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The Bible Breakdown
Jeremiah 12: You Are Stronger Than You Realize
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The More We Dig. The More We Find.
Well, everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, jeremiah, chapter 12, and today's title is you Are Stronger Than you Realize. You are stronger than you realize. I don't know about you, but many times, because of life and the things we go through and the troubles that we face, we tend to sometimes think that the things that we've gone through actually disqualify us. But actually, if we look in the Bible, we look in the lives of other people. It's actually the biggest weaknesses, the biggest challenges, the broken places that God has healed. Those are the things that actually qualify us to do all the things that God has called us to do. And it's actually those things that, if we will allow God to use them, can actually be the strengthening mechanisms in our life. And we're going to see that in the life of Jeremiah and we're going to see that in why God really speaks into his life, and maybe God will speak to us as well. But before we do that, as always, while you're getting your Bibles open and getting them ready to get into Jeremiah, chapter 12, I want to make sure to remind everybody, to be sure that you are liking, sharing and subscribing to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Especially the podcast, because that is the number one way that people now from literally all over the world are joining us and reading the Bible, and it's just wonderful to see that we are able to reinvest the power of God's word by reading it together. So, make sure, podcast YouTube and go into the Bible Breakdown Discussion. There's some amazing people going through God's Word with us every day and, as always, the more we dig, the more we find. Well, as we are continuing to experiment and I just wanna go ahead and warn you, we are going to continue to experiment with the idea of using watching the Bible or looking at the Bible together as we are going through God's word.
Speaker 1:I love this idea of Jeremiah, chapter 12, because there is this focus that God is continually in this conversation with Jeremiah. So he is sharing with Jeremiah that. You know. There's this judgment that's coming on the nation of Israel. However, god still wants them to repent because he's always wanting a way back for us and, at the same time I don't know if you started to notice this, but there is this interesting conversation that God is constantly having with Jeremiah.
Speaker 1:Jeremiah is under great scrutiny. Jeremiah is dealing with a lot of issues, and there's a lot of these things where Jeremiah appears to constantly be doubting himself Can I do this? Do I even want to do this? Am I qualified to do this? And God is constantly encouraging Jeremiah while at the same time, encouraging him to move forward, and I don't know if you've ever been like that in your life. And so we're going to read this together today and see what God's Word will say to us as he speaks to the hurt and the pain Jeremiah is dealing with, because Jeremiah is going to question God is this really the right road? Are you doing what is best for us? And that's why I love the overall theme of Jeremiah is hope and light in the middle of dark places. So let's read this together.
Speaker 1:Jeremiah 12, verse 1 says this Lord, you always give me justice, and when I bring you a case, let me bring you this complaint why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil people so happy? You have planted them and they have taken root and prospered. Your name is on their lips, but you are far from their hearts. But as for me, lord, you know my heart. You see me and test my thoughts. Drag these people away like sheep to be butchered. Set them aside to be slaughtered. How long must this land mourn, even the grass of the fields? And then the Lord replies and he says mere men make you tired. How will you race against horses If you stumble and fall on open ground? What will you do in the thickets near Jordan? Even your brothers, members of your own family, have turned against you. They plotted to raise complaints against you. But don't trust them, no matter how pleasantly they speak.
Speaker 1:I have abandoned my people, my special possession. I have surrounded my desert ones to their enemy, or I've surrendered my desert ones to their enemies. My chosen people have roared at me like lions of the forest, so I have treated them with contempt. My chosen people act like speckled vultures, but they themselves are surrounded by vultures. Bring on the wild animals to pick their corpses clean. That sounds disgusting.
Speaker 1:Many rulers have ravaged my vineyard, trampling down their vines and turning all its beauty into barren wilderness. They have made it an empty wasteland. My heart is. I hear its mournful cry. The whole land is desolate and no one even cares. The bare hilltops are destroying. On the bare hilltops, destroying armies can be seen. The sword of the Lord devours people from one end of the nation to the other. No one will escape. My people have planted wheat but are harvesting thorns. They have worn themselves out but it's done them no good. They will harvest a crop of shame because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
Speaker 1:But here is the message for Israel's neighbors Now, this is what the Lord says I will uproot them from their land and all the evil nations reaching out for the possessions I gave the people of Israel. I will uproot Judah from among them, but afterward I will return and have compassion on all of them. I will bring them home to their lands again. Each nation to its own possession. And if these nations truly learn the ways of my people and they learn to swear by my name, saying as surely as the Lord lives, just as they taught my people to swear by the name of Baal, then they will be given a place among my people.
Speaker 1:So you notice what's going on. Jeremiah is getting so upset and he's saying God, is this really the right way? It sure looks like you're letting bad people get ahead and good people suffer, and he's really struggling. And there's this weakness that he's going through where he's kind of saying you know, am I up for this challenge? Because I don't understand your ways. I don't exactly understand what you're doing. And God is saying wait a minute. Do you not realize that what I have for you is so much greater? If you're struggling now, how do you think you're going to do when I get you? You know, like, if you're struggling to run with the men, how are you going to run with the horses? In other words, I've got so much more planned for you.
Speaker 1:What you think right now, you speaking for me, is what is disqualifying you. It's actually qualifying you for what I want to do next. And he's saying don't worry about right now. Bigger and better things lie ahead. You just trust me, I know what I'm doing and I want to kind of share that with us as we get ready to end our time together. Give you something to really think about, and that is what is it in your life that God wants to redeem? Maybe you're going through a season where you're doubting your faith. You're struggling, god, I just am not close to you like I want to be. Well, maybe God wants to redeem that to get you closer to him.
Speaker 1:Can I tell you in my own life one of the things that happened to me that turned out to be. One of the greatest things is I went through a significant season of doubt several years ago. I was just doubting everything when it came to my walk with God because I'd never truly dug down and dug deep to know what I truly believed. I just believed what I'd always been told, and believed what my parents had taught me and believe what I learned from other people, but I'd never studied God's word for myself and I was ashamed of that. But what God did is he used that to cause me to dig deeper. So now I know what I believe, based on what I have studied Encounters with God that I have had, and now I stand on my own two feet, confident in what I believe. But it was those weaknesses that God turned into strengths. And I wonder if, for you, is there something that you think of right now as a weakness that God wants to turn into a strength. Let me give you an example.
Speaker 1:What if, right now, the reason why you're struggling in your relationship with God is because God is calling you deeper? He is allowing a dissatisfaction with your relationship with God to call you into a deeper place with him, to give you this holy discontent so that you go further. What if the reason why you're frustrated with the way things are going on with your family is because God wants to use you as the catalyst to say, hey, it's time for us to start seeking God together. It's time for us to take a step forward in holiness? What if you are discontent with, maybe, your situation at church? Maybe you go to a church right now and you're just frustrated. You're frustrated with the way things are going, you're frustrated with this, you're frustrated with that. Well, maybe that's not God saying it's time for you to go skip to another church. Maybe it's time for you to start interceding for your leaders. Maybe it's time for you to say I'm going to be part of the change agent and what I mean by that is not that you're going to start some coup and do something like that but in other words, you say you know what. I'm going to go first and I'm going to serve and I'm going to make a difference.
Speaker 1:What if what is going on in your life right now that's challenging is actually God using it to call you higher? And you could do that with a thousand different things. So it's all about perspective. And that's what God was telling Jeremiah is he's saying oh man, I got so much bigger and better plans. I need you to twist and turn around and look at this. And then he finishes it with saying, by the way, all you nations, yes, I am bringing judgment upon the nation of Judah, but I'm not going to forget Judah and in the end I'm going to judge you just the same. So don't look at them bad, because I'm still for them and I'm still with them. And so when I ask you, what do you need to get a different view on in your life? Maybe God wants to use it to do something better than you can imagine.
Speaker 1:Let's pray right now, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you have a way of using even the weak points in our life to bring about your glory. I pray you will open our eyes to have a fresh perspective of what you're doing. In Jesus name, we pray Amen. And God's word says and don't forget. Jeremiah 29, 13 says if you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. It's my hope that you will find God in everything you do every day. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Jeremiah, chapter 13.
