God’s plan goes far beyond our imaginations

Jesus Christ Is Alive

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jesus Is Alive

Book of Luke Chapter 24

People sometimes ask, what is the greatest discovery that has ever been made throughout the history of our world?

Immediately, they think about material things or certain medicines.

That answer should be simple. The greatest discovery that has ever been made in this world is the empty tomb of the Lord Jesus Christ!

His tomb is still empty today because it was a borrowed tomb; the Lord Jesus only needed it for three days.

Much of this world does not know this, and most of the world does not believe this is true to their loss.

We should be very clear: if the Lord Jesus Christ had not risen from the dead, there would be no such thing as Christianity.

Christianity would be just another religion serving a false god.

The empty tomb and our risen Savior have to become a personal discovery for each individual on this earth.

If my God cannot do the impossible, then He cannot be my God!

If my God is not alive, then I am no more than a fool and bound for Hell with no means of salvation.

The Passover is past. The Lord Jesus was buried just before six PM on the day of the Passover.

The first day following Passover was to be a holy convocation treated as a special Sabbath, and it did not matter what day of the week it was; it could well have been on a Friday.

Lev 23:5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover.
Lev 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
Lev 23:7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

It was on Tuesday when the Lord Jesus had these words.

Mat 26:2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

Two days after Tuesday would be Thursday. The words of Jesus are more reliable than calendars; this Passover was on a Thursday.

The day after the preparation day, which was Passover, would be the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was treated as a Sabbath, a High Day. Then, in this particular year, the true Sabbath would follow that day, meaning that when Sunday came, Jesus would have been in the ground for three days and three nights.

The Lord Jesus had been in the grave three days and three nights just as He had said.

At least this is where my Bible study leads me.

Mat_12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so, shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jhn_19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

Luk 23:54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
Luk 23:55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
Luk 23:56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

*Luk 24:1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
Luk 24:2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
Luk 24:3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

It was the death of the Lord Jesus Christ that would bring the history of this world and eternity to their fulfillment according to God’s plan.

God plans that every living soul be provided with the opportunity for atonement.

The day of atonement was the only day of the year in which the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, but not without blood, which he offered for himself.

On this day, he wore none of his colorful clothes to enter behind the Veil but wore white linen clothes.

On this Passover, the Lord Jesus offered His own blood for the atonement.

When the High Priest fulfilled his purpose, he left those clothes in the Holy of Holies just as the Lord Jesus left His white linen clothes behind, and He is not only our Mediator, but He is our true High Priest.

Rom 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

The meaning of the word is at-one-ment, and it means the state of being at one or being reconciled to God.
Until you are washed in the blood of Jesus, you cannot be reconciled to God!
Atonement is reconciliation. It signifies the truth of the Gospel which flows from the death of Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ died in our place! The Lord Jesus Christ took our punishment, which we were rightly due for the sins we committed against our Heavenly Father, our Creator.

Our guilt was imputed to Him, and this is why He came at the First Coming.

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

1Pe 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

This was God’s plan, and it was executed by His only begotten Son.

The Old Covenant is over, and the New Covenant has begun.

These women were not aware of these things, yet all they knew was that the body of the Lord Jesus Christ had not been properly cared for, and it had been three days.

At four days, the body of Jesus would be corrupted.

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had rushed to get the body of Christ into a grave on the day of Passover.

The Lord Jesus had been dead three days, just as He had said.

Mat_12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The Lord Jesus Christ arose on the first day of the week, which is Sunday on the Jewish calendar.

We now look at Monday as the first day of the week and Sunday as our Sabbath.

Act 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

This Sunday would have had its beginning at six o’clock the previous day, and these ladies came to the Tomb of Christ early that next morning.

Because His resurrection had occurred just as He had said, another order of things had occurred.

It was love that brought these ladies to the tomb of Jesus, and it is love and truth that should bring us all to the cross of Jesus.

Death reigns no more in our earthly flesh if you are reconciled to God.

The curse of Adam has ended for you.

The rules of death have been broken by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why? Because His tomb was empty, but that was not all.

1) The Scriptures were opened: Luk 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

2) Eyes were opened: Luk 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

3) The mind is opened: Luk 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

4) Heaven was opened: Luk 24:51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.

That stone was not rolled away to let the Lord out of that grave. He was already out before the angels rolled away that stone.

That stone was rolled away to allow these women who loved Him so much to go inside and look at an empty tomb.

This was the first victory of God’s amazing grace.

Now, mercy and grace are the rules God will use toward all mankind.

These ladies were perplexed about what they had seen.

*Luk 24:4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:

One of the best proofs of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the testimony of these ladies.

They witnessed the body of the Lord Jesus being placed into that tomb, and they now see that the tomb is empty.

They knew He was dead, and they knew where He had been laid, and the door had been sealed.

It was the penalty of death to remove this seal unauthorized.

None of those who came to the tomb of Christ had believed Him when He said He would be three days in it and then He would arise from that death until it took place.

As they arrive, they see the stone rolled away, and no one man could do such a thing, and they knew that they could not do it themselves.

Mar 16:3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
Mar 16:4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
It was the angels who rolled away the stone.

Mat 28:2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

An angel of the Lord cannot lie; they are only messengers.

The body of Jesus Christ was not in the tomb.

These angels had taken on the form of humans.

They looked like men, but their clothing was not of this world but shining garments.

One angel was on each end of the slab where the Lord Jesus had lain, which gives us the vision that the mercy seat was no longer in the Holy of Holies.

Jesus is first called Lord Jesus in this passage after His resurrection, for He is now our risen Savior.

What was the message of the angels?

*Luk 24:5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
Luk 24:6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
Luk 24:7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
Luk 24:8 And they remembered his words,

They were not so much afraid of those angels as they were about the missing body of Christ.

The truth is, God the Father has fully accepted the work of His Son for our atonement, and life has returned to Him.

Joh 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
Joh 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

The Lord Jesus becomes the Living God because death cannot hold our Savior!

Not many living will stay in a dead man’s tomb for very long.
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These angels also reminded these women of what the Lord Jesus had said before His death.

We had better be clear in our hearts, we do not honor a dead Savior, we honor the Living God!

Because they now remembered the words that Jesus had spoken, they had conviction and boldness to witness to others this truth.

The Lord Jesus had declared that the grave could not hold Him.

Heb 7:8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.

Rom 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

It is the power of His resurrection that removes any doubt that the Lord Jesus is the true Messiah, God in the Flesh.

None of those who had followed the Lord Jesus had truly accepted that He would arise from His death.

They had not accepted that He would die until it happened.

It is an eye-opening event when we realize that we were wrong about God!

God is who He says He is!

God does as He says He will do!

*Luk 24:9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.
Luk 24:10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.
Luk 24:11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.

What is the greatest lesson we can learn from this passage?

We need to pay attention to what the Lord Jesus Christ says!

The Lord Jesus always speaks the truth!

Not finding the Body of Jesus puzzled these women when it should have brought faith.

Many will say that an empty tomb is not proof of a resurrection.

Full belief required the appearance of Jesus Christ.

Faith would know that He is alive!

We should understand that the Holy Spirit did it this way so the Church would know that the grave was empty and it was the actual body of Jesus and not some ghost.

Many commentators will say that those two angels are Moses and Elijah, but the Bible does not lead us in this direction.

The angels quickly told these ladies that if they wanted to see the Risen Savior, they had come to the wrong place.

We know our Savior cannot be bound by any tomb, and you will never find Him there again.

The angels told these ladies to remind the eleven Apostles that He would meet them in Galilee.

The angels also said, “Do you not remember what Jesus said?”

Luk 18:31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
Luk 18:32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
Luk 18:33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.

The body of Jesus Christ had not been removed; Jesus had walked out of that grave, going straight through the rock because it was the angels who rolled that heavy stone away.

The enemies of Jesus were still rejoicing, but this rejoicing was about to end.

It took a while for these women to believe that the Lord had risen from that grave, and the Apostles did not believe these women.

The greatest sin in all the Bible is to not believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

The Apostles had no excuse for rejecting the truth of the resurrection, for the Lord had told them He would arise on many occasions.

They did go to Galilee, but they were quitting. They felt they had no one to serve after the death of Jesus.

This is where they would witness the truth of the Lord Jesus.

There is a lack of clear direction. They are no longer full of the Lord Jesus, and activities they previously abandoned for Him have a chance to creep back in.

It is never a good time to quit on Jesus!

Mar 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Peter was still suffering because he had denied Christ.

*Luk 24:12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

Many say that those linen clothes lay in that grave just as they were wrapped, meaning that the body of Jesus had passed through those wrappings, leaving them in place.

Jesus had folded the napkin that was over His face and laid it in another place, and we all know the meaning of this. “I will be back.”

As I said earlier, the High Priests would always leave those white linen clothes in the Holy of Holies, so that the empty tomb had become the Holy of Holies, and that place in the Temple was no longer important. The Veil had been torn into two pieces.

Peter came to the tomb of Jesus.

Peter saw what manner His clothes were laid.

Peter departed, wondering within himself what had actually happened.

What we now know is that it is dangerous not to understand the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We cannot spiritualize the Word of God because it will lead to unbelief and serious problems.

All we need to do is be open to the evidence that the Holy Spirit gives us in the Gospels.

1) The tomb is empty.
2) Jesus has risen just as He said.
3) The Holy Spirit will convince us of the truth if we listen to Him.

Joh 8:23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
Joh 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

The risen Messiah was not some spirit, He was not some vision, not some phantom, not a hallucination or the figment of man’s imagination, He was the risen Savior.

One day, not so far into the future, we will have a glorified body just like the Lord has.

*Luk 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
Luk 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
Luk 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
Luk 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luk 24:48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
Luk 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

The road to Emmaus is another great picture of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but our lesson goes to the teaching of the Lord Jesus to the Apostles after they knew that the resurrected Christ is the same Christ who had died for their sin and ours.

Now that these Apostles know that Jesus is a risen Savior, they can better understand the lessons He had taught them.

All prophecies up to the point of the Cross had been fulfilled just as they were written.

Jesus makes a point to teach these men that every word of God would be fulfilled just as written.

We can depend on the Word of God and a proper translation of the Word of God, such as the KJV.

Many translations are nothing but trash and should be done away with.

1) The death of Christ and the Resurrection had to take place just as they happened. Some of the brutalizing of our Savior was unnecessary, but foretold.

None of these things should have been a surprise to these men, and certainly not to the Scribes and Pharisees who were supposedly Bible scholars.

The Lord Jesus had preached these things Himself.

2) It was necessary that the death of Christ and His resurrection take place. His death was imperative, or we would still be bound with our sin, unforgiven.

His resurrection also had to take place, showing us the power of God and our own future resurrection of our bodies.

The Lord Jesus gave us His own division of the Bible of that day.

The Law
The Prophets
The Psalms

Basically, the entire Old Testament.

3) The Lord Jesus opened their eyes so they could understand:

1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

4) These prophecies had to be fulfilled.

Christ had to suffer a terrible death and then rise from that death.

Repentance and forgiveness must be preached.

The Holy Spirit and the Power of Heavenly Father must be sent.

Every believer was to be equipped for witnessing the truth of God.

The source of the Holy Spirit and His Power can come from God the Father only.

Jesus Christ was to send the promises of God the Father.
It was God the Father who made the promises.
We are to wait upon the Lord Jesus Christ to return while praying for the promises of God.

God the Father is the source of all power.

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

His work finished, the Lord went home to be by His Father’s side.

*Luk 24:50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.

Luke closes his Gospel with the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He had remained on earth for forty days since His resurrection.

The Lord Jesus came to this world on a mission to save the people of this world, and He provided a means of salvation and reconciliation with God to every individual who has lived since that time.

His ascension closes His earthly ministry, but it opens His Heavenly ministry, His mission of intercession for the world.

He now bears witness through the lives of those who believe Him.

He is now the propitiation for our sins.

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

God’s Son returned to the right hand of God the Father.

His ascension proves that Heaven is a real place!

Php 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Php 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

His ascension assures us that we have a very special Helper in Heaven who really loves and cares for us.

Amen

Two Groups of People

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Judah Deported

Book of Jeremiah Chapter 24

To understand this lesson, we need to understand the sacrifice of the “first fruits”.

These first fruits were to be the choicest of the first harvest of the crops.

The nation of Israel was known as God’s “first fruits”.

Jer 2:3 Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.

Here “holiness” means a people dedicated to God.

All those of Israel who were offended by the ways of God would be punished. It is the same today!

Today “first fruits can be used as all those who are first saved in a new area and led to the Lord.

Rom 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

So, we see that Israel were to be the first fruits of In God’s increase!

Let’s see as the Lord shows Jeremiah a new vision so he also could understand what God was doing.

*****Jer 24:1 The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
Jer 24:2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

We know that figs are small sweet pear-shaped fruits and they grow on small trees.

We should remember that Adam and Eve made the very first camouflage clothing line from the leaves of the fig tree when they knew they had sinned and were trying to hide from God.

Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

So, we know there were many fig trees around from day 1 and not some cross bred tree like so many are today.

This lesson was intended for Jeremiah, but it is also intended for us here today!

There are only two groups of people in the world. Those who follow in the will of God and those who are not in the will of God!

One of the biggest problems we face in this world today is that people do not want to hear the truth, especially when it affects their lifestyle!

1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
***1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

In our lesson today, the good figs will represent the Jews who were carried away into captivity, the bad figs were those left behind who would reject the Word of God given to the prophet Jeremiah.

This is the great hope of all those who have come to know the Lord in a personal relationship and one day soon the Lord will carry us away to be with Him while those who reject the Word of God will be left behind!

The bad figs represent all those who are left behind in Judah at this time and all those who have rejected the Lord when He returns.

Just so we know for more than 200 years God had sent His prophets to warn Israel of sin.

During the time of Jeremiah, God had intensified His warnings.

During the time of Jeremiah, God had reached a point where He would no longer forgive His people of their sin. Not because God became unforgiving but because He knew that this generation of Jews simply would not repent.

We know that God never changes so it is very true that the Holy Spirit will not always strive with individuals even in our time.

It is also in the time of Jeremiah that God would deal with the wrongs of His people and execute justice upon them!

Today we have been given the truth by the Apostles of Jesus Christ:

Eph 6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, “as unto Christ”;
Eph 6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, “doing the will of God from the heart”;
Eph 6:7 With good will “doing service, as to the Lord”, and not to men:
Eph 6:8 “Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord”, whether he be bond or free.

If we cannot understand these things, then we need to take the time to get it right.

God can see into the heart, and He knows if we are the real thing or not!

God knew these same things about Judah!

You want to begin to destroy a nation, remove all the people of knowledge and skills who can build a nation but most important remove all those who love the Lord.

It is this time when Daniel and his three friends, and Ezekiel and many others such as Mordecai and Esther would be in this group, with Nehemiah and Ezra.

We can see that these were certainly the good figs who would keep the Word of God on trac to reach the day of Jesus Christ!

Those that were left behind who had rejected the law of God were indeed the bad figs.

Certainly, there were also some others left behind that knew the Lord because God always has His remnant. These would probably be those who were the poorest in the nation who all the politicians had forgotten from both sides and considered useless.

Remember this is a vision that only Jeremiah sees at this time.

*****Jer 24:3 Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

The very good figs represented the true believers among the Jews that were carried off into captivity.

We will see that no one can out think the Lord. It would be captivity that would protect the true believers while those who worship idols would die off leaving a people of believers.

God would use captivity to save His children.

We should know by now that the Lord has many ways to deal with nations, but He does this by dealing with the individuals in any nation.

Many times, the true villains will remain unknown until it is time for God to expose them.

Immorality will ruin any nation but crimes against those who do live a moral life will also ruin a nation.

The Lord is the giver of life and when He departs, a body soon decays into nothingness and vanity!

Jeremiah would not only see many of these things with his own eyes, the Lord would also show him in visions things that would become the truth.

In fact the greatest Prophet of them all is Jehovah God, The Lord of all the Ages!

We may not see the visions that Jeremiah saw but we can certainly see our own nation fall into the trap of immorality.

Even history proves these things will cripple any nation that partakes in such things.

Who are God’s heroes? Those that know the Word of God and take a stand on its truths!

The kingdom of Satan is just as active as the Kingdom of Christ if not more so today, to the shame of those who profess to be Christians.

The differences in the good figs and the bad figs are the differences between Heaven and Hell!

What did Jesus say?

Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

*****Jer 24:4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 24:5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

When we see how the Lord deals with His children, it should teach us that the actions of love in our own heart cannot come close to the action of love from the Lord.

We must understand that sometimes that hard and distressing position, is the best for us.

God will humble us sometimes just, so He can make us to be stronger and more useful.

How could we have the wonderful words of the Holy Spirit through Daniel and Ezekiel if the Jews had remained in Judah?

Their removal to Babylon saved them from the awful things that faced those who were left behind!

It is no wonder that Jeremiah was treated so badly when he preached these things to the people of Judah.

We may not always understand the ways of God but then, this is why we must have “faith”!

God’s plan goes far beyond our own imaginations!

2Ti 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

The truth is when are made to see how the enemy lives, most everyone of us will agree that the truth of God is where we need to be!

God had told these people that in order to be saved they must surrender to the enemy.

It may have been to Nebuchadnezzar this time, but this is the main theme of our salvation.

To be saved we must surrender to the truth of God!

There is another principle of salvation that plays out in our next Scripture.

*****Jer 24:6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

Paul wrote: Rom_11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

This is the same thing God told Jeremiah and we know that this time is still in the future.

The Church will already be the Lord when this takes place!

The Lord has already said He will set His eyes upon them for good and this is part of the good God was talking about!

Job 34:21 For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.

2Ch 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.

Isa 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Jehovah God, The Lord Jesus Christ just loves to save but He also requires obedience!

Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

All these things require a “new heart”!

*****Jer 24:7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

The truth of this new heart is that we will all know our Savior!
All those with a heart to know our Savior will know Him because the Holy Spirit moves in to illuminate our minds to know our Savior.

1Co_2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

We must not just know the Lord.
We must have that personal knowledge within ourselves, our entire being.
We must speak to Him while He reads the intent of our new heart!

To know the Lord is to love the Lord!

Some say Jerusalem is the center of the universe.
Some same the Sun is the center of the universe.
Some say our galaxy is the center of the universe.
Some say other things are the center of the universe.

The truth is, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the center of our universe, spiritually and in reality!

When we truly love the Lord then we cannot stand idols or false gods!

When we truly love the Lord then our “Faith” will be set in the right place!

Psa 9:10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

What would God do for the exiles? God would build them up and make them secure!

The truth is the Lord will always sustain His children and give us His assurance that things are much better when our “faith” is real and our love for Him is true!

Pro 3:24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

Sometimes things just look so bad around us that we do not know what to believe!

When we remember that things are just like the Lord told us, we will realize that our Lord always tells us the truth!

Our relationship with the Lord will be at its best when we commit to the Word of God and apply it to our lives!

Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

And the rotten figs:

*****Jer 24:8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:
Jer 24:9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.

Judgment is real!

Zedekiah was left behind as a puppet king for Babylon along with those in charge of the government whose main goal was to gather taxes to pay to Babylon, yet they clung to their pride and refused to repent.

Zedekiah was named Mattaniah by his father King Josiah, but it was the king of Babylon who had changed his name to Zedekiah.

2Ki 24:17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father’s brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
2Ki 24:18 Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
2Ki 24:19 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

Zedekiah had no intention of being a puppet king to anyone but thought that as king he could do something himself.

God had already pronounced His judgment and unless there was repentance His judgment would stand.

Jeremiah was his councilor, but the Word of God was ignored, and he entered into an alliance with Hophra king of Egypt.

God had already informed him that even those who fled to Egypt would not miss out on His judgment!

The armies of Nebuchadnezzar would return and this time they would destroy Jerusalem.

What had been God’s promise by the words of Moses?

Deu 28:37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.

If we do not learn anything else, we need to learn that it is simply foolish to go against the Word of God anytime!

Even today in many nations the Jews are still an object of scorn and they will remain this way until they repent and return to the Lord!

In Jeremiah’s time it was the Babylonian exile of 586 BC and after the Lord had returned to Heaven it was the Roman exile of 70 AD.

Israel was conquered and remained that way until May 14, 1948.

God used war as a means to execute judgment on these people and certain nations of today believe God is still against this people.

*****Jer 24:10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

The result of sin is still judgment, and this will not ever change!

As long as those who are represented by the evil figs still dwell in the land of Israel, there will be Jews living in disgrace in foreign lands.

2Ch_7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

We are fools to believe that the Lord ever forgets the things He says!

The difference between “Good Figs” and “Bad Figs” are morals.

Both of these tend to grow to the extreme.

The Good Figs were very good! The Bad Figs were very bad!

Those who are moral obey the Word of God.

Those who are immoral reject the Word of God.

It is the morals of every nation that stick out and show what that nation is made of!

The example in our lesson today is that the “Good Figs” seemed to have suffered to most and were taken from their homes.

The “Bad Figs” remained in their homes and seemed to escape the Judgment of God but that was not the end of the story for them!

Heb_12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

These words will also always be true!

We must also remember God’s promise to the true Jews.

Zec 8:13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.

Amen

Let’s Pray