Jeremiah: The Powerful Prophet of God

I.  Jeremiah’s background and Person.

A.     Jeremiah was from the town of Anathoth, which was known for producing Priests.  But, Jeremiah was different; he was a fiery prophet who rebuked the people. (Jer 1:4-9).

B.     Jeremiah was beaten and imprisoned by the rulers of the people (Jer 20, 38).

C.     Jeremiah was a book, chapter, and verse preacher (Jer 37:17, 15:16).

D.     Jeremiah received the greatest compliment in the Bible (Matt 16:15).

E.      Jeremiah had a strong desire to preach God’s word against all odds (Jer 20:9, Lk 24:32).

II.  Jeremiah’s Task (Jer 1:10, 7:23-28).

A.     Jeremiah’s preaching was 2/3 negative.

1.      Root out and pull down (a tree).

2.      Destroy and throw down (a building).

3.      Build and plant (start over).

4.      Like a garden.

B.     Paul gave Timothy a similar exhortation in 2 Tim 4:2-3.

III.  The task accomplished through plain Bible preaching.

A.     You have forgotten your God (Jer 2:32, Eccl 12:1, Hos 8:14).

B.     You are smart for sin (Jer 4:22d)

1.      Sin has always been the destructive factor in God’s people (Ezek 18:4, Isa 591-2, Rom 3:23, Isa 64:6, Rom 6:23).

2.      But, Jesus has made a way of escape for you and I (Acts 2:38, Matt 26:28).

C.      You love false teaching (Jer 5:30-31, Isa 30:10, 2 Tim 4:3, Mk 7:6, Prov. 14:12).

D.     You hate the Old Paths of God’s Word (Jer 6:16, Prov 26:28, 2 Sam 11-12 “a new cart”.

1.      Too many people today are insisting on the new paths of Change (Prov 24:21).

2.      We must stick to the Bible‘s Old paths (2 Tim 1:13)

E.      You trust in the temple more than the God who created you (Jer 7:4). Sanctuary becomes their cemetery (Acts 7:48-50).

1.      Do we put our trust in the building, elders, and preacher more than God?

2.      The church is not the building, it is you and I (I Cor 12:27, I Tim 3:15).

F.      You trust in your own guidance more than God’s guidance (Jer 10:23, Prov 3:5-6).  If we are going to be saved today, we must listen to Jesus (Matt 7:13-14, Mk 12:37, Acts 11:14, MK 9:7, Jn 2:5).

G.     You are too Prideful (Jer 13:15).  One of the major downfalls of man is his own pride (Prov 16:18, I Jn 2:15-16, Prov 8:13, 29:23, Prov 6:17, James 4:6, Prov 16:5, Prov 21:4).

H.     You are at the point of no return (Jer 15:1, I Jn 5:16—Jer 11, 14; Ezek 14:14;Moses Exodus 32).

I.        The message of hope—The Remnant (Jer 23:3, Ezek 6:8, 14:22; Lam 3:22).  The remnant was saved for the lineage of Christ and the establishment of the church.