| |
Book: Jeremiah
 Print ( PC Only )
Jeremiah 32:16-25 The Great and Mighty God
I. The occasion for the prayer.
A. Jeremiah has received a command from the Lord that seemed
totally ludicrous.
1. The Babylonian armies are at the present moment
besieging he city of Jerusalem, and Jeremiah knows
that they are to take the city and that they will be
taken as captives to Babylon for 70 years.
2. The Lord told him to buy his cousins field that was
coming up for sale.
3. The Babylonians are already camped on the field.
B. Jeremiah did as the Lord commanded him, but he had
problems in his own mind concerning the wisdom of such a
command.
1. He did the proper thing that a person should do
when he has a problem with God. He took it to God
in prayer.
2. Sometimes people will talk to everyone they can find
to talk with them concerning their problem with God,
but they never talk with God.
3. It is of special interest to me that Jeremiah prayed
after he had obeyed the command. We so often will
not obey until we have resolved all of the issues.
II. The prayer of Jeremiah, "I prayed unto the Lord." Note that
the prayer is for the most part worship.
A. He acknowledges God as the creator. "Thou hast made the
heaven and the earth, by thy great power and stretched
out arm."
1. Look out at the vast Universe, the One you are
calling on made that whole Universe, and set the
Galaxies, stars and planets in their orbits.
2. Look at the various life forms on this earth. He
designed them all, and fitted them for survival.
a. I was thinking about the skunk, how that it is
a rather timid and weak animal with very little
capacity to defend itself against the predators
except for that pungent odor that it is able
squirt at its foes.
b. What if the skunk exuded a fragrant aroma, like
say some exotic perfume.
3. The God you are calling on has not only great powers
but also infinite wisdom.
B. There is nothing too hard for You.
1. There are many things that are too hard for me, that
is one of the great incentives for prayer.
2. Prayer is often a desperate cry for help, I am in
over my head.
3. Not only is there nothing too hard for Him, there is
nothing that is even difficult for Him.
4. Our problems that are insurmountable to us are as
nothing to Him.
C. "You show lovingkindness unto the thousands."
1. He is a loving God, in fact that is one of the chief
characteristics of His nature.
2. The scriptures tell us that God is love.
3. They also tell us that He loved the world so much
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
would believe in Him would not perish, but have
everlasting life.
D. "The Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts is His
name."
1. Some people have gods that are not so great. Gods
that bring them into captivity and to
things that destroy.
2. Whatever ambition, desire, or ideal that rules your
life is your god.
a. Some are ruled by money.
b. Others are ruled by the desire for sex.
c. Some are ruled by the desire for fame.
d. None of these are wrong in their place, but to
be a slave to them is sad.
3. He is a mighty God. In fact He introduced Himself to
Abraham as the Almighty God. El Shaddai.
4. Lord of hosts. We are told in the scriptures of the
vast hosts of angels in heaven. In one place they
are numbered at over a hundred million, plus
millions of millions.
5. They are there to do His bidding and will.
6. When Peter drew his sword to try to defend Jesus in
the garden as they were arresting Him, Jesus said,
"Put away your sword, do you not realize that I
could order 10,000 angels to come to My defense if
I so pleased?"
E. Great in counsel.
1. One of the names of Jesus was to be "Wonderful
Counselor."
2. Confused? Don't what to do, or where to turn? Why
not get on your knees and seek the counsel of God?
3. People will pay Psychiatrists and Psychics thousands
of dollars for what is often worthless advice.
4. God is free.
F. He is the all seeing God. "His eyes are open on all the
ways of the sons of men."
1. The scriptures tell us that everything is naked and
open before Him.
2. You cannot hide from God, you do not hide from God.
You are only deceiving yourself if you think that
you are getting away with your evil.
G. He is a just God. "To give to every man according to his
ways, according to the fruit of His doings."
1. The Bible says that every man will receive a just
recompense of reward.
2. One thing that Bible stresses over and over again,
and that is the justice of God.
3. So many times with a crook is let off by our judicial
system, we hear them say, "Its so good to know that
the system works." I do not believe that many people
have confidence in the true justice of our judicial
system any longer.
4. One thing you can be sure of, and that is you will
get a fair trial before God.
H. He is the God of signs and wonders. He showed them in the
land of Egypt when He brought the descendants of Jacob out
of their .
1. He showed them signs and wonders when He led them
through the wilderness.
2. He showed them signs and wonders as He conquered
their enemies as He gave to them the land that He
had promised to the descendants of Abraham.
3. To the present day He is still showing signs and
wonders to these people.
I. He is a God that keeps His word. "And You have given them
this land that You swore to their fathers to give to
them.
III. He finally comes to his petition.
A. He has been praying the whole time, but the first part
is recognition, and acknowledgment. This form of prayer
is known as worship.
1. It is good to begin your prayer time with a time of
worship.
2. Through worship things are placed in proper
perspective.
a. I recognize the power of the One who has
pledged Himself to help me.
b. It is no longer me against the problem, but
Him against the problem. The problem is too
great for me, but it is nothing for Him.
B. Basically he is seeking for understanding as to why God
would command him to purchase the field, that was
obviously such a poor investment.
C. As you finish the chapter you will find that the Lord was
gracious and answered his prayer, and explained to him
that his purchase of the field would serve as a testimony
to the people of his confidence in the promises of God.
|