God's Sovereignty Over the Nations - Nathan Rages

The OT prophets repeatedly taught that God is sovereign over the actions of rulers and the affairs of nations.  This message explores five areas in which God exercises this authority and control over them: 

1.  God plans all events everywhere (Isaiah 14:27, 37:26-29, 40:15-17, 46:9-10).

2.  God puts rulers into (and out of) power (Daniel 2:21, 4:17,29-32).

3.  God controls rulers’ decisions (Proverbs 21:1, Isaiah 10:5-15, Ezekiel 21:21-22, 2Samuel 17:14, 1Kings 12:15).

4.  God determines military outcomes (Proverbs 21:31, Judges 7:2, Psalm 44:5-7).

5.  God punishes nations for their sins. (Jeremiah 18:6-10, 46-51, Isaiah 13-27, and Ezekiel 25-32).

By way of application to ourselves as believers, these truths should:

1.  Comfort us.

2.  Prompt our worship.

3.  Make us pray.

4.  Encourage us about (global) evangelism.

Fall Fellowship Camp 2022 Registration is OPEN NOW

Registration for the Fall Fellowship Camp, October 12-15, 2023 is now OPEN.  See this page for all the details and registration form. 

Who Do You (Really) Trust? - Nathan Rages

Cursed is the man

   who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, 

   and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 

      For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant. 

Blessed is the man 

   who trusts in the LORD 

   and whose trust is the LORD. 

      For he will be like a tree planted by the water,  That extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.

Jeremiah 17:5-8

God's People: Always a Remnant - Nathan Rages

Throughout the Bible, God's true people are described as a "remnant", few in number and despised by the world.  We review Scriptures in Jer. 23:1-4, 31:7, 50:18-20, Rom. 9:27-32, 11:1-6, and then proceed to make personal applications.  This Biblical teaching about the Remnant is:

1. An alarming truth.

2. A misused truth.

3. A grace-exalting truth.

4. A comforting truth.

5. An action-motivating truth.

Living Happily in Babylon - Nathan Rages

Jer. 29:4-7 4 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 5 ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 ‘Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. 7 ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’

How to live happily in Babylon:

1. Realize God put you there. 

2. Do all the good you can.

3. Strengthen your family.

4. Pray for your enemies.

5. Submit to government authority.

6. Leave judgment to the Lord.

God Restores His Chastened People - Nathan Rages

Bible passages like Jeremiah 29:10-14, 30:2,10-11,17, 31:2-4,7-14, and 32:41-42 promise future restoration to the people of Judah, even as they enter the Babylonian Captivity.  

We can apply these Scriptures to ourselves in several ways: 

1. They point toward our New Covenant era.

2. They give us precious promises. 

3. They comfort us when experiencing God’s discipline.

True Repentance - Nathan Rages

Jeremiah and the other Old Testament prophets often called people to repentance.  This message draws six principles about genuine Biblical repentance from those passages:

1. It begins with an awareness of sin (Jer. 3:12-13, 14:20).

2. It must be directed toward God (Jer. 3:22, 4:1).

3. It requires heart-level change (Jer. 3:25, 4:3-4).

4. It results in obedient behavior (Jer. 6:16, 7:3-7, 18:11, 35:15).

5. It happens only by God’s grace (Jer. 31:18-19).

6. It leads to great blessings (Jer. 3:12, 18:7, 35:15, 36:3).