This journey with Jeremiah just brought us to depths and heights we didn't dream possible in this life. And yet through it all, how many know God remains faithful? Amen. When the scripture tells us that he is the anchor to our soul, mark it down. Mark it down. because life can take you and just... And in the midst, the anchor holds. Praise be to God. Amen. So thank you, brothers and sisters, those who have prayed for us, those who have sent us letters and financial support, and those who actually came to Waco to stand by our side, to support us through this incredible journey. I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You know, when you go through something like this, it's one thing to go through it alone, but how many know it's a real blessing when you have a support system. Amen? And we're very grateful for the body of Christ and for the church of the living God. And so, again, thank you. For today, we're going to go on a little bit of a journey. I know it may seem random. But there are certain, I guess, thoughts and some truths and some principles I'd like to share with you of what has come out of this journey of faith with Jeremiah. You know, what can we learn? What can we glean from this incredible experience that somehow through the suffering of a 16-year-old boy, it has literally Traversed the globe it has touched the nations of the earth. I Mean, I don't know how many nations we have heard from but there are there are several but I will tell you every continent on the earth Somebody knows a little bit about Jeremiah Thomas and you know, we could sit down and for a gazillion years and try to come up with some strategy and script that could match a what God has done through this incredible journey and not come close to what Christ has accomplished through the life and the death of our son. And so I want to begin. I think the last time I was here, I ended with a dream. It was a strange one. And I'm going to begin with a dream and not that I'm given to dreams and Visions, how many know they are rare? They do happen. How many know God does speak through dreams? Not everything is a dream from God. But at the beginning of this year, I just want to share just how faithful and good God is. Because I went away to fast and pray in January. That's what I do every year. I offer to God the first fruits of each year. to try to discern the mind of Christ to get vision for the new year, how we're going to love, serve and obey God for the new year. And while I was away, I had a dream and it really wasn't a dream like I saw stuff. It was a dream where I heard something repeated over and over and over and over again. The entire night was basically one passage of scripture put in repeat mode. And that scripture was Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. How many are familiar with that passage of scripture? Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path. So just imagine. The whole night long, that's all you hear in your dream. And so when I woke up and when I got home, I called my wife, said, honey, put your seatbelt on. We are in for one heck of a ride this new year. Just knew it. I knew at the very beginning of this year, God was going to demand a greater trust in him that we have ever given to him in times past. Well, the very next day, after that dream, after that word, a man that we were working with, Pastor Matt and I were working with, discipling, mentoring, a representative by the name of Dan Johnson, who was our point man, introducing a bill of abolition in the state of Kentucky, the very next morning, he took his own life. committed suicide It was enough to break the heart and take your breath away. And so I said aha Now I know why God was demanding trust Because it was a devastating blow To our service and what we've been sewing and and working for just Taken out Little did we know what was coming our way with our son Jeremiah. It's like just when you think this is that, and then you find out to a great distress, you're not even close to what's going to be demanded of you. And so our trust level had to increase dramatically. But what do we glean from this? How many know God has foreknowledge? Amen. He has foreknowledge. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the beginning and He is the end. And as I told a young gentleman last night, God is dealing with each of our lives according to that knowledge. He knew you before you were born. He has already seen the last breath in your body. And He is treating you right now according to His foreknowledge. who is sufficient for these things amen so what can we glean well Isaiah 55 8 & 9 how many familiar with that passage of scripture that's where God talks about his ways are not our ways his thoughts are not our thoughts he talks about as the heavens and High above the earth. So are his thoughts and ways above us And I can remember, you know, whenever we go through a tough time whenever we go through a struggle Whenever there's danger whenever there's a sense of loss. How many know we like to tell God is business You ever do that you're going to offer your counsel to Almighty God and You ever do that? You ever try to cut deals? Because, you know, all along, as we're going through this great trial of affliction, it was sort of like hope against hope that God was going to miraculously heal our son. Amen? How many prayed for that? Constantly, we did. And as things began to digress, and it was getting more despairing and more dark, We were just thinking okay, you know, and I'm and I'm making these deals with God I said don't you see it God? This would be so awesome. And you give him my my son this worldwide platform I mean people are following a story like a Netflix binge. They can't wait for the next episode That's what it was like believe me hearing from all over the nations of the world and Lord how great your name will become how wonderful how awesome it will be if you reach down from heaven and you answer our prayers and miraculously raise him back up and just crush this cancer obliterate it so he'll get run and walk and declare that I'll live and not die declare the wonderful works of my God I mean that's an awesome idea what great counsel I gave the Lord And how many know that wasn't his mind? See, brothers and sisters, you and I, we see in a mirror dimly. And I don't care how wise we are, how much knowledge we have, how much wisdom we've obtained in this world, even on our best day when all pistons are firing, we see in a mirror dimly. How many know our God has the whole picture? He has the whole picture. And one thing we can trust, all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purpose. And how many know when you're going through things, it's so hard to see the goodness of it. Amen, but I can guarantee you this brothers and sisters though. We see in a mirror dimly The day will come When we cross that line this race In fact when when Jeremiah was dying when he was breathing his last I can tell you this everybody was breaking He was surrounded by his family with there was sobbing there was wailing there was weeping Can I tell you what I was doing? When my son was dying, I was cheering him on. I was cheering him on, son! You're crossing the line! You made it, son! You did well! You died well in the name of the Lord! I am proud of you, son! And see, at that point, you've got to understand, the whole perspective dramatically changed. I can guarantee you right now with Jeremiah as hard as his death wasn't it was a hard excruciating death Believe me when I tell you the will to live is strong in a being Death is an enemy we recoil from it and we want to survive and we want to thrive God put that in us as living creatures And it's hard to relinquish it It's difficult. It's a struggle But how many know Jeremiah has a different perspective right now No matter what we're going through brothers and sisters I can guarantee you this One day we're gonna look back and we're gonna have one word for it Perfect and the thought is going to hit us, of course it had to be this way. What were we thinking? Well, we were thinking limited thoughts with a limited view. But we have Almighty God, whose ways are what? Not our ways. Whose thoughts are not our thoughts. And that's where faith is mighty, mighty important. Amen. Number three, random thought, but deliberate. Know your calling, brethren. According to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, 26 to 31, I'm giving you scriptures. You can look them up later, but I want to get through some things here. How many know God loves the underdog? How many know that? That He's kind of partial to those who are vulnerable and dispossessed. The poor. Those who are disadvantaged. We know that throughout Scripture. That He resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. where he sends the rich empty away and raises up the poor to reign as kings and priests in this life. I mean, no, that's the God we serve. And he said, know your calling, brethren. And somehow God takes great pleasure where the scripture says he hasn't called many wise, wise of this world. He hasn't called many mighty or many noble. Now, there are some that are called. But the fact of the matter is, God gets great pleasure in taking the weak things of this world to confound the worldly wise and to bring to naught the things that are. Now, we watched our son, Jeremiah. And if you know much of his story, he was raised in our home. He was a quirky kid. He had sin issues and hypocrisy, like all of us. He was a kid with the feet of clay, just like you and me. But I got to tell you, somewhere along the way, the penny dropped for him. And all of a sudden, instead of earthly dad and earthly mom, you know, encouraging him, discipling him, training him, instructing him, one day Heavenly Father said, Hey kid, everything your parents taught you, it's absolutely true! And he was set on fire. I mean on fire! That never wavered or deviated one second until he took his last breath. Never once! But what happens when you're strong and healthy and on fire and all you want to do is storm the gates of hell? See, up to that point, we're kind of dragging our kids to the battle. Well, something happened where he was dragging us. And he was leading the charge. Praise be to God. But one day he wakes up and says, well, son, we got news for you. You're going to lose your legs, boy. The doctor says, you're never going to walk again. My son was an all-star state champion football player. But you see, son, you got this tumor around your spine and just squeezing it. And you're never going to walk again. And probably out of all the struggles he went through, that was a difficult one. It wasn't the fact that he was going to die. It was the fact, you mean I can't play football again? That was hard. It was hard on him spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. And he had to digest that. He had to struggle with that. But in his state of weakness, see, because he thought the only way that I could effectually serve God is if I take this strength, and I take my health, and I just serve Him faithfully all the days of my life. And then BAM! This hits him and hits him very hard. And so as he struggled, what this might mean, you probably all heard the line, well, I'll just preach from my wheelchair. If that's what it means, if I can't run, if I can't walk, then I will crawl and I will still be faithful to serve my God. I mean, that's a pretty intense deal for a 16-year-old young man to come to that conclusion. Amen? And here's the other thing, brothers and sisters. You know, I've been talking with veterans in this battle, Pastor Matt, Cal, all these guys, Flip, those who have sacrificed so much to end this Holocaust in America and beyond. You know, the dizzying reality which Brings back the truth of the scripture that God takes the weak things of the world to confound the mighty My son in his weakened state from a sick bed from a deathbed accomplished more than my 30 years of sacrifice blood sweat and tears and Again who is sufficient for these things? But I also had to remind my son, listen buddy, this wasn't done in a vacuum. See, my son had a tumor. He had several. But he had one that was actually protruding through his chest. It was busting, literally just ripping his body apart. Coming through. And I tried to give him an understanding of how God is using him on his sickbed. And I said, son, do you see this? The world is seeing the tumor. You are the tumor. That's what's on the outside. And people are being moved and God's Holy Spirit is birthing things in their life. People are being saved. Marriages are being restored. The prodigal is coming home. And God is birthing good soldiers of Jesus Christ in this battle throughout the world because they see the tumor. They see you, son. But what you must understand, inside your body, there is a bigger tumor that the world does not see. And what's inside of you, son, is a picture of those who have gone before you, who have bled, who have sacrificed, who have lost everything in the cause of Christ to end this holocaust. And what the Scripture says is this, Jeremiah, according to Jesus, was sent, listen, to reap for that which you have not labored. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labors. In other words, there is no Jeremiah. There is no testimony. There is no message. There is no charge, unless those who went before Him were faithful. And those of you who have labored for years, your labor is not in vain, because God can take a little 16-year-old boy, and literally reach the world with it. And who is sufficient for these things? Next random thought. James 4, verse 14. And that's where James, a very wise man, said, but what is your life? But a vapor. I can remember bringing my children to our stove purposely and just putting a bunch of water and watching it heat up and so that it would steam. And then I would turn off the stove. And guess what happened to the steam? It just dissipated. And so is our life. See, what we saw through the plight of Jeremiah, we saw a lot of young people instantly sober up. See, when you're young, and you're handsome, and you're pretty, and you got potential, and you got your life before us, you know, all those different things, when we're young, we actually have this idea that we're invincible. We do we got this like this faulty idea in our minds that we're invincible and then all of a sudden something or someone like Jeremiah comes along goes BAM and the delusion is broken and It is a delusion by the way See when you're young young people and There's promise. There's potential. It's a time to develop and mature and grow and gain and accumulate. Hopefully you're gaining wisdom and maturity and experience. But I'm also telling you, there is a time where you're climbing that hill and you're gaining and you're growing and stuff like that. You hit a plateau in life and then it's downhill. And you know what life is all about then? It's not gaining. It's losing. A lot of goodbyes. Thankfully in the Lord for those who are saved, it's a temporary one, but it's still a painful goodbye. So there's a time where we gain and there is a time where we seriously lose everything until we lose our health and our Life. This is the nature of life. It's fleeting. Men, even at our best, the scripture describes us as grass that grows like a flower in the field, and what happens? Just like in your yard, it gets mowed down. And we appear no more on this earth. I mean, that's a pretty sobering thought. It really, really is. And this is why Moses, in Psalms 90-12, this is what he prayed. He said, so teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Young people, old people alike, listen, time on this earth is a precious commodity. Precious. It's more precious than wealth. It is. It is. And so you've got to ask your question. What am I doing with the time that I have been allotted? Because the Scripture tells us that there is a day approaching where all men will face. It's appointed unto men once to die, and then comes the judgment. And between here and that appointment, what are you going to do with your time? So many people squander and waste the time that God has given to them on this earth. So many of us live for the temporary. We make temporal investments for temporal rewards and very little of us live with eternity in mind. And this is the thing you have to understand. You've got one chance! One opportunity! this life to do your best for your king see what you have to understand there's no do-overs it's not like cartoons where people run off cliffs and go oops take two none of that this is it brothers and sisters this is it And I just want to encourage you, spend and be spent for the cause of Christ. What are you holding on to? What are you holding back? Because I promise you this, you make the eternal investment. You get the eternal reward. Amen. All right, just a couple of more random thoughts that are very deliberate. Amen? How many know a little bit about Job? I was telling my wife today, I studied Job, I studied Ecclesiastes, I love these ancient books, oh my gosh, they're so real, so true. And with all our science and technology, how many know we can't improve upon it? These guys knew something. They knew something about God. They knew something about the nature of life. And everything they says, it's reality. It's just reality. And you can't improve upon it. You just can't. So you all know the story of Job and all that took place. And in Job chapter 1, verse 21, he makes this incredible statement. Naked, I came into the world. And how are we leaving? Naked. Yeah, my son was dressed in a suit. He looked pretty good. But the fact of the matter is, we came with nothing. And we're going to be leaving the very same way. So all that we've accomplished, all of our materialism, all our wealth, all those things. I mean, that was a great struggle for Solomon, the wisest man in the earth. He goes, man, I'm knocking myself out for fame and fortune and wealth. And I'm going to die just like a dog. I mean, he really struggled with that. him to his core. What am I knocking to myself out? Vanity, vanity, all is vanity because I accumulate all this stuff. I gain all this stuff. And when I die, I don't know if a fool or a wise person is going to inherit it. And right after he says Job, naked I came into the world, naked I leave, the Lord, what? Giveth, and the Lord taketh away. And our responses? How many know most people's responses? See, most people sin and make unwise decisions, and when we get hit with consequences, what do we do? We rage against the heavens! And we blame God! How do you know that's how we roll? Thank God Job had a different perspective. The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord. And this is how it works, guys, because we're human, we've got feet of clay, we've got a sinful nature. We will praise, we will sing, we will glorify God when He is blessing us. When the world is as it should be, the song says, no problem singing praises, no problem worshipping God, no problem being grateful and being thankful to the Lord. But what happens when he starts taking away stuff? What happens when he takes away someone that is so near and dear to your life that you would have given your life to save him? What do we do then? Blessed. Be the name. Of the Lord. How many know in this life is this is a time where we learn, we grow. We get educated. But I'm just going to tell you from the bottom of my heart. Your Christian education is not complete until we, like Job, can honestly say from our hearts, in a true heart of faith and love, though you slay me, I will trust you. Though you choose to slay me, I will trust you. And why is that so powerful? Why is that so strong? See, the scripture says we overcome the devil. We overcome this world by the blood of the land, by the word of our testimony, and not shrinking back so much as to shrink away from death. See, if we are dead men, in Christ and we live fully unto Him. How many know you can't bribe a dead man? You can't intimidate a dead man. You understand what I'm saying to you? So many Christians are intimidated and being bribed! Why? Because they're still alive unto themselves and not unto the Lord. See, for us to be effectual in this battle that is raging for the souls of men, the lives of children, and the future of our nation, we've got to get over the suffering issue and the death issue. We've got to get over it! We've just got to get over it! I know we coil from it, we don't like it. I don't like pain. I don't like sorrow. I don't like suffering. I don't want to see my son go. I want him to be here right now with me. I didn't ask for this. But like the saying is, it is what it is. And I mean, oh, we got to deal with this. And we got to deal with it in a proper and right way. Otherwise, it will destroy us. See, guys, listen, you got to understand something about life. And what God has done and put us in this here, it's not the attack, it's not the persecution, it's not the trial, it's not the struggle. It's none of that. It's how we respond to it that makes all the difference in the world. And it determines victory or defeat. How many besides me, you want to emerge victorious in Christ Jesus our Lord? Amen. All right. What time is it? How are we doing on time? Yeah, this side door is saying kill him and this guy go preach on. Oh, thank you, buddy. May you receive a prophet's reward, misunderstanding, jail, beatings and things of that nature. I always like drinking in front of the congregation. All right, how many of you watched the homecoming service? Wow, that's a lot of you. When it came to Jeremiah's viewing and the homecoming service and the gravesite service, I really initially did not want to say anything. I was going to let others do the ministry. And thankfully, Pastor Matt came down and did a tremendous job at the homecoming service. And by the way, the local news station was there and filmed the entire homecoming service. And guess what they kept in? And again, I couldn't pay a gazillion dollars to make this happen. The portion of Pastor Matt's mini sermon was the governor of Texas made a promise to a dying boy. He said, Jeremiah is gone. He's gone to be with the Lord. And now we await this governor and this legislator to keep their promise. I was blown away. How many know we don't get pressed like that? We don't. And that's the thing you also have to recognize what God has done through our son and his plight. It's the first time in this long protracted war for moral sanity and for righteousness and justice to be restored in the land is the first time abolitionism was put in a heroic and sympathetic light. Do you understand what that means? Guys, we've been at this for decades and we are always presented as the scumbags of the earth. We are the most hated and despised people on the planet. And then somehow, through the plight of our son, Fox News is calling him a hero? What great things has God done in our midst? Incredible! Well, at the homecoming, I did decide I wanted to give a charge. to the young people. How many young people here are 21 years old and younger? I want you to stand up, please. Just stand up real quick. Pretty healthy church. Hallelujah. You can sit down. Young people, do you remember the essence of the charge I gave to the young people? How many remember the essence of the charge? Some of you. Well, at the funeral, there was probably close to 2,200 to 2,500 people. And way over half were young people. And when I called them to the altar, it literally, I mean, it was packed. It was packed up front in all the aisles. It was just packed. It was a sea of young people. And young people, I want to remind you of the charge that I gave. And this is what we must understand. We serve a God, our great Lord, who can take what the enemy means for harm, redeem it, and turn it to the great good. He is the God who can bring life out of death. He can bring life out of death. And how may know there is no other God little G on the planet that can do that? Because all the gods of men are simply idols and demonic spirits masquerading as little gods The point of matter is this I challenge the young people with this truth See when the penny dropped for my son He completely abandoned himself to the will of God. When I tell you, he would give his all on the football field. My son was absolutely fearless. Fearless! That's what you get when you have four older brothers that pummel you your whole life. It worked to his good, I can tell you that much. When the penny dropped, he set his face like flint to love, serve, and obey God no matter what the cost. And little did he know the cost was going to be his very life. And again, he didn't waver. He didn't deviate until his last breath. I promise you that before God. Well, here's the thing, young people. And this is what I told the young people there. The baton has fallen from his hand. The sword and shield that he wielded into the battle has been dashed to the ground. And so my question to the young people is, who is going to pick it up? Who is going to pick it up? Who's going to pick up the baton and continue to run the race of faith? Who's going to pick up the sword and the shield to continue to fight this battle? And praise be to God, I think the majority of young people raised their hand. And I just challenge them, young people, be done with lesser things! Be done with it! The whole American pop culture crap! Seriously! Talk about time! Time! Video games? Seriously? See, the big deception about video games, especially for a young man, is it gives them the sensation that I achieved something in life, when you haven't done anything in life! Nothing meaningful! But it tricks your mind. Oh, I'm awesome. I went to the 32nd level. I've only been in my basement for 24 hours. Doesn't pay the bills, mom, but hey. Y'all tracking with me? I hope so. Young people, here's the deal. What did Jeremiah know? What did he give his life for? He knew that America had made a covenant with death. He knew that covenant of death produced a culture of death that was savaging his generation. He knew this. And he also knew the solution, the gospel of the kingdom. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and I'm telling you when that hit he unsheathed that sword He took up his shield and he stormed the very gates of hell Now young people again, you're young you're strong you're handsome you're pretty Hopefully you're smart And even if you're not, God can still use you. I want to encourage the young people. Take up the sword and shield. Take up the baton. Continue running this race. Continue to fight the battle. And there's the last thing I want to share, and we'll end. I actually preached this at the abortion mill the other day before I met with the feds. Young people, there are enemies from within and from without you're going to face in life, but none so formidable as death. Even saved people who know the Lord. How many want to go to heaven, but you just don't want to die to get there? Death is a scary thing. Make no mistake about it. In fact, death in America, we don't even want to discuss it anymore. That's why we're so addicted to entertainment and stuff, and this is why men, they have midlife crises, You know, turn in the older model for the new model, and I'm just talking about cars here. You know, Ernest Hemingway, oh my gosh, you know, I'm getting old, I can't have sex. Listen, the Scripture tells us that death is something that our enemy, who has come to kill, steal, and destroy. He uses it to torment the souls of men. How many remember that movie, What About Bob? What was his name? Sigmund? The kid? And Bill Murray's in the bed, and he goes, we're gonna die. We're all going to die. And they're like, ooh, ooh. Well, the fact of the matter is, if we actually take the time and think about it, how many know that's pretty intense? It is. So what's the truth when it comes to that reality of death? Brothers and sisters, we serve a king. His name is Jesus. And he took that full cup of death and he drank it to its very dregs. Now, when you look in history and you think about kings, right? How many of kings had cup bearers? What was the job of the cup bearer? You eat the food and drink the wine to protect whom? The king. What kind of king do we serve? What kind of king is this? That instead of having the peasants drink the cup for him, what does he do? He drinks the cup for us to make sure the poison of sin does not pass in to us and destroy us. See, this is why the Bible can brag, death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory? I've read that so many times and I'm like, oh my gosh, what are you talking about? Think about it. How many souls have been on this planet since time memorial? Billions and billions and billions and billions and billions and billions. Smart, handsome, strong, intelligent. And every single one of them have gone up against the enemy death. And who has won every single time? In fact, right now, young people, we can get all of our weaponry, all the nations of the earth, right? We can get our nuclear bombs or hydrogen bombs and we can go up against death. And who's going to win it? Death. Every single time, except once. One man. The God man. Took on death. and took Him down, took Him out. And that's why you and I don't have to fear that hole in the ground anymore. Because He has passed through, He has conquered this, and He bids you and I to follow Him. The Scripture says if you believe on Him and the words that He has spoken, listen, He says you have already, already passed from death unto life. And so what is the glorious good news of the Gospel of the Kingdom? Death is not the last answer. Life is. In Jesus' name, Amen. God bless you saints and thank you for having me here today.