JEREMIAH 42009 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Jeremiah 4

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2009. We're continuing here in Jeremiah, and we're looking at the prophecies of Jeremiah, this young man who was called with a very, very difficult ministry.

He was called to pronounce and proclaim the judgment of God upon the nation of Judah. And unlike some of the other prophets that surround Jeremiah, he actually...

gets to see the fulfillment of the majority of his prophecies. And so he's prophesying about the coming judgment and that Babylon is going to come and completely wipe out Judah. And the nation of Judah is going to be left without inhabitants. And the city of Jerusalem is finally going to be leveled.

Isaiah had prophesied these things as well, but Isaiah had died over a hundred years before. Here Jeremiah is in the last days of the nation of Judah, prophesying these things. He's God's messenger, God's last opportunity for the nation to repent. And Jeremiah has the very difficult ministry of sharing the truth with them, and he's

with love and compassion, watching them continue to wind down into destruction. And it is, in fact, that they do not repent, they do not turn, and so Jerusalem is destroyed, just as God said and as Jeremiah prophesied.

And so as we continue in Jeremiah chapter 4, we're picking up in one of those prophecies where God is pronouncing the judgment upon the nation of Judah. We pick it up in verse 5. It says, "...declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say, blow the trumpets in the land. Cry, gather together and say, assemble yourselves and let us go into the fortified cities. Set up the standard towards Zion."

Take refuge, do not delay, for I will bring disaster from the north and great destruction. Here we have God's warning of the judgment that is coming. God is pronouncing a warning. He's calling him to blow the trumpet in the land.

He's pronouncing a warning so that the people will gather together, that they will assemble themselves within fortified cities, well-fortified cities, well-protected cities. Why? Well, because God says, I will bring disaster from the north. The nation of Babylon was, well, it was on the war path.

And the war path, Babylon, was quite a bit away from the nation of Judah. But what Babylon would do is they would follow up the Euphrates River from where they were, and then they would come down from the north upon the area and the land of Israel and all the surrounding nations as well. And so the nation of Judah was facing this threat from the north. Babylon was coming from the north and was coming...

to wipe out Judah and Jerusalem. Now, God says, sound the alarm, blow the trumpet, gather together, join in the fortified cities, take refuge, don't delay. He says, for I will bring disaster from the north and great destruction. And I would ask you to consider this evening, why do you think God would announce the coming judgment?

Just think for a moment with me. Why would God declare ahead of time and proclaim ahead of time this judgment that was going to come? Why would he tell people to take refuge and to go into the fortified cities? Why is it that God would make this proclamation and declaration? It's God who's bringing the judgment.

It's not just that God knows about it in advance. He will go on to say it. It will be quite clear as we continue on in chapter 4. This is the Lord's judgment. He's bringing this. He's causing it to happen. So if He's bringing this judgment, why would He tell them ahead of time? And I would suggest to you this evening that He tells them ahead of time because...

Well, we find it very clearly throughout the Scriptures. God does not enjoy judgment. I know we often think differently, and in our minds and in our imagination, we often picture different things, and we have different pictures of God depending on what's going on in our lives, but God does not enjoy judgment.

It's not his preference. It's not his favorite. He doesn't get excited and giddy and he's not looking for opportunity to judge. He's looking for opportunity to show mercy while withholding judgment for as long as he is able. An announcement of judgment is God mercifully giving opportunity to repent. You see, if God...

got a kick out of misery and making people suffer, well, he wouldn't denounce it. He wouldn't say, hey guys, I'm coming, I'm bringing judgment, gather yourselves together. He'd come upon them suddenly and he'd bring it as a surprise with no notice, with no warning so that then they could be screaming in agony and he could say, ha, ha, ha, ha, that's wonderful.

But that's not God. That's not our Heavenly Father. That's not the nature and character of the God that we serve. The God that we serve will bring judgment. And that is important to understand. Judgment is a reality. And it is a necessity for those who refuse to walk with God and follow the Lord. But when God brings judgment, it's a last resort.

And so he announces judgment ahead of time because he is mercifully giving an opportunity to repent. We see this and I've shared this many times, but it's so clearly portrayed in the prophet Jonah who was given a message to proclaim in the nation of Nineveh. And the message that he was to proclaim was in 40 days Nineveh is going to be destroyed, going to be wiped out. God is going to judge Nineveh.

That was the message. There wasn't, you know, a second paragraph to that message. That was it. Judgment is coming in 40 days. Well, the people responded to that message and they repented from their wickedness. And God relented. The message of Jonah, the message of God through Jonah the prophet,

Although it was a message of judgment, it's an opportunity to repent. And so God, through the prophet Jeremiah, is giving the nation of Judah still more opportunity to repent, more opportunity to turn, to get right with God, to make things right, to cease their wickedness.

Because He's eager to show mercy and He's reluctant to judge. He will judge. And judgment is necessary. The wages of sin is destruction. And wickedness will be paid for. There will be judgment for injustice. It is going to happen. You reap what you sow. It will take place. But God is eager to show mercy.

He's eager for repentance so that he can withhold his judgment. And so he makes this announcement. He says, blow the trumpet, gather together, let everybody know so that they have opportunity to repent. In 2 Peter 3, verse 9, it tells us that the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Repentance.

There Peter is discussing the return of Jesus Christ. And sometimes we wonder, why is it taking so long? And why is it taking so long for Him to return, to come back? Maybe His promise is not going to be fulfilled. Maybe the Lord's slack concerning His promise. But Peter says, no, He's not slack concerning His promise. He's long-suffering. He's not willing that any should perish. He's long-suffering. He puts up.

with people for a very long time giving them time giving them opportunity giving them space to repent because he's not willing that any should perish and so God gives this announcement through Jeremiah he gives this proclamation he says blow the trumpet get everybody's attention judgment is coming from the north destruction is coming see although God is eager to show mercy although he is patient and long-suffering

We should not mistake his mercy and patience for his acceptance and approval of wickedness. This is an opportunity to repent as God gives this announcement of judgment. We continue on in verse 7. It says, The lion has come up from his thicket.

Verse 8, Verse 9,

And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish and the hearts of the princes, the priests shall be astonished and the prophets shall wonder. Here he says, the lion has come up from his thicket, comparing and likening

the nation of Babylon, the king of Babylon, to a lion, a ravaging destroyer. He's come out of the thicket and he's on his way. The events are already set in motion. He's on his way. The course has already been set. Events have already transpired that this judgment is coming. It's on the way. And yet God is still calling for repentance. Repentance.

He says, clothe yourself with sackcloth. Lament and wail. He's calling for repentance, for mourning over sin, over wickedness. He's saying, look, this judgment is going to be complete. The events have already been set in motion. He's on His way and He's going to make your land desolate and your cities are going to be laid waste and the land will be without inhabitants. There's not going to be anyone left.

Now this is something that was unique in Judah's history because the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah, they'd been attacked before. They'd been under siege before. They'd experienced other nations coming against them and desiring to wipe them out completely. But God had always preserved them.

God had always protected them. And even though some nations were more successful than others, God always kept His people there in the land. But this was going to be different. This judgment was the last straw. This was it. This was going to be God saying, I'm going to wipe out the nation completely.

And this land, the land that God had promised to His people, is going to be without inhabitant. And so this was unique. This was different than other times when nations had come against Judah. And so He calls them to lament, to wail, to mourn, because the fierce anger of the Lord has not turned back. This judgment of God is a result of the fierce anger of the Lord against the nation.

For their sin, for their wickedness, for their rebellion. And as they often say, if we don't understand the judgment of God, we don't understand sin. The sin that they were involved in was great. And it was open sin. And it was continual sin. And it was with constant warning and God calling out to them. But they refused. They rebelled against God. And they persisted to the point that judgment was necessary.

They had stored up for themselves the wrath of God by disobeying Him, by walking against Him. And so the fierce anger of the Lord has not turned back. And no one will escape. He says the heart of the kings shall perish. The princes, their hearts will perish. The priests will be astonished. The prophets shall wonder. There's not going to be exceptions to this judgment. Everyone is going to experience it.

From king to priest to peasant, they're all going to experience the judgment of God as the nation of Babylon comes against Judah. Verse 10, Then I said, Ah, Lord God, surely you have greatly deceived this people in Jerusalem, saying, You shall have peace.

Verse 11. Verse 13. Verse 14.

Behold, he shall come up like clouds, and his chariots like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered. Here in verse 10, we have Jeremiah responding, and he says, Lord, surely you've deceived this people, saying, you shall have peace. Now, it's a difficult thing to understand what Jeremiah is saying here. But most likely, he is referring to...

The false prophets. Because the nation of Judah, although they were involved in rebellion and they were involved in idolatry and they were worshipping all kinds of gods, they also pretended to worship the true and living God. And they still came to the temple and they still offered sacrifices and there was still so-called prophets of God, but they were false prophets.

Jeremiah deals with them throughout his ministry and we'll see them throughout the book. And you can look at Jeremiah chapter 23 for a little bit more insight into the message of these prophets. But one of the things that they would say, one of their major points was that there would be peace. That God would not allow this judgment to happen. That God would not allow Babylon to conquer Jerusalem. That God would not allow His land to be conquered.

The land that he had given to his people to be leveled or wiped out. And so the false prophets were proclaiming peace. And God says, no, that's not my message. That's not of me. Here's what God says. There's a whirlwind coming. Now he likens Babylon to this great windstorm.

He had likened Babylon just a moment ago to a lion that was coming. It's out of its thicket. It's on its way. And now he gives another picture to give a better understanding. He says there's going to be a terrible wind. In verse 13 he says, He shall come up like the clouds in his chariots, like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered.

There's going to be great destruction and Babylon is going to come with great fury like a windstorm. Now, windstorms were very dangerous. They are still very dangerous and different parts of the world experience them differently with tornadoes, with hurricanes, typhoons and such. There in the desert, you can imagine a windstorm would be

Well, it would be very dangerous. And it would come and wipe out much of the crops. There was an east wind that would come. Like we know the Santa Anas, right? And we know when the Santa Anas come, watch out, be careful.

Well, they would have the east wind that would come, and the east wind would come and bring great destruction because it was this powerful wind that would rip through the nation. And so he compares it to this east wind. There's this great storm coming. Babylon is coming and is going to bring great destruction. And the people will say, woe to us, for we are plundered. This is the judgment that God is pronouncing. This is the judgment that God is proclaiming.

But look what he says in verse 14. Verse 15. Verse 15.

Verse 18, Verse 18,

because it is bitter, because it reaches to your heart. So as God is making this proclamation, this pronouncement of judgment, He's saying judgment is coming. He calls out to Jerusalem there in verse 14, O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness that you may be saved. Again, when God makes a proclamation, a pronouncement of judgment, it's an opportunity to repent.

The nation of Babylon is on the way. The events have been set in motion. And yet God says to them, Wash your heart from wickedness that you may be saved. We'll see this theme throughout Jeremiah. God speaks through Jeremiah many judgments against the nation of Judah. But He also gives many opportunities for the nation to turn, for the nation to repent, for the different kings that Jeremiah ministered to to turn back to the Lord and

And to be obedient to Him and to trust in Him. And that God would do a miraculous work. But the nation refused. God says, how long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you? The evil thoughts lodged within them. They had built a little cabin. There was a lodge there. And the evil thoughts, they lived there. That was their home. Their heart said,

had been completely corrupted by wickedness. And so he says, a voice declares from Dan, now Dan was far north of Judah or of Jerusalem, it was the northern tip of Israel at its fullest extent. The voice declares from Dan and proclaims from Mount Ephraim, make mention to the nations, yes, proclaim against Jerusalem. Now at this point, all of the nations around Judah had been judged.

They had already experienced what God is saying that Judah is going to experience. Babylon had already conquered all the nations around Judah, surrounding Judah. Judah was kind of the last pocket there in that place, in that area. And so all of those nations around them, well, they were a testimony to Judah. They surrounded Judah there.

And their voices proclaimed, we were judged for our wickedness. We were judged because of our rebellion against God. And this judgment that is coming upon you is because of your wickedness. In verse 18, man, verse 14, verse 18, these are...

Pretty powerful verses. Things that it would be good for us to meditate upon, especially if the Lord is speaking to your heart in these areas. Verse 18, Your ways and your doings have procured these things for you. This is not God just, you know, wanting to stir up trouble and have some fun. This is a direct result of their ways and their doings.

It's a direct result of their life, the way that they've lived, the actions that they've taken, the decisions that they've made. Judgment is always self-inflicted. Judgment is always self-inflicted. Now, we talked on Sunday about chastisement and how chastisement there in Hebrews chapter 12, it talks about it, it encompasses the whole raising of a child,

Not just punishment and correction like we might typically think of with the word chastisement. But chastisement also does include correction and judgment and punishment. And if we as God's children, if God's people like the nation of Judah rebel against him, if our ways and our doings are not according to what he has commanded us and called us,

We secure for ourselves. We prepare for ourselves. We inflict ourselves with the correction that is just and due for the life that we have chosen to live. There will never be a time when people can come back to God and say, the judgment I received was unjust. The punishment that I received was not right. It was not fair. It was not appropriate for what I had done.

In every case, without exception, the judgment of God is self-inflicted judgment. It's brought on by our own choices to live contrary to God's ordinances, His principles, His commands. And so, He tells the nation of Judah, "...your ways and your doings have procured these things."

He says, this is your wickedness because it is bitter because it reaches to your heart. Their wickedness reached to their heart. They were in a terrible position, a horrible place to be, but they had brought it upon themselves because instead of turning to God and allowing Him to renew their hearts and give them a new heart, they persisted in their ways and their doings in rebellion against God and

And now the judgment, the consequences of those actions are being reaped. They're reaping what they have sown. You sow to the flesh, you'll reap corruption, destruction, judgment. You sow to the spirit, you'll reap everlasting life. And so God says, wash your heart from wickedness. Wickedness has reached down to your heart. Wickedness has corrupted your heart. Wash your heart, he says, from wickedness.

Wash your heart. Turn back to the Lord. Now, how do you wash your heart from wickedness? Sometimes it feels like there's like five verses I quote over and over and over again, but they're so important. They're so essential to what we're looking at. 1 John 1, verse 9. If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, to forgive us and cleanse us. How do you wash your heart? You confess your sin to the Lord.

You agree with God about your sin. He says, O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness. They refuse to agree with God. They refuse to repent, to turn from their sin. And God is calling them. He's asking them, look, judgment is coming. This destruction is going to happen. It's self-inflicted. Your ways, your doings has brought this upon yourself. And God is, in a sense, He's begging them

Wash your heart. Turn back to me. Get right with me so that I do not have to bring this judgment that you are bringing upon yourself. God calls for Jerusalem to repent just as He calls for us to repent, just as He calls this nation to repent. He calls for them to repent because of their wickedness and how it had reached to their heart. Verse 19 says,

Here's Jeremiah's response. He says,

Now we started out talking about a trumpet. God says, go, blow the trumpet, make the announcement. Jeremiah cries here. He says, my soul, my soul. It's a painful thing for him because he says, I've heard the sound of the trumpet. Jeremiah hears what God is asking him to proclaim and it's real to him. He's heard the trumpet. God says, sound the trumpet. He says, I've heard the trumpet.

The message is loud and clear. The proclamation, it's real. And it broke Jeremiah's heart. It broke Jeremiah's heart because although wickedness, yes, it needs to be rectified, there needs to be justice. Like the Lord, he did not want to see this judgment come upon the nation of Judah. Although sin must be taken care of, he did not want to see this judgment come.

We see in Jeremiah here this incredible heart of compassion. He mourns over this judgment that is to come. This reflects the heart of God. Again, God is not excited about judgment. He would much rather show mercy. He would much rather that Judah would wash their heart and repent so that God would have an opportunity then to show mercy and not bring the judgment as they deserve.

Jeremiah shows his heart of compassion because he's believed the message of the Lord. And he says, I've heard the trumpet, the alarm of war and destruction upon destruction. The whole land is plundered. He says, how long will I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet? How long will I hear this message, this proclamation of judgment? How long will I endure knowing that this judgment is coming and seeing these people that refuse to repent?

that are bringing God's judgment upon themselves. Jeremiah's heart here is a good challenge for us. And I would ask you to consider this, this evening, perhaps this week, as you have opportunity to meditate on this. You know, as we look at our nation, the wickedness that is reaching to the heart of this nation, the principles are still the same. You reap what you sow. I think it was Billy Graham who said,

If God doesn't judge this nation, He'll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah because of the wickedness of this nation and the direction that this nation is going. The abominations that are celebrated and rejoiced over and proclaimed and there's no shame and right is wrong and wrong has become right. Many parallels that we can see between our nation and the nation of Judah. Started out right, started out well, but has gone far from God.

And so Jeremiah is a great challenge for us. First of all is, do we hear the sound of the trumpet? Do we recognize that judgment is coming? Do we recognize that judgment is self-inflicted? And we will bring upon ourselves the just penalty for the wickedness of this nation. Do we see the trumpet? But not that we would then rejoice and be excited and be happy, but then do we mourn?

Over that destruction that will come to this nation. You know, often we look forward to the rapture and it is great to do so, to be with the Lord. But do we mourn over the judgment that will be brought forth upon the earth? Do we mourn for those? Do we have a heart of compassion for the people around us? Do we have a heart of compassion that causes us to proclaim the message so that people can repent? Do we have a heart of compassion for those who are lost?

In our neighborhoods, in our families, in our workplaces, wherever we go, do we have a heart of compassion for those who have offended us, for those who have abused us, for those who have spitefully used us? Jeremiah here becomes a great challenge for us as he there has this difficult ministry of ministering to the nation of Judah, calling them to repentance and they abuse him.

They imprison Him. They ridicule Him. They persecute Him. They come against Him very strongly. But His heart is broken for them because He can hear the trumpet, the alarm of war, and the judgment of God is coming upon them.

So Jeremiah mourns and God mourns as well. In verse 22 he says, For my people are foolish. They have not known me. They are silly children. They have no understanding. They are wise to do evil but to do good they have no knowledge. God says, My people. This is his people. Those that he called out of Egypt. Those that he called his own.

that He planted there in the land of Canaan, that He had protected and loved and cherished and cared for and provided for and fought for. These are His people. And He says, they've not known Me. They're silly children. They're foolish children. They have no understanding. When it comes to evil, they're very wise. They know all about evil. They know how to practice evil. They know how to walk in wickedness.

They've got lots of wisdom when it comes to that, but to do good, they have no knowledge. When it comes to walking with me, when it comes to having a relationship with me, they're clueless, the Lord says. God's foolish children. Paul the Apostle tells us in 1 Corinthians 14, verse 20, he says,

We're to be mature in understanding. We're to have understanding when it comes to knowledge, when it comes to a relationship with God and walking with God. We're to have understanding when it comes to the judgment that is to come and hearing the trumpet and being aware of our surroundings and what is going on. We're to have understanding when it comes to that which is good. Like Paul said, whatever is lovely, whatever is pure, whatever is good report, think on those things.

Meditate on those things. Have understanding and be wise in those things. But in the things of wickedness, in the things of evil, things of malice, have no understanding. It's okay to be ignorant in those areas. Be wise in that which is good. Be wise in the things of God. Verse 23 says,

Jeremiah here gets this vision of

of this judgment that's coming upon the nation of Judah. And it's as if all creation has been reversed. The earth was formed and the heavens, they had no lights. All of the things we read about in the book of Genesis, it's as if they're reversed. And this vision that Jeremiah has, so complete is this judgment.

that God is bringing upon the nation of Judah, the presence of the Lord by His fierce anger. Similar to the judgment of God that is coming upon this earth in the tribulation period. And it will be very similar. There's the mountains that will tremble, the hills moving back and forth, the birds fleeing, the fruitful land becoming a wilderness and desolate, all the cities being broken down.

This great destruction is coming upon the nation of Judah and the nation of Judah is absolutely clueless. And the false prophets are saying there's going to be peace and this conquest of Babylon is not going to be successful. But Jeremiah heard the trumpet. He heard the word of God. He knew judgment was coming. His heart broke with compassion. The Lord as well, his heart broken in compassion because his people, his children were foolish and they

had no idea, they had no awareness. They were clueless that this severe judgment was coming against them. Verse 27, For thus says the Lord, The whole land shall be desolate, yet I will not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black. Because I have spoken, I have purposed, and will not relent, nor will I turn back from it.

The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen. They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks. Every city shall be forsaken, and not a man shall dwell in it. God says the whole land is going to be desolate. Again, he's demonstrating and emphasizing this is going to be a complete destruction. The whole land of Israel, the land of Judah, is going to be wiped out.

But he says, they're a little ray of hope. Yet I will not make a full end. God always preserves his remnant. And he takes captive people from the land of Judah into the nation of Babylon for 70 years. And then later on, he brings them back to repopulate the land. But in the meantime, the nation of Judah is completely made desolate, just as he said. He says, I purpose, I will not relent. I will not turn back.

the whole city will flee. They'll flee from the horsemen, from the bowmen. Not a single person, not a man shall dwell in it. Verse 30. And when you are plundered, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, though you enlarge your eyes with paint, in vain you will make yourself fair. Your lovers will despise you. They will seek your life.

For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor, the anguish as of her who brings forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself. She spreads her hand saying, Woe is me now, for my soul is weary because of murderers. Here we find at the conclusion here of chapter 4, God says, When you are plundered, what are you going to do? He says, Though you clothe yourself with crimson.

That's why I'm wearing red today. No, I'm just kidding. Though you clothe yourself with crimson, though you dress up fancy and you put makeup on and you paint yourself up real pretty, though you adorn yourself with gold, it will be in vain. Your lovers will despise you. Here God is making reference to as judgment is coming upon the nation, they're trying to do anything that they can to avoid this judgment. And they pretty much try everything except, going back a few verses...

Washing their hearts and turning to God. They try to make deals. They try to make alliances. They try to make themselves pretty and agreeable to this nation that is coming against them. They try to wheel and deal. They have their backup plans and plan C's and D's and what they're going to do in these situations. They think they've got it figured out. They think they can outwit. They think they can escape the judgment of God.

But God says, what are you going to do? Even though you try to do all these things, if you try to make yourself look all pretty, your lovers will despise you. They will seek your life. This destruction will come upon you. There is no escape. There is no escape. And we are foolish to think that we can live contrary to the Word of God, contrary to God's commands, and have our backup plans and think, see, it's going to take care of itself. And I've got it covered. And

I've got it handled. I've got it worked out. If this happens, if that happens, then I'm able to go this route and I'm able to rely upon these things. And the worst case scenario, you know, I've got it all figured out. But it won't work if you're walking in rebellion to God. Judgment is self-inflicted. It's right, it's just, and it's inescapable. Your only hope, my only hope, this nation's only hope, the nation of Judah's only hope,

was to wash their hearts, to turn to the Lord that he might show mercy. He says, I've heard a voice as of a woman in labor. So now she realizes, Judah realizes, the nation realizes it's inescapable. This judgment is coming. This judgment is upon us. We're experiencing it. And it's anguish as of her who brings forth her first child. Incredible pain and agony, lots of screaming, lots of shouting, bewailing,

She says, woe is me now for my soul is weary because of murderers. To the very end, the nation of Judah is blaming others, blaming the murderers. To the very end, they refuse to recognize their own wickedness. They refuse to agree with God about the actions that they've taken, the lifestyles that they've chosen. They refuse. God says, it's your wickedness. It's not because of murderers.

Why is it? What is it? Because of? This is your wickedness, he said in verse 18. Because it is bitter, because it reaches to your heart. This is why. Your wickedness reaches to your heart. Just as when God dealt with the earth with the flood, it was because the thoughts and intents of man continually, the thoughts in the heart continually were of evil, were of wickedness. In the same way, when a person, when a nation, when the wickedness

Reaches their hearts. It brings judgment. It's self-inflicted. And it's inescapable. Here we have in Jeremiah chapter 4. A great warning for this nation. A great example of compassion for Jeremiah. And a reminder to agree with God. To wash our hearts. And to turn to Him. The worship team is going to come up and lead us in a song.

And I want to encourage you this evening as we enter into this time where we get to minister to one another, during this first song, let's just take some time to wash our hearts, to turn to the Lord and to allow Him to work in us. And if there are those areas that, well, there does need to be a scrubbing, there does need to be some confession, some repentance, then take this time to turn to the Lord. Wash your heart. Don't mistake His mercy and patience for acceptance. Repent.

Agree with God about sin and turn from it. Let it go. As we spend time in this song, consider your hearts and compare it with that of Jeremiah. Do you have compassion? Do you love the world around you? Do you love them enough to proclaim the message so that people can repent? Do you love them enough to share the truth with them, to give them an opportunity to turn, to wash, to be set free?

Take some time and allow the Lord to speak to your heart in those things as we worship the Lord together.