Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. | ||
| Jeremiah 1:9-10 | ||
| Here, we see the power given to Jeremiah as the Lord put His words in Jeremiah’s mouth. The Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). Therefore, just as He provided Jeremiah His words, He has provided us with His Word. True power comes not from sharing with people what we think, but what God’s Word says; not from our ideas or philosophies, but what Scripture states with certainty and authority. The ministry of a prophet is always profitable but not always pleasant. It’s not simply planting and building, but the ministry of a prophet is also pulling down, throwing down, tearing up, rooting out. There had to be a breaking before there could be a building. There had to be a tearing up of the land before there could be a planting of the seed. Jeremiah knew this. He saw it in his father and in the priestly community that ministry wouldn’t always be easy. “To every thing there is a season,” Solomon declared, “and a time to every purpose under the Heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up . . .” (see Ecclesiastes 3:1-3). Building up is always more fulfilling than pulling down, planting always more exciting than destroying, yet, like Solomon, Jeremiah was told he would have to root out, pull down, destroy, and throw down before he could build and plant. And so must we. Paul tells us we are to pull down strongholds and cast down imaginations that seek to have preeminence over Christ in our thoughts and minds (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). True ministry is not about getting people to like us but rather speaking as the Lord directs in humility and integrity - even if that means rooting out and throwing down in order that God may build up and plant deep. Pastor Jon Courson | ||
