02 keep.light.bright

Session # 2: A Challenge

Keeping the Light Bright

Session # 2: A Challenge

Keeping the Light Bright

Jeremiah 12:5Jeremiah 12:5

“Lights that Cannot be Hidden”

How do we keep our lights burning bright?

How do we keep our lights burning bright without giving up?

How do we keep our lights burning bright without giving up and finish our courses?

Run with the HorsesRun with the Horses

Jeremiah 12:5Jeremiah 12:5

Lessons from Jeremiah

Jeremiah 12: 5Jeremiah 12: 5

“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” (NIV)

Jeremiah in the Line of ProphetsJeremiah in the Line of Prophets

Obadiah - Edom

Jonah - Compassion

Amos - Injustice

Hosea - Loyal

Isaiah - Restoration

Micah - Exploitation

Nahum - Nineveh

Habakkuk - Faith

Zephaniah - Day

Joel - Locusts

Jeremiah – Inevitable Lamentations

Daniel, Ezekiel (Exile)

adapted Dr Rick Griffith, Singapore Bible College

Ample Warning For JudahAmple Warning For Judah735-710 BC Micah: Judah will suffer exile for exploitation of poor

c.630 BC Zephaniah: Day of the Lord is coming - Repent! 4 decades before Jerusalem’s fall

607-5 BC Habakkuk: Judah will be disciplined by Babylon

590 BC Joel: Judgment by locusts should cause repentance before Babylon’s invasion

627-580 BC Jeremiah: Judgment is inevitable. 70 years captivity!


MAJOR EVENTS DURING JEREMIAH’ TIMES (BC)

686 Manasseh becomes sole king; Josiah born642 Amon succeeds Manasseh as king640 Josiah becomes king633 Josiah at 16 seeks after God628 Josiah at 20 begins reforms627 Jeremiah at 20 called as prophet621 Mosaic Law found in the temple612 Nineveh destroyed as Nahum prophesied609 Josiah slain in battle at Megiddo;

Jehoiakim becomes king

586 Zedekiah flees July 18; destruction of Jerusalem begins August 14

JEHOVAH times

Keeping you up to date since the Garden of Eden - Since creation-

Rembrandt’s Jeremiah

Michelangelo's Jeremiah on Sistine Chapel

Josiah (Judah’s last Godly king)

Jehoiakim (ungodly, scripture burning king)Jehoiachin (a ninety-day wonder judged by God)Zedekiah (Judah’s last king)Nebuchanezzar (Babylon conqueror)Gedaliah (Babylonian appointed governor of occupied Jerusalem)Johanan (successor of Gediah who was assassinated)

Kings during Jeremiah’s Times

Kings during Jeremiah’s Times

Jeremiah 12:5

King Josiah’s ReformsKing Josiah’s Reforms

Jeremiah 11:6

2 Chronicles 34The covenant (Deut.28) is broken

Structure is Logical not ChronologicalStructure is Logical not Chronological


JER 11:18 Because the LORD revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. 19 I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying,

"Let us destroy the tree and its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more."

JER 11:20 But, O LORD Almighty, you who judge righteously and test the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.

JER 11:21 "Therefore this is what the LORD says about the men of Anathoth who are seeking your life and saying, `Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD or you will die by our hands'-- 22 therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says: `I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. 23 Not even a remnant will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.' "

JER 12:1 You are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?

JER 12:2 You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.

JER 12:3 Yet you know me, O LORD; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter!

JER 12:4 How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, "He will not see what happens to us."

JER 12:5 "If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?

The LORD

JER 12:6 Your brothers, your own family-- even they have betrayed you; they have raised a loud cry against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you.

JER 12:7 "I will forsake my house, abandon my inheritance; I will give the one I love into the hands of her enemies.

JER 12:8 My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest. She roars at me; therefore I hate her.

The LORD

Problems Opposition

The plot on Jeremiah’s life (11:18-20)

The refusal of the people to listen to Jeremiah and repent (11:21-23) and “Why does the wicked prospers?” (12:1-4)

Idolatry

“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out,

If you stumble in safe country,

Jeremiah’s family and the men of Anathoth

The nation of Judah and the nation of Judah and the surrounding nations

Spiritual warfare

how can you compete with horses?

how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?

Who Am I? – Wer Bin Ich?

Who am I? They often tell me,I step out from my cell,composed, contented and sure,like a lord from his manor.

Who am I? They often tell me,I speak with my jailers, frankly, familiar and firm,as though I was in command.

Who am I? They also tell me,I bear the days of hardship,unconcerned, amused and proud,like one who usually wins.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Am I really what others tell me?Or am I only what I know of me?Troubled, homesick, ill, like a bird in a cage,gasping for breath, as though one strangled me,hungering for colors, for flowers, for songs of birds,thirsting for kind words, for human company,quivering with anger at despotism and petty insults,anxiously waiting for great events,helplessly worrying about friends far away,empty and tired of praying, of thinking, of working,exhausted and ready to bid farewell to it all.

Who am I? This or the other?Am I then, this today and the other tomorrow?Am I both at the same time? In public, a hypocriteand by myself, a contemptible, whining weakling?Or am I to myself, like a beaten army,flying in disorder from a victory already won?

Who am I? Lonely questions mock me.Who I really am, you know me, I am thine, O God!

Voices in the Night: The Prison Poems of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Future challenges for Jeremiah

(race with horses)

Future challenges for Jeremiah

(race with horses)

– conflicts with false prophets– into the stocks by priest Pashhur– threat of death (cistern) and imprisonment by

King Zedekiah’s officials– taken to Egypt– acting out prophetic parables

False Prophets & Priests Oppose JeremiahFalse Prophets & Priests Oppose Jeremiah

Jeremiah is beaten and placed in stocks by Pashhur, chief officer of the temple. Jer. 20:1-3

After release, Baruch, a young scribe, offers to help him.

Picture Source: The Picture Bible, Chariot Books, David C Cook, 1978


Jeremiah prophesies against Judah’s leaders and false prophets, but they refuse to listenJeremiah prophesies against Judah’s leaders and false prophets, but they refuse to listen

WARNING ! WARNING!

Jer. 21-23Source: The Picture Bible, Chariot Books, David C Cook, 1978

Enemies accuse Jeremiah of defecting to the Babylonians so he is put into a dungeon.

Zedekiah calls for him, but refuses to listen to his message, “Babylonians will return! Surrender!”

He is later thrown into a cistern. Ebed-melech rescues him by pleading before the king.

Jer. 37-38Picture Source: The Children’s Bible in 365 stories, Lion Publishing, 1985

Jeremiah’s ImprisonmentJeremiah’s Imprisonment

Future challenges for JeremiahFuture challenges for Jeremiah

– conflicts with false prophets– into the stocks by priest Pashhur– threat of death (cistern) and imprisonment

by King Zedekiah’s officials– taken to Egypt– acting out prophetic parables

• buying and burying a linen belt – how God wishes to ruin Judah’s pride

Object lessons – signs of judgmentObject lessons – signs of judgment

Ruined waistband – rots in rock crevice. Judah strayed from God, being exposed to

pagan influences, is now spiritually worthless

Fill jugs with wine! Get drunk! – God will have no mercy and compassion

when they suffer.Jer. 13



– conflicts with false prophets– into the stocks by priest Pashhur– threat of death (cistern) and imprisonment

by King Zedekiah’s officials– taken to Egypt– acting out prophetic parables


• buying a jar of clay and smashing it – how God will smash Judah

Breaking a jar of clay Breaking a jar of clay

You have forsaken me for other gods and shed innocent blood. I will smash you like the pot by your enemy. Jer. 19

Picture Source: The Children’s Bible in 365 stories, Lion Publishing, 1985



– conflicts with false prophets– into the stocks by priest Pashhur– threat of death (cistern) and imprisonment by King

Zedekiah’s officials– taken to Egypt– acting out prophetic parables


• buying a jar of clay and smashing it – how God will smash Judah

• make and wear a yoke of wood – Babylonians will enslave Judah

Jerusalem’s leaders resist Babylon’s ruleJerusalem’s leaders resist Babylon’s rule

Jeremiah wears a yoke to symbolize Judah’s

future submission to

Babylon.

Jer. 27-28

Picture Source: The Picture Bible, Chariot Books, David C Cook, 1978

• The false prophet Hananiah breaks Jeremiah’s yoke to symbolize God breaking Babylon’s power and claims captivity is only two years. Two months later, he dies.

• The false prophet Shemaiah also preaches against Jeremiah.

Opposition by False ProphetsOpposition by False Prophets

Jer. 28-29

Problems Opposition



Idolatry





Spiritual warfare

more sufferings for Jeremiah as he continue to prophecies

God’s judgment on Judah (12:7-13) and God’s judgment on the surrounding nations (12:14-17)



Jeremiah’s family and the men of Anathoth, the royal household, the nation of Judah (12:6)

The nation of Judah and Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites, Ammonites, Babylonians

Nebuchadnezzar comes (597 BC)Nebuchadnezzar comes (597 BC)

Takes exiles and King Jehoiachin away. Places Zedekiah on throne, gives another chance for Judah to submit to Babylon.

Jer. 24-25

70 year captivitypredicted

Picture Source: The Children’s Bible in 365 stories, Lion Publishing, 1985

Size Date King of Judah

Number taken

Key Captives

Results/ Comments

1 Minor 605 BC Jehoiakim Few (Dan 1:3) Daniel, 3 friends & nobility & royalty

Tribute imposed. Egypt powerful.

2 Moderate 598 BC Jehoiakim 3023 (Jer. 52:28)

Minor deportation

3 Major 597 BC Jehoiachin 10,000 (2 Kings 24:14)

Jeoiachin, Ezekiel, Mordecai

Large deportation. Zedekiah

4 Minor 587 BC Zedekiah 832 (Jer. 52:29)

Before destruction

5 Major 586 BC Zedekiah ca. 10,400 (2 Kings 25:11)

Zedekiah Jerusalem & temple destroyed

6 Minor 582 BC 745 (Jer. 52:30)

4 years after Jerusalem’s destruction

Nebuchadnezzar’s Six Deportations to BabylonNebuchadnezzar’s Six Deportations to Babylon

God’s response to Jeremiah?God’s response to Jeremiah?

JER 1:17 "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land--against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

• Reverend Doctor George Campbell Morgan D.D. (9 December 1863 – 16 May 1945)

• evangelist, preacher and a leading Bible scholar

• pastor of Westminster Chapel in London from 1904 to 1919, and from 1933 to 1943

• Known as prince of expositors, Preaching Magazine ranked him among the ten greatest preachers of the 20th century.

“God never calls a man to content with horses until He has practiced him with footmen; that God has never yet send a man into the wilds of Jordan until He has trained him in the land of peace…

It is a great principle, always obtaining in God’s method with His servants, and in all His dealings with His people”

Problems Opposition Lessons for us



Idolatry





Spiritual warfare

God has helped us in our struggle with our problems in the past and is helping us in the present

God has his own timing

God is with us more sufferings for

Jeremiah as he continue to prophecies






In spiritual warfare Satan uses

WMD

In spiritual warfare Satan uses

WMD

Weapons of Mass Discouragement

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Eph. 6:12-18

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Problems Opposition Lessons for us



Idolatry





Spiritual warfare

God has helped us in our struggle with our problems in the past and is helping us in the present

God has his own timing

God is with us more sufferings for

Jeremiah as he continue to prophecies


Idolatry





Spiritual warfare

God will help us in our struggle with our problems in the future

God’s judgment is just

Armour of God

Lessons for usLessons for us

• God has helped us in our struggle with our problems in the past and is helping us in the present

• God is sovereign (God has his own timing)

• God is with us• God will help us in our struggle with our

problems in the future• God’s judgment is just

If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?

Morgan:

“In my contending with horses, I shall also and again be weary; but I shall win, for I have already won by Thy strength in running with footmen”

G. Campbell Morgan, Studies in the Prophecy of Jeremiah, 1994, Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 93

If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?

Morgan:

“that He is God, though in the wilds I shall oftentimes be assaulted by fear, yet I shall win, as I have won in the land of peace”

G. Campbell Morgan, Studies in the Prophecy of Jeremiah, 1994, Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 93

God is with you, will give you strength and will not let you face problems more than you are able to overcome. He wants you to continue to shine for him.

sermon statement

How do we keep our lights burning bright without giving up and finish the course?

What motivates us ?What motivates us ?

What motivates us?What motivates us?

• Autonomy• Mastery• Purpose

Discussion

How do we continue to be bright lights that shine for Christ (maintain), and how do we ensure that we finish our spiritual journeys well?

Discussion

How do we continue to be bright lights that shine for Christ (maintain), and how do we ensure that we finish our spiritual journeys well?

Jenny,

I believe that God made me for a purpose,

He also made me fast,

Jenny,

I believe that God made me for a purpose,

He also made me fast,

And when I run,

I feel His pleasure

I feel His pleasure

I feel His pleasure

PASSION

Unless the eye catch fireThe God will not be seen. Unless the ear catch fire The God will not be heard. Unless the tongue catch fire The God will not be named. Unless the heart catch fire The God will not be loved. Unless the mind catch fire The God will not be known.

Passion

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Email: [email protected]

Website: www.kairos2.com

Blog: www.draltang01.blogspot.com

Facebook: www.facebook/dr.alex.tang

Tweet: www.twitter.com/alexthtang

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Contact me

Dr Alex Tang

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.kairos2.com/

http://www.draltang01.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook/dr.alex.tang

http://www.twitter.com/alexthtang

http://www.slideshare.net/draltang

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.kairos2.com/

http://www.draltang01.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook/dr.alex.tang

http://www.twitter.com/alexthtang

http://www.slideshare.net/draltang

02 keep.light.bright

Spiritual

Transcript of 02 keep.light.bright