When The Preacher Don’t Want To Be Bothered
Jeremiah 20:7 O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
8 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.
9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
If you get a good piece of meat, and cook it right, it will make its own gravy.
Anniversary marks a time of rejoicing. It only comes once a year to mark 364 days of continuance in a position, relationship, establishment or …Often it marks a time of reflection on decisions made and the cost off that decision whether it was for better or worse. If for for better, you look forward with anticipation to another year. If for the worse, you tend to be apprehensive and it causes you to consider your future endeavors to pursuit, or abandon ship.
The text is not relevant per se to Anniversary, but this Anniversary is relevant to the text.
We are not able to define God except by God. He defines Himself. We cannot trace His existence in the book of Genesis, the very book of beginnings, due to His beginning the beginning before the beginning began. Not a play on words for Genesis 1:1 says; “In the beginning (of which God was already on the scene), God created…”He defines Himself as the Pre-Existent One, the I Am that I Am. Through His Son, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, Alpha and Omega, so scarcely can one grasp the magnitude, height or depth for the higher you go He is higher still and the deeper you go He is deeper still. Now unto the King Eternal, Immortal…He remains the forever till eternity as the Ancient of Days.
Man has tried to define Him by placing His being in the logical and has come up empty. His ways and methods defy the wisdom and logic of man. By experience, we come to know that He asks, requests, demands, and commands that we do that which goes against our humanity/human way of thinking, but upon submission we find it works. Dumb founded and often baffled we don’t know how and we don’t know when but the testimony remains, He will do it again. Logic comes up empty and thus we say or determine that since He can’t be locked into the logical then He must be illogical. And again we are up against a wall for He lets us know that our thoughts are not His thoughts nor his ways our ways…
In order to gain relationship with Him is not predicated upon our understanding Him, knowing Him in the sense of defining Him via revelationary scripture but the hymn writer grasped an understanding saying simply “Trust and Obey…
Jeremiah was called at a young age and his ministry continued some 40 to 50years. Sanctified and ordained a prophet to the nations. We are amazed and look with awesome wonder at the calling of Jeremiah. Many have applied and or identified with the fact of God knowing us before we were born. Isn’t that something, to know that I’m not just some piece of insignificant humanity, but the eternal knows my name. He didn’t just speak me into existence, or just throw me together, but He took time to form me. Every feature, every dynamic of my biological make-up was designed by the master. He skillfully and ever so carefully, before there was any sexual reproduction between mommy and daddy, he knew me. Yes, we say that if it hadn’t been for mom and dad, but no, if it had not been for Adam. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. You, your mother, and your father, your sister and your brother, aunts and uncles were all in Adam. God only went to the dirt once. As a matter of fact, Adam was created out of the dust of the earth. When God looked upon everything he had made and said it was very good, we were included, for God knew us.
Man was born with a capacity for eternal things and a realization that this life cannot be all there is, yet sin has cut us off from them and darkened our understanding and will.
It was perhaps upon this very calling and experience that Jeremiah reflects when he speaks the words in our text, God you deceived me. You set me up. Here I stand as a mournful spectator of the sins of my people and of the judgements coming upon them for they’re sins. Not only that but I have spoken what you told me to say and still they refuse to listen. To further my pain and derision, they have struck me, and placed me in stocks. Stocks were not meant just to restrain but to punish. The Hebrew word Mahpeket means causing distortion and the stocks forced arms neck and legs into an extremely painful position. What happened to all of those promises You made me? What about protecting me? You call this protection? What about choosing me? Choosing me for what...to abuse me?" I don’t deserve this, and you are my protector. You told me in the beginning all the wonders you would do through me and we all get happy about God using us. What we fail to recognize that often time in order for God to get the glory out of our lives we have to be placed in some fiery positions. Often placed in fiery trials for display to the world and yet not consumed. Moses had to turn aside to see why a bush was burning, but not consumed. When God places his anointing upon man, it causes others to stand in awe because if it had been them they would have given up. Gone back, got burned up with hate, envy, or jealousy. The anointing gets people attention. The anointing causes folks to stand in awe and amazement because it is not normal for a man or woman to endure such hardship and not respond to it in a negative way. Therefore, they draw closer to behold what manner of bush this is. Isn’t that what Simon did to Jesus. He wanted to find out the validity of Jesus authenticity by critiquing him. This itinerant preacher from Nazareth that has the city in an uproar and commotion so much to the point that they are saying never a man spake as this man. I want to first identify for myself what manner of man he is. but when God laid out the purpose and the plan, He didn’t tell us that we would lose our friends and loved one. He didn’t tell us that we would have cancer and die. He didn’t tell us that we would be in such dire straits as to find ourselves in heated debates with so called Christians. He didn’t tell us we would be in a car accident that would render us handicapped. He didn’t tell us that we would be caught in drive by shootings, drug infested streets, car theft, raped and sodomized children, baby deaths, and hideous heinous crimes by children, He didn’t tell us that our hearts would be made to bleed by many thoughtless words and deeds. God you set me up.
Now my brothers and sisters, This brings us to a perception that has been handed down as joy bells ringing in our souls. Its always identified as the strawberry on whip cream, the icing on the cake, breakfast lunch and dinner quote, just like fire shut up in my bones. But I’m concerned as to not what, but why? Don’t miss this, because the fire of the Word had no business being shut up in his bones, your bones, or my bones. Jeremiah is the preacher. And he got to the place of throwing in the towel. See there are some ups and downs, not only of our actual outward circumstances, but of our inward spiritual states. And you can’t condemn Jeremiah until you are able to exonerate and free yourself.
You may theologize and philosophy all you want, but there are times when the preacher just don’t want to be bothered. The heavenly mind is not formed easily or at once. Don’t think it strange or out of the ordinary for we all can identify with mood swings, dry bones, tired bones, weariness of the flesh, wherein the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, we all know what it is the have our last nerve worked on, God help us today, there is a time when enough is enough, so if we all been there and identify with it, and perhaps even now are fed up with things in our own lives, why do you think it a strange thing for the preacher to not want to be bothered.
You know its alright, if the choir don’t want to sing. Its alright if the people don’t want to show up for service, its alright if nobody has a song to sing, its alright, for the people to take a break, its alright for the people to get some rest, they been running all week long, it alright if others want to take a break from serving, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do these things. But the preacher, must be sent! For how can they hear without the preacher, and how can he preach except he be sent.
His orders are handed down, not up. It doesn’t matter if he understands it or not, doesn’t matter if he was involved with the orchestration of the event, it doesn’t matter if he has the outline, all he knows is his master speaks, and he has to obey. He has learned to serve this present age.
From the natural outlook of Jeremiah, it appears that he is a failure. For he has stretched out his hand but the people to whom e was sent refused; he had called but they would not answer. All he had was a promise that didn’t look to fulfilling. He’d followed the guidelines, adhered to the prerequisites, and yet there were no fruits to his labor. No repentance of the people. They were difficult and overbearing. They had spoken hard words against him, and came together in large forces against him. It is easy to criticize and say that he shouldn’t have been affected, but it was not just hard words, but the multitude of them that made them intolerable.
How do you fare when your promise dies? What do you do when what was promised does not come to fruition? You had an expectation that folded up, crumbled in your hand? Anything dead ought to be buried. Just give it up. It’s gone now child, there’s nothing more you can do. Throwing in the towel seems the logical thing to do. You done prayed on it, but still it hasn’t happened. You done waited, and it still hasn’t showed up. You done cried, but still no one is there to wipe away your tears. Loving them is hurting you. You done laid down your life, and still they aren’t satisfied. You become disenfranchised, unworthy, utterly defeated, no strength left to battle.
Church strengthens the leader hand in God’s. You don’t always know what he is dealing with. He has all the graces of God. Will go the last mile, pray w/o ceasing, labor, work, and sweat for you and when God gives him a plan and direction, follow him. Sometimes it just may be that God is wrestling with him to bring him another level.
Come on Jacob,
The son of promise is dead to him. A man that stopped at nothing to get what he wanted. A fighter from his mother’s womb. Always in conflict, continuously struggling, yet God at no time rebukes him. Instead he fills him up with promise after promise. “He says I won’t leave you till I’ve done what I said. You done striven with God and man, and has prevailed. No more shall you be called Jacob, but Israel. You find him after years of hardship and blessings combined. Still a fighter, but now ready to throw in the towel. in Genesis 42:36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
But its when you are ready to give up. When you are ready to throw in the towel. Your promise may be dead to the natural eye, but Rom 8:28. All things work together…
Jacob said all these things, but Paul says All things
Jeremiah’s promise seems fleeting. He is tired and no longer wish to speak in God’s name. The abuse is more than he can handle. But because he sho’ nuff been converted. Because he not only had a promise but a relationship. He is an ardent and enthusiastic worshipper of the true and living God.
The word was like fire shut up in his bones and he couldn’t help himself. I don’t have to be happy to preach the gospel. Happiness is external, depends on what is going on around me. I’m not always happy when folks do me wrong, stand by me today, but make tracks tomorrow. I’m not happy when I have done all I can to help and still you not satisfied. Seems like I can never do enough. But what’s on the inside is joy. Unaffected, inpulsive, systematic, habitual praise. Out of all I been through, I still have joy.
God may be taking you the long way around? Surely by now you should have come into your promised land. By now you should be feasting on milk and honey. But instead you find yourself in battle with the Hitites, on the job Amarites, in the home Jebusites, and in the church all kinds of Ittes. If it ain’t one thing its another, and every time you think you got it under control, something else comes up.
But when the preacher don’t want to be bothered. He remembers that he’s been anointed to stand. Something on the inside, keeps telling him to go head. When he wants to throw in the towel, when he wants to give up and rest a little while, the word has been hidden in his heart, that he might not sin against God. Psalms 24:7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.
Be not dismayed whatever betides God will take care of you.
Your God is a consuming fire, a battle ax in the time of battle. If you hold on, God will give you a crown. You’ll be able to say like Paul, 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
God has to hide from us what He does until we get to the place where He can reveal it.
I’m not where you left me!
