by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: TEMPORARY DELIVERANCE CAN STILL LEAD TO FUTURE CHAOS IF WE IGNORE GOD’S WARNINGS AND FAIL TO SEEK COUNSEL FROM GODINTRODUCTION:Our broken condition as a result of the Fall means that our lives end up far messier than what we would like. On a personal level,...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: GOD ALWAYS PRESERVES, PROTECTS AND PROVIDES FOR HIS PEOPLEINTRODUCTION:It is surprising when this chapter opens to find Jeremiah once more in chains. Apparently he had been scooped up along with the other Jews who were targeted for deportation. But God works...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: FAITH DETERMINES THE OUTCOME OF EITHER DEVASTATION OR DELIVERANCEINTRODUCTION:King Zedekiah and his fellow countrymen in Jerusalem were given every opportunity to respond to the repeated prophecies of Jeremiah warning of impending devastation at the hands of...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: FAITHFUL TESTIMONY DOESN’T DEVIATE IN THE FACE OF POWERFUL PRESSUREINTRODUCTION:Jeremiah provides us a supreme example of faithful preaching in pressure situations. He had to deal with the political intrigue of officials who favored Egypt over Babylon and...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: THE PUPPET KING CANNOT CONTROL THE FAITHFUL PROPHET OF GODINTRODUCTION:Nobody loved the nation of Israel more deeply than Jeremiah. Nobody grieved over their sinful state more deeply than he. He was a true patriot but was falsely accused and imprisoned as a...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: GOD’S MESSAGE OF JUDGMENT CANNOT BE ERASED OR DENIEDINTRODUCTION:Accountability can be a sore subject for those who do not want to face up to the consequences of their actions. When hit with a prophecy of impending divine judgment, people resort to the...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY MUST ALWAYS BE TO OBEY GODINTRODUCTION:Scriptures frequently use the type of argument fleshed out in this passage: arguing from the lesser to the greater. If you are careful to keep your word and commitments made to human authorities,...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: FLASH IN THE PAN SPIRITUAL LOYALTY DOESN’T CUT ITINTRODUCTION:You have heard of the Christian movement called “Promise Keepers.” I suppose you could call this episode in Israel’s history a record of “Promise Breakers.” Jeremiah comes to remind the city and...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: GOD GUARANTEES THE FUTURE RESTORATION OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE MESSIAHINTRODUCTION:Since we know who holds the future, we can have confidence in God’s end times prophecies. Especially comforting are the words from Jeremiah 33 at...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: THE CURRENT CRISIS AND THE CERTAIN CALAMITY CANNOT NEGATE GOD’S COVENANTAL CARE –BUY THE LAND AND BURY THE DEED IN LIGHT OF FUTURE RESTORATIONINTRODUCTION:This passage revolves around a simple real estate transaction. But this is an investment that requires...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: THE FOCUS ON THE NEW COVENANT DEFINES THE CONTEXT FOR GUARANTEED FUTURE RESTORATION BLESSINGS AND PROMISES INTRODUCTION: New is not always better. We know that from the many products we have purchased over the years. When it comes to appliances, while they...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: DESPITE THE GLOOM OF THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY, AND THE TERROR OF THE COMING TRIBULATION, FUTURE RESTORATION WILL HEAL ALL WOUNDSINTRODUCTION:This passage, as with many of the OT prophecies, has a near fulfillment in the return from the Babylonian Captivity...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: OPPRESSED BELIEVERS MUST REJECT FALSE PROMISES AND PURSUE GOD’S WILL WHILE CLINGING TO FUTURE HOPEINTRODUCTION:Sometimes God’s people find themselves in unpleasant and oppressive circumstances. In the case of the Jews exiled for the 70 year Babylonian...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: GOD’S SOVEREIGN PLAN WILL PREVAIL WHEN FALSE PROPHETS OPPOSE TRUE PROPHETSINTRODUCTION:Parunak: Every old-time western, at some point or another, shows two gunslingers facing one another on the main street of town as they are about to “shoot it out” to...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: SUBMIT TO GOD’S AUTHORITY – EVEN WHEN IT IS ADMINISTERED IN SURPRISING WAYSINTRODUCTION:Sometimes our conviction regarding the sovereignty of God can be severely tested. We easily acknowledge that the Bible teaches that God can put whoever He wants in a...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: IN THE FACE OF SEVERE OPPOSITION AND EVEN THE THREAT OF MARTYRDOM, THE PROPHET OF GOD MUST REMAIN FAITHFUL TO THE WORD OF GODINTRODUCTION:Messages of impending judgment have never been popular – especially when directed towards a self-righteous, outwardly...
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: JUDGMENT BEGINS WITH THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD AND PROGRESSES AGAINST ALL NATIONS FOR THEIR STUBBORN REBELLIONINTRODUCTION:Mankind has a built-in capacity for sin defined as Total Depravity. That is just how we are wired. We sin because innately we are sinners....
by Paul Apple | Apr 22, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: THE BASIS FOR SOVEREIGN BLESSING OR CURSING CANNOT BE HUMANLY DISCERNEDINTRODUCTION:At some point we must bow down before God’s sovereignty and acknowledge that God’s ways and thoughts are not our ways and thoughts. He acts according to His good pleasure in...
by Paul Apple | Apr 21, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: COUNTERFEIT SPIRITUAL SHEPHERDS SUBSTITUTE THEIR OWN PEACEFUL IMAGINATIONS FOR GOD’S AUTHENTIC REVELATION OF JUDGMENTINTRODUCTION:Jeremiah understood what was involved in faithfully proclaiming God’s Word – no matter how unpopular the message. He was willing...
by Paul Apple | Apr 21, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: IDOLATRY AND SPIRITUAL ADULTERY PERVERT GOD’S APPOINTED LEADERS FROM THE MANDATED PATH OF SOCIAL JUSTICEINTRODUCTION:We all would like to end well. We would like the summary of our life and ministry to read like a praiseworthy eulogy. Instead, in this series...
