Pastor Tim Brown, Calvary Chapel Fremont, Wednesday October 26, 2011

Download | Duration: 00:43:52

    Building on Sand

    Jeremiah 36:1-32

1-3   The Reason for the Scroll

Pharaoh put Jehoiakim on the throne in 601 BC. Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh @ the battle of Carchemish in 605 BC.  If the one who put Jehoiakim on the throne is no longer on his throne, what does that mean for Jehoiakim’s throne?  Jehoiakim looked to Pharaoh, and not to God, to prop up this throne.  Pharaoh, not God, was the power behind Jehoiakim’s throne - w/ Pharaoh no longer supporting him, Jehoiakim has to feel vulnerable.  This shift of world events demonstrates that Jehoiakim has been building his life/ kingdom on sand.  This shift of power sifts the sand beneath his feet and it is in the backdrop of this shift of power that God directs J to take the prophecies he has spoken/put them into writing.   

Jehoiakim was a descendant of David, the shepherd boy whom the Lord had brought to the throne of Israel/established his dynasty.  The foundation of David’s throne was the LORD Himself.  The rock of David’s throne was the Rock of Ages.  It was God who brought David to the throne/sustained David upon the throne.  Some of David’s descendants relied upon the Lord while some relied upon themselves and allied w/ other nations.  Some looked to the Lord to be their strength/some looked to the nations.  Some built their thrones upon the Rock/some upon the sand.  Jehoiakim built his throne upon the sand.  He looked to man to give him the throne /sustain him upon the throne.  Through J, the Lord appealed to Jehoiakim to make God his strength, but he never did so.

This was a perfect time for Jehoiakim to reassess his life.  The sifting sand meant that he had to gain a new footing.  Trouble reveals whether you’re standing on the sand or on the Rock.  At beach – stand on sand, constantly have to gain new footing/on rock and remain in one place.   

How do you know that you have made the Lord your rock/the foundation you’re building on?  Matthew 7:15-27.  The tenses of the verbs in v22 point to actions done in the past/over and done with.  Practice lawlessness of v23 is an ongoing manner of life.  These were professional ministers who didn’t live habitual godly lives.

So, how do you know that you’ve made the Lord your rock ?  v24  …everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them…  You are hearing/doing the Word of God in an ongoing manner.  Following Jesus isn’t a performance, it’s a lifestyle.   

It was at this time, when the foundation of Jehoiakim’s throne was shaken, that the words of J took written form.  And God directed J to do so in the hopes that the king and the nation would take themselves off the sand and build on the rock.  There is a change of world empire and if Jehoiakim didn’t make his way to the Rock, this new empire will conquer Judah.     

In the drama of world change, J is directed to record the word of the Lord.  A world in turmoil, a world that is building upon the sand needs the written word of God.  The full Bible has been translated into over 450 languages, and sections of the Bible have been translated into over 2,000 languages.  Human history is entering a very dark period/the word of God in the hands of men/women will point them to the Rock.  J’s desire: that king/people repent/rebuild.
Vatican urges economic reforms, condemns collective greed  5:35pm BST  By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY, Oct 24 (Reuters) The Vatican called has for the creation of a global authority to regulate financial markets as demonstrations against corporate greed continued to spring up in major cities across the globe.  An 18-page document from the Vatican's Justice and Peace department said the financial downturn had revealed behaviors like "selfishness, collective greed and hoarding of goods on a great scale…"  

The document was released as "Occupy Wall Street" protests this month sparked similar anti-capitalist movements around the world with demonstrators angry over government bailouts of big banks/corporate bonuses/economic inequality.  "If no solutions are found to the various forms of injustice, the negative effects that will follow on the social/political/ economic level will be destined to create a climate of growing hostility and even violence, and ultimately undermine the very foundations of democratic institutions," it said.

The Vatican called for the establishment of "a supranational authority" with worldwide scope and "universal jurisdiction" to guide economic policies and decisions.  Such an authority should start with the United Nations as its reference point but later become independent and be endowed with the power to see to it that developed countries were not allowed to wield "excessive power over the weaker countries".

"Of course, this transformation will be made at the cost of a gradual, balanced transfer of a part of each nation's powers to a world authority and to regional authorities, but this is necessary at a time when the dynamism of human society/the economy/the progress of technology are transcending borders, which are in fact already very eroded in a globalized world." (Reporting By Philip Pullella; editing by Elizabeth Piper and Belinda Goldsmith)

Geopolitical events are shaping up to bring about the kind of world we see in the book of Revelation.  A world where one man can have an economic stranglehold upon the whole planet.  A world built upon the sand of the antichrist and not the rock of Jesus Christ.   

4    Writing the Scroll

Baruch was J’s secretary/servant, brother to the chamberlain of King Zedekiah – cf. 51:59.  Josephus wrote that Baruch was a man of extraordinary talents, but chose to be a servant to J.

5-10   Reading the Scroll

There was the space of a few months between the time the scroll was written/read.  J wasted no time in his obedience to the Lord.  Though he saw no immediate need, he gave immediate obedience.  Had he delayed dictation until the time of the need, he would have been behind the ball – too late.  To delay obedience is to derail usefulness.  The Lord has often led me to study a portion of Scripture having nothing to do w/ my public ministry.  This has been so blessed as I have needed 2b armed w/ the truth/power of that passage.   

The date (of the fast) was significant because the Babylonian Chronicle reports that at this same time Nebuchadnezzar was in Palestine collecting "vast tribute" from those nations he had conquered. In the same month the fast was called, Nebuchadnezzar captured the city of Ashkelon and plundered it (cf. Donald J. Wiseman, Chronicles of Chaldean Kings (626 B.C. - 556 B.C.) in the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1956, p. 69). It is possible that the fast was called to plead for deliverance from Babylon's harsh hand.

(from Bible Knowledge Commentary/Old Testament Copyright © 1983, 2000 Cook Communications Ministries; Bible Knowledge Commentary/New Testament Copyright © 1983, 2000 Cook Communications Ministries. All rights reserved.)

11-26  Responding to the Scroll

Three readings of the scroll in C36 –

10-13    In the temple – the people gave no response, but Micaiah was impressed and told some court officials.  The people didn’t feel the shifting sand, but Micaiah did.

14-19  Before the officials – they came under conviction

Cf. J26:20-24  Elnathan the son of Achbor had been part of the team to track down and bring back Uriah the prophet to King Jehoiakim who killed him.  Now, about five years later, he is helping to shield J.  Conversion?   

20-26  To the king – he cut/burned it/unconcerned by it

There are thousands of Jehoiakims yet alive who cut the Word of God with their penknives

(from The Biblical Illustrator Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 Ages Software, Inc./Biblesoft, Inc.)

Many have taken the scribe’s knife to the word of God – Jefferson/ liberals…

27-32  Rewriting the Scroll

No one can destroy/eliminate the Word of God.