Hope For The Hopeless - 2/18/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

Welcome to the podcast of Meadows

Baptist Church of Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. We're so glad you joined us

today. If you enjoy today's message, be

sure to subscribe, follow, and share

with your friends. Now, let's join

Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from

God.

All right. If you would take God's word

tonight and turn with me to the book of

Lamentations,

the book of Lamentations.

And yes, that is a book of the Bible.

And uh it is in there. It's in between

the book of Jeremiah and the book of

Ezekiel.

And uh

had this thought on my heart today. Just

couldn't get away from it. and uh by the

events of the day I feel like it's very

suitable and you pray God will help me

tonight and uh

thinking today just about the service

tonight and uh I'd love to continue on

in Jude but I want to give us a little

break from that and uh that's a lot to

stomach two services in a row and I want

to be encouragement to you. Amen. And uh

I tell you what, all this book's good.

Amen. All the Bible's good, but I tell

you what, uh, if you preached on Luke 16

every week or or the book of Jude every

week, he might not have anybody left.

Amen. And, uh, so, uh, I'll preach as

long as God says to, Amen., but he's

he's got more sense than I do. Amen. So,

he'll lead us in the right way. U, but

I, I felt led to go here today, uh, just

in my prayer time and, uh, reading,

studying this. And so, I want to look

this this evening in the book of

Lamentations, chapter 3. I want to read

Lamentations 3 · chapter mention

just a few verses. Um verse number verse

number 17 is we'll begin reading or

actually let's begin reading in verse

number 15

verse number 15. Lamentations chapter 3

Lamentations 3 · chapter mention

and uh

give me a minute to get my mind sorted

out here. Lamentations chapter 3 verse

Lamentations 3 · chapter mention

number 15. Father help us. Help us. The

Bible says in verse number 15 of

Lamentations 3, he hath filled me with

bitterness. Heath made me drunken with

wormwood. He hath also broken Heath also

broken my teeth with gravel stones. He

hath covered me with ashes, and thou has

removed my soul far off from peace. I

forget prosperity. And I said, my

strength and my hope is perished from

the Lord, remembering mine affliction

and my misery, the wormwood and the G.

My soul hath them still in remembrance,

and is humbled in me. And notice verse

21, Jeremiah says, he says, "This I

recall to my mind, therefore have I

hope." Verse 22, he says, "It is of the

Lord's mercies that we are not consumed

>> because his compassions fail not."

>> Right?

>> They are new every morning.

Great is thy faithfulness.

And he says in verse 24, "The Lord is my

portion, saith my soul. Therefore will I

hope in him. In verse 25, he says, "The

Lord is good unto them that wait for him

to the soul that seeketh him." And I

want to zero in if we could for just a

little while this evening in verse

number 21 where Jeremiah says, "This I

recall to my mind, therefore

have I hope." I want to preach on this

thought for just a little while. Hope

for the hopeless.

Hope for the hopeless. Now, I know

tonight that where we're at and we're in

a an air conditioned building tonight.

And far as I know, everything's all

right. My I'm in my right mind, I think.

Amen. And uh God's been good. I'm

breathing air and I want to preach.

Amen. I feel liberty and God's blessed

me. I'll tell you this, we ain't all We

don't all feel that way.

>> That's right.

>> And uh I'll say this, I don't feel that

way all the time.

>> You're right. And I'm thankful that my

circumstances do not have to override

the condition of my heart.

>> And I want to give you some truths

tonight out of this text concerning uh

Jeremiah's state here in Lamentations.

We know Jeremiah tonight. He's described

as the weeping prophet. Jeremiah

preached some 70 years and never saw a

single person repent and get right with

God that we know of from the scriptures.

And I don't know about you, but that

would be discouraging. I've been at this

church just about a year and a half,

maybe a little over that. And we've seen

several souls be saved here in the

church. But could you imagine 70 years

preaching to people that did not want to

hear what you have to say? Had no desire

to get right with God. And I'll say

this, if America keeps going the way

that she is, it's a very good

possibility that we come upon those

days. And uh but Jeremiah's preaching,

he's been faithful to preach, but he's

been through all kinds of turmoil. And

I'm not going to go into all that

tonight. I just want to give you what's

in these verses. But Jeremiah has

suffered. And in this chapter, Jeremiah

describes the suffering that he is

facing. And in verse number one, notice

what you Bible says.

He says, "I am the man that hath seen

affliction by the rod of his wrath." And

this really begins the summary basically

from verse one all the way down through

verse number 20 of what Jeremiah is

going to say. Jeremiah is discouraged.

Jeremiah is depressed. And he says first

of all he says I'm afflicted. Number one

in verse number one he says I'm

afflicted and it's seems to be my

punishment. Now I'll say this tonight.

When we feel afflicted, many times our

mind, our carnal mind decides in itself

that it must be some form of punishment.

But let me remind you, not all

affliction is because you deserve

punishment. Jeremiah had done nothing

wrong in this text. But because of the

sin of the nation, he was suffering

affliction. And I'll say this as the

church of the living God. If our nation

was to come under siege by another

country and affliction come because of

the sin of this country, you realize

that it would not directly be our fault

as a church as we've done nothing wrong.

But Jeremiah was a godly man living in

the midst of a godless country. And

because of that, he was in affliction as

they were in captivity. And he felt as

though it was his punishment. He was

afflicted in punishment. And and you

notice also in the heaviness of his

prayer here in the text, the Bible says

in verse 7 and 8, he hath hedged me

about that I cannot get out. He hath

made my chain heavy. Listen to what he

says also when I cry and shout. Notice

this, he shutth out my prayer. And so

God is afflicting him seemingly for

punishment, but he also feels as though

God has avoided his prayers. Now, if

you've lived any amount of time in this

life, you've been through a period where

you felt that. where it felt like the

heavens were brass and there was no

entrance and definitely there was no

exit of anything holy from heaven into

your life, but it just felt like the

heavens were stonefaced and that God had

turned his back on you. But I'm thankful

that that's only on our side. Amen. God

had not turned his back on Jeremiah. God

had not left him behind. And though he

spent his years in misery in that

captivity because of sin of somebody

else, the sin of that nation, God

blessed him and brought him through all

of that. And let me say this to you

tonight. Your circumstances do not have

to change your mindset about the life

that you're living. Amen. I believe it

with all of my heart tonight that you do

not have to allow your outward

circumstances, your current situation

cause you to be discouraged or to back

up on God. Amen.

>> But I'll say this, it will bring

discouragement at times. And Jeremiah,

as great a man of God as he was, he felt

afflicted. He felt like he was being

avoided. But notice what he says in

verse 15. He felt like not only God had

afflicted him personally and that God

had avoided his prayers, but he also

felt like that God had appointed his

pain. Listen to what he says in verse

15. He hath filled me with bitterness.

He hath made me drunken with wormwood.

Now, in essence, that's saying the exact

same thing that his life is just full of

bitter things. and he is blaming God for

the bitterness that's in his life. He

feels as though God has placed all of

this bitterness in his life. But let me

remind you, God did not place this upon

him because he thought that Jeremiah had

done something wrong or because Jeremiah

had failed God or missed the mark, but

he was just experiencing what we all go

through at times. And it's this little

thing called depression.

Jeremiah is depressed.

Now, I don't know about you, but if you

look around the church world today,

about 95% of them is depressed. You're

>> right.

>> But I'll say this. You don't have to be.

You're

>> right.

>> Notice this in this text. Three things

by way of introduction. I'll give you

the message tonight. Jeremiah felt like

God had a pointed his pain. He says,

"He's filled me with bitterness." In

verse 15, verse 16, he says he's broken

my teeth with gravel stones. Of course

not literally. But but he's he's he's

imaging he's making imagery here of how

he feels. I tell you what, our feelings

are like the ocean sometimes, aren't

they? Tossed about all over the place.

And even in this chapter, Jeremiah, he

go he's down and then he comes back up

and then towards the end of the chapter,

he goes back down and and he's just has

a wave of emotions. I'll tell you this,

if you're not careful in your life, you

let your emotions dictate the operation

of your life. You're right.

>> You'll let your feelings dictate

>> the way that you possess the operations

of your daily life. I'll say this, it

matters how you carry yourself.

>> Amen.

>> To use an old English word department,

how the way that you operate, the the

the stance that you take, the attitude

that you have, that matters tonight.

>> You're right.

>> And it matters every day of your life.

And you say, "Preacher, well Jeremiah,

he was God's man. He made it into the

scriptures and he was discouraged. Well,

let me just remind you just about every

man that's come through this book got

discouraged at one point in time.

>> And so we ought not think ourselves to

escape from this discouragement, but we

ought not stay that way. Notice what he

says here. And I'll give you these three

things. I need to move on. Notice first

of all tonight in way by way of

introduction, notice his mindset. Verse

number 17, he says, "Thou has removed my

soul far off from peace. I forget

prosperity." Basically what he's saying

is is that there is no goodness in my

life. I find no place to lay my head. I

find no rest in this life. But I tell

you what, there was another man that had

the same thing. Amen. Jesus said, "The

birds of the air have nest, and the

foxes have holes, but the son of man

hath not where to lay his head." Amen.

And so don't expect life to be all ease.

Amen. And all peace and p plush and

cushy all the time. But notice what he

says in verse 18. And I say it now right

there gives gives it away. What's your

Bible say? Out of the abundance of the

heart, what the mouth speaketh, right?

And so Jeremiah, look what he says. He

said, "And I said, my strength and my

hope is perish from the Lord."

Now, this is the man that God has

handpicked for himself. You read the

book of Jeremiah chapter number one. God

calls him unto himself. And Jeremiah

says, "I can't speak." He said, "I I'm

but a youth, Lord. I you can't use me."

And God calls him unto himself and

chooses him, handpicks him for the

ministry, but I'll say this, even though

he was handpicked, he was hurt.

And Jeremiah, his mindset is number one,

is that he cannot endure any longer.

Look what he says. My strength is

perished. He has no endurance left.

Lord, I cannot go any further. Has

anybody ever felt like that? Amen.

>> You don't have to raise your hand.

That's everybody in here. Amen.

>> Lord, my strength. I have no endurance

left. But not only that, look what he

says. My strength and what? My hope. Not

only Lord, I can't go any further, but

also not as only his endurance, but his

expectation is gone. Lord, I can't

endure because I have nothing to endure

for. Jeremiah's not seeing that

captivity would ever end. He's not

seeing an exit from the problems that

are present in his life. And heaven

knows, we've all been there before.

There comes places where we just can't

go further. And really, the main reason

why we have no strength. We can't endure

any longer is because there seems to be

no ending place.

>> There's no light at the end of the

tunnel, so to speak. And if we're not

careful, that's where our mindset will

bring us to. Yeah.

>> If you look through physical eyes at all

in this life, you're going to find and

see things INEVITABLY THAT ARE

DISCOURAGING.

>> AMEN.

>> And you know what? Because what you let

enter in your eye gate and what you let

enter in your ear gate, you will become

discouraged.

>> It will affect your mindset. It will

remove your endurance. It will remove

your expectation. Look what he says.

It's perished from the Lord. That means

it's departed. Jeremiah lost all hope in

God. Listen to what else he says. Why is

his mindset this way? Well, you notice

his malady in verse number 19. Look what

he says. Remembering mine affliction and

my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

Jeremiah's problems are constantly

resurfacing

in his life. That word there in the text

where the Bible says his affliction that

means poverty. Jeremiah was impoverished

and he had nothing to supply his need.

We know there was one case in Jeremiah

where he was let down in a pit of mud

and and he was sinking up in that pit of

mud and Jeremiah found himself hungry

many times and impoverished and he was

not desired by his own people but he

wasn't desired by the people that he was

in captivity with and he was just sort

of left all on his own and he says

because of that he says I was po

impoverished but he also says I was

destitute he said I remember mine

affliction and my misery Y that word

misery means that he was empty.

You say, "Preacher, how is it that the

prophet of God could be empty?" Because

his circumstances had become bigger than

his God.

>> Right?

>> He was destitute. He was bitter. Verse

19, he said, "Remember in my affliction

and my misery, the wormwood and the

gall. That bitter, that wormwood is

literally a a image of bitterness. And

that gall is a picture of poison. that

is as God has made him to drink this

poison seemingly to defile and destroy

him. And you say, "Preacher, HOW COULD

HE SAY THAT ABOUT GOD?" WELL, you just

get yourself in a mess sometime and see

how you feel about it.

>> You just GET IN A PLACE SOMETIME when

you feel like God's forgotten you and

God's left you behind and YOU'LL FIND

OUT WHAT YOU'RE REALLY MADE OF. That's

>> right.

>> Jeremiah was struggling. HE WAS

TROUBLED. WE DON'T WE CAN'T EVEN BEGIN

TO WRAP OUR MIND around the suffering

that he was facing. BUT I SEE AMIDST all

of that, you realize that even the

deepest sufferings, our Lord Jesus, he

went through the deepest sufferings that

any man had ever known. But I tell you

what, his mind never left his purpose.

HIS MOTIVE WAS ALWAYS SALVATION FOR

THOSE THAT WOULD BELIEVE. And Jesus,

though he went to the cross, he he

endured the cross for the joy that was

set before him. And so the entire time

he WAS ON THE CROSS, WHAT DOES THE SONG

SAY? I WAS ON HIS MIND. JEREMIAH'S

PROBLEM WAS HIS MINDSET was wrong.

>> He was constantly thinking about his

maladies. And notice this verse 20 and

it further describes his issue. And I'll

give you the message tonight.

First of all, his mindset, you see his

malady, but notice his musings in verse

20. He says, "My soul hath them still in

remembrance and is humbled in me." Now,

what does that mean? Well, Jeremiah's

mindset that's like the foundation. This

is what his thinking is based off of.

And here's what here's You say,

"Preacher, what is that?" Well, that's a

presupposition is what that is. When you

look at your life through a through

glasses of depression, you know what?

You'll never find anything good. You're

>> right.

>> When you look at your family through a

glass half empty mentality, you'll never

find anything to rejoice in.

>> When you look at this church through a

glass half empty mentality, you'll never

find anything to be thankful for. When

you look at your spouse through that

mentality, with that presupposition in

your life, when you're musing constantly

on that mindset of depression, you'll

never find any rejoicing.

>> You're right.

>> But you see this mindset was furthered

here. Not only the baseline was

depression, but also all the thoughts of

his mind, what his life was founded

upon, but then everything that was built

upon it was nothing but musings of

misery. And he says there in verse 19,

remembering or or verse 20, my soul hath

them still in remembrance. And I I want

to give you this truth here tonight.

You know, in your mind tonight, right

now, as we said in this church, there

are things in your mind that are there

because you want them to be there.

>> That's good.

>> And in this text, what you notice here

is this. You say, "Preacher, well, my

circumstances are too big. I cannot get

them out of my mind. I can't escape

them. I can't get away from them." Well,

let me just show you something in this

verse. There is no circumstance too big.

>> You're right.

>> Amen.

>> That you can't get your mind out of it.

>> Good.

>> Look what he says. My soul hath them

still in remembrance. That word still

there speaks of a desire. You say, "What

do you mean by that?" Well, Jeremiah is

thinking about these things because he

wants to,

>> right?

>> You say, "Preacher, what is that? What's

a pity part?"

All of these thoughts are in his mind

because he has allowed them to be there.

You're

>> right.

>> He is making a choice. He says, "My soul

has them still in remembrance." He is

musing these thoughts, this misery, this

anxiety, this bitterness. He says, "My

soul had them still in remembrance." And

not only there's the desire of his mind,

but there's the depression of his mind.

In verse 20, notice what he says. "And

is humbled in me." You know what that

word humbled means? It means bowed over.

Literally means to be depressed.

Jeremiah says, "Because I'm constantly

pulling from this well of misery,

I've become depressed and my soul is

bowed down."

Now, you know, I see a lot of Christians

like that,

>> right?

And the sad thing about it is is what

they don't realize is they're making a

conscious choice

>> to be that way.

>> You say, "Preacher, how is that?" Well,

notice this in the message tonight.

We've seen his mindset, his maladies,

his problem. We've seen his musings that

and see the musings. What you think

about those those musings of your daily

life, what you think about as a man

thinkketh in his heart, what does the

Bible say? So is he. What you are

constantly focused on is inevitably who

you will become. You're

>> right.

>> What you are constantly rolling around

in your mind is inevitably the operation

that you will employ. You will operate

the way that you think. You're

>> right.

>> But Jeremiah says this in verse 21.

And in a turning of this chapter, verses

1- 20 is just a remembrance of all

that's wrong. thinking about all that's

bad. Stinking thinking like my mama

would like to call it. Amen. But I'll

say this. He decides to take a turn in

verse 21. He says, "This I recall to my

mind. Therefore

have I hope." I want to give you three

things tonight and I'll be done. All

right? You see Jeremiah's got a mess. We

would all agree with that. You don't

have to look very far in the book of

Jeremiah to see that it is nothing but

problem after problem after problem. And

let me say this, your preacher is not

minimizing your problems tonight. You're

right.

>> Okay? I'm not minimizing the issues that

you have because here's the thing about

it. If it matters to you, I know it

matters to God. Amen.

>> But I'll say this. What the way that you

look at that thing is going to determine

whether or not you come out of it on the

other side with the sun shining or in

the bottom of the ocean. Amen.

>> Right?

>> Look what he says. Number one, I would

say tonight, there is the choice of

remembrance. Hope for the hopeless.

What? What? How can a hopeless soul find

hope? Well, number one, I would say for

you and I tonight who are saved, there

must be a choice of remembrance. Look

what he says. This I recall to my mind.

Therefore have I hope. In this verse,

you note first of all, he states about

this recollection. He says, this I

recall to my mind. Now you notice in

this verse this this this this

terminology that's used here. Jeremiah

does not say this truth comes to my

mind.

And now there's a there's a lot of

things in our life when we live

throughout our daily life. There'll be

things that that's trigger thoughts. And

and I was thinking about this today. I

wrote this down. Just a little thought

that I had earlier today. There are

times when the memory of our redemption

and salvation in our life comes to back

to us out of the blue. You'll be going

down the road some days and a song will

start playing on the radio if you're

listening to a good station. Somebody

say amen. And you'll start thinking

about your salvation and God will just

bless your socks off. And man, I'm

telling you, I'm thankful for those

times in my life when out of the blue

the Holy Ghost just sits down beside me

in the car. Nobody else is around. I

forget where I'm going. forget what I'm

doing and I just have to lift my hands

and say, "Thank you, Lord, for being so

good. Yeah, everything's not right.

Everything's not okay. BUT GOD, YOU

SAVED MY SOUL. AND I KNOW IF I DIED

right now that I'd be in heaven with

you. YEAH, IT'S NOT PERFECT. YEAH, IT'S

NOT ALL RIGHT. BUT BOY, I'M THANKFUL.

HALLELUJAH. WHEN HE SITS DOWN IN MY

HEART, I'M THANKFUL THAT I KNOW THAT I

MIGHT BE ALL RIGHT." AMEN.

>> But I thought about this.

You know, those times when it just comes

back to us out of the blue are real

good. But I'll say this, the times that

we need it the most, we must choose to

go back and pick it up oursel.

>> Amen.

>> You know, God will show up sometimes in

your life by his providence. But here's

the miracle of the Christian life, and

this is what I love about it. Being

saved, you don't never have to get away

from that.

>> You're right.

>> You say, "Well, you mean, preacher?"

Well, you don't have to wait till just

some, you know, spur-of the- moment time

coming down the road when the right song

comes on and you're in the right frame

of mind to feel okay. You say,

"Preacher, what do you mean?" I'm

saying, "Yeah, it's good when GOD JUST

SHOWS UP OUT OF THE BLUE." BUT WHEN'S

THE LAST TIME YOU GOT IN A PLACE WHERE

YOU SAID, "LORD, I JUST CAN'T DO IT NO

MORE." AND YOU WENT TO YOUR BLESSED OLD

BIBLE AND YOU FOUND YOUR PRAYER CLOSET

AND YOU JUST SAT DOWN AND SAID, "LORD, I

DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE GOING TO SHOW UP OR

NOT, BUT LORD, I SURE NEED SOME HELP.

LORD, WOULD YOU PLEASE COME AND SIT DOWN

AND LET ME SAY BETTER THAN ANY TIME IT

SHOWED UP OUT OF THE BLUE. IT'S BEEN

THOSE TIMES WHEN I'VE MADE A CONSCIOUS

EFFORT TO GO SIT AT HIS FEET AND SAY,

"LORD, I DON'T KNOW HOW I'M GOING TO

MAKE IT, BUT GOD, I JUST WANT TO

REMEMBER. LORD, HELP ME REMEMBER HOW

GOOD YOU'VE BEEN TO ME. LORD, HELP ME

REMEMBER WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR ME." AMEN.

AND IT, ISN'T IT? ALWAYS, ALWAYS, HE

SHOWS UP AND SETS DOWN RIGHT THERE WITH

YOU AND SAYS, "CHILD, IT'LL BE ALL

RIGHT. QUIT WAITING FOR GOD TO SHOW UP

ON HIS OWN AND JUST GO TO WHERE HE IS."

AMEN.

>> JEREMIAH SAYS THIS, "I RECALL TO MY

MIND." HE SAID, "IT DIDN'T COME TO MY

MIND." HE SAID, "BUT I WENT AND FOUND IT

AND PICKED IT UP." OH, FRIEND. BOY, IT'D

BE GOOD FOR SOME OF YOU TONIGHT TO GO

BACK TO THE NIGHT THAT JESUS SAVED YOU

AND REMEMBER WHERE HE WHERE YOU WERE

WHEN HE FOUND YOU AND HOW MUCH HE'S DONE

FOR YOU SINCE THEN. YOU SAY, "PREACHER,

WELL, I DON'T FEEL IT RIGHT NOW." WELL,

JUST THINK ABOUT IT FOR A LITTLE WHILE

AND JUST BLESS HIS NAME FOR A LITTLE

WHILE. LET ME SAY THIS. IF YOU PRAISE

HIS NAME LONG ENOUGH, YOU'LL START

FEELING IT. AMEN.

>> HE SAID, "THIS I RECALL to my mind,

therefore have I hope." I'M SAYING IT'S

A CHOICE TO REMEMBER.

I say this, there's a lot of things

that'll come up in your mind in your

daily life that you're going to have to

choose to forget. You're

>> right.

>> But they ought to be some things

>> that you choose to say, "Lord, just let

me remember what you did for me."

>> Amen.

>> Lord, take me back to where I was

before.

>> Yes. Come on.

>> Lord, take me back to the place where I

was when you found me. Maybe I wouldn't

feel so bad,

>> Lord. Maybe if I JUST REMEMBER HOW LOST

I WAS AND HOW HOW DOOMED AND DAMNED TO

HELL I WAS BEFORE YOU FOUND ME. LORD, IF

YOU JUST TAKE ME BACK THERE FOR A

MINUTE, I'LL BE ALL RIGHT CUZ I AIN'T

HEADED TO HELL NO MORE. I'M NOT HEADED

TO THAT PLACE WHICH YOU MADE FOR THE

DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS. YOU SAVED ME AND

SEALED ME AND SET ME ON A NEW PATH.

LORD, JUST TAKE ME BACK THERE FOR A

MINUTE. AND YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'LL FIND?

YOU'LL FIND SOME hope there. Amen.

>> Jeremiah said this. I recall to my mind,

it's time for us to get out of the

stinking thinking and quit musing on the

things of this world. Quit musing ON HOW

BAD IT IS, ON HOW BROKEN WE ARE AND HOW

HOW BUSTED UP EVERYTHING is around us,

BUT LET'S JUST GO BACK TO THE PLACE,

GOD, WHERE YOU WHERE WE LAST SPOKE WITH

YOU AND LET'S JUST GET A BLESSING FROM

THERE. AMEN.

>> This I recall to my mind. Well, what

does he recall to his mind?

It's a choice of remembrance that brings

about a clear revelation. Notice that.

Secondly, verse 22, he said, "This I

recall to my mind. Therefore, have I

hope."

>> What does he say? It is of the Lord's

mercies

that we are not consumed.

>> Amen.

>> Hallelujah.

>> Bless.

>> A clear revelation. You say, "What do

you mean, preacher?" I'm saying for all

the dark muddy waters of depression that

you look for look through on on the on

your daily life, there's a place you can

go where there's a clear crystal stream

>> flowing where we can get the water of

life

>> and it will fill up the need that you

have. You don't have to look through

that blurry mess every day of your life.

>> That's all depression is is it just

muddies the waters of your life and

controls your mind, keeps you down and

out all the time. BUT THERE IS A CLEAR

REVELATION. You say, "What is it,

preacher?" Well, I'd say this. Number

one, it would be to remember GOD'S MERCY

IN SAVING us from the fire. You say,

"What do you mean?" Well, notice it

again in verse 23. He said, verse 22, it

is the Lord's mercies. What's your Bible

say? That we are not what? Consumed.

>> You see Jeremiah in verse number one, he

said, "I am the man that hath seen

affliction by the rod of his wrath." He

said, "I've been afflicted, but oh

Jeremiah said, in spite of that

affliction, I have not been consumed."

Oh, hallelujah. Tonight, God hadn't

taken him all the way out. And you say,

you say, "Preacher, how is that God

being merciful?" Well, if God would have

been just with you and I tonight, he'd

have took us out a long time ago.

There'd have never BEEN AN OUNCE OF

MERCY GIVEN to the SINNERS SUCH AS YOU

AND I. BUT GOD IN HIS MERCY, HE GIVES US

LIFE. AND ANY BIT OF AFFLICTION THAT WE

GO THROUGH, YOU JUST UNDERSTAND TONIGHT

Jesus took all the affliction FOR YOU ON

CALVAR'S CROSS. AND YOU OUGHT NEVER

QUESTION THE HAND OF GOD IN YOUR LIFE.

WHATEVER IT IS, YOU SAY, "PREACHER,

YOU'VE NOT BEEN WHERE I AM." NO, I

HAVEN'T. BUT LET ME TELL YOU, YOU AIN'T

BEEN WHERE HE WENT. AMEN. YOU'LL NEVER

HANG ON A BLOODY HILL CALLED CALVARY.

YOU'LL NEVER BEAR THE SIN WEIGHT OF THE

WORLD. I'M SAYING, FRIEND, IT'S A CLEAR

REVELATION OF THE FACT THAT WE HAVE BEEN

RECEIVED. WE HAVE RECEIVED MERCY AND

WE'VE RECEIVED DELIVERANCE FROM THE

FIRE. AMEN.

>> It's the Lord's mercies that we are not

consumed. Hey friend, David and Abram,

they the ground swallowed them up. Amen.

BECAUSE OF THEIR SIN. SODOM AND GOMORRAH

WERE BURNED ALIVE BECAUSE OF THEIR SIN.

AND EVERY SINNER THAT'S DIED LOST

WITHOUT GOD IS BURNING IN HELL RIGHT

NOW. BUT DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU AND

I ARE SITTING ON A CHURCH PIER TONIGHT

IN A BAPTIST CHURCH IN AMERICA, IN NORTH

CAROLINA, IN STOKES COUNTY, IN THE BIBLE

BELT? I'M SAYING BLESSED BE THE NAME OF

GOD. WE COULD HAVE BEEN BORN IN ANY

FAMILY. WE COULD HAVE BEEN BORN IN ANY

PLACE, BUT GOD SAW FIT TO PUT YOU AND I

WHERE WE'RE AT TONIGHT AND GIVE US A

BIBLE AND GIVE US A FAMILY AND GIVE US A

CHURCH AND GIVE US SALVATION. DON'T YOU

JUST BLESS THE LORD TONIGHT THAT WE'VE

RECEIVED MERCY FROM THE FIRE? AMEN.

>> We're not consumed. Thank God.

>> But we deserve it.

>> You're right.

>> There's been a clear revelation.

We've received mercy

from the fire.

Say, "Preacher, how could it get any

better?" Oh, it gets a lot better.

There's a clear revelation about his

mercy, but there's a clear revelation

about the mournings.

The mournings of his faithfulness.

Look what your Bible says.

Verse number 22. It's the Lord's mercies

that we're not consumed because his

compassions fail not. They are new every

morning.

Great.

>> Amen.

>> You hear what I said? Great is thy

faithfulness.

>> Amen.

>> We've been We have received mercy. We

have been saved from wrath through him,

the Bible says. But oh, better than

that, friend. We've not just been

delivered,

>> BUT WE'VE BEEN DIVINELY BLESSED.

HALLELUJAH. God has reached his hand

down and poured out the honey bucket

FROM HEAVEN ON YOU AND I AND GIVEN US

LIFE. AND NOT JUST LIFE, BUT LIFE MORE

ABUNDANTLY. HE SAID, "HIS COMPASSIONS

FAIL NOT." AMEN.

>> RIGHT?

>> They are new every morning. You say,

"Preacher, what does that mean,

preacher? I don't understand what that

means." Well,

do like some of the folk in here and

just get up every morning, let the first

thing be of your day.

>> Thank you, Lord.

>> Amen.

>> And take that Bible, Amen. off the

nightstand. Yes.

>> Instead of leaving it until you get back

home at night. Amen. This ain't just for

y'all. It's for me, too. Amen. I live a

busy life just like everybody else. Take

that Bible off the nightstand and read

that thing. And you say, "Preacher, you

then you'll know what I'm talking." Yes,

you'll know exactly what I'm talking

about. I'm saying his mercies are new

every morning. You realize every day is

a clean slate with God.

>> Amen.

>> Hallelujah.

>> Amen.

>> You say, "Preacher, what about for the

man on death row?" Well, if he gets

saved by the grace of God, he might

still go to the electric chair. But if

God forgave him, friend, you know what?

When they shock him, he'll wake up in

heaven. Amen. You say, "Preacher, that's

awful." Well, aren't you thankful that

God would save a sinner like that? CUZ

YOU KNOW WHAT? EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US

DESERVE IT. AMEN. But God in his rich

mercy, AMEN, TOWARD US, he would give us

mercy. AND IT NOT JUST BE ONE TIME, BUT

IT would be over and over and over

again. And it's not just new in the

morning, BUT IT'S NEW ALL THROUGHOUT THE

DAY. AT ANY POINT IN THE DAY, I CAN STOP

BROTHER PATTON AND SAY, "LORD, IF I IF I

FAIL HIM, LORD, PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND

RESTORE FELLOWSHIP, AND HIS MERCY WILL

TAKE CARE OF IT, AND IT'LL BE UNDER THE

BLOOD. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I'LL BE BACK

IN fellowship with him again."

>> Amen.

>> Hallelujah. What John say? If we confess

our sins, he is faithful and just to

forgive us our sins three hours later.

>> Yes.

Come on.

>> No.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful

and just to forgive our sins and to

cleanse us, present tense,

>> from all unrighteousness.

>> At the moment we ask, at the moment we

receive, at the moment we ask, that same

moment we receive his forgiveness. You

say, "Preacher, how is that?" Well, I'm

saying heaven don't work on our

timetable. When one of his children gets

out of fellowship, because John said it

just the SAME IF WE SAY THAT WE HAVE

FELLOWSHIP with him, but we walk in

darkness, we lie and do not the truth.

But just a few verses later, he said IF

WE'LL CONFESS THAT SAME SIN that caused

US TO BREAK FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD, HE'LL

FORGIVE IT. HE'LL CLEANSE IT AND WE'LL

BE RESTORED immediately

>> to his presence.

in his faithfulness.

Great, perfect, plenteous, POWERFUL IS

HIS FAITHFULNESS. AMEN.

>> It's exactly what you need.

>> You say, "Preacher, how is that?" Well,

he was faithful to send Jesus. Jesus was

faithful to obey. He was faithful to go

to the cross and die. He was faithful

when he said he would get up.

>> Amen. And you know what the Bible says?

says that he ever liveth to make

intercession for us. And you know what?

He'll be faithful to answer.

>> Every time you call upon him,

hallelujah, heaven's lines never busy.

You can have an opportunity to receive

of his faithful blessing at any time.

And I've got ahead of myself a little

bit, but notice this tonight. There's

not only a clear revelation of his mercy

and a clear revelation of the mournings

of his faithfulness, but there's a clear

revelation of the measure of his favor.

Look what the Bible says in verse 24.

The Lord is my what?

>> portion.

Who owns it all?

God does. And you know what the Bible

said? Jeremiah said, "He's my portion.

He's my portion." So if God has given

you of himself,

>> right?

>> That means you have it all.

>> Amen.

>> The Lord is my portion. You say, "Well,

how is that measured?" Well, it's not

measured in inches, feet, meters, or

miles.

>> It's not measured in grams, ounces.

Amen. It ain't measured in none of that.

I'm saying it's God turning over the

honey bucket of heaven and saying, "How

much do you need today?" He'll give it

all to you. And you know what? He'll

give you a little bit more to go out in

the world. Amen. Whatever you need,

he'll give you enough and abundance to

take care of you. I'm saying his favor

is more than measurable in our life,

>> right? because he's faithful.

Clear revelation. You say, "What is it?"

You got to choose to remember these

things. You're

>> right.

>> Choose to remember that you've been

delivered from death,

delivered from condemnation.

You hath he quickened who were dead in

trespasses and sins. You remember that

you're delivered. Remember the fact that

God every morning has given you his

grace each and every day. There's a

measure enough for all.

>> You're right. Isn't that wonderful that

salvation when it was bought and

purchased at Calvary, his propitiation

was enough for every sinner? And even

after you get saved, aren't you thankful

that his grace is still enough, not just

to save you, but to seal you and to

sanctify you all the way until the day

he sends you home. Amen. And it's going

to be the grace that takes us from this

life to the next life. Amen. And you

say, "Preacher, what is that supposed to

do FOR ME?" THAT'S SUPPOSED TO ENCOURAGE

YOU TO THANK ON THE FACT THAT GOD'S

GIVEN YOU EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED.

AMEN.

>> RIGHT?

>> You don't need nothing else.

Say, "Preacher, how is that? I don't

need nothing else." You don't.

>> That's right.

>> Whatever he sends,

>> Amen.

>> is all that we need.

>> He said, "The Lord is

my portion." Notice them next three

words.

saith my soul.

Notice what he said. Verse 18, he said,

"And I said, but verse number 24, the

Lord is his portion."

The same lips that were once saying that

God had left him

>> and that he'd lost his hope in God

decided that it was over with. Said,

"I'm through. Not trusting him anymore.

My endurance has failed. I have no

expectation.

It is that same soul that says in verse

24, therefore will I hope in him.

You say, "Preacher, I've lost all hope

in God." Well, just three verses later,

you can have it back.

>> Right?

>> Just three or four verses later, you can

have that same hope. You say, "Preacher,

I just don't see that it'll ever come

back." Well, you take his word and you

open it and say, "Lord, I don't know if

you can help me or not, but I'm just

going to trust you."

>> Amen.

>> You say, "Preacher, that's faithless to

say that." Well, that's how you feel.

>> That's right.

>> Don't act like you're too spiritual for

that, Lord. Preacher, I'm not going to

say the Lord can't help me. Amen. Well,

that's the way you feel.

>> Amen.

>> Say, "How is that?" Well, if you if you

knew he could help you, you'd ask him.

>> You're right.

>> That's right.

>> That's exactly right.

>> Lord, please. What' that what did that

man say? He said, "Lord, I believe. Help

my unbelief."

>> Amen.

>> You've got your doubts. We've got our

doubts. Just take it to him. Let him

resolve them. Amen.

>> Yeah.

>> And I'm telling you, he said,

"Therefore, what I hope in him." He

said, "I I will expect

not what he's going to do for me, but

I'm just going to expect in who he is."

>> Amen.

>> Look what he said. He said, "I hope in

him." Said, "I'm not not looking for his

plan, but I'm just wanting his person."

Amen.

>> Boy, somebody needs to hook up with

that.

>> Lord, I don't know what your plan is,

but you don't have to tell me. I just

want your person.

>> Amen.

>> Just give me Jesus.

>> Yeah.

>> Nothing else. Amen. Notice this, and I'm

done. There's a choice of remembrance.

There's a clear revelation. I'm talking

about hope for the hopeless. Amen. But

I'll say this. There's a conditional

reward here in this text. You say, "What

is that?" Well, notice the verse there.

Verse number verse number 25.

The Bible says, "The Lord is good unto

them that wait for him." To the soul

that what?

>> Seketh him. You know the reason why so

many people are living like Jeremiah is

living in verses 1- 20. And they're not

just they're they're living there

constantly.

Here's what's going to happen. The

closer you get to God, the the more

these spells will be when you go back

and forth, back and forth. But when you

get closer to God, here's what happens.

You begin to pick up on the on the

repeats,

>> right?

>> Begin to see, well, that's where I

started to get depressed. That's the

thing that caused me. I saw that thing

on Facebook and that brought me down.

Now I see I need to stop that.

>> Yeah. Come on.

>> Oh, man. I'm preaching good.

>> That's the thing that got me out of

sorts. Now I see that Lord bring me

back. Get me back.

>> Look what he says in the verse. This

conditioner award number one expresses

the love of God. Verse 25, what's it say

there? first phrase, the Lord is good

>> unto them. He's got what you need. And

the thing about it is he's not, you

don't have to go to and beg him.

>> You're right.

>> We beat the floor. It's not I remember

those when I first when when I first got

saved years after that, man, I remember

as a young boy, I thought, man, I, you

know, tell a lie or something, I'd go

beat the floor and cry, "God, please,

please, God, please forgive me." I

didn't know. I didn't have a clue. God

wanted to forgive me more than I wanted

to be forgiven.

>> You're right. But here's the thing about

it. When you have a need and you go to

God and we think we got to cry and beat

the floor and stay up all night and do

all this stuff to get God's attention,

but God's the best father there is.

>> Amen.

>> And brother Jimmy Millsap said this a

long time ago and this helped me more

than anything I reckon I've ever heard

in my life. He said, "You know, if my

children have a need," he said, "They

don't have to come to my feet."

>> You're right.

>> And get on the ground and beat the floor

and weep for a meal.

He said, ' They don't have to get on the

ground and beg and cry and plead for me

to give them a meal. He said, 'I want to

provide that for them.

>> How much more would God want to bless

us?

>> Amen.

>> Notice the verse. The Lord is good unto

them. So that's what this hinges upon.

Okay? He We don't have to beat and beg

the beg and beat the floor to get

something out of them because he wants

to give it. That's not the problem.

Okay? Notice verse 25. The Lord is good

unto them that wait for him. That wait

for him. Now that that wait there is is

you know it's not sitting around waiting

okay but it has the idea of being

attendant means there's a longing

there's a desire a burning desire them

that wait for him they have a desire to

be at his feet

>> remember when Mary and Martha there were

serving and or Martha was serving Mary

was sitting at the feet of Jesus

remember what Jesus told Martha said you

you're busy Martha you know I'm

paraphrasing this she was cumbered about

much serving the Bible says but what

Jesus tell Martha said she's chosen that

good part and what did he describe that

as which shall not be taken away from

her.

You see the thing about our life is is

everything in our life that we invest in

is going to be taken away.

>> You say preacher what is that? Well, let

me just get down to the nitty-gritty of

it. Even your marriage

>> some of these days your wife or your

husband, you're going to be separated

till death do us part. If you get to

live the entirety of your life together,

you say, "Preacher, what does it go from

there?" Well, it goes down to your

children. They're borrowed.

>> You're right.

>> They're barred for a time. Your job,

your home, your life is borrowed.

>> Yes.

>> The labor that you do, the effort that

you put in in the flesh, it's all

borrowed. You know what that means? It

can be taken away.

>> Amen.

>> But you know what? Nobody can take from

you.

>> Come on. that longing, that waiting at

the feet of Jesus, sitting before him,

because you know what? That's what

you're going to take with you to heaven.

>> Because you know what you'll be doing

over there? That very same thing.

>> What does he say there in the text? He

says, "The Lord is good unto them that

wait for him." They're longing for him.

Notice this, and I'm done. It's simple

tonight. Look, he says, "Then that wait

for him to the soul that seeketh him."

So there's a longing, but then there's

looking.

And I'm not saying you got to go looking

like under rocks and sticks to find him.

Amen. We know where he's at.

>> Amen.

>> But isn't that the the the mysterious

thing about it?

We know exactly where to find him,

>> right?

>> That's good.

>> But yet, we don't go look for it.

>> Right.

You know why we don't look for him?

Because we don't long for him.

>> Amen.

>> The soul that waits for him will be

seeking him. What does the Bible say?

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew

their strength. That renewal comes from

seeking him. What did Jesus say? 30

Jeremiah 33:3, "Call unto me and I will

Jeremiah 33:3

answer thee and show thee great and

mighty things which thou knowest not."

See, the the precipice is upon the

seeking. Ask and you shall receive. Seek

and you shall find. Knock and it shall

be opened unto you. And the thing about

this was we know where to find it.

But the condition is on verse 25. The

Lord is good unto them that wait for him

to the soul that seeketh him. Do you

long for him? Are you looking for him?

>> You're right.

>> What do you mean, preacher? I'm saying

you cannot let your troubles overcome

the truth in your life. You're

>> right. You cannot let your problems

overcome the precepts and the power of

the Holy Spirit in your life. The

problem is it's not that we don't know

where he is. The problem IS IS WE'RE NOT

GOING TO WHERE WE KNOW HE IS.

>> RIGHT,

>> PREACHER, I can't find God. He's nowhere

to be found. No, HE'S THE SAME PLACE

THAT YOU LEFT HIM.

>> YOU'RE RIGHT.

>> HE'S IN THAT BIBLE that's collecting

dust ON THE SHELF. HE'S IN THAT PRAYER

CLOSET THAT YOU AIN'T BEEN IN SO LONG.

IT'S THERE'S BUGS PILED UP IN IT. WHAT

I'M SAYING IS IS THAT IF YOU WANT TO

FIND HIM, YOU GOT TO GO TO WHERE HE IS,

>> RIGHT?

>> And until then, you know what's going to

happen? Your mind is going to be

controlled.

>> Amen.

>> The foundation of your mindset, your

your your operating platform of life is

going to be a state of depression. Never

going to see any fruit, never going to

see any blessing. And then out of that

mindset leads all these musings, all

these thoughts, these stray thoughts.

And they all come out of that.

The reason that you can't get a control

on your thought life, the reason you

can't control your musings is because

the baseline of your thoughts is wrong.

>> Amen.

>> When Jeremiah decided to change, verse

21 says it, notice it again.

This I recall to my mind, therefore have

I hope. I told my wife this this

afternoon. I'm done tonight.

I said, 'You know, the further I come

along in this Christian life, I said,

'Here's what I'm finding.

It's all comes down to a choice.

>> We've been given power. Here's the thing

about it. We think that we can't attain

it. We think that we can't get to a

place where we have fellowship with God

like we want to have. And I'll say this,

I don't know that I'll ever be at the

place that I desire to be.

>> Right?

>> I ain't going to quit trying to get

there.

>> Amen. But what's going to keep me from

getting there the days that I choose not

to?

>> You're right.

>> You say, "Preacher, well, I don't choose

not to." But well, choosing not choosing

is choosing not to. You're

>> right.

>> Did you hear what I just said? Getting

up and being in a state of laziness. And

that's what it is.

>> Come on.

>> All right. Our the blessing of this

nation has caused us to be lazy. And I'm

not saying you don't have to be lazy at

work and you can get up 5:00 in the

morning, work till 7:00 at night, and do

it every day. I'm not talking about your

work ethic. I'm saying this book right

here, you're lazy in your study.

>> You're right.

>> You work 100 hour weeks and still be

lazy in that right there.

>> You're right.

>> Busy in the wrong things is what it is.

I'll say this tonight. Jeremiah said

this. I recall to my mind, there's some

things you need to go back and get.

>> Remember his mercy.

Go back to those mornings when you

remember his faithfulness and say,

"Lord, I need one of them today."

>> Amen.

>> You say, "Preacher, how can I start that

tomorrow?" Well, a good pattern is this.

Go to bed tonight thinking about the

word of God. Let the let the Bible be

the last thing on your mind.

>> Yeah.

>> When you go to sleep, you know what

you'll find that that'll be hard the

first time? It'll be hard. Okay? You'll

lay there with the Bible on your mind.

You're thinking, "Man, this is just this

is going to take forever to go to sleep

like this. I'm just being real, okay?

I'm being honest with you. All right?

But you lay there with a Bible on your

mind thinking about God, thinking about

your salvation, maybe thinking about

lost souls, and you know what'll happen?

It's a whole lot more more likely when

you go to sleep thinking about the word

of God that you'll wake up thinking

about it.

>> You're right.

>> And it would be if you go to sleep

thinking about something else.

>> You say, "Preacher, do you do that?" I

wish that I could do that every single

day.

Because you know what? They some days

it's you got problems, don't you?

>> Amen.

>> You say, "Preacher, but didn't you just

tell us that it's a choice?" Oh, it is.

But every one of us,

>> you're right,

>> fail to make the choice.

>> You say, "Well, what's the purpose of

the message?" Make the choice more

often.

>> Amen.

>> It don't happen overnight, does it,

Sister Betty?

Getting a prayer life like you want

takes years.

>> Amen. But the thing is, most people

never start. You're

>> right.

>> If we never start,

you're never going to have anything to

work from.

Reason it's so quiet in here is because

this is true. You're

>> right.

>> Prayer is the only thing that's going to

get us through.

You can read that Bible till the cows

come home. But if you don't have a

relationship with God,

>> James said, "You have not because you

what?"

>> Ask not.

>> And so it's dependent. You say,

"Preacher, you said I can make a

choice." I promise you, if you make that

choice, it'll happen a lot more often

than not.

>> You're right.

>> But it ain't going to be perfect. The

greatest Christians in this world will

tell you that. But I'll tell you this,

it's so much better.

>> Amen.

>> With him. Amen.

>> Ain't it?

>> I wouldn't take nothing for it.

>> I'll say this tonight, man. Up the road

here. Cut that off, brother. I'm done.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it if you'd join us in person

the next time you are able at Meadows

Baptist Church. Our physical address is

2988 Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. Our service times are Sunday

school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning

worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 7:00 p.m. For

more information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.