Double Minded Men and Jeremiah
Double Minded Men and Jeremiah
Sermon by Brian Haines
Passage: Jeremiah 42
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NOTE: Due to technical difficulties, the audio for this lesson did not record. Therefore we have attached a copy of this same lesson that was presented in Hillsboro, Oregon by Brian on March 30, 2019.
Imagine a world decimated by war and destruction. You walk out onto the streets, and perhaps nine out of ten people are dead or missing, taken away by a foreign army. Buildings are destroyed, every part of your government is gone. No police, no fire department, no grocery store. It is terrifying to think of suffering this way.
This was exactly the world that the prophet Jeremiah entered in Jeremiah 42. Babylon had destroyed everything and left (and in the last chapter, a small group of zealots had killed the governor left behind too). Jeremiah meets with a group of refugees led by several military leaders who had hid during the devastation. In Jeremiah 42:1-6 they ask Jeremiah a question: what does God want us to do. In Jeremiah 42:7-17 God gives a clear and specific reply: DO NOT go to Egypt (a place many thought would be a safe haven) but instead remain in Judah. God specifically said that those who go to Egypt would die, while those who stayed behind would remain safe.
The shocking part of the story is the response of the leaders in Jeremiah 43. They had declared that they would do whatever God said in chapter 42, but when they heard Jeremiah’s message they exploded. They called Jeremiah a liar and accused him of being manipulated. They kidnapped Jeremiah and took him and his secretary Baruch to Egypt with them.
There is a similar story in the New Testament, in Matthew 19. There a rich ruler asked Jesus what was necessary in order to have eternal life. When Jesus told him, he walked away sad. It is clear in both of these stories that the men only pretended (or deceived themselves) that they would do whatever God asked; what they really wanted was validation for what they were doing/wanted to do. Such thinking might be described as double minded; a self-deception or lying intent where we portray our desire to obey, but truly do not intent to do so.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:8)
Here are some examples of being double minded in the way we have seen:
I love the Lord, the Son of God…..
Except when He costs me something
Except when I have to choose Him first
Except when He embarrasses me
I love the Bible, the Word of God…..
Except when it is not to my liking
Except when it means I am not right
Except when it fails to meet my thinking
I love the Church, the Body of Christ
Except when they are not good to me
Except when the elders correct me
Except when they interfere with my life
We need to work intentionally on avoiding being doubleminded. If you love the Lord, be prepared to make some hard choices and o suffer for His cause; Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). If you love the Word, be prepared to be wrong and to change, and to hear unpleasing things. Remember that it is a sword that cuts both ways; For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Finally, if you love the Church, be prepared to sacrifice and hurt for them (think of how we sacrifice and are hurt by our children; we don’t abandon them because of that do we?). We need to love them as we love Christ.
Don’t be double minded. If you declare your intent to serve God, know that it is not always easy. You will hear and experience things you do not wish. Don’t seek God just for validation; seek God with a mind that knows what He may ask of you, and be willing to do it.