Walking With God in the Old Paths

 Temple Baptist Church - 7-30-2023

Jeremiah 6:16

Introduction:

 

A.  I have often said that we live in a changing world politically, morally, socially, and—unfortunately—spiritually.

 

1.  Not all changes are bad.  Some changes in our world have been beneficial as our standard of life has been greatly enhanced.

 

2.  But other changes are prophetic ones.  “Worse and worse, falling away, lukewarm, satisfied with life outside of God and the Lord Jesus
Christ. 

 

B.  I will leave the change for the most part this morning because the Bible says it will come and I believe the Bible. 

 

C.  It is the spiritual change that I believe that God hates most.  2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways…”

 

D.  People are being taught that God does not mind how we live as long as we are saved.  They are taught that “turning from their wicked ways” is a doctrine of the far-right conservatives and it a legalistic doctrine.

 

E.  Jeremiah 6:16 is not a suggestion; it is not a recommendation; it is not negotiable;  it is a COMMAND!  God will not walk with anyone outside of the Old Paths. 

 

1.  Most people today either Reject the Old Paths or try Renovate the Old Paths into New Paths.  A term often heard is “Reformed Theology”.  Theology does not need to be reformed.

 

2.  New Paths are not right paths.  We MUST walk in the Old Paths which are the Right Paths which are the Only Paths that God will walk with us in!

 

Ecclesiastes 1:9  The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

 

3.  If anything is theologically new, it is not old, and if it is not old, it is not right!

 

F.  When the Old Paths are forsaken, God says that we are to Repent and Return.  Verse 16 is not a request; it is a requirement.

 

1.  “Stand ye”  That means to not be either moved or removed.

 

2.  “See”  Make sure that you know where you are standing is right.

 

3.  “Ask”  The Old Paths are both available and knowable.  They are found in your Bible if you happen to own the right one and that is King James!  No exceptions.

 

4.  “Old paths”  Not the new ones of the 20^th and 21^st centuries.  These paths are Old Paths.

 

5.  “Where is the Good way”  God’s way is not only the right way, but also the good way.

 

6.  “And walk therein”  Clear paths that are well worn through the ages by our spiritual forefathers who walked those paths and made plain to us who follow them.

 

7.  “And ye shall find rest for your souls”  How wonderful it is to know what God said and to walk with Him within His Word.  We will not find rest for our souls in New Paths because they cause confusion and division.

 

8. “But they said, We will not walk therein.”  Paths of rejection.  People in our day want to change what God said, walk contrary to what God said, and think that they are right with God.

 

G.  The Old Paths of:

 

1.  Scripture.  I neither have nor do I want a modern translation from the New Text, the wrong text, the Wescott-Hort Text: the minority text, the critical text, the Catholic text.  Our Bible is the Authorized King James Bible of our forefathers.

 

2.  Salvation.  No “wink wink, nod nod, one two three—repeat after me” prayers of salvation.  Our salvation is the old salvation of our forefathers.  Repentance from dead works and faith toward God through the Gospel.  Salvation is a heart thing; salvation is a changing thing; salvation is an eternal thing.

 

3.  Sanctification.  Our sanctification is the old sanctification of our forefathers.  A life that is changed through salvation and a life that is obedient through separation from this present evil world.  Sanctification is light and salt!

 

4.  Security.   Our security is the old-fashioned security of our forefathers.  Security or eternal life is a hated doctrine in our day.  Security is found in Christ and Christ alone!  We are not good enough to get saved and if you lived a perfect life, it could not save you.  Salvation is a finished work through the gospel alone.  We are not good enough to remain saved as we are sinners by both birth and choice.

 

5.  Safety.  As our forefathers walked in spiritual safety, we walk in the Old Paths of spiritual safety.  Life is hard at times, life is unfair at times, life is confusing at times, but “Safety is of the LORD!”  Walk in the Old Paths of safety and you will find rest for your soul!

 

Conclusion:  “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.”   They rejected the Old Paths in Jeremiah’s day.  “But they said, we will not walk therein!”  But we here at Temple Baptist Church will continue to walk in the Old Paths!

The Great Experiment

 Temple Baptist Church - 7-2-2023

Jeremiah 18:1-4

 

Introduction:  Lessons from the Potter’s House.

 

A.  The interpretation of our text is the Nation of Israel.  The application can be varied all the way from the individual to our nation, The United States of America.

 

1.  I believe that our nation began in the hands of the Lord as people came to this great land of plenty in the late 1400’s.

 

2.  True that some came for Gold as the spices of the Caribbean Islands and the gold of the America’s drew many.

 

3.  But there were many who came for God.  They came to escape the tyranny of the English kings.  They came because of the religious persecution that was rampant in the British Isles and Europe.

 

4.  Through it all, “God wrought a work upon the wheels.”

 

5.  Previous to the founding of our great nation, there were only two different kinds of government.  Theocracy – Rule by God.  Man did not want that so the only other option that worked was a Dictatorship – rule by man or men.

 

B.   Two hundred and forty-seven years, on July 4^th, the Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 men in the Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA. 

 

1.  Thus, the beginning of the first recorded Republic was formed, and the Revolutionary War resulted as Americans severed their relationship from the Dictatorship of England.

 

2.  Here to for, every world power and known nation had either a Theocracy (rule under God in early Israel) or a Dictatorship of some sort.  The newly formed Republic (America was never intended to be a democracy) was called “The Great Experiment” by many as there had never been a nation, as far as could be discerned, that had a government ruled by its people.

 

3.  In 1787, the Founding Fathers of the newly formed Republic hammered out the U.S. Constitution in the same Independence Hall in Philadelphia.  Afterward, Benjamin Franklin told a woman who inquired about what they had written about, and he said, “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.”

 

cC  Now, in the 2023^rd year of our Lord, we see the beginning of the end-result of that experiment.  Can sinful man maintain a Republic without God?  I fear that the answer is evidently “No!”  America, the Potter’s Vessel—the Utopia of the World, the Carrier of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Symbol of Freedom—has become marred in the hand of the Potter!  Can God. 

 

D.  Jeremiah, called the Weeping Prophet, penned these words under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost as he wept over the Nation of Israel’s spiritual condition.

 

Lamentations 3:48-51  Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.  (49)  Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission,  (50)  Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven.  (51)  Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.

 

E.  If “Happy is that people, whose God is the Lord” is right, then “Unhappy is the people, whose God is not the Lord” is also right.  America is searching for happiness and fulfillment outside of God and the result is unfulfilled lives, deepening sinfulness, and ultimate implosion.

 

F.  America is unhappy today because she is in Sad Shape because of Sin and Dictatorship! She is both Immoral and Insensitive.

 

1.  Morality is a thing of the past! Sex, sodomy, drugs, drinking, and lawlessness permeate the land.

 

2.  Murder is an accepted form of birth control!  Our nation is filled with the killing of the innocents, our posterity!

 

3.  We Can See America’s Sinking into the mire of apathy and despair!  Over the past few decades, we have watched the decline of America.  The America that we once knew is no more. 

 

a)  Families are in a Sad Shape. They are permeated with division and divorce! 

 

b)  Homes are out of Order!  It’s the Children, Mom, Dad, and God last!  God’s order is just the reverse!

 

c)  Churches are in a Sad Shape. (Both Apostasy and Apathy)  Pulpits are Compromised, Pews are Cold, and People are Calloused!

 

4.  God has become an Outcast!  Psalms 9:17  The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

 

G.  Can God help America?  He can but America must be willing!  What are we to do?

 

1.  We Need To Intercede for Our Nation.  1 Timothy 2:1-2  I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; (2)  For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.  (If we do not pray for them, then we have no right to criticize them!)

 

2.  We Need To Be A Light in the Darkness of Our Nation. 

 

a.  The Light of a True Conversion.  2 Corinthians 4:5-7  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.  (6)  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  (7)  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

 

b.  The Light of a Life Lived.  Matthew 5:14-16  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.  (15)  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  (16)  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

c.  The Light of the Gospel.  2 Corinthians 4:3-4  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:  (4)  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

 

3.  We Need to be Proactive in our Politics.  Ephesians 6:11-12  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  (12)  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

 

a.  We are to be Vocal.  The “far left” are certainly vocal and there is a peer pressure for the “far right” (Ultra-Conservative—that’s is THE Biblical position) to be quiet.

 

We are to be Voters.  God has given to us a Republic to be maintained!

 

4.  We Need to be Hopeful.  2 Chronicles 7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

 

Conclusion:  Can the Potter make another vessel of America upon His wheel?  Yes, God can!  The Potter is able to remold the clay!  May God bless America, land that I love; stand beside her and guide her; through the night with a light from above!

When God’s People Say, ‘There is no hope!’

 Temple Baptist Church - 7-3-2022

Jeremiah 18:1-12

 

Introduction: 

 

A. Jeremiah prophesied during the reign of Josiah some 50 years before the Babylonish Captivity of 587 BC.  Revival permeated the land under Josiah but began to decline in his later years.  Israel fell into apostasy not long after his death.

 

B.  The story of the Potter’s house had to do with God’s love of and intent for the nation of Israel. 

 

1.  The Potter, a type of the Lord, desired to mold Israel in His hand, but Israel—the clay—became marred in His hand. 

 

2.  The marring was not the fault of the Potter, but a flaw in the clay!  This marring speaks of Israel’s sinfulness and subsequent captivity of 70 years in Babylon.

 

3.  The remaking of the clay (He did not throw it away) was the prophesied restoration of Israel to the Land after the Babylonish Captivity.

 

C.  In verse 12, as Jeremiah pronounced the impending doom of Israel, instead of getting right with the Lord and attempting to turn that great nation, the people said, “There is no hope!”

 

1.  Israel’s Hopelessness - They Gave Up!

 

2.  Israel’s Sinfulness – They Gave Over!

 

3.  Israel’s Judgment – They Paid The Price!

 

D.  As Israel belonged to the Lord, America was once His!  America, the land that we love, will be 246 years old tomorrow.  “The Great Experiment” was a name given to her at her inception.  The question asked, “Can a people rule themselves?”

 

E.  America was the first Republic in history!  Never had such a thing been tried.  Notice republic, not democracy. 

 

Republic – a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.  A government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law.

F.  Has the Great Experiment failed?  That question remains to be answered but our nation is in serious decline this morning.  In 246 short years, our nation has turned from God to sin; from self-rule to rule by government; from capitalism to socialism, from rule by the people and for the people to corruption in government, from prosperity to debt, from the thrill of liberty to the drudgery of bondage, from the pursuit of happiness to pit of despair. 

 

G.  The question now is: “Is there hope for America?”  America’s hope lies in God’s people!  When God’s people give up, America is gone!

 

H.  God pronounced in the Bible:

 

Psalms 33:12  Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

 

1.  America’s Motto, “In God We Trust.”

 

2.  America’s Foundation – Religious Liberty

 

3.  America’s Fathers – Praying Men

 

4.  America’s Faith – God, not Allah or Buddha!

 

5.  America’s Strength – God’s people and local churches.

 

J.  Today, America has now began to come under another scriptural pronouncement:

 

Psalms 9:17  The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

 

1.  As Israel, Will We Give Up?  Many today preach and live hopelessness!  America is still worth living and fighting for!

 

2.  As Israel, Well God’s People Live In Sinfulness?  “Eat, drink, and be merry” is the watchword.  I cannot make a difference because I am one.  America is a nation made up of individuals and everyone counts.

 

3.  As Israel, Will America Fall?  The answer is an obvious “Yes” if it does not turn around!  If God does not judge America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!  He will not apologize!

 

K.  Is there hope for America?  Yes, there is hope.  A little disclaimer: I was not and am not a follower of former President Barack Hussain Obama.  But I do want to quote him as not everything that he said was wrong.  He said, “While we breathe, we will hope.”

 

1.  There Is Hope For America As Long As There Is A Promise From God – Psalms 33:12  Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.  (If America turns from its sinfulness, God will turn from His promised judgment!  America, as a nation, still has a choice and it is not too late.  When we say, “God’s promises are no longer good,” THERE IS NO HOPE!)

 

2.  There Is Hope For America As Long As There Is A People That Are Saved - 2 Chronicles 7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

 

 

Matthew 5:13-16  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.  (When we say, “It no longer matters how we represent Christ to our nation,” THERE IS NO HOPE!)

 

3.  There Is Hope For America As Long As There Is A Prayer To Be Prayed – 1 John 5:14-15  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

 

Jeremiah 33:3  Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.  (It’s never too late until it is over!  I pray for America!  I pray for those in authority over us!  I love this land and would love to see her happy and blessed again!  When we say, “Prayer no longer works,” THERE IS NO HOPE!)

 

4.  There Is Hope For America As Long As There Is A Power To Be Tapped – Genesis 18:14a  Is any thing too hard for the LORD?

 

Job 36:5 Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.

 

Jeremiah 32:17  Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the hea ven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:  (God can!  Man cannot but God Can!  When we say, “God can’t,” THERE IS NO HOPE!)

 

5.  There Is Hope For America As Long As There Is A Purpose Of Heart – Jeremiah 38:28  So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.  (God’s not done with her yet!  We still have an open door of soul winning and missions.  When God’s done, then America is done.  Not until then!  When we say, “It’s over,” THERE IS NO HOPE!)

The Issues of Life - Part 2 - A Deceived Heart

Temple Baptist Church - 7-18-2021

Jeremiah 17:1-10

 

Introduction:  

 

A.  A couple of weeks ago, I preached on the issues of life that proceed from the heart (the soul of man, the seat of man’s affections, where the things that he treasures are found).  So much is said in the Bible concerning the heart.

 

Proverbs 4:20-23  My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.  (21)  Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.  (22)  For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.  (23)  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

 

Jeremiah 17:9-10  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?  (10)  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

 

Proverbs 23:7a  For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:

 

Proverbs 23:26  My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.

 

B.  As we read these verses together this morning, we find:

 

1.  A Depraved Heart – Verse 1.  First Mention of Table in the Bible were the tables of stone upon which the Commandments were written.  “Adamant as stone”  Here we find the sin of Judah engraved WITH A PEN OF IRON AND A POINT OF DIAMOND.

 

2.  A Departing Heart – Verse 5.  Departing from the Lord.  “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love.”

 

3.  A Deceitful Heart – Verse 9.  Deceitful above ALL things.  Who can know it?  Self-deception is the worst form of deception.

 

4.  A Defiled Heart – Verse 10.  God tries the reins and gives judgment according to the “fruit” produced by the heart.

 

1.  The Danger of our Heart. The heart is a source of “heartache” for each of us this morning.  Our “heart,” by its sinful nature is naturally depraved.  I will be so glad when eternity begins for me, and this sinful flesh is gone.  (1)  It matters not if you are male or female; (2) it matters not how much you love the Lord; (3) it matters not how godly a life that you try to live; your heart, my heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.  That is the total depravity of the flesh.

 

a.  The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things.  I find it interesting that the Bible says “above all things.”  I have been deceived by others; I have been deceived by circumstances; but the greatest deception that you and I face is an i5

1)  You need to take heed to yourselves.  Deuteronomy 11:16  Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; (Heed – to hedge about or to pay strict attention to something.  Yourselves!  We spend more time worrying about others than self when the greatest enemy that we face is the one who faces us in the mirror.)

 

2)  Never trust your heart.  Proverbs 28:26  He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.  (One of the times that God calls a man or woman a fool is when they place trust in their feelings and thoughts.  Right and wrong are dictated by God’s Word, not what we think of feel.)

 

3)  Never follow your heart.  Isaiah 44:20  He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?  (The heart will lead you in the wrong direction.  “If I know my heart” is a deceptive phrase to follow.)

 

a)  Religion Can Deceive Your Heart - James 1:26  If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

 

b)  Promiscuity Can Deceive Your Heart - Job 31:9  If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door;

 

c)  Alcohol Can Deceive Your Heart - Proverbs 20:1  Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

 

d)  Pride Can Deceive Your Heart - Jeremiah 49:16  Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.

 

e)  False Prophets Can Deceive Your Heart - Luke 21:8  And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

 

2 Timothy 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

 

b.  The Heart Is Desperately Wicked.  Desperate – having urgent need; dangerous.  The desires of the heart of an individual drive them to do hideous, wicked, perverted things.

 

Matthew 15:19  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

 

Genesis 6:5  And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

 

c.  The Heart Is Depraved.  Who can know it?  The answer is understood: no one.

 

2.  The Defense of our Heart.

 

a.  Our Heart’s Defense Takes Diligence. 

 

Proverbs 4:23  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.  (Keep-protect with vigilance.  All-priority.  Diligence-Meticulously.)

 

b.  Our Heart’s Defense Takes Desire.

 

Deuteronomy 10:12  And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,  (There are few in these last days who are willing to serve God with all their heart.  Most only follow their heart.  Desire dictates direction.)

 

c.  Our Heart’s Defense Takes Determination.

 

Acts 11:23  Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.  (I am in this thing for the “long run.”  Better men than I have fallen to the wayside over the years.  I am not speaking evil of them because they are my friends and I believe that they love the Lord but, for various reasons, they followed their heart instead of determining their hearts.)

 

Conclusion:  The importance of our heart is that, for out of out heart are the “issues” of life. 

 

a.  The Heart Dictates What We Do - Proverbs 4:23  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

 

b.  The Heart Declares What We Are - Proverbs 23:7  For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: