Hear the Word of the Lord, O Nations

[00:00:00] I would like once again to read that passage that has been the foundation of all our times today in the prophecy of Jeremiah in chapter 31. [00:00:17] And from verse three the Lord appeared of old unto me, saying, yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. [00:00:30] Therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. [00:00:36] Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, o virgin of Israel. [00:00:43] Again shalt thou be adorned with thy tablets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. [00:00:51] Again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria. The planters shall plant and shall enjoy the fruit thereof. [00:01:01] For there shall be a day that the watchman upon the hills of Ephraim shall cry, arise, ye, and let us go up to zion unto the Lord our God. For thus saith the Lord. Sing with gladness for Jacob and shout for the chief of the nations. Publish ye, praise ye, and say, o Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. [00:01:33] Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the outermost parts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child, and her that travaileth with child. Together a great company shall they return. Hither they shall come with weeping and with supplications will I lead them. I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble. For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. [00:02:10] Hear the word of the Lord, o ye nations, and declare it in the isles, afar off, and say, he that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd does his flock. [00:02:30] To this I would add another prophetic word in the same prophecy of Jeremiah, chapter 51, from verse 19. [00:02:41] For the portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the former of all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. The lord of hosts is his name. [00:02:54] Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war. And with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy the kingdoms. And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider. And with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and him that rideth therein. And with thee will I break in pieces man and woman. And with thee will I break in pieces the old man and the youth. And with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin. And with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock. And with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen. And with thee will I break in pieces governors and deputies. [00:03:46] As to further word of prayer, lord, we dare not come to the ministry of your word without recognizing that apart from you, we can do nothing. [00:03:57] But, Lord, you have made all the provision necessary and into that anointing, grace and power, both for the speaking of your word and the hearing of it. We stand by faith. You know, Lord, how hot and airless it is this evening. Will you revive us? Will you quicken us? And will you enable us, o Lord, not only to speak your word, but to hear what you are saying. [00:04:26] And we shall be careful to give you all the glory for answering this, our prayer, which we ask in the name of our messiah, the Lord Jesus. [00:04:39] Amen. [00:04:41] Well, the theme of today was that wonderful declaration of the Lord. I have loved thee with an everlasting love, and I have already spoken, spoken about that and those wonderful words. Therefore, with chesed or grace have I drawn thee again shall you be built, o virgin of Israel. Again shall planters plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria. They shall plant and they shall enjoy the fruit thereof. [00:05:25] I find this tremendous, the key to the whole of jewish history, this everlasting, invincible, insuperable love of God. [00:05:40] Not sentimental, not stupid, not in any way emotional, but a love so strong, so powerful that it will take sometimes devastating action to finally achieve what he wants for those he loves. [00:06:24] Well, I'm not going to go over what we have already said earlier today because I have a burden upon my heart and I want to be able to share it with you. I find it incredible that the Lord says in, in this prophecy. [00:06:44] Hear the word of the Lord, o ye nations, and declare it in the isles, afar off. [00:06:56] He that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd does his flock. [00:07:10] This is how the Lord, in one sense, sums up this incredible prophecy. [00:07:19] Hear the word of the Lord, o ye nations. He doesn't say, hear the word of the Lord, o Israel. [00:07:27] Hear the word of the Lord, o ye goyim gentiles nations, and declare it in the isles that are afar off. [00:07:43] He that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd does his flock. [00:07:57] 57 years of modern israeli history is the evidence of something incredible, a divine action, a shepherd keeping his flock. [00:08:18] Seven wars in 57 years, four of which war should have been the destruction of this newborn state of Israel. And Israel is still very much alive. [00:08:36] Controversy, conflict, misrepresentation on every level and in every part of the world. [00:08:44] And still here she is, as viable as ever, alive as ever, as annoying as ever she is Israel. And God has said he will keep her as a shepherd does his flock. [00:09:06] Ive always been interested watching shepherds. [00:09:13] The shepherds in our part of the world, in the eastern Mediterranean, in Israel, have a relationship with the sheep, which is quite extraordinary. [00:09:24] My old shepherd that I have often quoted, now 81, 82 years of age, periodically gets drunk, wanders around playing a ghastly version of the bagpipes. [00:09:43] A greek version of the bagpipes. Simply dreadful. [00:09:49] And when he sings, it is even more terrible. [00:09:53] But the sheep gather around and the goats even, and listen intently to him. But there are times when he takes rocks and stones and buzzes them with incredible accuracy at those that are not behaving. [00:10:17] It is an extraordinary relationship. [00:10:24] The Lord has this same relationship with Israel. [00:10:32] He scattered them and he has gathered them. [00:10:39] What is it that the Lord is trying to say? [00:10:43] He is trying to say just simply this. [00:10:47] This is an evidence to the nations of the absolute authority, trustworthiness and practical relevance of his word. [00:11:03] Hear the word of the Lord, o ye nations. [00:11:08] Declare it in the isles that are afar off. [00:11:13] He that scattered Israel will gather him. So the scattering of Israel, the exile of Israel has tremendous significance, tremendous import for the nations. [00:11:28] This people are beloved by God. [00:11:33] And thats why he scattered them twice in history, once for 70 years, the second time for 1900 years. [00:11:50] He scattered them. And the one who scattered them has gathered them. What does it say? [00:11:57] Very simply, you will remember those of you who were with us this morning. I said, this prophecy has a timeframe, because we understand from that wonderful word, I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with grace have I drawn you again shall you be built, and you will be built, o virgin of Israel, again shall planters plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria. They shall plant them and shall enjoy the fruit thereof. The word the fruit thereof is not in the original. They shall enjoy. In other words, theyll enjoy the wine. Im sorry for those of you who have signed up for temperance, but thats what the word of God says. They will enjoy the fruit. [00:12:47] Whether it is the fruit or whether it is the wine, theyll enjoy it. And the fact still, its a wonderful fact that Israel never repossessed Samaria, not from the 6th century before Christ until 1967. [00:13:10] So the timeframe of this prophecy is absolutely clear. And anyone who says it's been fulfilled in the return from Babylon is, well, I don't know what to say about them. I don't want to be rude or unkind. [00:13:27] I don't want to say they're dumb. [00:13:31] I don't want to say they are liberals. I don't want to say they don't believe in the word of God. What do you say here you have built into the prophecy a clear word from the Lord. As to the time only. [00:13:55] Pardon. Only between 1967 and 2005 has this prophecy of Jeremiah been properly fulfilled. [00:14:08] That means the recreation of the fertility, the restoration of the ecology, the rebuilding of the cities, the reinstitution of the national institutions, the rebuilding of the Knesset, the rebuilding of the state and all its functions. [00:14:26] All these things are to do with this word of the Lord. [00:14:36] It is the scattering and the gathering by the Lord. So people say, don't be ridiculous. The Lord is only interested in people who are born again, who are saved. Well, well, well. He has a whole lot of people here who are not saved, and he has somehow guided them back in their unbelief, according to his word, where he said, I will lead, I will lead the blind by a way that they know not all how true it is. I will bleed them. I will lead the blind by a way that they know not, in paths that they have not known will I lead them. I will make darkness light before them, crooked places straight. These things will I do, and I will not forsake them. [00:15:24] Of whom is the Lord speaking? [00:15:28] Not the church. The church is supposed to see. [00:15:36] They are the one body in the world that is supposed to have its eyes open. [00:15:44] They are supposed to have vision. They are supposed to have the eyes of their hearts enlightened, that they may know the hope of their calling, and so on. [00:16:00] We know very well that the church has a lot of eye problems. [00:16:10] Double vision, half vision, long vision, short vision, no vision. [00:16:19] But that is not what God meant the church to be. The one community in the world on this earth, who at the same time are in heavenly places, are supposed to be a community with its eyes open, its spiritual eyes open, its spiritual ears unblocked. [00:16:44] Who then, are these people of whom the prophet Isaiah speaks when he says, the Lord says, I will bleed. I will lead the blind by in a way that they have not known, in paths that they have not known, will I lead them? Who are they? [00:17:01] Unless it is the jewish people. [00:17:04] And when you read what the apostle Paul said by the spirit of God in Romans, as it is recorded in Romans eight, nine, sorry, Romans 910 and eleven, you have exactly this. He says that there was an election according to grace that was saved and the rest were hardened. [00:17:30] But he says, thats not the end of the story. There will come a day when God will remove the blindness and melt the hardening, and will restore again. [00:17:42] And he ends with those wonderful words as touching the gospel. They, the jewish people are enemies for your sake. But as touching the election, the predestinating counsel and will of God, they are beloved for the PaTriARcH's sake, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. [00:18:09] It is therefore amazing to me to again look at this passage and to see within it a time frame that is inescapable, if you are honesT. [00:18:23] It has something to do with Samaria. And it has something to do with jews in SAmaRia and planting in the hills and mountains of SAmaRIa. Vineyards. [00:18:39] Even under the MuSLIm rule for so many years they were not allowed to plant vineyards or to produce wine. [00:18:57] But today some of the most prestigious wines in IsrAel come from the mountains of Samaria. [00:19:04] It is exactly what the Lord says. They plant it and they are enjoying the fruit thereof. [00:19:14] Well, I do, but. [00:19:23] And what does the Lord say? [00:19:25] Hear the word of the Lord, o ye nations, and declare it in the isles that are afar off. Isnt this wonderful? [00:19:36] And what are we? [00:19:39] What are we to declare? [00:19:43] What is this word of the Lord? He that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd does his flock. [00:19:56] Will there be a withdrawal from Gaza? [00:20:00] Will there be a withdrawal from those four communities in northern Samaria? [00:20:07] We cannot say. [00:20:11] But this we know with absolute certainty. [00:20:15] The jewish people have come home to stay. [00:20:22] And whatever happens, God is going to fulfill his word here it is he that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd does his flock. [00:20:41] So in spite of the government, in spite of Mister Sharon taking a 180 degree turn in his policies, in spite of all the division that there is at present within israeli society, in spite of all the turmoil and the possibility of violence and even worse, civil war, in spite of it all, the word is, and he that scattered Israel and gathered Israel will keep him as a shepherd does his flock. [00:21:23] He will not let one be lost. [00:21:27] Therefore we have tremendous confidence and encouragement. This is a sign to the nations. Here is the Lord himself saying, israel is a sign to the nations. It is a sign. [00:21:47] Negatively, it is a sign positively. In her scattering, it was a sign. In her regathering, it was a sign. And in her being marvelously kept, it is aside. [00:22:04] Now, if you are still with me and still awake, let me take a step further. [00:22:14] Listen again. [00:22:15] Hear the word of the Lord, o ye nations, and declare it in the isles, afar off. Well, thats exactly what were doing here. [00:22:26] These I know that you think of Britain as the center of the universe, but of course the fact of the matter is that the prophet saw the British Isles as isles afar off. [00:22:48] There's no doubt about it. There are isles, these are islands. I do hope you realize them. [00:22:54] I know that once you had an enormous empire of that I will speak in a moment. But these are small islands spoken by some people in a very derogatory manner as offshore islands of Europe. [00:23:16] That's exactly what we're doing this evening. We're declaring something in isles that are afar off as regards Jerusalem. [00:23:27] What is this word isles in the Hebrew? It is interesting because it is really the Isles. [00:23:35] You can also translate the word as coastlands because many of the coastlands west of Israel are all islands. [00:23:46] And therefore, when they spoke of these isles, it was normally the west. So if you think of this, hear the word of the Lord, all ye nations and declare it in the west. [00:24:03] Interestingly, it's basically in the west that most of the pressure is coming on Israel to give up, to divide the promised land and so on and so forth. [00:24:20] Hear the word of the Lord, o ye nations and declare it in the isles of the pharaoh. [00:24:27] Isn't this wonderful, this word of the prophet Jeremiah? That gospel went from Jerusalem, it went down south to Ethiopia, and there was a marvelous work done in Ethiopia. It went right along the northern african coast, it went eastwards to India, right the way to the very south of India. It even went to China, the western area of China. [00:24:59] The gospel went to Armenia and the whole of Armenia, which had become jewish, turned to the Lord and became a christian kingdom. [00:25:08] It is amazing, the gospel. [00:25:12] But the real thrust of the gospel was westwards. It took Europe, first Asia Minor, then it went across to Europe, it took Greece, it took Italy, it took what we used to call Yugoslavia. It took. [00:25:34] It took space. It is amazing to me, this gospel that moved, how incredible it is. [00:25:43] Hear the word of the Lord, o ye nations, and declare it in the coastlands in the west he that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd does his flock. [00:26:01] I do not believe, and I don't want to upset anybody, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to. [00:26:11] I do not believe in the british Israel theory. [00:26:15] I think it's a fallacy. [00:26:20] I've looked at it from all angles and as far as I can see, it is a mixture of the word of God and a whole lot of nationalism. [00:26:35] I think it's ridiculous to say that Denmark is the tribe of Dan because it's Denmark. [00:26:45] And I think it's even more silly to say that the royal house of Britain is descended from the house of David, partly because of the stone of scone upon which they are crowned in Westminster Abbey. And I think it's nonsense. This is not to be derogatory of the queen or of the royal family. It's just stating a fact. [00:27:14] But I find it inescapable when I read the prophecy of Isaiah in particular, that when he speaks of the Isles waiting for the law of God, the Lord did not in some way know that the British Isles would turn to him. [00:27:34] Listen, let me just take the Bible and just let me just read a few scriptures to you if you're with me. Chapter 24 of Isaiah and verse 15 and 16. Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the east, even the name of the Lord, the God of Israel in the isles of the sea. [00:27:59] From the outermost part of the earth have we heard songs. Glory to the righteous. [00:28:07] Let me take you again to Isaiah, chapter 42 and verse four. [00:28:20] He this is speaking of the Messiah. He will not fail nor be discouraged till he have set justice in the earth. [00:28:28] And the isles shall wait for his law. [00:28:33] Let me take you again to Isaiah 51 and verse five. [00:28:41] My righteousness is near, my salvation is gone forth mine arms shall judge the peoples. The isles shall wait for me, and on mine arms shall they trust. [00:28:57] Are you going to tell me that that doesnt include the British? [00:29:04] I would say that in some incredible way in the purpose of God. [00:29:10] When this gospel went forth from Jerusalem and went westwards and finally came to these british isles, and the inhabitants of these isles turned to God, something happened that was in the purpose of God for the nations of the world. [00:29:34] Out of these islands was formed an empire. [00:29:41] Whatever ills it may have had, which spanned the globe, one quarter of the world's surface was under the government of Britain. The population of the British Empire was seven times the population of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent. [00:30:08] There are more scriptures. Chapter 60 and verse nine. [00:30:16] Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of tarshish first to bring thy sons far, their silver and their gold with them of the Lord thy God, and for the holy one of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. The isle shall wait for me. You will find it again and again and again. [00:30:42] When the gospel first came to these islands, forgive me, I may not be asked ever to come back again and speak to you. But the inhabitants wore only woad paint and some sort of small loincloth. [00:31:09] They were basically savages. [00:31:11] How they ever lived in the normal british climate, I read that way. I have no idea. They must have been much hardier than the present population. [00:31:24] But that gospel, when it came, changed these islands. [00:31:30] A fire came into these islands that has never gone out. [00:31:41] I find it amazing. [00:31:44] I hear of the early british church, I think of Ireland alone. Just take Ireland, Patrick. They say he was Catholic. He was not a Catholic at all. He belonged to the ancient british church. [00:31:56] And the incredible thing about those first irish saints is that they were the ones who taught the gospel to Norway, they were the ones who taught the gospel to Holland, they were the ones who taught the gospel to Germany. [00:32:17] Again, I find it amazing. I mean, I'm not saying that church tradition is right, although not all traditions are wrong, but the ancient tradition of the british church is that it was Joseph of Aramathia who brought the gospel to Britain. [00:32:34] That in fact he was a tin merchant. We know he was wealthy and tin was one of the great. They sought after commodities of the ancient world. And he came to Cornwall, to Glastonbury, where, according to tradition, he's buried. [00:32:53] That's where the story came that Jesus once came with his uncle because he supposed Joseph of Aramathia was supposed to have been his uncle. None of this is in the word. So I dont want to be accused of finding things in the word that are not there. [00:33:10] But what is interesting is that the legion that guarded Jerusalem at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus, where the centurion of that legion said, surely this is the son of God. That same legion was moved from the land of Israel to the British Isles and was in charge of London. And according again to yet another tradition, they were the ones who preached the gospel to the British. [00:33:47] And through them came the first church. Well, that's tradition, but all we know is this. The gospel came to these islands. And although we can speak of the gospel in Norway, we can speak of the gospel in Sweden, we can speak of the gospel in Holland and Germany. And we can say that these missionaries went forth like the Moravians, to the ends of the earth. [00:34:10] When the gospel came to these islands, it was something incredible that happened. [00:34:18] When you take Wycliffe, who lived to see the word of God as he said, he longed to see the word of God in the common language of the people hated by the church, despised. They called them Lollards. Isn't that interesting? They were sort of ancient charismatics. Apparently. They lolled all over the place, you know, Lollards they called them. [00:34:55] They were murdered and martyred. [00:35:01] Tyndale, William Tyndale, who lived with one determination to put into the hands, as he said of every ploughman, the word of God in the language, his mother tongue, that was unmistakably clear. [00:35:21] He had to flee these islands and went to Germany and then to Antwerp, where finally the decree of the king, Henry VIII, that he should be executed was carried out. He was strangled and burnt at the stake. And the last words he was heard to say were, o God, open the eyes of the king of England. [00:35:52] And within one year, the same king that decreed his execution decreed that a copy of the Bible in the mother tongue of the british people. English should be chained to every parish church in England and Wales. And we have some very funny stories that came from it. For the people found amongst their number somebody who could read, who could go back there. And they found the vicar and the curate so boring that they used to leave their pews on block, go to the back and listen to one of their number reading the Bible in English. [00:36:34] I think sometimes that might be a very good thing to do. Again, beloved friends, these islands are soaked with the blood of martyrs. You have no idea what it costs to bring the word of God that you treat in such a familiar way. Is such a normal thing, so usual. [00:37:05] That Bible came to you at enormous sacrifice. [00:37:11] Not just one here and one there, but thousands upon thousands. [00:37:18] Bloody Queen Mary was so angry with Wycliffe. She felt he was the one who started the whole thing, hundred years before her reign, that she had him dug up his bones, ground, and they were thrown into one of the rivers in the northern part of Britain. Shouldn't have think. I don't think it worried the Wycliffe. [00:37:44] The work was done when bishop. Oh, for that. We had such bishops today. [00:37:51] When Bishop Latimer and Bishop Ridley were tied to the stake to be burnt to death. [00:37:59] And one of them, for a moment, as they were lighting the fire, showed fear. The other said to him, play the man. [00:38:09] For this day we will set a light a torch in England that will never go out. [00:38:17] But, beloved friends, that torch is in danger of going out. [00:38:25] The things that made this country so great when we were buccaneers and pirates, basically, the thing that brought this country to greatness was the word of God and the gospel. And the adoption by the people of this book as the foundation of national life, the foundation of law, of behavior, of the family, of all the norms of social behaviour. Now, am I boring you? I hope not. [00:39:05] But what I'm trying to say is this. [00:39:09] If this had been a heathen country and a pagan country, God would not judge her in the same way. [00:39:17] But she is a country that has adopted the gospel and adopted and committed itself to the word of God and built its very life upon this book and the revelation contained within it. And now every single thing that has been won at a tremendous cost, not only through the finished work of our Lord Jesus, but by the blood of countless martyrs, is being thrown away as if it is excrement, as if it is dung trampled underfoot. [00:40:01] That means judgment. [00:40:05] Surely judgment will come to these islands. [00:40:15] It is inescapable. [00:40:38] God has visited these islands with successive revivals wherever you turn. Not just the Reformation, the Puritans, the Covenanters, the Quaker revivals, the first great evangelical awakening, the second great evangelical awakening, the pentecostal revival, the welsh revival and the pentecostal revival, which basically were almost synonymous. [00:41:09] And the charismatic. [00:41:13] Whatever faults there may have been in these times, and if you want to pull things to pieces, you can, the fact of the matter is that in the grace of God, he kept alive something in these islands. [00:41:32] I say that time is up. [00:41:42] When Mother Barbara was only a girl of 16, she heard a prophecy in a monastery north of Moscow that has come remarkably true. [00:42:01] What would take Russia? [00:42:04] What it was that would take Russia. [00:42:09] And what would happen to Germany? What would happen to France? [00:42:13] What would happen to the United States? [00:42:16] She would feed the world, but would finally fall in Britain. She would lose her empire and nearly all her colonies, but she would be saved by praying women. [00:42:37] I think Britain was saved in two world wars by praying women. [00:42:46] Whether that prophecy still extends to the present time remains to be seen. [00:42:59] The United States. I don't anyone here who's american, I don't want to upset you either. I'll say it. [00:43:08] The United States is but the extension of Britain. [00:43:15] Someone said the best of the British went to America and led the revolution against her. [00:43:28] It is absolutely true that the people who went to the United States, to those colonies for the most part, were real believers, and they left because of persecution here. [00:43:42] They were not free to be able to really worship as they felt it was right. [00:43:58] I believe the great battle now is the destruction of both the United States and the United Kingdom to make way for the Antichrist. [00:44:17] That battle is almost won in these islands. [00:44:23] She has lost so much. [00:44:27] She is. I think for most people, if they were to come back for those who lived a hundred years ago, 70 years ago, 80 years ago, I don't think they could recognize Britain. [00:44:43] United States has still a strong evangelical conscience, still a biblical conscience, still affecting her national life and her attitude to things. But the battle is enormous. [00:45:04] Now I must be careful. [00:45:10] It is a huge battle for the soul of Britain and the United States. [00:45:30] If it was only gay rights, abortion, euthanasia, the family, marriage as an institution, all these things that are revealed through the word of God, the truth concerning them through the word of God, that would be bad enough to throw all that away. [00:45:58] But there is something else. [00:46:01] The way any nation treats the jewish people and the true church of God is the way God treats them. [00:46:15] You curse the Jew and Ibuma rang back on you. You curse the true church of God and iboomerangs back on you. [00:46:26] The evidence is everywhere in the whole of history. [00:46:35] Thats why I find it so tremendous that this little nation so misrepresented and so hated and so in danger humanly speaking, of going under, of being demoralized to the point of destruction, thats why I say for me, the most serious element in this whole thing is what is happening in the so called churches, because it is exactly the same spirit that led to the holocaust in the german churches. [00:47:27] Exactly the same spirit, a misrepresentation of the jew, a dislike of the jew, a hatred of the jew. [00:47:41] And when finally Hitler came to power, it was too late for the german church to do anything. [00:47:52] And the tragedy of it is that when the Jews were taken, the Christians for the most part, looked the other way. [00:48:05] We are seeing the very same conditions produced by demonic forces in so called churches. [00:48:19] And the saddest thing of all is when its in evangelical churches, it is the aim of the powers of darkness to prepare the way for another holocaust, this time not here, but in the Middle east. The Ayatollah Khomeini, who is now dead, for which I thank God. [00:48:50] The ayatollah khomeini. The word ayatollah means word of God or oracle of God. The ayatollah khomeini used to say, let us get them all together in one place, the Jews, and then we will gas and burn them. [00:49:10] Thats what Sheikh Nasrallah of Hezbollah in Lebanon has repeatedly said. [00:49:19] We will get them all in one place, let them all come back from the ends of the earth and well get them all. [00:49:28] Thats what Saddam Hussein said before the Gulf war. We will gas them and incinerate them. He said, thats why I read to you that extraordinary prophecy in Jeremiah 51. You are my battle axe. How could the Lord say such a thing of a nation that was literally exiled? She was broken. She had nothing. A little tiny nation, a broken, imprisoned by Babylon, destroyed, divided. [00:50:07] How could the Lord say, you are my battle axe. With you will I break in pieces nations. And with you will I break in pieces in kingdoms. And if you read through that extraordinary passage of that prophecy, you will see that it covers the armies, it covers the defense forces, it covers the economy, it covers social life, and it covers political life, governors and deputies. The whole thing is with you. How could yet it was exactly that, that the Lord did. He took that little nation in exile in Babylon. And in some amazing way, it was because of her that the end came to Babylon. Do you remember the Story? Of course you do. You remember the great feast of Belshazzar? You remember how they bought all the vessels from the house of God and were drinking. It was like an orgy. They were drinking so much, they were drunk and everything else. And suddenly the king saw that the hand, the invisible handwriting on the wall. And they couldn't. He was so fearful. He asked the wise men to explain it. Nobody could explain it. And finally the queen mother came and said, there was a man in whom was the spirit of the gods in your father's day. Ask him. His name is Daniel. And Daniel came in and Daniel, with unbelievable courage said, yes, o king, you have brought the vessels of the house of God in JeruSalem and you have drunk from them. [00:51:43] And this writing says you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. And this night the kingdom is taken from you and given to another. And that night, in an incredible military operation, the Persians dammed up the water gate. The river that went through the water gate came in on the riverbed and took the whole of Babylon. And everyone that was in that great banquet died. [00:52:15] You are my battle ax. [00:52:18] With you will I destroy nations and destroy kingdoms. These days have not changed. The Ottoman Empire has gone because of it. The british empire has gone because of it. The soviet empire has gone because of it. It's still very much the same today. So, my friends, I must finish just a few more minutes. Now listen, what should be our response to this? [00:52:48] Very simply. First of all, we should live according to the word of God. [00:52:58] What does the book say? [00:53:01] Not what does man say or tradition say, but what does the word of God say and what the word of God says that is authoritative. [00:53:11] We have to live according to the word of God. The man of God is furnished completely through the word of God. [00:53:21] First thing. Second thing. We must give to the Lord Jesus the place the father gives to him. [00:53:30] We must never devalue him, never in any way demote him. That is always the beginning of departure and backsliding. [00:53:41] Let him have the preeminence in everything. [00:53:45] Give him the place the father has given him and we cannot go wrong. Thirdly, we need to preach the gospel fearlessly. And I dont mean a decision, a kind of decision preaching. I mean that gospel that has been entrusted to us, the gospel of the redeeming love of God. We need to preach it fearlessly. [00:54:16] Fourthly, we need fire. [00:54:22] Without fire, there is nothing. I am not talking about noise, and I'm not talking about emotionalism. I'm talking about the fire of God. [00:54:37] When that fire of God gets into a person, a whole nation can be changed. Look at George Fox. When that fire got into the man, what happened? See what happened to Britain, to North America? Incredible. What about. I'm not being rude, but think of that dry old stick, John Wesley. No wonder they called him a Methodist. He was a legalist, and he did everything in his power to preach the gospel and was, according to his own estimate, a total failure. And when he was a dried up old thorn bush with nothing at all left, the fire got into him. And when the fire got into John Wesley, it spread through the British Isles and to North America and changed everything. It saved Britain from revolution. [00:55:42] You take George Whitfield. [00:55:45] He had an eye that looked one way and another eye that looked the other way. As Lindsey Gregg always said every time he preached the gospel, these two people were convicted of sin, nothing to look at. But oh, when the fire of God got into that man born in a public house in Gloucester, when that fire of God got into George Whitefield, thousands upon thousands were saved. [00:56:16] We need fire. [00:56:19] There is no other answer to the judgment coming upon Britain. I have no doubt about this judgment. I believe that the Lord will destroy the climate if necessary. He will destroy the agriculture. He will turn everything upside down. He will destroy the economy. In the end, he will bring every kind of problem in once the people have forsaken his word and once theyve turned against it, positively judgment is inescapable. Yet in the midst of all those judgments, thousands upon thousands can be saved. [00:56:57] But there has to be a fire. [00:56:59] If the fire is not in the old dried up thorn bush, there is nothing to attract anybody. [00:57:10] But when the fire gets into the thorn bush, its not only moses that turns aside to see the world turns aside. [00:57:26] May God do it. [00:57:30] May God do it. I have no doubt about Israel that the Lord will preserve her. [00:57:37] And I have no doubt that there is a remnant of the faithful in Britain and that God will preserve. [00:57:51] May God make this word real to everyone who hears it. [00:58:01] Hear the word of the Lord, o ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off. [00:58:11] He that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd does his flock and then show. And the others will lead us straight into he who gathered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd keeps his blood. [00:59:02] Amen.