Heavenly Father, we worship you, Jesus. Thank you. You are the victor, conquered sin and death on the cross. And because of the work that you’ve done for us, we are redeemed as your children of your kingdom and co-heirs with you in the royal priesthood. Just what an unthinkable status you give us. And we’re just so mind-boggled. But we’re so thankful that you are our Lord and you’ve already won the victory, even as we fight our fight, everyday spiritual battle as we walk on this side of eternity.
But, Lord, we are here. Thank you for gathering us here today and that we can worship you together as the body of Christ.
Lord, please speak to us. And Holy Spirit, please guide this next part of our worship service. And just really, may your presence be here with us today and encourage us and strengthen us and remind us of your goodness tonight. So we love you and we worship you. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
Okay, so it’s been a while since I’ve been up here, and a lot has happened since I shared. I think last time was October when Julie just got healed miraculously from her cancer right before she was about to pass away.
But so much has happened in the last, was it eight months, ten months? Just thinking back, there’s so much. War started, unrest, political things as we enter into the election time, so much polarization and so much talk in the news and discussion going on.
But also on a personal level, a lot of people, we have friends, you know, we have victories like Julie, but we also have people passing away with their illness or whatever they are confronting.
We go to memorial services, so many different things. And on top of that, with the economy so unstable and uncertain, and I don’t know about you, but I feel a lot of strain in our finances and finances in church, and everything is uncertain.
And in this kind of time, just thinking about it. And as we go through our scripture reading, it’s just so interesting to read about the king, all the kings, and the prophecy, the warning to turn back to the Lord, and the coming judgment.
It’s hard not to think together with all the things that are going around us. And yet, God always gives us this hope in the midst of all the chaos, uncertainty, and despair that almost seemed to happen.
So I thought it’s really appropriate to the passage that we were just covering.
I thought I would just go over this if this will work. Okay, just a minute. I’m gonna. Computer was not switched over. Okay, there you go.
I need to diversify the, you know, train other people, kids and their back there. So Book of Jeremiah. I was really encouraged to that we just came across Jeremiah 29. It’s a famous passage, 29:11.
But when I started looking into that passage, I thought, okay, this is a good passage for me to talk about. But this is very hotly debated, or there’s a lot of talk about this. How are you supposed to interpret this section?
So I think one thing is clear: we need to always understand the context behind to whom it was written and what was the main point that was being conveyed at the point. Only after that can we apply it to our lives.
Of course, Kevin teaches that the rhema portion of the word can always speak to you in any way, but it’s always good to do the background first. So that’s what I wanted to do initially.
Yeah, so Jeremiah 29. But just a quick background about Jeremiah. He was a priest near a city very near Jerusalem, and he was appointed by God as a prophet. If you start with the first chapter of Jeremiah, you read immediately the words of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.
The word of the Lord came to him in the 13th year of the reign of Josiah. So when King Josiah was in reign, this is when Jeremiah is called. And he was tasked to bring warnings of severe judgment and messages of hope. Warning, but also at the same time, message of hope for the future to the people of Judah, the southern kingdom.
So Jeremiah 1:10 says, see, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant. That’s what God commanded him to do. Okay?
10 Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant. (Jeremiah 1:10, NLT)
And so here it says in the first passage, it says Jeremiah is the son of Hilkiah. And it turns out that Hilkiah is the high priest in the time of Josiah.
If you go back to 2 Kings 22, he is the one who King Josiah asked to go make an account, look for how much money he has in the temple so that they can do the repair. And that’s the person who goes and discovers the book of the law.
So when Hilkiah discovers the book and he presents it to the king, Josiah reads it.
And that’s when he begins the reform, to turn back to God and do his work of tearing down all the idol worship and trying to realign themselves with the Lord.
So the 18th year of King Josiah’s reign. But if you go back, Jeremiah, whoops, the other way, Jeremiah, he was called. The word of the Lord came to him in the 13th year of the reign of Josiah, and then the reform starts in the 18th year of his reign.
So he’s already a prophet. He was already doing his work, Jeremiah that is, for about five years.
So although there doesn’t seem to be a direct correlation to King Josiah’s change of heart and wanting to reform directly to anything that Jeremiah has said, there’s a good chance that because his father is a high priest and he’s there as a prophet, they must have a lot of influence on King Josiah’s heart.
So that’s his role. Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry spanned about 45 years through the reign of Josiah, but went through all the other kings. The rest of the kings, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah.
And the scholars estimate that he was about 20 years old when he was called to enter his ministry. And so he was pretty young. When he thought all the kings, unfortunately, after Josiah, as we know, they all turned away, despite all the good that Josiah did.
After that, all the kings, the rest of the kings, his kids and his grandson, they’re evil. They do evil in the sight of the Lord. And they basically went all the way back to what Josiah got rid of. They brought back in all the idol worshipping, all the gods.
They oppressed the poor and the widows, and they even engaged in Canaanite practice of child sacrifice. So this is what’s going on, and this is what Jeremiah had to send warning against.
So throughout the whole book of Jeremiah, that’s what he’s doing, sending warning from God and to call to turn back to repentance.
Okay, so Jeremiah’s warning, some examples. There are many, many times Jeremiah faithfully conveys God’s message to repent and to turn back, but unfortunately, they won’t. They won’t listen.
And he goes through persecution and imprisonment, and even his life is at one point, he’s almost about to get killed. His fellow prophets got killed by one of the kings.
And so this is a really risky time for him, but he’s faithfully doing his ministry. But as a consequence, as Jeremiah prophesies, that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon will come and siege and then destroy the city and bring people into exile. It does really start happening.
And Jeremiah himself never gets exiled to Babylon. He remains in Jerusalem, but he, throughout the past, beyond the exile, continues his ministry and sending God’s word to the people both in Babylon and to the locals.
I just have always helped for me to have a chart. I know it’s hard to see, but king of this is Saul, David, and Solomon, and the kings of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. And so I want to zoom in in this area. This is Josiah right here. And these are the prophets that’s coinciding the kings. So real quick, so zoomed in.
Josiah is here. Jeremiah’s a contemporary with Habakkuk, where Pastor Kevin went over, and his ministry spans all the way through the rest of the kings and into the Babylonian exile. So that’s Jeremiah.
Okay. I have this file. If you’re interested, I can share it with you later. But even after the exile, exile doesn’t happen just once. It comes in stages. But there are false prophecies that are coming up. Prophets are saying that it’s not going to be that bad, basically. That’s one example.
Hananiah in Jeremiah 28:2-4 says…
2 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will remove the yoke of the king of Babylon from your necks. 3 Within two years I will bring back all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon. 4 And I will bring back Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the other captives that were taken to Babylon. I will surely break the yoke that the king of Babylon has put on your necks. I, the Lord, have spoken!'” (Jeremiah 28:2-4, NLT)
So these kind of prophecies are coming out in Babylon. I think this was in Babylon. To counter that, God talks to Jeremiah and has him send a letter to the exiles to counter those kinds of prophecies.
So that’s kind of the quick background of where they are right now. And that’s when we will go into Psalm 29. I don’t have this on the projector screen, so I’ll just read it aloud. If you have a Bible with you, please follow along. But Jeremiah 29:1-23, it says, it’s a letter to the exiles.
Jeremiah wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the elders, priests, prophets, and all the people who have been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar.
This was after King Jehoiachin, the queen mother, the court officials and other officials of Judah, and all the craftsmen and artisans have been deported to Jerusalem. He sent the letter with Elasa, son of Shaphan, and Gamariah, the son of Hilica, when they went to Babylon as King Zedekiah’s ambassadors to Nebuchadnezzar.
This is what Jeremiah’s letter said.
This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Army, the God of Israel, says to all the captives He has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: Build homes and plan to stay. Plant gardens and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that they may have many grandchildren. Then you may have many grandchildren. Multiply. Do not dwindle away.
1 Jeremiah wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the elders, priests, prophets, and all the people who had been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. 2 This was after King Jehoiachin, the queen mother, the court officials, the other officials of Judah, and all the craftsmen and artisans had been deported from Jerusalem. 3 He sent the letter with Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah when they went to Babylon as King Zedekiah’s ambassadors to Nebuchadnezzar. This is what Jeremiah’s letter said: 4 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: 5 “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. 6 Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! (Jeremiah 29:1-6, NLT)
7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” 8 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams, 9 because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the Lord. 10 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” 15 You claim that the Lord has raised up prophets for you in Babylon. 16 But this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all those still living here in Jerusalem—your relatives who were not exiled to Babylon. 17 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “I will send war, famine, and disease upon them and make them like bad figs, too rotten to eat. 18 Yes, I will pursue them with war, famine, and disease, and I will scatter them around the world. In every nation where I send them, I will make them an object of damnation, horror, contempt, and mockery. 19 For they refuse to listen to me, though I have spoken to them repeatedly through the prophets I sent. And you who are in exile have not listened either,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore, listen to this message from the Lord, all you captives there in Babylon. 21 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says about your prophets—Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah—who are telling you lies in my name: “I will turn them over to Nebuchadnezzar for execution before your eyes. 22 Their terrible fate will become proverbial, so that the Judean exiles will curse someone by saying, ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned alive!’ 23 For these men have done terrible things among my people. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have lied in my name, saying things I did not command. I am a witness to this. I, the Lord, have spoken.” (Jeremiah 29:7-23, NLT)
So that’s the chapter 29.
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11, NLT)
That kind of puts that into a context of what the exiles were facing. They were about to go into this long 70-year period under Nebuchadnezzar. And let’s see.
So 70 years of exile, not two years. Like the false prophet said, God told people not to listen to false prophets, but settle down and prepare to be there for a long time.
It’s almost twice as long as the wandering in the wilderness for exile. So for the exile, you know, the 40 years basically caused the entire generation to pass on, and the new generation, not until then were they allowed to enter into the promised land. But it’s 70 years. So we’re talking about even to the third generation. They said, you know, have grandchildren.
So it was that the severity of the punishment, the consequence of their disobedience and rebellion against God, was really made clear.
There’s discussion about the significance of the number 70, like seven as a perfect number, full terms of the payment of the sin. Or there are even people who talk about the number of the Jubilee years that the Israelites failed to obey. That adds up to the number 70, I’m not sure. But whatever.
Regardless what they make of that, it’s a very long time, and Jehoiachin will not actually be able to ever return to Jerusalem.
And although at the end of Jeremiah, it’s interesting because there’s a small section that talks about how Jehoiachin gets freed. The new king has compassion over him, and he will free the king. He gets to sit at the dining table with the king, and they dine together for the rest of his life in Babylon.
So it’s kind of like a glimpse of hope, where the line of David the king, there’s some hope to the future that God is protecting the line of David.
And, yeah, indeed, this was one of the most dramatic and terrible events that the Israelites have ever experienced up to that point. It was a great time of trouble for the people.
Okay. And yet, and this was also, there’s a message, like I shared at the beginning, Jeremiah was called to give a message of hope for the future.
And here are some key passages that provide this hope.
So Jeremiah 29:10-14 says…
10 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” (Jeremiah 29:10-14, NLT)
It wasn’t a quick answer to prayer, but it was a short promise. God is not going to abandon his people. And even this is people who are basically refusing to listen to him, to turn back. And yet God is giving these kinds of promises long before the people repent or turn back to him.
So we know God is amazing, showing his mercy and grace even to such a stiff-necked people. And in fact, he asked the exiles to pray for the prosperity of the local city that they will be living in.
So God is even in Babylon. We know that God is omnipresent, but he is willing to listen to his people’s cry and prayer there. So the plan to give the people future and hope continues from chapter 29 throughout the next few chapters. And I pulled out a few verses.
So, freedom from bondage of the Babylonians, and they will serve a new king, descended from David.
So verse seven of chapter 30 says…
7 In all history there has never been such a time of terror. It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet in the end they will be saved! 8 For in that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will break the yoke from their necks and snap their chains. Foreigners will no longer be their masters. 9 For my people will serve the Lord their God and their king descended from David— the king I will raise up for them. (Jeremiah 30:7-9, NLT)
A new covenant is what God is going to make with his people. Day is coming, says the Lord. I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant.
Though I love them as husband loves his wife, says the Lord.
But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts.
31 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. 33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34, NLT)
Everlasting covenant relationship with God. So chapter 32 keeps going, and it says…
36 “Now I want to say something more about this city. You have been saying, ‘It will fall to the king of Babylon through war, famine, and disease.’ But this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 37 I will certainly bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. 41 I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land. (Jeremiah 32:36-41, NLT)
So, yeah, such words of encouragement. And this is right as people are getting taken out to Babylon.
Okay, so when we try to think from the Israelites’ shoes, when they hear that, I was trying to think, how did they understand those prophecies in the midst of that?
And it’s pretty clear that they will someday, not long, much later, generations later, they will one day come back to their homeland, and there will be a king that will reign over them.
And of course, from their perspective, we know that much later. That’s what, in Jesus’ time, that’s what people are expecting. A Davidic King who will come and rescue them from the oppression of the Romans and restore an earthly kingdom.
But it was something that they couldn’t conceive, what God’s plans were. Right.
From their perspective, it makes total sense that they couldn’t see what that really meant.
9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9, NLT)
What is it? This is about Jesus.
7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God —his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. (1 Corinthians 2:7-8, NLT)
This is what the Scriptures mean when they say…
10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. (1 Corinthians 2:10-12, NLT)
So the kingdom that was to last forever and the king who was to come and the land that they were going to be restored to, of course, they returned to Jerusalem. But still, there were so many problems and there were continuous issues.
But it seems like all the prophecies also point to the future. Much later, when Jesus came and what he has done ultimately as the true king and the Spiritual kingdom that he will one day fully establish on this earth.
So that’s the message that was given to the people of the southern kingdom, Judah, during their exile and through their rebellion.
And I wanted to, with that in context, we received the Spirit as we are on the other side of Jesus’ arrival and his work on the cross and resurrection. If you read these passages to us, it makes sense that this is Jesus because we have the Spirit who revealed these things, to reveal these things to us, which people at the time didn’t know.
And I was thinking, okay, go back to this, Jeremiah. And from now that we are on the other side of the post-resurrection era, how should we receive this truth, this passage?
And in light of, you know, as I shared at the beginning, so much going on in this world, how do we find? How can we find encouragement and comfort through what God is, who God is, and what he does for his people?
And one thing is that it’s not a. We know that it’s probably not a quick. We pray, and it’s not a quick answer necessarily.
It’s something that we have to, like Kevin has been sharing. It’s ongoing. We have to keep on pressing forward, one step forward, two steps forward, one step back. But we persevere and push on.
And in this hope that we have, it says…
12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. (Jeremiah 29:12-13, NLT)
I think that promise still holds true for us. And I was thinking, as we have the Holy Spirit, and we know more than what the Jewish people saw back in those times of exile, just trying to figure, see if there’s anything else that I need to further press on and think about.
And so, okay, so when I was thinking about this, if you look for me wholeheartedly or seek me wholeheartedly, I think a different translation says and pray. And in light of what we experienced through Judy’s miraculous healing, or people passing on.
And I started, and my dad passed away about now, eight years ago. It was a really unforgettable experience to see him cross over to the other side of eternity.
That really got me together with Judy’s testimony, how when she came face to face with Jesus, she didn’t want to come back. It was such a peaceful place. She knew that her kids, her husband, everybody, all the families, they’d be taken care of if she wanted to be with the Lord.
And Pastor Kevin’s recommendation. One of the books is called Imagine Heaven by John Burke. I don’t know if you ever read that book, Brian, but it’s all the near-death encounters, testimonies, people who went through a similar experience like Julie has. Somehow they got into an accident, or they get sick and pass away, and they come face to face with the Lord. There are a lot of different accounts.
The author is pretty trying to make it really clear so that people don’t. They pick people’s story where they coming out and sharing these stories. They have more to lose than to gain. So these prominent people will hire in the society, or yet everybody seemed to consistently say that when they come face to face with the Lord, when they enter into the final place of the kingdom of heaven, they’re at perfect peace. And it’s such a good place to be. So very similar to what Julie has shared.
And so, I was thinking in terms of seeking wholeheartedly. If we more, more as we come, in terms of what this kingdom, you know, we’re talking about this true kingdom that’s going to be established, has been established now here, and it’s taking place, taking over this world even now, but it’s going to be fully consummated, completed when Jesus comes back.
For again, this kingdom, the more we kind of that reality that we are in this kingdom through Christ, that reality becomes more of. That becomes a reality that helps to.
Helps me to pray wholeheartedly and also to face all the things that we face right now in this world, in this side of the eternity.
So let’s see, you know, as I can’t, I keep on coming back to this. So when Judy encountered the Lord, Jesus told her the prayers of the righteous have been answered.
And when I think of prayer, so interesting, I put this character, this is a Chinese character, but Japanese. We borrowed the Chinese characters, Kanji. So we use the same characters oftentimes same. And this is the character for righteousness.
It’s a pretty complicated letter, but actually it can break down into two separate components, which is amazing.
So the top part, as you can see, this part is this. And it’s a character meaning sheep. And this part, it’s wa. Or myself or me, right? So the word righteousness, in Chinese characters, it means it consists of lam over me. Right.
And then these characters were being developed, they say, about 2,500 BC, the earlier Chinese empire. And so it’s pretty amazing that. And we know that the record seemed to looked into this a little bit.
And the record shows that the earlier thousands of years before Buddhism and Taoism and all those Chinese current religions became prominent, the emperors in the olden days, they believed in one and true God, one God of heaven.
And it seems like. And it’s interesting, but this is 2500 BC. And so it’s kind of prophetic that this character lamb is over self. You know, this is long before Jesus’ time in the lamb of God. You know the concept.
So there you have it. This is so just a kind of a side info for you.
But I’m really always amazed by. There’s other characters in Chinese, like the character ship, large ship. It’s made out of one part of the character is a smaller boat, and next to it is the number eight in mouth. So eight mouths. And why is there a boat with eight mouths that makes a ship? And, you know, Noah and his wife and his three sons and their wives. So that’s eight people.
So anyway, there’s a lot of interesting things like that in the Chinese characters. So. But anyway, the righteousness, the prayer of righteous, when.
When I think about myself, when I pray, surely I don’t feel like I’m a righteous person. When Judy said prayer of righteous, we were all praying for her. But surely it’s not my prayers that were answered, but if you think about it, yeah.
Righteousness is what righteousness is. The righteousness is bestowed upon me through Christ, what he has done, the Lamb of God. And so in Christ, I am a righteous, fully righteous. I am made righteous because of not my own merit, but what Jesus has done for me on the cross.
So as we pray, you know, oftentimes I don’t pray because I don’t believe that I’m the righteous prayer in Christ. But in fact, if you are those who confessed your sins and gave your life to Jesus, you are righteous.
We are all the righteous warriors, righteous prayers for Jesus. And so with that identity, we are called to pray, and we are called to continue to walk our walk and continue to wholeheartedly seek the Lord as we face all the troubles, like what the exiles, the Israelites were facing.
So, and, okay, so this is a time of, I wanted to take this moment to pray together. There’s. And two weeks ago, we. Kevin, through Habakkuk, we were talking about, you know, I think Kevin shared about how, you know, we pray for a revival, but God tells him, you know, you guys aren’t ready. You know, the moment that we’re ready, God turned on the light and said, okay, he’s gonna pour out that spirit, you know?
So, yeah, then how should we pray? You know, as a righteous prayer, we should ask God that he will give us the Spiritual muscle to be ready for that revival outpouring of the Spirit. We want to be ready. Shouldn’t we all pray like that?
And please prepare us, whatever it takes, to help us to be able to carry the weight of all the revival, all the people who will come to know the Lord. And again, you know, when I look at myself, when I look at myself, I’m the insecure or timid person who’s…
I don’t know what I can do. But in Christ, I’m a righteous prayer warrior, and I need to boldly make that request to, you know, God. God is going to do what? And I want to be used by him.
So. And when I watch the news, I’m just so amazed. And I don’t know if you watch news these days. You know, I try not to get too involved too much because it’s so, you know, it gets really. You get riled up.
But I think what Jamie shared last week was really helpful, too. To be able to listen to other people for the sake of the gospel, to understand the other side, we need to. I feel like when I hear people who I completely disagree with, I get really riled up inside and I can’t remain calm or think critically.
So I know I have to practice or work on that area as well, to listen or have a dialogue, to be able to have more dialogue with people.
I don’t disagree. I disagree with or I have different views. But when I see the news, it’s so amazing that we were talking about the same event, like, I don’t know, the assassination of Donald Trump or something. And one side is saying one thing and the other side is saying something completely opposite. Are we even talking about the same event here? You know, how people perceive the events. What’s going on around us is so different. It seems like just a simple victory in election or it’s not going to be enough.
There has to be a complete cultural transformation. And we need the work of this revival, work of the Spirit that really changes, soften everybody’s heart so that we can even come together to have discussion and dialogue.
So I want to pray for that. And I don’t know. Do you know Jeffrey Sachs? I came across, I shared this with Kevin and Stefan as well. But Tucker Carlson had an interview like three or four months ago, and I listened to it in two and a half hours. So it’s a little long.
A lot of his interviews are really long. But I was really disturbed when I sat there and listened to his story. It turns out he’s an economist. During the Reagan administration, he was an economic advisor to Gorbachev and Yeltsin when the Soviet Union was collapsing. They dissolved the Warsaw Pact and were reaching out to the western countries for help to be more normal and to be able to join the western economic community, no longer as a Soviet communist party. And they dissolved it.
And he happened to be in the room in the Kremlin when Yeltsin or Gorbachev, I think it was Yeltsin, who came into the room and said, you know, the Soviet Union has just dissolved. You know, will you help us get on our feet? We need your help.
And so he was one of the economic advisors who would go in and try to help Russia, the Soviet Union, or Russia get back on their feet and their economy. But some of the things that he’s sharing are just so crazy. There’s so much corruption.
There’s so much what the US, the top, either CIA or whatever, he’s getting canceled. When he started speaking out, he can no longer, he was no longer invited to news media. And that’s why he speaks in places like Tucker Carlson.
But when I hear all the things that are happening in our government, and it’s not even just the last few years, it’s been going on for decades. And I’m just so naive. I realize I’m so ignorant and naive.
But if this is true, and I have to continue to look into it, so please research this and let me know. There’s maybe a counter argument or critique of what he’s saying. But if this is true, it’s like God warning these kings and saying, okay, turn back. you’re oppressing all other nations, doing all these evil things. God sees that. You can’t mock him. There has to be consequence.
It makes me really concerned. I’m fearful for this country, and there has to be a reform somehow. This thing has to be fixed. We cannot go on like this.
I don’t think God is going to, and I know I agree with Kevin, that kingdom of heaven is advancing. It’s not like this is the end of the world kind of thing, but there’s no guarantee that God will let the United States of America keep going and doing these kinds of things.
So pray for this nation. Pray for whoever comes into power will be able to reform like Josiah’s reformation, turn decades of corruption and all these things that are happening in the government to be, you know, utterly fixed.
And I think, you know, it seems like we’re at a really critical time for this country that we love.
I’m not even a citizen of this country. I’m a permanent resident. But, you know, this is my place. And I think if this country goes down, you know, the rest of Japan or whoever, my home country, or all of western civilization as we know it will go down within.
And of course for us, we have the eternity, the final kingdom of heaven in sight. So that helps us to be in the right perspective as we face these things. You know, for us, as a believer in Christ, whatever happens, God is, we’re good. And yet, you know, for the sake of our kids, for our grandkids, I want this country to God to protect and survive.
So, you know, it’s my prayer that, yeah, something has to change. And yeah, of course these are big prayers. And of course, at a more individual level, we ought to continue to pray for my personal walk with the Lord.
And we also ought to wholeheartedly seek him every day so that we can experience him and be more effective in the kingdom work that we are called to do here.
So I think that’s it. Yeah. So, anything else to pray about? Any prayer requests?
We can pray. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. So therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers.
I’ve always struggled with that verse because I don’t know where that harvest is. It’s hard to see here in America. Not that it’s not happening. Yeah.
But just praying for humbleness and repentance, because you have to do that if you’re going to have a revival. There has to be in the church first. It has to start from our hearts. Yeah. Yeah, that’s. Amen. That’s true. Yeah.
So let’s pray. That’s the first thing we should pray for. And so let’s pray, and then we’ll. After that, we’ll go into communion because. Yeah, let’s do that.
Heavenly Father, we thank you so much that you’re a compassionate God. you’re slow to anger and just full of grace and mercy.
Even you show so much compassion towards the Israelites who are so rebellious. And same with all of us. We once were your enemies, and we were against you. And yet you reached out and you rescued each one of us here. Anybody who calls on your name, you answered and made us your own. So we thank you so much for that reminder.
And, Lord, again, we turn our eyes to you.
And repentance, we align ourselves to you so that in all our sinful nature, you will cover us, even now, with the precious blood of Jesus. your blood was shed on the cross, and with your broken body, you forgave us and cleansed us, and you declared us righteous.
So we thank you. And, Lord, we ask for that as a righteous child of God. Children of God, we lift up our voices and call upon your name, and we pray for that. You will show your face to us that we may encounter you.
May your kingdom, may your presence, may your become more and more real. The reality of our secure future, guaranteed promise, is becoming real, more and more real, so that all the other noise, all our sinful tendencies, will all fall away.
And that we can truly be made more like you, Jesus. So we need to encounter. We need to experience your revival through which we can be. your love and your light will pour out, overflow from us, and spread to all those few people who are in need.
So please start your work of revival from us within our hearts. And that’s why we need Lord. And Lord especially. This is a really dire time for not only the United States, but it seems like the western world at the national level, international level, but also Kitsap County, this city. We.
You say the harvest is plentiful. Lord, open our eyes to see those, to be able to find those harvests, and send us there to become your instrument to bring your light and bring your kingdom into the places that have yet to be taken over by or conquered by you.
So send us, Lord, and use us, Lord, for your work in any capacity, any way that you see fit. Each and every one of us is unique and different and made specifically for your purpose. So, yeah, send us in your own way and help us to follow you.
Thank you, Lord. And thank you for the meal that you’ve. That you invite us to. And help us to be nourished by your bread and wine and renew our commitment to you tonight.
So we thank you, Lord, and we pray all this in the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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