Jeremiah lived in a time where spiritual darkness reigned over the world and Israel. He was a prophet, preaching the word of God for 42 years. Most of his ministry he was known as the weeping prophet. Yet, God had called him to shine bright the light of God’s Glory to an ever-darkening world. He was beaten, imprisoned and ostracized even by the local clergy, priests, and kings of his day. His ministry began in the days of Josiah who did lead a revival; yet, the revival was not true in the hearts of the people. Although King Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, the people merely followed with a blindness unpenetrated by all they saw.
Perhaps for the most part it was a go with the flow kind of worship like we see all too often even today. We know this because as soon as he died, his son and all the people turned immediately away from God. Jeremiah’s ministry carried on until the Babylonian overthrow of Jerusalem. Yet, so how was it he found the strength to shine bright in an ever-darkening world? And how through it all did he point to Jesus throughout his ministry and life? His was a message of warning; yet, out of it also comes to us a message of hope. He demonstrates for us four key elements needed to shine. Furthermore, he points us to the coming Savior.
So, let’s begin with the 4 elements that show us how to shine bright in an ever-darkening world. 1. Predestination 2. Provision 3. Protection 4. Promise.
First element to shine bright Predestination
4 the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
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. Jeremiah 1 (KJV)
Way before you were ever born, I formed you to be my prophet. As such I endowed you with special character traits and characteristics. Chosen before the foundations of the world. This is what God said to Jeremiah and it is what He says to each of us who are His.
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. I Peter 2 (NKJV)
But how and why is that true?
It is through the blood of Jesus that we know our position as chosen
The Chosen Stone and His Chosen People
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,
“Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; I Peter 2 (NKJV)
Jeremiah was Chosen and We are Chosen to Shine Bright the Word
Chosen so that we might shine bright into an ever-darkening world. Knowing this truth transforms our heart so we might speak truth into darkness. We are bold knowing He chose us, formed us, and He will carry us all the way home as His Precious child.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1 (NKJV)
This in contrast to the world that is darkened by those who choose darkness rather than light.
but to those who are disobedient,
“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,”
8 and
“A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense.”
They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. I Peter 2 (NKJV)
Therefore,
if by His Miraculous Grace, you have received Him as Lord and Savior in your life, know this. You are chosen to shine bright His grace and love into an ever-darkening world. That was Jeremiah’s chosen destiny. It was not easy for him who came to be known as the weeping prophet. But what good company he was with. Jesus wept over the people’s failure to grasp the depth of His gift to them. He wept for a world hell bent on doing it their way.
Because of this, we are to:
1Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,
. 2 As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 1 Peter 2 (NKJV)
As such we must embrace our mission field wherever we are planted by the Lord. Whatever job, family, or community He has placed you—it is your predestined mission to shine bright. This should give you the boldness to do just that instead of being fearful or ashamed.
Not Only Are We Chosen, But Provision Is Ours
6Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
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.
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
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.
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. Jeremiah 1 (NKJV)
In Addition to the Words, God gave Jeremiah the Character to Be Strong
God promised to give Jeremiah the words and the power needed for Jeremiah to succeed. We are promised the same. He knit Jeremiah together in his mother’s womb . the exact characteristics he needed to stand firm amid all the turmoil.
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28 (NKJV)
By whose authority are we to go and teach? Jesus! Whose power is provided in us? Jesus! Did he say we can alter the teaching to fit the society? Absolutely no! “teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you.” We cannot compromise the truth of the gospel to appear more loving to society. Appearing more loving pulls us into their darkness rather than shining bright the light of truth to rescue them.
EXAMPLE IN POINT
If a house were on fire and I failed to sound an alarm or rush in to rescue, then I am responsible for their death. Jeremiah saw the nation in flames for their corruption and could not stop sounding the alarm, regardless of the harm to himself.
How much more, knowing that God has provided all that we need to do His bidding.
He has equipped us with His wisdom, His power, and with the Holy Spirit to guide us. What more could we want?
The Third Element to Shine Bright in an Ever-Darkening World is Protection
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. 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. 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. Jeremiah 1: 17-19 (NKJV)
God sent Jeremiah as an army of 1 against all the kings of Judah, the princes, the priests, and the people; yet, that army of 1 was equipped by God Himself.
11“O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,…
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
…17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord. Isaiah 54 (NKJV)
Chosen, Provided For and Protected So We Might Shine Bright His Truth
We are predestined as His chosen, provision is given for all we need, and we are protected as we march forth to do His will.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Romans 9 (NKJV)
Fourth element allowing us to Shine Bright into an Ever-darkening world is Promise
We are the children of promise. This world is not my home, I am just passing through. Remembering that gives strength to march through some of the darkest hours of this life; knowing that He is there ready to call me home any moment. The hardest moments of this life are but a blink of an eye compared to eternity. Jeremiah knew this. He knew that God had a plan of redemption for himself and for the nation.
8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.
Do NOT be deceived by the false prophets
10 For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.14 And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. Jeremiah 29
We also know He will return for us. Yet a little while
16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another [g]Helper, so that He may be with you forever; 17 the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you….19After a little while, the world no longer is going to see Me, but you are going to see Me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you. John 14 (NASB)
Therefore
1“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be John 14 (NASB)
Jeremiah foretold of the New Covenant Promise
31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
35 Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name: Jeremiah 31 (NKJV)
This is certain.
His promise to Israel yet to come and His new covenant promise to us as well.
11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things having come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made by hands, that is, not of this creation; 12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all time, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Hebrews 9 (NASB)
15 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the violations that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. Hebrews 9 (NASB)
We Have All We Need to Shine Bright to an ever-darkening world
Thus because of our being chosen (predestined), provided for, protected, as children of the promise we must shine bright the light of Jesus Christ to an ever-darkening world, regardless of the cost or the price we must pay. Unashamed, unafraid as the army of the living God, led by Jesus Christ the King of God’s Army
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19 (NASB)
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.
Therefore if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you today. Go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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©Effie Darlene Barba, 2024
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