For today's program, we bring you to Huntington Beach on the fourth of July. Tens of thousands of spectators lined the streets to celebrate the semiquincentennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. There was great anticipation as to who would win the top prize in this year's parade, and the top prize was awarded to Compass Bible Church of Huntington Beach, their fifth in a row. They were awarded this honor mostly due to their featuring of President George Washington, who famously said, "No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States.” Well, what I found out on Main Street, Huntington Beach, yesterday is not everyone agrees with George Washington these days. George Washington did say this quote that “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States.” As a witness of the foundation of our nation, who led us into battle, who said this in his inaugural address as our first president in 1789, he oversaw the Constitutional Convention. He saw the forming of this nation, and he says that as the people of this country, we should acknowledge the divine hand of God in the foundation of our nation. Can I get an amen from anybody on that?
Well, I'm glad to hear an amen on a Sunday morning at church, but I did not get the same amen on Saturday morning in Huntington Beach. In fact, as we got there on PCH early, and George is saying his lines for the judges as they're deciding if we're going to win the float sweepstakes or not, someone said, after he said that line, which was a quote from George Washington's inaugural address, someone said, false, Washington, he wasn't about that. He downplayed God, that's what somebody said, that's what George Washington said. See, I don't know if he just doesn't know George Washington said it or he doesn't agree with it, but it was clear as George Washington, our version of him, went down Main Street, Huntington Beach, saying that line over and over again. Some people were ready to cheer and give God glory. Others not so much.
But I'd like to call another witness of the foundation of America. I'd like to call Benjamin Franklin. I think he's referred to as one of our founding fathers, and he said something in the Constitutional Convention. He gave a speech in 1787, and here's some of what he said, “In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection. - Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending Providence in our favor.” And have we now forgotten that powerful friend, or do we imagine that we no longer need his assistance? What powerful friend is Benjamin Franklin referring to? Maybe you heard what many Americans have heard. Well, Benjamin Franklin, he's just some kind of deist. He doesn't think, God helps us. I would encourage everybody who doesn't think that to go listen to the actual words of Benjamin Franklin, because in this speech he acts like God really did help us win the war over Great Britain, and if we're going to unite a bunch of colonies together as one nation, we're going to need God's help for that, too. In fact, Benjamin Franklin says in this speech, 1787 Constitutional convention, this is a matter of public record. You can go hear what he said, and he said, if a sparrow can't fall without God knowing about it, how can an empire rise without God's aid? He quotes the scripture to say, unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. And the point of this speech is Benjamin Franklin thinks we should start every day of our constitutional convention with prayer, because God's the one who helped us before, and we need His help again now.
So, I called two witnesses today, two witnesses of how America got started, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, and both of them testify that God helped form the nation that is the United States of America, and I'd like to call an even more authoritative witness, the Bible. Please turn with me to Jeremiah, chapter 18, and in a passage about the nation's word from the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah. So, I don't know what you know about the book of Jeremiah, but I'd like to draw your attention to it now. And the prophet Jeremiah was called by God. It says in Jeremiah, chapter 1, verse 5, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Notice, “nations” is in the plural. So, you might think of Jeremiah being a prophet in Jerusalem to the people of Judah before they got destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon in 586 BC. Well, God says that he chose Jeremiah, even before he was born, to be a prophet, not just to one nation, but to the nations, and the word that God gives to Jeremiah here will help us learn how to think about our nation today. So, out of respect for God's word, I invite everyone to stand up for the public reading of Scripture. Please follow along as I read Jeremiah 18:7-11.

If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’

That's the reading of God's Word. Please have your seat today. I would like to invite everyone here to the Potter's House. That is the context of Jeremiah 18. If you go back to verse 1, you can see this is a unique situation where God says to Jeremiah, “the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD,” And so, if you look at verse 1, the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, whenever you see “LORD” like that with all capital letters, that means it's God's name, YHWH. So, YHWH has a word for Jeremiah. Verse 2: Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I'll let you hear my word. So, verse 3, Jeremiah says, “I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.’”

So, God gives us a clear picture here. You’ve got to picture a potter working with a bunch of clay, and he's there fashioning and forming that clay to be a certain kind of vessel. But the picture we're given, you can see, looking back at verse 4, is the clay is spoiled, and so kind of in the moment there the potter has to change. He was going to fashion it to be this kind of vessel. Well, now he fashions it to be something different, and that's what God is saying that he can do with nations. God is saying that he is the potter who forms the nations, and he could have a plan to destroy. He could be forming judgment for a nation, but if that nation repents, then he can form them for a vessel of blessing, or maybe he wants to bless and be good and build up and plant a nation. But if that nation turns away from him to evil and doesn't listen to him, he can now fashion them for destruction. God is saying, I'm the potter, you're the clay, and I can form you however I want.
Now, maybe you've heard this potter analogy in other Scriptures. Here, specifically, it's God over the nations, and this idea that God can form us and fashion us, this goes all the way back to the beginning, in Genesis, chapter 2, verse 7, when God creates man, Adam, and in Hebrew we know him as Adam. It says, "Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” So, going all the way back to the beginning, God is the potter, we are the clay, he's making us out of dust, he's breathing into us life. God is the one forming mankind, but according to Acts, chapter 17, verse 26, “He made from one man, Adam, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.” Not only does the Scripture claim that God is our creator of each one of us as individuals, here's a claim that God also creates every nation, and in fact, “from that one man he made every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.” God decides the land that the nation will be on and how long it will be a nation on that land. Here's God forming, fashioning as the potter the nations of the earth.
So, let's get this down for point number one: Here's the general principle, “God is the potter who forms the nations.” I think it's very helpful to have George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, founding fathers of America, giving God glory and acknowledging him for the foundation of our nation, and I hope we can all agree that God has blessed the United States of America, and God has been good to us in our land, from sea to shining sea. God has shed his grace on us in the USA, and it's great to hear our founding fathers testify to that, but this is what the Scripture says is that God is the one fashioning the nations.
Now, there are two scenarios given to what can happen to a nation. If you're with me here in Jeremiah 18, let's get into our text. Now, there's one scenario in verses 7 and 8, and there's another scenario in 9 and 10. And then in verse 11, we see it applied to Israel specifically at that time, and there are two applications of what Israel should do at that time. So, let's start with verses 7 and 8 here, where it says, "If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom.” So, notice the language there. We're not just talking about Israel, we're talking about any nation, any kingdom. And God can say whatever he wants about a nation. And so, here, he declares concerning a nation that “I will pluck up and break down and destroy it.” The potter is forming the nation out as clay, he's forming it for destruction, a vessel of destruction. But look at what it says there in verse 8. “If that nation concerning which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.” So, if God looks at a nation on the earth and he sees that it is evil, not walking in his ways, God can say, I'm going to judge this nation, but if that nation acknowledges God, turns from their evil to God, God will then fashion them towards blessing rather than judgment. And we have a great example of this in the book of Jonah.
So, I know we're in Jeremiah, but can everybody turn with me to the book of Jonah? Because this is a great example where God sends Jonah to Nineveh. Can everybody find Jonah? Can we all find that in our Bibles? It's right after Obadiah, I'm sure that will really help you out. Okay, if you can find Jonah, it's the fifth of the twelve prophets. And maybe you know the story of Jonah. A lot of people think it's a whale of a tail, so it's become more common than some of the other prophets, even though it was a big fish. But the point is that God sends Jonah to Nineveh, and Jonah doesn't want to go to Nineveh. Does anybody know Nineveh, that great city, is a capital of what nation? Does anybody know? Assyria. And if you know anything about Assyria, Assyria and Israel, they are going to be enemies. Now, Assyria comes and wipes out the northern kingdom of Israel around 722 BC. And so, does Jonah want to go to Assyria? No. He gets on a boat going the other way. You don't get to Assyria by boat, but if you try to go a way that God tells you not to go, God has ways of turning people around, and that's what the first two chapters of Jonah are about, is the wayward prophet being given a repentance and turnaround, whether he likes it or not. And so, we pick it up in chapter 3, take two with Jonah. “Now then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you,’”
So, Nineveh here is an example of a nation where God has decided to fashion them towards judgment because they are evil, and he's sending his prophet to warn them that judgment is coming upon them, and so that's what we're getting to, verse 3. “So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, ‘By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.’” Can you imagine that a king of a great city calls for repentance? We're going to all fast, we're going to all pray, and we're going to beg God for mercy. Turn today from your evil way, from the king to the least, even to the animals. Nobody eats, nobody drinks water. We all call out mightily to God. Look at what happens. Verse 10, “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.” What happens in Jonah three is the potter refashions Nineveh right there in front of our eyes. He had to. He was making a vessel for judgment, and because they turned from evil, he fashions them now to a vessel of blessing. And at this time in history, Nineveh is not destroyed because they repented. God relented.
Let's get that down for number two: “If a nation repents, then God relents.” God could be forming them towards judgment, but if they turn from their evil, to God, He relents of that judgment coming upon them. And so, this is a great example of God doing that. This is not Israel, this is not God's chosen people, this is actually people who are against God's people. This is an evil city, and you see here God's gracious work to grant them repentance, and God warns people judgment is coming, so they will repent and not experience that judgment. That's how the potter works. Now, here's the thing that's really interesting about the story of Jonah is this is why Jonah didn't want to go. Jonah wasn't afraid of being persecuted by evil Nineveh. Jonah was afraid that God would save the enemies of Israel, and so when they repent and God relents, guess who's not happy about it? Jonah. Look at chapter 4, verse 1. “It displeased Jonah exceedingly. and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.’” I know why you were going to say. In me here, because you wanted to save these people. Do you hear what Jonah is saying? Jonah wants these people to be judged. He doesn't want them to be saved. And Jonah knows who God is, that God is gracious, God is merciful. That means he doesn't give us what we deserve. God, he's very long suffering, very patient. In fact, God is so patient that he doesn't want people to perish, but he wants everyone to reach repentance. And so, the reason there are prophecies that judgment is coming is so the people who the judgment is coming upon can hear that prophetic warning, can repent and turn to God, and then not experience the judgment. And Jonah didn't want to warn them of judgment, because he knew God didn't want to judge them. God wanted to save them, and now, when God saves Nineveh, Jonah is angry about it.
Okay, so that's an example of one of the types of nations that we get to learn about in Jeremiah 18, the evil nation that God's going to judge. Well, if they repent, God, he will form the clay a different way, and God will relent of his judgment. But now go back to verses 9 and 10 of Jeremiah 18, because I think verses 9 and 10 is the possibility of the nation that applies to us in the United States of America. Look at again verses 9 and 10, it says, "If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it,” and that's what I think we're celebrating this weekend, that God has blessed the United States of America. This is what our founding fathers are telling us in their speeches at the Constitutional Convention, or in George Washington's inaugural address. They're saying God has built us, God has planted us, the hand of providence, the invisible hand that governs the affairs of men. He made this all happen. We can look back at times in our history, maybe you even think of World War Two, where God used us in the world. We can look back and we can say God has been good to the United States of America. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? But then look at what happened, look at what can happen to this kind of nation. Verse 10, “If it does evil in my sight.” Notice that second thing, “not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.”
Okay, so let me ask you, my fellow Americans who are here today, let me ask you a couple of questions about your lifetime of living in the United States. Has your country turned more towards evil in your lifetime? Has your country become less willing to listen to God's voice in your lifetime? Then we are this nation, we are the nation that God set out to build and to plant, and God blessed us, but even now the potter is having to refashion our vessel, not towards the blessing that he wants to give us, but towards judgment. The question here is, how can God keep being good to a nation that doesn't want to be good?
See, let's get that down for number three: “How can God bless a nation that turns from doing good?” That's what verses 9 and 10 are getting to. God's over here, fully intending to do good, but the nation is turning to evil. The nation is not listening to what God says to do. They're going their own way. They're turning from God. They don't want to acknowledge him. They don't want to bless him. They want to go their own way. And so, how can God keep blessing a nation that doesn't want to listen to him and wants to do evil instead of good? That's what he's saying in verse 10. I'll have to relent of the good that I intended to do to it. I wanted to do well to you, but you don't want to do well. And that's what I experienced yesterday, going through Huntington Beach. Man, I love being in the parade. I love our city, you know. We had a bunch of kids on the back part of our float. George Washington shows up in a time machine, and some of our fifth and sixth grade kids, they made these great faces every single time. I think he came through that door like forty times, right? And every time these kids are just like, oh, can you believe it's George, you know? And so, they were having fun, and then they do the Pledge of Allegiance, because George Washington says something about God making us one nation, and it's like I remember that that's in the Pledge. And so, here we are, hands over our hearts, standing up with liberty and justice for all, all the way down Main Street, Huntington Beach, and it was amazing. Every time we did that, there were many citizens here who they all stood up, they put their hand over their heart, and they said the pledge with us, but then when he's in that classroom setting, George says the line about “No people should acknowledge and adore the divine hand of Providence more than the people of the United States,” and there were times where people you could tell wanted to cheer, and there were times where people, they did not like that that guy was up there saying George Washington said that they did not. They wanted to believe in some kind of separation of church and state that clearly Benjamin Franklin and George Washington didn't believe in.
So, there are different thoughts going on in the United States of America. Not everybody thinks we should turn to God, and that's how we're going to have a future and a hope. Some people think where we're going our own way, and we've seen this in our lifetime. We have all been witnesses, going up to the highest court of our land, that abortion has become acceptable in the United States of America, that the definition of male and female is now being redefined, the definition of marriage and what God intended for human sexuality between one husband and one wife. Well, now that's being taken in all kinds of applications, and it's being approved, it's being accepted. In fact, we have months where we celebrate our pride in our new American way. How can God bless us if we're doing things that the Scripture says God hates and says not to do? See, we've created a real problem for ourselves. We were in a great place where God was blessing us, and now we've turned to evil. We're not listening to his voice, and so we are this nation in verses 9 and 10, and we need to all see this. I hope nobody here is going to be a Jonah and say, I don't care what happens to the United States of America. I hope all of us would care about our country, about our fellow citizens, and that we would feel the burden.
Wait, what is happening to my country in my lifetime? Can I keep asking God to bless America, or do I need to ask God to grant America repentance and turn us back to him, to listen to his voice, to change our ways again? So, I’ve got to ask you, if you're a part of our church family, are you regularly praying for the United States of America? Are you praying for some kind of awakening, some kind of revival, some kind of work of God, where the potter would turn us back to him, where he would give us repentance or amend our ways, or one, maybe? Do you not care about our country? I think a lot of Christians that I know, they might be praying more for a red wave than a wave of repentance across the nation. A lot of Christians I know, I think, have more hope in politics, and if we get the right people in charge, then our nation will be good, rather than acknowledging God is in charge, and he's the one that we have. He's our only hope for our nation.
So, I wonder, what do you really think about the United States of America? And do you, as one of the citizens of this country, I'll tell you, I love the United States. I don't care who's president, I'm not moving to any other country. All right? I'm red, white, and blue. Okay? I'm here. I might even go so far as to say I'm not moving out of California, but that's a whole another thing. We don't need to get into that, right? I love America. I want to be a part of this country. Well, if you feel that way, do you bring that to God? Are you acknowledging before God, I hear what you're saying about the nations, and we are the nation that you blessed, and now we deserve judgment. Please, God, be merciful to us. I think of Abraham, when he knew that Sodom and Gomorrah were going to be destroyed, and he had a relative, Lot, that lived in Sodom. Do you remember that in Genesis? And Abraham's like, God, who am I to talk to you about what you should do? I'm just dust and ashes, I'm just a man you formed from the ground. But God, I want to ask you, if there' are fifty righteous people in Sodom, will you spare the whole city? Do you remember Abraham daring to ask God this? And he kept getting more bold, what if there are forty-five righteous? What about forty righteous? How about thirty? How about twenty? And then God, who am I to talk to you? But if there are only ten righteous people in Sodom, will you spare the whole city? Turns out there's exactly one righteous man in Sodom, and it's Lot, Abraham's relative. Does God spare Abraham's relative Lot and get him out of the city? Yes, he does, before fire falls from heaven in judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.
And sometimes I sit down and I wonder, how many righteous people do we have in the United States of America these days, people of real faith. People who really trust God, people who are real, genuine believers? God, will you spare America on behalf of your righteous people? I know we've got some righteous people, that are my brothers and sisters here at this church. I know brothers and sisters in other churches in other states and other cities of America. I know there are some of us who believe in Jesus, and we're praying for our country, and God, I'm asking you, please spare our nation. Don't give us the judgment we deserve. Hear the prayers of your righteous ones. But sometimes I wonder, brothers and sisters, are you praying for our country? Are you asking God to turn us back to him before it's too late? See, we are the country that has been blessed, but now we have turned to evil. Now we're not listening to God's voice, and so we need to pray for America. We can't just celebrate the days gone by with fireworks, we need to pray for the days ahead. And so, when you get to verse 11, he says this about Israel. Now, here's a specific application of the principle of the nations, that's about all nations and kingdoms. Well, now let's talk about Israel here, and Jerusalem specifically. Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, thus says YHWH, “Behold, I'm shaping disaster against you, I'm devising a plan against you.”
So, God is letting Jerusalem know they are the piece of clay that has been spoiled, that he is now refashioning, where he was ready to bless them. Now he’s fashioning them towards judgment. And so, he gives them two specific things to do. The first one he says is “return everyone from his evil way.” The second thing he says is “and amend your ways and your deeds.” Now I want to suggest to you what was true about Israel when Jeremiah said this is true about America today. Now let me just be very clear. We are not God's chosen people, like Israel was. God made unique covenants with Israel that he has not made those covenants with the United States of America. God promised Abraham a nation and a land, that's a very unique promise that God made. God delivered Israel out of Egypt, and he established a covenant with them through Moses.
Even with David, God established a kingly line that David would have a son on the throne. And so, God has said things to Israel that are unique among the nations. But the principle here, if God blesses you, and then you turn to evil, you should expect judgment. That was true of Israel at that time, and I think it's true of America in our time. And so, I think we should consider these two things that God tells them to do in Jerusalem at the time of Jeremiah. I think we should hear these words and take them to heart here today. And I want to talk about what does it mean to amend your ways and deeds, because there's something happening, in Hebrew here that doesn't really translate into English this idea of amend your ways and deeds is the idea that you should do well, and in verse 10 God says that he will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. And then, in verse 11, he says, “Amend your ways and deeds.” So, what verse 10 is saying is I want to do well to you, but how can I do well to you, verse 11, because you're not doing well? So, this is the logic that God uses here in verses 10 and 11. How can I do well to a nation who's no longer interested in doing well? So, you've got to change the way you're thinking, you've got to change the way you're acting, conducting yourself, your deeds. If you guys don't come back to doing well, how can I bless you if you don't want to do what I tell you? If you don't want to do what is good, how can I bless you? So, you’ve got to come back to doing well yourself, so I can keep doing well to you.
Now this isn't the first time in Jeremiah it said, “amend your ways and your deeds.” Go back to Jeremiah, chapter 7, and let's look at a previous prophecy that God gave to Jeremiah, the Temple Gate Sermon here in Jeremiah 7, where God tells Jeremiah to stand in the gate of the temple, right there, where everybody's going to worship, do their offerings, a very busy place, people are coming in and going out right there. Go and give this word, God tells Jeremiah. And so, this is Jeremiah 7, “The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH. Verse 2, “Stand in the gate of the Lord's house and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah, who enter these gates to worship the Lord, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words. This is the temple of the Lord, the temple Of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice.” And then he goes on to talk about some of the good things they should do and some of the evil things they should not do, but first you need to see that he put him where in the temple to say you're not doing well, you need to amend your ways and deeds, and what is he trying to combat? Verse 4 is very key. “Do not trust in these deceptive words. This is the Temple of Yahweh, the Temple of Yahweh, the Temple of Yahweh.” So, you can see Israel has this heritage, we're chosen by God, we're sons of Abraham. We're following King David. He had the idea to build this temple. His Solomon built, his son built this magnificent structure. So, we're God's people. We're here at God's house. So, you can see how they would have this thought. We're fine, everything is good because we're at the temple, it's the temple of God. They're putting their trust in their history, their heritage, in the specific place of the temple, and the command here is don't trust in that. That's not going to help you if your deeds are evil, if you're not listening to God. Don't think just because you have the temple, and unfortunately King Nebuchadnezzar is going to come in and defile this temple and destroy Jerusalem. This is a false hope.
So, I want to say to my fellow-Americans here today, don't put your trust in the past of America, don't put your trust in the fact that God's used us in the past, or God's blessed us in the past, or we've had God's hand upon us in the past. Just thinking we're the good guys, we're the Americans. Don't, please don't put your trust in that. I hope you love your country, but don't put your faith in your country. Jesus is bringing a kingdom that is not America, that's the kingdom you really want to be a part of. Can I get an amen from anybody on that on Fourth of July weekend? I love America. I'm ready to pray for America. I will not put my faith in the United States of America. I will not even put my faith in the past blessings that God has brought, on what a blessed land we are, what a blessed government we are. So many good things that God has done. I'm thankful for them. I'm not trusting in them. I see our deeds, we are not doing well, and we need to amend our ways and deeds. That's what God said to these people. We should hear that today.
What does that mean to amend our ways and our deeds. Well, look at what he goes on to say here in verse 5. “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, don't oppress the fatherless, don't oppress the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. If you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say we are delivered, only to go on doing all these abominations Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord.” See, when we're doing that pledge, life, liberty and what? Justice for who? That's what God goes right to. What about the sojourners that come in from other places? What about the orphans, the kids with no parents? What about the widows, the wives with no husbands? What about the innocent blood of children that we are killing? You think you don't care about the people who need help? And then how about the evil things? You're not caring for the people that God wants you to care for. How about the evil things you're doing, how about stealing, murdering, committing adultery, swearing falsely? We hear so much theft, killing, sexual immorality, and lies in our culture. We're not even surprised by them anymore. And he's saying, you think you can do that, and then come here and worship me like I haven't seen it? There are good things you should be doing that you are not. You're not caring for the people who need to be cared for. You're worshiping other gods that are not real gods, and then there's evil things that you shouldn't be doing, and you're doing all of them. You're doing things that I hate, and yet you expect me to bless you. Behold, I have seen it. I've seen what you've done. That's what God's saying here to Israel.
That's a good word for us to hear here today, that we cannot expect blessing if we don't want to obey and do what God says. And so, this idea of amending your ways and your deeds. Let's talk about that for a minute, because maybe you'll think that's why if our politics could change and our laws could change, we could improve, or maybe you'll think what many Americans who go to church today think is that's why I need to do better, and I need to try harder, and I need to just go be the good person that we need in America. A lot of people, when they hear a sermon and they leave church, go home thinking I’ll do good, I’ll try harder, I’ll do it. And maybe if you just hear, "Amend your ways and your deeds,” maybe you would come to that conclusion. We just need a moral improvement in America, a political improvement in America, and then we could get back on track. That is not what the book of Jeremiah is teaching. The book of Jeremiah is not teaching anyone to leave church and try harder in your own efforts to be a better person. The book of Jeremiah doesn't believe in good people. Okay, here's one example, Jeremiah 13:23. We'll put it up here on the screen. It says it like this: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin?” You know, anybody from Ethiopia? Can they change the color of their skin is the idea. Or how about the leopard? Can the leopard change his spots? Out of all the big cats, you know the leopard is the one with spots. Can the leopard change that? Then also, you can do good who are accustomed to do what? Evil. Evil people don't just start doing good, just like leopards don't change their spots, and Ethiopians don't change their skin, you cannot, as a sinner before a holy God, morally improve yourself and amend your own ways and deeds.
So, let's just make it very clear, the point of this sermon is not to go try harder to be a good person or think there will be more good people in America. Go back now to Jeremiah 18, and let's look at the other application, where it says, "Return everyone from his evil way,” and the words "their return" is the Hebrew word "shuv" which means to turn, and it is commonly associated with the idea of repentance. Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a radical redirection in your life. Some people call it 180-degree turn. I was thinking, in going one way, I changed my mind, I turn and go the opposite way. That's what it's saying here. You've got to return, every one of you, as individuals, you've got to return everyone from his evil way. There needs to be a radical change in your life. There needs to be an about-face in your behavior. But if you really study this idea of this turn, you won't come to the conclusion that we can just go turn ourselves. See, you'll start understanding that repentance is something that God grants to people. He, after all, is the potter who's fashioning jars of clay, so people don't just radically change who they are without God's aid, without God's salvation, his mercy, his grace. So, when we say, "Return, every one of you from his evil way,” one of the things we should think is, well, I can't just stop being evil myself. If I'm going to really see a change in my life, it's going to be God working in me. I don't change by my own willpower to have a real change. I need God's power. That's what repentance is supposed to bring to mind, that it is given by God. In fact, Romans 2:4 teaches us it's the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. In the book of Acts, it says God granted them repentance, God changed them. God's the one who turns them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to his power, and Jeremiah, he's already taught about this repentance as well.
Go back to chapter 4 of Jeremiah, and let's look at his previous teaching about this turning of this word shuv. Now, often when you're reading about Israel, it'll say return or turn back. Why is it saying that, because Israel had times in the past where they were listening to God, where they were staying away from evil, and they were following God's way. So that's why, when we're talking to a nation like Israel, or we could say to a nation like America, we need to turn back, we need to return, usually if we're talking to a person who's never really turned from their sin, we don't say that they need to return. We say they need to repent. They need to turn for the first time from their evil to God.
But here in Israel, there were times in the past that they had been listening to God's voice, obeying God's ways. So, they need to get back to where they were. That's why it says here in Jeremiah 4:1, “if you return, O Israel, declares YHWH to me, you should return.” You see how clear that is? There's not going to be a turn unless it's to me. God says, if there's going to be a change in any individual, if there's going to be a change in any nation, God is the one who institutes the change in the hearts of mankind, he is the potter, he fashions the clay. We have this treasure in jars of clay, that the glory is of God and not of us. Can I get an amen? Anybody who's really repented, they don't act like, look at me, they act like, look at God. He turned me around, he changed my heart. And notice what it says here.” If you return, O Israel, declares the Lord to me, you should return. If you remove your detestable things from my presence and do not waver, if you swear as the Lord lives in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then look at this. Nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they what, everybody? The nation, if they really turn back to God, they can move back to blessing, they can get refashioned back to blessing, but in him they will glory. They won't act like they did it themselves. They will act like God has done a work of revival in our lands. God has done an awakening in our nation.
So, repentance, yes, it's a change in your life, but it's a change in your life done by God, and he gets the glory for it. That's the idea here behind repentance, and, and that that theme is so important here in Jeremiah 4. Look at how it continues in verse 3, “For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘Break up your fallow ground and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord. Remove the foreskin of your” what, everybody? The “foreskin of your hearts.” You see, when he's talking about the soil, he's saying something needs to happen in the soil of your soul. See, the Jewish people, they had this symbol of God's covenant with them, circumcision. He's like, no, no, no, I'm not talking about something on your body, I'm not talking about something external, I'm talking about something needs to happen in your heart. This is not behavioral improvement, this is not America coming back to morality, it's not even like if the laws of the land get restored and we just have better laws, then we'll be fine. No, this is like something needs to happen in who we really are on the inside, something needs to change in us, that's what it's saying. This is a major subplot in the book of Jeremiah, when it talks about a circumcision of the heart, that's a clear reference back to the book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy, chapter 10, it brought up this idea of a heart change. In Deuteronomy, chapter 30, it said God said, "I need to circumcise your hearts.” That's how it's going to happen. Well, now we're picking up that theme here in the prophet Jeremiah, and God is ready to reveal what he's going to do to people's hearts, so they can repent, so they can turn from their evil to him.
And let me put up here on the screen the theme verse of Jeremiah, the most quoted, the most famous verse in all of Jeremiah. “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” He says, I'm not giving them tablets of stone and giving them an external law. I'm going to change who they are in their hearts. Then I'll be their God. Then they'll be my people. This is the blessed new covenant that everyone can participate in. You could write down next to Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 36:26, Ezekiel 27:28. He prophesies of the same kind of covenant. He says it a little bit different. He says that God is going to “take out your heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh.” This is Ezekiel 36 is where it says this, and one of the great promises is that God will actually take his spirit and put his spirit within you, and the spirit will cause you to walk in God's ways and make you careful to obey God's commands. How can you amend your ways and deeds? How can you turn from evil when God gives you a new heart and he puts his spirit within you, when God writes his law on your heart, that's how your life can change. You need God to do something inside. So we should pray that for our nation on a macro level, and then we should pray that for our fellow Americans, for our neighbors, for other citizens, on a micro level, the way we see revival on a macro level is when it happens in many people's hearts individually
And so, that is what Jeremiah is building up to, is the heart change required for a real turnaround in a nation or in a person's life, God has to do it, and the good news is point number four: “God can turn your heart today!” God can turn your heart today, that God has someone here in this assembly today, someone watching this sermon today, God has you hearing this as one of the Americans. What God could do on a massive level, he's going to do it one heart at a time. And so, I’ve got to ask you, have you drifted from listening to God's voice? Are you doing things that you know you shouldn't be doing in your life? Are there caring for other people you know you're not doing, and then sins that you know you shouldn't be doing, because what we can pray for America, we would pray for you as an individual, that God can grant you a repentance, and if you cry out to him, and if you ask him, God can do a work in the soil of your soul, God can give you a new heart today. Can I get an amen from anybody on that?
See, it's very clear in the Bible how God has the power to save you. God saves you by the gospel, and the gospel is the good news of Jesus. The gospel is what we want everybody in Huntington Beach, North Orange County, Southern California, America. We want every one of our fellow countrymen to know this: that Jesus, there is no one like him. He is the Son of God. He is the anointed one, and God sent his one and only Son out of his love for us. He sent Jesus to die on the cross in your place. He was cursed on a tree of wood to pay for your sins, and on the third day, by the power of God, Jesus rose from the dead. And now everyone who believes in Jesus will no longer perish and experience judgment, but will have eternal life, a new life, an abundant life, a higher quality of life, where you know God, because he turns you around, because he gives you a new heart. And I pray for America. I'm promising you I will keep praying for America. But you know who I really pray for is you, the individual American. There are people in this room right now, and you might not like what's happening in our country, but has God done his work powerfully to save you? That's what will lead to a change in America. Is when people are changed by God one soul at a time. It can't happen with thousands if it doesn't even happen with somebody here today. The fifth of July is not a famous day in America. It could be the most important day in your life if you would just all you have to do is admit to God that you can't do it. See, that's what it takes, is that complete humility, that complete surrender. God, I can't leave here and keep trying to change myself. I need you to do it in my heart. See, what we call it is faith. It's a transfer of trust, where you stop trusting in yourself to be good, or trusting in your country to be good, or trusting in somebody else to help you be good, and you realize the only way that I could ever be considered good is by God's grace revealed in his son Jesus Christ, who paid for my sin. And see, the beautiful thing is, when you believe that Jesus died for you and rose again, you receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ, his perfect obedience that pleased the Father. His track record of 100% righteousness is given to you, and now the person who has sinned against God is seen by God as true, righteous, and just before him. What a gift that God would call people like us righteous because of his Son, Jesus, and all you need to do is stop trying to do it yourself and ask God to do it.
We've got this new tent out here in the courtyard. There will be people who will pray with you. Maybe you already know somebody here who will pray with you. If you know that you are not right with God, you could turn to him today, ask him to give you a new heart today. He could grant you this repentance. The thing we want to see happen in our nation; it could start in your heart today. And really, in the book of Jeremiah, I don't know how much you know about Jeremiah, but they don't listen to Jeremiah. They don't hear the Word of the Lord. I mean, he literally says you guys are now being refashioned as a potter's vessel towards destruction because you're not listening to the voice of God, and Jeremiah comes and tells them what God says, and they decide we don't like what Jeremiah has to say, and this might happen to some of us in the United States of America if we go warn our fellow Americans, we're turning to evil. We're not listening to God. The potter is going to fashion us as a vessel of destruction. Hey, if you love America and you don't want to see us get judged, we need to turn back to God. You go tell America, judgment is coming, and we need to turn to God. You might not be very popular in the United States, this message will not be popular. It will actually be polarizing, where some people on Main Street will cheer with you, and others they'll say false. And that's what happened to Jeremiah when he started spreading this message of judgment. The people did not want to hear it, and many bad things happened to Jeremiah in the book of Jeremiah. He gets persecuted by his own people for warning them of something that is really coming, and eventually they throw Jeremiah in a well, and perhaps this is why he brought up the Ethiopian in chapter 13, verse 23 because out of all of Israel there's one guy who's like, I don't think it's okay, we just threw Jeremiah in a well, if we leave Jeremiah in a cistern, he's going to die. And so, there's an Ethiopian eunuch who lives in the court of the king, Ebed-melech, and he comes to the king like the one guy seeking to do what is right in Israel is someone from Ethiopia, and he stands up before the king, and he says we're not leaving Jeremiah to die in that well. I'm going to go get Jeremiah out of there, and the king agrees with him, and he rescues Jeremiah from his death in the cistern.
And there's a passage I need to show you, Jeremiah 39:15. Can everybody turn there with me? Jeremiah 39:15 because God speaks directly to this Ethiopian individual, even though on a macro level God's saying judgment is coming on Jerusalem, the potter is fashioning them as a vessel of destruction. If they don't turn from their evil ways and listen to him, well, look, there's a different message for this man. This is Jeremiah 39:15, “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard. So again, Jeremiah, he's being mistreated for bringing God's message, but it says, “Go and say to Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good. Judgment is coming on Jerusalem, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. You're going to see it, but I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men whom you are afraid, for I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord, the whole city may be going down, but you're not going down with it. Ebed-melech, don't be afraid. When they come with the sword to judge, for I will surely save you.” And what is the reason that the Ethiopian eunuch will surely be saved? “’Because you put your trust in me.’ God says.”
Are there still people in the United States of America that can say today, "In God we trust. I want to be one of those people, and I hope and pray that you are one of those people, because I promise you that even if God does have to judge our nation, he will save his people. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? In God we trust. Maybe if there are enough of us trusting in God, he'll have mercy on our whole nation, but I want you to consider, are you one of the people who can say on America's 250 year, celebration in God we trust, and if you're not someone who has trusted in God before today, the fifth of July 2026, you should transfer your trust to God right now. You should say, God, awaken me, God, revive me, God, save me. Look for somebody you can pray with after today's service. Let me pray for us right now.
Father, we think of the great awakening that happened before we were ever declaring our independence, before we ever had a constitution and a president, there was a man named George Whitfield, and you used him to share the gospel throughout the colonies, and thousands of people would go listen to him preach. Everybody knew what he was saying in the gospel, he was clear and bold, and he was saying to people, "You must be born again.” He was saying to people that God has to save you, and he does that through his son, Jesus, who died and rose again. And that gospel made it clear in America that there is a God, and we are sinners, and we need God to save us. God, we look back on that time, and we thank you for the great awakening. We thank you for the foundation of our nation. We thank you for your faithfulness to us over 250 years. So many blessings in the history of America, but God, we hear what you say to Jeremiah. We hear you say that even though you built us and planted us, if we turn to evil, if we don't listen to your voice, you as the potter will fashion us towards judgment rather than blessing. And we've seen that happen in our lifetime, and we know that you, as the potter, you would be changing your way towards America. And so, we come to you now on behalf of our countrymen. We come to you now in the name of our fellow Americans, and we pray to you, God, please be merciful to us. Please don't judge us in the way that we deserve for shedding the blood of the innocent, for all of our stealing, adultery, murder, and lies. Please don't let us put our trust in the history of America, and please don't let us put our trust in ourselves as the good guys. God, we're here today to say we trust in you and your son Jesus Christ as the way, the truth, the life, the only way. There will be justice for all, as if you're the one giving it to them. And so, we acknowledge your divine hand of Providence. We praise you for your mercy, and we ask for it to continue. Please don't judge us, Father. Please let there be an awakening. Let there be a revival. Please work with your mighty hand to turn many hearts back to you. Let us pray for our country, let there be many righteous people who intercede on behalf of the United States of America every single day. Hear our prayers for our land. And God, I pray for individual Americans that are here in this room, and they can go the American way that everybody else is going today, or they can stop right now, and they can turn to you, and they can just say to you, I can't do it. I need you to write your law in my heart. I need you to put your spirit into my soul. I need you to save me, amend my ways, grant me your repentance, God. Why will people leave here today without praying to you? And so, God, we ask that today would be a day of awakening, that today would be a day of revival, that even here in this service you will save people, that you will change their hearts now and forevermore, and the soil of their soul, you will sprout life through your son, Jesus. So, Father, please hear our prayer for America and for the Americans in this room today. Save them, come and awaken us, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.