I want to ask you to turn with
me this morning to the Old Testament book of Jeremiah chapter 32. Jeremiah chapter 32, right after
the book of Isaiah. My text will be found in verse
27. Jeremiah chapter 32, verse 27. Here in this verse, God Almighty
makes this declaration. He says, behold, I am the Lord,
the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for
me? Now allow me for a couple of
minutes to fill you in on what's happening here in this chapter.
A powerful enemy of Israel, the Chaldeans, had surrounded Jerusalem. It's important to note that the
prophet Jeremiah had warned Zedekiah, the king of Judah, that this
would happen before it ever happened. In verse one, we see that. So
when the Chaldeans overtook Jerusalem, Jeremiah was already in prison
and it was his own king or the king of Judah that had put him
there. According to verses 2 and 3, when Jeremiah prophesied and
told the king that the Chaldeans would overtake them and take
the city, Zedekiah didn't like it. Zedekiah said in verse 3,
Wherefore dost thou prophesy and say these things? What Zedekiah
was saying was, how dare you come and prophesy against me
this way? But this was the word of the
Lord. This wasn't the word of Jeremiah. It was the word that
the Lord had given to Jeremiah for the king. It was God's word
to the king. And the king didn't like it.
It cast doubt upon his ability as king. It made him look weak
as the protector of Israel. But Zedekiah wasn't the protector
of Israel. God was. I wish we could learn
that. The kings and the presidents
of this world aren't in control of this world. God is. Jeremiah
told the king the truth. God told the king through Jeremiah
that he would be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans, that
he would be taken into captivity and taken to Babylon. And Zedekiah
threw Jeremiah into prison for telling the truth. People don't
want to hear the truth. They want to hear what they believe
to be the truth, not what God says the truth is. But what Jeremiah
had said came to pass. And in verse four, tells us that
Zedekiah, the King of Judah did not escape out of the hand of
the Chaldeans and was surely delivered and taken captive by
the King of Babylon and he was taken captive by him personally,
not by the hands of the army, not by the hands of the generals,
but he was taken captive by the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar
himself. And that was an act of great
humiliation. You know, God knows how to humble
men and women, doesn't he? So when this all occurs, as Jeremiah
said it would, Jeremiah, the prophet of God, is in prison. Verse two says, in the king's
house. You need to understand that to imprison a true prophet
of the Lord was a serious thing, especially when God had sent
him with the very word that you're throwing him in prison for. It
was an unheard thing to throw a prophet in prison. And it certainly
revealed something of Zedekiah's heart. But now we fast forward
a bit and in verse seven, we see that the Lord comes to Jeremiah
in the prison and he speaks to him again. And this time the
Lord tells Jeremiah that his cousin is coming to him in prison
and gonna ask him to buy a piece of property. And in verse eight,
it's described as a field in Anathoth. I looked that up in
the Hebrew and found it interesting that the name of this city in
the original Hebrew means answers to prayer. Anathoth was a city
that Joshua gave to the tribe of Benjamin. And it was called
a priest city where the priest in Joshua's day dwelt. And it
was a suburb about three miles outside the city of Jerusalem.
And the Lord tells Jeremiah that when his cousin comes to him
in the prison and ask him to buy this field, this piece of
ground, Jeremiah is to buy it. And the price in verse 9 is 17
shekels of silver. And then in the preceding verses,
the Lord goes on to tell Jeremiah that when he buys it, he needs
to get all the papers filled out correctly. He needs to get
them witnessed in front of several witnesses, having it sealed according
to the law and put away in a safe place. Wanted this to be a legitimate
transaction. But I want you to think about
that. Naturally speaking, Worldly speaking, this would not have
been a wise investment to make. 17 shekels wasn't a lot of money,
but a significant amount for a prophet of God. If you remember,
the Lord and his disciples, to get their tax money or tribute
money, got it out of the mouth of the fish. The prophet of God
didn't have a lot of money, nor did he need it. But naturally
speaking, worldly speaking, fleshly speaking, this was not a good
business decision. The Lord had already told Jeremiah
that the Chaldeans were taking the land over. His deed wouldn't
mean anything to them. He was throwing away good money.
He was buying a piece of property that would have been taken from
him and would have been worthless to him as soon as he purchased
it. And knowing what Jeremiah knew, the last thing that a sane
man would do is buy a piece of real estate that he was sure
to lose. But Jeremiah, listen to me, Jeremiah
knew something that no one else knew. God had told him that he
was gonna give Jerusalem back to Israel someday. And Jeremiah
was buying this piece of property. This showed his great faith in
God and in his word. And that is when Jeremiah in
verse 17 made this statement. Look at it. Oh Lord God, behold,
thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power
and stretched out arm. And there is nothing, nothing
too hard for thee. And that's what God confirmed
in our text in verse 27. He said, behold, I am the Lord,
the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for
me? So what happened? Just what God
said would happen. The Chaldeans did exactly what
God said they would do. You know, God is always right
in what he foretells and in what he forewarns. You want to know
why? Because He's the one that brings these things to pass.
He's the one behind them. We don't much act like it. Verse
28 and the following verses tell us that God gave the city of
Jerusalem into the hands of the Chaldeans and they set the city
on fire. They burned their houses, they
offered incense to Baal, and they provoked God to anger. And
God let the Chaldeans have their own way and at the same time
accomplish His will and purpose. You see, God can do that very
easily. God at the same time accomplished
His perfect will and purpose for Israel. God still does the
same today. God allows men and women to have
their own way sometime, and all the while, He uses their evil
ways and their intentions to accomplish His sovereign will.
That's exactly what Amos chapter three, verse six means when it
says, shall there be evil in a city and the Lord hath not
done it? Men with wicked hands took and crucified the Lord of
glory, but it was by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. God was behind it. Why? Why did he do so? To save
his people from their sin. Anyway, the last thing that any
in their right mind would do is buy a piece of land where
all this is taking place. It would be considered mere foolishness
to do such a thing. But that's what God told Jeremiah
to do. And that's what Jeremiah did.
But as I said, Jeremiah knew something that the world didn't
know. And this is the lesson that I'm endeavoring to teach
this morning. The believer, the child of God,
knows some things that the world don't. And much of what the child
of God does in this world is considered by the world to be
foolish. What did Jeremiah know? What
did the Lord reveal to Jeremiah? Look down at verse 37. God, speaking
of his people here, said, Behold, I will gather them out of all
countries, whether I have driven them in my anger and in my fury
and in great wrath, and I will bring them again unto this place,
and I will cause them to dwell safely, and they shall be my
people, and I will be their God. You see, they're coming back.
Jeremiah and every believer knows that there's nothing too hard
for the Lord. Absolutely nothing. Israel would
return to Jerusalem. And we believe God because nothing's
too hard for Him. We can have faith in this God.
He can do anything and He can do everything. God told Abraham
and Sarah that they were going to have a child. You know that
story well. Abraham was 100 years old and
Sarah was 90. And when God told Abraham this,
Sarah overheard and she laughed. And do you remember the question
the Lord asked? He said, is anything too hard
for the Lord? Wouldn't matter if Abraham was
500 and Sarah was 400. If God determines they're going
to have a child, they're going to have one. He said, at the
time appointed, I will return unto thee according to the time
of life and Sarah shall have a son. And that's exactly what
happened. Our God can do anything. Nothing
is too hard for Him. He does what He wills at the
appointed time. And that's speaking of His appointed
time, by the way, not ours. I'm so glad that God is not as
the religion of this world claims Him to be. He's not a God that's
trying to do. He's not a God that wants to
do. He's the God that declares himself to be sovereign and in
control of everything. By faith, Noah, being warned
of God, of things not yet seen, moved with fear, prepared an
ark. He prepared a ship on dry ground. And everybody thought
he was crazy. I can just hear him, can't you?
What in the world is Noah doing? Well, he's lost his mind. The
world mocked. They laughed and they ridiculed.
But Noah knew something the world didn't know. Child of God, you
know some things that the world don't know. And don't be at all
surprised if they think that you're crazy for some of the
things that you do. By faith, Abraham, when he was
tried, he offered up Isaac, his one and only son. Where are you
going with your son, Abraham? Well, me and the boy were going
up into a mountain that the Lord would tell us of. Well, what
are you going to do there? Well, I'm going to offer my son,
my only son, the son that I love, I'm going to offer him for a
burnt offering. You're going to do what? Are you crazy? Well, you waited a hundred years
to get that boy. But Abraham knew something that
the world didn't know. God had promised Abraham that
his seed would be as the stars of the sky and that through his
son Isaac, God would bless all nations through the coming of
the promised Messiah. And he knew that if he slayed
that boy and offered him up, that God would raise him up because
he believed God. Is there anything too hard for
the Lord? Is there any reason for us not
to trust Him and believe Him? By faith, Moses, when he was
come to years, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's
daughter. And it was foolishness to the
world, but Moses believed God. Where are you going, Moses? Why
have you packed your things? Why are you moving out of Pharaoh's
palace? Moses said, I'm going to be with
my people. I'm going to be with God's people. You see, Moses
knew something that those in Egypt didn't. He knew God was
the great I Am. By faith to Israel, they put
blood on the door and on the side posts and the lintel, and
they waited for God to march through Egypt in judgment and
death, believing that God would see the blood, picturing the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and He would pass over them.
Because God had said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Is there anything too hard for
the Lord? Well, when you say that was contrary to human reason,
contrary to human wisdom, you better believe it was. Do you
and I act according to human wisdom and reasoning? Well, I'll
say it this way. We've got too much worldly and
human reasoning going on in the church of God as it is. May God
be pleased to enable me to live as though I believe and trust
God. I should. There's nothing too
hard for Him. By faith Joshua, while the people
of Jericho laughed and mocked and ridiculed as they looked
down from that wall. Here's Joshua and the people
of Israel marching around that wall, blowing trumpets. They
looked down, they're laughing. I can just see them. Look at
this. We've got them shut out. We're
sitting up here and they can't do anything. Well, they let out
a big shout and some things happened, didn't it? The walls come tumbling
down. Is there anything too hard for
the Lord? Rahab, the harlot, she believed. For by faith, the harlot Rahab
perished not with them that believe not when she received the spies
with peace. When those spies came and she
hid them, she said, oh, we've heard about your God. We heard
about how your God delivered you out of them from Pharaoh
and his army out of the Red Sea. We heard what you did to those
two kings up there. I heard about your God. Ain't
nothing too hard for him. Jeremiah had told King Zedekiah,
you may fight, but you're going to lose. And you may resist,
but you're going to fail. And you may reject my word, but
it'll come to pass because it was God's word. And you're going
to become a prisoner in Babylon. But before you do, would you
witness and notarize these papers here on this piece of ground? To the world, that would be absolute
foolishness. I can just hear people say, Jeremiah,
don't waste your money on any property here. Take your money
down to Babylon with you and invest in it there. Put your
investment to work there where things are booming and things
are happening. But Jeremiah was about to make
a very good investment and didn't nobody know it. It was an investment
for the soul. Now hear me on this. The true
believer's actions are just as foolish to the world as Jeremiah's
were. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
1. 1 Corinthians 1. The child of God knows something
that the world doesn't know. Salvation. Redemption and faith
in a crucified Christ is foolishness to the world. But we know something
that the world doesn't. Look at verse 17, 1 Corinthians
chapter 1 verse 17. Paul said, for Christ sent me
not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. and not with wisdom
of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of non-effect."
Verse 18, for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
or them that are perishing, foolishness. But unto us, which are saved
or are being saved, it's the power of God. Now, when God saved
me and the folks found out, someone asked me one time, said, do you
really believe that foolishness? You see, it was foolishness to
Him because it's foolishness to them that are perishing. But
it wasn't foolishness to me. It was the power of God, the
very power of God that saved me. I knew something that He
didn't know. We don't make Christ crucified
and affected by mixing the wisdom of men's words with it. That's
what's wrong with religion today. There's too much man in their
preaching. Verse 19, for it is written, I will destroy the wisdom
of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is
the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Now listen,
when the world and all its earthly wisdom failed to know the true
and the living God by all the means of their own, God in His
wisdom and in His purpose was pleased to reveal Christ through
the very means that the world calls foolishness. Verse 22,
for the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom,
but we preach Christ crucified. Friends, don't be afraid to purchase
this fertile piece of ground, even though it's in this doomed
world. Don't be afraid to invest your soul and your eternal well-being
in a crucified Christ. Don't be afraid to put all your
hope and trust in the Christ of the cross. But when you do,
I should say, don't be surprised if the world think that you've
lost your mind and that you've gone off the deep end. But God's
revealed something to you that he hasn't revealed to the whole
world. Verse 23 says, it is unto the Jews a stumbling block and
unto the Greeks foolishness. And it is, and they'll tell you
so. You know, a virgin named Mary
became a child before she ever knew her espoused husband named
Joseph. She said that an angel had told
her that she had conceived the child by the Spirit of God, by
the God Spirit overshadowing her. And don't you know that
people thought she was crazy. If an angel had not revealed
the same thing to her future husband Joseph, no doubt he would
have put her away, the scripture says, or he would have separated
himself from her. You're going to have a hard time
convincing a natural man that that happened. How did you get
pregnant? The Spirit of God overshadowed
me. Yeah, right. All through the Lord's earthly
life, He claimed to be about His Father's business. And what'd
they say? He told all that heard Him that
He and His Heavenly Father are one. But they all asked the same
question. Is this not Joseph's son? Is
this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, brother of James and
Joseph and Judah and Simon? And are these not his sisters? We know who he is. How does he
say that he and God are one? They didn't know some things.
They thought our Lord was crazy. The world thought his words were
foolish. They charged him with being the
devil himself. He was a stumbling block to the
Jews, and all he said was foolishness to the wise Greeks. They wondered,
how could anyone think that this man named Jesus could be taken
serious? Was there anything good that
comes out of Nazareth? His friends were publicans and
sinners and harlots. He never owned a piece of property.
He had no place to lay his head. By the world standard, he was
considered homeless. He was despised and rejected.
He was a man of sorrows. He was acquainted with grief.
He was denied by one friend, betrayed by another, and all
the rest of them forsook him. He was arrested and tried for
blasphemy. They said, you being a man, make
yourself out to be God. You see, they didn't know that
he was God. You know that, don't you? You know some things the
world don't know. Many false witnesses testified against him.
He was found guilty, sentenced to death, nailed to a cross between
two thieves, was buried in a borrowed tomb. And yet there are people
all over this world who claim that this man is their Lord and
their Savior. And the world asks, what's wrong
with them? Why do they carry on so foolishly? But I declare
to you this morning, in no uncertain terms, that the people of God,
like Noah, and like Abraham, and like Moses, and like Jeremiah,
know something that the world doesn't know. They've purchased
a field in a burnt city, and they're quite happy about it.
They know that there's a great treasure in that field. They're
trusting in a crucified Savior, and they know that He's God.
How do they know? God Himself has shown them. God
Himself has revealed it to them. God Himself has taught them these
things. And all that the world sees on
Calvary's cross is a helpless man. But the people of God see
a submissive Savior. All the world sees on Calvary's
cross is a defeated failure. But the elect of God see a great
high priest who is by the sacrifice of himself, putting away their
sin forever. That's what we see. We see something
the world don't see. And God is still bringing his
sheep home. He must do so, he said so. He said, other sheep
I have, them I must also bring. God's still revealing His will
and His purpose to some, and God is telling them to invest
their souls in the one whom this world thinks to be foolish and
weak. But God has revealed to His people
just the opposite. Now look at verse 25 here. Because the foolishness of God
is wiser than man, and the weakness of God is stronger than me. This
is a solid and a sure and a firm investment because Jesus Christ
is the solid rock and He's the sure and firm foundation. And what the world thinks is
foolishness has been revealed to the elect of God is God's
wisdom. Men cried on that day of His
crucifixion and they said, save yourself and come down from the
cross. But friends, it was His staying
on the cross that saved His people from their sin. Things are not
always as they seem. This world thought that those
nails held him on the cross. The believer knows it was their
sin that held him there. They thought human weakness put
him on the cross. God's people know that it was
his submission to God that put him there. The world thinks we've
made a bad deal. The world thinks we bought into
something worthless of no value, but we haven't. God has shown
us different. The dying thief saw what the
world couldn't see. He saw what his cohort didn't
see. He bought a lot in a doomed city.
He looked beyond this world and he saw what the world wouldn't
see and couldn't see. He saw a city not made with hands. He saw a city whose maker and
builder was God. He saw a place beyond where Christ
hung in disgrace. He saw a place called paradise. And he cried out, Lord, when
you come into your kingdom, remember me. God told Jeremiah to buy
the land and the world thought he was crazy. The world looks
at the cross and they see defeat. They see death. They see what
they think to be failure. But child of God, they don't
see what you see. We look past the cross, we look
past the defeat, we look past the death, and we see a risen
Savior. We see a victorious King. We
see one who's both God and Savior. We see one who is both just and
justifier. God's still saving sinners. God's
still bringing His sheep home. Do you see that man? He's laid
there for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda. He can't walk. He's
crippled and he's handicapped. He'd been trying to get in that
angel stirred water with no success whatsoever. But one day a man
came up to him and asked him, will thou be made whole? And
he began to make excuses. He began to see all the reasons
why that possession and that field of health was worthless,
a bad investment. But before he could finish making
excuses, the Lord Jesus said, rise, take up your bed and walk. And immediately he was made whole.
Is there anything too hard for the Lord? That field of life
Christ has, by the way, it's a lot cheaper than 17 shekels
of silver, it's free. For 12 long years, a poor woman
spent all her living, all her money, in pain with an issue
of blood. All the physicians did was take
her money, but they didn't give her any relief. But she heard
about a field that was for sale that didn't cost a thing. The
advertisement read, everyone that thirsteth cometh to the
waters, and thou that hath no money, come ye buy and eat without
money and without price. She said, that sounds like a
good deal to me. And she said within herself,
if I could just get there. She knew that she would find
living water on that property. She knew that if she could make
her way there, she could find living bread that fell from heaven. The world said, don't get your
hopes up. You'll be disappointed. It sounds
too good to be true. But she made her way through
that cry. She pushed through that throng of people and she
reached out with all the strength that she had and she touched
the border of that garment. She touched the hem of his garment
and immediately she was made whole friends. Is there anything
too hard for the Lord? Christ is that field. Christ
is that place. Christ is that one who gives
life and gives it so abundantly. Are you thirsty? Come ye to the
waters. Are you hungry? Come, buy and
eat without money and without price. Let me remind you again
what the Lord God says to all His people. It's the same thing
He said to Jeremiah. He said in our text, behold,
I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too
hard for me? Is there? Is there anything too
hard for God? He's able to do exceedingly abundantly
above all that we could ask or think. He says, according to
the power that worketh in us, the same power that made the
worlds, that spoke the universe into existence is the same power
that works within us. For it is God which worketh in
you, both to will and to do His good pleasure. Listen to me,
and I'll hush. Don't you sell that good ground. Don't you sell that good ground
that I've endeavored to show you and to sow seed upon today. That's what I'm doing. I'm sowing
seed on that good ground. You remember what the name means? Answer of prayers. Don't let
that seed you sow on this ground fall by the wayside. Don't you
let it be trodden down. Don't you let the fowls of the
air devour it. Don't you let the thorns choke
it out. Let the light shine on it. Water it. It's good ground
because the Lord give it to you. It'll spring up and bear fruit
a hundred fold. May God be pleased to make it
so.