I Am With You To Deliver You! Series

Jeremiah 1:4-8 (NKJV)

“I am with You to Deliver You”

10/29/2023

I. The Times (v. 4)

It was in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah to the 11th year of Zedekiah. Mattaniah was his birth name, and he was the last of King Josiah’s sons to sit on the throne in Judah (Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon changed his name to Zedekiah). He was a vassal king with no real power. He was simply holding a title and the evil Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar was pulling the strings. Today we live during difficult times (government in ruin and puppets in high position) . . . but history shows us that during times like these God did not call the elders of the nation or the experienced scribes or priests of the sons of Levi. No, He called a young adult about 21 years old and said, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou came forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” v.5 You see, God does not wait until the problem arises before He brings forth His solution! God has already made you ready, “for such a time as this.” God has a plan for your life. There are times when God will ask you to do things that are difficult. Can God accomplish His plans without you? Yes. But He asks you to participate in His plans because it strengthens your faith. We may face uncertainty, failure, fear, and suffering as we try to fulfill God’s plans for our lives. But God is with us every step of the way. He is working all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Do you remember what Mordecai said to Queen Esther? “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” You may think you are too young or too inexperienced as Jeremiah did, but God is not in the business of failure! God has formed you. God has sanctified you! God has ordained you for such a time as this!

II. The Task (v.7)

I have learned that if He has called you, He has covered you! The task of today is demanding (For you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak)… Psalm 81:10 says, I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it! Jesus says that in the last days when there are wars and rumors of wars and nations rising up against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms and there will be earthquakes and famines and troubles. Do not be afraid. In Mark 13:9 Jesus says, “You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.” If God has called you, He will cover you because God is with you to deliver you.

III. The Truth (v.8)

Be not afraid of their faces. Who’s faces is God talking about? Verse 19 tells us it’s the kings and priests and the people!

a. It is not the faces of the enemy that will terrify the young prophet, it is the faces of the Kings of Judah that he will set in office that will be against him.

b. It is not the faces of the enemy that will terrify the young prophet, it is the faces of the Priests that he will train for service that will be against him.

c. It is not the faces of the enemy that will terrify the young prophet, it is the faces of the People that he will pray for that will be against him.

BUT GOD SAID:

For I am with thee to deliver thee! This was written in the oracles of history, to show us that truth is always deliverance! Jesus told those who believed on Him that if they continue in His Word, (John 8:32) “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” The truth is always deliverance! It’s why 1 John 3:8 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”

Paul says, Jesus has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13). We always go back to the Cross. The plan of God always begins at the Cross of Christ! “At the Cross, at the Cross, where I first saw the light and the burdens of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day.”