Written / Preaced in 2003
The Book of the Prophet
Jeremiah
Chapter 1
See what God does with a nation that 
rejects His words!
Verses 1-3
The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.  It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
Verse 4
Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
That is quite a phrase, eh!  When we tell people what the KJV Bible says, we are telling them what the word of the Lord says.  When we read the Bible ourselves, we can claim the very same situation that Jeremiah had - the word of the LORD comes to us in that King James Bible!
Verse 5
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;
and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee,
and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Kinda like he had no choice?  Ah, but he did, and so do we.  But when we go against God's will for our lives, we just seem to miserable, amen?  God does have a will for us - but we can't figure it out until, like Jeremiah, we hear the words of the Lord!

Also, note who does the real ordination.  I am glad God is not into these baptist ordination ceremonies, amen!

Verse 6
Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD!  behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
Now isn't that like us.  O Lord, I can't witness to people.  I can't teach a Sunday School class.  I just can't talk to people.  In some cases, that may be true - because you have only been saved a short time.  It is true, you don't know what ALL to say, but you ought to know enough to just wimper some Bible to people, anyway.

But for the most of us, we sure do try to tell God that we can't speak!  We don't think we know what to say to folks.  But as you will see in the next verse, that is NOT an EXCUSE that God will hear!

Verse 7
But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child:
for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
God will lead, God will tell us what to say.  God leads you into the King James Bible and that is exactly what you should tell folks.  The words are right there!  The phrase, "The Scriptures Say..." has been put into a museum, I think.  I hardly ever hear that phrase anymore.  If you say, "God says..., then what god are you talking about - how do you know what God said - your Bible is different than mine, etc. etc. etc.

The Scriptures are the words in the King James Bible, nothing else and are found nowhere else.

Verse 8
Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Ah, if you are a Bible believer reading this, you are totally aware of the faces of those you have tried to tell the truth of the scriptures, to, amen?

Well, just remember this verse.  God told Jeremiah not to be afraid of their faces when you preach to them.  See also verse 17 below.  God will take care of us during those 'fretful' times.  Telling the truth is not easy on people today, when they especially only want their ears tickled with their choice of teaching materials. II Timothy 4:3,4

Verse 9
Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth.
And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
There it is again - more references to mouth. Jeremiah refers to God's words over and over in this Book.  Why is that?  Because God wants those people to hear His WORDS then, and He wants people to hear His WORDS today.  God put words into Jeremiah's mouth for him and He can do it to you, too.  That is not so hard even today.  God puts HIS words into our mouth through that KING JAMES BIBLE.  Boy, that is simple, eh!
Verse 10
See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms,
to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down,
to build, and to plant.

Now, as a pastor today, here is one of my favorite places regarding the ministry.  In a christian world of positive preaching and making everyone 'happy' in their church, this is so important.  Ole Jeremiah was given 6 directions regarding how to preach the words he had to preach.  Please note: we have the same conditions today, as you will see more and more as you read through Jeremiah.

Note the ministry of Jeremiah:  Root Out!  Pull Down!  Destroy!  Throw Down!  then Build! and finally, Plant.

Those 6 things need to be done in America, in our churches in order to 'rebuild' them, and in our families in order to save them, and in our personal lives, in order to serve God properly!

Go back to those 6 points, apply them to yourself and deal with what you need to deal with - and if you do that, you will see that you yourself will be your own problem, just as Jeremiah's people were to him.

Even farmers know those 6 points must be done in order to plant a new crop.  You would think Christians would realize that, too, eh, but no!  Their positive life radio pastors want to 'plant' their new church in polluted soil.  Concrete in some areas, like the NW - believe me!  A good preaching sermon ought to root out the sin, pull it down and destroy it and then throw it down and get rid of it.  THEN, and only then, can you build and plant.  What a sermon writing lesson, amen?  I had better re-evaluate my preaching myself, amen!

Now, it may be that we don't need a bulldozer or jackhammer to root out the sin, etc - but if you do, then get it out of the garage - and in America, we have pretty much come to the conclusion that it is time for the bulldozer and jackhammer!!!

Hey, how about your music?  How would you apply those 6 points to the music in your life since you got saved?  YOU preach to yourself on that one.  Most don't want to hear me preach about music like I do.  They say I am kinda negative.  Amen!  Root out, pull down and destroy that music of the world and get rid of it.  Then, build and plant the clean stuff.  CCM? Bluegrass, Country, you know it to name it!  Root it out, pull it down, destroy it and get rid of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Then get some clean stuff!

Hey, how about your relationship.  What needs to be rooted out, pulled down, destroyed and then thrown down?  THEN, and only then will that new relationship blossom.

Hey, Christian - root out that past, pull it down, destroy it and throw it down - THEN, get on with serving God HIS way.

Hey, you like those new bibles?  Ah, such marvelous application, eh!!!!!!!  Thanks, Jeremiah, for being such a shining example negative thinking and preaching.  If only others would let you be their ensample, eh!

On and on I could go with that verse.  But do you get the picture?

Verses 11-15
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou?  And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.  And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou?  And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north. Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.

We do have some real good comments throughout the book, amen, regarding the enemy coming out of the north.  We see more and more application in these regards through and through in Jeremiah.  We know God will come out of the north, but we also know Israel's enemy will come from the north, as well, just not as far north as God has to travel from.  :-)

Verse 16
And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
Those judgments are uttered in that ole King James Bible.  America has forsaken God by it's rejection of His words since about the early 1900's.  Our little governmental incense burners have now been brought into the homes of most Americans.

I remember hearing folks say, I won't let it bother me until it comes to my own doorstep.  Well, it is past the doorsteps, folks.  Thanks to TV and the wonderful news media gods, Amercicans have all new gods, now.

Besides that, America is now worshipping the works of it's own hands.  Our president says that we will overcome evil with our goodness.  Well, that isn't how it works.  Not only does America worship the work of it's own hands (911 has brought out the great works of America), America can claim Romans 1:25 and all the rest of that chapter - it sure all fits!  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Verse 17
Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.
There we are again - God's challenge to us - His CALLING to all of us with that King James Bible.  Toughen up, get up off of that couch and tell folks what the Scriptures say - and don't worry what they say back or what they think of you.

And it looks to me like if we don't do that, we will just end up as confounded as they are.  Are you wanting to be confouned?  Not me!

Verse 18
For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
God is our refuge so then that Book is our refuge. He gave us a defenced city in that Book!  If you need to rebuild your walls of protection when it comes to the Book, then may I suggest you read Nehemiah and learn from how the walls were rebuilt.  That is another marvelous book of the O.T. that we can learn from!
Proverbs 7:1-5 - My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:  That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words
Psalm 119:28 - My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.
Verse 19
And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
In other words, EXPECT A FIGHT!  God says that they "SHALL" fight against thee, not "might."

But He also reminds us that they don't win.
Such a promise, amen?
Amen!