WHEN THE WAY TO LIVE IS DETOURED

Jeremiah 1:4-19

I. Intro and Historical Background

A. Where we are in history

B. Who Jeremiah is and the book overview

Jeremiah is from a small town, served a small tribe (Benjamin) and came from a disposed priestly lineage - He was close enough to be familiar with the customs and worship and daily activity - but far enough to be able to be critical.

II. Jeremiah’s time and call is not that different from us today:

The last year was a tumultuous one and one that has spurned on such strong emotion.

It has caused many of us to wrestle and if we were to be honest have real doubts and questions about the promises of God, His sovereignty, the role the church in the world around us.

Tensions rose, focus of the church shifted, dismay and disappointment turned to anger and we look and saw the church stagger as they wrestled through the trials they were facing

Jeremiah offers a message of hope in the midst of tumultuous times.

But what happens when the way to that hope is not what we thought it would be.

III. Purpose and Aim of the message - you maybe in a season where you are trying to cling to the promises of God, but despair is rampant, anger is real, depression has set in, but God offers a hope that we can cling to, and one that is not built on the foundations and ways of this world

IV. The Call of Jeremiah (1:4-19) -

v. 4-8 - We see the calling of Jeremiah - God is the sovereign one that calls and equips His servants with His holy word

He knows and moves things to fulfill His ultimate purpose - God’s plan for Jeremiah was to be set apart, to herald the plan, truth, hope we have in God.

Jeremiah speaks humbly - he does not simply make excuses, he has not yet reach adulthood, still dependent on his parents (between 12-16)

God reassures - Jeremiah will go and say what God leads Him to - God will protect and deliver him - but this does not mean immunity from trouble or pain.

v.9-10 - The message -

3 Fold message of Jeremiah:

Pluck and break down: preaching against sin

Destroy and overthrow: message concerning the impending judgement on the Jewish people

Build and plant: the hope and renewal to come.

v.11-16 - Marks of the ministry

The two visions are of the coming destruction from Babylon and how they will serve the purpose of the Lord to bring judgment against the Jewish people - they have chosen evil, they focused had shifted from the promise God had given them in Gen. 12:1-3 - and they had turned to compromise and worship other gods.

And in His eternal purpose He is going to execute this season of pruning and pain.

Not a popular message and every time Jeremiah opens His mouth he is beaten, stoned, imprisoned, his hometown plotted against him, he sees only 2 converts his whole ministry

v.20:7 - Jeremiah gets to the point that he is so fed up that he says to the Lord, you seduced me, you told me what I wanted to hear to get you way with me.

VI. What to do when it is not going according to our plan.

4 directives from God to Jeremiah - v.17

dress for work: gird your loins, tie your robe so that your legs are free to work - sojourners and aliens

Arise - do not be lazy - do not get sucked into the satanic lullaby - work for the good of the city

Say - speak what God has said - know His word preach the Gospel to yourself, root your life in the word so that it naturally comes out of you.

Do not be dismayed - lean into the promises of God

Judgement was not the end to the plan of God -

Jeremiah 23:5-6

Jeremiah 31:31-34

The hope for the believer is in the promises of God, even when it seems impossible and the way to life seems blocked, the eternal perspective allows the believer to enter into spaces no one else can

GOSPEL CALL

Therefore the Christian is called to a gentle resolution in the midst of the trials

Things did not get better for the people right away - in fact they are taken into captivity - Babylon comes at the end of the book and lays waste to Jerusalem

But v.19 - the enemies of God (the powers of Satan) may do their best but the gates of hell will not prevail against His church (Matt. 16:18) - even if we lose our “freedoms” or our lives the chosen of God are not abandoned, they will be vindicated, God will deliver and restore them.

Close by tying back to the directives in v.17