Dealing with Discouragement Jeremiah 20:1-13

Back in July, I had the honor of preaching at Providence Bible Church in Culpeper, VA. My sermon came from Jeremiah 20:1-13 and was entitled "Dealing with Discouragement". If you want to hear the sermon, you can find the podcast here on Providence's web page: Dealing with Discouragement . I will include the sermon notes below for those who want more details. Thank you for reading!

Sermon: Dealing with Discouragement (with special thanks to Rick Ezell for his sermon Rise Above Discouragement, Jeremiah 20, whose notes were very helpful to me)

Scripture: Jeremiah 20:1-13

Introduction

Discouragement is part of life. Discouragement comes most often when we do right things but experience poor results. We work hard, but we don't seem to make progress. We show up to practice every day, giving it our all, but we lose anyway. 

Discouragement eats a hole in our hearts. It makes us want to quit, saying things we shouldn't say, shaking our fists at God. That's how Jeremiah felt. God called him to speak a harsh message to a rebellious people. He was obeyed. Yet on one occasion Jeremiah so angered an assistant to the high priest and chief security officer for the temple, Pashhur, that the man arrested Jeremiah, beat him, and threw him in jail, locking him in stocks so that his body was contorted, writhing in pain. Here was a man in deep distress. He endured physical, emotional, spiritual, and professional anguish. He walked into deep despair, all for doing God's will.

Jeremiah was released the next day, emerging with a sentence of his own. He gave Pashhur a new name: "Terror on Every Side." This name described the terror Babylon would inflict on Judah, specifically the fate Pashhur would suffer when God's judgment fell. He would die and be buried outside Israel, which was considered a judgment, for the Gentile lands were labeled unclean. But what difference would that make? He had been preaching lies in the name of God and encouraging idolatry in the temple. So, why not live in a land of lies and idols, and eventually be buried there?

Enough about Pashhur - it is Jeremiah's rise above discouragement on which we want to focus. In this last of his recorded laments, which is similar to Jesus' Gethsemane experience, we find the highs and lows of human emotions: grief and joy, despair and delight, perplexity and praise. Like Jesus, Jeremiah reminds us that even a faithful servant of God can become discouraged. Jeremiah lived above his feelings and fulfilled God's will.

We, too, can rise above discouragement. Here's how.

I. Be honest with God--tell God how we feel (v. 7)

Jeremiah was honest. He felt deceived by God. The word "deceived" means to be enticed or seduced. Obviously, God does not mislead or trick people, but Jeremiah felt that God had lured him into the ministry only to make him a laughingstock. He felt ridiculed and offended. His voice was not making a difference. He was crying out for the people to repent, yet they continued toward destruction and judgment. Jeremiah's intense lament was private – for God alone, not public.

God wants us to talk to him, even when we are angry, upset, and frustrated. He wants us to tell the truth. A lot of dishonesty goes on in relationships, even with God.

People ask me: Is it wrong to be angry with God? First, we must remember that anger is an emotion, and oftentimes emotions are neither right nor wrong: they just are. What we do with our emotions is a separate issue. People are sometimes surprised by the answer I give them: "If you feel anger toward God you should tell him. God is big enough and strong enough to handle your hurt and anger. So tell him about.  He wants you to pour out your heart to him. He wants you to express what is in your heart." 

Consider the Psalmist as an example of one who poured his heart out to God. We should do the same. Hold nothing back when you pray. Tell the Lord exactly what's in your heart, especially the bad feelings. By pouring out these emotions we are freed from their hold, and we enter more deeply into the loving embrace of the Lord.

God does not want us stuck in anger or any other negative feelings we may have. This is why we should be honest with God in prayer. We should go before God as we are, not pretending to be someone we are not. If we are honest with God in prayer, we will feel a sense of deep freedom, and we will find ourselves having a deeper relationship with God and less discouragement.

To bottle up our anger--even anger toward God--usually only causes harm, rarely good. To be dishonest--even in our prayers--clouds our relationship with God. God desires real people, honest and forthright, who pour out their hearts before him, bringing him all their motives and emotions. The truth is that God knows the depths of our hearts--our thoughts, our motives, our emotions--even before we speak them. So, if we fail to be honest with God then we are only deceiving ourselves. Honesty with God can be liberating. 

But being honest is only one part of the relationship, we also need to recognize the quality and character of the One with Whom we have to do. He is God. He deserves our obedience, even when things aren't going our way. So, to deal with discouragement, we need to learn obedience. 

II. Be obedient to God--keep doing what we've been called to do (v. 9)

Because of Pashhur's unjustified actions, Jeremiah was ready to let go of God and leave him out of all conversations. But he couldn't do that. He would not be at peace doing anything else. God's message was like a fire in his bones that he could not put out. He could not be quiet about it. Jeremiah did not preach because he had to say something, but because he had something to say. Not saying it would have destroyed him.

Do you know why most pastors keep at the task despite rejection and anger? Plain and simple, the call of God upon their lives keeps them going. I spent time with a group of pastors. We bemoaned the struggles of our vocation. One said: "Do you want to know what I tell everyone who comes to me asking if they should go into the ministry? I tell them, ‘If you can do something else, do it.'" Another pastor piped up, "You know why I don't do something else? Because I am called."

When a person has a call, that call becomes hard to ignore.

To overcome discouragement, we need to be about the things God has called us to do. We need to get back to the task he put in front of us. What were you doing BEFORE you were discouraged? Was it a task from God? Why not continue to do it? When called, we should obey. Obedience is difficult and painful, yet I suppose disobedience is moreso. To deal properly with discouragment, learn to obey what God has called you to do. 

But honesty and obedience are not the only tools for dealing with discouragement. In fact, to do the first two properly, we must include the third point. We must be focused on God to deal with discouragement. 

III. Be focused on God--know that the Lord is with us (v. 11)

Jeremiah realized that he wasn't alone. "But the LORD is with me like a violent warrior" (Jer. 20:11). He was not on the losing side.  He was going to win because the Lord was with him like a mighty warrior. God would deal effectively, in his own way and time, with his enemies.

Often in our discouragement we look inward--to our problems, our frustrations, and our situation--when we need to look upward to a God who has not abandoned us. He is with us. He accompanies us. He is a present-tense God.

Can we imagine the difference it would make in our outlook if we remained consciously aware that God is with us? Imagine going into a difficult board meeting knowing that God is beside you. Picture entering into a stressful presentation knowing that God walks with you. Envision confronting the status quo with the mighty arm of the Lord surrounding you.

Knowledge of God's presence can help us accomplish significant things despite our discouragement. It provides courage, valor, guts, strength, tenacity, and perseverance.

A. W. Tozer writes:

"The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God, and the church is famishing for want of his presence. The instant cure of most of our religious ills would be to enter the Presence in spiritual experience, to become suddenly aware that we are in God and that God is in us. This would lift us out of our pitiful narrowness and cause our hearts to be enlarged. This would burn away the impurities from our lives as the bugs and fungi were burned away by the fire that dwelt in the bush."

Living in the glow of God's presence will enable you to fight on despite discouragement. 

And what is the best way to focus on God? That would be our regular worship of him, Worship is a great way to deal with discouragement. Like Jeremiah, we need to be honest, we need to be obedient, we need to be focused, and we need to develop a heart of worship. 

IV. Be a worshipper/develop a heart of worship - praise God with your whole heart (v. 13)

Jeremiah's despair turned to joy, his defeated attitude turned to triumph, his dismay to courage. The key that unlocked the door to victory was praise. Jeremiah triumphantly proclaimed, "Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord" (Jer. 20:13).

Praise is the one weapon in the Christian's arsenal against which Satan has no defense. When we praise God we acknowledge that he is in charge--he can do what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants.

Praise is more than just acknowledging God for the good that comes our way. Praise is accepting from God all that comes our way, both the good and the bad. The praise we offer when things don't go our way is far more precious to God than the praise we offer when all is well.

Praise does four things:

A. Praise recognizes a Provider

B. Praise acknowledges a plan

C. Praise accepts the present

D. Praise releases power

When we praise God for the present situation as a part of God's plan, God's power is unleashed. This power cannot be brought about by a new attitude or a determined effort of self-will, but by God working in our lives.

Conclusion

Let me close with a legend that reveals the source of discouragement. Supposedly, the devil put his tools up for sale, marking each for public inspection with its appropriate sale price. Included were hatred, envy, jealousy, deceit, lying, and pride. Laid apart from these was a rather harmless looking but well-worn tool – discouragement - marked at an extremely high price. Why the costly price? The devil answered: "Because it is more useful to me than the others. I can pry open a person's heart with that when I cannot get near her with the other tools. Once inside, I can make her do whatever I choose. It is badly worn because I use it on almost everyone, since few people know it belongs to me."

Many people succumb to this infamous tool of Satan. Maybe you feel its effect 

now. You can rise above discouragement. Will you:

Be honest - tell God how you feel?

Be obedient - keep doing what you've been called to do?

Be watchful - know that the Lord is with you?

Be worshipful - praise God with your whole heart?

Thanks for reading! 

What Does Worship Smell Like? John 12:1-11

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline and questions for our meeting on March 21, 2010. The lesson is on John 12:1-11 and Mary anointing Jesus' feet. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

What Does Worship Smell Like?
John 12:1-11

Introduction
Most of us can relate some memory (whether good or bad) to a particular smell
We smell that item and immediately relate it to our memory

Some Smells and Memories
a. The great skunk killing—another day in Lynchburg!
b. Thanksgiving/Christmas/Easter
c. Fudge or other sweet smells
d. The smell of freshly brewed coffee
e. The smell of a good cigar: Memories of dad!
f. Farm smells: animals, ploughed ground, crops, etc.
g. Spring smells: new blossoms, new growth, new flowers
h. Perfume/cologne

We all have similar memories and related smells
Those smells permeate our lives and cause us to return to those memories when we encounter them

But did you know that worship has a smell?

Our passage today (John 12:1-11) reveals that worship may smell in one of three ways

What does your worship smell like?

The Scene: Look Who Came to Supper
John 12:1-11

The dinner at Bethany
Occurs six days before Passover

The guest list
a. Simon the Leper (?): Mark 14:3-9; Matthew 26:6-13 (May not be the same dinner, but the similarities are intriguing. Simon could not host a dinner if he was still a leper, so the implication is that Jesus may well have healed him!)
b. Lazarus the formally dead man (see John 11)
c. Jesus
d. The Disciples
e. Martha, Mary, and assorted gawkers

The foot washing
This act interrupts the dinner. The guests are reclining (probably on their left sides as they eat right handed from a table on the floor), and Mary interrupts the dinner and conversation to wash Jesus' feet. This is not the appropriate time. If she wanted to clean his feet she should have done it BEFORE the meal. Most likely she was performing a burial rite! At any rate, her act disrupts the order of things and changes the smell of the room from dinner to sweet perfume.

The three “scents” of worship
1. Extravagant
2. Egocentric
3. Observer

Let’s take them in reverse order

1. The Observers
John 12:9: The large crowd

The Observers who are primarily in it for the adventure
a. Came not to learn, but to gawk
b. Came for the rubbernecking, not the relationship
c. Is more concerned about the next “big event” than in truly meeting God or serving others
d. Doesn’t want to miss something that may be worth gossiping about later

Observer worship smells like burnt eggs: Watching but no involvement

What does your worship smell like?
a. Are you in it for the adventure?
b. For the miracles?
c. For the spectacle?

2. Egocentric Worship: Judas and the Chief Priests
John 12:4-6; 10-11

Egocentric worship
a. Sounds very pious on the surface
Notice that Judas spoke up with a “concern”
b. Seems concerned about legitimate issues
Why not give money to the poor?
c. Focuses on selfish desires
Wants money for himself (Judas)
Doesn’t want to lose authority (the chief priests)

Egocentric worship wants to know: What’s in it for me?

Egocentric worship smells like old used sweat socks

What does your worship smell like?
a. Are you in it only for selfish gain?
b. For what you can get out of it?
c. For recognition and prestige?

3. Extravagant Worship: Mary
John 12:1-3; 7-8

O. Henry’s Gift of the Magi: The story of a married couple who give up what is precious in order to show extravagant love to each other. It is the story of a young couple named Della and Jim. They were a poor couple but they loved each other deeply. Each one had their own unique possession. Della's hair was her pride and joy. When she let her hair down it was like a robe on her back. Jim had a gold watch, which his father had given him.

On the day before Christmas, Della had exactly $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She wanted to get him something he would really like, but she knew that she could not get much with a $1.87. So, she went and sold her hair for $20.00. With the money she bought a platinum chain for Jim's precious watch.

Jim came home from work that night. When he saw Della's shorn head, he was left speechless. Slowly he handed her his gift. His gift was a set of expensive tortoise-shell combs with jeweled edges for her lovely hair. He had sold his gold watch to buy them for her. Each had given all he or she had to give.

Extravagant Worship
a. It is precious
Cost Mary almost a year’s worth of money
300 denarii
A year’s salary

May have been saving it for her own (or Lazarus’) burial
This nard was not normally used to wash dirty feet
It was used to bury loved ones

b. It is motivated by love and is intimate
Mary uses her hair
Women did not let down their hair in public or in front of men other than their own husbands
This was a very intimate act and showed Mary’s love for Jesus
She anoints his feet (an act of kindness or a burial ritual?)

c. It is humble (i.e., she kneels at his feet, washes his feet, serves Jesus)

d. It is obvious/pleasant to others
The smell remained on Mary (i.e., her hair)
The smell filled the room (i.e., all the guests smelled it)
The smell stayed on Jesus as he entered the week of his Passion

“The delicious fragrance ran down over his shining hair. It enfolded His body with its delightful aroma. Even his tunic and flowing undergarment were drenched with its enduring pungency. Wherever he moved during the ensuing days, the perfume would go with Him. Into the Passover; into the Garden of Gethsemane; into Herod’s hall; into Pilate’s patio; even into the cruel hands of those who cast lots for his clothing.” Philip Keller

The smell remained with Jesus through:
His last supper
His prayer
His trial
His beating and crucifixion

e. It permeates everything

f. It pleases Jesus

Extravagant worship smells like an expensive perfume

What does your worship smell like?
a. Are you extravagant?
b. Are you serving?
c. Are you intimately involved?
d. Does your worship overwhelm the place with a sweet fragrance that lingers?

Application
Story of the little boy and the bus minister (Michael Hensley)
The little boy had never seen a church or an offering before, and when the plate was passed he realized that he had no money to give to Jesus. He took the plate and set it in the aisle. Stepping in he says: "Jesus, I don’t have anything to give you today, but just me. I give you me!"

Mark 14:8—”She has done what she could”: Jesus' words about Mary's act

What does your worship smell like?

What can we do that will show extravagant worship this week?

First, stop counting the cost. Give your very best.
Mary didn’t dip her finger into the perfume and sprinkle a bit on Jesus. She “wasted” it on him.
“Waste” some time serving God this week. Pick one hour of your schedule and spend it only in service to God or to others for God. Don’t scrimp!
“Waste” some money that you’ve been “saving”! Give to that ministry or that event.
Help someone and do it with no boundaries.

Second, learn to let your worship permeate your life and circumstances
Don’t stop with a private worship
Be extravagant in public too
Be bold in sharing your love for Christ—find someone that needs encouragement, or someone who needs salvation, or someone who just needs a friend, and spend time dumping love on them in an extravagant manner

Live so that your worship smells like an extravagant perfume that overwhelms all in its range (2 Corinthians 2:14-17)

So, what does your worship smell like?

Thanks for reading!