Judges 6, verses 1-10. Today's message is called, It's Dark in Here. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel because of the Midianites, The children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves and the strongholds which are in the mountains. So it was whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up. Also, Amalekites and the people of the east would come up against them. Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza. and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor donkey. For they would come up with their livestock in their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts. For they and their camels were without number, and they would enter the land to destroy it. So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites. And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. And it came to pass when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, because of the Midianites, that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and I brought you out of the house of bondage, and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you. and drove them out before you and gave you their land. Also, I said to you, I am the Lord your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But you have not obeyed my voice." In May 1855, an 18-year-old boy went to the deacons of a church in Boston. He had been raised in a Unitarian church in almost total ignorance of the gospel. But when he had moved to Boston to make his fortune, he began to attend a Bible-believing church. Then in April of 1855, his Sunday school teacher had come into the store where he was working and simply and persuasively shared the gospel and urged the young man to trust in the Lord Jesus. He did, and now he was applying to join the church. One fact quickly became obvious. This young man was totally ignorant of biblical truth. One of the deacons asked him, son, what has Christ done for us all, for you, which entitles him to our love? His response was, I don't know. I think Christ has done a great deal for us. But I don't think of anything in particular as I know of. Hardly an impressive start. Years later, his Sunday school teacher said of him, I could truly say that I have seen few persons whose minds were fiercely darker than was his when he came into my Sunday school class. And I think the committee of the church seldom met an applicant for membership who seemed more unlikely ever to become a Christian of clear and decided views of gospel truth, still less to fill any space of public or extended usefulness. Nothing happened very quickly to change their minds. The deacons decided to put him on a year-long instruction course to teach him basic Christian truths. Perhaps they wanted to work on some of his other rough spots as well. Not only was he ignorant of spiritual truths, he had trouble reading and writing, and his spoken grammar was atrocious. The year did not help very much, but since it was obvious that he was a sincere soul, they accepted him as a church member. Over the next few years, I am sure that many people looked at the young man convinced that God would never use a person like that. They wrote him off, Dwight L. Moody. But God did not. By God's grace and love, D.L. Moody was transformed into one of the most effective and significant servants of God in church history, a man whose impact is still with us. You see, one of the great truths of scripture is that when God looks at us, he does not see us for what we are, but for what we can become as he works in our lives. One commentator has written, God is in the business of taking weak, insignificant people and transforming them by his power. The Lord looks at us as a sculptor looks at a rough stone. He has carefully chosen to make into a masterpiece. Being courage. God begins with us where we are. He knows our weaknesses, our failures, our discouragements, our doubts, and our inadequacies. But he does not say, you can get rid of those and then I can use you. He doesn't say that. No, he comes to us in our weakness with the promise of his presence that will transform our weakness into his strength. Now this truth is vividly portrayed in the life of Gideon, who we'll see in the next couple of messages. Gideon should be a great source of encouragement to us all, for he was a man of like passions as we are. fearful, hesitant, discouraged. To understand his life, though, we must set him against the background that is brought before us in chapter 6, starting where I just read from verses 1 through 10. Now, if you look at this section, you will note that it is all about God. In the opening section, look at verse 1 of chapter 6. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years. The Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord. We see that God is omniscient, that God knows all. We see that God is omnipresent. that he sees all sin, the evil, is in the sight of the Lord. Then we see that he is omnipotent. It says that the Lord delivered them into the hands of Midian. So you see his omniscience, his omnipresence, his omnipotence. And then you see his sovereignty. He is sovereign. They were delivered for seven years. God had decreed the length of time before they would cry out to him, before he would send the prophet to them, before he would send Gideon the deliverer. This is the background to which Gideon is going to arrive. The Israelites continued to backslide, continued to turn their backs upon God. This is the fourth time in the book of Judges that a new generation of Israelites have failed God. The evil they did was in the eyes of the Lord, in the sight of the Lord. This means two things. The behavior of the Israelites was evil in the eyes of the Lord, and God saw their evil, saw exactly what they were doing. The evil was not hidden from his eyes. They were responsible for their sins, and they would be held accountable, as you see in the fact of seven years. The Israelites were too attracted to the world. They craved the bright lights and the pleasures of the world, its possessions, its wealth, its comforts, its ease, sounds like, the church in America. It loves the authority that it has, its power, its recognition, its honor. Looking around at their Canaanite neighbors, they believed what they saw. and began to desire the lifestyle of their neighbors. Just as the believer today, the day in, day out, carrying of your cross, you look at your neighbors and say, it's not worth it. They ceased to live separate lives, holy lives, becoming complacent and permissive. They were just like the spirit of the age. If that makes you feel good, then it's well. They began to fellowship with their neighbors and join in their community festivities and worship. You couldn't tell that they were any different from their pagan neighbors. Before long, they were actually engaging in the false worship of their neighbors, forsaking God, turning their backs upon him, keeping The commandments of God was no longer their focus. What mattered were their own desires and their own cravings, comfort, pleasure, and wealth. God mattered very little to most of the Israelites. The people were living sinful, evil lives in the sight of God. The continued backsliding of Israel is an indictment against so many generations of believers. Just think and ask yourself about believers today. How many believers live lives that are constantly sliding? Constantly. How many repeatedly turn their backs upon God and live lives of immorality, of covetousness and carnality? How many participate in fellowship with unbelievers and in their festivities and in their worldly activities? How many attend and become engaged in the false worship of their neighbors? How many believers have backslidden, turned their backs upon God? They wind up desperate, defeated, discouraged, distressed, disillusioned, and dumbfounded. That's what happens. when one gets away from God. Jesus Christ said, And because iniquity shall abound, shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Has your love waxed cold? And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and the doctrines of devils. Turn on the radio. Turn on the television set. Talk to the average Christian on the street. Doctrines of devils, seducing spirits, For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. Right out the door. Will not endure sound doctrine. But after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers that will tell them exactly what they want to hear. Have itching ears and they shall turn away their ears from the truth. They shall turn away from the truth. and shall be turned on to fables, believing in this God that people have made in their imagination, this impotent God, this God that knows nothing of omnipotence, of sovereignty, of righteousness, of holiness, a God in their own imagination. Ye, therefore, beloved, seeing seeing you know these things before. You must know it before you see it. Beware. Beware lest you also, as my brother prayed before about pride, if you don't think you also, beware lest you also be led away with the error of the wicked. Fall from your own steadfastness. Nevertheless, Christ says in the book of Revelation, I have something against thee, because thou has left your first love. The Israelites had left their first love. They had left God. God was their inhabitants. That is who they left. Sin always brings about unnecessary suffering. God's people were not learning from their past mistakes. Are you learning? Are you saying, I have to hear about sin again? They needed to realize our sin is not hidden from God. All that we say, all that we think, all that we do, God knows about it. The people thought that God had been winking at sin. The land had rest for 40 years. You think just because God has not showed up yet that He approves of your wickedness. That's not what the Scripture says if you're His child. Matthew Henry wrote, the burnt child dreads the fire. If you have ever been burnt by fire, you dread the fire. Yet, this perverse, unthinking people in our text and in the church today throughout the land that had so often smarted sorely for their idolatry. Been chastised so many times upon a little pause, upon a little pause of God's judgments and chastisement. What do they do? They return to it once again, like the pig to the slop, like the dog to the vomit. A little pause in God's chastening, And they return right to it again. Israel's troubles repeated. Let all that live in sin. If you live in sin, if this is your lifestyle, expect to suffer. Turn to Psalm 18. Verse 26, with the pure, you will show yourself pure. You want holiness? The Lord will show you holiness. You want righteousness? He'll show you righteousness. With the pure, you will show yourself pure. And with the devious, you will show yourself truth. That's God Almighty speaking. You who think you are smart, that you are devious, that you have it all figured out. God Almighty has promised that He will show Himself true to you. He will show you that He is a lot more devious than you are. Turn to Leviticus 26. The Jews in the text just kept over and over and over and over. look at verse 21, 21 through 25, Leviticus 26. Then, if you walk contrary to me and are not willing to obey me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues according to your sins. You don't like that? Just rip that page out of your Bible. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in numbers, and your highways shall be desolate. And if by these things you are not reformed by me, but walk contrary to me, then I will also walk contrary to you." Are you going to rebel against God and he's not going to rebel against you? Are you going to push against God and think that he's not going to push against you? Verse 25, and I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant. He's talking to covenant people. He's not talking to Amorites and Amalekites and parasites here. That will execute the vengeance of the covenant. When you are gathered together within your cities, I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy when I have cut off your supply of bread. I will walk, I will bring a sword, I will send pestilence, I will cut off, I will walk contrary to you, I will bring on you, I will send the wild beast. It's not the devil, the devil. It's God Almighty that has become your enemy because of your disobedience. What a difference a few short years can make. If you remembered the last message, turn back to Judges 5. The difference of one chapter. That's why, take heed, lest you think you stand. Just remember Judges 5, verses 3 through 5. This was the previous chapter. Look at the way the people were. Hero kings give hero princes, I even I. will sing praise to the Lord. I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel. Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the field of Eden, the earth trembled and the heavens poured. The clouds also poured water. The mountains gushed before the Lord, the Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel. They were singing songs of victory, songs of deliverance, songs of joy. And now, one chapter later, One short generation later, the people, in spite of God's goodness, the land had rest for 40 years. God's goodness, God's graciousness, and God's kindness. Once again, you see His omnipotence, His omniscience, His sovereignty. You see His goodness. You see His graciousness. You see His kindness. The Israelites, as well as believers today, they failed to resist the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The result of continued backsliding is the chastisement of God. See, this is one reason why you teach expository preaching. Because the pastor doesn't want to deal with this. He doesn't want to come before the people and tell them you're wicked, tell them you're sinful, you're disobedient. You just ignore that text. You go to something nice. I'll never leave you not forsaken. Let's just do a sermon on that. And you're not balancing your presentation because you leave out all of this. But is this not the condition of most Christians that you know today? continued backsliding. They're chastised by God. Because of the evil committed by the Israelites, God used the Midianites to oppress them for seven years. Scripture teaches that God loves his people. Therefore, he chastises or disciplines them when they continue in sin. How can God say to parents, if you spare the rods, you don't love your children? That's the commandment of Almighty God to parents. of natural children. So how would he command you that and not follow the same command himself? Sin and evil damage and destroy people through such things as injustice, immorality, bitterness, hatred, war, murder, all acts of immorality, lawlessness, and violence. God is not a permissive parent. If you are a permissive parent, the scripture says you don't love your child. You do not love your child if you are a permissive parent who allows their children to commit sin and evil, hurting themselves, hurting others, contributing more and more corruption to the world. God disciplines or chastises his people to correct them in order to stop the corruption. God's family is to live as they have been commanded. They are to live holy and righteous lives. Turn to Romans 6. The chastisement comes into your life so that you begin to live this way. Romans 6, verses 4 through 7. Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father. You'll walk in a sanctified life, a mortifying life, is a reflection of the glory of the Father. Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father. Even so, we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection. You ought to be in the likeness of His resurrection, walking in newness of life, in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our own man was crucified with Him in the past, crucified with Him that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Why are you entrapped by sin continually? constantly when the Scripture says that you have been freed. I will be the first one to tell you about the grace of God, but I'm also going to be the first one to tell you, you better seriously look at your life if you are continually living in a backslidden state. The Scripture says to examine yourself, to test to see if you'll be of the faith. Yes, Christ will never leave you nor forsake you. But it says that his sheep hear his voice, and they follow him. Follow him. Because of words, most preachers of grace just preach on grace and leave out repentance and mortification and examination. to respond to the work's righteousness. They assure people of an imputed righteousness when sometimes the person is not even a child of God. The reason God chastises or disciplines His people when they sin is to correct them. As a father corrects a disobedient child, the Israelites needed to be broken. If you continually live in sin, you have never been broken. They had to be broken before God so they would cry out to God and repent. And even notice that, where it says, and they cried out to God. I'm going to get it in, brother. They cried out to God because of the Midianites. See? Because of their oppression. I'm beat down again. I can't get out of this gym that I'm in. They cry out to God for help because of the Midianites. Not because I have offended a Heavenly Father that has loved me, that has bestowed all good gifts upon me, that has been gracious to me, that has loved me, that has delivered me from the bondage of sin, that has rescued me from hell, that has seated me in heavenly places. They didn't call on Him because of that. It's because they couldn't stuff some food in their mouths. Even their repentance. was, as my mother used to say, those are crocodile tears. The Israelites needed to be broken. They needed to turn away from their false worship and return to God. For this reason, God allowed the Midianites to conquer and oppress Israel. Not only allowed, but the text says it was God Almighty that delivered them into the hands of the Midianites. The power of the Midianites was put into their hands because of the unfaithfulness and the weakness of the people of God. It is not the enemy, it's not the devil, but our unfaithfulness that causes the enemies of God to inflict us. Stop blaming the devil. The enemy is your unfaithfulness. When we sin and rebel against God, we create a nightmare of problems for ourselves. Are your problems a result of your disobedience? Turn to Judges 6-2. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel because of the Midianites, the children of Israel, notice, made for themselves the dens, made for themselves the dens, the caves, the strongholds which are in the mountains. The enemies come into your life sent there by Almighty God. And what's it say? They made the beds for themselves. The old adage is true. You made your own bed and now sleep in it. But our God is a gracious God. Our God is a gracious God. Even though not a true repentance, simply a crying out, He sent them a prophet. The Midianites were distant relatives of the Israelites. The Lord will permit close friends, close relatives. Descended from Abraham by his second wife, Ketorah. That's where the Midianites were from. They were Bedouins and shepherds, semi-desert nomads who were known for their use of the camel. And they were feared for their skill in battle. The scripture gives us a descriptive picture of the Midianite oppression. Put the picture in your mind's eye. The Midianites were powerful, very oppressive, vicious, cruel. The Israelites have become so weak. Believers today have become so weak that they were helpless before their camel-riding enemy as the enemy swept down upon them year by year. Being a Christian, five. 10, 15, 20 years. The Israelites, they just did not have the spirit nor the weapons anymore to resist the invaders. That's what happens when you give yourself over to sin. Consequently, they had to flee to the hills, seeking shelter in mountain cliffs and caves in order to survive. They were cowering in the darkness, cowering in the caves, in the strongholds, hiding out in the mountains where the Scripture says you should be walking in newness of life. People think, I'm just going to play with sin a little bit. It says, and they made for themselves. You're in the darkness because you made that for yourself. You made that cave of darkness for yourself. The Midianites joined forces with other nations of marauders or raiders. They formed an alliance with the Amalekites and the other peoples to raid and then plunder the land of Israel every year during harvest season. Have you ever noticed when you give in to one of the enemies, all of a sudden, here comes an Amalekite. Here comes another enemy you forgot all about. Then the Amalekites show up. Then the Amorites show up. Then the Perissites show up. All of those sins and demons from the past that you had an affinity with, all of a sudden, it's not only the Midianites. There's a whole horde of locusts coming. The Marauding Bandits actually invaded the land and set up camp. living off the land during the harvest season. The invasion reached all the way up to Gaza. The combined forces of the plundering nation totaled 130,000 soldiers. Just picture the frightful sight. But maybe you say, that can never happen to me. Take heed, lest you fall. Bands of thieves sitting astride their camels, sweeping across the fields and plains of Israel, storming the cities they destroyed. Money, possessions were stolen, women was abused, raped, and the few who stood to fight against the invading bandits were killed, year after year for seven long years. They come down from the mountains and put their crops out there. As soon as it was done, as soon as it was time for the harvest, Here come all the bandits, all the enemies, all the ones that the Lord has sent against you to chastise you, year after year after year. They set up camp and remained in Israel during the entire harvest season. Notice what the text says. Look at Judges 6-5. And it all started out with a little sin. Forty years of rest, then a little sin, then a little sin, then a little more sin, then a little more sin after that. And look at Judges 6, verse 5. For they had come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts. Both they and their camels were without number, and they went after the lambs to destroy it. Numerous as locusts. or without number. This is a little side issue. That kind of looks like the state of our country right now. Every way you turn, it's like you don't have enough of fingers or toes to stick in holes that are coming through the dikes. It's like the locusts, they're like grasshoppers. The camels are without numbers. Everywhere you turn, every part of society, it's falling down. And don't forget, the nation is made up made up of the members that are in the church. So don't think it's them out there. The scripture says, if my people who are called by my name, if they forsake their sin, not if the pagans forsake their sin, when we continue in sin, God will chastise us. He has to correct us in order to keep us from living in sin, from damaging ourselves and others. You're not only damaging yourself. How many times have I... I'm not hurting nobody. You're hurting everybody that looks at you that you are supposed to be in the image of Jesus Christ. So how are you not hurting no one? Oh yeah, there's one of them Christians. Yeah, there's a Christian right there. But I'm not hurting nobody, brother. You're supposed to be conformed into the image of Christ. bearing strong testimony to the glorious salvation of God. We're going to live eternally with God in the fullness and enrichment of life. When is it going to begin for you? When is this fullness of life going to begin? I came to give you life and to give it to you more abundantly. And most people are in the den, in the darkness, in the caves, in fear, cowering down. instead of walking in newness of life. Every branch in me, every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. And every branch that beareth fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Maybe that doesn't apply to you. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. for if we would judge ourselves. He's not talking about pagans. If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord. We are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world. And you have forgotten. You have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him for whom the Lord loveth. Whom he loveth he chastened, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. As many as I love, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore and repent. If God Almighty doesn't chasten you, He doesn't love you. You're of the damned. That's why he leaves you to yourself. God's people were fearful and fainthearted. They would rather flee, rather flee than fight. They'd rather go hide in the caves, hide in the darkness. Their sin defeated them and forced them into the caves and the dens. Their unwillingness to deal firmly with evil revealed a lack of character. You have no character. That is exactly what sin does to us. It robs us of our character. You are supposed to be a son of the Most High God being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ seated in heavenly places. And you're living in sin and hiding in a cave in the darkness because of that sin. And sin robs you, ravages you, ransacks you, ruins your resolve, your resolution, and your relentlessness to say no to wrong and to fight evil. and to mortify that sin that so easily besets you. We don't talk about sin. We don't talk about repentance. We don't talk about mortification. We don't talk about chastisement. We don't talk about nothing of any substance. And that's why we have a frothy, sugary, weak, pathetic Christianity where there is no power and it starts in pulpits. Because men are fearful to tell people of their sin, of their wickedness, and of the consequences of that sin and that wickedness. As the Lord told Jeremiah, they will, man, hate you. But it's better for them to hate you than for me to hate you. You will tell them what you are supposed to tell them, what the Bible says to tell them, or I'll chastise you. as many as I love, I rebuke. Thou shalt also consider in thy heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord thy God chastens thee. God chastens you because he's your son. Blessed. Do you think blessed? Does this word go together? Blessed is the man whom thou chasteneth. It's just the opposite. If you're chastened, most people think, well, God hates me. If He hates you, He will be as He saw. He'll leave you alone. Jacob have I loved, and he shall have I hated. And Jacob, he worked in his life. My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord. Neither be weary of his correction. Child of God, don't get weary of hearing a hard message, a rebuke, a chastisement. It's from a loving heart. He says, don't despise the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction. For whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth, even as a father of the son in whom he delights. Remember that word, delight, at the end of the message. Verses 6-10. crying to the Lord. After much chastisement, finally cried to the Lord for help. And the prophet is sent to them. The Israelites had borne all they could bear. Have you borne all that you can bear? The oppression was vicious and cruel, brutal and savage. Is your sin really worth The cruelty, the brutality, and the savagery that goes along with that sin. Just what you're getting from your own conscience is awakened. Is that sin that good? Being broken by the oppressor, the Israelites became defeated, discouraged, and distressed. Is that you? They could do nothing but cry out to the Lord for deliverance. The Lord backed him right into that corner. Up until now, God had always raised up a deliverer to save his people from their oppression. You remember the other times to our judges? All they did was cry out, and boom, there was the deliverer. So they figured they had a nice mechanical approach to the Lord now. I figured that out. Lord, I get jammed up, I cry out to you, and boom, you send the deliverer, and it's all taken care of. The Lord said, I'm going to do something a little different for you this time. On this occasion, He raises up a prophet. Why a prophet? Because the Israelites needed to be rebuked. You need to be rebuked like they've never been rebuked before. You need to be told the truth right up in your face. For generations, the Israelites have been failing God, turning back time and again to the sins and the evil of their neighbors, and engaging in their false worship. You are told today, just send me a hundred bucks, man, and it'll be all well with your soul. Don't worry about it. That's my message for you. Don't worry about it. Send me a hundred, everything will be lovely with you. You can be as wicked as you want, it don't matter. Don't matter what the Bible says, none. Send me a hundred dollars, it'll be lovely for you. The Israelites had to be told, the indictment had to be sent to the people. The prophet rebuked Israel for four specific sins or evils. First, the Israelites look in verses 8, 10 of Judges 6. The Israelites had forgotten God's salvation. They forgot God's salvation, His wonderful deliverance from Egyptian slavery. Look at 8. that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel who said to them, thus says the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up out of Egypt. I brought you out of the house of bondage. When you were involved in sin, you forgot your salvation. You took your salvation for granted. Secondly, the Israelites have forgotten God's deliverance from all their oppressors and His gift of the promised land. I knew such deliverance at one time. See verse 9? And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of all who oppressed you and drove them out before you and gave you their land. See? I brought you up from Egypt. I brought you out of the house of bondage. I delivered you out. I drove them out before you. I gave you their land. The man of God comes to the people of God and tells them, God says, this is what I have done for you. You have forgotten that Christ died for you. He shed His blood for you. That you've been purchased with a price. And that price being His very blood. Third sin. The Israelites have forsaken God, engaging in false worship or idolatry. That is the sin that is rampant throughout the church. False worship, idolatry, this God that we've made up in our own mind, that we've created in our own image. That's my God. That's the sin of the church. A God that we have made up in our own mind. Verse 10. The Israelites have refused to listen to God, disobeying Him and breaking His commandments. See what it says? But you have not obeyed My voice. That's the charge from Almighty God. If the Midianites have invaded you, the Amorites and the Amalekites, and you are in the darkness of the dens, you have not obeyed My voice. Are you refusing? Are you disobeying? And are you breaking his precepts and think that you'll be blessed? The Israelites had rebelled against God, rejecting him and turning to live after the ways of the world and its false worship. Rebuke was the need of the hour. And God sent this prophet to reprimand his people. They needed to confess their sins and repent, turning back to serve the Lord. They needed to forsake their sin. People of God, listen very closely to what I'm about to say. You hear very often, repent and believe. And we dumb down the word repent by, well, repent means to change your mind about something. Or maybe we get a little bit stronger and say, well, it means to change your mind about something and then to turn away from it. Repent means to forsake. It means to forsake. It means to leave your sin, to renounce your sin, to withdraw from your sin, to abandon your sin, to desert your sin, to reject your sin, to give up wholly your sin, to cease from that sin, to discontinue from sin, to quit that sin, relinquish that sin, repudiate that sin, and vacate that sin. That's what it means to change your mind. That is what changing one's mind about something means. What you once loved, now you hate. What you ran to, you now run from. You turn around and you go the exact opposite way, not 45 degree turn. Stop fooling yourself. What you call repentance is not repentance at all. What you call repentance, God has another word for that. And that word is deceived. You're deceived. What you call repentance is not repentance at all. It's deception. If we continue in sin, walk day by day disobeying God, a strong rebuke and correction are needed. We need to be awakened to be stirred, to be aroused out of our slumber and our darkness and our sin. We need to be taken from the dark cave by the scruff of your neck and brought out and dragged out into the sunshine of the day, as forcefully as Almighty God can possibly do. When we sincerely confess our sins and repent, crying out to God for deliverance, God will deliver us. But we need to learn one truth. We are not to return to our sin. The prodigal son came home. He didn't come home and pick up another bag of money and then head back to Hoboken. He returned home. Paul warned the Galatians. Now in a book, turn to Galatians 5, in a book that has, outside of the book of Romans and arguably Ephesians, has probably blessed more people for assurance and preached against worse righteousness. In that context, Paul tells us you better really look at your life. Galatians 5, 19-21. And I've heard the fierceness of this section of Scripture taken away from. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, rudeness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousy, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, reveries, and the like, of which I tell you beforehand. Do not lessen the impact, brothers and sisters, of this verse. Just as I also told you in time past, I told you beforehand, I told you in time past, and He's telling us presently, and He's telling us today, that those who practice such things, those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. No matter how much assurance we get In Romans, and in Ephesians, and in Galatians, we must examine ourselves and see if we be of the faith. I cannot give you a false assurance. I can give you a true assurance, if you truly be a child of God. But you must examine yourself to see if you truly be a child of God, because you may not be of the faith, you may be deceived. Those that practice those things, Do not try to take away the impact of that and say, well, in the Greek, that means that. In the Hebrew, that means that. And in the Latin, that means that. If that's your lifestyle, if you still act like a pig, you're still a pig. We have to take the whole counsel of the Scripture and not to take away, brother and sister, if you're struggling with your assurance. I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to the willful one with head held high and pride pompousness, you need to examine yourself. The Lord tells us in Ephesians, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. What does he say? Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, comma, but not only not have no fellowship with them, but rather reprove them. Rather reprove them. Who wants to reprove unfruitful works of darkness? 1 Timothy 5.20, Then that sin, then that sin rebuked before all. And notice, for this reason, for this purpose. Then that sin rebuked before all, that so that others also may fear. Yes, fear God. The one that you've heard it said many times, well you know fear, that means like in a reverential kind of way. No, fear God in the sense of Ananias and Sapphira. You've seen some feet getting dragged out the door. Yeah, there's a Heavenly Father, absolutely, that'll never leave you nor forsake you. But let's not forget, Ananias and Sapphira isn't the New Testament. Feet going out the door. Those who refuse to resist the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, disaster is waiting. You may find God as your enemy, not as your friend. This inconsistency in loyalty to God is rampant throughout Christendom. Why are you surprised that God does not answer your prayers? Why do you think there's no dunamis, there's no power in your prayers? See, because I want to do my thing over here, and I want God to answer my prayers over here. God says, you forgot a little something. You need to go back and straighten that thing out with your brother before you come up here with those prayers. And I know your heart. I know all about your phony baloney sacrifices. Your heart is far removed from me. Why do you think God gives the power to the Midianites of this world? Why do you think God Almighty has given the power to the Midianites of this world to fly airplanes into the towers over there? Why do you think God permits that to happen? Why he lets the Midianites come in like locusts, come into the finances, come into this flu, that flu, finances, military defeats, just on and on and on. And it's not the Republicans and it's not the Democrats and it's not Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh and CNN and Fox News. It is the people in the country. That is to blame. Look in the mirror. That's the person to blame. All of us. Every one of us has sinned. And we all have contributed in this country to the downfall, the demise of this country. All of us have contributed to the Midianites coming into the church by keeping our mouths shut, by being fearful to reprove anybody, rebuke anybody. telling them that they're a rebel. All of us are to blame. First and foremost, in the pulpits for being cowards. It says, if you love your brother, you rebuke him, you reprove him. But do it in all gentleness and all love. Take heed. Bless you four. And so I don't lose you. I'm going to show you real quick. Turn the high guy. I want to make sure I get this in. And I know we have to. There's a certain time that people go, okay, that's it, dude. You're done. You're just up there talking now. Turn over the high guy. To help you out, it's between the Z's. Not if you're sleeping Z's. Zephaniah and Zechariah. Turn to Haggai. Now this is the shame of it all. This is going to be the contrast. There's going to be Haggai and Jeremiah. Haggai 1 verse 3, Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple, the lying rooms? Now therefore, Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. Consider. Think about. Deliberate upon. Examine mentally your ways. No one else's ways. Your ways. Consider your ways. Look upon your ways. Regard your ways. Have an opinion of your ways. Consider your ways. Do not disregard, ignore, neglect your ways. Consider your ways. You have so much. and bring in little. You eat, but do not have enough. You drink, but you are not filled with drink. You close yourselves, but no one is warm, and he earns wages to put into a bag with holes. You just put it in the bag, and it's going out the other end. Verse 7, thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build a temple that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified. You look for much. You look for much. But indeed, it came to little. And when you brought it home, notice it wasn't the devil. It wasn't the Republicans. It wasn't Saudi Arabia. It wasn't those that own the oil. It wasn't Obama. It wasn't Ronald Reagan. Notice. You look for much, but indeed it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why, says the Lord of houses? Because of my house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. You're just worried about you and your life and your stuff and your world, your job, your house, your money, your I don't even want to say that word. I'll get in trouble. You're thinking that you're something. And the house of God lays in ruins. The people of God lays in ruins. The church throughout the world lays in ruins. Because of my house that is in ruins, well, every one of you runs to his own house. I got no time for witnessing, no time for praying, no time for giving. I ain't got no time for nothing but myself. And I'd ask you today, is that true with you? Isn't that true? Isn't that true? And it's God Almighty that says that He blows upon us. And the strange thing of it all, that God has to chastise you and do all of this stuff for you. because of the promise that he made to us in Jeremiah 32. Now let me end with Jeremiah. That the Lord's doing all of this to you, just so he can do this, show you how sick we really are, how wicked that we really are. That God has to do all of this with Midianites, Amalekites, Amorites, beat you down, take your money, take your health, Take your job, take your friends, take your house, take your clothes, take your car, absolutely destroy you. Send you into dens, cowering in the darkness. He's got to do that to you in order that he can do this. Just to show you how sick you really are. Jeremiah 32. Ask yourself, do you want these two verses to be true of you, as opposed to the dens and the darkness? Here's the two, as Elijah said, I know it's stretching it a little bit, choose today who you say, which deal do you want here? I'm just taking the principle for that, right? I'm not expositing it, I'm not being dogmatic. Don't say, well, that's not the context. I'm just taking your principle. Here's two things. Which do you want? Haggai, that the Lord's blowing on everything. Or would you prefer Jeremiah 32 verses 40 and 41? And I will make an everlasting covenant with them. This is God speaking. I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from doing them good. Okay, let me see. Your sin as opposed to God not turning away from doing them good. But I will put my fear in their hearts. Isn't it that you don't have a fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom? I will put my fear in their hearts. Why? See, don't explain away fear with that, well, you know, reverence. I will put my fear in their hearts. Why? So that, for this reason, for this purpose, that they will not depart from me. See, I can get right to the bottom of your problem. If you're involved in all this wickedness, the fear of God is not there. You're not afraid of God striking you dead on the spot. As soon as you go to touch that, you're dead. But with a reverence for God, of course. I will put my fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from me. Question. Has he put that fear there? Verse 41. Yes. Remember, this is God Almighty speaking. Verse 41, yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good. Here's God chastising you, beating you down as opposed to, yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good and I will surely plant them in this land with all of my heart and all of my soul. Like I said, you see how wicked that we are? God has to send Midianites, Amalekites, Amorites, and every other kind of ite in your life and bring you into the darkness of these caves in order that because he has made an everlasting covenant with you. Everlasting. Not until he brings you in that dark cave. He brought you to that dark cave because he has made an everlasting covenant with you. If he don't bring you to the dark cave, there hasn't been an everlasting covenant. He made an everlasting covenant. He brings you into the dark cave when you're in sin. He chastises you in order that he would not turn away from doing you good. You heard the law preached, and there's the gospel. He would not turn away from doing you good. And never forget that doing you good It's not because you repented, not because you turned from your sin, not because you did X, Y, and Z. It's because of Jeremiah 31, lest you forget. I don't want to put you on a worse righteousness system. Well, I repented and I considered. Now, he's going to do me good. He's going to do you good because of Jeremiah 31, 33 and 34 in closing. But this is the covenant. that I will make with the house of Israel." Don't forget what Ephesians says. We were excluded Gentiles at one time. We've been brought in. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, says the Lord, I'll put my law in their minds, I'll write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother say, know the Lord, For they all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity. I will forgive their iniquity and their sin. I will remember no more. Because Jesus Christ came to die for the sins of his people. And brothers and sisters, I would beg with you, I would plead with you, to consider your ways. Which is more reasonable, a dark cave, a Midianite oppression, or the God that says, I want to do you good? And not only do I want to do you good, I'm going to rejoice. God Almighty is going to sing praises of doing you good. Did you ever look at God in that light?