Grace Lutheran Church 5th Sunday after Pentecost, June 19, 2005

The Rev. Evan Gaertner
5^th Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 7] "Trust in the Lord"
June 19, 2005 Jeremiah 20:7-13

Jeremiah was a prophet who was set apart from birth to be a servant of the Lord. He was called to be a prophet, that is man of God chosen to proclaim in season and out of season God's condemnation of sin and also more importantly God's promise of salvation. The Lord had told Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:4-5)

This would be an amazing honor for anyone, but Jeremiah was realizing that to proclaim the word of the Lord would not be the easy way to win friends. Nevertheless, he was set apart by God for a purpose. Jeremiah wrote, "The Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, 'Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over the nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." (Jeremiah 1:9-10)

The Lord has also set us apart to serve him. He knew us before the creation of the world. We have been called to faith, to rebirth, to new life in him. In his Sacrament of Holy Baptism and through his Word, the Lord forgives our sins and grants us faith for salvation. You are baptized children of God, saved by his grace, set apart to serve him. No, you have not been touched on the lips like Jeremiah, but through baptism God has placed his promise upon you. You are a set apart people, set apart for the purposes that God has laid out for you even before the stars were laid out in the sky.

As we follow Christ, goodness and mercy shall follow us all our days. But St. Peter also warned "Be soberminded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8) The goal of the great adversary is to rob us of Christ's eternal salvation. The free gift that has been given by God through the mercy of Jesus Christ is a treasure that will always attract the devil to tempt you.

The goodness and mercy of our Lord will bring some amazing highlights in your life. You will have moments of great confidence and assurance. But just as high as those moments may be, Jeremiah and all of us know that God gives us his strength in the midst of the lowest of lows. It is in our weakest moments, our moments of struggle we rely upon faith. Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the surpassing power and glory of God saying, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." (2 Cor. 4:8) There is hope in the ministry of sharing the Word of God that in the highs and lows our Lord will always be present.

This hope is not based on whimsy, but the promise of savior himself. Jesus said to his disciples according to the John's Gospel, "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world give do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." (John 14: 26-27)

Jesus describes the promise of the Holy Spirit and the deliverance of his peace, but not as the world gives it. That is the challenge for Jeremiah, for you, me, and all that are called to deliver God's Word to a world in need. The goodness and mercy of God is not only found when you are experiencing the highlights of the Christians life of comfort and assurance. The goodness and mercy of God are yours in the lowlights as well. In the darkest of moments you can be assured that the Lord is a mighty savior.

Jesus assured his disciples, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul." (Matthew 10:28a) But are faith is tested in the lowlights of ministry.

Jeremiah certainly is sharing with God his frustration. We may all burn within us to share the gifts of God's love with others. Consider the excitement to give your wife a present you have picked out for. Think about the joy in watching at Christmas time people opening presents you have picked for them. For me it is not just excitement, but also worry. Will they appreciate what I have picked out or will they just give me lip service and continue to pine for sometime else. Picking out presents can cause heartburn for some people with worry that the good news of a great present will become the distress of the wrong present.

All of us that have been given the gift of the good news of salvation, by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, have the perfect present to give someone. Will they appreciate God's Word that we are all sinners and the wages of sin is death? Will they understand that sin is serious, so serious that it brings upon us deservedly so a judgment of everlasting punishment? Will they appreciate that Jesus Christ has taken that punishment upon himself and gives to us the forgiveness of sins freely on account of his grace?

Unfortunately not every time we share the Word of God with someone is it well received. Jeremiah struggled with the burning fervor to share the Word of God. Even when he wanted to be silent he realized that when it comes to the Word, one cannot choose to be silent.

Jeremiah has been commanded by the Lord to prophesy to Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem that the Lord was bringing such disaster upon the land that the ears of everyone who hears of it will be tingle. Because the people had forsaken the Lord and had profaned the land by making offering in it to other gods whom neither their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known. After delivering the words of condemnation against the sin of the people Jeremiah broke flask in the sight of the men and said, "Thus says the Lord of hosts; So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter's vessel."(Jeremiah 19)

After delivering this condemnation Jeremiah was beaten and put in the stocks at the gate into the temple. Everyone arriving at the Temple of the Lord were supposed to mock and spit and humiliate Jeremiah. It is in this state of humiliation that Jeremiah says, "O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock al the day; everyone mocks me." (Jeremiah 20:7)

Jeremiah's heart burned within him to proclaim God's truth, even when it brought persecution. Jeremiah was given by the Lord not rosy words of "everything is alright," but exactly the opposite. He was commanded to tell the people of the seriousness of their sin. The love that Jeremiah had for God's Word compelled him to carry on. If you can imagine Jeremiah in the stocks, facing the crowds mocking him by crying in mocking tones, "Terror all around, death and destruction, oh my." In verse 11 he confidently declares, "The Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me."

In the midst of humiliation Jeremiah is able to cry out, "Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers."

Jeremiah trusted in the Lord that even when God disciplines his people it is out of love and concern for their salvation. The apostle Paul also faced the constant attacks of the Lord's enemies and wrote to Timothy, "Do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began." (1 Tim. 1:12)

In the United States , few disciples experience the type of persecution faced by Paul, Jeremiah, or other servants of the Word. Consider that the persecutions they faced were because they stood up for the Word of God, could it be that one of the reasons we are not facing persecution on account of the Word is that we are not standing up for the Word of God. There are people today that are living without hope. Are we doing all that we can to proclaim God's condemnation of sin and his forgiveness in Christ Jesus? The reality is that when we stand up for the Word of God, I guarantee, we will face hardship.

But even in the midst of lament, Jeremiah knew that God had not abandoned him. God's promise of future deliverance and boundless joy was more powerful than the threats that his enemies could bring against him. The anticipation of the joy of God's promises of good news delivered sustained Jeremiah through the hardships of persecution.

Jesus Christ could not be kept down. Even the prospect of the cruelty of the cross could not divert Jesus from fulfilling the very promises that Jeremiah looked forward to. Not event death and the tomb with its huge stone and guards could keep him down. For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross.

It is this news of Christ's forgiveness, peace, hope, and life that causes are very hearts to burn within us. Jeremiah's heart burned within him with an urgency to share the Word of God. I pray that we may trust in the Lord to sustain us in the midst of hardship and persecution and that no matter what obstacles are before us we may see the need for proclaiming the condemnation of God's law against our sin and the pardon God has provided through Jesus and the cross.

Don't hold back. Don't quench the spirit of God as his Word burns in your heart. His word has brought you hope and help, forgiveness and eternal life, joy in Jesus, salvation, and peace through his promises. The Word of God cannot be contained. Putting Jeremiah in the stocks at the gate to the temple could not silence Jeremiah. Putting Jesus on the cross could not silence the forgiveness of sins that is ours through his life, death, and resurrection. Nothing the world can put before you can stop the power of God that is in work through you as you share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't hold back! Trust in the Lord! Proclaim the word of God in season and out of season.

Grace Lutheran Church

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