God Works Personally & Sovereignly

Transcript

GRM 849
5/01/2003
God Works Personally & Sovereignly
Jeremiah1:4-10
Gil Rugh

I want to direct your attention to the Old Testament this evening, the time we have remaining. Turn to the book of Jeremiah and then we’ll back up into Isaiah. Jeremiah chapter1, then I want you to turn back to Isaiah chapter 43. We’ve heard the testimonies this evening of those who were baptized and seen these seniors that are graduating and moving on to a new phase of their lives as young adults. Reminded that we have a sovereign God who rules over all and works His purposes in the world, in the events of the world and in the lives of the individuals in the world. Look how Isaiah puts it in Isaiah chapter 43 as he addresses the nation, Israel. “But now thus says the Lord your creator, oh Jacob, and He who formed you, oh Israel. Do not fear for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” What a tremendous statement that God has chosen the nation Israel for Himself to experience His redemption and His salvation.

Down in chapter 43 at the end of verse 10, “before me there was no God formed and there will be none after me. I even I am the Lord, and there is no savior beside me.” Very strong emphasis through this section of Isaiah on the uniqueness of God. There is no one like Him, He is sovereign over all, and He is the Savior, the only Savior. Look at verse 13, “even from eternity I am He and there is none who can deliver out of my hand, I act and who can reverse it?” Down in verse 25, “I even I am the one who wipes out your transgressions for my own sake. I will not remember your sins.” What a tremendous promise given by the God who is the Savior, by the God who has been offended by sin. He is the one who graciously bestows His salvation and for all who turn and believe in Him their sins are totally cleansed and washed away, they’re wiped out. There is no remembrance of those sins.

Down in chapter 44 verse 6, “thus says the Lord the king of Israel and His redeemer, the Lord of hosts. I am the first and I am the last and there is no God beside me.” He is the sovereign God. At the end of verse 8, “is there any God besides me, or is there any other rock? I know of none.” Down in verse 24 of chapter 44, “thus says the Lord your redeemer, the one who formed you from the womb, I the Lord am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by myself and spreading out the earth all alone.” He is the sovereign creator of everything.

Then down into chapter 45 verse 5, “I am the Lord, there is no other. Besides me there is no God.” The last line of verse 6, “I am the Lord, there is no other, the one forming light and creating darkness, causing well being and creating calamity. I am the Lord who does all these things.” Verse 9, “woe to the one who quarrels with his maker, an earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth. Will the clay say to the potter, what are you doing? What arrogance that man, the creation of God, would question or challenge God. Woe to the one who quarrels with his maker.” Verse 12, “it is I who made the earth and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with my hands and I ordained all their hosts.” Verse 18, “for thus says the Lord who created the heavens, He is the God who formed the earth and made it. He established it and did not create it a waste place but formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord and there is none else.” Down in the middle of verse 21, “and there is no other God besides me, a righteous God and a Savior. There is none except me.” Note this gracious invitation, “turn to Me and be saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. I have sworn by myself. The word has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, and every tongue will swear allegiance. Turn to Me and be saved.” Also “every knee will bow.” Remember Philippians chapter 2 where the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the Savior who came to this earth and suffered and died to pay the penalty for sin. He humbled Himself and became obedient, even to death on the cross. “Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” We see the background for that in Isaiah chapter 45 verse 23, “every knee will bow, and every tongue will swear allegiance to Me.” God is the sovereign God, the ruler of all. Chapter 46 verse 9, “I am God and there is no other, I am God, there is no one like Me.” At the end of verse 10, “my purpose will be established, I will accomplish all my good pleasure.”

Turn over to Jeremiah chapter 1. Gets very personal in Jeremiah chapter 1, where one individual is singled out by God and God declares that His hand of grace has been placed upon Jeremiah and Jeremiah is to be a servant of His. You see the sovereignty of God set forth in the life of Jeremiah. That work of God that goes back before our birth, and His plans are set for our lives. Young and old, we have the confidence of knowing that our God rules. Because we belong to Him His purposes are being accomplished for our good as He works in our lives. Verse 4 of Jeremiah 1, we’re told, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah saying, “before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I consecrated you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nation.” We saw in the verses through Isaiah, there is only one God, He is the sovereign God who has created all things. If we are to know this God, He must make Himself known to us. If there is a God who has created everything, a God who is working His purposes in the world today and we are to know anything about Him, He will have to make Himself known to us. If there is such a sovereign God with such might and power and authority, and He chooses to keep Himself hidden and remain secret, there would be no hope that we would every find Him, that we would ever know anything about Him. But He is a God of mercy, He is a Savior, and He has revealed Himself. That revelation has come through His spokesman and is recorded now in the book we call the Bible. Just like we heard in the testimony of those who were baptized, how they heard the Word of God. When they heard the Word and believed it, a marvelous change occurred in their lives, because this is a book like no other book. This is a book that is a revelation of the living God, where He is revealing and making Himself known to mankind, His purposes, His plans and His salvation.

We read in verse 4, “the word of the Lord came to me saying.” Here is God speaking to Jeremiah and in so doing He reveals Himself and makes Himself known. And then as He directed Jeremiah to make a record of what God said, we are privileged to have that record and come to know the God who has revealed Himself. You’ll note in verses 5-10 the word that came to Jeremiah, this God emphasizes His sovereignty and His control in all that is done. If you haven’t underlined these from our previous studies just note them. Verse 5, “I formed you, I knew you, I consecrated you, I have appointed you.” You see it is the sovereign God acting and working. I, I, I have done it. Down at the end of verse 7, “everywhere I send you, all that I command you.” Verse 8, “I am with you.” Verse 9, “I have put my words in your mouth.” Verse 10, “I have appointed you.” Tremendous section because it’s a reminder. We used to not have a sovereign God who has created everything, who controls everything, but remains impersonal and distant from us as individuals. This is a God, for all His greatness, for all His might, for all His power over all things, He is a God who takes care and attention for the individuals that He has made and created.

He tells Jeremiah in verse 5, “before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I consecrated you.” Amazing, this God. You’d think He would be so busy creating the world, controlling the events that go on. But here this single individual, before he had been born, God had set forth a special plan for his life. Before I formed you in the womb. It’s a sovereign God’s work there, even in his development in the womb. “I knew you.” That’s just not a casual acquaintance. You know we say I know so-and-so. Like Greg said, I don’t know the high school students that are graduating like he does. And that’s true, one of the things I’m thankful for. You know each other and we know different people in different ways. I might know them to see them to say “hi” and know something about them or their family. Others know them very well, and of course you, who are family are intimately acquainted with them. When this word is used in the Old Testament as God speaks of His knowing, it denotes an intimacy and a thorough knowledge. It denotes a knowledge of love and favor. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,” I placed my love upon you, my favor upon you, I chose you.

In Amos chapter 3 verse 2 God says concerning Israel that “Israel is the only nation of all the nations of the earth that He knew. You only of all the nations have I known.” Well God is the sovereign God who knows everything. Through Jeremiah He is going to reveal much material about the various nations of the earth, but He only knew Israel. Israel was the only nation He chose for Himself, the only nation as a nation that He placed His favor upon. So, before I formed you in the womb I chose you, I made you the object of my love, my affection. Before you were born, I consecrated you. Consecrate, sanctify, I set you apart. Before you were even born, I set you apart. I appointed you a prophet to the nations. You see the sovereign God in having a plan for His children even before their birth, the plan that in His grace that fallen, sinful beings would be redeemed by His grace and become an instrument of His choice to be used to bring glory to Himself. That’s what’s happening with Jeremiah. Now we would say, Jeremiah was a mighty prophet, he’s a unique case. We don’t have time to this evening to go through a number of the verses. Judges chapter 13 verse 5 where God revealed the ministry of Samson before he was ever born. I Kings 13:2, in verse 3 of Jeremiah 3, Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 3, he’s ministering until the end of the 11th year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah. Well in I Kings chapter 13 verse 2, 300 years before Josiah came on the scene God revealed what the work of Josiah would be. We read some in Isaiah chapters 44-45. If you would read chapter 44 verse 28 and chapter 45 verse 1 you would find that even before Cyrus, a man who would never become a believer, was born, 400 years before Cyrus God laid out what the work of Cyrus would be. He’s the sovereign God, He reveals His purposes.

Psalm chapter 139 verses 13-16, you can jot those down. In those verses we are told that in God’s book all the days that were ordained for us were written before there was any of them. We think oh so-and-so died in an accident, so-and-so died of a disease, their life was cut short. Humanly speaking, perhaps; divinely speaking, not a chance. Before we were born God had written in His book all the days that He had ordained for each of us. He’s the sovereign God. What He says about Jeremiah has some uniqueness to it. Not everyone is going to be called to be a prophet and do what Jeremiah did, but the sovereign God rules in His creation and by His grace everyone of us will come to know Him, know that He has laid out and set forth a plan for us from before we were born. The Apostle Paul grew up a very religious man in a religious family, but he was like some of the testimonies we heard tonight. Being the most religious person, he could be and doing as much good as he could do, he said he was nothing but the chief of sinners. Not until he came to bow before Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road as a grown man did, he know what true salvation was, and he entered into a relationship with the living God and know what forgiveness of sins was. But in Galatians chapter 1 he says you know God had planned it and laid out my life and service for Him from my mother’s womb. What a plan, what a God, how might and sovereign He is.

You know there are no accidents. Someone happened to invite a friend or a family member to a Bible study and they heard the Word of God. Isn’t it interesting? Then we stop and think, God has sovereignly planned it that that friend, that family member would invite them to a service, invite them to a concert, invite them to a Bible study, would share the message of Christ. At His perfect plan they would hear and believe and be saved,

“Jeremiah, I have appointed you a prophet to the nations. I have called you to myself.” You know we think that our life is determining what we want. The real way of looking at it is our life, by God’s grace, is finding His plan for us. Here God reveals it clearly. You might say, Jeremiah, he is thrilled. You know Jeremiah is a young man. We see high school seniors standing up here, those graduating. You know most commentators, many commentators, believe Jeremiah was probably in his late teens or early 20s in the events of chapter 1, because he’s got a long life and a long ministry ahead of him. He’s a young man, a young person. Jeremiah is not thrilled with what God has just said. “I’ve appointed you a prophet to the nations.” You know what Jeremiah says? That’s not a good idea. Isn’t God gracious? There was a warning given by Isaiah, woe to him who quarrels with his maker. Jeremiah is not quarreling with his maker in that he is rejecting Him, fighting against Him. But he is saying, Lord, this is not a good idea. I like the way he puts it in verse 6, “then I said, alas Lord God, oh Lord. I do not know how to speak.” Now that’s a serious problem. You know what prophets do? They speak, they proclaim a message from God, and now God has made a terrible blunder. He’s picked out Jeremiah, and you know that’s one of the problems you have when you pick out something for someone before they are born. Little did God know Jeremiah was going to grow up and not know how to talk, and besides I’m too young. The sight of these young people. You know such a weighty responsibility. You’ll note Jeremiah, at the end of verse 5, is appointed a prophet, not to his local town, to the nations. He says, “alas Lord God I don’t know how to speak,” I’m too young, I have more training to do, I have more learning to do, come back later maybe. Does the sovereign God know what Jeremiah can do and not do? Does the sovereign God know the capabilities of the mouth of Jeremiah? Of course, He does. There’s no problem here because his ministry doesn’t depend on him. What a great reminder.

You know we are burdened that God has called us to do something, but then we think of all the reasons why we can’t--all our weaknesses, all of our inabilities. But you understand God calls us to serve Him, not in our strength but in His strength. God calls us to do what He will empower and enable us to do, not call us to do what we are able to do in our power and strength. So, He can take a young man like Jeremiah who has never learned how to speak and communicate effectively with people. And He says the fact that you don’t know how to speak and the fact that you’re a youth doesn’t really matter, because you have a simple responsibility. Verse 7, “but the Lord said to me do not say I am a youth.” There is, I take it, a subtle rebuke here, maybe not so subtle. You don’t have to tell God your situation. How often we do, when God is working. We think we have to tell God the situation, and we’re really telling Him He’s not doing thing right because…….. You have to understand we think we have to inform Him.

Don’t say I am a youth because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. It isn’t a matter whether you’re young or not, doesn’t matter whether you are fluent in speech or not. I’m not asking you to create something new, I’m not asking you to come up with some original ideas. You go where I tell you. We’d say yes. Someone 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, whatever, can’t do that. You don’t have to decide where to go, I’ll tell you where to go, where I want you. Furthermore, all I command you, you shall speak. It doesn’t depend on your ability; it depends on My work. All I command you, you shall speak. You go where I tell you, you say what I tell you.

Verse 8. You know being a prophet was an intimidating responsibility. There is a reason that Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. It’s because so much of Jeremiah’s ministry is difficult, painful, unpleasant. And Jeremiah not only wrote the book of Jeremiah, but he also wrote the Lamentations of Jeremiah, which follows the book of Jeremiah. What does God say here? Do not be afraid of them. You know, immediately you’re made aware. If you’re going to be a servant of the living God among people who have rejected the living God, you are not going to be a person of great popularity. Do not be afraid of them. Why? For I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord. What a wonderful promise. I am with you to deliver you. You know I tend to read passages like this that are events that occurred 2500 years ago, and I say oh boy if I were Jeremiah, I would have taken hold of that challenge. Here the Lord has promised to be with me to deliver me, I should be afraid to face men. Why would Jeremiah have any reluctance. Then I’m reminded, what did Jesus promise His followers? I will never leave you nor forsake you, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. He has sent His Spirit to dwell within us, to be the paraclete, the one who has come to aid and help us. What do I have to fear? What do you have to fear as the servant of the living God, the one called into His service by His grace, and if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have been called into His service by His grace. We are all His servants, His slaves.

I am with you to deliver you. Now if you’re familiar with Jeremiah’s life, and I’ve just alluded to part of it, this promise does not mean that Jeremiah will be immune from difficulty, immune from trial, immune from peril. There’ll come a time in Jeremiah’s ministry when he says the Word of God has resulted in nothing but derision for me all day long. In fact, it’s gotten so bad I’ve made up my mind I wasn’t going to speak in the name of the Lord anymore. Some of you have had perhaps a smaller version of that. You’ve shared your testimony with family and friends, you’ve tried to talk about the Lord. The reaction is so strongly against what you’re sharing you think, I just don’t think I’ll say anything anymore. It’s better if I keep quiet. You know what Jeremiah said? His Word was in my heart like a fire burning, and I couldn’t keep it in. I had to tell them. Even when I decided I wouldn’t, I couldn’t not do it. Don’t be afraid of them, I am with you to deliver you declares the Lord. He doesn’t promise to keep us from difficulty, He promises to keep us through difficulty. He doesn’t say because He is with us, we won’t have trials. He says in the world you have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

Verse 9, “Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth and the Lord said to me, behold I have put my words in your mouth.” That’s the ministry of God’s spokesman-my words in your mouth. The prophets weren’t to be creative, the prophets weren’t supposed to be original; the prophets were to be faithful, to take the message that God entrusted to them and give it forth and trust the promise that’s recorded by Isaiah. “My Word will not return unto me void.” Empty, without failing to accomplish what I want. It will prosper in the thing to which I send it. You know when we begin to get shaky, we begin to lose confidence in the Word of God, then we think we have to come up with some things that help God in His work. What God calls us to do is be faithful in His work and be faithful with His Word. “I have put my words in your mouth.” Now, Jeremiah, go and tell them.

“I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms.” Note this. Here is a young man who hasn’t done anything of note to this point, and God says I put my word in your mouth. I have appointed you over the nations, the mighty powers of the world. But Jeremiah has God’s authority, he’ll speak about the nations, he’ll speak about the different nations later in his prophecy. You know what? He has authority because he speaks from God. I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. He’ll give his prophecies concerning the nations, you read back in chapters 46-51 in particular, and the different nations, Babylon becoming a key one because Babylon was the world power at this time. Who would have thought this young boy, young man, barely into manhood, steps forward. Not an eloquent speaker, not one with great experience, but he has greater authority than the mightiest kingdom on the face of the earth. He speaks for God; he will declare God’s truth concerning the Babylonians and their coming judgment. You’ll note one of the unpleasant things about the prophets, I’ve been working through the prophets the last couple of weeks, been through most all the prophets at least once. You know one of the things about the prophets is their message is so heavy. You know. They have a sense of humor, lighten it up, ease up. No, it’s a message of sin, of judgment, of coming disaster. You’ll note here, Jeremiah’s message to pluck up, break down, destroy and overthrow—four negative things followed by two positives, to build and to plant. But first there is the proclamation of sin, of judgment. Then there is the proclamation of salvation and deliverance for all who believe, and ultimate restoration for the nation that God has chosen.

You know what Jeremiah would later have to say as a message from God? Turn over to chapter 8 verse 11. You know people are like this today, and the church. I fear for the church as we have forgotten our sovereign responsibility. The church, according to I Timothy chapter 3 verse 15, “is to be the pillar and support of the truth.” Isn’t it a tragedy to hear people as they share their testimony to speak that they grew up in a church or attended a church and they didn’t hear the Word of God, they weren’t taught the truth of God, when the church is to be the pillar and support of the truth? It’s the place where you go to hear the truth and learn the truth; and the church forgets. We are entrusted with God’s word. Jeremiah, God said, I have put my words in your mouth. Paul said to the Corinthians, we have the treasure of God’s word in these earthen vessels to proclaim to others.

In chapter 8 of Jeremiah, verse 11, we’re talking about the false prophets. In verse 9, “wise men are put to shame, they are dismayed and caught. Behold they have rejected the Word of the Lord,” now note this, and what kind of wisdom do they have. We talked about those who live in the emptiness of their speculations in Romans 1. They have no wisdom if they’ve rejected the Word of the Lord. These are the false prophets. Look at verse 11, “They heal the brokenness of the daughter of my people superficially, saying, peace, peace. But there is no peace.” You want to go and have people say you’re wonderful, you’re good people. God loves us all; we’re all going to heaven. God has demonstrated His love to us all, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. But you know God says, that same God, there is no peace says my God, to the wicked. You know the distinction between Jeremiah and the false prophets of his day? Jeremiah said you are in sin and need to repent and turn to the savior. The false prophets said you’re fine, everything is ok, there is no problem. God loves you just the way you are. They say peace, peace when there is no peace.

Look over chapter 23 of Jeremiah verse 16, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility, they speak a vision of their own imagination.” They made it up. Not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me, the Lord has said you will have peace. And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart they say, calamity will not come upon you. Look at verse 21, “I did not send these prophets, but they ran. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied. If they had stood in my counsel, they would have announced my words to my people and would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds.”

So back in Jeremiah 1, Jeremiah’s ministry would be to announce sin. One of the things you can tell is if you go to a church, do they talk about sin or do you walk out of there and if they talked about salvation what do you need saved for? If sin is not an issue why did Christ die? God’s truth has a balance, it deals with the reality. It’s much like if we went to a physician, he looked and said your situation is serious. I’m not going to try to deceive you or delude you. You are desperately sick and on the brink of death. That’s terrible news, but then he says, there is a cure. If you are willing, you can be cured. Of course. All of a sudden, the bad news is good news. The bad news is I’m incurably ill except for one cure. But that’s all I need. So Jeremiah is sent to the nations, to Judah to be sure, but to the nations beyond. And he’ll say “the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. Who can know it?” None of us know how desperately wicked we are at heart. I the Lord search the heart. He knows.

Then we see the graciousness. Turn to me all the ends of the earth. The confidence that gives. We serve Him, He is sovereign in our lives. He sovereignly works. You’re sitting here this evening; we’ve come for a variety of reasons. But you know what? You’ve all come by divine appointment to hear a message, not from me, but the Word of God that that Word might work in our hearts to accomplish His purposes, for some for salvation, that they might turn and believe, for others to be encouraged and strengthened as we are reminded, we are serving the living God. He is with us and it’s His work being done in and through us.

Let’s pray together. Thank you, Lord, that you are God, that you are watching over your Word to perform it. Lord, our hearts are encouraged at the greatness of your work and the wonder of your love. Thank you for the salvation that you have provided in your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for the confidence we have that each and everyone who believes in your Son experiences the wonder of your salvation. Thank you for the confidence we have as your children that we are privileged to be living out your perfect purpose ordained for us before we were born. Our desire is to be faithful, to honor you, to trust you, to find you to be our sufficiency. We need not, we must not fear man, because we serve the living God. We praise you in Christ’s name. Amen.