WEBVTT 00:00:01.002 --> 00:00:04.395 Wave them around, make Jesus glad and the devil mad. 00:00:04.395 --> 00:00:10.887 And let's say this together Say, heavenly Father, I'm hungry for more of you, more of the Word. 00:00:10.887 --> 00:00:21.588 Shed your light upon the Word and illuminate my spirit so that I'm able to receive information that will cause my faith to grow. 00:00:21.588 --> 00:00:24.960 In Jesus' name, amen, amen, well, praise God. 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:33.979 Let's turn in our Bibles to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 31, verse 16. 00:00:33.979 --> 00:00:39.527 And let's read what the prophet had to say Back then and to us now. 00:00:39.527 --> 00:00:52.445 Thus, saith the Lord, refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears, for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord, and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. 00:00:52.445 --> 00:00:55.979 And there's hope in thine end or in thy future. 00:00:55.979 --> 00:01:02.972 There's hope in your future, saith the Lord, that your children shall come again to their own border. 00:01:02.972 --> 00:01:07.959 And so tonight I wanted to share a message and title consider the end. 00:01:07.959 --> 00:01:09.724 Or. 00:01:09.784 --> 00:01:12.692 You know, I, like you know, it used to be Paul Harvey's dead. 00:01:12.692 --> 00:01:14.096 Now I guess he went to heaven. 00:01:14.096 --> 00:01:15.000 I think he's a Christian. 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:24.980 He sounded like one on the radio, but he used to have these stories, you know, on the radio, and he'd say and now the rest of the story, consider the rest of the story. 00:01:24.980 --> 00:01:29.007 In other words, there's an you know, god's not through, god's not through in your situation. 00:01:29.007 --> 00:01:34.710 You hear, you know we don't need to wallow in the, in the troubles of now. 00:01:34.710 --> 00:01:38.528 You know, let's consider the future and what God says about our future. 00:01:38.528 --> 00:01:50.000 The hour of now has to be faced with what God did then for all these people in the Bible and there's a whole list of people, I'm just going to give you a few tonight that God intervened. 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:52.688 You know, he doesn't love them more than loves you. 00:01:52.688 --> 00:01:55.789 If he did it for them, he'll do it for you, amen. 00:01:56.944 --> 00:02:01.000 And so here these verses are encouraging Israel. 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:09.939 Because they were all bummed out, they disobeyed God and had been scattered, and they were, you know, away from Jerusalem, away from Israel. 00:02:09.939 --> 00:02:16.000 They'd lost their nation and their fear was that their kids would never get to go back there. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:18.000 They were afraid for their children's sake. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:23.216 Well, they were afraid for their own sake, you know they, they couch everything in their fear of their children. 00:02:23.216 --> 00:02:24.000 People do that today. 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:28.960 They talk about the children, the children, and then they make all kinds of policies that are anti-children. 00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:40.145 But but anyway, this scripture that the prophet gave to Israel during their captivity in Babylon was to encourage that it said look God. 00:02:40.145 --> 00:02:40.927 God promises. 00:02:40.927 --> 00:02:41.890 They're still alive. 00:02:41.890 --> 00:02:45.663 You know, don't don't weep, don't, don't be. 00:02:45.663 --> 00:02:48.611 You know, refrain your eyes from tears. 00:02:48.611 --> 00:03:00.550 And so our promise, and what we believe about that promise, and what we continually say, you know, having a systematic discourse about that promise determines the end. 00:03:00.550 --> 00:03:04.088 So what did God do then? 00:03:04.088 --> 00:03:07.979 And so let's look at several examples. 00:03:09.024 --> 00:03:09.787 How about Job? 00:03:09.787 --> 00:03:11.389 A lot of people want to talk. 00:03:11.389 --> 00:03:13.000 When they go through all kind of trouble, they'll talk about Job. 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:15.000 Well, you know, let's look at the end of Job. 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:18.979 The end of Job was that God number one turned his captivity. 00:03:18.979 --> 00:03:24.887 He healed him, he gave him twice as much as he had before and he gave him a brand new family. 00:03:24.887 --> 00:03:29.537 So when you talk about Job, don't just focus on the trouble that he had. 00:03:29.537 --> 00:03:30.000 Did he have trouble? 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:34.012 Yeah, he had trouble, but God delivered him. 00:03:34.012 --> 00:03:36.633 God redeemed all of it. 00:03:36.633 --> 00:03:39.693 He turned out fine in the end. 00:03:41.164 --> 00:03:42.289 And I think about Daniel. 00:03:42.289 --> 00:03:45.473 You know, daniel was in the lion's den. 00:03:45.473 --> 00:03:51.133 He was rewarded for obeying God by getting thrown into the lion's den by his enemies. 00:03:51.133 --> 00:03:54.308 They made up this rule that he couldn't worship God the way he wanted to. 00:03:54.308 --> 00:04:02.677 He didn't pay any attention to man's rules, and so he considered the end of his story. 00:04:02.677 --> 00:04:04.612 In other words, he wasn't afraid. 00:04:04.612 --> 00:04:06.372 He went to sleep in the lion's den. 00:04:06.372 --> 00:04:08.132 Ha ha, ha ha. 00:04:08.132 --> 00:04:13.872 And of course he woke up the next morning and then his enemies got thrown in the lion's den. 00:04:13.872 --> 00:04:15.129 Ha ha ha. 00:04:15.129 --> 00:04:16.788 So you know. 00:04:16.788 --> 00:04:27.112 It reminds me of Smith Wigglesworth telling the testimony that one night he awakened from sleep and he looked at the foot of his bed and there was the devil standing there in his room. 00:04:27.112 --> 00:04:32.973 The devil had come to his room and was standing at the foot of his bed and he said oh, it's you. 00:04:32.973 --> 00:04:34.511 And he rolled back over and went to sleep. 00:04:34.511 --> 00:04:35.908 Ha ha ha. 00:04:35.908 --> 00:04:42.990 So when we can be as fortified in our faith as that, you know, I think there's hope for us. 00:04:42.990 --> 00:04:43.391 Amen. 00:04:45.026 --> 00:04:47.233 And then I think about a young man named Joseph. 00:04:47.233 --> 00:04:57.834 Joseph had a dream as a young teenager and probably 16, 17 years old, and in this dream he had his parents bowing down to him. 00:04:57.834 --> 00:05:03.285 He had sheaves of wheat bowing down to him and his dad wasn't very happy with that dream. 00:05:03.285 --> 00:05:05.533 He made the mistake of telling everybody about the dream. 00:05:05.533 --> 00:05:07.271 Of course his brothers got jealous of him. 00:05:07.271 --> 00:05:15.891 But this dream was from God to foretell his future, that he was gonna be a ruler and that people would bow down to him. 00:05:15.891 --> 00:05:19.533 But in the meantime he had to endure the pit. 00:05:19.533 --> 00:05:27.610 You know the stories brothers sold him and threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery, and then he had to endure the prison. 00:05:27.610 --> 00:05:34.112 But eventually God brought him out into the palace and he became prime minister of all of Egypt. 00:05:34.112 --> 00:05:36.067 And so the end. 00:05:36.067 --> 00:05:36.610 See. 00:05:36.610 --> 00:05:38.334 He considered the end. 00:05:38.334 --> 00:05:40.091 He considered that dream as from God. 00:05:40.091 --> 00:05:41.410 He knew it had to come to pass. 00:05:41.410 --> 00:05:46.071 I just just wanted, hadn't God been good, hadn't he been so good to us. 00:05:46.071 --> 00:05:49.213 He's faithful to watch over his word, to perform it. 00:05:51.610 --> 00:05:58.733 In Mark 438, jesus is getting the disciples into the boat and he said let us pass over to the other side. 00:05:58.733 --> 00:06:02.410 And he was tired, he'd been ministering all day and he went to sleep in the back of the boat. 00:06:02.410 --> 00:06:09.350 And they start rolling out there and it big storm rises up, the boat starts taking on water. 00:06:09.350 --> 00:06:13.398 And they woke him up. 00:06:13.398 --> 00:06:16.966 You know they were afraid that they were going to sink here. 00:06:16.966 --> 00:06:20.247 These are seasoned fishermen, no telling how many storms they had endured. 00:06:20.247 --> 00:06:26.709 And all of a sudden now they lost their courage and they said Master, master, cares thou not that we perish? 00:06:26.709 --> 00:06:33.528 And he rebuked the wind and commanded the seas, peace, be still. 00:06:33.528 --> 00:06:35.000 And there was a great mega calm. 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:36.024 It was a mega storm. 00:06:36.024 --> 00:06:39.798 It went to a mega calm and he said, oh ye, of little faith. 00:06:39.798 --> 00:06:42.588 How is it that you have no faith? 00:06:42.588 --> 00:06:49.509 So see, the devil tried to kill him and at least they had sense enough to wake up the word. 00:06:49.509 --> 00:06:54.410 But they, you know, they could have considered the end. 00:06:54.410 --> 00:06:56.166 They could have considered what Jesus said. 00:06:56.166 --> 00:06:58.267 He didn't say go out in the middle of the lake and die. 00:06:58.267 --> 00:06:59.665 He said go to the other side. 00:06:59.665 --> 00:07:01.966 We can rely on what God said. 00:07:01.966 --> 00:07:04.547 We can rely on it with everything that's in us. 00:07:04.547 --> 00:07:12.779 And, of course, in Hebrews 12, 2, the Bible says that Jesus endured the cross by considering the end. 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:23.074 He looked through the cross to raising many sons under glory and he was able to face the ignominious death on that cross. 00:07:24.105 --> 00:07:34.040 So I wanna encourage you tonight, because I know that we're living in times where two ages are intersecting. 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:35.057 What do I mean by that? 00:07:35.057 --> 00:07:41.319 Well, the church age, the age where whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 00:07:41.319 --> 00:07:45.997 The Bible calls it the day of the Gentiles or the time of the Gentiles. 00:07:45.997 --> 00:07:48.459 This is when the Gentiles can be saved. 00:07:48.459 --> 00:07:57.959 Gentiles have no covenant, but they can get into the covenant with God through the church and by hearing the gospel and obeying the gospel. 00:07:59.065 --> 00:08:01.540 That's the church age, or the age of the Gentiles. 00:08:01.540 --> 00:08:06.160 It's about to come to an end, and what age will we be going into? 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:12.050 Well, we'd be going into the age where God will turn his attention full time on Israel. 00:08:12.050 --> 00:08:20.855 The Bible says all Israel shall be saved and then he's gonna take care of the judgment of the wicked. 00:08:20.855 --> 00:08:39.879 And so these two ages are kind of remember when Paul was on the boat and they ran the boat aground in the place where two seas met, there was such violence of waves that it broke the ship apart. 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:42.580 And that's kind of a picture of where we are right now. 00:08:42.580 --> 00:08:48.192 There's two currents that are violently opposed to one another. 00:08:48.192 --> 00:08:51.019 That the age we're coming out of and the age we're going into. 00:08:51.019 --> 00:08:55.677 And I'll tell you it's more than just stepping over a log going into a tomorrow. 00:08:55.677 --> 00:08:58.716 These are two ages that are fighting. 00:08:58.716 --> 00:09:06.913 The currents are fighting with one another and the time is very turbulent. 00:09:06.913 --> 00:09:18.658 The Bible, paul, said in the last days turbulent times, violent times, perilous times will come, dangerous times. 00:09:18.658 --> 00:09:24.899 That's where we're living right now, and so that kind of all that affects us. 00:09:24.899 --> 00:09:29.739 And so there's turbulence and trouble in the world. 00:09:29.739 --> 00:09:32.139 But consider the end. 00:09:32.139 --> 00:09:33.519 Let's consider the end. 00:09:35.107 --> 00:10:01.899 These verses mean a lot to me because, as I said recently, you know, brother Osteen preached me this message not this message but one similar to it, personal just to me because he knew I was struggling with some things and I was able to follow Jeremiah 31, verses 16 and 17, as my jumping off place and I pursued the next month or so, and that's where I got the information to start this church way, way back in the summer of 1994. 00:10:01.899 --> 00:10:07.278 So these verses, I've lived them, I've relied on them, even though they're Old Testament. 00:10:07.278 --> 00:10:09.698 They're good for you, they're good for me. 00:10:09.698 --> 00:10:13.797 And so I've got three things I think I can share with those of you that are going through something. 00:10:13.797 --> 00:10:17.159 We all go through things, don't let the devil lie to you. 00:10:17.159 --> 00:10:19.019 Everybody goes through tests and trials. 00:10:19.019 --> 00:10:20.130 Everybody goes through trouble. 00:10:20.130 --> 00:10:23.296 It's how we get through it, that's the main thing. 00:10:23.296 --> 00:10:26.080 That's why I teach on these kind of things often. 00:10:26.100 --> 00:10:43.839 So let's go back to Jeremiah 31 and look at some of these verses, and there's three things we need to consider to consider the end and not to melt, verse 11, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. 00:10:43.839 --> 00:10:59.769 Therefore, they shall come and sing in the height of Zion and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord for wheat, for wine, for oil, for the young of the fallen, for the young of the flock and the herd, and their soul shall be as a watered garden. 00:10:59.769 --> 00:11:02.529 They shall not sorrow any more at all". 00:11:02.529 --> 00:11:03.879 Now just think about. 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:08.049 This word is written to them when they were in exile in Babylon. 00:11:08.049 --> 00:11:15.129 They were at the bottom of the barrel, they were under the heel of Nebuchadnezzar, they were really in judgment. 00:11:15.129 --> 00:11:16.970 And what is God doing? 00:11:16.970 --> 00:11:18.149 He's comforting them. 00:11:18.716 --> 00:11:24.197 So the first thing that we need to do when we're going through something is sing and rejoice that you're redeemed. 00:11:24.197 --> 00:11:28.149 Your circumstances are irrelevant. 00:11:28.149 --> 00:11:31.399 You have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. 00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:46.546 So let the comforter live big in you, let the comforter rule in those things and refuse to let yourself slide into self pity. 00:11:46.546 --> 00:12:00.133 I remember at the time when I was searching for trouble in my life and Brother Osteen had to encourage me with this word, I was tempted to have a pity party. 00:12:00.133 --> 00:12:03.350 Now I knew better than to have one, but I was still tempted. 00:12:03.350 --> 00:12:05.029 I had to really stir myself up. 00:12:05.029 --> 00:12:08.330 But I don't think I ever got into the singing and rejoicing mode yet. 00:12:08.330 --> 00:12:11.870 I mean, all I could do was kind of keep from frowning. 00:12:11.870 --> 00:12:14.110 Well, now, come on, let's go ahead and sing and rejoice. 00:12:14.110 --> 00:12:18.998 Let's not just go halfway, all right. 00:12:18.998 --> 00:12:24.110 So sing and rejoice that you're redeemed, and let the comforter live big in you. 00:12:24.110 --> 00:12:26.399 He's the one that's gonna put you over. 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:30.142 You know, he's the one that you know, the Holy Ghost. 00:12:30.142 --> 00:12:30.808 Who else on the inside? 00:12:30.808 --> 00:12:32.475 The greater one lives in you. 00:12:32.475 --> 00:12:34.812 He's there to put you over, all right. 00:12:34.832 --> 00:12:36.639 The second one's found in verse 14. 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:45.460 He says I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness. 00:12:45.460 --> 00:12:47.120 Saith the Lord. 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:52.370 Thus, saith the Lord, a voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. 00:12:52.370 --> 00:12:54.309 See, that's what they were doing about their children. 00:12:54.309 --> 00:13:01.750 See, rachel weeping, for her children refused to be comforted for her children because they were not as far as they were concerned. 00:13:01.750 --> 00:13:03.019 It was all over. 00:13:03.019 --> 00:13:04.208 See, what have they done? 00:13:04.208 --> 00:13:05.889 They'd sunk into a pity party. 00:13:05.889 --> 00:13:12.681 Well, he's saying, no, no, I'm gonna satiate the priests with fatness. 00:13:12.681 --> 00:13:16.639 My people shall be satisfied with my goodness. 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:18.409 See, we're thinking wrong. 00:13:18.409 --> 00:13:19.750 We're thinking wrong in trouble. 00:13:19.750 --> 00:13:22.480 Don't be crying and having a pity party. 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:28.048 Let's realize that God has got the way out. 00:13:28.048 --> 00:13:32.519 We just might not have discovered it yet, but we're gonna find that way out. 00:13:33.735 --> 00:13:34.950 Verse 16, thus saith the Lord. 00:13:34.950 --> 00:13:40.780 Then he says refrain your voice from weeping in your eyes from tears, for your work shall be rewarded. 00:13:40.780 --> 00:13:45.489 And then it talks about your children will come again from the land of the enemy. 00:13:45.489 --> 00:13:50.129 See, that word is specifically talking about them, because they were so worried about their kids. 00:13:50.129 --> 00:13:53.655 He said your kids are fine, your kids are gonna come back. 00:13:53.655 --> 00:13:54.578 And they did come back. 00:13:54.578 --> 00:13:59.620 Yeah, after 70 years that all ended and they went back. 00:13:59.620 --> 00:14:08.684 So you know, in December excuse me, in October of 2004,. 00:14:09.969 --> 00:14:26.038 God said many just tipped their hat to me and go along their own merry way, and many are satiated with the cares of this world and the pleasures of this world, and much of the care comes from the pursuit of the pleasure. 00:14:26.038 --> 00:14:34.065 Now, you know, when he used that word satiated that's not a word I ever used the Holy Ghost gave me that word satiated. 00:14:34.065 --> 00:14:36.052 Now, I thought you know that's in the Bible. 00:14:36.052 --> 00:14:44.942 And I looked it up and here was this verse God satiates the souls of the priests with fatness, see, or the anointing. 00:14:44.942 --> 00:14:51.134 He fills you with joy, he fills you with gladness, he fills you with a realization of how good he is. 00:14:51.134 --> 00:14:54.065 Satiate just means to be gorged. 00:14:54.065 --> 00:14:57.065 It means to be filled to repletion. 00:14:57.065 --> 00:14:59.065 And so God was telling me about the world. 00:14:59.065 --> 00:15:03.065 The world is just filled with the need for entertainment. 00:15:03.065 --> 00:15:17.655 They fill their lives with all kinds of things that are not godly, they're ungodly, they're feeding on the wrong things, they're thinking on the wrong things, they're participating in the wrong things, he said. 00:15:17.696 --> 00:15:19.065 Many just tip their hat to me and go their own way. 00:15:19.065 --> 00:15:25.065 In other words, they'll admit yeah, god, you're there, but I've got bigger things to do than to go to church. 00:15:25.065 --> 00:15:30.240 I've got bigger, better things to do than to read the Bible and pray and all that. 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:31.302 I'm just too busy. 00:15:31.302 --> 00:15:32.044 I'm a multitasker. 00:15:32.044 --> 00:15:33.655 I've got too much going on. 00:15:34.642 --> 00:15:37.065 Maybe someday See that they're in the wrong track. 00:15:37.065 --> 00:15:39.500 There ought to be the other way around. 00:15:39.500 --> 00:15:44.013 Let's get satiated, let's be filled with the Holy Ghost, let's be filled with the Word. 00:15:44.013 --> 00:15:50.182 So let your mind be filled with God's goodness towards you. 00:15:50.182 --> 00:15:51.065 He is a good God. 00:15:51.065 --> 00:15:57.065 And then the last one is verse 16, your work shall be rewarded. 00:15:57.065 --> 00:16:03.065 Know that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, and he is your rewarder. 00:16:04.470 --> 00:16:06.054 Don't have to fret or be anxious. 00:16:06.054 --> 00:16:08.393 Well, but I'm going through this trial. 00:16:08.393 --> 00:16:09.296 Well, you're going through it. 00:16:09.296 --> 00:16:10.139 That's the whole point. 00:16:10.139 --> 00:16:12.065 You're not staying there, you're not living there. 00:16:12.065 --> 00:16:13.613 You're going to go through it. 00:16:13.613 --> 00:16:22.119 You're going to go around it, you're going to go under it, but one way or the other you're going to get on the other side of this trouble and you're going to be better for it. 00:16:22.119 --> 00:16:29.955 Just stay kingdom minded, just keep doing what it takes to serve God in His kingdom and you shall be rewarded. 00:16:29.955 --> 00:16:32.916 Consider the end and you will recover. 00:16:32.916 --> 00:16:34.201 All Hallelujah. 00:16:34.201 --> 00:16:35.044 I hope this helped you tonight. 00:16:35.044 --> 00:16:39.797 Help me to remember those days and how God was so faithful to me. 00:16:39.797 --> 00:16:42.975 Father, we thank you that you are so good. 00:16:42.975 --> 00:16:48.823 We thank you, father, that you're intervening on behalf of everyone that is going through anything. 00:16:48.823 --> 00:16:54.024 Lord, you've got the way out for them and we thank you that it's not hidden from them. 00:16:54.024 --> 00:17:00.011 It's hidden for them in Jesus' name, amen, amen, amen.