Spokesman For God ~ Kay Arthur

Jeremiah, Part 1 (Return To Me)
Program 30 – Spokesman For God

Do you realize, Beloved that the way you live is sending a message to the world in which you are living? The question is, what is the message? Are you a true, genuine spokesman for God? Is God pleased to have you on His team because the message that you are sending, it reflects Him and who He is, His righteousness, His holiness, His justice? I want to talk to you today about extracting the worthless from the precious.

Our subject this week has been taken from Jeremiah chapter 12, verse 5 when God speaks to Jeremiah. Because Jeremiah has become weary, and He’s saying, [Listen if you become weary when you’re running with the footmen in the land of peace. How are you going to compete with horses in the thicket of the Jordan?] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 12:5)

In other words, it is getting to Jeremiah, his living righteously, his being a spokesman for God is wearying him out. His family is come against, the people in Anathoth, his hometown, wants to put him to death. He’s given this message over and over and over again all day long to people that will not listen. He’s competing with the false prophets that are saying, [“Peace, peace.” And there is not going to be peace.] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 6:14) He’s telling them that sword is coming, that famine is coming, that pestilence is coming. It’s not a nice message and the false prophets are saying, “Oh no, sword is not coming, famine is not coming, pestilence is not coming we’re going to have everlasting peace.”

And the people have swung over to the side of the false prophets, and Jeremiah is about to break, he’s about had it because he knows what’s coming, he knows the Word of God. He’s heard the Word of God, but he is absolutely weary. As a matter of fact, he’s depressed. We’ll see it as we look at chapter 15 as he tells them that sword and famine and pestilence is coming. It says, ―Then the LORD said to me…,‖ verse 1, ―‗…Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people….‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:1)

Now listen, remember when Moses interceded for the people because God was going to kill them? And so God didn’t kill them because Moses interceded. Do you remember that? (See Exodus 32:9-14) Do you remember how Samuel interceded for the people when they wanted a king? And all of these things were happening and Samuel steps in and he intercedes for the people, and God hears Samuel. (See 1 Samuel 8:19-22) But God is saying, ah, ah “If they would show up again I would send them away from My presence.” ―‗And it shall be…when they say to you…,‖ I’m going to send these people away, ―‗…[and when they say to you] ―Where should we go?‖ then you…tell them, ―Thus says the LORD: ‗Those destined for death, to death…those destined for the sword, to the sword…those destined for famine, to famine...those destined for captivity, to captivity.‘‖‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:2) Go to death, go to the sword, go to famine, go to pestilence, go to captivity, go! He says, ―‗I will appoint over them [as they go] four kinds of doom,‘ declares the LORD: ‗the sword to slay, the dogs to drag off, [the body to drag off]…the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and [to] destroy.‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:3) “That’s what’s going to happen because they would not listen to Me because they were stubborn in their hearts, because they want after idols.” He said, ―‗I will make them…,‘‖ verse 4, ―‗…an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth….‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:4)

Why is He going to do it? Listen, very carefully, ―‗…because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:4) And if you want to see what he did in Jerusalem then you go back to 1 Kings chapter 21. And when you go back to 1 Kings chapter 21 and you read about Manasseh he rebuilds the high-places that his father who was a godly king tore down. He builds altars in the house of the Lord. (See 2 Kings 21:3-4) ―…he built altars for all the host of heaven [the two courts] in the two courts of the house of the LORD. He made his son pass through the fire…,‖ he gave his son to false gods, ―…[he] practiced witchcraft…[he] used divination…[he] dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD… he set the carved image of the Asherah…in the house of…the LORD [in Jerusalem where God said] ‗…I will put My name forever.‘‖ (2 Kings 21:5-7) He seduced the people, verse 9, ―…To do [more evil] than the nations [which] the LORD [had] destroyed before the sons of Israel.‖ (2 Kings 21:9) He shed much innocent blood, verse 16, ―…Until he…filled Jerusalem from…end to [the other]; besides his sin with which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD.‖ (2 Kings 21:16)

God’s hand has been stayed. They’ve had a time of peace under Josiah who is the grandson of Manasseh. Manasseh reigns 55 years. Manasseh has a prophet at the beginning of his ministry. His name is Isaiah. Tradition tells us that he had Isaiah sawn in two. Then there is silence from God. And then near the end of Manasseh’s time, Nahum the prophet appears on scene. Manasseh dies, his son Amon takes over. He does evil. He reigns two years, and then Josiah comes. When Josiah comes God stays His hand of judgment, all of this is review. But when Josiah dies, the judgment comes. He says, ―‗Indeed…,‘‖ he says, ―‗…who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem…who will mourn for you…who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:5) Nobody is going to care about you Jews. Nobody is going to care about you people for, ―‗You…have forsaken Me,‘ [says] the LORD, ‗You keep going backwards….‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:6) You just keep backing up from Me. [I made you to cling to Me. You’re worthless because you will not cling ―‗…So I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I…,‘‖ God says, ―‗…[I] am tired of relenting! I will winnow them with [the] winnowing fork at the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people; [because] they did not repent of their ways.‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:6-7)

In other words, I am going to take them at the gates where I’ve laid siege and I am going to winnow them. The chaff is going to blow away. You are not going to be able to find it. And then He says, ―‗Their widows will be more numerous before Me than the sands of the seas; I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man, a destroyer at noonday; I will suddenly bring…her [day] anguish and dismay. She who [has] bore seven sons pines away; her breathing is labored. Her sun has set while it [is] yet day; she has been shamed and humiliated. So I will give over their survivors to the sword before their enemies,‘ declares the LORD.‖ (Jeremiah 15:8-9)

And as God talks about this woman with seven sons, Jeremiah says, ―Woe to me, my mother that you have borne me as a man of strife and…of contention to all the land…!‖ (Jeremiah 15:10) All I’ve done is be a man of strife. All I have done is stepped in and talked about judgment. All I have done is warned them. I have sat alone. I have endured all sorts of things. I’m sorry, you bore me. ―…I have not lent, nor have…lent money to me, yet everyone curses me.‖ (Jeremiah 15:10) I am a curse. I am a proverb. I am a byword. He says, “Surely.” And ―…The LORD said, ‗Surely I will set you free for purposes of good….‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:11) I know what you’re going through right now. He is saying, [Don’t grow weary running with the footmen. The horses have come. I want you to compete with the horses.] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 12:5) He says, ―‗…Surely I will cause the enemy to make supplication to you in a time of disaster and [in] a time of distress.‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:11)

It’s not over. It’s not finished. The enemy is going to come to you. The enemy is going to get down on their knees, and they’re going to beg you. In a time of distress, I’m going to preserve you. He says, ―‗Can anyone smash iron, iron from the north, or bronze? Your wealth and your treasures I will give [without] booty [with] cost even…all your sins and within all your borders.‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:12-13)

What has happened to the economy of the United States? One of the things that staggers people is how suddenly it happened. How surprising it was. How all of a sudden banks were failing, businesses were closing, people were losing their homes, they were losing their jobs one on top of another after another: I’m going to destroy you economically, and ―‗Then I will cause your enemies to bring it into a land that you do not know…,‘‖ I’m going to take you into captivity. ―‗…for a fire has been kindled in My anger, [and] it will burn upon you.‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:14) And what does he say? ―You…know, O LORD, remember me, take notice of me, …take vengeance for me on my persecutors. Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away….‖ (Jeremiah 15:15) Don’t kill me, Lord. Don’t kill me, Lord. ―…Know that for Your sake I [am enduring] reproach. Your words were found…I ate them…[they] became for me a joy and [a] delight of my heart…I have been called by Your name….‖ (Jeremiah 15:15-16) God, remember me. Is that the cry of your heart? We’ll talk about it more in just a minute.

Jeremiah is having a hard time, and maybe you are too, Beloved. He’s weary. He’s tired. He is thinking that God has been to him a deceptive stream. Listen to what he says, ―I did not sit in the circle of merrymakers, nor did I exult. Because…Your hand [was] upon me I sat alone, for You filled me with indignation.‖ (Jeremiah 15:17) God, I was so indignant at their sin. I couldn’t sit with those people. I went over here, and instead with this indignation of my heart. I sat alone. He says, ―Why has my pain been perpetual and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream with water that is unreliable?‖ (Jeremiah 15:18) I can’t trust you, God. I just can’t trust you. Wait a minute, Jeremiah. Weren’t you the one who spoke for God and said [that God was a fountain of living waters?] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 2:13) And now you think He is a wadi? A wadi that has water one minute and then is dry the next, a “deceptive stream.” You go to get water in the wadi, and it’s dried up. Is that what God is? Jeremiah is really in the pits, and you may be in the pits also. You may say, ―[Look] Your words were found and I ate them, [they were the] joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Your name….‖ (Jeremiah 15:16) I’ve been in your Word. And now it feels like your Word is gone and I can’t get a hold of it. I understand. I understand because sometimes the greatest problem I have when I go to speak is “God, what is your message?” And after all these years I think, “I don’t know what Your message is. I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. I don’t know what I’m supposed to teach.” And I’m flat on my face before God, and I almost think “God, is it worth the agony of all of this to go and to be your spokesman? I could retire. I could give up.”

And see, God has given me a gift that has a prophetic tone. By prophetic, I don’t mean woo woo stuff. I mean that God burdens your heart. He gives you a message for that time and that people. And it’s not always easy. And you walk out into the audience, and I was just at a Christian school. And I see some of them, and they don’t even have a Bible there. And here I am pouring out my heart. I’ve got a message from God. And I’m standing there and I’m thinking, “God help me.” And in a sense it wears you out. And then all of sudden, you see God helping you. You see God telling you what to say, or how you approach them. And all of a sudden, you’ve shared something. You’ve stopped and you’ve given a word, a personal testimony, and all of a sudden you’ve got them again. You want to say, “What are you doing at a Christian school and you don’t even have a Bible with you? What are you doing when someone is here expounding the Word of God, and you’re talking to that girl, or that girl’s talking to that guy? What are you doing here?”

So you go home, I went home after that time, and I was excited, and I was exhilarated because God came through. But I will tell you what happened before that, I was on my face before God. I was doing this study, God had shown me pride. He talks about “the pride of Judah.” I want to be a woman of God, that doesn’t grow weary running with the footmen in the land of peace. I know what’s coming on this nation. So I was on my face. I was sick. People were praying for me, and I thought, “God, are you going to kill me?” Because I had upper respiratory infections, and now I just was vomiting, and a temperature. And that’s not like me, and chilling. And I’m not this kind of person, but I thought, “Are you getting ready? All of a sudden, like you just took this person out. Like you just took that person out, all of a sudden they just dropped dead.’” And I thought, “God, are you taking me out?” And someone had sent me an e-mail, and I read the e-mail. I haven’t heard from this woman in a long time, and she said, “God just told me I was to write and share my experience with you. And she closed with Jeremiah 29:11, ―‗…I know the plans that I have for you [not plans of evil, but plans of good] to give you a future and [to give you] a hope.‘‖ (Jeremiah 29:11) And I knew He wasn’t going to take me out. And it wasn’t that I minded going out, it’s just that I’m not all I should be. God has a lot of refining to do. And, my goodness, I’m 75. I don’t have much time. But whatever that time is, mother lived to be 96. Grandma lived to be a 100. My father died at 68. How much time I have, I don’t know, but I know that I want to be what God wants me to be. I know to be that I have to listen to His words to Jeremiah, ―Therefore, thus says the LORD, ‗If you return…I will restore you—before Me you will stand; and if you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, but as for you, you must not turn to them.‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:19) You cannot compromise. You hold fast. You hold straight. You are My representative. You have stepped into the world, and you are not to change for the world. You are not to alter for the world. The world is not to squeeze you into its mold. He says, ―‗…As for you, you must not turn to them. Then I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; and though they fight against you, [and they will] they will not prevail over you; for I am with you to save you and deliver you,‘ [says] the LORD. ‗So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked…I will redeem you…,‘‖ I’ll snatch you out, ―‗…from the grasp of the violent.‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:19-21) He says, “If you’ll return.”

You and I need to know that if we’re going to be His man, His woman, if the message that we want to give is very clear then we can’t wallow in self-pity. We can’t faint in the days in the land of peace. We’ve got to be able to compete with the horses. Whatever you’re going through that is hard, that is difficult, that seems severe, that maybe has made you alone or maybe has cost you a lot is part of God’s training. He has something even greater for you. But you have to return to Him, and He’ll restore you. He’ll bring you out of this, and you’ll be able to compete with the horses. Just cling to Him.

I want to wrap-it up today by going back to Jeremiah’s words. ―Your words were found and I ate them…Your words became [to] me a joy and the delight of my heart….‖ (Jeremiah 15:16) Do you realize that every spokesman of God comes face to face with the Word of God? And when they come face to face with the Word of God, they are confronted with the idea that people are not going to listen. But they’re still to give forth the Word. Be God’s spokesman, Precious One. Be His spokesman. Give them the Word. Let His words be found. Eat them, and share them. Sweet or bitter they’re God’s words.