Worship

4th Sunday after Pentecost                                  June 21, 2026
Jeremiah 20:7-13                                                  Pastor Wolfe

Let the fire burn!
1) The Word scorches our sin with its threats
2) The Word warms our soul with its promises

There is a moment in the book of Jeremiah that almost feels cinematic. The King of Israel, Jehoiakim, sits in his winter apartment, a fire pot crackling beside him. A scroll is brought to him—it’s the prophet Jeremiah’s Spirit-inspired warnings, the same writing we simply call Jeremiah. As the king listens, he grows irritated, then angry, then defiant. And so, every time the reader finishes three or four columns, Jehoiakim slices off that portion of the scroll and tosses it into the flames. The Word of the Lord—burning. But not in the way God intended. While Jehoiakim wanted to silence the Word in fire, God wanted the Word to burn in the hearts of believers.

Jeremiah wrote from what he knew ,and he knew the fire of God’s Word well. In today’s text, he confesses that proclaiming the Word of God burned him. It wasn’t easy to say these things out loud. But holding it in was no better – burning him like a fire in his very bones. This is what God’s Word does. It burns and scorches us. But it also purifies, strengthens, and sustains. That’s the way real, physical fire works isn’t it? Fire burns one home down yet provides helpful heat for others. Today God’s Word reveals its power to hurt and heal. It burns away our sin and it warms our souls with its promises of grace.

Jeremiah’s words in this section are raw. He cries out, “You deceived me, LORD, and I was deceived.” He doesn’t mean God lied to him. He means that the ministry God called him into was far harder than he expected. Jeremiah lived and preached under the last six kings of Judah. His message was one of repentance and judgment fo the people’s idolatry and sin. That mean that the more faithfully and truthfully Jeremiah preached, the harder his message was for people to accept. The people mocked him, beat him, imprisoned him, and plotted to kill him. And here in these verses, we see that God’s prophet was tired of it.

So he suggests that perhaps he should just remain silent. To hold the Word in and say nothing. But as much as he was burned by persecution at sharing the Word of God, he was burned by his conscience by not sharing it. He says, “His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” At first this phrase made me wonder as I studied it, because frankly, it’s not that hard to say nothing about my faith in front of unbelievers. But then just this week I had a chance to encourage someone toward faith and I didn’t speak up. I let the moment pass. And as I walked away I felt it. “I should have said something. Why didn’t I say anything out loud. The words were right there!” God threw the door open and I slammed it shut again because it was just…easier.

If you know that feeling, then you know what Jeremiah means by the Word of God burning in our bones if we hold it in. And if you don’t know that feeling, that might even be worse. Consider God’s command to be in the Word for ourselves and speak the Word to others. To go against that is sin, and sin is nowhere we want to be.

The Word of God burns because it exposes sin we would rather hide. Jeremiah’s audience didn’t want to hear about their idolatry. They didn’t want to hear that their worship was empty, their hearts divided, their lives corrupt. They wanted prophets who would say, “Peace, peace,” even when there was no peace.

And we understand that temptation, don’t we? We don’t like being confronted either. We don’t like sermons that cut too close. We don’t like Bible passages that shine a spotlight on our pride, our selfishness, our lust, our greed, our apathy, our excuses, our lack of love. Our silence. We don’t like being told that our hearts are not naturally good, that our motives are not naturally pure, that our lives are not naturally pleasing to God.

But the Word of God refuses to flatter us. It refuses to let us hide behind excuses. It refuses to let us pretend that sin is harmless or that we can manage it on our own. The Word scorches our sin. It burns away our illusions of righteousness and self-confidence. It burns away the lie that we can stand before a holy God on our own merits.

What the word of God reveals for those who speak AND those who hear is that we are totally dependent on Christ. Jeremiah felt the weight of his calling because he knew the truth: sin is not a small matter. God’s threats are not empty. Judgment is real. Hell is real. The wrath of God is not symbolic or metaphorical. And that truth drives us to the only place where sinners can stand—the cross.

God scorches us with the fire of the Law us so that he can save us with the Gospel. The Word strips us bare so that Christ can clothe us. The Word condemns us so that Christ can absolve us. When the Law has done its work, when the fire has burned away every last shred of self-reliance. When we are left with nothing but Jesus—then and only then are we ready to hear the truth that saves. That Jesus is everything. He is our righteousness. Our substitute. Our payment. He is our peace and our hope and our life. Everything. The Word scorches our sin so that Christ may heal our souls.

Jeremiah’s lament in this chapter is intense, but it doesn’t end in despair. After pouring out his frustration, after confessing the pain of speaking out with the Word, Jeremiah suddenly erupts in confidence:

“But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior…My persecutors will stumble and not prevail…He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.” The same Word that burned Jeremiah also warmed him. The same Word that exposed sin also proclaimed salvation. The same Word that crushed him also comforted him.

Jeremiah was surrounded by enemies. He was mocked, beaten, and betrayed. But he clung to the promises of God. And as we think both our own need for God’s Word and others’ need for us to speak it to them, we cling to God’s promises too. When the world mocks our faith, the Word warms us with the promise: “I am with you always.” When guilt haunts us, the Word warms us with the promise: “The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.” When death frightens us, the Word warms us: “Because I live, you also will live.” When the future feels uncertain, the Word assures us: “I know the plans I have for you.” The Gospel is not a small, weak flame. It is a blazing fire of grace. The power of God for the salvation of all who believe.

It was those promises of God that led Jeremiah to call out, “Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD!” Those promises that give God’s people strength to endure and persevere. Jeremiah did not endure because he was tough. He endured because God was faithful. We endure not because our faith is strong, but because our Savior is strong. We endure not because we are courageous, but because Christ is victorious. We endure not because we are resilient, but because the Spirit sustains us.

The Word warms us with the truth that God is not distant. He is not indifferent. He is not passive. Our God is active, present, powerful, and compassionate. He fights for us. He forgives us. He strengthens us. He carries us. He blesses and keeps us. And the warmth of the fire of those truths can bring light to any darkness the world brings into our lives. It did for Jeremiah.

Jeremiah’s ministry was filled with suffering, but he knew suffering was not the end of his story. God had promised restoration and deliverance. God had promised a future. And so he sang.

We, too, have a future worth singing about. A future where sin is gone forever. A future where tears are wiped away. A future where death is destroyed. A future where we see Christ face to face. Where the fire of God’s love warms us eternally. This is not wishful thinking. This is not religious optimism. This is the sure and certain promise of God. A promise we carry as a great treasure in jars of clay as we spread the comforting warmth of God’s promises wherever we go. No matter what we face for doing it.

Jeremiah’s first scroll burned in Jehoiakim’s fire, but the Word of God was not destroyed. It never is. It never will be. Let the fire burn. Let the Word scorch your sin. Let it expose your pride. Let it strip away your excuses. Let it drive you to Christ.

And there let the Word warm your soul. Let it comfort your heart and drive out doubt. Let it remove your guilt and fill you with hope. Let it move you as you speak God’s truth to others and as you refocus your own life to his will. The fire of God’s Word is not meant to destroy us. It is meant to purify us. To renew us. To save us. So sit by the warmth of the fire of the Word. Invite others to join you and see its light. The promises of God are certain and his love is sure. So let the fire burn. Amen.