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Narrator: Welcome to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We're so glad you've tuned in today. At Connect with Skip, our mission is to help people know God more deeply through clear, verse-by-verse Bible teaching that brings biblical truth to everyday life. And when you sign up for Pastor Skip's free weekly devotional, you'll receive biblical encouragement, ministry updates, and advanced information about upcoming resources, all delivered right to your inbox. Signing up is quick, easy, and completely free. Visit connectwithskip.com today. That's connectwithskip.com. Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig.

Skip Heitzig: Would you turn in your Bibles, please? First of all, do you have one of these things? Have one of these babies? OK. New Year's resolution. This is a good one. Get one of these things and read through it. So this is the Bible. Make sure you have one. It's always good to have one to follow along with us as well. Turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah, chapter 45.

Old Testament book of Jeremiah, pretty easy to find, pretty big book, chapter 45. As we begin this series called Overlooked. So Leonard Bernstein, you may recognize the name, was the conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. A brilliant man. And he was asked by a reporter this question: "What's the most difficult instrument to play?"

He looked at the reporter, twinkled in his eye, and he said, "Second fiddle." And then he explained, he said, "I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who will play second fiddle with as much enthusiasm, that's a problem." And then he said, "But without a second violinist, there would be no harmony."

And of course, his point is well taken. In any orchestra, it's not one instrument, it's several instruments together, all adding texture, all adding depth, all playing their part, all playing their notes to bring harmony. Second fiddle. This series is a series about second fiddles.

Those people who are in the scripture, they are usually overlooked. We don't pay much attention to them. Yet without them, the story would not be complete. Whenever you see anybody who is successful, anybody who is visible, you must always remember they are not alone.

Like the old quip that said if you see a turtle on top of a fence post, you know it didn't get there by itself, right? Somebody had to put that turtle on top. Whenever you see a quarterback who's a star quarterback, you realize there's an offensive guard who keeps the line strong. Whenever you see a successful surgeon, you realize there's a team of techs and nurses behind the scenes enabling that to happen. You see a musician on stage or a singer, there's a backup band that enables the concert to go forward.

So here's an example. Everybody recognizes the name Charles Lindbergh. He is the man who in 1927 flew that plane from Long Island, New York to Paris, France, nonstop. First transatlantic nonstop flight. Charles Lindbergh, famous name.

Yet fewer people recognize the name Claude Ryan of Ryan Aircraft who designed the airplane and provided that for him. Fewer people will remember the name Douglas Corrigan. He was the mechanic who modified the airplane to enable it to go 3,600 miles because that just didn't happen. By the way, his nickname was Wrong Way Corrigan.

I don't know if I'd want a guy named that to be working on my airplane to fly across the ocean, but it worked. Another example is Martin Luther. Who doesn't know Martin Luther? Who hung and pounded into the door, the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany, the 95 Theses that started the Protestant Reformation in 1517.

Everybody knows that name, but what about the other name you should know who enabled Martin Luther? And that is Philip Melanchthon, who was a friend, an associate, a scholar, who who brought balance to Martin Luther's fiery approach with his scholastic calm approach.

The name Billy Graham is also a famous name. Everybody recognizes that name, I'm sure. He has preached. This individual has preached the gospel to more people on earth than any person who has ever lived. Very famous name. But behind him was a team of people.

Names like Grady Wilson, T.W. Wilson, Cliff Barrows, George Beverly Shea. These are the unsung heroes of the Christian faith, and the Bible is full of them. Full of them. They could be called hidden saints. Hidden not because they're insignificant, but because we just don't know about them. We don't spend much time studying them. Second fiddle.

John the Baptist played second fiddle to Jesus Christ. He said, "I must decrease, he must increase." Epaphroditus, Onesiphorus, Silas, Barnabas, these are names of people that played second fiddle to the great apostle Paul. All of that to say, you have a role to play in the body of Christ, and Jesus Christ will never make his full impact into the culture without your role being exercised.

And that is really what this series is going to be about: Overlooked. Now in Jeremiah 45, I'm taking you back to the seventh century BC. I'm just going to fill in the historical blanks. This is a time when the kingdom of Israel was at its end. You probably remember that that kingdom was divided already back in 930 BC, after King Solomon, the kingdom split north and south. The northern part was called Israel, the southern part was called Judah. Ten tribes to the north, two tribes to the south.

In verse 1 of Jeremiah 35, it says, "The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch, the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the instruction of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah the king of Judah." Now that's a very important time signature. That tells us when these events are happening.

So when this chapter was being written, uttered, it was a period of time when the Pharaoh in Egypt was gaining strength, and there was about to be a power shift on Earth. The Pharaoh took the king of Jerusalem, after Josiah died. The king was a guy by the name of Jehoahaz.

Pharaoh Necho comes in, kicks him off the throne, puts in his place a man named Eliakim, but changes his name to Jehoiakim. Don't worry, this will not be on the final exam. While that is happening, there's another kingdom gaining power. It's called Babylon, under a guy by the name of King Nebuchadnezzar.

And Nebuchadnezzar is about to face off in a decisive battle with Pharaoh Necho of Egypt in a place called Carchemish. The very famous battle of Carchemish, 605 BC. Nebuchadnezzar will win. He will be king of the world effectively. That part of the world, the known world.

He will then invade Judah, and he will defeat Jerusalem. There will be three successive deportations. 605 BC, 597 BC, 586 BC. Again, this will not be on the final. In 586 BC, he will destroy the city and destroy the temple.

Meanwhile, we have Jeremiah the prophet who has been predicting that all of this is going to happen. He's been doing that for years. Babylon's coming. We're toast. Judgment of God is coming, et cetera. That's the book of Jeremiah. It fits in that timeframe.

But chapter 45 is not about Jeremiah. It is a word of the Lord through Jeremiah to his friend by the name of Baruch. And that's the one we're studying, Baruch. Chapter 45 is not a long chapter. Look, there's only five verses in it. It's a very short message to this man Baruch.

And as we go through this, we're able to see four characteristics of this overlooked individual. I'm going to give you four words that describe four characteristics of Baruch, this overlooked individual. First is the word faith. Baruch was a man of faith. He believed in God.

Let's look at all five verses together. Let's read the whole chapter. "The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch, son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the instruction of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch. You said, that is Baruch said, 'Woe is me now, for the Lord has added grief to my sorrow. I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.' Thus you shall say to him, 'Thus says the Lord: Behold, what I have built I will break down, what I have planted I will pluck up. That is, the whole land. And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh, says the Lord. But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places wherever you go.'"

Narrator: This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Your support helps reach people every day with biblical truth that brings hope, encouragement, and direction for real life. And this month, we'd love to thank you with a special collection of resources designed to help you grow stronger in your faith. When you give today, you'll receive biblical wisdom for everyday living. You'll find biblical encouragement to help you deepen your prayer life, experience God's joy, embrace forgiveness, and stand firm in every season with four of Pastor Skip's lifestyle booklets: Pray This Way, Technicolor Joy, Unforgiveness, Forgiveness Versus Sweet Revenge, and Standing Firm in Unsettling Times. Your gift helps extend the reach of Connect with Skip Heitzig, connecting more people to God's Word around the world. Request your collection when you give $30 or more at connectwithskip.com/offer or by calling 800-922-1888. Stay tuned for more teaching, but first, here's Skip Heitzig with a special invitation for you.

Skip Heitzig: Learning your Bible matters. I'm committed to teaching God's Word, and I want you to understand the depth of scripture for yourself. That's why I want to invite you to join me in a 90-day through the entire Bible reading challenge using the YouVersion Bible App. We call it Jesus People Grow. So for 90 days, we're going to read together God's Word. We're going to learn it, receive it, and we're going to let it shape us so that we can also be faithful in sharing good teaching with others. So join me. Let's learn our Bibles and grow in the word of God.

Narrator: Now, here's more from Pastor Skip.

Skip Heitzig: Baruch. His name, by the way, means blessed or blessed one. If you have heard Hebrew prayers, you're familiar with his name because Hebrew prayers usually begin Baruch atah Adonai. Blessed be the name of the Lord, or blessed be the Lord our God. Baruch means blessed. He is mentioned 21 times in the book of Jeremiah, and whenever his name appears, he shows as a person who believed in God, trusted God's Word, and served God's prophet.

So he's he's a man of faith. He's a man of who has faith in God. And he has many other attributes, but this must be mentioned first because this is the most important thing about him. A.W. Tozer once said this: "What we think about God is the most important thing about us."

What we think about God is the most important thing about us. Why? Because everything else in your life is going to flow from that, from what you think of God and how much you trust God. So here we are, beginning of a new year. And as we enter the New Year, this is a good time to take inventory of your own faith.

What kind of faith do you have in God? How much do you really trust God for your future? Faith is the basis of everything we as believers do. The prophet Habakkuk said, "The just shall live by faith." Peter wrote, "Our hearts are purified by faith."

Paul in Romans 5 said, "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Very next verse, "We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand." So everything will flow from what faith we place in God.

Now, we're entering into a new year, and every new year, I always think. It it it never fails. First day of the New Year, my mind goes to Psalm 90. In Psalm 90, written by Moses, only Psalm written by Moses, Moses said, "Teach us to number our days." Remember that verse? "Teach us to number our days that we might gain a heart of wisdom."

Numbering our days. Teach us to number our days that we might gain a heart of wisdom. Another way to put that is, since time flies, it's up to you to be the navigator. You make choices about how you're going to spend your days. Number our days.

Here's a little interesting statistic I came across. If you are 35 years old, you have 500 days left to live. You're going, "Skip, you need a math class really badly." Well, let me explain what this author was getting at. He said, "If you subtract all the time you spend sleeping, working, because that's not really your time, it's the time the company is paying you for. If you remove time you spend on personal hygiene, medical matters, meals, the time you spend eating, traveling, et cetera, the next 36 years of your life, I'm going by average time span, lifespan. The next 36 years of your life, you will have 500 days left to spend as you wish."

Well, when you look at it that way, it's not much time. Teach us to number our days. Now, I'm not trying to get you to get a calculator out and go, "Well, I'm if that's 35, how much how many days do I have left?" Because counting time is not as important as making time count. And the way you make time count is by living a life of faith, trust, leaning hard into the promises of God as you begin the new year. So that's the first characteristic. That's the first word with Baruch: faith. He was a man of faith.

Second, faithful. He was faithful. Go back to verse 1. "The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch, son of Neriah, when he, that is, when Baruch had written these words in a book at the instruction of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim." You see, Baruch was a scribe. He was a transcriber. He was the personal private secretary of the prophet Jeremiah.

He would be called an amanuensis, the guy who writes down the dictation spoken to him by the prophet. So Jeremiah would receive messages from God, and he'd say, "Hey, Baruch, get over here. Get out your pen, get out your pad of paper. Write this down." And Baruch would faithfully transcribe the words given by God to Jeremiah the prophet.

Somebody once said, "The greatest ability is dependability." And this guy, Baruch, was dependable. He was faithful. I'm going to read to you out of Jeremiah chapter 36, just a couple of verses. God said to Jeremiah, "Take a scroll of a book, and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, Judah, and against all the nations. Then Jeremiah called Baruch, the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll of a book at the instruction of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which he had spoken to him."

So you have a pretty faithful guy who's hanging out with the prophet dependably recording the words that God gives to him. He is faithful. Oh, by the way, little fun fact, tidbit, FYI. Baruch is the only man in the Old Testament who has been fingerprinted. I'm just letting that hang so I can explain it.

So let me explain that. In 1975, a group of archeologists discovered and purchased some clay document markers from an Arab antiquities dealer in the Middle East. And they didn't decipher these document markers until 1986. And as they did, they discovered one that bore the seal of Baruch, the son of Neriah. We'll show you a picture.

Baruch, the son of Neriah. They kept going through these document markers and they found another seal of Baruch, and that's this one, the seal of Baruch, the son of Neriah. And up on the very right-hand top corner, you can barely see it unless you know what you're looking for, the archeologists said, "That's a thumbprint."

We can see the marks of the thumbprint at the top of the seal. And they think that is the thumbprint, the fingerprint of Baruch from antiquity. So that's just a fun little fact. I don't know if that matters much to you, but I got I was geeked out when I saw that. So you have you have Jeremiah the prophet who who is he has a very lonely ministry, a singular ministry, and the only close friend that he has to him during all of his years of ministry is this man by the name of Baruch.

And it's the faithfulness of Baruch to Jeremiah that brought a close relationship, a created a bond between them. Because they went through the same experiences of rejection and scorning and loneliness and eventually exile. And anytime you have a friend who will stick by you during those kind of experiences, you have a friend indeed.

Proverbs chapter 20 verse 6 states, "Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?" Boy, that's true, isn't it? A lot of people say, "Well, you know, I've done this and I've done that," and they brag about things. But the author says, "Yeah, but who can find a faithful man?"

Well, Jeremiah found a faithful man in this scribe named Baruch. And you know, faithfulness is one of those characteristics and attributes that are more meaningful and more important than wealth, status, skill, and ability. Faithfulness, dependability. You're always there for me.

I don't know if you've ever been to Yellowstone National Park, but my dad used to take us there on vacations a few times in our life. The most popular tourist attraction in Yellowstone National Park is this thing. It's called Old Faithful. Now, this is not the highest geyser. This is not the most powerful geyser in the park.

For that, you'd have to go to Steamboat Geyser or a few others. But the reason this is the most popular is because it's regular. It's dependable. Every 90 minutes, give or take a couple minutes, that thing goes off. It's been doing it. It will continue, I guess, to do it.

So people show up because they know it's faithful. It's dependable. If you are just faithful to your spouse. If you're just faithful to your employer. If you're just faithful to your friends. If you're just faithful to your church, you become the most important person in the system.

You're dependable. You're dependable. You show up. You're regular. And that was Baruch. He's always there. We see him throughout the book of Jeremiah beginning in chapter 32 onward, he's the guy who's putting all this together. In fact, because he is the scribe for Jeremiah, he is actually the author of the book of Jeremiah. He's the guy that actually wrote it down. Jeremiah dictated it. So we have two qualities. He's a man of faith and he's a faithful man.

Narrator: We're so glad you joined us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, here's a reminder. When you give $30 or more this month, we'll send you Biblical Wisdom for Everyday Living as our thanks. This special collection of four lifestyle booklets from Pastor Skip Heitzig offers biblical encouragement for prayer, joy, forgiveness, and standing firm when life feels uncertain. Your support helps keep this Bible teaching ministry reaching people around the world with the life-changing truth of God's Word. Give today at connectwithskip.com/offer or call 800-922-1888. See you next time. Make a connection. Make a connection at the foot of the cross. Cast your burdens on His Word. Make a connection. Connection Communications. Connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.