Keeping Your Behavior in Line Bertha Chatman July 17, 2011 Introduction We live in a me focused culture. People tend to do what is most beneficial to them economically, socially, and politically with little regard to how their actions affect others. But God wants His people to be peculiar, different, integrous, He called us with a Holy calling and wants us to walk worthy of the calling. In today s lesson we will continue our study in the Book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. He prophesized for about forty years. He was not given an easy task to say the least. But the Lord assured him that he was called and set apart to be a prophet to the Nations. Jeremiah 1:5-Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations. The Word of God is so exciting Look at a Psalm of David as recorded in Psalms 139: 14-18 New King James Version (NKJV) 13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; [a] Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You. Note: If those who are looking for the answer should we legalize abortion: Oh Father, if they dare look at scripture the issue would be settled When does life begin at conception Ha God sees the substance, being yet unformed Now would be a good time to lift your hands and say.praise Jehovah Our God is Awesome! Of course, Jeremiah, like many others who are called will try to render some kind of excuse as to why they cannot fulfill the call, but God being the sovereign God that He is told Jeremiah he didn t need to concern himself with that: The New Living Translation says it this way: 5 I knew you before I formed you in your mother s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations. This verse reveals the amazing relationship between God s sovereignty and human free will. The word formed also can be translated fashioned. Even before Jeremiah developed in his mother s womb, the Lord fashioned a purpose for the child and the child for a purpose. Note: One of my favorite scriptures is found Jeremiah 29:11- I know my thoughts that I think toward you says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. This was spoken to the captives who were carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. The Lord chose Jeremiah for an assignment, a clear demonstration of God s sovereignty. Yet, Jeremiah had to respond free and positively to the Lord s call by embracing and fulfilling the assignment. Jeremiah was simply overwhelmed, shocked and inadequate. He felt unqualified to speak for the Lord.
6 O Sovereign LORD, I said, I can t speak for you! I m too young! 7 The LORD replied, Don t say, I m too young, for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. 8 And don t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken! 9 Then the LORD reached out and touched my mouth and said, Look, I have put my words in your mouth! I believe that God has an assignment for every believer. Like Jeremiah, we may feel overwhelmed by the thought of being commissioned by God for a task. Yet, we can be sure that the sovereign Lord who calls us to serve Him will also equip us for the task. ***Pause and reflect for a moment what is your assignment what good work has the Lord created for you to complete before the foundations of the world-- It takes on many forms don t look at what He has for others put your hand to the plow with what He fashioned you for.no work is too small or great This young prophet s ministry would have both destructive and constructive effects. His messages of divine judgment would tear down the people s false worship and allusions of security. Jeremiah s declared that both leaders and people would face God s punishment. NO one was exempt. Religious leaders would be held accountable for the nation s spiritual condition. Amidst the judgment pronouncement was a call to repentance. The Lesson background passage is found in Jeremiah 22:1-25, 38 Lesson passage is Jeremiah 22:13-21
Chapter 22 records the Lord condemnation of three of Judah s Kings; Johoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Coniah also known as Jehoiachin. None of these kings were faithful to the Lord and the Lord warned that each one s reign would come to a terrible end. Before we turn to the scripture let s turn to Ezekiel 34. It seems that for some reason the Shepherds of God, the Kings, the princes had a problem with the rule of God over them they had a tendency to strive for independence from their creator: The LORD Will Be Israel s Shepherd 1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them. 7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 10 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them. One writer puts it this way: The issue between God and man is simply a matter of government of sovereignty and providence. This appears as early as Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve reject God's rule over them. As the Bible has recorded in great detail, mankind has shown that it wants to retain this authority to itself. Yet, the naked truth is we cannot retain sovereignty to ourselves and still have what God is offering, entrance into the spiritual Kingdom of God. We
cannot have it both ways. We will be submissive either to God's will or to our own fickle drives. Many of us do not get it! Now let s turn to Scripture: Read: Jeremiah 22:13-19 It starts with the word WOE -according to the dictionary woe means grievous distress, affliction or trouble. The word woe was a prophetic signal concerning behavior the Lord would not tolerate. It served as a warning to all who might adopt such evil behavior. In this passage of scripture the person is clearly Judah s King, Jehoiakim. He is named in Jeremiah 22:18 The Lord condemns Jehoiakim for building his palace through unrighteousness and its upper rooms through injustice. God put him in a place where he could greatly impact the people who lived in his kingdom. However, Jehoiakim lived a self-focused life and oppressed his own people. God promised to judge him for his lack of attention to the way he treated others. Why is it wrong to build your own kingdom at the expense of others? King Jehoiakim built his palace by forcing people to work for him with no wages basically an act of slavery. Of all people, the Jews should have seen the folly of slavery! The king built a massive palace with find details, but he had to oppress his people and extort money from them to do it. Question: Can you name current examples of those who oppress and deceive others to build their own wealth or status? Jim Jones
Jim Bakker Eddie Long Jimmy Swaggart Imagine a different outcome If the King had acted with fairness and compassion, What would have been different?...if he had hired people to work, paying them a fair wage and making the palace less extravagant he would have created revenue for the people and the kingdom would have benefited from the project. But only the king himself benefited from the building of the palace.let s bring it up to 2011 As a leader do you need two Rolls Royces, a private jet..gold dog houses, homes in several countries/ states armour bearers carrying your bible etc. when many of the people you lead can t even afford the bare necessities?... Why did the Lord Draw attention to JeHoiakim s father, Josiah? Josiah had served as a model of how to administer justice and righteousness in the kingdom. He put others ahead of himself by making bold moves such as repairing the temple and reinstating Passover. At risk to his own legacy, he challenged the people to turn from their sin and turn to God. How can our actions reflect a genuine knowledge of the Lord? If a person consistently lives the way the Lord requires, it may provide evidence that he or she has a genuine relationship with the Lord. But if that person continually disregards the ways of the Lord, that may be a
stronger indication that the person does not have a personal knowledge of the Lord. NOTE: Some people who do not know the Lord still do right in the way they treat others. But a true follower of Christ cannot continually disregard compassion and righteousness. Consequences of Jehoiakim behavior. Jeremiah 22:18-19 Because of his disregard for fairness and his lack of compassion, he suffered great shame. This is the ultimate price w pay for unrepentant self-indulgence? The People would not mourn for him when he was gone, and he could not be buried, a huge disgrace in that day. Rather, people would dispose of him like the corpse of an unclean animal (Levi.11:1-8: Deut. 14:3-8 Jeremiah 22:20-21- Jeremiah shifted his focus to the people of Judah. The people were indifferent. They turned their backs on righteousness. They needed to rise up and have compassion and justice toward the oppressed. God repeatedly warned them about their apathy toward the oppressed. Jeremiah urged them to repent, to listen, and to obey. Who are the vulnerable of our society that need protection? Widows, orphans, children, the homeless, mentally ill, elderly, disabled those who are alone, the unemployed, and the uninsured.
The Lord to exercise fairness and compassion toward these individuals that His name would be glorified. "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words." St. Francis of Assisi "The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today" "While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart." "Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society." St. Francis of Assisi "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; when there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand, to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying [to ourselves] that we are born to eternal life." St. Francis of Assisi