WHAT KEEP YOU GOING?

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BIBLE PASSAGE: Jeremiah 20: 7-13

KEY VERSE:

Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name. But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

JEREMIAH 20:9

DATE: August 19, 2018

INTRODUCTION:

Let ask ourselves this question: “What keep you going?” Let’s paraphrase, what is/are the thing/s, person/s, situation/s that hold you back if this/these things/persons are not with you? Without these things, you have difficulty keeping ongoing.

In our Christian life we

try doing what is right, isn’t it? Is it for our testimony for other people and this is what the Bible says? We become persistent or determined to do what is right. Do we ever grow tired of doing right when you don’t see any results from your efforts?  It happens in numerous circumstances.  Many of us have fought long and hard to overcome a besetting sin, but when we fall again we want to just throw in the towel.  Or we’re motivated to do our job with integrity at work, but when that is not rewarded we are tempted to pull back and coast.  Some have rocky marriages, so we put much effort into changing, but when our spouse doesn’t reciprocate we are tempted to revert to our old habits.

We pursue obedience, looking for some temporal good to come from it.  But what about when that doesn’t happen?  How do we persist in doing good when there seems to be no benefit?

The prophet Jeremiah knew exactly what it feels like to go all out and see nothing in return.  When God called him to be a prophet to the people of Judah, He told him to warn the people about impending judgment for their idolatry and to call them to repentance.  And God warned Jeremiah that things were not going to go well for him.  It wasn’t just that the people would be reluctant to listen or that it would take years and years for Jeremiah to see anyone repent and return to the Lord.  It would be much worse than that.  God said, “They will fight against you…” (1:19).  The people would actively work against Jeremiah. 

Now, what would happen if Jeremiah was motivated completely by results?  What if Jeremiah’s faithfulness was dictated by how quickly his preaching brought about repentance in his hearers?  Well, the book of Jeremiah certainly wouldn’t be the longest prophecy in the Bible.  It might have been a chapter or two.  Actually, it might not have extended beyond one chapter since chapter one is where God guaranteed that Jeremiah’s preaching would not result in the repentance of the people.  If results were all that mattered, Jeremiah might have never even opened his mouth. Before we proceed to our main points let’s have an outline of some important events happened to Jeremiah the prophet:

BACKGROUND: (Jeremiah chapters 1-26)

i.              Jeremiah was called to speak for Israel (to repent from their wicked ways and worship the true God) but Jeremiah responded: “I, Ah Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child” (Jer.1:4,6)

ii.            Jeremiah showed the Israelites what to do based on God’s message, but they rejected God’s way (Jer. 6: 16-17)

iii.           Jeremiah spoke in the temple, but people refused to obey (Jer chapter7). He lamented for his people for their sins and punishments (Jer. 8:18-22). Israelites still worshipped other gods.

iv.           God spoke to Jeremiah to remind His people about their covenant: how they were freed from the slavery of Egyptians (Jer.11). Jeremiah’s life was in danger (Jer.11:18-21) He was threatened if he didn’t stop prophesying in the name of Lord (11:21).

v.             He was betrayed by his loved ones and relatives (12:6)

vi.           God commanded Jeremiah unusual things like wearing a girdle (13:1-11) – Parable of the girdle

vii.          God commanded Jeremiah to ask the people to fill their bottles with wine (parable of the bottles) -Jer.13:12-14

viii.         Jeremiah lamented and reassured (15:10-21)

ix.           Israelites dared Jeremiah if God can really do what he was saying (17:14-15). He asked God’s help (17:16-18)

x.             Jeremiah commanded Jeremiah to stand at the gate and spoke about the importance of Sabbath (17:19-27)

xi.           God commanded to arise and go in the potter’s house (parable of the potter and the clay) – Jer.18:1-12

xii.          The Israelites made a plot to kill Jeremiah; they planned not to take heed in his sayings (18:18). His desire for people not to be punished recompense with no reward plus they wanted him dead (18:19-20)

xiii.         God commanded Jeremiah to buy an earthen vessel and break it in front of the people (19:1-15)

xiv.         Jeremiah smote by Pashur, son of Imer the priest (Jer. 20:1-2)

xv.          Jeremiah’s complains to the Lord (20:7-18)

xvi.         Jeremiah spoke about Israel’s 70 years captivity of Babylon (25:1-14)

xvii.        God commanded Jeremiah to stand in the court of the temple and spoke about the temple’s future if they would not hearken (26:1-6). He was arrested by priests and prophets 26:15).

But for Jeremiah, the repentance of the people was not the objective.  Obedience was the objective.  For him, success would not be defined by the temporal results, but by his faithfulness to do what the Lord commanded.  That’s not to say that there were never times when Jeremiah wanted to quit

LESSON POINTS:

So what kept him going? There were a couple of things.  

1)   FIRST, JEREMIAH KNEW THAT HE WAS CALLED / OWNED BY GOD (JER. 1:5)

The Lord’s first words to the prophet were, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (1:5). The Lord had marked Jeremiah out as a special instrument before his birth.  He belonged to the Lord. 

There is a sense in which the Lord purchased all of the Israelites when He redeemed them from Egypt.  For that reason, they were to live as His servants: For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God (Lev.25:25).  Jeremiah was all the more a servant of God in that God chose him out of all of Israel to serve as His prophet.  This sense of ownership compelled Jeremiah to serve the Lord even when it was difficult and painful.

We too belong to God and exist as His servants.  We read in 1 Corinthians, …and ye are not your own, for you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s(1Cor 6:19b-20).  We have been bought with the blood of Jesus Christ, becoming freed from sin and enslaved to righteousness (Rom6:17-18).  Therefore, we are to obey simply because we belong to God.  We should joyfully pursue obedience that He might be glorified in us (Matt 5:15-16; 2 Cor 12:9; Col 3:17). 

2)   THE SECOND THING THAT COMPELLED JEREMIAH TO PERSEVERE WAS THE FIRE OF GOD’S WORD BURNING INSIDE HIM (JER.15:16)

In 15:16, he said to the Lord, “Thy Words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of host.”  Even when Jeremiah wanted to stop speaking in the Lord’s name because of the severity of his persecution, he could not: … I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name. But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” (20:9).  The word of God drove him forward to persist in obedience.

We too are called to use the Word of God as fuel for our obedience.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly (Col 3:16).  When Paul wrote to the discouraged and weary Timothy, he called his attention back to the word:

¹⁴ But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

¹⁵ And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which can make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶ All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

¹⁷ That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

(2 Timothy 3:14-17)

Paul reminded Timothy of the value of the word—it equips us to do what the Lord has called us to do.  Reading and re-reading the Bible keeps the things of the Lord fresh in our minds and makes it far easier to remember to Whom we belong and how graciously He has saved us from the penalty of our own sin.  It keeps alive in us a longing for holiness and shows us how to progress toward it. http://www.providencebiblefellowship.com/

CONCLUSION:

Sometimes we may feel too weary to continue in faithfulness.  We need to be reminded of Jeremiah and what propelled him to continue to serve the Lord.  We need to remind ourselves that we have been bought with a price and therefore exist for the glory of God.  We need to fasten our attention to the Scriptures.  If the word dwells in us richly and we view ourselves as servants belonging to the Lord, zealous that He would be glorified in all that we do, temporal results or the lack thereof will not determine our level of persistence.  Obedience for the glory of God will remain the objective.