Jeremiah chapter 33. We left off around verse 16, and so we start out with verse 17, and this is in the midst of the Messiah's coming, the King is coming. And we looked at verses 15 and 16, and when the King comes, He's going to bring peace. He's going to bring safety. He's going to bring judgment. He's going to bring righteousness. And this King will also be an everlasting King. is talking about the coming of the Messiah. So in verse 17, notice what the Word of God says. God's Word says, For thus saith the Lord, David shall never want or lack a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel. In other words, God's promising there will always be someone sitting as king for the house of Israel. Here is the promise. But now remember, they are in the midst of going into captivity and going into exile. The city's being destroyed. You can imagine what the Jews are thinking. But God's promising a king who is coming. You remember the promise was given to David over in 2 Samuel in chapter 7. The promise was given to David, and he repeated it in Psalm 132. Let me just repeat that. You're very familiar with 2 Samuel chapter 7 and down in verse 11. that how God's going to bring the king in, and he's coming through David's line. In Psalm 132, David kind of repeats that. It says in verse 11, The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David, he will not turn from it, of the fruit of your body will I sit. upon your throne." So there was coming a Messiah. Verse 12, "'If your children will keep My covenant, My testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon your throne forevermore.'" This King that's coming, He's going to be an everlasting King. That promise was also given over in the book of Isaiah chapter 9. You remember in Isaiah chapter 9, down in verses 6 and 7, the Word of God says, For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end." In other words, his reign is going to last forever and ever upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. God's promising that. But in Jeremiah's days, you no doubt had to go into the Jews' minds, what about the kingdom? It's crumbling right now. As a matter of fact, you look in chapter 34, And notice it says down in verse 2, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Go and speak to Zedekiah, king of Judah. Tell him, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken and delivered into his hand. And your eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with you mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon. In other words, you're going into exile. Now, I want you to skip over a few chapters, chapter 39. Chapter 39, and notice how this is fulfilled. In chapter 39 and down in verse 6, the Word of God says this, Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes. Zedekiah watched as the king of Babylon was killing his sons. And as he's watching that, The Word of God says, also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. Moreover, he put out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him with chains to carry him to Babylon. In other words, the last thing Zedekiah saw was the killing of his sons and the nobles of Judah. Now, if you imagine losing your eyesight, and the last thing you saw in losing your eyesight was your sons or your daughters, your family being killed, that had to be burned in the memory of your mind. What were the Jews thinking concerning this? Look down back in chapter 33 and look in verse 23 and 24. The Word of God says moreover the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah saying, Considerest thou not what this people have spoken saying? Listen to what they were saying. The two families which the Lord hath chosen, he hath even cast them off." In other words, the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. "'Thus they have despised, my people, that there shall be no more a nation before them.'" In other words, the people are saying, God has failed. He has promised an everlasting kingdom. He has promised someone sitting on the throne of David forever and ever and ever. Here, they're going into exile. They're going into captivity. The king is being taken captive also. God has failed. In their minds, they think God has failed His promises. Now, let me ask you just, we are human too. You ever thought God has failed you? Maybe like in praying at different times, maybe through a sickness or death, And maybe you, it might have been a short period of time, but maybe you just cried out and thought, God has failed. You know, we're human. We doubt. There are times we doubt. But you know what? It's people who fail and not God. God never fails what He says He's going to do. What He says that He will do. The Word of God says in verse 5, In chapter 34, concerning Zedekiah, it says, but you shall die in peace. Notice God is merciful to Zedekiah. He promises that he'll die in peace. Now, look at the end of the book in chapter 52. Boy, this is really jumping ahead here. In Jeremiah 52, and notice what the Word of God says down in verse 31. And it came to pass in the seventh and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that evil Muradach, king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison, and spake kindly unto him, set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon, and changed his prison garments, and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life. And for his diet there was continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life." Now, what I want you to notice about this, there's a king And notice the Word of God calls him the king of Judah in verse 31. In other words, there's still a king. And he's still on the throne. And God is showing mercy to him. God's at work. Now, look over in Matthew. Boy, I'm going to flip you around a bunch of different chapters and pages and books. Matthew chapter 1. I want you to notice how this picks up in telling the story of how God does not fail. Matthew chapter 1 down in verse 11, Josias begat Jeconias. Now Jeconias is the same king we just read about in Jeremiah chapter 52, who's the king of Judah. And it says that he begat Jeconias and his brethren about the time they were carried away to Babylon. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconias begat Salathiel. Salathiel begat Zerubbabel. And notice the line continues on. In other words, God's working. Even while they're in captivity, God's working. All the way up to the point when Christ was born. Look down in chapter 2 of Matthew, in verse 2. Here comes these, and they're saying, now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, there came these wise men from the east, and they were saying what? Where is he that is born king of the Jews? Here is the king of the Jews, the one who's inheriting the throne. And you remember what was written over the cross on that placard for Christ? This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. And you remember the Jewish leader said, don't put that. He says, I'm the King of the Jews. Remember what Pilate said? What I have written, I have written. That was God's statement. This is the King of the Jews. in Revelation chapter 19, and I can't go over all the verses that kind of emphasize this, but in Revelation chapter 19 and down in verse 16, the Word of God says this, And he hath on his vesture, and this is talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, and on his thigh is written a name, King of kings and Lord of lords. In other words, he is the one who has inherited the throne. He is on the throne of David. And in verse 17 in Jeremiah 33, David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel. There will always be one sitting there on the throne, and he's there today, and he is the Lord Jesus Christ. You know what? Things can come into our lives where we can doubt. We can doubt sometimes when we pray and we pray and we pray, and we don't get an answer, and it seems like God's not answering. Now, you know what, the problem is not with God, the problem is with us. Because a lot of times, see if you can relate to this, don't we treat prayer like a fast food restaurant? Boy, you know what, you go in, you order real quick, and you want your order real quick. If you don't get your order real quick, you're just leaving to go get it somewhere else. We treat God the same way sometimes. You know what, we go to God in prayer, and we shoot up a prayer, and we want God to answer it, and that's it. You know, just boom, boom, I want to answer it. You know what? We need to be deliberate in prayer. We need to be patient in prayer. We need to be enduring in prayer. Be faithful in your prayer life. The problem is not with God. It's our own weaknesses. It's our own infirmities, is what the Word of God says. That's talking about our weaknesses. But yet as a child of God, what the Word of God promises us, in our weaknesses, God is there for us. Listen to what the Word of God says over in Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8 and down in verse 26, likewise also the Spirit helps our infirmities. The Spirit of God who dwells the child of God, He helps our weaknesses. And the Word of God says, because we don't know what we should pray for as we ought. You know what? A lot of times we pray and we pray amiss. A lot of times we pray to consume it upon our own lust. We don't know how to pray as we ought a lot of times, but the Spirit helps our infirmities, our weaknesses there. Because, the Word of God says, the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Boy, you know what? I'm thankful for the Spirit of God intervening on my behalf. There are times I don't know how to pray. I'd like all to pray. But He knows. And He knows my weaknesses. And you know what? He helps me in my shortcomings. Listen to what it says over in Hebrews chapter 4. In Hebrews the fourth chapter, the Word of God says this. Down in verse 15, For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities." In other words, the Lord even helps us with our infirmities, our weaknesses, our failures, and our shortcomings. The main thing here is we fail, but He never fails. He never fails. You know what? You can become discouraged. sometimes when you look at your own life and your failings. I think Brother Rogers shared that more than a time or two. We get discouraged sometimes with our weaknesses, our infirmities, living in the flesh with our frailties. But be encouraged because remember what the Apostle Paul said, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. You know what? Though we might be weak, He is strong. His grace is sufficient for whatever comes our ways, whatever God's put into our path, into our life, God will give us grace to handle it. We might be weak, but you know that's when He is strong. And when we're weak and we can't handle it, you know what? That's when His strength shines through. And that's where He's all the more glorified. He is the King. He never fails. God's reassuring Jeremiah and the people that are going into captivity that He is true to His Word. Not only is he set a king upon the throne, not only is he going to have an everlasting kingdom, notice verse 18, "...neither shall the priests of the Levites want a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to candle lit offerings, and to do sacrifice continually." In other words, this king, this king's going to be an eternal king, but he's also going to be an eternal priest. In other words, here this priesthood, they're going into captivity. You know what the biggest problem with Jews today are? Jews have no one making a sacrifice for their sins. Jews have no place to make a sacrifice for their sins. Think about that. If they don't know Jesus Christ, they've got a big problem concerning Scripture. But here we have a priest who is an eternal priest, just like we read in Hebrews chapter 4 in verse 15. We have not an high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but he was in all points tempted, like as we are yet without sin. In other words, he is our high priest. He is an eternal priest. He is always there for us. This promise, notice what this promise does. I underlined in verse 17 and 18 in chapter 33 in Jeremiah. Notice here this promise is talking about a man. It says there is a man. In verse 18 it says there's a man. This man is Christ Jesus who fulfills these promises. The promises of God are found in Jesus Christ that happened at his incarnation when he became flesh. and took upon flesh." Listen to what the Word of God says over in Hebrews chapter 7 and down in verse 17. I want to go through a few verses here in Hebrews. First, in verse 17, where He testifies, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. In other words, Jesus Christ in His priesthood, He is always a priest, forever after the order of Melchizedek. It says basically the same thing in chapter 5 in verse 6. He said also in another place, thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. A priest forever. Chapter 4 and verse 14. See, and then we have a great high priest that's passed into the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. He is our great high priest. He is the priest for the Levites. In Hebrews chapter 7, notice what it says down in verse 23. Verse 23, they truly were many priests because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death. But this man, Jesus Christ, because He continues ever, has an unchangeable priesthood. In other words, He continues forever and ever and ever. He has always got that office of the priest. You know what? Because of Him, we are saved. And it's because of Him He has made the payment for our sins. There remains no more sacrifice for sins. Our great High Priest has gave the sacrifice. Jews ain't got none. You know what? We can offer that to even the Jews. what Christ has done. He has given us even forgiveness of sins. And that's what the atonement was for in the Old Testament, the sacrificing of those animals. The priest was offering them for an atonement for the sins of the people. Jesus Christ offered Himself for us for our sins. Not only that, but you know what that priest does? The priest intercedes for the people. Isn't that what Jesus Christ is always doing, making intercession for the saints? Jesus Christ is always interceding on your behalf to the Father. He's praying for you. Boy, now that's just good. Now in verse 22, back in chapter 33, Verse 22, God promises, "...as the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the seed of David, my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me." Now, you know what? God has multiplied the seed of David. You know what? Look at the believers. There was one in Dillard's last night. Look at the believers that are all around the world. You know what? That seed is multiplied. Even past the stars of heaven, past the measuring of the grains of sand, out on the beach. Wow. Here's all the redeemed he's talking about. Listen to this. It's the offspring of David. You know what that makes you? You're an offspring of David. Now, you know what that means if you're the offspring of David? Let me give you a little bit of Scripture on that. Listen to what the Word of God says over, first off, in 1 Peter 2 and verse 9. 1 Peter 2 and verse 9, "'But you're a chosen generation, you're a royal priesthood, a holy nation of peculiar people, that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.'" In other words, you're a royal priesthood. Where did you get the royalty from? Through the lineage of David. Now, look over in Revelation chapter 1. Revelation chapter 1 and verse 6. The Word of God there says, He has made us kings and priests. You know what? We are kings and priests. We're going to rule with Christ one day, reign with Him. It's what the Word of God tells us. As we are kings and priests... Now, how do you work as a priest? Did you know you're a priest? Did you know you had that position? Now, what does the priest do? You know what? You minister. Now, how do you minister? You call me a minister? I'm a minister. But you know what? You're a minister too, as kings and priests. You minister the grace of God to people. You minister God's grace wherever you are as you go through the day. You're the ministers of God's grace. Now, listen to the surety of God's promise. Back in Jeremiah 33, look down in verse Back down in verse 19, it says, And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying, If you can break my covenant of day and my covenant of night, and that there shall not be day or night in their season, then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne, and with the Levites the priests and my ministers. In other words, if you can stop it from being day and stop it from being night, then you can stop this covenant. But you know what? I don't know any man that can do that. That's how sure God's covenant is, how certain God's covenant is. You know what? The only way this covenant can be broken is if Jesus abdicates the throne. He's not going to do it. He is the King forever. Here, there's no room. When it comes to how some people believe in evolution, these laws are ordained by God. It's turning night. Look at it. It's getting darker. You can't stop it. It's going to happen because that's the law that God has made. And here, you know, these laws that God has ordained, no man can change it. no matter how hard they try. Look in verse 25 and 26. Thus saith the Lord, if my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth. He's talking about the sun, moon, and stars, and all the rotation, and how far it is, and everything is perfectly designed. You know what? He's undeniable. This don't just happen. This ain't just Big Bang Theory. You know, there's a master design behind all this. Everything functions so perfectly as God has so designed it. He says, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, then I will cast away the seed of Jacob and David, my son or my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them." In other words, what God has proven to Jeremiah, the same thing He's proven to me and you tonight, He is faithful. God is faithful. Just as He's placed these laws in place, God is faithful. Listen to what Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations chapter 3. And verse 22 and 23, and I'll close with this, he says, it is of the Lord's mercies that were not consumed. Because His compassions fell not, there anew every morning, great is thy faithfulness. Here's something that Jeremiah knew, morning was coming, because that's part of God's law. And even so, because the morning's coming, His mercies are going to be new for that morning too. You know what? It's about time to go to bed. Well, not really. For some of you, some of us, it's time to go to bed. Close to it. And you know what? When you lay down, you wake up in the morning, God's got mercies just for you tomorrow. They're new every morning. That's God's laws. He's put in place for us as His children. There is great hope, Jeremiah's preaching, for his fellow brethren and even for us in our day and time. It is good to know the Lord. Let's have a word of prayer. Our Father in heaven, we shout out, great is thy faithfulness. O God of our fathers, your mercies are new each and every day, each and every rising up of each and every morning. And we're so thankful that you are faithful. Lord, you know our weaknesses, you know our failures, our infirmities, and Lord, we're so thankful that you are there as our strength, as our intercessor, as our mediator, as our great high priest. King of our life, O Lord, rule over us. Guide us and instruct us. Teach us to be kings and priests, even right where we are, ministers of grace, for Your glory, Amen.