WHEN GOD SPEAKS TO YOUR PRAYERS (JEREMIAH 37:1-21)

 

WHEN GOD SPEAKS TO YOUR PRAYERS

BIBLE PASSAGE: JEREMIAH 37:1-21

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas taken from: ttps://www.lifeway.com

SEPTEMBER 05, 2021

MEMORY VERSE

But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.

JEREMIAH 38:20

 

INTRODUCTION:

What is your reaction when someone says, “PRAY FOR ME” or “PRAY FOR US”?  (wait for the audience response and have short explanation in regard to their answers)

 

Lot of Christians neglect prayer and they don’t see the importance of prayer. So, when problem and trials strike, the sweetness of prayer is there. But after the trials have overcome, they go back to negligence.

 

What if the cause of the trials and problems is sin and God only wants you to be humble, repent and obey but you refuse and follow your flesh?

 

In our lesson for today there’s a king who asked for prayers. His name is King Zedekiah, he was the last king of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. We have read from the scripture why he was asking for prayers to the weeping prophet, Jeremiah.  He said, “PRAY FOR US.” Let’s study what happened to the king’s request.

 

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  HE WANTED PRAYERS BUT DIDN’T LISTEN TO GOD’S WORDS (JEREMIAH 37:3).

Verse 3 says, “And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the Lord our God for us.” We can see here that the king sent his people to Jeremiah to pray for them and God answered the prayers. Jeremiah told them what would happen to Jerusalem. Their prayers were not in favor according to their will. What will be your reactions or feelings when the prayers you are praying for is not in line with what you want?  They were praying for success regards to the war planning by the Babylonians to the land of Judah. God answered them that Jerusalem would be in the hand of the Babylonians.

The people in Judah believed that God’s will was to deliver them from their enemies and to preserve an independent Judah. Yet that was not God’s will; it was His will to bring Judah into judgment. Why was their prayer answered not according to their plan? Was God being unfair? Before we think of another else let’s see what kind of leadership Zedekiah had.

Zedekiah was 21 years of age when he became king. The Bible tells us both in II Kings 24:17 and Jeremiah 37:1 that it was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon who actually made Zedekiah the next king of Judah.  This right away tells us that by this time the people of Judah had already become more or less a captive people subject to the Babylonians. It was also a time of moral, spiritual, political decline in Judah and Zedekiah proved he was not a strong stable leader at all. Indeed, what we need to know further is that Zedekiah proved to be another ungodly king.  He reigned 11 years and II Chronicles 36:12-13 gives this sad summary of his reign, namely, “he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD…but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel.”   (https://frcna.org/publications/banner-of-truth)

What we find out about King Zedekiah also is that he didn’t keep his promises to his own people but treacherously broke pledges made. His history, as the Bible tells it, shows he was a king clearly afraid to make decisions about anything. He feared man, especially the princes in the king’s court alongside of him more than he feared God and His word. Several times in the book of Jeremiah we see Zedekiah pay certain respects to Jeremiah and say even that he wants to listen to the prophet, but time and again he did the very opposite. What are we told in Jeremiah 38? When the leadership of the people wanted to get rid of Jeremiah because of him repeatedly saying Judah needed to surrender to the Babylonians and not fight them or rebel against them, then we read in vs.5 the king said to his princes, “Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do anything against you.”

If you read that onwards you can see that king Zedekiah had merely a change of mind. He had no strong conviction in terms of what is good and right. In the previous verses, he allowed the palace people to do whatever they wanted to Jeremiah; he was put in dungeon with no water but mire. But when Ebed-melech, one of the eunuchs in the king’s palace, heard what happened to Jeremiah, he went to the king and asked to help Jeremiah out of the dungeon, then the king commanded him to get out of the dungeon.  So, you see, King Zedekiah has no strong conviction.

We see in this lesson how the king and the people reacted to God’s answers to their prayers. They still don’t listen to God; instead, they put the prophet in prison. May this lesson remind us that we need to listen to God’s word, and everything happens for a reason. Remember what happen to Afghanistan, we wanted them to be freed from the rule of Taliban but at this moment, God allowed that to happen. We need to listen to God’s word.

2.  THEY WERE PRAYING BUT DIDN’T DEPEND ON GOD (JEREMIAH 37:7; 42: 1-22)

The king depended on Pharaoh’s army to help them, but Verse 7 says, “Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.” The help that they were expecting would not happen; Pharaoh’s army would return to Egypt. God told them to surrender to the Babylonians and they would live and their families, but they refused instead they made their own plans.  They asked help from Egypt. In verses 9-10 of chapter 37 say, “Thus saith the Lord; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart. For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent and burn this city with fire.”  

Have you seen the lesson what these verses want to say? Whatever you do, you cannot do anything according to God’s plans. If you want your life to be spared, “JUST SURRENDER!”

Another situation happened in Jeremiah chapter 42; let us read the first 6 verses. We can see that the leaders of the tribe, people and other remnants of Judah had asked for prayers. They asked Jeremiah to pray for them for God’s guidance. After ten days, Jeremiah received God’s answers. God told the remnants to stay and be not afraid to the king of Babylon, “…for I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand. And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land. But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the Lord your God, Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell: If they didn’t hear commandment of the Lord, they would experience famine, pestilence, war and even death. When the leaders and the people heard what the Lord said through Jeremiah, the leaders said, “Thou speakest falsely: the Lord our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:”

Sad to say whatever Jeremiah said to them, they were all happened. What lesson we could get from this situation? – God’s word is true, and always He means what He says. We need to be humble, repent and obey God’s commands.

3.  HE WAS ASKING GOD FOR HELP AND GUIDANCE BUT HE DIDN’T ACCEPT THE LEADING (JEREMIAH 21; 37:17-21; 38:14-28)

Jeremiah 21:2 Enquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.

Jeremiah 37:17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.

Jeremiah 38:14-16 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the Lord: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me. Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the Lord liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.

On the last time, Prophet Jeremiah pleaded the king of Judah to surrender. Let’s read the following verses.

Jeremiah 38: ¹⁷ Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: ¹⁸ But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. ¹⁹ And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. ²⁰ But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.

And the next verses, Jeremiah spoke the consequences if he disobeyed.

CONCLUSION:

In Jeremiah 39, we’ll see what happened to king Zedekiah. After many warnings from the prophet, he chose to follow the counsel of his ungodly friends. After seeing the courts and palace were in the hand of king Nebuchadnezzar, they fled during the night, but the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook them. Did the King Zedekiah think he would escape after the words from Jeremiah? Sometimes, we think we can do it by ourselves, and God wouldn’t allow bad things to happen, but God’s ways are different from ours. In verse 6 of chapter 39, “Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also, the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah.” How painful to see that your sons were affected by your wrongdoings; they were killed before your eyes. In verse 7, “Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon.” Then the king of Babylon turned to Zedekiah, he put out his eyes and bound him with chains. There he was put in a prison cell where he also died according to Jeremiah 52:11. What a sad and tragic ending to the life of Zedekiah.  He heard no doubt also the news of the total destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple and the city. The best thing for Judah to do was to submit to this will of God, as Jeremiah told them to do – despite great opposition but they didn’t do it.

God’s promise to King Zedekiah and the people of Judah is very clear. Jeremiah 38:20 says, “But Jeremiah said, they shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee: so, it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.” It’s clear but they refused to obey.

What do you think the last thoughts of king Zedekiah before he died? He found out too late, most painful and shameful state he had and what Jeremiah had been saying all along is true.

 

 

 

 

 

GOING AN EXTRA MILE IN PRAYER (PSALM 55:1-23)

 

GOING AN EXTRA MILE IN PRAYER

BIBLE PASSAGE: PSALMS 55:1-23

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas taken from: https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-55

SEPTEMBER 26, 2021

MEMORY VERSE

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

PSALMS 55:22

 

INTRODUCTION:

We know that prayer is important in our Christian lives but sometimes or most of the times Christians neglect prayer especially if their lives are smooth sailing and no major struggles. We feel that things seem okay and whether accept it or not, there’s a little self-dependence in us especially if we are good in every aspect of our lives: yourself, family, church and career/work. Then when troubles strike us, our self-dependence burst into pieces and results to a realization that there’s ultimate power we can call. When it’s beyond our control, we bend our knees to prayer. Then the sweetness of prayer flows in our spirit and make us humble unto the Lord. We are so thankful to the Lord for CBT because it urges us to pray. We have one month “Prayer and Devotion,” Dawn Watch, one-week prayer meeting and events prayer time.  

 

Let me ask this question, honestly how many times in a day we talk God in prayer? In Psalms 55:17 says, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.”  In your opinion, what led David to pray three times a day? 

 

Colossians 4:12 says, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”

We can see from this verse that prayer needs labor.  Personally, you can notice by yourselves that your flesh doesn’t want you to pray. Your flesh would say after a day work, “Come on, you’re tired; it’s time to lean your back on your soft bed to regain strength for tomorrow.” Is this reality? Yes, it happens and that’s why need to “GO AN EXTRA MILE IN PRAYER.” What does this mean? Going an extra mile means: to make an effort, try very hard to achieve something, to do more than expected or to make special efforts.  Why we need to go an extra mile in prayer?

 

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  BECAUSE OF FEAR (PSALMS 55:1-8)

Life in this world is uncertain and because of this all people have fears. Fears for the future, the life of your kids, the struggles you might face, your health on this pandemic time and many more.

David describes his trouble, misery in oppression. In his prayer verses 1-3:

a)   Hide not Thyself from my supplication.  We sense in David’s prayer that he felt God was distant, as if He were hiding from him. He asked God to attend to me and hear me (verse 2).

Have we felt the same way with David? Are there times we feel God is distant and when we can’t see Him working?  These times can last for a day or for a season, and one of the biggest challenges we face during these times is Satan lying to us. He whispers things like: “Don’t waste your time praying.  God’s not listening.” “God’s forgotten about you and your situation.” “God isn’t working.  He’s left you on your own.”

No matter how long these times last, it’s absolutely crucial that we keep our minds focused on truth so that we don’t easily fall for Satan’s lies. There are many promises in the Bible refute these thoughts in our mind, just fill our minds with God’s Words. Remember the choir we sang last Sunday titled, “When Heaven is Silent.” When heaven is silent, your faintest prayer is heard. When heaven seems distant, the Father hears each word. When God turns His face. He’s leaning close to hear your prayer.  Be still and know He’s there!
 

b)   I mourn in my complaint and make a noise

At the beginning of this psalm, David had a little peace. He was restless, complaining and moaning; and his moans were noisy. He needed help from God. Have you come to a point in your life wherein you feel that your struggles are unbearable; they’re like above your head. Bible reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10;13; there has no problems taken us above that we are able.  Charles Spurgeon says, “What a comfort we may be thus familiar with our God! WE may not complain of Him, but we may complain to Him.

c)    They cast iniquity upon me

At the beginning of this psalm, David had a little peace. He was restless, complaining and moaning; and

In verses 4-8, David was worried and uncertain. He had found that the so-called friends have been plotting against him. Remember Ahitophel? He was a trusted friend of David and yet betrayed him and conspired to Absalom, his son (2 Samuel 15:12, 2 Samuel 15:31, 2 Samuel 17:1-3). His own son and a friend treacherously aimed at his downfall. He knew not which way to turn. Have you felt at times where you don’t know where to turn to?

Overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness. David fears that death is upon him (verses 4-5). He wishes that he could escape from it all. He would like to fly away like a bird, so that he could find a quiet place where he could shelter from the storm (verses 6-8). We can see how helpless David was, his reaction was “escape.” Sometimes one of the reactions of Christians in facing troubles is escape. To find a quiet place is better but we need to face the reality and face the problem with humbleness and faith in God for guidance.

2.  WE HAVE ENEMIES TO BATTLE WITH (PSALMS 55:9-15)

From the repeated reference to the speech of his enemies (verses 3, 9, 11, and 12), we sense this was some kind of whispering attack on David that was serious enough to endanger his life. Here he prayed that God would divide those who spoke evil against him. I have seen violence and strife in the city: The attacks against David may have begun with words but did not end with them. People walked the city day and night causing trouble for David. The crisis at hand was not merely a problem for David, but for God’s people in general. Destruction is in its midst; oppression and deceit do not depart from its streets: The instability and intrigue made the whole city unsafe.

In verses 12-14 is a reflection on the bitterness of a friend’s betrayal. In verse 15, David is asking to take vengeance. Let death seize them; let them go down alive into hell: This remarkably strong statement from David shows how dangerous the man was to the peace of God’s people and how deeply he had wounded David. It was a strong prayer, but it was a prayer that left vengeance to God, and David refused to take vengeance himself.

Remember the country of Afghanistan, the Afghans always experience a battle. Have we tried to put ourselves on their shoes? Life at war is hard, no peace but unknowingly for some in spiritual aspect, we are on the battle too. Christians don’t see the importance of prayer because they don’t see that they are at war or possible they’re already retreated.  In a battle, prayer is a sign of dependence on God because we can’t do it by yourselves.

3.  TO FIND REST IN GOD (PSALM 55:16-23)

A)   CONFIDENCE ON GOD DESPITE THE ATTACKS OF THE ENEMY (16-19)

¹⁶ As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. ¹⁷ Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. ¹⁸ He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me. ¹⁹ God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.

 

As for me, I will call upon God, and the LORD shall save me: David abruptly switched from praying for destruction to declaring calm confidence in God. It’s a further indication that he was able to leave his crisis – and his enemies – in the hands of the LORD, who would save him.

Evening and morning and at noon will I pray: David’s confidence in God was rooted in sincere dependence on God, demonstrated by constant prayer. Together all this gave David the confidence in God to say, He shall hear my voice.

He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: David felt that his soul had been rescued (bought out, redeemed) from turmoil and crisis and into peace. The battle continued (there were still many against him), but his soul was in peace.

God shall hear, and afflict them, even He that abideth of old: David was confident that the eternal God would answer His prayer.

B)    THE TREACHERY OF DAVID’S ENEMY (20-21)

²⁰ He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.

²¹ The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.

He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him; he has broken his covenant: David’s unnamed enemy was also treacherous, breaking peaceful relationships and breaking agreements with others.

The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: Using repetition and vivid images, David showed how dishonorable his unnamed enemy was. In contrast we see how honorable David was in not specifically naming the man.

C)   CONFIDENTLY LEAVING THE MATTER IN GOD’S HANDS (22-23)

²² Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

²³ But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.

a.    Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain you: There are few greater burdens to bear than a one-time friend who becomes a treacherous and dangerous enemy. David knew that even this was a burden that God could and should bear.

b.    He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved: David had hope and confidence because he was persuaded that his fate did not rest in the hands of treacherous men. God was still Lord over all, and God had the final word on whether the righteous would be moved or not.

c.    You, O God, shall bring them down into the pit of destruction: The faithful God would not only help and establish the righteous, He would also bring down those bloodthirsty and deceitful men who caused so much trouble among God’s people.

d. But I will trust in You: The psalm appropriately ended with David’s focus upon God, not his enemies. He would trust in Him and not be disappointed.

CONCLUSION:

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. PSALMS 55:22

This prayer of David came in the midst of his very real and serious troubles. His anguish came from a close friend who betrayed him. David’s recourse was prayer, not revenge; he left that to God. He trusted God, knowing his prayer would be heard, knowing his God saves and redeems those who humbly turn to Him. They would not be moved or cast down to destruction as the evil ones would be.

Peter quoted this verse within 1 Peter 3:6-11 to encourage believers to cast their anxieties on God and trust Him because He cares for them. God promises to sustain His children in the midst of the burdens of life. Christ bore our biggest burden, our sin, on the cross already. He is more than able to handle the burdens and troubles we face every day.

 

 

 

DOUBTS IN PRAYER (JEREMIAH 32)

 

DOUBTS IN PRAYER

BIBLE PASSAGE: JEREMIAH 32

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas taken from: ttps://www.lifeway.com

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

MEMORY VERSE

 Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

JEREMIAH 32:27

 

INTRODUCTION:

Personally, I am blessed with our last week’s lesson titled, “When God Speaks to our Prayers.” Though King Zedekiah had given many clear warnings and guidance from the Lord, he still chose his will. Remember his eyes were taken off and he was put in prison, while he was there, possibly he would say, “GOD’s Word is really true’ but sad to say, he could not make it up to the Lord because he died with a tragic death. Another thing that spoke to me is the thought that, “THIS LIFE, WE CANNOT MAKE IT ON OUR OWN.” I pray that I won’t forget that lesson and be a warning.

 

To continue, another lesson we’ll study today and it’s like a continuation because the lesson is also from the book of Jeremiah. Before I proceed, I want to thank the Lord for his continuous blessings for me and the family. I can’t help but say my gratefulness to the Lord because I remember the time I was so down when we were hit by financial crisis. We have a big problem about finances and it’s not talking about small money but million. Imagine that situation that was so discouraging. I don’t say this because we already solved the problem, but we are given by God peace and wisdom on how to keep on coping that problem. I had thoughts in mind that time, “IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM; WE ARE SO POOR.” Let me ask you, do you feel the same? Was there a time you have doubts in prayer? (if possible, let some audience speak)

 

Jeremiah had come to a point in his life where he seemed had doubt to what God was telling him to do. Let me elaborate.

 

https://bible.org/seriespage/

Suppose a real estate agent called you and said, “I’ve got a choice property in the mountains with a luxury hotel on it. The building is worth $20 million, easily. I’ll let you have it for $20,000. What do you think? Oh, by the way, it’s located in Afghanistan.”

Buying property in a war zone is a high-risk investment, at best. But to buy a piece of property that is already under enemy control, when it’s obvious that the enemy is on the verge of overthrowing the entire country, would be crazy. Yet that’s exactly what God asked His prophet Jeremiah to do. Jerusalem was under siege, on the brink of falling to the Chaldeans. Jeremiah was in prison because he had been preaching that the nation was going to fall and that God wanted them to surrender.

While he was in prison, with the sound of the enemy army just outside the city walls, Jeremiah’s cousin came and offered him the family right of redemption to purchase a piece of property in Anathoth, which was already in Chaldean control. We can only guess at the man’s motives, but clearly he wanted to cash out of a hopeless situation. God told Jeremiah to purchase the land and go through the proper legal proceedings as a prophetic drama to emphasize to Israel that God would keep His gracious promise of restoring them to the land.

Jeremiah obeyed, but then he got a bit confused. Had he done something dumb? Let’s read the last line of verse 24 and also verse 25, “And thou hast said unto me, O Lord God, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” In Tagalog, “…Matutupad na lahat ng Iyong sinabi. Ngunit Ikaw ang nag-utos sa akin, Yahweh,  na bilhin ko sa harapan ng saksi ang bukirin, bagaman ang lungsod na ito ay nakatakdang sakupin ng mga Caldeo.”  If God was going to overthrow Israel by the Chaldeans, as Jeremiah had been preaching and as seemed imminent, then why did God tell him to buy this land? So after the transaction was completed, Jeremiah prayed, and God granted him the answer he needed to endure. His prayer teaches us some lessons on how to pray by faith in a bleak, confusing situation.

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  THERE IS STILL NOTHING TOO HARD FOR THE LORD (JEREMIAH 32:16-27)

When Jeremiah received the proof of purchase in the land, he prayed (32:16). We can see that in times of confusions of God’s will, he prayed. May we see this a good habit that only God would enlighten your minds on what’s going on in your lives; we just need to be silent and talk to Him. In his prayer, Jeremiah recognized and praised the great power of God, confessing the truth, there is nothing too hard for Thee. Jeremiah recognized the mercy and love of God. He recognized the justice and judgment of God. And he recognized the particular love, favor, and work of God toward His people Israel. They were special objects of His power, mercy, and love. In Jeremiah’s prayer, what I see in here is thou we know or recognize God’s power and love like Jeremiah said, “there is nothing too hard for thee,” still there are times we are little bit confused of God’s will.

In verse 27 God answered and says, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” Yes, sometimes or most of the times God’s will is so painful. Like Judah, it was so hard to be captive, houses are burned, farms are desolate, discomfort with the enemy, hard times to be imprisoned and a lot more. God let those things happen for their own good. These happen to make them realize that disobedience would just make their lives miserable. Like Judah, we’ll feel the same way away from God’s will. Will God able to fix it? Jeremiah 18:4-5, like the potter and the clay, God enable to mold it and fix the broken pot. Yes, God says, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” Just surrender; put your pride aside. It’s hard for a king to surrender, right? This is what happened to King Zedekiah, he didn’t want to surrender, be humble, repent and accept the discipline of the Lord. Like Judah, we are also stubborn, there are things happening in our lives but refused the warnings of the Lord instead we fix by our own selves. We don’t prioritize spiritual matters (mas madami pa ang absent sa church kesa sa pagpunta). Aywan ko lang kung hindi ka lubusang pagpapalain kung if you’re faithful in all aspects: worship (pagtitipon), sharing the Gospel, financial matters, service-commitment, prayer, reading God’s Word and your testimony. There’s nothing too hard for the Lord, just follow His will.

2.  REMEMBER GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL

In Jeremiah 32:5 says, “And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the Lord: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.” In the last line in Tagalog, “Anumang pakikipaglaban ang gawin ninyo, hindi kayo magtatagumpay sa mga Caldeo.” He said this because He’s in control of everything. In Jeremiah 33:25 -26 say, “Thus says the Lord: ‘If My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, then I will cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return and will have mercy on them.’” We have no effort in making the day and night and heaven work with coordination and this concludes that He controls everything.

 

The verse in the book of Job chapter 38 verse 1, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding” is a great reminder that God is in control. Honestly, do we have something to boast to the Lord? The fact that we have no participation during the creation is a proof that we can’t do live this life without God. The creation itself proves that He controls everything.  Therefore, we can say that this pandemic is allowed by the Lord, for a great purpose. People choose other gods and make no priority for spiritual matters.  Let’s try to personalize what happened to the people of Judah. God might be saying this to us, “Famine, pestilence and lot of problems arise in your land but don’t worry I will be there for you. I am in control just surrender to My will. Be humble, repent and obey.”

 

3.  WE CAN TRUST GOD IN OUR FUTURE (JEREMIAH 32:36-41).

I think there is no person who doesn’t think his or her future. There’s nothing wrong about it and we learn from the last week’s sermon of our pastor that we need to develop ourselves in order for us to reach our goal in reaching all people in their different status.

When we experience the early pandemic last year, there were also thoughts in my mind and one of those was the question, “What will now happen Lord?” We can see by your eyes that our environment is not safe anymore. We know that in spiritual aspect, our enemy is not seen but we don’t think that time will come that in physical world, enemy is not seen too, the virus; it spreads worldwide. Whom can we trust our future now? Can we trust our business nowadays? Can we trust our job? Can we trust the government? No one on this earth whom we can trust because they are also affected. Like Jeremiah said, “NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR HIM.” What God has promised in the past, God has done. What He has proposed, He has accomplished. God said, “Let there be light, and it was so.” He was determined to create the universe, and he did it. God promised to create man in His own image, and he did that. Can anything be too hard for God? Look at the heavens at night. God created all that and sustains it so that all those heavenly bodies do not crash into each other, or worse, into earth. Is anything too hard for God? I am convinced! Nothing is too hard for Him.

Let’s read again what God had promised to king Zedekiah if he’ll just obey. Jeremiah 38:17-18 say, “Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: ¹⁸ But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.” Let’s paraphrase this promise, “Though there are enemies, and you become captives you’ll be in good hands: you shall live and thine house and the city will not be burned just surrender.” Though there’s pandemic going on, don’t faint just obey, keep on serving and keep on surrendering to my will.

Remember He promised to send a Savior, and He did it. Jesus came and suffered and bled and died for your sins and for mine. He promised to send the Holy Spirit to indwell believers. He did that on the day of Pentecost.

Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

Jeremiah 33: 14 - “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.”

WE CAN TRUST GOD IN OUR FUTURE!

 

CONCLUSION:

We live in a world where sometimes life’s challenges seem impossible to overcome, so much to learn and put together like many jigsaw puzzle pieces. Even when we strive and find out how to bring the pieces together, they don’t always hold together. We find ourselves lost, twisted, or detached from the life we strive so hard to put together and live on a daily https://discover.hubpages.com/. BROKEN THINGS become BLESSED THINGS if you let God do the mending.

Whatever knowledge we have; God’s knowledge is incomparable. We can’t contain in our minds His thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

 

 

Whatever situation we are in God will be able to fix it. Again, verse 27 says, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” TRUST GOD IN THE STORM