Clarity in Uncertain Times

Clarity In Uncertain Times

Big Idea: In times of uncertainty it’s clarity that we need.

 

1 Samuel 14:6

 

Jeremiah 20:7 O Lord, you misled me, and I allowed myself to be misled. You are stronger than I am, and you overpowered me. Now I am mocked every day; everyone laughs at me.

Jeremiah 20:8-9 When I speak, the words burst out. “Violence and destruction!” I shout. So these messages from the Lord have made me a household joke. 9 But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!

Big Question: What things do I need clarity on in my life?

Main Scripture: Jeremiah 20:7-18

1. God’s Purpose In My Life

Acts 20:22-24 22 And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, (uncertainty) 23 except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. 24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. (clarity)

 

Jeremiah 20:10-12 10 I have heard the many rumors about me. They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.” They threaten, “If you say anything, we will report it.” Even my old friends are watching me, waiting for a fatal slip. “He will trap himself,” they say, “and then we will get our revenge on him.” 11 But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. (say a few words) Before him my persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten. 12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, you test those who are righteous, and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets. Let me see your vengeance against them, for I have committed my cause to you.

2. God’s Power In My Life

Jeremiah 20:13 Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For though I was poor and needy, he rescued me from my oppressors.

3. God’s Place In My Life

Jeremiah 20:14-18 Yet I curse the day I was born! May no one celebrate the day of my birth. 15 I curse the messenger who told my father, “Good news—you have a son!” 16 Let him be destroyed like the cities of old that the Lord overthrew without mercy. Terrify him all day long with battle shouts, 17 because he did not kill me at birth. Oh, that I had died in my mother’s womb, that her body had been my grave! 18 Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame.