Jeremiah

[0:00] Thank you.

[0:30] Thank you.

[1:00] This is the third chapter. Jeremiah chapter 33 and verse 3.

[1:23] Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.

[1:46] Jeremiah chapter 33 and verse 3. Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.

[2:16] In reading the first chapter in this book of Jeremiah, I believe it was given to me to read concerning the call of Jeremiah to the ministry.

[2:53] And it is that which is upon my spirit to speak of this morning.

[3:06] God knows whether there is one here who is exercised in concerning the ministry.

[3:22] But it is laid upon me. I cannot take it away. And I will have to preach as the Lord enables me.

[3:37] Now, Jeremiah was an anointed prophet of God.

[3:53] He hadn't got very much to recommend himself, had he?

[4:06] Certainly not. But you see, this plea of Jeremiah's in this first chapter.

[4:25] Ah, Lord, I cannot speak before I am a child. I want to come strictly to this word.

[4:47] What if God has anointed you by this spirit to be a minister of his?

[5:05] He will humble you so that you'll be a little child. And this work, dear friends, is known in the work of grace in each poor sinner's heart those that are those that are appointed unto life.

[5:45] This is a mark, dear friends, of the calling of God. Humility.

[5:58] And it is known and felt in the ministry so that Jeremiah had to say, Lord, I cannot speak.

[6:19] For I am a child. And that's how the Lord will bring you, dear friend, as a little child.

[6:37] Unfitted for those things that he will lie upon you. is there one this morning in this life that you know and have felt for many days and perhaps years concerning the ministry ministry and it has been laid upon you.

[7:18] You didn't put it there yourself. that God will exercise you and continue to exercise you in this matter.

[7:35] But you'll see, friends, there's going to be a humbling, a humbling. just consider for a moment with Moses.

[7:54] You see, Moses knew that the Lord had got something for him to do and Moses thought that others saw it.

[8:05] and we read that in the Exodus. But you see, Moses, in the pride of his heart, thought that all people would know that he was to be the leader of God's people.

[8:34] But that was not so. In the pride of his heart, he thought that. But you see, there were forty years that had to go by until God called Moses to that great work.

[9:05] God and how was it with him then? Now, Lord, send by so ever thou mayest or but not by me.

[9:28] He wasn't ready then. Then he started to make excuses, didn't he? What had happened in the wilderness, dear friends?

[9:45] He was brought to nothing. He was humbled in the dust. He was humbled in the dust. And this is a mark, dear friends, of the teaching of the Holy Spirit in the heart.

[10:00] God. Oh, dear friends, this is the mark of a poor sinner that is brought upon by the Spirit in bringing them from death unto life and bringing them then into the ministry.

[10:36] But now, what does God say to Jeremiah? Say, I am, say not, I am a child.

[10:51] For thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt speak.

[11:07] Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. This promise will be fulfilled and known and realized by every God-sent minister.

[11:41] Is that one before us this morning saying exactly the same thing?

[11:54] I can't speak, Lord. I can't speak.

[12:06] I can't stand before the people, those that are long in the way, those that have had a whole lifetime of experience.

[12:25] They see right through me. Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

[12:53] You see, it's not always, it's not age that counts, dear friends. That's not it.

[13:05] It's the teaching of the Holy Spirit. And those that are wrought upon by the Spirit, those that have been brought into life, those that are exercised, those that are good hearers, those, dear friends, that have the cause of God in their hearts, you see, they're not going to criticize you if you come with us, saith the Lord.

[13:51] And I would make this clear to whoever it is that I am speaking to this morning.

[14:07] You cannot come in your own strength. They'll see you, see through you if you do. Oh, yes, I will. The ring of the gospel is a great ring.

[14:31] You can hear it. You bring self. You see, there's plenty of letter men about.

[14:43] They know the Scriptures and they know it from the beginning to the end. But how much do they know the Spirit? You come in the Spirit by God's grace, dear friends.

[14:59] You won't have any trouble. It's coming by the Spirit. You see, there's many, many people who can preach a good sermon.

[15:19] I'm sure some of you could hear. But do we know the coming, the blessedness of the Spirit, taking of the things of Jesus, and revealing them unto the souls of the people.

[15:45] This is what God meant. And let another word to Jeremiah.

[15:57] I have set thee this day over the nations and over the kingdoms to root out and to pull down and to destroy and to throw down and to build and to plant.

[16:20] that was his commission. And it is the commission of every God-sent minister. Oh, it's sin and salvation, dear friends.

[16:39] Do you want anything else here at Grove Road? Do you? I'm sure you don't.

[16:52] Oh, you need the pulling down of self, the pulling down of self-righteousness that sin and self may be put in the dust.

[17:22] Are there those that may feel that the younger element of you, you may feel that you want something different from what you get every Sunday?

[17:40] You might be ready to say, well, he's always on about sin. Ah, dear friends, do you know why he is?

[17:56] Because he feels it, he knows it, and he has to preach it. That's why. And the truth is, dear friends, if you're one of those that says, I wish he'd have something different, it's because you don't know your own heart.

[18:18] That's why. May the blessed spirit teach you, and then you'll come in, then you'll come in. Creeping into the back seat seeking for mercy.

[18:41] Seeking for mercy. Oh, yes. And this is the work of the blessed spirit through the ministry.

[18:55] and then to pull down, and to build and to plant. That building up in Christ.

[19:10] Not upon works, not upon the creature, but building up upon Christ, and to plant, to plant, to plant, the blessed seed into the hearts of the brethren.

[19:33] that's what Jerry, Jerry, Jerry, Meyer had to come to.

[19:43] and that was his commission. And it is the commission of each and every heaven-taught and sent minister.

[19:58] Just a word here, friends, in this day of education, so-called education.

[20:14] There is much around and about concerning the content of the sermons.

[20:25] we have to have a good speaker. What do you want, dear friend?

[20:41] You want a good speaker? Or do you want the spirit influence in your heart? I know that we have had good, gracious men, and I would speak of Mr. Philpott, Mr. Popper, and many others.

[21:06] They were good speakers indeed, but they had the spirit, and that's the vital thing. The emphasis today seems to be upon the speaking.

[21:29] Ah, dear friends, have we forgotten the ever-blessed spirit? I grew up during the war years under the ministry of the late Mr. Jabez Field at Black Boys.

[22:05] He preached Christ into myself as a young lad. He wasn't an educated man.

[22:18] he wasn't a good speaker, but what he did have was the spirit of the Lord in his heart.

[22:37] And that's what we need to die. Oh, yeah, we need the spirit work, not the speakers.

[22:49] We want the Holy Ghost in all things. So that there may be that pulling down to the honour and glory of God and the building up and the planting to the honour and glory of God.

[23:21] Well, now, that is, I've brought this before you concerning Jeremiah and his beginnings as a minister of Jesus Christ.

[23:45] Now, you may say to me, well, of course, Jeremiah then, perhaps, he had all that he needed to go forth.

[24:00] but you say, God doesn't then give that commission to his ministers and then leave them.

[24:20] Oh, no, he doesn't. He doesn't leave them. But what he does do, he teaches them in the Y.

[24:32] So that Jeremiah had to go into the furnace. He had to, as God had promised him, he had to come into trouble.

[24:49] Those that were against him, he was a faithful prophet prophet. He was a faithful prophet, and he suffered for it.

[25:06] And so will the ministers of God, they will suffer. And they will come into these places, dear friends, when they will see men that ought to know better.

[25:35] They will rise up against them. And I believe Jeremiah knew what it was. He was put into prison.

[25:47] What for? God because he prophesied not to the like liking of the king. Are there those here this morning that will put your pastor in prison because you don't like what he has to bring before you?

[26:18] It's a solemn matter, that is. Oh, I know that we need much grace that we're not left to our own spirit in the pulpit.

[26:34] Oh, yes. But, you see, Jeremiah had trouble. He had those that were against him.

[26:53] But he was faithful. Oh, that the Lord may keep his ministers faithful to that commission which God has given them.

[27:09] now, Jeremiah, in all his trouble, you've only just to read the lamentations and you can see just where Jeremiah came to.

[27:31] when you just think of the third chapter particularly, I am a man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

[27:51] He hath led me and brought me into darkness but not into light. Well, you might say, one of the Lord's servants, Jeremiah, and the Lord looked and dealt with him in that way.

[28:15] Why? Why did he? To make him profitable, profitable to the seeking seed of Israel.

[28:28] that's why. Our dear friends in the congregation today, do you realize the weight and the pressure and the exercise that your pastor goes through week by week?

[28:56] day by day? The things that he has to go through for the sake of the gospel?

[29:18] I believe we know a little of this work. in our own heart, how the Lord has brought us into trouble and into affliction.

[29:40] And you might say to me, well, was it worth it? Yes. Yes. if there's one poor sense in it that is called by divine grace, by my ministry to the prize of God's dying, it's worth it.

[30:08] you sigh, for two years of trouble, and the trouble hasn't gone away.

[30:26] Is it still worth it? Yes. Yes. For the comfort and consolation of his dear people.

[30:38] I make you willing, dear friends, the Lord will to go.

[30:54] I can remember at home one Sunday morning as we were getting ready to go to chapel, the weight of the ministry was so heavy upon me.

[31:13] And it seemed to me so un... I just couldn't even think of ever standing up before the people and before God.

[31:28] said, Lord, it's impossible. I can't go and I won't go. I won't go.

[31:45] And you say, how merciful God is. You see, what I felt then, it was a wonder to me that the Lord didn't cut me off in a moment.

[32:04] but he whispered this into my heart, who hath made man's mouth?

[32:19] And I said, Lord, I'll go, I'll go. Now, that was some time before the Lord did send me forth.

[32:37] But I is the one that is saying that same thing today. Lord, I can't go, and I won't go.

[32:51] He'll make you willing. Oh, yes, he will. But you'll have to come in the words of our text.

[33:14] Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.

[33:30] Ah, have you just said to me, yes, that's what I need.

[33:43] And show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. And what have you just said?

[33:54] Lord, you have to begin from the beginning with me. I don't know a thing. oh, what a blessed place to be.

[34:12] Oh, what a blessed place to be. just a word here. It's not only to the, to those who, uh, that are destined by God to be ministers of his gospel, but you see, it is also necessary for those in the Sunday school.

[34:53] Each one of us is before God. Each one of us. And you need the same spirit that same anointing to stand before the children as you do before the congregation.

[35:22] The same spirit is needed. Howl at the howling spirit.

[35:36] And that same need is your need as a teacher before the children. You cannot deal with these things lightly.

[35:55] In any, you see, there are many today, dear friends, that want to go preaching. there must be the anointing by the Holy Ghost if you are to be a minister of the gospel, to stand before God and the people.

[36:35] There must be the anointing and if there's no anointing everything will come to nothing. that whatever or wherever you are in the church of God, whether you are in the Sunday school or in the ministry, ministry, and you may be being fitted for that work of the ministry, you'll come to this point.

[37:23] You are utter dependence upon God and this is absolutely necessity, dear friends, because you are to feed the flock, God's flock.

[37:52] And you must come, dear friends, depending, depending upon your God. Now the instruction here, and it is an instruction and a promise.

[38:08] Call unto me, unto God. Put your books away.

[38:25] Put away your commentaries. A why, a why, a why. look unto me. That's the first place, dear friends, to look unto God.

[38:49] If you are to be made profitable and acceptable to the brethren, dear friends, you're going to have to look to the same place that I look to.

[39:01] call unto me, instreat me, cry aloud to me, call unto me.

[39:22] That's the first place. you might say to me, well, you've mentioned commentaries. I'm sure they are useful to those that God has permitted to have, for them to have.

[39:49] one. But you see, he's never permitted me to have one. If I had time, yes, I've got time.

[40:01] You see, this word that is before us this morning was spoken into my heart many years ago, under the exercise of ministry.

[40:15] And at that time, I thought to myself, well, I believe, sure, I'm sure that the ministry is to come.

[40:27] The exercise was begun in my thirteenth year. And I thought, well, it's nearly time I got myself more learned in the things of the Bible and so on.

[40:50] So I went off to a book shop to buy a commentary and it was suggested to me that the one to have was Matthew Henry.

[41:09] I know there's Mr. Gill and so on. Now, you see, I went and then nothing happened.

[41:23] I went back into the book shop after a few weeks and I said, is the commentary available? available? And the lady said, oh, I'm sorry.

[41:35] I should have told you that it's out of print. You know, friends, that I was unsure when I first went, but it was a great relief to me.

[41:55] I can't say why. it was a great relief that it was out of print. But shortly after that, this word came right into my heart.

[42:14] call call unto me, and I will answer thee, and I and show thee great and mighty things which now knowest not.

[42:32] And I've had to go along, dear friends, in this way, without a commentary, depending upon my God on for everything, and certainly in the last two years, daily waiting upon him, he almost for every breath.

[43:01] You say, would you change it? Now, blessed be his name, call upon me, and I will answer thee.

[43:14] He promises these things, and he'll do it for you, friend. Oh, yes, he will. However you feel, you may feel the most ignorant man in the world, God will teach you, and he'll make you a blessing.

[43:38] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Conclude our service with hymn 511.

[44:04] In all my troubles and distress, the Lord my soul does own. Jehovah does my grief redress and make his mercy known.

[44:19] 511. 511. 611.

[44:35] 714. 714. 714. ZANG EN MUZIEK Amen.

[45:41] Amen. Amen.