Latest / Faith by annm2705 / 787. Bible Study: Jeremiah 29 (Obedience to God, Warnings from God, Praying for the city we live within)

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787. Bible Study: Jeremiah 29 (Obedience to God, Warnings from God, Praying for the city we live within) · Faith by annm2705

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Chapter 29 from the book of Jeremiah.
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And again, we are reading this because all scripture is God
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breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting
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and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be
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thoroughly equipped for every good work.
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That's from Second Timothy chapter 3, verse 16.
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And the other reason we read is consequently faith comes from
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hearing the message, and the message is heard through the
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word about Christ. And that's from Romans chapter
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10, verse 17. And I'm not sure if in this
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chapter if we're actually going to have a discussion about
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Jesus, but in chapters 31 and 32 we definitely will.
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So it's getting close. Again, there's Jesus throughout
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the Old Testament and when you, when we realize it, it's really
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neat to find these things where it talks about it.
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So we'll read about the letter to the Exiles in Jeremiah
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chapter 29. This is the text of the letter
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that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving
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elders among the Exiles, and to the priest, the prophets and all
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the other people. So this is going to the
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survivors that are in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar had carried into
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exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after King Jehovah Chin
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and the Queen Mother, the court officials and the leaders of
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Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans, had
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gone into exile from Jerusalem. He entrusted the letter to Elasa
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son of Chapan or Shafan, and to Gemariah son of Hilakiya or
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Hilakiya, whom Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to Nebuchadnezzar in
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Babylon. So he sent this letter through
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people to the people who were in exile.
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This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says to all
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those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
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So he's, this is like reaffirmation of what Jeremiah
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said, because originally when Jeremiah warned them, he said to
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surrender to Nebuchadnezzar. And this was part of God's
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judgement on the people because of their sin.
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He allowed an enemy to have control over them.
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Like God will do that at some point.
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And that's that's a little bit of where the fear of God comes
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into play for our lives. Because if we're in rebellion to
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God, there's a certain point where we've seen historically
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through the Bible that God will sometimes turn somebody over to
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their sin. So how many times does God let
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us keep rebelling before he says, OK, fine, that's what you
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want. I mean, God is the only one who
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knows our true heart and our true motivation.
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So and God is just. So I believe whatever he does is
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just. But I remember when I was
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reading these things, I kind of had the fear of God where OK, I
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realized that I was in rebellion and I was like, I don't want to
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put God to the test and all of a sudden have God reject me and
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turn me over to the enemy permanently.
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You know, without repentance, he couldn't turn back.
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So when I say permanently, God does allow us to turn back to
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him. There's only one sin that's in
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that's not able to be forgiven and that's blasphemy of the Holy
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Spirit and also receiving the mark of the beast, which may be
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that in itself is actually blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
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That's a complete rejection of God and that's maybe why that's
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an unforgivable sin. So other than that, anything
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else God can forgive. And if we are sincere about
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asking for forgiveness. So anyway, let's go back to what
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the Scripture's talking about. And he, he writes this letter to
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the Exiles and he tells them, build houses and settle down,
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plant gardens and eat what they produce, what they produce.
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Marry and have sons and daughters.
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Find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage
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so that they too may have sons and daughters.
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Increase a number, do not decrease.
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This is interesting because God tells them basically go on with
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your life. Do all the normal things that
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you would do in this foreign land says also seek the peace
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and prosperity of the city to which I carry you into exile.
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So he's like, don't fight against them.
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Bring peace and prosperity to where I'm sending you pray to
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the Lord for it. So again, he wants that
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connection even though they're going to be in enemy territory
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who serve an enemy who serves other gods.
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He's saying, you know, pray to the Lord for it.
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And it says he gives a reason why, because if it prospers the
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city, you too will prosper, so he can bring good out of it.
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Yes, this is what the Lord God, the what the Lord Almighty, the
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God of Israel says to not let the prophets and divinners are,
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yeah, among you deceive you. So again, here's where that
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discernment comes in, back for in that time and today where we
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need to have discernment about people who say they hear from
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the Lord. Do not listen to the dreams you
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encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you
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in my name. I have not sent them, declares
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the Lord. So we have people like that
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today too. This is what the Lord says.
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When 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and
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fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.
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For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to
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prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a
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future. Now I want to pause about this
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because I think there might be more to this than I don't know
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there could be. This is just interesting to
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think about, to wander on, and I don't have the answer.
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It's just something that came to mind as I was reading this.
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So there's 70 years are completed when the 70 years are
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completed for. But I will come to you.
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That's kind of interesting that he says.
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I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you
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back to this place. So I don't know.
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I'm going to read what the study Bible says.
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Why 70 years? Some suggest that God chose 70
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years of captivity because that was a person's normal lifespan.
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A generation of Jews spent a lifetime in exile as punishment
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for the sins of their fathers. Others say the time represented
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is the number of Sabbath years during which Israelites had not
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permitted the land to rest. The first captives were taken
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were taken from Jerusalem in six O 5 BC, and the first Jews
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returned from Babylon in 638. So when doing that calculation,
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you're we're off by three years. It doesn't.
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It doesn't match up, but it says others count the time from 586
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BC when the temple was destroyed to 516 BC when Zerubbabel's
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temple was finished. Now that's exactly 70 years, so
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that seems more likely. And again, the Bible is so
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complicated. It has a a simple message
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throughout, the most important message of salvation.
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That's very simple throughout the Bible.
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But the other details of some of these things, especially
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prophecy, is very complicated. And I don't know that we always
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get it right. There's a lot of theories about
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different things. So it's always interesting and
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sometimes helpful to hear different theories and to double
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check it against what the Bible says.
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So does this also refer to and again, translation?
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So I did not look up like in blue letter Bible.
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I love going to that resource. But when it says when 70 years
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are completed by Babylon, I wonder, I'm going to try and get
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to that, to that place because I, I'm very curious right now
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about it doesn't actually say years or is this a translation
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thing? So it's in Jeremiah chapter 29
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and verse 10. So as soon as I get there, I
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will let you know. OK, So if we go to the tools bar
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bar and say when the 70 year, it says years, it's a year division
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of time, a measure of time, an indication of age, a lifetime of
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years. So yeah, it kind of does seem
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like it says it means literally years.
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So when 70 years are completed for Babylon.
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So that seems like that was exactly the 70 years.
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So I mean, from the information given to us in the study Bible,
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it seems like it's more likely that it's when the temple was
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destroyed and then it was rebuilt.
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And I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring
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you back to this place for I know the plans I have for you,
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declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
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plans to give you hope in a future.
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You know, despite all these bad things that are happening,
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they're going into the hands of the enemy and they're living in
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a foreign country. And there's a lot of idolatry
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with the leadership in that foreign country Despite that.
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I mean, those are those were punishment or that was
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punishment because of their sin, but that's not what God's plan
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was. God is righteous, He brings
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about justice and he has to punish sin.
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If he didn't punish sin, he wouldn't be just.
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But he's saying these are not, this is not what I wanted to do
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with you, but because of what you did and you don't repent,
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then you bring on this yourself. You know, it has to be dealt
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with, but he's, he's like, I'm, I have plans.
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And it's not to harm you, but to give you hope in a future.
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And this is something that I think is applicable to all of us
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that if we are repentant towards him, he does have good plans for
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us and hope in a future. And so he in Scripture, it says
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verse 12, then you will call on me and come and pray to me and I
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will listen to you. You will seek me and find me
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when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you
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declares the Lord. And I think this verse also
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applies to us too, because God calls people and it's it's
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interesting. I was looking at that like I was
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found by those I did. Let's see how did I wanted to
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find that. Now I'm messing up what I what
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it called I was Oh gosh, I wish I I had that pulled up earlier
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found by those. Let's see if I can if that makes
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sense. Hopefully it can find it.
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I OK in Isaiah 65 verse 1, he this is God saying I revealed
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myself to those who did not ask for me.
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I was found by those who did not seek me to a nation that did not
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call on my name. I said here am I here am I.
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So this is just showing God's love and his mercy, like some
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people who aren't even seeking God, which may be all of us,
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because it does seem like God calls us first or God loves us
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first and then we need to respond back to God.
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And, and it says like I revealed myself to those who didn't, who
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did not ask for me. So some people, this is the way
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God will work in a person's life.
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He, they couldn't even, maybe they're not even seeking him.
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And all of a sudden he reveals something to them and he was
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found by those who did not seek him.
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And that's sometimes we are hearing that today where there
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are some Muslim people who are having dreams about Jesus.
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Do you think they decided to do that?
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And then they're also coming to faith and belief in him and
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turning to him. So this is something that they
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certainly wouldn't be seeking on their own, but this is God's
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mercy and his love to them and sharing God's Kingdom with them.
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So if they respond positively to him and accept him, then they
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will be in the Kingdom of God, which is so beautiful of what
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God does. And anyway, but he's saying, you
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know, in Jeremiah, God is saying this to the people in exile.
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You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your
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heart. So God's always after our heart,
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our deepest desires to like, do we really want to know him?
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He is after that and he says I will be found by you.
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Like this is a promise. So can you think about this when
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if you were in exile in Babylon and you get this letter from
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Jeremiah, the prophet who says all this to you, like you, you
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will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
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Do you think maybe the people who were in exile started
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seeking God at that point? Do you think they were like, OK,
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we need God right now because we're away from our homeland.
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We are, you know, I guess in some sort of slavery situation.
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I mean, they don't, they don't have the freedom and they're in
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captivity. So this would be a time God
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often will use times where we are at our low point where he
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will bring us back to him. And that's probably what
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happened to many of the people who were in captivity.
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So he says, I will be found, looked by you, declares the
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Lord, and will bring you back from captivity.
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I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have
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banished you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back to the
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place from which I carried you into exile.
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It almost seems to me like this is a much broader meaning where
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he says I will gather you from all the nations.
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But here we were talking about this letter is going to the
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people of Judah who were in exile in Babylon, but he's
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saying to all the nations. So that is kind of confusing to
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me that it wouldn't it be just like I will gather you from
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Babylon, But no, he says all the nations.
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So I think this is like a future promise to them as well.
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And it's interesting that I think, Oh no, it's the next
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chapter where God tells them to write it down where it will, you
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know, where people will read this in the future.
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And I think these, even though this was written to the people
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at that time, it also applies to people today.
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Like we can find information, we can find messages from God
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within Scripture today, even though this was written in the
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BC time frame. So you may say the Lord has
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raised up prophets for us in Babylon, but this is what the
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Lord says about the king who sits on David's throne and all
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the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who
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did not go with you into exile. Yes, this is what the Lord
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Almighty says. I will send the sword famine and
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plague against them. So remember that that was the
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warning because there were some prophets that were saying like,
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it's going to be peaceful and that God was going to protect
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them and deliver them from the king of Babylon.
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And and I guess was Hananiah that we just read about that
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said he was going to break the yoke off the Nebuchadnezzar and
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they would be freed. And Jeremiah saying, you know, I
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hope that happens, but that's not what God told me.
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And so God also said, which would is kind of the opposite of
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what God normally did. God normally delivered them from
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their enemies, but because this was punishment for their
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disobedience and rebellion against God, he delivered them
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into the hands of their enemies. And he's the one who can appoint
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kings and rulers over people. And, and so, and but he says,
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you know, go with them like, and it'll be fine.
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You like, you'll continue to live, you'll get life if you go
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with him, which is something that was probably not expected
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by them. But he said everybody who stayed
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in the city was going to have sword famine and plague against
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them. So they God wanted them to leave
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from there. And he said, and I will make
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them like figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten.
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I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and
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will make them abhorrent to all kingdoms of the earth, a curse
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and an object of horror of scorn, reproach among all the
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nations where I drive them. And he gives the reason why God
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always gives the reason why he does this because we can say,
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gosh, that's that's mean. Like why would God do that?
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He says because, well, for they have not listened to my words
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disobedience. He was talking through Jeremiah.
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Jeremiah was warning them. They weren't listening to
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Jeremiah. They wanted to have the good
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things that they were hearing from false prophets that were
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saying you're going to have peace, God's going to deliver
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you just like in times of past. Well, they had history to fall
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back on and look at that. But it's here's that part about
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having discernment on who is telling you something, who is
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giving advice? Is it from someone who has the
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Holy Spirit or is it from someone who is worldly or is
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getting it from something evil? He says for this is God saying,
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for they have not listened to my word, declares the Lord.
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Words that I sent to them again and again by my servants, the
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prophets. And you exiles have not listened
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either, declares the Lord. Therefore hear the word of the
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Lord, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to
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Babylon. This is what the Lord Almighty,
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the God of Israel says about Ahab son of Koloa and Zedekiah
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son of Messiah, who are prophesying.
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These people have their names called out who are prophesying
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lies to you in my name. So God is literally calling out
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the people who are the false prophets.
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I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of
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Babylon, and He will put them to death before your very eyes.
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Wow. So they get, you know, God seems
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like He puts to death just like that Hananiah who was saying
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you're going to be free in two years, then God put him.
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I mean, God, you know, like if if somebody's speaking, that's
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the scary part about it. You don't want to say you're a
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prophet and not truly be hearing from the word of God, be
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hearing, be hearing directly from God.
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Because if you do, that could mean your life is taken from
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you, because God is not going to have a part of that because of
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them. All the Exiles from Judah who
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are in Babylon will use this curse.
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May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab whom the king
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of Babylon burned in the fire. So they had a pretty rough
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death. It says burned in the fire.
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For they have done outrageous things in Israel.
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They have committed adultery with their neighbors wives and
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in my name they have uttered lies which I did not authorize.
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So again we can see they are not living by the fruit of the
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Spirit. They are breaking God's
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commandments and also speaking lies.
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A couple of the commandments there.
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I know it and I am a witness to it, declares the Lord.
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God knows everything that happens.
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Even when we think it's hidden, it's not hidden from God.
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Tell Shamaya the Nehalemite This is what the Lord Almighty, the
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God of Israel says. You sent letters in your own
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name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest
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Zephaniah son of Messiah, and to all the other priests.
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You said to Zephaniah, The Lord has appointed you priest in the
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place of Jehoiadiah to be in charge of the House of the Lord.
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You should put you should put any maniac who acts like a
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prophet into stocks and neck irons.
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So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth who poses
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as a prophet among you? He has sent this message to us
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in Babylon. It will be a it will be a long
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time. Therefore, build houses and
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settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they
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produce. Zephaniah the priest, however,
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read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet.
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Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.
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Send this message to all the Exiles.
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This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehilimite, because
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Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send him,
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and has persuaded you to trust in lies.
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This is what the Lord says. I will surely punish Shamaya,
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that Nehilimite and his descendants.
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He will have no one left among his people, nor will he see the
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good things I will do for my people, declares the Lord,
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because he has preached rebellion against me.
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And that's how chapter 29 ends. So I will read the questions and
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answers for this chapter and that's and then we'll wrap it
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up. So why didn't Jeremiah go into
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captivity with his people? Nebu Zuradan, the commander of
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the Imperial Guard, gave Jeremiah Jeremiah the choice of
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going to Babylon or remaining in Judah.
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The Lord's hand of protection gave Jeremiah favor with the
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Babylonians. Look at how God can work that in
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making His decision to remain in the land.
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Jeremiah certainly was aware of his own prophetic words
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concerning those who remained in Judah.
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With those words in mind, Jeremiah have thought, may have
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thought, that those who remained in the land would be in need of
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clear guidance from the Lord. In any case, he definitely opted
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for the more difficult path. That's interesting that he chose
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because that would be, you know, he would, it would be sword,
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famine or plague that would actually get him by choosing
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that. Why should the Jews pray for
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Babylon? We must remember that God sent
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Judah into exile. His will was that Babylon defeat
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the people of Judah not just to punish them, but also teach them
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to submit to his will, meaning God's will.
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Learning to pray for the peace and prosperity of their
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conquerors was one of their first lessons in submission
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there. Furthermore, the Jews were
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bringing their faith in God to this strange nation.
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Perhaps they could influence their captors to also serve the
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Lord since this since they would be captives for 70 years, it
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would also be wise to pray for peace so they might enjoy their
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lives. Why?
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And we read about the why 70 years.
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So must people seek God before he seeks them?
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This has long been debated. One can emphasize either God's
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sovereign activity in bringing sinners to himself or the
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response of the human will to God's grace.
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Scripture offers both both perspective in what is called
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antinomy, two truths, both with scriptural support, that are
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irreconcilable from a human standpoint yet completely
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reconcilable from God's viewpoint.
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Does God seek the lost or do the lost seek God?
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The answer is yes to both questions.
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I I don't know my opinion on this.
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I think God seeks us first and then we respond to him.
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So just like Jesus came to earth for the sinners to bring them to
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repentance, so then it is up to sinners, all of us to repent, to
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turn to God, to seek God. So God does pursue us.
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And, and I, I just do think that God pursues us because even in
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the very end, where in the very, very, very end, when judgement
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is coming about the Angel, it says the Angel, whether it's a
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messenger or a literal Angel, I don't know, because there's a
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lot of symbolism in the Book of Revelation, but it says like
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before, actually before the mark of the beast, the Angel goes out
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and tells everyone, do not take the mark of the beast.
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And the gospel was is proclaimed to all the nations, It says by
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an Angel and an Angel like again, is a messenger.
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So whether it's a literal Angel or some other way, but either
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way, God sends the gospel out the truth.
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And so everybody has the opportunity.
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But the scary part in Revelation is that the people would not
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repent. They didn't want it.
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They received it, they were given it, but they did not
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respond to it. And so because of that part, I
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just don't, I don't know where I don't know.
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I just don't. I don't recall the Scripture
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where God never pursued somebody and they just started seeking
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him on their own. I don't.
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I just don't know where that is. Anyway, it just seems like God
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initiates, He's the pursuer, and then we respond, is what it
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seems like to me. And he may pursue people through
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other people. So it doesn't mean that we're
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going to have a divine revelation from God.
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It could just be someone in our lives who shares the gospel with
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us. So why did people tolerate false
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prophets? The people were so desperate to
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hear messages of peace and prosperity that they apparently
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were willing to overlook blatant sin.
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It is sad commentary on the pathetic spiritual state of the
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people of Judah that not even their own immoral adulterous
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relationships disqualified false prophets from receiving a here
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hearing. That's kind of interesting.
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So those who are living in sin aren't going to be hearing from
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God, but they might be hearing from something.
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So that's again Galatians chapter 5 through the spirit,
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what spirit is present in a person if if we're hearing them
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give us information about God said this when spiritual leaders
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lead wicked lives, they inevitably take people down with
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them. There's more punishment for
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those who teach because of what they know when they don't help
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people come into the Kingdom. So does God have a specific plan
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for my life? This is talking about Jeremiah
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chapter 29, verse 11. No matter how much we desire to
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know God's will, He reveals His plans regarding the future of
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the world and the future of our lives on a selective basis.
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Consequently, some people strain to find clues or signs of God's
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will, as if they are mysteriously encoded in ways
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that only super spiritual people can decipher.
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Such a process is both frustrating and subjective.
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The Bible how does, however, tell us that we can be sure of
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several things that fit within God's purpose for each of us.
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While our plans may be upset, His purpose will prevail.
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We were put here to worship God, become part of His family, grow
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in spiritual maturity, serve others in church, in the church,
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and bear witness to the world of God's love and grace in Jesus.
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In addition, it is God's expressed will that we serve
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those who are less fortunate than we are.
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Jesus put it this way. Then the King will say to those
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on his right Come you, you who are blessed by my Father, take
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your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you since the
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creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave
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me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me
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something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited
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me in. I needed clothes and you clothed
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me. I was sick and you looked after
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me. I was in prison and you came to
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visit me. Truly, I tell you, whatever you
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did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of
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mine, you did for me. Finally, while God created each
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of us with our own personality, He wants us to be conformed to
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the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ.
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He does not want anyone to perish, but instead desires
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everyone to repent, to have a change of mind that leads to a
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changed life. Why would or who would confuse
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mentally unstable people and prophets?
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Because of the dramatic and unusual manner in which some
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prophets delivered God's message, they were sometimes
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mistaken for mentally unstable people.
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Jeremiah wore a yoke. Isaiah went naked for three
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years. Ezekiel lay on his left side for
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390 days. A young prophet in Jehu's day
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was called a maniac because of his strange message.
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Eccentric as they often were in their behavior, true rofits were
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set apart from lunatics by the ultimate fulfillment of their
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messages. Why did Jeremiah bother with
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false prophets? Because they claimed to speak
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for God. False prophets held enormous
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potential influence. Jeremiah recognized that if they
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were left unchecked, they could punish the entire nation.
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They could push. I'm sorry.
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They could push the entire nation farther away from God.
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Furthermore, God knows who claims to speak for him and
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holds them to account. To falsely claim to be the
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Lord's spokesman spokesman is a grievous offence.
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So that ends chapter 29. And again, a lot about false
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prophets in there and repentance as well.
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So something for all of us to take note of.