Wisdom Has Its Rewards

 The Rewards of Wisdom

 Book of Proverbs Chapter 3

 We know that the Book of Proverbs is a collection and compilation of true, divinely inspired, wise sayings, and they are unquestionably Scripture.

 2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

 We should know that many of these Proverbs existed as a teaching tool long before King Solomon

 Num 21:27 Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:

 1Sa 24:13 As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.

 We should understand that all genuine truth, regardless of its human origin or proclaimer, has God as its ultimate source.

 Ecc 12:10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

Ecc 12:11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

 We should understand that if God can speak through a donkey, He can cause some truths to come from a pagan human being, if He chooses.

 2Pe 2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

2Pe 2:16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

 God still loves all His created beings but insists that they become believers. Who's to say He did not put words of wisdom in their mouths?

 It was the Holy Spirit who decided which proverbs would be included in the Scriptures, just as every other Word, Passage, and Book.

 There are many other proverbs in this world, but the Holy Spirit decided these were important to the believer.

 Most scholars have said it was Solomon who assembled this Book of Proverbs as directed by the Holy Spirit.

 Solomon wrote: Pro 1:5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

Pro 1:6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

 We have this verse of prophecy: Pro 1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

 God also says this to all unbelievers: Pro 1:26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

Pro 1:27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

Pro 1:28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

Pro 1:29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:

 If we seek true wisdom, then we will also find the Lord! Pro 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

 Pro 2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

 Pro 2:22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

 It is very hard to view these three chapters as one lesson, but this is the way of our lessons.

 *****Chapter 3 Verse 1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

Pro 3:2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

 We should clearly understand that God does not desire our compliance with all the Word of God, but God requires us to submit to all the Word of God.

 Obedience without submission is compliance.

We must submit all the Word of God because we know it is the truth.

God is not some tyrant trying to force His ways upon us.

Just to be compliant because someone says so, shows we still have a rebellious spirit.

 These are so-called believers who, though the outward action is present, rebellion is still in their hearts, and their prayer life will never amount to anything fruitful.

 Chastisement may drive the child of God to compliance, but it takes love to drive the child of God to submission without rebellion.

 The Lord Jesus Christ is treated as the Son of God as a member of the Holy Trinity. Not three Gods but the three persons in the One God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

 As adopted into the family of God, He is our Heavenly Father. This is why He speaks to us as His dear children!

 If the God of all creation sees us as His dear children, then why in the world would we rebel against Him?

 We talk a lot about the Ten Commandments, and we know that the Jews were given 613 commandments in all, but the truth is that all the Word of God is commandments written to us in love.

 Our Heavenly Father will never force us to recognize Him as our Father, but it is the wise thing to do.

 The Laws of the Father are the same laws of the Son.

 Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Joh 14:22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Joh 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

Joh 14:25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

 Our life span upon this earth is really not very long. As I grow older, I feel the call of my Heavenly home, but as I have reached the age to see my Great Grand Children and the things going on in this world, I know they need me as long as the Lord leaves me here. I think most of us feel the same way.

 To be honest, we have not left such a great world for our grandchildren and certainly not our great-grandchildren.

 I am already experiencing verse two and have been at peace for a while now. I'm certain I'll end up in New Heaven and am prepared to go whenever the time comes.

 This is why submitting to the Lord is far better than trying to keep up with a bunch of laws.

 My God, my Heavenly Father has promised mercy because of His great love, and mercy means I will never see His wrath upon me.

 Mercy means I will not receive the punishment for my sin that I deserve but will receive the "Grace" of God instead.

 *****Pro 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

Pro 3:4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

 Listen as our Heavenly Father teaches us.

 "Mercy without truth is like a great rain in a desert place that is not a blessing because there are no plants that need its nourishment".

 When we receive the mercy of God, it means we are not getting what we deserve, eternity in Hell, which is a real place.

 For those who believe in Heaven but doubt a place called Hell means they have rejected the truth. Both places are mentioned in the Word of God.

 Our Heavenly Father exhorts each of us to grab hold of His mercy and His truth and never let go.

 That mercy and that truth came to us in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ!

 Truth means things we can rely on, and we can rely on the truth of the Gospel!

 God has proven He loves us as He has made a way for us to miss out on His wrath.

 Our obedience to His Word proves we love Him!

 The obedience of the Christian is the outward behavior of each Christian's inner devotion to our Heavenly Father.

 The terms binding and loosing to the Jew mean permitting or forbidding or declaring anything to be forbidden or permitted.

 What are the benefits of being obedient to the Word of God?

 We will find favor and understanding with our Heavenly Father.

 The favor of God is God's "Grace," which means His good will, His acceptance, and the many benefits that come from these things.

 When we devote ourselves to the Lord, we will remain true and faithful to Him.

 Love and faithfulness are to be worn like precious jewels in a necklace.

 To the Jew, the throat is the life of every person. Mercy and truth are tied to the throat, so mercy and truth are to become a part of our every breath.

 We bind them to our neck and then we write them in our heart!

 This means that we know that the Word of God is to become a major part of our lives.

 Heb 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

Heb 10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

 Even as a child of twelve, our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated these rewards in His life.

 Luk 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

 We can do none of these things until we have submitted ourselves to God!

 God wants to see our love for Him with His own eyes!

 God wants us to demonstrate our love for Him by being obedient to Him!

 1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

 Without this faith in Him, we can never please our Heavenly Father.

 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.

 *****Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

 Today, most people trust in their own understanding, even though most of that understanding comes from media sources that have forgotten the truth and have allowed politics to dictate their beliefs, much of which comes from hatred.

 Just look at Microsoft News, and ninety percent of it is distorted news who do everything it can to go against our duly elected President.

 People do not get to learn on their own understanding because all we get is a distorted worldview.

 The truth of the Word of God is so easily seen as it teaches us how to live in a mind at peace with this world, because we are no longer a part of this world.

 When we acknowledge our Heavenly Father, He knows it.

When we love our Heavenly Father, He knows it.

When we trust our Heavenly Father, He knows it.

When we accept the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, He starts a building program in the New Heaven.

 This applies to every minute of our lives, at home, at work, at church, and in everything we do.

 The enemies of Israel came against King Asa and Asa called upon the Lord: 2Ch 14:11 And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.

 Every day we go out to battle in this world, we need to say, "Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest upon thee and in thy name, we go out into this lost and dying world with the Gospel".

 We can do this if we are devoted to Him and His Word!

 Our path is the same path that our Lord Jesus walked.

 Our understanding will be darkened by our sinful nature if we depend upon our own understanding.

 Eph 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

 We can walk in the darkness, or we can walk in the Light of Life.

 Jhn_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.

 *****Pro 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Pro 3:8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

 Self-confidence can be a good thing, but when we put our own confidence above the truth of the Word of God, then we will fail.

 Any wisdom against the wisdom of God is wrong, and it is sin.

 Isa 5:21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

 We should always seek the direction of God in everything we do!

 We are also able to see that our moral condition and our physical self are closely linked together!

 Godliness is profitable for all things.

 1Ti 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

 When we have a reverent fear of the Lord, it builds our relationship with Him, and we can see His promise, we will live healthier lives here on earth and in eternal life when we reach His home in New Heaven.

 Godliness means we hate evil and the evil ways of man.

 To be self-sufficient is to be arrogant and self-righteous.

 If we wish to conquer the challenges of this life, we have to cry out to the Lord God for His help and His wisdom.

 Pro 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

 Every command that God gives us is for our well-being in every dimension of this life we live now.

 Sin will rob us of time we can spend with our families and enjoy this life as we prepare for that eternal life.

 That word naval actually means the neural chord we were attached to when we were in the womb of our mothers.

 If we belong to the Lord God, our Creator, our naval chord is now attached to Jehovah God and He will moisten the marrow of our bones.

 Psa 63:5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

 We can say all these things and do all these things, but there is a way we can prove to the Lord, we love Him.

 We can bless Him as He has blessed us.

 It's called self-sacrificing.

 *****Pro 3:9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

Pro 3:10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

 This means more than just tithing, which we are all called to do.

 Our first fruits are to be presented to the Lord in gratitude and thankfulness to Jehovah.

Our first fruits are to be the best we have.

 Trusting the Lord with all our hearts includes our wealth and our substance.

 Fearing the Lord extends to His commands about finances and material things.

 These things honor God because they show our submission to Him.

 When we give our best instead of our leftovers, it glorifies our Creator.

 Many leftovers of our meals go out to feed animals, so we do not have to wonder how God feels when we try to give Him our leftovers.

 Our first fruit must be a token of our gratitude to the Lord for the blessings that He has already given to us.

 When we are willing to give God the best that we have, which includes our time, it is really just a trial of our faith.

 Ask Abraham how he felt when God told him to give up his son?

 God says to prove Him: Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Mal 3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mal 3:12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

 Can I say I have received a gift from God that was not special, and a thing I needed?

 God will do for us what only He can do!

 2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

2Co 9:9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.

 We could say that giving to the Lord is our supreme act of faith.

 We must also know that we are only human, and humans are made from dirt, and we will fall under Satan's temptation on occasion.

 We cannot make excuses but own up to our failures and ask or sometimes beg for forgiveness.

 *****Pro 3:11 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:

Pro 3:12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

 None of us likes any sort of punishment.

 No child of God can love pain or loss.

 None of us looks forward to the knife of the surgeon.

 We must completely understand that God not only rewards His children and prefers to do so, but He is also a loving Father who will discipline us. It is called chastisement.

 As long as we remain in this sack of flesh that we wear, we will make mistakes, and we will need discipline.

 If we are or were parents, we understand this clearly.

 If we are being disciplined by the Lord, we must understand it is because He loves us.

 None of us enjoys discipline, but we are to submit obediently to God's hand of discipline.

 As we travel that narrow path to Heaven, we will need His guidance, and we already know that the Lord Jesus Christ is the door to the entrance into the glory world.

 He is not the doorway but the door.

 Jehovah God never gets angry with His children; He corrects us!

 Job 5:17  Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: 

Job 5:18  For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. 

 As God is our Heavenly Father, we are part of His family, so it is discipline of a family and not like as school or prison.

 Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 

Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 

 We can understand the word "bastard" as those born of the world and have Satan as their father.

 2Co 4:3  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

 We show our trust in the Lord by just believing what He says.

 Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 

Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 

 *****Pro 3:13  Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 

Pro 3:14  For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 

Pro 3:15  She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. 

Pro 3:16  Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. 

Pro 3:17  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. 

Pro 3:18  She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. 

 We should know that just like precious metals and precious jewels, wisdom is to be found.

 We must diligently seek God's wisdom!

 We can see that God's wisdom will bring happiness.

 Happiness is the result of being in God's favor!

 God's wisdom has much more value than silver. Silver is used to make musical instruments in Heaven.

 God's wisdom is much more valuable than gold. Gold is nothing but paving material in Heaven.

 God's wisdom is much more valuable than jewels. Jewels are used as wall decorations in Heaven.

Out of everything we might ever desire, wisdom will make us richer than any money ever will!

Instead of seeking some magic potion for long life, the only potion that will work is the wisdom of God.

God's wisdom can bring honor.

God's wisdom can bring happiness and peace to our lives.

God's wisdom is truly the tree of life here on earth and will lead us to our new home in the New Heaven.

Wisdom is truly the source of life!

Wisdom brings happiness to God's people.

Amen

Knowing and Then Submitting to the Will of God

Submission to God's Will

Book of Jeremiah Chapter 27

What is a lie? Many things are said to one another through ignorance of the subject end up being untruths, but a lie is an intentional violation of the truth.

The father of all lies is Satan the Devil.

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.

There were many so-called prophets in the day of Jeremiah, but Jeremiah was called of God and He spoke the words God had given to him.

Today there are also many false prophets from the family of Satan who are roaming the earth to confuse the children of God.

Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

Satan roams to and fro through this earth and he and his demon family to can temporarily change into the children of light again to cause the confusion of God's children.

2Co_11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Today we have the complete Word of God, that God gave to His prophets and a few other men by the Holy Spirit and all the Word of God is the undisputed truth for the Church!

2Pe_1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

We must clearly understand that everyone who call themselves a man of God, or Pastor, or Preacher, or the one most abused Reverend are men who were not called of God as Jeremiah and the true prophets and the other writers of the Holy Scriptures and those who have asked the Lord Jesus Christ to come in their heart today.

What did Jesus say?

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; "but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven".

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Today as we witness for the Lord, we will find that there are many who may dispute the Word of God.

There are many who intentionally twist the Word of God into a lie and they are in the family of their father Satan!

God has warned us and all this world that there is only one way "to be close to Him and that is by His Son Jesus Christ"!

Let's begin Chapter 27 at verse 1

*****Jer 27:1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

Jer 27:2 Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,

The writings of Jeremiah may not be in chronological order, but he does provide many time lines that can be proven by history.

Jehoiakim was the second son of King Josiah who we already know was a king who knew the truth of God and followed it, but at a young age, he died in a war that did not concern Judah.

The first son of Josiah, Jehoahaz had been deposed by Pharaoh-Necho of Egypt.

These were very turbulent years for God's people, but they were the cause of their own demise.

Many visitors representing the kings from the surrounding nations came to Jehoiakim to try to convince him to join them in a rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar.

Many false prophets from all those nations, including those from Judah tried to convince their kings to link up so they could destroy the King of Babylon but The Lord God Jehovah, by Jeremiah, said to surrender to this king so that they could live, and this would stop the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and the things of the Temple but also the desctruction of those nations.

Nebiuchadnezzar would have been just as happy to make them all vasals of Babylonia and serve him.

The result of these things is that these deceitful leaders rose up in opposition to Jeremiah, the Lord's true prophet.

A bond is a physical means of restraint and metaphorically signifies oppression and captivity

A yoke is an instrument normally made of wood to make powerful animals useful in man's labor.

A yoke is then a symbol of servitude and slavery.

These two things are terrible, but they are not death and to go against the Word of God brings death!

What did God say to Adam?

Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, "thou shalt not eat of it": for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Jeremiah was to wear these things as he spoke the Word of God to the king and his officers and the elders of Judah.

Jeremiah was to also make enough of these things to send to the kings of the surrounding nations who were already in bondage to the King of Babylon. It was these kings who were trying to get Jehoiakim to join in a rebellion against the King of Babylon when they should have remained under his control but living in their own nation.

*****Jer 27:3 And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;

These nations who were neighbors to Judah had sent representatives to the King of Judah and it would be these representatives that Jeremiah would present these yokes of bondage to take back to those kings with the Word of God.

Jeremiah warned them that they were all wrong to defy the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar.

We should believe it was nothing unusual for a Jewish Prophet to be listened to with respect, when addressing a foreign nation

Jehoiakim had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon and Jeremiah insisted that King Zedekiah give this same message to the King of Egypt instead of words of rebellion.

All these things may sound foreign to our way of thinking, but it was the King of Babylon who was used to "judge" Judah and no power on earth could overcome him until God allowed it to happen.

Eze 17:11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Eze 17:12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;

Eze 17:13 And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land:

Eze 17:14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

Eze 17:15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?

Eze 17:16 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.

Eze 17:17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons:

Eze 17:18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.

What was God's message for all these kings? With their own eyes they could see Jeremiah approach wearing the yoke he had prepared for himself by the Word of God.

*****Jer 27:4 And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;

Jer 27:5 I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.

Jehovah God is the Creator of man and beast and He will do as He pleases.

The greatest truth of Creation is the fact that all things age until they have died, including this earth that we live upon.

This goes against everything that evolution stands for!

Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

This earth we live upon is not eternal and it could not have happened by chance. It is not the work of many gods because it has only one Maker!

When we are thinking right, we know that we could not survive alone because we depend on too many things that we cannot provide for ourselves!

We suffer depression when we stop short of recognizing we have a Creator!

We are foolish when we reject the truth of the Lord!

Rev_1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

We must understand God gives us many gifts but we do not ever actully have the right of ownership.

"The Lord gives and the Lord takes away"

We are temporary tenants on this land but we are not owners.

God does what He pleases with His Own Creation!

*****Jer 27:6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

Jer 27:7 And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.

At this time in history, Nebuchadnezzar was used of God.

Dan 2:37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

Dan 2:38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

God is in control of His Created World!

Deu 32:6 Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?

Deu 32:7 Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.

Deu 32:8 When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

Deu 32:9 For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

We seem to always forget these things today. We readily admit that our Lord never changes but we soon forget what He has already said and done!

Dan 2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

Dan 2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

Nebuchadnezzar was told that his empire would belong to another and it was Jeremiah who said Judah would only be in his hands for 70 years and it was Isaiah that said it would be Cyrus would cause this to happen, all according to the Word of God.

God is very serious about His plan to come about just as He has spoken!

*****Jer 27:8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

Have you ever noticed that God puts a plan into action where the most human beings can live? Even during the time of wars and rumors of wars if we would just listen to what God has to say we can live peaceable and meaningful lives.

When we go against the Word of God we will see death by the sword or wars, death by famine or death by disease.

Pro 8:14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.

Pro 8:15 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.

Pro 8:16 By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.

Pro 8:17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

Pro 8:18 Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.

Pro 8:19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.

Pro 8:20 I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:

Pro 8:21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.

We must understand that God will give us what we ask for even if it is the wrong thing, as long as it does not interfere with His plan for all the ages!

God will certainly use one nation to punish another nation, if they will not serve the Lord who preserved them!

We should also understand that as the father of the prodigal son, the Lord will certainly rush out to meet His people who are on the way back to Him!

We must cling to the Word of God which is always the truth in every age!

*****Jer 27:9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:

Jer 27:10 For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.

When will we ever learn that we live in a world of "deceivers"!

Satan is the invisible agent of evil in our world!

In the end, God will remove him. There has never been but one way to overcome him and his evilness.

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Satan is the power behind false prophecy.

Satan is the power behind every false preacher and every false teacher.

Satan is the power behind diviners and soothsayers, and enchanters and all sorcery.

Satan is the power behind every lie that has ever been told!

Eph_6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

These things were no different in the days of Jeremiah, so he preached the infallible Word of God, which is "always" the truth!

It is this same evil that has a goal to remove everything that God has placed in our hands by His Dear Son Jesus, including our testimony.

He cannot remove us from being in the family of God.

These Jews will always be the "apple in God's eye" but who is truly a Jew?

Rom_2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

Rom_2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

God knows who His children are!

Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Joh 10:12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

Joh 10:13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

Joh 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

When the Lord tells us something then we need to listen to what He has to say and not only to listen, but we need to obey His every Word and His every thought, which He has written down for us, so we do not get confused!

*****Jer 27:11 But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.

Notice God was not talking to just these Jews of Judah but to all the surrounding nations who could all for the most part stayed at home even if they had to pay taxes to Babylon for 70 years.

Much worse things than these would happen if they went to war with a nation that the Lord had guided to this position in order to keep the greatest majority of His people safe, just by keeping them informed about what was happening.

We can never alter the plan of God, we can only make our lives miserable when we reject the truth of God!

What these people did not understand is, if they would be subject to the King of Babylon they would still be safe and secure from an invasion from any other power.

In fact God would have caused the land to produce plenty enough to pay the tribute to Babylon and then have enough for their personal means.

The politicians and elders of the Jews were just too full of the Devil to listen to what God had to say.

They were too greedy to give up any power they thought that they had!

This same thing is happening in every nation around us today. They refuse to listen to what "thus sayeth the Lord"!!!!!

Since they rejected the words of Jeremiah, then God said for them to surrender and those that were carried away would still live!

The study of the Book of Esther, Nehemiah, and Ezra are the proof along with the Prophets Daniel, Ezekiel and others.

Jer 42:9 And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him;

Jer 42:10 If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you.

Jer 42:11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.

God made sure the King of Judah and the rulers of Judah clearly understood these things.

*****Jer 27:12 I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

God's people understand what going through a little hardship means but those who live by riches and power do not understand the meaning of hardship!

2Ch 36:11 Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.

2Ch 36:12 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD.

2Ch 36:13 And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel.

It was the King of Babylon who had placed Zedekiah upon the throne of Judah, but he was an evil man who then sought his own place in a power vacuum in Judah.

Why do politicians never understand that hardship is much better than disaster!

God has only one question for all those who reject His message of salvation!

*****Jer 27:13 Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

Rejecting the Word of God is accepting eternal damnation. Therefore false preachers and teachers teach that there is no Hell or that Hell is a place that you can escape from, both terrible lies and deceit.

This is the same question all the prophets of God asked and we as the witnesses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are to ask today!

God has no pleasure in the death of any human being!

Eze 18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Eze 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

Everyone that dies without Jesus Christ has lost something that they formally had in their possession which is "Life"!

There are not many who will not give up all they have just to have a good life and God offers eternal life in a place that the beauty of cannot be described by words and so many reject this life and choose death instead! Not just death but damnation!

They who die because of sin that God ask them to repent of, and because the Lord has already paid for that sin, are no more than just being foolish!

Eze 18:23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?

The function of every true prophet of God, with respect to the government of the world and of the people's walk, is always a testimony to the judgment which hangs over all unfaithfulness.

When we reject the Word of God we are calling God a liar!

Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

God just ask us to believe!

*****Jer 27:14 Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.

We started this lesson by asking what a lie is. A lie is not something said out of ignorance of the subject.

A lie is anything spoken intentionally which deviates from the truth in any manner!

This person is a deceiver! A deceiver is an imposter who attempts to lead others in some wrong manner!

These are the preachers and teachers who intentionally spew out false messages because they reject the truth of God.

These are the false so-called prophets of this world who deny the existence of a Supernatural Deity.

These are those who spit out evolution as a science when it to is a bunch of lies from those who reject the truth of God.

Peter said:

2Pe 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

2Pe 2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; "by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of".

2Pe 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

John said:

1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God":

1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

The spirit of the anti-christ has been with this world since the time of Adam!

What did the Lord say will happen in the end?

Eze 13:22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:

Eze 13:23 Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

We have the truth of God.

We are fools not to believe Him!

Amen

Let's Pray