Here’s a Realistic Approach to Serving Others.

15th Sunday after Pentecost, 9/21/14
Jeremiah 15:15-21


Here’s a Realistic Approach to Serving Others.
I. Count on getting discouraged some of the time.
II. Count on God’s faithfulness all the time.


The older I get, the more compelled I am to thank our country’s military veterans.

That’s one of the reasons it’s difficult for me to understand the ungrateful response so many of our Vietnam veterans received when their service to our country ended and they first stepped back on US soil. I read about it again in last week’s account of Vietnam veteran Bennie Adkins receiving the Medal of Honor. I know that a few of you men here today experienced the same shameful treatment. You served your country, putting your life on the line, and that’s the response you got? It had to be disappointing to say the least. If you had known that going into the service, would you have followed through with your plans? Maybe you did know it, but decided that serving your country in the Vietnam War was the right thing to do.

As God’s people, God has called all of us to serve others in whatever way we can, especially to serve others spiritually. That means God uses us to dispense and bestow his greatest gifts to sinners, gifts that all the money in the world can’t buy—forgiveness of sins, life as a child of God and eternal salvation. Those are the gifts God gives to others as we share his word with them. Since it costs them nothing, you would think sinners would be lining up at our doors just waiting for them to open so that we can share God’s word with them. You would think that people would be forever grateful to us for our efforts to share with them what they need the most. But that’s not the case. That’s not a realistic view of what happens when we serve others.

No, what’s realistic is what we have before us this morning from God’s prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah served God’s Old Testament people around the year 600 BC, one of the lowest points in the history of God’s people. God had sent Jeremiah to help his people, but they wanted nothing to do with him or his message. Sometimes that’s what happens when you serve others. So that we’re not naïve, so that we have a good idea of what we’ll face when we attempt to serve others, let’s take a look at Jeremiah’s words and his situation. Here’s a realistic approach to serving others. Let’s see what we can expect.

Part I.

Have you ever listened to someone tell you about their employment situation and you can’t tell if they enjoy it or they hate it? On the one hand, they describe in detail all the problems they face—with management, with co-workers, with the protocol. But then they describe how the position itself is rewarding, the pay is fairly good, how they consider one or more of their co-workers to be dear friends. And you’re not sure how you should respond.

When you first heard these words of Jeremiah some minutes ago, did you have trouble understanding Jeremiah’s situation? You’re not alone. It’s almost as if he has a double personality. He opens our text by praising God for knowing him and his situation. He readily admits, “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight.” But in the next breath he speaks like this, “Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable? Will you be to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails?” Those are not flattering words for the Lord to hear.

So, which one is it? Is Jeremiah happy and appreciative, or does he feel oppressed and abused? Is he ready to continue serving, or is he on the verge of tendering his resignation as a prophet?

It’s both. Jeremiah trusted in the fact that what was happening in his life was fully known by the Lord. He was glad that the Lord was patient and merciful. He appreciated all the times that the Lord had bolstered him with his words of comfort and strength. He was keenly aware that the Lord was on his side. He knew how important it was to share what God told him with the Jewish people.

But that same word caused him trouble. By and large, the Jews rejected the word of God that Jeremiah shared with them. At this point the Jews were under Babylonian rule. Thousands of Jews had already been deported to Babylon. God told the Jews who remained in Judah to settle down and live under foreign rule. But the Jews refused.

And when Jeremiah continued to share that same message with them, the Jews labeled him as a traitor. How dare he tell them to accept foreign rule and to pay tribute to a foreign king? Jeremiah had very few friends. He speaks in our text about sitting by himself, away from his fellow-Jews.

And then things got ugly. There were numerous plots to assassinate him. He suffered physical abuse and torture. And at the hands of his own people, God’s people! All he wanted to do was to help them, to give them guidance from God’s word. But they wouldn’t listen to God’s messenger. Worse yet, they wanted to kill the messenger.

What made it so hard for him to understand was this: he was only doing what God wanted him to do, what God had called him to do. He was serving God’s people with God’s word. You would think they would appreciate it. You would think they would listen. You would think things would go well. But that wasn’t happening at all. Just the opposite. How discouraging!

But that’s what often happens. Here’s a realistic approach to serving others. Count on getting discouraged some of the time.

Lack of appreciation. No recognition. Little if any support. At times blatant opposition. No gratitude. There will be times when that happens as we serve others. But what else would you expect? After all, we’re sinful people serving other sinful people. That’s a combination full of potential pitfalls. And a realistic approach recognizes that fact. Look what happened to our Lord when he came to serve. He was the Holy One serving all of sinful humankind. But they abused him verbally and physically. They opposed him at every turn. They finally crucified him. But that’s what he had come to do. To serve us by dying for us to make us his own people, to forgive us for the times when we fail to serve others, serve reluctantly or with a bitter spirit. Because of that forgiveness and our status as his people, we get to serve others. And there are times when that service fills us with joy and satisfaction because it’s done out of love for our Lord.

Part II.

Serving the Lord can be discouraging at times. And when that discouragement stretches on and on, we can begin to wonder, “Does God know what I’m facing? If he does, why doesn’t he do something about it? And because those I’m serving don’t appreciate it, I have a right to feel and think evil about them.” Does that sound vaguely familiar?

The truth is that our God does know our situation. That’s the first truth Jeremiah stated. The Lord understands. He sees. He knows. In fact, he can peer into the hearts and minds of those whom we’re serving. He knows what they’re going to say and do before they say and do it.

So, when our discouragement in serving others causes bitterness, self-righteousness, and self-pity to fill our hearts and minds, our God doesn’t replace us. He doesn’t crush us as we deserve. He does this, “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman.” He calls for us to recognize our feelings, thoughts and words for what they are—sins against his holy will. He calls us to turn to him for our forgiveness. He restores us, so that we can continue serving him as we serve others.

But there’s more. He told Jeremiah, “I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you. I will save you from the hands of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel.” A fortified wall of bronze. That’s God’s picturesque way of promising to strengthen Jeremiah for whatever he may face as he carried out his service as God’s prophet to the Jews. Bring it on! Jeremiah was shielded by the almighty power of God.

Jeremiah carried out his service knowing the Lord had promised to rescue him. Ultimately, God did that the way he does for all of his people. He lifted Jeremiah out of this world of sin and sadness and carried his soul home to heaven. Jeremiah had served God faithfully. Throughout his service, the Lord had always been faithful to him. That’s what Jeremiah counted on. That’s what we can count on as well as we serve others.

Here’s a realistic approach to serving others. Count on God’s faithfulness all the time.

As we serve others we can count on getting discouraged just as Jeremiah did. But we can also count on our God to forgive us, to strengthen us and to rescue us just as he did Jeremiah. We can count on it because he is faithful to every promise he has made to us. The Father who sustained and strengthened his Son in the critical work of redemption will also sustain and strengthen us. The Savior who served us by living and dying for us, empowers us to serve. When we serve others, we’re serving him. Look for opportunities to serve others. Sure we’ll be discouraged some of the time. But we can count on God’s faithfulness all of the time. That’s a realistic view of serving others. Amen.