Jeremiah

[0:00] As the Lord may be pleased to help me, I would direct you once more to the Jeremiah chapter 33 and verse 3. Jeremiah 33 and verse 3. Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.

[0:57] This morning we read for our lesson the first chapter in this prophecy, and we felt led to speak of the call of Jeremiah to the ministry.

[1:26] And that has been on my spirit throughout this day, and it still is. And in the consideration of Jeremiah, we made one or two remarks concerning the commission that was given to him, and which is also given to every heaven-taught minister.

[2:14] And I do feel that this word, which I have given out as a text, is so appetite to the needs of the ministry. But not only so, it is also a blessed encouragement to the seeking seed of Israel.

[2:59] You see, Jeremiah saw very much the hand of the Lord in those things that he had to prophesy.

[3:11] But you see, that didn't mean to say that he was exempt from calling unto God.

[3:22] And here is the very words of God. Call unto me.

[3:37] Call unto me. Call unto me.

[4:08] Call unto me.

[4:38] You'll walk this path. It's vital that you do.

[4:49] Call unto me. Call unto me. In all things. It's not only for a text.

[5:03] Week by week. Week by week. Yes, indeed. There is much calling upon God in for that.

[5:16] Call upon me. But, dear friends, it is the weight of the ministry. It's the weight of the ministry.

[5:26] It's the weight of the ministry. It's the weight of the ministry. It's the weight of it. It's the weight of it. Which will enable you and must bring you to the faithful stall of mercy. There's nowhere else to go, dear friend.

[5:41] We spoke this morning about the books and so on. But they won't do you. But they won't do you any good. God may perhaps enable you by his grace to have a little help.

[6:02] But it will only be a little help. It will be, dear friends, a waiting upon God for all things.

[6:14] Call unto me. Yes, for the text. You will be safe there, dear friend, whoever you are.

[6:30] You will be safe there at the footstool of mercy. Call unto me. Find and give me something to take to the people.

[6:44] Do you know what they want? What they need? What exercises they have? Do you? You're a better man than I, dear friends, if you know.

[7:07] But God knows. And oh, that exercise there will be in your heart to speak the word of God by the Holy Spirit.

[7:27] Call unto me. I know what the brethren need. I know what they're going through. Says God.

[7:41] I know the exercises that I'm putting upon them. The hatefulness of sin that I am showing them.

[7:56] I'm leading them into the dark places for their good and my glory. Amen. You see, how vital is this work of the Holy Spirit.

[8:26] Call unto me. I'll show you what they need. I know how I will lead you into their path.

[8:42] I know what they need in correction. Ah, dear friends. Just may I give you this warning.

[8:59] You may feel that the only place that you'll get a blessing is when comfort is preached into your soul.

[9:10] Yes, that is one of the places. But do you know anything, dear friends, of what it is to have a blessing in correction?

[9:22] religion. How often we have to come when for some time we are in a rebellious state?

[9:54] If we go into a place of where we have worldly mindedness worldly mindedness and we know and feel this can't go on this can't go on but how can you come out of it?

[10:25] Well, the Lord in his mercy will bring you out in his own time to show you what is in your heart and where you would go if he left you.

[10:39] But that's a mercy, isn't it, dear friends? in correction? Then that's a blessing in this way. You're one of his.

[10:52] You're one of his children. And he's dealing with you as a child, as a daughter, as a son. call unto me.

[11:10] Says God to this minister. Call unto me. I'll show you in the way that you must go and speak into the hearts of the brethren.

[11:30] Call unto me. And then we would speak of those to this one that is upon our heart this morning, this evening.

[11:50] You'll need to pray to be kept true and near to, close to the word of God.

[12:08] There's no place for opinions in the word of God. Whatever, however, good opinion you may have.

[12:22] There's no place for it. And it won't feed the flock of God. It is the word of God that will do them good and nothing else.

[12:43] And there will be this desire before God call unto me. Call unto me and I'll lead you into the word.

[12:55] The sweetness of it. The truth of it. We tried to pray this evening for reality.

[13:16] The more I have to do with the world and the things of it. The more I have to pray for this dear friends.

[13:30] Lord, give me real things. Real things. The teaching of the Holy Ghost.

[13:43] That's what I want. And so does the flock of Christ. Real things.

[13:56] And I believe this will come up in your heart. Lord, give me reality. Real things to speak.

[14:08] Something that will feed their soul. Some of those things that are pleasing in thy sight. That shall be to thine honor and glory.

[14:21] Glory. Call unto me. I'll lead you into the truth of what you're going have to preach.

[14:38] And then call unto me to be preserved from my own self.

[14:55] Well, friends, if you know a little of your own heart, and you will do, as the Lord brings you to the ministry and puts you in it, you'll see and know more and more of what you are.

[15:19] You thought that you saw everything. You thought that you saw everything. You thought that you will do.

[15:32] But you'll find, dear friends, you haven't even started. You see, dear friends, you're going to have to be the messenger in the Lord's message.

[15:56] message. And you'll have to know what the message is. And the Lord will teach you. It'll be sin and salvation, dear friend.

[16:11] And you won't be able to get above it. You'll be the sinner standing in the pulpit. You'll say, the sinner in the pulpit?

[16:23] Yes, dear friend. you'll feel to be the violent in the whole place. Yes, you will. And God will show you what you are, so that you will have a gracious sympathy for those that hear.

[16:47] to be preserved from self, self-righteous self.

[17:03] And that's how God will deal with you. And he'll bless you in it. And he will answer your prayer. But it'll be in that way.

[17:16] It'll be in that way. You'll be the vilest in the place. Call unto me to be preserved from my own spirit.

[17:36] You say, this is, it can be, the coward's perch. you know, perhaps I don't, I haven't made that clear.

[17:54] But you see, there is no right of reply from the congregation. You can say what you like. to be preserved and kept in the house of God before God and the people from our own spirit.

[18:17] I can remember going to a chapel and there was a, the services in the morning and evening and after the morning service I was coming out of the chapel and there was I suppose an argument between two people and it was like this and I heard some of it.

[19:05] Well, I thought you were going to have him and the other said, well, I thought you were going to have him. What are you going to do now? said one, I haven't got anything at home for him.

[19:18] What they were saying was that each one had thought that the minister was going to their house for lunch and for 30 and I came in the middle of it.

[19:40] Well, one of them said said, all right, he better come home with me. I haven't got very much. Well, friends, I went to that house in my own spirit and after we had the lunch which was very nice, it was quite adequate, there was no problem, but all I said, can I go for a walk and I went for a walk and you know, Fred, what I was going to say in the evening, I can't tell you, but the Lord came in and he broke my heart so that all those things that I was going to say, they were gone and I was unable to preach

[20:46] Christ. You see what I mean of having been left to our own spirit, it's not God honoring and I believe, dear friend, whoever you are, I believe this will be a desire in your heart to be preserved from yourself and I would mention this for each and every one before us tonight, do you have to pray, dear friends, to be preserved from yourself?

[21:38] Can you stand in judgment against any of your fellows? if you can, you don't know your own heart.

[22:00] I know that we can be carried away, we know it and feel it, but all to be preserved from our own hearts.

[22:12] and we shall have to preach this, you see, to the brethren. You see, there's so much in Zion today whereby men would be something.

[22:33] and in some places they have forgotten God.

[22:46] You say, they've forgotten in their places? churches? Oh, yes. Because they can do what they please, when they please, and there's no fear of God in their heart.

[23:08] And we shall have to preach against this, dear friend, and so will you.

[23:23] That the fear of God may be uppermost in the churches and in your heart and mine. And then call unto me to seek for the honor and glory that is due to his name.

[23:59] Now, as creatures fallen fallen creatures, we like to have a good name.

[24:15] And why not? But you see, dear friends, it's the honor and glory that is due to God.

[24:41] That matters. It doesn't matter about us. It doesn't matter about you, Paul sin. It's God's honor and glory.

[24:55] You see, we would take to ourselves honor and glory to ourselves.

[25:06] ourselves. Sometimes I fear when it comes to meeting people after a service.

[25:20] I'm not one of those that can stand at the door and see people as they go out. I can tell you why.

[25:31] Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Because most of the time I come out of the pulpit ashamed.

[25:44] Shamed. What? Ashamed of your God? No. Ashamed of myself. And I know this, that if I were to stand at the door somebody would say that was a good sermon.

[26:02] It suited me well. And in a moment old pride would stand up ten foot foot tall.

[26:14] And that's why I don't. There's so much pride in my heart without that. Dear friends, we have to, as in the ministry and in our everyday life, dear friends, it's all to the honour and glory of God.

[26:42] There's no honour to us until God gives it. And when he gives it, that is right.

[26:55] God will be honoured in that. We want it from God. You say, what sort of honour then is right?

[27:08] Those that God will honour in walking out the path that he has instructed them to go.

[27:20] They will be honoured in that. Those that honour me, I will honour. Call unto me, and Lord, give me that patience to await thy time.

[27:47] one of the, the, those things that we are, can expect in the worldly round when we go to work, we can expect for, to, to receive our pay packet at the end of the week or the month.

[28:26] And why not? Because even the ordinary labourer is worthy of his hire.

[28:39] But you know, in the ministry, dear friends, you won't have a pay packet every week nor every month.

[28:59] God knows what you need and he will preserve you from pride. God if you had something every week, it's rather like our daily mercies.

[29:29] Oh, how remiss we are in thanksgiving unto God for all his mercies. We treat them as a right, don't we?

[29:45] And so it would be in the ministry. You may see the labourer has to wait long for the increase.

[30:03] But God will not leave you on there will be from time to time sweetly intimations that he's with you.

[30:23] And it will come from unexpected places. time is the time.

[30:34] Oh, what patience we need. Call unto me and give me, I will give you patience to wait my time, my time.

[30:49] We often say the Lord's time is the right time. time but you know in the ministry of the word, dear friends, how much we need grace to wait, to wait.

[31:13] Call unto me. Well, the time has nearly gone and I will answer thee. we cannot dwell more upon that word and I will answer thee.

[31:33] I will answer thee. It may not be immediately but I will answer thee.

[31:49] When the Lord says call unto me, it means this, that there are purposes of love and mercy that will come in the answer.

[32:12] If you had this word in your heart, dear friend, whoever you are in the congregation tonight, if God has said to you, call unto me, I will answer thee.

[32:31] God knows the Lord knows the exercise that is going on in your heart.

[32:43] I will answer thee. What straight away? No. It may not be straight away.

[32:59] You see, in prayer, dear friends, I have heard one say, the Lord has three ways of our answering prayer.

[33:17] One is yes, the second is no, and the third is not yet.

[33:30] Not yet. Not yet. But, when the Lord has said, call unto me, in this exercise, I will answer thee.

[33:54] I will answer thee. And this is the exercise that I would bring before you, dear friend, concerning the ministry.

[34:08] Where are you today in this matter? Lord, I got this exercise with me, and it has been for many years and days.

[34:33] Lord, take it away from me, or confirm it. then I will answer them.

[34:51] I remember being in this exercise in going to Heathfield Chapel one Sunday morning.

[35:09] we attended Scanes Hill, but on this occasion we went to my mother's for the Sunday.

[35:23] And oh, the exercise of the ministry was so heavy upon me. and I asked the Lord to take it away from me, or confirm it in the ministry of that day.

[35:40] well, during the first, the morning service, the Lord's servant, Mr.

[35:54] Corn Third, he didn't get anywhere near it. and after the morning service, I felt somewhat relieved that I was off the hook, as it were.

[36:16] I don't say that lightly. And he then in the afternoon he changed his text, and still there was no mention of the ministry.

[36:41] And he'd been preaching for about a short time, ten minutes or so, and he said this, he said, I've got to do something which I've never done before.

[36:56] he said, I have to go back to this morning's text. And as soon as he went back to that morning text, he said this, if there is one here that is exercised concerning the ministry, you will find it to be goodness and mercy all the days of your life.

[37:29] And I saw that God was there. This is the confirming, dear friends, I will answer them.

[37:43] This is the confirming of this blessed work. And show the great and mighty things which thou knowest not.

[37:55] Well, the time has gone, but I want just to say this, don't you fear, dear friends, that the Lord will put you into the ministry and then leave you.

[38:11] He won't do that. I can't quote it absolutely, but he said to Paul that he was being put into the ministry and he was to preach the things which he had seen and heard and also those things that would be revealed to him.

[38:41] And this revelation is continuing, dear friends. So you haven't got to be fully qualified, dear friends, in the ministry.

[38:56] God will teach you. He'll uphold you. He'll teach you out of his word for the blessed work of the ministry for the hearts of his blessed people.

[39:15] Oh yes, it's not for you, it's not for me, it's for these dear people here. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[39:25] Amen. Amen. Amen. May we be helped to conclude our service this evening with hymn 622.

[39:49] Poor fearful saint, be not dismayed, nor dread the dangers of the night. Thy God will ever be thy aid and put the hosts of hell to flight.

[40:05] Hymn 622. Hymn 622. Hymn 622.

[40:22] Hymn 622. Hymn 622.

[40:37] Hymn 622. Hymn 622. Hymn 622.

[40:48] Hymn 622. Hymn 622. Hymn 622.

[41:01] Hymn 622. Hymn 622.

[41:13] Hymn 622. Hymn 622.

[41:24] Hymn 622. Hymn 622.

[41:36] Hymn 622. Hymn 622.

[41:47] Hymn 622. Hymn 622.

[41:58] Hymn 622. Hymn 622.

[42:10] Hymn 622. Hymn 622. Hymn 622. Hymn 622. Hymn 622. Hymn 622. Thank you.

[42:46] Thank you.

[43:16] Thank you. Thank you.

[43:48] Thank you. Thank you.

[44:18] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[44:30] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[44:42] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Amen. Thank you. Oh Lord, we would desire to thank thee for all thy goodness and mercy that has been felt and realized this day.

[45:04] Oh Lord, we do pray that make us truly thankful for all thy goodness and mercy. We are so unworthy. Thank you.

[45:16] And oh, do now cast a mantle of thy forgiving love over all that has been amiss. Lord, we are conscious that sin is mixed with all we do.

[45:32] But oh, do plunge us in that fountain of hope and for sin and all uncleanness.

[45:44] Do now be with the friends as they separate. Give them journaling mercies. And oh Lord, do grant that as they go home that there may be a little dew found upon the branch.

[46:04] And now may the grace of the Lord be with us. Amen.