Class Lesson August 19, 2012

Hey Gang,


This week we continue in our series from the life of Jeremiah, the prophet, and our study will focus on how we too can be the kind of person through whom God works to carry out His purposes in the world. Last week we considered what it really means to have a broken heart for the sin in our own life and the sin in others' lives as well. Will I say to God when I come face to face - "I could have done more." This week we look at the discouragement and doubt that we all can have when we do serve God. Sometimes we just have to get up from our discouragement and finish the race He's given us.



God-honoring believers, who face opposition or argument, can feel weary or discouraged in their efforts to serve God. You are not alone, other great biblical leaders, including Jeremiah the prophet, faced similar struggles. What’s important is for you to finish the race.

 

During the summer of 1924, the Olympics were hosted by the city of Paris. Eric Liddell was a committed Christian who refused to run on Sunday, so he was convicted to withdraw from the 100 meters race - his best event. Instead Liddell would run on Thursday in the 400 meter race. As Liddell went to the starting block, he was given a piece of paper with a quotation from 1 Samuel 2:30, "Those who honor me I will honor." He not only won the race, but broke the existing world record with a time of 47.6 seconds.

Eric Liddell: I have no formula for winning the race. Everyone runs in their own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? It comes from within. Jesus said, "Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek Me, you shall ever surely find Me." If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race.  

Get Up and Finish the Race

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Discouragement is part of life. Discouragement comes most often when you do right things but experience poor results. You work hard, but you don't make progress. You show up to practice every day, giving it your all, but you lose every game. You spend time with your child - going out of your way to parent the best you know how - but they rebel.



Discouragement eats a hole in our hearts. It makes us want to quit, saying things we shouldn't say, shaking our fists at God. This is how Jeremiah felt. God called him to speak a harsh message to a rebellious people and he obeyed. He endured physical, emotional, spiritual, and professional anguish. He walked into deep despair, all for doing God's will.



Our lesson says that when you face opposition, feel weary or discouraged – you should know that you are not alone.

• Today we look at Jeremiah’s experience in this very same context
• We can persist in honoring God through these frustrations

Jeremiah wants you to realize three things:

1. Those who serve God faithfully can expect opposition from God’s enemies, even to the point of torture and imprisonment. God calls on us to be faithful in proclaiming His Word regardless of the consequences.
2. Feelings of frustration or discouragement while serving the Lord is not uncommon. During these times, we should be honest with God about our feelings.
3. God’s people need to remain confident that He is in control of all things and will accomplish His purpose and vindicate us at the proper time.

I. EXPECT DISCOURAGEMENT – JEREMIAH 20:1-6

Jeremiah Beaten by Pashhur

20 Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer and chief official in the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 So Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put him in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate in the Lord’s temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call you Pashhur, but Magor-missabib, 4 for this is what the Lord says, ‘I am about to make you a terror to both yourself and those you love. They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will deport them to Babylon and put them to the sword. 5 I will give away all the wealth of this city, all its products and valuables. Indeed, I will hand all the treasures of the kings of Judah over to their enemies. They will plunder them, seize them, and carry them off to Babylon. 6 As for you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, you will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon. There you will die, and there you will be buried, you and all your friends that you prophesied falsely to.’”

Why might the treatment from Pashhur the priest have surprised Jeremiah?

• When we are doing God’s work, we expect to receive support, especially from church leaders. Deliberate opposition can take us by surprise and discourage us in efforts to serve.
• This passage marks the first time Jeremiah was attacked physically by his enemies.
• Sadly, the main aggressor against him was one who should have welcomed the prophet’s words from the Lord. Pashhur (PASH huhr) the priest, the son of Immer (IM uhr) and chief official in the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. v1
• It is likely that “these things” refers back to Jeremiah’s predictions of God’s judgments on Judah in chapter 19, though it could refer to all of what God had revealed through Jeremiah so far.
• Jeremiah was doing God’s work
• You would expect a church worker to support God’s work

Why would Pashhur have treated Jeremiah this way?

• Pashhur saw Jeremiah as a false prophet, so he took two drastic measures to silence him. Pashhur had Jeremiah beaten and put in stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate in the Lord’s temple. But Pashhur held Jeremiah only one night. Upon his release from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call you Pashhur, but Magor-missabib (MAY gahr-mih SAY bib), for this is what the Lord says, “I am about to make you a terror to both yourself and those you love” v3-4.
• Name changes are significant in Scripture, and this one predicted God’s judgment on Pashhur.
• This priest had rejected God’s Word as proclaimed by Jeremiah.
• They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes v4

Should Christians use major world events as a platform to speak out God’s truths?

• Why? Is there a way we can warn about God’s judgment without turning off people, or can we expect to be treated like Jeremiah was?
• Why should we expect discouragement if we do speak out?
• Why is it helpful and necessary to speak the truth, to give godly leadership?
• What’s the difference between realistically expecting discouragement and moping around with a cloud over our heads all the time?
• Why should expecting discouragement actually help us rise above discouragement?

Why do some people try to silence those who speak God’s Word?

• They don’t like to hear the Truth.
• They would rather believe a lie.
• God’s word convicts them and they don’t like it.
• They have their own set of false beliefs that Scripture will show to be just that, false.

Why should we not be surprised by these reactions?

• The World is not interested in the things of God.
• It is “offended” by the Gospel message.
• They think it is (at best) too simplistic or (at worst) too narrow minded.
• They are too worldly minded … not spiritually minded.

Who won the showdown between Pashhur and Jeremiah?

• How so?
• How else might Jeremiah have responded after what Pashhur did to him?
• How does this apply to us today?
• We cannot control what others do and say, but we can control our response and our attitude.
• Jeremiah was not intimidated by Pashhur’s show of force. He continued to speak truth unflinchingly after his release. He did not back down or water down the truth to gain popular acceptance.
• Pashhur would find himself a slave of Babylon instead of a priest of Judah. An exile in Babylon instead of a religious leader in Jerusalem. His entire family would go with him, and he would watch them be executed. He would die and be buried in Babylon, removing all hope he would survive the exile and return to Judah to become a priest again. All of this could have been avoided if Pashhur and those in his circle of influence had listened to Jeremiah.
• Believers are to speak God’s message with clarity and boldness and we should expect some criticism and misunderstanding.
• Believers must be willing to be ridiculed.

How does expecting discouragement help you rise above it?

• You aren’t blindsided.
• You will prepare your heart and mind ahead of time.
• You can remember the reason that people oppose the Kingdom of God.
• You know that it is God that they oppose, not you personally.

Listen for why Jeremiah didn’t quit preaching.

II. CONFESS FRUSTRATIONS – JEREMIAH 20:7-10

Jeremiah Compelled to Preach

7 You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived. You seized me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all the time; everyone ridicules me. 8 For whenever I speak, I cry out, I proclaim, “Violence and destruction!” because the word of the Lord has become for me constant disgrace and derision. 9 If I say, “I won’t mention Him or speak any longer in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones. I become tired of holding it in, and I cannot prevail. 10 For I have heard the gossip of many people, “Terror is on every side! Report him; let’s report him!” Everyone I trusted watches for my fall. “Perhaps he will be deceived so that we might prevail against him and take our vengeance on him.”

What are words and phrases in verses 7 and 8 which describe Jeremiah emotions.

• Deceived, lured, God prevailed, ridiculed, mocked, tired, terror

Does Jeremiah’s prayer seem to be a logical or illogical next step after his beating and bold response to Pashhur?

• Why? Are there any similarities between Jeremiah and Elijah here? After Elijah’s showdown with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18 and 19), he experienced a time of discouragement and depression.
• Jeremiah’s words here are quite unexpected. One doesn’t expect God’s prophet to accuse Him of being deceitful or to complain about what has happened to him.
• But this reaction shows how painful Jeremiah’s experiences were and how great his suffering was.
• Publicly he continued his ministry. But privately he was discouraged.
• He had been ignored, ridiculed, beaten, imprisoned, and accused of being a false prophet.

What do you think he meant that God had “deceived” him?

• Lured him into being a prophet.
• Twisted his arm.
• Made it look better than it was.
• Jeremiah didn’t like it now that the going was rocky.

Was Jeremiah right or wrong to say what He said to God?

• Why? What else could he do?
• The God who knows our every thought invites us to turn to Him for instruction. Only He can grasp all the feelings, reasons for them, and actions that will help.
• Jesus felt feelings too, so we know feelings are not sinful. Refusing to talk with God about them is where sin or trouble comes in.
• God showed Jeremiah what to do; God showed Jesus what to do at Gethsemane.
• We can also do more than talk; we can actually do what God instructs.

Why do we need to confess our frustrations in ministry?

• Why would denying discouragement actually make us less useful?
• What do we focus on when we confess those frustrations? Focusing on just the discouragement, even in trying to deny the discouragement, keeps our eyes looking down at the situation. Discussing with God those frustrations in prayer causes us to look up to Him. That’s a vital step in rising above discouragement.

How does confessing your discouragement to God help you rise above it?

• We learn we can trust Him.
• The problem is no longer ours … it is God’s … and He is so much more able to cope.

What would have to happen in someone’s life in order to have that same attitude as Jeremiah?

• Totally convinced that God is who He says He is.
• Totally convinced of God’s love for you.
• A sense of God’s call on your life.
• Your mind focused on God’s Truth … not on the world’s so called “wisdom”.

What seemed to be Jeremiah’s greatest frustration?

• One of the most painful aspects of Jeremiah’s ministry was that Judah refused to take him seriously. “I am a laughingstock all the time; everyone ridicules me” v7
• The people of Judah were tired of hearing Jeremiah’s voice of doom, and they hurled back at him the new name he had given Pashhur, Magor-missabib, meaning “terror all around.”
• After hearing Jeremiah predict Judah’s demise repeatedly, all the people wanted to do was shut him up, so they threatened to tell the authorities v10. At this point Jeremiah realized he had no allies. “Everyone I trusted watches for my fall”.
• There may have been a few people who supported him, those who took his words seriously as coming from God, but he felt abandoned by them too. They were waiting for Jeremiah to make a mistake so they could use it against him with the leaders of Judah and be rid of him. These former friends now wanted nothing to do with Jeremiah and simply waited for him to prove deceived in thinking he was a true prophet of God.

Why are we sometimes hesitant to confess our frustrations to God? How would the world be different if all believers felt as though God’s message was “a fire burning in my heart” and we were compelled to share it with others?

• Under pressure, some believers may feel that God has deceived them.
• Believers may even complain at how others mistreat them.
• In spite of doubts and discouragements, something holds believers to fulfill their calling.
• When believers have doubts, they express them honestly to God.
• Doubt is normal for unbelievers; it is a temporary condition for believers.

Listen for Jeremiah’s confession.

III. REMEMBER WHO’S IN CONTROL – JEREMIAH 20:11-13

11 But the Lord is with me like a violent warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly shamed, an everlasting humiliation that will never be forgotten. 12 Lord of Hosts, testing the righteous and seeing the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance on them, for I have presented my case to You. 13 Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord, for He rescues the life of the needy from the hand of evil people.

What change do you see in Jeremiah’s state of mind in these verses? How might this have been part of the process of talking with God?

• Jeremiah’s situation had not changed, but he now had fresh resources for managing.
• Recalling God was with him gave him strength and hope.
• It’s as if Jeremiah quickly came to his senses after he charged God with deceiving him and complained about the way his enemies treated him.
• Jeremiah stopped thinking about his situations through the filter of his experiences and began to consider them in the light of God’s greatness and power.
• This is the only way Jeremiah and we can keep our difficulties in perspective.
• In the OT God is often described as going to war for Israel or for an individual Israelite.
• God was not only present in the midst of Jeremiah’s difficulties; He would also go to war for him.
• The moods of believers can fluctuate.

How does God fight for those who follow Him?

• God gave Jeremiah strength to continue his service of warning the nation of Judah despite opposition of his enemies. God did this in Jeremiah’s life primarily by vindicating him as a prophet, since everything Jeremiah said would happen occurred exactly as he had predicted. They either died during the Babylonian invasion of Judah or were taken into exile.
• This is indicated in the rest of the verse: “Since they have not succeeded (in their attempts to make Jeremiah stop prophesying) they will be utterly shamed (in death or exile,) an everlasting humiliation that will never be forgotten.”

Why is it so easy for us to forget that God is in control?

• We are bombarded with negative messages in the media.
• We like to think that we are in control.
• Then we find that we cannot control our situations … someone or something else has more influence.
• We are overwhelmed with problems – they seem bigger than us and (we wrongly conclude) too big for God.

How does our desire to be in control prevent trusting God to take care of us?

• We want to run our own lives.
• We don’t want God telling us what to do.
• This affects our attitude of trust in Him.
• We like to think we know better what is good for us and don’t want to think about what God might have for us.

What reason did Jeremiah find to praise God while facing difficulties in his service? What can we praise God for even in our discouragement?

• Jeremiah turned his focus from the cruelty of others to the goodness of God.
• God’s goodness and kindness to us are constants.
• God is not only the One who rescues His people.
• But He is also the only One who can!
• God is pleased when we acknowledge this and honor Him in this way, no matter how difficult the trails we are experiencing may be.
• Praise is the true language of faith.
• The antidotes for doubt are worship, trust, and obedience.

How does realizing that God is in control help you rise above your discouragement? 

 

Praise does four things:

A. Praise recognizes a Provider

Praise takes our minds off our situation and focuses them on God. It gives God the right to rule and to reign in our lives how He sees fit. It acknowledges that God knows more about what He is doing than we do. It accepts that God can take all the bad stuff of life and make something beautiful out of it.



B. Praise acknowledges a plan

A few chapters later Jeremiah records God's words to Israel: "'For I know the plans I have for you' - this is the LORD's declaration – 'plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope" (29:11). God weaves a tapestry of our lives. We don't always see the finished product. Sometimes to get to the end we have our share of difficulties. When we realize God has a plan, we have two options: we can fight it, or we can embrace it.



C. Praise accepts the present

Praise is based on a total and joyful acceptance of the present as part of God's loving, perfect will for us. Praise is not based on what we think or hope will happen in the future. We praise God, not for what we expect will happen in our around us, but we praise Him for who He is and where and how we are right now.



D. Praise releases the power

Prayer opens the door for God's power to move into our lives. But the prayer of praise releases more of God's power than any other form of petition. The Psalmist wrote, "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel" (Psalm 22:3 KJV). God actually dwells, inhabits, and resides in our praise. God's power and presence is near when we praise Him.

When we praise God for the present situation as a part of God's plan, God's power is unleashed. This power cannot be brought about by a new attitude or a determined effort of self-will, but by God working in our lives.



Conclusion

Jeremiah was punished for his proclamation of judgment on Judah. Pashhur had him beaten, put in stocks, and placed in public view. Jeremiah predicted the fall of Judah to the king of Babylon and the death and burial of Pashhur in a foreign land. The prophet complained to God that He deceived him and that all the people were against him. Jeremiah tried to remain silent, but God’s message was within him like a fire that could not be extinguished. Jeremiah remembered and claimed God’s promise to be with him. He sang praises to God.

God calls every believer to speak His message regardless of the potential consequences. God’s servants can honestly express their feelings concerning the impact of the work to which God has called them. Believers can be encouraged in their service to God by remembering God’s power over every situation.

Prayer of Commitment

“Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) Amen

As we continue in this series on the people that God uses to serve, be in prayer for how God wants you to get up and finish the race He has given you to run. 

Have a blessed rest of the week and we'll see you on the Sabbath Day!

In His Love,

David & Susan