Lamentations

The Cry of a Broken Heart - Part 1

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2026-04-12

Synopsis: In this introductory sermon, John Weaver examines Jeremiah's broken heart as a model for believers, focusing on Lamentations 3:1-7. He argues that true brokenness over sin—personal, familial, and national—is essential for closeness to God, as Scripture promises His nearness to the contrite. Jeremiah's 40-year ministry of rejection, mockery, and threats, without a single convert, exemplifies a broken heart born from proclaiming truth to a rebellious people. Weaver contrasts this with modern indifference to sound doctrine and calls for a return to a humble, contrite spirit that God can use.

[John Weaver] Well, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Lamentations 3. That's right after the book of Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations. And we're going to look at the first seven verses. Let me just say that the message today is actually an introduction. And there are going to be at least two more messages that follow this one. And so this message is preparatory. actually for the next two.

[John Weaver] So the title of this brief series is The Cry of a Broken Heart. The Cry of a Broken Heart. So if you look in Lamentations chapter three, verse one, Jeremiah says, I am the man that had seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He has led me and brought me into darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is he turned. He turneth his hand against me all the day.

[John Weaver] My flesh and my skin hath he made old. He hath broken my bones. He hath builded against me and compassed me with gall and travail. He hath set me in dark places as they that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about that I cannot get out. He hath made my chain heavy. So this is the first part then of a cry of a broken heart. Most of us have never really genuinely experienced a true broken heart. I'm not referring to a romantic broken heart, neither am I referring to the loss of a loved one, which most people have experienced. But the broken heart that I'm referring to is one that is broken over our sins, broken over the sins of our families, broken over the sins of our nation, and in realization that those sins or against a holy, righteous, loving, just, and merciful God who deserves only our praise, our honor, and our worship as well. And we're not grieved with the fact that our sins basically have dishonored Him. And certainly they have.

[John Weaver] Now, Jeremiah was a person who was actually broken. In fact, I will tell you something else that we should be broken over. We're not. but Jeremiah was. Jeremiah was even grieved and broken over the fact of the false prophets in the land who were preaching lies and teaching deceits. If you would turn back a few pages to Jeremiah chapter 23 and look if you would please at verse 9, Jeremiah 23 and verse 9, Jeremiah said this, My heart within me is broken because of the prophets. Now he's talking about the false prophets. My heart within me is broken because of the prophets. All my bones shake.

[John Weaver] I am like a drunken man and like a man whom wine had overcome because of the Lord and because of the words of His holiness. In other words, he knew they were lying. He knew that God was holy and he knew that God was going to judge them as well. So I can ask you several questions in light of the title of this message. The first one is this. Do you desire to be drawn closer to the Lord? The second would be, do you desire really to live more effectively in the presence of the Lord? Well, if so, there are answers that will give you, I think, an understanding in that area. First of all, let me just quote Psalm 34 and verse 18.

[John Weaver] The Lord is nigh unto them of a broken heart, and saith it such as be of a contrite spirit." So the Lord is nigh unto those who are broken heart. So the way to get close to God is to have a broken heart. Psalm 51 and verse 17, everyone can quote that passage. That is where David said, the sacrifices of God are broken heart, are broken at a contrite spirit, O God, thou will not despise. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, back another few pages to Isaiah chapter 57, and look, if you would, at verse 15. Isaiah 57 and verse 15. Notice, if you would, what God says. Isaiah 57, verse 15, For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Note, if you would, I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.

[John Weaver] So God is especially close to those who have a broken spirit, a broken heart, a humble heart and a contrite heart. Now, if you would turn right over to Isaiah chapter 66, Lord willing, I'm going to be preaching on this passage in the not too distant future. But look, if you would please, at verse two. God says, For all those things hath mine hand made. And I'll explain that when I get to the passage in the next message or two. But he said, For all those things hath mine hand made. And all those things have been, saith the Lord, but To this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word. Now the Word of God says in Psalm 147, verse 3, He healeth the brokenhearted, and bindeth up their wounds. One cannot mend that which is not broken. One cannot bind up if there are no wounds. So if we desire our Heavenly Father, the Great Physician, to bind up and to heal us, we must present Him then with a broken heart, a broken spirit, and certainly He will indeed heal us from that state.

[John Weaver] Now, Jeremiah has been known as the weeping prophet. Many people have known that truth, but most people have never really asked the question Why Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet? Well, the truth is he wept over his people. He wept over his nation. He wept over the sins and rebellion of those people. He wept over the fact that they were facing the judgment of God and refused to listen and refused to repent as well. When you get to the book of Lamentations, Lamentations is the heartthrob of Jeremiah. The book of Lamentations consists of five chapters. In reality, they are five poems. And each one of these chapters, or each one of these poems, view the fall and destruction of Jerusalem from a different perspective. So when we are in chapter 3, we're dealing now with Jeremiah, and Jeremiah is identifying himself with his people. Now, if you look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 14 and verse 17, you'll see that Jeremiah was indeed one that was constantly and consistently weeping.

[John Weaver] Jeremiah chapter 14 verse 17, Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them, Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease, Why is he weeping night and day? Why is he not ceasing? For the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach and with a very grievous blow. So Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. Why? First of all, have you ever considered his ministry? You may know that he was a prophet and you may know that he was a preacher. But do you know why? He was so broken in the ministry and why he had such a broken heart.

[John Weaver] Now, it is absolutely true that he had no wife and he had no family to support him whatsoever. In fact, God had forbidden him to marry. If you look in Jeremiah chapter 16 and verses two through four, you can read verse one where God says, The word of the Lord came also unto me, saying," here's what God told Jeremiah,"'Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bear them, and concerning their fathers that beget them in this land, they shall die of grievousness.

[John Weaver] They shall not be lamented, Neither shall they be buried, but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth, and they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, and their carcasses shall be meat for the fowls of heaven and for the beasts of the earth." Now, Jeremiah had no one but himself. Everyone in this room could get angry with me and could get mad with me. Well, that's bad. But as long as I can go home to Alice and she's not angry and she's not mad and my children are not angry and my children are not mad, I can still have some comfort and consolation. But Jeremiah did not have a family.

[John Weaver] God had forbidden him to marry. So I want to give you three particular reasons as to why Jeremiah was such a broken man. And if you understand these, you can see why we today do not have a brokenness in our lives, in our hearts, in our ministries. So I'm going to build, lay a foundation and then build upon this foundation in the next two weeks. In fact, next week may really actually surprise you.

[John Weaver] And one after that, I hope will comfort you as well. So why was Jeremiah known as Weeping Prophet? Well, first of all, here's the whole point I'm going to cover today. There was a rejection of his service. Let me say this another way. There was a rejection of his ministry. Jeremiah, in one sense of the word, was identifying himself with the nation that was going to be destroyed by God.

[John Weaver] And ever stop and think about this. You and I are hurt. We are insulted and we sense ourselves of being slighted. When someone does not acknowledge our presence, our gifts, or our service, or our cares, and we're hurt and slighted and we just simply, hey, you don't want me around, I'll leave. I've walked in several restaurants in times past and no one would even acknowledge me. They wouldn't speak to me. They wouldn't wait on me. I just turned around and walked out. I'll find one that will.

[John Weaver] I mean, it's an insult. It's a slight. Well, let me ask you a question. What if that had been your entire life? What if that had been your entire ministry where no one would listen to you and no one would pay attention to you and everyone hated you? Well, look, if you would, in Lamentations chapter three, here is how Jeremiah is describing himself and describing his ministry.

[John Weaver] He said, I am the man that has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. In other words, God's rod of wrath has been upon the nation. It's also upon me. Look what he says in verse two. He has led me and brought me into darkness and not into light. In other words, I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel. Seemingly there's no hope in this ministry, in this situation. Then he said in verse three, surely against me he is turned. He turned his hand against me all the day. Lord Jeremiah said, I don't have success. I can't have success. The nation is fighting against me. And it appears that God is fighting against me as well. And then he says in verse four, my flesh and my skin has been made old.

[John Weaver] He has broken my bones. So he says, I'm old before my time. I'm worn out. I'm exhausted. And it looks like I'm half dead. And then he said in verse five, he has built it against me, encompassed me with gall and travail. So gall is extremely bitter, travail is sorrow and anguish. And so he's basically saying that God has built it against him and hedged him in. He has set me in dark places as they did be dead of old. The Lord's I'm like a walking dead man.

[John Weaver] There's no life in me. And then he said he has hedged me about and I cannot get out. He's made my chain heavy. In other words, this is a description, basically, of his ministry.

[John Weaver] Now, Gerald and I have preached for approximately 40 years. His ministry was basically from 627 BC to 586 BC, which would have been the fall of Jerusalem. 586-587 is the date that is normally given there. But not once, not once, In the entire 40 years of his preaching, did he ever see any success or any part of success? He was like Isaiah, no one would listen. He's like Noah, no one would listen. Other prophets in the Bible had some success, may have been temporary, but at least they had some success. But Jeremiah had absolutely no success. It was like he was beating his head against a brick wall. No one wanted to listen. No one wanted to hear. He was basically casting his pearls before swine.

[John Weaver] And yet at the same time, God had commanded him to teach. God had commanded him to preach. Now, Jeremiah was unique. He was like John the Baptist in a very a unique sense of the word. If you would hold Lamentations 3, but turn back in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 1, here is the uniqueness of Jeremiah and the uniqueness of John the Baptist, and that is both of them were called by God while they were in the womb, before they were ever born. So in Jeremiah chapter 1, beginning there with verse 4, Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. And before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Note, before he was born. Then said I, Ah, Lord God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child. For thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt speak.

[John Weaver] Now, tradition states that Jeremiah started preaching around the age of 17. Now, I'm going to show you some other verses that will help explain this. But you have to remember that in the Hebrew culture, a young man was not even counted a man until he was 30. And you remember, our Lord did not begin his ministry until he was 30 years of age. So when you look in verse 6 and verse 7 of Jeremiah 1, in verse 6, Jeremiah said, I cannot speak for I'm a child. And then in verse 7, but the Lord said, say not I'm a child. The word child in the Hebrew actually refers to a boy, to a lad or to a youth. So since Jeremiah would have begun preaching and teaching at such a young age, he would have been laughed at, mocked at, and ridiculed by the men of that culture. So look in verses 8 and 9.

[John Weaver] Here's what God tells him. Be not afraid of their faces. In other words, they're going to be criticizing, they're going to be mocking, they're going to be laughing at you. Be not afraid of their faces. For I am with thee, deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said unto me, Behold, I put my words in thy mouth.

[John Weaver] Now let me point out something. Not everyone is given a ministry of reconciliation. There was only one Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Only one George Whitefield. Only one Jonathan Edwards. Only one John Knox. Not everybody has a ministry of reconciliation. Everyone wants to be the preacher that reaps the harvest. And yet the Bible says one sows, one waters, but it's God who gives the increase. There has to be someone who turns the ground, plows the ground, someone who sows the seeds, someone who waters. But only one individual basically gets to reap the harvest is what it amounts to.

[John Weaver] Now there's a verse in Isaiah 55 and verse 11, most of you know this verse, where God said, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in that wherein do I send it. So notice if you would, God has promised that his word is going to prosper in that which he pleases. And God's word is never going to fail or return void. It will accomplish that where into he sends it.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to think about this. God may send his word either in reconciliation or in condemnation. So obviously, then, if God sends his word in reconciliation, it cannot be made a word of condemnation. If God sends His word as a ministry of condemnation, it cannot be made a ministry of reconciliation. They're two different things. So if you will hold Lamentations 3 and turn over your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 2. 2 Corinthians chapter 2.

[John Weaver] And look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 14. 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. Look at what the scripture says, 2 Corinthians 2 verse 14.

[John Weaver] Now thanks be unto God who always causes us to triumph in Christ. So we're never going to fail. We're going to always triumph in Christ. Look at this and make it manifest the savor or the sweet smell of his knowledge by us in every place. Then he says in verse 15, for we are unto God a sweet savor or a sweet smell of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish. To the one we are the saver, the sweet smell of death unto death, to the other we are the saver or the sweet smell of life unto life.

[John Weaver] And who is sufficient for these things? So God can send his word either for condemnation or for reconciliation. And the apostle says when his word is preached, whether it is a ministry of reconciliation, or a ministry of condemnation, it is still a sweet smell to God because we are preaching His Word and we're preaching the truth in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, here's another inconvenient truth. The preacher or the prophet does not get to choose his ministry. It's a ministry that is given. I'm sure that Jeremiah would have loved to have had a ministry of reconciliation where the entire nation would have been saved. But God did not give him a ministry of reconciliation. He gave him a ministry of condemnation. Every true preacher wants a ministry of reconciliation. Every true preacher wants to have a harvest of souls. Every true preacher wants to see people converted and saved by the grace of God. But once again, it's God who gives each man his ministry. One sows, one waters, but it's God who gives increase.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to show you from Jeremiah chapter one another truth. God was honest with Jeremiah when he called him. God did not deceive Jeremiah. He let him know up front what kind of ministry he was going to have. So if you look back in Jeremiah, chapter one, look, if you would, first of all, at verse 10. Jeremiah 1, verse 10, look what he said. See, I've set thee this day over the nations and over the kingdoms to root out, to pull down, to destroy and to throw down and to build and to plant.

[John Weaver] Notice, if you would, there's three times as much destruction as there is building and planting. The majority of his ministry was rooting out, pulling down, destroying and throwing down. Very little building and very little planting. So skip down to verse 14. Watch, if you would, how God tells him exactly what is going to take place. Then the Lord said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD, and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering in of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls of round about, and against all the cities of Judah." Everything's going to be destroyed.

[John Weaver] God said,"...and I will utter my judgments against them, touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worship the works of their own hands." Wow! Thou therefore gird up thy loins and arise, speaking to them all that I command." In other words, God is saying that basically they're going to be destroyed. So, here we go. Since Jeremiah was a young man, Jeremiah had an entire ministry of being mocked, ridiculed, hated, despised, lied against, threatened, imprisoned, And folks attempted to murder him as well. So look in your Bibles, Jeremiah chapter 11 and verse 19.

[John Weaver] So let me ask you, just from this one passage, how long do you think a pastor would stay in a local church with people like this? Jeremiah 11 and verse 19. Jeremiah said, But I was like a lamb, or as an ox that is brought to the slaughter. And I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living.

[John Weaver] Let his name be no more remembered. They are planning to murder him. Let us devise devices against him. Let us destroy the tree with the fruit there. We will kill him. We will blot him out of our memory. That would not be too encouraging to most pastors. And then if you look in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 18 and verse 18. Look at this. Jeremiah chapter 18 and verse 18. Jeremiah said this. Jeremiah 18 and verse 18. Then said they, Come, watch now, let us devise devices against Jeremiah.

[John Weaver] For the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet, nor the Lord Jeremiah's lying dust. Come, let us smite him with the tongue, will I, will slander. Let us not give heed to any of his words. What? We're not going to listen to you, Jeremiah. We're not going to hear you. In fact, we will slander you. We will lie about you.

[John Weaver] We will seek to destroy you any way we can. Now, folks, let's be honest. It does not build confidence in a man when he knows that people are lying about him, slandering him, trying to take his life, and refusing to even listen to him. It certainly does not work confidence and hope when he understands that the people literally want him dead. So here's my question. Could you endure 40 years of rejection, ridicule, mocking, hatred, despisement, slandering, lies, imprisonment, and attempted murder? Could you, listen to this now, could you continue to want to pray for a people like that? Could you continue to want to weep for a people like that?

[John Weaver] I mean, they were not interested in anything that you had to say. Now, God had sent Jeremiah, and Jeremiah did care for his people, he loved his people, and he did not want to see them destroyed. However, he was weeping because of these people. If you would turn back over in your Bibles to Lamentations chapter 3, look if you would please at verse 48. You see, Jeremiah knew that the judgment was imminent, he knew that it was going to appear suddenly and he knew that the people were going to be destroyed so in verse 48 of Lamentations 3 he says mine eye runs down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people

[John Weaver] wow now you will see next week where God had already determined to destroy Judah and Jerusalem Jeremiah finally gets to the point in his ministry where he comes to see from God's perspective, from God's point of view. So, I want you to turn back to Jeremiah chapter 17, if you would please, and think about this after 40 years of enduring everything, being cast into a dungeon. I'll show you some of it. But look in Jeremiah chapter 17, and let's begin reading there in verse 13.

[John Weaver] Look at what he says, O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. Now watch what he said, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters." You have to remember something.

[John Weaver] To reject the preacher or the prophet that God sends is to reject God Himself. You remember what our Lord said in the New Testament? He told His disciples that He sent them out. He said, He that receiveth you, receiveth me. And he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. So He said, those people that receive you, they receive me. Those people that received me, received the father of Sam.

[John Weaver] But the opposite is also true. Those who refuse, those who Jesus Christ sends out, refuse Jesus Christ. Those who refuse Jesus Christ, refuse the father who sent Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, so look what he said again in verse 13. Oh Lord, the hope of Israel, all they that forsake thee shall be ashamed. And they that depart from thee shall be ridden in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed. Save me, and I shall be saved, for Thou art my praise. Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now. Now look what he says. As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow Thee, neither have I desired the woeful day that is the judgment that is coming. Thou knowest that which came out of my lips was right before Thee, Be not a terror unto me, thou art my hope in the day of evil. Watch this.

[John Weaver] Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded. Let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed. Bring upon them the day of evil and destroy them with double destruction. Wow.

[John Weaver] Finally, Jeremiah got his eyes open and Jeremiah said, Lord, you've ordained destruction for this people. I've not desired this destruction, but Lord, let it come. It needs to be here. Now, I hope you remember Jeremiah 1 verse 10. You don't have to turn back there. But God said, I've set thee this day over the nations and over the kingdoms to root out and to pull down and to destroy and to throw down and to build and to plant. You cannot build a new barn over an old barn until you tear down the old barn.

[John Weaver] In other words, the ground has to be prepared. What about this one? You cannot have a garden until you put out all the weeds and all the poisonous plants. The ground has to be prepared. If you do not prepare that ground, then obviously you're not going to have a garden. You're not going to have anything. So it's obvious, it's clear from the Word of God that man alive, Jeremiah has an awful lot of destroying and pulling up and rooting out before anything can ever be planted. And Jeremiah is one of these unique individuals that God gave this ministry unto.

[John Weaver] Now, I have to remember this. There's a passage in the New Testament And you're going to find it in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. It's the parable of the sower. And our Lord says, Behold, a sower went forth to sow. And it said some seeds fell by the wayside. And the birds arrived, devoured them up. It said some fell upon stony ground and had not much earth.

[John Weaver] And immediately they sprung up. And then when the sun was arisen in its heat, they died. Then he said some fell upon thorny ground and the thorns grew up and choked it. The thorns were already there. They just were not visible at that particular time. And then he said some fell upon good ground and brought forth fruit. Some 30 fold, some 60 fold, some 100 fold.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to consider something. When our Lord said in that parable of the sower, that some seed fell upon the wayside. The wayside is talking about that hard packed ground where a seed cannot penetrate the soil and therefore it cannot germinate. If you go to any farm in this area or in South Georgia, You're going to find fields that are plowed, but always going into that field and sometimes around that field, you will find hard-packed ground where all the equipment travels all the time. Seed falling on that hard-packed ground will never, ever germinate because it's lying on the surface and the birds need to come down and take care of the seeds. I had a friend one time.

[John Weaver] who planted, I don't know, three or four or five acres of watermelon seed. And he did not get the seed that had been coated. And so the crows came and dug up the seeds and ate them. He probably out of a whole huge field probably only had 15 or 20 watermelon plants come up. Now those were buried but the crows dug them up because they were coated. So our Lord is saying some fell by the wayside and immediately the fowls came and devoured them. And then when he talks about the stony ground, when you stop and think about this, it was a solid layer of rock under two or three inches of soil. So that means when the seed hit that first couple of inches, it began to germinate and it began to develop roots but it could not develop roots deeply so it could draw forth moisture and water.

[John Weaver] And therefore, when the sun arose in all of its heat, what happened to the plant? It withered and died. The same thing with those thorns. Those thorns were already there. They were not visible. And then, of course, they sprung up and choked it out. And the scripture tells us that those thorns are the cares of this world. the lust for other things. That's what chokes it out.

[John Weaver] And then he said there's just that good ground. Some broke 430, some broke 460, some 100. Do you realize the implication of this parable, and I'm putting this in light of what Jeremiah said, the implication of this parable is very significant. It means that three quarters of the seed that was planted never produced anything. If you stop and think, someone has really said this innumerable times, that one of the greatest evangelistic fields happens to be in our churches. Because probably about three quarters of the people or lost.

[John Weaver] Now listen, that wayside here represents a hard-hearted hearer. That stony ground here represents a half-hearted hearer. And that thorny ground here represents a double-hearted hearer. So if you've got a hard heart, a half heart, or a double heart, you have no heart for God. You have nothing. You only have that one little quarter that is good. If you look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8.

[John Weaver] Our Lord says this and he's showing you in the parable of the sword. Look what he says. Luke chapter 8 and notice if you would please verse 15. Luke 8 and verse 15. Here's what he says. Luke 8, verse 15. But that on the good ground. Are they which in an honest and good heart, have you heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience. Now, wait, I want to show you something here, but only the Holy Spirit can make an honest and good heart. OK, now I told you that when you look at this parable, We're talking about people. Although he's talking about soils, we're still talking about people. So, if you look back in verse 12 of Luke 8, those by the wayside are they that hear. So, we're talking about people.

[John Weaver] Then comeeth the devil and taketh away the word that was sown out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. Now, watch verse 13. They on the rock are they which when they hear, Receive the word with joy. These have no root, which for a while believing in time of temptation fall away. We're talking about people look in verse 14 and that which fell among thorns are they which when they have heard go forth in a choke with the cares and riches and pleasures of life and bring forth no fruit to perfection. The only one that brought forth any fruit.

[John Weaver] Was a good ground here. Wow. So Jeremiah, which I'm going to show you next week, Jeremiah. Had an awful lot of people in the land. Well, there was not one whose heart be true to God. In fact, he tells you that in his book. Wow. You stop and think about all of the churches in our land Especially if you go to some of the larger cities, it seems as if there's a church on every corner. But very little teaching, very little preaching from the Word of God.

[John Weaver] I know I told you this years ago because this happened years ago. But Alice and I were down in Tampa, Florida. We were visiting one of our daughters and her family. The son-in-law was going to take us out to supper that night, and we went by a Baptist church, and on the billboard, marquee, whatever you want to call it, they had this, I've never forgotten it, come to our early morning service, in by 8, out by 8.30. And I thought to myself, Now you know a Baptist church is going to sing at least one or two songs. They're going to have an opening prayer and you know for a fact they're going to take an offering. And then they're going to have to have one song at the end and one benediction.

[John Weaver] And so you're talking about 10 to 12 minutes for a little sermonette. So what they were doing was salving everyone's conscience as they were going to spend the day at the beach is what they're demanded to. Come to our service in a day by 8.30. I usually tell people it takes me at least 30 minutes just to clear my throat. I mean, my goodness. It just boggles my mind.

[John Weaver] What I want you to think about right now is this. Think about the implications of this for America. Look at Judah and Jerusalem. God was going to destroy them. God was going to wipe them out because of their sin, their wickedness, and their rebellion. And look at exactly what we're doing. We have turned from the Scripture to entertainment, to fellowship, to social club. We've turned to anything and everything except the teaching of the Word of God.

[John Weaver] I'm astounded at the people who've gone to church all of their lives and they still know nothing about the Bible. They can't even find certain books of the Bible. I have done this innumerable times just as a joke. But I've asked the people, turn to your Bibles to Hezekiah chapter 3 and verse 18. And everybody starts looking for the book of Hezekiah. And I let them look for a few minutes and I said, look, look, stop, stop. Hezekiah was a king, it's not a book in the Bible. I'm just pointing out the fact we've been in church all of our lives and we know so little about it. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Timothy chapter 4. 2 Timothy chapter 4.

[John Weaver] Here's basically where we are today. Look at this. 2 Timothy chapter 4. And look, if you would please, at verses 3 and 4. 2 Timothy chapter 4. Look at verses 3 and 4. Here we go. 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 3 and 4. Look what the Word of God says. Look at Timothy 4 verse 3. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.

[John Weaver] But after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. They just want someone to scratch it. And they shall turn away their ears from truth and shall be turned into fables.

[John Weaver] Now, here are two very important points. Number one, he said the time will come when they will endure sound doctrine. No one wants doctrinal teaching and preaching any longer. They want entertainment. They will feel good messages. And then he said, verse four, they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned into fables. This is what we do not understand. When we reject the truth, the only thing left is a lie. When we refuse the truth, the only thing that we have left is a fable or delusion or deceit. So once you turn from God, once you turn from his word, you have nothing but a lie and deceit and a fable.

[John Weaver] Now, we are at the place in our country where America loves falsehood. America loves lies. America loves deceit. America does not desire, neither does she want biblical truth. There are very few Christians who really read their Bibles and even less who really study their Bibles. We're ignorant and we're unconcerned. And here's why America does not want truth. Because we do not wish to repent. We don't want to change things. We want things to continue exactly as they are.

[John Weaver] And the only thing that will happen is just judgment. Now, if you would, I want you to turn to one more passage before I make some applications. I want you to go back in your Bibles to the book of Zephaniah. That's in the Old Testament. And that is right before the book of Haggai, if I remember correctly. We have Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and then Zephaniah. Right before the book of Haggai, you have the book of Zephaniah. And I want you to look in Zephaniah chapter 2. And I want us to begin reading there with verse 1. Zephaniah chapter 2 and verse 1. Look what God tells the people.

[John Weaver] Gather yourselves together, yea gather together, O nation not desired. Hmm. O nation not desired. Why? Because of the sins, wickedness and rebellion.

[John Weaver] Now he says before the decree go forth. That is the decree of judgment before the day passes the chaff. Before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you. Before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you. What should we do? Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment. Seek righteousness. Seek meekness. And look at this last part. It may be you shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. What? This is counsel. This is advice. for avoiding the judgment of God. What are we to do when we know God's anger and God's judgment is upon a nation? Seek the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgments. Seek righteousness. Seek meekness.

[John Weaver] That is, be submissive, be obedient. It may be you shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. Wow. Wow. So let me try to tie this together for you. Let me make some applications. The first one is this. I don't know if you've ever thought about this or not. But suppose you wanted to hurt someone. I don't mean physically. You just wanted to insult them. You wanted to deceive them. You wanted to lead them astray. You wanted to get back at them in some way. And so you've planned, and you've schemed, and you've done whatever you can to hurt this group, or this individual, or this society.

[John Weaver] And everything you plan fails. Nobody gets insulted. Nobody gets hurt. No one's upset.

[John Weaver] Now, if you planned that, and you really worked at it, you might be disappointed if it didn't work but you would not be broken you would not be grieved you would not have a humble and contrite spirit ah hang on but let's suppose now you know the truth And you see the judgment of God coming and you know it's imminent and it will come suddenly like a bolt of lightning. And you're warning your family. You're warning your children. You're warning your friends. You're warning your neighbor. You know it's coming and they will not listen. They laugh at you and they mock at you and they call you all kind of names and say you're crazy.

[John Weaver] You've gone off the deep end. It would only hurt. It would break you because you know the truth. And they refused to listen and to hear. This is Jeremiah. No one would listen to him. No one would hear him. He knew judgment was around the corner. No one would bow to him. Not the king, not the queen, not the people. No one would bow to him. Absolutely no one. And the truth of the matter is they tried to kill him.

[John Weaver] I want you to go back in your Bibles if you would. I want you to go back to Jeremiah. I want you to go back to Jeremiah if you would. Let me show you something right quickly. Look at this if you would. Look if you would. Jeremiah chapter 26. Go there. Jeremiah chapter 26. I'm just trying to show you how he was hated and despised. Jeremiah 26. Look in verse 9. Look what is asked.

[John Weaver] Why has thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house into the house of the Lord, and sat at the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house. Then spake the priests and the prophets and the princes unto all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die, for he hath prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears. Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you heard.

[John Weaver] Therefore now mend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will repent him of all the evil that he pronounced against you. Then he said, As for me, behold, I am in your hand, Do with me as it is good, and meet unto you. But know ye for certain that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof. For if it be true, the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears. I sent you, but you, God sent me, but you would not listen.

[John Weaver] Skip down to verse 21. And when Jehoiachin, the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, heard his words, The king sought to put him to death, but when Uriah heard it, who was preaching the same as Jeremiah, he was afraid and fled and went into Egypt. Note, if you would, that the king himself is threatening to kill him. Look in Jeremiah chapter 38. Jeremiah chapter 38. Look, if you would, please, at verse 4. Jeremiah 38 in verse 4. Look at this. Therefore, the princess said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death. For thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of the war that remain in the city, and the hands of the people, in speaking such words unto them. For this man seeketh not the welfare of the people, but the hurt." What? Jeremiah was telling the truth. They were lying. They didn't understand. Jeremiah told the king. Jeremiah told the queen. Humble yourself. Go out and submit yourself to Nebuchadnezzar. and your lives will be spared and the city will be spared.

[John Weaver] He told everyone, go submit to Nebuchadnezzar, your life will be spared. What they say, you're, you're, this man is trying to hurt us. No, he was not trying to hurt. He's trying to help. I just want you to see why Jeremiah was broken. They misinterpreted everything that he said. They refused to hear. They refused to listen. Wow. Here's the point. When you're telling the truth and you know it's the truth and no one will listen, that's when you get broken. You don't get broken over lies. You get broken over the truth. And here's what we need today. We need to come back. And have a heart that's broken like Jeremiah. We need to learn to shed tears for our lost family members. our friends, our nation. And yes, God is always close to those who are broken and a contrite heart and a humble spirit. If we want God to be close to us, we must be what he designs for each of us to be. We need a broken heart. God uses broken vessels.

[John Weaver] And once we're broken, he can put us back together and use us. But Jeremiah, his service, his ministry was rejected by all the people. Not one convert did not have a family, no one to support him, no one to help him. But yet he was faithful to the end. And I will tell you this, I don't believe there's a preacher alive today, including myself, that could go through with a ministry like Jeremiah had. There's not a Christian, I don't believe today, who's alive that could put up with a ministry like God gave Jeremiah. We need to understand.

[John Weaver] Folks do not want the truth. Folks do not love the truth. But we must proclaim it. We must teach it. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your key. And Lord, we do pray that you would give us a broken heart, a broken and contrite spirit. Lord, thou wilt not despise. Help us, Lord, to see where we are today. and help us to live in obedience and faithfulness.

[John Weaver] We ask again for these on the prayer list that your hand would be upon them. I pray for Brother Steve again this week, Lord, that you would help him and give us your mercy, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.

The Cry of a Broken Heart - Part 1

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	414261942301144
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Lamentations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2026-04-12
Dictation Name
Book	Book 127: The Cry of a Broken Heart — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	77

Formatted Transcript

Introduction to the Series and Text

Weaver introduces the series 'The Cry of a Broken Heart' and reads Lamentations 3:1-7, noting this message is preparatory for two more to follow.

Well, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Lamentations 3. That's right after the book of Jeremiah—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations. And we're going to look at the first seven verses. Let me just say that the message today is actually an introduction, and there are going to be at least two more messages that follow this one. And so this message is preparatory, actually, for the next two.

So the title of this brief series is "The Cry of a Broken Heart." The Cry of a Broken Heart. So if you look in Lamentations chapter 3, verse 1, Jeremiah says,

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 3:1-7

"I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me and brought me into darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day."

Defining a Broken Heart

A true broken heart is grief over sin against a holy God, not romantic loss or bereavement. Jeremiah was broken over personal sin, national sin, and false prophets.

"My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out; he hath made my chain heavy." So this is the first part, then, of a cry of a broken heart. Most of us have never really genuinely experienced a true broken heart. I'm not referring to a romantic broken heart, neither am I referring to the loss of a loved one, which most people have experienced. But the broken heart that I'm referring to is one that is broken over our sins, broken over the sins of our families, broken over the sins of our nation, and in realization that those sins are against a holy, righteous, loving, just, and merciful God who deserves only our praise, our honor, and our worship as well. And we're not grieved with the fact that our sins basically have dishonored Him. And certainly they have.

Now, Jeremiah was a person who was actually broken. In fact, I will tell you something else that we should be broken over. We're not, but Jeremiah was. Jeremiah was even grieved and broken over the fact of the false prophets in the land who were preaching lies and teaching deceits. If you would turn back a few pages to Jeremiah chapter 23 and look, if you would please, at verse 9, Jeremiah 23 and verse 9, Jeremiah said this,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 23:9

"My heart within me is broken because of the prophets."

Now he's talking about the false prophets.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 23:9

"My heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake." "I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of the words of his holiness."

In other words, he knew they were lying. He knew that God was holy, and he knew that God was going to judge them as well. So I can ask you several questions in light of the title of this message. The first one is this: Do you desire to be drawn closer to the Lord? The second would be, do you desire really to live more effectively in the presence of the Lord? Well, if so, there are answers that will give you, I think, an understanding in that area. First of all, let me just quote Psalm 34 and verse 18.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 34:18

"The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."

So the Lord is nigh unto those who are broken heart. So the way to get close to God is to have a broken heart. Psalm 51 and verse 17, everyone can quote that passage. That is where David said, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, back another few pages to Isaiah chapter 57, and look, if you would, at verse 15. Isaiah 57 and verse 15. Notice, if you would, what God says. Isaiah 57, verse 15, "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." Note, if you would, "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit."

God's Nearness to the Broken

Scripture teaches that God dwells with the contrite and humble, heals the brokenhearted, and looks to those who tremble at His word.

"I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of the words of his holiness." In other words, he knew they were lying. He knew that God was holy, and he knew that God was going to judge them as well. So I can ask you several questions in light of the title of this message. The first one is this: Do you desire to be drawn closer to the Lord? The second would be, do you desire really to live more effectively in the presence of the Lord? Well, if so, there are answers that will give you, I think, an understanding in that area. First of all, let me just quote Psalm 34 and verse 18.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 34:18

"The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 57:15

So God is especially close to those who have a broken spirit, a broken heart, a humble heart, and a contrite heart. Now, if you would turn right over to Isaiah chapter 66—Lord willing, I'm going to be preaching on this passage in the not too distant future—but look, if you would please, at verse 2. God says, "For all those things hath mine hand made." And I'll explain that when I get to the passage in the next message or two. But He said, "For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word." Now the Word of God says in Psalm 147, verse 3, "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." One cannot mend that which is not broken. One cannot bind up if there are no wounds. So if we desire our Heavenly Father, the Great Physician, to bind up and to heal us, we must present Him then with a broken heart, a broken spirit, and certainly He will indeed heal us from that state.

Jeremiah: The Weeping Prophet

Jeremiah wept over his people's sin and coming judgment. His book of Lamentations is five poems viewing Jerusalem's fall from different perspectives.

Now, Jeremiah has been known as the weeping prophet. Many people have known that truth, but most people have never really asked the question why Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. Well, the truth is he wept over his people. He wept over his nation. He wept over the sins and rebellion of those people. He wept over the fact that they were facing the judgment of God and refused to listen and refused to repent as well. When you get to the book of Lamentations, Lamentations is the heartthrob of Jeremiah. The book of Lamentations consists of five chapters. In reality, they are five poems. And each one of these chapters, or each one of these poems, view the fall and destruction of Jerusalem from a different perspective. So when we are in chapter 3, we're dealing now with Jeremiah, and Jeremiah is identifying himself with his people. Now, if you look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 14 and verse 17, you'll see that Jeremiah was indeed one that was constantly and consistently weeping.

Jeremiah chapter 14 verse 17,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 14:17

"Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them, Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease."

Why is he weeping night and day? Why is he not ceasing?

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 14:17

"For the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, and with a very grievous blow."

So Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. Why? First of all, have you ever considered his ministry? You may know that he was a prophet and you may know that he was a preacher. But do you know why he was so broken in the ministry and why he had such a broken heart?

Reasons for Jeremiah's Brokenness: Rejection of His Ministry

Jeremiah's ministry was marked by total rejection, no success, and personal suffering. He describes himself as afflicted, in darkness, and broken.

Now, it is absolutely true that he had no wife and he had no family to support him whatsoever. In fact, God had forbidden him to marry. If you look in Jeremiah chapter 16 and verses 2 through 4, you can read verse 1 where God says, "The word of the Lord came also unto me, saying," here's what God told Jeremiah,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 16:2-4

"Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land, they shall die of grievous deaths." "They shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth, and they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven and for the beasts of the earth."

Now, Jeremiah had no one but himself. Everyone in this room could get angry with me and could get mad with me. Well, that's bad. But as long as I can go home to Alice and she's not angry and she's not mad and my children are not angry and my children are not mad, I can still have some comfort and consolation. But Jeremiah did not have a family.

God had forbidden him to marry. So I want to give you three particular reasons as to why Jeremiah was such a broken man. And if you understand these, you can see why we today do not have a brokenness in our lives, in our hearts, in our ministries. So I'm going to build, lay a foundation and then build upon this foundation in the next two weeks. In fact, next week may really actually surprise you. And one after that, I hope will comfort you as well. So why was Jeremiah known as the weeping prophet? Well, first of all, here's the whole point I'm going to cover today. There was a rejection of his service. Let me say this another way. There was a rejection of his ministry. Jeremiah, in one sense of the word, was identifying himself with the nation that was going to be destroyed by God.

And ever stop and think about this. You and I are hurt. We are insulted and we sense ourselves of being slighted when someone does not acknowledge our presence, our gifts, or our service, or our cares, and we're hurt and slighted and we just simply, "Hey, you don't want me around, I'll leave." I've walked in several restaurants in times past and no one would even acknowledge me. They wouldn't speak to me. They wouldn't wait on me. I just turned around and walked out. I'll find one that will.

I mean, it's an insult. It's a slight. Well, let me ask you a question. What if that had been your entire life? What if that had been your entire ministry where no one would listen to you and no one would pay attention to you and everyone hated you? Well, look, if you would, in Lamentations chapter 3, here is how Jeremiah is describing himself and describing his ministry. He said, "I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath." In other words, God's rod of wrath has been upon the nation. It's also upon me. Look what he says in verse 2. "He hath led me and brought me into darkness, and not into light." In other words, I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel. Seemingly there's no hope in this ministry, in this situation. Then he said in verse 3, "Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day." Lord, Jeremiah said, I don't have success. I can't have success. The nation is fighting against me. And it appears that God is fighting against me as well. And then he says in verse 4, "My flesh and my skin hath he made old."

"He hath broken my bones." So he says, I'm old before my time. I'm worn out. I'm exhausted. And it looks like I'm half dead. And then he said in verse 5, "He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail." So gall is extremely bitter, travail is sorrow and anguish. And so he's basically saying that God has built against him and hedged him in. "He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old." He's like, I'm like a walking dead man.

There's no life in me. And then he said, "He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy." In other words, this is a description, basically, of his ministry. Now, Jeremiah had preached for approximately 40 years. His ministry was basically from 627 BC to 586 BC, which would have been the fall of Jerusalem. 586-587 is the date that is normally given there. But not once, not once, in the entire 40 years of his preaching, did he ever see any success or any part of success? He was like Isaiah, no one would listen. He's like Noah, no one would listen. Other prophets in the Bible had some success, may have been temporary, but at least they had some success. But Jeremiah had absolutely no success. It was like he was beating his head against a brick wall. No one wanted to listen. No one wanted to hear. He was basically casting his pearls before swine.

Jeremiah's Unique Calling and Ministry of Condemnation

Called before birth, Jeremiah was given a ministry primarily of destruction, not reconciliation. God's word can be sent for condemnation or reconciliation.

And yet at the same time, God had commanded him to teach. God had commanded him to preach. Now, Jeremiah was unique. He was like John the Baptist in a very unique sense of the word. If you would hold Lamentations 3, but turn back in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 1, here is the uniqueness of Jeremiah and the uniqueness of John the Baptist, and that is both of them were called by God while they were in the womb, before they were ever born. So in Jeremiah chapter 1, beginning there with verse 4, "Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Note, before he was born. "Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak."

Now, tradition states that Jeremiah started preaching around the age of 17. Now, I'm going to show you some other verses that will help explain this. But you have to remember that in the Hebrew culture, a young man was not even counted a man until he was 30. And you remember, our Lord did not begin his ministry until he was 30 years of age. So when you look in verse 6 and verse 7 of Jeremiah 1, in verse 6, Jeremiah said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 1:4-10

"I cannot speak: for I am a child."

And then in verse 7,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 1:4-10

"But the Lord said, Say not, I am a child."

The word "child" in the Hebrew actually refers to a boy, to a lad, or to a youth. So since Jeremiah would have begun preaching and teaching at such a young age, he would have been laughed at, mocked at, and ridiculed by the men of that culture. So look in verses 8 and 9.

Here's what God tells him. "Be not afraid of their faces." In other words, they're going to be criticizing, they're going to be mocking, they're going to be laughing at you. "Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. 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."

Now let me point out something. Not everyone is given a ministry of reconciliation. There was only one Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Only one George Whitefield. Only one Jonathan Edwards. Only one John Knox. Not everybody has a ministry of reconciliation. Everyone wants to be the preacher that reaps the harvest. And yet the Bible says one sows, one waters, but it's God who gives the increase. There has to be someone who turns the ground, plows the ground, someone who sows the seeds, someone who waters. But only one individual basically gets to reap the harvest is what it amounts to.

Now there's a verse in Isaiah 55 and verse 11, most of you know this verse, where God said,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:11

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

So notice if you would, God has promised that his word is going to prosper in that which he pleases. And God's word is never going to fail or return void. It will accomplish that whereto he sends it. Now, I want you to think about this. God may send his word either in reconciliation or in condemnation. So obviously, then, if God sends his word in reconciliation, it cannot be made a word of condemnation. If God sends His word as a ministry of condemnation, it cannot be made a ministry of reconciliation. They're two different things. So if you will hold Lamentations 3 and turn over your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 2. 2 Corinthians chapter 2.

And look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 14. 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. Look at what the scripture says, 2 Corinthians 2 verse 14.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ."

So we're never going to fail. We're going to always triumph in Christ. Look at this:

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

"and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place."

Then he says in verse 15,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

"For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life." "And who is sufficient for these things?"

So God can send his word either for condemnation or for reconciliation. And the apostle says when his word is preached, whether it is a ministry of reconciliation, or a ministry of condemnation, it is still a sweet smell to God because we are preaching His Word and we're preaching the truth in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, here's another inconvenient truth. The preacher or the prophet does not get to choose his ministry. It's a ministry that is given. I'm sure that Jeremiah would have loved to have had a ministry of reconciliation where the entire nation would have been saved. But God did not give him a ministry of reconciliation. He gave him a ministry of condemnation. Every true preacher wants a ministry of reconciliation. Every true preacher wants to have a harvest of souls. Every true preacher wants to see people converted and saved by the grace of God. But once again, it's God who gives each man his ministry. One sows, one waters, but it's God who gives increase.

The Cost of Faithfulness: Rejection and Persecution

Jeremiah faced plots to kill him, slander, and imprisonment. Despite this, he wept for his people and eventually prayed for God's judgment.

Now, I want to show you from Jeremiah chapter 1 another truth. God was honest with Jeremiah when he called him. God did not deceive Jeremiah. He let him know up front what kind of ministry he was going to have. So if you look back in Jeremiah, chapter 1, look, if you would, first of all, at verse 10. Jeremiah 1, verse 10, look what he said. "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."

Notice, if you would, there's three times as much destruction as there is building and planting. The majority of his ministry was rooting out, pulling down, destroying and throwing down. Very little building and very little planting. So skip down to verse 14. Watch, if you would, how God tells him exactly what is going to take place. "Then the Lord said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah." Everything's going to be destroyed.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 1:10, 14-17

God said, "And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee." In other words, God is saying that basically they're going to be destroyed. So, here we go. Since Jeremiah was a young man, Jeremiah had an entire ministry of being mocked, ridiculed, hated, despised, lied against, threatened, imprisoned, and folks attempted to murder him as well. So look in your Bibles, Jeremiah chapter 11 and verse 19.

So let me ask you, just from this one passage, how long do you think a pastor would stay in a local church with people like this? Jeremiah 11 and verse 19. Jeremiah said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 11:19

"But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living." "Let his name be no more remembered."

They are planning to murder him.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 11:19

"Let us devise devices against him. Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof. We will kill him. We will blot him out of our memory."

That would not be too encouraging to most pastors. And then if you look in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 18 and verse 18. Look at this. Jeremiah chapter 18 and verse 18. Jeremiah said this. Jeremiah 18 and verse 18. "Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah."

"For the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words." What? We're not going to listen to you, Jeremiah. We're not going to hear you. In fact, we will slander you. We will lie about you. We will seek to destroy you any way we can. Now, folks, let's be honest. It does not build confidence in a man when he knows that people are lying about him, slandering him, trying to take his life, and refusing to even listen to him. It certainly does not work confidence and hope when he understands that the people literally want him dead. So here's my question. Could you endure 40 years of rejection, ridicule, mocking, hatred, despisement, slandering, lies, imprisonment, and attempted murder? Could you—listen to this now—could you continue to want to pray for a people like that? Could you continue to want to weep for a people like that?

I mean, they were not interested in anything that you had to say. Now, God had sent Jeremiah, and Jeremiah did care for his people, he loved his people, and he did not want to see them destroyed. However, he was weeping because of these people. If you would turn back over in your Bibles to Lamentations chapter 3, look if you would please at verse 48. You see, Jeremiah knew that the judgment was imminent, he knew that it was going to appear suddenly and he knew that the people were going to be destroyed so in verse 48 of Lamentations 3 he says,

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 3:48

"Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people."

Wow. Now, you will see next week where God had already determined to destroy Judah and Jerusalem. Jeremiah finally gets to the point in his ministry where he comes to see from God's perspective, from God's point of view. So, I want you to turn back to Jeremiah chapter 17, if you would please, and think about this after 40 years of enduring everything, being cast into a dungeon. I'll show you some of it. But look in Jeremiah chapter 17, and let's begin reading there in verse 13.

Look at what he says, "O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters." Now watch what he said, "and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters." You have to remember something. To reject the preacher or the prophet that God sends is to reject God Himself. You remember what our Lord said in the New Testament? He told His disciples that He sent them out. He said, "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." So He said, those people that receive you, they receive me. Those people that received me, received the Father that sent me.

But the opposite is also true. Those who refuse those whom Jesus Christ sends out, refuse Jesus Christ. Those who refuse Jesus Christ, refuse the Father who sent Jesus Christ. Now, so look what he said again in verse 13. "O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise. Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now." Now look what he says. "As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day;" that is the judgment that is coming. "Thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee. Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil." Watch this.

"Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction." Wow. Finally, Jeremiah got his eyes open and Jeremiah said, "Lord, you've ordained destruction for this people. I've not desired this destruction, but Lord, let it come. It needs to be here." Now, I hope you remember Jeremiah 1 verse 10. You don't have to turn back there. But God said, "I have set thee this day 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." You cannot build a new barn over an old barn until you tear down the old barn.

The Parable of the Sower and Hard Hearts

Jesus' parable shows that three-quarters of hearers may not produce fruit. Hard, half, and double hearts reject God's word, leaving only the good ground.

Now, I have to remember this. There's a passage in the New Testament and you're going to find it in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. It's the parable of the sower. And our Lord says, "Behold, a sower went forth to sow." And it said some seeds fell by the wayside. And the birds arrived, devoured them up. It said some fell upon stony ground and had not much earth. And immediately they sprung up. And then when the sun was arisen in its heat, they died. Then he said some fell upon thorny ground and the thorns grew up and choked it. The thorns were already there. They just were not visible at that particular time. And then he said some fell upon good ground and brought forth fruit. Some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, some an hundredfold.

Now, I want you to consider something. When our Lord said in that parable of the sower, that some seed fell upon the wayside. The wayside is talking about that hard packed ground where a seed cannot penetrate the soil and therefore it cannot germinate. If you go to any farm in this area or in South Georgia, you're going to find fields that are plowed, but always going into that field and sometimes around that field, you will find hard-packed ground where all the equipment travels all the time. Seed falling on that hard-packed ground will never, ever germinate because it's lying on the surface and the birds need to come down and take care of the seeds. I had a friend one time. who planted, I don't know, three or four or five acres of watermelon seed. And he did not get the seed that had been coated. And so the crows came and dug up the seeds and ate them. He probably out of a whole huge field probably only had 15 or 20 watermelon plants come up. Now those were buried but the crows dug them up because they were not coated. So our Lord is saying some fell by the wayside and immediately the fowls came and devoured them. And then when he talks about the stony ground, when you stop and think about this, it was a solid layer of rock under two or three inches of soil. So that means when the seed hit that first couple of inches, it began to germinate and it began to develop roots but it could not develop roots deeply so it could draw forth moisture and water.

And therefore, when the sun arose in all of its heat, what happened to the plant? It withered and died. The same thing with those thorns. Those thorns were already there. They were not visible. And then, of course, they sprung up and choked it out. And the scripture tells us that those thorns are the cares of this world, the lust for other things. That's what chokes it out.

And then he said there's just that good ground. Some brought forth thirty, some brought forth sixty, some an hundred. Do you realize the implication of this parable, and I'm putting this in light of what Jeremiah said, the implication of this parable is very significant. It means that three quarters of the seed that was planted never produced anything. If you stop and think, someone has really said this innumerable times, that one of the greatest evangelistic fields happens to be in our churches. Because probably about three quarters of the people are lost.

Now listen, that wayside hearer represents a hard-hearted hearer. That stony ground hearer represents a half-hearted hearer. And that thorny ground hearer represents a double-hearted hearer. So if you've got a hard heart, a half heart, or a double heart, you have no heart for God. You have nothing. You only have that one little quarter that is good. If you look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8.

Our Lord says this and he's showing you in the parable of the sower. Look what he says. Luke chapter 8 and notice if you would please verse 15. Luke 8 and verse 15. Here's what he says. Luke 8, verse 15.

Scripture Reading — Luke 8:12-15

"But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."

Now, wait, I want to show you something here, but only the Holy Spirit can make an honest and good heart. OK, now I told you that when you look at this parable, we're talking about people. Although he's talking about soils, we're still talking about people. So, if you look back in verse 12 of Luke 8,

Scripture Reading — Luke 8:12-15

"Those by the wayside are they that hear."

So, we're talking about people.

"Then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. Now, watch verse 13. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away." We're talking about people. Look in verse 14. "And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection." The only one that brought forth any fruit. Was the good ground hearer. Wow. So Jeremiah, which I'm going to show you next week, Jeremiah had an awful lot of people in the land. Well, there was not one whose heart was true to God. In fact, he tells you that in his book. Wow. You stop and think about all of the churches in our land. Especially if you go to some of the larger cities, it seems as if there's a church on every corner. But very little teaching, very little preaching from the Word of God.

I know I told you this years ago because this happened years ago. But Alice and I were down in Tampa, Florida. We were visiting one of our daughters and her family. The son-in-law was going to take us out to supper that night, and we went by a Baptist church, and on the billboard, marquee, whatever you want to call it, they had this, I've never forgotten it, "Come to our early morning service, in by 8, out by 8:30." And I thought to myself, now you know a Baptist church is going to sing at least one or two songs. They're going to have an opening prayer and you know for a fact they're going to take an offering. And then they're going to have to have one song at the end and one benediction.

Application to Modern America

Like Judah, America rejects sound doctrine for entertainment and fables. We must seek the Lord, righteousness, and meekness to be hid in the day of anger.

Was the good ground hearer. Wow. So Jeremiah, which I'm going to show you next week, Jeremiah had an awful lot of people in the land. Well, there was not one whose heart was true to God. In fact, he tells you that in his book. Wow. You stop and think about all of the churches in our land. Especially if you go to some of the larger cities, it seems as if there's a church on every corner. But very little teaching, very little preaching from the Word of God.

And so you're talking about 10 to 12 minutes for a little sermonette. So what they were doing was salving everyone's conscience as they were going to spend the day at the beach is what it amounted to. Come to our service, in by 8, out by 8:30. I usually tell people it takes me at least 30 minutes just to clear my throat. I mean, my goodness. It just boggles my mind. What I want you to think about right now is this. Think about the implications of this for America. Look at Judah and Jerusalem. God was going to destroy them. God was going to wipe them out because of their sin, their wickedness, and their rebellion. And look at exactly what we're doing. We have turned from the Scripture to entertainment, to fellowship, to social club. We've turned to anything and everything except the teaching of the Word of God.

I'm astounded at the people who've gone to church all of their lives and they still know nothing about the Bible. They can't even find certain books of the Bible. I have done this innumerable times just as a joke. But I've asked the people, "Turn to your Bibles to Hezekiah chapter 3 and verse 18." And everybody starts looking for the book of Hezekiah. And I let them look for a few minutes and I said, "Look, look, stop, stop. Hezekiah was a king, it's not a book in the Bible." I'm just pointing out the fact we've been in church all of our lives and we know so little about it. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Timothy chapter 4. 2 Timothy chapter 4.

Here's basically where we are today. Look at this. 2 Timothy chapter 4. And look, if you would please, at verses 3 and 4. 2 Timothy chapter 4. Look at verses 3 and 4. Here we go. 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 3 and 4. Look what the Word of God says. 2 Timothy 4 verse 3.

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 4:3-4

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine."

"But after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." They just want someone to scratch it. "And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." Now, here are two very important points. Number one, he said the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. No one wants doctrinal teaching and preaching any longer. They want entertainment. They want feel-good messages. And then he said, verse 4, "They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." This is what we do not understand. When we reject the truth, the only thing left is a lie. When we refuse the truth, the only thing that we have left is a fable or delusion or deceit. So once you turn from God, once you turn from his word, you have nothing but a lie and deceit and a fable.

Now, we are at the place in our country where America loves falsehood. America loves lies. America loves deceit. America does not desire, neither does she want biblical truth. There are very few Christians who really read their Bibles and even less who really study their Bibles. We're ignorant and we're unconcerned. And here's why America does not want truth. Because we do not wish to repent. We don't want to change things. We want things to continue exactly as they are.

And the only thing that will happen is just judgment. Now, if you would, I want you to turn to one more passage before I make some applications. I want you to go back in your Bibles to the book of Zephaniah. That's in the Old Testament. And that is right before the book of Haggai, if I remember correctly. We have Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and then Zephaniah. Right before the book of Haggai, you have the book of Zephaniah. And I want you to look in Zephaniah chapter 2. And I want us to begin reading there with verse 1. Zephaniah chapter 2 and verse 1. Look what God tells the people.

"Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired." Hmm. "O nation not desired." Why? Because of the sins, wickedness and rebellion. Now he says, "Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you." What should we do? "Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness." And look at this last part. "It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger." What? This is counsel. This is advice for avoiding the judgment of God. What are we to do when we know God's anger and God's judgment is upon a nation? "Seek the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgments. Seek righteousness. Seek meekness."

Conclusion: The Need for Broken Hearts

Jeremiah's brokenness came from proclaiming truth to a resistant people. We need broken hearts for our families and nation, for God uses broken vessels.

That is, be submissive, be obedient. "It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger." Wow. Wow. So let me try to tie this together for you. Let me make some applications. The first one is this. I don't know if you've ever thought about this or not. But suppose you wanted to hurt someone. I don't mean physically. You just wanted to insult them. You wanted to deceive them. You wanted to lead them astray. You wanted to get back at them in some way. And so you've planned, and you've schemed, and you've done whatever you can to hurt this group, or this individual, or this society.

And everything you plan fails. Nobody gets insulted. Nobody gets hurt. No one's upset.

Now, if you planned that, and you really worked at it, you might be disappointed if it didn't work but you would not be broken. You would not be grieved. You would not have a humble and contrite spirit. Ah, hang on. But let's suppose now you know the truth. And you see the judgment of God coming and you know it's imminent and it will come suddenly like a bolt of lightning. And you're warning your family. You're warning your children. You're warning your friends. You're warning your neighbor. You know it's coming and they will not listen. They laugh at you and they mock at you and they call you all kind of names and say you're crazy.

You've gone off the deep end. It would only hurt. It would break you because you know the truth. And they refused to listen and to hear. This is Jeremiah. No one would listen to him. No one would hear him. He knew judgment was around the corner. No one would bow to him. Not the king, not the queen, not the people. No one would bow to him. Absolutely no one. And the truth of the matter is they tried to kill him.

I want you to go back in your Bibles if you would. I want you to go back to Jeremiah. I want you to go back to Jeremiah if you would. Let me show you something right quickly. Look at this if you would. Look if you would. Jeremiah chapter 26. Go there. Jeremiah chapter 26. I'm just trying to show you how he was hated and despised. Jeremiah 26. Look in verse 9. Look what is asked.

"Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house into the house of the Lord, and sat at the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house. Then spake the priests and the prophets and the princes unto all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears. Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard."

"Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. Then he said, As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as it seemeth good and meet unto you. But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears." I sent you, but you—God sent me, but you would not listen. Skip down to verse 21. "And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, who was preaching the same as Jeremiah, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt." Note, if you would, that the king himself is threatening to kill him. Look in Jeremiah chapter 38. Jeremiah chapter 38. Look, if you would, please, at verse 4. Jeremiah 38 in verse 4. Look at this. "Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt." What? Jeremiah was telling the truth. They were lying. They didn't understand. Jeremiah told the king. Jeremiah told the queen. Humble yourself. Go out and submit yourself to Nebuchadnezzar, and your lives will be spared and the city will be spared.

He told everyone, "Go submit to Nebuchadnezzar, your life will be spared." What did they say? "You're—this man is trying to hurt us." No, he was not trying to hurt. He's trying to help. I just want you to see why Jeremiah was broken. They misinterpreted everything that he said. They refused to hear. They refused to listen. Wow. Here's the point. When you're telling the truth and you know it's the truth and no one will listen, that's when you get broken. You don't get broken over lies. You get broken over the truth. And here's what we need today. We need to come back and have a heart that's broken like Jeremiah. We need to learn to shed tears for our lost family members, our friends, our nation. And yes, God is always close to those who are broken and a contrite heart and a humble spirit. If we want God to be close to us, we must be what he designs for each of us to be. We need a broken heart. God uses broken vessels.

And once we're broken, he can put us back together and use us. But Jeremiah, his service, his ministry was rejected by all the people. Not one convert. Did not have a family, no one to support him, no one to help him. But yet he was faithful to the end. And I will tell you this, I don't believe there's a preacher alive today, including myself, that could go through with a ministry like Jeremiah had. There's not a Christian, I don't believe today, who's alive that could put up with a ministry like God gave Jeremiah. We need to understand.

Folks do not want the truth. Folks do not love the truth. But we must proclaim it. We must teach it. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your mercy. And Lord, we do pray that you would give us a broken heart, a broken and contrite spirit. Lord, thou wilt not despise. Help us, Lord, to see where we are today, and help us to live in obedience and faithfulness.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Brokenness Over Sin

Summary: True brokenness is grief over sin against God, not merely emotional pain from life's losses.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'the broken heart that I'm referring to is one that is broken over our sins, broken over the sins of our families, broken over the sins of our nation, and in realization that those sins are against a holy, righteous, loving, just, and merciful God.'

God's Nearness to the Contrite

Summary: God promises to dwell with and revive those who have a broken and humble spirit.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Psalm 34:18, Psalm 51:17, Isaiah 57:15, and Isaiah 66:2 to show God's special closeness to the brokenhearted.

Rejection of God's Messenger

Summary: To reject the preacher or prophet God sends is to reject God Himself.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'To reject the preacher or the prophet that God sends is to reject God Himself,' referencing Jesus' words in the New Testament.

Ministry of Condemnation vs. Reconciliation

Summary: God may send His word for condemnation or reconciliation; the preacher does not choose his ministry.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'God may send his word either in reconciliation or in condemnation... The preacher or the prophet does not get to choose his ministry.'

Faithfulness Amidst Suffering

Summary: Jeremiah remained faithful despite 40 years of rejection, mockery, and threats, modeling endurance.

Evidence: Weaver asks, 'Could you endure 40 years of rejection, ridicule, mocking, hatred, despisement, slandering, lies, imprisonment, and attempted murder?'

Rejection of Sound Doctrine

Summary: Modern America, like ancient Judah, turns from biblical truth to entertainment and fables.

Evidence: Weaver cites 2 Timothy 4:3-4 and says, 'America loves falsehood. America loves lies. America loves deceit. America does not desire, neither does she want biblical truth.'

The Call to Seek the Lord

Summary: In light of coming judgment, the proper response is to seek the Lord, righteousness, and meekness.

Evidence: Weaver reads Zephaniah 2:1-3, emphasizing 'Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth... seek righteousness, seek meekness.'

God Uses Broken Vessels

Summary: God is close to the broken and can use them once they are broken and remade by Him.

Evidence: Weaver concludes, 'God uses broken vessels. And once we're broken, he can put us back together and use us.'

Key Arguments

Brokenness is essential for closeness to God

Summary: Scripture repeatedly promises God's nearness to the brokenhearted, so desiring closeness to God requires a broken heart.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Psalm 34:18, Psalm 51:17, Isaiah 57:15, and Isaiah 66:2, then states, 'So the way to get close to God is to have a broken heart.'

Jeremiah's brokenness stemmed from his rejected ministry

Summary: Jeremiah's weeping was not over personal offense but over the truth being rejected and judgment coming.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'When you're telling the truth and you know it's the truth and no one will listen, that's when you get broken.'

God's word can be sent for condemnation, not just reconciliation

Summary: Isaiah 55:11 and 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 show that God's word prospers in its intended purpose, which may be condemnation.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'God may send his word either in reconciliation or in condemnation... If God sends His word as a ministry of condemnation, it cannot be made a ministry of reconciliation.'

Rejecting God's messenger is rejecting God

Summary: Jesus taught that receiving or rejecting His sent ones is equivalent to receiving or rejecting Him and the Father.

Evidence: Weaver references Jesus' words: 'He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.'

Most hearers of God's word do not produce fruit

Summary: The parable of the sower implies that three-quarters of seed falls on unproductive soil, representing hard, half, or double hearts.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'It means that three quarters of the seed that was planted never produced anything.'

America is in a similar state to Judah before judgment

Summary: Like Judah, America has turned from sound doctrine to fables and entertainment, refusing to repent.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'We have turned from the Scripture to entertainment, to fellowship, to social club... America does not desire, neither does she want biblical truth.'

The only escape from judgment is seeking the Lord

Summary: Zephaniah 2:1-3 offers counsel to seek the Lord, righteousness, and meekness to possibly be hidden in the day of anger.

Evidence: Weaver reads Zephaniah 2:1-3 and emphasizes, 'It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.'

Modern Christians lack the brokenness of Jeremiah

Summary: Weaver doubts any preacher or Christian today could endure a ministry like Jeremiah's, highlighting our need for broken hearts.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'I don't believe there's a preacher alive today, including myself, that could go through with a ministry like Jeremiah had.'

Scripture References

Lamentations 3:1-7

Context: The primary text of the sermon, describing Jeremiah's affliction and brokenness.

Jeremiah 23:9

Context: Jeremiah's heart is broken because of the false prophets.

Psalm 34:18

Context: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the contrite.

Psalm 51:17

Context: A broken and contrite heart is the sacrifice God will not despise.

Isaiah 57:15

Context: God dwells with the contrite and humble to revive them.

Isaiah 66:2

Context: God looks to the one who is poor, contrite, and trembles at His word.

Psalm 147:3

Context: God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Jeremiah 14:17

Context: Jeremiah weeps night and day for the destruction of his people.

Jeremiah 16:2-4

Context: God forbids Jeremiah to marry because of the coming judgment.

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Context: Jeremiah's call before birth and his commission to root out and destroy.

Isaiah 55:11

Context: God's word will not return void but will accomplish His purpose.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16

Context: Believers are a sweet savor of Christ, either life unto life or death unto death.

Jeremiah 1:10, 14-17

Context: God tells Jeremiah his ministry is primarily destruction, and judgment will come from the north.

Jeremiah 11:19

Context: Jeremiah's enemies plot to kill him.

Jeremiah 18:18

Context: The people plan to slander Jeremiah and ignore his words.

Lamentations 3:48

Context: Jeremiah's eyes run with rivers of water for the destruction of his people.

Jeremiah 17:13-18

Context: Jeremiah prays for healing and asks God to bring destruction on his persecutors.

Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8

Context: The parable of the sower, illustrating different heart responses to God's word.

Luke 8:12-15

Context: Explanation of the sower parable, identifying the soils as types of hearers.

2 Timothy 4:3-4

Context: A time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine but turn to fables.

Historical References

Jeremiah's ministry (627-586 BC)

Context: Weaver notes Jeremiah preached about 40 years, from 627 BC to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.

Fall of Jerusalem (586-587 BC)

Context: The destruction of Jerusalem is the backdrop of Lamentations and Jeremiah's weeping.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Context: Mentioned as an example of a unique preacher with a ministry of reconciliation.

George Whitefield

Context: Mentioned alongside Spurgeon as a unique preacher.

Jonathan Edwards

Context: Mentioned alongside Spurgeon as a unique preacher.

John Knox

Context: Mentioned alongside Spurgeon as a unique preacher.

John the Baptist

Context: Compared to Jeremiah as both were called by God before birth.

Nebuchadnezzar

Context: Jeremiah advised submission to Nebuchadnezzar to spare lives and the city.

Jehoiakim, king of Judah

Context: King Jehoiakim sought to put Jeremiah to death.

Urijah the prophet

Context: Urijah preached like Jeremiah but fled to Egypt in fear.

Important Quotes

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Significance: Weaver uses this Psalm to establish that closeness to God comes through brokenness.

I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

Significance: Jeremiah's self-description introduces the theme of personal suffering under God's hand.

My heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake.

Significance: Shows Jeremiah's brokenness extended to grief over false prophets.

He hath led me and brought me into darkness, and not into light.

Significance: Illustrates Jeremiah's sense of hopelessness in his ministry.

Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

Significance: Highlights Jeremiah's deep compassion despite persecution.

God uses broken vessels.

Significance: Summarizes the sermon's call to embrace brokenness for God's use.

Discussion Questions

What does it mean to have a broken heart over sin, and how does that differ from other kinds of grief?

Context: Weaver distinguishes a broken heart over sin from romantic or bereavement grief.

How do the promises of God's nearness to the brokenhearted in Psalms and Isaiah encourage you in times of spiritual dryness?

Context: Weaver cites multiple verses showing God dwells with the contrite.

Why do you think God gave Jeremiah a ministry primarily of condemnation rather than reconciliation?

Context: Weaver explains that God's word can be sent for different purposes.

In what ways do we see the rejection of sound doctrine in today's churches, and how should we respond?

Context: Weaver applies 2 Timothy 4:3-4 to modern America's love of entertainment over truth.

How can we cultivate a heart that weeps for the lost and for our nation like Jeremiah did?

Context: Weaver calls for tears over lost family, friends, and nation.

What does the parable of the sower teach us about the different responses to God's word, and which soil do you most identify with?

Context: Weaver explains the wayside, stony, thorny, and good ground hearers.

How does Jeremiah's endurance challenge our expectations of ministry success and personal comfort?

Context: Weaver doubts any modern preacher could endure Jeremiah's ministry.

What practical steps can we take to 'seek the Lord, righteousness, and meekness' as Zephaniah 2:3 commands?

Context: Weaver presents this as counsel for avoiding judgment.

Applications

Cultivate a broken heart over sin

Summary: Believers should grieve over personal, familial, and national sin as an offense against God.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We need to come back and have a heart that's broken like Jeremiah.'

Seek closeness to God through humility

Summary: Since God dwells with the contrite, pursue a humble and broken spirit to experience His presence.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'If we want God to be close to us, we must be what he designs for each of us to be.'

Endure rejection for the truth

Summary: Like Jeremiah, remain faithful in proclaiming God's word even when it is rejected.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Folks do not want the truth. Folks do not love the truth. But we must proclaim it. We must teach it.'

Examine your heart's soil

Summary: Evaluate whether you are a hard, half, double, or good heart hearer of God's word.

Evidence: Weaver explains the parable of the sower and asks implicitly which soil we are.

Return to sound doctrine

Summary: Reject the cultural trend of entertainment-driven church and embrace biblical teaching.

Evidence: Weaver laments, 'We have turned from the Scripture to entertainment, to fellowship, to social club.'

Seek the Lord in light of judgment

Summary: In a nation under judgment, actively seek the Lord, righteousness, and meekness as Zephaniah 2:3 instructs.

Evidence: Weaver reads Zephaniah 2:1-3 and applies it to America.

Weep for the lost

Summary: Develop a heart that mourns for unsaved family, friends, and nation.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We need to learn to shed tears for our lost family members, our friends, our nation.'

Trust God's sovereignty in ministry outcomes

Summary: Accept that God gives different ministries and results; faithfulness is our calling, not visible success.

Evidence: Weaver notes, 'One sows, one waters, but it's God who gives the increase.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:05:32Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T10:12:03Z

Clean Transcript

The Cry of a Broken Heart - Part 1

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Well, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Lamentations 3. That's right after the book of Jeremiah—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations. And we're going to look at the first seven verses. Let me just say that the message today is actually an introduction, and there are going to be at least two more messages that follow this one. And so this message is preparatory, actually, for the next two.
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So the title of this brief series is "The Cry of a Broken Heart." The Cry of a Broken Heart. So if you look in Lamentations chapter 3, verse 1, Jeremiah says, "I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me and brought me into darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day."
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"My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out; he hath made my chain heavy." So this is the first part, then, of a cry of a broken heart. Most of us have never really genuinely experienced a true broken heart. I'm not referring to a romantic broken heart, neither am I referring to the loss of a loved one, which most people have experienced. But the broken heart that I'm referring to is one that is broken over our sins, broken over the sins of our families, broken over the sins of our nation, and in realization that those sins are against a holy, righteous, loving, just, and merciful God who deserves only our praise, our honor, and our worship as well. And we're not grieved with the fact that our sins basically have dishonored Him. And certainly they have.
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Now, Jeremiah was a person who was actually broken. In fact, I will tell you something else that we should be broken over. We're not, but Jeremiah was. Jeremiah was even grieved and broken over the fact of the false prophets in the land who were preaching lies and teaching deceits. If you would turn back a few pages to Jeremiah chapter 23 and look, if you would please, at verse 9, Jeremiah 23 and verse 9, Jeremiah said this, "My heart within me is broken because of the prophets." Now he's talking about the false prophets. "My heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake."
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"I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of the words of his holiness." In other words, he knew they were lying. He knew that God was holy, and he knew that God was going to judge them as well. So I can ask you several questions in light of the title of this message. The first one is this: Do you desire to be drawn closer to the Lord? The second would be, do you desire really to live more effectively in the presence of the Lord? Well, if so, there are answers that will give you, I think, an understanding in that area. First of all, let me just quote Psalm 34 and verse 18.
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"The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." So the Lord is nigh unto those who are broken heart. So the way to get close to God is to have a broken heart. Psalm 51 and verse 17, everyone can quote that passage. That is where David said, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, back another few pages to Isaiah chapter 57, and look, if you would, at verse 15. Isaiah 57 and verse 15. Notice, if you would, what God says. Isaiah 57, verse 15, "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." Note, if you would, "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit."
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So God is especially close to those who have a broken spirit, a broken heart, a humble heart, and a contrite heart. Now, if you would turn right over to Isaiah chapter 66—Lord willing, I'm going to be preaching on this passage in the not too distant future—but look, if you would please, at verse 2. God says, "For all those things hath mine hand made." And I'll explain that when I get to the passage in the next message or two. But He said, "For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word." Now the Word of God says in Psalm 147, verse 3, "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." One cannot mend that which is not broken. One cannot bind up if there are no wounds. So if we desire our Heavenly Father, the Great Physician, to bind up and to heal us, we must present Him then with a broken heart, a broken spirit, and certainly He will indeed heal us from that state.
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Now, Jeremiah has been known as the weeping prophet. Many people have known that truth, but most people have never really asked the question why Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. Well, the truth is he wept over his people. He wept over his nation. He wept over the sins and rebellion of those people. He wept over the fact that they were facing the judgment of God and refused to listen and refused to repent as well. When you get to the book of Lamentations, Lamentations is the heartthrob of Jeremiah. The book of Lamentations consists of five chapters. In reality, they are five poems. And each one of these chapters, or each one of these poems, view the fall and destruction of Jerusalem from a different perspective. So when we are in chapter 3, we're dealing now with Jeremiah, and Jeremiah is identifying himself with his people. Now, if you look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 14 and verse 17, you'll see that Jeremiah was indeed one that was constantly and consistently weeping.
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Jeremiah chapter 14 verse 17, "Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them, Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease." Why is he weeping night and day? Why is he not ceasing? "For the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, and with a very grievous blow." So Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. Why? First of all, have you ever considered his ministry? You may know that he was a prophet and you may know that he was a preacher. But do you know why he was so broken in the ministry and why he had such a broken heart?
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Now, it is absolutely true that he had no wife and he had no family to support him whatsoever. In fact, God had forbidden him to marry. If you look in Jeremiah chapter 16 and verses 2 through 4, you can read verse 1 where God says, "The word of the Lord came also unto me, saying," here's what God told Jeremiah, "Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land, they shall die of grievous deaths."
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"They shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth, and they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven and for the beasts of the earth." Now, Jeremiah had no one but himself. Everyone in this room could get angry with me and could get mad with me. Well, that's bad. But as long as I can go home to Alice and she's not angry and she's not mad and my children are not angry and my children are not mad, I can still have some comfort and consolation. But Jeremiah did not have a family.
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God had forbidden him to marry. So I want to give you three particular reasons as to why Jeremiah was such a broken man. And if you understand these, you can see why we today do not have a brokenness in our lives, in our hearts, in our ministries. So I'm going to build, lay a foundation and then build upon this foundation in the next two weeks. In fact, next week may really actually surprise you.
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And one after that, I hope will comfort you as well. So why was Jeremiah known as the weeping prophet? Well, first of all, here's the whole point I'm going to cover today. There was a rejection of his service. Let me say this another way. There was a rejection of his ministry. Jeremiah, in one sense of the word, was identifying himself with the nation that was going to be destroyed by God.
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And ever stop and think about this. You and I are hurt. We are insulted and we sense ourselves of being slighted when someone does not acknowledge our presence, our gifts, or our service, or our cares, and we're hurt and slighted and we just simply, "Hey, you don't want me around, I'll leave." I've walked in several restaurants in times past and no one would even acknowledge me. They wouldn't speak to me. They wouldn't wait on me. I just turned around and walked out. I'll find one that will.
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I mean, it's an insult. It's a slight. Well, let me ask you a question. What if that had been your entire life? What if that had been your entire ministry where no one would listen to you and no one would pay attention to you and everyone hated you? Well, look, if you would, in Lamentations chapter 3, here is how Jeremiah is describing himself and describing his ministry.
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He said, "I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath." In other words, God's rod of wrath has been upon the nation. It's also upon me. Look what he says in verse 2. "He hath led me and brought me into darkness, and not into light." In other words, I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel. Seemingly there's no hope in this ministry, in this situation. Then he said in verse 3, "Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day." Lord, Jeremiah said, I don't have success. I can't have success. The nation is fighting against me. And it appears that God is fighting against me as well. And then he says in verse 4, "My flesh and my skin hath he made old."
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"He hath broken my bones." So he says, I'm old before my time. I'm worn out. I'm exhausted. And it looks like I'm half dead. And then he said in verse 5, "He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail." So gall is extremely bitter, travail is sorrow and anguish. And so he's basically saying that God has built against him and hedged him in. "He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old." He's like, I'm like a walking dead man.
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There's no life in me. And then he said, "He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy." In other words, this is a description, basically, of his ministry.
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Now, Jeremiah had preached for approximately 40 years. His ministry was basically from 627 BC to 586 BC, which would have been the fall of Jerusalem. 586-587 is the date that is normally given there. But not once, not once, in the entire 40 years of his preaching, did he ever see any success or any part of success? He was like Isaiah, no one would listen. He's like Noah, no one would listen. Other prophets in the Bible had some success, may have been temporary, but at least they had some success. But Jeremiah had absolutely no success. It was like he was beating his head against a brick wall. No one wanted to listen. No one wanted to hear. He was basically casting his pearls before swine.
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And yet at the same time, God had commanded him to teach. God had commanded him to preach. Now, Jeremiah was unique. He was like John the Baptist in a very unique sense of the word. If you would hold Lamentations 3, but turn back in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 1, here is the uniqueness of Jeremiah and the uniqueness of John the Baptist, and that is both of them were called by God while they were in the womb, before they were ever born. So in Jeremiah chapter 1, beginning there with verse 4, "Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Note, before he was born. "Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak."
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Now, tradition states that Jeremiah started preaching around the age of 17. Now, I'm going to show you some other verses that will help explain this. But you have to remember that in the Hebrew culture, a young man was not even counted a man until he was 30. And you remember, our Lord did not begin his ministry until he was 30 years of age. So when you look in verse 6 and verse 7 of Jeremiah 1, in verse 6, Jeremiah said, "I cannot speak: for I am a child." And then in verse 7, "But the Lord said, Say not, I am a child." The word "child" in the Hebrew actually refers to a boy, to a lad, or to a youth. So since Jeremiah would have begun preaching and teaching at such a young age, he would have been laughed at, mocked at, and ridiculed by the men of that culture. So look in verses 8 and 9.
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Here's what God tells him. "Be not afraid of their faces." In other words, they're going to be criticizing, they're going to be mocking, they're going to be laughing at you. "Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. 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."
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Now let me point out something. Not everyone is given a ministry of reconciliation. There was only one Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Only one George Whitefield. Only one Jonathan Edwards. Only one John Knox. Not everybody has a ministry of reconciliation. Everyone wants to be the preacher that reaps the harvest. And yet the Bible says one sows, one waters, but it's God who gives the increase. There has to be someone who turns the ground, plows the ground, someone who sows the seeds, someone who waters. But only one individual basically gets to reap the harvest is what it amounts to.
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Now there's a verse in Isaiah 55 and verse 11, most of you know this verse, where God said, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." So notice if you would, God has promised that his word is going to prosper in that which he pleases. And God's word is never going to fail or return void. It will accomplish that whereto he sends it.
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Now, I want you to think about this. God may send his word either in reconciliation or in condemnation. So obviously, then, if God sends his word in reconciliation, it cannot be made a word of condemnation. If God sends His word as a ministry of condemnation, it cannot be made a ministry of reconciliation. They're two different things. So if you will hold Lamentations 3 and turn over your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 2. 2 Corinthians chapter 2.
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And look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 14. 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. Look at what the scripture says, 2 Corinthians 2 verse 14.
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"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ." So we're never going to fail. We're going to always triumph in Christ. Look at this: "and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place." Then he says in verse 15, "For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life."
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"And who is sufficient for these things?" So God can send his word either for condemnation or for reconciliation. And the apostle says when his word is preached, whether it is a ministry of reconciliation, or a ministry of condemnation, it is still a sweet smell to God because we are preaching His Word and we're preaching the truth in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, here's another inconvenient truth. The preacher or the prophet does not get to choose his ministry. It's a ministry that is given. I'm sure that Jeremiah would have loved to have had a ministry of reconciliation where the entire nation would have been saved. But God did not give him a ministry of reconciliation. He gave him a ministry of condemnation. Every true preacher wants a ministry of reconciliation. Every true preacher wants to have a harvest of souls. Every true preacher wants to see people converted and saved by the grace of God. But once again, it's God who gives each man his ministry. One sows, one waters, but it's God who gives increase.
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Now, I want to show you from Jeremiah chapter 1 another truth. God was honest with Jeremiah when he called him. God did not deceive Jeremiah. He let him know up front what kind of ministry he was going to have. So if you look back in Jeremiah, chapter 1, look, if you would, first of all, at verse 10. Jeremiah 1, verse 10, look what he said. "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."
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Notice, if you would, there's three times as much destruction as there is building and planting. The majority of his ministry was rooting out, pulling down, destroying and throwing down. Very little building and very little planting. So skip down to verse 14. Watch, if you would, how God tells him exactly what is going to take place. "Then the Lord said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah." Everything's going to be destroyed.
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God said, "And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee." In other words, God is saying that basically they're going to be destroyed. So, here we go. Since Jeremiah was a young man, Jeremiah had an entire ministry of being mocked, ridiculed, hated, despised, lied against, threatened, imprisoned, and folks attempted to murder him as well. So look in your Bibles, Jeremiah chapter 11 and verse 19.
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So let me ask you, just from this one passage, how long do you think a pastor would stay in a local church with people like this? Jeremiah 11 and verse 19. Jeremiah said, "But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living."
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"Let his name be no more remembered." They are planning to murder him. "Let us devise devices against him. Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof. We will kill him. We will blot him out of our memory." That would not be too encouraging to most pastors. And then if you look in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 18 and verse 18. Look at this. Jeremiah chapter 18 and verse 18. Jeremiah said this. Jeremiah 18 and verse 18. "Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah."
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"For the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words." What? We're not going to listen to you, Jeremiah. We're not going to hear you. In fact, we will slander you. We will lie about you.
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We will seek to destroy you any way we can. Now, folks, let's be honest. It does not build confidence in a man when he knows that people are lying about him, slandering him, trying to take his life, and refusing to even listen to him. It certainly does not work confidence and hope when he understands that the people literally want him dead. So here's my question. Could you endure 40 years of rejection, ridicule, mocking, hatred, despisement, slandering, lies, imprisonment, and attempted murder? Could you—listen to this now—could you continue to want to pray for a people like that? Could you continue to want to weep for a people like that?
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I mean, they were not interested in anything that you had to say. Now, God had sent Jeremiah, and Jeremiah did care for his people, he loved his people, and he did not want to see them destroyed. However, he was weeping because of these people. If you would turn back over in your Bibles to Lamentations chapter 3, look if you would please at verse 48. You see, Jeremiah knew that the judgment was imminent, he knew that it was going to appear suddenly and he knew that the people were going to be destroyed so in verse 48 of Lamentations 3 he says, "Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people."
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Wow. Now, you will see next week where God had already determined to destroy Judah and Jerusalem. Jeremiah finally gets to the point in his ministry where he comes to see from God's perspective, from God's point of view. So, I want you to turn back to Jeremiah chapter 17, if you would please, and think about this after 40 years of enduring everything, being cast into a dungeon. I'll show you some of it. But look in Jeremiah chapter 17, and let's begin reading there in verse 13.
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Look at what he says, "O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters." Now watch what he said, "and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters." You have to remember something.
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To reject the preacher or the prophet that God sends is to reject God Himself. You remember what our Lord said in the New Testament? He told His disciples that He sent them out. He said, "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." So He said, those people that receive you, they receive me. Those people that received me, received the Father that sent me.
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But the opposite is also true. Those who refuse those whom Jesus Christ sends out, refuse Jesus Christ. Those who refuse Jesus Christ, refuse the Father who sent Jesus Christ.
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Now, so look what he said again in verse 13. "O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise. Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now." Now look what he says. "As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day;" that is the judgment that is coming. "Thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee. Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil." Watch this.
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"Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction." Wow.
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Finally, Jeremiah got his eyes open and Jeremiah said, "Lord, you've ordained destruction for this people. I've not desired this destruction, but Lord, let it come. It needs to be here." Now, I hope you remember Jeremiah 1 verse 10. You don't have to turn back there. But God said, "I have set thee this day 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." You cannot build a new barn over an old barn until you tear down the old barn.
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In other words, the ground has to be prepared. What about this one? You cannot have a garden until you put out all the weeds and all the poisonous plants. The ground has to be prepared. If you do not prepare that ground, then obviously you're not going to have a garden. You're not going to have anything. So it's obvious, it's clear from the Word of God that man alive, Jeremiah has an awful lot of destroying and pulling up and rooting out before anything can ever be planted. And Jeremiah is one of these unique individuals that God gave this ministry unto.
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Now, I have to remember this. There's a passage in the New Testament and you're going to find it in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. It's the parable of the sower. And our Lord says, "Behold, a sower went forth to sow." And it said some seeds fell by the wayside. And the birds arrived, devoured them up. It said some fell upon stony ground and had not much earth.
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And immediately they sprung up. And then when the sun was arisen in its heat, they died. Then he said some fell upon thorny ground and the thorns grew up and choked it. The thorns were already there. They just were not visible at that particular time. And then he said some fell upon good ground and brought forth fruit. Some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, some an hundredfold.
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Now, I want you to consider something. When our Lord said in that parable of the sower, that some seed fell upon the wayside. The wayside is talking about that hard packed ground where a seed cannot penetrate the soil and therefore it cannot germinate. If you go to any farm in this area or in South Georgia, you're going to find fields that are plowed, but always going into that field and sometimes around that field, you will find hard-packed ground where all the equipment travels all the time. Seed falling on that hard-packed ground will never, ever germinate because it's lying on the surface and the birds need to come down and take care of the seeds. I had a friend one time.
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who planted, I don't know, three or four or five acres of watermelon seed. And he did not get the seed that had been coated. And so the crows came and dug up the seeds and ate them. He probably out of a whole huge field probably only had 15 or 20 watermelon plants come up. Now those were buried but the crows dug them up because they were not coated. So our Lord is saying some fell by the wayside and immediately the fowls came and devoured them. And then when he talks about the stony ground, when you stop and think about this, it was a solid layer of rock under two or three inches of soil. So that means when the seed hit that first couple of inches, it began to germinate and it began to develop roots but it could not develop roots deeply so it could draw forth moisture and water.
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And therefore, when the sun arose in all of its heat, what happened to the plant? It withered and died. The same thing with those thorns. Those thorns were already there. They were not visible. And then, of course, they sprung up and choked it out. And the scripture tells us that those thorns are the cares of this world, the lust for other things. That's what chokes it out.
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And then he said there's just that good ground. Some brought forth thirty, some brought forth sixty, some an hundred. Do you realize the implication of this parable, and I'm putting this in light of what Jeremiah said, the implication of this parable is very significant. It means that three quarters of the seed that was planted never produced anything. If you stop and think, someone has really said this innumerable times, that one of the greatest evangelistic fields happens to be in our churches. Because probably about three quarters of the people are lost.
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Now listen, that wayside hearer represents a hard-hearted hearer. That stony ground hearer represents a half-hearted hearer. And that thorny ground hearer represents a double-hearted hearer. So if you've got a hard heart, a half heart, or a double heart, you have no heart for God. You have nothing. You only have that one little quarter that is good. If you look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8.
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Our Lord says this and he's showing you in the parable of the sower. Look what he says. Luke chapter 8 and notice if you would please verse 15. Luke 8 and verse 15. Here's what he says. Luke 8, verse 15. "But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience." Now, wait, I want to show you something here, but only the Holy Spirit can make an honest and good heart. OK, now I told you that when you look at this parable, we're talking about people. Although he's talking about soils, we're still talking about people. So, if you look back in verse 12 of Luke 8, "Those by the wayside are they that hear." So, we're talking about people.
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"Then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. Now, watch verse 13. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away." We're talking about people. Look in verse 14. "And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection." The only one that brought forth any fruit.
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Was the good ground hearer. Wow. So Jeremiah, which I'm going to show you next week, Jeremiah had an awful lot of people in the land. Well, there was not one whose heart was true to God. In fact, he tells you that in his book. Wow. You stop and think about all of the churches in our land. Especially if you go to some of the larger cities, it seems as if there's a church on every corner. But very little teaching, very little preaching from the Word of God.
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I know I told you this years ago because this happened years ago. But Alice and I were down in Tampa, Florida. We were visiting one of our daughters and her family. The son-in-law was going to take us out to supper that night, and we went by a Baptist church, and on the billboard, marquee, whatever you want to call it, they had this, I've never forgotten it, "Come to our early morning service, in by 8, out by 8:30." And I thought to myself, now you know a Baptist church is going to sing at least one or two songs. They're going to have an opening prayer and you know for a fact they're going to take an offering. And then they're going to have to have one song at the end and one benediction.
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And so you're talking about 10 to 12 minutes for a little sermonette. So what they were doing was salving everyone's conscience as they were going to spend the day at the beach is what it amounted to. Come to our service, in by 8, out by 8:30. I usually tell people it takes me at least 30 minutes just to clear my throat. I mean, my goodness. It just boggles my mind.
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What I want you to think about right now is this. Think about the implications of this for America. Look at Judah and Jerusalem. God was going to destroy them. God was going to wipe them out because of their sin, their wickedness, and their rebellion. And look at exactly what we're doing. We have turned from the Scripture to entertainment, to fellowship, to social club. We've turned to anything and everything except the teaching of the Word of God.
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I'm astounded at the people who've gone to church all of their lives and they still know nothing about the Bible. They can't even find certain books of the Bible. I have done this innumerable times just as a joke. But I've asked the people, "Turn to your Bibles to Hezekiah chapter 3 and verse 18." And everybody starts looking for the book of Hezekiah. And I let them look for a few minutes and I said, "Look, look, stop, stop. Hezekiah was a king, it's not a book in the Bible." I'm just pointing out the fact we've been in church all of our lives and we know so little about it. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Timothy chapter 4. 2 Timothy chapter 4.
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Here's basically where we are today. Look at this. 2 Timothy chapter 4. And look, if you would please, at verses 3 and 4. 2 Timothy chapter 4. Look at verses 3 and 4. Here we go. 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 3 and 4. Look what the Word of God says. 2 Timothy 4 verse 3. "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine."
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"But after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." They just want someone to scratch it. "And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."
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Now, here are two very important points. Number one, he said the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. No one wants doctrinal teaching and preaching any longer. They want entertainment. They want feel-good messages. And then he said, verse 4, "They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." This is what we do not understand. When we reject the truth, the only thing left is a lie. When we refuse the truth, the only thing that we have left is a fable or delusion or deceit. So once you turn from God, once you turn from his word, you have nothing but a lie and deceit and a fable.
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Now, we are at the place in our country where America loves falsehood. America loves lies. America loves deceit. America does not desire, neither does she want biblical truth. There are very few Christians who really read their Bibles and even less who really study their Bibles. We're ignorant and we're unconcerned. And here's why America does not want truth. Because we do not wish to repent. We don't want to change things. We want things to continue exactly as they are.
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And the only thing that will happen is just judgment. Now, if you would, I want you to turn to one more passage before I make some applications. I want you to go back in your Bibles to the book of Zephaniah. That's in the Old Testament. And that is right before the book of Haggai, if I remember correctly. We have Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and then Zephaniah. Right before the book of Haggai, you have the book of Zephaniah. And I want you to look in Zephaniah chapter 2. And I want us to begin reading there with verse 1. Zephaniah chapter 2 and verse 1. Look what God tells the people.
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"Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired." Hmm. "O nation not desired." Why? Because of the sins, wickedness and rebellion.
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Now he says, "Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you." What should we do? "Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness." And look at this last part. "It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger." What? This is counsel. This is advice for avoiding the judgment of God. What are we to do when we know God's anger and God's judgment is upon a nation? "Seek the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgments. Seek righteousness. Seek meekness."
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That is, be submissive, be obedient. "It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger." Wow. Wow. So let me try to tie this together for you. Let me make some applications. The first one is this. I don't know if you've ever thought about this or not. But suppose you wanted to hurt someone. I don't mean physically. You just wanted to insult them. You wanted to deceive them. You wanted to lead them astray. You wanted to get back at them in some way. And so you've planned, and you've schemed, and you've done whatever you can to hurt this group, or this individual, or this society.
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And everything you plan fails. Nobody gets insulted. Nobody gets hurt. No one's upset.
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Now, if you planned that, and you really worked at it, you might be disappointed if it didn't work but you would not be broken. You would not be grieved. You would not have a humble and contrite spirit. Ah, hang on. But let's suppose now you know the truth. And you see the judgment of God coming and you know it's imminent and it will come suddenly like a bolt of lightning. And you're warning your family. You're warning your children. You're warning your friends. You're warning your neighbor. You know it's coming and they will not listen. They laugh at you and they mock at you and they call you all kind of names and say you're crazy.
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You've gone off the deep end. It would only hurt. It would break you because you know the truth. And they refused to listen and to hear. This is Jeremiah. No one would listen to him. No one would hear him. He knew judgment was around the corner. No one would bow to him. Not the king, not the queen, not the people. No one would bow to him. Absolutely no one. And the truth of the matter is they tried to kill him.
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I want you to go back in your Bibles if you would. I want you to go back to Jeremiah. I want you to go back to Jeremiah if you would. Let me show you something right quickly. Look at this if you would. Look if you would. Jeremiah chapter 26. Go there. Jeremiah chapter 26. I'm just trying to show you how he was hated and despised. Jeremiah 26. Look in verse 9. Look what is asked.
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"Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house into the house of the Lord, and sat at the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house. Then spake the priests and the prophets and the princes unto all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears. Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard."
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"Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. Then he said, As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as it seemeth good and meet unto you. But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears." I sent you, but you—God sent me, but you would not listen.
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Skip down to verse 21. "And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, who was preaching the same as Jeremiah, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt." Note, if you would, that the king himself is threatening to kill him. Look in Jeremiah chapter 38. Jeremiah chapter 38. Look, if you would, please, at verse 4. Jeremiah 38 in verse 4. Look at this. "Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt." What? Jeremiah was telling the truth. They were lying. They didn't understand. Jeremiah told the king. Jeremiah told the queen. Humble yourself. Go out and submit yourself to Nebuchadnezzar, and your lives will be spared and the city will be spared.
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He told everyone, "Go submit to Nebuchadnezzar, your life will be spared." What did they say? "You're—this man is trying to hurt us." No, he was not trying to hurt. He's trying to help. I just want you to see why Jeremiah was broken. They misinterpreted everything that he said. They refused to hear. They refused to listen. Wow. Here's the point. When you're telling the truth and you know it's the truth and no one will listen, that's when you get broken. You don't get broken over lies. You get broken over the truth. And here's what we need today. We need to come back and have a heart that's broken like Jeremiah. We need to learn to shed tears for our lost family members, our friends, our nation. And yes, God is always close to those who are broken and a contrite heart and a humble spirit. If we want God to be close to us, we must be what he designs for each of us to be. We need a broken heart. God uses broken vessels.
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And once we're broken, he can put us back together and use us. But Jeremiah, his service, his ministry was rejected by all the people. Not one convert. Did not have a family, no one to support him, no one to help him. But yet he was faithful to the end. And I will tell you this, I don't believe there's a preacher alive today, including myself, that could go through with a ministry like Jeremiah had. There's not a Christian, I don't believe today, who's alive that could put up with a ministry like God gave Jeremiah. We need to understand.
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Folks do not want the truth. Folks do not love the truth. But we must proclaim it. We must teach it. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your mercy. And Lord, we do pray that you would give us a broken heart, a broken and contrite spirit. Lord, thou wilt not despise. Help us, Lord, to see where we are today, and help us to live in obedience and faithfulness.
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We ask again for these on the prayer list that your hand would be upon them. I pray for Brother Steve again this week, Lord, that you would help him and give us your mercy, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:05:32Z

The Cry of a Broken Heart - Part 1

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this introductory sermon, John Weaver examines Jeremiah's broken heart as a model for believers, focusing on Lamentations 3:1-7. He argues that true brokenness over sin—personal, familial, and national—is essential for closeness to God, as Scripture promises His nearness to the contrite. Jeremiah's 40-year ministry of rejection, mockery, and threats, without a single convert, exemplifies a broken heart born from proclaiming truth to a rebellious people. Weaver contrasts this with modern indifference to sound doctrine and calls for a return to a humble, contrite spirit that God can use.

Introduction to the Series and Text

Weaver introduces the series 'The Cry of a Broken Heart' and reads Lamentations 3:1-7, noting this message is preparatory for two more to follow.

So the title of this brief series is "The Cry of a Broken Heart." The Cry of a Broken Heart. So if you look in Lamentations chapter 3, verse 1, Jeremiah says,

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 3:1-7

"I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me and brought me into darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day."

Defining a Broken Heart

A true broken heart is grief over sin against a holy God, not romantic loss or bereavement. Jeremiah was broken over personal sin, national sin, and false prophets.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 23:9

"My heart within me is broken because of the prophets."

Now he's talking about the false prophets.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 23:9

"My heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake." "I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of the words of his holiness."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 34:18

"The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."

God's Nearness to the Broken

Scripture teaches that God dwells with the contrite and humble, heals the brokenhearted, and looks to those who tremble at His word.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 34:18

"The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 57:15

So God is especially close to those who have a broken spirit, a broken heart, a humble heart, and a contrite heart. Now, if you would turn right over to Isaiah chapter 66—Lord willing, I'm going to be preaching on this passage in the not too distant future—but look, if you would please, at verse 2. God says, "For all those things hath mine hand made." And I'll explain that when I get to the passage in the next message or two. But He said, "For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word." Now the Word of God says in Psalm 147, verse 3, "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." One cannot mend that which is not broken. One cannot bind up if there are no wounds. So if we desire our Heavenly Father, the Great Physician, to bind up and to heal us, we must present Him then with a broken heart, a broken spirit, and certainly He will indeed heal us from that state.

Jeremiah: The Weeping Prophet

Jeremiah wept over his people's sin and coming judgment. His book of Lamentations is five poems viewing Jerusalem's fall from different perspectives.

Jeremiah chapter 14 verse 17,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 14:17

"Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them, Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease."

Why is he weeping night and day? Why is he not ceasing?

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 14:17

"For the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, and with a very grievous blow."

Reasons for Jeremiah's Brokenness: Rejection of His Ministry

Jeremiah's ministry was marked by total rejection, no success, and personal suffering. He describes himself as afflicted, in darkness, and broken.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 16:2-4

"Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land, they shall die of grievous deaths." "They shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth, and they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven and for the beasts of the earth."

Jeremiah's Unique Calling and Ministry of Condemnation

Called before birth, Jeremiah was given a ministry primarily of destruction, not reconciliation. God's word can be sent for condemnation or reconciliation.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 1:4-10

"I cannot speak: for I am a child."

And then in verse 7,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 1:4-10

"But the Lord said, Say not, I am a child."

Now there's a verse in Isaiah 55 and verse 11, most of you know this verse, where God said,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:11

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

And look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 14. 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. Look at what the scripture says, 2 Corinthians 2 verse 14.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ."

So we're never going to fail. We're going to always triumph in Christ. Look at this:

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

"and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place."

Then he says in verse 15,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

"For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life." "And who is sufficient for these things?"

The Cost of Faithfulness: Rejection and Persecution

Jeremiah faced plots to kill him, slander, and imprisonment. Despite this, he wept for his people and eventually prayed for God's judgment.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 1:10, 14-17

God said, "And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee." In other words, God is saying that basically they're going to be destroyed. So, here we go. Since Jeremiah was a young man, Jeremiah had an entire ministry of being mocked, ridiculed, hated, despised, lied against, threatened, imprisoned, and folks attempted to murder him as well. So look in your Bibles, Jeremiah chapter 11 and verse 19.

So let me ask you, just from this one passage, how long do you think a pastor would stay in a local church with people like this? Jeremiah 11 and verse 19. Jeremiah said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 11:19

"But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living." "Let his name be no more remembered."

They are planning to murder him.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 11:19

"Let us devise devices against him. Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof. We will kill him. We will blot him out of our memory."

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 3:48

"Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people."

The Parable of the Sower and Hard Hearts

Jesus' parable shows that three-quarters of hearers may not produce fruit. Hard, half, and double hearts reject God's word, leaving only the good ground.

Scripture Reading — Luke 8:12-15

"But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."

Scripture Reading — Luke 8:12-15

"Those by the wayside are they that hear."

So, we're talking about people.

Application to Modern America

Like Judah, America rejects sound doctrine for entertainment and fables. We must seek the Lord, righteousness, and meekness to be hid in the day of anger.

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 4:3-4

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine."

Conclusion: The Need for Broken Hearts

Jeremiah's brokenness came from proclaiming truth to a resistant people. We need broken hearts for our families and nation, for God uses broken vessels.

And everything you plan fails. Nobody gets insulted. Nobody gets hurt. No one's upset.

The Cry of a Broken Heart - Part 1

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	414261942301144
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Lamentations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2026-04-12
Dictation Name
Book	Book 127: The Cry of a Broken Heart — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	77

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction to the Series and Text: Weaver introduces the series 'The Cry of a Broken Heart' and reads Lamentations 3:1-7, noting this message is preparatory for two more to follow.
Defining a Broken Heart: A true broken heart is grief over sin against a holy God, not romantic loss or bereavement. Jeremiah was broken over personal sin, national sin, and false prophets.
God's Nearness to the Broken: Scripture teaches that God dwells with the contrite and humble, heals the brokenhearted, and looks to those who tremble at His word.
Jeremiah: The Weeping Prophet: Jeremiah wept over his people's sin and coming judgment. His book of Lamentations is five poems viewing Jerusalem's fall from different perspectives.
Reasons for Jeremiah's Brokenness: Rejection of His Ministry: Jeremiah's ministry was marked by total rejection, no success, and personal suffering. He describes himself as afflicted, in darkness, and broken.
Jeremiah's Unique Calling and Ministry of Condemnation: Called before birth, Jeremiah was given a ministry primarily of destruction, not reconciliation. God's word can be sent for condemnation or reconciliation.
The Cost of Faithfulness: Rejection and Persecution: Jeremiah faced plots to kill him, slander, and imprisonment. Despite this, he wept for his people and eventually prayed for God's judgment.
The Parable of the Sower and Hard Hearts: Jesus' parable shows that three-quarters of hearers may not produce fruit. Hard, half, and double hearts reject God's word, leaving only the good ground.
Application to Modern America: Like Judah, America rejects sound doctrine for entertainment and fables. We must seek the Lord, righteousness, and meekness to be hid in the day of anger.
Conclusion: The Need for Broken Hearts: Jeremiah's brokenness came from proclaiming truth to a resistant people. We need broken hearts for our families and nation, for God uses broken vessels.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Brokenness is essential for closeness to God

Scripture repeatedly promises God's nearness to the brokenhearted, so desiring closeness to God requires a broken heart.

Weaver quotes Psalm 34:18, Psalm 51:17, Isaiah 57:15, and Isaiah 66:2, then states, 'So the way to get close to God is to have a broken heart.'

Jeremiah's brokenness stemmed from his rejected ministry

Jeremiah's weeping was not over personal offense but over the truth being rejected and judgment coming.

Weaver says, 'When you're telling the truth and you know it's the truth and no one will listen, that's when you get broken.'

God's word can be sent for condemnation, not just reconciliation

Isaiah 55:11 and 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 show that God's word prospers in its intended purpose, which may be condemnation.

Weaver explains, 'God may send his word either in reconciliation or in condemnation... If God sends His word as a ministry of condemnation, it cannot be made a ministry of reconciliation.'

Rejecting God's messenger is rejecting God

Jesus taught that receiving or rejecting His sent ones is equivalent to receiving or rejecting Him and the Father.

Weaver references Jesus' words: 'He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.'

Most hearers of God's word do not produce fruit

The parable of the sower implies that three-quarters of seed falls on unproductive soil, representing hard, half, or double hearts.

Weaver says, 'It means that three quarters of the seed that was planted never produced anything.'

America is in a similar state to Judah before judgment

Like Judah, America has turned from sound doctrine to fables and entertainment, refusing to repent.

Weaver states, 'We have turned from the Scripture to entertainment, to fellowship, to social club... America does not desire, neither does she want biblical truth.'

The only escape from judgment is seeking the Lord

Zephaniah 2:1-3 offers counsel to seek the Lord, righteousness, and meekness to possibly be hidden in the day of anger.

Weaver reads Zephaniah 2:1-3 and emphasizes, 'It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.'

Modern Christians lack the brokenness of Jeremiah

Weaver doubts any preacher or Christian today could endure a ministry like Jeremiah's, highlighting our need for broken hearts.

Weaver says, 'I don't believe there's a preacher alive today, including myself, that could go through with a ministry like Jeremiah had.'

Scripture References

Lamentations 3:1-7: The primary text of the sermon, describing Jeremiah's affliction and brokenness.
Jeremiah 23:9: Jeremiah's heart is broken because of the false prophets.
Psalm 34:18: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the contrite.
Psalm 51:17: A broken and contrite heart is the sacrifice God will not despise.
Isaiah 57:15: God dwells with the contrite and humble to revive them.
Isaiah 66:2: God looks to the one who is poor, contrite, and trembles at His word.
Psalm 147:3: God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Jeremiah 14:17: Jeremiah weeps night and day for the destruction of his people.
Jeremiah 16:2-4: God forbids Jeremiah to marry because of the coming judgment.
Jeremiah 1:4-10: Jeremiah's call before birth and his commission to root out and destroy.
Isaiah 55:11: God's word will not return void but will accomplish His purpose.
2 Corinthians 2:14-16: Believers are a sweet savor of Christ, either life unto life or death unto death.
Jeremiah 1:10, 14-17: God tells Jeremiah his ministry is primarily destruction, and judgment will come from the north.
Jeremiah 11:19: Jeremiah's enemies plot to kill him.
Jeremiah 18:18: The people plan to slander Jeremiah and ignore his words.
Lamentations 3:48: Jeremiah's eyes run with rivers of water for the destruction of his people.
Jeremiah 17:13-18: Jeremiah prays for healing and asks God to bring destruction on his persecutors.
Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8: The parable of the sower, illustrating different heart responses to God's word.
Luke 8:12-15: Explanation of the sower parable, identifying the soils as types of hearers.
2 Timothy 4:3-4: A time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine but turn to fables.

Historical References

Jeremiah's ministry (627-586 BC): Weaver notes Jeremiah preached about 40 years, from 627 BC to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
Fall of Jerusalem (586-587 BC): The destruction of Jerusalem is the backdrop of Lamentations and Jeremiah's weeping.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon: Mentioned as an example of a unique preacher with a ministry of reconciliation.
George Whitefield: Mentioned alongside Spurgeon as a unique preacher.
Jonathan Edwards: Mentioned alongside Spurgeon as a unique preacher.
John Knox: Mentioned alongside Spurgeon as a unique preacher.
John the Baptist: Compared to Jeremiah as both were called by God before birth.
Nebuchadnezzar: Jeremiah advised submission to Nebuchadnezzar to spare lives and the city.
Jehoiakim, king of Judah: King Jehoiakim sought to put Jeremiah to death.
Urijah the prophet: Urijah preached like Jeremiah but fled to Egypt in fear.

Important Quotes

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Weaver uses this Psalm to establish that closeness to God comes through brokenness.

I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

Jeremiah's self-description introduces the theme of personal suffering under God's hand.

My heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake.

Shows Jeremiah's brokenness extended to grief over false prophets.

He hath led me and brought me into darkness, and not into light.

Illustrates Jeremiah's sense of hopelessness in his ministry.

Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

Highlights Jeremiah's deep compassion despite persecution.

God uses broken vessels.

Summarizes the sermon's call to embrace brokenness for God's use.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does it mean to have a broken heart over sin, and how does that differ from other kinds of grief?

[Context]

Weaver distinguishes a broken heart over sin from romantic or bereavement grief.

[Question]

How do the promises of God's nearness to the brokenhearted in Psalms and Isaiah encourage you in times of spiritual dryness?

[Context]

Weaver cites multiple verses showing God dwells with the contrite.

[Question]

Why do you think God gave Jeremiah a ministry primarily of condemnation rather than reconciliation?

[Context]

Weaver explains that God's word can be sent for different purposes.

[Question]

In what ways do we see the rejection of sound doctrine in today's churches, and how should we respond?

[Context]

Weaver applies 2 Timothy 4:3-4 to modern America's love of entertainment over truth.

[Question]

How can we cultivate a heart that weeps for the lost and for our nation like Jeremiah did?

[Context]

Weaver calls for tears over lost family, friends, and nation.

[Question]

What does the parable of the sower teach us about the different responses to God's word, and which soil do you most identify with?

[Context]

Weaver explains the wayside, stony, thorny, and good ground hearers.

[Question]

How does Jeremiah's endurance challenge our expectations of ministry success and personal comfort?

[Context]

Weaver doubts any modern preacher could endure Jeremiah's ministry.

[Question]

What practical steps can we take to 'seek the Lord, righteousness, and meekness' as Zephaniah 2:3 commands?

[Context]

Weaver presents this as counsel for avoiding judgment.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T10:12:03Z