Desperation, Resignation - Part 1 — Keith Daniel

The Potter’s House and the Marred Vessel

In Jeremiah 18, verse 1, the word, the word which came to Jeremiah, the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee, I will cause thee to hear my words.

Then I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels, he wrought a work on the wheels, and the vessel that he made of clay was marred. The vessel that he made of clay was marred, was ruined, was ruined in the hand of the potter.

The vessel that he made of clay in the hand of the potter, he made it again, he made it again. Another vessel, another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. The Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter?

Sayeth the Lord, Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy it?

God’s Sovereignty, Judgment, and Repentance

If that nation against whom I have pronounced turn from their evil, I will repent. I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to build and to plant it?

If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them. Now, therefore, go to speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord.

Behold, I frame evil against you. I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you. Return ye now, every one, from this evil way. Return ye now, every one, from this evil way, and make your ways and your doings God's.

A Nation Rejects Jeremiah’s Warning

And they said, and they said, Well, what does a nation, what does a nation say in their hearts to God when God sends a creature like Jeremiah with such a message? They said, this is the heart of a nation responding to the message of a man sent from God.

And they said, There is no hope. There is no hope. But we will walk after our own devices, and we will, every one, do the imagination of his evil heart. We will, every one, do the imagination of his evil heart.

Verse 18,. Then said they, Come and let us devise devices against Jeremiah. For the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us smite him with a tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.

The Disillusioned Preacher in a Decadent Nation

I would like for us tonight to look very carefully. I would like for us tonight to look very carefully and caringly, and caringly at the life and ministry of a disillusioned preacher. I would like for us tonight to look very carefully and caringly at the life and ministry of a disillusioned preacher in a decadent, doomed nation.

In a decadent, doomed nation. And perhaps it would be good for us, perhaps it would be good for us to all look back to the beginning. Jeremiah looked back to when God had first called him to preach. Jeremiah looked back to when God had first called him to preach, and he wrote in chapter 1, verse 4,.

Then 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, before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Then said I, O Lord God, behold, I cannot, I cannot speak, for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child, that thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt speak.

Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand, then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words, I have put my words in thy mouth, I have put my words in thy mouth.

Jeremiah’s Wounded Prayer After Years of Ministry

Years later, years later, deep into his ministry, deep into his ministry, in chapter 15, verse 15, a disillusioned, bitter, confused, and spiritually wounded preacher stands before the God who sent him and prays, and prays, O Lord, thou knowest, thou knowest, thou knowest, remember me, remember me, and visit me, visit me, visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors, revenge me of my persecutors.

Take me not away in thy long-suffering. Know that for thy sake I have suffered with you. The words were found, and I did eat them, I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.

For I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.