8/24/08 - Pentecost 15 - Jeremiah 15:15-21

YOU ARE THE MOUTH OF GOD
- Do not compromise his Word
- Speak worthy words

The top five most underappreciated people in the Bible would make an interesting list. Jesus, of course, would grab the top spot as the most underappreciated ever to live, but there would be quite a fight for second place. Moses would have a legitimate claim to number two. The Israelites rebelled against him and complained about him constantly. He was certainly underappreciated. Elijah would have a shot at it, too. King Ahab and Queen Jezebel tried to take his life multiple times and most of the people didn’t listen to what he had to say. King David might even make the list of the most underappreciated. His son rebelled against him, his top advisor left him, and half the nation decided to follow someone else for the first part of his reign. All of these Christians were underappreciated in many ways by many people during their lifetimes. But there is one man who, besides Christ himself, seemed to be the most underappreciated of all. And that’s the prophet Jeremiah. He not only was underappreciated, he was even hated and despised by his own people. The king hated him, the leaders hated him, and his own countrymen hated him. His life was in constant danger and it is rarely indicated in the book of Jeremiah that anyone ever listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke.
In fact, that’s why they hated him: because he spoke the words of the Lord. And the problem was: he had to speak the words of the Lord to a nation that was going downhill in a hurry. Jeremiah served during the last years of their stay in the Promised Land. He saw his countrymen sinking deeper and deeper in sin. He witnessed the Babylonians come and destroy Jerusalem and take the people away into exile. And Jeremiah himself was even driven away from his homeland. And because he lived during these chaotic times - he had to preach the law. Jeremiah preached a lot of law. Bringing their sin to light and calling them to repentance. And they hated him for it. They hated him with a passion. But Jeremiah could not say anything different. He could not compromise the Word and he could only speak words worthy of his Lord because he held a very important title: he was “the mouth of God” himself.
The Scripture reading that we are focusing on today is from the book of Jeremiah, chapter 15. And here God says to his prophet, “If you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman.” Spokesman is literally my mouth. “You will be my mouth” the Lord told Jeremiah. And so Jeremiah didn’t have a choice. Even if the words he was to speak would cause people to hate him, even if the words he was to speak endangered his own life, he had to say them. He was God’s mouth, after all. There was nothing else he could do. He could not compromise the Word of God. He could not give in to the pressure of those around him. Because the Lord had commanded him, “Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.” The Lord was very adamant that Jeremiah would not budge from his position. That he would not sugar coat the message. That he would not compromise the truth. Because Jeremiah was not speaking for himself. Jeremiah was the mouth of God.
What a daunting task it must have been for Jeremiah. To know that he was God’s mouth who was required to say everything God wanted him to no matter how much the people of Israel wouldn’t want to hear it. It was a difficult calling. But a very important one. And it’s no less difficult and no less important for you. You, too, are the mouth of God. You, too, have a similar calling to that of Jeremiah. The Lord commands you in the New Testament to teach the Word, to preach the Word, to spread the Word, to carry on the Message, and to be ambassadors for God himself. Those are just different ways of saying the same thing: you are the mouth of God. You are required to repeat the words that the Lord wants you to speak. Even if the words you are to speak would cause people to hate you, even if the words you are to speak would endanger your own life, you must say them. You are the mouth of God. And as the mouth of God he gives you the same instructions as he did to Jeremiah: “Let this people to turn to you, but you must not turn to them.”
“You must not turn to them.” That means you cannot compromise the Word. You can’t make concessions. You can’t sugarcoat it, you can’t put it off, you cannot decide not to say what you are supposed to say because they might not want to hear it or because it might make them angry or because you’ve already told them before. If there is an unbeliever that needs to hear the Word, or if there is a believer who needs to be confronted with a sin, you must speak. You must speak truthfully. Because you are the mouth of God. And God is not happy when his mouth does not say the things he wants it to say. Nor is he happy when his mouth doesn’t open at all.
You talk to plenty of unbelievers every week. You talk to plenty of so-called believers every week who do not read their Bibles, who do not go to church, who do not really act like they believe. So what have you said to them? What words of the Lord have you spoken? How many times in your life did you know you should say something to this particular person, but you couldn’t get your mouth to open? How many times in your life did you know what that person really needed to hear, but you ended up avoiding the topic altogether and so said something that wasn’t even close to anything spiritual? You have taken great liberties as the mouth of God, haven’t you? You have refused to speak when you were supposed to, you have said something different in place of the truth. You have compromised the Word. And so have I.
I hope all of you understand that I am just as sinful as you are. I hope you realize that I have failed as the mouth of God just as many times as you have - if not more. And if there is anyone without an excuse, it’s me. I have refused to speak at times. I have compromised the truth by not saying what I should have said at times. I have bent under pressure, I have backed down, and more often than not, have been more concerned about my relationship with a person than about my relationship with the Lord. It is a sad thing when a pastor is not a faithful mouth of God. It is a sad thing when a Christian is not a faithful mouth of God. Ask the Lord to forgive you for those failures of the past and ask him to give you strength in the situations yet to come. Just as I need to. Just as I will.
It was a late Thursday night. After supper. Already dark. Most people were already sleeping. But Jesus wasn’t. Jesus had just been betrayed by Judas, arrested in the garden, and taken to the leaders of the Jewish nation. And there, on that late Thursday night, “The high priest said to him, ‘I charge you under oath by the living God: tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God’” (Matthew 26:63). Now Jesus knew what would happen if he faithfully proclaimed the truth. He knew what awaited him if he opened his mouth and told them what they needed to hear. And so he could have kept his mouth shut. He could have danced around the question, changed the subject, done something - anything - to avoid the consequences of what he was about to say. But he didn’t. He did not compromise the truth. He was a faithful mouth of God. He had even told these same people earlier, “I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it” (John 12:49). And so there, in front of them at this late hour, Jesus boldly proclaimed that he was in fact the Son of God and they would see him one day sitting at the right hand of his Father and coming down on the clouds from heaven. And what was the result of this faithful witness? “‘He is worthy of death,’ they answered. Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and said, ‘Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you’” (Matthew 26:66-67)? A sentence of death, spitting, hitting, slapping, mockery. That was what Jesus knew would happen if he opened his mouth. But he did it anyway. Because of you. He didn’t care about himself. He wasn’t concerned about his own body or his own comfort or his own life. He cared about yours. He knew the impending pain and torture would save your life. He knew that the consequences of his words would earn your forgiveness. And so he did not hesitate to proclaim the truth. He did not back down. He did not give in. He boldly spoke for you. And then he willingly suffered for you. And then he bravely died for you. And then he miraculously rose for you. Just as he had said. Just as he had faithfully proclaimed throughout his ministry. He was a faithful mouth of God. He was the only faithful mouth of God. And because of his words, because of his promises and victories, we are victorious children of God despite our failures as his mouth. Jesus has made everything right again. We have not been faithful, but he is. And because of that we will also enjoy what only he deserves.
But that doesn’t mean we still don’t have words to say. We are still the mouth of God. And as long as there are unbelievers and questionable Christians in this life, we will never run out of things to say. We will never run out of words that the Lord wants us to proclaim. Just make sure they are worthy words. “If you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman,” the Lord says. Worthy words. Really the Lord says here “precious” words. This particular word is used only one other time in the entire book of Jeremiah. And there it refers to all of the treasures of the kings of Judah. And so you are to speak treasured words. Precious words. Words that are invaluable and absolutely essential. And what kind of words might those be? They are the words you just heard. The precious words about Christ. What he has done for you. What he will do for you. And who he is. You are to speak the precious, treasured, worthy words of the gospel. That is what people need to hear. That is what God wants you to say.
And so forget about your opinions. Leave your sage advice and interesting anecdotes at home. Those are worthless words. Not worthy words. Those lost souls around you don’t just need another sympathizing voice. They don’t need just another ear to bend or a shoulder to lean on. They need the truth. And so tell them the precious words of the gospel. Because, let’s be realistic, you may never get some of those people here to church. They may never open a hymnal for a worship service or read a passage during a Bible study in their lives. I may never meet some of those people you know so well. And so those precious words of the gospel, those treasured words about Christ need to be spoken by you. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be comfortable for you to do it. That just means it needs be done. It needs to be said. And it needs to be said by you because you are the mouth of God and he wants those people around you to believe in the same Savior that you have come to know and love. The Lord could reach them with his Word in another way. But he doesn’t want to. He wants to use you. He wants to use his mouth.
And Jeremiah took that calling seriously. He faithfully spoke the words of the Lord even though the people refused to listen. In fact, Jeremiah’s ministry ended when the people were in exile - a direct and just punishment for their sins of disobedience. Jeremiah went about his work as the mouth of God with little earthly success. And so I can’t promise you that being the mouth of God will be fun. I can’t promise you that you will always see the positive results of your faithful proclamation. But the Lord can promise you and does promise you that being the mouth of God will work. He will use those precious words that you speak to others and move their hearts. He promises that the Holy Spirit will do his job and bring people to faith. He promises that his Word will not return to him empty but will accomplish what he desires and will achieve the purpose for which he sent it. So speak well, my Christian friends. Speak boldly. Speak often. Speak lovingly. Speak joyfully. Because you are the mouth of God.
Amen.

“May the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. - 2 Thess. 1:12