Good Afternoon!
Have you had the experience of God calling you to do something? My father told me how he knew God was calling him into the work of ministry for eight years before he said "Yes." When I was a kid through my early teen years I told everyone that I was not going to be a minister. I had seen my father and mother hurt too many times to have the desire to follow in their footsteps. I told people that my great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were all ministers, and the buck stops here! But...then God began calling. His calling was much stronger than my resistance. At the age of fifteen during a Youth Rally in Cleveland, Ohio the scales of rebellion fell off of my life. I knew that I had just encountered a personal visit from God. I walked to the front of the building to the Youth Leader from my church and told him that God was calling me into ministry. He knew I did not have the desire for ministry and his first words to me were..."Are you sure?" He wasn't much of an encouragement at that moment, but, it was evident that my message had been taken seriously. God's call on my life was loud and clear. It seemed that in an instant God had put His call on my life. Everything changed and the direction for my life began coming into focus.
When I read the story of the call of God in Jeremiah's life I am familiar with his experience. He was from a priestly family...his father and grandfathers were already in the ministry. He was living on a mission field outside of Jerusalem. I was living in Cleveland, Ohio which was called a Pioneer Mission Field for the Gospel in America. God came to Jeremiah directly and told him this:
"The word of the Lord came to me:
'I chose you before I formed you in the womb;
I set you apart before you were born.
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.'" 1:4-5
"I formed you...I set you apart...I appointed you..." Jeremiah did not know what God had planned for his life. But, God was attempting to convince him that he was born for this work. I'm not certain why Jeremiah protested as he did, but, I understand the desire to protest. Maybe he had seen the work of his father and grandfathers. Maybe he was totally conscious of the wickedness of the people that God was getting him ready to take God's message to. Look at Jeremiah's response:
"But I protested, 'Oh no, Lord God! Look, I don't know how to speak since I am only a youth.'" v. 6
Several months after my call experience I stopped at my father's office just to chat. Little did I know, he was waiting on me. He told me a date that he wanted me to deliver my first sermon. I told him, "Dad, I'm just a kid. I don't know how to prepare a sermon or deliver a sermon." He wasn't willing to listen to my reasoning. He had a stack of sermon books on the corner of his desk and gave them to me and said "Read these. You'll find something in these that you can preach!" Sometimes God's call involves a person that God has prepared to answer all your excuses. My father was that person for me.
Look at the answer God gave to Jeremiah.
"Then the Lord said to me:
'Do not say: I am only a youth, for you will go to everyone I send you to
and speak whatever I tell you.
Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to deliver you.'
This is the Lord's declaration." vv. 7-8
Jeremiah had everything he needed to do God's work...He had GOD!
The fact is that everything we read in the letters that Jeremiah wrote is from God...not Jeremiah. Look at what God does to him:
"Then the Lord reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and told me:
'Look, I have filled your mouth with My words.
See, today I have set you over nations and kingdoms
to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and demolish,
to build and plant.'" vv. 9-10
The book of Jeremiah is my favorite Old Testament book. In many ways, I see my life through the life of Jeremiah. We are going to reflect on the journey of Jeremiah during the next few days. We will take the highlights of this great book and study its significance for us. My wife and I are reading through this book together each morning. We are amazed at how contemporary this book is for America. Really! Jeremiah goes through the plight of Judah...at that time the southern kingdom of Israel...and how their decision-making and wrong choices and bad political choices led to their destruction. It is a road to destruction that is being traveled by America...today.
This is the story of one man whom God called while He was forming him in his mother's womb (A good reason to be Pro-Life). At his calling, he had no idea what God had planned for him. The one fact that Jeremiah could rely on was that God was with him every day of his life. God directed his steps. God gave to him the message to speak. Anytime he got into trouble with the people who were rebelling against him...God delivered him. Every time!
One thing I know about the call of God. When you agree with God to be His servant...to be His minister...He will direct you. I gave to Linda a bracelet for Christmas that has engraved the phrase my father repeated several times in my life. "Where God Guides...He Provides!"
Jeremiah lived that experience. Jeremiah went to places he had never been. God provided for him. Jeremiah was so hated by his fellow citizens that they threw him into a well to die. God provided for him. Jeremiah was driven from his home and the city that he had known all of his life. God provided for him.
One thing I know about God. He loves His children and when He calls you to His service...He will provide for you.
Let's have some fun with the book of Jeremiah. It'll be a great journey and a time to grow!
May God Bless You!
Don Betts
DBEA/campus320
DBEAWINNING.COM
TO GOD BE ALL GLORY!