Sunday Evening Ministry, 1974 — Richmond, Virginia
Ministry through Brother Stephen Kong
We do thank the Lord that we may be together, remembering Him and fellowshipping one with another. To me, I feel this is like heaven on earth.
Will you please turn to the book of Jeremiah? Jeremiah chapter 1. I would like to read the whole chapter.
Jeremiah 1:1-19
The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
Now the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee,
And before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee;
I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations.
Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak; for I am a child.
But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child; for to whomsoever I shall send thee thou shalt go, and whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt speak.
Be not afraid because of them; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
Then the Lord put forth His hand, and touched my mouth; and the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth:
See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.
Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond-tree.
Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I watch over My word to perform it.
And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething caldron; and the face thereof is from the north.
Then the Lord said unto me, Out of the north evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.
And I will utter My judgments against them touching all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken Me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay thee before them.
For, behold, I have made thee this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.
The last time we were together, we fellowshipped a little on Isaiah. Isaiah was raised up by God as a prophet roughly eight hundred years before Christ. He prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, during a very interesting period in the life of the nation of Judah.
God gave Isaiah a marvelous vision of the Messiah, of Christ. He is the Paul of the Old Testament.
Now, this time, God willing, we would like to consider Jeremiah. Jeremiah prophesied approximately six hundred years before Christ, so about two hundred years had passed. He prophesied during the reigns of the last kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah.
He prophesied even after the nation was destroyed and taken into Babylonian captivity. We know that he was with the remnant that went down to Egypt.
King Josiah, as you read in Kings and Chronicles, was an exceptionally good king. The nation of Judah at that time was going downward, but somehow God, in His mercy, raised up a most extraordinarily good king—King Josiah.
It reminds me that oftentimes, in judgment, God has mercy. God raised up this man, hoping that His people would return to Him. When Josiah came to the throne, he was only eight years old. But when he was sixteen, he began to seek the Lord, the God of David his father. He turned neither to the right nor to the left. He did everything that was right in the sight of God.
A boy of sixteen. In the twelfth year of his reign, when he was twenty years old, he started to purify the land of the high places of idol worship. Then, in the eighteenth year of his reign, he began to repair the temple in Jerusalem. You remember that he found the book of the law.
It was during his reign that the nation of Israel kept the Passover in a way that it had never been kept since the days of Joshua. So you find that Josiah was sovereignly raised up by God for the nation of Judah.
Jeremiah started to prophesy in the thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign. In other words, it was just one year after King Josiah started to purify the land and prepare for the return of all God’s people to God. God raised Jeremiah up to help King Josiah in this reform, or in this attempt to return to God.
God called Jeremiah, who was also a young man. He was of a priestly family. His father was Hilkiah—not the high priest—but his family lived in Anathoth. Still, he was of the priestly family.
Before he entered the temple to serve as a priest, God called him to be a prophet. A priest would begin as an apprentice in the temple when he was twenty-five and would become a full-fledged priest at thirty. But before Jeremiah entered priestly service, God called him to be a prophet.
When he was called, he was probably between twenty and twenty-five years old. In a sense, age-wise, he was about the same age as King Josiah. God raised up two young men: one as king and the other as prophet.
With the king and his authority, Josiah was able to make reforms. He was able to lead his people away from idolatry and back to the service of God. But it took a prophet to really touch the hearts of men and bring their hearts back to God.
A king, with his authority, could do the outward things of reform. But only a prophet, to whom revelation came—with a word from God, with burden, and with insight from God—could speak for God, penetrate the human heart, expose it, and hopefully lead people back to God in a real way.
King Josiah was a good king, and his reform was very real. Yet, in spite of all his effort, the people only followed outwardly. Their hearts were far from God. Therefore, God raised up Jeremiah to probe into the heart.
When God works, He always does a thorough work. He will never leave any stone unturned. Jeremiah was raised up in this manner.
Jeremiah prophesied from the thirteenth year of King Josiah until the nation of Judah was taken into captivity. Altogether, God used him as a prophet for about fifty years.
What kind of man was Jeremiah? We know that the name Jeremiah means, “The Lord is exalted.” We are told that the name of the Lord is used some seven hundred times in the book of Jeremiah.
Here you find a young man who started young and continued on. Sometimes a young man may start well but not continue. But Jeremiah was like Daniel. Daniel was called by God when he was a young man, and he continued on into mature age. I think that is most beautiful, and this was true of Jeremiah too.
Throughout his life, Jeremiah had only one passion: to exalt the Lord. In order to exalt the Lord, he had to pay a very great price.
Now, brothers and sisters, do not think that if you desire to exalt the Lord—if you desire to glorify the Lord by your life and by your words—you will therefore have a most happy, blessed, smooth time.
If anyone desires to exalt himself, he may have a very smooth time, because this is the world. If you agree with the world, the world agrees with you. But to exalt the Lord, especially during a time of great turmoil and great change, costs dearly.
Under the reign of Josiah there was a great reform, but it was only outward. When it came to Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, these were wicked kings. To exalt the Lord in season and out of season, under any kind of circumstances; to be faithful to the Lord, true to the Lord, and to honor the Lord; to know nothing but the Lord Himself—this costs.
So, dear brothers and sisters, if you desire to exalt the Lord, be prepared to pay some cost. If you are not prepared to pay any cost, if you want to exalt the Lord and be popular, these go in opposite directions. You will be torn.
But here you find Jeremiah. He had only one passion throughout his life: to exalt the Lord. And how he did exalt the Lord, from the very beginning of his life to the very end.
If you read the book of Jeremiah, you will gather that Jeremiah was a person with a very yielding, soft, sensitive temperament. Naturally, he was not strong or hard. Naturally, he was very tender, almost like a woman. He was very timid, very sympathetic, and full of love.
Naturally, he would like to be friends with everybody. That was the nature and temperament of that person. When God called him to be a prophet, he drew back, trembling, and said, “Who am I? I am but a child.”
How he loved the children of Israel. How happy he would have been if he could bring good news to them. Yet, because of their stubborn rebellion against God, he had to proclaim judgment after judgment. The judgment was final.
Brothers and sisters, when he was doing that, he wept. He could not take it. He could not bear it. Again and again he told the Lord, “Leave me alone. I do not want to speak with You. It is just too much.”
Yet he said that the fire was burning within his bones, and he could not restrain himself. He had to speak for the Lord.
His love for his people was so great. He wanted to see the welfare of his people, to see God’s people return and be blessed. Yet they considered him a traitor. He was completely misunderstood. You do not know how much this man suffered.
Of all the prophets in the Old Testament, probably none surpassed Jeremiah in this respect: he was so identified with the messages he delivered that you can almost see the messenger and the message as one.
This is the height of prophecy. To prophesy does not mean that you merely utter some words of God while remaining an observer or a spectator. It is true that the spirit of prophecy can come upon an ass, and the ass can prophesy, but that ass has nothing to do with what he prophesies.
But the height of prophesying is when the prophet and the words that he prophesies become one. Then you have the height. In no other prophet in the Old Testament do you find this more true than in the life of Jeremiah. What he prophesied was what he was.
He was so identified with what he prophesied. He did a very unpopular job. He was out of favor to the very end. I wonder whether a true prophet is really honored while he is alive.
We do not know how Jeremiah died. But we know that because of his love for God’s people, even after the nation of Judah was destroyed by Babylon, when he was allowed to go free, he would not go. He identified himself with the remnant.
He warned the remnant not to go down to Egypt, but they went. In spite of himself, he went down with them. Tradition tells us that he was stoned to death.
Never popular, but always faithful.
Even though, naturally, he was timid, soft, and tender, God raised him up as a fortified city, a pillar of iron, and brazen walls. Everybody was against him, and he was against everybody.
I really think he can be called Antipas. You remember where that name occurs? In Revelation. In the book of Revelation there is one called Antipas, but we do not find such a person elsewhere by that name. Most likely we have to interpret it according to the word.
The word is made of two words: anti and pas—against everybody. Because everything had gone wrong, in order to stand with God, Jeremiah had to be against everyone and everything.
Jeremiah was such a person, and how much he suffered for it. He was not by nature that kind of person. Some people, by nature, are against everything. But that was not Jeremiah’s nature. It was for the Lord’s sake.
In his weakness, we find the power of God. No one could prevail against him—not even he himself. The Lord had prepared him in that life.
Brothers and sisters, when we read the book of Jeremiah, we need to understand that person. If you understand that person, then what he prophesied becomes living to you. They are not merely words spoken by someone; you find that all these words were squeezed, or prayed, out from his heart.
He was going through a press. The burden of the Lord was upon him. Thank God, he was faithful to the end.
I hope this serves as a little introduction to help us in our study of the book of Jeremiah. We cannot study the whole book in three sessions, so in our time together we will pick out a few things and learn the lessons that God wants us to learn.
This evening, we would like to fellowship concerning the call and commission of Jeremiah. You find this in the first chapter.
“Now the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee,
And before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee;
I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations.”
—Jeremiah 1:4-5
One day, the word of God came to this young man. He was preparing himself; he was being prepared for the priesthood. Unexpectedly, God called him to be a prophet.
He was surprised by the Lord. He thought that he would simply continue to do what his father was doing. But God had something different. Is it not true that sometimes God surprises us? We may think that we are being prepared for something, and everything seems to be pointing in that direction, and suddenly we find the Lord saying something else.
God’s calling is based on three things. Number one: God’s calling is based on God’s foreknowledge.
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee.”
—Jeremiah 1:5
God is the omniscient God. He knows everything. He knows everything about you before you are formed by Him. With His knowledge, everything is present. There is nothing unknown and nothing future.
God said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the belly of your mother, I knew you already.” That is the foreknowledge of God. This is tremendous, because we do not have such knowledge, and we do not know how such knowledge operates. It is beyond our understanding.
But God, being God, knows everything. He foreknows everyone. God’s calling is based on His foreknowledge.
The second thing is this: “Before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee.” Before Jeremiah was born, God had already set him apart. In other words, divine election.
Jeremiah was divinely elected. He was divinely set apart even before he was born. Of course, divine election is according to the foreknowledge of God.
It is not because you have done anything. It simply pleased Him to choose. In Romans we are told that before Jacob and his brother Esau were born, while they were still in their mother’s womb, God said, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated,” to prove that divine election is not according to works, because they had done nothing good or bad.
It was according to His foreknowledge. Whom He foreknew, He predestined—destined that we may become conformed to the image of Christ.
Here you find, number one, foreknowledge; number two, divine election; and number three: “I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations.” Divine appointment.
When you come to this matter of calling, you find that God is sovereign. He is the One who initiates everything. He calls according to His foreknowledge, by divine election, and with divine appointment.
Now, brothers and sisters, we may not all be divinely appointed to be prophets, yet you find the same principle working with every one of us.
God foreknows everyone. Even before He forms us, He knows us. If you read Psalm 139, you will find that even before our bones are joined together, all our days are already numbered and recorded in His book. He knows everything.
God knows us before we are born, before we are formed. This is true with every one of us: God foreknows. And thank God, according to His foreknowledge, He has elected us—not because we are anything better than anybody else. It is simply because He knows and He chooses.
Thank God for that. When I was young, I was puzzled by divine election. I thought it was a hard doctrine, hard to swallow. But the older I grow, the more I like it. I love it. I love it. If it were not for His foreknowledge and divine election, I would not be here. Thank God.
Dear brothers and sisters, God knows you. God has chosen you in Christ Jesus. He has set you apart with a purpose. There is a divine appointment for everyone.
You do not choose which member of the body of Christ you want to be. It is by divine election and divine appointment. Thank God that He has called us into the body of Christ.
You do not just happen to be in that body. You do not simply try to join that body. It is by His foreknowledge, through His divine election, that we are now in the body of Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, do you know that, being divinely elected to be in the body of Christ, God has appointed each one of us a place within that body? We are members one of another. No one chooses which member of the body he or she wants to be. It is according to divine appointment.
It is easy to say this, but it probably takes some time for you to accept it. We have a tendency always to want to be somebody else. We think somebody else’s job is more excellent or more noble than ours. We always like to be on the other side.
But brothers and sisters, remember one thing: we are called to be members of the body of Christ, and it is all by divine appointment. He has appointed you perhaps to be an eye, perhaps an ear, perhaps a hand, perhaps a foot. It is all by divine appointment.
God has set us apart with a definite reason. There is a service, a ministry, that we can minister unto God and to His people. It is all by divine appointment.
You remember Paul again and again said that he was an apostle, not by man’s will, but by the will of God. It is divine appointment. What your calling may be, brothers and sisters, does not depend upon yourself or upon your choosing. Your calling in the body of Christ is by divine appointment.
What we need to know is: What is the divine appointment? Remember, it is only to the humble that divine appointment will be made known.
Oftentimes we do not know our place in the body of Christ because we are proud. We do not want to be where God has put us. We think we deserve something higher.
Just like the ear may say, “I am not an eye; therefore I do not belong to the body.” Or the foot may say to the hand, “I am not a hand. I am too low, so I am not of the body.” Why do you find such a problem? It is because of pride.
Brothers and sisters, if we can accept divine appointment and function accordingly, the body will be built up under the Head.
Here you find God calling Jeremiah. God said, “I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations.” Primarily, his prophesying was toward the nation of Judah and Jerusalem, because these were God’s people. Yet he also prophesied concerning the nations surrounding Judah. He was appointed a prophet unto all the nations.
In a similar manner, brothers and sisters, we are all appointed to be something: an apostle, a prophet, a teacher, an evangelist, a helper, or whatever it may be. Primarily, it is for God’s people, but its influence may reach to all the nations.
God called Jeremiah to a definite ministry. When Jeremiah heard this call, what was his reaction?
“Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak; for I am a child.”
—Jeremiah 1:6
Actually, Jeremiah at that time was not a little child. He was probably in his early twenties—perhaps from twenty to twenty-five.
As a young man of twenty to twenty-five, he could have thought that he knew everything. A young man of that age, when a call came to him, might accept it right away and say, “Fine. I have been waiting for that. I am prepared for that. I am more than equal for that job.” Is that not like young people?
But listen to this. When God’s call came to Jeremiah, he said, “Ah, Lord God! I cannot speak; for I am a child.”
He was not reacting like Moses. When Moses was forty, he was ready, so he went out. But when he was eighty and God called him, he said, “Who am I? I cannot speak. Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Oh, no, no. I am not that kind of person. Have somebody else.” And God was angry with him.
You remember another man, Zacharias. When he was burning incense in the temple, the angel appeared to him and said that he would have a son, and that son would be the forerunner of the Messiah. Zacharias had prayed all his life for that, but he said, “How shall I know?” Because he did not believe, he was not able to speak.
But Jeremiah was not reacting like Moses, and he was not reacting like Zacharias. When he said, “Ah, Lord God! I cannot speak; for I am a child,” he was not trying to reject the call, evade it, or disbelieve God.
On the contrary, his reaction was like Mary’s, the mother of Jesus. When the angel came to Mary and said, “You shall have a child, the Holy One,” Mary said, “How can this be? I am a virgin. I am not married.”
When the angel told her that the Spirit of God and the power of God would overshadow her, and that the One born would be the Holy One, Mary said, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
The attitude of Jeremiah was in that category. Even though he was a young man, he was not careless or rash. There was a depth in him. He knew it was a great privilege to be called a prophet of God—to be God’s mouthpiece. What a privilege that is. Yet he knew the great responsibility involved.
He knew that in himself he was not competent. He said, “Lord, I cannot speak. I am but a child. I am not mature enough. Even though I know You, I do not know You enough. I am not ready yet.”
It was not that he was unwilling, but that he was not ready. He feared that he would fail. This is the attitude of humility.
Oftentimes, when God’s calling comes upon a person, if that person really knows the Lord, the reaction will be like Jeremiah’s. Oftentimes, before God calls, we are already anxious. But when a real calling comes, then we begin to realize what is involved in speaking for God.
You know, brothers and sisters, you cannot speak. It is humility that you find in Jeremiah. God rejects the proud and exalts the humble. How important it is that there be a spirit of humility in us when God’s call comes to us.
May there be such a spirit of humility. The spirit of humility is the spirit of Christ. It is only in that spirit that you are able to respond to God’s call, and you are able to fulfill God’s calling.
So Jeremiah said, “I cannot speak. I am but a child.” God knew, and God said, “Do not say, ‘I am a child.’”
“For to whomsoever I shall send thee thou shalt go, and whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt speak.
Be not afraid because of them; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.”
—Jeremiah 1:7-8
Do not say that you are a child. Why? Because you are only a vessel. “I am the One who will send you where you need to go. I am the One who will put My word into your mouth, that you may speak. Do not be afraid of people. I will deliver you.”
In other words, to fulfill a calling never depends upon ourselves. If you think that you can fulfill God’s calling, you are already defeated. But when you realize that it is not you, but the power of God in you, then you will be able to fulfill your calling.
Now, what was Jeremiah’s commission?
“Then the Lord put forth His hand, and touched my mouth; and the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth:
See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
—Jeremiah 1:9-10
His commission was twofold: the negative and the positive. There were four negative aspects and two positive aspects. The negative aspects were to pluck up, to break down, to destroy, and to overthrow.
What a destructive ministry this was. God is never interested in patching things up. Whenever God does a thing, He does it thoroughly.
Jeremiah was not commissioned to patch up something. Jeremiah was commissioned to do a thorough job: to pluck up, to break down, to destroy, and to tear in pieces. Everything that is not of God must be completely dealt with.
God has no desire merely to patch things up. You remember that our Lord Jesus said in His parables that you do not patch an old garment with a new piece, and you do not put new wine into old wineskins.
With God, when He does a thing, it is always thorough. Why does something need to be broken down? Why should there be destruction? It shows that something has already gone wrong. Something has already gone out of God’s will.
For that reason, destroying and breaking down become necessary. Of course, God’s purpose is never negative. God’s purpose is always positive. But before God can do His positive work, because man has already done so much, He has to tear down and destroy first.
Brothers and sisters, we think we want to help God. We have helped Him so much that He has to do a great deal of destructive work. The more we help Him, the more He has to pluck up and tear to pieces.
If we did not do all these things and let Him have a clear way, then He would be able to plant and build. But because we have done so much, He has to do many things first.
The negative things must be done, but these are not the purpose or the end. The real aim is to plant and to build.
You remember in 1 Corinthians 3, Paul says that we are fellow workers, that we are God’s husbandry and God’s building. Husbandry speaks of planting, and building, of course, speaks of building up.
When you turn to the matter of planting, it speaks of inner life. What God desires is to see life planted and life increased until you bear fruit—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold. But unless you plant the seed first, you will not have the fruit.
That is what God always wants to do: to plant, that life may multiply; and to build. Not only is planting a matter of life, but also building. When we have received life, and that life of Christ increases in us, these lives have to be built up together.
In building, you know, much discipline is involved. So Jeremiah’s mission was twofold: on the one hand, to break down; on the other hand, to build up.
Oftentimes, when you read the book of Jeremiah, you think that he is only doing the negative work and never doing the positive thing. But if you read more carefully, you will find that he does both. Although the negative things are four in number and the positive only two, that is why sometimes we misunderstand.
Actually, Jeremiah’s commission was full. Brothers and sisters, this is also our commission. God’s intention is that we may plant and build, but in order to accomplish this, sometimes we have to pluck up, break down, destroy, and overthrow.
Oftentimes we build what we should tear down, and we tear down what we should build. We do not see the difference. We do not have spiritual discernment. Why? Because we are doing everything ourselves instead of waiting upon the Lord and letting Him show us.
Let His Spirit lead us. Then we will be able to tear down what should be torn down and build what should be built.
In order to reinforce that commission, God showed Jeremiah two signs. The first is found in verse 11.
“Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond-tree.
Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I watch over My word to perform it.”
—Jeremiah 1:11-12
Somehow, you find that the order is reversed. When God gave Jeremiah his commission, God gave the negative side first and then the positive: to pluck up and then to plant, to destroy and then to build. But when God gave the visions, the order seemed to be reversed.
God first gave him the vision of a rod of an almond tree, and then the second vision was a seething caldron coming from the north.
Now, when you see such a vision, what would be your understanding? You must remember that Jeremiah was trained as a priest.
In the history of Israel, a very special and extraordinary incident occurred. Every priest who studied to be a priest must have learned this history, because it was basic to the priesthood.
One day, some people came and said, “Why is it that only Aaron can serve in the tabernacle? God’s people are holy. Can we not also serve? Why should Aaron have the service of the priesthood? We also belong to God because we are God’s people. We are holy.”
In other words, there was a controversy over who should serve. You know how God settled that question. God said, “All right. Every tribe prepare a rod.” Each tribe had a rod with the name of the tribe on it, and on Levi’s rod was the name of Aaron.
These twelve rods were left before the ark through the night. The next morning, when they took out the twelve rods, all eleven rods remained dead rods. They were still dead.
But Aaron’s rod budded, blossomed, and bore almonds—a rod of an almond tree.
Jeremiah was trained to be a priest. He could not forget that incident, because it was basic to the priesthood. When Jeremiah saw that vision, no doubt his mind would immediately go back to Aaron’s rod that budded.
The almond tree, in Scripture, always speaks of resurrection, because the almond tree is the first tree after winter that begins to blossom and bear fruit. So in Scripture, the almond tree speaks of resurrection.
It is in the power of His resurrection that the priesthood is to be exercised. Brothers and sisters, who can serve God? Only those who serve God in the power of the resurrection life of Christ.
We are dead rods. There is no life in us. We cannot serve God’s purpose. But with the power of His resurrection, we are able to minister unto God and unto His people.
So priesthood is based upon the power of resurrection. It is not by anybody saying, “I am holy; therefore I can serve.” He who has the power of His resurrection is fit to function as a priest unto God.
The same principle is true with a prophet. A priest must serve in the power of resurrection, and so must a prophet. A prophet is not to serve in his own strength, but in the power of His resurrection.
You remember Paul in 2 Corinthians. He said that we are given the ministry of the new covenant—not of the letter, but of the Spirit; not written upon stones, but written upon human hearts. Who is competent to be ministers of the new covenant?
Paul said that we are not competent at all. Our competency is of God.
Brothers and sisters, how can we minister? How can we fulfill our calling in the body of Christ? No matter what special calling it may be, no matter what particular work God is calling you to do, we are all called to serve in the house of God, in the body of Christ.
How are we going to fulfill our calling? It is with the rod of the almond tree. It is in the power of His resurrection. As we know the power of His resurrection, then we are able to minister life unto those who receive life, and even death unto those who refuse it.
You remember Paul said that we are the sweet savor of Christ, the fragrance of Christ, the odor of Christ: to those who are being saved, life unto life; and to those who are perishing, death unto death. Who is competent? It is of God.
That is exactly what you find here. Jeremiah was to minister to God’s people as a rod of an almond tree. He was to minister in the power of resurrection.
As he ministered in this power, it would be life to those who accepted his ministry, but death to those who refused it. It is very serious, but it is very real.
God raised Jeremiah up to plant and build with spiritual authority that came out of resurrection life. This is the only way that we can minister and be of use to God. Sometimes it may mean death, and yet it is resurrection. It is resurrection now.
Then you find the second vision. The second vision is a seething caldron coming from the north.
We know that, in history, this was fulfilled with the coming of the Babylonians. Because the children of Israel refused the prophecy of Jeremiah, judgment came upon them.
Jeremiah ministered to them in the power of resurrection. It should have been life to the people, but because they rejected him, God’s judgment finally came upon them. Twenty-three years later, the judgment began to be fulfilled, until they were taken into Babylonian captivity for seventy years.
In other words, because they did not receive the prophetic ministry of Jeremiah, judgment came. This is always true. Whenever people minister in the power of His resurrection, it is life to those who receive, and it is death to those who reject.
Because of the seriousness of this commission, God encouraged Jeremiah and warned him too.
“Be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay thee before them.”
—Jeremiah 1:17
In other words, just go on with the Lord. Do not be afraid. If you are afraid, you will be made afraid. But if you are faithful, God says, “I will make you a fortified city, a pillar of iron, and brazen walls.”
“You will be against all the people—the kings, the princes, the priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you,” says the Lord.
How true this was in the life of Jeremiah. You find that he was literally against the kings, the priests, the false prophets, and the people. He was against everybody.
How they tried to persecute him. They threw him into prison. They put him into dungeons. Yet the Lord preserved him. No one could prevail against him because the Lord was with him to deliver him to the very end.
So, brothers and sisters, this should be an encouragement to us. God has called us into this body of Christ. We are all set apart and divinely appointed in each of our works.
It is our commission to plant and to build, though sometimes we have to pluck up and destroy. It is in the power of His resurrection that we minister. The effect is very serious, but we do not need to be afraid. The Lord is able to deliver us.
So I think tonight we will just fellowship on this calling and commission of the prophet Jeremiah. Shall we pray?
Lord Jesus, how we praise and thank Thee that it does not depend on us, but it is up to Thee to call. It is by Thy power that anyone is able to fulfill what Thou hast called.
Oh, we praise and thank Thee. There need not be struggles. We can rest in Thee, knowing that Thou dost it and Thou wilt do it well.
Lord, we just commit ourselves to Thee and yield ourselves to Thee. Lord, we would be like Jeremiah. Even though we are timid, yet, Lord, we are in Thy hands.
May Thy will be done in each one of us. Have Thine own way, and glorify Thyself. We ask in the name of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.