Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the LORD.  The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. For thus says the LORD: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. Moreover, I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.”- Jeremiah 20:1-6 ESV

Warrior;
Jeremiah was a Prophet.  He wrote the eponymic book, as well as the book of Lamentations. Jeremiah is prophetic and narrative, whereas Lamentations is a sorrowful poem. Jeremiah is considered a MAJOR PROPHET, along with Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel- the other 12 are considered MINOR prophets. His contemporary prophets (lived at the same time) we  re: Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Daniel, and Ezekiel. In today’s text we find out about the LIFE of a CALLED OUT ONE, serving the God of the Universe.  We must understand that if we are CALLED OUT, set apart, serving the GOD OF THE UNIVERSE- we will have problems- even if God Himself were guiding us! What was Jeremiah’s crime for this POOR TREATMENT, this INJUSTICE- He was the mouthpiece of God to a country that was NOT INTERESTED in the THINGS OF GOD. This is the story of a GREAT MAN OF GOD, and any other SOLD-OUT follower in this ever-darkening world. He was imprisoned, beaten, and eventually stoned to death, by his own people, by Priests and the RELIGIOUS CLASS. We tend to believe; If we are doing God’s will, then things will go well for us.  If we are walking with God, then things will flow, and be easy, get funded, have little resistance from the World, and lots of help from God’s people.  Based on the GOOD NEWS, those beliefs are FALSE and UNBIBLICAL. It is written; “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever”. (1 John 2:15-17)

Leader, it is poor theology to believe that if you are on the RIGHT SIDE OF GOD, then you will have support, encouragement and help along the way from the World, other believers, or even family- based on the GOOD WORD. Jeremiah was being told by God what to tell HIS PEOPLE, and they abused him, imprisoned him and stoned him to death in Egypt! It is a pattern. Jeremiah was thrown into the well as a death sentence. He was telling the people not to fight the Babylonian army; told the army not to fight or they’ll surely perish; and told the king that his reign was at an end. Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people. He said: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, or hunger, or terrible diseases. But everyone who surrenders to the Babylonian army will live; they will escape with their lives and live.’ And this is what the LORD says: ‘This city of Jerusalem will surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon. He will capture this city!’” Then the officers said to the king, “Jeremiah must be put to death! He is discouraging the soldiers who are still in the city, and all the people, by what he is saying to them. He does not want good to happen to us; he wants to ruin us.” (Jeremiah 38:1-4) Consider the great Apostle Paul.  The exact details of St. Paul’s death are unknown, but tradition holds that he was beheaded in Rome and thus died as a martyr for his faith. His death was perhaps part of the executions of Christians ordered by the Roman emperor Nero following the great fire in the city in 64 CE. When He was preaching before the Roman Government, in chains he was considered a lunatic. Hear the Word of the Lord; At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!” (Acts 26:24) If you are committed to living by the WORD OF GOD, be prepared- you will be considered FOOLISH, mean, overzealous, an ENEMY OF THE STATE.  Today our current president in America considers WHITE CHRISTIANS to be the biggest threat to our Country- next to JESUS.  We must be prepared for this TRUTH: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance! For if Jesus was treated this way- why would it be any different for us today?

Conduit, it is written; Then Jesus went home, and once again a crowd gathered, so that He and His disciples could not even eat. When His family heard about this, they went out to take custody of Him, saying, “He is out of His mind.” And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons He drives out demons.” So Jesus called them together and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand. And if Satan is divided and rises against himself, he cannot stand; his end has come. Indeed, no one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house…Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent someone in to summon Him, and a crowd was sitting around Him. “Look,” He was told, “Your mother and brothers are outside, asking for You.” But Jesus replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” Looking at those seated in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:20-27, 31-35) When we know WHO’S we are, and WHO we are called to be- then we understand that we are called to be DIFFERENT! It is written: “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Deuteronomy 7:6, Ephesians 2:10) We are told to think different, act different, VOTE different and SUFFER DIFFERENTLY!  “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect”. (Romans 12:1-2) Soldier on Warrior, FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT, and REMEMBER, DO NOT FEAR. Remember, the Battle is the Lords! Remember; “But the LORD is with me like a fearsome warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly put to shame,with an everlasting disgrace that will never be forgotten. O LORD of Hosts, who examines the righteous, who sees the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause. (Jeremiah 20:11-12) It is time to COMMIT your cause to HIS CALLING- no matter the cost!