If you will open your Bibles
with me today to Jeremiah, chapter 20. The prophet Jeremiah, chapter 20. I brought a message to us recently
from the book of Isaiah, and I mentioned that one witness
to the inspiration of the Word of God, that is that the Bible,
this book that we have in our hands today, this book from which
we study, that it is inspired by God the Holy Spirit. And one
witness to the inspiration of the scripture is the fulfilling
of prophecy. We saw how that Isaiah, 210 years
before Cyrus came to the throne, he called him by name, the man
that God, the Persian leader that God raised up, his shepherd,
to command Jerusalem to be rebuilt, the walls of Jerusalem. Another
witness to the inspiration of the scripture is that the Bible,
does not gloss over the faults of some of its leading characters. A book that is written by man,
apart from divine inspiration, would never have recorded some
of the failures, some of the falls, some of the sins that
we have recorded here concerning the saints of both the Old Testament
and New Testament. And I would include in this,
in that statement, Jeremiah's false charge. If you notice in
verse 7, O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived. Jeremiah charged the Lord. O Lord, thou hast deceived me,
and I was deceived. Now I know that the Hebrew word,
which is here translated deceived, is in other places translated,
and I think you see this in the margin of your Bible, could be
translated with the word entice. Some places the word persuade,
other places the word allure. Some men take the word persuade
and they excuse Jeremiah from making this false charge. Their
explanation is that when God told Jeremiah that he was to
be his prophet, he sought, that is Jeremiah sought to opt out. And that's true. That's true. Chapter one of this book we read,
these are the words of God speaking to Jeremiah. He said, before
I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. And before thou camest
forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet
to the nations. And Jeremiah responded to the
Lord, Jeremiah responded, I, Lord God, behold, I cannot speak,
for I am a child. He did not desire to be God's
prophet. And those who would excuse Jeremiah
here, they say, O Lord, thou persuaded me, and I was persuaded. Thou art stronger than me. and
prevailed. And what's come of it? You're
stronger than me. You persuaded me. You've made
me a prophet. And what's come of it? I am in
derision daily. Everyone mocketh me. That's what
has come of it. Not only the prophet, but the
prophet's message was in derision. scoffed at by the nation of Judah. I'm bringing my message using
the word as it's translated in our Bibles, deceived. Oh Lord,
thou hast deceived me and I was deceived. It appears that he
made a similar statement if you look back in chapter 15 Chapter 15 and verse 18, Jeremiah
speaking said, why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable,
which refuses to be healed? Wilt thou be altogether unto
me as a liar and as waters that fail? Jeremiah
was a man no different than you and I. He was a man who at his
very best state was altogether vanity, just like you and just
like me, altogether vanity. Jeremiah was a man like you and
I in the sense that he always needed a savior. There never
was a time from his calling to the day of his death, that he
did not need a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, that he did not
need the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse him from all sin. For there's not a just man upon
the earth, who doeth good, and sinneth not. Now that's just
so. So I'm going to look at this
today with the word deceived. O Lord, thou hast deceived me. And I want to make four statements
about this charge. This charge that Jeremiah brought
against the Lord. O Lord, thou hast deceived me. I want to point out four things
about this charge. First, it was a serious charge. It was a serious charge. To charge
God with deceit, it could not be anything other than a serious
charge. If someone charged you or charged
me with deceit, we would take it seriously, wouldn't we? And yet, if we were honest, we
would have to admit there have been times when we have used
deceit. It would not be like we had never
deceived anyone if we were charged with deceit. The scriptures tell
us this about men. that we are estranged from the
womb, the scripture says. They go astray as soon as they
be born speaking lies. It would be a serious charge.
We would take it as a serious charge. If someone charged us
with deceiving them, how much more? God. This was a serious charge. He who is the truth, It's not
just that he speaks the truth, he is the truth. Remember, our
Lord said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. He is the
truth. Balaam, that false prophet, God
put a word in his mouth and one of the things that he said about
God is, he's not a man that he should lie. This is a serious
charge. to charge God with deceit. For God to be deceiving, or for
God to deceive, that would mean that He changes. And we know
that cannot be. You and I, we would have no assurance
We could not have any assurance if we could be convinced and
shown that God does deceive. He does not change. And the scripture
says, I am the Lord and I change not. Therefore, thou sons of
Jacob are not consumed. And that's the only reason they
were not consumed is because of God's immutability. God does
not change. And so my first point is this
is a very serious charge that Jeremiah made. Oh Lord, thou
hast deceived me. Actually what he is saying when
you study it is thou hast changed and thou art no longer God. If
God could ever or if God were ever to deceive someone, then
he would no longer be God. That would un-God God. This charge,
it would un-God God. If he could be guilty of deceit. So that's my first thing about
this charge. It was a serious charge. The second thing I want to say
about it is it was a baseless charge. O Lord, thou hast deceived
me. Jeremiah made this charge after
he had been smitten, after he had spent the night in stocks
and publicly humiliated. If you look back to verses one
and two here in Jeremiah chapter 20, he made this charge after
he had been publicly humiliated. Verse one, it says, now Pasher,
the son of Emer, the priest, who was also chief governor in
the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these
things. Then Pasher smote Jeremiah the
prophet, slapped him on the face, slapped him on the face and put
him in the stocks. The writers are not sure what
kind of stocks these were, but it is assumed they were something
similar to what we know our country had in its beginning from England. How that a person who was guilty
of a crime, his hands were put in stocks, he couldn't get them
out. Sometimes his head was put in
stocks. It was something like that that
Jeremiah was put into. He was slapped on the face, he
was put in stocks, and then... He was sent in the high gate,
the scripture says, the high gate of Benjamin, which was by
the house of the Lord. In other words, here's this prophet
of God who, after being smitten, is put into stocks and put in
a public place where everyone coming in and out of the temple
would be sure to see Jeremiah. There he is, Jeremiah. Jeremiah lived in a very difficult
time. There's no question about that.
He lived in a time when God Almighty was bringing the nation of Judah,
his nation, pestilence, famine, and the sword. It was not an
easy time to be a prophet of the Lord. But I say his charge
was a baseless charge. Had the Lord ever promised him
freedom from affliction? Yes, he was afflicted. He was
smitten. He was put in stocks. He was
made a public laughing stock to the nation of Judah. But had
God ever promised this man freedom from affliction? Look back into
chapter 1 just a moment. Keep your place here in chapter
20, but turn back to Jeremiah chapter 1. There are two things
I want to point out to us here. In verse 10, we read, this is
the Lord, see I have this day set thee over the nations and
over the kingdoms to root out and to pull down and to destroy
and to throw down, to build and to plant. Now it's suggested
that Jeremiah, when he heard this charge, And God didn't ask
him if he wanted to be a prophet. God said, you are a prophet. I've ordained you to be a prophet. And this is the work that you're
going to do. Now, it's suggested that Jeremiah,
he didn't understand that by nations, God met his nation as
well as the other nations. He would have no problem doing
this work as it is described here, to root out and pull down
and to destroy and throw down. If we were talking about the
Egyptian nation or the Assyrian nation, the Syrian nation, no,
the Moabites, the Philistines, he wouldn't have any problem
with that. But what he is doing, he's doing this work especially
to the nation of Judah, his nation. He was from the nation of Judah. Here he is prophesying to his
people, 70 years. No one wants to hear that, 70
years. You are going to be taken into
a foreign country and there remain 70 years. It'd be like someone, if God
raised up a prophet today and prophesied here in our country
and told our country that we, our country was going to be defeated
and we were going to be put into slavery to some foreign country.
Do you think that prophet would be well received? With that message? Of course not. When you look at this message,
this work that Jeremiah would do, you can trace it out and
see that this is the way that God works in the heart of a sinner.
When God begins the work of salvation in a sinner, He's going to do
these same things. He's going to root out He's going
to root out all of our perceived righteousness and goodness and
ability. He's going to root it out. He's
going to pull us down before He builds us up. God always slays
before He gives life. Always, always. He always brings
one upon whom He set His love. Now think about this. From way
before the foundation of the world, one that He has loved
with an everlasting love, and yet in calling that person to
Himself and bringing that person to a knowledge of Jesus Christ
His Lord, He's going to root out and tear down before He builds
up. person's going to come to know
that he is a sinner, she is a sinner. They're going to come to know,
yes, I need a savior. Maybe no one else in this world
does, but here's one. Why? Why does anyone acknowledge
their sinfulness and crying to God Have mercy upon me. Oh Lord, be propitious to me,
the sinner, like that man our Lord spoke of, who went into
the temple, and there's that one man over there, that's all
of us by nature, he's talking about how good he is. Why? Because that's what he felt,
that's what he believed, and that's all of us by nature. But
here's this one man that God has done a work in his heart,
and he cries, Lord God, be merciful to me, the sinner. So, as we
see the work of Jeremiah, you can trace this out. This is the
way God works in the heart. And I ask you, has he done this
work in your heart? as have you ever been made to
feel and to know that you are a sinner, that you stand before
an absolute holy God and you don't have any righteousness?
in which to appear before Him? That all you have is a darkness
and the blackness of your sinful nature and your sins? That's
all you have? And you're going to stand before
this holy, righteous God? Appear before Him? Has He ever
made you to realize that and to feel that and know that so
that you've cried out, Oh God! Oh God, have mercy upon me! Help
me! Save me. Well, I just point that
out to us. God told Jeremiah, I've ordained
you to be a prophet to the nations. He wasn't just talking about
those foreign nations around Judah. He was talking about his
nation. And a second thing here in chapter
one I would point out is this. Verse 18, God speaking, For behold,
I have made thee this day a defense city, and an iron pillar, and
brazen walls against the whole land. Now God had made him a
prophet, and these terms that God uses, a defense city, an
iron pillar, a brazen wall, lets us know He's going to stand,
yes, as He says, 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. I would imagine if you fight
against a defense city, an iron pillar, or brazen wall, you're
not going to do a whole lot of damage. But still, you will have your
adversaries, Jeremiah. And notice who they're going
to be. They're going to be the kings. And if you read through
the book of Jeremiah, you'll see that one king told him, well,
I can't help you. These men, these counselors,
they're stronger than me. I can't help you. And you're
going to find the priest. In fact, in The chapter 20, Pashur,
the man who smote him on the face, the man who put him in
stocks, who was he? He was a priest. He was one of
the priests of God. False, no doubt, but still a
priest. But notice verse 19, and they
shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail. Did God
ever promise? Did God ever tell Jeremiah, you're
going to have a life of ease? You're never going to know any
afflictions, any problems, any troubles. Let me ask you, did God ever
tell you that? No, no. In fact, the Lord told
his disciples in the world, you shall have tribulation, but be
of good cheer. I have overcome the world. And
the Apostle Paul said, all, all, A-L-L, all that live godly in
Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. They encouraged the brethren
in the book of Acts that we must, through much tribulation, enter
into the kingdom of heaven. No, it was a serious charge. It was a baseless charge. And
third, it was an unsupported charge. Jeremiah had nothing. He had nothing to support this
charge, but everything to testify against it. He had part of the word of God. He didn't have all the word of
God like you and I do. Aren't you thankful we have a
complete revelation that God has for us? I'm not looking for
any revelation anywhere other than right here. Don't tell me
you had a dream or a vision or anything like that. If you do,
that dream, that vision must be checked, supported by the
Word of God. And if it doesn't measure up
to the Word of God, away with it. Be gone. Jeremiah had part of the Word
of God, and this charge was an unsupported charge. Did God deceive
Adam? He had the first few chapters,
no doubt, of Genesis. Did God deceive Adam when God
told him of every tree of the garden? I don't know how many
trees there may have been. I would say hundreds, thousands
of trees, beautiful trees, fruit trees, all kinds, with all the
best of fruit, delicious fruit, everything. But God told him,
but of the tree of knowledge, one tree out of all these trees,
one tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat. For in the day that thou eatest
thereof, thou shalt surely die. Did God deceive Adam? You know
the story. You know the story. It's history. It's history. It's not historical fiction.
It's history. It's history. Adam ate, and Adam
died. You say, died? He lived on for
over 800 or 900 years. Yes, physically he did, but from
that very moment that he ate, spiritually, he was separated
from God. spiritually separate from God. And there was no way back to
him, no way back for Adam to come to God unless God, and thank
God, God has provided a way back. But when God put Adam out of
the garden, he put those flaming swords there to keep the way
to the tree of life. to testify to all of us, all
men, there's no way of salvation by our works, by our doings. Did God deceive Noah when he
told Noah, the end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth
is filled with violence through them. And behold, I will destroy
them with the earth. Did he deceive Noah? Ah, you
know he didn't. You know he got busy, didn't
he? Scripture says he moved with
fear. He believed God. He started building an ark. People today, you've got your
preachers, you've got your men who are telling people and warning
people there's one way, there's one way to God, the way's narrow,
and yet people, they don't believe it. Why? They think somehow that
we're deceiving them. Our point is deceive men. God didn't deceive Noah. Did
he deceive Abraham when he told him, I'm going to make a great
nation of you, but they're going to spend 430 years in captivity? No. They went down into Egypt,
stayed there 430 years. God brought them out. He didn't
deceive Abraham. And I might include in this today
when God told Abraham, I will make of thee a great nation,
that in his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed.
The promise, the promise was long in coming. Oh yeah, it was
long in coming. But in the fullness of the time,
God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law,
that he might redeem us from the curse of the law. He didn't
deceive Abraham. Abraham, like you and I, sometimes
were filled with unbelief. He thought he would speed up
the process. That didn't work, did it? Why? Maybe he thought God had deceived
him. No, God has never deceived anyone, never will. Did God deceive David when he
told him this about his son? He shall build a house for my
name. And as your son, David, he shall
build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of
his kingdom forever. Did God deceive David in saying
that? Of course not. The Lord Jesus
Christ was born. The angel told Mary he shall
be upon the throne of his father, David. And his kingdoms shall
know no end. Has the Lord Jesus Christ ever
been guilty of deceiving anyone? When he said, Come unto me, all
ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give thee rest. Has
he ever deceived anyone? For whosoever believeth on the
Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not shall not
see life, but the wrath of God abideth upon him. No, He's never
deceived anyone. He hasn't deceived you. If you're
here today and you've never fled to Jesus Christ, if you've never
come to Him and said, Lord, have mercy on me, save me. He hasn't
deceived you. And you go on like that and you'll
meet Him at the judgment, my friend. It's either bow or burn. Now that's just so. But don't
think he's deceived you. Don't think his words deceived
you. Here's the fourth thing about this charge I want to say.
It was a charge made by a child of God. A charge made by a child of God. Now, I cannot see how, in the
light of chapter one, anyone could argue and say, well, Jeremiah
must have not have been saved. To make that charge, O Lord,
thou hast deceived me. He must not have been saved.
Someone says, I just don't see how a child of God, a prophet,
could ever speak like that. Let me ask you this question.
Have you ever said or thought something similar, especially
in affliction? In affliction? Have you ever
thought of God's providence? You know, we talk about Job. And Job, he uttered some of the
greatest words the sinners ever uttered. When God allowed Satan
to take everything from him, Job said these words, and they're
so wonderful. The Lord gave and the Lord hath
taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
And I can only pray If I ever experience anything like that,
God, give me the grace. I don't have it, but give me
the grace to be able to say the same thing the Lord gave and
the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Well, let me tell you something.
As the affliction lingered, as Job lingered in this affliction,
He began to say some of the very same words. Look here in Jeremiah
chapter 20. He began to, or Jeremiah said
some of the same words that Job said. Verse 14. Jeremiah says, Cursed be the
day wherein I was born. You know that Job said some of
those, these very same things. You read through the book of
Job. Let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.
Cursed be the man, the poor man that just took the word to my
dad and told him, you've got a son. Cursed be him. That doesn't
sound very good, does it? Cursed be the man who brought
tidings to my father saying, a man child is born unto thee,
making him very glad. And let that man be as the cities
which the Lord overthrew, and repented not, and let him hear
the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide. Because
he slew me not from the womb, or that my mother might have
been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me. What
a horrible thing did he wish upon his mother, that she had
continued to carry him in her belly. Wherefore came I forth out of
the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed
with shame? What I'm saying, my friends,
is that affliction, in the beginning, yes, Job, he spoke some very
good things, but as it lingered on, then he said some things
that were not worthy of him to say. And I ask you and I, Have
we never at least thought things, if not verbalized them? You know we have. What I'm saying
is this charge, oh Lord, thou hast deceived me. This charge
was leveled against God from a child of God. You say, well, how's that possible?
Well, I'll tell you how it's possible. We recognize that when
God saves a sinner, he gives us a new nature. If any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold,
all things are become new. But God does not eradicate the
old nature. He just doesn't do that. And
he speaks of this old man as a body with members, and one
member is the tongue. The tongue. Remember James said,
the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil full of
deadly poison. How can a child of God bring
such a charge against God? How can he do that? Because man
at his best. save man at his best, he still
has that old nature, that old sinful nature. Now you might say, preacher,
why? Why bring such a message as this? And more than that,
why? Why has God left such failures
and sins on record of some of the saints of God? Let me just
give you three reasons First of all, to teach us that they
were saved by grace as poor, lost, ruined sinners in the same
way we must be saved. Let me say that again. To teach
us. We don't contribute anything. Not the least iota do we contribute
to our salvation. It's by grace and grace alone. Second, to serve us as warnings
that we not be overtaken in the same sins. Paul said all of these
things happen to them for examples and are written for our admonition.
And third, why are these things recorded? To encourage and lift
up any saint any saint who may have fallen, may have fallen
into sin. And in such despondency, you've
heard Satan whisper in your ear, there's no hope for you. There's
no hope for you. Oh, God has left these things
on record to testify. Oh yes, there's hope. There's
hope in Christ for everyone that comes and looks to him. Well,
I pray the Lord would bless this word to all of us here today. And I just say, flee to Christ.
You say, well, preacher, you don't give an invitation. Well,
that's not fleeing to Christ. I've been given an invitation
all the time I've been preaching. That's what I've been doing.
I've been telling you about Christ and how willing He is to save
sinners. He came for that purpose. If
you'll just look to Him. Trust Him. He's not going to
deceive you. Not at all. Well, let's stand
as we sing hymn number 496.