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Jeremiah 1:11-19 | God in Control

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Listen to this week’s sermon, God is in Control preached by Pastor Irwyn Ince from Jeremiah 1:11-19

Rev. Benjamin kandt:

Hello everyone. This is Pastor Benjamin. You're listening to a sermon audio from New City, orlando. At New City, we long to see our Father answer the Lord's prayer For more resources. Visit our website at newcityorlandocom.

Rev. Benjamin kandt:

Join me in praying aloud this prayer of illumination. Join me in praying aloud this prayer of elimination. Eternal God, the grass withers and the flower fades, but your word will stand forever. Holy Spirit, help us to love and trust your word. Through Jesus Christ, we pray Amen.

Rev. Benjamin kandt:

Our scripture reading this morning comes from Jeremiah, chapter 1, verses 11 through 19. Hear now the word of the Lord. And the word of the Lord came to me saying Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said I see an almond branch. Then the Lord said to me you have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.

Rev. Benjamin kandt:

The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying what do you see?

Rev. Benjamin kandt:

And I said I see a boiling pot facing away from the north. Then the Lord said to me out of the north, disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, and they shall come and everyone shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah, and I will declare my judgments against them for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worship the works of their own hands. But you dress yourself for work, arise and say to them everything that I command you Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them.

Rev. Benjamin kandt:

And I behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar and bronze walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord to deliver you. This is God's word. Thanks be to God. You may be seated.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

Well, good morning, new City. It's good to be back here with you again for what we are now calling the Erwin Inns Invitational at New City, orlando. I want to speak to you this morning on this subject. It is a simple subject from our passage, but a profound one that we have to embrace day in and day out, and it is simply this God is in control. God is in control. I graduated high school in 1986, and graduation years will stick out in our memory, and very often those memories are tied to music, and one of the music projects that we were all listening to that year of my graduation was Janet Jackson's breakout album Control.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

Prior to the release of that album in 1986, janet was just still perceived by most people as the baby sister of the Jackson family. Her career to that point had been closely guided by her father, joe Control. The album was her declaration to the world of her independence as an artist and as a woman. Critics they praised it, calling the album a personal testament of self-actualization. We were singing right along with Janet when she sang.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

When I was 17,. I did what people told me. I did what my father said and let my mother mold me. That was long ago. I'm in control, never going to stop Control to get what I want. Control, I like to have a lot Control. Now I'm all grown up, got my own mind, she's saying. I'm going to make my own decisions when it has to do with my life, my life, I want to be the one who's in control At some point in life. You all that is the anthem of every human heart. I want to be the one in control. For some of us, we just want to be in control of our personal lives. Others of us want to be in control of our households. There are folks who want to be in control of a corporation, of a community, of a city, of a state, of a nation, even.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

Let me say two things. One first the desire or idea of control is not, at its heart, evil or selfish or wrong. The first thing that the Bible says about human beings is that we are image bearers of God and God, after blessing the man and the woman in Genesis, chapter 1 and verse 28, gave this command be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth, the Bible. The Bible talks a lot about becoming wise. The ability to make wise decisions about your life and its direction is a part of maturing into adulthood, and you don't actually get to mature unless you have some freedom to make decisions and to make mistakes and learn from them. If your parents are giving you the same kind of oversight when you're 25 as they did when you are five, there is something wrong. And at the same time here's the second thing Life demonstrates to us that we don't actually have ultimate control. Children can't wait to grow up so that they can be free. And then you grow up and you get a job and you got bills, whether it's related to our wealth or our health. Life reveals to us that we are not actually in controluring of our life and the lives of others. As autonomous creatures, we want to be in control apart from the authority, purposes and plan of God, and so the deal is that you and I need to live with the assurance, every moment of every day, that God is in control, and that is where we find the prophet Jeremiah this morning.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

Jeremiah is a priest. He is dedicated to the Lord. He is from the city of Anatoth, which is about two to four miles away from Jerusalem, and so he grew up in the shadow of Israel's capital city and its temple. Jeremiah had a wonderful plan for his life. It was laid out for him as a priest. He knew his responsibilities and he was fine with it. He would live out his days serving the Lord. But God interrupted Jeremiah's plan with a different one. Have you ever had your life and your world turned upside down? Have you ever been moved from a place of certainty into the unknown? It is not usually fun. Part of wanting to be in control, part of my wanting to be in control is that I want to control the outcome also. And when the Lord breaks in here in this text to declare to Jeremiah and to us I am in control, we find out that that is the best and most reassuring news we can hear. God is in control four ways we see in this text he's in control of his word, he's in control of the wicked, he's in control of his worship and he's in control of his warrior. He's in control of his word. He's in control of the wicked. He's in control of his worship. He is in control of his warrior.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

This first chapter of Jeremiah serves as the introduction and table of contents for the entire book and it also recounts for us what Jeremiah's experience was when God called him to be a prophet. And as we read through the text, as you heard this text read, notice that this can scarcely be called a conversation. The Lord asked Jeremiah a couple of questions and Jeremiah gets to respond, but the dominant voice in the passage is the Lord, god. He is in control and most of Jeremiah's time is spent listening to him. The first point that God is in control of his word comes out of verses 11 to 12. God asked Jeremiah a question in verse 11, what do you see? Jeremiah responds.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

In verse 12, I see an almond branch and the Lord says to me Jeremiah says you have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it. There is a wonderful word play going on in the Hebrew text that's not apparent in our English translations. And when the Lord asked Jeremiah what do you see? Jeremiah says I see the branch of a shakade. And the Lord says you have seen well, because I am chocade over my word to perform it. The Hebrew word for almond tree literally means watching one. This was so because in that land. When the almond tree was ready to bloom, it meant that spring was coming. It announced the change in seasons Winter was over and spring was on the horizon, and this was extremely important in a culture and a society depending on the land to yield its harvest. And so they watched the almond tree and when it budded, it told them that spring was imminent. And I love God's metaphor. God is letting Jeremiah know that, just like the bursting into leaf and bloom of the almond tree heralded the springtime, the spoken word of the Lord pointed to its own fulfillment. You've seen well, jeremiah, because I am watching over my word to perform it. And why does that matter? Why does that matter?

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

Jeremiah is concerned that he won't be able to fulfill his calling. In chapter 1 and verse 6, when the Lord calls him, jeremiah says oh God, look, I'm just a youth, I don't know how to speak. And God told Jeremiah in verse 9 of chapter 1, behold, jeremiah, I have put my word in your mouth. The emphasis is on my word. God does not speak frivolously. He doesn't make promises that he will not keep. Jeremiah, you don't have to worry about being a youth. I'm taking care of my word. It's my word that is in your mouth and I'm going to see that it comes to pass, even when it seems like I'm not watching, even when it seems like the promise is dead, it is not. It is alive. Jeremiah, you can no more prevent my word from being fulfilled than you can prevent the almond tree from blossoming in springtime. Every last promise of God will be fulfilled. We're going to see in our last point that things will get rough for Jeremiah and the Lord's promises are going to seem like they have been ground to the dust. But the Lord's point is that, no matter what it looks like, I am in control of my words. So don't you ever forget my promises.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

Apostle Paul says to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians, chapter 1 and verse 20, that all the promises of God find their yes in Jesus Christ. That is why he says in that chapter it is through Jesus that we utter our amen to God for his glory. You and I can hardly get through a chapter of the Bible without hearing God make a promise. He promises that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He promises never to leave us or to forsake us, even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. He promises to give us wisdom if we ask him for it. Jesus promises that he has. He's going to prepare a place for us. He promises us eternal life. When the disciples said to Jesus, we left everything to follow you, jesus promises there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters, or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel, who will not at the same time receive houses and brothers and sisters, and mothers and fathers and children and land, with persecutions and, in the age to come, eternal life. All of these promises are true and all will be fulfilled, no matter what it looks like.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

There's a comfort because sometimes God's word, the word that God speaks, is hard to hear. It is often sharp and cuts to the heart. Its truth does not always bring with it a pleasant response. This is why the second point is helpful to know God is in control of the wicked. After God reassures Jeremiah that he will fulfill his word, he asked Jeremiah a second question in verses 13 to 15. Here's real life. Object lesson, a metaphor for Jeremiah.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

Number two the word of the Lord came to me a second time. Jeremiah says what do you see? Jeremiah says I see a boiling pot facing away from the north. And the Lord said to me out of the north, disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land because I am calling all the tribes of the kingdom of the north, declares the Lord, and they will come and everyone shall set his throne. At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls, all around, against all the cities of Judah, against all the cities of Judah, there's a pot that is set aflame and the coals are being stoked and the Lord is saying I'm turning up the heat for the purpose of cleansing my land. He tells the people, through Jeremiah, in the first part of chapter two, verses seven and eight you have defiled my land. He tells them. I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and good things, but when you came in, the Lord says in chapter 2, verse 7, you defiled my land and you made it an abomination. Therefore, he says to Jeremiah, the clans of the northern kingdoms will come and lay siege on Jerusalem and Judah. And notice what God says, verse 15,. He says I'm calling, I'm calling these kingdoms this disaster even evil, we might say that is being unleashed upon the land is coming to fulfill god's purpose.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

This is hard for us to grasp, but even the works of evil in this world are ultimately serving god's purpose. That is a hard, hard message to hear and to believe. The seemingly senseless wickedness and violence we see and experience makes many people doubt that God is even real. We see bombs falling and children being slaughtered and we say does God even see or care? Listen, this is not a new question. Here's what we need to understand. Left to its own devices, the human heart is bent against God. Jeremiah will even say, in chapter 17 and verse 9 of this prophecy the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it? So, even as the wicked act out of their own accord, out of their own wickedness of their hearts, god is still fulfilling his purpose. In the context of our passage, his purpose is to bring judgment on Judah.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

When Israel was in Egypt, god used the wickedness of Pharaoh to display his power and authority over Egypt and their false gods. And so when Israel was delivered from slavery in Egypt, there was no doubt in the eyes of Israel or in the eyes of the Egyptians who was God indeed, of Israel, or in the eyes of the Egyptians, who was God. Indeed, in 1 Kings, chapter 19, god uses the wickedness of Jezebel to put the prophet Elijah on the run and show him that, even though all seemed to be lost and that he was alone, god was still in control. He left 7,000 in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal. God's being in control of the wicked is a hard pill to swallow. God is good, god is love, and we have a hard time connecting love and goodness with wickedness and evil. But we need to grasp the fact that Jesus understood and embraced God's control of the wicked for his own good purposes. What does Jesus pray in the garden of Gethsemane before his arrest and his crucifixion? He prays and he says my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. God uses the wickedness of the Pharisees and Judas and the crowd to fulfill his purpose in sending Jesus Christ to the cross as the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world, the only all-sufficient sacrifice for sin.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

The apostle Peter, in his Pentecost sermon in Acts, chapter 2, says men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him, in your midst. As you yourselves know this, jesus delivered up. Listen to what Peter says. Delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

There's never been a time when God was not in control of the wicked. There's never been a time when the evil of this world has not been used by God to fulfill his sovereign purposes. You see, this is a source of comfort for those who have come to God through faith in Jesus Christ. God is in control even of the wicked. The great reality and joy for Christians is that the ultimate disaster, the ultimate disaster, the ultimate punishment for sin was let loose upon Jesus Christ. You see, the kingdoms of the north are not the only evil in this text. God is not only in control of the wicked, he is in control of his worship. Why are the kingdoms of the north coming for battle?

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

The Lord says in verse 16 of our passage. I will declare my judgments against them for all their evil in forsaking me, they have made offerings to other gods and worship the works of their own hands. God says I am to be the object of your affections. God says they abandoned him to worship other gods, the works of their own hands. They had broken the covenant that they had made Before they entered the land. They renewed the covenant in Joshua, chapter 24, when Joshua says as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And the people say we will serve the Lord also. And Joshua says no, no, no, you can't serve him because he's a holy God. And the people say no, no, no, we will serve the Lord. And they've broken this promise.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

Why? What was the lure? What was the attraction to serve other gods? They're accused of bowing down to the works of their own hands. They wanted something that they could touch and feel with their hands. I can't see God, but I can see this wooden statue. It's tangible. They were not atheists. They believed in the supernatural. They just wanted a supernatural that they could control and have authority over. We can understand that. We know the pull and the temptation to put our hopes and our dreams into things that are tangible, tactile. We still can't see god. Our cultural context is different, but we still worship tangible things that we think will bring peace and contentment and happiness and success. And the reality is that we become what we worship.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

And God says that anything other than him is ultimately nothingness. Indeed, he says that very thing in chapter 2 of Jeremiah, in verse number 5, where the Lord says what wrong did your fathers find in me? That they went far from me and went after worthlessness and became worthless. God's intent is for his people to reflect his character and his nature to the world. He has set his people apart, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, as a royal priesthood. What did God tell Moses to tell Pharaoh, let my people go that they might worship me. God will not tolerate false worship. He's in control of his worship. And what did their false worship demonstrate? It demonstrated that they had rejected him. It demonstrated that they were giving lip service to God, but their hearts weren't in it and, what's more, they believed that it didn't matter.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

God will tell Jeremiah, in chapter 7 of this prophecy, to stand at the entrance of the Lord's house, the temple, and say to the people, as they come in to worship amend your ways and your deeds and I will let you dwell in this place. God says Jeremiah, tell these people do not trust these deceptive words. This is the temple of the Lord, the temple words. This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. Because if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice with one another, if you don't oppress the sojourner, the fatherless or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place and in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. But behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say we are delivered, only to go on doing these abominations? See, as Pastor Ben said, you didn't come to church when you came here. Yeah, you are the church.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

And just in a similar way, worshiping God has never only been about what we do when we come together as a body on Sunday morning. It is about lives that are given over to the Lord. Completely Right, the value in tangible things jobs and money and houses and clothes and health and family, etc. Those come only as they are realized in a life submitted to Jesus, lives that are striving, by the grace of God, to reflect the character of God to the world. God is in control of his worship, he's in control of his word, he's in control of the wicked, he's in control of his worship and, lastly, he's in control of his warrior. I just needed another W, by the way. At you, by the way.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

The people are not going to respond favorably to Jeremiah's message. So the Lord tells him in verse 17, jeremiah, dress yourself for work, get up and say to them everything I command. You Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. God tells Jeremiah to do three things in verse 17. Dress himself for work, arise and speak and do not break down before the people Gird up your loins. I like that King James said it Gird up your loins. Jeremiah, that long flowing priestly garment you are wearing is not appropriate for what you will have to deal with, and if God had left it at that, jeremiah would have been in trouble. He's speaking judgment against the inhabitants of the land and God tells him in verse 19, they will fight against you. They will fight against you. They will fight against you. They will wage war against him. One man against everybody.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

One commentator put it Jeremiah was appointed over nations and kingdoms to tear them down and to build them up. This included standing up to God's enemies, refusing to give in to political pressure. How could he do it? How can any believer, let alone a youngster who does not know how to speak, have the courage to stand against the enemies of God in a wicked world? God tells Jeremiah get ready, get up and don't give in.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

And then grace comes in verses 18 and 19. The Lord says I behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar and bronze walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you. Courage and strength come from the Lord. Jeremiah didn't make himself a fortified city or an iron pillar or a bronze wall. I have made you strong, jeremiah. You are not in this thing alone. Remember this is my word. It will be accomplished, and I'm using you as the messenger. Yes, you will be persecuted. Yes, you will be beaten. Yes, you will be mocked and scorned. Yes, you will be thrown into prison. Yes, they will try to kill you. Only be strong and courageous. Say what I command you to say. They cannot prevail over you, because I am with you to rescue you. You are not alone because one man and God is a majority, a majority.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

God promised Jeremiah that he would be strengthened and sustained in order to fulfill the Lord's purpose, and it all ties together. God is in control of his word. Not only would the word be kept, but the messenger would be kept too. You know what is so striking about this declaration? That God makes you read it, and it feels like he's going a bit overboard with the metaphors. It seems a bit exaggerated to compare a man to a fortified city, to an iron pillar, to a bronze wall, but, as another commentator pointed out, when you take a look at Jeremiah's whole career, the metaphor turns out to be an understatement, not an exaggeration. As he rightly pointed out, jeremiah held out longer than the walls of his fortified city, jerusalem. The walls of that city were destroyed, they cracked and crumbled. The pillars came down when the city was overthrown and there was Jeremiah, still standing, still declaring the truth of God's word.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

In this way, jeremiah prefigures for us one who would come centuries later declaring y'all have a worship problem, so repent and believe, for the kingdom of God is at hand. And they would fight against him and they would plot together on how they might destroy him because they didn't know that God was in control of the wicked. So they hung him high and they stretched him wide and they thought that when he had bowed his head and was buried in a borrowed tomb, that that was the end of the story. But they did not know that God was with him to deliver him. So early Sunday morning he got up and he declared all authority in heaven and in earth has been given to me. In other words, I am in control. So he can say to them and to you and to me I am with you always to deliver you. Amen.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

This is the truth for everyone who has put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why we find the Bible telling us in places like Ephesians 6, be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. Or like Paul to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 12, 19, that the grace of God was sufficient for him, because God's power is made perfect in weakness, so he said. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ might rest upon me. This is necessary for the life we live as Christians, understanding that Jesus is in control of everything. He's in control of his word, he's in control of the wicked, he's in control of his worship. He's in control of the wicked. He's in control of his worship. He's in control of his warriors. Christians know this to be true in our heart of hearts, and it guides our lives and our decisions.

Pastor Irwyn Ince:

Daily we live out the lyrics of that hymn of the church that says I'm going through, I'll pay the price. Whatever men may do, I'll take the way of the world's despised few. I've started in Jesus and I'm going through. Let's pray, thank you, and we praise you, lord, that you are the one who is in control, no matter what it looks like in our lives, in this topsy-turvy, upside-down world with wars and rumors of wars, with wickedness we see running rampant in our communities and sometimes even in our own hearts. We thank you that they shall not prevail because you are in control and that you are our deliverer. We bless you and pray that we would live into this life and reality daily, to the glory of your name, amen.