Transformation through Tribulation
Sometimes things look bad, but the Lord loves truth. He brings each one of us as far as we want to go. To get near to Him only comes with cost. God's plan for Jeremiah's greatness was so costly in Jeremiah 20, he wished he were never born...for a minute.
Jeremiah 20:14Cursed be the day in which I was born!
Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me!
15Let the man be cursed
Who brought news to my father, saying,
“A male child has been born to you!”
Making him very glad.
16And let that man be like the cities
Which the LORD overthrew, and did not relent;
Let him hear the cry in the morning
And the shouting at noon,
17Because he did not kill me from the womb,
That my mother might have been my grave,
And her womb always enlarged with me.
18Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow,
That my days should be consumed with shame?
The pain of rejection for following Jesus is real and universal. If you haven't felt it, you simply haven't gone very far into it. Each step nearer to Jesus is a step into more of everything Jesus experiences....if you stay in the fringe, yes it is easier, but it is forever costly...it's outer darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25:29‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
30‘And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
In the end, Jeremiah was fine as others suffered great loss...and then eternity, where Jeremiah is more than fine, and those who harmed him will forever have less than they could have.
The Bible only works this way. Jesus paid the price on the cross for us to go as far as we are willing, but the process hasn't changed. Just before pouring out the pain in His heart, Jeremiah tells us what got him to this place:
Jeremiah 20:7O LORD, You induced me, and I was persuaded;
You are stronger than I, and have prevailed.
I am in derision daily;
Everyone mocks me.
8For when I spoke, I cried out;
I shouted, “Violence and plunder!”
Because the word of the LORD was made to me
A reproach and a derision daily.
9Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name.”
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back,
And I could not.
10For I heard many mocking:
“Fear on every side!”
“Report,” they say, “and we will report it!”
All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying,
“Perhaps he can be induced;
Then we will prevail against him,
And we will take our revenge on him.”
11But the LORD is with me as a mighty, awesome One.
Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail.
They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper.
Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten.
12But, O LORD of hosts,
You who test the righteous,
And see the mind and heart,
Let me see Your vengeance on them;
For I have pleaded my cause before You.
Matthew 5:3“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12“Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15“Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
17“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
Many turn back. THAT road is wide and easy. A few keep going despite the shame and the hurt. THAT Road is narrow and few find it.
That just the basic gospel....it is going to be lived out by every person on the planet for better or for worse, richer or poorer...by the whole world over the next few years. That makes it incredibly intense for one season of human history.
Matthew 7:12“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
13“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
14“Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
16“You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17“Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20“Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
24“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25“and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27“and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Jeremiah chose a hard place to stand...or the Lord invited Him to it...but it turned out to be the only safe place to stand:
Jeremiah 40:2And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him: “The LORD your God has pronounced this doom on this place.
3“Now the LORD has brought it, and has done just as He said. Because you people have sinned against the LORD, and not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon you.
4“And now look, I free you this day from the chains that were on your hand. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, all the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there.”
Jeremiah 20:14Cursed be the day in which I was born!
Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me!
15Let the man be cursed
Who brought news to my father, saying,
“A male child has been born to you!”
Making him very glad.
16And let that man be like the cities
Which the LORD overthrew, and did not relent;
Let him hear the cry in the morning
And the shouting at noon,
17Because he did not kill me from the womb,
That my mother might have been my grave,
And her womb always enlarged with me.
18Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow,
That my days should be consumed with shame?
The pain of rejection for following Jesus is real and universal. If you haven't felt it, you simply haven't gone very far into it. Each step nearer to Jesus is a step into more of everything Jesus experiences....if you stay in the fringe, yes it is easier, but it is forever costly...it's outer darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25:29‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
30‘And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
In the end, Jeremiah was fine as others suffered great loss...and then eternity, where Jeremiah is more than fine, and those who harmed him will forever have less than they could have.
The Bible only works this way. Jesus paid the price on the cross for us to go as far as we are willing, but the process hasn't changed. Just before pouring out the pain in His heart, Jeremiah tells us what got him to this place:
Jeremiah 20:7O LORD, You induced me, and I was persuaded;
You are stronger than I, and have prevailed.
I am in derision daily;
Everyone mocks me.
8For when I spoke, I cried out;
I shouted, “Violence and plunder!”
Because the word of the LORD was made to me
A reproach and a derision daily.
9Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name.”
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back,
And I could not.
10For I heard many mocking:
“Fear on every side!”
“Report,” they say, “and we will report it!”
All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying,
“Perhaps he can be induced;
Then we will prevail against him,
And we will take our revenge on him.”
11But the LORD is with me as a mighty, awesome One.
Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail.
They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper.
Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten.
12But, O LORD of hosts,
You who test the righteous,
And see the mind and heart,
Let me see Your vengeance on them;
For I have pleaded my cause before You.
Matthew 5:3“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12“Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15“Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
17“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
Many turn back. THAT road is wide and easy. A few keep going despite the shame and the hurt. THAT Road is narrow and few find it.
That just the basic gospel....it is going to be lived out by every person on the planet for better or for worse, richer or poorer...by the whole world over the next few years. That makes it incredibly intense for one season of human history.
Matthew 7:12“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
13“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
14“Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
16“You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17“Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20“Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
24“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25“and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27“and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Jeremiah chose a hard place to stand...or the Lord invited Him to it...but it turned out to be the only safe place to stand:
Jeremiah 40:2And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him: “The LORD your God has pronounced this doom on this place.
3“Now the LORD has brought it, and has done just as He said. Because you people have sinned against the LORD, and not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon you.
4“And now look, I free you this day from the chains that were on your hand. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, all the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there.”
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