COURAGE TO STAND IN A FALLEN WORLD

“Jeremiah’s Prayer”

Pastor Duane Cross | 04.21.2013

“O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you. You show unfailing love to thousands, but you also bring the consequences of one generation’s sin upon the next. You are the great and powerful God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. You have all wisdom and do great and mighty miracles. You see the conduct of all people, and you give them what they deserve. You performed miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt-things still remembered to this day. And you have continued to do great miracles in Israel and all around the world. You have made your name famous to this day. You brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders, with a strong hand and powerful arm, and with overwhelming terror. You gave the people of Israel this land that you had promised their ancestors long before-a land flowing with milk and honey. Our ancestors came and conquered it and lived in it, but they refused to obey you or follow your word. They have not done anything you commanded. That is why you have sent this terrible disaster upon them. See how the siege ramps have been built against the city walls. Through war, famine, and disease, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will conquer it. Everything has happened just as you said. And yet, O Sovereign Lord, you have told me to buy the field-paying good money for it before these witnesses-even though the city will soon be handed over to the Babylonians.”
Jeremiah 32:17-25(NLT)

4 PARTS TO JEREMIAH’S PRAYER

1) “Oh Sovereign Lord!”

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” Romans 8:26-27

2) “Great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds.”

3) Jeremiah worships God for His glorious attributes.

“You...bring the punishment for the fathers’ sins into the laps of their children.”
Jeremiah 32:18

“But lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.” Exodus 20:6

4) “Your eyes are open to the ways of men.”

“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”

GOING DEEPER QUESTIONS
These questions are designed to help you go deeper with the sermon during your week-to take a closer look at the Scripture and find fresh ways to live out the main points of the sermon.  Going Deeper questions also are used for discussion in all of our Grow Groups at Hope.

Scripture Reading
Jeremiah 32

Getting Started
What insight or principle from this weekend’s message or from Jeremiah 32 did you find helpful, interesting or challenging?  Explain.



How do you feel when life gets messy?  How do you cope?



When you pray, do you have a pattern you follow (i.e. confession, praise, requests) or do you free-style?


                                                             
A Closer Look
Jeremiah’s purchase of the field at Anathoth from his uncle (vs. 6-15) becomes the central metaphor for Jeremiah 32.  What did this purchase signify?  Why did Jeremiah buy a field right before the land was taken over by a foreign army? (Hint: see vs. 42-44)




Why do you think Jeremiah reminded God of all the things he had done?  Do we need to remind God of his acts?

Jeremiah 32:18 voices the fundamental tension in the character of Israel’s God-he is utterly steadfast in love AND exactingly severe in judgment.  Compare 32:18 with Exodus 34:6-7 and Numbers 14.

    •How does 32:18-23 catalogue of God’s “steadfast love” to Israel?

    •How does 32:18; 23-24 describe God’s judgement on Isreal?

    •How is God both loving and just, caring and mighty?  How can God deliver love and retribution?  How do we hold these in proper tension?  Which is hardest for you to appreciate?



Although, judgment seems to have the last word in the book of Jeremiah (e.g. 29), Jeremiah’s prayer (vs. 25) ends in hope after exile!  How does God’s love win in his response to Jeremiah’s prayer (see vs. 26-44)?  What kind of hope should this give God’s people?



Describe how God’s promise of an “everlasting covenant” (vs. 40) is beginning to be fulfilled today because of the New Covenant that Jesus introduced.  How did Jesus end Israel’s exile and usher in God’s promises to Israel?



Digging Deeper
How can the way Jeremiah prays inform the way you pray?


How does or how should “hope” (in God’s promises) affect the way you live?


What are the key truths you have learned from the Book of Jeremiah?  What do you believe the Father is trying to teach you to do from this great book?