You perhaps were surprised at that tune, verses A, which we normally sing, and I usually don't like to switch tunes of the same set of words, but we are considering the church this evening under attack by your enemies, and I thought perhaps that minor, that lament tune would be a good reminder of the beauty of the church and our love for her, and yet the attack of the enemies of God. Please open your Bibles with me again this evening to 2 Chronicles 36. Using the Bibles in the seats, it's page 387 or 388. If you're finding it in your own Bible and you're still finding your way around, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and it's before Psalms. So if you can find it in between those. We're looking for Christ in the Old Testament here in the last book in the Hebrew Bible. That is, in the arrangement of the books of the Bible of the Old Testament in Hebrew, Chronicles is the final book. And the final chapter, as we consider this morning, is Judah carried to Babylon. Though we did remember that the final words are not of judgment, but of mercy. And we're looking for Christ. We're looking for Christ in progress and promises and types and themes and comparison and contrast. Let me ask a question before we read, and we're just gonna look at primarily two verses from 2 Chronicles, verses 18 and 19. Have you ever had someone hostile to you simply because you're a Christian? Tom spoke to the women's retreat. He was invited yesterday morning about the church in a great East Asia nation, how that church is constantly under persecution. We have in our own covenant our history, a history of the persecution of the church where pastors and people were persecuted and even put to death because of their faith in Christ and their refusal to submit to anyone other than Christ as king. It's likely that you haven't faced that. I certainly haven't faced that kind of hostility. But perhaps you have faced hostility at least discomfort in the response of others to your faith. The world hates the church. It always has and it always will. And we see that here in the destruction of Jerusalem. As we read, they burned the house. of God. So listen to the word of God. Second Chronicles 36 verses 18 and 19. And all the vessels of the house of God great and small and the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king and of his princes all these he that's Nebuchadnezzar brought to Babylon and they burned the house of God and they broke down the wall of Jerusalem. and they burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. This is the word of God. Join me in prayer as we seek God's favor. Our Father in heaven, teach us from this small portion of your word this evening. Teach us about your work as well as help us to understand the work of the evil one against your house. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. It surprises me when I read these words and my emotions are grabbed. I lament. As I believe we should all lament that God's enemies seek to destroy God's house. Lament that God's enemies seek to destroy God's house even if God is using them as discipline. That's what's taking place here. God is at work and he is at work at disciplining his people Andrew Stewart, an Irish pastor who also has served in Australia, continues there, though he's not pastoring, he's teaching at the Theological College. But in his commentary on Chronicles, he says this, Godly kings are blessed in their own lifetime, while ungodly kings are punished by being permitted to see the consequences of their ungodliness also in their own lifetime. Now that's not always true. Sometimes the discipline comes later. But a succession, he goes on to say, a succession of bad kings led the nation to the disastrous exile of 587 BC. God was doing this. Even though the enemies seek to destroy God's house, God was at work here. Turn back a little bit in 2 Chronicles to chapter 7. At the dedication of the temple, God's response to Solomon's prayer, and there's a promise of blessing, and then there is this warning in verse 19 to the end of the chapter. But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you. And this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And at this house which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, why has the Lord done this to this land and to this house? Then they will say, because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt and laid hold of other gods and worshiped them and served them, therefore he has brought all this disaster on them. And so God's enemies here are being used by God to discipline his people, but it doesn't excuse their sin. Habakkuk speaks similarly. The prophet laments in the beginning of Habakkuk 1, why do you let your people commit such injustice? And God says, I'm going to send the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, to ravish Judah. And the prophet responds back and says, but Babylon is so wicked. And Babylon was wicked. And they delighted to destroy. God said in that, from the prophet Habakkuk, look, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter, impetuous nation that marches across the earth's open spaces to seize territories not its own. They are fierce and terrifying. Their views of justice and sovereignty stem from themselves. Babylon was wicked and they delighted to destroy the house of God. And so lament that God's enemies seek to destroy God's house. And we see, of course, a greater comparison in the New Testament to Jesus. Jesus, who identified himself as the living temple who said, destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days, speaking about the temple of his body. And as Peter preaches to the Jews, some of whom had been involved in putting Jesus to death in Acts 2, he makes this clear, though he, that is Jesus, was delivered up according to God's determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him. And so the Chaldeans couldn't say, well, God told us to destroy Jerusalem. We're just obeying God. They were not obeying God, though they were doing His will. They were ravishing the house of God as the enemies of God. And what is it we see here in the text? And how do we see God's enemy seeking to destroy his house even today? We see that they steal its beauty. Verse 18, the vessels and the treasures were taken. Verse 19, they burned the temple, the house of God. We can see in Daniel. what they did with those treasures, that beauty that they stole from the temple of God. In Daniel chapter 5, Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, when he tasted the wine, they were having a feast, he commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the kings and his lords, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem. And the king and his lords and his wives and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine and they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. It wasn't enough that they stole the beauty of the house of God but they used it in an idolatrous fashion as the enemies of God's people and the enemies of God will continually do. And many of you, including many of you children, know the rest of that chapter because immediately a hand began to write on the wall. And Belshazzar couldn't read the writing. He didn't understand the writing. And he called for his wise men, and they could not. But he called for Daniel. And Daniel read what the hand had written. Menae, Menae, Tekel, and Parson. You've been weighed in a balance, you've been numbered, you've been found wanting, and your kingdom will be given over to the Medes and the Persians. God reacted against the enemies of his people who had stolen the beauty of the temple of God and committed it to idolatry. But the enemy of God, the enemies of God continue today to steal the beauty of God's house. How do they do that? Just some just some ways that I thought of you might think of others. They steal the truth of the house of God. They call good evil and evil good. They steal the protection of the unborn, the sanctity of marriage, the wonder of who and how God made us. They steal the beauty of holiness by corrupting and influencing the church toward evil. And while we have to take surveys with a grain of salt, especially those who self-identify who they are in the survey, it should trouble us that often when we read of surveys that are taken of those who profess to be Christians and those who profess not to be, surveys about their lifestyle are little different. And of course, that's what we read this morning. that the people of God were exceedingly unfaithful following the abominations of the nations. That's one of the ways that the enemies of God seek to destroy the house of God as they steal her beauty. Nancy's brother's oldest son, her brother who just passed, her nephew Andy is also a pastor presently in the Westland Church. And he told me a number of years ago when he was pastoring a church, not in the Westland Church, but a church that would have had a history of faith and a proclamation of the gospel. And this church that he was pastoring He just said in a conversation with me, many in my congregation would view homosexuality as okay, even good if that's the way you are. The enemies of God seek to steal the beauty of holiness of the church of God. They steal its truth, they steal its beauty, they destroy its mission and its great commission. I don't know if any of you heard the news or read reports about this, but at the end of last month, with little fanfare, the Presbyterian Church USA closed its office of missions. They will no longer be sending out missionaries with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, they've lost the gospel, many of us believe, as we observed them many, many years ago. But the enemy of God seeks to destroy the church, destroy its mission, destroy its great commission. Just do good deeds. We don't care if you do good deeds. That's OK. But don't proclaim an exclusive gospel. lament that God's enemies seek to destroy God's house. They steal its beauty, they destroy its protection. And so Babylon and his armies tore down the wall of Jerusalem. And again, we have to remember there's a tension here because God was doing this as discipline of his people, yet Babylon delighted in tearing down the walls from their intent never again Would there be a house of God in Jerusalem protected by the walls of Jerusalem? And so we see today the enemies of God seeking to destroy the church by destroying its protection. As we've seen in our lifetime, laws protecting Christianity in the church overturn. I wonder if any of you have wondered about why a pastor can take a housing allowance out of his salary. Originally, that law was enacted because our culture believed that churches were good for the culture and wanted to support those who would preach the gospel in those churches. The enemies of God seek to destroy the protection of the church in destroying her holiness. It's not only the beauty of Christ and his church, but it's the protection. And of course, the enemies of God seek to destroy the protection of the church as some would usurp her king and her head. The head of the church is dead. Some would have you believe with the death of Pope Francis this week. Now I do not believe we should rejoice in the death even of an unbeliever. But we can lament that anyone would seek to take the position of Christ as the only king and head of the church. There was a news article yesterday in the New York Times about the funeral. And it had this quote. A nun from Egypt said she prayed to Francis. She prayed to a dead man? He'd suffered from knee ailments, so she prayed that he would relieve her own leg pain so she could make it to his funeral. The enemies of God seek to destroy the house of God, and we ought to lament, even if God is using them as discipline. as they steal the beauty of God's house, as they destroy the protection of God's house. And we know that efforts to destroy God's church is not just in the Old Testament and not just today. The New Testament is full of efforts to destroy the church. And Jesus pronounced woes, and we heard it in our reading from Luke, upon those who would seek to destroy the house of God. And we read in the book of Acts, in chapter 8, verse 3, that Saul was ravaging the church. But understand, even as you lament, that God will hold them responsible. God will hold the enemies of his people, the enemies of his house, the enemies of his church, God will hold them responsible. I spoke of Habakkuk 1, but if you go on to Habakkuk 2, We read that when Babylon has served God's purpose, it will also face God's wrath. And it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. And we see here in our reading in 2 Chronicles, just after what I read this evening, that this would happen until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia. Babylon was destroyed and overtaken by Persia. And it ought to concern us when we see the enemies of God seeking to destroy God's house, but we're not left in our lament. Again, Jesus said in the New Testament, destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days. He was speaking about the temple of his body. And so even as we lament, we rejoice that Jesus will build his church. Jesus will build his temple. He may discipline her as needed. We get to the book of Revelation. We read this in the account of those seven churches in Asia Minor. Chapter 2 verse 5, remember therefore where you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand. We read in verse 16, therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. Chapter verse 23, I will strike her children dead and all the churches will know that I am he who searches heart, mind and heart. And I will give to each of you according to your works. Chapter three, verse three. Remember then what you received and heard, keep it and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not know at what hour I come against you. This is Jesus speaking to his churches. Not Jesus speaking to the enemies of God's people, speaking to his churches, saying he may discipline his church as needed. Again, chapter three, verse 15. I know your works, you're neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot, so because you're lukewarm and neither hot or cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. And verse 19. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Jesus will build his church and part of the building of his church may be the discipline needed in his church. And we have to be cautious to try to know the secret will of God. Is this or that hardship toward the church God's discipline? We usually don't know. My first pastorate. For nine years, we labored to see Jesus build the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Evansville, Indiana. And after nine years, the church closed. Was that the disciplinary work of Jesus? To take away that lamp stand? I don't know. It may have been. No matter what it was, we know that Jesus is sovereign, and he will build his church, even if he has to discipline her. What else does he do? And we see this really in contrast to what the enemies of God's people do. Jesus makes his church beautiful. And so we read in Ephesians 5, instruction to husbands and wives, but Paul makes clear that he's telling us things about Jesus and his church. So we read, husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to make her holy, cleansing her with a washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. Jesus makes his church beautiful. And we need to remember that and we need to delight in the beauty of the church. To be sure she's not yet completely perfected but she is being sanctified and we ought not focus on those blemishes but rejoice in the beautification that Jesus is making in his church. At the top of my list of the most amazing things I have witnessed with my own physical eyes. In the afternoon of December 24th, 1984, I stood at the front of a church building in Pendleton, Indiana, and I saw my soon-to-be bride. at the back of the church. Radiant, beautiful, in a white dress. Wouldn't it have been odd if she'd been dressed in dirty, filthy, tattered clothes? Jesus is beautifying his church far more beautiful than my bride. And we've found in the 40 plus years since that wonderful day that we have some spots and blemishes. And God's used each of us, I believe, to purify some of those spots and blemishes in us. But I'm not gonna spend my energy telling you about my wife's spots and blemishes. And I'm thankful that she's not gonna spend her energy telling you about mine. Jesus is making his church beautiful. And we should love his church. And our love should be reflected in the way we associate with his church and the way we talk about his church. Wrinkles and blemishes, yes. But that doesn't need to be the focus of your thoughts and your conversation. When you love someone and they have a blemish, or they have a scar, or they got a stain in their clothes, do you spend all your time talking about that? I hope you don't. You're gonna be in trouble in that relationship if you do. Love the church that Jesus is making beautiful. He will make her beautiful, he does make her beautiful, and he will protect her. He will protect his church. And we don't know when all of that will happen. Some of it we may see in our lifetime and some in the life to come. But we read this in Revelation 20, verses seven to 10. When the thousand years are ended, and we'll leave that thousand year discussion for another time. Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle, their numbers like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and they surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them. and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Jesus will protect his church. He might do that by destroying her enemies as he promises to do before the last great day. But he might do that by converting her enemies. We read in Acts 8 that Saul was ravishing the church. And we read in Acts 9 that Saul had somewhat of a Damascus Road experience. As Jesus stopped him as he was going to put Christians in prison and said, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me. And Saul said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Saul was ravishing the church, and in his ravishing the church, he was persecuting Jesus. And Jesus stopped him in his tracks. And he made this enemy of the church of God his friend. And we too were his enemies. God demonstrated his love for us in this. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. If while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, how much more have been reconciled will be saved by his life. One of the most significant ways that Jesus builds his church is to make his enemies his friends, to make his enemies his disciples, to stop us in our sin, to convince us of our sin and yet of the truth of the gospel, and to turn us toward Christ. Jesus will protect his church, and his protection is so sure, it is so absolute that the gates of hell will not withstand her. In Matthew 16, after Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus said to Peter, not the first pope, Though in God's providence, the first human leader of the church for the first several chapters of the book of Acts, he said, I say to you that you are Peter. And on this rock, whether it was Peter in the beginning of the leadership of the visible church, the New Testament church, or whether it was the confession of Peter and people who study the Bible aren't completely sure. But on this rock, he said, I will build my church. and the gates of hell will not overpower it. It's an interesting word and people wonder about it and they talk about it, they write about it. It seems most likely that the picture is not of the church inside her protective wall, but the church advancing. against the enemies of the people of God as the gospel takes men and women, boys and girls captive and changes them from slaves to sin and Satan to slaves to Jesus Christ. And this onslaught of the church won't be stood against even by the gates of death or of hell itself. I, Jesus said, will build my church and the gates of hell will not withstand her. God's enemies seek to destroy God's house. It's been this way since the beginning, even in the garden. Has God really said? as the beauty of holiness of our first parents was destroyed as they listened to the serpent instead of to God, their father. And often, it might look like the enemy is winning. This effort at destruction continues even today. Even in this branch of Jesus Church, the enemy would love nothing more than to destroy Springs Reformed Church. The enemy would love to destroy your lives and your families. Often in our prayer time after the evening service, we pray for wayward covenant children. We see in them the enemy seeking to destroy the Church of Jesus Christ. And so when we see the enemy at work, we weep, we lament, but we pray and we trust and we rejoice that Jesus will build and protect his church. We rejoice that Jesus will build and protect his church. Pray with me that God will do that for us as well as for the church worldwide. Let's pray. our Father in heaven, we do acknowledge that the enemy is against your house, your church, and we lament. We lament when we see churches closed, when we see professing Christians live in the abominations of the world. We lament when we see the enemy of the church seeming at times to make progress in his assault against the church. But we rejoice, Lord Jesus, that you have made us no longer your enemies, but your friends, your disciples. We rejoice, Lord Jesus, that you will build your church. We pray, Lord Jesus, that you will build Springs Reformed Church. Not exclusively. We pray that you would build your church all over the world. But we care in a particular way that you would build this branch of your church. And so we pray that you would do that. And we pray that you might be pleased to use us. To help us resist the devil so that he would flee from us. To help us stand firm in the strength of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We rejoice that Jesus will build his church. We rejoice in Jesus' name, amen.