Jeremiah 45, How To Leave Your Self-Pity Party
1. Acknowledge The Way You Feel (v3)
2. Remember God’s Power And Position (v4)
3. Redirect Yourself Toward Glorifying God (v5)
4. Become Content With God’s Promises (v5)
Jeremiah 45, How To Leave Your Self-Pity Party
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As we begin to look at Jeremiah Chapter 45. I first of all wonder what is your favorite kind of party?
What is your favorite kind of party?
You maybe have certain aspects of different kinds of parties that you like.
Some people, I would imagine, would say I really love a Christmas party.
You know, the the dressing up, the ugly sweaters, the.
You know, food, the drinks that, you know, those kinds of things just really appealed to me.
I just can't wait for those Christmas parties.
They're really wonderful.
Some of you might say.
I really love a wedding party.
Nothing quite like a wedding reception where you're celebrating this new relationship and this new journey that a couple is going down and that celebration.
Together, just really nothing.
Compares to it, perhaps some would say birthday parties.
As long as it's not my own.
I love going to birthday parties and celebrating with someone else, watching the presents and the opening of gifts, and all of those things are so exciting.
Some would say costume party.
Maybe someone over on this other room might say costume party.
That's their favorite kind of party, right?
Just said the the joy of cosplay dressing up.
You know, all of that is great.
Some would say I love a New Year's Eve party.
That bringing in the new Year and just starting something fresh and then also you get to stay up, you know, past midnight like a like a like a crazy person and just have a good time bringing in the new year.
Some would say I love a karaoke party where it's not just, you know, some kind of gifts or anything, but just fun and singing and and joining together.
Some would say I love a fireworks party, that seeing, you know, those fireworks in the air and if you're close enough to to feel the boom, you know, as they go, you used to be in Norco over here where they would do the firework.
Said the house pastor Tom had would be right there at kind of at the foot where they would set off the fireworks and then they would boom and like your whole body would seek with the explosion that would take place and and maybe that's something that you just love.
That's the kind of party that you would say.
Maybe there's other kinds of parties that I'm not mentioning, but what is it?
What would be your favorite kind of party?
Well, I also want to take a moment and let you guess what is my favorite kind of party.
I'm going to give you some hints here so you can figure out what my favorite kind of party is.
I attend this party multiple times a week.
I throw myself the party.
I can't get anyone else to RSVP.
Have you guessed yet?
What kind of party?
Is it?
It's called a pity party.
It's my favorite kind of party, not because that's the one you know that I want to attend the most.
It's just the one that I do attend the most.
It's the one.
I'm most familiar with.
I'm making jokes, of course, but also being real.
You could pray for Kim.
Her hand sometimes gets really bad cramps.
It's RSI and injury from playing that world tiniest violin while I celebrate my pity parties.
It gets this group bad cramps that go on.
This morning, as the Lord speaks to this man, Baruch, a servant of the Lord and assistant to Jeremiah.
He deals with this idea, this issue of pity parties and that self pity that we all experience from time to time, and perhaps some of us.
More than others this morning, I want to encourage you in how to leave.
Your self pity party, how to just head out the door, shut the party down, call the cops and you know, bring that party to an end and and to move away from this tendency that we have to wallow and to dwell in our self pity as.
Believers, we need to understand that we are going to experience all kinds of different things.
We experience the full range of emotion as humans that that is part of the reality and and part of that is going to be times of grief and sadness that are appropriate and.
And it's good for us to experience and to feel those times as we, you know, grieve alongside of the Joyce family.
Like it's an appropriate time for that sadness and for that grief to be there and and that is an appropriate thing for us as believers.
We're going to experience.
Times of sadness and sorrow we are going to experience.
Times of discouragement.
And we're going to be faced with those feelings and have to deal with those things and address those things and learn how to navigate those feelings in our relationship.
With the Lord.
I would suggest even as believers, it would be normal for us to experience times of depression, that there will be those times where we are overwhelmed in that way and that there is this depression that comes upon us.
Of course not meant to live our whole lives that way, but it is part of our experience and our walk.
With the Lord.
And I would suggest all of these things are.
That they're unique in different ways and experienced in different ways and and dealt with in different ways.
Sadness versus discouragement versus depression and then finally versus self pity, which is another thing entirely.
Thinking about what is self pity in contrast to, let's say depression or discouragement.
You can maybe picture it this way.
Being out in desperate situation in the ocean.
I I'm not trying to be clinical in my definitions here.
There's, you know, better people, better equipped for that kind of thing.
But but in seeking to just kind of dissect what what the these different kinds of emotions that we experience are and how they impact us, I I'm picturing out in the ocean, the waves are high.
The water is deep.
And depression is when you are drowning in that situation.
Whereas self pity would be where you're treading water.
And so there's a big difference between drowning and treading water, right like that.
That is a distinction I I think we can all make and understand emotionally.
Self pity and depression are are very different.
And the idea of depression is that you're overwhelmed by the waves.
There's the inability to to swim any longer, and it's pushing you down.
There's crushing, there's weight and and and.
So I would say it this way.
If you're drowning, then you're in a different situation than what we're looking at with Baruch and, and you need to get help.
And I would encourage you to get.
Help, and there's no shame in getting help.
When depression has overtaken you in that way, that it doesn't really matter how you got there, right?
If you are out in the water and there's the waves pounding down and you're all turned around and you're under the water, it doesn't matter if you jumped in.
It doesn't matter if you got taken out with the undertow or if you were thrown in if it was injustice or just, you know, accidental.
Or whatever that that puts you in the situation.
That doesn't matter.
Now you're there, you're in the midst of situation, and you're drowning.
You need a lifeguard, you need help to get out and so if that is your case then please reach out and find help.
Uh, because it is a difficult situation and hard to get out of without the Lord's help and without the help of those that God.
Has placed around you.
But Self Pity is a little bit different.
It's similar in a lot of ways.
You're still in the water, there's still the waves, the water is still deep, but you're treading water and you can get out if you want to, if you work hard enough, if you, you know, put some effort into it.
But you kind of, like you kind of are relishing the sorrow of the.
The tragedy, that of the situation that you're in and and there is this choice that is being made.
To stay there.
And to maintain that desperation, to maintain that state.
And so self pity is different than sadness, although there are similar things experience similar feelings, it's different than depression.
Self pity is that choosing to spiral to to continue to dwell down on that situation, or spiral down or dwell on that situation.
And we'll see more about that as we work our way through.
But Jeremiah is serving here.
He is throwing himself a bit of a self pity party and the Lord, says Jeremiah.
We have some instruction to give some help to provide.
So that Baruch can learn how to shut down that party.
You need to teach him, Jeremiah, how to become a self pity party pooper.
Say that 20 times in a row, teach him Jeremiah how to become a party pooper in this self pity party that he had.
Was made so that he does not stay in that condition, but that he moves forward into what I have called him too.
And so we're going to look at four points this morning.
Four ways to become a self pity party pooper, four ways to call the cops and shut the party down, four ways to escape.
From this trap of self pity that we often find ourselves in point number one is we look at verse 3 this morning is acknowledge the way you.
The first thing the Lord really calls Baruch to do is to acknowledge what he has said.
What's in his heart, what's in his mind.
Looking at verse three, it says you have said.
I am overwhelmed with trouble.
Haven't I had enough pain already?
And now the Lord has added more.
I am worn out from sighing.
And can find no rest.
The Lord knows exactly what Baruch is going through.
And so he says you have said.
Baruch, I know what you've said.
And whether or not Baruch said this out loud doesn't actually matter, because this may have been just a conversation in his mind, but the Lord knows it nonetheless.
And he is feeling these things.
He is feeling overwhelmed with trouble.
And I'm sure we all have.
That experience, we know what it's like to be overwhelmed again, that picture of being in over your head.
And the trouble is, greater than we can handle, greater than we can do, greater than we can get out of on our own.
We know what it feels like to be in that situation.
But he goes on to say, haven't I had enough pain already?
I don't know if you've ever asked that question.
Like, things are hard, things are overwhelming.
But now there's more happening and I just don't understand because I've already experienced so much pain, I don't think I can experience anymore pain.
Haven't I had enough pain already?
Baruch is asking.
Isn't this already?
More than God should allow in my life.
And notice he does.
This to the Lord blame the Lord a bit, and now the Lord has added more.
You can hear the woe is me mentality here for Baruch.
I've already had so much pain, I'm already overwhelmed, and now the Lord has added even more.
And so, he says, I'm overwhelmed.
I'm worn out.
From sighing.
And can find no rest.
Have you ever been worn out from sighing?
Just exhausted.
From your sadness, from your emotional state, this this is Brooks.
Condition. I'm overwhelmed with trouble.
Asking what?
Like wrestling with this isn't just a.
Hypothetical question.
I wonder if I've already had enough pain.
He's like, no, like I I just, I can't take anymore.
Haven't I had enough pain already?
This idea of pain and trouble that he's addressing here.
He's talking about a condition of utter loss and despair that seems beyond cure.
It it feels like this is incurable, this pain that I'm facing, this trouble that I have.
So, he says.
I'm worn out.
I fainted.
With sighing.
This word to to be worn out speaks about being weary from work.
He's worn out because he's been.
In full efforts, trying to survive, trying to tread water to keep his head above water.
He's, he's.
Been working so.
Hard to try to deal with all that he is experiencing, this emotion that he's going through.
One dictionary talking about this word worn out says it indicates the loss of energy or spirit from one's hopeless responses to illness or adversity.
He has lost all energy.
Motivation, spirit.
It's a hopeless situation.
He feels hopeless in the midst of his condition.
Overwhelmed with trouble.
Asking questions of the Lord about the pain and how much more he can handle.
He's just worn out and wiped out.
Now, in order to understand why Baruch is feeling this way, I think it's appropriate to consider the context a little bit, because this chapter does not.
Fit chronologically where it is many times in the prophet Jeremiah as well as many of the other prophets.
The chapters are not.
Attempted to be kept in chronological order.
There's a reference to the date there in Chapter 45. It's the 4th year verse one of the reign of Jehoiakim.
Now, there's something else that happened in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim that is really important. So we need to understand what is happening here in the fourth year of jehoiakim. Well, here's a quick look at the timeline of Jeremiah's ministry and the prophecies that we're going.
On in our reading, we've really gone through the end of this timeline. We've we've hit 586 BC where Babylon has conquered Judah for the third time on Wednesday. We talked about that after that final conquering, then get Elias put in charge and then he's assassinated and the people run to Egypt to try to.
Flee from the wrath of Babylon, even though God tells them to stay in the land. So so that's 586 BC we chronologically have covered this whole time period.
But here in Chapter 45, we're rewinding the tape a little bit and moving back a few years, right around 6:05 BC, before Babylon conquers Jerusalem for the first time.
So we've covered it all three times to this point, and Babylon was conquered Jerusalem three times, and now the people are in captivity in Babylon.
But now we're going back before the very first time Babylon comes against Jerusalem, and it it's in Jeremiah Chapter 36 that we get the parallel account to this.
During that time, you can check it out later on Jeremiah Chapter 36. Jehoiakim is king. He's been king for four years.
Babylon has not yet conquered Jerusalem, and the Lord gives Jeremiah the instruction to deliver a message to the king.
And the way that he delivers this message is that he is to call Baruch and have him write the message on a scroll.
And so it's really the first half of Isaiah or Jeremiah Ministry that is to be written down on this scroll.
And so Baruch takes some time to write down the message of Jeremiah, Jeremiah dictates it, and Baruch is writing it all down, scribbling furiously to keep up with Jeremiah.
And then he goes and he reads this scroll.
At the temple.
The leaders hear about it.
They say, OK, Peruke, you go hide yourself, we're going to go and read this to the king, and they go and read it to the king.
And the king, as he has this scroll being read to him as they finish a column of the scroll, he cuts it off with the knife.
And throws it in the fire.
Then they read the next column and he cuts it off with the.
Knife and.
Throws it in the fire.
They read the next column.
He cuts it.
Off with the.
Knife and throws it in the fire until finally the whole scroll is gone. It has been burned and so at the end of Jeremiah Chapter 36.
God tells Jeremiah.
He write another scroll.
And put all the words that you had put before, as well as a bunch more.
There is the kind of re creation of this scroll that had been burned. This all took place in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim again back in Jeremiah Chapter 36 and so.
We can understand a little bit of what Baruch is going through, because this message of encouragement to Baruch here in Chapter 45 happened in that same time period.
And so he has been involved in.
This work of recording this scroll.
Watching it be burned or hearing about it being burned.
And then recreating the scroll, we don't know exactly at what points in all of this that Baruch has heard about it, or he's feeling these feelings.
But in the midst of this situation, Baruch is going through the these emotions and dealing with these challenges internally.
Now of course God doesn't give us all the details here, but.
It's a worthwhile endeavor to kind of speculate on some of the possible causes of Brooks feelings to help us kind of picture where he was at and also identify with him and perhaps he was experiencing a range of these things that we could consider.
He could be having this response that we read about here in verse 3.
Overwhelmed with trouble.
Enough pain already.
Worn out from sighing, he could be having that reaction simply to the message of judgment that he is writing that scroll that was written.
The prophecies of Jeremiah were clear and strong announcements of judgment upon the nation.
And just the message itself, as he's in the process of writing it and capturing all of that down that that message could have just sunk baruch's heart, and he continued on.
He pressed on in his writing, but boy, he was not feeling good about it.
And he was feeling more and more peeing the more.
And more, he wrote.
It was more challenging and more difficult, as he wrote until the end of the scroll.
Or maybe?
He began to really feel these things when he heard that the scroll had been burned.
Quick pop quiz.
Do you remember which book of the Bible is the longest book of the Bible?
It's the book of Jeremiah, not by chapter count that's the Book of Psalms, but by word count.
The Book of Jeremiah is the longest book in the Bible now.
This original scroll wasn't the full book of Jeremiah that we have, but.
It was 20.
Years of prophecy that Baruch was capturing.
So imagine writing half of the Book of Jeremiah.
In fact, how about that?
This is your assignment this week.
This week, go and write down.
Half of the Book of Jeremiah. That's 26 chapters. Write down the 1st 26 chapters of Jeremiah Hand. Write it by yourself in a notebook. Bring it next Sunday and I'm going to burn it.
How would you feel you?
You could imagine Baruch having written this.
This was not, you know, a two page note that he had to write, write this.
This was an extraordinary amount of Labor.
Only to have it be burned in the.
Fire by the.
And so maybe his heart was in this place, his emotions were this way because of the judgment that he was hearing about in writing.
Or maybe it was because of the seemingly fruitlessness of his work and all of his efforts being lost.
Maybe it was because I have to write all that again, and now you know he's feeling it because he has to.
Repeat that scroll and then add many more.
Words to it.
Or maybe he's feeling this way because of the lack of the response from the people.
There was not when he went to read this at the Temple. There was not this mass response, this, you know, people rushing to hear what God said and and running to repent and turn from their ways to escape the judgment of God. Maybe, maybe seeing little to no response really caused baruch's heart to sing.
Maybe he had something different in his mind and he was picturing some some greater response and repentance from the people.
Surely they haven't listened to Jeremiah, but surely now you know in the the presentation of the message this way there's going to be a response.
And when there was not that response, perhaps it really.
Caused his heart to struggle.
Many people over the years have speculated that perhaps Baruch was desiring some position of political power or popularity.
Gaining kind of gleaning from a a few different parts in Jeremiah, we can gather that Baruch's brother was a an officer in the the King's house, the King's Party, and so perhaps you know he had some aspirations or could have.
Called in a favor from his brother and, you know, been given a prominent position.
Perhaps he thought the message, you know, would gain in popularity.
We we don't know exactly where his heart was at, but these are all possibilities.
And as it is usually in life, it's probably a few different things.
A combination of things.
That has come together, that has barukh.
Feeling this way.
In pain.
Not certain he can take anymore and blaming God for it now the Lord has added more.
And so God writes to Baruch through Jeremiah.
He says spruik.
You have said.
And in this I would say God is calling Baruch.
To acknowledge what he is feeling.
To kind of face.
The emotions that he's going through, the things that he has said in his heart, like face them head on.
You have said this.
This is what's in your heart.
This is what's in your mind.
This is what's going through your thoughts.
This is what you have said.
Now God did need to tell Brooke this because.
Baruch was the one experiencing right.
He was alone in feeling these things, having these thoughts right.
But God is saying, look, I want you to stop and understand.
I know what you have said.
I know what you're going through and you need to recognize this is.
What you have said.
You need to to hear back to you.
The things that you have said sometimes hearing our words said back to us.
Really brings us a perspective that we desperately need.
Acknowledge the way that you feel recognized.
This is what you're saying, Brooke.
In your mind and your heart and your attitude, in your actions and your behavior, this is what you are saying.
These are the things that you are declaring.
Kind of reminded me of Elijah in First Kings chapter 19.
After he does this great work for the Lord, calling down fire from heaven and.
Then we see his life is threatened.
By the queen Jezebel.
And he gets freaked out.
And he runs off into the wilderness, into a cave, and the Lord shows up.
First Kings, chapter 19.
God? Asks Elijah question.
What are you doing here, Elijah?
And he goes on, well, I'm here, 'cause.
You know, I've been serving you, but but the people aren't receiving it and they've broken the covenant.
They've torn down your altars.
They killed all of your prophets.
I'm the only one left.
And now they're trying to kill me too.
In First Kings Chapter 19, we get to join Elijah in his pity party and understand the things that he's going through.
Now, these are real things he's experiencing.
This is his emotional state.
But but notice God asks the question, what are you doing here, Elijah?
Why does God ask questions?
It's never because he needs the answer.
He always asks questions because we need the answer, we need to verbalize, we need to express, we need to perhaps hear out loud.
The things that we're thinking, the things.
That we're saying.
And then I find it interesting in verse 15 of First Kings 19.
Then the Lord said to him go back the same way you came.
Travel to the wilderness of Damascus.
When you arrived there, anoint Hazael to be king of Iran.
God doesn't answer.
Everything that Elijah spells out here.
He does make mention later that he has 7000 who have not bowed to Baal.
But it's not a, you know, therapy session in that way, right?
It's not like, you know, let's one by one work through all of these things that you're feeling.
You're saying.
I know it's the way that you feel, right?
Just tell me why you're here.
OK, good.
Now get back to work.
Go down the way you came and you need to be engaged in the.
Work that I've called you too.
Much can happen as we come to the Lord.
Honestly acknowledging the way that we feel.
Are going to experience.
The full range of emotions.
Grief, sadness, discouragement, depression, self pity.
In particular, looking at self pity, this is one that that needs to be addressed.
It needs to be acknowledged.
And we need to learn.
To put an end.
To the self pity parties that we throw ourselves.
Acknowledge the way that you feel.
Acknowledge what it is that you're saying.
Acknowledge what it is that your heart and mind is declaring and and maybe you're not verbalizing them out loud.
But you are.
Saying these things nonetheless, I'm overwhelmed with trouble.
Haven't I had enough pain already?
And now the Lord has added more.
I'm worn out from sighing, and I can find no rest.
You're grumbling, you're complaining. You're.
I think that's the end of all the synonyms I.
Can think of for that, but acknowledge those things are an expression of.
Of the way that you feel.
Back in the Book of Genesis.
The Lord met with Abraham and Sarah.
And told them.
He was directly interacting with Abraham.
Sarah was behind in the tent.
Listening, overhearing the conversation.
The Lord tells Abraham, I'm going to come back next year at this time and you're going to have a son.
And tells us in Genesis Chapter 18 that Sarah laughed.
At the thought.
And then God calls her on it. Genesis chapter 1813. The Lord said to you, Prem.
Why did Sarah laugh?
Why did she say can an old woman like?
Me have a baby.
Is anything too hard for the Lord?
I will return about this time next year and Sarah.
Will have a son.
In verse 15 it tells us Sarah was afraid.
So she denied it, saying I didn't laugh.
But the Lord said no.
You did laugh.
Face it.
This is really where your heart was at.
But she was afraid.
She's like, I know I shouldn't have laughed, I know I shouldn't, and so I'm going to pretend like I didn't.
And this is what often happens for us in dealing with emotions.
There is some perception of good or bad that we have about the emotions that we're going through and if if we feel like, I, I shouldn't be feeling these things.
Then, oftentimes our solution is to try to just pretend like we aren't feeling those things.
Instead of acknowledging the things that we're feeling, we just try to cover over them and pretend like those feelings are not there.
But that is not the way to address these things.
God, says Sarah.
You did laugh.
Well, first of all, he says, why did she laugh?
He asked the question again, giving opportunity for her to come face to face.
But still, she's in denial.
She's saying no, no, let's pretend I didn't laugh.
But but then the Lord goes on to say no, you did laugh.
Because he wants her to be face to face with.
This is the reality of where you're at.
And we need to face that, we need to address that, we need to deal with that.
And yes, we might say, I wish I didn't feel this way.
But you do.
And so pretending like you don't isn't helpful.
That's not the way to address it.
I know I shouldn't feel this way, but you do.
And so pretending like it's not there, running from it, ignoring it, it doesn't just go away now.
You need to come before the Lord and acknowledge.
But I did laugh.
But I am bitter against you because of the things that I'm experiencing in my life.
But I do feel like you're being unfair in the way that you have.
Allowed these things in my life.
We need to acknowledge before the Lord the reality.
Of what we're feeling, what we're experiencing, what we're going through internally.
But we don't just do.
That there's more, right? How do we put it into this party? Moving on to point #2, looking at verse four, here's point #2 remember God power and position.
Remember God Power and his position in verse four.
It says, Baruch, this is what the Lord says.
I will destroy this nation that I built.
I will uproot what I planted.
I will destroy this nation, and I will uproot what I planted.
How is this encouraging, Baruch?
God here is reminding Baruch that he is more invested.
In this situation than Baruch is.
Your mind might focus in on the 1st part.
I will destroy this nation, but notice the last part that I built.
God says you feel like this is hard.
You feel like this is desperate, but you need to understand what I'm dealing with here is a nation that I have built.
Peruke, you have maybe 40 years invested in this nation in your life. I have 1000 years invested in this nation.
You have yourself in mind.
I have thousands of people in mind.
I planted this nation.
I established this people.
And I'm the one.
Who has to do the hard work of bringing the destruction, the cleansing to this land?
Commentator Steven Bromer says the message to Brooke indicates that he finally feels that God is unjust and unsympathetic to his condition.
But the Lord reminds him that whatever Brooke has lost is nothing compared to what?
The Lord has experienced.
Sometimes we forget and, and we.
Feel like we care more than God cares we?
Love more than God loves that we are more just than God is just.
And it's wrong, it's not accurate.
God says you need to understand this.
The one who has the most invested in this.
And so this judgment that is coming, it's upsetting to you and you're you're in turmoil about it.
But it's a greater cost to me than it is to you, and yet it's worth it.
And I'm doing it because I can bring good out of it.
Remember Jonah and Jonah chapter 4 at the end, when Nineveh has turned and responded to the Lord?
He sits up on the mountain overlooking Nineveh, hoping, still praying, that God would strike down Nineveh and bring his judgment upon them, and he's bitter and upset that God is not bringing that judgment.
And God provides a plant that grows up overnight that gives him shade.
And he's like, oh, I love this shade.
It's so nice to just, like, sit in the shade and just hope that this city gets destroyed.
It's just like, oh, it's great.
And then the plant dies 'cause God creates a worm, right?
Now he's bitter and upset.
This plant, my life is miserable.
It's just so terrible.
And the Lord challenges Jonah and Jonah chapter 4.
Is it right for you to be angry because the plant?
Why does God ask questions?
Not 'cause.
He needs the answer.
Jonah says yes.
Even angry enough to die.
He needs Jonah to say these things out loud, to face what it is that he's feeling.
He says.
You feel sorry about a plant.
You did nothing to put it there.
You didn't plant.
It you did it, just spring up and it.
You had no part in it.
Except for to enjoy the shade for a moment.
But Nineveh has more than 120.
1000 people living.
In spiritual darkness, not to mention the animals, shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?
Don't I have the right?
God cares.
We're very often like Jonah.
And we're caught up in our own self pity and consumed with it.
But the Lord cares.
So much more than we do.
And God is personally involved.
He's saying I will destroy, I will approve.
I'm the one involved in this.
I'm the one doing it, and God has the right to do it.
He has ownership.
This is the nation that I built.
I planted it just like I go in my yard.
Can uproot and pull.
Out any trees that I want to in.
My own yard.
A while back.
It was back when I had my foot broken and so some of the guys and the church got together and came over and did some yard work at my house and helped take care of a situation we had where these plum trees were growing right next to our garage and and hitting the eaves and starting to cause some problems.
And so they started to cut down the palm trees that were there in my front yard.
Then the neighbor came by, furious.
Do you know how valuable those palm trees are?
And it's so rare.
And there's all this, like, you know, emotion bent up in these palm trees.
That were in my.
3rd and so I offered.
Well, you can come take them if.
You want them.
Yeah, if you we will save them for you and you can come and get them.
But they're in my art.
I have the rights, full rights, to uproot any trees that I want to.
This is the position that God is in.
He has all the power.
He has all the care.
He knows what's best.
And so the question really is, do you believe that God is good?
And do you believe that it God is all powerful?
When I when I remember that God cares more than I do.
That he's able to.
Do anything that is necessary and he is working out what is good.
Then it can really help to give that perspective that I need in the midst of my self pity party.
Moving on to verse 5 for point #3, redirect yourself toward glorifying God. Here's how to become a real self pity party pooper. Verse five are you seeking great things for yourself?
Do it.
I will bring great disaster upon all these people, but I will give you your life as a reward wherever you go.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
Notice again, God asks another question.
Are you seeking great things for yourself?
Why does God ask questions?
Not because he needs the answers.
Because we need the answers.
Baruch, you have been seeking great things for yourself.
What great things has Baruch been seeking?
Well, of course we don't know.
We can surmise it's probably not an all out pursuit of glory and fame and you know the way we.
Might think.
But probably not.
But in some way, he's allowed his heart to become invested in some temporary things, in his plans and ideas.
Whether that be a plan of position or response, or an idea of how things would go, maybe even just a life of relative ease, is, you know, what Baruch is hoping for in this.
But he's allowed his heart to seek out.
Things for himself.
That are beyond.
What he should be seeking.
Matthew Henry says that the hurt might therefore not be healed slightly.
He searches the wound and shows him that he's raised his expectations too high in this world and had promised himself too much from it, and that made the distress and trouble that he was in so very grievous.
To him and so hard to be born.
Allowed his heart to be over invested in his ideas, his plans, what he wanted and so when it was clear that those were not going to be fulfilled.
Now it was grievous.
I didn't get to have the life that I wanted to have.
I didn't get to go to the school that I wanted to go to.
I didn't get to have the career that I wanted to have.
I didn't get to marry the person I wanted to marry.
I didn't get to serve the way that I wanted to serve.
People didn't respond when I served the way that I thought they should respond, you know, on and on and on we could go.
There is this idea in his.
Head and reality and life was not measuring it up to it, but he had his heart set on that idea, on that ideal.
God says don't do it.
You need to redirect yourself.
Redirect yourself back.
To the Lord, the Psalmist in Chapter 42 kind of walks through this, he says. Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God.
I will praise him again.
He says that again in verse 11 of Psalm 42. Why am I discouraged? Why is?
My heart so sad.
I will put.
My hope in God I will praise him again.
He says it again in.
Psalm 43.
Why am I so discouraged?
This is a reality.
We face these things.
We have these parties where we wallow in the feelings that we're experiencing.
But the psalmist says I need to redirect my heart and put my hope in God and praise the Lord.
Do you desire great things?
Have you allowed your heart to become kind of sunk into those things that are in your mind, that ideals that the dreams that you have in your plans and your way that that you desire so greatly?
Again, here the key is you need to acknowledge how you feel.
If your heart is set on those things, and you will be.
Tragically sorrowful.
If those things do not come to pass, you need to acknowledge that before the Lord.
If there is some position and some greatness that you aspire to, you need to acknowledge that before the Lord.
Remember when the disciples in Mark Chapter nine were arguing about who is the greatest, and later when Jesus asked them about it, they were embarrassed to talk about?
They knew they shouldn't be arguing about these things, but that's where what they were experiencing in their hearts.
Who got the Lord?
Calls them out. Let's.
Talk about what's really going on in your mind, and your hearts are really designed for greatness.
And what does the Lord do?
He doesn't shut them down, he says, OK, you have this desire.
Now let's teach you what to do with it.
If you want to be first.
Take the last place and be the.
Servant of everyone else.
He doesn't say never desire to be first, never desire to be great, never, he says.
Take that desire that you have and.
Use it in.
A way that honors the Lord and glorifies the Lord.
Redirect yourself to toward glorifying God.
You need to learn how to feel those things that you're feeling, genuinely be honest and take them to the Lord so that he can teach you how to use what it is that you're experiencing.
To re Orient yourself to what is important to the Kingdom of God, to seek first the Kingdom of God.
And his righteousness.
Redirect yourself.
Toward glorifying God, as Paul said, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit.
But in lowliness of mind that each one has seen others better than himself.
Commentator Matthew Henry again says the frowns of the world would not disquiet us as they do if we did not foolishly flatter ourselves with the hopes of its smiles and court and covet them too much.
It is over fondness for the good things of this present time that makes us impatient under its evil things.
The over fondness of the present makes us impatient when we experience.
Realities and things that are not fulfilled in the way that we hoped and dreamed.
Well, finally, point #4.
Become content with God promises verse 5 again, he says.
Are you seeking great things for yourself?
Don't do it.
I will bring disaster upon all these people.
But I will give you your life.
As a reward, wherever you go, I the Lord, have spoken.
There's no change in it.
The message of judgment it's going to be fulfilled and Babylon is going to come and conquer the land of Judah.
It is going to happen.
But baruch.
I'm going to take care of you.
You're going to survive, and he does 3/3 times. Babylon conquers Jerusalem and Baruch survives all three. He's forced, along with Jeremiah, to journey down to Egypt. He he makes the journey down there. He survives he.
He sees the promise of God fulfilled. It's not the life he would have dreamed of or hope for or wanted perhaps, but it is the life that God promised, and he saw God hand and God's work in his life.
Is the lesson for us. We need to become content with God's promises God hasn't promised.
A lot of the things that we are hoping for and planning for and dreaming about.
For me personally, God has never promised me success or wealth or security or health.
But he has promised to be with me.
Got his promise to provide for me.
He's promised to provide for you.
He's promised to work all things together for good.
He's promised eternity and forgiveness.
There's much that God has promised.
I need to learn to become content with God promises.
And whatever God wants.
That's what's best for me.
So here's how to leave your self pity party.
Become a pity party pooper.
Call the cops.
Shut the party down.
When you're immersed in.
Tempted to wallow in that self pity?
Acknowledge the way that you feel.
Remember God's power and his position. Redirect yourself toward glorifying God.
And learn to become content with God's promises.
Don't stay there in that state.
Again, self pity is different than many of the other things that we go through because it is much more a choice that we make.
To stay there, to wallow in it.
But the Lord wants to call us out.
You're disappointed.
You're discouraged.
Don't stay there.
There's some weird satisfaction that we get out of making ourselves feel more and more miserable.
You know, in those times, don't stay there.
Acknowledge the way that you.
Feel remember, God is on the throne.
He is working out all things together for good.
He has the power to change things in the position, to change things.
He cares more than you do.
He loves people more than you do.
He wants what's best for you, even better than you can imagine for yourself.
So redirect yourself.
To see to to seeking God.
Glory and not your own.
To trust him in his promises.
And not trust and set your hope in your plans and dreams and ideals.
Lord, we pray that you would help our hearts.
To see clearly, Lord, when we are caught up in a self pity party.
When we are staying there in that place of.
Really misery.
But out of our own accord.
I pray God that you would help us.
To see the truth.
To see the good things that you're calling us too, and although the reality that you call us too might be radically different than what we hoped for or drunked about or wanted.
Or we can trust you that it will be so much better in the end.
If we follow your way.
If we hear your call and respond to your words.
To Lord, teach us, help us, enable us, Scott.
That we might trust you fully and obey you.
I pray this in Jesus name.