1. Decisions
(A Poem by Dr. Seuss)
Did I ever tell you about the young Zoad - who came to a sign at the fork of the road?
He looked one way and the other way too - the Zoad had to make up his mind what to do.
Well, the Zoad scratched his head, and his chin, and his pants. --
And he said to himself, "I'll be taking a chance.
If I go to Place One, that place may be hot... so how will I know if I like it or not.
On the other hand though, I'll feel such a fool if I go to Place 2 - and find it's too cool
In that case I may catch a chill and turn blue.
So Place One may be best and not Place Two.
"Play safe!" cried the Zoad,
"I'll play safe, I'm no dunce. I'll simply start off to both places at once."
And that's how the Zoad who'd not take a chance
Went no place at all with a split in his pants.
APPLY: Decisions... we all have to make them. Most of the time, our decisions are mundane as which road to take, or which box of cereal to buy at the grocery store, or which movie to watch at the theatre. These are decisions based upon personal taste.
But every once in a while, we're faced with making a decision... and we know what we should decide. We know what the right choice should be. BUT we realize that -- if we make that choice -- it could ultimately cost us something we hold dear.
2. The Northern Nation of Israel has gone into Assyrian Captivity [Map
3. Judah was about to go into Babylonian Captivity [Map
4. God made an attempt to rescue the nation through the tenacious preaching of his prophet, Jeremiah
I. The Consequences of Corruption [Debt Clock
A. The People and the Words of God
1. The People Rejected the Words of God -- Jeremiah 6.16
2. The People Ignored the Words of God
a. Baal and Asherah
b. Co-mingling of Religions to the point God rejected their offerings (6.20)
3. The People Defiled the Words of God
a. Scroll of Jeremiah -- 36.1-9
b. Jehoiakim's knife and fire -- 36.20-26
4. The People Chose the Wrong
Wanting Sin
One day a wasp flew in the window, and the boy - seeing its brilliant colors - began to cry for it.
At last the mother called to the servant who was tending the child "What is the boy crying for? Whatever it is... let him have it?"
So, the servant returned to the boy, and a few minutes there's a loud scream.
The mother is shocked and yelled out "What's the matter?"
The servant peeked back into the room and calmly said: "He got what he wanted"
If we determine that we're going to embrace sin in our lives, God lets us have what we want. And we are NOT going to like what we get!
B. Overthrow of Judah -- 2 Kings 24.1-4
In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.2 And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servants the prophets.3 Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the LORD, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not pardon.
1. Jehoiakim -- Jeremiah 36.30-31
2. Reminder of Romans 1
Effects of Sin
I read recently a couple of interesting facts about skunks.
* A skunk can spray 6 to 10 feet
* Its odor can be smelled up to 2.5 miles away
The unique thing about a skunk's odor is once you've been sprayed, nobody wants to be in the same room with you. Not for a long time.
Now the Bible tells us is that our sin has the same kind of effect to God. When sin dominates our lives it creates a stench about us that's hard to overlook.
II. The Persevering Prophet of God (An Act of Grace)
Several years ago, the Country Gazette in Franklin, Massachusetts had this listing in its classified section: "Unknown item for sale. We know it's valuable; we don't know what it is. If you can identify it, we'll sell it for $250."
APPLY: Now isn't that interesting? They had no idea what this thing was. But they knew - somehow - that it had value. AND they realized that (only someone who knew what it was) would understand how valuable it truly was.
YOU AND I HAVE VALUE. The world may not know what kind of value we have ... but that is because -- only the One who created us really knows what we're worth.
David hinted at this in Psalm 139:13 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb."
A. A Great Prophet -- Matthew 16.14 (similar message of Jesus and Jeremiah)
1. A Great Call -- 1.4-10
2. A Great Burden -- His nation -- Judah -- 4.19-26
[Many of us have a great burden for OUR nation]
3. A Great Challenge -- 15.16-18
16 Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O LORD, God of hosts.
17 I did not sit in the company of revelers,
nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
for you had filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unceasing,
my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
Will you be to me like a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail?
4. A Great Choice -- 20.8-10
B. His Greatness was Displayed in His Tenacity
1. In the Face of Opposition -- 1.18-19
2. In His Message -- 15.16 (Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.)
3. In Taking Responsibility -- 6.16-19 (I set a watchman over you)
4. In Giving Hope -- Lamentations 3.20-24
20 My soul continually thinks of it
and is bowed down within me.
21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is thy faithfulness.
24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him."
Conclusion
1. Threat of Judgment
As the crowded airliner was about to take off, the peace was shattered by a five-year-old boy who picked that moment to throw a wild temper tantrum. No matter what his frustrated, embarrassed mother did to try to calm him down, the boy continued to scream furiously and kick the seats around him.
Suddenly, from the rear of the plane, an elderly man in the uniform of an Air Force General was seen slowly walking forward up the aisle. Stopping the flustered mother with an upraised hand, the white-haired, courtly, soft-spoken General leaned down and, motioning toward his chest, whispered something into the boy's ear. Instantly, the boy calmed down, gently took his mother's hand and quietly fastened his seat belt.
All the other passengers burst into spontaneous applause. As the General slowly made his way back to his seat, one of the cabin attendants touched his sleeve. "Excuse me, General," she asked quietly, "but could I ask you what magic words you used on that little boy?"
The old man smiled serenely and gently confided,
"I showed him my pilot's wings, service stars and battle ribbons and explained that they entitle me to throw one passenger out the plane door, on any flight I choose."
APPLY: Why did that boy settle down? It was because there was the threat of judgment.
2. Tragedy -- Judah did not repent -- Jeremiah was "unsuccessful" by modern preaching standards -- judgment came
3. Many follow Jesus because of coming judgment
4. Many follow because of the goodness of God
Many of you have seen the movie: Private Ryan. For those who have not, the plot is essentially that one family during WWII had lost all but one of their sons on the field of battle, and the US government had decided it didn't want to have the family endure the loss of their final son... who was presently lost somewhere behind the lines. A group of Army Rangers was "volunteered" for the job of finding and retrieving Pvt. Ryan so that he could be sent home to his family.
One of the most touching scenes in the movie is when the hero -- played by Tom Hanks -- has been shot and everyone knows he is dying. Tom Allen, a minister and former Army Ranger wrote: "Private Ryan leans over to him, and Tom Hanks whispers something to him. Everyone in the theater is crying because Tom Hanks was shot; I was crying because of what he said. Private Ryan bent down and Tom Hanks said, "Earn this."
Tom Allen said he didn't find that line to be moving... it found it angering. He wrote: "The reason this made me angry is because no Ranger would ever say, "Earn this." Because the Ranger motto for the past 200 years has not been "Earn this." It has been Sua sponte, "I chose this."
So, when Private Ryan bent down, if Tom Hanks was really a Ranger he would have said, "Sua sponte, I chose this. This is free. You don't pay anything for this. I give up my life for you. That's my job."
And so when you look at the cross and see Jesus hanging there, what you do hear? It is certainly NOT "Earn this." You never hear Jesus say, "Earn this." He doesn't say, "I've given everything for you. Now you need to gut it out for me. I've sacrificed for you, now make it worth my agony."
No, What Jesus says is "Sua sponte! I volunteered for this. You don't have to pay anything for it. Your debt is paid. Your gift is given. It is finished!" Sua sponte!
5. God chose and tenaciously pursued us -- we choose, too.
