Fearless Stewards (Jeremiah 26:8)

And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die!
– Jeremiah 26:8

Did you hear that? At the very beginning of this chapter? God says Jeremiah hears the word. I want you to speak. And Jeremiah goes, and he says it. As soon as he finishes speaking all that God had said to speak the priests and the other prophets, and all the people grabbed onto him, they laid a hold of him saying, you are going to die.

Jeremiah 26:8 teaches us that speaking God’s Word is costly.

There’s a lot we can talk about based on this verse. I want to hone in on two things that will lead us to pray. One, speaking God’s Word is costly. In this world, for many of our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ, many who are on the front lines of places that are unreached by the gospel that we pray for all the time to speak God’s Word means to risk your life.

Think about North Korea, Somalia, and a variety of other places in the world where any follower of Jesus would face potential death or imprisonment as soon as they speak the Word of God. But not just other places in the world, places like we pray for when it comes to unreached people where it’s illegal or dangerous to share the gospel.

But I think of a teenager I met just a couple of weeks ago who came to Christ and immediately was hurt by people in his home, by family when he shared the gospel with them. Speaking God’s Word is costly in this world for many people around the world can cost them their lives. And I would say that any one of us could cost us relationships, could cost us a job in certain circumstances. So be aware, that speaking God’s Word is costly in this world.

Jeremiah 26:8 teaches God calls His people to do costly things.

And this is the second thing that I want to hone in on this verse. This is what God had called Jeremiah to do. In other words, God calls his people to do costly things. We almost sometimes have this mentality that if God is calling us to do something, it will be safe or it will be easy or things will go well for us when the reality is God calls us to do many things in this world that are not safe, that are really hard, and that will actually not go well for us, at least according to the pictures of well we might imagine in this world.

And that leads to the questions for us. Will we speak God’s Word no matter what it may cost us? And will we do what God calls us to do even when that leads to difficulties, challenges, trials, and persecution in this world? And I just want to lead us to pray that God will help us to obey him and to speak his Word.

Even today. I don’t know what costs there may be or may not be for you. For many of us, we live in countries where we’re free to share God’s Word. So let’s take full advantage of this freedom. I want to encourage you to speak God’s Word, to speak the gospel to somebody today, and let’s pray right now for boldness to do so and for obedience in our lives no matter what it may cost us at any point.

Jeremiah 26:8 encourages us to trust God with our lives as we follow Him.

Oh God, we praise you for Jeremiah’s example here in Jeremiah 26. We praise you for your Word in his mouth and how he boldly spoke your Word, humbly spoke your Word, knowing that priests and prophets, friends and people that he loved would lay hold of him and say, you are going to die. And God, we praise you for your provision for him in that moment and the moments after that for your preservation of his life.

God, we do pray right now specifically for our brothers and sisters in Christ, in places in the world where speaking your Word could mean certain death or certain imprisonment. Lord, we pray that you would give them wisdom, that you would help them to know how best to share your gospel in those places, to lead others to life.

God, we pray for your protection of them as they spread the gospel, we pray Acts 4 over them, consider the threats against them, and enable your servants to speak your Word with holy boldness. And God, as we pray that for them, knowing how costly that could be for them, God, we pray for the same in our lives, for the same kind of boldness. Help us today, we pray by the power of your Holy Spirit in us to speak the Word to share the gospel with someone else.

This verse encourages us to trust God when obedience is hard.

And God, we pray that whenever we face situations where speaking your Word will be costly. God, we pray that we would speak it anyway, that we would speak your word with wisdom, compassion, and humility. And God, we want to obey you no matter how hard obedience might be or how difficult life might be as a result of obedience. God, we want you and obedience to your Word to be our supreme desire in our lives. Help us, God, we pray, to hold loosely to all kinds of things in this world, to hold tightly to your Word, and to live our lives. This mist that we have had for a little while here, spreading it to others.

Prayer for the Kazakh People

God, we pray specifically today for the Kazakh people of Kazakhstan. Oh God, for 17 million Kazakhs in the world, many of whom have never heard the good news of your grace in Jesus. God, we pray that Kazakh men and women and children would be reached with the good news of your love for them in Jesus. And God, we pray that you would raise up brothers and sisters in Christ. That you would bless our Kazakh brothers and sisters in Christ, give them boldness, and raise up others to come alongside them, that the gospel might spread in Kazakhstan all throughout different parts of Central Asia, no matter what that might cost. I pray all of this according to your word in Jeremiah 26:8. In Jesus’ name, amen.