August 3, 2025
Teacher: Mike Laughrun
(1) The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, (2) 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. (3) It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
Jeremiah 1:1-3
My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain… My heart is beating wildly; I cannot keep silent, for I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
Jeremiah 4:19
(4) Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, (5) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (6) Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” (7) But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. (8) Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.”
§ (18) Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, … let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.”
Jeremiah 18:18
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(9) Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. (10) See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Jeremiah 1:1-10
Big Truth
God calls His people to be faithful voices of truth.
(24) But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. (26)… they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.
Jeremiah 7:24, 26
(5) Everyone deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity. (6) Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit, they refuse to know me, declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 9:5-6
Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit. – Jeremiah 2:8
The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them? … (11) They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.
Jeremiah 8:8-9, 11
But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
Jeremiah 13:17
What was God’s call to Jeremiah?
(4) Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, (5) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” – Jeremiah 1:4-5
Big Idea:
God chooses and authorizes His people to be faithful voices of truth.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Matthew 5:14
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9
What was Jeremiah’s response to God?
(6) Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” – Jeremiah 1:6 (7) But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. (8) Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.”
Jeremiah 1:7-8
(9) Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. – Jeremiah 1:9 (10) See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Jeremiah 1:10
(11) And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.” (12) Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
Jeremiah 1:11-12
Big Idea:
Faithful voices of truth trust and treasure God’s Word.
(10) “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, (11) so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:10-11
(16) Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.
Jeremiah 15:15-16
“Children in Afghanistan and Pakistan today are attending Muslim schools and memorizing the entire Qur’an by the time they are thirteen years old. Many of these children speak different languages, like Pashto or Urdu, but they are memorizing the Qur’an in its original language, Arabic. And they have the full, collective support of their parents and their community as they learn the words of their so-called god. Can you imagine a children’s ministry in a church today teaching children to memorize the entire New Testament in Greek? Then moving on to the Old Testament in Hebrew? We might say, “That’s impossible. We couldn’t even do that in English.” But just thinking about this makes me wonder: If those parents and that community are so committed to helping children memorize the words of a false god, and if these children are that committed to doing it, then what does that say about our commitment as people who claim we have the words of the only true God?”
David Platt – How to Read the Bible
(16) And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. (17) But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them.
Jeremiah 1:16-17
Big Idea:
Faithful voices of truth courageously confront falsehood, expose lesser authorities, and reveal vain idols.
Falsehood
(1) The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: (2) “Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LORD. … (4) Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’
Jeremiah 7:1-2, 4
False Authorities
(30) “An appalling and horrible thing Has happened in the land: (31) The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?
Jeremiah 5:30-31
Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
Jeremiah 23:16
Vain Idols
(11) Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. (12) Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, (13) for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. – Jeremiah 2:11-13
How do people respond?
(18) And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, 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 they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.”
Jeremiah 1:18-19
(8) And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! … (24) But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.
Jeremiah 26:8, 24
What happened?
(1) In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. … (8) The Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the house of the people, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. (9) Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the people who remained.
Jeremiah 39:1, 8-9
But God had already spoken..
For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them.
Jeremiah 32:42
(1) “At that time, declares the LORD, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.” … (3) I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Jeremiah 31:1, 3
(10) “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. (11) For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:10-11
Big idea:
Faithful voices of truth declare both righteous judgment and glorious hope.
(5) “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. (6) In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’
Jeremiah 23:5-6
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Matthew 1:1
Application:
(2) Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the LORD. … (8) For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. (9) If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. (10) For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” say all my close friends, watching for my fall. “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him.” (11) But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. (12) O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.
Jeremiah 20:2, 8-12
(7) I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (8) Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
2 Timothy 4:7-8
Talk About It
- What does it look like to be a faithful voice of truth in our generation?
- What are the potential outcomes when we choose to faithfully speak the truth?
- Has holding fast to God’s truth ever cost you something?
- How have faithful voices of truth impacted your life for good?
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