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem Those are those are people that are in captivity

But they live their lives, and they're still praying and honoring God and things begin to happen

Among the pagans my favorite of course is Daniel Daniel is in captivity, and I've just got to take a moment to read

His influence begins to affect the pagans You have

Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4 and it says this at the end of the time

I Nebuchadnezzar Lifted up my eyes to heaven and my understanding returned to me And I blessed the

Most High and praised and honored him who lives forever. Who is this? This is a

Babylonian King For his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom is from generation to generation all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as Nothing he does according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth

No one can restrain his hand or say to him. What have you done? That's the

Babylonian King later the the Persian King Cyrus says this

To all peoples and nations and languages as dwell in all the earth peace be multiplied to you

I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the

God of Daniel For he is the living God and steadfast forever his kingdom is one which shall not be destroyed

And his dominion shall endure to the end he delivers and rescues He works signs and wonders in heaven and earth who has delivered

Daniel from the power of the lions He saw what

God was doing in Daniel's life and here's the irony That the king of Babylon and the king of Persia are

Saying what if the kings of Judah and the kings of Israel would have continued to say the people would have never been in captivity

You get that? and People will say the same thing you begin to seek the peace of the city begin to tell people the truth in Love can you tell can you say that with me you finish the sentence?

We need to tell the people the truth I want you to walk away with that We talked to them that way they and I've seen it and you've probably seen it, too

They might even not even become Christians that but they begin to defend you Among your other co -workers or your other family members or other classmates they begin to defend you because God is working

Working in their lives, this is what can happen on a huge major scale

But we can zoom way in and it can happen in your own individual personal life. God can change people you're seeking their peace and then the city's welfare in The city's welfare

You were will fare Well, the new humanity in Jesus Christ is to cultivate an

Eden on earth to affect change in the name of the Lord That's why Psalm 67 is so amazing.

It begins with the line. May the nation's be glad May the nation's be glad Who are the nation's?

They're God haters They don't care anything about Jesus Christ They have their own religion

It's either secularism It's Buddhism Islam. It's all this stuff all this stuff.

They don't care about Jesus Christ. I don't care about the our God at all They'll flip the finger at God.

They'll blaspheme his name They would take you out if they could push a button and we were all gone that button would have already been pushed and yet Israel Sings this prayer

May the nation's Be glad Those pagans

The way they treat their women They the way they regard the life of children

You get this are we getting a profile here? Right the way they they come together

In marriage or mirage You feel me

These are the people that Israel is singing a prayer that God's face would shine upon them

Because that's the only persons anyway that God's face shines upon repentant sinners

Because that's who we all are May the nation's be glad May God be merciful to us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us

We need to get our act together. We need to get our ducks in the row We need to be no longer filling a seat

But we need to be following Jesus Christ that your way talking about God your way may be known on the earth your salvation

Among all nations because they need to be saved let the people's that's the nation's that's the people

On the other side of the abortion line, right? And the people who same -sex marriage where we're talking about let the nation's let the people's praise you

Oh God Let the people's praise you Oh Let the nation's be glad and sing for joy and you shall judge the people

Righteously and govern the nation's on the earth. Let the people's praise you Oh God Let all the people's praise you then the earth shall yield her increase

God our own God should bless us God shall bless us and all the ends of the earth shall fear him we remember our salvation

Remembering our salvation. We remember our sinfulness. We remember our lostness.

We remember our depravity and We remember that there are people out there

That need to know Jesus Christ need to hear the truth and need to experience the love of God the security of eternal life

To not be fearful of the world anymore, but to fear the Lord, right

Rejoice in the fear of the Lord They need peace They need fulfillment they were designed in the image of God and they will never be who they can be except they meet

Jesus Christ and Then God's goal is for them become more and more like Jesus Christ Just like you and I across our nation and across the world.

I got to tell you there are so many great Gospel -centered churches. I don't know if you get around I get around and There's a lot to be excited about there's a lot of things to be thankful for So many gospel -centered churches and schools and businesses and missionary and evangelistic efforts orphans orphanages healthcare art film music publishing

Events there is so much going on to encourage us. We are not alone

There's a lot of us doing these things and I thank God for your church

I thank God for the existence of this congregation in this place in this area of our country

It's dark here, but that didn't matter

You got the gospel You got the dynamite You can share the gospel you can speak the truth and love and things

Will happen to the people around you God gives us that confidence.

You might think you're surrounded Didn't matter first disciples were surrounded right so we have an object objective here given to us from our

Lord and Savior and Really what he desires is that as we come to the table this morning and eat bread and wine

He wants those people out there to come in. He says go into the highways and hedges

Compel them to come to my house He's redeeming fallen humanity, and he uses his people as his instruments to do that Let's go forward.

Let's be encouraged. It's good to know what we're supposed to do, right? Have you ever had a job and they never told you exactly what supposed to here?

I had a parent you weren't sure if you were doing exactly what they wanted you to do or not Well, you don't have to worry about that with Jesus We know what we're supposed to do

So let's get about doing it shall we Joining together. I hope you hear about us, and I hope we hear about you.

Let's pray Lord, thank you for this time together for your word Not left in the dark

Lord. We were told that we're to be lights There are people that are right now in darkness that we know and we pray father that you give us opportunities to share your truth

Because your truth is also love and they so need that so we ask this favor in Jesus name