{"id":877,"date":"2017-07-10T10:52:04","date_gmt":"2017-07-10T17:52:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/?p=877"},"modified":"2017-07-10T11:00:01","modified_gmt":"2017-07-10T18:00:01","slug":"standing-alone-but-standing-tall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/10\/standing-alone-but-standing-tall\/","title":{"rendered":"Standing Alone– but Standing Tall!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost<\/font><\/p>\n

July 9, 2017<\/font><\/p>\n

Jeremiah 20:7-13<\/font><\/p>\n

Standing Alone\u2014 but Standing Tall<\/font><\/p>\n

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O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed.  <\/span>I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.  <\/span>Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction.  <\/span>So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long.  <\/span>But if I say, \u201cI will not mention him or speak any more in his name,\u201d his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones.  <\/span>I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.  <\/span>I hear many whispering, \u201cTerror on every side!  <\/span>Report him!  <\/span>Let\u2019s report him!\u201d  <\/span>All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, \u201cPerhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.\u201d But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.  <\/span>They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.  <\/span>O LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.  <\/span>Sing to the LORD!  <\/span>Give praise to the LORD!  <\/span>He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked. (NIV1984)<\/o:p><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,<\/font><\/p>\n

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Imagine that you wake up one morning and find yourself in totally unfamiliar surroundings.  <\/span>You look out the window only to realize that you are no longer in the state of California.  <\/span>You are in an apartment overlooking some sea port.  <\/span>On the streets the horses outnumber the cars and the cars look more like carriages.  <\/span>Everyone you see is dressed in rather odd looking clothes.  <\/span>Unsure of whether you are having a dream or whether you have had some kind of Jules Verne meets Steven Spielberg type of experience you go outside to see if you can figure out what is going on.  <\/span>You pick up a newspaper and find that you are in the port city of Southampton<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>, England<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place>.  <\/span>The date is April 10, 1912<\/st1:date>.  <\/span>Suddenly you hear a gigantic whistle-blast.  <\/span>You turn around to see people streaming onto a ship.  <\/span>You look at the bow of the ship and there it is\u2014 the RMS Titanic.  <\/span>What do you do?  <\/span>Do you go down the street and see if you can find a quiet place to have some tea and crumpets?  <\/span>Hardly!  <\/span>You would go down to the dock and do everything you can to persuade the people not go get on the Titanic!  <\/span>What kind of reaction do you think you might get when you tell people that in just four short days the Titanic would be sitting on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean under more than 12,000 feet of water?  <\/span>Considering that the Titanic was brand spanking new, considering that the Titanic was one of the biggest, most modern and most luxurious ocean liners man had ever built I doubt you would have received a very positive reaction.  <\/span>But you would still have to try and warn the people boarding that ship, wouldn\u2019t you.  <\/span>If just one person listened to you and didn\u2019t board the Titanic all the ridicule you received would have been worth it.<\/font><\/p>\n

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If you can imagine yourself standing on the dock in Southampton<\/st1:city>, England<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place> striving to warn people not to board the Titanic then you can begin to understand not only the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah, but also the ministry that God has given to you and to me.  <\/span>Our goal today is to see how these words from Jeremiah 20 reveal to us that the ministry of this prophet together with our own ministry can be characterized by the words:  <\/span>Standing Alone\u2014 but Standing Tall.<\/o:p><\/i><\/b><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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The prophet Jeremiah lived and worked in the Southern Kingdom of Judah.  <\/span>He was called to be a prophet of the Lord in approximately 626 B.C. \u2014 the very same year that Nabopolassar founded what became known as the Babylonian Empire. The Northern Kingdom of Israel had long ago fallen to the Assyrian Empire.  <\/span>In 612 B.C. the Assyrian capital of Nineveh was falling to the Babylonians.  <\/span>When Egypt tried to come to the rescue of the Assyrians, Josiah, the King of Judah, tried to stop Egypt near Megiddo.  <\/span>Sadly, Josiah\u2014 who had done well in steering Judah<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place> back to the Lord\u2014 was killed in battle.  <\/span>Judah<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place> now became a puppet of Egypt<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place>.  <\/span>Pharaoh Neco II placed Josiah\u2019s son Eliakim on the throne in Jerusalem<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> and renamed him Jehoiakim.  <\/span>Jehoiakim\u2019s relationship with the prophet Jeremiah was less than cordial.  <\/span>Jehoiakim persecuted Jeremiah relentlessly\u2014 throwing him into prison over and over again.  <\/span>But no matter what the king said, no matter what the king did Jeremiah faithfully proclaimed the message given to him by the Lord Himself:  <\/span>Judah<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place> and Jerusalem<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> would be destroyed by the Babylonians!  <\/span>Because she had rejected the covenant that God had established with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, because she had turned away from faithfully following the Lord and was worshipping other gods\u2014 gods made of wood and stone and metal\u2014 Judah would be punished for her sinful and rebellious ways.  <\/span>That was the message that the Lord gave to Jeremiah to proclaim to the people of Judah<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place>.<\/font><\/p>\n

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The response that Jeremiah received to this message and the impact which that response had on Jeremiah is painfully clear from the opening verses of our text.  <\/span>Jeremiah laments, \u201cO LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed.  <\/span>I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.  <\/span>Whenever I speak I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction.  <\/span>So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long.\u201d<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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Jeremiah did not ask to be a prophet of the Lord.  <\/span>Jeremiah did not choose to proclaim to the people of Judah<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place> a message of violence and destruction.  <\/span>God Himself called<\/i><\/b> Jeremiah to be His prophet!  <\/span>God Himself gave<\/i><\/b> Jeremiah the message he was to proclaim.  <\/span>And what did Jeremiah get for doing what God told him to do?  <\/span>He got ridicule, mocking, insult and reproach.  <\/span>So Jeremiah complained to God\u2014 \u201cIf this is what you set me apart to do, then maybe you shouldn\u2019t have even bothered!\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n

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Personally, it is very easy for me to empathize with Jeremiah.  <\/span>Over the course of the last 32 years there have been days when I look at my own ministry and I say to myself, \u201cWhy in the world am I doing this?  <\/span>No matter what I do, no matter what I say it seems as though somebody is going to be either upset or disappointed.  <\/span>When I try to do what I was trained to do, namely, faithfully proclaim to God\u2019s people the teachings of God\u2019s Word without adding to it or subtracting from it then I hear people say, \u201cBoring!  <\/span>Heard it all before!\u201d  <\/span>In our religious climate today many people are looking for a church where they will be entertained not edified.  <\/span>And as you have learned I am simply not much of an entertainer.  <\/span>When I confront people with their sin and proclaim God\u2019s Law to them I hear, \u201cWho do you think you are!\u201d  <\/span>Many people today do not want to hear that they are sinners.  <\/span>Oh, they don\u2019t mind hearing that they have \u201cmade mistakes.\u201d  <\/span>They don\u2019t mind confessing that they \u201cfall short\u201d in certain areas.  <\/span>Just don\u2019t try to tell them that they have sinned against the holy, just and perfect God and that one day they will be held accountable for each and every one of those sins!  <\/span>When I look at other people my own age and see where they are at this stage in their life\u2014 where live and what they drive and what they are able to go out and do\u2014 I sometimes wonder where I might be had God not called me into the public ministry of His church.\u201d  <\/span>Yes, I understand Jeremiah\u2019s complaint very well.  <\/span>What about you?<\/font><\/p>\n

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Two weeks ago you heard how Scripture teaches that each and every one of you has been \u201ccalled\u201d to be a \u201cminister,\u201d that is a servant, in God\u2019s church.  <\/span>Today God\u2019s Word reminds you that as a Christian, you are a \u201csoldier\u201d in the Church Militant here on this earth.  <\/span>Being a Christian soldier is not something can be is confined to Sunday mornings.  <\/span>Being a Christian soldier means boldly standing up for the Truth of Scripture no matter where you are, no matter what you are doing, no matter whom you are with, no matter what kind of reaction you might receive.  <\/span>Many times this means that like Jeremiah you may find yourself standing all alone.  <\/span>Many times this means that like Jeremiah you may receive ridicule, mocking, insult and reproach.  <\/span>How do you react?<\/font><\/p>\n

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For example, a couple of weeks ago there was the annual San Francisco Gay Pride Parade.  <\/span>In the short time I have lived here in northern California I have come to see that this is a big event for many people!  <\/span>It\u2019s advertised on various forms of media.  <\/span>It was televised so that anyone can tune in and watch the parade.  <\/span>It has major sponsors such as Alaska Airlines, Bud Light, KOFY TV, Xfinity and Blue California.  <\/span>What do you say when people openly support such an openly sinful lifestyle?  <\/span>Did any of you use this as a \u201cteachable moment\u201d with your friends, your co-workers or perhaps most importantly, your children and your grandchildren?  <\/span>Did anyone avoid even talking about it?  <\/span>Did anyone simply remain silent while others talked about it?  <\/span>Whenever we discuss a subject like this\u2014 and the are many such subjects\u2014 we can very easily find ourselves standing very much alone as we strive to faithfully proclaim what God Himself has given us to proclaim.<\/font><\/p>\n

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What are we to do when we find ourselves standing alone?  <\/span>What are we to do when our spiritual Babylonians are amassing on the horizon all around us?  <\/span>We are to follow the example that Jeremiah gives to us\u2014 not the example he gives us in the opening verses of our text, but rather the example he gives us in the closing portion of our text!  <\/span>After venting his complaint to God, Jeremiah takes a deep breath, stands up tall and says, \u201cBut the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.  <\/span>They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.  <\/span>O LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.  <\/span>Sing to the LORD!  <\/span>Give praise to the LORD!  <\/span>He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.\u201d<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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Once Jeremiah got past his own personal pity party and refocused himself on the fact that he was proclaiming the holy Word of a holy, just and perfect God then he was indeed able to stand tall even though he was standing alone.  <\/span>And the same can be true for us, my friends.  <\/span>When we are standing up for the Truth of Scripture as God Himself has given it to us then we know that the Lord will be on our side like \u201ca mighty warrior.\u201d<\/i>  <\/span>If people ridicule us, mock us, insult us or avoid us because we faithfully maintain that a sin is a still a sin no matter what our society might say, that every sin is worthy of eternal condemnation in hell and that the only<\/i><\/b> way to be forgiven and to live forever in heaven is through faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross of Calvary\u2019s hill\u2014 if that is why people are against us then like Jeremiah we commit our cause to the Lord God Almighty, the God who examines both the heart and the mind, the God who will judge the living and the dead.  <\/span>Knowing that God Himself will fight for us, knowing that God Himself will rescue us from all of our enemies, leads us to realize that even when we are standing alone we can indeed stand tall and boldly say with Jeremiah, \u201cSing to the LORD!  <\/span>Give praise to the LORD!\u201d<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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As surely as the RMS Titanic came to the end of her voyage and was engulfed by the waters of the Atlantic<\/st1:place> on April 14, 1912<\/st1:date> so also God has set the exact day and time when this ship that we call earth will come to the end of her voyage and be engulfed by fire.  <\/span>In His grace and in His mercy the good Lord has freely provided everyone with a \u201clife-boat\u201d in the cross of His Son.  <\/span>In His grace and in His mercy the good Lord continually sends His messengers out into all the world to both warn people and to proclaim His message salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  <\/span>We are those messengers!  <\/span>Therefore, my friends, like Christian soldiers marching into battle let\u2019s strive to stand tall and boldly bear the standard of the cross even if it means that we are standing alone.<\/font><\/p>\n

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To God be the glory!<\/font><\/p>\n

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Amen<\/font><\/p>\n

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<\/font><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost July 9, 2017 Jeremiah 20:7-13 Standing Alone\u2014 but Standing Tall     O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed.  I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.  Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction.  So the word of the LORD has brought me insult […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}