The life of a “typical” Christian is not very different from the life of a preacher. Here’s what I mean… All of us have battles inside and outside. Just like you, I get aggravated at myself for sinning, for doing things that I know I should not do. We also have battles from outside. That is, you have people who don’t like to hear what you are saying religiously speaking.
Jeremiah was a preacher given a very challenging task. Jeremiah had to try to convince his own people that they were being punished for their sins and they needed to repent but also submit to Babylon’s exile and be patient for 70 years. As you can imagine, most of the Israelites did not like Jeremiah’s message.
I want us to spend some time with Jeremiah, specifically 15:10-21, and see what we can learn from Jeremiah’s conversation with Jehovah God recorded here.
THE PREACHER WANTS TO QUIT – 15:10-11:
Jeremiah recognizes that his message is causing strife and contention.“Yet, everyone curses me.”
GOD’S WRATH IS NOT GOING TO BE STOPPED – 15:12-14:
The wealth and the treasures that Judah has in her temple and in her capital city would not be enough to stop the Babylonians. That was the message that Jeremiah was preaching and that was the message that was causing him trouble and heartache, rejection, and ridicule!
JEREMIAH’S PRAYER TO GOD – 15:15-18:
Some preachers are more emotional than others. Some preachers take things more personally than others. Jeremiah was one of those. Count the number of times here that Jeremiah uses the pronouns “I,” “me,” or “my.” Jeremiah, at this particular point, is thinking about himself and has forgotten the most fundament principle about following God: life is not about me – it’s about God!
At one time, and perhaps in Jeremiah’s more spiritual moments, God’s message was a joy to him. But, this is the only time Jeremiah speaks of joy in preaching God’s message.
Life gets hard, sometimes challenging, for preachers and they quit. There are jokes among preachers about them quitting and driving trucks or selling insurance. Christians also, sometimes, quit. They quit the church; they walk away from Christ. Either their roots weren’t deep enough or Satan’s attacks dug deep enough to uproot their faith. But here, Jeremiah steps over the line. Now, listen to God’s response:
GOD’S ANSWER – 15:19-21:
God speaks to Jeremiah and tells him: #1 (vs 19) – Jeremiah, you need to repent! #2 – God is ready to fire Jeremiah. Brother Tom Holland use to say that you don’t know if you are cut out to be a preacher until you are fired! What motivates you to be a preacher in the first place? But you all are not preachers but let me ask you the same question: Why do you want to be a Christian in the first place? To get praise from family or friends, or praise from God?
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#3 – Jeremiah needs to look at the good instead of focusing on the bad. It’s not about Jeremiah! It’s about God! It’s not about numbers! It’s about the message! It’s not about “tickling ears!” It’s about changing hearts! If Jeremiah compromises his words, to conform to the peoples’ wishes, then Jeremiah would be useless to God. Temptations come all the time to compromise the word of God. We cannot compromise God’s message and stay faithful to God at the same time.
#4 – If Jeremiah stays faithful to God and His message, some Jews will turn to God and repent of their sins.
#5 – The unfaithful Jews will not prevail over Jeremiah (vs 20). That’s what God told Jeremiah at the very beginning of his ministry (1:18).
#6 – God will save Jeremiah. #7 – God will deliver Jeremiah (vs 21) from the hand of the wicked. #8 – God will redeem Jeremiah from the grasp of the violent.
If Jeremiah listened and obeyed, Jeremiah would be saved. That’s all God asks. We often get overly concerned about what people think about us and what they say about us when our chief concern should be to heed God’s word and teach it.
Jeremiah chapter 15 is not quite 1/3 of the way through Jeremiah’s book. I don’t know if he is 1/3 of the way finished with his preaching. But, he does get the strength and self-control he needs to finish his ministry, although physically speaking, it still does not end well. Read through Jeremiah with me on Fridays and we’ll fill in the details of his life and ministry.
WHAT WE LEARN:
- Even preachers are human and sometimes want to quit. Discouragement is not a malady that strikes only those weak in the faith. It hits those who are faithful just as much!
- Every person, even Christians, have the freedom to accept or reject Christianity.
- Yet, the cost of heaven requires complete obedience and submission to Jesus Christ.
- Faithfulness to God does not exempt us from persecution; indeed, it may be the motivation for persecution.
- The reward for faithful service will be the eternal presence of Jehovah God!
Stay faithful, despite what the world and unfaithful Christians do!
Paul Holland
