God’s Word at Work

A CAUSE COMMITTED TO GOD

Jeremiah 11: 18-20

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text for this mornings meditation is recorded in the book of Jeremiah, chapter 11, verses 18 through 20, particularly these words, “Because the Lord reveled their plot to me, I knew it.  O Lord Almighty let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.”  This is our text.

In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends.  Just what was it that the Lord was making known to Jeremiah in our text?  That question is answered for us in the verse which follows our text for today.  There in verse 21 we read, “The men of Anathoth wanted me killed, and they told me that they would kill me if I kept on proclaiming the Lord’s message.”  The men of Anathoth didn’t like the message that God had for Israel that Jeremiah was proclaiming.  And so to get rid of the message, they planned to get rid of the messenger.  And so they threatened Jeremiah that if he did not stop proclaiming God’s message — they were going to kill him.

But Jeremiah did not scare easily, and instead of fleeing the country to save his life, he said in our text, “I prayed, ‘Almighty God, you are a just judge; you test people’s thoughts and feelings.  I have placed my cause in your hands; so let me watch you take revenge on these people.”

Jeremiah’s cause was committed to the Lord.  Jeremiah knew that he had to be about God’s task — He had a message from God that he had to proclaim and there was no backing off from that message — he had to proclaim it — even if it meant he had to die while proclaiming it.  And so Jeremiah’s cause is committed to the Lord — and Jeremiah puts himself into God’s hands as he continues to perform that task that God has given him.

You and I can learn several things from Jeremiah in this text.  First of all, Jeremiah did not fear the men of Anathoth, or any other human being for that matter.  Jeremiah just turned to God, told God that these men were trying to stop his ministry and message, and then he sat back knowing – Trusting – that God would remove the obstacle.  In verse 22, God gives Jeremiah this promise.  “I will punish them.  Their young men will be killed in war; their children will die of starvation.  I have set a time for bringing disaster on the people of Anathoth and when that time comes, none of them will survive.”  That was God’s promise to Jeremiah, that those who would try to block his message would be removed and would cause him no further trouble.

Jeremiah did not fear men — even though they threatened his life!  BUT what about you and me?  Do we fear men?  Are we afraid of other people?

Consider for a moment, we have a message to proclaim.  We have the Good news of a Savior who died on a cross for us.  We have the message that heaven is a free gift, given by a loving God to all those who have faith and trust in the one and only Son of God, Jesus Christ, sent to die on a cross for us, and to earn for us the right to be in heaven and to be called the Children of God.

There is no greater message in all the world than the message that you and I have to proclaim to the world — that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior.  So why do we keep it to ourselves so much?  Are we afraid that we might offend someone if we talk about religion?  Are we afraid they might think that we are religious nuts?  Are we afraid they might think that we think we are better than they are because “we’ve got religion” and they don’t?  Or are we just afraid to talk to someone else about a matter so personal as religion?  If we answered “yes” to any one of these questions, or others like them, then we are indeed afraid of men.  We are allowing them to block us from doing the task which God has given us to do.  We are to teach all nations.  We are to baptize all nations.  We are to proclaim pardon to the captives, For we have the message of forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

No one is threatening our lives for proclaiming this message — but we are threatening their lives by not telling them about Jesus.   If they do not hear the message of Jesus Christ, they cannot believe. The Bible is clear that “faith comes from hearing the message and the message comes from the Word of Christ.” They cannot believe unless someone tells them — and that someone may be you.  If you do not tell them about the love of God and the forgiveness that can be found in Jesus Christ — they just might spend eternity in Hell and eternal death.

If we are afraid of men — it will be those that we are afraid of who will suffer.  Let us learn from Jeremiah that we have nothing to fear from men — and then boldly proclaim the message of God — A Savior given into death for our sins.

Another thing we can learn from Jeremiah in this text is that he trusted totally in God for his protection and deliverance.  Jeremiah could have gotten together a small army to protect him.  He could have demanded police protection.  He could have hired someone to be his bodyguard.  But he did none of these.  Instead, he trusted totally in God for his deliverance.

For you and me, that is the only hope that we have in all times of trials, tribulations, pain, and temptations.  We need to put our trust totally in the Lord, and He will give us the deliverance that we need.  Our God will never leave us nor forsake us — not now, here on earth — nor eternally in heaven.  Our God will always be with us, defending us, guiding us, forgiving us, and strengthening us to do his will for his glory.

Don’t trust anything — but God himself — Like Jeremiah, trust totally in the Lord.

The last thing we learn from Jeremiah in this text, is that those who in faith and by the grace of God do the will of God, can be sure of the outcome.  Jeremiah was no longer afraid.  He knew that God would take care of this problem that he was facing and so he went on doing the business that God had for him to do — proclaiming God’s message to God’s people.

How often do we get discouraged and think that the results are just not worth the effort.  I’m sure that sometimes Sunday School teachers feel that way when after teaching a real good lesson one week, the kids don’t remember one point of the lesson when questioned the next week.  And I’m sure that all of us wonder at times if the work that we put in for the Lord is really all that worth while — are we really accomplishing anything?

Well, just like Jeremiah, we have God’s promise of success.  God promises His Word will not return void, but will accomplish the purpose for which it was given.  And so we continue the work of the Lord — knowing that success is assured.  Maybe not in great numbers.  Maybe not in great wisdom or understanding.  Maybe not in great success as the world measures success.  And this is the hard one, maybe not even the way we want it to turn out. But it will accomplish the purposes of God — for God has promised his blessings and his power behind the work we do in his name.  God has promised his blessings upon our endeavors in his name — God’s will, will be done.

Jeremiah, facing the threat of death, committed his cause to the Lord.  You and I too should commit our cause to the Lord.  We need not fear men, we can trust God, and we know that with God’s grace, success is assured.  With Jeremiah let us say, “Oh Lord Almighty, to you I have committed my cause.”  Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.

By: Seminarian Ryan Ogrodowicz
Zion Lutheran Church
Preached: 8/30/09

Receiving the Armor of Your Salvation

In the name of Jesus.

St. Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians that we are to be strong in the Lord in the strength of His might.  We do that by putting on armor, the full armor of God.  It has to be full and complete—nothing can be exposed because the enemy is not flesh and blood, but cosmic powers over this present darkness, and spiritual forces of evil.  This is an enemy that knows well how to find the chinks in a suit of armor.  Now it may sound strange to think of a Christian as a soldier, one who puts on armor and carries weapons to defend himself against evil, but in a spiritual sense, that’s exactly what the believer is.   Being a soldier is a vocation every Christian is called into and placed on the front line of a constant battle where he defends himself against the arsenal of the devil.  It is the life of the believer in Jesus Christ to have to stand firm on a spiritual battlefield.  Everyday, whether we like it or not, we have to fight against the schemes of the devil.

And there is something about this cosmic battle here in Ephesians that cannot be compared to earthly wars. When you think about wars between nations, neutrality is usually an option.  One or more nations can watch other countries go into war, and choose to do nothing about it and be just fine. In many countries, a citizen does not have to go fight just because his country declares war. He or she can simply choose to stay out of it and avoid it altogether. Remaining neutral in earthly conflict is often an option.  However, in spiritual matters, in matter pertaining to the kingdom of God, neutrality is not an option, because in this war Satan wages upon man there is no middle ground.  No man can choose to sit this one out, no man can sit back and refuse to take part in the conflict. All of us are charged to put on armor and take up weapons for battle because the schemes of the devil and his flaming darts will not stop this side of the kingdom and He targets all of mankind; no one is exempt from sin, death and the devil. It should come as no surprise that our Lord urges us to be prepared. No soldier goes into battle wearing only everyday clothes and no soldier goes into a battle without any weapons.  The evil is going to come; it is not a matter if, but when.  Scary isn’t it, to know there is cosmic evil out there and that the age we live in is a present darkness?  Sin is not something to take lightly and these flaming arrows don’t seem to miss their mark.  Satan has good aim when he shoots; he’s been a marksman for a long time. It can be scary to think that the believer in Jesus Christ walks the earth as a target for evil, but don’t worry.  Our Lord is well aware of this and has not left us to fend for ourselves. God has given us the shield of faith, a shield where you can withstand everything that comes your way. It is by faith Paul says, you can extinguish every flaming arrow that comes your way.

So exactly what kind of war are we dealing with?   Upon hearing this passage and all this talk about armor and battle, some of you may be thinking that I’m talking about some end-times war, a big event everyone can see and take part in; a final show down between God and Satan where you it’s the good army versus the bad. But that’s not what St. Paul is getting at.  A scheme is something that takes place behind the scenes.  It’s secretive, insidious, and often times you don’t know the damage a scheme causes until it’s too late.  A scheme can come in many shapes and sizes and when you think about someone scheming and being crafty, you don’t think about that person working in clear daylight, exposed where everyone can see him; rather he works in darkness where he cannot be seen and yet is still able to inflict great damage.

Gossiping.  Yes, the sin we all are guilty of doing. To quote St. James, “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!”  It is so easy to do when you hear that juicy piece of information that you know would hurt your brother or sister if it came out into the open, but instead of putting a stop to it, we spread it to the next person.  And the next.  And the next……pretty soon the whole forest is burning out of control, and the devil can sit back and laugh. That is a scheme.

What about forgiveness?  Christ has told us to forgive our neighbor when he or she wrongs us because He has forgiven us. But when we are wronged, our natural tendency is not to forgive, but retaliation, maybe even revenge. “They don’t deserve forgiveness, therefore I’m not going to forgive them but instead I’m going to harbor anger towards them until they apologize.  No apology from them, no forgiveness from me.”  That is a scheme of the devil directly opposed to the Word of God. When Jesus hung upon the cross, falsely given up by mankind to be crucified, retaliation, getting even was not on His mind.  Instead, in His hour of agony Christ looked upon the crowds watching Him die and said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  It was forgiveness that came from the lips of our dying Savior, and as He has forgiven us, we are told to forgive.  Gossiping, withholding forgiveness….these are some of the ways these cosmic powers of evil take root in our lives and the results are often disastrous.

Hence, the reason Paul says to put on the full armor of God; so you don’t fall prey to the schemes of the devil.  And how does one do this?  Even the analogy between us and a soldier implies some sort of action on our part.  A soldier works hard in training and then goes out to fight.  If he’s good at what he does he’ll be more likely to survive and maybe receive a promotion for what he’s done. But is this the type of soldier St. Paul had in mind, one whose life depends on his abilities and whose rank depends on what he does and does not do? The answer is no. The Christian is not promoted based  only on what he or she does.  All of us have those days when it seems as if Satan and his legions are on the doorstep, pestering you every minute of the day; and you feel as if there’s nothing you can do about it.  During times like these, being told to stand tall and to do this and to do that doesn’t help very much.  Our own actions in the face of sin, death and the devil are of no avail, yet you can still firm.  Standing on that day of evil has nothing to do with you own inner strength, but everything to do with God. Sure, Paul describes a soldier but listen to the metaphors he uses…..the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace for shoes, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit.  Truth……righteousness…gospel…faith….salvation….spirit.  Do these words sound like things that come from ourselves?  No, but from our Lord Jesus Christ!

It is by Him that we are able to stand tall. It is from what God has done through Christ that we stand strong in the face of affliction. No matter what tribulation comes your way you can stand tall knowing that salvation is yours through Jesus Christ and nothing can take that away. You want the armor of God?  You got it, all of it. St. Paul says in his letter to the Galations that those who have been baptized have put on Christ. What good news it is to know that through your baptism you already have been clothed in the armor of God.  Through faith in Jesus Christ you have already been equipped with an armor the devil cannot break through.  There is no chink in the armor of Christ; He has declared you as the triumphant soldier able to stand firm in the day of evil.  Is it a battle?  You bet it is.  But unlike other battles, this is one where through your Lord and Savior, you already know the outcome.  We wrestle in victory knowing that through Christ our Lord we have been given the Kingdom of God.  We struggle, knowing the battle has already been won for us.  Amen.