Sunday, February 3, 2008
POWER POINT or VIDEO
(If Power Point) – Much of the time those of us who are in churches don’t see the dark side of society. Many of us may even
think that people are basically good. We’ve talked at length about the truth – mankind is sinful and lost and hopeless. As time
goes on we seem to drift farther and farther from the perfect state of creation God gave Adam and Eve. And this is true even in
the church – many of us allow our TVs to show things in our homes we would never actually allow in person. We excuse certain
activities and vices under the guise of not wanting to cause problems or if I don’t do the job, someone else will anyway or it’s
really not that big of a deal. Our computers, our check books, our magazines, our radios all testify against us to our Savior who
died to rescue us from those things. And the whole time, what is God’s reaction? What does our perfect, holy, righteous Creator
see? What will our excuse be when we stand before Him and have to answer for our lax morals and our questionable ethics? We
will have no excuse.
Today we are starting a new series in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah. We are calling this series, “Life on the Wheel.” I’m
not going to explain the title too much today, but as we go on, I pray we will all develop an understanding of our condition and
God’s feelings about us and His desires for us. Here is an indication, though, of what our series title relates to. POTTER
WHEEL Our place is not to tell God what to do or what we want or where He is messing up. Romans 9:20,21. READ. As we
go through life, we are not the potter, we are the clay – our life is on the wheel of the potter to be and do whatever He chooses
for us. Anything besides that is a mistake. Anything but being molded and formed and used as the Potter intends is dangerous.
The book of Jeremiah will help us come to terms with our place on the wheel.
As we get started in this amazing book, let’s ask our Teacher for His help. PRAY
As we get started, let’s try to put Jeremiah into historical perspective. Most of us are not too familiar with anything before
American history began, so we find it hard to put things on a timeline. Jeremiah lived about 600 years before the Lord Jesus was
born, so in the 600s BC. This is around 400 or 450 years after King David lived and 350 or 375 years after Solomon. Although
he was somewhat younger than Jeremiah by as much as 30 years, Daniel lived during the same time period and in the same area
(Babylon) and they likely knew one another. Other Old Testament prophets who lived near this time are Nahum, Zephaniah,
Habakkuk, and Ezekiel. As you read those books of the Old Testament, you can see the similarities of circumstances as they
write. Jeremiah also tells us in chapter 1:2 who some of the kings of Judah were when God spoke to Him – Josiah is listed first
and also Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. There were also 2 other kings during Jeremiah’s life, but since each of them were only in
power for a few months, Jeremiah doesn’t bring them up in chapter 1 – Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin. We can and probably will be
referring back to 2 Kings quite a bit as we go through Jeremiah – that book tell us the history of this time period and of those 5
kings, the last 5 kings of Judah before Nebuchadnezzar hauls the Jewish people off to Babylon which was God’s punishment for
the chosen people for not following Him.
Let’s see what we can learn about Jeremiah himself and God’s purpose for calling him. Jeremiah 1:1-3. READ. We learn from
the first statement that the writer of this book is Jeremiah who was the son of a priest named Hilkiah and he was from the city of
Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. In 2 Kings there is a high priest named Hilkiah, but this was a common name in Israel and we
don’t know for sure if the Hilkiah in 2 Kings is Jeremiah’s father – probably not since this Hilkiah was from Anathoth and not
Shiloh or Jerusalem. Anathoth was not a place to be proud of if you were a priest. Turn to 1 Kings 2. Early in 1 Kings, King
David has died and his son Solomon has assumed the throne of Israel. But Solomon’s brother Adonijah was trying to sneakily
steal the throne from Solomon, so Solomon had him killed. Look at 1 Kings 2:26,27 which is the next thing Solomon does after
killing Adonijah, his rival. READ. Abiathar the priest had supported Adonijah, so Solomon removed him from his priestly role in
the capitol city and exiled he and his family and other priests who supported Adonijah to the town of Anathoth. ANATHOTH The
town of Anathoth was only about 3 miles from Jerusalem, but the statement Solomon made to Abiathar was clear – you are no
longer welcome or important in this kingdom.
Anathoth has an interesting background. The name means something. Anath was the Canaanite goddess of love and war. She
was spoken of as the sister and wife of the false god Baal. Listen to the Canaanite view of this false goddess – she had four
different aspects – mother, virgin, warrior and wanton (sex crazed). Though she was thought of as a “mother,” she was
perpetually a “virgin.” She had a lust for blood and sex. She was a popular goddess of war and fertility and became known by
other names, like Asherah, which we see in the Old Testament. This town, named for this false goddess, is where Solomon sent
Abiathar and other priests who sided with him. It was from this family, 300 years later, that Jeremiah was born. Let’s think
about this for a minute. Just because a person comes from a certain town, that doesn’t make them one way or another. These
priests were originally exiled to this town which was named for a false goddess, because they were in opposition to God’s will.
Obviously, as in Jeremiah’s case, God continued to work in the lives of people. Three hundred years later, God CALLS one of
these people to be His spokesman.
In Jeremiah 1:3 we get a timetable for when God spoke to Jeremiah. Josiah was the godly son of Amon and king of the southern
part of the Holy Land – Judah. For years previous to Josiah, his ancestors had done evil in the sight of the Lord. Josiah was 8
years old when he became king (2 Kings 22). When Josiah was 18 years old, he sent a priest named Hilkiah – probably NOT
Jeremiah’s dad – to the temple which was being repaired after years of neglect. While there, Hilkiah finds something which had
been lost – the book of the Law of God. Josiah rejoices and reinstates the worship which had been abandoned by the Jews for
years. It is during this time, actually 3 years after this, that God first speaks to Jeremiah – in the 13th year of Josiah’s reign as
king of Judah. And God continued to give His message to His people through Jeremiah until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah
which was when Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem while the Israelites are in captivity in Babylon. This is a space of about 40
years that Jeremiah spoke God’s message to God’s people. Look at God’s call to him.
Jeremiah 1:4,5. READ. God knows that even though time has no impact or bearing on Him, that we deal with it. God tells
Jeremiah that before God made him, God knew him and knew what He wanted to do with him. Before Jeremiah was
born, God had set him apart for God’s purposes and ordained him or appointed him to be God’s spokesman to “the
nations.” Jeremiah’s purpose in life was clearly told to him by God Himself. God tells Jeremiah, “My purpose for you is to
be My spokesman. This is what I have always desired for you.” And look at the audience God tells Jeremiah he will
speak to – “the nations.” Jeremiah is not merely a prophet to Israel, but to ALL of us. The things that God speaks through
Jeremiah are things that are valuable to us. This is one reason we are going through this book – God specifically says that
He is sending messages to US through Jeremiah, so we should see what He has to say. But look at Jeremiah’s reaction.
Jeremiah 1:6. READ. We don’t know how old Jeremiah was at this point, but we can piece together that he may have
been as young as 14 and as old as 18. He was young – younger than he thought he should be to be given such an
important assignment from God Himself. Jeremiah’s reluctance was not from disrespect of God or rebellion against God.
Jeremiah was not telling God, “No, I will not do this.” His fear was more that he was young, that people would not listen to
a young person and probably that he wouldn’t know what to say or do when people rejected him. We can see this by the
things God tells him and does with him next.
Jeremiah 1:7-10. READ. All of what we will see in Jeremiah relates to what God says to him in these verses. This is God’
s call and promise to Jeremiah of what God will do through Him. We will learn some things that we can apply to our lives
from what God tells this young man. God’s response starts first with Jeremiah’s concerns – I’m too young, no one will
listen to me. What does God call for Jeremiah to do – what is Jeremiah’s attitude to be as he goes out and speaks for
God? He is to – surprise, surprise – trust God and do what He says. God’s assurance to Jeremiah is when he goes out to
speak God’s messages, he can trust in God who sent him. Speak what I tell you to speak, go where I tell you to go. If
they give you problems, I will deliver you. NIKE Just do it.
And then the Lord literally touches Jeremiah’s mouth and gives him what he needs to fulfill the purpose God has for him. As a 14
to 18 year old, God entrusts a significant ministry to Jeremiah. He puts His words in Jeremiah’s mouth with that touch. He sets
Jeremiah over the nations and over kingdoms. He gives Jeremiah the authority to speak God’s truth to people in high positions
and people Jeremiah will never meet. And He tells Jeremiah what the impact of God’s Word will have on people as Jeremiah
speaks. It will involve some difficult things and some positive things. We will see these impacts as we go through the book of
Jeremiah and as we apply them to our lives. All of this relates to the things in our lives and society which keep us from being fully
devoted followers of Jesus Christ and which pull our focus off of God Himself.
God’s Word through Jeremiah will root out – literally tear apart or pull up. Do you struggle with sins that keep you defeated?
God wants to tear those out and pull those up from your life. And He tells us that His words in Jeremiah are for that purpose.
God’s Word through Jeremiah will pull down – those things that keep us from Him will be torn down and destroyed. In fact, the
next things God says is that they will be destroyed – that literally means to be lost, to vanish. They will also be thrown down –
they will be overthrown, defeated. And then, as God does His work through His Word, He will build up and establish or make
permanent His things in us. And He will plant – He will fix securely, literally “hammer in.”
As I read what God says to Jeremiah, I get excited. It is the same message we have in the New Testament – God wants us to be
free from things that keep us from Him – free from sin. And where does the power to overcome sin come from? HIS WORD.
That is true today. The power to live godly in Christ Jesus does not come from Christian music or Christian conferences or
Christian email forwards. The power to live like Jesus comes from the Word of God in us. We are part of Plattsmouth BIBLE
Church – the written Word of God, the Bible is where we find the power to live like we’re supposed to. Each of us needs to
satisfy our appetite for life through a diet of the Word of God – we need to devour the Word of God to live. I know I have
mentioned this many times, but there is a reason that as we get older, we graduate from baby food to adult food. There is a
reason we have to tear off meat and chew it up and swallow it. It is because it is GOOD for us to do that. If the only Bible
feeding you get comes from me, you’re malnourished. It’s like I rip the meat off and do all the chewing and then spit it into your
mouth. The process of chewing and swallowing has to happen individually for a person to gain the nutrition from eating. If I spit
it into your mouth and that’s all you get, you won’t develop as God wants you to. To never open the Word of God to tear it up
and study it for yourself would be like eating baby food for your whole life.
Look at the power of God’s Word in Hebrews 4:12. READ. As we devour God’s Word, He changes our lives and we become
like Jesus. You and I are no different from the people in Jeremiah’s day. Things then and things now are at a crisis point – the
people of God need to live like believers, not get sucked in to the world’s way of doing things. Our sign outside says, “Come as
you are.” and that is true – we mean it. God means it, too. But God is not content to let us STAY as we are. He wants us to be
like Jesus. As we go through Jeremiah, we are going to hear God speaking tough words to those people and to us. God is not
content for us to be kind of like Jesus. God wants BETTER for those who trust Him. We are to trust Him and do what He says.
That’s what we’re going to find. That’s what we’re going to hear over and over. That’s what we are going to be confronted
with personally as we go through Jeremiah. How many times have you and I heard precisely what God wants us to do or what
God’s will is for us and how much are we ignoring it or dismissing it or not doing it? This is what we are dealing with in this
book.
As we close today, remember that God is God and we are not. He is the potter who shapes us and calls us and desires His things
for us. The clay can’t tell the potter what to do. As we go through life on the wheel, let’s remember our place and respond to the
potter seriously.