2/8/2026 Habakkuk 2:6-20 Faith in the Dark: Woe to the Wicked

Amen. Let's pray. Father God, we give you thanks for today. Thank you for each and every person here. Thank you for all the new faces. Thank you that we could sing your praises together, God. Thank you for your grace that saved us because we know it's nothing that we could ever do to earn it. Pray that you'll take this offering and use it uh in great and wonderful ways. We ask this all in your name. Amen. You guys can have a seat. So today's catechism question is what is forbidden in the fourth commandment and what are the reasons for the commandment? Ezekiel 22:26 says, "Her priests have done violence to my law and have profained my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common. Neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbath, so that I am profaneed among them." Acts 27 says, ' On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. Isaiah 58:13 says, "If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and a holy day of the Lord, honorable if you honor it, not going your own ways or seeking your own pleasure or talking idily." Then finally, Exodus 20:1 says, "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Thank you. >> Hold up. It's okay. That's all right. We got something a little different. Y'all go ahead and have a seat if y'all would. Um, we are uh looking at uh uh dedicating the Palica New Testament today. Um, and

uh I'm going to ask for Vern Johnson to come up here and to speak to you guys and share a little bit about Yeah, that one number seven. and uh uh and to share with you guys about the ministry and the blessing that it is. I mean, we've been we've been supporting the Johnson's for many many years now and now we get to hear about the fruit that God is providing uh among our brothers and sisters in Africa. So, if y'all would welcome Vern to the stage. [applause] Um can you give me the first slide? There it is. Uh, I'm just gonna try to go through this real quick. The the whole purpose of just uh this moment is u my wife got done translating the New Testament into a language that's never been put into writing before. I don't know if you can imagine living this living your lives without anything written in English. Uh, but the pala live their lives without anything written in pala. And so we went in there and uh created an alphabet for them and uh taught them how to read and uh she translated it. So I I wanted to bring it to the you uh this we considered First Baptist to be our home church when we're in the states and uh sometimes you wonder where your money goes and uh to see the fruit of that. One of the things that I just grabbed this out of Google this morning. Uh there's all these different languages in the world. There's some look at how many thousand don't even have the word of God at all. And um so there's one less now with the pelica they do have the word of God. Um but it is a little interesting that there's 900 versions in English. What in the world you know and 100 are in print right now and um we keep thinking well there's people here in the states that haven't heard. The bottom line is they could hear if they wanted to. There is no it's it's just easy to do that. You can turn on the radio, you can hear hear the word of God. But the pala don't have that privilege. And so

that was one of the things that challenged us. The next slide, we didn't go to translate. As a matter of fact, if yes, Denny, uh, she just the thought of translation. No way. Somebody else can do that. I'm out there because I really believe God wants me to tell people that have never heard. Um, her her you guys, we sat in this church right there. I was I came to this church when I was 10 years old and graduated from Camden and I sat in the pews. The issue was God for me. I'm just telling you my testimony. I was just admitting to to pastor that there's so many people here that I don't don't know right now because we've been gone in Africa. And so I'm just giving my little testimony at this point. But I had to one of the things that bugged me was did I really believe God was real? Getting down to it. Did I believe his word was true? And I loved the fact that Jesus died in my place, but I struggled with the fact that he said, "Go ye in all the world." And so I had to get go get together with God about it. And uh God, [clears throat] I don't want to hold anything back. The Russian going to Russia, iron curtain didn't sound so cool to me back in the day, but God, they do have the word. Muslim countries, [clears throat] but they do have the word. But there's there's thousands of languages that don't. That was my story. Denny got saved when she was 18, believing that my if my good outweighed the bad, that God would love me into heaven. And she was stunned to find out that Jesus had paid the price. And she just never got over that. And she wanted to likewise go overseas. But we used to sit here, right, like you. And I could talk to you about I would challenge you to talk to all the people out at Ethnos. They have left their home churches. They're sitting in these pews because they believe God's led them into the position that they're at right now. Danar Lile, he was a deacon here and he

got up and left and I [snorts] could go on and on, but that was the issue. That was the issue was God. Next slide. So, we got out there. Denny uh a lot of times we're, you know, it wasn't like she could just give the give them the gospel. I could there's so many things I could say. I just don't have the time right now. But she just flat out enjoyed being with the people, laughing with the ladies and getting to know the people. And as she did, she got to know the language. And as she got to know the language, it came up that we had three families working together trying to reach this language group. And through civil war and a number of other things, it ended up being just Denny and I. And the [clears throat] guy that was doing the translation, he was out of the picture. One of the old men that had become a believer said, "Denny, will you please translate the Bible into our language? We have different sects and cults and denominations coming in here and saying God says this and God says that and we don't know what which one to believe. But if we could just read God's word, then we'd know what he says. And so Denny at age 50 started translating. Next slide. I think you know the story. Uh she set a goal for herself to um have the translation done by the time Bobby some I'm talking to some of you people that know our family finished medical school. Bobby was our youngest and she did it. Uh but she was going through a final check and in 2024 she's 11 chapters short of finishing that final check. Diagnosed with cancer came back to the states. She passed away here at the end of November. But she received the first copy in her hands 14 hours before she went to be with the Lord. [clears throat] Next slide. So here the 31st I went with my son Seth and his family. He has three kids and we took as many Bibles as airlines would

allow us. We had it to about 250. Here we are arriving in the village. Next slide. Um stacked them in the house where Denny and I lived. This is a mud brick house uh with plastered walls. Next slide. And uh it's really cool that now the Bible is in their hands. Um, this is one of Denny's uh faithful uh translators. She had a team of four uh guys that worked with her regularly uh translating. And so now we here he is reading God's word. Uh next slide. And here's the village leader who is in charge of all the chicken sacrifices and uh the miracle of all miracles. He helped check the book of Luke. Next slide. Uh Seth and Anna. Uh some of you know them. They brought uh their kids to Aana here. Uh next slide. And um it was not an easy trip because so many of these ladies all believers now um you know in tears because of Denny's passing. Um [clears throat and cough] next slide. Uh unfortunately um my PowerPoint does not sync with the church's um uh program. I wish you could see the video. Uh here they they they dance and sing. What do you do when you don't have the word of God to read? You hear the pastor speak and you create a song and at the end of the message you get up and you lead the singing. And [clears throat] I wish you could see them singing and dancing. Their services are very different. They come in, you'll have popcorn. Here's what God's doing in my life. You have other people popping up and giving memory verses. Then they'll have the review from last week. Who here remembers what pastor preach pre preached about last week? And people pop up and give that. Then the pastor gives the new message. It's got to be from the word of God. I tried doing it without the word of God and they said, "Yeah, that was good, but it wasn't God's word."

[clears throat] So they hear the word of God and after some some more singing, then they say, "Okay, what's what did I just get done teaching?" So by the end they have heard God's word three times this week. They're in 1 Timothy 1 chapter uh five six different villages uh today already they're six hours ahead of us so they're done with their service. Anyway, as I I would like to just leave you with this uh New Testament. Some people say, "Well, why give it to us? It's in Palica." But a lot like Joshua having crossed the Jordan, God said to him, "Pick out stones and put this up as a reminder." And uh so I wanted to give it to First Baptist [clears throat] as a reminder. Your money is not in vain. And here is one of the results. But then too, as you think about this, pray that it gets used. A lot of us, our Bible [clears throat] doesn't get used. It just doesn't. And how in the world can the spirit work in our lives, remind us of his word if we're not in it? Right next door to us, there's a language group. They just got done translating two years ago. Have the same printing, same 2,000 copies. We have 2,000 copies. 400 sold and 1,600 are sitting in boxes not being used. And so I'm asking you that as you look at this, thankful for the fruit of your labors, but also praying that the word of God is used. And then I would ask you too that you would be considering how you use the word of God. Are you asking God to for the pala to use the word of God just like you use the word of God? I'd hope so. But that it would also be a reminder to be in the word yourselves. I just read a survey and for those that are in the word once or twice a week, it doesn't have much impact. For those that are in it daily, it has significant impact. Why? Because the spirit can use it. So I would ask that you think about that too as you read it. The other thing

is pastor said he wanted me to talk I'm trying to give you a picture a little picture of missions showing you that we were just average ones sitting in the chairs seeing [snorts] that Denny started the translation at age 50. You know it's not just for the young but the fact is is every one of us is called to reach out and some of us are fearful. My one of my greatest fears about going overseas wasn't overseas. It was my neighbor here. God, I don't don't want to go over there. And so, I'm going to challenge every one of you just to start praying for the most difficult person you know, unsaved or maybe even saved that have [snorts] fallen off the deep end because we have a God of the impossible. If you really believe he's a God of the impossible, start praying for him to do the impossible in the lives [snorts] of somebody that you are related to or that you come in contact with. And so I would ask you to start there and then maybe it's just take a plate of cookies. You don't have to go to the gospel the first time you go over. So anyway, we are all missionaries. And so when I come back from Africa, I'd like to ask you, so where does God where's God using you? I'd like to think that your community groups are the same thing. Where's God using you? Can I pray with you for the person you're trying to reach? [applause] We do want to take a moment and dedicate this to the to the Lord. Uh and we're thankful for the Pelica translation, but most of all, we want it to be effective. We don't we know that God's word never returns void. And uh we got brothers and sisters over there uh that now are uh equipped with the New Testament. And so, if y'all would bow your heads and close your eyes with me as we pray for our brothers and sisters. Lord, It's uh with joyful hearts that we pray for uh uh the Palica people, especially our brothers and sisters over

there that now have a wonderful gift uh that Vern and Denny have uh given their lives uh to uh to disciple, to evangelize and equip. And Father, I I pray that you would continue uh to grow them by the power of your spirit. We ask that you would uh uh correct them, instruct them, Lord, when they uh bring in uh false beliefs uh Father, help them to compare it against the word and ask, "How then should we live?" Father, I pray that we would respond even here as American Christians, Lord, who are uh so oftentimes consumed with uh building our own kingdoms. I pray that that would not be the case uh for believers in this church, Lord. uh but that we would be uh sold out trying to do everything that we can to reach Camden uh Camden County um Missouri this nation uh for your glory God. Uh thank you Lord that you've uniquely equipped us to uh empower ethnos students God uh who will be here for a short period of time and uh and they go with our blessing with our encouragement uh many of them with our gifts um because we believe that it's important. Thank you for the cooperative program that uh we can partner with um and uh do great ministry through people like the Hagens. Uh, Father, help us, God. Uh, as we uh we just want to make an impact until you return, Lord. Uh, I pray that we would be faithful. Thank you for Vern. We pray for your blessing on his life. Thank you for his family in Jesus name. Amen. Let's all stand and let's respond in worship. >> [music] >> I [music] was a rich. I [singing] remember who I was. I was lost. [singing] I was blind. I was running out of time. [singing] Sin separated. The [music] brereech was far too wide.

[singing] But from the far side of the chasm, you held me [singing] in your side. So you made a way across the great divide. [singing] left behind. Heaven strong [music] to build [singing] it here inside. There [music] at the [singing] cross, you paid the debt I owe. Broke my chains, [singing] freed my soul. For the first time I [singing] had [music] hope. Thank you Jesus [singing] for the blood applied. Thank you [singing and music] Jesus. It has washed me white. Thank you [singing] Jesus. You [music] have saved my life. [singing] brought me from [music] the darkness into glorious light. [music] You took [music] my place, [singing] laid inside my tomb of sin. You were [singing] buried for [music] three days, but then you walked right out again. And now death [singing and music] has no sting and life has no end. For I [singing and music] have been transformed by the blood [singing] of the lamb. Thank you Jesus for the [music and singing] blood of life. Thank you Jesus. [music and singing] It has washed me white. [music] Thank you [singing] Jesus. You have saved my life. [singing] Brought me [music] from the darkness into [singing] glorious light. [music]

There [singing] is nothing stronger than the wonderworking [singing] power of the blood. The blood that calls [singing and music] the sons and daughters. We are ransom by our father through the blood. [singing] the love. There [singing and music] is nothing stronger than the wonderworking power [singing] of the blood. The blood that calls [singing and music] the sons and daughters. We are ransomed by your father through the blood. [singing] The blood. Thank [music] you Jesus for the [singing] blood of [music] Thank you Jesus. [singing] It has washed me white. Thank you Jesus. [music and singing] You have saved my life. Brought [singing] me [music] from the darkness into glorious light. [singing] [music] Thank you Jesus for the blood of mine. [music] Thank you Jesus. [singing] It has washed me [music] white. Thank you [singing] Jesus. [music] You have saved my life. [singing] brought me [music] from the darkness into [singing] glorious light. [applause] >> [music] >> When [singing] I fear my faith [music] will fail, Christ will hold [singing] me fast. When the temptor would prevail, he will hold [singing] me fast. I could never keep my hold. [singing] Through life's fearful path,

for my love is [singing] often cold. [music] He must hold me fast. [singing] He will hold me [singing and music] fast. He will hold me fast. For [music] my Savior loves me [singing] so. He will hold me fast. Those he saves [singing] are his delight. Christ will hold me fast. [singing] Precious in his holy [music] sight. He will hold me fast. [singing] He'll not [music] let my soul be lost. [singing] His promises [music] shall last. by him at such a cost. [music and singing] He will hold me fast. He will [singing] hold me fast. He [music] will hold me fast. For my Savior loves me [music] so. [singing] He will hold me fast. [singing] All my life [singing] he bled and died. Christ will hold [music] me fast. Justice has been [singing] satisfied. He will hold [music] me fast. Praised with [singing] him to endless life. He will [music and singing] hold me fast till our faith is turned to [singing] sight. When he comes and [singing] he will hold me fast, he will hold [music] me fast. For my Savior loves me so. He will hold me fast. He [music and singing] will hold me fast. For my Savior loves me so. He will hold me fast. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the assurance that we have that you are with us, that you are a protector, that you hold us securely.

Thank you for the blood of Christ that has saved us and brought us back into that relationship with you. Father, we just pray now as we transition into our time of teaching that you would speak to us through your word, through Cody. Give us ears to listen and hearts that are open and ready to hear what you have to say in Jesus name. Amen. >> [clears throat] >> Well, if you have your Bible, and I hope that you do, turn with me to Hebrews Habach sorry Habach, chapter 2, verse 6. Um, we're going to be all the way through the end of the chapter. We got this week in Habach and then we got next week uh where we will finish out the book and uh then we will be in the book of Jude and as we uh work through Jude at the very end of that we do have uh apologetics Sunday. That's where we have Creation Ministries International uh coming in and uh so I want to encourage you to be here on that Sunday. Um I I can't tell you how big of a blessing it is. There's actually a Saturday evening thing that's happening. So, if you know a bunch of people that they're like, "Well, I have my own church on Sunday morning." You can at least ask them to come and and be there for uh Saturday evening, it'll be a huge blessing. If you've ever wondered what are the evidences of creation, six day literal creation, what about the dinosaurs? What about all this? What about cavemen? All that kind of stuff. If you ever wondered those things, uh this is what this guy's done for his entire life. And so, uh hope that it's a blessing to you. That's a great resource for you. Um, let's see here. Was there anything else that I need to mention? I feel like there was one other thing that I need to mention, but I can't remember what it is. So, ask your forgiveness. Um, quick catch up to

where we've been. Habachi has been lamenting before the Lord because of all the things that were happening in Judah at this time. Uh, there was terrible violence and wrongdoing. The law was not functioning as it should and it was a bad time for God's people. And God told Habach, "Hey, even though it may not seem like I were I'm working, I am working and I'm raising up the Babylonians, the Chaldans. They were a terrible people. They were fearsome. They were violent." And so, Habach, he complains to God. He's like, "God, how can you use such a wicked people like this? Uh, aren't you righteous? What about the people in Judah that are more righteous, quote unquote, than the Babylonians? And the Lord is in the middle of a response where we pick up today. Last week, he said, "The vision is coming. It will come to pass, and the righteous shall live by his faith." And today, God is giving the vision to Habach. And it's a series of what's called woes. Um a a woe is a final verdict. It is a lastditch effort uh according to God's character. He desires for all men to repent and believe the gospel. And so this is that final call to turn away. But it's also a funeral song. That's what they would sing at funerals were these laments, these woes that this person is gone. It's done. It's over. And the thing is is that Babylon, it looks strong. It looks unstoppable. But what God says is that their end is already written. It's done. It's like the old John Dawn poem. Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. And these judgments that are pronounced on the Babylonians, they serve as a warning sign for every people group, for every nation, for every person. What happens when we behave like Babylon? Well, they collapse. And that

collapse is catastrophic. Please stand with me in honor of God's word as we read Habach 2:es 6-20. God's word says this. Shall not all these take up their taunt against him with scoffing and riddles for him and say, "Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own? For how long?" and loads himself with pledges. Will not your debtors suddenly arise and those awake who make you tremble or who will make you tremble? Then you will be spoiled for them because you have plundered many nations. All the remnant of the people shall plunder you. For the blood of man and violence of to the earth to cities and all who dwell in them. Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house to set his nest on high to be safe from the reach of harm. You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples. You have forfeited your life. For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond. Woe to him who builds a town with blood, and founds the city on iniquity. Behold, is it not from the Lord of Hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the water cover the sea. Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink. You pour out your wrath and make them drunk in order to gaze at their nakedness. You will have your fill of shame instead of glory. Drink yourself and show your uncircumcision. The cup in the Lord's right hand will come around to you and utter shame will come upon your glory. The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them. For the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them. What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it? A metal image teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own

creation when he makes speechless idols. Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, "Awake!" To a silent stone, "Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him. So, Father God, we do thank you so much uh for your word. And as we look at these judgments that you clearly pronounce Lord we know that they will fall. We know that they have fallen, but they also uh function as warning signs. So I pray that uh each person in here would be uh uh warned on guard against these uh various sins that caused the catastrophic fall of Babylon. Uh help us God to not uh be leaning towards politics even though this is political to not be uh prone to defending our own nation although this deals with nations. Father we are your people. You are our God. We are a part of your kingdom. Father I just pray that we would be faithful in being ambassadors of your kingdom. faithfully ministering and sharing the gospel, doing what we can to raise up godly children and to for men to to build up our wives and as leaders in the church to build up the church in purity and in holiness. God, we want more of you. It's our soul's desires. So, I just pray that you would just speak to our hearts. Convict us of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Convict us of uh what what we need. Father, it's your Holy Spirit. You can you can like a surgeon identify the exact thing that we need to work on. And so, I pray that you would just give us spiritual eyes, spiritual hearts, and spiritual ears to hear you speak to us. Father we

love you in Jesus name. Amen. Oh uh all these it says shall not all these um is in reference to all the people that Babylon had oppressed. One day all the people that the Chaldians had misused and abused, they would rise up and scoff at this once mighty kingdom. And the first death bell that rings is a woe that teaches us this principle. Woe to those who steal wealth. Babylon, it took land, it took wealth, took people. In the book of Daniel, we learn that Daniel and his friends, they were likely forced to be Unix. Uh Babylon, he took they took dignity. But now God says, "It's your turn. Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own." The Mes and the Persians, they were once under the strong and mighty thumb of the Babylonians. But Babylon, they had made too many promises and too many pledges. Disgruntled leaders began to revolt. And it's eerily reminiscent of the Soviet Union's collapse. The iron curtain of communism collapsed rapidly. And 15 republics broke away from the USSR. In two years, one after another, they began to be weaker and weaker and weaker. And one of the two superpowers at that time collapsed. their might and their oppression whimpered into its grave. Enron, you guys might remember Enron from way back in the day. It took decades to build from a small startup to a Wall Street darling and then that global uh corporation collapsed within 24 days. This multibillion dollar company became non-existent pretty much. They tried to restructure, but they went bankrupt completely. And why did these things happen to these massive groups? I mean, we could I I could go through a laundry list of uh emperors and nations and dictators.

It always ends in collapse. And why is that? It's because they stole wealth that did not belong to them. They stole from the future, future children. And that's what pledges are. They're debts stacked up until the debt becomes due. And God, he does not bless stolen success. Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household. That's what the word says. Greedy for unjust gain. Listen to what James says here in James chapter 5. This is talking to the rich. And he says, 'Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded and the corrosion will be evidence against you and you will eat your flesh like fire. Now when I say to the the rich, okay, that means they are greedy for their own gain. Okay, you have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you. Unjust gain there. And the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts. Sounds like an Old Testament passage, not really James, right? God, he hates it when people are greedy for gain. And he keeps accounts. I mean, not to put too fine of a point on it, but that's kind of us in a nutshell, isn't it? As Americans, we we pass plenty of uh stimulus packages to the tune of trillions of dollars that we'll pass on to our children and our grandchildren and our great grandchildren and our great great grandchildren. All for what? Judgment is coming. But thankfully Christ, he stands in stark contrast to greed. And godly people who use their money for good are a blessing to the kingdom of God. Christ, he stands in stark contrast to

greed by offering himself as the perfect and totally sufficient sacrifice for our sins. We're saved by grace. We are not saved by theft. Hebrews 2:8 or Habach 28. I don't know why Hebrews is on my mind. I've been reading it a lot recently. But uh Habach 2:8, it says, "Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the people shall plunder you for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities, and to all who dwell in them." This is what happens when people steal. They start to hide. And we learn that woe to those who try to build a kingdom without God. Why on earth do people need to set up a home up and away from harm? You look at the passage, it says, "Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house to set his nest on high to be safe from the reach of harm." Why do they have to do that? You see people that do this, they have walls and fortresses and paranoia and bodyguards. Those are the trademarks of people that try to build up their own kingdoms here on earth. They get so paranoid to the detriment of their fellow man. And why is that? Because everyone's a threat. They've got too many people that they've wronged. We But God's way is better. Look at what it says. Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil, for he gives to his beloved sleep. When a house is built on the Lord, there is great protection. When God builds a house, there is nothing that's going to tear that down. We can work hard. We can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. We can be outwardly moral. But unless the Lord is the foundation of our lives, of the thing that we are building,

it all falls short. We will be disappointed. We will suffer. Habach even says that they have forfeited your life in verse 10. I mean, can you imagine the links that people go to just to keep up appearances and control and to keep what they have to be safe from the reach of harm? They know that shame is coming and it's going to come out. And it sounds like people that hide sin, doesn't it? People want to protect their image. People want to act like things are okay. And some of you in this room are carrying that right now. You have a guarded heart. You're worried that if anyone actually sees the mess that you are, that all of a sudden your sense of security will collapse and it's all over for you. I mean, you should probably look at your neighbor and tell them, "I'm a mess, too. I don't have it all together. I'm not perfect. You're not either." Amen. You know, uh, anytime that someone comes up to pray, one of the questions I'm always asked is, "So, what's going on in their life?" I know. I know some people there, they're they're shaking their heads like shame. Yes. Our first thought should be not what's wrong with them, what's going on in their life. Our first thought should be praise the Lord, the Holy Spirit is working in their heart. Praise the Lord that we see him moving. People that try to build a kingdom without God are trusting in themselves. And that's just self-salvation, which is what the Babylonians were trying to do. They're building this whole legacy. They thought this is going to be an eternal empire. We're going to rule forever. There's never been a kingdom like us ever in the history of the world. We can't save ourselves. It doesn't matter

what our strength is like. The bills will come due. But Jesus saves. May not save your nation. He may not save your kingdom, but he will save your soul. >> Nations will fall. Every nation will fall. Every kingdom will fall. save one kingdom of God. Live for the heavenly kingdom. And notice this progression because you see that it this rejection that that uh the Babylonians have. They're they're building up their own pledges and they're they want to be protected. But then you look at verse 12. It says, "Woe to him who builds a town with blood." And so I just wrote this down. Woe to those uh who build a nation on coffins. There is something to be said about a nation that uh destroys its people through murder, through oppression, through fear. We look at Genesis chapter 4. Cain, he spoke to Abel, his brother, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother, Abel, and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel, your brother?" He said, 'I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper? And the Lord said, 'What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. Nations, they change with the times. France in in France, Christianity was flourishing for centuries. It was a bastion of of Christianity until the Enlightenment. We should probably call it the so-called enlightenment. Uh they weren't very enlightened at all. In fact, it was men like Rouso, Voltater, Montescu who shaped the worldview that fueled the French Revolution in the Christian genocide. was a genocide against Christians, shutting down churches and turning them into temples of reason, slaughtering over 20,000 pastors,

chasing away all the other ones into places like England, Belgium, and it's never recovered. God, he hears every single victim of violence, and the blood it cries out from the earth. Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, or his ear dull that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he does not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity, your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters wickedness. Listen to this later on in that same chapter. Their feet run to evil and they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, desolation, and destruction are in their highways. When the blood of innocence dominates the land, you can guarantee that judgment is close. Over 63 million babies have been murdered in the United States due to abortion, and their blood cries out against America. Onethird of Gen Z has already been killed. Onethird of Gen Z is gone. They don't exist anymore. We cannot build a future on murdered children. It is blood guilt. But even this guilt can find forgiveness at the cross of Jesus Christ. You might be here and you may have encouraged someone to get an abortion to save your family from shame. You may have gotten one yourself or know someone that you love. But even that can be forgiven when you trust in Christ. When you turn away and you repent of that God, he offers forgiveness. The truth is that wicked nations delight in bloodshed. But Christ, he shed his blood as a self sacrifice for our redemption.

Even the abortionist Christ, he says, "Oh, well, Hebrews, there it is. that Jesus, he's the mediator of a new covenant. And to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel, the innocent blood that was shed cried out for justice. But when the blood of Christ comes upon your heart, it speaks mercy. It says the debt paid in full and it's full for you. His blood was spilled and it does not condemn us. It covers us. It cleanses us. It clears the debts that we owe to God. And you can know the freess that Christ offers by trusting in him today. And violence, it corrupts. But you know what? So does pleasure. Look at verse 15. And it says, "Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink." See there there's this woe to those who poison souls for greater power. Says, "You pour out your wrath and make them drunk in order to gaze at their nakedness." I mean, what happens when someone drinks is that their inhibitions, they come down. They don't think clearly. They're prone to suggestions and ideas that wouldn't typically fly when they're sober. And all that this is is manipulation. It's just a power play. And God, he judges corruption like this. God, he says in verse 16, you will have your fill of shame instead of glory. Look at what the word of God says. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passions of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. That no one transgresses or wrongs his brother in this matter. That's the line there. No one transgresses or wrongs his

brother in this matter because the Lord is an avenger in all these things as we have told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity but in holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this disregards not man but God who gives his Holy Spirit to you. From sexual immorality to compromise to viewing inappropriate material online, study after study shows that men, Christian men and Christian women, struggle in the area of holiness. When Babylon sinned, it taught others how to sin. And we look at our culture. I I can't even hardly find TV shows that are appropriate to watch with my kids. You know, we start, hey, this one was probably a good one. Let's start this up and get two minutes in. Nope. Got to turn that off. The so-called entertainment creates things like gender confusion, a grooming culture addiction. There's so many uh innuendos and content and God, he hates it. God, he says the cup is in the Lord's right hand and it will come around to you and utter shame will come upon your glory. The dregs of God's wrath await unless you come to Christ. He offers to cover you in his freedom and his grace. Jesus, he drank the cup of God's wrath so that we can receive his mercy instead. And he offers that to you freely. But why all this corruption? Why all these things? Why is it that they're heaping up wealth? Why is it that they're getting dishonest gain? Why do you think that they're building on violence or or causing others to stumble? Well, they're worshiping the wrong god. They're worshiping a god of their own design. And woe to those who worship dead gods that can't save. Habach, he says it this way. What prophet is an idol when its maker has shaped it? A metal image, a a teacher of lies. For its maker trusts in his own creation

when he makes speechless idols. Idols, they are empty things. Buddha Krishna Ganesha they're they're powerless. They're idols and they're false gods. They're made by men. They're silent. They're empty. Bible, it teaches us this. It says, "Their idols are silver and gold, the works of human hands. They have mouths but do not speak, eyes but do not see. They have ears but do not hear, noses but do not smell. They have hands but do not feel, feet but do not walk. They do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them." So do all who trust in them. When people have idols, they become like their idols. That's what happens. Dull, morally confused, numb, emotionally dead. Romans 1 teaches us exactly how this functions on a civilizational level. And when humanity suppresses the truth and exchanges the glory of God for created thing, God he gives them over to distortions and debasement and moral collapse follows what we falsely worship. And Paul, he makes this very clear in Colossians chapter 3. But especially in verse 5, he says, "But put to death, therefore what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry." So there Paul, he's drawing this very clear line between the things that we ultimately desire, the things that we love with all of our hearts. Many of them are not, you know, uh, Buddha or Ganesha or Krishna or whatever. You know what they are? Are there those evil and wicked things that you value more than God and some of those things might even be pretty good comparatively. You might pursue success with all your heart. You might look out for number one. You might be doing all these things

because our hearts are factories of idols. They produce the things that are that are offensive to God. Worship is never neutral. What we treasure becomes what we tolerate. What are you tolerating? What we love determines how we live. What do you love? If you want to know what you love, look at how you live. Idolatry never stays in the heart. It rewires our conscience. It it it it reshapes our desires. It redefineses what we call good. That's what idolatry does. That's why when we look at our culture, the biggest issue is not what's going on in the culture. The issue is is that our cultural our culture has an idol problem. And if you think that there's problems that are in the church or even in your own heart or in your own life, the issue is a God problem. The issue is who is your God? What do you have to examine? What do you need to repent of? Look at what the scriptures say. I'm gonna have to skip that. Sorry. The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence. See, the idoltor, he trusts in false gods, but Christ ultimately is Lord of all. That's how the Lord finishes with this climactic truth. And he alludes to it halfway through the psalm. For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the water covers the sea. But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him. God, he reigns. He saves. And all mouths are silence before him. And I want you to look at this. Look, look at the different sins, the different woes that are pronounced, the different sins that are mentioned. And what God's answer is the judgment is is that you've

been stealing wealth. The human sin is greed. God's answer is that Christ he gave himself. Delight in Christ. When we start to build without God, the human sin is self-s salvation, self-preservation. It's all about me. But God's answer is is that Christ saves. He has given. Build on him. Another woe building on violence. The human sin is bloodshed. But God's answer is Christ's blood. Be at peace with God and with others, leading others into sin. The human sin there is shame. God's answer is that Christ, he covers that for us. Woe to the idol idolattors. They worship false gods. But Christ is Lord. Every Babylon steals, hides, kills, corrupts, and worships lies. And they all fall. And apart from Christ, we are citizens of Babylon. If you are in Christ, then you probably still have areas where Babylon has in your heart. And what Satan wants to do is he wants to isolate you. He wants you to think everyone else has it all together. There is not one person in here that does. But Satan, he's a master manipulator. And he wants you to feel like that. In Christ, we have the power to overcome the Babylon that is in our hearts. Every Christian I know has areas that still need to be conquered by Christ. And that's the Christian walk, isn't it? The Christian walk is not perfection. It's growing. You might try to hide. You can even try to pretend, even defend yourself. But the most dangerous church is not the church with a bunch of sinners. Most dangerous church is a church that won't admit that they're a bunch of sinners. God's word, it says this. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. We confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. Babylon hides and Christ he sets free. We want to be a church where repentance is normal because it's the normal part of a Christian's life. We we want to be the kind of church where people say, "I'm struggling with this. Can you pray for me?" We want to see First Baptist be a place where people are free to call out for help in their war against sin. Because not one of us have arrived. So don't be afraid. Trust in Christ. Walk in the freedom that he offers to you because he was exposed for you. He was judged. He was shamed for you. And now you can walk in the light of Jesus Christ. Head, heart, hand, head. Here's what you should know from this sermon. That God, he wants you to know that a life or a nation built without God will collapse. But those who repent and trust Christ will stand. He will not let you fall. He will not fail you on that last day. He watches over you. He stewards you. He shepherds you. And he is a good shepherd. So trust in him. Heart God. He wants you to believe that your only real security is found in Jesus Christ. Don't trust in those false things. [snorts] Don't trust in your baptism. Don't trust in your church membership. Don't trust in I sit under preaching every week. that's all going to fail you. Trust in Christ. It's not your goodness. It's not your success. It's not your reputation. It's not your control. It's only Jesus. And God, he wants you to repent honestly. Bring hidden sin into light and intentionally build your life on Christ and his word. God, he always pronounces judgment because what is he hoping to do? that people would turn away from the path. God, he he wants you to grow in him to trust in him because he cares for you.

Let's all pray. Father, we do love you and we thank you for this day and I just ask that you would uh speak to our hearts as uh we respond in worship. God, I pray that uh you would minister to us. And Lord, uh there's um Babylon's even in my own heart that uh uh I pray that you, the captain of my soul, would help me to conquer the pride, the arrogance, the lack of peace, the mismanagement of time. Lord, we could all list all sorts of different things. So, I pray, Lord, that you would just chip away at that hard-heartedness that's in all of our hearts. Expose that tender flesh. Do the work that only you can do as that master surgeon. I pray that you would pierce our hearts, God. Help us to walk in the freedom that's offered in Christ. help us to live for you and for your glory. As uh our hearts turn to uh this response song, I pray that it would just be uh an offering uh of of voices delighting in the redemption that you've given to us in Christ. Help us with joy to respond. And if there's anyone here that they don't know you, I pray that today would be that day that they trust in you by faith. We love you in Jesus name. Amen. Let's all stand. Let's worship. [music] >> [music] >> There is a fountain [singing] filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's [music] veins and [singing] sinners plunge [music] beneath that flood. Lose all the guilty stains. lose all their guilty [singing] stains. Lose all their guilty stains. [music] And [singing] sinners plunge beneath

that blood. Who's all their guilty [singing] stain? [music] The [singing] dy thief rejoice to see [music] that fountain in his [singing] day. And there may I though vile [singing] as he wash my sins away. Wash all my sins away. [singing] wash all my sins away. [singing] [music] And there may I though [singing] as he wash all my [music] sins away. their sins. [singing] By faith, thy soul the stream, [music] thy flowing wounds of [singing] life. [music] Redeeming love has been my thing. And [music] shall [singing] be till I die. And shall [singing] be [music] till I die. and shall be [singing] till I die. Redeeming [music] love has been [singing] my thing and shall be till I die. And [music] this [singing] poor listening stamping tongue lies [singing] silent in [music] the grave. Then [singing] in a no sweeter song I'll sing thy [singing] part [music] to save. I'll sing thy part to save. [singing] [music] I'll see thy power to sing. Then in [singing] a no sweeter [music] song I'll sing thy power to say. I'll sing thy [singing] power to say. I'll sing [singing] thy power to say. Then [singing] in a noer, sweeter song, I'll sing thy power to save. [singing] >> Uh March 1st, uh we will be observing baptism. So I hope that you guys will be here for that. If uh you need to be baptized, uh talk to me or one of the other elders here. We'll discuss that with you and uh walk through make sure

you know the gospel that you believe the gospel. Love to celebrate that with you. If y'all would uh let me pray for us. Um hey before I do that we have a uh a potluck after this with ordination that's happening uh at around probably like 1ish or so. Jim Bans is getting the chicken right now. So it's okay. It's all right. It'll be here. Uh but uh uh if you haven't uh planned on doing that, just run over to Gerbs, grab some tater salad, and boogie on over. It's going to be a great time. We're going to be ordaining Nathan. Where are you, Nathan? You're on the back row there, right? Where where you at? Is he in here? Oh, he might be down there setting up. And then uh uh let's see here. Where's Steve? Steve's over there. We're ordaining Steve as well. We're excited to celebrate that with them. And uh hope that you guys will be here. Father, we do love you. Uh we thank you for the food that we're about to receive and just ask that you would help us, God, uh to live for your glory. Thank you for how you're working in in my life and in this church. And just ask that you would continue to work uh for your glory and for your honor in Jesus name. Amen. Go in peace.