We'll turn with me, if you will, to Jeremiah, the prophet, chapter 16. We're in between series right now and doing a few, if you will, stand-alone messages. Give your attention now as this is a reading of God's holy word. Jeremiah, chapter 16. The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who were born in this place, concerning their mothers who bore them, and their fathers who begot them in this land. They shall die gruesome deaths. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword, by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth. For thus says the Lord, do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them, for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the Lord. loving kindness, and mercies. Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried. Neither shall men lament for them, cut themselves, or make themselves bald for them. Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them to comfort them. For the dead, nor shall men give the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother. Also, you shall not go into the house of feasting, or sit with them, or eat and drink. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will cause to cease from this place before your eyes and in your days the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. And it shall be, when you show this to all the people these words they say to you why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us or what is our iniquity what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God then you shall say to them because your fathers have forsaken me says the Lord they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them and have forsaken me not kept my law and you have done worse than all your fathers for behold each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart so that no one listens to me therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know neither you nor your fathers and there you will serve other gods day and night where I will not show you favor therefore behold the days are coming says the Lord that it shall no more be said the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt but the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north from all the lands where he had driven them for I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers behold I will send for many fishermen, says the Lord, and they shall fish them. And afterward, I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from my face, nor is their iniquity hidden from my eyes. And first, I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled my land. They have filled my inheritance with carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols. O Lord, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to you from the ends of the earth and say, surely our fathers have inherited lies. worthless and unprofitable things. Will a man make gods for himself, which are not gods? Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know. I will cause them to know my hand and my might, and they shall know that my name is the Lord. So far in the word of the living God, Hard word to read, but it is the living word of the living God. Let's go before the throne of grace again. Our Father, we come before you and pray now that as we have worshipped you in other ways, we would worship by hearing. Hearing by the voice of one of your servants, preaching the word of God. May that word be to us a lamp to our feet, a light to our path, bread from heaven, for the sake of Jesus. For we pray in His name. Amen. Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet. He brings a very harsh and harrowing message of judgment. In fact, the whole book of Jeremiah is not an easy book to read. In fact, it's not probably the book that you turn to when you say, oh, I'd like to do my devotions this morning. I think I'll read Jeremiah. You don't do that. But God's own people had not been faithful to the God who blessed them, the God who redeemed them, the God who loved them. They had turned their back. And God's people had mixed the false religion of the world with their own religion. what we might call apostasy. That is, they were giving up on the true religion and that apostasy was growing in the people of God. Jeremiah is the voice of God during the reign of Josiah. Josiah is the last good king of Israel. And Josiah makes an attempt to reform the people of God. To bring back true worship. Faithful attention to the word. But Josiah's reforms are not going to work. Why? Because the heart of God's people have become hard. Cold. to the Word of God. They were willing to listen to almost anything else but what God said. And in a few more years, in just a few years after this prophecy, Jerusalem is going to be overrun by Nebuchadnezzar. And Israel is going to be taken captive off the Babylon. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that whole thing is going to take place. Listen dear ones, this ancient prophet speaks to you today. You live in a world that is trying to push Christianity to one side. I don't really need to make that argument, do I? Our whole culture is doing that. Higher education is pushing the things of God out. Science is trying to tell Christianity that Christianity has nothing to say scientifically. Culture is telling you that Christianity is the problem. And if we could just get rid of Christianity, everything would be fine. In fact, the college campus today is a dangerous place for Christians. If you make a stand for the things of Christ on a college campus, you'll be vilified, shut down, protested. And in fact, even today there are, I use the big air quotes, churches who are celebrating things that the Bible calls sin. And they're doing it in the name of tolerance. In fact, the sin that they're acquiescing to is discounted. And anybody who dares to stand up against the discounting of sin is called old-fashioned. And true worship is being replaced by an emotional experience that's being sold, literally sold, to the world as being true Christianity. And moral decay in our culture is being celebrated as freedom of expression. And there are arguments right now among professing Christians about what the Bible really says about all kinds of things. Well, brothers and sisters, God has spoken through the prophets and Jeremiah's word is God's word and this word is for you today if you will hear it if you will consider what the prophet says about God's wrath revealed God's people warned and God's promise proclaimed it's all here in chapter 16 God's wrath revealed verse 1 the word of God The word of the Lord also came to me saying, brothers and sisters, this is some 2,500 years ago. You cannot conceptually think that long ago. You can historically study it, but it's a long time ago. Israel had been in the promised land a long time. And by this time, the judges have passed away. And David has passed away. And kings have come and gone. In fact, a string of bad kings. They forgot the Lord. They set up idols to false gods all over the promised land, all over Israel. And these gods, this is the ironic thing, these gods that Israel were setting up all over Israel, were the gods of the people they had conquered. The irony is ridiculous. Our God leads us into the promised land, conquers all of you false pagans, and now we're taking your gods and setting them up as our gods. What an insult. What was the phrase that we saw there at the end of Joshua? It was the Lord who fought for them. They were now discounting the Lord, and adding all these false gods, and God, the living God was being diminished, and the false gods were being set up on every hill, under every tree, tells us in the Prophets. And God has been very patient, and His Word is still being preached. There is a messenger speaking God's word to the people of God. His name is Jeremiah. He's God's messenger. And what he says here should be a wake-up call to anyone with ears to hear it. And what he says is, the severity of God's judgment should be taken seriously. Verses one through four are hard to read. In fact, it is so serious that he basically says, why does he say, Jeremiah, don't take a wife, don't have children. He's basically saying, it's gonna be so bad, it would be better for you not to have been born. That's the picture. The judgment is coming, it's going to be so severe, it would be better for you not to have been born. Gruesome deaths. The coming invasion is going to be an ugly thing. War is an ugly thing. God's wrath is real. And it's going to come upon the people of God in a very warlike and ugly way. Oh brothers and sisters, could I not remind you that hell is real. Sometimes I think we think hell is just a figment. It's a comic book. It's not real. But pastors like to talk about it. No, it is real. And by the way, hell is not pretty. The words the Bible uses are weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth. The Lord in the Gospels uses that phrase. In fact, He says it seven times in the Gospel. Weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. You know what that... Don't forget this! Hell is real. And hell is ugly. And God says, you have so perverted the worship of the true God that a judgment is coming. And he says in verses 5 through 7, God's peace is going to be taken away. Now how does he lay that out? He says, listen, there's not going to be any more mourning. No funerals. are going to comfort and console you in your sorrow. Brothers and sisters, there's a normal process of grieving that gets us through those difficult times. But it's not going to be done. It's going to be such an ugly time of war and invasion that all the normal social protocols are going to disappear. Verse 8 and 9, all celebrations are going to disappear during this judgment period. And God tells Jeremiah, I don't want you even joining in with their drinking and eating. Don't go to any of their feasts. Don't go to any of their funerals. Don't go to any of their weddings. You might be saying, so what? History records a cycle of God's judgment on world powers and people. Do you not know that nations have come and gone? The mightiest of nations in the history of the world. where people thought it would never disappear, have disappeared. I would say, brothers and sisters, that most of us here have never seen war close up. I don't think the oldest of us here have ever seen battle. Bruce, did you ever see battle? You know some battle. And I think Bruce is... He's not the oldest? You're shaking your head. He's pretty close to the oldest. I don't think there's anybody here who has been in battle, is there? I don't think so. But brothers and sisters, do I really need to tell you that war is real? That there are places in the world where guns are being shot, bombs are being set off, and people are dying? And I assure you, it's ugly. But more to the point, what should concern you is not that there is a possibility of war in the world, but that there is a danger of hellfire. Matthew 5, verse 22. There is a sentence of hell, Matthew 23, 33. God's judgment, that word, God's judgment, in context with God doing the judging, is real. In fact, that word judgment appears, are you ready for this? 190 times or more. 190 times or more. And what's the world say about judgment? Don't judge. But judgment, is coming. Have you not heard? Or have you suppressed the truth in unrighteousness? God's wrath is real. And God's people have been warned. Verses 10 and following. When you show this, when you show this people this word, The prophet preached the word of God. And they will say to you, why? Why has the Lord done this? Why has the Lord pronounced this? What did we do? Why is there a hell and a judgment? That's a good question. In fact, that's a question that every human being should ask. What happens after this? Is this all there is? If this is all there is, then let's keep dancing. For tomorrow we die. And the world says that as if to say, whoop-dee-doo, nothing matters. But verse 11 is the answer You shall say to them, because your fathers have forsaken Me." They gave up on Yahweh. They gave up on the Living God. They gave up on the Lord. And they replaced the Living God with other gods. They would not follow God's Word. God's Word had come to them. Been preached to them. And they said, no, we don't want that Word. What a shame, brothers and sisters, when believers who profess faith in God will not hear God, will not take His Word, will not hear His Word, will not hide His Word, will not heed that Word. And what does he say, the prophet, verse 12? You have done worse than your fathers. How? Each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart so that no one listens to me. This is God's complaint against his people. Christian, which are you following? dictates of your own heart? I like serving God my way. Have you taken God and put Him in a little box that belongs to you? Instead of taking God as He is revealed? This is a complaint. God will require an account for all sin. And sinners owe a debt to God. And yet he is patient. He waits a long time to see, is there going to be any repentance? The prophet's word comes to the people of God and judgment doesn't fall instantly, but it's coming. And even as Jeremiah is speaking the word, Nebuchadnezzar is growing in strength and power. You realize that Nebuchadnezzar at one time ruled the known world. The whole known world, if you will. And he's coming. Will there be repentance? Will God's people turn from their evil way? Will they hear the word of God? Make no mistake, brothers and sisters, your heart is a very difficult, you know the very famous verse in the next chapter, right? 17, nine, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? The answer is Jehovah. The Lord knows your heart. I may not. You may not, because your heart is deceitful. Your heart may be lying to you. You may be sitting here today saying, I'm OK. I walked an aisle. My name's on the roll. I'm an Orthodox Presbyterian of Emanuel Chapel. Whoop-de-doo. If your heart's not right, the chapter is telling us You, he's talking to the believers, you've done worse than all your fathers. What are the dictates of your heart? What are the stubborn evil will? By the way, this dictates of your heart is not a passive thing. It's not absent minded, innocent forgetfulness. dictates of your heart, sin, brothers and sisters, is, especially for a Christian, sin is a rejection of God's Word. I don't want to do what God says. I don't want to do it the way God says to do it. You realize if you're a believer, Christians don't like to hear this, but if you're a believer, The only reason you sin is because you want to? I ask you to take that home and meditate on that. Why do I do the things I do? Because I want to! And I say to God, I'm not going to listen to you right now. In fact, our sin, brothers and sisters as Christians, is a declaration of war with the God who loves us. And God says what in verse 13? I will cast you out. I will throw you out of this land that I brought you into. And couldn't God say, didn't I tell you that before you came in? He did. I'm going to cast you out. Brothers and sisters, be warned, the Lord will not ignore your rebellion. The Jews refused to worship God, the God who had brought them into the promised land, and so God sent them to another land where they were going to be forced. You remember, with the exception of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the people of God in Babylon were going to be forced to worship false gods. Brothers and sisters, I don't know that there's sadder words than at the end of verse 13, anywhere in scripture. I'm going to send you to this foreign land where I will not show you favor. Judgment and wrath are coming, he says to his people. And they came. when the Chaldeans came in. And we might say, OK, that's Old Testament again, Pastor. What's that have to do with us? Well, Acts 17, verse 31, God has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness. Listen, dear ones. God is angry with the wicked every day. And He has appointed a day where He's going to settle accounts. But God has not forgotten the promise he made to his people. We might, if we stop at verse 13 here in the chapter, we go, well, maybe I should have gone to breakfast this morning instead of coming to church. Listen to that terrible message from Jeremiah. God's promise is proclaimed. Verses 14 and 15. I will bring them back to their land which I gave to their fathers. The end of verse 15. I'm going to do that. I'm going to judge them and send them out of this land. But there's going to come a day when I bring them back. Brothers and sisters, you want some encouraging passages? Praise God for passages like these. Isaiah 57 verse 16. I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry. And Jeremiah 3, verse 12, I will not cause my anger to fall on you, for I am merciful, says the Lord. I will not remain angry forever. Or Psalm 130, verse 7, For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. Praise God for passages like that. Yes, God is going to bring judgment on His own people. But there is a Redeemer. Jesus. God's own Son. Precious. Lamb of God, Messiah, Holy One. Jesus is the long expected Messiah, even 2,500 years ago. The prophet is saying there's a Redeemer coming. The expected Messiah, God sent his only son, a long time ago, brothers and sisters, 20, 20, 2000 years ago plus. He lived and died, rose again on the third day for his sheep. And those who believe in him, those who put their trust in what Jesus did for them, are the recipients of that promise. of that redemption. And God uses the Chaldeans. Verses 16 and 17, by the way, are not evangelistic verses. Some people think, oh, there's fisher of men. He must be talking about... No. He's saying, I'm going to send the Chaldeans, who were fishermen. And they're going to come and scoop up Israel. Like so many fish in a net. They were hunters. And they're gonna go out and find Israel, even the ones that are hiding in the rocks and the holes, and drag them off to Babylon. What can we learn from that, brothers and sisters? God takes notice of your sin. You may wonder why you keep getting away with and why God hasn't struck you dead and why God hasn't thrown you into hell. If I'm the only one who's ever wondered that, I don't think I am. But God is patient. There is coming a day when God takes notice of your sin and your sin must be dealt with. What are the consequences of your sin? Well, there is a double effect. Sin is serious. Verse 18 has that little phrase, I will repay them double for their iniquity and their sin. What is being hinted at there by the prophet? Well, let me ask you this. Let's take this illustration. What would be the consequence if You were walking down a busy downtown street. And you decide, as you pass by a great big plate glass window, to punch through that window, if you could, with your fist. What are the consequences if you decide to punch a big glass window on a storefront? Well, first consequence is that you broke the law. And you're going to have to pay for that. But possibly, you could also cut your hand badly, couldn't you? So you'd be physically injured and lawfully, legally responsible. The justice and the punishment demand satisfaction. You could incur a physical consequence, but also a legal one. Brothers and sisters, so it is with sin. If you break God's law, there must be a punishment of breaking the law. A legal punishment. But also, if you break God's law, your soul is injured. by breaking that law and you hurt your own soul. What is the remedy? What is the remedy for this sin problem? That's verses 19 and 20. Faith in what God has done to solve the sin problem. Notice, first of all, how personal this faith is. My strength, O Lord, My fortress. My refuge. Not the false gods of your own making. Not the false gods that you have been putting in place of the living God. But a real God. Not the dictates of your own evil heart. But the true and living maker of all things. Who is the answer to this sin problem? The maker of all things. In fact, in the middle of this prayer, he asks a question, verse 20. Do you realize, brothers and sisters, that everyone can be a polytheist? That is, you can make or worship many gods without ever having carved a stone, cut a tree down, Now there's that passage in the prophets that said, these people are crazy. They cut a tree down and with part of it, they make a bathroom. That's what one of the prophets basically says. Part of it, they make a bathroom and the other part of the same tree, they turn into a false god. The prophets going, what? Well, you may never have cut down a tree and set it up on your mantle as something to pray to. But brothers and sisters, the idols of the heart are just as much false gods as any carved image, any power, any possession, anything that you place your passion, love, devotion, time, attention on in replacing God is a false image. Any other God than the one true God. Brothers and sisters, this is the idea. That there is only one true living God. This is the idea that offends mankind throughout history. How dare you, Christians. say that Christianity and Christ is the only way to heaven. Guess what? That's what we say. Did you know that? We're not ashamed of that. Is Buddha a way to heaven? No. What about Sikhism? No. What about Islam? No. There's only one way to God. That's Jesus. The world hates that idea, that there is only one God. And for thousands of years, people have invented all kinds of false gods, ignoring the maker of all things. And setting up any kind of little power. Spiritualism, etc, etc. And brothers and sisters, the wrath of God is clear. And God's warning is clear. And God's promise of Jesus Christ is clear. The work of salvation is not a work you do. Notice the way this chapter closes. In the prayer of Jeremiah, he's speaking the Word of God. Therefore, behold, I Will this once cause them to know? My hand, my might, my name is the Lord, is Yahweh. That's a very singular name. The living and true God is going to save His people. Do you have ears to hear? Or do you have a cold heart? He says, oh yeah, once again, pastor's preaching again. Same message again. I've heard it before. Or do you have a new heart? Are you ready to receive the word of the living God? This is what God says, I need a savior. I need a substitute. I need the blood of Christ. I need the cross. No, no, no, that's just a Christian mysticism. No, it's a living word of God. Jeremiah is a hard word to hear. Because brothers and sisters, you and I have grown up in a very comfortable culture. I like the bread aisle. Where you stand there, do I want all wheat, whole wheat, ground wheat, crushed wheat? Ezekiel 9 wheat, white wonder bread, artesian French bread. I could go on and on, right? Sometimes we're standing in the aisle and I have to stand there and look at my darling bride and go, any time now. But the choices are so many in our culture. This is not a culture of war. It's a culture of plenty. And so the word of Jeremiah seems foreign and 2,500 years old. But brothers and sisters, there is a judgment coming. It may not be in our lifetime. We may die, all of us here, may die very comfortable lives in our beds, suddenly, unexpectedly, whatever. and die right out from this very comfortable culture. But God has still sent his son into the world for a reason. Because there are sinners who need to have their sin dealt with. And there is no other God. And there is no other Savior. There is no other Lord. What will you do with Jesus? That's the real question. Will you own Him by faith? Will you take Him at His word? Will you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? If you do, the Bible says you will be saved. And if you don't, the Bible says there's a day coming when God will separate the sheep from the goats. This word came to be. Nebuchadnezzar leveled Jerusalem. A lot of the scholars trying to say, where did the ark go? It may have disappeared with Nebuchadnezzar. He took everything else from the temple. We don't have a passage that tells us who took it and what, by the way, it's not in the Smithsonian because Indiana Jones found it. You know that's fiction, right? It's not there. It's gone. God let the place, the physical place where he appeared to his people disappear. That's a judgment. You think God's kidding about hell? I wouldn't risk it. I would come to know the Lord Jesus, put my faith in what God has done to solve my sin problem. And then Jeremiah's word is an eye-opener. Let's pray. Heavenly Father.