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Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's Word will empower you to live a full, impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in. The book of Jeremiah begins with these words. The words of Jeremiah. The sermons and prophecies of this book are from a man with one of the hardest assignments, the Bible. Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet. The reason for that was he was he held a sadness about the message he had to proclaim, but he also felt grief for his people. And God told Jeremiah as a young man, and we'll see that in just a moment, that he was going to judge Judah, just like Israel to the north had been judged for their gross idolatry and immorality, and that the judgment was so sure that Judah ought to just surrender to the coming Babylonian invasion because God would not help them. You often hear me say, as Scripture says, if God be for me, who can be against me? But the reverse is also true. If God be against you, who can be for you? Know, this sin will at first fascinate you, but give it time, it will eventually assassinate you. And this is what's going on in Judah. The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. So Jeremiah was a son of a priest. He grew up in this town called Anathoth, which will matter a little bit later in our message today, just a couple miles northeast of Jerusalem. So he grew up in the shadow of the capital city as well as the shadow of the temple. He knew the ins and out of worship, the good and the bad. Today, we would call Jeremiah a pastor's kid. And we all know that preacher's kids, their lives come with a lot of pressure. So he dealt with a lot of pressure in his young life. But if God puts you in a family, he will also give you the grace to deal with everything that comes with being in that particular family. So to Jeremiah, or the words of Jeremiah, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the king of Ammon. Now Josiah was the last godly king. Jeremiah's ministry would span about 40 years or so, and it included the reign of this good king, but also several kings that the Bible calls particularly evil. But even Jeremiah's courageous preaching could not stop the nation's spiritual decline. You know, it's not just hearing God's word that you know with your ears that saves. It's welcoming it in our hearts that really brings about change. So you can hear some of the greatest preaching and not be saved. You gotta understand that Jesus preached to multitudes, but There was only 120 in the upper room. So to be reachable is to stay teachable. Skip to verse four. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, now Jeremiah was, as I just said, was raised in a godly, God fearing home, but eventually he had to develop a relationship with God for himself. How many of y' all heard the song, mama may have, papa may have, but God blessed the child that has his own. God has no grandchildren. God wants a relationship with you, not a relationship with you through someone else. And the word of the Lord came specifically to Jeremiah to deal with his insecurities and his concerns and his issues. And God said, listen, Jeremiah, before I formed you in the womb, before you were a twinkle in your daddy's eye, I knew you, Jeremiah, all your quirks, everything about you. You are not a mistake. You are not a cosmic coincidence. You are not just a roll of the biological dice. The language here is not, you know, where he says, I knew you doesn't just speak of foreknowledge, it speaks of choice, approval. So what's amazing is, while I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me. He knew everything about me, but I was still his choice. You know, each of us started the life we're living right now as one tiny sperm racing against 300 million for the prize. But by virtue of the fact you're in this room or listening to me, you must have won. Which means everyone in life starts out as a winner. But here's the little clause. But whether you continue this winning streak depends on your life choices. So Jeremiah had a decision to make. And let's keep listening to this conversation between him and God. He said, before you were born, I sanctified or appointed. You better said, you know, each of us has been given an appointment by God. The question is, will you show up? The greatest tragedy in life is not death. It's living life without purpose. A writer said, the two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you learned why. Every minute you spent wishing you had someone else's life is a minute you spend wasting your own. And when you discover the purpose of your life, you no longer need to waste time arguing with others who have not found their own. So God said to Jeremiah, you know, he knows that Jeremiah has some qualms and some concerns, but he's like, listen, I ordained you. Was it a college of bishops? It was it some individual somewhere? I When it comes to ordination, all a church can do is recognize it. We can't create it. I ordained you. Now, God in his wisdom, ordains all of us in some way. Some of us are ordained to be kings. Others are ordained to be priests. Some are ordained to be school teachers. Others are ordained to be business people. Others are ordained to be great homemakers. But watch what God said. But I ordain you a prophet to the nations. These verses capture some of my big problems in my 20s and 30s. I spent much of my 20s and 30s second guessing God. I was like, lord, I could have been this. Lord. I could have done that. Got out. Of all the people on the planet, why would you single me out to be a minister, Something I knew nothing about. Lord, if I could pick someone to preach your word, it would be everybody else but me. But I think it was Plato that said, the best thieves. Thank you. Make the best guards. Because a thief knows all the angles. And if he becomes the guard, he knows where to look and where to protect. I was a pretty good sinner. So somehow, in God's wisdom, he said, listen, I'm calling you to shepherd the flock because you're going to be able to spot it when you see it. So what I thought would disqualify me actually qualified me to stand before you today. I wasted about 20 years of my life second guessing the perfect, all wise and knowing God in Isaiah 45, 9 says this about that. Woe to him who quarrels with his maker. Does the clay say to the pot or what are you making? Where are the handles? You know what you doing? Take it from me, whoever argues with God never, ever wins. Then said I, well, Lord, yeah, I heard. Ordained. Okay. Sanctified. Those are big words, Lord. Wait a minute. You're talking to the right guy. I said, oh, Lord. God, God, I know you're wise and everything, but you know I didn't make the debate team in high school. Behold. I can't speak, Lord, for I'm but a youth. And we all have our excuse. Excuses. But people who are good at making excuses are seldom good for anything else. It was the great evangelist Leonard Ravenhill who said, the opportunity of a lifetime only lasts for the lifetime of the opportunity. And people wonder why I'm so appreciative about where I am in life and what God has done for me. It's just that I know how close I came to missing my train. I'm standing here by the skin of my teeth. But if it had not been for the Lord on My side. If he hadn't kept speaking to me and prodding me, sometimes even threatening me, I wouldn't be where I am today. So Jeremiah is like, lord, I can't speak but watch the Lord. But the Lord said to me, stop telling me what you can't do. Stop telling me what you don't think it's time for or you're ready for. Stop telling me why I should choose somebody else to do the thing that I called you to do. Because if you keep pressing the issue, I just might never take God's patience for weakness. You see, I don't know exactly how far I can go with God sometimes. I don't know exactly how far too far is. But the book of Jeremiah was written to remind us at some point you can push a little bit too far. Because God brought them into the promised land and they complained all the way in, by the way. Then he had to let that generation die. And then he raised up a new generation. And then he raised up. Actually they wanted a king prematurely, but then David came and raised up some good kings. But then after that, you know, the kingdom split and then the kingdom at different points would go into idolatry and immorality. And then God would raise up a priest or raise up a prophet, raise up a king, a godly king. And then the nation would come back to him and then the whole cycle would repeat again. They go into sin and immorality, et cetera. And then each time though, they go deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper to. Finally God said, that's enough. The Babylonians are going to come and you're going to discover what it's like when I'm not your help. You're going to discover what it's like when I'm not protecting you. You act like you don't need me. Let's find out what it's like not to have me. But the Lord said to me, God's patience is amazing. He will keep pressing and keep pressing the issue until we understand. Do not say I am a youth for you shall. This is why, you know, parents be careful about trying to be your kids friends. That happens in time, you know. You know, as they mature. Eventually you can have a friendship. But sometimes what your child needs, particularly in those early years, they need a parent, okay? Now that they got their friends at school, they got some uncles and you know, maybe grandpa and them and grandma and them, but they need a parent. So the parent speaks and says, don't say I'm you. Listen boy, you shall go to all whom I send you. So God here pulls rank on Jeremiah. He was like, jeremiah, has there been a job opening in the Trinity that I didn't know anything about? Jeremiah, I'm not asking you, telling you, for you shall go to all to whom I send you. And on top of that, not only will you go, you're going to say whatever I tell you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. You see, if God is really God and he's speaking to you, some things in your life are really no longer a choice. Sure, we're free to choose. Free will is for real. We are free to choose our actions, but we are not free to choose the consequences of those actions. Yeah, all six of you said, hallelujah and amen. And then he starts reading Jeremiah's mail. Because the real thing Jeremiah was concerned about was not his ability to speak. He was afraid of the people he'd have to speak to. He said, do not. And God wouldn't speak to it if it wasn't true. Do not be afraid of their faces. And if you're going to truly live for God, one of the first things you must get over is the fear of people, the fear of man. Someone said that the fear of God makes a hero, but the fear of man makes all of us cowards. He said, do not fear their faces because I am with you. And if you're right with God, it doesn't matter who's against you. Do the right thing, and eventually most people will come around. But watch what he said. I don't like this part. For I am with you to deliver you. That implies following God was going to get him in trouble. This may surprise you, but following God at times will get you into conflict, trouble, and trials. I know that's not what you want to hear, but that's what the book teaches. He said, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. So those of us that have read the book of Jeremiah, we just went through it in our annual Bible reading. We know that soon Jeremiah would be beaten and placed in stocks. His friends would ridicule him. His own family would try to harm him. They dropped him into a wet and muddy cistern. We don't really know for how long, whether it was hours or days or months. People accused him of lying. They threatened him to shut up, or they're going to put a death sentence on top of him. But I want you to watch the divine promise, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. And what God is saying is, Jeremiah, it's not what I get you into, but it's what I get you out of that becomes your testimony. And if you want a testimony, you got to go through some things. There has to be a Red Sea in front of you. You hear what I'm saying? And Pharaoh's army behind you. If you want a testimony, you gotta, you know, just preach the word and then get in front of a religious Sanhedrin. And then they beat you, but then God delivers you out of prison. You gotta go through some things to come up with a testimony that's trustworthy. I don't want to hear from somebody whose life has already always been perfect how wonderful God has been in their life. I can't relate to you. I need some folks that have been jacked up, messed up, in trouble. You hear what I'm saying? I need to hear from them folks how God can turn it around. Because I need that type of God in my life. For I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. You know, it was Joseph's dream. It was a godly dream. It was a heavenly dream. God gave him the dream, but that dream caused him to be sold into slavery by his brothers. All Daniel did was pray. He prayed. But the king said, don't pray. Just like sometimes I go place. They say, you can pray, but just don't use the name. I think you're talking to the wrong pastor. I think there's no other name on heaven and earth whereby men must be. But prayer caused Daniel to be put in a lion's den. Devotion caused the three Hebrew boys to be put into the fire. And Jesus, admitting that he was the son of God, coming on the clouds, caused him to be crucified. But it doesn't stop there. All of those things happen. But when you read the text, it says, for I am with you and I will what? Deliver you. After Joseph was sold into slavery, went into prison, he was called out of the prison and became the prince of Egypt. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, yeah, they faced fire and lions, but right after they were promoted, Jesus went through a cross. But on the third day, on the third day with God, the comeback is always greater than the setback. And the further the devil tries to pull you back, the more God will use that to launch you forward. And if you understand that about life, you stop crying and complaining when you're dealing with a setback, because you know it's a setup for God to do something great in your life. But Jeremiah is like, you and I, we Don't like this. And he began to complain from his heart to the lord. And Jeremiah 12:1 picks it up. And Jeremiah, you know, he's raised in a good religious family. He knows how to talk to God. So he starts off pretty good. He says, righteous are you, O Lord, when I plead with you yet? Or. But that's like when someone says, you know what? You're really good at this. But. But let me talk with you about your judgments. God, I believe you're good in everything. But there's just some things I don't quite understand. There's some things that just don't make sense to me about how you do things. So, Lord, may I ask you the question? Why does the way of the wicked prosperity, God, you're good, you're righteous. But I don't see any justice in my life or in this world, Lord, is it that you lack the will because I know you have the power? How is it that the wicked keep troubling? How is. How is it that rumors could be started about me and they could whip me and beat me and lie? How is it that you let the sun rise and set on some of these jokers day in and day out? Then, Lord, why are those happy who deal so treacherously, Lord? How could you let them sleep at night, Lord, if you can't flash some lightning, at least some boils, maybe some fog, some lice, turn the water into blood. Do something, Lord. And then he really leans in and he says, really, this is all your fault, God. You have planted them. Yes, they've taken rate, but you have planted them. They grow, yes, and they bear food, God, where is your justice? And then he said, you know what makes it worse, Lord? They all attend church. That's what he's about to say. That's what he's about to say. He said, you are near in their mouth. So they talking all the church ease and everything, but far from their minds. These people sang in the choir. These people even had titles. And what Jeremiah was saying, the reason they're as bad as they are, Lord, is because you're so tolerant. And then he goes on for three more verses just like that. But because of time, the cause of his pain was revealed. The prior chapter in Jeremiah 11:21. Hopefully that will show on the screen in just a second, because people from his hometown tried to kill him, his kin, his family, his cousins. You know, in life we don't really lose our homies. Time just teaches us who the real ones are. So the Lord answered Jeremiah. He said, jeremiah, if you run with the footmen. But before we, you know, people start criticizing Jeremiah here. But at least he was running. God can't coach you up to win unless you first get in the race. But he started running. But the problem with church folk and his brethren, it started getting under his skin. He said, if you run with the footmen and they have wearied you, if you're worn out from God using you locally, how can he use you reasonably? If you're worn out from God using you reasonably, how's he going to use you nationally? If you're worn out from God trying to use you naturally, how's he going to use you to reach the world? If there is a Goliath in front of you, it's only because God sees a David on the inside of you. And you got to know that's true. He said, jeremiah, if you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you, Jeremiah, I need you to stop complaining about this particular problem because problems with footmen are precursors to you running with horses. Your current problems are preparing you for your next set of problems. And if you tap out with this problem, how you gonna deal with the real problems? I want you to face and win and give testimony about. Stay with me. If you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you, again, footmen problems are precursors to you running with horses. And if only you knew where God wants to take you, you'd stop complaining about that problem you're facing. If you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you, then how, Jeremiah, can you contend with horses? One of the first things I want to say to you even before we get into this is obviously, God expected him to run with horses. How many of you know humans can't run with horses? God expected him to do the impossible. God expects you to do the supernatural. He expects you to do things you cannot do. You look in the mirror, look at your abilities. God says, look at me. Peter was walking on the water. He did a good job as long as his eyes were on Jesus. But as soon as he got off Jesus, that's when he began to sink. God didn't call Jeremiah because Jeremiah had power in himself to do it. He called Jeremiah because God wanted to give Jeremiah the power to get done. The things that need to get done. The things in your life are difficult, but God's called you to run with horses. And the footman are just preparation for the next level. He said, how then can you contend with horses? Horses are strong now. You know, people are strong, but not like a horse. Horses are fast. Horses can run for long distances. Matter of fact, horses have an elegance about them that makes high speeds look easy. How many of y' all know some sinners that just make sinning look easy? Well, just like they make some of that sin look so good, so easy, God wants to help you make righteousness look so good and so easy, so attractive, so winsome, so compelling. A horse can run in an all out sprint for two or three miles without tiring. A horse can rest while standing. A horse can operate in the heat and the cold war or peace, good times or bad times. What God was trying to say to Jeremiah was, today's problem is simply preparation for tomorrow's promotion. So what God is trying to tell those of us that are running with footmen, you need to look in the mirror, say, I'm not quitting, I'm not crying, I'm not walking away. I'm gonna keep on running, I'm gonna keep on trucking, I'm gonna keep on moving. Because as hard and exhausting as this race may be, when the power of God kicks in, there's gonna be strength and speed and stamina like you never imagined. But what I find in my life, again, I don't like this scripture says when I'm weak, that's when he's strong. So often what God does is he lets me get to the end of my rope right when I'm Lord, I don't think I could take it a second longer. And finally when I admit, see, one of my problems was I thought I was strong. And I'm like, lord, I'm strong. I was raised to be a proud man and I was raised to handle my business and my affairs. It's not easy to just cast it on somebody. As a matter of fact, that seems irresponsible to cast this care on you, God. So. So I'm going to handle this. I'm going to figure it out. I'm going to work it out. So God's like, oh, you just keep working it out. You just keep figuring it out. And then finally when I get to the end of myself, I'm like, lord, I can't do. God's like, finally, finally, when you realize not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord, are you ready for God to step in? And sometime that holding on is God humbling us, trying to show us all we is, not because we think we be more than we is. I said it that way so you couldn't miss it. Then he continues, and I'm just about there. And if in the land of peace in which you trusted, and basically he was saying people from your hometown trying to kill you in Anathoth, I'm calling that peace compared to what you're about to fight. The reason in times of war, you know, basic training is so difficult. Now listen, I'm not a soldier, but I watch the movies. So difficult. It's because they're trying to prepare you for war. Your sergeant doesn't hate you, he's trying to help you. That's why he's so mean. If he's nice, he's doing you a disservice. Pay attention to what I'm saying. If you weren't going through what you were going through, God would be doing you a disservice. He knows what's on the other side. And right now what you're facing is preparation for promotion. And if in a land of peace in which you trusted, they wearied you, you know, the problems you face with $100,000 budget are just magnified when it becomes a $10 million budget. More people, more problems, more money, more monsters show up to try to take it. And if in the land of peace in which you trusted, they wearyed you, watch this. Then how will you do? In the floodplain of the Jordan, there were lions in the tall bushes or the tall brush of the flood plain at the Jordan. And when the Jordan would overflow, they would be displaced and they would become more frightened and more deadly. Frightened animals are fierce. And what he was saying to Jeremiah is the footman problems in your life are there to prepare you for your horseman problems. And then your horseman problems are there to prepare you for your lions. The problem is you have such a small vision for yourself, you don't think you're going to ever need all this preparation. But God has a big vision for your life and he knows exactly what you need to get through what you need to get through in order to get on to glory. Your problems are not God trying to punish you. He's simply preparing you trust his plan over your pain. I hope you got something out of that message. Thank you for joining us. Until next time, remember you have what it takes in Christ to live big. We also invite you to partner with Derek Greer Ministries in bringing the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started by visiting Derek rear.com by clicking the link in the description.