READY FOR THE RIVER’S RISING

READY FOR THE RIVER’S RISING Jeremiah 12:1-5 July 10, 2005 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Update on Hurricane Dennis as it speeds through the Gulf of Mexico on its way to the coastline of Mississippi, Louisiana and the Florida panhandle. Hundreds of thousands of residents are preparing for the category 4 hurricane to strike. They’re boarding up windows, securing belongings and, in most cases, going north rapidly. On a normal day at work in mid-June Glen Anthony, Elaine Betker’s nephew was on the job for the local power company for whom he worked. Fully decked with safety apparatus and following all of OSHA’s rules he climbed into his lift bucket and was being raised to work on a power line. Something, and no one knows for certain what yet, went wrong. Suddenly Glen was blasted with 26,000 volts that burned him severely and through him to the ground. Instantly his kidneys and liver stopped working and the flesh on both his forearms sizzled and burned from the electrocution. With quick emergency response his life was saved and his arms were barely spared from amputation. He remembered nothing about the accident when he came to hours later. Weeks in the hospital ensued and many of you prayed. His recovery to this point has been described as miraculous by the nurses caring for him as they testify that they have never seen such serious burn wounds heal so quickly. Keep Glen in your prayers as the pain and slow recovery are very tough both for him and for his family. You never know when something terrible might happen. One minute you’re working your job, joking with fellow employees and thinning about your wife and children and the next minute you awake in the hospital. There is also the very real chance that your life might be snuffed out by some tragic turn of events. Consider the happy-go-lucky commuters on the subway and the bus in London this past week. All was well with them; then in an instant 50 of them were dead and hundreds began coming to in hospital emergency rooms. Realistically we know that, if we live long enough in this wicked world, we will face situations we would rather not face—things that might cause us to unravel emotionally and spiritually if we are not prepared. Being prepared is more than the Boy Scout motto—it is wise biblical counsel. We don’t like to think of such eventualities, but we are foolish if we don’t realistically consider the possibilities. My intention is not to send you into paranoia or superstitious fear, but the other extreme might be foolish flippancy, going about our lives with a cavalier attitude believing somehow we are out of the reach of such tragedies. Some serious storms, winds and waves of trouble and floods of difficulty come our way in life, too. Maybe a serious accident, the death of a loved one, a catastrophic financial setback, or a devastating medical report. We don’t exactly anticipate them, but the wise person knows he will inevitably face tempests in his life—serious problems that will threaten to undo him – IF he is not prepared for them. The prophet Jeremiah was a priest who was called into a public prophetic ministry under King Josiah, who was later killed in the war against the Egyptians in Megiddo. Four short-term, spiritually anemic successors assumed the throne of Judah while the calendar turned from the 7th to the 6th year B.C. It was a terrible time of spiritual demise in the three decades prior to the southern kingdom of Israel being dragged off into Babylonian captivity. God’s will was all but ignored in Judah’s political leadership, spiritual devotion at an all-time low. World power shifted from Egypt to Babylon, as God was calling to the stage His instruments of judgment on His wayward people. The picture of their future grew more and more ominous. Like a hastily assembled levee, Jeremiah’s nation was springing leaks all over and it was soon to be overtaken. In the darkest period of his people’s history Jeremiah was called to preach Jehovah’s warnings and desperate invitation to repent among his fellow Judeans. But no one listened. It’s no wonder he is called the weeping prophet. There he stood waist-deep in the swirling, rising waters his nation’s self-destruction and no one was listening. All they would do was mock and ridicule him, threatening him with harm and imprisonment for his public pessimism. As you might imagine, Jeremiah was not without his own questions regarding the ways of God. Jeremiah 12:1-4 – You are always righteous, O Lord, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts. Yet you know me, O Lord; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter! How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, “He will not see what happens to us.” Now, when mere men audaciously approach the holy and omnipotent God with such insolence, demanding that their questions be answered, He always refuses to answer directly until He can convince His petitioners to—shall we say—stand down a bit, and learn a little humility. Just as He did with Job, God puts Jeremiah in his place with His indirect response. In verse 5 God poses a question for his disgruntled prophet. “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” An aside here concerning the word used by Jeremiah there at the end of verse five. The word your NIV Bible translates as “thickets” is the word normally used for flood waters. The usually sluggish Jordan River would become a raging flood after heavy seasonal rains. Some years the massive, destructive torrent would wash over the banks of the Jordan and wash away anything in its path downstream. Does anyone here remember the little village of Valmeyer, IL? The great flood of 1993 saw the banks of the Mississippi overrun to a width of six miles, such an extreme that not only were hundreds of thousands of acres covered with its muddy waters, but the entire town of Valmeyer was simply washed away. It has since been rebuilt—this time high on a high bluff overlooking the old village site. It was the largest federally funded community relocation in history. That’s the kind of floodwater that Jeremiah’s land would face around the Jordan in the days of the seasonal rains. And here is what God says to His impudent prophet: “Jerry, you’ve been a good servant thus far. It’s been a tough assignment and you have shown a lot of courage and tenacity. But listen, buddy, the service I have for you in the days to come will be much tougher. So far, you’ve been racing against other runners—and you complain that you’re exhausted! I’ve got you entered in a horse race in just a little while! If you’re out of brawn and breath now, what will you be like then? Why, your heart will pound like thunder against your chest wall; your lungs will wheeze and gasp for oxygen like a worn out bellows; your body will be numb from the effort and your legs will feel like noodles! I know what you’ve been through—plodding across the plains, walking the hills, preaching truth that makes you your audience’s enemy. But, listen, Mister Jeremiah, the weather thus far has been fairly decent. What will it be like when the rains come and you’re trudging through thick mud and knee-deep flood silt? How will you keep from being swept clean off your tired little feet and carried away by the raging river? Jeremiah, your life as a watchman for Me in Judah may have seemed tiring so far, but get ready to run as you’ve never run before! Prepare yourself, because you’re going to have to reach back for all the reserves of strength you never even knew I could give you. Man, the turbulence of the coming days will be more than you can imagine! Get ready for the river’s rising, Jeremiah!” Until 1993, the farmers and river dwellers along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers would have told you they’d weathered some nasty floods. But in the summer of 93 they said “We’ve never seen anything like this before!” Some said that great flood was a symbol of the love and grace of God for the people of this area. They said it was God’s prophetic message that His grace and mercy were going to wash through the area in a great revival. While I wish, and I pray, that were true, I have a better notion of what God might have been saying in that flood. In fact, I wonder if He isn’t speaking in every tornado and hurricane, earthquake and lightning strike, every flood, volcanic eruption and every other “natural disaster”!? Do you know what insurance companies call such events? “Act of God”! Psalm 104 says, O Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the storm. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. Job 26 says, By His power He churned up the sea… Psalm 65:6 – [you] formed the mountains by your power having armed yourself with strength… I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The lord does whatever pleases him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. (Psalm 135:5-7) And of Jesus His closest disciples, slack jawed at Jesus’ miracle of calming the stormy sea, said in wonder, Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him! [webmasters note Mark 4:41] The Bible’s plain message is that God is able to create and sustain all of His creation by the Word of His power. God’s warning to young Jeremiah was plain – Pal, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet! Of course the Lord was impressing on his prophet not only that things were going to get worse—much worse—but also that in the trials and troubles God would give to him all the resources he would need. And indeed He did. What I take from this encounter is that I am not to be surprised at what might happen, whether by the hand of God or by the manipulation of Satan, the Prince of the powers of the air. I am reminded that the power of God is wondrously illustrated in the fury, and the beauty, of what we call nature in this world. And I am reminded that though I may be impressed today by a category 4 hurricane, God is much more powerful. We might be wowed by an 8.5 reading on a Richter scale, but it doesn’t even come close to the degree of God’s strength. By His eternal Word He spoke the worlds into existence. What awesome power! The word “light” hadn’t even escaped His lips and suddenly an entire universe was awash in a glowing energy, a concept so complicated and splendorous, so universal yet so inexplicable. He uttered a sound and vegetation sprang forth, gloriously beautiful, ecologically interdependent and perfectly equipped to sustain other life forms with its produce. With the mere mention of a word millions of creatures, from the sub-atomic and single-celled to the unfathomably complex and awesomely designed beings of reason and emotion. Eels and elephants, Amoebas and angels, humming birds and humans. Now here is my point. The God who made it all can sustain it all. And when it all looks horribly wrong He’s still in charge. When Jeremiah saw the terrifying specter of Judah’s sin and impending judgment God was moving to correct and heal what had gone wrong. The farmer’s along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, whose crops were wiped out by the flood 12 years ago today are reaping the benefit of a foot of rich river silt dumped onto their starved over farmed land. Horrible things hurt and heal. Pain purges and purifies. We must put all of it into the huge hands of God who alone can make it work out for good. When he thought he was at the end of his rope the Lord speaks to Jeremiah, not an encouraging word, but a most discomfiting word—it’s going to get worse. Maybe God’s word to Jeremiah is just what we need to hear today as well. If we think that trying to live a Christ like life is difficult now, what will happen when our witness plunges us into situations so demanding that our faith is really stretched? I mean, we have our problems, right? It’s just hard making ends meet on $70,000 annually—there’s no way I can be generous with the church! Man, as soon as you buy the kids a new car, the ski boat needs repair. Then the sprinkler system breaks down and, of all things, the TV in the spare bedroom has a fuzzy picture! I’m trying to be a faithful witness, but I’m just afraid my friends will think of me as a religious fanatic. You know, we really miss being at church, but, you know, Saturdays are so busy with lawn cutting, running the kids here and there, washing the car—well, Sunday’s the only day I have to sleep in! How will we ever run with horses? Compared to the church in other times in history and in other parts of the globe even today, we Western world Christians are on a picnic at Pleasant Hill Park. Are we ready for the river’s rising? • If you give in to anger in a traffic jam, how will you handle it when your good name is slandered by the lies of anti-Christian people? • If you cave in to gossip and slander about good, Christian people today, what will you do when tempted to malign a non-Christian? • If you’re taken under in a thimble full of lust now, how will you keep from drowning when the enemy sends you a river of temptation? • If you crumble in your attempt to witness to amiable friends, what will you do when the Spirit leads you to Caesar? • If you are stingy with the relatively small amount of time, talent and treasure you have now, how would you ever please your God with more? • If being a little unhappy drives you to the bottle, the pill box, the mall or the refrigerator now, how will you survive in a time of real trouble and sorrow? When your personal rivers rise, how ready will you be? Will you be able to endure? I have an encouraging word for you. In Christ you will be able to endure. In Christ you will find strength not only to endure, but also to run with horses. You will endure hardship, survive floods, conquer trials and be victorious in all circumstances. It is in Christ that we will endure the river’s rising. Cling to Him in trust and hope. Learn now in the days of preparation to draw upon His Spirit and His incomparable power. These are days of readiness, while the river is in its banks, while He is still training us to run with men. It is the time to build our relationship of faith in Him. Peter wrote to late first century Christians who were about to endure the torture and mayhem of Roman persecution: Therefore, prepare your minds for action: be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:13-16) There is great value, fellow Christians, in disciplining yourself spiritually through regular Bible study, prayer and ministry. If you want to be strong when the water’s rise and the horse race begins, start now to practice the disciplines that will keep you strong in the days to come. In 1915, Lord Joseph Duveen, head of the great German Duveen art firm, was planning to send one of his experts to England to examine and possibly purchase some ancient pottery on display there. They booked passage on the ocean liner, the Lusitania. But the German embassy issued a warning that there was a chance that the ship might be torpedoed. Duveen offered to call of the trip, telling his employee and friend, “I can’t take the risk of your being killed.” “Don’t worry, sir, I’ve heard what has been going on in the Atlantic, and in the slight chance that I end up on a sinking ship, I have taken precautions. I’ve begun hardening myself by spending time every day in a tub of ice water. I’m up to 2 hours now.” Duveen laughed, and allowed the trip. The Lusitania was, in fact, torpedoed. The young art critic was picked up after nearly five hours in the frigid North Atlantic waters, still in excellent condition. These are your days of conditioning and preparation for the water’s rising. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and every! Amen. [webmasters note Ephesians 3:20]   [Back to Top]