Okay, Jeremiah 13. Frank has already read the text for us this morning. I'll not go back through that again, but let me share with you some background information about this prophecy in Jeremiah. You know, when you hear something like this read, as Frank read a few moments ago, or if you're reading it in your systematic Bible reading, probably it doesn't make a great deal of sense to you. You say, what in the world are they talking about? He uses the word sash, which some translations use the word girdle. What is that? What's the analogy that God is drawing from that? And then, What is the overall text saying? I mean, it seems like there's just so much there, but when you think about it, in the light of Jeremiah's vernacular compared to ours today, it's very difficult to grasp. Well, I hope that what I'm going to share with you this morning will be a blessing, and I think and I trust that you'll find it very true to the text. And as I unpack this for us this morning, I hope that you'll find it to be very simple, not only to grasp, but also to appropriate in your life. It's interesting that the Old Testament passages are given to us, oftentimes, as warnings. We find that in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 11, where it says, Now all these things happen unto them for in samples, and they are written for our admonition, our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. So we find that Old Testament accounts or Old Testament narratives, things that especially that God is directing the prophet to confront the people with, the Bible says are also for our benefit. We can profit by them if we will listen and we seek to really wrap our mind around what's being said. Now here's the historical background of this text here in Jeremiah 13. God informs Jeremiah of how Judah and Jerusalem have corrupted themselves by pride. Their pride is revealed through their refusal to hear and heed God's warnings against their wicked imaginations and idolatry. He shows the prophet through the marring of the girdle, the marring of the sash, how he will judge the people. Now here's the thing you need to understand this morning from the outset. We have been told, and perhaps we've told others, that the Bible is God's love letter to His children. And so it is. No question. But you've got to understand something else about the Word of God. It is a book of war. It is a book of war. Do you understand that at least a third of the Bible's theme is a compilation of judgments? where prophets are raised up, ministers are raised up to herald the judgment of God upon a person or upon a nation. And so it is here in this text. God is judging these people by making them spiritually intoxicated on their own sin. Now this morning, to make things very simple, but yet I believe that you'll find it will speak to your heart if you have ears to hear. There are three things that I want to point out, just three very simple points, and that's what we'll hang our thoughts on this morning. First of all, I want us to consider the defiance of the people. They were absorbed in self-love. Self-willfulness reigned in their life. They were defiant as they spurned the prophecy and the warning of God through the prophet Jeremiah. They refused to hear God's warning you find in verse number 10. Listen to what God said of them. This evil people which refuse to hear My words. They refuse to hear My words. Now think with me for a moment. To think that a person's everlasting happiness or eternal anguish is contingent upon how they hear should encourage us to exercise rapt attention when it comes to hearing the Word of God. We cannot afford to be a casual listener, where we zone in and we zone out, where we are consumed with something I've got to do after the service is over, or later today, or this coming week. We cannot afford to be a casual listener to the Word of God. You know, Spurgeon, of all people, recognized the importance of hearing. Not just physical hearing, but a spiritual hearing from the heart. But he spent as much time encouraging people to listen physically as he did praying that they might hear spiritually. The story is told of how in Spurgeon's meetings, he so closely monitored the congregation to make sure that they were in tune with the Word of God, that if a little child were to get preoccupied or lose attention to what was being said, Spurgeon would stop in the middle of his message, tell a story on that child's level to recapture the attention of that little one, and then smoothly transition back into his message. That takes some ability to do. You know, oftentimes, most preachers today, they get so absorbed, so bogged down in what they're saying, that they're oblivious to whether or not the people are listening. But understand that we must listen to the Word of God to benefit from it. The only way we'll ever be liberated is to hear. And I remind you again in Matthew chapter 13 that there are two things that a person has to experience to be saved. They must hear the Word of the Gospel and they must understand it. Okay? So I encourage you to listen this morning. These people would not listen. They refused to hear the Word of God. They pursued, furthermore, what they dreamed in their heart. In verse number 10, once again, we find this. Notice what he says. This evil people who refused to hear my words who follow the dictates of their hearts and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them." Notice the phrase, they follow, they pursue the dictates of their hearts. In other words, they're walking in their own imaginations, the own stubbornness of their heart. Have you ever noticed this? Most every translation, when it's translated imaginations, every time the word imagination is conveyed in the scripture, it's always spoken of in an evil way. Imaginations are always referred to in a context of something evil. Matthew Henry said, whatever they train their minds to, that became a virtual reality in their life. He said wherever their fancy led them, they denied themselves of no gratification that they had a mind to. So here they are, they're refusing to hear the Word of God. Furthermore, they pursue the imaginations of their own heart, their idolatry. And thirdly, they begin to live out that idol worship. In verse 10, it says they walk after other gods to serve them and to worship them. Now, if there's one thing that we can say about the United States of America, as much as people around the world admire our country for, sadly, movies, athleticism, sports, they think, man, we've got a monopoly on making money and all that. I tell you, we are a pitiful nation spiritually. The United States is the garden of the gods. There are so many idols in our country. So much so now that we have programs that are called American Idol. We're consumed with things and people and stuff and toys. Some of the leading idols in our country are things like self, sports, sex, and mammon. And there's a lesson to be learned here that whatever we imagine in our heart is what we will live out in practice. You remember what the scripture says? As a man thinketh in his heart, so is He, right? So whatever you're imagining, whatever consumes your thoughts is what you have a tendency to become. We see the defiance of the people. But secondly, here's a second point, moving quickly now, is the doom of the people. The doom of the people. Now notice how God begins to mete out His judgment toward these defiant people. In verse number 13, God said, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land with drunkenness. Now what does it mean when he said, I will fill them with drunkenness? God said, I'm going to intoxicate them. I'm going to inebriate them on their own sin. Spiritual drunkenness, folks, is a judgment that God sends upon an arrogant people who refuse to hear and heed His warnings. God punishes pride by giving the person up to their own passions to control them. Now we could go into the subject of spiritual drunkenness, but let me move on by just saying, before we move on, that spiritual drunkenness is when God gives a person over to their own sin to control them. Have you not seen that today? Whether it's sodomy, whether it's drunkenness, whether it's just pride, when a person refuses to hear what God has to say and respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, God will give them what they want, and they become intoxicated, controlled by their own sin. Furthermore, in God judging these people, God says in verse 14, I will dash them. I will dash them." Notice he said, I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together. Now, can I tell you today that domestic violence is a manifestation of the judgment of God? Literally, if you only knew what some homes of people that you rub shoulders with on a daily basis are having to endure daily, it would certainly encourage you to pray for them and be very kind to them to the utmost. Let me tell you something. You've got fathers abusing their children. You've got mothers abusing their children. You've got wives abusing their husbands and husbands reciprocating, abusing their wives. Whether it's emotional abuse, whether it's psychological abuse, whether it's physical abuse, this is going on today. And now you even have children that are rising up against their parents. By the way, Isaiah chapter number 3 says that this is a manifestation of God's judgment, is women shall rule over them and children will be their oppressors. And that's what's happening today. I mean, I was up in Michigan years ago. I got a phone call in the middle of the day. The associate pastor said, Brother Don, pastor asked me to call you and ask you to pray for him. I said, what's up? He said, yesterday in the service, the early service, pastor was preaching. The wife and the daughters were home getting ready for church. And the oldest teenage girl attacked the mother, assaulted the mother. She called the church. She got a hold of somebody in the office. They waited until the pastor was finished preaching his sermon in the early hour and then informed him that he needed to get home quick. He goes home. He walks in the front door. As soon as he goes to the front door, this 17-year-old girl leaps on him. He wrestles her to the floor. They tumble there for a few minutes. He literally, he told me later, he said, I had to hold her down as I picked up the telephone and I called the police and asked them to come to my residence, the pastor of the church. They arrested the girl, they took her to jail. Humiliating as it was, disheartening as it was, there was no other recourse because she had just gone into a fit of rage and she was not satisfied until she had taken her pound of flesh. This is happening today, friend. It is a manifestation of the judgment of God. People say, I want to live independently of God. I want to do my own thing. God said, have at it. But if you're going to do that without my law and without my spirit and without my son, then I'm going to give you what you want, and you're going to self-destruct. Another manifestation of judgment is in verse 14. God says, I will destroy them. This is what God said, I will destroy them. Now what does it mean in the context here when God said, I will destroy them? It doesn't mean that God takes a sledgehammer and he crushes their skulls. It doesn't mean that God's going to come in and just annihilate them by taking their breath away in a split second. But literally what it means is, God so backs off, once again remember, their sin has intoxicated them, it's controlling, dominating their life. God's giving them what they want, and in the process, in the context of their culture and their home, they're so warring with each other that they are literally annihilating each other. They're killing each other. Because God says, have it your way. Can I tell you? If the Spirit of God was not upon this earth today, if there was not grace present in our world today, friend, we would literally self-destruct as a nation and as a world. You have no idea. But the final manifestation of judgment that I want you to see here in the text is in verse 16. God says, I will cause darkness. I will cause darkness to come upon them." It says in verse 16, before he caused darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and while you look for light, he turned it into the shadow of death, and ultimately, it culminates, he makes it gross, Frank read a moment ago, intense or dense darkness. Now we want to talk about that for a moment. You'll notice in verse 16 that there's a progression. There's a progression. If a person's walking in their own way, independently of the Lord, doing their own thing, self-will is reigning in their life, they refuse to hear God's commandments, they refuse to respond to His invitation, friend, they just start a downward spiral. It begins with darkness. Then their feet begin to stumble upon dark mountains. That's spiritually speaking. And they look for light, but then God turns it into the shadow of death. And ultimately turns it into gross, intense darkness. Think with me for a moment. I remember years ago, I think some of my family was with me, we were in Moscow, Russia. And we went into the tomb of Lenin. And you had to walk down a series of steps, and you walk down another series of steps, and it's cool. And they've got these communist guards that were positioned throughout the tomb. Nobody was allowed to say anything, you had to just walk through to see the corpse of Lennon. And all of a sudden, you know, you just barely can make your way through this maze of darkness. And as we came around this glass encasing, all you could see was the torso of Lennon. His face, his torso. He'd been dead for 80 years. They had a laboratory, a sophisticated laboratory, just underneath that tomb, just beneath that corpse there, that they would lower it down and they did everything they could to preserve that deity. But it was the most horrible darkness. One of the boys, you know, just said a little something. Boy, the communist guard just stepped forward. He'd be quiet. And we made our way back up the steps through darkness. some of the worst darkness I had ever experienced. The text here speaks of this progression of darkness. Let me just mention a few things that the Bible says about darkness being a form of judgment. First of all, there's the darkness of insanity. the darkness of insanity. Listen to what the Bible says in Job chapter 12 and verse 20. Job 12 and verse 20. He removed away the speech of the trustee, speaking of God, and he takes away the understanding of the aged. He takes away the understanding of the aged. My friend, woe be unto those who lose their ability to reason. Their ability to assimilate thoughts so as to understand. Because once again, we must understand the gospel properly, logically, mentally, before it can enter in and have a converting, soul-saving effect upon our soul. William Jay says, how soon may our understanding be eclipsed. Religion can only operate through our thoughts. And therefore, while you have your mental powers, employ them. I remember years ago visiting a man upon the request of somebody that was a very dear friend of mine. He asked me, he said, would you please go see my brother? He's not a saved man. He needs the Lord. I said, I'd be happy to. I went to the hospital. I walked up into his room. He's laying there in the bed. He's dying of cancer. He's only got a few days to live. All these tubes are hooked up to him. His wife is sitting in the chair beside him, and the daughter is sitting in another corner of the room. And so I talk to the guy, and when I go in to talk to people like that, I don't immediately just zap them with the gospel, you know. I try to build a relationship. I talk and find out what they're interested in, and how I can pray for them, and what the needs are and all. And then finally, I knew his time was short, and I asked him about his soul. I said, do you know where you'll spend eternity? And he said he did not. And I said, would you mind if I just take a minute to share with you the good news of the gospel? He said, not at all. And I shared the gospel very patiently, very slowly to make sure he understood. And I asked him, I said, do you understand that? And he said, yes, I do. And I said, would you like to receive Christ? And he said, no, I'm not ready. So I said, can I pray for you? Certainly. I went back the very next day, and the man had slipped off into a coma. He had no ability to reason any longer. He never recovered from that. Only a few days after that, the man passed into eternity. It's so important, friend, that while you have ability, you may not be as sharp as you used to be, but while you still have the mental ability to grasp spiritual truth, advantage yourself with that. Take that and capitalize on it. Because if you lose your ability to reason, your ability to understand, you're doomed for destruction. There are even young people today, a lot of young people say, well, that's not me. I mean, I've still got another 20 or 30 or 50 years before I ever even are faced with the possibility of losing my mind. But I'm finding today through age, even for some reason, some are experiencing some type of a physical trauma, a physical phenomenon where they're, as young people, losing their ability to think. Sometimes it comes through accidents. Sometimes through addictions. Sometimes through affliction. We don't know. But once again, God said, Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord. And to lose our ability to reason, friend, may seal our damnation. There's a second thing I want you to see though, and that is the darkness of impenitence. Do you know there can come a day in your life when you no longer possess the ability to repent of your sin? Did you hear me? There are some people that will harden their hearts, and they no longer possess the ability to forsake their sin, to look to Christ for salvation. In Hebrews 6, verses 4-6, it speaks of this. It says, for it is impossible for those who were at one time enlightened, they received an understanding of truth, if they shall fall away, if they shall fall backward, if they shall reject the truth, it's the idea, shall renew them again unto repentance. There's a danger when bitterness or prejudice arise in response to truth that should lead to repentance. It is a sad day, men and women, when a sinner is trifled with sacred things for so long that they no longer feel the effect of them. Jesus speaks to the Pharisees and says they have hardened their heart in John 12 and verse 34. There can come this time where God says, My spirit shall not always strive with man. So therefore, they forfeit the ability to repent. Listen, brothers and sisters, if the gospel is anything, it is a gospel of repentance. It is a gift of God, repentance is, but it is a responsibility of man. The gift of God, the Bible says in 2 Timothy, if God possibly would give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. It is legitimately a grace of God to repent, but it's also a responsibility of man. Jesus said, if you don't repent, you will perish. Luke chapter 13. but woe be unto man that no longer has the ability to repent. Thirdly, there is the darkness of God's departure. The darkness of God's departure. It's a withdrawal of God's presence. Once again, I cite Genesis 6.3. My spirit shall not always strive with man. That's sobering. That's alarming. that there can come a day when you keep refusing the light, refusing obedience, refusing to please God, turning your back on the things of God when God's been gracious enough to convict you that God hardens your heart, and God gives you what you want. Listen to the story as relayed by Harry Ironside. A true story. It revolved around Ezekiel 7, verses 8 and 9. Listen to what it says here. In Proverbs 29.1, first of all, he says, He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be cut off, and that without remedy. Mr. Ironside said the following incident was conveyed to him by a minister in the Church of England. Listen to this story. A young woman who had been brought up in a Christian home, and who had often had very serious convictions in regard to the importance of coming to Christ. chose on an occasion to turn her back on Christ and all the things that she'd been taught. She chose rather to accompany herself with young women and young people that were more desirous for the things of the world than they were of Christ. Again and again, this girl was pleaded with to turn to Christ, but she persistently refused to heed the admonitions that her parents and others gave her. Finally, she was taken with a very serious illness. All that medical science could do for her was done in order to regain her recovery. But it soon became evident that the case was hopeless and death was staring her in the face as she became seriously, seriously ill. She was hard and obstinate when urged to turn to Christ and repent of her sin. Now listen to this. The girl's condition physically so worsened, so declined, that she was restricted to her bed. Harry Ironside said she was looking death in the face. It was only a matter of time. One night in her bedroom, lying in her bed, Her mother there to minister to her, to nurse her. She woke suddenly out of a deep sleep. A frightened look appeared on her eyes. She asked excitedly to her mother, mother, what is Ezekiel 7, 8, and 9? She replied that she had a most vivid dream to her mother. She thought that there was a presence in the room who solemnly said to her, read Ezekiel 7, 8, and 9. Not recalling the verses in question, the mother reached for a Bible. As she opened it, her heart sank. As she read the words, she read them out loud to the dying girl. Listen to what they said. Now shortly, I will pour out my fury upon thee and accomplish my anger upon thee. I will judge you according to your ways and will recompense, reward you for all of your abominations. And mine eye, God says, shall not spare, neither will I have pity upon you. I will reward you according to your ways and your abominations that are in the midst of thee, and ye shall know that I am the Lord that smiteth." Now listen. The poor sufferer, with a look of horror on her face, sank back on her pillow, utterly exhausted, And in a few moments, she was in eternity. Once again, it had been demonstrated that grace rejected brings judgment at last. You don't toy with God. Tell me something, people. What are we to think of Hosea chapter 4 and verse 17 that said, Ephraim had joined himself to idols. Leave him alone. You know what that means? These people, Ephraim, had become so consumed in idolatry, rejecting the admonitions of God, that God said, alright, if that's what they want, leave them alone. I don't want any prophecy given to them any longer. I don't want you to give them any message of warning. Don't extend to them any mercy. Leave them alone. Could that happen to people today? There was a popular song back 30 years ago. Perhaps you've heard it before. The lyrics go like this. He was there all the time. He was there all the time, waiting patiently in line. According to this text and numerous others, that's not true, friend. Is God patient? Yes. Is God forbearing? Absolutely. Does God go the extra mile? Yes. But there can come a day, friend, if you continue to reject and spurn His invitation that God said, that's it, I'll give you what you want. I'll give you your sin with no prospect of hope or peace. Think about this. Matthew chapter 15 verse 14, Jesus is speaking of the Pharisees. You know what he says to his disciples? Leave the Pharisees alone. Don't want you witnessing to them. Don't want you pleading with them to come to me. Leave them alone. That's horrifying. That's why I tell people, friend, both young and old, we don't toy with God. You don't put things off. If God's speaking to your heart, you immediately obey Him. But let me give you a fourth thing, another darkness, and that is the darkness of death. The darkness of death. Ecclesiastes 9.10 says, For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave where you go. Florida has a reputation of being occupied with newlyweds or nearly-deads. When I was down in Florida, the pastor told me, he said, I've buried so many of our older people in our congregation the last couple of years. I mean so many, Don. But it's not just the older people that are passing away, it's the younger people as well. Do you realize? that death is never an easy thing. It's what one person called death's dark door. Listen to this. Brother Harold Vaughn was here. I remember him telling me about his lost father. His father was not a Christian. And he said, Don, I went every day for the last three weeks of his life and sat by his bedside. And he said, I remember the day that it started up until his death. He said, as I'm sitting there, he said, my dad said to me, Harold, Harold, son, things are getting so dark. Things are getting so dark. And Harold said to me, he said, you know, I wonder if he was not entering the valley of the shadow of death. Think about it, friend. As it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment." Death. The shadow of death. Do you know they said of Philip VIII, King Philip VIII, that he would have a servant come to his bedchamber every morning, every morning early, and herald out the words, King Henry, remember thou art mortal. You're not going to live forever. And when a person dies, there's no chance to redeem yourself. That's it. Your destiny, your fate is sealed. Robert Murray McShane, they said every time he would write a letter, piece of correspondence, either on the back of the envelope or at the bottom of the correspondence, he would sketch a setting sun above which were the words from John 9-4, the night cometh when no man can work. Wonderful artist, but he would sketch that setting sun, the night cometh when no man can work. Here's another darkness, and this is the ultimate darkness, as we see in our text here, the dense darkness. It's the darkness of eternity. Notice it says in verse number, once again, read with me the text here, verse number 13, Jeremiah chapter 13, excuse me, verse number 10. This evil people who refuse to hear my words, who follow the dictates of their hearts and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing. For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to me, says the Lord, that they may become my people, my renown, my praise, my glory." And then he goes on to say that they are intoxicated here And as you read on in verse 15, he says, hear and give ear, do not be proud, for the Lord has spoken, and here's the judgment. Here's the judgment. Give glory to the Lord your God before He caused darkness and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while you look for light, He turns it into the shadow of death, and watch now, and He makes it dense, dense, dense. darkness. What is this dense darkness? Well, listen to these texts. Jude verse 13 says, To whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. In Matthew chapter 8 and verse number 12, it says, The children of the kingdom are cast into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. In Matthew 22 verse 13, that one who had no wedding garment on that was bad to the feast, and he comes in not having a wedding garment, when the person of the feast that had invited these men saw that there was an absence of garment on him, he commanded his servants to take this man and bind him hand and foot, and for him to be cast into outer darkness, a picture of hell. In Matthew 25 and verse 30, it speaks of the unprofitable servants. Because there is no works to justify the profession that he's made, he is cast into outer darkness. I love church history, brethren. And one man that I've been very fond of over the years is a man by the name of Dwight L. Moody. He was asked to go and see a man that was very perplexed, very oppressed by some type of a demonic presence. The story is told of how he went up into this man's bedchamber. And Mr. Moody told the man that he could be saved that night. The man says, not tonight, Mr. Moody. I'm going to hell tonight. I'm going to go to hell tonight. But he said, would you please stay with me? Would you sit with me? Moody said, I could not do it. I had something else that I had to go and do ministerially, so I sent some men to sit by his bed with him. Moody says, sure enough, those men testified that at one o'clock in the morning, the devils came into that room, and all the men in that room could not hold that man. He was reaping what he had sown. And Moody says, when the angel of death comes and laid his hand on him, he cried for mercy, but there was nothing he could do. Do you remember the old-fashioned gospel hour? Some of you perhaps. Oliver B. Green in Greenville, South Carolina used to have the radio broadcast and had a large listening audience across the nation. One of his supporters asked him if he would go and see a relative right there in the Greenville area in the hospital that was dying of cancer. The man apparently was right just a few hours away from his death. And so Oliver Green said, finally my schedule opened up, I was able to go see the man. I went up the elevator about three stories up, and he said it was a cancer ward, and he said as soon as the door opened, he said I could hear these terrifying screams. He said, I walked down the hallway, the screens were coming from the very room that they had told me that the man was in. And he says, I walked around the corner and I looked into the room. There were three very capable, very strong orderlies that were trying to restrain this man. He was pulling his feet up. His knees were under his chin. And he was saying with this terrifying tone, keep my feet out of the fire! Keep my feet out of the fire! They could do nothing for him. And Green said, all I could do is stand at a distance and pray for the man, and that's how he slipped into eternity. Are people able to feel or see or sense the other side as they transition from this life into the next? That's a possibility. But not what the movie industry portrays, that people go to heaven and then they come back. We don't believe that. But people in the transition stage, friend, perhaps they see or they sense or they feel the other sides. So what's the answer? All this is gloom and doom and darkness, you say in the text. What is the answer? Well, I want you to see with me the deliverance of these people. God who is rich in mercy extends an invitation to these people as well as to you today if you're outside of Christ. Look at verse 15. Here's the instruction for deliverance. Here is the aid for help. Verse 15 tells us, hear and give ear. Hear and give ear. Here's the picture, friend. Have you ever seen the instruments where they would stick it in their ear? And of course it would open up where they could tune it toward the person speaking and enable people to hear certain speeches or sermons or whatever. This is the idea, is exercise careful, conscientious, rapt attention when it comes to the gospel. Hear. Literally what it means in the Hebrew is you are seeking to hear in your hearing. You're not just content to hear physically, but you're grasping that from the heart what's being said. That's the first step to being converted, to being delivered through the power of the gospel, is that you must exercise hearing. In other words, friend, if we could really make it simple, the encouragement is listen as if your heart depended upon it. Listened as if your life depended upon it. Secondly, notice what he says in verse 15 also. He says, Do not be proud. Do not be proud. For the Lord has spoken. In James chapter 1 verse 21, John, that verse that I mentioned you asked me for. But there's a powerful word in that verse. He tells us to lay aside our sin, that's repentance, and receive, now listen to this, receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your soul. In other words, friend, the text presupposes that you can hear casually or you can hear pridefully But what God calls for if you desire to be saved is you must exercise a spirit of meekness. In other words, you come depending on God to disarm yourself from every carnal weapon that you would use as a defense to protect yourself from the power of God and the salvation in Jesus Christ. We're to listen as if our life depended upon it. But we're to listen with a spirit that says, I'm open, I'm pliable, I'm teachable, I want to hear. There's no resistance whatsoever. But then thirdly, the third step in this deliverance you find is in verse 16. He says, Give glory to the Lord your God. Now you say, well what does that mean? Give glory to the Lord your God. Let me tell you. If I give glory to one of you, if I make you feel important is the idea. It's when I agree with your opinion or your perspective on an issue that we're talking about. In other words, it's an encouragement. It makes you feel important. It showcases your wisdom, your understanding of something. And friend, when we agree with God concerning the elements of salvation, we bring Him glory. And the reward is the salvation of our soul. You say, like what now? Be specific. First of all, To acknowledge what God says about you is to give glory to the Lord, your God. God says that we're sinners. God says we're a sinner by both nature, we were born sinners, and by choice. And for me to say, God, you're right. I've sinned and come short of the glory of God. I've failed you. I've violated your law. I've offended your holiness. I'm giving glory to him. Secondly, to acknowledge that only God's provision for salvation, and that is Jesus Christ, is the way to heaven, is to give glory to the Lord my God. If I repent of my sin, I'm obeying what God's told me to do in the New Testament. To repent of my sin and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. For me to acknowledge that Christ is my only recourse, my only way of escape, the only way to eternal life is through Jesus, is to give glory to Him. So how can we give glory to God? We acknowledge that we're sinners. Do you know the story is told of Spurgeon, who one night was meditating on the murders of Jesus. He fell asleep in that meditation. And right in the middle of a dream he had, he pictured himself in his mind's eye in this dream of being in a dark room. And he became conscientious that in that room, there was a murderer of Jesus Christ. He said, I felt my way through that maze of darkness. I wanted to find this man. I wanted to kill him for what he had done to my Lord. And he said, suddenly, he said, I got a hold of him. I grabbed him very firmly by the shoulders. And then my hands made their way up around his neck, and I began to choke the life out of him. And suddenly, I was awakened out of sleep. only to find my hands around my own neck. You see, friend, to give glory to the Lord God is to recognize that it was you that crucified the Lamb of Glory because of your sin. We sinned. We violated God. So to give God glory, first of all, entails us acknowledging about ourselves what God says about us, that we're sinners in need of a Savior. And secondly, is to look to Christ and only Christ for salvation. Oliver Cromwell was a military leader. I don't know if you remember the story or not, on the bell tolling, the bell was rung, as the execution was supposed to be carried out. There was a young man that apparently had defected from Cronwell's army and he was held captive and he was scheduled to be executed the next day at 12 o'clock when the bell rung in the bell tower. The next day came, and the guard came to the cell, and they took the man out of it, and they took him to the scaffold, and he walked up onto the scaffold there. They put the hangman noose around the young man's neck, and they waited for the bell to ring. Then they would release the lever, and he would hang by the neck. They waited, they waited, the bell never rang. So Cromwell, out of curiosity, rather than going ahead and enforcing the execution, he sends some men to the bell tower to find out why the bell did not ring. They climbed to the top of the tower, and there beneath the bell was the mangled, bleeding body of the young soldier's fiancée. Because of her great love for the soldier, she wrapped herself around the gong in the bell. So when they pulled the rope, she was the one that took the beating. She was the one that was battered. She was the one that finally fell lifeless there when they quit pulling on the rope. You see, friend, that's a very meager illustration to illustrate a mighty truth that that is exactly what Christ Jesus did for you and I. He is the one that took the brokenness and the beating and the bruising from His Father that we might go free. And to acknowledge that salvation and that Lord and that Savior is to give glory to the Lord thy God. So this morning, I don't know if there's anyone here that's outside of Christ. I tell you, for years and years I struggled with assurance. I was so insecure. I did not have full assurance that I was saved. And then at 20 years of age, God had mercy on me and showed me not only that my religious front was a sham, but how desperately I needed the Savior. And I remember that night, I went to a prayer room, and I trusted Jesus Christ for the first time. I'd prayed prayers, I'd asked Jesus into my heart, but God came and lifted the burden of sin and changed my heart. And I'll tell you something this morning, He can do the same thing for you. Give glory, to the Lord your God before he come and cause darkness to come upon you. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for the invitation of mercy. The grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared unto all men. It is this Christ that has come into the world that lighteth all men. Lord, I believe that in a very real sense a call has been extended through the light of creation or the light of conscience But only those that respond to that light will receive more light, and ultimately the light of the gospel, which is the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believes. Father, we have been blessed with so much as a church, and every person here today could never question the blessed thought that they have received so much from You. But Lord, we know that the rain, the blessing falls on the just and the unjust. Some of us have been the recipients of an abundant of mercies, but that doesn't mean that we're a Christian. It's only that man, that woman, that teenager that will part from their sin and respond to the call of God to cast themselves upon Jesus and Jesus alone for salvation. So Lord, today I pray for any soul that may be outside of Christ, may they give glory to the Lord God by acknowledging about themselves what you say about them. That they're lost, they're undone, they're wicked, and they need a Savior. And then to believe that Savior continues to give glory to the Lord God. Father, bless now, I pray. Do that work that we cannot do in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's all stand this morning. We're just going to sing a closing song.