Latest / Meadows Baptist Church Podcast / Hope For The Hopeless - 2/18/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

Transcript

Hope For The Hopeless - 2/18/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch · Meadows Baptist Church Podcast

• 0:02
  Welcome to the podcast of Meadows
• 0:05
  Baptist Church of Walnut Cove, North
• 0:07
  Carolina. We're so glad you joined us
• 0:10
  today. If you enjoy today's message, be
• 0:12
  sure to subscribe, follow, and share
• 0:15
  with your friends. Now, let's join
• 0:17
  Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from
• 0:20
  God.
• 0:27
  All right. If you would take God's word
• 0:28
  tonight and turn with me to the book of
• 0:30
  Lamentations,
• 0:32
  the book of Lamentations.
• 0:34
  And yes, that is a book of the Bible.
• 0:38
  And uh it is in there. It's in between
• 0:40
  the book of Jeremiah and the book of
• 0:42
  Ezekiel.
• 0:43
  And uh
• 0:46
  had this thought on my heart today. Just
• 0:48
  couldn't get away from it. and uh by the
• 0:52
  events of the day I feel like it's very
• 0:54
  suitable and you pray God will help me
• 0:56
  tonight and uh
• 1:02
  thinking today just about the service
• 1:04
  tonight and uh I'd love to continue on
• 1:07
  in Jude but I want to give us a little
• 1:08
  break from that and uh that's a lot to
• 1:11
  stomach two services in a row and I want
• 1:14
  to be encouragement to you. Amen. And uh
• 1:17
  I tell you what, all this book's good.
• 1:19
  Amen. All the Bible's good, but I tell
• 1:20
  you what, uh, if you preached on Luke 16
• 1:23
  every week or or the book of Jude every
• 1:25
  week, he might not have anybody left.
• 1:26
  Amen. And, uh, so, uh, I'll preach as
• 1:29
  long as God says to, Amen., but he's
• 1:31
  he's got more sense than I do. Amen. So,
• 1:33
  he'll lead us in the right way. U, but
• 1:36
  I, I felt led to go here today, uh, just
• 1:39
  in my prayer time and, uh, reading,
• 1:41
  studying this. And so, I want to look
• 1:43
  this this evening in the book of
• 1:44
  Lamentations, chapter 3. I want to read
• 1:47
  just a few verses. Um verse number verse
• 1:50
  number 17 is we'll begin reading or
• 1:53
  actually let's begin reading in verse
• 1:56
  number 15
• 1:58
  verse number 15. Lamentations chapter 3
• 2:01
  and uh
• 2:04
  give me a minute to get my mind sorted
• 2:05
  out here. Lamentations chapter 3 verse
• 2:08
  number 15. Father help us. Help us. The
• 2:12
  Bible says in verse number 15 of
• 2:14
  Lamentations 3, he hath filled me with
• 2:16
  bitterness. Heath made me drunken with
• 2:19
  wormwood. He hath also broken Heath also
• 2:22
  broken my teeth with gravel stones. He
• 2:25
  hath covered me with ashes, and thou has
• 2:28
  removed my soul far off from peace. I
• 2:30
  forget prosperity. And I said, my
• 2:33
  strength and my hope is perished from
• 2:35
  the Lord, remembering mine affliction
• 2:37
  and my misery, the wormwood and the G.
• 2:41
  My soul hath them still in remembrance,
• 2:44
  and is humbled in me. And notice verse
• 2:46
  21, Jeremiah says, he says, "This I
• 2:49
  recall to my mind, therefore have I
• 2:52
  hope." Verse 22, he says, "It is of the
• 2:55
  Lord's mercies that we are not consumed
• 2:59
  >> because his compassions fail not."
• 3:01
  >> Right?
• 3:02
  >> They are new every morning.
• 3:06
  Great is thy faithfulness.
• 3:08
  And he says in verse 24, "The Lord is my
• 3:11
  portion, saith my soul. Therefore will I
• 3:14
  hope in him. In verse 25, he says, "The
• 3:17
  Lord is good unto them that wait for him
• 3:20
  to the soul that seeketh him." And I
• 3:23
  want to zero in if we could for just a
• 3:26
  little while this evening in verse
• 3:28
  number 21 where Jeremiah says, "This I
• 3:31
  recall to my mind, therefore
• 3:34
  have I hope." I want to preach on this
• 3:37
  thought for just a little while. Hope
• 3:39
  for the hopeless.
• 3:41
  Hope for the hopeless. Now, I know
• 3:45
  tonight that where we're at and we're in
• 3:47
  a an air conditioned building tonight.
• 3:49
  And far as I know, everything's all
• 3:51
  right. My I'm in my right mind, I think.
• 3:54
  Amen. And uh God's been good. I'm
• 3:56
  breathing air and I want to preach.
• 3:58
  Amen. I feel liberty and God's blessed
• 4:01
  me. I'll tell you this, we ain't all We
• 4:03
  don't all feel that way.
• 4:04
  >> That's right.
• 4:05
  >> And uh I'll say this, I don't feel that
• 4:07
  way all the time.
• 4:08
  >> You're right. And I'm thankful that my
• 4:11
  circumstances do not have to override
• 4:13
  the condition of my heart.
• 4:15
  >> And I want to give you some truths
• 4:17
  tonight out of this text concerning uh
• 4:20
  Jeremiah's state here in Lamentations.
• 4:22
  We know Jeremiah tonight. He's described
• 4:25
  as the weeping prophet. Jeremiah
• 4:27
  preached some 70 years and never saw a
• 4:30
  single person repent and get right with
• 4:32
  God that we know of from the scriptures.
• 4:35
  And I don't know about you, but that
• 4:36
  would be discouraging. I've been at this
• 4:39
  church just about a year and a half,
• 4:40
  maybe a little over that. And we've seen
• 4:43
  several souls be saved here in the
• 4:45
  church. But could you imagine 70 years
• 4:48
  preaching to people that did not want to
• 4:50
  hear what you have to say? Had no desire
• 4:52
  to get right with God. And I'll say
• 4:54
  this, if America keeps going the way
• 4:56
  that she is, it's a very good
• 4:57
  possibility that we come upon those
• 4:59
  days. And uh but Jeremiah's preaching,
• 5:02
  he's been faithful to preach, but he's
• 5:04
  been through all kinds of turmoil. And
• 5:06
  I'm not going to go into all that
• 5:07
  tonight. I just want to give you what's
• 5:09
  in these verses. But Jeremiah has
• 5:10
  suffered. And in this chapter, Jeremiah
• 5:13
  describes the suffering that he is
• 5:16
  facing. And in verse number one, notice
• 5:19
  what you Bible says.
• 5:21
  He says, "I am the man that hath seen
• 5:23
  affliction by the rod of his wrath." And
• 5:27
  this really begins the summary basically
• 5:30
  from verse one all the way down through
• 5:32
  verse number 20 of what Jeremiah is
• 5:35
  going to say. Jeremiah is discouraged.
• 5:38
  Jeremiah is depressed. And he says first
• 5:41
  of all he says I'm afflicted. Number one
• 5:44
  in verse number one he says I'm
• 5:45
  afflicted and it's seems to be my
• 5:48
  punishment. Now I'll say this tonight.
• 5:50
  When we feel afflicted, many times our
• 5:52
  mind, our carnal mind decides in itself
• 5:55
  that it must be some form of punishment.
• 5:57
  But let me remind you, not all
• 5:59
  affliction is because you deserve
• 6:02
  punishment. Jeremiah had done nothing
• 6:04
  wrong in this text. But because of the
• 6:06
  sin of the nation, he was suffering
• 6:09
  affliction. And I'll say this as the
• 6:11
  church of the living God. If our nation
• 6:13
  was to come under siege by another
• 6:16
  country and affliction come because of
• 6:18
  the sin of this country, you realize
• 6:20
  that it would not directly be our fault
• 6:22
  as a church as we've done nothing wrong.
• 6:25
  But Jeremiah was a godly man living in
• 6:27
  the midst of a godless country. And
• 6:29
  because of that, he was in affliction as
• 6:32
  they were in captivity. And he felt as
• 6:34
  though it was his punishment. He was
• 6:36
  afflicted in punishment. And and you
• 6:38
  notice also in the heaviness of his
• 6:41
  prayer here in the text, the Bible says
• 6:43
  in verse 7 and 8, he hath hedged me
• 6:45
  about that I cannot get out. He hath
• 6:47
  made my chain heavy. Listen to what he
• 6:49
  says also when I cry and shout. Notice
• 6:52
  this, he shutth out my prayer. And so
• 6:55
  God is afflicting him seemingly for
• 6:57
  punishment, but he also feels as though
• 7:00
  God has avoided his prayers. Now, if
• 7:03
  you've lived any amount of time in this
• 7:04
  life, you've been through a period where
• 7:06
  you felt that. where it felt like the
• 7:08
  heavens were brass and there was no
• 7:10
  entrance and definitely there was no
• 7:13
  exit of anything holy from heaven into
• 7:15
  your life, but it just felt like the
• 7:17
  heavens were stonefaced and that God had
• 7:20
  turned his back on you. But I'm thankful
• 7:21
  that that's only on our side. Amen. God
• 7:24
  had not turned his back on Jeremiah. God
• 7:26
  had not left him behind. And though he
• 7:29
  spent his years in misery in that
• 7:31
  captivity because of sin of somebody
• 7:34
  else, the sin of that nation, God
• 7:37
  blessed him and brought him through all
• 7:38
  of that. And let me say this to you
• 7:40
  tonight. Your circumstances do not have
• 7:43
  to change your mindset about the life
• 7:46
  that you're living. Amen. I believe it
• 7:48
  with all of my heart tonight that you do
• 7:50
  not have to allow your outward
• 7:52
  circumstances, your current situation
• 7:55
  cause you to be discouraged or to back
• 7:58
  up on God. Amen.
• 8:00
  >> But I'll say this, it will bring
• 8:02
  discouragement at times. And Jeremiah,
• 8:04
  as great a man of God as he was, he felt
• 8:07
  afflicted. He felt like he was being
• 8:09
  avoided. But notice what he says in
• 8:11
  verse 15. He felt like not only God had
• 8:14
  afflicted him personally and that God
• 8:16
  had avoided his prayers, but he also
• 8:19
  felt like that God had appointed his
• 8:22
  pain. Listen to what he says in verse
• 8:24
  15. He hath filled me with bitterness.
• 8:28
  He hath made me drunken with wormwood.
• 8:32
  Now, in essence, that's saying the exact
• 8:34
  same thing that his life is just full of
• 8:37
  bitter things. and he is blaming God for
• 8:40
  the bitterness that's in his life. He
• 8:43
  feels as though God has placed all of
• 8:45
  this bitterness in his life. But let me
• 8:47
  remind you, God did not place this upon
• 8:50
  him because he thought that Jeremiah had
• 8:53
  done something wrong or because Jeremiah
• 8:55
  had failed God or missed the mark, but
• 8:58
  he was just experiencing what we all go
• 9:00
  through at times. And it's this little
• 9:02
  thing called depression.
• 9:05
  Jeremiah is depressed.
• 9:07
  Now, I don't know about you, but if you
• 9:09
  look around the church world today,
• 9:11
  about 95% of them is depressed. You're
• 9:13
  >> right.
• 9:14
  >> But I'll say this. You don't have to be.
• 9:16
  You're
• 9:16
  >> right.
• 9:17
  >> Notice this in this text. Three things
• 9:19
  by way of introduction. I'll give you
• 9:20
  the message tonight. Jeremiah felt like
• 9:23
  God had a pointed his pain. He says,
• 9:25
  "He's filled me with bitterness." In
• 9:27
  verse 15, verse 16, he says he's broken
• 9:30
  my teeth with gravel stones. Of course
• 9:32
  not literally. But but he's he's he's
• 9:35
  imaging he's making imagery here of how
• 9:37
  he feels. I tell you what, our feelings
• 9:40
  are like the ocean sometimes, aren't
• 9:41
  they? Tossed about all over the place.
• 9:44
  And even in this chapter, Jeremiah, he
• 9:46
  go he's down and then he comes back up
• 9:49
  and then towards the end of the chapter,
• 9:50
  he goes back down and and he's just has
• 9:53
  a wave of emotions. I'll tell you this,
• 9:56
  if you're not careful in your life, you
• 9:58
  let your emotions dictate the operation
• 10:00
  of your life. You're right.
• 10:02
  >> You'll let your feelings dictate
• 10:04
  >> the way that you possess the operations
• 10:08
  of your daily life. I'll say this, it
• 10:10
  matters how you carry yourself.
• 10:12
  >> Amen.
• 10:12
  >> To use an old English word department,
• 10:16
  how the way that you operate, the the
• 10:18
  the stance that you take, the attitude
• 10:20
  that you have, that matters tonight.
• 10:23
  >> You're right.
• 10:24
  >> And it matters every day of your life.
• 10:26
  And you say, "Preacher, well Jeremiah,
• 10:28
  he was God's man. He made it into the
• 10:30
  scriptures and he was discouraged. Well,
• 10:31
  let me just remind you just about every
• 10:34
  man that's come through this book got
• 10:36
  discouraged at one point in time.
• 10:37
  >> And so we ought not think ourselves to
• 10:40
  escape from this discouragement, but we
• 10:42
  ought not stay that way. Notice what he
• 10:44
  says here. And I'll give you these three
• 10:46
  things. I need to move on. Notice first
• 10:48
  of all tonight in way by way of
• 10:50
  introduction, notice his mindset. Verse
• 10:52
  number 17, he says, "Thou has removed my
• 10:55
  soul far off from peace. I forget
• 10:58
  prosperity." Basically what he's saying
• 10:59
  is is that there is no goodness in my
• 11:02
  life. I find no place to lay my head. I
• 11:05
  find no rest in this life. But I tell
• 11:07
  you what, there was another man that had
• 11:08
  the same thing. Amen. Jesus said, "The
• 11:11
  birds of the air have nest, and the
• 11:13
  foxes have holes, but the son of man
• 11:15
  hath not where to lay his head." Amen.
• 11:18
  And so don't expect life to be all ease.
• 11:20
  Amen. And all peace and p plush and
• 11:23
  cushy all the time. But notice what he
• 11:25
  says in verse 18. And I say it now right
• 11:29
  there gives gives it away. What's your
• 11:31
  Bible say? Out of the abundance of the
• 11:33
  heart, what the mouth speaketh, right?
• 11:37
  And so Jeremiah, look what he says. He
• 11:39
  said, "And I said, my strength and my
• 11:41
  hope is perish from the Lord."
• 11:45
  Now, this is the man that God has
• 11:47
  handpicked for himself. You read the
• 11:50
  book of Jeremiah chapter number one. God
• 11:52
  calls him unto himself. And Jeremiah
• 11:55
  says, "I can't speak." He said, "I I'm
• 11:57
  but a youth, Lord. I you can't use me."
• 11:59
  And God calls him unto himself and
• 12:02
  chooses him, handpicks him for the
• 12:04
  ministry, but I'll say this, even though
• 12:06
  he was handpicked, he was hurt.
• 12:10
  And Jeremiah, his mindset is number one,
• 12:12
  is that he cannot endure any longer.
• 12:15
  Look what he says. My strength is
• 12:18
  perished. He has no endurance left.
• 12:20
  Lord, I cannot go any further. Has
• 12:24
  anybody ever felt like that? Amen.
• 12:26
  >> You don't have to raise your hand.
• 12:27
  That's everybody in here. Amen.
• 12:30
  >> Lord, my strength. I have no endurance
• 12:32
  left. But not only that, look what he
• 12:35
  says. My strength and what? My hope. Not
• 12:40
  only Lord, I can't go any further, but
• 12:43
  also not as only his endurance, but his
• 12:45
  expectation is gone. Lord, I can't
• 12:48
  endure because I have nothing to endure
• 12:50
  for. Jeremiah's not seeing that
• 12:52
  captivity would ever end. He's not
• 12:54
  seeing an exit from the problems that
• 12:57
  are present in his life. And heaven
• 12:59
  knows, we've all been there before.
• 13:01
  There comes places where we just can't
• 13:03
  go further. And really, the main reason
• 13:05
  why we have no strength. We can't endure
• 13:07
  any longer is because there seems to be
• 13:10
  no ending place.
• 13:12
  >> There's no light at the end of the
• 13:14
  tunnel, so to speak. And if we're not
• 13:16
  careful, that's where our mindset will
• 13:18
  bring us to. Yeah.
• 13:19
  >> If you look through physical eyes at all
• 13:21
  in this life, you're going to find and
• 13:23
  see things INEVITABLY THAT ARE
• 13:25
  DISCOURAGING.
• 13:26
  >> AMEN.
• 13:27
  >> And you know what? Because what you let
• 13:29
  enter in your eye gate and what you let
• 13:31
  enter in your ear gate, you will become
• 13:33
  discouraged.
• 13:35
  >> It will affect your mindset. It will
• 13:38
  remove your endurance. It will remove
• 13:40
  your expectation. Look what he says.
• 13:42
  It's perished from the Lord. That means
• 13:43
  it's departed. Jeremiah lost all hope in
• 13:47
  God. Listen to what else he says. Why is
• 13:50
  his mindset this way? Well, you notice
• 13:52
  his malady in verse number 19. Look what
• 13:54
  he says. Remembering mine affliction and
• 13:57
  my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
• 14:00
  Jeremiah's problems are constantly
• 14:02
  resurfacing
• 14:04
  in his life. That word there in the text
• 14:06
  where the Bible says his affliction that
• 14:09
  means poverty. Jeremiah was impoverished
• 14:12
  and he had nothing to supply his need.
• 14:14
  We know there was one case in Jeremiah
• 14:16
  where he was let down in a pit of mud
• 14:18
  and and he was sinking up in that pit of
• 14:21
  mud and Jeremiah found himself hungry
• 14:23
  many times and impoverished and he was
• 14:25
  not desired by his own people but he
• 14:28
  wasn't desired by the people that he was
• 14:30
  in captivity with and he was just sort
• 14:33
  of left all on his own and he says
• 14:35
  because of that he says I was po
• 14:37
  impoverished but he also says I was
• 14:39
  destitute he said I remember mine
• 14:41
  affliction and my misery Y that word
• 14:45
  misery means that he was empty.
• 14:48
  You say, "Preacher, how is it that the
• 14:49
  prophet of God could be empty?" Because
• 14:52
  his circumstances had become bigger than
• 14:54
  his God.
• 14:55
  >> Right?
• 14:56
  >> He was destitute. He was bitter. Verse
• 14:59
  19, he said, "Remember in my affliction
• 15:02
  and my misery, the wormwood and the
• 15:05
  gall. That bitter, that wormwood is
• 15:08
  literally a a image of bitterness. And
• 15:10
  that gall is a picture of poison. that
• 15:12
  is as God has made him to drink this
• 15:15
  poison seemingly to defile and destroy
• 15:18
  him. And you say, "Preacher, HOW COULD
• 15:20
  HE SAY THAT ABOUT GOD?" WELL, you just
• 15:21
  get yourself in a mess sometime and see
• 15:24
  how you feel about it.
• 15:26
  >> You just GET IN A PLACE SOMETIME when
• 15:27
  you feel like God's forgotten you and
• 15:29
  God's left you behind and YOU'LL FIND
• 15:31
  OUT WHAT YOU'RE REALLY MADE OF. That's
• 15:33
  >> right.
• 15:34
  >> Jeremiah was struggling. HE WAS
• 15:36
  TROUBLED. WE DON'T WE CAN'T EVEN BEGIN
• 15:38
  TO WRAP OUR MIND around the suffering
• 15:40
  that he was facing. BUT I SEE AMIDST all
• 15:43
  of that, you realize that even the
• 15:45
  deepest sufferings, our Lord Jesus, he
• 15:48
  went through the deepest sufferings that
• 15:49
  any man had ever known. But I tell you
• 15:51
  what, his mind never left his purpose.
• 15:54
  HIS MOTIVE WAS ALWAYS SALVATION FOR
• 15:56
  THOSE THAT WOULD BELIEVE. And Jesus,
• 15:59
  though he went to the cross, he he
• 16:01
  endured the cross for the joy that was
• 16:03
  set before him. And so the entire time
• 16:06
  he WAS ON THE CROSS, WHAT DOES THE SONG
• 16:08
  SAY? I WAS ON HIS MIND. JEREMIAH'S
• 16:11
  PROBLEM WAS HIS MINDSET was wrong.
• 16:14
  >> He was constantly thinking about his
• 16:16
  maladies. And notice this verse 20 and
• 16:19
  it further describes his issue. And I'll
• 16:21
  give you the message tonight.
• 16:23
  First of all, his mindset, you see his
• 16:25
  malady, but notice his musings in verse
• 16:28
  20. He says, "My soul hath them still in
• 16:31
  remembrance and is humbled in me." Now,
• 16:34
  what does that mean? Well, Jeremiah's
• 16:36
  mindset that's like the foundation. This
• 16:39
  is what his thinking is based off of.
• 16:41
  And here's what here's You say,
• 16:42
  "Preacher, what is that?" Well, that's a
• 16:44
  presupposition is what that is. When you
• 16:47
  look at your life through a through
• 16:49
  glasses of depression, you know what?
• 16:50
  You'll never find anything good. You're
• 16:52
  >> right.
• 16:53
  >> When you look at your family through a
• 16:55
  glass half empty mentality, you'll never
• 16:57
  find anything to rejoice in.
• 17:00
  >> When you look at this church through a
• 17:01
  glass half empty mentality, you'll never
• 17:03
  find anything to be thankful for. When
• 17:06
  you look at your spouse through that
• 17:07
  mentality, with that presupposition in
• 17:10
  your life, when you're musing constantly
• 17:12
  on that mindset of depression, you'll
• 17:15
  never find any rejoicing.
• 17:16
  >> You're right.
• 17:17
  >> But you see this mindset was furthered
• 17:19
  here. Not only the baseline was
• 17:22
  depression, but also all the thoughts of
• 17:24
  his mind, what his life was founded
• 17:27
  upon, but then everything that was built
• 17:29
  upon it was nothing but musings of
• 17:32
  misery. And he says there in verse 19,
• 17:35
  remembering or or verse 20, my soul hath
• 17:37
  them still in remembrance. And I I want
• 17:39
  to give you this truth here tonight.
• 17:42
  You know, in your mind tonight, right
• 17:45
  now, as we said in this church, there
• 17:46
  are things in your mind that are there
• 17:48
  because you want them to be there.
• 17:50
  >> That's good.
• 17:52
  >> And in this text, what you notice here
• 17:53
  is this. You say, "Preacher, well, my
• 17:55
  circumstances are too big. I cannot get
• 17:58
  them out of my mind. I can't escape
• 18:00
  them. I can't get away from them." Well,
• 18:02
  let me just show you something in this
• 18:03
  verse. There is no circumstance too big.
• 18:06
  >> You're right.
• 18:07
  >> Amen.
• 18:07
  >> That you can't get your mind out of it.
• 18:09
  >> Good.
• 18:10
  >> Look what he says. My soul hath them
• 18:12
  still in remembrance. That word still
• 18:16
  there speaks of a desire. You say, "What
• 18:19
  do you mean by that?" Well, Jeremiah is
• 18:20
  thinking about these things because he
• 18:23
  wants to,
• 18:24
  >> right?
• 18:24
  >> You say, "Preacher, what is that? What's
• 18:26
  a pity part?"
• 18:28
  All of these thoughts are in his mind
• 18:30
  because he has allowed them to be there.
• 18:34
  You're
• 18:34
  >> right.
• 18:35
  >> He is making a choice. He says, "My soul
• 18:38
  has them still in remembrance." He is
• 18:41
  musing these thoughts, this misery, this
• 18:44
  anxiety, this bitterness. He says, "My
• 18:46
  soul had them still in remembrance." And
• 18:49
  not only there's the desire of his mind,
• 18:51
  but there's the depression of his mind.
• 18:53
  In verse 20, notice what he says. "And
• 18:55
  is humbled in me." You know what that
• 18:57
  word humbled means? It means bowed over.
• 19:00
  Literally means to be depressed.
• 19:03
  Jeremiah says, "Because I'm constantly
• 19:06
  pulling from this well of misery,
• 19:11
  I've become depressed and my soul is
• 19:14
  bowed down."
• 19:16
  Now, you know, I see a lot of Christians
• 19:18
  like that,
• 19:19
  >> right?
• 19:21
  And the sad thing about it is is what
• 19:23
  they don't realize is they're making a
• 19:24
  conscious choice
• 19:26
  >> to be that way.
• 19:28
  >> You say, "Preacher, how is that?" Well,
• 19:29
  notice this in the message tonight.
• 19:31
  We've seen his mindset, his maladies,
• 19:34
  his problem. We've seen his musings that
• 19:36
  and see the musings. What you think
• 19:38
  about those those musings of your daily
• 19:41
  life, what you think about as a man
• 19:42
  thinkketh in his heart, what does the
• 19:43
  Bible say? So is he. What you are
• 19:46
  constantly focused on is inevitably who
• 19:50
  you will become. You're
• 19:51
  >> right.
• 19:51
  >> What you are constantly rolling around
• 19:53
  in your mind is inevitably the operation
• 19:56
  that you will employ. You will operate
• 19:58
  the way that you think. You're
• 19:59
  >> right.
• 20:00
  >> But Jeremiah says this in verse 21.
• 20:05
  And in a turning of this chapter, verses
• 20:07
  1- 20 is just a remembrance of all
• 20:09
  that's wrong. thinking about all that's
• 20:12
  bad. Stinking thinking like my mama
• 20:15
  would like to call it. Amen. But I'll
• 20:18
  say this. He decides to take a turn in
• 20:19
  verse 21. He says, "This I recall to my
• 20:23
  mind. Therefore
• 20:26
  have I hope." I want to give you three
• 20:28
  things tonight and I'll be done. All
• 20:30
  right? You see Jeremiah's got a mess. We
• 20:33
  would all agree with that. You don't
• 20:35
  have to look very far in the book of
• 20:37
  Jeremiah to see that it is nothing but
• 20:39
  problem after problem after problem. And
• 20:42
  let me say this, your preacher is not
• 20:43
  minimizing your problems tonight. You're
• 20:45
  right.
• 20:45
  >> Okay? I'm not minimizing the issues that
• 20:48
  you have because here's the thing about
• 20:50
  it. If it matters to you, I know it
• 20:51
  matters to God. Amen.
• 20:53
  >> But I'll say this. What the way that you
• 20:55
  look at that thing is going to determine
• 20:57
  whether or not you come out of it on the
• 20:59
  other side with the sun shining or in
• 21:00
  the bottom of the ocean. Amen.
• 21:02
  >> Right?
• 21:03
  >> Look what he says. Number one, I would
• 21:05
  say tonight, there is the choice of
• 21:08
  remembrance. Hope for the hopeless.
• 21:09
  What? What? How can a hopeless soul find
• 21:12
  hope? Well, number one, I would say for
• 21:14
  you and I tonight who are saved, there
• 21:16
  must be a choice of remembrance. Look
• 21:19
  what he says. This I recall to my mind.
• 21:21
  Therefore have I hope. In this verse,
• 21:24
  you note first of all, he states about
• 21:26
  this recollection. He says, this I
• 21:28
  recall to my mind. Now you notice in
• 21:32
  this verse this this this this
• 21:35
  terminology that's used here. Jeremiah
• 21:37
  does not say this truth comes to my
• 21:40
  mind.
• 21:42
  And now there's a there's a lot of
• 21:43
  things in our life when we live
• 21:45
  throughout our daily life. There'll be
• 21:46
  things that that's trigger thoughts. And
• 21:48
  and I was thinking about this today. I
• 21:50
  wrote this down. Just a little thought
• 21:51
  that I had earlier today. There are
• 21:53
  times when the memory of our redemption
• 21:57
  and salvation in our life comes to back
• 21:59
  to us out of the blue. You'll be going
• 22:02
  down the road some days and a song will
• 22:04
  start playing on the radio if you're
• 22:06
  listening to a good station. Somebody
• 22:07
  say amen. And you'll start thinking
• 22:10
  about your salvation and God will just
• 22:11
  bless your socks off. And man, I'm
• 22:13
  telling you, I'm thankful for those
• 22:15
  times in my life when out of the blue
• 22:17
  the Holy Ghost just sits down beside me
• 22:19
  in the car. Nobody else is around. I
• 22:21
  forget where I'm going. forget what I'm
• 22:23
  doing and I just have to lift my hands
• 22:25
  and say, "Thank you, Lord, for being so
• 22:27
  good. Yeah, everything's not right.
• 22:29
  Everything's not okay. BUT GOD, YOU
• 22:31
  SAVED MY SOUL. AND I KNOW IF I DIED
• 22:34
  right now that I'd be in heaven with
• 22:35
  you. YEAH, IT'S NOT PERFECT. YEAH, IT'S
• 22:38
  NOT ALL RIGHT. BUT BOY, I'M THANKFUL.
• 22:40
  HALLELUJAH. WHEN HE SITS DOWN IN MY
• 22:42
  HEART, I'M THANKFUL THAT I KNOW THAT I
• 22:44
  MIGHT BE ALL RIGHT." AMEN.
• 22:47
  >> But I thought about this.
• 22:50
  You know, those times when it just comes
• 22:52
  back to us out of the blue are real
• 22:53
  good. But I'll say this, the times that
• 22:56
  we need it the most, we must choose to
• 22:59
  go back and pick it up oursel.
• 23:00
  >> Amen.
• 23:03
  >> You know, God will show up sometimes in
• 23:05
  your life by his providence. But here's
• 23:07
  the miracle of the Christian life, and
• 23:08
  this is what I love about it. Being
• 23:10
  saved, you don't never have to get away
• 23:12
  from that.
• 23:13
  >> You're right.
• 23:14
  >> You say, "Well, you mean, preacher?"
• 23:16
  Well, you don't have to wait till just
• 23:17
  some, you know, spur-of the- moment time
• 23:19
  coming down the road when the right song
• 23:21
  comes on and you're in the right frame
• 23:22
  of mind to feel okay. You say,
• 23:24
  "Preacher, what do you mean?" I'm
• 23:26
  saying, "Yeah, it's good when GOD JUST
• 23:28
  SHOWS UP OUT OF THE BLUE." BUT WHEN'S
• 23:30
  THE LAST TIME YOU GOT IN A PLACE WHERE
• 23:32
  YOU SAID, "LORD, I JUST CAN'T DO IT NO
• 23:34
  MORE." AND YOU WENT TO YOUR BLESSED OLD
• 23:36
  BIBLE AND YOU FOUND YOUR PRAYER CLOSET
• 23:38
  AND YOU JUST SAT DOWN AND SAID, "LORD, I
• 23:40
  DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE GOING TO SHOW UP OR
• 23:42
  NOT, BUT LORD, I SURE NEED SOME HELP.
• 23:44
  LORD, WOULD YOU PLEASE COME AND SIT DOWN
• 23:46
  AND LET ME SAY BETTER THAN ANY TIME IT
• 23:49
  SHOWED UP OUT OF THE BLUE. IT'S BEEN
• 23:51
  THOSE TIMES WHEN I'VE MADE A CONSCIOUS
• 23:53
  EFFORT TO GO SIT AT HIS FEET AND SAY,
• 23:56
  "LORD, I DON'T KNOW HOW I'M GOING TO
• 23:57
  MAKE IT, BUT GOD, I JUST WANT TO
• 23:59
  REMEMBER. LORD, HELP ME REMEMBER HOW
• 24:02
  GOOD YOU'VE BEEN TO ME. LORD, HELP ME
• 24:04
  REMEMBER WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR ME." AMEN.
• 24:06
  AND IT, ISN'T IT? ALWAYS, ALWAYS, HE
• 24:09
  SHOWS UP AND SETS DOWN RIGHT THERE WITH
• 24:12
  YOU AND SAYS, "CHILD, IT'LL BE ALL
• 24:13
  RIGHT. QUIT WAITING FOR GOD TO SHOW UP
• 24:16
  ON HIS OWN AND JUST GO TO WHERE HE IS."
• 24:18
  AMEN.
• 24:19
  >> JEREMIAH SAYS THIS, "I RECALL TO MY
• 24:21
  MIND." HE SAID, "IT DIDN'T COME TO MY
• 24:24
  MIND." HE SAID, "BUT I WENT AND FOUND IT
• 24:26
  AND PICKED IT UP." OH, FRIEND. BOY, IT'D
• 24:28
  BE GOOD FOR SOME OF YOU TONIGHT TO GO
• 24:30
  BACK TO THE NIGHT THAT JESUS SAVED YOU
• 24:32
  AND REMEMBER WHERE HE WHERE YOU WERE
• 24:34
  WHEN HE FOUND YOU AND HOW MUCH HE'S DONE
• 24:36
  FOR YOU SINCE THEN. YOU SAY, "PREACHER,
• 24:39
  WELL, I DON'T FEEL IT RIGHT NOW." WELL,
• 24:41
  JUST THINK ABOUT IT FOR A LITTLE WHILE
• 24:43
  AND JUST BLESS HIS NAME FOR A LITTLE
• 24:44
  WHILE. LET ME SAY THIS. IF YOU PRAISE
• 24:47
  HIS NAME LONG ENOUGH, YOU'LL START
• 24:49
  FEELING IT. AMEN.
• 24:52
  >> HE SAID, "THIS I RECALL to my mind,
• 24:54
  therefore have I hope." I'M SAYING IT'S
• 24:57
  A CHOICE TO REMEMBER.
• 25:01
  I say this, there's a lot of things
• 25:04
  that'll come up in your mind in your
• 25:05
  daily life that you're going to have to
• 25:07
  choose to forget. You're
• 25:08
  >> right.
• 25:09
  >> But they ought to be some things
• 25:11
  >> that you choose to say, "Lord, just let
• 25:14
  me remember what you did for me."
• 25:16
  >> Amen.
• 25:17
  >> Lord, take me back to where I was
• 25:19
  before.
• 25:20
  >> Yes. Come on.
• 25:21
  >> Lord, take me back to the place where I
• 25:23
  was when you found me. Maybe I wouldn't
• 25:25
  feel so bad,
• 25:26
  >> Lord. Maybe if I JUST REMEMBER HOW LOST
• 25:29
  I WAS AND HOW HOW DOOMED AND DAMNED TO
• 25:31
  HELL I WAS BEFORE YOU FOUND ME. LORD, IF
• 25:33
  YOU JUST TAKE ME BACK THERE FOR A
• 25:35
  MINUTE, I'LL BE ALL RIGHT CUZ I AIN'T
• 25:37
  HEADED TO HELL NO MORE. I'M NOT HEADED
• 25:39
  TO THAT PLACE WHICH YOU MADE FOR THE
• 25:41
  DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS. YOU SAVED ME AND
• 25:43
  SEALED ME AND SET ME ON A NEW PATH.
• 25:46
  LORD, JUST TAKE ME BACK THERE FOR A
• 25:48
  MINUTE. AND YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'LL FIND?
• 25:49
  YOU'LL FIND SOME hope there. Amen.
• 25:52
  >> Jeremiah said this. I recall to my mind,
• 25:54
  it's time for us to get out of the
• 25:56
  stinking thinking and quit musing on the
• 25:59
  things of this world. Quit musing ON HOW
• 26:01
  BAD IT IS, ON HOW BROKEN WE ARE AND HOW
• 26:04
  HOW BUSTED UP EVERYTHING is around us,
• 26:07
  BUT LET'S JUST GO BACK TO THE PLACE,
• 26:09
  GOD, WHERE YOU WHERE WE LAST SPOKE WITH
• 26:11
  YOU AND LET'S JUST GET A BLESSING FROM
• 26:13
  THERE. AMEN.
• 26:15
  >> This I recall to my mind. Well, what
• 26:17
  does he recall to his mind?
• 26:20
  It's a choice of remembrance that brings
• 26:22
  about a clear revelation. Notice that.
• 26:24
  Secondly, verse 22, he said, "This I
• 26:27
  recall to my mind. Therefore, have I
• 26:31
  hope."
• 26:31
  >> What does he say? It is of the Lord's
• 26:34
  mercies
• 26:36
  that we are not consumed.
• 26:37
  >> Amen.
• 26:39
  >> Hallelujah.
• 26:40
  >> Bless.
• 26:41
  >> A clear revelation. You say, "What do
• 26:43
  you mean, preacher?" I'm saying for all
• 26:45
  the dark muddy waters of depression that
• 26:47
  you look for look through on on the on
• 26:50
  your daily life, there's a place you can
• 26:52
  go where there's a clear crystal stream
• 26:55
  >> flowing where we can get the water of
• 26:57
  life
• 26:58
  >> and it will fill up the need that you
• 27:00
  have. You don't have to look through
• 27:01
  that blurry mess every day of your life.
• 27:04
  >> That's all depression is is it just
• 27:06
  muddies the waters of your life and
• 27:08
  controls your mind, keeps you down and
• 27:10
  out all the time. BUT THERE IS A CLEAR
• 27:13
  REVELATION. You say, "What is it,
• 27:15
  preacher?" Well, I'd say this. Number
• 27:16
  one, it would be to remember GOD'S MERCY
• 27:19
  IN SAVING us from the fire. You say,
• 27:21
  "What do you mean?" Well, notice it
• 27:23
  again in verse 23. He said, verse 22, it
• 27:26
  is the Lord's mercies. What's your Bible
• 27:27
  say? That we are not what? Consumed.
• 27:33
  >> You see Jeremiah in verse number one, he
• 27:35
  said, "I am the man that hath seen
• 27:36
  affliction by the rod of his wrath." He
• 27:39
  said, "I've been afflicted, but oh
• 27:41
  Jeremiah said, in spite of that
• 27:43
  affliction, I have not been consumed."
• 27:46
  Oh, hallelujah. Tonight, God hadn't
• 27:48
  taken him all the way out. And you say,
• 27:50
  you say, "Preacher, how is that God
• 27:52
  being merciful?" Well, if God would have
• 27:54
  been just with you and I tonight, he'd
• 27:56
  have took us out a long time ago.
• 27:58
  There'd have never BEEN AN OUNCE OF
• 27:59
  MERCY GIVEN to the SINNERS SUCH AS YOU
• 28:01
  AND I. BUT GOD IN HIS MERCY, HE GIVES US
• 28:04
  LIFE. AND ANY BIT OF AFFLICTION THAT WE
• 28:06
  GO THROUGH, YOU JUST UNDERSTAND TONIGHT
• 28:09
  Jesus took all the affliction FOR YOU ON
• 28:11
  CALVAR'S CROSS. AND YOU OUGHT NEVER
• 28:14
  QUESTION THE HAND OF GOD IN YOUR LIFE.
• 28:16
  WHATEVER IT IS, YOU SAY, "PREACHER,
• 28:18
  YOU'VE NOT BEEN WHERE I AM." NO, I
• 28:20
  HAVEN'T. BUT LET ME TELL YOU, YOU AIN'T
• 28:22
  BEEN WHERE HE WENT. AMEN. YOU'LL NEVER
• 28:24
  HANG ON A BLOODY HILL CALLED CALVARY.
• 28:26
  YOU'LL NEVER BEAR THE SIN WEIGHT OF THE
• 28:28
  WORLD. I'M SAYING, FRIEND, IT'S A CLEAR
• 28:31
  REVELATION OF THE FACT THAT WE HAVE BEEN
• 28:33
  RECEIVED. WE HAVE RECEIVED MERCY AND
• 28:36
  WE'VE RECEIVED DELIVERANCE FROM THE
• 28:37
  FIRE. AMEN.
• 28:39
  >> It's the Lord's mercies that we are not
• 28:42
  consumed. Hey friend, David and Abram,
• 28:44
  they the ground swallowed them up. Amen.
• 28:47
  BECAUSE OF THEIR SIN. SODOM AND GOMORRAH
• 28:49
  WERE BURNED ALIVE BECAUSE OF THEIR SIN.
• 28:51
  AND EVERY SINNER THAT'S DIED LOST
• 28:53
  WITHOUT GOD IS BURNING IN HELL RIGHT
• 28:55
  NOW. BUT DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU AND
• 28:58
  I ARE SITTING ON A CHURCH PIER TONIGHT
• 29:00
  IN A BAPTIST CHURCH IN AMERICA, IN NORTH
• 29:03
  CAROLINA, IN STOKES COUNTY, IN THE BIBLE
• 29:05
  BELT? I'M SAYING BLESSED BE THE NAME OF
• 29:08
  GOD. WE COULD HAVE BEEN BORN IN ANY
• 29:10
  FAMILY. WE COULD HAVE BEEN BORN IN ANY
• 29:12
  PLACE, BUT GOD SAW FIT TO PUT YOU AND I
• 29:15
  WHERE WE'RE AT TONIGHT AND GIVE US A
• 29:18
  BIBLE AND GIVE US A FAMILY AND GIVE US A
• 29:21
  CHURCH AND GIVE US SALVATION. DON'T YOU
• 29:23
  JUST BLESS THE LORD TONIGHT THAT WE'VE
• 29:26
  RECEIVED MERCY FROM THE FIRE? AMEN.
• 29:30
  >> We're not consumed. Thank God.
• 29:34
  >> But we deserve it.
• 29:35
  >> You're right.
• 29:37
  >> There's been a clear revelation.
• 29:39
  We've received mercy
• 29:42
  from the fire.
• 29:45
  Say, "Preacher, how could it get any
• 29:46
  better?" Oh, it gets a lot better.
• 29:49
  There's a clear revelation about his
• 29:51
  mercy, but there's a clear revelation
• 29:52
  about the mournings.
• 29:55
  The mournings of his faithfulness.
• 29:57
  Look what your Bible says.
• 30:00
  Verse number 22. It's the Lord's mercies
• 30:02
  that we're not consumed because his
• 30:04
  compassions fail not. They are new every
• 30:09
  morning.
• 30:11
  Great.
• 30:12
  >> Amen.
• 30:13
  >> You hear what I said? Great is thy
• 30:18
  faithfulness.
• 30:19
  >> Amen.
• 30:20
  >> We've been We have received mercy. We
• 30:23
  have been saved from wrath through him,
• 30:25
  the Bible says. But oh, better than
• 30:27
  that, friend. We've not just been
• 30:29
  delivered,
• 30:31
  >> BUT WE'VE BEEN DIVINELY BLESSED.
• 30:33
  HALLELUJAH. God has reached his hand
• 30:36
  down and poured out the honey bucket
• 30:39
  FROM HEAVEN ON YOU AND I AND GIVEN US
• 30:42
  LIFE. AND NOT JUST LIFE, BUT LIFE MORE
• 30:44
  ABUNDANTLY. HE SAID, "HIS COMPASSIONS
• 30:47
  FAIL NOT." AMEN.
• 30:49
  >> RIGHT?
• 30:50
  >> They are new every morning. You say,
• 30:54
  "Preacher, what does that mean,
• 30:56
  preacher? I don't understand what that
• 30:58
  means." Well,
• 31:01
  do like some of the folk in here and
• 31:02
  just get up every morning, let the first
• 31:04
  thing be of your day.
• 31:06
  >> Thank you, Lord.
• 31:08
  >> Amen.
• 31:09
  >> And take that Bible, Amen. off the
• 31:10
  nightstand. Yes.
• 31:12
  >> Instead of leaving it until you get back
• 31:14
  home at night. Amen. This ain't just for
• 31:15
  y'all. It's for me, too. Amen. I live a
• 31:17
  busy life just like everybody else. Take
• 31:20
  that Bible off the nightstand and read
• 31:22
  that thing. And you say, "Preacher, you
• 31:24
  then you'll know what I'm talking." Yes,
• 31:26
  you'll know exactly what I'm talking
• 31:28
  about. I'm saying his mercies are new
• 31:31
  every morning. You realize every day is
• 31:32
  a clean slate with God.
• 31:34
  >> Amen.
• 31:35
  >> Hallelujah.
• 31:36
  >> Amen.
• 31:37
  >> You say, "Preacher, what about for the
• 31:38
  man on death row?" Well, if he gets
• 31:40
  saved by the grace of God, he might
• 31:41
  still go to the electric chair. But if
• 31:44
  God forgave him, friend, you know what?
• 31:46
  When they shock him, he'll wake up in
• 31:48
  heaven. Amen. You say, "Preacher, that's
• 31:50
  awful." Well, aren't you thankful that
• 31:51
  God would save a sinner like that? CUZ
• 31:53
  YOU KNOW WHAT? EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US
• 31:55
  DESERVE IT. AMEN. But God in his rich
• 31:57
  mercy, AMEN, TOWARD US, he would give us
• 32:00
  mercy. AND IT NOT JUST BE ONE TIME, BUT
• 32:03
  IT would be over and over and over
• 32:05
  again. And it's not just new in the
• 32:08
  morning, BUT IT'S NEW ALL THROUGHOUT THE
• 32:10
  DAY. AT ANY POINT IN THE DAY, I CAN STOP
• 32:12
  BROTHER PATTON AND SAY, "LORD, IF I IF I
• 32:14
  FAIL HIM, LORD, PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND
• 32:17
  RESTORE FELLOWSHIP, AND HIS MERCY WILL
• 32:20
  TAKE CARE OF IT, AND IT'LL BE UNDER THE
• 32:22
  BLOOD. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I'LL BE BACK
• 32:24
  IN fellowship with him again."
• 32:25
  >> Amen.
• 32:26
  >> Hallelujah. What John say? If we confess
• 32:29
  our sins, he is faithful and just to
• 32:32
  forgive us our sins three hours later.
• 32:34
  >> Yes.
• 32:35
  Come on.
• 32:37
  >> No.
• 32:39
  If we confess our sins, he is faithful
• 32:41
  and just to forgive our sins and to
• 32:44
  cleanse us, present tense,
• 32:46
  >> from all unrighteousness.
• 32:49
  >> At the moment we ask, at the moment we
• 32:54
  receive, at the moment we ask, that same
• 32:58
  moment we receive his forgiveness. You
• 33:00
  say, "Preacher, how is that?" Well, I'm
• 33:02
  saying heaven don't work on our
• 33:03
  timetable. When one of his children gets
• 33:06
  out of fellowship, because John said it
• 33:08
  just the SAME IF WE SAY THAT WE HAVE
• 33:09
  FELLOWSHIP with him, but we walk in
• 33:11
  darkness, we lie and do not the truth.
• 33:13
  But just a few verses later, he said IF
• 33:16
  WE'LL CONFESS THAT SAME SIN that caused
• 33:18
  US TO BREAK FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD, HE'LL
• 33:21
  FORGIVE IT. HE'LL CLEANSE IT AND WE'LL
• 33:23
  BE RESTORED immediately
• 33:26
  >> to his presence.
• 33:32
  in his faithfulness.
• 33:35
  Great, perfect, plenteous, POWERFUL IS
• 33:40
  HIS FAITHFULNESS. AMEN.
• 33:42
  >> It's exactly what you need.
• 33:45
  >> You say, "Preacher, how is that?" Well,
• 33:47
  he was faithful to send Jesus. Jesus was
• 33:50
  faithful to obey. He was faithful to go
• 33:52
  to the cross and die. He was faithful
• 33:54
  when he said he would get up.
• 33:56
  >> Amen. And you know what the Bible says?
• 33:58
  says that he ever liveth to make
• 33:59
  intercession for us. And you know what?
• 34:01
  He'll be faithful to answer.
• 34:03
  >> Every time you call upon him,
• 34:05
  hallelujah, heaven's lines never busy.
• 34:07
  You can have an opportunity to receive
• 34:10
  of his faithful blessing at any time.
• 34:12
  And I've got ahead of myself a little
• 34:13
  bit, but notice this tonight. There's
• 34:15
  not only a clear revelation of his mercy
• 34:17
  and a clear revelation of the mournings
• 34:19
  of his faithfulness, but there's a clear
• 34:21
  revelation of the measure of his favor.
• 34:24
  Look what the Bible says in verse 24.
• 34:26
  The Lord is my what?
• 34:30
  >> portion.
• 34:33
  Who owns it all?
• 34:35
  God does. And you know what the Bible
• 34:38
  said? Jeremiah said, "He's my portion.
• 34:41
  He's my portion." So if God has given
• 34:44
  you of himself,
• 34:45
  >> right?
• 34:46
  >> That means you have it all.
• 34:48
  >> Amen.
• 34:49
  >> The Lord is my portion. You say, "Well,
• 34:52
  how is that measured?" Well, it's not
• 34:54
  measured in inches, feet, meters, or
• 34:56
  miles.
• 34:57
  >> It's not measured in grams, ounces.
• 34:59
  Amen. It ain't measured in none of that.
• 35:01
  I'm saying it's God turning over the
• 35:03
  honey bucket of heaven and saying, "How
• 35:05
  much do you need today?" He'll give it
• 35:07
  all to you. And you know what? He'll
• 35:09
  give you a little bit more to go out in
• 35:10
  the world. Amen. Whatever you need,
• 35:13
  he'll give you enough and abundance to
• 35:15
  take care of you. I'm saying his favor
• 35:18
  is more than measurable in our life,
• 35:21
  >> right? because he's faithful.
• 35:24
  Clear revelation. You say, "What is it?"
• 35:26
  You got to choose to remember these
• 35:27
  things. You're
• 35:28
  >> right.
• 35:29
  >> Choose to remember that you've been
• 35:31
  delivered from death,
• 35:34
  delivered from condemnation.
• 35:37
  You hath he quickened who were dead in
• 35:39
  trespasses and sins. You remember that
• 35:41
  you're delivered. Remember the fact that
• 35:44
  God every morning has given you his
• 35:46
  grace each and every day. There's a
• 35:49
  measure enough for all.
• 35:50
  >> You're right. Isn't that wonderful that
• 35:52
  salvation when it was bought and
• 35:54
  purchased at Calvary, his propitiation
• 35:56
  was enough for every sinner? And even
• 35:58
  after you get saved, aren't you thankful
• 36:01
  that his grace is still enough, not just
• 36:03
  to save you, but to seal you and to
• 36:05
  sanctify you all the way until the day
• 36:07
  he sends you home. Amen. And it's going
• 36:09
  to be the grace that takes us from this
• 36:11
  life to the next life. Amen. And you
• 36:14
  say, "Preacher, what is that supposed to
• 36:15
  do FOR ME?" THAT'S SUPPOSED TO ENCOURAGE
• 36:18
  YOU TO THANK ON THE FACT THAT GOD'S
• 36:20
  GIVEN YOU EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED.
• 36:22
  AMEN.
• 36:24
  >> RIGHT?
• 36:25
  >> You don't need nothing else.
• 36:28
  Say, "Preacher, how is that? I don't
• 36:29
  need nothing else." You don't.
• 36:31
  >> That's right.
• 36:32
  >> Whatever he sends,
• 36:34
  >> Amen.
• 36:35
  >> is all that we need.
• 36:37
  >> He said, "The Lord is
• 36:40
  my portion." Notice them next three
• 36:42
  words.
• 36:44
  saith my soul.
• 36:47
  Notice what he said. Verse 18, he said,
• 36:49
  "And I said, but verse number 24, the
• 36:53
  Lord is his portion."
• 36:56
  The same lips that were once saying that
• 36:59
  God had left him
• 37:01
  >> and that he'd lost his hope in God
• 37:04
  decided that it was over with. Said,
• 37:07
  "I'm through. Not trusting him anymore.
• 37:10
  My endurance has failed. I have no
• 37:12
  expectation.
• 37:13
  It is that same soul that says in verse
• 37:16
  24, therefore will I hope in him.
• 37:20
  You say, "Preacher, I've lost all hope
• 37:22
  in God." Well, just three verses later,
• 37:25
  you can have it back.
• 37:26
  >> Right?
• 37:30
  >> Just three or four verses later, you can
• 37:32
  have that same hope. You say, "Preacher,
• 37:33
  I just don't see that it'll ever come
• 37:35
  back." Well, you take his word and you
• 37:37
  open it and say, "Lord, I don't know if
• 37:39
  you can help me or not, but I'm just
• 37:40
  going to trust you."
• 37:41
  >> Amen.
• 37:43
  >> You say, "Preacher, that's faithless to
• 37:44
  say that." Well, that's how you feel.
• 37:46
  >> That's right.
• 37:49
  >> Don't act like you're too spiritual for
• 37:50
  that, Lord. Preacher, I'm not going to
• 37:52
  say the Lord can't help me. Amen. Well,
• 37:54
  that's the way you feel.
• 37:55
  >> Amen.
• 37:55
  >> Say, "How is that?" Well, if you if you
• 37:57
  knew he could help you, you'd ask him.
• 37:59
  >> You're right.
• 38:00
  >> That's right.
• 38:01
  >> That's exactly right.
• 38:04
  >> Lord, please. What' that what did that
• 38:05
  man say? He said, "Lord, I believe. Help
• 38:07
  my unbelief."
• 38:08
  >> Amen.
• 38:09
  >> You've got your doubts. We've got our
• 38:11
  doubts. Just take it to him. Let him
• 38:13
  resolve them. Amen.
• 38:14
  >> Yeah.
• 38:15
  >> And I'm telling you, he said,
• 38:17
  "Therefore, what I hope in him." He
• 38:19
  said, "I I will expect
• 38:22
  not what he's going to do for me, but
• 38:23
  I'm just going to expect in who he is."
• 38:26
  >> Amen.
• 38:27
  >> Look what he said. He said, "I hope in
• 38:28
  him." Said, "I'm not not looking for his
• 38:31
  plan, but I'm just wanting his person."
• 38:33
  Amen.
• 38:34
  >> Boy, somebody needs to hook up with
• 38:36
  that.
• 38:37
  >> Lord, I don't know what your plan is,
• 38:39
  but you don't have to tell me. I just
• 38:41
  want your person.
• 38:42
  >> Amen.
• 38:42
  >> Just give me Jesus.
• 38:44
  >> Yeah.
• 38:45
  >> Nothing else. Amen. Notice this, and I'm
• 38:48
  done. There's a choice of remembrance.
• 38:50
  There's a clear revelation. I'm talking
• 38:51
  about hope for the hopeless. Amen. But
• 38:54
  I'll say this. There's a conditional
• 38:55
  reward here in this text. You say, "What
• 38:58
  is that?" Well, notice the verse there.
• 39:00
  Verse number verse number 25.
• 39:03
  The Bible says, "The Lord is good unto
• 39:05
  them that wait for him." To the soul
• 39:08
  that what?
• 39:10
  >> Seketh him. You know the reason why so
• 39:13
  many people are living like Jeremiah is
• 39:16
  living in verses 1- 20. And they're not
• 39:20
  just they're they're living there
• 39:21
  constantly.
• 39:23
  Here's what's going to happen. The
• 39:24
  closer you get to God, the the more
• 39:27
  these spells will be when you go back
• 39:28
  and forth, back and forth. But when you
• 39:30
  get closer to God, here's what happens.
• 39:32
  You begin to pick up on the on the
• 39:34
  repeats,
• 39:35
  >> right?
• 39:35
  >> Begin to see, well, that's where I
• 39:37
  started to get depressed. That's the
• 39:38
  thing that caused me. I saw that thing
• 39:40
  on Facebook and that brought me down.
• 39:42
  Now I see I need to stop that.
• 39:44
  >> Yeah. Come on.
• 39:45
  >> Oh, man. I'm preaching good.
• 39:48
  >> That's the thing that got me out of
• 39:50
  sorts. Now I see that Lord bring me
• 39:52
  back. Get me back.
• 39:54
  >> Look what he says in the verse. This
• 39:56
  conditioner award number one expresses
• 39:58
  the love of God. Verse 25, what's it say
• 40:00
  there? first phrase, the Lord is good
• 40:04
  >> unto them. He's got what you need. And
• 40:07
  the thing about it is he's not, you
• 40:09
  don't have to go to and beg him.
• 40:10
  >> You're right.
• 40:11
  >> We beat the floor. It's not I remember
• 40:13
  those when I first when when I first got
• 40:15
  saved years after that, man, I remember
• 40:17
  as a young boy, I thought, man, I, you
• 40:19
  know, tell a lie or something, I'd go
• 40:21
  beat the floor and cry, "God, please,
• 40:22
  please, God, please forgive me." I
• 40:25
  didn't know. I didn't have a clue. God
• 40:27
  wanted to forgive me more than I wanted
• 40:28
  to be forgiven.
• 40:29
  >> You're right. But here's the thing about
• 40:31
  it. When you have a need and you go to
• 40:32
  God and we think we got to cry and beat
• 40:34
  the floor and stay up all night and do
• 40:36
  all this stuff to get God's attention,
• 40:38
  but God's the best father there is.
• 40:41
  >> Amen.
• 40:42
  >> And brother Jimmy Millsap said this a
• 40:44
  long time ago and this helped me more
• 40:46
  than anything I reckon I've ever heard
• 40:47
  in my life. He said, "You know, if my
• 40:49
  children have a need," he said, "They
• 40:50
  don't have to come to my feet."
• 40:51
  >> You're right.
• 40:52
  >> And get on the ground and beat the floor
• 40:54
  and weep for a meal.
• 40:58
  He said, ' They don't have to get on the
• 40:59
  ground and beg and cry and plead for me
• 41:01
  to give them a meal. He said, 'I want to
• 41:03
  provide that for them.
• 41:05
  >> How much more would God want to bless
• 41:06
  us?
• 41:07
  >> Amen.
• 41:09
  >> Notice the verse. The Lord is good unto
• 41:10
  them. So that's what this hinges upon.
• 41:12
  Okay? He We don't have to beat and beg
• 41:15
  the beg and beat the floor to get
• 41:17
  something out of them because he wants
• 41:18
  to give it. That's not the problem.
• 41:20
  Okay? Notice verse 25. The Lord is good
• 41:22
  unto them that wait for him. That wait
• 41:25
  for him. Now that that wait there is is
• 41:27
  you know it's not sitting around waiting
• 41:29
  okay but it has the idea of being
• 41:31
  attendant means there's a longing
• 41:34
  there's a desire a burning desire them
• 41:36
  that wait for him they have a desire to
• 41:39
  be at his feet
• 41:40
  >> remember when Mary and Martha there were
• 41:43
  serving and or Martha was serving Mary
• 41:45
  was sitting at the feet of Jesus
• 41:46
  remember what Jesus told Martha said you
• 41:48
  you're busy Martha you know I'm
• 41:50
  paraphrasing this she was cumbered about
• 41:52
  much serving the Bible says but what
• 41:54
  Jesus tell Martha said she's chosen that
• 41:56
  good part and what did he describe that
• 41:59
  as which shall not be taken away from
• 42:02
  her.
• 42:04
  You see the thing about our life is is
• 42:06
  everything in our life that we invest in
• 42:08
  is going to be taken away.
• 42:11
  >> You say preacher what is that? Well, let
• 42:12
  me just get down to the nitty-gritty of
• 42:14
  it. Even your marriage
• 42:18
  >> some of these days your wife or your
• 42:19
  husband, you're going to be separated
• 42:21
  till death do us part. If you get to
• 42:24
  live the entirety of your life together,
• 42:26
  you say, "Preacher, what does it go from
• 42:27
  there?" Well, it goes down to your
• 42:28
  children. They're borrowed.
• 42:30
  >> You're right.
• 42:31
  >> They're barred for a time. Your job,
• 42:33
  your home, your life is borrowed.
• 42:36
  >> Yes.
• 42:37
  >> The labor that you do, the effort that
• 42:40
  you put in in the flesh, it's all
• 42:42
  borrowed. You know what that means? It
• 42:44
  can be taken away.
• 42:45
  >> Amen.
• 42:45
  >> But you know what? Nobody can take from
• 42:47
  you.
• 42:47
  >> Come on. that longing, that waiting at
• 42:52
  the feet of Jesus, sitting before him,
• 42:55
  because you know what? That's what
• 42:56
  you're going to take with you to heaven.
• 42:59
  >> Because you know what you'll be doing
• 43:00
  over there? That very same thing.
• 43:03
  >> What does he say there in the text? He
• 43:05
  says, "The Lord is good unto them that
• 43:08
  wait for him." They're longing for him.
• 43:10
  Notice this, and I'm done. It's simple
• 43:11
  tonight. Look, he says, "Then that wait
• 43:13
  for him to the soul that seeketh him."
• 43:18
  So there's a longing, but then there's
• 43:20
  looking.
• 43:22
  And I'm not saying you got to go looking
• 43:23
  like under rocks and sticks to find him.
• 43:26
  Amen. We know where he's at.
• 43:27
  >> Amen.
• 43:28
  >> But isn't that the the the mysterious
• 43:31
  thing about it?
• 43:33
  We know exactly where to find him,
• 43:35
  >> right?
• 43:37
  >> That's good.
• 43:38
  >> But yet, we don't go look for it.
• 43:40
  >> Right.
• 43:41
  You know why we don't look for him?
• 43:43
  Because we don't long for him.
• 43:44
  >> Amen.
• 43:46
  >> The soul that waits for him will be
• 43:49
  seeking him. What does the Bible say?
• 43:51
  They that wait upon the Lord shall renew
• 43:53
  their strength. That renewal comes from
• 43:56
  seeking him. What did Jesus say? 30
• 43:58
  Jeremiah 33:3, "Call unto me and I will
• 44:00
  answer thee and show thee great and
• 44:01
  mighty things which thou knowest not."
• 44:03
  See, the the precipice is upon the
• 44:05
  seeking. Ask and you shall receive. Seek
• 44:07
  and you shall find. Knock and it shall
• 44:09
  be opened unto you. And the thing about
• 44:12
  this was we know where to find it.
• 44:15
  But the condition is on verse 25. The
• 44:18
  Lord is good unto them that wait for him
• 44:19
  to the soul that seeketh him. Do you
• 44:21
  long for him? Are you looking for him?
• 44:24
  >> You're right.
• 44:26
  >> What do you mean, preacher? I'm saying
• 44:27
  you cannot let your troubles overcome
• 44:30
  the truth in your life. You're
• 44:31
  >> right. You cannot let your problems
• 44:34
  overcome the precepts and the power of
• 44:37
  the Holy Spirit in your life. The
• 44:38
  problem is it's not that we don't know
• 44:40
  where he is. The problem IS IS WE'RE NOT
• 44:42
  GOING TO WHERE WE KNOW HE IS.
• 44:44
  >> RIGHT,
• 44:47
  >> PREACHER, I can't find God. He's nowhere
• 44:50
  to be found. No, HE'S THE SAME PLACE
• 44:52
  THAT YOU LEFT HIM.
• 44:53
  >> YOU'RE RIGHT.
• 44:53
  >> HE'S IN THAT BIBLE that's collecting
• 44:56
  dust ON THE SHELF. HE'S IN THAT PRAYER
• 44:58
  CLOSET THAT YOU AIN'T BEEN IN SO LONG.
• 45:00
  IT'S THERE'S BUGS PILED UP IN IT. WHAT
• 45:02
  I'M SAYING IS IS THAT IF YOU WANT TO
• 45:05
  FIND HIM, YOU GOT TO GO TO WHERE HE IS,
• 45:07
  >> RIGHT?
• 45:08
  >> And until then, you know what's going to
• 45:10
  happen? Your mind is going to be
• 45:11
  controlled.
• 45:12
  >> Amen.
• 45:14
  >> The foundation of your mindset, your
• 45:16
  your your operating platform of life is
• 45:18
  going to be a state of depression. Never
• 45:21
  going to see any fruit, never going to
• 45:23
  see any blessing. And then out of that
• 45:26
  mindset leads all these musings, all
• 45:29
  these thoughts, these stray thoughts.
• 45:30
  And they all come out of that.
• 45:34
  The reason that you can't get a control
• 45:36
  on your thought life, the reason you
• 45:38
  can't control your musings is because
• 45:39
  the baseline of your thoughts is wrong.
• 45:41
  >> Amen.
• 45:43
  >> When Jeremiah decided to change, verse
• 45:46
  21 says it, notice it again.
• 45:48
  This I recall to my mind, therefore have
• 45:52
  I hope. I told my wife this this
• 45:55
  afternoon. I'm done tonight.
• 45:57
  I said, 'You know, the further I come
• 45:59
  along in this Christian life, I said,
• 46:00
  'Here's what I'm finding.
• 46:02
  It's all comes down to a choice.
• 46:06
  >> We've been given power. Here's the thing
• 46:09
  about it. We think that we can't attain
• 46:10
  it. We think that we can't get to a
• 46:12
  place where we have fellowship with God
• 46:14
  like we want to have. And I'll say this,
• 46:16
  I don't know that I'll ever be at the
• 46:17
  place that I desire to be.
• 46:18
  >> Right?
• 46:19
  >> I ain't going to quit trying to get
• 46:20
  there.
• 46:20
  >> Amen. But what's going to keep me from
• 46:23
  getting there the days that I choose not
• 46:24
  to?
• 46:25
  >> You're right.
• 46:26
  >> You say, "Preacher, well, I don't choose
• 46:27
  not to." But well, choosing not choosing
• 46:30
  is choosing not to. You're
• 46:31
  >> right.
• 46:32
  >> Did you hear what I just said? Getting
• 46:34
  up and being in a state of laziness. And
• 46:36
  that's what it is.
• 46:37
  >> Come on.
• 46:38
  >> All right. Our the blessing of this
• 46:39
  nation has caused us to be lazy. And I'm
• 46:42
  not saying you don't have to be lazy at
• 46:44
  work and you can get up 5:00 in the
• 46:46
  morning, work till 7:00 at night, and do
• 46:47
  it every day. I'm not talking about your
• 46:49
  work ethic. I'm saying this book right
• 46:51
  here, you're lazy in your study.
• 46:53
  >> You're right.
• 46:55
  >> You work 100 hour weeks and still be
• 46:57
  lazy in that right there.
• 46:59
  >> You're right.
• 47:00
  >> Busy in the wrong things is what it is.
• 47:04
  I'll say this tonight. Jeremiah said
• 47:06
  this. I recall to my mind, there's some
• 47:09
  things you need to go back and get.
• 47:12
  >> Remember his mercy.
• 47:14
  Go back to those mornings when you
• 47:17
  remember his faithfulness and say,
• 47:18
  "Lord, I need one of them today."
• 47:20
  >> Amen.
• 47:21
  >> You say, "Preacher, how can I start that
• 47:23
  tomorrow?" Well, a good pattern is this.
• 47:25
  Go to bed tonight thinking about the
• 47:26
  word of God. Let the let the Bible be
• 47:28
  the last thing on your mind.
• 47:30
  >> Yeah.
• 47:31
  >> When you go to sleep, you know what
• 47:33
  you'll find that that'll be hard the
• 47:35
  first time? It'll be hard. Okay? You'll
• 47:38
  lay there with the Bible on your mind.
• 47:39
  You're thinking, "Man, this is just this
• 47:41
  is going to take forever to go to sleep
• 47:42
  like this. I'm just being real, okay?
• 47:45
  I'm being honest with you. All right?
• 47:46
  But you lay there with a Bible on your
• 47:48
  mind thinking about God, thinking about
• 47:50
  your salvation, maybe thinking about
• 47:52
  lost souls, and you know what'll happen?
• 47:54
  It's a whole lot more more likely when
• 47:56
  you go to sleep thinking about the word
• 47:57
  of God that you'll wake up thinking
• 47:59
  about it.
• 47:59
  >> You're right.
• 48:00
  >> And it would be if you go to sleep
• 48:02
  thinking about something else.
• 48:04
  >> You say, "Preacher, do you do that?" I
• 48:06
  wish that I could do that every single
• 48:08
  day.
• 48:13
  Because you know what? They some days
• 48:14
  it's you got problems, don't you?
• 48:17
  >> Amen.
• 48:18
  >> You say, "Preacher, but didn't you just
• 48:19
  tell us that it's a choice?" Oh, it is.
• 48:22
  But every one of us,
• 48:24
  >> you're right,
• 48:24
  >> fail to make the choice.
• 48:26
  >> You say, "Well, what's the purpose of
• 48:28
  the message?" Make the choice more
• 48:30
  often.
• 48:30
  >> Amen.
• 48:33
  >> It don't happen overnight, does it,
• 48:35
  Sister Betty?
• 48:37
  Getting a prayer life like you want
• 48:38
  takes years.
• 48:39
  >> Amen. But the thing is, most people
• 48:42
  never start. You're
• 48:44
  >> right.
• 48:45
  >> If we never start,
• 48:49
  you're never going to have anything to
• 48:51
  work from.
• 48:53
  Reason it's so quiet in here is because
• 48:55
  this is true. You're
• 48:56
  >> right.
• 48:59
  >> Prayer is the only thing that's going to
• 49:00
  get us through.
• 49:02
  You can read that Bible till the cows
• 49:04
  come home. But if you don't have a
• 49:05
  relationship with God,
• 49:07
  >> James said, "You have not because you
• 49:09
  what?"
• 49:10
  >> Ask not.
• 49:12
  >> And so it's dependent. You say,
• 49:13
  "Preacher, you said I can make a
• 49:15
  choice." I promise you, if you make that
• 49:17
  choice, it'll happen a lot more often
• 49:18
  than not.
• 49:19
  >> You're right.
• 49:20
  >> But it ain't going to be perfect. The
• 49:23
  greatest Christians in this world will
• 49:25
  tell you that. But I'll tell you this,
• 49:28
  it's so much better.
• 49:29
  >> Amen.
• 49:30
  >> With him. Amen.
• 49:33
  >> Ain't it?
• 49:36
  >> I wouldn't take nothing for it.
• 49:39
  >> I'll say this tonight, man. Up the road
• 49:42
  here. Cut that off, brother. I'm done.
• 49:46
  >> Thank you for joining our service today.
• 49:49
  We'd love it if you'd join us in person
• 49:51
  the next time you are able at Meadows
• 49:53
  Baptist Church. Our physical address is
• 49:56
  2988 Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North
• 50:00
  Carolina. Our service times are Sunday
• 50:03
  school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning
• 50:05
  worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening
• 50:08
  worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday
• 50:10
  evening Bible study at 7:00 p.m. For
• 50:13
  more information, visit us at
• 50:15
  meadowsbaptisturch.com.
• 50:17
  Thanks again for tuning in.