Jeremiah 11-15

Please turn to the book of Jeremiah.

You're going to need a Bible.

I'll be difficult to follow.

If you haven't got a Bible,

the stewards are at the back.

They've got Bibles if you want one.

And if you need water,

there is water.

All right?

And so if you feel you need to get up

and get a bit of fresh air,

I won't be put off by that at all.

Even my elders

won't be put off by them at all.

Jeremiah 11.

And next week is 16 to 20

if you want to do your reading ahead,

do your homework.

Jeremiah 16 to 20.

There is a reason why reality TV

is unavoidable these days,

and it's because it's compelling.

From the banalities of life

in the Great British Bake Off

to the hidden deception of the traitors

to the hidden stories of heartbreak

in Race Across the World.

If you make the mistake of

starting to watch this stuff,

it is hard to break away, isn't it,

to the world of normality

and good taste.

And the reason for that is

because we all love the inside track.

You know the kind of thing,

the explosive interview

with the former Prime Minister,

the revealing documentary

on Channel 4,

the hidden camera in the changing room.

there's always the draw,

there's always the draw, isn't there,

to get up close and personal,

to see how things really are on the inside,

to get the inside scoop.

And that's exactly what we've got

in chapter 11 to 15 of Jeremiah.

The key to working out what's going on

in this part of Jeremiah's prophecy

is to notice who's talking,

who's speaking.

It's very revealing.

The Lord speaks often,

telling Jeremiah what to say.

Jeremiah generally speaks,

telling God what he feels

about what he's been asked to say.

And occasionally,

the people speak.

But their words are reported

or anticipated by God and his prophet

rather than spoken out loud.

That's basically it.

And these chapters,

11 to 15,

are basically an extended conversation

between Jeremiah and God himself.

So what are they talking about?

Well, in these chapters,

Jeremiah walks us through the way

in which God has taught him,

corrected him,

and gently encouraged him

and equipped him

for his work of ministry.

It's almost as if

we have Jeremiah's apprenticeship

played out before us.

His prophetic ministry training program.

And what is remarkable

is the way in which Jeremiah

opens himself up

for you and I to walk with him.

Now, of course,

we are not Jeremiah.

On balance,

it is unlikely that Ealing

is going to be invaded by Iraq.

Some of you might differ on that.

But there is something

that's happening here

that is deeply relevant to us.

Because Jeremiah is a prototype

of the suffering prophet

who is to come.

There is going to be

multiple points of contact,

as we will see

through what Jeremiah goes through

as he suffers for and with the people

and what the Lord Jesus

will go through.

There are places

where Jeremiah's reaction

to the fact of the sin

of his people

is picked up

and it's fulfilled in Jesus,

in his love

and in his life

and ultimately

in his death

and our place.

And then the New Testament

makes very clear

that the apostles

pick up where Jesus leaves off.

So Paul says things like this,

I rejoice in my sufferings.

Now for your sake,

in my flesh,

I am filling up

what is lacking

in Christ's afflictions

for the sake of his body,

that is the church.

And then the apostles

pass that commission

onto us

and we are called

to follow the apostles

who follow Christ

who was anticipated

by Jeremiah.

And in that,

as we look at Jeremiah,

we see this template

of Jesus' ministry,

the apostles' ministry,

our ministry.

And so let's follow

this conversation

with Jeremiah

and God himself.

What does authentic

church life look like?

The conversation starts

in chapter 11

and verses 1 to 17

where firstly,

God urges Jeremiah

speak God's words.

It's hardly surprising.

But the Lord insists

that Jeremiah's ministry

must be shaped by,

bounded by,

controlled by,

driven by the word of God.

Jeremiah's role,

according to God himself,

is,

Isaiah 11:2

chapter 11,

verse 2,

hear the words

of this covenant.

Speak to the men of Judah

and the inhabitants

of Jerusalem.

This covenant is,

it's an umbrella term

to describe

what God has said

about his relationship

with his people

up until now.

It's summed up

and it's reflected

in the words of Deuteronomy

and they are quoted

repeatedly in these chapters.

11, verse 3,

you shall say to him,

thus says the Lord,

the God of Israel.

He's quoting from

Deuteronomy 27.

Cursed be the man

who does not hear

the words of this covenant

that I commanded you,

your fathers,

when I brought them

out of the land of Egypt,

from the iron furnace,

saying,

listen to my voice

and do all that I command you.

So shall you be my people

and I'll be your God,

that I may confirm

the oath that I swore

to your fathers

to give them a land

flowing with milk and honey

as this day.

Now it's important for us

to realize

for all the creativity

of the prophets,

for all the prophets'

willingness to make

dramatic symbolic actions,

they are basically preachers

of the word of God.

Their message draws together

what God has said already

in previous generations.

And the fresh revelation

that was given

and expressed by them.

So as Jeremiah answers,

verse 5,

so be it, Lord.

He's committing himself

and signing up

to a word-shaped ministry.

11 verses 6 to 8,

God rams it home.

Proclaim all these words

in the cities of Judah

and in the streets of Jerusalem.

Hear the words of this covenant

and do them.

For I solemnly warned your fathers

when I brought them

out of the land of Egypt.

Warning them persistently

even to this day,

saying,

obey my voice.

Yet they did not obey

or incline their ear.

But everyone walked

in the stubbornness

of his evil heart.

Therefore I brought them

all the words,

brought upon them

all the words of this covenant

which I commanded them to do,

but they did not.

Jeremiah's job

is to keep calling people

to repent,

to turn and obey

and to hear and obey.

To remind them

that they are the people

that God has chosen,

they are the covenant people

of God to whom he's spoken

and that changes everything.

This word of God

must control their understanding

and their lives

and it must control

Jeremiah's ministry.

Jeremiah is to be

relentlessly word-driven

even if no one else is.

And at this point,

God very tenderly

makes Jeremiah aware

of something

that will be painful

for him to hear

but essential for him to know.

Not only will people

refuse to listen to him,

God's already said that

multiple times,

but they will plot

against him.

Look at verse 9.

The Lord said to me,

a conspiracy exists

among the men of Judah

and the inhabitants

of Jerusalem.

They've turned back

to the iniquities

of their forefathers

who refuse to hear my words.

They've gone after

other gods to serve them.

So what does Jeremiah do

now that there's

a conspiracy

against him?

He's to keep on

saying the same thing.

speaking God's words

to them.

Even though he knows

that the only effect

that those words

will have

is to harden them further.

It's one of the striking

contributions

of the prophets.

Especially Isaiah

and Jeremiah

and Ezekiel.

They warn us often

that the gospel word-shaped

words that we speak,

they have the opposite effect

to what we long for.

You know that.

That instead of those

gospel words bringing

repentance and life,

they often harden people

in their rebellion.

So think of Isaiah 6,

right at the start

of Isaiah's ministry,

where he sees the Lord,

God says to him,

Isaiah,

go and say to this people,

keep on hearing

but do not understand.

Keep on seeing

but do not perceive.

Make the heart

of this people dull,

their ears heavy,

blind their eyes,

lest they see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their hearts.

Which is what Jesus

picks up on, doesn't it,

when he's explaining

his ministry?

Or Ezekiel,

God said,

son of man,

I send you to the people

of Israel,

to nations of rebels

who rebelled against me.

They and their fathers

have transgressed against me

to this very day.

Their descendants

are impudent

and stubborn.

I send you to them

and you will say to them,

thus says the Lord God.

And when they hear

or refuse

or hear

for they are

a rebellious house,

they will know

that a prophet

has been among them.

And so Jeremiah

is to go to the people

to preach to them

God's word

knowing,

chapter 11,

verse 11,

behold,

I'm bringing disaster

upon them

that they cannot escape.

And though they cry to me,

I will not listen to them.

In fact,

Jeremiah is even forbidden

to pray for them.

Verse 14,

don't pray for this people

or lift up a cry

or prayer on their behalf

for I will not listen.

They will call to me

in their time of trouble.

The horrible truth

dawning on Jeremiah

is that his preaching

is going to have no effect

and the people

will not listen.

And yet he must keep speaking.

His ministry

is to be relentlessly,

unshakably,

inflexibly

word-centered.

And there are some things

in life

which are non-negotiable.

And this is one of them.

For the preacher,

for the prophet,

to preach God's word

until our death,

we can do nothing else.

Ministry is speaking

God's word.

For us as a church,

it is not our message

to muck around with.

We need to burn it

into our brains

that all authentic ministry

has to be

unapologetically

word-centered.

It's not that we set out

to be welcoming

and warm

and then we slip in

a little bit of Bible

when no one's looking.

but everything

is centered on

and drives towards

and flows from

God's word

being cured

and obeyed.

Because church life

must be

unflinchingly,

unapologetically

word-centered.

Everything else

can change pretty much

but not this.

Our ministry needs

to be relentlessly

word-centered.

And if we don't

understand that,

nothing in the rest

of this book

will make any sense.

So speak God's word.

And then from 11, 18

to 12, 17,

secondly,

suffer the pain.

Suffer the pain.

In the next section,

it becomes a proper

conversation between

Jeremiah

and the Lord

and Jeremiah

moans or laments,

to use the technical

term,

and God responds.

And then Jeremiah

whinges a bit more

and God responds again.

Now, why is this

conversation recorded

for us?

So that we get

the fact

of having

a ministry

committed to

God's word

is going to mean

having a deal

with extended

opposition.

It just goes

with the territory.

And we need

to know that up front.

So in chapter 11

and verse 18,

Jeremiah says,

okay,

I've got the bit

about being

word-driven.

I understand that.

But then you showed

me their deeds

and it was

absolutely horrible.

There's a manly

gruff exterior

to Jeremiah,

but emotionally

he's pretty vulnerable.

It says,

I was like a lamb

led to the slaughter.

I walked right into it.

I did not know

it was against me

that they devised

the schemes,

saying,

let us destroy

the truth

with its fruit.

Let us cut off

from the land

of the living,

that his name

be remembered no more.

Jeremiah is just

a little bit naive here.

And I wonder

whether you think this,

and if we're kind

with people

and we're really

welcoming

and we spend

enough time with them

and we listen to them,

in the end,

we can win them over,

can't we?

Wrong.

It doesn't matter

how nice we think

we are.

It doesn't matter

how relationally

intelligent we might

think we are,

how skilled

we might think

we are,

if we are speaking

God's word sooner

or later,

we will have to

suffer the pain

that comes from

those who stand

with God.

And for Jeremiah,

this meant having

to come to terms

with the fact

that the conspiracy

we have in chapter 11,

verse 9,

actually started

with the very people

that he thought

he could count on.

People from his

very hometown.

Look at verse,

chapter 11,

verse 21,

therefore thus says

the Lord concerning

the men of Anathoth

who seek your life

and say,

do not prophesy

in the name of the Lord

or you will die

by our hand.

Anathoth,

if you remember,

is Jeremiah's

home village.

He's one of our own.

He's one of our own.

He's one of our own.

No,

they don't sing that.

There's something

doubly painful

about being rejected

by your own people,

isn't it?

If you're rejected

by strangers,

you can take some comfort

in the fact,

isn't it?

So,

you go and do

open air ministry

or beach missions

in a town you don't know,

it doesn't matter

if people don't take you

tracks or don't like you

very much.

In your school,

when people reject you,

it's a different story,

isn't it?

It's no accident

that in Luke's ministry,

in Luke's gospel,

Jesus' ministry

begins precisely

at this note,

do you remember?

He goes to Nazareth.

Luke 4,

he rolled up the scroll

and he gave it back

to the attendant

and he sat down

and the eyes of all

the synagogue were upon him

and he says,

today the scripture

has been fulfilled

in your hearing.

And all spoke well of him

and marveled at the

gracious words

that were coming

from his mouth

and they said,

isn't this Joseph's son?

And he said to them,

doubtless you will quote me

this proverb,

physician,

heal yourself.

What we've heard

you did in Capernaum,

do here in your hometown

as well.

And he said,

truly I say to you,

no prophet is acceptable

in his hometown.

When they heard

these things in the synagogue,

they were filled with wrath.

And they rose up

and they drove him

out of the town

and brought him

to the brow of the hill

of which their town

was built

so they could throw him

down the cliff.

Like Jeremiah,

like Jesus,

we need to be ready

to suffer

external rejection.

There is a real cost

to churches

in speaking God's word

and that external cost

has an internal cost

in effect.

Chapter 11,

verse 20,

Jeremiah prays

for God to intervene

and deal with his enemies.

Verse 21 to 23,

he assures him

he will do it

but that produces

turmoil for Jeremiah.

Righteous are you,

O Lord,

when I complain to you.

Yet I would plead

my case before you.

Why does the way

of the wicked prosper?

Why do all

who are treacherous

thrive?

You plant them

and they take root.

They grow

and produce fruit.

You are near in their mouth

and far from their heart.

How come you don't deal

with these people,

Jeremiah asks.

One of the pitfalls

about caring so much

about the work

of the Lord Jesus Christ

and his church

is that we care so much

about the Lord Jesus Christ

and his church.

Longing for God

to do something,

to revive his church,

to straighten people up,

to give people

a greater desire

for holiness,

a desire to see

people come to new

life in Christ.

And when you have

those desires,

it can easily

spill over into

kind of angst-ridden

outpouring

that you find

in chapter 12,

verse 3.

But you, O Lord,

know me.

You see me.

You test my heart

towards you.

You know I'm speaking

your words.

Pull them out

like sheep

for the slaughter

and set them apart

for the day of slaughter.

Jeremiah says to God,

can you do something

about this?

Enough is enough.

And God's response

is priceless.

If you've raced

with men on foot

and they've wearied you,

how will you compete

with horses?

And if in a safe land

you are so trusting,

what will you do

in the thicket of the Jordan?

God gently says to Jeremiah,

what did you expect?

To be involved

in God's work,

to speak God's word,

is to suffer pain.

Yes, they've dealt

treacherously with you.

Yes, they are in full cry

after you.

And you thought

it was going to be different

because God says,

do not believe them.

Though they speak

friendly words to you,

then God says,

if I can put this reverently,

how do you think I feel?

To speak the words of God,

to be involved in ministry,

is to suffer,

if I can put it like this,

the pain of God.

Look at verse 7

of chapter 12.

God says,

look,

I've forsaken my house.

I've abandoned my heritage.

I've given the beloved

of my soul

into the hands of our enemies.

My heritage has become

to me like a lion

in the forest.

See what the image

is actually saying?

My people have savaged me

like a lion.

She's lifted up

her voice against me,

therefore I hate her.

God says,

many shepherds

have destroyed my vineyard.

They've trampled down

my portion.

They've made my pleasant portion

a desolate wilderness.

They've made it

a desolation.

Desolate.

It mourns to me.

And yes,

God will act in judgment

against his people,

verse 12,

and against those

who in the words

of verse 14

touch the heritage

that I've given

my people Israel.

But don't miss it.

It's quite remarkable.

God is depicted,

and we need to be

really careful here,

as suffering the pain

for us.

This is the God

of the universe

who of course

is beyond all human passions.

And yet,

this is the God

who will become

one of us

in the Lord Jesus

and suffer

and die for us.

And the simple logic

is he suffered

the pain

and so will we

if we are united

with him.

1 Peter 2

says this is a

gracious thing.

When mindful of God,

one endures sorrows

while suffering

unjustly.

for what credit

is it

if when you sin

and are beaten

for it,

you endure.

But if you do good

and suffer for it,

you endure.

This is a gracious

thing in sight of God.

For to this

you've been called

because Christ

has suffered for you,

leaving you an example

that you might

follow in his steps.

He committed no sin,

neither was any deceit

found in his mouth.

When he was reviled,

he did not revile in return.

When he suffered,

he did not threaten.

But he continued

entrusting himself

to him

who judges justly.

He himself

for our sins

in his body

on the tree

that we might die

to sin

and live to righteousness.

By his wounds

you have been healed.

Suffering,

the pain,

goes with the territory

when our ministry

is built on

speaking God's word.

It's unavoidable.

As is thirdly,

doing whatever it takes

to get the message across.

Start of chapter 13,

Jeremiah breaks

into prose once more.

And it's one of the

best incidents

in the whole book.

There's not a lot

of humor in Jeremiah

and you've got to make

the best of it

when you find it.

And so chapter 13,

verse 1,

Captain Underpants,

I think,

is mildly amusing.

Thus says the Lord,

go and buy a linen loincloth.

Now Chris Wright,

who's as weak as water

on this passage,

wants to say

that it's a linen belt.

It's not a linen belt.

It's underwear.

And he's told,

13 verse 1,

put it around your waist

and do not dip it

into water.

Do not dip your underwear

into water.

That distracted me

for a while this week.

And most of the commentators

frustratingly make

no comments on it,

on this rather odd

prohibition of

dipping your pants

in a bucket of cold water

before you put them on.

It's hard to know

why Jeremiah

would want to do that.

And one commentator,

R.K. Harrison,

says if they were

dipped in water,

they would become

softer and more pliable.

Matthew Henry thinks

they would last longer

without washing.

John Calvin said,

and I paraphrase slightly,

who cares?

But for some reason,

pre-washing is banned.

And so Jeremiah

buys his undies

according to the word

of the Lord,

puts them around his waist,

and now he's suitably

attired.

He goes to Babylon,

and he now removes

his now not-so-fresh

undergarments

and finds a hole

under the rock,

stuffs them in the hole,

and then walks home again.

Chapter 13, verse 6,

After many days,

the Lord said to me,

After many days,

the Lord said to me,

Arise, go to the Euphrates,

and take from there

the loincloth

that I commanded

to hide there.

So he walks back there,

it's a long way,

digs up the underwear,

and shock after horror,

after several months

buried under a rock,

his underpants are spoiled

and good for nothing.

Now the point is not

hard to work out,

is it?

At the purchase

of brand new underwear,

the double trip to Babylon

is made clear.

At the people of Judah,

what are they like?

They're like Jeremiah's

rancid pants.

Verse 10,

There's evil people

who refuse to hear my words,

stubbornly follow

their own heart,

and they've gone after

other gods

to serve them

and worship them.

They should be like

this loincloth,

which is good for nothing,

dead right.

For as the loincloth

clings to the waste of man,

so I made the whole

house of Israel

and the whole house

of Judah cling to me,

declares the Lord,

that they may be for me

a people,

a name,

a praise,

a glory,

but they would not listen.

That's the point.

And the stuff about jars

in 13, 12, 14

is exactly the same.

He quotes the Judean proverb,

every jar shall be filled

with wine.

And they say,

We know,

verse 13,

then you shall say to them,

Thus says the Lord,

Behold,

I will fill with drunkenness

all the inhabitants

of this land,

the kings who sit on

David's throne,

the priests,

the prophets,

all the inhabitants

of Jerusalem,

and I will dash them

one against another,

father's sons to gather

to close the Lord.

I will not pity or spare

or have compassion

that I should not destroy them.

It is then Jeremiah's role

to do everything in his power

to communicate this message

to the people

who don't want to listen.

13, 15,

Give ear,

don't be proud.

The Lord has spoken,

Give glory to the Lord your God

before he brings darkness,

before your feet tremble.

On the twilight mountains

while you look for light,

he turns it into gloom,

makes it deep darkness,

but if you will not listen,

my soul will weep

in secret for your pride.

My eyes will weep bitterly

and run down with tears

because the Lord's flock

has been taken captive.

The verses that follow,

in verse 13,

Jeremiah's voice mingles

with the voice of God himself

as he warns everybody

from king and queen,

downwards,

to take seriously

the coming judgment

in the strongest possible language.

Verse 22,

If you say in your heart,

Why have these things come upon me?

It is for the greatness

of your iniquity

that your skirts are lifted up

and you suffer violence.

Can the Ethiopian change its skin?

Or the leper of spots?

Then also you can do good

who are accustomed to do evil.

You can try if you like.

Verse 26,

I myself will lift up

your skirts over your face

and your shame will be seen.

I've seen your abominations,

your adulteries,

your neighings,

your lewd whorings

on the hills of the field.

You can feel

the preacher here

grasping for language,

for the right words

that will penetrate

the thick skins

and the deaf ears

of God's people.

It's because he knows

that this message matters

and nothing matters more

than getting this message

to God's people.

It's the mark of his ministry.

It's the mark of Jesus' ministry.

Jesus would say,

O Jerusalem,

O Jerusalem,

the city that kills the prophets

and stones those who are sent to it.

How often I would have

gathered your children together

as a hen,

gathers their brood under their wings

and you were not willing.

Can you feel the passion

to get the message across?

Speak God's word,

suffer the pain,

do whatever it takes,

stick to the task.

14 verse 1 to 15, 9.

Chapter 14, verse 1 to 6,

God describes the attending chaos

in quite dispassionate language.

Jeremiah has to keep reminding them

this is what is coming,

the destruction of your land,

whatever you think or do.

And in verse 7 to 9,

God anticipates

they'll eventually come

to their senses,

partially at least.

And he says,

though our iniquities testify

against us,

act, O Lord,

for your name's sake,

for our backslidings are many

and we have sinned against you.

Verse 9,

why should you be like

a man confused,

like a mighty warrior

who cannot save?

Come on.

Yet you, O Lord,

are in the midst of us.

Don't leave us.

When the people cry like this,

what is Jeremiah to do?

He is to keep on speaking

the words that God has given him.

And of course,

it will be costly.

No doubt,

Jeremiah would love

to have been able to say,

good news, everyone.

God's changed his mind.

Everyone's off the hook.

But that option

is never on the table

if we're faithful.

Verse 11,

do not pray

for the welfare of this people.

Though they fast,

I will not hear their cry.

Though false prophets

will sugarcoat words.

Verse 14,

the prophets

are prophesying in my name.

I did not send them,

nor did I command them

or speak to them.

They are prophesying to you

a lying vision,

worthless divination,

and the deceit

of their own minds.

I will punish them.

But you,

verse 17,

stick to your task.

You shall say to them,

this word,

let my eyes run down

with tears night and day.

Let them not cease,

for the virgin daughter

of my people

is shattered

with a great wound,

with a grievous blow.

And if he needs

any further reminder

that he should stay on message,

he gets it in 15,

1 to 9.

God takes Jeremiah's side

and says,

look,

though Moses and Samuel

stood before me,

yet my heart should not

turn towards this people.

Send them out of my sight.

Let them go.

And when they ask of you,

where shall we go?

You shall say to them,

thus says the Lord,

those who are for pestilence

to pestilence,

those who are for the sword

to the sword,

those who are for famine

to famine,

and those who are for

captivity to captivity.

Since the days of Manasseh

when Jeremiah was just a kid,

the die's been cast.

It's over.

And in a remarkable depiction,

we read verse 6,

you've rejected me,

declares the Lord,

you keep going backward.

So I've stretched out my hand

against you and destroyed you.

I am weary of relenting.

It's over.

Of course,

as we talked about

in Jeremiah 1,

it's not to say that

God is like us

and that he's run out of patience.

He's a cranky parent

who loses it.

God doesn't have

any of our limitations.

But we also need to remember

that God is not stripped

of feelings.

Our emotions are limited,

broken,

twisted versions of his,

if I can put it like that.

His love for his people burns

and yet he is utterly consistent

in saying,

I've decided now, Jeremiah,

you must keep speaking.

Judgment is coming.

Which takes us

to the last prerequisite

for what does authentic ministry,

authentic church life look like.

Speak God's word,

suffer the pain,

do whatever it takes,

stick at the task,

and lastly,

and most difficultly,

difficult,

difficultly?

I don't know.

Prepare to be broken.

15,

10 to 21,

it's impossible to read

this middle section

of Jeremiah

that we're right

in the middle of,

which is punctuated

by personal,

heartfelt outpourings.

It's misleading.

The Bible editors

sometimes call it

Jeremiah's confessions.

gospel ministry

exposes us

to external opposition,

but it always exposes us

to great personal cost.

To throw yourself

into church life

is to open yourself

to disillusionment,

bitterness,

resentment,

self-pity,

all of which

Jeremiah goes through

and he vulnerably

shares with us

in chapter 15

verses 10 to 21.

I think it's fair

to say here in chapter 15

Jeremiah is

showing the pressure.

Verse 10,

Woe is me,

my mother,

that you bore me,

a man of strife,

contention to the whole land.

I've not lent,

nor have I borrowed,

yet all of them curse me.

God reassures him

in verse 11,

tells him that the message

you preach, Jeremiah,

I will come true.

But in verse 15,

Jeremiah plunges

right into the depths again.

Oh Lord, you know,

remember me

and visit me

and take vengeance

for me or my persecutors.

In your forbearance,

take me not away.

Know that for your sake

I bear approach.

And Jeremiah says,

I know I'm going through

all this, God,

because for the sake

of the gospel,

but it's hard.

And I know in my head

that this is the way to go.

Verse 16,

Your words were found

and I at them

and your words became to me

a joy

and the delight

of my heart

for I'm called by your name,

O Lord God of hosts.

But sometimes it feels too hard.

There's just too much sacrifice.

It hurts too much.

I did not sit

in the company of revelers,

nor did I rejoice.

I sat alone

because your hand

was upon me

for you filled me

with indignation.

It just feels too much.

It feels like God

has sucked him in

and spat him out.

Why is my pain unceasing,

my wound incurable,

refusing to be ill?

Will you be to me

like a deceitful brook,

like waters that fail?

Jeremiah offers us

no reflection

over whether this is right

or wrong.

He's just honest

in what he said.

And this is what it's like

to be God's spokesman,

to be smashed.

It's what it's like

some of the time

being involved

in gospel ministry,

being involved

in church life

is costly.

And to become a follower

of the Lord Jesus

is costly.

Didn't Jesus

call us to himself

saying,

if anyone would

come after me,

let him deny himself

and take up his cross

and follow me.

And so what's God's

response to all of this?

Well,

there's powerful,

tender reassurance

which this chapter

finishes with.

Therefore,

thus says the Lord,

if you return,

I will restore you

and you shall stand

before me.

It's like Isaiah

saying,

in repentance

repentance and rest

is your salvation.

Keep running back to me.

If you utter

what is precious

and not what is worthless,

you shall be as my mouth.

They shall turn to you

but you shall not buckle

in the face of opposition.

And God reiterates

what he said

in chapter one.

You will be

like a fortified

wall of bronze

and they will fight

against you

but they won't prevail

over you.

For I am with you

to save you

and deliver you

declares the Lord.

I'll deliver you

out of the hand

of the wicked

and redeem you

from the grasp

of the ruthless.

Speak God's word.

Be prepared

to suffer the pain

of opposition.

Do what it takes

to get the message out.

Stick to the task.

Prepare to be broken.

That is the ministry

of Jeremiah.

That is the ministry

of Jesus.

And that is the ministry

of the apostles.

And that is the ministry

to which the church

of Jesus Christ

is called.

Now that we've been

transformed

by the gospel,

now that we are

in Christ

and we've been

brought to new life

by his spirit,

now we've been

justified by faith,

now we've been

called sons and heirs,

now that we've been

equipped to serve

Christ in the power

of the spirit,

we speak his words.

And this is what

God calls us to do.

And so as we've

walked this evening

through these difficult

chapters of Jeremiah,

may God burn

the shape of church life

and gospel-shaped ministry

into our hearts

and minds

and make us

to serve Christ

by speaking his words

and make that

the blazing center

of our church life.

And it may well be

that you are sitting

here,

if you're still awake,

thinking,

I don't want this,

it is too much,

it's too hard.

And I understand that,

I really do.

I sympathize with that.

And if that's you,

I want you to do

something tonight,

I want you to tell

the Lord that.

I want you to speak

to the Lord about it.

I'd love it if you'd

come and speak to me

or speak to another

Christian friend

or one of the elders

about that,

because the alternative

to not wanting this

is in the end

to face the judgment

that Jeremiah warns you of.

The danger is

we sit here

and we think

that there's some

halfway house,

but there is no

halfway house.

May God work in us

so that we can say

with Paul,

I count everything

as loss

because of the

sparsing worth

of knowing

Christ Jesus

my Lord.

For his sake,

Paul says,

I've suffered

the loss

of loads of things,

but I count them

all as rubbish

in order that I may

gain Christ

and be found in him.

Not having a righteousness

of my own

that comes from the law,

but that which comes

through faith in Christ,

the righteousness

from God

that depends on faith.

That I may know him

and the power

of his resurrection

and may share

in his sufferings.

Do you see the two

are tied?

Becoming like him

in his death

that by any means

possible I may attend

the resurrection

of the dead.

So by grace

through faith,

let us be a church

that speaks God's word

and doesn't give up

and preaches the gospel

until our dying breath.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.