Our Savior & Healer

“OUR HEALER & SAVIOR” Jeremiah 17:14

FBCF – 8/3/25

Jon Daniels (Lauren Milner)

INTRO – When you think of the name “Jeremiah”, who comes to mind? (pics)

- David Jeremiah – Shadow Mtn Community Church, CA

- Jeremiah Smith – WR Ohio State – highest-rated WR in high school recruiting history

- “Jeremiah was a bullfrog” – 3 Dog Night - 1971

- Mine – Jeremiah Johnson

For next 3 Sundays, we are going to be in this “Jeremiah’s” book (show pic) – OT prophet, Jeremiah. This will lead up to revival services w/ Larry Leblanc (slide).

As much as I’m looking forward to our revival services, true, Spirit-sent, Spirit-led, Spirit-empowered revival doesn’t have to wait until that Sunday evening service when Larry shows up. It can begin right now! In fact, many of the 105 people who were here Wed evening for Refresh would tell you that the winds of revival began to blow through our hearts that night.

- Selby Oliver texted Thu. – “Yesterday you asked us along the lines of, what a revival looks like or feels like. Last night was a revival. The Holy Spirit SHOWED OUT.”

Recap from Wed: “revive” – re – “again” – vive – “to live” – Revival is when the people of God come alive again. It’s not that we’ve lost our salvation or have died spiritually after being saved. Revival is a return to the deep, abiding spiritual vitality of a passionate life that is lived for Jesus & Jesus alone! Revival is a life-changing, life-altering moment of returning.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (slide) – Classic definition of revival – not a verse about the USA, but a verse for the people of God from every nation, tribe, & people group. We need to RETURN:

- To who we are – “If my people…”

- To the power of His name – “who are called by my name”

- To humility – “will humble themselves”

- To prayer – “& pray”

- To seeking the face/presence of God – “& seek my face” - "We are powerful in God's presence, but weak, vulnerable, & sinful w/out Him. We often forget this, but Satan never does." (Bill Elliff, The Presence-Centered Life)

- To true repentance – “& turn from their wicked ways”

- THEN God will do a major work in our lives – When we return, He restores. When we repent, He revives. When we reach rock bottom, He reaches down & pulls us up.

Our God is in the reviving business – the restoring business – the healing business – the saving business! He loves you just the way you are but loves you too much to leave you that way!

EXPLANATION – Jeremiah 17:14 (p. 645)

Do you know someone who is stubborn? Spiritual stubbornness is one of the major hindrances to true revival breaking out among God’s people. The OT prophet, Jeremiah, constantly dealt w/ spiritually stubborn, spiritually obstinate, spiritually hard-headed people. Bible calls it “stiff-necked” – to be obstinate & difficult to lead.

- Originally used to describe an ox that refused to be directed by the farmer’s ox goad – long, sharp stick the farmer would use to poke the ox on the neck to get him to turn. An ox that refused to be directed in this way was called “stiff-necked”, refusing to turn his head to go in different direction or take a different path.

Jeremiah was called “the weeping prophet” b/c his entire ministry was centered on the stiff-necked people of God who constantly refused to turn & go in different direction. God gave him the unenviable task of telling the people that, b/c of their continual stiff-necked rejection of God’s call to repentance, His judgment was about to come crashing down on them.

- Jeremiah 7:23-24 – “But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, & I will be your God, & you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear but walked in their own counsels & the stubbornness of their evil hearts & went backward & not forward.”

SO much like us! We turn away from God in our pride, arrogance, lust, greed, selfishness, pompous “thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought.” And when the Holy Spirit begins to poke & prod us through the reading or preaching of the W of G, we stiffen us our spiritual necks & refuse to go in a different direction – to repent. Worse than that, we don’t just refuse to go in a different direction – we go “backward & not forward” as v. 24 says. And then we act surprised when our lives get turned upside down!