Life Lessons in Jeremiah

Godliness starts with redemption, the process in which old things pass away and new things come to pass, by God’s mercy and grace (2 Cor. 5:17). Jeremiah paints a vivid picture revealing God’s ability and willingness to save, cleanse, and restore beyond human rebellion, idolatry, deception, and corruption.

Today, He does this through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah whom Jeremiah anticipated in faith to redeem and restore God’s people.

• Call, pray, seek, search for God with all your heart and He will be found. Believe that He wants good things for you and has a plan for your life.
• Hope in God for your children’s future, realizing this promise is ours today as well. Claim this promise for redemption for the prodigal child in your family.
• Receive God’s restoration. He desires to satisfy your weary soul and support those who are sorrowful or fainthearted.
• Look to God for forgiveness. Receive His restoration of joy, praise, and honor. Bring the sacrifice of praise into God’s house. Be involved in a church where you can grow in, worship, and thank God for all He has done.
• Seek to understand that LORD’s calling on your life is based on HIS power and not simply on your natural abilities
• Believe that GOD will empower you to do all that HE demands
• Learn that responsiveness to the LORD’s correction or discipline keeps the heart soft and helps you to hear GOD’s voice clearly
• Be absolutely certain GOD has spoken before saying the LORD told me and do not speak presumptuously in HIS name

A person might boast in wisdom, strength, or wealth. Though useful, these things are only temporary. Only knowing and understanding God has life-changing, eternal value. The Lord delights in our knowing His lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness.

Prioritize the things you value and cultivate dynamic devotion by placing God first.

• Boast only in knowing and understanding God.
• Enter into the new covenant of Jesus. Ask God to write His laws on your mind and heart.
• Know the Lord; He loves you. Receive His forgiveness, knowing that He removes your iniquity and sin so completely that He no longer remembers it.
• Understand that God’s ultimate purpose for people is always redemption, salvation, and restoration. Remember, God loves you completely and without limit.
• Define your life and service by your desire to know GOD

The challenge of holiness is to walk in God’s ways in the midst of both overt and subtle pressures to sin. Even when the sin appears to be “no big deal,” we are enabled to resist and walk in holiness by the grace and power of God.

In all our decisions, God calls us to remain faithful to walk in His ways.

• Do not affiliate with those who mock God and His ways.
• Remember that the Lord is our righteousness.
• In Jesus, the Branch of righteousness, we will be made righteous and receive full pardon (Rom. 3:22–24).
• Learn from the Rechabites, who were faithful to obey their father’s command not to drink wine. Even when handed wine by a prophet in the temple, they remained faithful. Hold to what you know is right regardless of the circumstances.

Jeremiah is an exquisite example of someone who succeeded in being willing to walk in faith, to speak in faith, and to obey in faith regardless of the personal cost. This godly young man may not have appeared successful in either his life or his ministry, as some define success. Throughout more than 40 years of ministry, he was scorned, mocked, disregarded, laughed at, falsely accused, imprisoned, starved, and physically abused. Both religious and political rulers, as well as his own family, rejected him and his words.

Jeremiah looked to the Lord for power to overcome in all of his struggles, and the Lord deemed him faithful.

• Recognize that we do not always understand God’s judgments or timing. Ask God questions in humility and with reverence. Be ready to accept an answer that may be different from what you expect.
• Be aware there may be times your family does not understand your calling to ministry.
• Turn to the Lord for healing and deliverance
• when you are persecuted. Leave vengeance to Him.
• Cling to the Lord in faith, especially when you are fiercely attacked.
• Know that persecution sometimes accompanies faithful obedience to God.
• Believe that GOD’s WORD is sovereign over the nations and all of history
• Rest in the confidence that GOD is always working to fulfil HIS WORD
• Evaluate any new teaching and stay close to the plain meaning of GOD’s WORD
• Be assured that you can not improve on the BIBLE
• Remember that GOD intends good for HIS people to give them hope

Jeremiah was called as a prophet to the nations as a young person. God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, continues to call people as His prophets to the nations. Do not allow your age to hold you back from walking into God’s calling and destiny for your life. God called Jeremiah, trained Him, and sent Him out by His Spirit to faithfully speak His word. Study Jeremiah’s life and learn from his willingness to obey the Lord and speak His word regardless of adverse circumstances.

God is calling many of us. We are to respond as Jeremiah did, to go and speak all that He commands.

• Recognize the prophetic calling. Jeremiah was set apart as a prophet while still in his mother’s womb. Mothers, understand that God has gifts and callings for unborn children. Pray for His plans and purposes in your baby’s life.
• Prophetic people: accept the prophetic calling and gift. Say “yes” to God.
• Recognize and submit to the Lord’s training for functioning in the gift of prophecy. Ask Him to open your spiritual eyes to the things He wants to show you.
• Learn to wait and listen for God’s interpretation of what you see prophetically. Hurt or confusion can arise when we try to place our own understanding on what God has shown us. Trust in the Lord; He will deliver you from those who would oppose His word.
• Learn to speak only what the Lord asks you to say. Be careful not to add to or take away from what God has given you. Ask the Lord if you are to speak it or pray over it. God gives prophetic insight for a variety of reasons. Be careful about using phrases like “the Lord said.” Be aware of the potential harm when we say what God has not said. Remember that timing is very important in delivering a word from the Lord. Ask God to show you His perfect timing and to give you His heart in all you speak.
• Understand that we do not always understand fully God’s plan when He asks us to obey.
• Call to the Lord, and ask Him to show you things beyond your own ability to perceive.

The wise individual accept GOD’s testimony about human inclination to sin. He judges himself by the WORD of GOD rather than by the flattering words of those around him

• be cautioned at how people naturally incline to follow carnal leadership due to short sightedness
• open your ears to GOD’s WORD even when it is not pleasant to you
• realize that receiving correction results in the ability to discern the truth of a matter

Those GOD calls to leadership among HIS people must be willing servants of HIS WORD. GOD creates builds faith and governs through HIS WORD. But the BIBLE tells us that we must have our minds renewed. Without this transformation we follow the devices and desires of our hearts. Leaders must face this fact and remain faithful not being too concerned about how popular they are

• leaders believe that the LORD is the strong defense of all those HE commissions and sends to proclaim HIS WORD
• have courage when facing opposition for preaching the truth of GOD’s WORD
• leaders bear in mind that GOD’s servants have often been persecuted for faithfully proclaiming GOD’s WORD without compromise
• leaders do not compromise the truth due to disfavour or alter GOD’s WORD to appease men.
• Trust that the LORD protects those HE sends to speak HIS WORD
• Teachers know that the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who speaks his own opinions in the LORD’s name
• Leaders stand fast in faithfully preaching the full counsel of GOD