So are you a double checker? A double checker? You double check that you turn the stove off, you double check that you turn your crimping iron off you, you double check that the milk is turned in the refrigerator so that the expiration date faces outward, you know who you are, come on now or when you get in the car, you get to the end of the driveway and you stop, you get out and go back and check to make sure that the devil was really lot and you just give it a little double check. Well I am a double checker, I am and I get it honest, it's it's in my genes, it's in my DNA. I inherited it from my dad, I assume he inherited from his dad. It's just a thing. We check, we are double checkers but my favorite double checker in the world might be Adrian Martinez who in the world is Adrian Martinez. Well Adrian Martinez was the guy who used to wear the green bay packers Jesushead hat on his head in the old original commercyal with Aaron Rodgers for State Farm. On the discount double check and the reason I love Adrian Martinez because he's just some guy in the commercyal, he's not even a featured character at the very end of the commercyal, he knocks on the window outside the State Farm office and says Rogers discount double check, that's it, that's that's this whole claim to thing and I remember when I saw that commercyal, I just died laughing, I was like that guy got hired to do that, I would do that, I would be in that commercyal just for that moment. I love it, discount double check now, why did they have those commercyals? Well they had those commercyals because it was an attempt to help you double check your insurance coverage to make sure you were getting all the discounts that you could get. In other words, they were trying to improve your coverage. Now, why do we have insurance coverage? Well insurance, is this financial coverage in case something happens right? It's a, it's a backup plan. Something to help us if there is an incident and accident or a loss, that's that's what insurance does. So what about your spiritual coverage, how's your spiritual coverage doing? If you were to take a double check of your spiritual coverage right now, how is your spiritual health, how's your spiritual attitude? How is your spiritual tone of voice? How is your spiritual activity? How is your spiritual input? We have a lot of input these days. How much are you in putting the things of God and why should it matter? Why should you double check your spiritual coverage? Well, here's why, because at any given moment you could have an incident an accident or loss and just like your insurance coverage, spiritual coverage will help you see if that incident, that accident or that loss is your fault or someone else's fault? But more than that, what it will do will also help you to see what the temporary or permanent issues maybe. So taking a double check on your spiritual coverage is gigantically important on any given day of your life. About 2600 years ago, the people of Jerusalem did not take a double check on their spiritual coverage. In fact, they didn't pay attention much to their spiritual life at all. And there was an incident. And what was that incident? Well, let's find out Lamentations. Chapter four were beginning with verse one how dark the gold has become, how the pure gold has changed. The sacred stones are poured out at the corner of every street. The precious Sons of Zion weighed against fine gold, how they are regarded as earth in jars, the work of a potter's hands. Jerusalem is a great and strong and mighty city. It would be like a golden city in the world. But then everything changed. Around 5 86 the babylonians came in, conquered Jerusalem the city and really the nation and they went from a city of gold to a city of broken, shattered, scattered pottery in the blink of an eye. Everything changed Now, years before the Babylonian showed up, God told Jeremiah to take some of the church leaders outside town for a little chat and he gave him a message that he wanted to give those folks in the church. All kind of different folks. Pastors, elders, deacons, teachers, all kind of people, all kind of leaders and they got outside of town and and God said jeremy, I want you to to take a pottery pot with you to like a clay pot once you take that with you outside of town and then he gave him some more instructions and so they're outside of town and they're about to hear a message. And the reason that they had to hear this message was very important. The people were being very, very religious. They had a lot of religious activity, but they were not being repentant and even their religious activity wasn't even about God, they casually worship God, but they had a lot of other idols. They had some, some idols that they brought in and in addition to worshiping God and one of those idols actually was politics. And we'll see in a second, a couple of other faults on their political idolatry. But they get outside of town and and Jeremiah gives them the message. And when he finishes the message, he followed out the next thing that God asked him to do and God said when you're done telling the people of the message, I want you to take the clay pot and I want you to throw it on the ground and shatter it into pieces. Well, here is the message. The message was that justice and judgment was coming to the people That God was sending his justice and his judgment on the church, on the city, on the country, he was sending justice that way. And it was again a gracious warning, calling them to repent. And 23 years later, God kept his word because God keeps his word. Justice came judgment came the city, the people, the country was shattered and scattered. God kept his word and that's a good thing because God keeps his word when it comes to justice. But God also keeps his word when it comes to grace. And we definitely want the second one right. We want him keeping his word with justice and we want him keeping his word with grace and mercy and love and peace, patience and kindness and goodness. Simon Peter was writing to some christians who were very confused about what was happening in their world. They were they were suffering a great deal and this is what Peter wrote to him first Peter chapter one verse three, blessed be the God and father of our Lord, Jesus Christ who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The hope of Jesus Christ is not a fairy tale. The hope of Jesus Christ is a living hope. If we were to look around at our life, we will discover that we look for hope in a lot of places, right. We look for for hope and parents and spouses and kids and and preachers and presidents and teams and jobs and economies and governments and nations, we, we look for hope in a lot of different places and that's not wrong. It's just that there's no living hope in all of those people and all of those things because they have a starting date and an ending date on earth. None of those people, none of those things I mentioned, none of them last forever. But the hope that comes from jesus is completely different. It has no ending date. The hope that comes from jesus is not gold that can get dusty and stolen and lose its value. The hope that comes from Jesus is not like a piece of clay pottery that can be dusty and stolen or shattered and and scattered all over the place. No, the hope that comes from jesus, the salvation that comes from Jesus, it is truth and it's alive, it's hope and it's alive. Why? Because Jesus was crucified for the penalty of my sin and your sin, Jesus died for me and Jesus died for you. But he didn't stay dead. He rose from the grave. Therefore, the hope that Jesus offers is not temporary. It's not even just for a lifetime, it is living hope it's alive and it's alive forever. This is who jesus is, this is what Jesus does. So wherever we may look for hope, whether it's parents or spouses or our kids or preachers or presidents or teams or jobs or economies or or or governments or nations wherever we look, none of those people, none of those things can give us a living hope that lasts forever. Only jesus, only jesus can give us that hope. The people looked at Jeremiah's shattered, scattered pot that day and they said Jeremiah man, house, a good sermon, man. It just touched my heart. Just got me right here and what that illustration with the pot. Oh man, that was fantastic. And then they left and nothing was different. They didn't do anything different. They didn't, they didn't change their ways. They didn't turn to God. They just kept living in their pride and their rejection and their refusal to turn to God to repent and to follow him. And so 23 years later, God kept his word and justice and judgment came. If we were to scan the headlines today, we'd see that there's moral sexual immorality, scandal in politics. We'll see that there's immorality and scandal in religion. We'll see that there's terrorist bombings, that there's violence at abortion clinics will see that there's economic turmoil and in our domestic markets and our and the foreign foreign markets as well. We'll see turmoil. We'll see all of these things in the headlines. But interestingly enough, all of those things that I just said, those are summaries of the headlines from 1998, I just googled him this week, Hey, what was happening in 1998 And so I just summarized like that. But 23 years ago, those were the headlines. So 23 years later, have the headlines changed from the White House to the State house, to the church house to your house. Are we turning to God? Are we turning to him? Are we repenting 23 years later? Are we as believers doing anything different toward God? Because the story was the people sat and listen to Jeremiah sermon. They were amazed at the broken pottery. But nothing changed. Nothing changed. Now, Could you say that 23 years from now? The headlines will be the same. Yeah, you could because it's not going to get better before Jesus comes, but it doesn't erase the question, how are we doing? Are we double checking our spiritual life right now and saying, am I turning to God? Am I listening to his truth? Because what the people of Jerusalem did was they ignored God And they partially were religious but primarily they were self centered. That they did a little bit of the religious thing, they did a little bit of God and country, but they weren't actually truly turning to God and following God. They continued in their pride. C. S. Lewis said that every other sin lined up and compared next to Pride makes all those other sins like a flea bite because pride is just so dominating. He said this, it is pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began. He went on, Pride is spiritual cancer. It eats up the very possibility of love or contentment are even common sense. Let's just take those three things, right? If you look at it at our nation right now, are we lacking in love? Are we lacking in contentment? Are we lacking in common sense? And if the answer is yes, then it is very possible that we have the spiritual cancer of pride that we are continuing to turn to our way. That's exactly what the people in Jerusalem had. They kept turning to their own way and their pride led them to reject God's message, to ignore God's message and to refuse to repent and the end result was they lost everything, everything Lamentations four is a poem about them losing everything, reflecting on what happened in their lives, reflecting on the devastation that they faced and when you lose everything, you lose everything right? You don't have any food or shelter or money. And so in verses three through six, the point talks about this famine that the people were in this famine that calls everybody from the blue collar to the billionaires to go from watching cooking shows to suddenly being homeless and starving. They had nothing. And then versus seven and eight of the point where they turn things to the Royals, the people who had political power and those folks went from the great pure white of fine living to being homeless, starving, dirty, desperate and without anything. Why? Because God's people refused to turn to God. Someone said that if we look closely, we will see that historically they were trying to make everything happen through political solutions. They were trying to make everything happen through political solutions instead of through spiritual solutions and ultimately where that led them was homeless, desperate and devastated. In fact, things were so bad. In verse nine, the poet says this, he said it would be better for you to be killed quickly with a sword than for you to have to endure the famine that the people had to endure. It's pretty bad. Then in verse 10, he goes even farther And verse 10, he says, it's not just that the Children were dying in the arms of their mothers, it's that mothers were actually taking the lives of their Children. This is not stuff for a hallmark card, right? But you know what? Neither is anything happening in the world today. And just to be clear, every time we go, this is the worst things I've ever been in the world. That will never be true. I know we feel that way because this is when we're alive, but that will never be true because it's always been the worst thing in the world because that's what sin does things happening in the world or terrible. These things happening 2600 years ago were terrible. And then in verse 11, we have this announcement, the Lord has accomplished his rath. We're living in a time where there's a lot of people that are crying for justice for a lot of different things and truth be told. A lot of those things need justice. There's a lot of crimes for justice that need to be heard, need to be honored, need to be pursued. But we also must remember that perfect justice will never happen on this earth. Perfect justice can be found here. Perfect justice can only be measured out by the one true creator. God, he's the only one who can do that. And according to God's truth, justice will be done. If you're nervous. If you're mad, if you're angry, if you're losing your mind, please understand justice will b dime. It may not be done right now, but it will be done now. Someone may say, well that's not fair. I don't like that. Justice will be done sometime later. I don't like that. This person is getting away with murder or this person is getting away with whatever I think it should happen right now. Well, here's how the math works in the economy of the universe, so to speak. When it comes to justice being done, let's just put a murderer in that. Okay, let's just say that that the murderer is, is justly on this earth arrested and sentence and you know, put on death rows and his life in jail, whatever the sentence maybe and and all that happens, but in jail, that person repents and comes to christ, that means that justice for their sins will be carried out through the cross of jesus, that justice will be taken to the cross. But as someone explain this math, let's look at it. Another way. The other way would be, let's say the person got off on a loophole, you know, some little technicality and and justice wasn't served here on earth, then according to the truth of God's word, that means that that murderer will carry his justice with him to hell and then he will experience justice, the terror of justice forever and ever and ever. Now, someone might still say, I don't like that either, I still don't think that's fair. I think that they should get justice right here and right now, and if they don't, then I've got a problem with God. Well, I would graciously agree. You do have a problem with God, but maybe not the problem. You think you have, Z the Apostle paul said this, he said, the wages of sin is death. So what I deserve for my sins, what dow welsh deserves from my sin is the exact same thing. The murderer deserves whoever you hate in politics right now, whoever you hate in the world right now, whoever you are mad at, angry at, or in a disagreement with, they deserve the exact same thing that you deserve for sin. And paul says the wages of sin is death. But that's that's the math. That's that's the economy of the universe and nothing can change that. So yes, we need to honor our laws, we need to honor our lawmakers. We need to pray that justice on earth is done with wisdom and was mercy and with strength. However, let us not be so arrogant to turn to God and say, well, your justice is not enough for me because right now we're breathing because of the mercy of God. In a way that's the exact same type of arrogance the people of Jerusalem had and here we are, reading a point about their whole world being destroyed, verse 12. The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the inhabitants of the world. That the adversary and the enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem. I will never happen to our church, but that will never happen to our city. That will never happen to our country. Those are some super dangerous nevers. But it wasn't just the kings, they were like, yeah, that'll never happen. And it wasn't just the political leaders that were saying that will never happen versus 13 through 16 calls out the church leaders, the church leaders that don't ever happen there, Jerusalem, we're God's peak. This will never happen to us. They refused to listen to God's message. They refused to honor God's message. They refused to call the people to repent and lament over sent no. What does it mean to lament? Well, the definition that we've been using from Mark Grogan goes like this to lament means you turn to God, you complain to God. You ask God and you trust God. It is this movement toward God, this this passionate movement toward God. But don't miss this. The church leaders said, you don't need to do any of that. The church leader said you personally be mad and angry at the president. But don't worry about your sins. Be mad and angry at your parents or your spouse or your kids or or the pastor or the girl. The checkout line at target. You'd be mad at everybody. But don't worry about your son. You don't need to do anything about it. This was the sermon. This was the message that the church was getting. You don't have to repent, you don't have to lament. Don't worry about. And in the poem, here we we see that rather than tell the people exactly what God wanted them to do. They gave them the opposite message. But dressed it up with just enough church language that everybody thought, okay, yeah, this is good. This is fine. But in it's strange. Why would you not tell God's people? Turn to God, complain to God, ask God. Trust God, why would you not tell God's people that, but they didn't. And then in verse 17, the poet drops these sobering words yet. Our eyes failed looking for help was useless and are watching. We have watched for a nation that could not save. The political leaders have made political alliances with other countries, but in their hour of need, when they needed someone to step in, those other countries didn't show up. And not only did the political solutions fail. In verse 20, we discover that the king was captured, that he was blinded, physically blinded and by the enemy was tortured and imprisoned. The bible calls us to appropriately honor those in power. It does more than once to appropriately honor those and leadership, both in the community and the church and our country wherever those leaders maybe. And right now, let's just be honest, Generally speaking in our country, nobody wants to trust leaders anywhere and hopefully we all know that because that's how we all talk. It really is. But the scriptures call us to honor those in leadership. Why? Because there is not a person on this planet that has an ounce of leadership Outside of the allowance of the one true sovereign God. You can bank on that. There's no one that has an ounce of leadership today. Outside of the allowance of the one true sovereign God. So we can trust him first and most and do our best with his help with all the rest. However, as the psalmist says, we do not put our primary trust in kings and horses and chariots and governments, but we put our trust in the name of the Lord our God. But that's where we put our trust. That's where we put everything. And so the poem is coming to an end. And then the very last verse, there are two huge important messages in the one verse. Let's go with the second message First, it's about a group of people called the item. It's people of it. Um, and they said, you know what? It's a good right thing for us to help out God's people if they ever get in trouble. But then when the moment came, they didn't. And so the second message says that justice and judgment was going their way next that they were going to drink the cup of justice and judgment. And why does that matter? Why is that important for me and you right now, James 4 17 says this therefore to the one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it to him? It is since what's the right thing, But what's the right thing here is the right thing? The right thing is what you know the right thing is what you know. So what do you know about God? What do you know about jesus? What do you know about the truth of the bible? What do you know not? What do you not know not? What do you not understand not? What do you not like? But what do you know? James is saying? Live by what you know live according to what you know when it comes to how you function in life. Live by what you know not by what you don't know when you live by what you know you can avoid what James says since because if you know what you should do and you have nothing to do with you don't even try then it's sin. And then paul said what the wages of sin is death but but the gift of God is eternal life. So the people who eat them, they had a choice, they had an opportunity, they could have done just like Jerusalem, a little little double check on their spiritual coverage but they didn't they just checked out and just like the people of Jerusalem, justice and judgment were coming their way. But there's another message in verse 20 to listen to it. The punishment of your iniquity has been completed. The mercy of God through judgment and justice was not going to be forever. Yes The people were conquered. Yes they were scattered and shattered in so many different ways but 70 years later they came home their devastation was real but their pardon was real as well. When commentator put it this way when sin is pardoned, it is said to be covered covered listen I know there's a lot of fear, a lot of worry, a lot of anger and an apathy about so many things happening in our country but blessed are angry, arrogant, apathetic, fearful worried little hearts. This country is still an amazing miracle and gift from the Lord and it is still the land that I love. And you know why partly because of the government our system of government is astounding. It's made up of three branches. Little history lesson for you right? Executive branch the judicial branch. That's when I leave out legislative branch. Oh gosh I have a couple of my senator friends are going to be mad at me So through these three branches but that's that's the system and the system is not perfect. We know that right? And by the way there is not a single branch of our government that can save your soul and make things right with you and God I think we know that but sometimes we need to hear it out loud. But this system of government we have these three branches more often than not they are working to the best of their ability. You know why? Because of people we don't know there are people in little offices in all three of these branches that just go to work and they do their job and them doing their job makes a difference in our lives. Some of them might be members of your family. I have a friend of mine who has a family member who is in one of the most important offices in Washington D. C. And he's doing an amazing job and you'll never see him at a press conference behind a microphone, it'll never happen, at least it has. I don't know anything about it. So why do I point that out? Just remember that whatever you here at the press conference isn't always the truth. It isn't always the only thing that's going on. God is still shedding his grace on our country. He is still having mercy on our country. You know why? Because we're breathing, we're breathing and you know what else? He's shedding his mercy because his message has never changed, repent for the kingdom of Heaven is near come to me, turn to me, complain to me, ask me, trust me, his message has never changed. You know, Jerusalem had three branches of government to Prophet Priest King. And we find here in lamentations for that all three branches had completely failed, completely failed. Why? Because they refused to turn to God, that they refuse to turn to God and their government, just like our government did not have the ability to completely and fully and finally and ultimately save. They couldn't do it. You know, what's interesting about how jesus is described in the new testament, He's described as the prophet, the priest and the king. It's just kind of cool, all the branches of government found in one person and why are all of those things found in jesus? Why is he referred as the prophet and the priest and the king here's why? Because jesus, unlike anybody or anything else, Jesus has the power to fully and finally, and ultimately save, it's who he is. Only jesus has the ability to pardon and cover your sin with love and grace and mercy and salvation and satisfaction and to cover it today and for all of eternity. Have you double checked your spiritual coverage today? Someone said if someone is cavalier about their sin by saying, hey, I'm saved by grace. Hey, I'm under the blood. If that's how somebody responds to their sin, it is very likely they're not saved. Has the quote went why? Because if you've been pardoned, if you've been covered, then you will have a delightful desire not perfect attendance Okay, But you'll have a delightful desire to live in and live out your pardon? You want to do that? Why? Because you've been cover completely covered. I saw a powerful sentence this week and this is what it said. My sins, all of them, we're covered by jesus, my sins, all of them were covered by jesus, That's yours for a second. Can your heart say that right now? Can your mind say that right now, Can you, with all truth, say my sins all of have been covered by jesus. If you can, then there is one thing you have right now that will last you to infinity and beyond. And what is that Dear christian, you have been saved and redeemed and rescued and pardoned and covered. And therefore you have been given a living hope of living. Oh and nothing. And no one can take that hope away. Own that just for a second, no show of hands. How many of you have a doctor's appointment this week? How many of you are going to the tax office this week? How many of you have to go to a lawyer this week? How many of your dreading going to work or school tomorrow? How many of you have a huge project of the house that you would just love for it to disappear. Whatever it is, Whatever moment you find yourself in this week, this truth will not change the truth that you have sung and heard preached today and heard pray, it will not change. If you've been pardoned, If you've been covered, then you have a living hope. And nothing can take your hope away. Nothing