The Word of the LORD

[0:00] We're in the dark of Christ. Good to worship with you this morning. My name is Sean. For those of you who are visiting, it's my privilege to preach God's word to you. And before we do that, let me pray and ask for God's help.

[0:18] Heavenly Father, we believe that you speak from your word today. And we are here to listen to you.

[0:33] We want to submit ourselves to you and to your word. So I want you to address us, convict us, comfort us, assure us of our salvation stored up in Jesus Christ.

[1:00] Amen. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're in Jeremiah 26, 1 to 24.

[1:14] And according to the Wycliffe Bible translators, there are still about 1,600 languages that still don't have any Bible translation.

[1:28] And this is in spite of the fact that Bible is the single most translated work of literature in human history. But we here as English speakers are spoiled because according to the American Bible Society, there are about 900 different English translations of the Bible in the world, especially if you count both the partial and the complete translations.

[1:53] And it's no wonder then that we are sometimes tempted to take the English Bibles that we have in our hands for granted. But this wasn't always the case. In the early 16th century, William Tyndale attempted to translate the whole Bible into English for the first time because he believed that, quote, it was impossible to establish the people in any truth unless the scriptures were plainly laid before their eyes in their mother tongue.

[2:22] And it's hard to believe that such an academic and, you know, pious pursuit would come with occupational hazards. But it did because at the time, Roman Catholic Church held their services mostly in Latin, which most Christians in the world no longer understood.

[2:40] And the Latin translation of the Bible was only accessible to the trained clergy. And they at the time, the Roman Catholic Church, violently opposed any attempt to translate the Bible into the lay language of the people because they believed that doing so undermined the authority of the Catholic Church.

[2:58] So in 1536, William Tyndale was convicted of heresy and executed by strangulation. And afterward, his body was burned at the stake as a demonstration and a warning to similarly-minded believers.

[3:13] But his translation of the Bible, known as the Tyndale Bible, was completed after his death. And it became the first mass-produced English Bible in the world.

[3:24] And it spread like wildfire. It became the basis for subsequent English translations of the Bible, including about 90% of the King James Version. It's directly Tyndale's translation.

[3:36] For this reason, many English scholars contend that William Tyndale was more influential in shaping and enriching the English language than even William Shakespeare. Now, Tyndale gave his life that we might have God's Word in English.

[3:51] And he wasn't the first nor the last to give his life in order to make God's Word available to all people, in order to speak God's Word even at the cost of his own life.

[4:02] Because about 2,000 years before William Tyndale, we see here Prophet Jeremiah engaged in a similar struggle and a contest to proclaim the Word of God when he was facing resistance, even at the cost of his own life, even at the risk of his own life in this case.

[4:19] And really, the main point of this passage is that we should listen to and speak the Word of the Lord even to the point of death. So first, in the first six verses, we'll see the Word spoken.

[4:30] And then in the rest of the passage, we'll see the Word spurned by the religious leaders. And so verse 1 tells us, read with me, In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this Word came from the Lord.

[4:45] We usually use the Word as an object, right? So we say to somebody, hey, let me say a word. Or, can I have a word with you? But unconventionally in this verse, the Word is the subject of the sentence.

[4:58] This Word came from the Lord, as if the Word itself is a character in the story or a person with its own agency, right? And Jeremiah did not come up with this Word, that means.

[5:09] He is the messenger of this Word, but he's not the author of this Word. This Word came from the Lord. And this phrase, the Word of the Lord came to me, really begins most of the major sections of this book.

[5:20] And it's conveying to us something unique about God's Word. Ever since J.L. Austin, who was a British philosopher and linguist, wrote the book, How to Do Things with Words, in 1962, a lot of scholarly ink had been spilled over the difference between constative words and performative words.

[5:41] So just bear with me for a second. This is relevant. So constative words inform us, right? They tell us something about something, right? So they inform us, constative words. Performative words, they perform something.

[5:53] So constative words, they say something, but performative words, they do something. So let me illustrate with a simple example. When you tell someone, thank you, or I'm sorry, right?

[6:06] You're not just describing that you are thankful or that you feel sorry. You're actually thanking that person and apologizing to that person. You're doing something with your words to that person.

[6:17] Those words are performative, not merely informative. And when someone says in response, I forgive you, that's also performing something. It's forgiving, dispensing forgiveness, not merely saying that, hey, well, sure, maybe I'll think about forgiving you.

[6:32] When at a wedding, for example, the emcee tells you, well, the wedding will start promptly at 11 a.m., that's informative, right? But when two couples stand and face each other, and before witnesses and before a duly ordained minister of the gospel, they say to each other, I do.

[6:50] That's performative. They're making a promise, and they're taking vows upon themselves for each other, toward each other. And then when the minister responds and says, I now pronounce you husband and wife, again, that's performative.

[7:04] It's not just an announcement. It's a pronouncement that affects the union of the two people that are coming in together in marriage. But there's something important about performative words.

[7:14] It's that it's only effective, it only has performative power when the person speaking the word has the proper authority to do so. So if some random stranger comes up to a man and a woman that's dating and says, I pronounce you husband and wife, it doesn't do anything, right?

[7:35] When you go to court and a judge says to you, not guilty, that does something. It acquits you of guilt, exempts you from punishment.

[7:46] But when some random civilian comes to you and says, oh, not guilty, means nothing. Why am I getting into all this? Because God's word is not merely informative, but performative.

[8:02] Because God is the creator and Lord over all things, because he has all authority, power, and dominion. When he speaks, when his word comes, it always comes with performative authority and efficacy.

[8:15] So when I say, let there be light, nothing happens, right? Because I'm just a creature. I can't create anything.

[8:28] But when God says, let there be light, light is created out of nothing. When we say, I'll be there tomorrow, we may or may not show up, depending on how reliable that person is, and depending on the circumstances.

[8:43] Because we are fickle and fallible creatures, and our words often fall to the ground. But when God says, I am with you, always to the end of the age, as Jesus said at the end of his great commission, you can count on that.

[8:56] That's going to happen. It's guaranteed. And when God, so when God renames someone in the Bible, the meaning of that name becomes a reality in their life.

[9:06] When God orders a blessing, a real blessing is imparted. When he orders a curse, a real curse takes hold in the person's life. Because when God says anything, it happens. Hebrews 4.12 says, The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

[9:30] The word of God is living and active. It pierces our souls and searches our hearts. So when we think of scripture, we shouldn't think of it merely as this encyclopedia of spiritual knowledge.

[9:45] Yes, scripture informs us, but it also transforms us. Scripture is not merely a record of what God has said in the past. God speaks through his word today.

[9:56] And by the power of the spirit, the word of God reveals God to us. It renews our minds. It revives our hearts. It confronts us with the God who speaks for himself.

[10:08] That he is a God who speaks and not a mute God that we can attribute whatever we want to. Scripture, through his word, God makes promises to us.

[10:20] He commands us, comforts us, convicts us. So as Isaiah 55, which we read today, says, for as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there, but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth.

[10:47] It shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. The word of God goes forth and accomplishes God's purposes.

[11:00] God's word is not a boring, static thing. It's not like any other book. It's living and active. So when verse 1 tells us that this word came from the Lord, it's not a dull and dry, this formulaic statement because it's the word from the Lord.

[11:17] It's dynamic and dramatic. It's saying it means we better listen up because the king is about to say something and his word has decretive force. This is why at the end of every scripture reading, we say as a church, this is the word of the Lord to impress upon our minds this truth, important truth.

[11:36] What should this mean for us? Is daily Bible reading for you a chore or is it something you cherish? Do you yawn at God's word?

[11:51] Or do you tremble at God's word? Do you come on Sunday morning to sit under the preaching of God's word apathetically or in eager anticipation of what God might say to you and do in you?

[12:07] So let's listen with bated breath for what God says next. Verses 2 to 3. Thus says the Lord, stand in the court of the Lord's house and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord and speak all the words that I command you to speak to them.

[12:27] Do not hold back a word. The historical context of this sermon that Jeremiah is giving as well as the content, it's identical to the sermon that Jeremiah was giving in chapter 7, verses 1 to 15.

[12:42] So it's likely a continuation of that time. And here, Jeremiah is commanded repeatedly to speak the words of the Lord. And the word speak is actually just the verbal form of the word word.

[12:53] It's the same. So it's very repetitive reading through this passage. Speak this. Speak these words. Word. Repeated 16 times in this chapter. That's really the main idea of this passage to reinforce the fact that it's God's word that is coming.

[13:07] It is God who is speaking. And because of that, Jeremiah is not to meddle with any of it, but to faithfully speak the word of God. And because of this, it says in verse 3, speak all the words that I command, right?

[13:19] God says, not and don't hold back a word, right? The phrase not holding back a word is particularly vivid because the word holding back literally means here to shave or to trim.

[13:32] So God's telling Jeremiah, don't clip off any of it. Don't you trim any of my words. Don't leave any of it out. And I think God knows that Jeremiah is entering into a hostile crowd.

[13:47] Jeremiah knew well that his audience could reject his word and punish him. That God's word may not be received favorably. He was likely aware that there could be severe, even fatal consequences for speaking God's word.

[14:02] And even then, God tells him, you are not at liberty to leave out any of my words because they are my words. He was to speak every single word that God commands. And this is a recurring command throughout scripture.

[14:14] For example, after relaying the commandments of God, Moses wrote this in Deuteronomy 4.2, you shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

[14:28] We are, as God's people, not at liberty to ignore the parts of God's word that we don't like. Do you take God at his word?

[14:38] It's tempting to trim God's word to make it fit our expectations. It's tempting to cherry pick God's word and turn only to the passages that seem to corroborate our opinions, not contradict us.

[14:55] It's tempting to shave off God's word to slid it. It doesn't offend our cultural sensitivities or sensibilities. It's tempting to search God's word for reflections of ourselves rather than the reflection of the glory of God.

[15:15] But we must never yield to such temptations. We must listen to all of it. We must speak all of it, obey all of it. We must not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God.

[15:29] And that's why, as a church, we make it our practice to alternate between the Old and New Testaments and preach through the entire books of the Bible at a time. And it's partly because I don't trust myself.

[15:41] If we jump from one place to another intentionally or not, we end up self-selecting parts of scripture that we naturally gravitate toward. Parts that are familiar to us.

[15:53] Parts that are easier to preach and accept. Parts that we think better suits our needs. And there is a time and place for such topical teaching from scripture. But if that becomes our predominant or exclusive diet, scripture will only speak to our perceived needs, which are not necessarily our real needs.

[16:12] it's like a sick person self-diagnosing himself, his disease, with his limited medical knowledge using Google or whatnot. Instead of letting a trained and qualified doctor methodically question and thoroughly examine him for an accurate diagnosis.

[16:30] God doesn't waste his words. We need all of God's word to address us. So likewise, Jeremiah is to speak all of God's words without holding any of it back. And the goal of Jeremiah's proclamation is that Judah might listen.

[16:43] In the same way that the word speak is repeated throughout this passage, the word listen or hear, which also means obey, is repeated 11 times throughout this chapter. God speaks through his prophets and God's people are to listen and obey.

[16:56] So God says, read with me, verses 3 to 6. It may be they will listen and everyone turn from his evil way that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds.

[17:09] You shall say to them, thus says the Lord, if you will not listen to me to walk in my law that I have set before you and to listen to the words of my servants, the prophets whom I sent to you urgently, though you have not listened, then I will make this house like Shiloh and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.

[17:29] If they heed God's words and turn from their evil ways, then they will be spared and evil will not come unto them. Disaster will not come on them. But if they don't, it will fall on them like Shiloh.

[17:42] Shiloh was the place where the tabernacle of God was formally set up, the housing for God. But due to Israel's disobedience, God abandoned Shiloh and the place was subsequently reduced to a heap of ruins.

[17:54] And that's what God is saying here, that this will happen to Jerusalem also. So that's the word spoken. And from verse 7 and onward, we see how these religious leaders, the priests and the prophets and all the people who are Jeremiah speaking these words in the temple, how they spurned the word of God.

[18:12] It's the word spurned. It says in verses 8 to 9, And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, You shall die.

[18:26] Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without inhabitant? And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

[18:40] So Jeremiah is delivering this prophecy in the temple precinct, so it's not surprising that the priests and the prophets were in the audience. But all the other people that are also there are probably there to worship because they're at the temple.

[18:53] The worshipers that are gathered around the temple. And after Jeremiah gives the sermon, it must have caused quite the stir and the commotion because people are now thronging around him.

[19:06] And the result, it says, All the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. And the word gathered, the word is interesting here because it's a neutral word that could refer either to a good crowd, for example, a congregation gathered for worship, but it's also used sometimes in Scripture to refer to a mob that has hostile intentions.

[19:27] So in this case, the congregation of worship, people who had gathered to worship God, now is degenerating into this hostile mob that's beginning to throng around Jeremiah and he's feeling threatened because they say to him, you shall die.

[19:41] The verdict of the public was that Jeremiah was a blasphemer, someone who spoke what is false in the name of the Lord and the blasphemer is because they threatened the very foundation of Israel which was a society, it's a theocratic nation founded on worship of the true God and because of that, it was punishable by death, blasphemy was in the Old Testament.

[20:03] And fortunately for Jeremiah, the court officials are also at hand to restore order and initiate a proper legal procedure and so he says in verse 10, when the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the entry of the new gate of the house of the Lord.

[20:21] The commotion has reached the king's palace and so the rulers of the nation came down to the temple and took their seat. That's a formal way of saying that they took the seat for rendering judgment.

[20:32] The court is now in session. And in verse 11, the prosecution presents their case. This man deserves the sentence of death because he has prophesied against the city as you have heard with your own ears.

[20:47] Notice how they are more concerned with Jeremiah prophesying harm against the city rather than with whether or not he is truly speaking the word of the Lord. Because the real issue at hand is not whether Jeremiah's prophecy bodes well or ill for Jerusalem.

[21:04] The real issue is whether Jeremiah is speaking God's word. Because if God sent Jeremiah to speak this prophecy against Jerusalem then he's done nothing wrong. Isn't that often how we come to scripture as well?

[21:18] We're more upset that it tells us not to do something that we want to do rather than being concerned with whether it's truly the word of the Lord that this is what God asks of us.

[21:35] Jeremiah knows this and so he gets right to the heart of the issue in verses 12 to 13 when he as the defendant presents his case. The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard.

[21:51] Now therefore mend your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you. Jeremiah does not recant anything.

[22:04] Instead he doubles down on his prophecy and declares God's word once again even while he's being tried for blasphemy and his very life is unaligned. So Jeremiah faithfully fulfills his prophetic role and calls the people to repentance.

[22:19] And Jeremiah was not unaware of the possible consequences of his bold testimony because look at verses 14 to 15. But as for me behold I am in your hands do with me as seems good and right to you only know for certain that if you put me to death you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.

[22:50] The people at this point are swayed by Jeremiah's defense but we know that they don't actually repent later so probably they're swayed by Jeremiah's defense not because of their faith but because of their fear of bringing innocent blood upon themselves.

[23:06] But regardless they support the official's verdict in verse 16. This man does not deserve the sentence of death for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God. And after this verdict is given by the officials then we hear the elders kind of approval expression of approval in verses 18 to 19.

[23:23] Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and said to all the people of Judah thus says the Lord of hosts Zion shall be plowed as a field Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

[23:39] Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord? And did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against him?

[23:49] But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves. They are quoting here from Micah chapter 3 verse 12. Prophet Micah like Jeremiah had prophesied judgment and doom against Jerusalem and at that point the king and the nation repented of their evil ways so that God relented of his judgment so should they not also do the same is what the elders are saying the leaders of the people.

[24:12] It's what if Jeremiah really is speaking God's word putting him to death would bring great disaster upon ourselves. But lest we mistakenly think that the people of Judah and their leaders were always this reasonable and sensible Jeremiah adds another incident when things didn't turn out so well for the prophet of the Lord in verses 20 to 23 there was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-Jerim he prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah and when King Jehoiakim he's the present king at the time of Jeremiah speaking with all his warriors and all the officials heard his words the king sought to put him to death but when Uriah heard of it he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt then King Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men Elnathan the son of Akbar and others with him and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim who struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people this is a contemporary of his of Jeremiah's another prophet and it happened under the same king's reign of Jehoiakim so even though

[25:27] Jeremiah went free this time it didn't always happen this way for the Lord's prophets because Uriah who also prophesied in the same way Jeremiah did was put to death by King Jehoiakim so the narrator whether it's Jeremiah himself or later scribe who organized and put together his prophecies thematically is including this story here to make sure we understand the mortal danger that Jeremiah put himself in by speaking the word of the Lord but Jeremiah faced a different outcome why verse 24 tells us the hand of Ahicham the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death it's a wonderful story about this family because Shaphan was the secretary of King Josiah during his reforms Josiah was a pious king he loved the Lord wanted to reform the nation in true worship of God and so Shaphan was the secretary to Josiah as mentioned in 2 Kings 22 and his family whole family and his sons appear to have been godly faithful people because they are seen over and over again leveraging their political power to shield Jeremiah so for example later in Jeremiah chapter 36 another one of Shaphan's sons

[26:47] Gemariah urges Jehoiakim not to burn Jeremiah's scroll he does it anyway but at least he tried right and in chapter 39 and chapter 40 yet another one of Shaphan's sons Gedaliah takes charge of Jeremiah and ensures his survival after Jerusalem has fallen and here it's because of another one of Shaphan's sons Ahichem and his influence over the official's decision that Jeremiah was not handed over to the people to be put to death it's not such a cool story I wish God give us families like that earlier in verse 14 remember what Jeremiah said to the officials behold I am in your hands do with me as seems good and right to you but in truth Jeremiah was never given up to the hands of the mob he was always in God's hands which is why the hand of Ahichem the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah this is a fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Jeremiah at the very beginning of his prophetic calling in chapter 1 verses 18 to 19

[27:57] God had said to him and I behold I make you this day a fortified city in iron pillar and bronze walls against the whole land against the kings of Judah its officials its priests and the people of the land they will fight against you but they shall not prevail against you for I am with you declares the Lord to deliver you the Lord God was with Jeremiah to deliver him his mighty sovereign hand was protecting and guiding Jeremiah so that even though it appeared to him as though he was completely at the mercy of the mob at their hands in reality he was under the care of the sovereign God because Jeremiah was sent by the Lord the Lord himself took charge of his welfare and nothing will happen to him outside of God's oversight the Lord himself ensures that his word will go forth let this truth be a comfort to you even when you feel you are completely at the mercy of other people in your life whether it's your professor or boss or parent or spouse ultimately those who belong to God are under his provident care even when you feel that the proclamation of God's word when you share the gospel with someone and that it's not going anywhere that it's jeopardized that it's threatened

[29:21] God's word will go forth and accomplish his purposes it cannot be thwarted and it will never return void but of course that doesn't necessarily mean that things will always turn out the way we want right because God's will is not necessarily identical to ours as you can see in the contrasting examples of Uriah and Jeremiah sometimes prophets of the Lord were put to death other times prophets of the Lord were preserved from harm the point that Jeremiah is driving home in this passage is that we should listen to and speak the word of the Lord even to the point of death Jeremiah preached even at the risk of his own life because he knew that speaking God's word could mean the life or death of the people of his nation and if he didn't warn them of God's judgment they would not repent and they would surely perish and in this sense Jeremiah was a type of the Messiah that was to come his prophetic role pointed to and was ultimately fulfilled by

[30:24] Jesus Christ and Hebrews 1 1-2 says this long ago at many times and in many ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son whom he appointed the heir of all things through whom also he created the world Jesus the son of God is the prophet par excellence he is the ultimate prophet that all the Old Testament prophets were pointing to and he faithfully speaks the words of God and that's why in John 12 Jesus says to us the one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day for I have not spoken on my own authority but the father who sent me has himself given me a commandment what to say and what to speak and I know that his commandment is eternal life what I say therefore

[31:24] I say as the father has told me Jesus spoke what he heard from the father and he did not hold back a word but Jesus is more than a prophet he doesn't merely declare the word of God he is the word of God as John 1 describes he is the word made flesh he is more than a messenger who announces the good news of salvation he is himself the embodiment of the good news of salvation because Jeremiah was a great prophet he was a faithful prophet and he warned the people of Judah about God's impending judgment but when the people refused to repent there was nothing Jeremiah could do to save him but say I warned you but Jesus he warns of God's judgment but not only that he himself even when even sinners who resist

[32:26] God's will he makes a way for them to return to the Father and be reconciled to him by dying on the cross for their own sins so that he can say for Jesus when people sin and are all yielding and stubborn in their sins his response isn't too bad I told you already he says no I made a way for you follow me I died for your sins trust in me and I can save you that's what Jesus does and this is not like if you are not yet a follower of Jesus Christ I urge you this morning to give your life to him today to the one who gave his life to save you and this is not a commitment to take lightly it requires aligning all of your purposes and priorities with God it means listening to God's word and obeying it at all costs it means losing your life in order to find it it means no longer living for yourself but living wholly for

[33:30] God but it's worth it all and this is an important reminder for those of us who have put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation remember that this is not a casual commitment it's not one thing on your to-do list among many rather it's the one thing that occupies all that you do Jesus said if anyone would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me for whoever would save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it do you believe in Jesus Christ enough to stake your entire life on it to go all in to forsake all selfish pursuits and pursue Jesus only if you try to save your life if you try to keep some aspects of your life to yourself instead of giving it up to God you will lose it what is your life about is it about God or is it about yourself are you working who are you working for studying for living for and if you really believe the gospel of Jesus

[34:56] Christ that it is the power of God unto salvation then are you willing to risk your life to share it Boston is one of the least churched and least bible minded cities in the US there is need for the gospel here that's why we started this church here but even here if people want to learn about Christ they could find other churches that faithfully proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ but there are places in the world where people have no way of hearing this gospel preached and some of those places if you preach the gospel and people convert it could be their death it could be your death are you willing to risk your life to tell people about Jesus who need to hear it are you willing to risk your reputation and embarrass yourself sharing the gospel of Jesus

[36:03] Christ down the block with a neighbor or with a co-worker apart from the saving message of Jesus there is no salvation there's no eternal life and people all around us are perishing without knowledge of it our own neighbors and friends and family members and co-workers do you share this good news of Jesus with others or do you keep it to yourself do you hold back the word maybe a third of you have heard me tell this story a couple years back but there's one of my favorite missionary stories this is Robert Germain Thomas who was a Welsh missionary in China he had a burning desire to share the gospel he did it faithfully in China but he also had a desire to share the gospel with the neighboring nation of Korea which at the time was known as the hermit nation and did not have gospel witness so he started studying Korean on his own in 1866 Thomas learned that an

[37:03] American boat the German Sherman the General Sherman was going to try to establish trade relations with Korea and the U.S. and so he offered to accompany the boat as an interpreter in exchange for a chance to spread the gospel and as the ship approached the coast of Korea Robert tossed gospel tracks onto the river bank but Korea having observed how some westerners had mistreated China they were leery of foreigners and so when they saw this ship the Korean officials ordered the American boat to leave whether it's through miscommunication or just stubbornness they didn't leave they defied the warning and consequently they were attacked by the Koreans killed them but true to his mission and counting even his survival as secondary to sharing the gospel Robert Jermaine Thomas instead of running away left from the boat carrying Bibles in his hands and yelling Jesus Jesus as he was throwing

[38:04] Chinese Bibles to these Korean people because a lot of the Koreans spoke Chinese at the time and there were no Korean translations of the Bible but sadly he was promptly beheaded with a machete that's all he got to do yell Jesus Jesus throw some Bibles down but God worked in the heart of the man who killed Robert Jermaine Thomas convinced by Robert's beaming face at the time of his death he kept one of the Bibles that he had thrown and then he ripped it apart to use it as wallpaper and God's unstoppable word began to do its work people came from far and near to read its words a church grew and Robert's nephew the killer the Robert's killer's nephew became the pastor of the church and today 150 years later 30% of

[39:10] South Koreans 14 million people call themselves Christians whoever loses his life for Christ's sake and the gospel sake will save it let's be a church that listens to and speaks the word of the Lord even to the point of death close your eyes with me reflect on this message this passage for a few moments and we will pray together as a church corporately in response