Need for a lift

Last time I was here was not last year. We were in Gospings. I was here two years ago with Mr. Plant, and he spoke at this pyramid in Isaiah chapter 1. I'd like to speak tonight on Jeremiah chapter 38.

Jeremiah chapter 38. Jeremiah 38, and just for the sake of time, verse number 5. Then Zedekiah the king said, and let me just tell you what, I'm not sure if it was Spurgeon said it, or one of the others said it about King Zedekiah. He said he was Mr. Facing Both Ways.

In other words, Zedekiah was a man that couldn't really make his mind up about anything. Whatever you wanted to find, he'd go with that. Something else, he'd go with that.

That's just the, was the nature, if you like, of a man. So then Zedekiah the king said, behold he is in your hand, for the king is not he that can do anything against you. See, here we go.

Then they took Jeremiah, cast him into the dungeon of Melchiah, the son of Hamielech, that was in the core of the prison, and they let down Jeremiah with cords, and in the dungeon there was no water but mire. So Jeremiah sunk in the mire. Now when Ebed-Melech, the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon, the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin, Ebed-Melech sent forth out of the king's house and spake to the king, saying, my lord, the king, these men have done evil in that day that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they've cast into the dungeon, and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is, for there is no more bread in the city.

Things were very, very sad state in the city at this time, and Jeremiah told him this would take place. Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech, the Ethiopian, saying, take from hence 30 men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies. So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house to the king under the treasury and took thence old cast clouts, old rotten rags, let them down by the cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.

Ebed-Melech, the Ethiopian, said unto Jeremiah, put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine arm holes and under the cords, and Jeremiah did so. And they drew up Jeremiah with cords and took him up out of the dungeon, and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison, and so on. Truth be known, there is not a believer here tonight or at this conference that doesn't need a lift, speaker included.

Had a nice lift last weekend. I want to say that, and I'm taking feedback that came from various ones that were in attendance, and the people of God were encouraged, and we got a lift. God was good to us, and I hope you've thanked him for it since.

We're looking for the same thing here at the Cedar Falls Waterloo Conference, that we'll get a lift. God will give us a lift. Remember, brothers and sisters, I was thinking when Brother Luke Finley was praying about the shepherd, that's where we got our start.

We got our start with a lift. We're at the side of the road, if you like, and we needed someone to pick us up. We're like that sheep that have wandered and strayed, and we need that shepherd to go the distance that he did to pick us up.

You would not be here tonight. I wouldn't be here tonight if somebody didn't give us a lift. It's true, we need a high priest over the house of God.

We'll look at that on Lord's Day, Hebrews 7. We need an advocate, John tells us, when we fall. We need one to care for us, but we need a shepherd. We still do.

I need the shepherd to find me in the condition that I was in, like you were in, and as we go, we still need the shepherd. Interesting that before a person is saved, if you like, they could be likened to fish. Okay, I will make you fishers of men.

The word Jesus teaches about the principle of fishing, but we're never called fish after we're saved, but sheep. We're called sheep after we are saved, because there's something within us that causes us still to wander and to stray. So thank God tonight for the truth of the good shepherd.

That's why the Lord Jesus spoke, and he spoke in Luke chapter 14, and he said, which of you having an ass or an ox and a pit, and he falleth, will not straightway pull him out, pull him out on the Sabbath day. But when you come to the sheep, it's different. Matthew chapter 12, he said to them, what man of you having a sheep, if he fall into it, will not lift him out, lift him out.

So those other animals, you can pull them all you like. I lived on a farm for a while. I know a bit about pulling them.

I never had sheep, but sheep need to be lifted. Boy, thank God he lifted me. Didn't deserve it, brethren.

You know something else? Know the best part? He hasn't put me down, and he's not going to put me down until I get to the other side. Once I'm to the other side, he will safely put me down, you too. But in the meantime, we stumble and stray, as the hymn says, and indeed we falter, and we fall, and we need a lift.

Let me ask you tonight, I was just thinking about this this afternoon, in the past year, in the past year, don't be honest with yourself, who have you given a lift? Who have you spoke a word to that actually give them a lift, without knocking them down, criticizing them, or admonish them? Who did you speak to and say, you know, there's that brother, or that sister, and I gave them, tried to give them a lift? We wonder sometimes why they leave? Do we really care? Are we prepared to lift them? This was a very, very interesting scene that is seen here with Ibn Milik. I mean, where's the elders of Judah, for any sake? Where are they? Jeremiah didn't ask that. When they're needed, they weren't there.

But here's an Ethiopian man, comes from a country that they said were, I forget how they described them. Anyhow, he said they were big in their bodies, but small in their minds. But here's a man, most unlikely, most unusual, and God had put something in this man's heart, that Jeremiah's lifted out of that pit.

And he goes ahead, and others that will join him, and will help lift him. David needed a lift. Remember the 42nd Psalm, why art thou cast down on my soul? Why art thou disquieted within me? And it goes on, hope thou on God, I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

David need a lift. A man like David lifted others. He sure did.

By what encouragement he was to those when they became weary. I know David has his failures, his weaknesses, but nevertheless, David now needs a lift. But more, I can tell you this much, David's greater son will never need a lift, because he had one.

You know where that was? Calvary's cross. And it was our sin that lifted him on that cross. And thank God, he's exalted.

He's at God's right hand tonight. David's greater son will need, never need a lift. Two on the road to Emmaus, listen to their language.

One of them, whose name was Cleophas, said, answering said to him, art thou only a stranger and jerk? And Jerusalem has not known the things which are come to pass here in these days. See they talked about things that had happened, but there's a difference between things that happen, and things that come to pass. In other words, things that come to pass, you can see a divine hand in it.

I'm not saying that happenings, and things that happen, that the hand of God isn't in it. But nevertheless, they saw that. But they needed a lift.

Did they get one? Ah, they got one. They got one. No, no.

Was it just a traveler? He wasn't the mistaken gardener. He always appeared in the settings of which he was found. But he comes alongside them as the shepherd.

And he gave them a lift, if you like. So we bless God. Martha and Mary would be another example of that.

Ones that were lifted, and they were down. So discouraged. Nothing, nothing seemed bright.

So maybe I'm speaking to maybe just a young brother, young sister. You don't have a family, not married, but whether it's in your university, your schooling, or whatever it might be, it's got you down. You've come to the conference.

Good place to be. Not saying that I'm speaking on behalf of my fellow preachers, that we can meet that need, but God can meet that need. Our gracious one that will minister to us can meet the need of every citizen.

I don't know what it is. I haven't a clue. Not sure if I told you a story I love.

I might have told you last weekend. I'm not sure. Pardon me, AK.

There's age factor here. But anyhow, it was your brother, Jim Flanagan, a real gentleman, North of Ireland, was asked to go visit a family, a couple, just a couple, lived in a house. And they lived by themselves.

They were both blind. And Jim said, once you got past the owner of the house, it wasn't too bad. But things are just like you would think they would be in a house where both he and she were blind.

They're believers. Came to the meetings. They'd love to visit.

And Jim made this visit this day, visit them, and read with them, and had a nice, nice, nice visit with them. He got up to leave. They said, Jim, you're going to sing with us, aren't you? We said, what would you like to sing? What would you sing? Come on, brother.

You're there with your wife. What would you sing? Well, that wouldn't be bad. Better than that.

You know what they say? Count your blessings. Name them one by one. Jim Flanagan stood there that day with the tears rolling down his face, and sung, Count Your Blessings.

Name them one by one. What blessings did they have? Blessings in Christ. Blessing in the Savior.

You can't beat it, brother. Nothing is beyond it. So they come with this man, and I think it's very interesting.

They get these rotten rags, and you think, could they not have got something a little better? Just a minute now. You ever lifted anybody out of a pet? Really, have you? I doubt it. Can you use ropes? Let me just give you a simple application.

They wanted to lift them without leaving a mark on them. Old rotten rags would never leave a mark on them. They wanted to lift them without leaving a mark on them.

Whatever you do, attempting at your best to lift somebody, don't leave a mark on them. When the shepherd picked me up, when the shepherd picked you up, he left no marks on us. The marks were on the shepherd.

Okay. He was the one that was marked. He was the one that bear the marks of the stars, if you will, of Calvary.

So, brothers and sisters, he's a Gentile man. There's a lot more that could be said about him than that, but time is going. I'm just going to leave that with you.

Just think of that. And maybe you're here, and you're on top of, they say, I don't like to use the worldly expression, but you're on top of your game. So what? Do you know what's waiting for you Monday? I don't.

Good thing we don't sometimes. I'm going to tell you this, even if it's at the conference, give someone a lift. Just give them encouragement.

Step into the kitchen, thank them for what they're doing, the work. Only people that are involved in conference work know the work that's involved. The setup, food, chairs, whatever it might be.

Wonderful. Wonderful to see young brethren. I was amazed, young brethren, last week at the Stout Conference, seeing them engaged, working, laboring, for who? For the Lord, but doing it as unto his people.

So here's this prophet, just maybe I have too much of an imagination, but I see him down there. It's interesting. He's in a miry pit, a place where he could sink.

How come Joseph wasn't in that kind of a pit? Don't read that with Joseph. I think it was a dry pit. Why would Joseph be in that kind of a dry pit? Here's one in mire and mud and everything else, maturity.

Here's a man that had experience. God never gives us anything that is not linked with our maturity and our development and the things of God. Not that Joseph wasn't, but here he is down in that.

They tell him how to put the rags and the clots and all that underneath his arms. Must have been quite a sight. Then they started that lift.

Up he went. Didn't look like that crane I saw a picture of last week. Dropped the whole thing.

No sir, got him safely up. Wonder what they must have thought. I'd like to ask Jeremiah in the coming day, hey what was it like? Well, put your feet on the ground.

Must have thought you're going to die there. No, I don't think Jeremiah thought that. Jeremiah knew his God.

Jeremiah was there because he was faithful to God, and God did not let his servant go without seeing that he got what he needed, and what I needed at this conference, and what you need at this conference, a lift.