Delivered
Jeremiah 1:8, “rsBe not afraid of their faces: for stuI am with thee tto deliver thee, saith the Lord.” [1]
I. Fear
A. Foes
B. Faces
II. Freedom
A. Forever
B. Follow
III. Faith
A. Found
B. Firm
Introduction: We have been through a crazy time. When I consider today’s text it reminds me of masks. You may still have your ornaments on your car mirrors, gear shift knobs, turn signal levers. Masks! For a long time and even just recently there were places that people were afraid to see your face so you better make sure that you had that old dirty used mask just in case.
What were we afraid of? Did you really believe that a dust mask could possibly filter out a virus? If I am sitting on the mower cutting the grass, I will have a mask over my face unless I forget. When I realize I forgot the mask I pray that the pollen and the poisons don’t attack me again. The dusk masks that we were forced to wear during that time apparently don’t filter out allergens like poison ivy. I wore a mask and the respiratory infection happened anyway.
What caused people to be so brain washed into being so afraid to see each other’s faces? It hasn’t been too long ago, and will probably continue to be, that someone actually came down with the virus. My first thought was to pray that they recover quickly with no repercussions. Some people were afraid that they might have caused others to be sick later. Some people could only think of how they felt when it happened to them.
How did Christians allow this to happen to ourselves? I wonder if Jeremiah might have experienced the same insanity that we are still going through. What happens to make us believe that other Christians are our enemies? Do not be afraid of your church family!
There was that period of time when I was in the hospital all those times last year. Each time I would go, those same foolish questions would be asked. Have you been out of the country lately? “Yes. Every time I take off in my airplane I leave this world.” Have you been around anyone with covid 19? “Probably so because I’ve been in the hospital.” Have you felt any symptoms of covid 19. “I can’t breathe; does that count?” There was no way to answer those crazy questions without tell a lie. Where was the compassion? Why did so many die in the nursing homes while those who should have cared were afraid to be around them.
There was one instance one night after my wife and daughter left me there alone in that hospital. The nurse came in. Another nurse came in behind her. The second was the charge nurse that evening. I didn’t have my mask on. The charge nurse came beside me and took her mask off so that I could see her face and then she took my hand. I looked at her and she was crying. So was I. I have never seen her again but I will always see her face. Thank you Jesus.
May we pray that we never look at each other as people to be afraid of anymore? May we pray that we are eager to return to church where we can be happy to see the faces of those we love and those who love us? May we pray for our friends and not treat them as foes to be afraid of anymore? When we do we will finally be delivered from the sentence of fear that was handed to us. Let those who have no love keep their fear as we even love and pray for them.
Scripture: Our focal verse is Jeremiah 1:8. Please stand for the reading of God’s word,
Prayer:
Message: Follow as we hear the first eight verses of Jeremiah’s prophecy. The word came to Jeremiah while Josiah was king in Judah. God’s word continued to Jeremiah during the time that Jehoiakim was the king of Judah. Jehoiakim was a son of Josiah. Jehoiakim was made king by the Pharaoh after his brother Jehoahaz was removed to Egypt.
God’s word to Jeremiah continued until Jerusalem was exiled in the fifty month of the Hebrew year. It’s like saying that it happened in May. It’s like saying 9/11 happened in September and Pearl Harbor happened in December. We don’t mention of which year because it is understood by those who lived through it.
Jeremiah was a young man. He was afraid. Terrible things were happening and people didn’t know why. The people of God started listening to the ones who were oppressing them because they didn’t hear God talking anymore and they had stopped listening for God to speak.
Put yourself in Jeremiah’s place? “What good will it do? They won’t listen to me. They’ve made up their minds to cave to the pressure. Besides, they surely don’t respect me.” These were thoughts that might have been Jeremiah’s. As we read on we learn all the trials that Jeremiah went through as they even decided to persecute him for speaking the truth to them.
It doesn’t matter who doesn’t listen. It only matters that I listen to God. Jeremiah wanted to go somewhere and hide but God wouldn’t let him. Today we are still hearing Jeremiah. God is good and He endures our ignorance. He will send His prophets and His word will never end.
We get stuck on certain verses of the Bible and we use them sort of like our ammunition for the causes we think are important enough to fight for. We often miss the bigger picture of the forest because that sure is a pretty tree. That is what happened in a certain garden.
Verse five has become the battle cry for the so called pro-life movement. That shouldn’t be a movement. How stupid to be anything except pro-life. What is the alternative; pro-death? God had known Jeremiah before he was formed in the womb just as God knew each and every one of us whom He conceived. That word conceived means thought up. It is good that we memorize that certain verse. It really means that we can all speak when God has something to say through us. Because He speaks, we must speak.
Some of us have been ordained to speak even when it is hard. Verse five should go without saying to the Christian. To those who could care less that God even is, nothing will make sense because they have no sense of God. So why are Christians asking anything of them who refuse to admit that God is? God will put us in hard situations here in this life so that others might see a difference in us and be influenced by our witness of Him. He doesn’t put us here to be in awkward situations so that we will fall under the spell of those who dishonor God. Please remember that. Please remember to Pray!
Do not be afraid of their faces. Don’t fear the face of your foes. That is what God told Jeremiah in that first part. What does that mean? God was encouraging Jeremiah and He is still encouraging us to stand under His leadership and not be afraid of the masks that hide a person’s true nature. Look them in the eye and don’t be afraid of their faces. Uncover your face so they will see God through you. See them for what they are and let them hear and see you for whose you are. You are God’s child! Do not let fear of their self-made power overwhelm you. Stand!
Who else said that Jerry? God is speaking through those who will listen to Him speak. Stand firm because God alone is strong enough to survive. He loves us so much that He sent Jesus to ensure our salvation even while we must endure this garbage here for a little while.
Freedom! We are celebrating that this week. What is it? Do you know? It is that next truth in our verse today. “I am with thee to deliver thee.” God has done that and God will always do that. He delivers us from the quagmire of sin. He delivers us from the oppressors that hold us. He allows that so that they might see how weak they truly are without Him. Freedom comes from God. True freedom only comes from God. He delivers. Nobody else delivers but God.
It is good that we remember those who trusted God with their lives by giving their lives that we might live in freedom. It is fitting that we have a blowout on a certain day to commemorate those who gave their lives for our freedom. We must never forget to remember how and who God uses for His glory and our good. Because of them we have the freedom to follow God and not a tyrannical government who would rather take than to give us freedom to serve God.
If we follow God He will always and forever be with us. Nobody! Nothing will ever be able to separate us from His forever love.
Don’t be afraid of their faces! Don’t fall under their spell. Pray! Seek His kingdom and all this junk will be given to you. Nobody has the power to take away except God and when He takes it is to give better. Wait upon the Lord!
The final point in the verse is faith. Do you believe that part? Do you believe that, “saith the Lord” part?” If you don’t then you have no faith. If you don’t believe “saith the Lord”, then you are really saying that you have no clue where you came from. He conceived and He spoke. When God saith you became. Do you believe that? We like talking about that fifth verse but do we really have faith that He knew us before all this crazy happened that is happening now?
Sanctification is a lifelong process that we Christians go through in this life until we are absolutely and finally mature Christians. Then we are ready for heaven. That is true in this earthly realm now. Notice in that fifth verse again that God sanctified Jeremiah before Jeremiah was born. So were we. God sees us as we are to Him. God sees the final result. You were not found by God, you were created by God. He saw you as you can’t even see yourself.
Do you have that kind of faith? If you reach that point of deliverance the fear of the faces of others will not have any more hold on you. When you finally reach the end of the testing and trials and God sees it is finished, your faith will be so firm that nothing will ever allow you to forget to pray again. You will be so attuned to God’s will that it will be your will. Don’t fear their faces. Don’t do it.
Prayer:
Invitation: Tuesday we will celebrate our nation’s independence. From what? For what? Why are we here in this place that once was thought to be impossible to exist? The world is flat! That’s what the faithful once believed. If you go too far you will fall off. God knew better and now so do we. We are living in a place where we are free to worship the life that God gave us. We are living to serve only God and not those who would take our freedom to worship where God gave us to worship.
Celebrate, Celebrate! We have reason to celebrate and not to live in the fear of their faces. Let us embrace and extend His love as we enjoy His freedom which He gave to us.
I know that this is a scary time. We all have been through crazy things over the past few years. God is with us and He will never forsake us but the choice is and always has been yours to accept Him. To believe in Him and reject those who tell you that you must submit to them is only possible if you choose to trust only God.
Submit only to God and you will find that freedom which is so elusive in this life. Salvation starts the day you release the ties that binds you here and slip into the arms of God. He is worthy of your praise so praise Him this evening like you mean it. Be grateful for the deliverance that Jesus left heaven for and lived here for. We are delivered from the hold that sin once had only because Jesus submitted to His Father’s will. Come to Jesus as we sing.
r So Ezek. 2:6. See ver. 17. & Matt. 10:28.
s Deut. 31:6, 8.
s Deut. 31:6, 8.
t ver. 19. ch. 15:20, & 20:11. Acts 26:17. So Heb. 13:6.
u Ex. 3:12. Deut. 31:23. Josh. 1:5. Acts 18:10.
t ver. 19. ch. 15:20, & 20:11. Acts 26:17. So Heb. 13:6.
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Je 1:8). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
