Practice What You Preach

Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:”

God pressed Jeremiah to graphically illustrate (that is, picture with a picture) what he had been preaching. Jeremiah was now in prison, put there by King Zedekiah. How ironic that the King’s greatest ally was in prison, and his greatest enemy was free to conquer his land! Zedekiah would soon become a captive as well-in fact, he could hear the footsteps coming!

It is under these circumstances that God instructs Jeremiah to make an improbable land purchase. The land he was to buy was under enemy control. That is not normally a wise purchase or investment. But God wanted Jeremiah to “put his money where his mouth was.” Jeremiah had been preaching about restoration. God promised that He would restore Israel, and Jeremiah was to illustrate surety in God’s Word in God’s timing.

Jeremiah’s purchase of this land from his cousin acknowledged that God would make good on His promise of restoration and that the people could “take it to the bank.” This story in Jeremiah begs three questions that are worthy of your consideration this morning. First, how willing are you to practice what you preach? Jeremiah had been preaching that God would restore Israel, but actually purchasing land that was under enemy control was another story! If you have children, you are aware that kids will test you to see if you believe what you have been teaching them. Have your kids ever pointed out something you’ve been saying but not doing? Humbling and searching, isn’t it? Are you willing to practice what you preach?

The second question is this: Are you willing to live by faith in God’s Word? Jeremiah was investing in property that he would not sow or reap, and furthermore, his enemies were controlling it! That is not exactly the prime time to buy! It did not make logical sense, but God told Jeremiah to do it. If God made the world, what in the world in your life is too hard for God? We know the answer, but often we do not live in light of it. “There is nothing too hard for thee”-that was true for Jeremiah, and it is true for you. Will you take God at His Word?

Finally, are you willing to invest in the desolate, trusting God to make a return on your investment? The land God would return His people to was “desolate.” (verses 43-44) Jeremiah was called to people who were desolate-they had “turned unto me [God] the back, and not the face.” (verse 33) Are you willing to invest in kids, teens, or people you work with who are desolate? They may not be a “diamond in the rough”-they may be just “rough”!-but are you willing to trust God for the return on your investment?

My great-grandfather, William Rice, spent a year in Louisville, Kentucky. As he was on his way to church Sunday morning, he noticed a man passed out in a drunken stupor, lying in the snow. The people with him said, “Don’t waste your time,” but William Rice had compassion and took the man back home, warmed him up, gave him a meal, and sobered him up. William Rice also won the man to Christ.

William Rice was a man who invested himself in people. Years later, the son of this man found William Rice in Texas. His father-the man William led to Christ-had died, but he wanted his son to tell William Rice “thank you” for his kindness that cold day back in Louisville. You can take to the bank what God has said. If God’s Word is true, then you can invest your life in things which may seem desolate.