the younger ones to go with Mrs. Schwartz to the creche. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. All right? You can go to the creche. And the rest of us, open up our Bibles, please, to Jeremiah chapter 38 and 39. Or if you have a church Bible, it's page 833. Jessica, we're glad you're here today. Welcome. And so good to have you visiting with us. But great to see everybody. Again, thank you. for all the hard work that went into the last three weeks. It hasn't been busy. June's been very busy, but I thank God for what God's helped us to get done. Have you ever put your trust in something you really shouldn't have? Something that you were relying on and it just didn't happen? When I think about that and I think about my youth, my kids might be able to guess where I'm going when I talk about a little girl that was a neighbor girl that lived not that far away and she promised me that she would give me a radio-controlled airplane. And I dreamed about it. I just knew little girls don't lie. And so I was going to get this really nice radio controlled airplane. And the fact that I'm 42 and almost 43, and I still remember that, shows that I set my heart upon it and I shouldn't have. Because it failed. There's a lot of things in life that we can set our faith in. A lot of people trust their finances. But markets go sour. The market can be good at times, and then all of a sudden it crashes. It's unexpected. People that are trusting in that, they don't know what to do. They can't cope because their life has just fallen on the rocks because the financial world has fallen. Some people trust in their health. But then sickness comes, or injury. We had a broken thumb in our family this past week. The unexpected happens. It might be a car accident that just changes somebody's life, or a diagnosis that really changes somebody's life. It happens, and if we're trusting our health, then us and our world has fallen. Family. Trusting our family. Sadly, we've known some young people recently that their life is really hurting because their mom and dad have gotten a divorce, or there's been heartache in their family, or it could just be a breakdown of a relationship that you thought was a really strong relationship, and not even maybe family oriented, but you're trusting in that, and that could be misplaced trust. Government. We've got right now Brexit or no Brexit or Brexit or Brexit referendum take two. We don't know exactly what's going to take place there and who's going to be the prime minister. We're down to two candidates and how long is that going to last? Will there be a snap election and how's it going to play out? Indyref too. Is that going to happen? Is Scotland going to get a second opportunity to go for independence? And so if we're trusting in government, it's a little bit shaky as well. But in our text this morning, We've already read a phrase in chapter 39, verse 18, where God says to Ibn Malik, He says, Because thou hast put thy trust in Me. God's going to do something for Ibn Malik because Ibn Malik trusts in God. And if I could just give you the summary of what I want to preach on this morning, it's this. Put thy trust in Me. Put thy trust in Me. God will never let somebody down. It doesn't matter who you are today or what your life's at age-wise or anything about your life. If you'll trust in God, that is well-placed trust, and God's going to answer that trust. There's going to be a reward for that trust in God. So let's pray. We're going to look at three audiences today with putting their trust in God. We're going to look at the world. First of all, the world ought to trust God. We're going to look at the servants of God. Certainly they should trust God, but they might be going through it for God, and they've got to trust God as they go through it. And the last one I want to look at this morning is new converts. New converts need to put their trust in God as well. So we'll get to that after we pray, and we'll see what the Lord does here. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the grace that you give. And Father, we're thankful that we can trust in you. And Father, as a church, it's a blessing to trust in God. As an individual, it's a blessing to trust in God. As a family, it's wonderful to trust in God. And Father, as we come before you just now, that is our dependence. Lord, I pray that the Spirit of God would take control of this service in every way. Father, that it not be anything that man says or man does, but the Spirit of God speaking. And Father, we love our families. We're thankful for our children. Thank you for each one that's here. Lord, we commit that, if there's noise today, we commit that to you. That's fine. Lord, that happens. But I pray that the Spirit of God would give us grace to attend upon the Word of God without distraction as far as our soul's connection with God. And Father, I pray that there would be in the heart of every person a sense that God is speaking to me today. And Father, certainly what we're going to talk about applies to everybody. And Father, it's what we need. I can't speak without your help. Father, I ask that the Spirit of God would loosen my tongue and my heart and my mind to follow your leading. And Father, I pray that what is preached would be preached with the authority of God. with the grace of God and the love of God, and Father, you see fit to do good work. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Alright, put thy trust in me. And so we're going to start with the world. The world should put its trust in God. But you know what? Our world is prone to unbelief. And I can almost sympathize with them. When I stop and think about the average person that is coming past us in life and just is out there, maybe with even animosity towards God or animosity towards the things of God, I can almost be sympathetic to their situation of unbelief. That it's so hard for them to believe today. Why? Because there's a lot of things that are false. There's a lot of false information that is being put out. And so we have things today like fake news. It's hard to know. We all understand there's media bias and you see it. If you get on any media news entity, you get a sense of do they lean to the left? Do they lean to the right? And so there's these different things taking place. This past week, the U.S. and Britain have said that Iran put mines on the tankers in the Gulf of Oman. If you follow that and the conflict that's potentially boiling up there in Iran with the nuclear ambition that they have. and U.S. pulling out of the treaty and posturing that's taking place. And so the U.S. and Britain very clearly said this was the work of Iran as they did this, these shifts. But Jeremy Corbyn, opposition leader and the labor leader, comes out and says Britain should act to ease tensions in the Gulf, not fuel a military escalation that began with the U.S. withdrawal. from the Iran nuclear agreement without credible evidence about the tanker attacks. The government's rhetoric will only increase the threat of war. And so we've got the credible military intelligence, US and Britain, saying one thing. On the other side, we've got the labor leader saying, no, that's not the case. And so people are confused. And there is kind of a sense of, who do we believe? Who do we believe? Who's right? There's fake science that's out there. And it all starts with millions and millions of years ago. Go to the National Museum and walk through those halls. It's a great place, beautiful place, incredible what's there. But as you walk through, it's millions and millions of years. Millions and millions of years. Millions and millions of years. And that idea that life does not come from God has affected this idea that young people have. And I talked to teenagers and I was shocked to hear them say, life does not begin until birth. I'm like, wow. Life doesn't begin until birth, but you have a preemie that was just born that was like 22 weeks old or something like that. I forget what the size was. It was incredibly small. And that child lived. So that was a child as a preemie at 23 weeks, but another baby is not a baby until they're born. And so you have these things being promoted and put out there, and people are believing these things. They say, you know, the Bible, by the way, says life begins at conception. Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, and I ordained thee a prophet, the Bible says. And David said, I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvellous are thy works. In thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. Saying, the blueprints for my life, the DNA for my life, was there before I ever was born. We've got people today being told, there's no such thing as a boy or girl. It's confusing our children to think that this idea that there is no gender and that you can choose your gender. And there's that confusion that makes in the heart of that child about their identity and accepting their identity. Am I what God made me to be or not? There is no God, they say, because we're the product of science. I had a guy, praise God, got saved six years ago, but he's disillusioned about God because of what he's heard. And he said this to me this past week as I saw him again. He said, how can I believe in God when the Bible is so proven wrong, is what he said. And I could have argued with them, the Bible's not proven wrong. Yes, you're right. What is being touted as science and put into our schools as fact is a fiction and it's made up by men and their idea to try to understand life without God. And you're right, it totally contradicts what the Word of God says, in the beginning God created. But I can understand why somebody struggles with faith when we've got these things out there. There's false religion. tainting men's view of God. I've got people that say religion causes all the problems in the world. And they're thinking about Islam and what's taking place with suicide bombers and things, and that's religion. And they look at the Catholic Church and the scandal that's taken place, and they view that as a true church, and so they think that that has to do with God. They see on the telly guys ripping people off and stealing their money for faith healing and making money and merchandise and flying big planes and having big houses. And they look at that and say, why would somebody want that? Charlatans. And so again, you can understand that. There's going to be a difficulty for somebody to come to faith in God. But on top of all that falsehood that's out there and all those things, there is also in the heart of that person, whether they acknowledge it or not, there is a heart that is against God. There's a heart that has rejected Him. We've got scientists, I read this past week, that have these huge listening devices. Have you seen them? And they're trained on space. And they're zeroing in on these distant stars, and they're listening, and they're listening, and they're listening. Here's a quote from the article. The article said this. The band said, It's really quiet out there. That's a quote. Yeah. It's quiet out there. Why? Because God created here. We could see 14 billion light years away. But it's got to be there. It's got to be there. How can they have such a strong conviction, based on what they can see, that there has to be life somewhere else, but based on what they can see of a design on this planet, and a design in the universe. They reject the idea that there is God. How can that be? How can young people in our schools be taught that explosions make things? That life comes from this plasma and all this? How can they believe that without an explanation that man's heart at its core is a heart that's against God. That's going to take the grace of God to help somebody like that, or anybody in that case, come to faith in God. And so as we look at Jeremiah and his burden is for his world, his people to accept God, and listen, they had been the people of God, they believed in God, but they were still in disobedience to God. What can he do? It was a hard generation. Jeremiah chapter 9, Verse 2 and 3, God says, O that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people and go from them. For they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. They were wicked, and they bend their tongue like their bow for lies. Their tongues were just given to lies. And again, our society is so corrupted by lies. But they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord." Jeremiah was valiant for the truth. God in heaven is angry. God is upset. Judgment is coming on Jerusalem. The king of Babylon is going to come in, and he is God's judge upon this city. And if you'll surrender to him, it's going to be okay. But if you refuse to surrender, as you'll see in our text, you're going to be destroyed. Why? Because they have rebelled against God. They turned their back on God. So you think about this generation, I've said to some that don't believe in God, they kind of think, what's the big deal? It's kind of like this, you go to the National Gallery, and say I had a painting that was in the National Gallery, and a lecturer comes in, and the students come in, and I'm standing there, and I'm looking at my gorgeous creation, and the lecturer goes, this happened when there was an explosion in a paint factory. And I'm offended. Because not only did I do that, but thinking about God creating everything, God also took his son and crucified him to pay for the sins of the world. And men have rejected him. So we can understand today that God has a right to be angry. God has a right to stand as judge over this world. And so, what should Jeremiah say to his world? What would we say, as it were, to our world? To encourage our world to faith in God? Because that's what they need. First of all, put your trust in me, Jehovah, because I am Jehovah. Jehovah. Put your trust in me. I'm Jehovah. Jehovah is the great God. Verse 1, Shephetiah the son of Matan and Gedariah, this is I think chapter 38, the son of Pasher and Juchel, the son of Shalmiah, and Pasher the son of Melchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord." As Jeremiah came to preach, Jeremiah didn't come and say, hey, I've got a good liturgy for you today, or I've got a good moralization for you, I've got a good current event. He came to his people, the world, in his day. He said, I've just got to tell you, I've got a message from God. I've got a message from the Lord, capital L-O-R-D, and that is Jehovah. That is the I Am, the eternal, self-existent God. That is the one who came to Moses at the burning bush, and as Moses was there, he's called of God to go lead Israel out of Egypt. He says to God, why would people follow what I say? Who am I? Who should I say sent me? And so the story is in Exodus 3, verse 11, Moses said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee that I have sent thee, when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt. Ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, I shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, And they shall say to me, what is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying..." He says to Moses, you're going to go unto Pharaoh? You're going to go unto the people? Say, God sent me. God sent me. Why should the world listen to a message that is being preached at Free Baptist Church or a message that is being given by somebody from Free Baptist Church? They should listen because the message is from God. It's from Jehovah. That's why you go into a church like this and a preacher can preach with authority. Why? Because thus saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord. Man needs to soften their heart towards God. Why? Because he is God. He is God. And see, the thing about that today is that God has a right to say what I can and cannot do. And as God, He will judge me for what I do or do not do. So when we're speaking to the world and we're talking to somebody about God, why should they listen? Because the message is from God. The message is from God. Then secondly, put your trust in me, world, because my word is sure. It says in verse 2, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, by the pestilence. But he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live, for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. Thus saith the Lord, this city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it. Now, as Jeremiah came with that message, did the people listen to that message? Did they accept it and say, hey, I get it, what Jeremiah is saying is true, so I accept it. Did they accept it? No. But God said, hey, I'm telling you this, I said it, it shall surely happen. You know what? The king, Zedekiah, is not going to believe God. And he's going to try to get away with it. He's going to try to flee the city and not submit to the king of Babylon like he should. So he runs out of the city, they take him, they take his sons, and they kill them in front of his eyes, and then they put his eyes out. But it would have been well if he had obeyed God. And so the thing is, somebody could think today, hey, I don't believe in God. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. I don't care about God. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Why? Because it shall surely come to pass. See, here's what the Word of God says about God's judgment in our day. Revelation 20 verse 15 says, And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. That's what God says. And I could go today and I could plead with people at their door and say, look, the Bible says this, and they could say, I don't believe in hell, I don't believe in eternal judgment for sin, I don't believe, but it doesn't matter. Why? Because God said it, and His word is sure. Now understand this with regard to hell, and I want to make this clear. Jesus Christ died to keep people from going to hell. So people that want to say, well God isn't loving because God has hell. Well listen, He took His only begotten Son, the innocent Lamb of God, and He died on the cross for the sin of the world so that anybody that wants to get saved can get saved. But what do they need to do? They need to trust God. So when we're talking to the world, our burden is, world, you need to trust God. Why? God's word is sure. I witnessed a man this past week in the posh area of Grace Mountain. Very nice area. He had kind of a jean open shirt and jeans on. He looked quite the guy. He just looked like a classy guy. I'd like to know the guy. He was standing out in his garden and I went to give him a flyer and he just wouldn't take it. And I said to him, He said, I didn't believe in God. And I said, well, where do atheists go when they die? See, hell doesn't disappear just because somebody doesn't believe in it. And with a smirking smile, he said, I guess I'm going to go to hell then. And I said to him, to go there, you have to step over the dead body of the Lord Jesus Christ. See, and that's the thing. Somebody that says, well, God is mean because he has hell. No, listen, his son died so that somebody doesn't have to go there. And so we plead with the world, just trust in God. His word is sure. And then secondly, God's servants should trust in Him. God's servants should trust in Him. Is it warm in here? Are you hot? I'm going to open this. I hope this doesn't blind you, but it might let some air flow in. Pardon the disruption there. God's servants should trust in Him. So we dealt with the world, but now what about Jeremiah? Jeremiah is the prophet, he's the preacher. What about him? And God would say to him, put your trust in me, Jeremiah. I know what they are saying. I know what they're saying. Verse 4 says, Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in the city, and the hands of all the people in speaking such words unto them. For this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. They said, King, he's not interested in what's good. Now listen, he was saying to them, God said it, God's word is sure. And they said, we don't like it. And so they said to the king, let's take care of this guy. You know, Jeremiah's message was not too different from ours. It was a hated message. Let this man be put to death. Let him be put to death. Have you ever noticed that As you speak to people about God, they don't laugh and they didn't laugh at Jeremiah and say, you know, get out of here with your fairy tales. That's funny. That's funny. They don't laugh at it because there's an aspect of the Word of God that hits the heart of man and there's a seriousness and a soberness about it. And so the reaction is not one of laughter. It might be a mocking response that we receive. But it's a hated message. It's despised. They say here, He weakened at the hands of the men, the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them. He's saying He's hurting their feelings. Listen, today, as we talk to people about God, and we talk about what the Word of God says about marriage, and what the Word of God says about creation, and what the Word of God says about sin, what the Word of God says about hell, there are people today that go, that's hate speech. I'm offended. Why? Because again, it's a message that impacts their heart, impacts their life, confronts their life and says, that's not right. It's not right. But you know what? A society that offends the Holy God is not right, are they? See, in our society it's like, whoa, you can't offend somebody. You can't say something contrary. They're sensitive, you can't hurt their feelings. But listen, isn't it going to hurt any man's feelings when he comes up with the reality of, I have offended a holy God? That's painful. But that is true. and for them to be saved, and to understand that Jesus died to pay the price for their sin, and that through the blood of Christ they can be forgiven. They've got to first understand that they have offended God, but it's not an easy message to give. Make sense? And so Jeremiah is going through it. He's stood up for God, and he is hated, he is despised, he is impugned by what they say. For this man seeketh not the welfare of his people, but the hurt. And so the world looks at it and goes, hey, you don't love us. You don't care about us. But you know, the Bible says about Jeremiah, in Jeremiah chapter 9 verse 1, he said, Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I may weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people. If you want to see the Prophet Jeremiah, picture him in the prison that he gets put into, or the place that he gets put into, on his hands and knees, with his hands in his face, weeping and pleading with God, saying, God, be merciful to these people. I know your judgment is coming. God, they deserve it. They've rejected the message, but oh God, save them. He loved them. And people are going to say, well preacher, I've heard you today and you don't love people. Well, if I don't love people, why did I move my family from the United States to another country that we didn't grow up in to bring a message about God's ability to forgive men and to save them from their sin? Why would I sit down on the bench by a homosexual and explain to them in a loving way that God loves them, God cares about them, that there is victory, it's in Christ? Why would I take the time to talk to somebody that's an atheist and they don't want anything to do with God? And you know, listen, I don't personally love beating my head against a brick wall. Why would I take the time to do that? Because I care about them and I want to see them get saved. Why do I want to see this church packed out with people? It's not for the glory of this preacher. I want to see this for God's glory because Jesus Christ died so that men could be saved. They can be forgiven as much as they like their sin, they like the pub, they like their cigarettes, they like their adultery and fornication and lifestyle. As much as they like that and they die without Christ, they'll spend eternity in hell. And I don't want them to. And if we're like God in that, we're burdened about it. But the world's not going to see it that way. And they're going to see it like they did in Jeremiah's day. And so the Bible says in Matthew 5 verse 11, Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. And so God would say to us, put your trust in me. I know what they're saying. If we get offended, oh, but pastor, people are saying things about me, I can't stand up for God. Well listen, put your trust in God like Jeremiah did. People talked about him too. And it was lies, but obey God. And so the servant of God has to maintain that trust in Jehovah as well. Put your trust in me. I know what they're saying. Put your trust in me. I'll be with you. Verse 5. Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he's in your hand. These guys came and said, we want to take care of this guy. He's got a message that is affecting people and it's not affecting them in our eyes well. So we want to take care of him. And so the king goes, he's in your hand. For the king is not he that can do anything against you. Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Melchiah, the son of Hamilech. that was in the court of the prison. And they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water but mire. So Jeremiah sunk in the mire. He's put down into a pit prison. That's what it is. You get lured down into it. He gets down into it and he just seeks in the muck. Have you kids ever stepped in the muck? In a swampy area? We took Duchess over to... Our family went on a walk at Linlithgow Palace and Duchess was with us. We didn't really go for her. It was more for us. But we're walking around Limlico Palace, and on the back side, my wife says, why don't we let her off lead for a little bit? And I thought, well, all right. I mean, she's done pretty well with me off lead, so pop her off lead. And she takes off running. She runs up by the kids, and I see her go, gets to the kids, and goes down the bank to the water. I think, no problem, water, she'll dry. But the problem was that it was swamp muck, and it smelled awful, and it colded her. from the belly down, a dark brown. Well, Dutchess is basically white. So dark brown slash black and white. And a man said as we passed him going to try to wash her off, it looks like she had socks on. Covered in muck. That is gross stuff. I mean, if you ever got down in it, you know it. So Jeremiah is being lowered into a prison. It is awful. It stinks. He's in the mire. This time he can't sit down. It looks like he's going to die. Jeremiah, has God forgotten about you? Has he left you there? Jehovah would encourage him. Let him know, hey, I'm with you. I just read Nate Sane's biography, The Jungle Pilot. He's a man that went to a tribe in Ecuador to a group of people called the Aka Indians. It wasn't a big group. He wasn't primarily there for them. They were a tribal group that was there. They were a fierce tribe. They'd kill everybody. Nobody had contact with this tribe, not even government, anything like that, because they'd be speared. There are other tribes that he's serving. He's a pilot, and he's flying missionaries to different areas of Ecuador. But they get burdened about this tribe. And he and four other men, so we've got Nate Saint, Ed McCauley, Jim Elliott, Pete Fleming, and Roger Udarian. And they decide, we're going to contact this tribe. So they start dropping gifts. And Nate had come up this way with his airplane, where if he went in a circle, the force of the plane would draw a line that they lowered down 2,000 feet. It would draw it into the center of that circle, and they could lower a bucket. It's a bucket drop, and he is the one that came up with it. Going in circles, and they could exchange gifts with this tribe. And so they did that. And they thought, oh, that's going well. And so we're going to move forward in our plans to contact this tribe. And they're working on it. And he said this, as we weigh the future and seek the will of God, does it seem right that we should hazard our lives for just a few savages? As we ask ourselves the question, we realize that it's not the call of needy thousands, rather it's the simple intimation of the prophetic word that there should be some from every tribe in his presence in the last day. And in our hearts we feel that it's pleasing to Him that we should interest ourselves in making an opening into the Akka prison for Christ. He's saying we want to break in because the Bible says in the last days somebody from every tribe is going to be in heaven. And so we want to do this. And as we have a high old time this Christmas, it's Christmas time, may we know Christ Here's the cry of the damned as they hurtle headlong into the Christless night without ever a chance. May we be moved with compassion as our Lord was. May we shed tears of repentance for those whom we have failed to bring out of darkness. Beyond the smiling scenes of Bethlehem, may we see the crushing agony of Golgotha. May God give us a new vision of his will concerning the lost and our responsibility. And they said, we're burdened about that. But listen, they were risking their life. And they knew they were risking their life. But as they went out that morning to begin this project at Palm Beach, they had a landing strip there. They sang, we rest on thee, our shield and our defender. We go not forth alone against the foe. Strong in thy strength, safe in thy keeping tender, we rest on thee. And in thy name we go. And it's this, as they're serving God, they're saying, we're not going out alone to serve God. God is with us. The Bible has said this, for I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what men shall do unto me. So we know, as we trust God, that God is with us. Then third, put your trust in me, Jeremiah. I am in control. Verse 7, I am in control. Now when Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs, which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon, the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin, Ebed-Melech went forth out of the king's house and spake to the king saying, my lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon. And he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is, for there is no bread in the city. Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he die. And so Jeremiah's been abandoned there. He could think, I'm all alone. But God was still in control. There's a man, Ebed-Melech, he's an Ethiopian. He's in the king's court. He has the courage to go to the king and say, King, this isn't right. King, he needs to be set free. He's going to die there. He intercedes with the king, the king says okay, and he goes and he's going to effect the release of Jeremiah. Just when it seemed like no one cared, just when it seemed like no one believed his message, that no one would have the courage to stand up with him, God gave him a convert. Why? Because God was in control all along. See, there's times, and we're going to feel like this sometimes in life, it's just not working out. But God hasn't lost control. God's still involved in it. God's still taking care of that. Nate Saint, again, he was pilot for the group. And where they lived, their base was a place called Shalmara. And he kept contact with radio to Shalmara. And the story says Nate had said he would call at 1230. Ruth Keenan in the house tuned in. Right on the appointed time, Nate's voice came booming through the interference into the loudspeaker at Shell Mirror. He was airborne when he called. He had just flown over Terminal City and was about to land at Palm Beach. He said, I have just cited a commission of 10. It seems like they'll be here for the early afternoon service. Pray for us. This is the day we'll contact you next at 4.30. And what it is, they had contacted the group already, a man and two women, an older woman and a younger woman. They'd already tried to speak with them and entertain them. Now a second group was coming of 10, and they thought, oh, this is the great opportunity that we've been burdened about and been praying about. At 312, Nate's wristwatch was suddenly smashed against a stone and the hand stopped as the muddy waters of the Curray River seeped into the broken case. They had been speared to death. And so that contact never comes. The whole world gets involved and everyone, it seems like it's out of control, this situation. But the world saw something in the lives of these men that impacted them. Because these ladies were not hysterical. They didn't need sedatives. They served meals to everyone. All these men were married. Their wives are there at the main house. When they told them that they'd been killed, the story says Marge and the other wives and Rachel, that's the sister of Nate, accepted the final news that all five were dead in the same spirit they had shown through the interminable days of waiting. They gathered that evening with the children in the living room. while some of the older men present opened the Bible and read various passages about heaven. Military officers and others in the house sat listening. The women were thankful that their men had been faithful to the Lord. Mary Lou went to the piano and began to play the song that the men had sung the morning they left for Palm Beach. Then Betty's clear soprano voice, that's Jim Elliott's wife, took up the words. She sang, we go in faith. our own great weakness feeling, and needing more each day thy grace to know. Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing, we rest on thee, and in thy name we go." What do we see in that story? It's God had not lost control. It seemed like so rough. I mean, the five men had died trying to take the gospel to these people. Had God lost control? No. God showed in the strength that those women had that He was in control even yet. So, servant of God today, are you trusting him? He knows what they're saying. He's with us. He's in control. That's the world. That's the servant of God you need to trust. One last one, okay? One last one. And that's a new convert. A new convert. Needs to trust God. You know, Uber right now is making a pilotless drone copter. Have you seen this? To fly out of New York City to JFK and I guess for a couple hundred dollars you can get on this thing. And I'm looking at this thinking, it's pilotless and it flies. I don't know about you, but I'm not keen on taking the first flight, the second flight, the tenth flight, the hundredth flight. I'm going to be way down the list, alright? I drive a car because millions of people have driven cars. But I imagine it was like this at the beginning. People thought anything over 15 miles an hour, what's going to happen? Time warp or something? And so there's trust that is learned. And we already talked about how hard it would be for the world to trust, but I'm 42 years old and I got saved at five and I've learned in my life by the grace of God that I can trust God. And I've seen that again and again and again and again. But when somebody is just getting ready to trust God, They don't have that experience. So they can't draw on experience and go, oh, I can trust God. They've got to learn by experience to trust God. And so there is a new convert in this story that I'm going to speak about. But the first illustration, and I want to use it as an illustration, is about Jeremiah. Where's Jeremiah right now in our story, kids? He's in the? Prison. He's stuck in the mire. He can't get out. But Ibn Malik has gotten permission from the king to go get him out. And so, in our story, verse 11, Ibn Malik took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury and took fence, old cast clouts and old rotten rakes. These are cast-offs, rotten rakes. He let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. And Ebed Melech, the Ethiopian, said unto Jeremiah, put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armpits, as we say, under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. So they drew up Jeremiah with cords and took him up out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. OK, here's Jeremiah in prison. The old cast clouts are coming down. They smell, they stink, but they're necessary because the rope that they're lowering down would hurt him. And so he's got to have those to pad that and to get in that and to be pulled up to safety. Now, I don't want to speak about Jeremiah as the prophet. I want to just think about it like this. Calvary is God lowering down a rope to mankind. Mankind's in the mire of their sin and they don't realize it, maybe, but they're in terrible danger. It's going to kill them. It's going to destroy them. They need help. Help is up. They can't affect their own release. There's no way for them to do it. The Bible says, by the works of law, there shall no flesh be justified in sight. That means this. I can't do anything to please God to get myself out of God's judgment. But God lowered down through Calvary bloody rags, as it were, that a lot of people are ashamed of. They go, oh man, that smells. I don't like that idea of the blood and the cross. I don't like the idea of a God crucifying his son. I don't like that idea. And they're like, man, I don't want that. But it's the only way of salvation. And see, somebody has to be humble enough to take that blood-stained garment, as it were, of the Lord Jesus Christ and let it go around them so that they can get pulled up to safety. Because that's the only way. See, the only way somebody can be saved today is the way of the cross. It's the way of Calvary. It's what Jesus did. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. It's not in religion. It's not in Scientology. It's not in atheism. It's not in denying God. It's in accepting what Jesus Christ did and saying, God, I don't understand why you love me so much, but I'm going to let you take me up out of the pit. I'm going to put my faith in you. That's a new convert. I know that's a picture, not the story here. That's Jeremiah. But what a picture. And I think the hymn writer was writing about that when he wrote these words. I found a friend, oh such a friend. He loved me ere I knew him. He drew me with the cords of love, and thus he bound me to him. and round my heart still closely twine those ties which not can sever, for I am His and He is mine forever and forever." Is He yours today? Has there ever been a time where you've let God take you up out of the pit of your sin and the destruction of that and the judgment of that? Someday as you stand before Holy God, let Him take away your sin through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. See, Jeremiah came up out of that prison at a point in time. Everybody has to get saved at a point in time. There needs to be a time where God did that in my life. And then we'll end with this this morning. Let's put your trust in me, Ibn Malik as the convert, because I don't forget those who fear me. Why would I say he's a convert? I mean, the Bible doesn't say that in the story, like, hey, here's a new convert, Ibn Malik. Why do I think he's a convert? Because he was in the house of the king with all those that rejected the message. But he stood up and said, I believe the prophet. I believe what he's saying. I believe what God has told us through the prophet. And king, you made a mistake putting him down there. He was willing to suffer for God, if need be, to take a stand for God. See, I would know today, if you've converted to God and Jesus Christ, when you take a stand for Him. And say, I don't care what people say, I don't care what people think. My family may be all against it, but it doesn't matter. My friends may all be against it, but it doesn't matter, because I'm going to put my trust in Him, because I need that. I need to come out of that pit, like we talked about. And when you do that, God's going to rescue you, as he said to Ibn Malik. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I bring my words upon this city for evil and not for good. They shall be accomplished in that day before thee, but I will deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord. See, hell doesn't go away when somebody gets saved. It's just they won't go to hell. Make sense? God's judgment is still coming, but that person is safe. Is that you today? Have you put your trust in Jesus? That's what the world needs, isn't it? They can say, well, I don't care about the authority of God. I don't care that it's Jehovah. I don't care that it's a book that always comes to pass. I don't care. Well, it doesn't matter. They ought to trust God. Because it's true. It's going to happen. And as believers, we stand up for God against a world like that. They're going to say things, and they're going to despise us. We might get put into a prison, as it were, but even there, God wants us to know, hey, I'm in control. And He wants to encourage those that need to come to faith in Him, to just trust in Him and put their faith in Him. Let's bow our heads, please, and pray and commit this message to the Lord. Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit would have His way in every heart today. As believers, we know that the world doesn't want the message of the Bible. But Father, they need it. And I pray that we just keep taking it to them and say, you know, thus saith the Lord, it shall surely happen. And Father, as we take a stand, persecution might come and people might say things. Lord, thankfully we have a lot of religious liberty here in Scotland. But it's being taken away with hate speech legislation and you can't offend anybody these days and tell them in a loving way that there's a God in heaven that's upset with their sin. Well Father, I pray the Spirit of God will give us grace just to continue with the message, because they need it. And Father, it might be today, maybe somebody is a new convert type thing, where they've never put their faith in Jesus, they've never taken Calvary to themselves. But Lord, maybe today they make that decision to trust Christ. And so if you just keep your heads bowed, nice closed for a second, I'd just like to ask a question. And the question is this, Are you somebody that needs to take Jesus Christ as your Savior? If you were to think about it, you've never put your trust in Jesus, what He did on the cross, when He died for you. You've never asked Him to forgive you of your sin and save you. If that's you today, you'd like to indicate by upraised hand, Pastor, I acknowledge that, I need that, I don't have that, and I just want you to pray for me. My prayer for you won't save you. But I'd like to pray and ask God to help you know how to get saved. And I'd like to, after church is over, take a Bible and show you how to be saved. But if that's you today and you'd like to acknowledge that with just raising your hand, would you do that just now? Just raise your hand. Nobody's looking around. I'm the only one with my eyes open. If that's you today and you'd like to accept Christ, praise God. I see that hand. Amen. Anybody else? Praise God. And with uplifted hand, those of you that know for sure that you are saved, that you've accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you've done that in the past, you're rejoicing that, you know for sure if you died you'd go to heaven, would you raise your hand? Praise God. Alright, you can put your hands down and let's pray. Father, I praise you for the grace that you give. Lord, thank you for speaking to hearts today. Lord, it's warm. For some reason it's a sleepy day. I know that. I felt it myself. We've been busy as a church. But I appreciate the attention that's been given to the Word of God. Father, for this one that raised their hand indicating a desire to be saved. Father, we pray that today would be the day of their salvation, that they'd leave this place absolutely convinced, because of the Word of God, that they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, and that they're willing to take that embarrassment, as it were, of the cross, and that identifying with the shame of Jesus as He died for their sin, that they're willing to take that stand for Him because He loved them that much. And so, Spirit of God, would you bless and guide that one to Christ? Would you encourage us and our trust in you? And Father, have your way. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Amen. Let's stand, please. We'll sing, He leadeth me, 4-6-0. A hymn of invitation, 4-6-0. He leadeth me, O blessed thought.