Sermon Tone Analysis

EMERGE

No Matter What, My Message Won't Change

Often you might hear a person say God has called them into Ministry, But when you ask them what area of Ministry has God called you too.

Many can’t communicate exactly what Area God has called them into and therefore they become discouraged with ministry because of failure to identify there calling.

Whenever God called someone In scripture he was very clear to what he wanted them to stop doing and what he wanted them to pursue.

And When God gives us a word to be taught, preached or prophesied it doesn’t Change… It might be said in different styles, expressed by different methods.

But it don’t Change..

People Change but God’s word don’t change.

Agenda’s Change But God’s Word Don’t change.

Cultures Change, Political Leaders Change..

But God

1. (The Prophet Rejected)

: The story goes like this: First, ungodly men reject the prophet’s word.

At the end of chapter 37, some of King Zedekiah’s lobbyists were so angry with Jeremiah that they had him beaten and imprisoned.

Zedekiah granted Jeremiah a limited pardon, but the prophet was still confined to the courtyard of the prison.They locked Jeremiah up, but they couldn’t shut him up.

The reason he kept getting into trouble with the law was because he preached fearlessly the Word of God.

Like the Apostle Paul (Philippians 1:12–13), Jeremiah preached to everyone who passed through the prison.

Jeremiah basically had only one sermon:

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live.

He will escape with his life; he will live.’

And this is what the LORD says: ‘This city will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’

” (38:1–3)

As Christians we must decide do we want to be Liked By People or Loved By God

Tell Someone No Matter What My Message Won’t Change.

2. You’re Not Really Effective Until You Riled Up The Enemies Of God.

If your not sure who God’s enemies are keep speaking truth and the whole truth..

To understand why Jeremiah’s sermon made people mad, it helps to understand how desperate the situation was in Jerusalem.

The city was under siege.

The most powerful military force in the world—the Babylonian army—was camped outside its walls, cutting off all supplies.

Bread rations were starting to run low, and there was no water left in any of the cisterns, only brackish mud.

Very likely, the Babylonians had started to attack the walls of the city, trying to undermine its towers or knock down its gates with battering rams.

The prophet Ezekiel offered a grim military briefing about this siege: “Outside is the sword, inside are plague and famine; those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague” (7:15).

One way or another, the citizens were doomed

Given the city’s weak tactical position, it is easy to see why Jeremiah’s little sermon was bad for morale.

He was announcing that victory was impossible, defeat inevitable.

His message was “Surrender or Die.”

He was preaching that message not because the Babylonians were invincible, but because God himself was fighting on Babylon’s side.

Even though Jeremiah spoke his message on God’s behalf

That Gang Of Four didn’t want to hear it

Your Enemies always travel in Packs!!!

And If you ever watched the god father, you will learn the real leader always stays hidden

That “Gang of Four” (Zedekiah’s policy analysts or cabinet members) wanted assurance of victory, not a dire prophecy of defeat.

They wanted a message of peace, not ruin.

“Then the officials said to the king: ‘This man should be put to death.

He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them.

This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin’ ” (38:4).

The persecution of God’s prophet begins with the rejection of the prophetic word.

Jeremiah’s enemies were shutting their ears to his life-or-death message.

It is hard not to feel at least a little sympathy for the “Gang of Four” who opposed Jeremiah.

The prophet was discouraging the soldiers.

The word translated “discouraging” means to “weaken one’s hand.”

When the soldiers heard Jeremiah’s message, their hands fell slack, and their weapons dropped from their hands.

They were so discouraged that they could hardly lift a finger to defend Jerusalem.

Jeremiah and Lamentations—From Sorrow to Hope (The Prophet Rejected)

Notice also the words “who are left” in the phrase “the soldiers who are left in this city.”

Apparently Judah had lost a few good men.

No doubt some had fallen in battle while defending the city walls.

Others were slipping out at night by ones and twos and going over to surrender to the Babylonians.

After all, that is precisely what Jeremiah was encouraging them to do: “Whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live” (v.

2).

Furthermore, Jeremiah was getting a wide hearing.

The soldiers were not the only ones who were discouraged—everyone was discouraged.

Jeremiah was confined to the prison courtyard, but people had been passing his sermon tapes all over the city.

The word was getting out.

Folks Where Following His tweets!!

Jeremiah and Lamentations—From Sorrow to Hope (The Prophet Rejected)

It is not hard to figure out why the gang of four were so upset.

They were patriots trying to defend their homeland, but Jeremiah was hurting the war effort with his defeatist attitude.

Not surprisingly, when they heard what Jeremiah was preaching, they cried “Treason!”Here is the real question, however: Was their accusation true?

Listen again to the charge the “Gang of Four” leveled against Jeremiah: “This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin” (v.

4).

Was the accusation true?

Was Jeremiah a traitor to God’s people or not?

Was he seeking their ruin or their good?

Jeremiah and Lamentations—From Sorrow to Hope (The Prophet Rejected)

News of divine judgment is always bad news.

It is unpleasant to hear that God punishes sin rather than overlooks it.

But the only thing that really matters is whether or not the bad news of divine judgment is true.

When the bad news is God’s news, it needs to be heard

In this case, Jeremiah was no traitor.

He was speaking the very words of God.

When God’s prophet speaks God’s judgment in God’s name, he is no traitor to God’s people.

Furthermore, Jeremiah was preaching sweet grace as well as sure judgment.

He was telling God’s people how they could save themselves.

The real traitors were the members of the “Gang of Four.”

When they rejected God’s prophet, they were rejecting God himself, setting themselves up as the enemies of the living God.

That was not courageous; it was foolhardy.

Jeremiah and Lamentations—From Sorrow to Hope (The Prophet Rejected)

The ‘Gang Of Four’ were the liberal theologians of their day.

They wanted a God of mercy, but not a God of justice.

They wanted a God who gives victory, but not a God who allows suffering.

They wanted a Father of love, but not a Father of discipline.

The “Gang of Four” were willing to sacrifice the lives of God’s people for only half a god.

(The Prophet Rejected)

This story is a parable for post-Christian times.

The church of Jesus Christ is like Jeremiah to a postmodern culture.

We do not say, “There, there, everything will be all right.”

Instead, we say, “It’s not all right with you until you get right with God.”

We do not say, “Peace, peace.”

Instead, we say, “You will be troubled until you make peace with God.”

We proclaim God’s judgment, speaking out against greed, pride, false worship, sexual immorality, and all kinds of sin.

And we proclaim God’s grace to this world, announcing free pardon from every sin in Jesus Christ.

How will the world respond to the church’s message?