WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.360 And turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah. 00:00:06.100 --> 00:00:07.339 The book of Jeremiah. 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:13.120 Which if you've got a church Bible and you want to grab one, 00:00:13.120 --> 00:00:13.679 ! 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:38.179 And I don't know if Jeremiah's reputation is pretty miserable. 00:00:40.100 --> 00:00:41.620 Michelangelo, I wonder whether we can have it on the screen, 00:00:41.700 --> 00:00:46.079 Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:46.980 I don't know if you've been there. 00:00:47.400 --> 00:00:48.000 It's Peter's Chapel. 00:00:48.260 --> 00:00:51.260 It's an amazing scene. 00:00:51.519 --> 00:00:54.900 And he painted different characters from the Bible. 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:57.500 And so can you see Isaiah? 00:00:58.460 --> 00:00:59.400 Look at Isaiah. 00:01:00.619 --> 00:01:03.219 He looks smart, doesn't he? 00:01:03.340 --> 00:01:04.560 Isaiah looks noble. 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:06.159 Quite an attractive fellow. 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:08.359 Then you've got Ezekiel. 00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:12.159 Ezekiel, he's animated. 00:01:12.620 --> 00:01:14.140 He's ready for action. 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:14.900 Can you see that? 00:01:15.819 --> 00:01:17.539 And then you've got Zechariah. 00:01:18.379 --> 00:01:20.640 And Zechariah gets to read the Bible. 00:01:21.299 --> 00:01:23.200 He looks engaged, doesn't he? 00:01:23.579 --> 00:01:24.400 He's thoughtful. 00:01:25.900 --> 00:01:27.319 And then you get Jeremiah. 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:27.439 Jeremiah. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.719 Melancholy. 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:37.620 And it's no wonder, is it, that Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet. 00:01:38.700 --> 00:01:42.340 But as I've kind of studied Jeremiah over these past few months, 00:01:42.460 --> 00:01:43.480 I've grown to love him. 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:50.540 Yes, there are elements which express deep, deep emotion and deep, deep sadness. 00:01:50.540 --> 00:02:03.219 And yet, throughout this book, I think we're going to see wonderful glimpses of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel that we believe in. 00:02:03.219 --> 00:02:05.299 Why study Jeremiah? 00:02:05.299 --> 00:02:06.340 Let me give you four reasons. 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:16.000 The first reason is that I'm not sure there is a book in the Bible that is more personally engaging or consistently moving than the prophet Jeremiah. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:28.680 If you think that engaging with God and worshiping God is cold or detached or formal, you're going to be in for the shock of your life when you look at Jeremiah. 00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:37.260 The second reason that I think we need to study Jeremiah as a church is because it's clearly written to such a time as this. 00:02:38.640 --> 00:02:44.640 Jeremiah lives on the cusp, on the edge of God's people being taken into exile in Babylon. 00:02:45.719 --> 00:02:47.300 They're about to be kicked out of the land. 00:02:47.300 --> 00:02:57.100 And his ministry straddles complacency, gathering gloom, impending disaster, disaster itself, and the aftermath of exile. 00:02:58.100 --> 00:03:02.420 He walks us through that path like no one else in the Bible. 00:03:03.380 --> 00:03:08.480 It's a time of massive, threatening change, a frightening time. 00:03:08.700 --> 00:03:10.200 A time such as this. 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:20.339 None of us know exactly, do we, how the next few years are going to pan out, economically, socially, politically, religiously. 00:03:21.299 --> 00:03:27.459 None of us know how things are going to work themselves out for the church of God in this land in the next few years. 00:03:28.899 --> 00:03:37.079 But it is a real mistake to think that, to miss that we are living at a time of traumatic societal change. 00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:46.659 Societal norms on sexuality have been revolutionized in the past 40 years. 00:03:49.319 --> 00:03:56.919 Bills are being introduced into Parliament that would have been unthinkable, even illegal, in generations past. 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:05.780 Technology has recalibrated, doesn't it, how we connect with people and how we live our lives. 00:04:05.780 --> 00:04:11.159 But also, our jobs are under great threat, aren't they? 00:04:11.740 --> 00:04:12.640 From technology. 00:04:13.580 --> 00:04:16.600 There is an old world that is unraveling. 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:21.420 And Jeremiah is in the Bible, in part, to help us to cope with times like this. 00:04:22.920 --> 00:04:26.639 The third reason for studying it, I think it's unusual, 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:33.419 because no other book in the Old Testament gives us as great an insight into the incarnation of the Lord Jesus. 00:04:34.819 --> 00:04:37.259 Into the coming, into this world of the Lord Jesus. 00:04:37.620 --> 00:04:41.879 Here is a prophet, Jeremiah, whose words are his own, 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:46.000 and yet they are identified frequently as the words of God himself. 00:04:47.300 --> 00:04:48.800 At times, as I've been reading it, 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:52.259 I couldn't tell you the difference between the words of God and the words of a Jeremiah. 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:56.620 Here is a prophet who feels what God feels. 00:04:57.699 --> 00:05:02.779 Here is a prophet who goes through the pain of his people like no other. 00:05:04.019 --> 00:05:07.800 Here is a prophet that lives out, acts out his message, 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:10.399 and loves through his message. 00:05:11.779 --> 00:05:16.259 And lastly, a reason for studying Jeremiah is no other book in the Bible gives us as much insight 00:05:16.939 --> 00:05:19.579 as to how God works through his word. 00:05:19.579 --> 00:05:22.779 The spoken word of the prophet. 00:05:23.819 --> 00:05:25.500 The written word of the prophet. 00:05:26.060 --> 00:05:27.139 And his scribe Baruch. 00:05:27.419 --> 00:05:30.060 And ultimately, the living word of the prophet. 00:05:31.899 --> 00:05:36.259 Jeremiah actually gives us a unique insight into how the Bible was put together. 00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:41.939 And so Jeremiah preaches, and his scribe Baruch writes down the first edition. 00:05:42.819 --> 00:05:48.120 Only to watch King Jehoiakim carefully slice it up and throw it in the fire. 00:05:48.120 --> 00:05:53.000 Baruch immediately starts work on the second expanded edition. 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:58.920 And it seems that when Jeremiah goes into Egypt with those who refuse to go to Babylon, 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:02.680 Jeremiah produces and Baruch produce a third version of their work. 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:05.060 Just for the Egyptian exile. 00:06:06.600 --> 00:06:09.800 Which then kind of finds its way into the Greek version of the New Testament. 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:15.680 Before Jeremiah and Baruch produce a final, a definitive, a fourth version of their work. 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:21.900 And it finds itself into the Masoretic text and into our scriptures. 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:24.560 All the way through, what I'm saying to you is this. 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:27.040 God is superintending. 00:06:27.319 --> 00:06:28.840 Overruling his purposes. 00:06:30.300 --> 00:06:35.259 Overruling the process by which Jeremiah's words are the very words of God. 00:06:35.259 --> 00:06:39.240 And so what we'll find in Jeremiah is that it's emotionally demanding. 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:42.099 It's intellectually engaging. 00:06:43.219 --> 00:06:44.779 And it's personally challenging. 00:06:45.740 --> 00:06:48.219 Because this is the word of God. 00:06:49.259 --> 00:06:50.259 Chapter 1 this week. 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:52.800 Chapters 2 to 6 next week. 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:53.819 So there's some homework, alright? 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:56.800 Read chapters 2 to 6, alright? 00:06:57.639 --> 00:06:58.539 Chapter 1. 00:06:59.500 --> 00:07:00.060 Chapter 1. 00:07:00.139 --> 00:07:03.000 Jeremiah lives, verses 1 to 3, in messy times. 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:05.160 In messy times. 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:06.339 Let me read those words. 00:07:06.459 --> 00:07:08.040 Words of Jeremiah, the son of Elkiah. 00:07:08.740 --> 00:07:11.279 One of the priests who were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:16.500 To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 00:07:16.779 --> 00:07:20.680 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah. 00:07:21.019 --> 00:07:25.540 And until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah. 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:28.620 Until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month. 00:07:28.740 --> 00:07:30.180 Every detail is important. 00:07:30.180 --> 00:07:39.079 What follows are the words of a real historical person called Jeremiah and the words of Yahweh. 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:41.740 And the two are indistinguishable. 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:49.399 And right from the very off, the word, word, dominates Jeremiah. 00:07:49.399 --> 00:07:49.479 Jeremiah. 00:07:50.299 --> 00:07:58.079 It's there in verse 1, verse 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 17. 00:08:00.139 --> 00:08:02.060 Sometimes it's a noun, it's translated word. 00:08:02.219 --> 00:08:04.539 Sometimes it's translated spoke or proclaim. 00:08:05.799 --> 00:08:11.620 But right from the off, in chapter 1, we are being told that Jeremiah is a book about God's word. 00:08:12.359 --> 00:08:15.379 Spoken into a deeply messy world. 00:08:15.379 --> 00:08:18.560 And for Jeremiah, it really was a messy world. 00:08:20.100 --> 00:08:27.339 Jeremiah was born in the long, dark reign of King Manasseh, who was the clear winner of the worst king that Judah ever had. 00:08:29.139 --> 00:08:34.179 He then lived through the not much better, but mercifully short reign of Manasseh's son Ammon. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:40.620 Jeremiah began his ministry in the time of the reforming King Josiah. 00:08:40.620 --> 00:08:50.820 Josiah and Jeremiah, they are rough contemporaries, brothers in arms, in the battle to discover the message of Deuteronomy for God's people. 00:08:52.139 --> 00:08:55.759 So Josiah kicks off his reform program in 6 through 9 BC. 00:08:56.899 --> 00:09:00.840 And Jeremiah is commissioned in the events we're going to look at in 6 through 7 BC. 00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:10.420 The same year that the last great Assyrian king, Asher Bernapal, dies and the world begins to change. 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:14.840 Then the book of Deuteronomy is rediscovered. 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:22.440 Jeremiah lives then through the stupid death of the godly but politically naive King Josiah. 00:09:23.080 --> 00:09:24.560 At the hands of the Egyptians. 00:09:25.700 --> 00:09:27.840 He sees the rise of the rebellion of the Babylonians. 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:33.160 The rebellion and the subjection of Jehoiakim and Jehoiakim. 00:09:34.139 --> 00:09:39.360 Many of the good and the great, like Ezekiel and Daniel, they get carted off to Babylon. 00:09:40.500 --> 00:09:43.220 He lives through the pointless rebellion of Zedekiah. 00:09:43.700 --> 00:09:49.500 And he lives then through the final fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar in 587. 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:56.019 Jeremiah goes with the stubborn and rebellious rebels to Egypt. 00:09:56.019 --> 00:09:57.899 And he serves there for the rest of his days. 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:00.360 There's an unraveling. 00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:01.399 Don't worry about the details. 00:10:01.659 --> 00:10:03.279 It's an unraveling of the royal world. 00:10:04.500 --> 00:10:07.259 It's the disintegration of what has been a stable universe. 00:10:09.059 --> 00:10:10.879 And he was a priest from Anathor. 00:10:12.379 --> 00:10:14.139 Which complicates things even further. 00:10:16.819 --> 00:10:19.000 This is a slightly dangerous illustration. 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:20.980 But my associate minister is away. 00:10:21.100 --> 00:10:25.639 In Northern Ireland, politics is ethnically defined. 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:28.200 You can argue with me about that. 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:36.220 If you are an ethnic Protestant, you are assumed to be a Unionist and a Rangers football fan. 00:10:37.820 --> 00:10:41.519 And you want a constitutional link between the UK and Ireland. 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:42.299 You want them to stay together. 00:10:42.299 --> 00:10:50.159 If you are an ethnic Catholic, it is assumed that you are a nationalist and a Celtic fan. 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:53.279 And you favor an all-island state. 00:10:55.679 --> 00:11:00.500 And so Protestants, who come out as nationalists and Celtic fans, 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:05.799 and Catholics, who identify themselves as Unionists, 00:11:07.059 --> 00:11:09.879 are basically regarded as traitors. 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:13.600 Politics is ethnically defined. 00:11:13.779 --> 00:11:14.799 It's the same here. 00:11:14.899 --> 00:11:16.939 This is the hint we've got in Jeremiah. 00:11:17.139 --> 00:11:17.639 It's from Anathor. 00:11:17.740 --> 00:11:19.279 Why does he tell us that? 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:23.340 Jeremiah is a priest from Anathoth, a Levitical city. 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:24.419 It's got a long history. 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:28.360 And if you look up in your Bibles, it relates to something that happened in Joshua 21. 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:31.740 Anathoth is Abiathar country. 00:11:31.980 --> 00:11:32.460 Do you remember him? 00:11:35.299 --> 00:11:38.200 Abiathar was a priest in David's time. 00:11:38.200 --> 00:11:42.820 And he vies with Zadok for preeminence of the kingdom. 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:44.040 They fight about it. 00:11:45.700 --> 00:11:50.220 He backs Adonijah rather than Solomon in 1 Kings 1. 00:11:50.300 --> 00:11:52.020 And it ends up in tears for them both. 00:11:54.620 --> 00:11:56.540 Abiathar picked the wrong horse. 00:11:57.420 --> 00:11:59.940 And his disgruntled family, they are marginalized. 00:12:00.360 --> 00:12:03.879 They spend the rest of their days grumbling back in Anathoth. 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:08.059 And so Jeremiah comes from that part of the world. 00:12:09.659 --> 00:12:14.580 He comes from a priestly family who've got an axe to grind against the descendants of Solomon. 00:12:15.299 --> 00:12:16.120 And what does he do? 00:12:17.059 --> 00:12:19.720 He embarks on a life of preaching. 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:29.639 Where the priests get a bit part role in tandem with a Davidic king, Josiah, whose reforms are word-centered rather than priest-driven. 00:12:31.240 --> 00:12:32.440 He's hardly popular. 00:12:33.779 --> 00:12:35.580 He's seen as a traitor back home. 00:12:35.580 --> 00:12:42.940 And with that said, the stage is set for Jeremiah's commissioning in verses 4 to 10, which is a unique commission. 00:12:43.040 --> 00:12:48.240 But before we get there, I want you to make sure that you get the point of the first three verses. 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:53.720 Already it's been flagged up that Jeremiah lives in a time of turmoil. 00:12:53.720 --> 00:13:07.139 Jeremiah's ministry lasted 40 years through multiple regime and government changes. 00:13:08.139 --> 00:13:13.040 And with the possible exception of Josiah, nobody ever wanted him around. 00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:18.980 In fact, as we'll see on multiple occasions, they tried to get rid of him. 00:13:18.980 --> 00:13:23.399 And that is the basic pattern of his ministry. 00:13:25.159 --> 00:13:29.580 And that, the Bible teaches us, is the basic pattern of what it means to be a Christian. 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:33.620 Which is evident throughout the whole of the Bible. 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:37.399 Think of the Gospels and the Lord Jesus. 00:13:39.060 --> 00:13:47.820 One of the most striking things, I think, for you and I, when we read the Gospels with fresh eyes, is just how awkward Jesus is. 00:13:48.980 --> 00:13:51.340 The sheer awkwardness of the Lord Jesus. 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:57.120 And the way that he never seems to answer a question directly. 00:13:58.539 --> 00:14:01.539 The way that he puts people on the wrong foot. 00:14:03.300 --> 00:14:06.000 The way that Jesus refuses to conform. 00:14:07.379 --> 00:14:09.820 The strength of reaction that he provokes. 00:14:09.820 --> 00:14:13.100 And leading up to Jesus throughout the Old Testament. 00:14:13.260 --> 00:14:15.540 And flowing from Jesus into the New Testament. 00:14:15.640 --> 00:14:16.800 That is always the case. 00:14:17.620 --> 00:14:20.100 Living as a follower of Jesus. 00:14:20.500 --> 00:14:24.200 Never leads to straightforward popularity. 00:14:26.100 --> 00:14:29.200 Sooner or later, the rub will come. 00:14:30.580 --> 00:14:35.860 And faithfulness and popularity can never breathe the same air for very long. 00:14:35.860 --> 00:14:39.440 And so today, in your office. 00:14:40.519 --> 00:14:41.840 In your school. 00:14:42.700 --> 00:14:43.980 On your street. 00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:46.240 In your friendships. 00:14:47.539 --> 00:14:55.860 Sooner or later, it always becomes clear that faithfulness and popularity are uneasy bedfellows. 00:14:55.860 --> 00:15:06.120 And for some of us this morning, popularity is a very alluring mistress, isn't she? 00:15:06.919 --> 00:15:07.960 We long for it. 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:12.820 There's something in many of us, if not all of us. 00:15:12.820 --> 00:15:18.760 Which along with a desire to serve Jesus, yes, and bring glory to him. 00:15:18.860 --> 00:15:23.740 We would love to be recognized and affirmed and applauded. 00:15:25.500 --> 00:15:28.140 Or perhaps even just to be liked. 00:15:30.340 --> 00:15:35.520 And the entire book of Jeremiah, starting with the first three verses, is a call to die to that. 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:42.639 That to set ourselves to be faithful followers of Jesus. 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:48.319 And leaders who are willing to take whatever comes with that. 00:15:50.699 --> 00:15:56.559 Because faithfulness and popularity can never hang around together for very long. 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:01.899 And that becomes increasingly clear in his unique commission, verses 4 to 10. 00:16:02.659 --> 00:16:03.819 Verses 4 to 10. 00:16:03.820 --> 00:16:11.500 Often this passage is given to ministers or Christian workers. 00:16:11.980 --> 00:16:17.460 That God has set you apart for the role that you've been given. 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:20.640 God calls ministers and preachers. 00:16:20.740 --> 00:16:21.180 That kind of thing. 00:16:22.560 --> 00:16:24.400 That's how it kind of used to be preached. 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:27.040 If you look at kind of sermons from the early 20th century. 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:28.960 That changed slightly in the last few years. 00:16:29.060 --> 00:16:30.900 There's another tendency where people go to Jeremiah. 00:16:31.320 --> 00:16:33.060 And they say, well, Jeremiah was a prophet. 00:16:33.059 --> 00:16:36.639 And if you remember, in the New Testament, we are all prophets. 00:16:38.119 --> 00:16:40.119 And so this applies to everyone. 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:45.060 I think both those are wrong turns at the traffic lights. 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:55.360 The problem with that is that Jeremiah is asked to do something in these verses that I don't think anyone else in the Old Testament is asked to do. 00:16:56.360 --> 00:16:59.019 Or anyone else in the Bible with one glorious exception. 00:16:59.019 --> 00:17:02.019 So look with me at verses 4 and 5. 00:17:02.019 --> 00:17:08.319 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. 00:17:08.779 --> 00:17:11.500 And before you were born, I consecrated you. 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:14.480 I appointed you a prophet to the nations. 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:15.980 That is a remarkable appointment. 00:17:15.980 --> 00:17:19.360 A prophet to the nations. 00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:21.400 I appointed you to be. 00:17:23.019 --> 00:17:24.220 So think of the other prophets. 00:17:24.620 --> 00:17:26.900 Isaiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Nahum. 00:17:27.860 --> 00:17:30.819 They did have a few words to speak to the nations. 00:17:31.539 --> 00:17:34.019 But they weren't given this global commission. 00:17:34.019 --> 00:17:40.559 Nor were they told, before you were born, I formed you. 00:17:40.639 --> 00:17:41.960 In the womb, I knew you. 00:17:43.480 --> 00:17:45.259 And before you were born, I set you apart as holy. 00:17:46.339 --> 00:17:51.420 Of course, these verses do tell us, don't they, that life begins at conception as well, in a secondary way. 00:17:52.779 --> 00:17:57.480 They tell us that God is intimately involved with the creation of every human being. 00:17:58.859 --> 00:18:00.639 It's why we stand against abortion. 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:03.660 But it's much more than that. 00:18:05.020 --> 00:18:07.860 This is God saying something specific to Jeremiah as he commissions him. 00:18:08.100 --> 00:18:08.780 It's not an accident. 00:18:10.180 --> 00:18:14.100 That the only parallel to these words are taken from Psalm 139. 00:18:14.920 --> 00:18:17.720 Which is written by David the Messiah, God's king. 00:18:18.820 --> 00:18:23.380 As he describes his realization that God has known him in the beginning. 00:18:23.560 --> 00:18:27.100 But even Psalm 139 is eclipsed by Jeremiah 1. 00:18:27.100 --> 00:18:29.940 Because Jeremiah is chosen like Abraham. 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:32.580 Do you remember in Genesis 18? 00:18:33.060 --> 00:18:37.300 And he is known like Israel are in Amos 3 verse 2. 00:18:38.520 --> 00:18:40.660 It's heightened language in the Bible. 00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:45.520 It refers to kind of key players in Scripture. 00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:48.860 Key moments in his unfolding plan. 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:52.259 And Jeremiah feels the weight of this, of what God is saying. 00:18:53.180 --> 00:18:55.980 And he says, oh Lord God, I don't know how to speak. 00:18:56.100 --> 00:18:56.540 Verse 6. 00:18:56.539 --> 00:18:58.659 I'm only a youth. 00:19:01.220 --> 00:19:04.279 At first glance, you think, that sounds like Moses. 00:19:04.420 --> 00:19:04.859 Do you remember Moses? 00:19:06.159 --> 00:19:10.519 Moses trying to wriggle out of his role as God's spokesman in Exodus. 00:19:11.139 --> 00:19:12.859 That he didn't want to go to Pharaoh. 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:18.359 In Exodus 3 to 6, Moses is eminently qualified. 00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:21.779 But he is reluctant to go. 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:27.779 But here I think Jeremiah's reticence is understandable. 00:19:29.459 --> 00:19:31.779 There's no hint that Jeremiah doesn't want to do it. 00:19:32.479 --> 00:19:36.299 He's just blown away by the responsibility. 00:19:38.039 --> 00:19:42.639 Which explains why the Lord doesn't get angry with him like he did with Moses in Exodus. 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:47.240 Jeremiah experiences God's tenderness and encouragement. 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:50.060 So look at verses 7 and 8. 00:19:51.380 --> 00:19:52.820 God says to him, don't say. 00:19:53.900 --> 00:19:56.200 Don't say that I'm only a youth. 00:19:57.960 --> 00:20:00.759 For to all to whom I would send you, you shall go. 00:20:00.940 --> 00:20:02.320 And whatever I command you, you shall speak. 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:03.220 Do not be afraid of them. 00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:08.100 For I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord. 00:20:08.279 --> 00:20:11.860 God reassures him and says to him, your mission will be unlimited. 00:20:12.140 --> 00:20:13.680 You'll go wherever I send you. 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:17.400 But it also comes with universal protection. 00:20:20.140 --> 00:20:23.920 And at this point in verse 9, the links with Moses, they become even more clear. 00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:25.500 Even more direct. 00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:26.180 Look at verse 9. 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:29.000 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. 00:20:29.079 --> 00:20:31.960 And the Lord said to me, behold, I put my words in your mouth. 00:20:33.220 --> 00:20:37.579 Do you remember what God had said to Moses? 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:42.339 To John 18, I will raise up for them a prophet from you. 00:20:43.460 --> 00:20:44.680 Like you among the brothers. 00:20:45.380 --> 00:20:46.600 That's what Moses was promised. 00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:48.920 And I'm going to put my words in his mouth. 00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:52.380 And he shall speak to them all that I command them. 00:20:54.380 --> 00:20:58.079 Now God says to Jeremiah, you are someone that fits the bill. 00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:03.819 You will be someone, Jeremiah, whose words will match perfectly my words. 00:21:04.460 --> 00:21:06.500 Someone whose obedience will be consistent. 00:21:07.139 --> 00:21:09.000 You will be a prophet like Moses. 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:13.759 And this elevated view of Jeremiah is supported by verse 10. 00:21:15.339 --> 00:21:23.500 See, I've set this day, you this day, over nations, over kingdoms, to pluck up, to break down, to destroy, to overthrow, to build and to plant. 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:27.420 The images there are picture language, aren't they? 00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:29.039 It's a picture of farming and building. 00:21:30.339 --> 00:21:31.119 Plucking and planting. 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:34.979 You're going to be in the job of construction. 00:21:36.179 --> 00:21:38.659 Smashing things down and building them up. 00:21:40.099 --> 00:21:43.479 You're going to be in the business of warfare, destroying and overthrowing. 00:21:45.559 --> 00:21:48.159 Primarily, Jeremiah's role will be negative. 00:21:48.299 --> 00:21:49.139 Can you see that in verse 10? 00:21:50.439 --> 00:21:52.000 There's four negative verbs. 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:54.679 But it will not be without hope. 00:21:55.019 --> 00:21:56.479 There's two positives as well in there. 00:21:56.480 --> 00:22:04.279 But the most striking thing about those verses is the remarkable authority that is delegated to Jeremiah. 00:22:04.420 --> 00:22:04.980 Do you see that? 00:22:05.079 --> 00:22:06.200 Over kings and nations. 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:10.059 This prophet is in a league of his own. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:15.539 In fact, those of us who know our Bibles, you think of Psalm 2. 00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:19.140 In Psalm 2, verse 8, it says, 00:22:19.140 --> 00:22:23.540 Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage, the ends of the earth your possession. 00:22:24.520 --> 00:22:28.480 You'll break them with a rod of iron, dash them into pieces like a potter's vessel. 00:22:29.580 --> 00:22:31.840 And so what is going on here in Jeremiah 1? 00:22:33.720 --> 00:22:38.920 It's setting us up to read the rest of the book in what turns out to be a really surprising way. 00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:49.640 This young man, he's probably about 18, is appointed by God himself to be the promised prophet like Moses. 00:22:51.080 --> 00:22:57.539 But he's one who's a prophet to all the nations, who speaks with the very word of God, 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:04.259 who has authority to uproot and demolish and destroy, as well as sowing seeds of hope. 00:23:04.259 --> 00:23:11.140 And already there are signs, aren't there, that this ministry will be lonely and painful. 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:14.960 That this prophet, like no other, will suffer pain like no other. 00:23:15.379 --> 00:23:18.879 And Jeremiah is being introduced to you as the suffering prophet. 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:24.980 Much like the figure in Isaiah, do you remember, is introduced as a suffering servant. 00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:28.960 And David in the Psalms is the suffering king. 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:37.440 And so Jeremiah, the prophet, the main speaker, and the main character in the book, 00:23:38.259 --> 00:23:43.519 he is the true Moses, a true prophet like Moses. 00:23:45.500 --> 00:23:52.799 But actually, as we read Jeremiah, we see that he is an anticipation of a greater prophet who is to come. 00:23:52.799 --> 00:24:02.299 Because these words find their fulfillment, their true fulfillment, in the one who is the word. 00:24:05.099 --> 00:24:08.879 Jeremiah's experience of pain and sharing in the punishment of Judah, 00:24:09.180 --> 00:24:17.279 they'll find their fulfillment in the incarnation of the one who will take our guilt and our punishment upon himself at the cross. 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:26.160 Jeremiah's message of salvation will not only be proclaimed, 00:24:26.460 --> 00:24:32.319 but ultimately will be embodied and achieved by the one whom we know to be the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:41.079 And the words that God speaks to Jeremiah should in the first place be read as a description ahead of time, 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:44.059 an anticipation of the coming of Jesus, 00:24:45.059 --> 00:24:46.859 the Son of God, the true prophet. 00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:51.259 They apply first to Jeremiah, and then they are taken up, 00:24:51.359 --> 00:24:54.119 and they are applied and fulfilled in Jesus himself. 00:24:54.339 --> 00:24:56.680 So look again at verse 5. 00:24:56.779 --> 00:24:57.779 Can you see the beauty of it? 00:24:58.160 --> 00:25:02.220 Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:07.319 And before you were born, I consecrated you. 00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:10.639 I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations. 00:25:10.639 --> 00:25:13.519 Our eyes should fill with tears. 00:25:14.700 --> 00:25:16.639 Our hearts should be expanded. 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:25.099 Because yes, it teaches us of Jeremiah, but it teaches us more gloriously of the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:25:25.099 --> 00:25:29.799 And that helps us in how it applies to us. 00:25:29.799 --> 00:25:36.339 Because we as the people of God who are trusting in the Lord Jesus, we are united to Christ. 00:25:37.059 --> 00:25:39.980 And we are called in a secondary way to walk in his steps. 00:25:39.980 --> 00:25:44.799 And we share as the church in the fulfillment of his mission. 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:46.880 And so when we read, 00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:49.940 Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. 00:25:50.200 --> 00:25:52.620 And before you were born, I consecrated you. 00:25:52.980 --> 00:25:54.940 And I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations. 00:25:55.140 --> 00:25:56.900 He's talking of Jeremiah, yes. 00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:59.059 He's talking of Jesus, yes. 00:25:59.220 --> 00:26:01.579 And he's talking to us, yes. 00:26:01.579 --> 00:26:04.500 But only in Christ. 00:26:06.279 --> 00:26:08.079 Ephesians 1, verse 3. 00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:10.079 It says, 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:12.619 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:16.059 Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. 00:26:16.859 --> 00:26:20.079 Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, 00:26:20.179 --> 00:26:22.759 That we should be holy and blameless before him. 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:27.039 What was true for Jeremiah uniquely, 00:26:28.359 --> 00:26:32.839 Is now true generally for all of the Lord's people through the Lord Jesus. 00:26:35.480 --> 00:26:36.680 And when we read, 00:26:37.740 --> 00:26:40.240 For to all to whom I send you, you shall go. 00:26:41.299 --> 00:26:43.400 And whatever I command you, you shall speak. 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:45.220 Do not be afraid of them. 00:26:45.799 --> 00:26:47.779 For I am with you to deliver you. 00:26:48.140 --> 00:26:50.299 These words, they are an anticipation. 00:26:50.299 --> 00:26:56.319 And they are a foretaste of the ultimate rescue act of Jesus' death and resurrection. 00:26:56.680 --> 00:26:59.259 In which the Father and the Son cooperate perfectly. 00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:01.619 And now Jesus says to us, in turn, 00:27:01.960 --> 00:27:02.659 Do not fear. 00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:04.519 For I am with you. 00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:07.819 And he promised to rescue us, 00:27:07.879 --> 00:27:10.279 Not just from our opposition, but from death itself. 00:27:11.480 --> 00:27:13.059 And when we hear God say, 00:27:13.399 --> 00:27:14.980 Behold, I put these words in your mouth. 00:27:15.419 --> 00:27:17.379 It throws us forward, isn't it? 00:27:17.379 --> 00:27:19.039 To that time where God says, 00:27:19.039 --> 00:27:21.220 This is my Son. 00:27:21.500 --> 00:27:22.279 Listen to him. 00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:29.180 The one who would speak the words of God and embody them and live them so perfectly. 00:27:29.339 --> 00:27:32.460 That we now, as his church, are to echo his words. 00:27:32.539 --> 00:27:33.779 As they've been handed on to us. 00:27:35.960 --> 00:27:37.639 And so when we hear God say to Jeremiah, 00:27:37.819 --> 00:27:41.019 I've set you over nations and over kingdoms to pluck up and to tear down. 00:27:41.480 --> 00:27:42.159 And so on. 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:46.700 We know that one is coming who has all authority in heaven and earth. 00:27:48.840 --> 00:27:53.240 And whilst it's true of us that we've not been given this authority in any raw sense, 00:27:53.620 --> 00:27:58.700 Jesus does send his church out in his authority to make disciples of all nations. 00:27:58.700 --> 00:28:02.559 Now this has taken a while. 00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:03.900 And I know it's a lot. 00:28:05.120 --> 00:28:09.940 But I need you to see how important this is that God speaks to Jeremiah. 00:28:10.360 --> 00:28:17.779 And then through Jeremiah, he enables us to grasp the nature of the true prophet who is to come. 00:28:17.779 --> 00:28:24.180 And it's only through that true prophet, the Lord Jesus, that this message can make any sense to us at all. 00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:28.619 And I hope that's going to be clear to you as we go through this story. 00:28:30.279 --> 00:28:31.500 Jeremiah's messy world. 00:28:32.539 --> 00:28:33.500 His unique calling. 00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:35.119 And then verses 11 to 19. 00:28:35.559 --> 00:28:36.599 His typical ministry. 00:28:36.599 --> 00:28:43.379 So after appointing Jeremiah to his new role, God moves on to explain to the suffering prophet, 00:28:44.119 --> 00:28:45.539 And what's your ministry going to look like? 00:28:45.579 --> 00:28:46.699 He gives him three things. 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:50.219 He says, he shows him a tree, a pot, and a city. 00:28:51.559 --> 00:28:53.779 And verses 11 to 12, he sees a tree. 00:28:55.339 --> 00:28:56.559 God says to Jeremiah, what do you see? 00:28:57.740 --> 00:28:58.980 He says, I see an almond branch. 00:29:00.359 --> 00:29:03.519 Then the Lord said to him, you've seen well, for I'm watching over my word to perform it. 00:29:03.519 --> 00:29:08.259 I'm told that there's a Hebrew pun in there. 00:29:09.740 --> 00:29:15.720 It's saying to Jeremiah, every time you see the almond tree blossoming, remember God is going to keep his word. 00:29:18.259 --> 00:29:19.980 Jeremiah is equivalent of Isaiah 55. 00:29:20.980 --> 00:29:24.960 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return, but water the earth, 00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:29.599 making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the soul and bread to the eater, 00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:33.559 so shall my word that goes out of my mouth, it shall not return to me empty, 00:29:34.219 --> 00:29:38.879 but it will accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed for that which I sent it. 00:29:39.579 --> 00:29:43.759 Jeremiah, you are not on a wasted journey. 00:29:44.859 --> 00:29:46.359 Your ministry will not be wasted. 00:29:46.619 --> 00:29:49.419 Your labor for the Lord, Jeremiah, will not be in vain. 00:29:49.500 --> 00:29:50.559 You see the almond tree? 00:29:50.759 --> 00:29:51.599 There's a harvest coming. 00:29:53.439 --> 00:29:55.699 Then there's the pot in verses 13 to 16. 00:29:55.700 --> 00:29:58.900 It's a pot facing away from the north. 00:29:59.100 --> 00:30:02.600 Verse 14, I see a boiling pot facing away from the north. 00:30:02.700 --> 00:30:04.259 And then the Lord said to me, 00:30:04.420 --> 00:30:08.400 Out of the north, disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. 00:30:08.460 --> 00:30:11.559 For behold, I'm calling all the tribes and the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord. 00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:16.860 And they shall come, and everyone shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, 00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:21.539 against all its walls all around, and against all the cities of Jerusalem, of Judah. 00:30:21.539 --> 00:30:26.119 Here's Jeremiah, your message summed up in one overflowing pot. 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:32.299 I'm going to declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. 00:30:34.139 --> 00:30:36.720 God has called time on the sins of Judah. 00:30:37.899 --> 00:30:39.859 He says, enough is enough, Judah. 00:30:41.299 --> 00:30:47.740 Over a hundred years earlier, they had watched the horror of Assyria dismantling Israel to the north. 00:30:47.740 --> 00:30:53.500 And since then, there'd been a long succession of prophets and preachers that had called them back to God, 00:30:53.559 --> 00:30:54.480 but it had no effect. 00:30:55.599 --> 00:30:57.000 And the verdict is in. 00:30:57.160 --> 00:30:57.859 Can you see the verdict? 00:30:58.180 --> 00:31:00.259 They have forsaken me. 00:31:01.900 --> 00:31:03.779 That's the reason for the exile. 00:31:05.120 --> 00:31:06.200 They've forsaken God. 00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:08.859 And it shows itself in idolatry. 00:31:09.299 --> 00:31:10.460 But do you see the prior step? 00:31:10.660 --> 00:31:11.579 It's forsaking God. 00:31:11.579 --> 00:31:15.919 And that's always the heart of the matter. 00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:16.720 Forsaking God. 00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:21.699 Failing to trust God is the root sin. 00:31:24.939 --> 00:31:30.399 In other words, you can't break commandments 2 to 10 without breaking number 1. 00:31:33.199 --> 00:31:35.139 Unbelief is the primal sin. 00:31:36.359 --> 00:31:40.240 The decision to worship idols is always because you've forsaken God. 00:31:41.579 --> 00:31:45.980 And if you think about that, that makes perfect sense, doesn't it? 00:31:46.240 --> 00:31:52.419 It tells you and I that the solution to sin is never just more effort. 00:31:53.699 --> 00:31:55.379 Or simply facing our guilt. 00:31:56.559 --> 00:32:00.639 The solution to our sin is to return to God through the gospel itself. 00:32:01.639 --> 00:32:03.399 Because that is the main deal. 00:32:06.359 --> 00:32:08.519 It's the gospel that awakens us. 00:32:08.519 --> 00:32:11.399 Faith and repentance drive us back to God. 00:32:11.579 --> 00:32:20.539 Jeremiah's ministry in the first place is to be devoted to exposing the root unbelief of God's people. 00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:24.240 It's a Romans 1 ministry. 00:32:25.740 --> 00:32:30.740 The wrath of God is revealed against heaven, from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of man, 00:32:30.919 --> 00:32:33.339 who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 00:32:34.419 --> 00:32:35.000 Paul goes on. 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:39.220 For what can be known of God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 00:32:40.220 --> 00:32:43.259 His invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, 00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:47.519 they've been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. 00:32:48.299 --> 00:32:49.460 So they're without excuse. 00:32:49.960 --> 00:32:54.440 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. 00:32:54.440 --> 00:32:58.880 That is the root from which flows out every other sin. 00:33:00.320 --> 00:33:01.380 Forsaking God. 00:33:03.880 --> 00:33:08.320 And that to some measure, it's not the whole of the task of the church, 00:33:08.420 --> 00:33:11.039 but it is to some measure the task of the church. 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:16.519 To convince a world that doesn't even have the categories to understand 00:33:16.519 --> 00:33:18.819 that this is reality. 00:33:19.119 --> 00:33:20.539 You have forsaken God. 00:33:22.180 --> 00:33:24.180 Which leads us to the third picture really briefly. 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:29.099 God knows that Jeremiah's ministry is difficult. 00:33:30.519 --> 00:33:32.619 He tells him it'll be like an almond tree. 00:33:32.740 --> 00:33:33.759 There will be a harvest. 00:33:33.940 --> 00:33:36.559 He says it's going to be like a boiling pot of judgment. 00:33:38.559 --> 00:33:42.339 And that's why he shows that Jeremiah, the third thing, is a fortified city. 00:33:42.339 --> 00:33:46.720 And so he says, doesn't he, dress yourself for work. 00:33:46.919 --> 00:33:49.599 Arise and say to them everything that I command you. 00:33:49.679 --> 00:33:52.980 Do not be dismayed by them lest I dismay you before them. 00:33:54.259 --> 00:33:55.639 It's very interesting that, isn't it? 00:33:55.679 --> 00:33:58.199 When the church becomes ashamed of the message, 00:33:58.699 --> 00:34:00.139 God becomes ashamed of the church. 00:34:01.879 --> 00:34:04.720 And he says this, I will make you a fortified city, 00:34:04.839 --> 00:34:07.679 an iron pillar, bronze walls against the whole land, 00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:10.159 against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, 00:34:10.199 --> 00:34:10.960 and the people of the land. 00:34:12.340 --> 00:34:15.400 Isaiah, 100 years before, was told, 00:34:15.500 --> 00:34:17.740 no one's going to listen to you, but this is worse. 00:34:19.300 --> 00:34:22.039 Jeremiah is told up front, they're going to seek to intimidate you. 00:34:23.079 --> 00:34:25.980 And if Jeremiah was wondering who they are, 00:34:26.059 --> 00:34:27.100 can you see who they are? 00:34:28.460 --> 00:34:30.640 Be the kings of Judah, the officials, the priests, 00:34:30.740 --> 00:34:32.019 and the people of the land, verse 18. 00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:33.240 Everybody. 00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:36.380 Everybody will turn on you, Jeremiah. 00:34:37.660 --> 00:34:38.960 And they will fight against you. 00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:41.940 But I will make you a fortified city, 00:34:42.159 --> 00:34:43.840 an iron pillar, and bronze wall. 00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:45.320 And whatever people throw at you, 00:34:46.019 --> 00:34:47.420 I will enable you to resist. 00:34:48.559 --> 00:34:52.780 God says, I'm going to make you a metropolis of a man, 00:34:52.860 --> 00:34:56.280 a man of steel, unmovable, and unshakable wall. 00:34:56.280 --> 00:34:59.519 Put those three things together, 00:35:00.519 --> 00:35:01.960 the plant, the pot, and the city. 00:35:03.080 --> 00:35:03.720 And what have you got? 00:35:03.719 --> 00:35:08.919 In his ministry, Jeremiah will see God 00:35:08.919 --> 00:35:11.119 watch over the outworking of his word. 00:35:12.319 --> 00:35:14.219 He will be tasked with announcing judgment 00:35:14.219 --> 00:35:15.579 before salvation, 00:35:16.019 --> 00:35:17.500 and he'll be equipped to stand firm. 00:35:19.739 --> 00:35:21.319 And once again, there is a sense, isn't there, 00:35:21.319 --> 00:35:22.839 where all of this is unique to Jeremiah. 00:35:24.439 --> 00:35:26.819 Only Jeremiah is going to watch the exile play out in front of him. 00:35:27.059 --> 00:35:29.139 Only Jeremiah is going to have to persuade people 00:35:29.139 --> 00:35:30.679 who initially at least were living in 00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:33.799 la-la land that Babylonian exile is coming. 00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:36.679 Only Jeremiah would bring that word of judgment, 00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:38.219 urging God's people to repent 00:35:38.219 --> 00:35:40.179 in the face of the Babylonians, 00:35:40.339 --> 00:35:42.819 and to submit to the discipline of being kicked out of the land. 00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:46.399 But even as Jeremiah sticks unflinchingly to the truth, 00:35:46.679 --> 00:35:47.879 suffering for suggesting 00:35:47.879 --> 00:35:50.339 that God's people are under judgment, 00:35:52.839 --> 00:35:55.460 there will be promise and rescue and salvation 00:35:55.460 --> 00:35:56.299 for those who repent. 00:35:58.099 --> 00:35:59.980 And Jeremiah is the precursor 00:35:59.980 --> 00:36:02.760 of another word ministry, 00:36:03.539 --> 00:36:05.820 of another preacher 00:36:05.820 --> 00:36:08.900 who will be taken to death and back. 00:36:10.280 --> 00:36:12.719 A preaching ministry that will be perfectly lived out 00:36:12.719 --> 00:36:13.380 and proclaimed, 00:36:14.179 --> 00:36:17.380 which announced not that exile was coming, 00:36:17.940 --> 00:36:19.460 but that exile had ended 00:36:19.460 --> 00:36:23.119 in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:36:24.559 --> 00:36:26.960 And it's through belonging to the Lord Jesus 00:36:26.960 --> 00:36:29.740 that we have this assurance 00:36:29.740 --> 00:36:32.880 that God will continue to work 00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:33.960 through his word, 00:36:34.320 --> 00:36:36.539 both in salvation and in judgment. 00:36:38.119 --> 00:36:40.619 And as the church proclaims the message of Jesus, 00:36:41.059 --> 00:36:42.960 the gates of hell will not prevail against it. 00:36:45.340 --> 00:36:48.139 And so we can read this book 00:36:48.139 --> 00:36:49.960 and be greatly encouraged 00:36:49.960 --> 00:36:52.500 that God will continue to work 00:36:52.500 --> 00:36:54.260 through the preaching of his word. 00:36:54.260 --> 00:36:56.620 and we can be reminded 00:36:56.620 --> 00:36:57.920 that it falls to the church 00:36:57.920 --> 00:36:59.580 to announce both judgment 00:36:59.580 --> 00:37:00.840 and salvation. 00:37:02.040 --> 00:37:03.300 And that God is going to give us 00:37:03.300 --> 00:37:04.820 all the resources we need 00:37:04.820 --> 00:37:05.860 to preach the gospel 00:37:05.860 --> 00:37:08.460 in whatever circumstances 00:37:08.460 --> 00:37:09.440 we find ourselves in. 00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:13.099 And so in reading Jeremiah 1, 00:37:13.179 --> 00:37:14.260 I don't think we want to rush 00:37:14.260 --> 00:37:15.340 to apply it to ourselves 00:37:15.340 --> 00:37:16.659 without first recognizing 00:37:16.659 --> 00:37:18.780 that Jesus is the true prophet. 00:37:20.220 --> 00:37:22.220 And he's the one that fills it with meaning. 00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:24.280 And he refocuses this word 00:37:24.280 --> 00:37:28.019 to help us to see that 00:37:28.019 --> 00:37:30.780 always and only do we serve after Jesus. 00:37:30.940 --> 00:37:33.400 Our ministry is his ministry. 00:37:33.579 --> 00:37:35.200 Our message is his message. 00:37:35.659 --> 00:37:37.519 Our only authority is his authority. 00:37:37.519 --> 00:37:40.599 And our only method is to walk in his steps. 00:37:42.539 --> 00:37:44.559 And so the chapter details, doesn't it, 00:37:44.559 --> 00:37:45.960 a really surprising call 00:37:45.960 --> 00:37:48.659 and a demanding message 00:37:48.659 --> 00:37:49.980 and an astonishing provision. 00:37:51.480 --> 00:37:53.280 All of which were addressed 00:37:53.280 --> 00:37:55.460 to a young priest from Anathoth 00:37:55.460 --> 00:37:57.460 nearly 2,800 years ago. 00:37:57.460 --> 00:38:01.740 But as he speaks and obeys 00:38:01.740 --> 00:38:03.940 and suffers and loves in this book, 00:38:04.260 --> 00:38:06.260 Jeremiah anticipates a true prophet, 00:38:06.840 --> 00:38:07.619 the ultimate prophet, 00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:08.480 one like Moses. 00:38:09.960 --> 00:38:13.460 But one who in turn summons us 00:38:13.460 --> 00:38:15.980 as a church in ways 00:38:15.980 --> 00:38:17.619 which is even more surprising 00:38:17.619 --> 00:38:21.059 to proclaim a message to the nations 00:38:21.059 --> 00:38:22.679 which is even more demanding. 00:38:22.960 --> 00:38:24.280 But he gives us an even more 00:38:24.280 --> 00:38:25.559 astonishing reassurance. 00:38:25.559 --> 00:38:29.239 Because Jesus came and said, 00:38:29.420 --> 00:38:30.779 all authority in heaven and earth 00:38:30.779 --> 00:38:31.739 has been given to me. 00:38:31.860 --> 00:38:33.199 Therefore, you go 00:38:33.199 --> 00:38:36.139 and make disciples of all nations. 00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:39.299 Baptizing them in the name of the Father, 00:38:39.420 --> 00:38:40.599 the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:38:40.759 --> 00:38:41.619 Teaching them to observe 00:38:41.619 --> 00:38:42.799 all I have commanded. 00:38:43.000 --> 00:38:43.480 And behold, 00:38:44.420 --> 00:38:46.519 I am with you always 00:38:46.519 --> 00:38:49.119 to the very end of the age. 00:38:51.299 --> 00:38:51.880 Let's pray. 00:38:51.880 --> 00:38:51.940 Amen. 00:38:51.940 --> 00:38:51.940 00:38:51.940 --> 00:38:51.940