This message from Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, February 17, 2008, and was taken from Jeremiah 14:1-22.
Here’s a passage you’ll never find plastered on a plaque at Mardell’s. Note a few principles as we navigate through this passage.
- We must understand, as is clear from this and many other passages, that God’s judgment on sin brings devastating and debilitating consequences.
- Suffering undermines the very foundations of our faith. Look at verses 7-9 and 18-19. It’s in the dark times that you come to grips with your faith.
- We can sin away the opportunity for grace and mercy. Look at verses 10-12. These are troubling verses for the one who says “I’m going to get right with God – someday.” It’s a dangerous thing to say “No” to God. He may one day say “No” to you.
- False hope and blatant denial only fuel the fire of God’s wrath. A word of assurance in a time of trouble is an act of treachery.
So what do we do when we face the judgment of God? The answer is in verses 20-22. The only legitimate response to God’s righteous anger is to throw yourself on God’s mercy and grace and trust his sovereign goodness.
Three things mark Jeremiah’s prayer in the closing verses of chapter 14:
- He made a full confession of sin. Jeremiah not only confessed sin on behalf of “those sinners” but also for his own. He did not pray “They,” he prayed “We.”
- There was a plea for God’s mercy, for his name’s sake. If we can pray for something and attach “for God’s glory” to it, then it is something to pray about.
- He affirmed that only God can answer this prayer.