Running With Footmen - Jeremiah 11:18-12:6
Posted by Calvary Chapel Fremont at 1/12/2011 11:50 PM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Pastor Tim Brown Calvary Chapel Fremont Running Footmen Jeremiah
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Pastor Tim Brown Calvary Chapel Fremont Running Footmen Jeremiah
Pastor Tim Brown, Calvary Chapel Fremont, Wednesday January 12, 2011
Running with Footmen
Jeremiah 11:18 – 12:6
Jeremiah is called the prophet of Judah’s midnight hour
These chapters take place in the last days of godly king Josiah/in the days of the evil kings Jehoahaz/Jehoiakim. The people are:
defiling worship/ignoring promises/trampling laws of God.
Because of this, God has roused Babylon who is threatening to destroy Jerusalem. God has raised up Jeremiah to warn the people/call them to repentance. They don’t like his diagnosis/ prognosis/remedy. The diagnosis: spiritual cancer. The prognosis: judgment. The remedy: repent! The people don’t want to hear either the message of destruction/call to repentance. “Tell us how much God loves us and that we are His special people and that He delights in deliverance. Don’t announce our sins and declare judgment.”
Things are bleak in Judah. And not only that - J is going thru a tough time. He is being resisted/ignored. His warnings are falling on deaf ears/rejected by dull hearts. The people hate this messenger of God.
The circumstances of the prophet 11:18-23
The problem
18-19, 21 The men of Anathoth – his home town/priests are plotting his death. Not only do the people hate him, but now his priestly peers will turn against him.
Why? 5:31 the priests rule on their own authority. They are not submitted to God/out of control. 8:1 the bones of the priests will be dug out because of their rebellion against the Lord. The priests took exception to this/plotted his death
The prayer 20 Great prayer to pray - commit your cause to the Lord
The promise 22-23
The Lord will remove that which hinders the spread of His Word. God will remove our foes or God will remove our fears. We can all lay hold of the promise of deliverance.
The complaint of the prophet 12:1-4
He had the promise of deliverance in 11:22, but is w/o deliverance in 12:1. He says: All those who deal in treachery are at ease. God hadn’t quickly eliminated the deadly opposition of the priests of Anathoth.
J: “God has given me a job to do and I’m doing it, but things aren’t going well and my ministry isn’t flourishing. I’m doing what’s right/suffering for it.” He’s doing what’s right/things are going against him. Apply to the ministry/life. This is J’s complaint – things don’t seem to fit. V1 – matter of justice: Why did You build it like this? Why do You allow it to go on?
Letter of complaint from Stevens Music to Calvary Community about space for installation of Allen Computer Organ –
Dear Sirs: We requested a minimum of 6’ floor to ceiling clearance on each platform level. We got 5’ clearance on the middle level…
* We requested light fixtures on the rear walls of the chambers and got fixtures on the ceilings (this, once again, reduces the lower and middle level service heights by 8-10”)
* We requested an access opening 3’ by 3’ optimum, 2’ by 3’ minimum clearance, and instead got an opening that now measures 23” by 35”.
* We further requested that the ladder not protrude into this area of required clearance (which it does)
* We requested a substantial (3” minimum) conduit run from the left chamber directly to the right and got nothing…
* We requested A.C. duplex outlets in the chamber at floor level and got them instead on the third level where they can do us no good…
* While these plights may seem minor in comparison to some of the other items in the construction process, they cannot be deemed minor by us. It will be difficult, for instance, to get a 2’ by 3’ speaker through a 23” by 35” opening…Best regards – Stevens Music.
This is J’s complaint – things don’t seem to fit or add up. Why did You build it like this? It’s hard for the righteous to get through w/ so many wicked in the way. This may seem like a small matter to You, Lord, but it is not deemed minor to me.
We wrestle w/ the same dilemmas J did. “Lord, You have called me to holiness /put me in the unholiest place on earth. You have called me to love/then surround me w/ the unloveliest people on earth. You call me to serve You/give me a husband/wife who doesn’t share that passion. You have given me a vision for ministry/place me where I have to work 50 hours a week just to pay the bills. You have given me ministry/no one responds. Lord, things don’t fit! I do the right thing and wrong things keep happening.”
Something very significant happens here. He goes from praying to the Lord in C11 to discussing w/ the Lord in C12. Not only are the priests disappointing him, but now the Lord is disappointing him, too. His complaint is no longer solely against the men of Anathoth, his complaint has spread to include the Lord. He had the promise in 11:22, but is w/o the provision by the opening of 12:1. He says: All those who deal in treachery are at ease. God hadn’t quickly eliminated the deadly opposition of the priests of Anathoth - here’s what happens:
A personal problem escalated into a spiritual crisis
Anathoth’s treachery threatened his body; God’s delay threatened his soul. His crisis isn’t why God allowed the men of Anathoth to plot his death, his crisis is why did God delay His provision. Much like the organ company saw the church as working against its interests, J saw God as working against him. You?
The focus of complaint turns from the presence of earthly resistance to the absence of heavenly assistance. This is how the serpent tripped up Eve. He was the problem, but he made it look like God was the problem. “God’s holding you back from something real good for you.”
Shaken by his dilemma, J is not on the streets declaring the Word of God, he is in the closet announcing his confusion/doubt. He sees the immediate triumph of evil as the ultimate triumph of evil/the delay of God’s provision as the denial of God’s provision – God doesn’t have the final word.
The confidence of C11 gives way to the confusion of C12.
“Why” questions – justice – vv1-2. Why are things as they are?
“How” questions – love – v3. How could You treat me like this?
“When” questions – wisdom – v4. When are You going to do something about this?
We often drag God into court when we experience a lack of provision or His timetable is different than ours.
The counsel of God 5-6
Footmen and cavalry – infantry/horses
Footmen: unanswered questions/unexplainable realities/ unjustified delays/unchecked evil. J is tired out/grown impatient. How often I become impatient when I don’t get my own way.
Horses: unexpected opposition, blind-sided hostility. V6 – your family will turn away. 1st priests and then family/all support will be stripped away. Will you walk w/ Jesus when no one else will?
Compete = ‘to burn w/ heat’. Will you burn out in the early rounds or will you burn on? Is all strength/passion used up in little trials? I think of those I went to college with to prepare for ministry. Burnouts: little fruit/moral compromise/financial greed…
What will you do if all earthly support is stripped away? Will you still burn with the zeal of the Lord? When that influential family leaves/ when the worship leader undermines your authority/when you’re looking at bankruptcy/when spouse threatens divorce/when kids go sideways . We expect the world to hate the church, but it always throws us for a loop when it appears as if God isn’t for us.
Land of peace and thicket of Jordan
Thicket – wild animals. What will you do when you have to battle Satan and w/stand him? “J, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Hold on for v7!
Will you trust Me only when things are peaceful and you’re left alone?
Peaceful? J penned this at the time Josiah was killed by Pharaoh/ Jehoahaz had reigned only three months/Babylon defeated Egypt/ Jehoiakim rebelled against Babylon. It’s going to get worse?
God didn’t answer his questions/explain His actions/justify His delays/ bring immediate deliverance. Will you trust God when all is dark and the only thing you can be sure of is that it’s going to get darker? Will you walk w/ God when you don’t get answers/explanations/ deliverance? J, what does it take to stop you? You?
Kierkegaard: Abraham – time is God’s footman/impossibilities are His horsemen.
Jesus ran w/ footmen – Pharisees | He competed with horses – Judah | He was in the thicket of the Jordan – Satan/Calvary. He who fought the greatest foes demonstrated the fullest dimensions of the faithfulness of God.
Though the promised provision is delayed/answers aren’t forthcoming nor explanations offered - His presence is fully/freely given. You may not have provision of God, but you do have the God of all provision.
Did Jesus fail to come when you rubbed the lantern?
Then perhaps Jesus is not a genie.
Did Jesus fail to punish your enemies?
Then perhaps Jesus is not a cop.
Did Jesus fail to make everything run smoothly?
Then perhaps Jesus is not a mechanic.
Over and over again, our disappointments draw us deeper and deeper into
who Jesus really is ... and what Jesus really does.
Download | Duration: 00:52:31
Running with Footmen
Jeremiah 11:18 – 12:6
Jeremiah is called the prophet of Judah’s midnight hour
These chapters take place in the last days of godly king Josiah/in the days of the evil kings Jehoahaz/Jehoiakim. The people are:
defiling worship/ignoring promises/trampling laws of God.
Because of this, God has roused Babylon who is threatening to destroy Jerusalem. God has raised up Jeremiah to warn the people/call them to repentance. They don’t like his diagnosis/ prognosis/remedy. The diagnosis: spiritual cancer. The prognosis: judgment. The remedy: repent! The people don’t want to hear either the message of destruction/call to repentance. “Tell us how much God loves us and that we are His special people and that He delights in deliverance. Don’t announce our sins and declare judgment.”
Things are bleak in Judah. And not only that - J is going thru a tough time. He is being resisted/ignored. His warnings are falling on deaf ears/rejected by dull hearts. The people hate this messenger of God.
The circumstances of the prophet 11:18-23
The problem
18-19, 21 The men of Anathoth – his home town/priests are plotting his death. Not only do the people hate him, but now his priestly peers will turn against him.
Why? 5:31 the priests rule on their own authority. They are not submitted to God/out of control. 8:1 the bones of the priests will be dug out because of their rebellion against the Lord. The priests took exception to this/plotted his death
The prayer 20 Great prayer to pray - commit your cause to the Lord
The promise 22-23
The Lord will remove that which hinders the spread of His Word. God will remove our foes or God will remove our fears. We can all lay hold of the promise of deliverance.
The complaint of the prophet 12:1-4
He had the promise of deliverance in 11:22, but is w/o deliverance in 12:1. He says: All those who deal in treachery are at ease. God hadn’t quickly eliminated the deadly opposition of the priests of Anathoth.
J: “God has given me a job to do and I’m doing it, but things aren’t going well and my ministry isn’t flourishing. I’m doing what’s right/suffering for it.” He’s doing what’s right/things are going against him. Apply to the ministry/life. This is J’s complaint – things don’t seem to fit. V1 – matter of justice: Why did You build it like this? Why do You allow it to go on?
Letter of complaint from Stevens Music to Calvary Community about space for installation of Allen Computer Organ –
Dear Sirs: We requested a minimum of 6’ floor to ceiling clearance on each platform level. We got 5’ clearance on the middle level…
* We requested light fixtures on the rear walls of the chambers and got fixtures on the ceilings (this, once again, reduces the lower and middle level service heights by 8-10”)
* We requested an access opening 3’ by 3’ optimum, 2’ by 3’ minimum clearance, and instead got an opening that now measures 23” by 35”.
* We further requested that the ladder not protrude into this area of required clearance (which it does)
* We requested a substantial (3” minimum) conduit run from the left chamber directly to the right and got nothing…
* We requested A.C. duplex outlets in the chamber at floor level and got them instead on the third level where they can do us no good…
* While these plights may seem minor in comparison to some of the other items in the construction process, they cannot be deemed minor by us. It will be difficult, for instance, to get a 2’ by 3’ speaker through a 23” by 35” opening…Best regards – Stevens Music.
This is J’s complaint – things don’t seem to fit or add up. Why did You build it like this? It’s hard for the righteous to get through w/ so many wicked in the way. This may seem like a small matter to You, Lord, but it is not deemed minor to me.
We wrestle w/ the same dilemmas J did. “Lord, You have called me to holiness /put me in the unholiest place on earth. You have called me to love/then surround me w/ the unloveliest people on earth. You call me to serve You/give me a husband/wife who doesn’t share that passion. You have given me a vision for ministry/place me where I have to work 50 hours a week just to pay the bills. You have given me ministry/no one responds. Lord, things don’t fit! I do the right thing and wrong things keep happening.”
Something very significant happens here. He goes from praying to the Lord in C11 to discussing w/ the Lord in C12. Not only are the priests disappointing him, but now the Lord is disappointing him, too. His complaint is no longer solely against the men of Anathoth, his complaint has spread to include the Lord. He had the promise in 11:22, but is w/o the provision by the opening of 12:1. He says: All those who deal in treachery are at ease. God hadn’t quickly eliminated the deadly opposition of the priests of Anathoth - here’s what happens:
A personal problem escalated into a spiritual crisis
Anathoth’s treachery threatened his body; God’s delay threatened his soul. His crisis isn’t why God allowed the men of Anathoth to plot his death, his crisis is why did God delay His provision. Much like the organ company saw the church as working against its interests, J saw God as working against him. You?
The focus of complaint turns from the presence of earthly resistance to the absence of heavenly assistance. This is how the serpent tripped up Eve. He was the problem, but he made it look like God was the problem. “God’s holding you back from something real good for you.”
Shaken by his dilemma, J is not on the streets declaring the Word of God, he is in the closet announcing his confusion/doubt. He sees the immediate triumph of evil as the ultimate triumph of evil/the delay of God’s provision as the denial of God’s provision – God doesn’t have the final word.
The confidence of C11 gives way to the confusion of C12.
“Why” questions – justice – vv1-2. Why are things as they are?
“How” questions – love – v3. How could You treat me like this?
“When” questions – wisdom – v4. When are You going to do something about this?
We often drag God into court when we experience a lack of provision or His timetable is different than ours.
The counsel of God 5-6
Footmen and cavalry – infantry/horses
Footmen: unanswered questions/unexplainable realities/ unjustified delays/unchecked evil. J is tired out/grown impatient. How often I become impatient when I don’t get my own way.
Horses: unexpected opposition, blind-sided hostility. V6 – your family will turn away. 1st priests and then family/all support will be stripped away. Will you walk w/ Jesus when no one else will?
Compete = ‘to burn w/ heat’. Will you burn out in the early rounds or will you burn on? Is all strength/passion used up in little trials? I think of those I went to college with to prepare for ministry. Burnouts: little fruit/moral compromise/financial greed…
What will you do if all earthly support is stripped away? Will you still burn with the zeal of the Lord? When that influential family leaves/ when the worship leader undermines your authority/when you’re looking at bankruptcy/when spouse threatens divorce/when kids go sideways . We expect the world to hate the church, but it always throws us for a loop when it appears as if God isn’t for us.
Land of peace and thicket of Jordan
Thicket – wild animals. What will you do when you have to battle Satan and w/stand him? “J, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Hold on for v7!
Will you trust Me only when things are peaceful and you’re left alone?
Peaceful? J penned this at the time Josiah was killed by Pharaoh/ Jehoahaz had reigned only three months/Babylon defeated Egypt/ Jehoiakim rebelled against Babylon. It’s going to get worse?
God didn’t answer his questions/explain His actions/justify His delays/ bring immediate deliverance. Will you trust God when all is dark and the only thing you can be sure of is that it’s going to get darker? Will you walk w/ God when you don’t get answers/explanations/ deliverance? J, what does it take to stop you? You?
Kierkegaard: Abraham – time is God’s footman/impossibilities are His horsemen.
Jesus ran w/ footmen – Pharisees | He competed with horses – Judah | He was in the thicket of the Jordan – Satan/Calvary. He who fought the greatest foes demonstrated the fullest dimensions of the faithfulness of God.
Though the promised provision is delayed/answers aren’t forthcoming nor explanations offered - His presence is fully/freely given. You may not have provision of God, but you do have the God of all provision.
Did Jesus fail to come when you rubbed the lantern?
Then perhaps Jesus is not a genie.
Did Jesus fail to punish your enemies?
Then perhaps Jesus is not a cop.
Did Jesus fail to make everything run smoothly?
Then perhaps Jesus is not a mechanic.
Over and over again, our disappointments draw us deeper and deeper into
who Jesus really is ... and what Jesus really does.
I love that very last phrase about through our disappointments, we are able to learn even more about who Jesus REALLY is. We get frustrated when He doesn't form to our plans or do what we want Him to. Shouldn't it be the other way around?
-Mrs. Benson
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