JEREMIAH 362009 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Jeremiah 36

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. Alright, Jeremiah chapter 36. Let's look at verses 1 through 3 together. It says this,

Now it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Take a scroll of a book and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against all the nations from the day I spoke to you from the days of Josiah even to this day. Verse 3.

It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the adversities which I purpose to bring upon them, that everyone may turn from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin. Here as we go into chapter 36 of Jeremiah, we are looking at an event that happens really right in the middle of Jeremiah's ministry. It tells us that it was in the fourth year of Jehoiakim.

And at this point, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, Jeremiah has been prophesying and sharing the word for about 19 years. And there's about 18 years left before the city of Jerusalem is destroyed by the nation of Babylon. So we're right in the middle of Jeremiah's ministry as he's writing this, as God spoke to him. And God gives him the instruction to write down the words that he's been sharing.

to write down the prophecies that God has given to him from the very beginning. And so you can imagine that was quite a task. In fact, much of what we have here in the book of Jeremiah is probably the result of this experience.

this command that God gives Jeremiah to write these things down because he's been prophesying for 18 years now or 19 years. And so all of those things, those messages that God has been giving to him and using him to share, God says, I want you to put them all together on one scroll, write it in a book, and then you're going to take it to the temple and read it before the people.

And the purpose for this, the reason why God is having him do this, he gives us in verse 3. He says, And so God has been pronouncing judgment upon the nation through the prophet Jeremiah for 18 years, 19 years.

And God is giving them here another opportunity to repent. Now we often say this, but it's important to repeat and to know that whenever we see God pronouncing judgment upon a person or upon a nation, it's always an invitation to repent. It's an invitation to turn and get right.

And so he's been pronouncing judgment upon them. He tells Jeremiah, write down these words and go and proclaim it to them again, because it may be that they will repent. It's an opportunity for them to turn and to get right with God. He's giving them an opportunity to change their ways. He even says there at the end of verse 3, he says, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.

And we find this over and over with God, His abundant mercy. Consider the mercy of God as He has been putting up with and been patient with this people who have been in rebellion for so many years. And yet here He is giving them opportunity to be forgiven. He's giving them the opportunity to be washed, to be cleansed.

To be removed of the guilt of their sin. This is incredible what God is offering to them. And so God is sending Jeremiah. He says, write it down. Because he's willing to forgive. He's just waiting for their repentance. The only reason why they have not received forgiveness is they've not turned back to God. They've not turned their hearts back to him.

Even though they're very religious and they're going to the temple and that's where they're going to hear this message, their hearts are far from Him. And they refuse to turn back to Him. And so they do not receive the forgiveness that God is offering. But if they would turn, if they would respond to His message...

He is anxious and willing to forgive. That's the God that we serve. That is the God that loves you and that has reached out to you this evening. He is a God that is willing to forgive, that is anxious and desiring to wash us and to cleanse us and to remove guilt from us. But He's waiting for repentance. And so He delivers messages like the one He's giving to Jeremiah, like the one He's sharing this evening today.

To give us this opportunity. Because he wants to forgive. And if you want to get your life right. God is saying. I want to help you do that. And I want to help you get everything set in order. And I want to set you free from the guilt. I want to set you free from the bondage of sin. But you need to respond. He's just waiting for you. To turn to him. And to respond to his word. When David committed a sin.

a very serious sin and stayed in a state of unrepentance for some time. First with Bathsheba, then killing her husband, you know the story. Nathan the prophet comes to him and calls him on it and he recognizes, he realizes what's been happening. He recognizes his state and he cries out to God and God forgives him.

As he writes about it a little bit later in Psalm chapter 32, he talks about how when he kept silent, when he tried to just ignore and pretend like his life was okay, even though there was this sin that had not been confessed and this repentance that had not happened. He said it was like, it was just this huge weight and it was this burden and it wearied him and he was so tired because of this sin that was there that hadn't been dealt with.

Then he talks about how when he confessed it to the Lord, how God forgave him. He starts out that Psalm, Psalm 32, blessed is the one whose sins are forgiven. Oh, how happy is the one whose sins are forgiven. This is what God offers to the nation of Judah, and it's what God offers to us this evening. Blessed is the one whose sins are forgiven. God wants to set us free. He's willing to forgive. He's not tired of us. He's not fed up with us. He's not...

wishing he could just pour out judgment upon us. He's looking for an opportunity to forgive us, to cleanse us, to work on our behalf. And so God sends Jeremiah. He tells him to write this down because he wants the people to have this opportunity to turn and get right with him.

And so we see Jeremiah's response in verse 4. It says, Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah. And Baruch wrote on a scroll of a book at the instruction of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which he had spoken to him.

And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying,

So Jeremiah responds simply by being obedient to what God said. And so he calls in his scribe, he calls in Baruch and he says, "Hey, write this down. I'm going to repeat all of those things that I've been sharing these last 18, 19 years.

I'm going to proclaim these things to you and I want you to write them down and record them because God wants to deliver this message to the people. And he says, look, I can't go. We don't know exactly why he can't go, if he's imprisoned or if he's ceremonially unclean or whatever the case may be. Perhaps God just forbade him to go. But he sends Baruch to the house of the Lord. He sends him to the temple after he's written all of these things. And he says, now go and read it aloud.

There at the temple. Read it aloud in the hearing of the people. When there's a fast, when there's a big gathering together, it's going to be an opportunity for you to boldly proclaim in front of everyone the message that I've been sharing from the very beginning. And Jeremiah echoes the sentiments of God in verse 7. He says, "...it may be that they will present their supplication before the Lord. It may be that everyone will turn from His evil way."

Perhaps, Jeremiah says, it's so that they have this opportunity to turn and to get right with God. He says, for great is the anger of God. Because of their rebellion against God, the anger of the Lord, the wrath of the Lord has been stored up for this people. And God has been pronouncing His judgment upon them for many years. But they've insisted on rebelling. They've insisted on their own ways.

And so Jeremiah says when they hear what the result of their sin is, when they hear the consequences that they're going to experience because of their rebellion against God, maybe they'll turn. Maybe they'll get right with God. This is an opportunity for them to hear Him and to get right with Him. And so he tells Baruch to go and to read it and to read it aloud.

Not to be, you know, just off quietly to yourself and wait for someone to ask what you're reading or if what you're reading is interesting or anything like that. But to go and to stand before the people and to read before them the message from the Lord. Verse 8.

And Baruch, the son of Neriah, did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord's house. Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the Lord to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.

Then Baruch read from the book of the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, the scribe in the upper court, at the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house, in the hearing of all the people. And so now we find that Baruch fulfills the command given to him by Jeremiah. He takes that scroll that he gave,

Wrote down all the things that Jeremiah was saying. He takes it to the house of the Lord. And there's this feast that happens in the ninth month of the fifth year of King Jehoiakim. So some time has passed here. But now this feast takes place. The one that Jeremiah was telling him about. This feast happens. All the people are gathered from the city of Jerusalem. Sorry, not feast, but fast. Other way around.

But all the people from Jerusalem, all the surrounding cities, they all come to Jerusalem for this fast. And here Baruch is to read this message, to read God's pronouncement of judgment. It's really God pronouncing that Babylon is going to conquer the nation of Judah and level the city of Jerusalem, as we'll see in a few verses later.

But the people are all gathered together. Now notice again, there's this fast that is proclaimed. And there's all these people at the house of the Lord. We see over and over again that the nation of Judah was very religious. They were faithful in their religious observance. They went to church. They had times of fasting. They fulfilled rituals and ordinances. They were very religious.

But as we see over and over again, being religious is really not what God is desiring of us. What God desires is for us to really have relationship with Him. And this was the problem of the people. You see, if they really had relationship with God, if they loved God, if they were walking with God, they would not be worshipping the false gods that they were worshipping. They would not be living in spiritual adultery.

They would not be practicing wickedness the way that they were. But the nation of Judah was going to church, going through the motions so that they could feel okay about themselves. But then they would go and worship other gods. They would live in all kinds of immorality. They would practice wickedness. They disregarded what God had to say regarding the rest of their lives. They only came and just practiced the religious rituals.

So where God said to not be covetous and to treat the poor fairly, as we talked about a couple weeks ago, to set the captives free, their Jewish brethren, to not hold them in slavery, but to treat them as bond servants. No, they disregarded all the stuff that God had to say about their normal life. They just practiced the outward things that they could practice so that they could be religious, so that they could feel that they would be alright. Right?

But as is always the case, God is interested in the heart. Their heart wasn't in it. Their hearts weren't right with God. They did not walk in relationship with God. They have no loving relationship with God. It was just outward motions. They were very religious. And so they proclaim the fast. They all gather together at the temple of the Lord. And now Baruch comes to bring this pronouncement of judgment, to announce to the people that

Babylon is going to come and conquer. But it's an opportunity to repent. It's an opportunity for them to turn and to get right. It's an opportunity for them to respond to the word of God. It's a message they've heard. Jeremiah's been preaching it for almost 20 years. But here's another opportunity. Here's another chance for them to turn and to get right with God. I kind of like Baruch here in the sense that he's got a difficult task.

How would you like to be the one who has to go to this people as everybody's gathered together? There's a great crowd of people who proclaim to fast. They're very religious. They think they're okay as a result. But you have to be the one to go and share with them. God is going to bring judgment upon you because you're rebellious against Him. But Baruch does it. There's this great feast. He goes and he boldly proclaims

It says, for everyone to hear, or in the hearing of all the people there at the end of verse 10. So you can imagine, this was a good opportunity. Everybody was gathered together. He didn't have to, you know, go from house to house and proclaim this message. Everybody, they all came to Jerusalem, to the temple of the Lord. So while everybody's gathered together, there's this great opportunity for him to proclaim the word of the Lord. And I think that's a great example for us to consider and to meditate upon, especially as we head into the holiday season.

You know, as everybody is gathered together, as there's gatherings for different occasions, look for those opportunities that God might want to use you to be like Baruch, to boldly proclaim the word of the Lord and that opportunity as everyone is gathered together. It is a good opportunity. So be led by the Spirit and be bold as God leads you.

Not that we have to be belligerent and bug everybody and ruin everybody's wonderful time and parties and stuff like that, but to look for those opportunities. God will open those doors. And maybe you have to be the bearer of bad news and everybody doesn't like it, but be led by the Spirit. And if that's what God tells you to do, then be obedient. Don't make everybody miserable just to make them miserable, but if God tells you to make them miserable, share the truth.

Share the truth in love. And so they hear this message. And how do they respond? We find that in verse 11. He says,

Then Micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read the book in the hearing of the people.

And so we find here the response of a few of those who were there, a few of those who heard. And really it's the leaders, it's the princes, those who had authority within the nation of Judah. They hear this message, specifically this guy Micaiah.

And so he hears the message and he goes and he gathers a bunch of the other princes together. He says, hey guys, check this out. I was just at the temple and Baruch read this scroll from Jeremiah. This is what he said. He declared to them, he brought them all together and declared to them the things that he heard whenever Baruch read the book. Verse 14.

Therefore all the princes sent Jehudai, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shalamiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read in the hearing of the people, and come. So Baruch, the son of Neriah, took the scroll in his hand and came to them. And they said to him, Sit down now and read it in our hearing. So Baruch read it in their hearing. Now it happened when they had heard all the words that they looked in fear from one to another.

And so their response, the princes, those who have authority and leadership within the nation, their response is to call Baruch to hear it with their own ears. Micaiah comes and tells them, this is what he said. And they're like, are you serious? Are you sure? Call him in. Let's hear for ourselves. And so here's the princes saying,

I mean, if you really want to change a nation, this is a great place to start, right? Those who have authority, those who are royalty, those who have a leadership there within the nation. And they call to Baruch and they say, hey, we want to hear. Come and bring that scroll and read it to us. And he said to him, sit down now and read it in our hearing. So he comes and he reads it aloud to them. He again proclaims to them the judgment.

that will come upon them through the nation of Babylon." And it says when they heard the words, look at how they responded. It said they heard the words, they looked in fear from one to another. These guys, as they hear these words, it makes an impact. They weren't just like, "Okay, yeah, whatever." They didn't just blow it off, but they said, "Did you hear that?" They began to have a little bit of the fear of God.

As often people do as they begin to realize the consequences for sin. And they say, we need to tell the king. We need to tell the king about this. Listen to what is proclaimed against us. Listen to what God has said he's going to accomplish to this nation because of our rebellion. We need to let the king know. And so they do. Verse 17. And they asked Baruch saying, tell us now, how did you write all these words at his instruction?

So Baruch answered them, he proclaimed with his mouth all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink in the book. Then the princes said to Baruch, go and hide you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are. These princes investigate this a little bit. They say, are you sure this is real? How did you write this down? Did you just make this up? No, Jeremiah, he told me then. And he told me to write these things down. And as he spoke, I wrote this.

This is God's word through Jeremiah to this people. And so they say, okay, we got to tell the king, you better hide. They had a little bit of wisdom here. They sensed the king's not going to like this message. They want to tell the king. They know the king needs to know because this is fearful. Look what God has said he's going to do to this nation, but he's not going to like it. So you guys better hide, better take some shelter because he might come after you after we read this to him. Verse 20 says,

And they went to the king and to the court. But they stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishamah the scribe and told him all the words in the hearing of the king. So the king sent Jehudai to bring the scroll. And he took it from Elishamah the scribe's chamber and Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king.

Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month with a fire burning on the hearth before him. And it happened when Jehudi had read three or four columns that the king cut it with the scribe's knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. And so the king has brought this message now. They come, first of all, they kind of hide the scroll.

Again, they have a sense of what's coming. They recognize the king's not going to like this. But they go and they tell him all the words of the scroll. They repeat to him. They share with him, listen, this is what happened. Baruch came. He said, God's going to bring judgment because of our rebellion, because of our sin. Babylon is going to come. Babylon's going to conquer us. And the king said, what? Bring that scroll. And so they go and they get the scroll. They bring it to him and they begin to read it.

But they didn't get very far. It says that when he'd read three or four columns, the scrolls were written in columns, kind of like we have columns in our Bible. And so he'd gotten through a couple columns, read a little bit into the messages of God. And then the king, he kind of flips out. He takes the scroll, he cuts it up, and then he throws it into the fire. It tells us it's in the ninth month. It's December. It's December.

about the time now, the weather in Israel is similar to what we're experiencing right now. So you can kind of imagine he's there. It's nice and cool. There's a fire before him. It's convenient. He doesn't like the words of this prophecy. So he takes it, he cuts it up, and then he throws it in the fire. Now, if you're going to throw it in the fire, why do you cut it up first? Or if you're going to cut it up, why do you throw it in the fire? What the king is trying to do, Jehoiakim is trying to

remove the words of God. He's trying to ignore them. He's trying to make it, making sure that it's unrecoverable. He doesn't want to hear these words. He doesn't want to hear the message of God. He's not interested in what God has to say. And so the king destroys the scroll. He doesn't respond very well. How do you respond when God speaks to you? I think it's a good question to ask. It's important to consider. How do you respond?

As we go on, well, let's just read on and then we'll talk a little bit more. Verse 24. He says,

Nevertheless, Elnathan, Deliah, and Gemariah implored the king not to burn the scroll, but he would not listen to them. And the king commanded Jeremiel, the king's son, Saraiah, the son of Azrael, and Shalmiah, the son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them. So the princes who told Jeremiah and Baruch to hide, they knew what was coming, and the Lord hid them, he protected them, so

Jehoiakim didn't get to do to them as he wanted. But we see here that the people, even who were with the king, were not afraid and they didn't tear their garments. So there was these leaders that were there earlier when Baruch shared and they responded and they had fear. They had the fear of the Lord. They recognized this is what God says. We need to listen to this and the king needs to hear this. But because of the king's response,

The people there around the king, they were not afraid. And they didn't tear their garments. Tearing the garment was a sign of sorrow. It was a sign of repentance. They didn't repent. They were stubborn. They insisted, no, we don't want to hear that. We're going to do what we want to do. We're going to live our way. We don't want to hear what God has to say. They heard the words, but they refused to listen to them.

Now there was a couple of guys, Elnathan, Deliah, and Gemariah. They asked the king, no, don't burn it. But he didn't pay attention. The king responded this way. And it says that they were not afraid. The king's response really led the response of those around him. There was a few who stood up to him.

But notice the names here, Elnathan, Deliah, and Gemariah. That's a lot shorter list than the names that we read earlier in verse 12. And I can recognize that because it was a lot easier to get through that verse than the previous verse. The list was shorter. It was these three guys that stood up to him. But the rest, they said, we're not going to fear. We're not going to be afraid. We're not going to tear our clothes. We're not going to repent. We're not going to respond to this. Whatever could have been...

The revival was crushed by the king's response. I would ask you to consider, what is God speaking to you? And how are you responding? Because not only is it important for you, but it's important for those whom God has placed in your life. Because how you respond will influence and impact the way that others around you respond to the word of God. We are an example whether we like it or not.

It's not that you have to try to be an example. Understand, you are an example. You're an influence, whether you like it or not. You don't have to try to be an influence. You are an influence. And the way that you live and the way that I live influences the people around us. And it impacts the people around us. And we're examples to the people around us. The king here demonstrates this. He responded correctly.

With stubbornness, with hard-heartedness, rejecting the Word of God, wanting nothing to do with it, making sure we don't want to hear these things, we don't want to listen to these things, we don't want to pay attention to them. And so that's how the people responded. How are you responding to what God is saying? Verse 27, Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words which Baruch had written at the instruction of Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

So here we get a little bit more insight about how the king responded. What was in this scroll?

Jeremiah was pronouncing the word of God that Babylon would come and destroy the land and that there would be no inhabitants. That there would not be flocks and herds. There would not be houses and cities. That it would be without man and without beast. That was the message. That's what God was proclaiming. Or at least that's how far Jehoiakim got into that message as that scroll was read. Before he died.

cut it up and threw it into the fire. And he says, why have you written this? Why has Jeremiah put this down on paper like this? Why has he said these things? He doesn't like the message, so he burns the scroll. He tries to shoot the messenger, but the Lord hides him. And so what does God do? God tells Jeremiah, hey Jeremiah, still got that pen handy? Grab another scroll. Let's do it again. Get Baruch, write down

The words that were on the first scroll. Write down those messages again. Even though the king doesn't like it, even though he burned it, let's write it down again. God's word is indestructible. The king tried to destroy it. He thought, look, if I cut this up and if I burn it up, I'll never have to hear these things again. They'll be gone. God said, no, you can't destroy my word. Cutting it up, burning it, no, that doesn't end it.

Communist nations have learned that the hard way as well. Burning the Bibles. They think we'll squash Christianity. We'll squash the work of God. Nope, it doesn't work. God's word is indestructible. He tried to destroy it. He tried to ignore it. He tried to get away from it. God said, no, you can't. You can't escape. You can't run. You can't hide. What does God say in Isaiah 55?

My word will accomplish that which I set it forth to do. You cannot thwart the work of God through His word. You can't put a stop to it. No matter if you're an emperor or a king or a teacher or whatever role you might have. You can't stop God's word. The king tried. He tried to put it in, but you can't destroy it. It's going to be fulfilled. Now again, this is why I ask, how are you responding to what God is speaking to you?

You see, I know what it's like, and I'm sure that you know what it's like, to know that God is speaking to you, but to not want to hear what He's saying. To know that God is speaking to you, but to not want to hear what He's saying. I know what that is like. And I remember times in my life, specific times, I'm not going to get into details, you would like that too much. God would send messengers to me.

Hey, this is what God's saying. He's already been speaking it to me. Here comes a messenger. Hey, I think God wants me to tell you this. Sends another messenger. Hey, the Lord's really put this on my heart. Sends another messenger. Hey, Jerry, let me share with you. I'm just on the outside, but this is what I think God's saying about your life and about the decisions and situations that you're in. Messengers come, and I'm cutting them up, and I'm throwing them in the fire.

Because I do not want to hear. Because obeying God is, well, it's just too hard in my estimation. It's not what I want to do. It's not what I've decided. So I try to destroy that message. You ever do that? Just kind of figure, well, if I just ignore it long enough, it'll go away. If I just fight against it enough, then God will do something else and He'll work it out. But I don't want to change this. I don't want to let this go.

I can't be obedient. It's too hard. It's too difficult. I don't like it. Whatever the case may be. It's where we're insisting, not your will, God, but my will be done. And God sends us messengers. And He reminds us. And He speaks to us. Sometimes like Jehoiakim, we crumble it up, we throw it away, we burn it, we try to make sure, I don't want to hear that message again. But God's word cannot be destroyed. Verse 30, Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah,

He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. I will punish him, his family, and his servants for their iniquity, and I will bring on them on the inhabitants of Jerusalem and on the men of Judah all the doom that I have pronounced against them, but they did not heed."

Then Jeremiah took another scroll, gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the instruction of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim, king of Judah, had burned in the fire. And besides, there were added to them many similar words. God continues to speak to Jeremiah. He says, Jeremiah, I'm going to bring on Jehoiakim all the words that I've said in this book. I'm going to be faithful to my word. He didn't destroy it.

He didn't abolish it. Just because He burned it in the fire doesn't make it not true. It's going to happen. It's going to be fulfilled. My word will come to pass. He says, I'm going to bring it upon them because of their iniquity. And again, notice at the end of verse 31, but they did not heed. Again, it's an opportunity for them to repent, to turn, for God to forgive, for there to be a transformation, a releasing from guilt.

But they would not take heed. They refused to respond to what God was speaking to them. So God says, Jeremiah, write it down again because it's going to come to pass. It's going to take place. Are you responding to what God is speaking to you? You may not like it, but God's word will be fulfilled. You can try to crumple it up and throw it away. Put it through the shredder. You can burn it.

But God's word will be fulfilled. You can try to ignore it. You can try to run from it. But God's word will be fulfilled. It says that they did not take heed. They would not. This evening, I want to encourage you. Listen to the Lord. Listen to the Lord. Let Him speak to you. Let Him direct your life. He really does want what's best for you. He wanted what was best for Jehoiakim and the nation. But they insisted on their way first.

And they reaped the consequences of the rebellion against God, of their sin. Again, they were very religious. And there's so many times that we can count on our religion while fully rebelling against what God is speaking to us. It's not about what you've done in the past and how faithful or how obedient you've been in the past. But it's about right now, what's God speaking to you? And are you being obedient?

Are you listening? Are you responding? Are you trying to destroy that message so that you don't have to be obedient to it because you are not willing to pay that price because you're not willing for your life to be changed? Listen to the Lord. Take heed to His message. Don't disregard it. Don't try to destroy it. Don't simply ignore His word. Be obedient. God's wanting to forgive.

God's wanting to restore. God's wanting to pour forth blessing. He's looking for opportunity to do so. But He's waiting for our cooperation, for us to respond to His Word. We need to respond. We need to listen. We need to put into practice the things that He's calling us to do. Be obedient as He speaks to you. How are you responding to what God is saying? The worship team is going to come up and lead us in prayer.

Let's take this time in this first song just to allow God to speak to us. Give Him this opportunity to remind you perhaps there's something He's been trying to get through. There's some issue He's been wanting to deal with. There's some area He wants to work. Let Him speak to you. Don't refuse His word. Don't ignore it. Don't try to block it out. Receive it. Let's take this time as they lead us in worship to surrender to God.

to respond to Him, to allow Him to do the work in us that He desires to do. Let's worship the Lord together.