JEREMIAH 32 RECEIVE A CLEAR WORD FROM THE LORD2019 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Jeremiah 32 Receive A Clear Word From The Lord

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2019. This morning as we look at Jeremiah chapter 32, the title of the message is Receive a Clear Word from the Lord.

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And they're receiving the word of the Lord and speaking forth the word of the Lord. And here kind of extending that idea, we have this understanding of what the Lord is saying, but the need for clarity in that and to have the specifics of what the Lord is speaking to our hearts. Chapter 32 of Jeremiah is an interesting chapter and a good one to look at because here we see Jeremiah go through a situation where he hears from the Lord

But it's not quite clear to him. And he needs to kind of check out and verify what the Lord has said. And the message from the Lord becomes more clear to him as the chapter progresses. And in that, he provides really a good example for us, for hearing from the Lord and yet moving forward in what the Lord is saying and allowing God to give clarity as we progress.

Well, we're going to work our way through several different parts of this chapter. Looking at verses 1 through 5, not really diving into the verses here, but here we kind of get a setup for the rest of the chapter, where we find out in verse 1 that Jeremiah is imprisoned and that it is in really the final days of the nation of Judah. It tells us in verse 1, the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah in the 10th year of Zedekiah, the king of Judah.

And so we get a sense of the timeframe here. This is really the end of the nation right before Babylon conquers Judah. And just to give a little bit of perspective, here's a quick look at the timeline to understand where we're at and where Jeremiah is when this prophecy is being received as well as given.

Going back a couple hundred years, back to 933 BC, it was after the death of Solomon that the nation of Israel was divided into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom, Israel, the southern kingdom, Judah. The northern kingdom, Israel, was rebellious against the Lord from the start and

And as a result of their rebellion, they brought upon themselves destruction in their rebellion against God. And so 722 BC, the nation of Assyria is used by the Lord to bring judgment on Israel and Israel is conquered and is no more after that. The people are taken out of Israel and dispersed through the Assyrian empire. But the nation of Judah continued on for a little bit longer. And

And they had some good kings that called the people to repentance, but they continued down a similar path as their northern kingdom sisters, right? That they continued on the path to destruction. And so you have notable kings like Josiah in 640 BC who called the people back to the Lord, but the people kept returning back to disobedience and rebellion against the Lord.

And so God sends prophets to call them back, to give them an opportunity to repent. And Jeremiah is the last line of defense for them.

He's God's last messenger. He prophesies up into that final destruction of Jerusalem by the kingdom of Babylon. And even a little bit beyond that, he's prophesying to the people and calling them to repentance. And so Jeremiah begins to minister around 626 BC and he ministers to the nation of Judah for about 40 years.

Now, during that time, Babylon rises to power, comes against the nation of Judah, and actually conquers Jerusalem a total of three times.

The first two times happened a little bit before the passage we're looking at today. That the nation of Babylon has come in and defeated Judah, conquered Jerusalem, put a new king in its place and said, okay, now you be obedient and pay tribute and, you know, we'll allow you to stay. And then that king rebelled. And so then Babylon came again, laid siege again, conquered Jerusalem again, and then set a new king in its place and said, okay, now you be obedient and pay tribute. And that last king was Zedekiah.

But now Zedekiah has decided to rebel against Babylon as well. And so now Babylon has come and the siege mounds are laid. Babylon for the third time is attacking Jerusalem. And this time is going to be the final time. After this, Jerusalem is going to be emptied out. The nation of Judah is going to be emptied out and taken to Babylon as captives. And so this is that last time frame. It's the last king, Zedekiah.

Jeremiah, by this time, has been prophesying to them for about 40 years, calling them to repentance, calling the nation to turn back to God. And so here we are with Zedekiah as king, Jeremiah imprisoned because Zedekiah doesn't like the message that Babylon is going to conquer them. He doesn't like the message that Jeremiah is bringing forth. And so he asked Jeremiah, why did you say that? Why would you say these things? Why would you give this terrible prophecy?

And really the rest of chapter 32 is Jeremiah explaining to Zedekiah how the Lord revealed this message to him. And so we get to kind of follow along the journey. Jeremiah explains as it progresses how the Lord revealed this message and how he was able to bring it forth even though it was not popular and really cost him imprisonment. And so we get to learn from his example. He provides a good model for us.

to receive a clear word from the Lord. And we're going to walk with him through five steps, five steps to receive that clear word from the Lord. It begins in verses six and seven with step number one, and that is listen for the Lord's gentle voice.

In verse six and seven, it says, and Jeremiah said, the word of the Lord came to me saying, behold, Hanamel, the son of Shalom, your uncle will come to you saying, buy my field, which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it. As Jeremiah begins to explain how he heard from the Lord, he starts out saying, the word of the Lord came to me. And just right there, if we stop,

We can easily have some pictures in our mind of that that are maybe not accurate, that maybe don't actually represent what happened. How did God speak to Jeremiah? How do you imagine it? What does it look like when you picture this scene in your head? You picture Jeremiah, the prophet of the Lord, hearing from the Lord. Jeremiah, this is the Lord. Here is my message for you. You think Jeremiah heard an audible voice? No.

Do you think he heard from the Lord through a microphone? His room was shaking. Everything was bouncing around with the vibrations. This is as deep as my voice gets, so I can't really make an impression of God. How did Jeremiah hear from the Lord? Was it a clear audible voice? Did he wake up in the morning? You know, he's in his cell. He looks at the wall and God had written a message on the wall. Here's the word of the Lord.

Maybe this was before his imprisonment. So, you know, Jeremiah took a shower and it steamed up the mirror. And then he looked and there on the mirror, God had written a message to him. Here's the word of the Lord, Jeremiah. Here's what I want you to say. Did Jeremiah reach his hand into his pocket and pull out a little tiny scroll? And oh, it's a word from the Lord. It's a message from the Lord. How did Jeremiah, he says, the word of the Lord came to me. How did that actually happen? Now, God could have used any of those methods. But what method did he use?

Well, as we work our way through this passage, it seems clear that the way that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah was not some external profound thing like that, but instead, well, probably what is more common and usual for us, and that is a gentle, internal voice. That's how the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. It was, well, as it's described in 1 Kings 19, a still, small voice.

You remember that when the prophet Elijah, he had run away and he's hiding in a cave. He's really overwhelmed by the situation he's in and the lack of people serving the Lord. And the Lord meets him there. But it's interesting when the Lord meets him there, it says in verse 11 of 1 Kings 19, the Lord tells him, go out and stand in the mountain before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by in a great and strong wind, tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind.

And after the wind, an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, a still, small voice. All these, you know, huge demonstrations. Think about wind that breaks rocks. I mean, that's a pretty serious wind, right? Earthquakes, fire, all these amazing, impressive things. But that wasn't God speaking to Elijah. Instead, it was Elijah.

Well, that still small voice. And the context here of Jeremiah chapter 32 indicates that what Jeremiah received from the Lord was similar. It wasn't some impressive show or demonstration, but that it was, well, it was the Lord ministering to him internally, personally. As we consider the example of Jeremiah this morning, I would encourage you to consider, how does God speak to you? And I would suggest that this is the primary way by which God speaks to us.

That is that internal, still small voice. As we're reading through the scriptures, we know that's the word of God. We spend time in the word, you know, to hear from God.

But it's not just the words on the page or the words that we're reading. It's, well, the Holy Spirit inside of us. It's the Lord internally sparking something as we're reading through the scriptures that internally he's lighting a fire. Internally he's highlighting things. Internally he's bringing things to our minds and our hearts. And internally he confirms and speaks the things that correspond with what we're reading as we're spending time with him in the word of God.

But it doesn't only happen in that time of reading the word, but also as we're just walking through life. We're going about our day. We're driving, you know, from here to there. We're walking from here to there. We're in line for this or that. And the Holy Spirit can minister to us that there is that internal working of God in us, that we have an impression from the Lord, a sense of this is what the Lord is saying. Sometimes it's happening during our discussions with others.

That we're having a conversation and they're talking and you know how it is. You know, there's things happening internally that are not, you know, expressed or visible from the outside. But here this conversation is going on and all of a sudden there's just things clicking, you know, internally in the back of your mind and in your heart. You know, something that is being shared resonates with you in a way that you know this isn't just, you know, a conversation but real.

But the Lord is using this to speak to me and to bring forth his ideas and his thoughts. Sometimes it's in, you know, a message as we're sitting through a Bible study perhaps or sitting through a sermon. And the Lord is, it's not just, it's something beyond, you know, just the listening to the words. But internally there is a syncing up of and we recognize while God is wanting to do something here, he has something to say about this.

Similar to the way that Jeremiah heard from the Lord. You and I hear from the Lord and have opportunity to hear from the Lord. You know, Jesus talked about this as well in telling his disciples, you know, it's for your benefit that I go away. After he had resurrected and he's about to ascend to the Father, he says, it's better for you if I go away. Because, well, then you have the opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit. I'm sorry, in John chapter 16 says,

Jesus tells his disciples, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak and he will tell you things to come. Jesus said, look, it's better for you if I die. It's better for you if I'm crucified and then ascend into heaven because, well, you're going to need the Holy Spirit to

And the Holy Spirit, there's so much more I want to tell you. There's so much more I want to teach you. So many things I want to direct you in. But that's the role of the Holy Spirit. And as you believe in Jesus and have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, you have the opportunity then to hear from the Lord through the Spirit of God. And Jesus says, when the Spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth. It's an interesting thing to consider. God would anoint Jesus.

His prophets in the Old Testament, like Jeremiah, right? And the Holy Spirit would come upon them. And you and I have that same opportunity. And we often imagine it differently, perhaps. The Holy Spirit was upon Jeremiah in a very similar way to the Holy Spirit is upon you. And as Jeremiah heard the word of the Lord and received from the Lord, you have the Holy Spirit. Jesus says he will guide you into all truth. And I like that word guide. It goes along with this

gentle voice. The Holy Spirit will smack you over the head with a two by four. No, that's not what Jesus said, right? The Holy Spirit will force you into all truth. No, that's not what Jesus said. The Holy Spirit will guide you. He'll show you the way. Hey, it's over here. This is the way. It's very gentle. The Lord is gentle in dealing with us, in speaking to us, in leading us, and in guiding. And he's provided the Holy Spirit for you to have opportunity to hear from God.

to know the truth, to get direction. This is one reason why we need to have quiet time in our lives, in our days, because God is gentle. He speaks in a still small voice. That internal voice is soft. It's easily drowned out if we allow it to be. And there needs to be this deliberate, on purpose, intentional, giving God opportunity and space to speak to us.

One of my habits when I'm going about my day and doing things, you know, driving here, driving there, taking care of mundane tasks, my immediate response, my immediate reaction when I have, you know, something like that to do that's not very exciting, I immediately reach for my headphones and I begin to listen to things, listen to podcasts, listen to teachings, listen to music, listen to all kinds of different things.

And I have to be reminded sometimes. I have to remind myself sometimes, you know, it's okay to not have some input, you know, coming in continually 100% of the time, 24-7. I actually need some quiet time where there's no entertainment. There's no, you know, voices coming in, no music coming in. But to have an opportunity to let God speak in His still small voice. Entertainment can drown out

God's gentle voice. There needs to be some deliberate attention given on our part that we would give God opportunity, that we would listen. And as Jeremiah is there with the Lord, the Lord says in verse 7, As Jeremiah listens, the Lord speaks. But we'll see in the next verse.

Jeremiah is not certain that it's actually the Lord speaking. He has the idea. He has the thought. He has what he says is a word from the Lord. But at this point, he's not actually certain that it is from the Lord yet. And so he's just, he's listening. He's receiving. He's going to be evaluating. Is this of the Lord? I don't know if you remember, but back in the good old days, you had to tune a radio by analog dial, right? And you had to tune it by analog dial.

and you're trying to find 107.9 and you're like, you know, trying to get it and it's like, oh, there it is. There's Pastor Chuck. And then, oh, I went too far. It's like static, static, static, right? Okay, let me go back. Oh, I went too far again, you know, and you're like trying to find that right spot. It won't be long before nobody remembers that, right? It's all digital. You just hit the number. You go to the exact frequency, right? But that tuning in to that frequency is a good illustration for us for tuning in to the word of the Lord.

for tuning in, for giving that attention to the Lord and allowing him to speak to us because we can easily change the station and miss the opportunity to hear what God has for us. Listen, God has some specific, clear instruction for you, but you need to tune in. The Lord's voice is gentle. You need to listen for his voice.

And seek out opportunity to have time with him. And seek out opportunity to hear from him what he has to say. What is the Lord saying to you? Now again, Jeremiah has been prophesying by this time for 40 years. But he's not prophesying for 40 years from one time God spoke to him 40 years ago. No, but God is continuing to speak to him. Refreshing and renewing. Even though he had essentially the same message his whole ministry had.

God continues to reveal that message in new ways and refreshing it in his heart and speaking this message in different ways and illustrating in different capacities. And sometimes there'll be a new message and sometimes it'll be the same message, but reiterated and refreshed for us. What is the Lord saying to you? You need to listen and make sure you don't stop listening, but continue to give God opportunity to speak to you. Listen for the Lord's gentle voice.

Well, moving on to verses, really just moving on into verse 8, we get the second step, and that is look for the Lord's confirmation. So as the Lord speaks in this gentle voice, Jeremiah is still uncertain. Again, he calls it a word from the Lord, but he's at this point not yet sure that it is a word from the Lord until verse 8 happens. It says, Then Hanamel, my uncle's son, came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord and said to me, Please buy my field that is in Anathoth.

which is in the country of Benjamin, for the right of inheritance is yours and the redemption yours, buy it for yourself. Then notice what it says. Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord. Again, in verse six, Jeremiah said, the word of the Lord came to me. He received the word, but at that time, he didn't know for sure that it was the word of the Lord until, we don't know how much time passed, but the things that the Lord told him

The things that were impressed upon his heart, now they begin to come to pass. The Lord says, buy the field in Anathoth. And then his cousin comes and says, hey, please buy my field in Anathoth. And Jeremiah goes, all right, that's clear. I know now that really was the Lord. Now what made this whole situation really strange was that the field that Jeremiah is about to purchase is

is located in an area that's already conquered by Babylon. Anathoth is a few miles away from Jerusalem in the region of Benjamin. And by this time, well, Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem. Jeremiah is there in Jerusalem with pretty much the last inhabitants of the nation of Judah. They're all holed up in the last stronghold in Jerusalem. And so that field, Jeremiah has no way to get to it. Even if he was not in prison at this time, he wouldn't be able to get to the field.

Because it's, well, there's an army of Babylon between him and the land of Benjamin. It's only a couple miles away, but he's not able to get there. The enemy has occupied that territory. Now, there's some interesting things you can consider about Jeremiah's cousin here. Like, who tries to make a profit on a field that nobody can get to because it's lost to the enemy, right? There's maybe some not so great intentions that Hanumel has.

Maybe. We don't really know his heart. The Lord doesn't give us insight into that. But whatever his heart, whatever his motivation was, he comes to Jeremiah and he says, please, buy my field. And this fulfills for Jeremiah an understanding that, okay, this really is of the Lord. Now, it's awesome that the Lord speaks to us. And we can be very excited about that. That is an incredible privilege and honor. But the fact that it's a gentle voice internally, it can cause some

challenges for us because well realistically we have many voices happening internally don't we there's lots of voices in our heads and in our hearts and so when we have an internal thought we have an impression something that we sense i think this is the lord talking to me at the same time we're wrestling with where is this coming from is this my thought did i invent this you know is this me just making things up in my head we might even wrestle with is this the enemy

Is the enemy planting this thought? Is that where this is coming from? What's the source of this internal voice? What's the source of this thought, this impression that I have? Is it me? Is it the enemy? Is it the Lord? Now,

I mean, think about the contrast between those two, right? You can't get further apart than that. Is this the Lord who loves me and wants what's best for me and has incredible plans for me? Or is this Satan who hates me and wants to destroy my life? And we have a thought, we have an impression, we have an internal thing, and we're like, you know, is this for my destruction or is this for my good? Is this from one who hates me or is this one from one who loves me?

And we all have these wrestlings and these challenges that we work with internally because it's hard to tell the source. Where is this coming from? Is this of the Lord or is this not? And for Jeremiah, he was in that same place. The Lord said, by the field. I was like, is this the Lord? Is this me? Is this the enemy? Until verse 8, then Hananel, my uncle's son, came to me. And then as I see...

The things that the Lord has spoken to me about begin to be fulfilled. Then, okay, it really was the Lord. I really did hear from him. He says, then I knew this was the word of the Lord. Then this is so interesting because I think many times we imagine that everybody else has it easier than us. I mean, prophets always know when God is speaking, right?

You might be wrestling with, you know, something internally. You might be wrestling with a thought, wrestling with, is this of God? Is this not of God? And you might think of Jeremiah, like, man, I wish I had a connection to the Lord like he did, because he never had to wrestle with things like that. Well, that's our impression, but it's not a reality. You can easily think, man, if I heard from the Lord like Roman does, I would not be in this position. I would know exactly what to do. I would have all the right answers, and I would be good looking. I mean, it would be perfect.

If only I heard from the Lord like Roman does. Meanwhile, Roman's going, if only I heard from the Lord like Harvey does. You know? And Harvey's going, if only I heard from the Lord like Rick does. And Rick's saying, if only. You get the point, right? It's like we always think everybody else doesn't have the same kind of struggles, that they have better connections and, oh, man, it's so much easier. But you go back to Jeremiah the prophet and you see, look, he heard from the Lord and he was in a state of uncertainty. Is this really the Lord?

until it began to be fulfilled. And think about this. Jeremiah has a lot of experience by this time. He's been doing this for 40 years. 40 years of ministry, and he still needs confirmation to be able to recognize when something is from the Lord. He's a good example for us.

Helps us to see through some of the things that we maybe beat ourselves up over, but without the need to. Because, well, it's how God works. He speaks in a still, small voice. And the Lord does this deliberately.

Listen, if God just, you know, boldly yelled at you through a microphone so that it was unmistakable, clear, you know, wrote on your walls exactly what he wanted you to do and the steps he wanted you to do, if the Lord approached communicating to us that way, it wouldn't really be much of a relationship. What God desires most is relationship with us.

If God approached it that way, it would just be, you know, like military, like just giving the commands, you know, follow the orders, and no real relationship. But God does it this way to draw us near. To hear his voice, we need to give him opportunity to speak. And because it's gentle, and it's still, and it's quiet, we need to be deliberate to draw near to him to

calm down our hearts, to quiet our minds, to tune out, to give him some space and some attention. And so we're spending time with the Lord to hear from him. And then when we hear from him many times, well, we're not even fully certain that it's actually from him. And so now we continue to seek him. Now we continue to look to him for confirmation. And so it's all about us drawing near to God and spending time with God and talking to God and hearing God's

from God. And God loves to give confirmation. Sometimes we kind of, you know, are hard on ourselves for needing confirmation. Like we love to jump all over Gideon, right? Like, oh, that fool, he asked for confirmation like over and over again, right? God doesn't rebuke Gideon, actually. Read through that account. See where God gets frustrated with him and says, Gideon, knock it off. There's some things to consider. God wants us to draw near, to ask him. And we'll see that a

We want certainty many times. Well, really, we want certainty all the time. Most of the time, though, what God gives is confirmation. And that confirmation is still gentle. It's still the still small voice. As the circumstances unfold in the way that God had described to Jeremiah, then it's the confirmation of what the Lord had spoken personally and internally to Jeremiah.

And I think this provides a good model for us to consider, a good thing to reflect on as we're listening for the Lord's gentle voice and looking for the Lord's confirmation. You can look at the internal and the external. And I would suggest when you hear a word from the Lord internally, you have an internal sense that the Lord is speaking something. You have this impression that I think the Lord is putting this on my heart.

When you have that happening internally, then I would encourage you to look for external confirmation. Things happening externally, things that are outside of your control and your ability to manipulate. And here, Jeremiah, here's internally what the Lord says about this field. And then outside of his control, here comes Hanamil, his cousin, and says, hey, would you buy my field? And so it's a powerful confirmation. This really is the word of the Lord.

And so when you have those internal words from the Lord, well, you need to look for confirmation externally, I would suggest. That you would look for those confirmations that the Lord would bring that are outside of, well, that original method that he used to speak to you. And inversely, when you have the external word from the Lord, Pastor Sisko walks up to you, he puts his hand on your shoulder and says, "'Thus says the Lord.'"

And the Lord can do that. And he speaks to you in various ways. But I would encourage you to consider when Pastor Sisco walks up and lays his hand on you and says, here's what the Lord says to you. Now, if you've already had something on your heart that the Lord has been speaking to you about, and then that agrees with it, well, then you have your internal and your external confirmation. But if that's like out of the blue, you're like, well, that's random. I don't know why he told me that. I don't think that's what the Lord wants for me.

That's an external word from the Lord, right? Now, now wait for the Lord for that internal confirmation and give some time to the Lord and give some opportunity for the Lord to speak and for him to confirm within. I think it's a good combination, internal and external. Hearing from the Lord, confirming that it is the Lord. God wants to confirm and reiterate. If you want to hear from the Lord, set some time aside.

So that you can listen to the Lord's gentle voice. And then look. Look for his confirmation. Look for him and he will reiterate. He will restate and redeclare and confirm what it is that he's saying to you. Well, as the Lord speaks to you, as he confirms what he is saying, then we move into step number three, verses nine through 15. Step number three is obey the Lord.

You've heard from him. God has confirmed that it is him speaking. And so now the next step to do is to then start to do what it is that God is calling you to do. In verse 9, Jeremiah says, So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who is in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money, 17 shekels of silver. So I bought the field. I heard from the Lord.

Wasn't quite sure it was the Lord at the time, but I heard it. And then the Lord confirmed that it was him. And so then I bought the field. I did what God said. Jeremiah obeys the Lord. Now, in a few verses, we'll see and we'll understand a little bit further. Even as Jeremiah is taking these steps of obedience, he still doesn't really understand what this is all about and what God is doing.

And so he obeys even though he doesn't have all the answers. He obeys even though he doesn't understand. He obeys even though it's not clear exactly what the purpose is at this point. And here again, Jeremiah provides for us a really good example. We often want confirmation, but many times when we're looking for confirmation, what we're really asking for is, give me the whole plan. I want all the details. I want to know the why. I want to know the why.

I want to know what the plan is. I want to know what the outcome is. I want to know what the result's going to be. But here, we learn from Jeremiah. When you get the confirmation, when it's confirmed that it is the Lord, then that is the time to obey. You can look at the examples of the men of God and women of God that we have throughout the scriptures. And oh, so many times you see this pattern.

God's speaking to them, then wrestling with it, then God confirms his word, and then they move into action. And sometimes it's a good example for us, and sometimes it's an example that teaches us also some things not to do. Think about Moses. Moses had a great calling, huge ministry, right? And when the Lord began to speak to him, it was dramatic. There's the bush that's burning but not consumed, and God speaks to him and says, take off your sandals, and powerful words.

He gives him some confirmation. He throw down your staff and there it becomes a serpent. And, you know, put your hand in your cloak and it becomes leprous. And he gave him these miraculous signs. Spoke to him clearly to now go. Tell Pharaoh to let my people go. And Moses there was wrestling with this. He wanted more confirmation than he needed. But then even when he had the confirmation, he resisted obeying.

He was like, oh, Lord, you know, I stutter. I have this speech impediment. And I don't know if I'm the best person for the job. Can't you find somebody else? There comes a point in our seeking of confirmation and our wrestling for confirmation where there's a change that happens. At first, it's, is this really you, Lord? But then, as we continue to wrestle, it starts to become, do I really have to do this?

And sometimes under the idea of confirmation, we're not so much trying to discern whether it's the Lord. The Lord's revealed that already. We know it's the Lord. But what we're wrestling with now is, do I really have to do it? I don't want to do this. Do I have to do this? And so we can follow the example of Moses and hear from the Lord, have confirmation, and then wrestle with, ah, do I have to do this? Or we can follow the example of Jeremiah, hear from the Lord, confirm that it's the Lord,

and then begin to obey. Once you confirm that it's the Lord, once you know the Lord is speaking this, as soon as you know it's the Lord, stop wrestling and start obeying. Here's an important truth that we would do well to grasp hold of. Understanding is not a requirement for obedience. Understanding is not a requirement for obedience.

You can obey and do what God tells you to do even when you don't understand why, even when you don't understand how, even when you don't understand when, even if you don't understand where. You can begin without having all the information, without knowing all the answers. In fact, I would suggest to you, most of the time, you will need to obey before you will understand. And there will be a day when you understand God's plan and what he is saying and why he is saying it. But most of the time,

God requires faith. He requires us to walk by faith and not by sight. And that means he's going to call us to obey when we don't understand. And there are some things in this life that we will do in obedience to the Lord that we will never understand this side of eternity. That we will only understand when we stand before him and he reveals all things to us. Then we'll see and understand and we'll agree. Yes, thank you God for giving me that instruction, for telling me to do that. It was worth it. I'm glad that I did it.

But whether or not we have understanding, we need to obey. Even with no promise or guarantee of understanding, once you confirm that it's the Lord speaking, then you need to obey. You can ask for understanding. There's nothing wrong with that. And we'll see that in just a moment. But we are not in the position to demand it. Saying, Lord, I'm not going to do this until you tell me. Until you answer the questions that I have. Until you tell me what I want to know. Obey the Lord. You want to have a clear word from the Lord?

I know we want the clear word from the Lord before we obey. But what the Lord shows here in the example of Jeremiah is that the clear word from the Lord happens with obedience. With obedience, God reveals his word, his plans, his purposes. Now, the rest of the verses here in verses 9 through 15...

Give us some interesting historical insights, some cultural insights as it really describes the mannerism which the transaction takes place for purchasing a property. And there's an open scroll and a closed sealed scroll and how it's stored. And there's some really cool things in there that really feed into the book of Revelation and the opening of the seven seals on that scroll. And some great insights that you can learn.

Spend time considering. We're not going to get into those, so you can check those out later. I encourage you to do so as the Lord gives you opportunity. But here we see in this example that Jeremiah obeys. Pastor Thomas Constable says, This offer constituted a test of Jeremiah's faith in the promises of restoration that the Lord had given him and an opportunity to give witness to that faith. Anathoth was already in Babylonian hands when Jerusalem was under siege. God was using this opportunity.

And this act of obedience was a demonstration of Jeremiah's faith. It was used not only in the life of Jeremiah, but it was also used in the life of the people of Jerusalem. As Jeremiah authenticated that he really did believe the things that he was prophesying about the nation of Judah and God's plan for them. Can you imagine being one of Jeremiah's neighbors and here you are under siege and

The rest of the nation is conquered. It's all desolate and empty. But here's Babylon at your door surrounding you. And you hear Jeremiah bought a field outside the walls in enemy territory. Like what a fool. Why would you spend money on that? But those same people would be walking to Babylon in captivity, perhaps reliving, perhaps thinking about, perhaps the Lord using that to say,

I do have a future for you. Plans for peace and not for evil. Chapter 29, right? Jeremiah 29, 11. All those things that God has been speaking to his people, calling them to repentance, but also bringing judgment and wanting them to not give up hope that he still had plans for them as they would turn back to him. God was using the prophet Jeremiah to minister those things, to illustrate those things, to demonstrate those things. But Jeremiah couldn't understand that all from the beginning. He didn't have to have the whole picture. He didn't have to have the whole picture.

He just began to obey the Lord. Good example for us. Again, once you confirm it's the Lord, then it's time to obey. Even if there's lots of questions and lots of things that you don't understand, you listen for the Lord's gentle voice. Look for his confirmation. And once it's confirmed, then you obey. Moving on to verses 16 through 25, here we get the fourth step. And that is, ask the Lord for understanding.

So after you've been obedient or after you begin to obey, well, now you ask the Lord to show you. Ask the Lord for understanding. In verse 16, it says, And then he goes on in this prayer, saying,

to kind of recap and recount who God is and all that he's done. He stops in his prayer and he's reflecting on God. You are the creator. There's nothing that's too hard for you. You are capable of doing whatever you desire to do. He reflects on how mighty God is, how gracious he is in his loving kindness.

He reflects on the work that God did in bringing the nation of Israel out of Egypt and the signs and the wonders that were performed there. He goes on to consider how the Lord brought the nation of Israel into the land of Israel and gave them the land and defeated the enemies and allowed them to be planted there in the land of Israel. And as he's rethinking and recapping all that God is and all that God has done in his prayer, he now comes to the present in verse 24. He says, look.

Jeremiah is expressing here to the Lord, I really don't understand this.

I'm so perplexed. I mean, okay, I know you're big and I know you're strong and you can do whatever you want. You've done so many great things throughout history. I can think back and reflect on those, but here's this siege that's taking place. And you've told me to go buy a field that's in enemy territory. Lord, I don't understand. I don't get it. What's the value of this? What's the purpose of this? It doesn't make sense to me. Jeremiah, ask God.

for understanding. I like what J. Vernon McGee says about this. He says, my friend, there is nothing wrong with asking why. If you have a doubt or a question, talk to the Lord about it. That is what he wants us to do. Let's be honest like Jeremiah. He obeyed the Lord, but he admitted his doubts, taking them to the Lord in prayer. And again, we see that same pattern. God's desire is relationship with us. And so to hear his voice, we have to tune in

We have to turn off things around us and listen for that still small voice. We have to continue to seek the Lord for a confirmation. But is this really you? I think this is you. I think you've spoken to my heart. I think that's you. What are you saying? Is this really from you? And that confirmation comes gently. Again, still us looking to the Lord, drawing near to the Lord. And as soon as we confirm it's the Lord, then we begin to obey.

Now we're walking with the Lord. Now we're taking steps with the Lord. Now we're trusting the Lord and we're exercising our faith, even if we don't understand. And yet at the same time, now we have the opportunity to come to God and ask, Lord, can you show me what's going on here? I really don't get it. I don't understand. I mean, I'm not doubting you. I just don't understand why. I'm not doubting your capabilities. I know you can do anything that you want to do.

But why? What's the purpose? What's the plan here? What part am I playing in what you're wanting to do? And here Jeremiah has this prayer before the Lord. Ask the Lord for understanding. Many times when he calls us to obedience, we don't understand why. We don't know the outcomes. We don't know the results. We don't know all the reasons. We don't know his plans. And we can't put ourselves in a position of demanding to know why and have all the answers and understand before we obey Jesus.

but it also doesn't keep us. The Lord wouldn't prevent us from asking why. And it's his choice. He may reveal to us why. He may give us more understanding. He may not. That's up to him. But you can ask. And again, it's part of us drawing near to God. It's part of us walking in relationship with God. And so as we ask for understanding, then it brings us now to point five and finishing up.

Step five in receiving a clear word from the Lord is to listen for clear revelation from the Lord. Verse 26 and 27 says, Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?

The Lord responded to Jeremiah with Jeremiah's words, right? Jeremiah said, Lord, I know nothing is too hard for you. And then God responded and said, Jeremiah, is there anything too hard for me? He took Jeremiah's words and he brought it back as a question. Yes, it's true. I am mighty. I am all powerful. And there is nothing that is too hard for me. But then God goes on to reveal some of the details of his plans.

I'm just going to summarize these next few verses. In verses 28 through 30, God says, look, Babylon is going to conquer Jerusalem. They're going to be successful. They're going to come in. They're going to knock out Jerusalem. They're going to take everybody away captive. As a result of their rebellion, because of their persistent sin, this is going to happen. But then in verses 31 through 35, God says,

He details that. Look, this is the way that they've provoked me to anger. And this is the way that I've reached out to them. And this is the way that they've resisted. And so this is why Babylon is going to conquer. But then, verses 36 through 44, God says, but that's not the end. It's not just that Jerusalem is conquered for the third time, emptied out by Babylon and taken captive to Babylon. And then I'm done with them. And I have no plans for the people of Israel from there on out. No, God goes on to say...

In verse 36, Jumping to verse 42.

Verse 44. Verse 44.

Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the south. For I will cause their captives to return, says the Lord. God says, look, I have a big plan for the nation of Israel. And yes, for the moment, Israel, Judah, they're going to be conquered.

but I'm going to bring them back. And one of the features of them coming back into the land, to the extent that I'm going to bring them back into the land, is, well, they're going to buy fields again. They're going to buy property. They're going to sell property. They're going to conduct transactions. This kind of activity. Jeremiah, what you just did

is a prophetic illustration, a prophetic telling to the people that this kind of transaction will continue, that God has not written off the people forever, but he's going to bring them back and bless them. They're going to be established, and there is going to be this kind of activity in the land once again. And so here God gives this great message of hope through the prophet Jeremiah to the people. But Jeremiah did not understand this from the beginning.

Where did this start? It started from Jeremiah having a sense, a word from the Lord. He's not quite sure is it of the Lord or not, but Hanamel's property. Maybe I should buy that. Maybe I'm supposed to purchase that field. Is that you, Lord? I don't know. I think that's you, Lord. You want me to buy a field? I don't get it. But here comes Hanamel. Hey, Jeremiah, please buy my field. Jeremiah goes, whoa, that really was you, Lord. Okay.

All right, since that was you, well, I need to obey. I'm going to buy the field. And so Jeremiah buys the field. And he goes through the process. He does the transaction. He does the open scroll, the sealed scroll. He puts it in a jar and he buries it. And all right, this is going to last for a long time. And all the while he's wondering, now why am I doing this again? What's the purpose here? What's the point? I don't get it. Lord, why did you have me do this? And so he asks for understanding and then God gives him.

And so in the end, he has a clear word from the Lord. In the end, he has a clear picture of what God is doing and he has revelation. It's clear. It was the word of the Lord from the beginning, but there wasn't that kind of clarity. And he could not have had that kind of clarity without walking through this process of receiving the confirmation and being obedient and asking for understanding.

If he would have demanded, you know, well, I can't, unless I have that kind of clear revelation, then, you know, I'm not going to be obedient. He wouldn't have participated in the work of God and the plan of God in the way that he did. You know, God used Jeremiah in the same way. He desires to work in us and through us. He speaks that still small voice. He gives us opportunity to seek him for confirmation.

And once we understand, once we confirm, we recognize, not that we have all our questions answered, not that we have exactly what we want, but once we know that it's from the Lord, once that's confirmed, then we obey. Pastor John Corson says, don't miss out on what God wants to do in your life by refusing to obey until you see the reasons. Step out in faith and leave the timing and the reason up to him. Don't miss out. God wants to work.

He wants to work in you. He wants to work through you. Don't miss out because you didn't get all the answers that you wanted because you don't have all the understanding or the revelation because it's not clear to you all the plans and purposes and the outcomes and results and all of that. No, no, don't miss out. Come back to listening for the Lord's gentle voice. Let him speak to you. Look for his confirmation.

He's able to, he wants to, he desires to. He recognizes, look, you're wrestling with, is this from me? Is this from the enemy? Whose idea is this? The Lord says, I'll confirm it for you. Once you know that it's the Lord, stop wrestling. If we continue to wrestle after we know it's the Lord, then it's like, it's not, where is this coming from? But now is it, will I be obedient? You know, am I gonna do this? Do I really have to do this, God? Please, can you let me out of this? You know, that's kind of Moses' take.

Now let's obey the Lord. Once you confirm the Lord, it's time to obey. Then you can ask him for understanding. Then you can seek him for further revelation. And God will often give that. He'll give you glimpses at what he's doing in the midst of it. I think for the majority of the things that we do for the Lord, we will never see the fullness of God's plan until eternity. But God does give us insights. He does give revelation. He does give clarity. But it comes as we obey him.

not before. And so for you and I today, I would encourage you, I would encourage me, receive a clear word from the Lord. It goes back to that gentle voice. Let's give him time and listen to him. And as soon as it's confirmed that it's him, let's be committed to obey him. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for the way that you relate to us and work in our lives. And Lord, we can see how it's all designed and structured so that, well, that we get to know you and that we spend time with you.

And ultimately, Lord, that is what we need the most. It's what is best for us. And Lord, it is easy for us to get caught up in busyness, distracting ourselves. And Lord, we can easily drown out your still small voice. I pray, God, that you would remind us today, this week. Remind us, God, to set aside time. Help us.

to have clarity, Lord, in our days and in our schedules, Lord, that we would be able to sit at your feet and have opportunity to hear from you. And I pray that you would pour forth your Holy Spirit upon us, Lord, that we would hear your voice, that we would receive your word. And I pray, God, that you would help us to do so in a fashion, in a state of heart where we are committed to be obedient. Lord, whatever you want, that's what we will do. Wherever you say to go, that's where we will go.

Lord, I pray for those who are wrestling with those impressions that they have. Seems like you're saying this. You might be speaking this or that. Lord, I pray that you would bring that confirmation that is needed. Lord, that you would draw them near to you, that they would be able to receive from you that clarity that it is you speaking. And Lord, as you confirm your voice, your word, help us to be obedient. Give us boldness and faith to trust you.

and to do what you say. And Lord, we do pray that you would give further revelation and clarity and insights. Lord, we're excited about the possibility of being part of your plan and your work. And so we look forward to learning why. We look forward to you and we want to understand. We're excited by the possibilities of what you might be doing. Lord, keep our hearts from that place of demanding understanding. Lord, that we would be obedient.

really trusting you, walking by faith and not by sight, and laying all of the unknowns into your hands, the timings, the purposes, the plans, the hows, the whens, and the whats. Lord, may we rest in you and trust in you as we walk according to your word. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

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