The Word was God

The Word Became Flesh

Book of John 1:1-14

Some things we know about John the Apostle of Jesus Christ:

1) John was one of the very first disciples.

2) John was a fisherman along with his brother James.

3) John left everything he had behind to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

4) John was called the "beloved disciple".

5) John was the disciple that Jesus committed the care of His mother.

6) John was said by Paul to be one of the 3 pillars of the church. Paul considered James the brother of the Lord Jesus, Peter, and John to be the 3 pillars of the early church. We cannot dispute the Apostle Paul, but I believe he was also a pillar of the early church, at least for the Gentiles.

7) John was the only apostle that died of natural causes.

When John was old and feeble his only sermon was "Little children love one another".

When asked why he would continue with this sermon he replied, "It is the Lord's command".

We sometimes forget that we are certainly commanded to love one another, and it is not a request, it is a command given to us by the Lord our Christ, our Messiah.

John shows throughout all his writings that the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah find their fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John states that "before", there was even one thing created by God, God had a plan of salvation and this plan would be followed until the very end!

We know that all the Word of God has been brought to us by specific men chosen and tutored by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit will always lead us to the Lord Jesus Christ.

John said the Old Testament is so full of words that describe the birth, the life, and the death of the Messiah, He could actually be called the Word!

It should be obvious that the Word was distinct from God, so we can see the beginning of our understanding of the Triune God.

The Godhead was clearly revealed in the Old Testament.

Psa 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

God the Deity and God the Shepherd in the flesh, are two parts of the Triune God. We know the Holy Spirit is the third!

The Messiah is to be a Shepherd and when we acknowledge this truth, the Lord who came in the flesh, is truly our Shepherd.

Our Shepherd existed before creation had begun!

The Book of John was certainly written to the lost and to the Jews but, until the Word of God came along, the Gentiles knew nothing of a Messiah.

The Messiah, God in the flesh, is the very center of Christianity and the Book of John will lead us to this truth.

The Jews saw words as not just a sound, but something alive and existing and John begins with this statement, the "Word was God" so the Jews could easily understand the truth of the Messiah.

We will see that God has given us much more than the Holy Scriptures, God has given us Himself in the flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ!

When we read the Word of God we can see the ultimate character of God and this same character was in Jesus Christ

The Lord Jesus Christ lived the words that were written of Him!

Jesus Christ was not created of God because He is God in the flesh, one third of the Holy Trinity!

Psa 90:1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

Psa 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Since Jesus Christ is the God of the Bible, then we must clearly understand, "that sin is far more abominable in the sight of God", than most of us see it to be.

We have made sin to just be bad behavior, but sin is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord!

Therefore the Scriptures teach us to hate sin, but we are never to hate the sinner.

We should understand that when God speaks, things happen and "we can be made new", if we will listen to what God has to say and apply it to our lives!

Faith does not mean much unless it brings with it action!

*****Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

There are many times that God repeats Himself to show the importance in what He had just said.

God wants to point out to us the importance of His character as the Triune God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Not three Gods but One God in three persons.

John wants us to clearly understand that the Word, the Messiah (Jesus Christ) and the Father in Heaven are one and the same person!

1Jn_5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

It must be clear to all the world that we have an "Amazing God" who loves us enough to make us His home until we can get to His heavenly home!

Most of this world see Jesus Christ only as some man and it is true that He took on the fashion of a man, but each believer sees Christ for who He is, the very substance of God in all His perfect being!

Php 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all the Word of God and therefore self-existent and eternal, the Son of the "Living" God!

The Word is the way God chose to introduce Himself to mankind, His greatest creation. Why?

God knew that many would look at His creations and call them accidents that just happen to have happened. Even a fruitcake can see the that our world is in too much order to have happened by accident.

The Lord Jesus Christ is indeed God in visible action!

After all if Jesus Christ is then God then He would also be our Creator!

*****Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

We should understand that all things, but God were created. Our world had to have a Creator and to believe otherwise is foolishness!

Verse one and two describe things the way they were before any act of creation took place!

We must all understand that "all things" were made of God and without God there would be no creation and we would not exist.

God created everything we see and that we cannot see in the first six days of our beginning because we know God rested on the seventh day.

Not because God was tired but because he had completed what He had set out to do!

There are no creations by man because if man makes anything then he must use something that God has already made.

If our Savior and our Creator creates anything new today, it would be that "Born Again" child of God that only He can make new!

The Word of God is a reality, it is truly the Word of God.

Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the glue that binds this world together!

Jesus Christ's greatest creation is life, the living things there is nothing on this earth made that is not teeming with life.

A man once wrote "the basic difference between man and beast is speech. Animals cannot speak to man as they speak to themselves"!

We should understand that this world belongs to God and He does with it "as He pleases"!

We should understand that God is not far off removed from His creation but is very near showing great concern for the welfare of His created beings.

We should also understand that the problems in this world do not come from God, but they come because of sin!

The answer to these problems cannot come from man because only Christ Jesus has the answer to all our problems.

God is all about life and life eternal.

*****Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

We cannot know true life without the Lord Jesus Christ!

Jesus Christ led a life of perfection to show us that it is possible for us to yearn for perfection in our own lives!

From the beginning in the days of Adam, God has proved He wanted to be up close and personal with His creation.

The knowledge of Jesus Christ is to be our light in this world that belongs to Him.

Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

1Jn 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

The message of God is really very simple. He says come let us walk together and I will be the light of your path!

*****Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

We live in a dark world made darker by our own sin. When Satan was booted out of Heaven he came to this earth and he brought darkness with him!

Much of world wants to remain in darkness forever but God is not going to allow that to continue much longer.

Jesus Christ has shown us the way to escape this darkness because He has no darkness within Him!

2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

When the Light of Christ shined on this world then darkness fled and Satan hides in his darkness because he does not want us to see the "nobody" that he is!

Turn on your light in a dark room and you will see darkness flee to hide until the light goes back off.

When we walk with the Lord we become a light ourselves and then we can shed that light on our families, our neighborhood and then our cities.

Mat_5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

Without Jesus Christ there would be no life and then there would be no light.

It is Jesus Christ who gives us purpose.

It is Jesus Christ shows us the meaning of life.

It is Jesus Christ who shows us the significance of our life.

After John has made us aware and the understanding of the Triune God, He then begins to tell us about the life of our Savior, from a man(John) that spent much time with Him and loved Him while He was upon this earth and he will begin with the forerunner, John the Baptist.

Our life improves when we fall in love with Jesus the Messiah!

We are cautioned not to forget what we have just learned.

*****Joh 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

The Old Testament will lead everyone to Jesus the Messiah, when we take the time to study the Scriptures as God commanded and it is these same Scriptures that tell us about a forerunner paving the way for our Master.

Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

That man was John the Baptist.

There is also this Scripture in the Book of Isaiah:

Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

Isa 40:5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Did the Lord need someone to go before Him, I don't think so, but the Scriptures must be fulfilled according to the way God intended them?

There is a purpose for every Word, every dot, and every tittle, in God's written Scriptures

There will be a complete fulfillment of the Word of God!

Mat_5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Jesus the Messiah was before the beginning of creation, John was just a man, called of God with a special calling.

This was a part of John's sermon:

Joh 3:28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.

Joh 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

Joh 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

John the Baptist as the forerunner of the Messiah, also had to live his life as close as he could to perfection!

Luk 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

John was to bear witness of the truth of God.

*****Joh 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

The Old Testament teaches that the Messiah was coming.

John the Baptist job was to tell the world that the Messiah was now here.

It is the Church's job not only to a witness of the Gospel but to also tell the world that the Lord will return to fulfill all the Scriptures.

Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Rev 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Rev 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

John the Baptist was the first ambassador for Jesus Christ!

2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

It is sin not to look forward to the Second Coming of Christ!

It is sin, to ask Jesus into your heart and fail to repent!

It is all our job to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ and not just be pew sitters!

Our ministry is the ministry of reconciliation!

The same as John the Baptist.

John the Baptist did his job so well that many thought that he might be the Messiah.

*****Joh 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

Joh 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

We can say the John the Baptist was the first Christian!

John's purpose was to lead mankind to the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Say what you will but these things are to be true of every Christian. (Forgive me Lord for my failure to be more like Christ)

John could have allowed the people to make him great, but he said:

Joh 1:27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

A man once wrote that "at the point that we quit testifying for Jesus Christ we have chosen to betray Him".

We are not that Light, we are sent to bear witness of the Light of the Lord!

It seems that this is the world we live in today.

All those sitting in the pews motionless and emotionless "are actually betraying the Lord".

This is a hard saying but it is the truth!

Light reveals.

Light opens up the truth of darkness and reveals a brand-new world, a brand-new life!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The truth is "Our Creator stepped out of Heaven and came down to spend some time with His creation".

*****Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

Joh 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

1) Our world is so dark that when the Lord came, people closed their eyes to the truth.

2) Christ Jesus came as a Jew in the line of King David and He was rejected by His own nation.

God cares deeply for His creation especially mankind!

God is actively working to help this world throw off the burden of sin.

God made man in his own trinity, the flesh, the spirit, and the soul.

It is an unforgiving sin to those who reject the Living God.

Gal 4:3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Gal 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

This world we live would rather recognize the works of Satan, so that the world does not have to change its evil ways!

*****Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

What is the will of God?

2Pe_3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, "not willing that any should perish", but that all should come to repentance.

God has done and continues to do all He can, (besides force) to persuade the world of the truth of Jesus Christ.

To reject these things is to bring damnation upon yourself!

The new birth is of God and God only!

Yes, we are washed in the blood of Jesus and are made clean, but it is not the blood that saves us in that sense!

It is only by the Mercy and the Grace of God through His Son Jesus Christ that we can be saved and be part of this New Birth!

This New Birth is not a natural birth it is a Spiritual Birth!

This New Birth is necessary to become a child of God!

This New Birth is a true experience!

This New Birth is a radical change in our lives that can only be brought about by the Love of God, and His power to save!

It is not our own flesh that brings us to salvation, it is Holy Ghost conviction.

There is no man on the face of this earth that has the power to make us a child of God!

It is only by God's power that the new birth can take place and we are welcomed into the family of God!

We must understand it is also our Holy God who has broken the barrier of race! There are only believers and non-believers!

There is only one truth of those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 8:33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Joh 8:37 I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

Joh 8:38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

Joh 8:39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

Joh 8:40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

Joh 8:41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

Joh 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Joh 8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

What is the complete truth of our Savior, The Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son?

*****Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The incarnation of Jesus Christ is a reality!

Those that believe in God:

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Those that believe in God must also believe that Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is God in the flesh!

1Jn 2:21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

1Jn 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

1Jn 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

1Jn 2:25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

The flesh of mankind today is not what God created it to be!

Our flesh no longer exists in the image of God because of sin. The same sin that began with Adam! Disobedience.

Jesus Christ had to come in the flesh to give us that example of what God intended for us all.

1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

Joh_15:22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus Christ became flesh to correct and then counteract the corruption of sin, which mankind did not understand until God revealed Himself in the Scriptures!

It is by the "Grace" of God that He took the time to give us the truth of His creation when He did not have to.

We are a foolish people if we ignore what God has to say!

It is the will of God that we should believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, so God's "Grace" can come to its fulfillment and we can be saved.

There is no other way period, for anyone to be adopted into the family of God!

We must understand what God is saying!

If Spiritual life comes by receiving the truth of Jesus the Messiah, then there must be death in rejecting Him!

Amen

Let's Pray!

Israel Will Be Restrored

The Restoration of Israel

Book of Jeremiah 50, 51

As we have studied the Book of Jeremiah we have also seen that Mystery Babylon represents the enemies of God.

Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Babylon represents the worship of Baal in many cases called Baalim which can be said to be the false trinity of the Anti-Christ.

We know that Paul called the Church a mystery because the Church was not known to the Old Testament Patriarchs or the Prophets.

Using this as our example, Mystery Babylon represents all false religions, because only a few of them realize they are worshiping the Anti-Christ!

Christ has the Church as His bride, so the Anti-Christ has Babylon the Great as his bride, who are the followers of all false religion.

Babylon had its beginning in the days of Noah who lived 350 years after the flood.

Gen 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

Gen 11:5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

Gen 11:9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

This is the same place where God called Abraham out of the city of Ur which was in the land of the Chaldees.

God said:

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

So let’s see the words God has given to Jeremiah:

*****Jer 50:1 The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.

Jer 50:2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.

Jer 50:3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.

Jer 50:4 In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God.

Not many know the joy of leaving a place where they were not really welcome and going back home.

Most military men and women know something about this.

I was truly glad to get back home from the war in Vietnam!

These Jews would be in captivity for 70 years and they did not know what they were going back to because their land had been destroyed but they had learned a very valuable lesson.

They had learned that there is no power in idols nor can anything good come from idol worship. They were going home to seek the Lord their God.

Cyrus and his army would defeat historical Babylon and just as Jeremiah had said by God Himself, Cyrus and Darius who followed him, would allow the Jews to go home.

These Jews would realize that only by the Mercy of God would they be freed from captivity and they would see the truth of the Scriptures in their own life time.

They would weep for their sins and for answered prayer.

The overthrow of Babylon would be the signal they would go home to the land they had left because of sin, just as Jeremiah had prophesied.

Isa 45:19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

Isa 45:20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

Isa 45:21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

They did say "show me the way to Zion".

This has been a battle cry of the Jews ever since.

*****Jer 50:5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.

Zion to these Jews meant Jerusalem. The Jews have always known that Jerusalem was the city that Jehovah God established as belonging to Him, not some false god and certainly not "Allah" whoever that name represents. The followers of the crescent moon.

God set these people free because they had repented of their sins and returned to worship Him.

God set these people free, so they could return to the Promised Land.

God set these people free, so they could recommit themselves to the everlasting covenant in which a commitment was made to obey all the Word of God.

Some say it was in these days that the Pharisees began to form, before they too became evil in their ways.

Others say this is the time that Judaism took hold of the children of Israel.

It would be the vengeance of the Lord on "Historical Babylon" that would cause these things to happen.

It will be the vengeance of the Lord on "Spiritual Babylon" that will remove this evil from God's people in the near future!

Isa 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

Mic 4:1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

Mic 4:2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

They had been lost sheep who could not find their way home without the True Shepherd.

*****Jer 50:6 My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.

It had been their own government and false prophets that had caused these things to happen by commands, but also by example. They had gone from one idol to another until they were confused about the truth of God.

They had turned away from the mountain of God and had been led to barren and dangerous regions where they got lost!

Eze 34:15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

Eze 34:16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

We had better understand that even when we have been led astray by false teachers or a corrupt government, we are still responsible for our own salvation.

We are to study the Word of God ourselves, so we will know the truth!

This Scripture proves that these Jews had gone from one idol to another and had offered sacrifices and had seen no results from these false gods. It also proves that they were seeking another God that simply did not exist because there is only One True God and His name is Jehovah!

In reality, nothing in Babylon could compare to the land of Judah when they were in the favor of the Lord!

In fact there is nothing on the face of this earth that will compare to the land of Israel when the Lord sits on the throne of David!

We should be able see this in our own lives. Our lives when we were out in sin cannot compare to our lives now in the will of God!

It would be like comparing a barren place to a fertile green valley.

Jesus said, you must be born again to see the Kingdom of God!

*****Jer 50:7 All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.

When our enemy realizes he cannot stop our salvation then he will try his best to ruin our testimony!

It was certainly the Lord who was punishing these Jews for leaving their first love, but the enemy "made matters worse" by inflicting their own means of punishment.

Even today in many places where the Jews reside, even in America, they are still exposed to the attacks of those who hate them.

Even some who say they are Jews go against the nation of Israel.

What a foolish nation we will become if allow our leaders to go against the nation of Israel!

That word race is used a lot here in America but not when the Christian is attacked and not when the Jews are attacked.

The fact remains that the Lord will deliver His people. He will fulfill all the promises made to the true Jews, but He will also fulfill every promise to the Church which is next on His agenda!

Dan 9:16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

Dan 9:17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

God would set these Jews free, so they could seek Him in their own homeland and repent of their sins.

God would set His people free to fulfill the everlasting covenant that been made to Abraham and King David.

These are some of the reasons God would make Babylon an everlasting desolation.

*****Jer 51:1 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;

Jer 51:2 And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

As Christians who study the Scriptures, we can look back in history and see the fulfillment of all these things.

God did stir up the spirit of the destroyer against Babylon and its people.

We know that the wind is one of the most powerful natural sources upon this earth. The hurricanes, the tornadoes can devastate any region at any time.

We also know that God uses the human in most cases and He would stir up the spirit of the Persians to be that destroying wind.

The king of Babylon had taken the people from many nations and they would also rise up at the same time.

Again the Lord would prove to be the Redeemer of the children of Israel.

He will prove this again in the future! We know that the Jews are still a scattered people with almost as many in America as is in Israel.

What is the truth of the destruction of Babylon?

Under Nabonnadus, the last king, B.C. 538, Babylon was taken by Cyrus, after a siege of two years.

In the dead of the night. Having first, by means of its canals, turned the river into the great dry lake west of Babylon, and then marched through the emptied channel, he made his way to the outer walls of the fortified palace on its banks.

He found that the brazen gates had been left open by the royal guards while they were engaged in drunken parties, just like their king, not worried about any enemy breaching the walls of Babylon.

Babylon as an empire ceased to exist.

The walls that were not destroyed by Cyrus were later destroyed by Darius.

Later Xerxes the son of Darius, plundered and destroyed Babylon and left Babylon the wilderness that it is today a place uninhabitable

Why did these things happen?

*****Jer 51:5 For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.

Jer 51:6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD'S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense.

God will never utterly forsake His people!

A great man of God wrote: "Even if Jesus Christ could create better believers than He has now, He would never consider doing such a thing".

If that had been the case, then He would have solved the sin problem when He flooded this world.

There were 8 sinners of the bloodline of Adam that were saved in the ark simply because Noah had found "Grace" in the eyes of the Lord.

The Lord is seeking others He can show His "Grace" to, but this cannot happen unless we believe in and on Him!

To be our Savior the Lord had to first be our Redeemer!

Once we establish a personal relationship with the Lord, we are forever His children and we cannot be forsaken!

As Christians we foolishly do things sometimes that are not pleasing to the Lord, but He promises to not ever forsake us.

We must accept the consequences for the things that we do, but our Father in Heaven will always be our Father!

When God calls us to come out from this world, He certainly means it!

*****Jer 51:20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

Then comes Cyrus.

Isa 45:1 Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;

Isa 45:2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:

Isa 45:3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.

It is obvious that the Lord is about to use Cyrus just as He had used Nebuchadnezzar.

No matter what else they did, God had made it a priority for them to take great care of God's people, these Jews.

God called Cyrus and his army to capture all the other nations that provided their resources to Babylon.

We continue time after time to see that God will use some human to carry out His vengeance.

In the end it will be the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember Jesus ascended in His glorified body and not as some spirit.

We can also see that this prophecy extends on into the future.

We know that the 70 years were up, but this is no proof that these Jews had been forgiven but we do know that once they returned to Israel, they no longer worshipped idols.

I believe that these things refer to the coming of the Lord.

We should also remember that Babylon had destroyed the Temple of Solomon and the city of Jerusalem.

These Jews are still in reserve throughout our days so far and there’s coming the day that they will be saved.

There is still only one way for these Jews to be saved and this is by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

They must accept the one that they have rejected all these years and they must do this as a nation.

Pardon means all the sins of the Jews have been forgotten.

When we are thinking right, we can see this prophecy extends to the Lord Jesus Christ when He returns to cleanse this world of sin.

Dan 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Dan 2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

With Rome being the kingdom of iron, Jesus Christ was born in the reign of Augustus Caesar. The Kingdom of God cannot be destroyed!

The foundation of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ will be built on a new spiritual and heavenly power that comes into this world for a time when the Lord returns to cause the end of the age of the Gentiles which really began with Adam and Eve.

As we go through these Scriptures let's just think of the return of Christ to set up His Kingdom for 1000 years.

*****Jer 51:21 And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;

Jer 51:22 With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;

Jer 51:23 I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.

Jer 51:24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.

Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Rev 17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Rev 18:21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

Rev 18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

It’s debatable if the Saints of God will actually see the destruction of the Babylon of Sin but we can be sure it will take place when the Lord returns.

The Lord will speak with the Sword of His mouth and destruction will follow.

Psa 91:7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

Psa 91:8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Cyrus did indeed conquer Babylon of old and the city was soon destroyed and has never been rebuilt in the location it once stood.

Jer 51:25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

Jer 51:26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.

No empire in the future will ever have Babylon as it's center!

It will be the "Spirit of Babylon that will be destroyed when the Lord returns, and Israel will be restored and Jerusalem the capitol city of this world!

Amen

Let's pray!

Israel Returns From Captivity

The Return from Captivity

Book of Jeremiah Chapter 29

The Christian life is not always an easy life, but we are still to be at peace in our heart and soul, because we know we are on the winning side.

In our own nation we know that it is divided even more than it has ever been.

Down through the centuries the greatest crimes have been in the name of race, and unfounded beliefs, and cultural wars, social status, and we cannot leave out religion.

We live knowing that those in power create these things, so they can continue in the path they have chosen which is not always the best way for the people.

We know that lawlessness is running rampant in most all places and no one seems to care but actually take advantage of these things for political purposes.

These same type things were happening in Judah in the time of Jeremiah, but he was God's chosen man to spread the Word of God to these people.

The people of Judah were being misled by a group of men who said themselves that they were called of God, but this was not true.

These things have continued, and the Church is taking heavy damage because of false teachers and preachers today.

God has already said what He is going to do, and we had better decide what we are going to do!

Jeremiah wrote a letter according to the Word of God intending to cause encouragement among those that already had been taken to Babylon.

Chapters 29-31 are so full of truth and prophecy that it is a shame we can only cover such a small portion of them.

Let's read what God had to say.

*****Jer 29:1 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;

Jer 29:2 (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)

The Holy Spirit has caused things to happen so that we can read the same letter Jeremiah wrote to those who were already captive in Babylon.

Daniel, and those three Jewish boys renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego among many others had been taken to Babylon when King Jehoiakim was removed by Nebuchadnezzar. Some say there were 10,000 of the best of Judah taken at that time.

Dan 1:1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.

Dan 1:2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

Dan 1:3 And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes;

Dan 1:4 Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.

Now these others would join them.

We should understand today that no matter where we travel it is encouraging to see a copy of God's Word. We should understand that the Lord never forgets those He has washed in His own personal blood!

This is the first letter of many that Jeremiah wrote to these captives.

*****Jer 29:3 By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,

Elasah was the son of Shaphan and the brother of Ahikam who a supporter of Jeremiah was, when he faced the false charge of treason for preaching the Word of God. This was in a section we did not cover.

This Gemariah was probably the son of Hilkiah, the High Priest who was the one who had found the Books of Moses in the Temple that were read to King Josiah.

It appears that these two were good men and could be trusted by both sides and they carried with them the letter of Jeremiah written to those in captivity.

We already know the Nebuchadnezzar had a lot of respect for the Prophet Jeremiah.

Many of these in captivity would now listen to the words of Jeremiah because they were witness to the fact that what Jeremiah had said had come to be true.

The encouragement that Jeremiah gave to them were the actual Words of God!

*****Jer 29:4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;

Have you noticed that God does not hide the things He does, even when we may not like what He says. He will always tell us the truth!

We must understand that no matter where we are and no matter what the circumstances, God wants us to make an impact on those we are near.

The false prophets were teaching that they would soon be back home, which was not true. The words of God to Jeremiah was that their captivity would be 70 years.

They in turn were to make homes for themselves and settle into the communities where they were located.

They had lost everything they had in Judah but there never comes a time that God's people should not be content and do the very best they can.

Nebuchadnezzar had taken the best of Judah to be an influence on his empire because he knew the will of God's people are strong

He knew that God would take care of His people.

He, Nebuchadnezzar knew he could still profit because of these reasons!

Evil men are sometimes wiser in the ways of God than the true believer!

God had caused His people to go into exile and Nebuchadnezzar was only the agent God used to do this thing. Nebuchadnezzar understood this to be true.

Our world is so messed up today and foolish to cause harm to God's people.

If the world would just allow God's people to live in peace, the world would reap many benefits just because God's takes care of His children.

This letter was also going to the political power of Babylon and the Lord made sure they knew that this letter was from the Lord of all the Angelic Host, the God of all power and not only that but the God of Israel, the Almighty God!

Jer 24:5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

Jer 24:6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

God's message does not ever change!

What was God's message on this day?

*****Jer 29:5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;

Nebuchadnezzar had taken some of the best of God's people. They knew how to build houses. Their land was destroyed but the land of Babylon was fertile, and they could grow their food according to food laws of Moses and not depend on trying to find such food in Babylon.

God's people were more vegetarian than they were big meat eaters as we should be today.

They knew how to sustain themselves in the things that the Lord would provide, the Sun and the Rain and the necessities of life along with the Bread of Life, the Word of God, not much else is really needed.

1Ti 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

1Ti 2:2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Jer 31:10 Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.

Jer 31:11 For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.

Jer 31:14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.

Jer 31:22 How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.

Jer 31:35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:

Jer 31:36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

Jer 31:37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.

We need to understand that wherever God has placed us, is our mission field.

We need to settle in and get to work. If the LORD opens another door, He will make us aware of it!

God celebrates the return from captivity of every one of His children!

Luk_15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Those who need no repentance are those who have made themselves righteous in their own eyes.

When we know that the Lord is keeping His eyes upon us for our good then we need to be a peace and do the work God has called us to do!

*****Jer 29:6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.

This did not mean for these Jews to take husbands and wives from the people of this foreign land but from the Jews that were among them. We already know that there were more than 10,000 of them taken to Babylon and others would be brought later.

Gen 24:3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

Gen 24:4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

Today each Christian is to be a fisher-of-men, so our numbers are never to decrease as they are today in many locations but only God can save, and these are the decisions that He makes.

Our job never changes. We are to do the best we can to tell all others about the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was important for these captives to increase for they were indeed the good figs!

They were to settle down. For those who listened it would be near 70 years before the Lord would send them back home.

They would not have to worry about what the government of Babylon would do to them. They were in the hand of God while they were surrounded by their enemy. In fact they would find that many from other nations had also been taken from their homes and they would not have Jehovah to protect them.

They would see many more who worshipped idols and their god could not save them.

Jehovah had saved these Jews by placing them in captivity! They had been saved from themselves!

Eze 28:26 And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.

What was God's law for us all?

Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

They had to understand that there is a reason for everything that the Lord does, and it is always for the betterment of His people. If we do not understand this then we need to understand one most important thing.

The Lord is God and He does what He wants to do, whenever He wants to do it!

We are never to question the ways of our Creator and our Master?

What else were they to do?

*****Jer 29:7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

The truth is, the Lord expects those who are Christian to be the best citizens in any place we are located! Remember the Lord relocated the "Good Figs" of Judah for their safety

The true honor of a nation is dependent on the character of its people and as Christians we are to be like Christ with the character of God Himself or as close as we can get to it here on this earth!

This is where we fail the most. We forget the sinless, loving character of our Savior!

They needed to accept that this letter from Jeremiah was the actual Word of God because it was, and they needed to study it and completely obey these words!

We sometimes forget that the Lord is the answer to every question that we have!

It is the Lord alone who can change who we are and what other people see in us!

How powerful is our prayer for each other? We must stand in the breach for each other!

Psa 106:23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.

Our sermon from our Pastor a few weeks ago, was about how great a sin it is to not stand in the gap for each other.

1Sa 12:23 Moreover as for me, "God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you": but I will teach you the good and the right way:

1Sa 12:24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

It should be obvious that according to the truth of God, we sin against the Lord when we do not pray for one another and this does not mean we pray once and be done!

When we have the peace of God in our hearts, we can have peace where ever we are located.

None of these commandments change when we get to the New Testament!

1Ti 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

1Ti 2:2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

We must understand that when we become Christians and even though our home is then in Heaven and we are just visitors passing through this earth, we are also still a member of the civil society.

We are to come out from them and be separate, but we will have to deal with those who reject the Word of God most every day and the Lord says we are to act like Christians and have the peace of God which will be a welcome sight in many places of unrest.

We are to spread this peace of God to as many as we can, and the very best way is to be like Jesus Christ.

This is what the title Christian means, to be Christlike!

We are always to show an interest in the peace of our nation and be a part of that peace. This does not ever mean we will not take a stand of the truth of God because we are to do this no matter what!

We must realize there will even be those in our own group who will stir up trouble anywhere they are located, and we should never listen to anyone who goes against the Word of God.

*****Jer 29:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

We must remember these people, many of them from the royal family had lost everything they had.

They had been removed from their homes with just the clothes upon their back.

There were many more people from the many different nations Babylon had conquered.

If God's people joined in the grumbling for being in such a position it would not help matters at all.

If they listened to the false prophets of their own nation instead of the Word of God given to Jeremiah, which had already proven to be true, they would be miserable in their new surroundings.

If they showed that they had settled into their surroundings, it would make their lives at least passable until they would go home again to their homeland.

It is always easy to dream about the good old times when we are going through bad times, but the God of the mountain is still God in the valley!

As Christians we have nothing to fear in this world no matter our circumstances. The worst thing that could happen, which is our death, is really the best thing that can happen.

Jesus would not be allowed in many Churches today because He always told the truth. The truth based on the Word of God.

Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Jesus said these words when He was asked about His return.

We know that according to the words of Jesus the very first sign of His return is the rise in false prophets and false teaching!

Anyone that says this is not true today need to read and study the Word of God, so they will not get confused.

We should also understand that one purpose of the 70 years was for most of these false teachers to die off.

*****Jer 29:9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.

We should never mistake the intentions of the Lord. He does not desire that any human being die before they have had a chance to repent. God does not think of evil for anyone of His creations.

There will be many who will repent but there will also be many who will cross God's "Red Line" the first one being Lucifer, Satan, and the angels who followed him.

We must think of the Lord more as the "father of the prodigal son" than any other thing.

To those who repent, the Lord will rush to them with the best robe and He will kill the fatted cafe and sup with them.

God's every intention is to give all His children ever lasting peace!

We must also know that God will not call a stranger to teach you the truth of God.

The very first test for the man of God is "does he believe that Jesus Christ is truly the Messiah, God in the flesh"!

Without this faith we will not ever please our God!

The test in this day of captivity was the 70 years.

If not for the Word of God given to Jeremiah, the children of Israel would have only gotten bad news from home!

It is easy to draw a crowd when your words are as butter and honey, but we will never get anything but the truth from the Almighty God!

We would be fools to desire anything but the truth.

In America today so many lies have been told, so many words have been twisted and slanted because of hatred, that we seldom ever hear the truth.

We have people like Soros and others willing to buy lies and liars to swing things the way that they would have the world be, but unless we stand up for the truth, we will lose the freedoms we have because of socialism and communism.

God will certainly test our "faith" and He should, when we are so easily swayed from the truth!

God does not need us to be witness of lies, when we are to be witnesses of the truth!

*****Jer 29:10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

God will never abandon Israel.

Over and over we see this in the Scriptures and we would fools to believe otherwise! We already know that the Lord will chastise those He loves.

God's "judgment" will only fall on those who hate the Lord!

When a prisoner knows the exact date of his release then everything he does is in preparation for that day.

These Jews needed to adapt to their surroundings and be useful and these 70 years would go quickly.

If they could be a benefit to Babylon, then they could live in peace while these 70 years passed.

This is what the Lord ask us all to do. Seventy years have been determined by the Lord to be the average life span of humans and the Lord only ask us to be busy about the Lord's work and watch patiently as these years pass by, until He takes us home.

In typology, this is the lesson we can learn from the Jewish captivity!

These were nation builders who Nebuchadnezzar had taken to Babylon and these parents were to pass these skills to their children so that they could rebuild Israel when these 70 years were over.

We must also remember this one thing. These Jews would not return to Israel because they were very good in Babylon.

They would only return to Judah because of God's "mercy" and God's "grace"!

They certainly did not deserve to return to the promised land of God because of their own merits.

These things should be really familiar to us all. We will never be good enough to go the God's Heaven, it will be only because of God's "mercy" and God's "grace"!

God always has kind thoughts of all His children and all His creation.

Over and over again we see that God has no intention for the nation of Israel to cease to exist! It would be wise for the world to see this too!

God will fulfill the promises He made to Abraham and to David and we can expect it!

God does not ever forget the things He says!

God promises all His children the greatest of futures. Things this world can never provide!

We know that the Messiah, Jesus came first to save, and the Messiah will return to sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem the capital of Israel because this is the place He has chosen.

The Lord will lead us to an expected end that He has chosen and on to a life of wonderful blessings, which He has made new!

All these things are centered one object: the "good" for all those who love the LORD!

Zec 12:8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.

Zec 12:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Zec 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

We must understand, God does not need a nation that depends on its own power, God needs a nation that depends on the power of the Holy God who cannot be defeated!

Zec 12:2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

Zec 12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

Nations may hate Israel today and some gather against her but when they become a Christian nation all the world will gather against her!

When we look upon the One who was pierced to shed His blood for our salvation, we will see the Almighty God who saves and who destroys!

What is the nation of Israel lacking today?

*****Jer 29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

They will fulfill the only thing they are lacking.

2Ch_7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

The ears of God are always open to hearing this prayer from any of us but especially the children of Israel!

Even King Solomon understood what the Word of God was saying;

1Ki 8:47 Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;

1Ki 8:48 And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

1Ki 8:49 Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,

1Ki 8:50 And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:

Where did Daniel pray? From a window facing Jerusalem.

In fact this was to the location of their prayers no matter where they were. It would not hurt if we also prayed toward Jerusalem with all our heart, all our soul in the land of our enemies.

The enemies of the Church continue to gather against her but the "Bride of Christ" must never be afraid of what this world can do to her!

This world has hated the Church from the day the Lord Jesus began His Church!

What always been the truth of God?

*****Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Jer 29:14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

What is the key? When we pray with a heart that has been given over to the truth of God!

We must humble ourselves in an act of submission to the Lord and allow Him to do as He pleases with us!

Let the Lord do what seems to Him to be good for us!

We must then have hope, "faith" in the promises of God.

Our relationship to the Lord must be on a personal nature just as His disciples.

It is a great feeling knowing that the Lord is thinking of us with His every thought!

In all His majestic creation God thinks about those who love Him the most!

How can God have good thoughts of a sinner such as I am?

God knows, who we are and what we are, and He gives the same instructions to us as He did to these captives in Babylon.

We are to make the most out of our circumstances and be patient, and prayerful, watching for the return of the Lord.

God does not ask much out of us when we think about all the benefits of giving ourselves to Him!

Listen to this Psalm of David

Psa 103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Psa 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

Psa 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

Psa 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

Psa 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Psa 103:6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

How can we not love Him?

Amen

Let's Pray