Flight JER01 - Part A

God has a plan for you and it began long before you were even born. God shows this profit when he was yet unformed. That's how God begins with this phone.

Pretty exciting to know that God shows you way way before you even as the nation of Israel continued nursing and disobedience.

God raised up profits to lead his people back to him today on connect with Skip Heitzig Skip introduces you to the prophet Jeremiah sharing a comforting message about God's great care and concern for you, but before we begin, we want to let you know about a resource that helps you live today in the eternal hope of Jesus resurrection. The aftermath of 2020 has left many of us wrestling with questions about the future and wondering what's next here Skip I think that's a question by the way that people ask anytime there is a catastrophe any kind of catastrophic event causes people to ask the question, what's next. There's a car accident that happens about what's next guy to be able to walk after this disease strikes someone. What's next my going to be sure somebody we love dies, we ask what's next. My going to be able to go on. We want to help you live with confidence no matter what the future holds by sending you a powerful collection of Easter weekend messages from Skip pricing on the hope of the resurrection.

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But I helped him drink his wine goes to show you that musicians really don't have to think through their lyrics to get a popular song is sort of a meaningless set of lyrics and it's very narcissistic to just have a friend just to be able to drink is why been careless about what he says anyway. They said Jeremiah was a bullfrog. Actually, Jeremiah was a bullhorn, this Jeremiah is making strong cries and proclamations to the nation of Judah, principally as well as to other nations. Secondarily he was God's bullhorn announcing to Kings announcing to royalty, announcing to the people who would gather in Jerusalem. What is coming in their future. Jeremiah was both a priest and the prophet he was a priest living in Jerusalem working in Jerusalem when God called about a young age, and he ministered through almost 5 decades between 40 and 50 years altogether.

Some of the kings that he prophesied under the reign of our mention here in chapter 1 he is called God's 11th hour profit because the clock of judgment is about to strike midnight and at the 11th hour, even though other prophets have gone before, including Isaiah 2 no regard, they didn't heed him. Jeremiah comes and repeats that strong message and is a little more emotional with it than Isaiah was he says pleased to King Zedekiah. At one point. Please turn back to the Lord spared yourself spare the city.

It's not too late. But like I said his his cries were unheated as well. Jeremiah's prophecy reminds me of an illustration I read about seems that the wedding took place at the church in the church basement and if you've ever been to some of the old churches and church basements are like the Fellowship Hall is the only extra big room. They have and so because a lot of different meetings take place. This one basement was decorated with different scriptures all around it, usually about God's love and God's mercy and God's patience is that for just reminding people different scriptures, but during this wedding reception right above the wedding cake happened to be the Scripture Matthew chapter 3 verse seven that red flee from the wrath that is to come.

And God perhaps prophetic proclamation of what that marriage might encounter. Flee from the wrath that is to come in an era in which other prophets and false prophets and politicians were trying to quiet and calm the people and say it's all good.

Nothing bad is going to happen. Jeremiah was saying flee from the wrath that is to come. He was the only straight shooter of the bunch else from Isaiah's time, the chronology has advanced, Jeremiah has the grim duty of overseeing the death of a nation.

He predicts it, but he will live through it.

He's going to witness the Babylonians come in.

He's gonna watch as the city is burned. He's going to see people that he loved being taken captive to another land so Jeremiah is the prophet who oversaw the death of a nation. I look at Jeremiah as a tender warrior.

He had a hard message but he was a mix of toughness and tenderness in one person, and that's good, especially for a guy who has to deliver a very hard message somebody once said no one has the right to preach about how who doesn't first weep over and Jeremiah is interestingly known as not just the 11th hour profit is called the weeping prophet and you'll see why next week. More on that later. The book of Lamentations means the book of crying Jeremiah Wright's SEC's Jerusalem being overtaken, and he weeps over and this is why, perhaps, Jesus reminded people so much of Jeremiah. You remember when our Lord said to his disciples who do men say that I am, and of all the people they said the people said reminded Jesus of was Jeremiah.

Some say that you are Jeremiah, Elijah or one of the prophets, and that's probably because Jesus would pronounce denunciation on one hand he would say well when the scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, but at the same time he would turn with tenderness and compassion to those who needed it the most, like the woman caught in adultery. Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem as well as Jeremiah Jesus coming down from the Mount of olives overlooking the city. At one point began to weep.

The New Testament says same Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I would've gathered you as a mother hen gathers her chicks but you were not willing and then like Jeremiah Jesus predicted the destruction not of the Babylonian army, but of the Roman army against Jerusalem Bellamy give you an outline of the book on the slice it up as I did in the book the Bible from 30,000 feet in three simple slices preparation proclamations predictions are Jeremiah's preparation formulated. That's chapter 1, then Jeremiah's proclamations of foretold that's chapter 2 all the way to chapter 50 1X most of the book and then the last chapters.

Jeremiah's prediction fulfill tells the city actually fell, according to what Jeremiah predicted. Now that large section so you have sort of like the bulk of the book that is Jeremiah's proclamations.

You have been to end caps.

His preparation and his prediction in that center core of the book Jeremiah proclaims against two different groups number one Judah, that's that southern kingdom of two tribes. Judah and Benjamin. That's Jerusalem the southern kingdom of Judah, and then finally the other nations around Judah that God would judge because of their antagonism toward Judah and the Jewish people that forms the whole book. So we begin in chapter 1 with Jeremiah's preparation and know this Jeremiah is the author of the book, but the one who actually attended the book was probably his scribe mentioned 21 times in the book a guy by the name of Farouk so so you have to picture a man dictating with an amanuensis that is a scribe or secretary taking down with the prophet would say, or putting together the speeches that he gave or wrote or things he wrote poems.

He wrote, etc. and sort of like an anthology presenting this collection called the book of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah is the one who gave it. But the one who penned it was a secretary named Brooks of chapter 1 verse one the words of Jeremiah, the son of Hezekiah of the priests who were and Anna thought in the land of Benjamin you say words and I thought Anna thought is a little Arab village today called on the top and it's about 3 miles north of Jerusalem. I've only seen it once so much as the little bit of a village, but at that time it was a was a village assigned to the Levitical priests so a lot of the priest, who served in the temple lived there.

Verse two to her, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah's the son of Ammon, King of Judah in the 13th year of his reign. It came also in the days of Joe Joya Kim, the son of Josiah the king of Judah until the end of the 11th year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah King of Judah until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month, so there's a lot of weird names or and I'm actually go over a couple of them in the moment, but what we are told basically is. Jeremiah had a 40+ year ministry.

Jeremiah ministered during the reign of five different Judean Kings.

Not all of them are mentioned here because some of the reign of those kings was so short that there left out of this book, but they are included in the narrative. The second Chronicles 36 second Kings chapter 823 2425 right around there there mentioned in those placed so just a few of the kings are mentioned here, but let me give you a little rundown down south. There was a good king named Josiah.

He's mentioned here, Josiah became king of Judah at a young age. He was a good guy but he became a really great guy when a guy by the name of Hezekiah found a copy of the Torah. The law and the Bible says that the people of the is Judah had not really read the law much up to that point he really didn't know what was in the can you imagine that was sort of their playbook. Sort of like going to a church finding a Bible and nobody will Bible what's in that one. I read that baby had no idea what that's all about finding the New Testament so they found the law and Hill Kia read the Torah in front of King Josiah.

When Josiah heard it.

He tore his robe put sackcloth in his head and said we are in deep trouble because what he just read.

We are violating that covenant.

So unless we repent were working to go into captivity like Deuteronomy 28 and 29th in the law that he just read said so he humbled himself. Ask God for forgiveness reads it to the elders and there is a superficial turning release in leadership, heartfelt turning of the king, but a superficial turning toward God of the people.

That's Josiah, Josiah's dies in battle when Josiah dies in battle.

His son Joe Holland has becomes King Jehovah has is not king very long. He's not mentioned these only met he's he's on the throne for three months barely gets the throne. Warm and he is deposed by Pharaoh NECO the king of Egypt taken down to Egypt place in shackles and put in prison by Pharaoh NECO following me so far with job Josiah followed by Joe Astor, who has is now in Egypt, in jail, in the place of Jehovah has the Pharaoh who took him prisoner put his brother Eli at Kim on the throne.

He's not mentioned here and his wife Pharaoh NECO change the name of Elijah Kim to Joe Joya Kim so complicated to get, he changed his name, probably to show superiority. I am in charge. I conquered use on to make a new name was what king sometimes did so. We have Josiah killed Jehovah has his son three months now in jail. Elijah Kim, his brother now a.k.a. Joe Joya Kim on the throne for 11 years as he is on the throne.

Jeremiah's prophesying over in the East, Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon are gaining strength. Their coming making a move toward Judah. So Jeremiah says Joe I know if he actually said.

Nobody said king King I Joya Kim or whatever you do don't rebel against King Nebuchadnezzar because he looks like he's in a take over the world. So don't rebel while he rebelled, so King Nebuchadnezzar deposed him from the throne and put a new Gyan name Joe Joya Chen using Scripture not making it any easier. I just want to show you a the complications of some of these strategies and what's going on in the world and I'm actually summing up for you the whole intrigue of what's going on with Jeremiah the prophet, so we have a Josiah Jehovah has Elijah Kim, a.k.a. Joe Joya Kim now we have Joya Chen he's on the throne.

Three months and 10 days when because he rebels against Nebuchadnezzar.

Nebuchadnezzar deposed the Sam takes him to Babylon and places his uncle Zedekiah. Don't worry if the last one. Zedekiah is now the vassal king of Babylon. Following me so far. He's in good shape till he rebels against the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar then destroys the city of Jerusalem.

But here's what I want you to know Zedekiah who rebels against Nebuchadnezzar.

Obviously, Nebuchadnezzar and I was in charge of the world, including Egypt, Pharaoh, he wins the battle of Carson mesh another story. Another time, but Nebuchadnezzar knows the king Zedekiah, the last king of Judah has run down to the Jordan. He's taken his family's he's rebelled against the king. But now is running away the king chases him down with his army kills his two sons in front of his eyes and Zedekiah was probably no more than 30 years of age, there was sons must've been young boys. So he kills his two young sons in front of his eyes. Then he puts his eyes out.

He blinds him and takes him as a captive to Babylon so that the last living memory. He would ever see in his life is the death of his own sons. Not so cruel, Nebuchadnezzar during all that time of those kings and intrigue. Jeremiah was being faithful to say Babylon is coming turn to God. Babylon is coming turn to God. Don't harden your hearts turn to God, but the people got harder and harder and harder. Sorry it took up so much time on the names and want you to get sort of the background of how work.

Still, the beginning of chapter 1 verse four then the word of the Lord came to me saying before I formed you in the womb I knew you before you were born I sanctified you, I ordained you a prophet to the nation. Please notice God's view of life in the womb by what he says to Jeremiah indicates that there was a plan for the unborn zygote, the cells have come together now they're starting to divine in divide and that pre-embryonic state when the DNA has just come together and starting to formulate into more and more cells before there is even a formation God says I knew you intimately and I formulated my plan for you. You know we live in a state that flatly goes against the Bible's view on this sacred sanctity of life in the womb. You know that we happen to live in a state that has pushed for in the legislature late term abortion on demand for any reason. And even without parental consent. If you're a minor and even if you're a doctor and you say I can perform that abortion on moral grounds or religious grounds. Though our legislators in the state have been pushing that they have to terminate that pregnancy.

If that person says they wanted. You have no say in it, not you.

Compare that to this before I formed you in the womb I knew you and I ordained you, I sanctified you, I ordained you as a prophet to the nations. I know I may be taking up too much time with this. What is on my heart so Psalm 139 mission read a couple verses to you. David wrote this Psalm, and he said this for you formed my inward parts you covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame that is my skeletal structure was not hidden from you when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed and in your book. They were all written the days fashion for me when there was as yet none of them.

Dave is going to the womb. For an example of God's power goes to the heavens, but he goes now look in the womb because God's view of personhood begins at the moment of conception. And so, a professor in an ethics class presented this dilemma to. He said how would you advise a mother pregnant with her fifth child.

Based upon the following. Her husband has had syphilis. She had tuberculosis.

The first child was born blind. Second child died the third child was born deaf. The fourth child had tuberculosis now with this pregnancy.

The mother is considering an abortion would you advise her to have one.

Most of the students agreed that this mother, this woman should have an abortion and the professor then said congratulations you just killed one of the greatest composers ever. Ludwig von Beethoven. The professor went on to say, those were the circumstances in that family all about to say this got us a plan for you and began long before you were even born. God shows this profit when he was yet unformed. That's how God begins.

This calling was pretty exciting to know that God shows you way way before you even came in the that Skip Heitzig was a message from the series the Bible from 30,000 feet to Skip to share these messages coming your way to connect you and others to the good news of Jesus, the prophet Jeremiah had a tough message to deliver. But he did it with compassion and hope.

That's a lot like the message of the gospel. You have to hear the bad news, but you're a sinner before you can hear the good news that there's a Savior who loves you more than you can imagine, if you want to help share that good news with even more people. I invite you to give a gift right now.

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