Well, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 10. We left off last week looking into Revelation 10, and we have the closing paragraph left this morning. And in God's providence, this is an excellent passage for a graduation charge. You don't normally think of the book of Revelation as a place that you would go for graduation Sunday, but it just so works out that you will see how well this fits. God's Word is a wonderful blessing. In fact, there's probably no blessing greater than having God's Word, and yet Bearing God's Word in this world, internalizing God's Word, making it a part of your life, living it out and letting your life be that living sermon, it's a bittersweet experience in this life because it is sweet in its relationship with God. The soul's fellowship with God through faith in God's Word is the greatest experience that any human being can experience. And I'm not overstating. However, experiencing God's word living among those who are rebels, those who are sinners, living out the truth of God in a world of rebellion is a bitter experience. And so, you gotta take the good with the bad when it comes to having God's word at the center of your life. That's what we see here in Revelation chapter 10, verses 8 through 11. Last week we left off speaking about Deuteronomy chapter 29, verse 29, which says, the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. What God has revealed belongs to us and it belongs to our children. Those who we have raised, those that we teach in Sunday school, those that we teach in Awana, we are teaching them all the words of God so that they may do all that God says. Normally, when we think of the book of Revelation, we don't think of it a book that is full of practical instruction. We think of it as a book that is dealing with rather obscure and strange imagery of God's judgment. And yet, the book starts off by saying, blessed are those who keep the things that are written in this book. And that keeping is the idea of doing what is written in the book. And so the knowledge of the future is actually a practical exhortation, a practical command, even though it's not explicitly stated at all times throughout the text as we go from chapter to chapter, looking at the demons from the pit or the angel that comes down clothed with the cloud. Yet in all of that, there is an ethical exhortation that is below the surface. And that's what we as Christians are called to keep and to do, to live in light of the future that God has revealed in this amazing book. Let's go ahead and do a quick review of the opening verses in chapter 10. I'd direct your eyes to chapter 10, verse one. As I read out loud for us the passage that we studied last week concerning the angel and the little scroll. Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud with a rainbow over his head. And his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he said, his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. And he called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down. And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there should be no more delay. But that in the days of the trumpet called to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. When we are talking about all the words of God, whether we're talking about the law, as Moses wrote in Deuteronomy, or we're talking about the book of Revelation, which ends the scriptures and ends with that warning, do not add to what God has put in the book, do not take away from what is put in the book, that is a call not just to preachers like me, but it's a call to churches like us, congregations like us, that we are to hold on to everything that is written in God's word. And that is the reason why we teach verse by verse, paragraph by paragraph, chapter by chapter through the Bible. And good preaching in this fashion, it makes the main point of the paragraph the main point of the sermon. I don't go and read the Bible and say, well, that's good. Let me see if I can improve upon that. Let me see if I can come up with something that's going to be more relevant or more interesting or more powerful. But instead, my job is to take what God has said and to communicate it to you, not taking anything away, not adding anything to it, so that God determines what we're talking about on Sunday morning. And we let him do that through each book, each paragraph. That is what we are called to do, not just as a church on Sunday morning, but then that is to be reflected in our lives. We are to live out all of God's words. We don't pick and choose. We don't say, well that part is socially acceptable, that part is not socially acceptable, so I'll live out that part, but I'll ignore this part. That is unfaithfulness to the Lord. God has not called us to be the editors of his word. He's called us to be the publishers of his word. And it is the highest pride and arrogance to think that human beings could improve upon the word of God. If only it was packaged a little differently. If only this part was more emphasized and that part was de-emphasized. Whenever we start to think it that way, we must rebuke ourselves soundly and say, who are you? Who do you, Timothy, think that you are that you're here to improve upon what God has said or the way that God has said it? Far be it from us to ever have that attitude, and yet we find that we do, and we can't be so proud as to not recognize it in ourselves when we do. We are called to a prophetic ministry as God's people. We are not receiving direct revelation like the prophets did. The gift of prophecy is no longer active in the church, and yet we have the words of the prophets. And it is our job to teach, and it is our job to live, it is our job to let the words of the prophets shape our lives, our mindset, our thinking. so that the Word of God is enacted in the world through us. That's what we are. We are the light of the world. We are the salt of the earth. We are here as those who live the Word of God so that people can see the Word of God in action. That is a high and holy calling. That is what our graduates are called to, and that is what each one of us is set to model before our children and grandchildren. Well, that is the essence of the message that I want us to take that I think is what the emphasis that the Holy Spirit has given in verses 8 through 11. You see, chapter 10 is a chapter that is set up, it's a prelude to what is going to take place in the rest of the book. This mighty angel, as we learned about last week, This mighty angel is an awesome messenger bringing God's word from heaven down to earth. That's what we see in those verses that we just reminded ourselves of. And this awesome messenger has a most awesome message to declare. What was that message? Look again in verse seven. That there would be no more delay at the end of verse six. That the time of grace is going to come to an end. When? In the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled. So coming up soon in history, Jesus said these things must shortly take place. So don't get into the trap of thinking, oh, it's been a long time, it's probably gonna still be a long time. Jesus warned us not to adopt that mindset. But he said, be ready, be ever watchful, be like those servants who are waiting for their master when he comes home from the journey. And so, when is it going to happen? It's in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel. You look at chapter 11, verse 15. Let me remind you what is there. In 11.15, it records the seventh angel blowing his trumpet. And what immediately happens is the announcement of the kingdom. There were loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. And the rest of the chapter fills out that awesome announcement of the kingdom of God coming to earth. God's will being done on earth as it is in heaven. Chapter 10 is the prelude. It's setting up the trumpet call. It's getting us ready. It is providing that dramatic tension for the final showdown between good and evil at the end of this age that is recorded in these chapters. And when it talks about the days of that trumpet, that's not just one day, it's not just one moment, but the seventh trumpet is the herald of the end. And everything that happens from this point on, from 1115, until the establishing of the kingdom is the mystery of God being fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants, the prophets. This is the first, here in chapter 10, verse seven, of a series of anticipatory statements building up to that final resolution at the end of the book of Revelation. For example, we just looked at chapter 11, verses 15 and following. Look also at chapter 12, verse 10. Chapter 12 verse 10 has another one of these statements announcing the end. It says, and I heard a loud voice, a lot of loud voices in this book, in heaven saying, now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God." Another statement about the impending doom of Satan and the world that is following after him and the establishing of God's everlasting kingdom. Again in chapter 14, chapter 14 verse 7, you have another loud voice, this angel. He said with a loud voice, fear God and give him glory because the hour of his judgment has come and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water. Everything the Old Testament prophets were talking about, everything that God has been working from the beginning of the Bible up until the end in his conquest of sin and death and Satan. It's all coming to its head here in this final part of the book. And that's why the book of Revelation is so exciting. That's why the book of Revelation is so dramatic. That's why the book of Revelation is where our hopes are set upon the return of the king. Now, we see here in Revelation 14, the third of these big buildups, or the fourth, I should say. And then there's one more in chapter 15, verse one. Chapter 15, verse one. So this seventh trumpet blast, it's going to bring about the final wrath of God, the final resolution of God's long war against sin and death and evil. And it's going to bring about all that the prophets hoped for and promised about God's coming kingdom. So that's where we are in the drama. But before we get into that, you see we still have some stuff before we get to chapter 11 verse 15. And I want to read with you now the rest of chapter 10, where we left off. So it's the same location, we've got the angel standing on the sea and on the land, we've got John there listening and writing, and then verse eight. Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land. So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, Take and eat. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey. And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And I was told, you must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings. So, what is chapter 10, verses eight through 11 about? It's about the bittersweet nature of bearing God's word in this world, in this evil age that we live in. that it is a sweet thing to have God's word in our mouth, but in our stomach it is bitter. And what exactly that all means is going to be unpacked as we read about the experiences of the prophets who came before John. Notice John is in the line of the prophets. He says in verse 11, you must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings. And so the prophets experience was a sweet experience. But it was also a bitter experience, and we can read about this in the books of the prophets and in the history of the prophets and the apostles in the New Testament. So, that is going to be what then becomes our application, that for us as well, as the people of the book, the people who live out and proclaim the message of these prophets, we are also going to have a similar bittersweet experience with God's word. It's good for us to recognize that going in. Let's focus in on the little scroll that is in the hand of the angel. This was first introduced in chapter 10, verse two. In the first half of the verse there, it says that this mighty angel coming down from heaven had a little scroll open in his hand. We didn't talk much about the little scroll last week, because it didn't factor into the chapter until we get into verses eight through 11. But he introduces it here in verse two, And now he's ready to talk more about it in verse 8. So in verse 8, he is told with this voice from heaven to go and take that little scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the land and the sea. And then it unfolds from there. Now, the little scroll is little for two reasons. One, it's little in comparison to this angel who is towering in the clouds, has got his foot on land and sea, that is ruling over God's creation as God's messenger, his authoritative messenger. So it's little because the angel is so big, but it's also probably little because John is going to eat it. And you can't eat too much at once, and so it's a little scroll. for John to be able to eat it. And I think in the vision he literally eats the scroll. It's like a dream. And the dream is picturing the internalizing of God's word, God's message. So the little scroll is in the hand of this mighty angel and the voice of heaven tells him to go and take it. Now, if you and I were to see a mighty angel whose face was shining like the sun and who was crowned with a rainbow, had pillars of fire standing on land and sea, we might be a little hesitant to go up and talk to him. But John does not hesitate to carry out the command of heaven here because of the authority that heaven's voice carries. that if heaven tells you to go up to a mighty angel and take his book away from him, you go and take the book away from him, because no matter how mighty the angel is, God is greater. Now, there's some question as to whose voice is this from heaven. Look at the text. It says, the voice that I had heard from heaven. And so this is a reference back, and what was the voice that he had heard from heaven? Well, that was back In verse 4, when he was about to write what the seven thunders had said, he heard a voice from heaven saying, seal up what the seven thunders have said. And so people have wondered, is the voice from heaven another angel that is telling John what to do? Or is it the direct voice of God that is telling John what to do? And you know what? The important thing to note is that in the end, it doesn't make much difference. because the angel is delivering the message of God. So whether it is God speaking directly or whether it is God speaking through one of his messengers, it's still God speaking. That's the point. And that's an important point for us because that's the big idea of our application this morning. that it doesn't matter who the messenger of God's word is. It doesn't matter if he is eloquent. It doesn't matter if he is attractive. It doesn't matter if he is charming. It doesn't matter if he is good or bad. What matters is the message. Is it God's word? If it's God's word, then you give the respect to the message, not to the messenger. Now I'm not saying we shouldn't strive to be worthy messengers of God's word. Certainly we should. But I want to exhort you, do not despise the word of God when it comes through a messenger that you might be tempted to despise. It is the Word of God that has authority. It is the Word of God that has power. And you must respect and tremble at the Word of God, even if it's brought to you from a little child. If a little child comes and rebukes you for your sin, accept the authority of God's Word and don't despise the messenger. So whether it's the voice of the angel or whether it's the voice of God, it comes with heaven's authority, it comes with God's authority. And that's the way it is with us as well. The world doesn't recognize your authority. The world didn't recognize John's authority. Caesar thought that he could banish John to the Isle of Patmos, and that Caesar was the one who was in authority, and that he was the government, he was the power, he was the rule, and John was just some lowly peasant from Palestine. But John was not just some lowly peasant from Palestine. John was a prophet of the Almighty God. He was an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ who raised himself from the dead, who is the creator of heaven and earth. And that's the way it is with us. You might not look very impressive, you might not be somebody in this world, but if you are a son of God, then you have glory, you have authority, you have power, whether people recognize it or not. And when you go out into the world and you tell people the authoritative and powerful message of the gospel of God, well, it's not about you, but it's about your Lord. It's about your master. It's about the one who has given you this message. And that puts you in a very important place in this world, whether people recognize it or not. You see, we can preach a lot from this text. Now, when John is told to go take the scroll, he simply responds, Can you picture this? John going up to this mighty angel and he's like, give me the little scroll. The angel, he is completely submissive to God's will. He knows that God has issued this command, and this is why he's brought this little scroll down to earth. And so he responds and tells him, take and eat it. So not only does he give it to him, but then he gives him further instruction. And this further instruction is also from God. So John has a voice from God, and he goes and tells the angel. The angel has a message from God, and he tells it to John. And all of this is happening according to God's will, among God's servants. That's how we should view our lives and one another. Those who are God's servants, doing God's will, carrying out his word. And so he told him, eat it. Now, eating God's word is something that we see throughout scripture as a metaphor for internalizing the message, making it a part of you. We still use terminology like this in our world today. We talk about devouring books. swallowing it whole. And that idea of taking in God's Word, or anything for that matter, any kind of communicative material, art, media, books, all of that, we devour it. And so that's the way it is with God's Word here. He's told to not just eat it, but to devour it. It's a strong word that is used. Now, Eating God's Word is something that all of us do, according to Scripture, but in particular, I want you to look at a couple of examples in the Old Testament prophets. So let's turn back from Revelation, and we're gonna go back to Ezekiel. The major prophets in the Old Testament, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and we're gonna go to Ezekiel chapter two. Ezekiel was a post-exilic prophet. That is, he lived after the time that Jerusalem was taken away into exile by the Babylonians. So it's God's judgment upon the people for her idolatry, for her rebellion, for her breaking of the covenant. And so Ezekiel actually lives among the exiles. And he is called to be a prophet of God during this time of God's judgment upon his people. And here is his call to ministry in Ezekiel chapter two. Let's pick it up there in the first verse. After the vision of God's chariot throne moving to and fro throughout the heavens, then God addresses Ezekiel. And he said to me, son of man, stand on your feet and I will speak with you. And as he spoke to me, the spirit entered into me and set me on my feet and I heard him speaking to me. He said to me, son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants are also impudent and stubborn. I send you to them, and you shall say to them, thus says the Lord God. And whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house, they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words. Though briars and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions, be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. and you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear. For, says it again, they are a rebellious house. Was it easy to be a prophet? Were people like signing up left and right? Oh yeah, I wanna be a prophet. Only the false prophets were signing up left and right. The ones who were making up their own message. The ones who were telling the people what they wanted to hear. The ones who said, oh, no disaster's gonna come upon you. God is very pleased with you. God loves everything you're doing. Just keep on going. Those were the prophets who were signing up, and they were getting applauded by the people. But prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, who actually spoke the word of God, it was tough. It was not a fun job. There were days where they wanted to quit. Notice what it says in verse eight. Here we have it, Ezekiel 2, verse eight. But you, son of man, That's him saying, human, I am God, you're just a human. Listen up, human, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I give you. See, that's what Revelation is drawing upon, the same imagery. And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me, and it had writing on the front and on the back, and what is it? There were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. Well, it sounds a lot like the book of Revelation, does it not? What have we had in the book of Revelation? Judgment after judgment, disaster after disaster, death upon death, and lamentation, mourning, and woe. That's not a very fun message to bring to people. God is not pleased with you. You are a rebel. God is going to judge you for your sin. There's going to be death and destruction for you and your family and your nation. People don't like that message. But God said, You tell them my word whether they listen or not. Though they have scorpions that they're going to torture you with, you just speak my word and you don't be afraid. That was the call of the prophet. And the prophet had to eat God's word. He had to internalize it, make it a part of himself so that the message was wrapped up in flesh. If you want to send a message, wrap it up in a person. And that's what God did when he had the prophets eat the Word of God. The Word of God became a part of them. They were the ones who were carrying it with them at all times. And it came out of them from their own very being. That was the kind of messenger that God prepared for himself. So, John is doing the same thing in John chapter 10 that Ezekiel did in chapter 2 and chapter 3. Let's take a look at the beginning of chapter 3. It continues, Just as John ate the scroll and then he had to prophesy of nations and kingdoms, so Ezekiel ate the scroll and then he went and spoke God's word to the kingdom. So I opened my mouth and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. There is nothing as beautiful and as good as God's word. It is so good for the soul. It is food for the soul. You take it in and your soul is just like, yes, finally. I've been feeding on ashes and dust, things that can't provide any nutrition. And we talk about not providing any nutrition, just look at our grocery stores. And we've been feeding on all this junk. And then you eat something that is full of good. Nutrients. Something that is full of life-giving vitamins. And that's the word of God. It's food for the soul. Think about some of the places in scripture that talk about this. We'll come back to Jeremiah. Psalm 19, where we had our scripture reading this morning. More to be desired are they than gold. That's God's commandments, God's word, God's instruction. It's even much better than fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. There was nothing sweeter in the ancient world than honey. And that is the picture that God uses for his word nourishing our souls. And again, in Psalm 119, which we didn't have as our scripture reading this morning, but I encourage you to read Psalm 119, And you can come away with some appreciation, some better appreciation of how valuable, how important the Word of God is. The longest chapter that God gave us in the Bible is a chapter about how important the Bible is. That's got to tell you something. So Psalm 119, 103 says, how sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. So that was the experience of Ezekiel. When he ate it, in his mouth, it was sweet. That was the experience of the psalmist. That was the experience of John the Apostle on the island of Patmos. In the vision, he eats the book, and in his mouth, just like the angel said, it is as sweet as honey. I hope you've had that experience. sitting down, opening God's Word, ingesting it, and having it be sweet to your soul. But that's not all the Word of God brings into our life. There's also a bitterness that is there. We've already gotten some hint of that bitterness looking into how God commissioned Ezekiel as a messenger. You're going to go out into the world, and it's going to be tough to bear God's word before the rebellious house of Israel. You're going to go out into the church, and it's going to be hard to bear God's word before the rebellious sheep in the church. You're going to go out into the world, and it's going to be hard to bear God's word before the world that is in rebellion against him. Don't think you're going on easy street if you're going to go into the world as God's messenger. Just the opposite. There's a bitterness here that John and Ezekiel and Jeremiah knew about. Let's go back to that verse in Jeremiah. Come back to Jeremiah right before Ezekiel and chapter 15. Jeremiah's a long book and it's not a very happy one. Jeremiah was living in the days right before Ezekiel. He's about a generation older. So if you dads and grandpas that are here, Jeremiah would be like the young kid sitting in the church and you're the old guy. So Jeremiah is living right before Jerusalem is destroyed and during that time. And he is known as the weeping prophet. Because all the other prophets, the false prophets, they're saying, oh, God is on our side. God's going to destroy those Babylonians. He's going to protect his temple and his city. And we've got this as a word from God. And Jeremiah comes along and says, uh, I don't think so. I think we're gonna get destroyed. I think we're gonna get judgment. I don't think God is on our side. I think he's turned against us and we're gonna be ruined and our children are gonna be killed and taken off as slaves. And everyone says, shut that guy up. He's ruining our morale. He's spreading disinformation, hate speech against us. And they're ready to get him killed. And it's not easy to be a messenger of bad news. So Jeremiah, coming in chapter 15, pick it up there, In verse 10, the ESV titles this section Jeremiah's complaint. Notice what it says there in verse 10. It's like, I don't owe them money, but they still all hate me. The Lord said, have I not set you free for their good? Have I not pleaded for you before the enemy in the time of trouble and in the time of distress? Can one break iron, iron from the north and bronze? So Jeremiah's pitying himself and he's replying how God has comforted him in his sorrows and his troubles. And God says, haven't I been there for you? I'm protecting you, and yet Jeremiah is still miserable. And he says, your wealth and your treasures I will give as spoil without price for all your sins throughout all your territory. I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know. For in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever. This is God's message to the people of Jerusalem. So now we come to verse 15. Oh Lord, you know, remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors, those who have burned his books, those who have thrown him into the pit to die. He says, in your forbearance, take me not away. Know that for your sake I bear reproach. So there's the sweetness, right? But notice the bitterness in verse 17. I did not sit in the company of revelers, nor did I rejoice. I sat alone, because your hand was upon me, for you had filled me with indignation. Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail? This is probably the best passage for showing that bittersweet nature of being a prophet for God, speaking God's word of judgment to those who refuse to listen to it. But yet, that's what we're supposed to do. John wrote in his letter, 1 John 2, verse 14, you can write it down, 1 John 2, verse 14, writing to the young men, young men who are growing up, young men who are graduating, young men who are going out into the world. John said in his letter, you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. See, that's what your calling is in this life, men, to be strong, to have the Word of God abide in you. That's what it means to be strong, to have God's Word abide in you. And that's what enables you to overcome the evil one. May there be lots of heroes that the young men in this church can look up to and see those who are strong, who have the Word of God abiding in them, who have overcome the evil one with his temptations, with his intimidations, with his persecutions, with his accusations, doing what's right without fear, speaking what's right, having not a coward soul, but having a courage and a boldness to be a man in the midst of a bunch of cowards. They're all around us, don't be like them. Don't be like the coward Christians who compromise the message, who take out anything that is offensive, who only speak peace, peace, when there is no peace. John also records the words of Jesus in John chapter 15, where Jesus said, You see, what does it mean to abide in Christ? It means that his words abide in you. His words were found and you ate them. They became a part of you. They became your identity. They became your strength. You are what you eat. We say that. Eat God's word. Eat God's truth. Become a man of truth. That's what you do. That's when you are a powerful person of prayer, like the Lord Jesus Christ. Then you can ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Let's look at John's commissioning. Come back to Revelation chapter 10 and verse 11. John was commissioned in chapter one. He was told to write what he saw and send it to the seven churches, and that's what he's been doing for the first 10 chapters. Now in chapter 10, he is recommissioned. He is told in chapter 10, verse 11, you must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings. Notice the authority of God's prophet. He is the one who prophesies about. He is the one who speaks the word of God to nations, to kings. The United States is not above God's word. The rulers of the mightiest nations, those in charge of the army, the generals, they are not above God's word. We as God's people, his prophetic people with his word in our hearts and in our lives have an authority and a power that is over those who are government rulers. Doesn't mean that we are disobeying their commands, doesn't mean we don't recognize their sphere of authority. They have their sphere of authority, we have our sphere of authority. When it comes to the laws of the nation, we obey them, we submit ourselves to them just as the scripture says. But when it comes to the matters of the soul, when it comes to the most important matters, when it comes to the spiritual authority, we are superior to them. We have a spiritual authority over the nations, not because of who we are, but because of God's Word. When God's Word is in us, we speak the Word of God with power and authority, and all that we speak will come true. not one word of God will fall. When we tell the nations that everyone will stand before God and give an account for what he's done, when we speak to the nations, the kings, the governors, the rulers, and tell them, you will stand before God and be judged for your actions and therefore act wisely, fear God and turn away from evil, it will happen. because we are speaking not from ourselves. We're not speaking what we wish would happen. We're not speaking what we've made up and imagined. We're speaking what God has said, and God always does what he says. It's the word of God that is our authority, not ourselves. Now, you see this in the Old Testament prophets as well. In Jeremiah chapter 28, go back and read this. This is an awesome chapter. There's a false prophet, Hananiah, who stands up and tells the people what they want to hear. And Jeremiah, he's wondering, like, where did this guy get this message? Because it doesn't sound like anything that God's been telling me, or the prophets who came before. And so Jeremiah confronts Hananiah, and he tells him, It's the word of God that determines the destiny of nations. You recognize that? The destiny of nations is determined by the word of God, by his decree. And God has told us what the destiny of nations is. We have it written for us in black and white. That's what we're reading. That's what we're studying. That's what we're proclaiming. We're putting it out on the airwaves. And that is what is going to happen. That is about war, famine, and pestilence. And what he says there in the next verse is when the prophet prophesies peace and good things for all the sinners in the world, well, we'll know he's a prophet when it comes to pass because that's not the normal message. You go and you listen to a preacher and he's talking about all the good things that God's going to do in your life and all the blessings that he's going to bring in this present life. And it's like, well, we'll see if it happens because when I read my Bible and what all the other apostles and prophets said was that you're gonna suffer and you're gonna have persecutions and you're gonna have troubles and all the apostles themselves were either beheaded or crucified or sent into exile, but I guess that's not my portion in my lot. Well, we'll find out if it happens, right? If you serve the Lord, God's word is gonna happen. And then God had to come to Jeremiah and tell him, Your suspicion about Hananiah was right. I didn't speak to him. He is lying about my word. And what does God do to those who lie about his word? He kills them. Hananiah died. You don't want to lie about God's word. That's the worst thing that you can do. That's the worst lie that you can tell. You lie about me and what I said. Well, that's bad. I don't like it. But what am I going to do about it? You lie about God and what God has said. That's ground you don't want to walk on. Be careful. Now, as we bring this to a conclusion then, I want to remind you of the authority over the nations that the prophet has. Jeremiah 110, see, I have set you, the prophet, this day over nations and over kingdoms to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. Now notice the last part is positive. There is some building and planting going on, but most of it is the plucking up and breaking down, the destroying and the overthrowing. We have a message of a gospel. We have a message of hope. We have a message of a future. But for those who don't listen to it, most people are going to be plucked up, broken down, destroyed, and overthrown. And there's just a few that are being saved, as Jesus taught, that are going to be built and planted. Well, that's the way it was with the nations then, and that's the way it is with all the people among the nations now as well. Let me say this. The truth often hurts, but not in the same way that a lie does. When we go and we tell people the truth, it's painful, it hurts. People don't like to have their toes stepped on like that. But a lie is hurtful in a different way. The truth hurts our feelings. A lie hurts us in the long run. It hurts us in reality. It hurts us in our destiny. And it's better to go and hurt people's feelings now than it is for them to end up in hell and say, why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you warn me? A little bit of hurt feelings now is better than an eternity in the lake of fire. Truth hurts, but not like a lie. It is destructive in its hurt. And we are called to be the truth tellers. You ever heard of a lie of omission? A lie of omission isn't an outright lie. It's just not saying something that is necessary to understand truth. You leave out the important part. And so you mislead people, not because you've said something overtly false, but because you held out information that would have changed the way they thought about it and the way they looked at it. We as Christians are always tempted to lie by omission, to give people the wrong impression. You go to funerals around and everybody's going to heaven. Everybody's okay, Jesus died, God loves us all, we're all just fine. That's a lie of omission. There's key truths that are being left out there that mislead people to think that they are safe when they are not. A prophetic people cannot afford to be liars by omission. We can't afford to be nice when it comes to being God's representatives in this world. We have to be faithful, we have to be trustworthy, we have to be honest, we have to be forthright. That's what scripture calls us to. Young men, young women, graduates, those going out into the world, one more verse for you here. 1 Corinthians chapter four. It is required of stewards that they be found faithful. I'm a steward. I don't own the Bible, the Bible owns me. It's not up for me to decide how to teach the Bible, how to preach the Bible. It's for me to be found faithful. And that's the same thing for each one of you. You're a steward of the most important thing in the world. How will you handle it? How will you dispense it? Will you be faithful? God doesn't call you to be creative. God doesn't call you to be popular. God calls you to be faithful. Remember that verse. Let's pray. Father, the lives of the prophets are very instructive to us. Ezekiel's forehead had to be made like bronze so that he'd be as stiff-necked and stubborn as the people that he was going to. He'd be as stubborn about your word as they were stubborn about their lies. Lord, may we be just as stubborn for the truth in our day, in our generation, as those who are sold out for the lies, who are giving everything they have, who will never back down, who will fight for their false beliefs. Lord, let us suffer whatever is necessary as those who are in this world without the political power. and let us instead wield the spiritual power of humility, of love, of service, of suffering like Jesus Christ, bearing his reproach, bearing his word, being stubborn and faithful until the end. Each one of us will give an account for ourselves. Help us to be wise and to take this message to heart. Amen.