You've Been Summoned
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
If you have a driver’s license, have registered to vote, and are an adult, you meet all the qualifications for getting a nice letter in the mail to appear before the local magistrate for the wonderful privilege of jury duty.
It’s interesting that so many people try to get out of jury duty, but have no problem showing up to the court of social media land and serving there to give their opinions.
However, jury duty is not an option for us. We must show up or we risk being held in contempt of court.
This is a duty that comes with being a responsible citizen.
Well, as Christians, we are not just citizens of this country, or some other country on earth. We are citizens of a heavenly country and when God summons us, we are expected to show up and obey the summons.
Tonight, consider this your summons as we look at the call of Jeremiah the prophet in the old testament.
1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,
2 to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.”
9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.”
12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
13 The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land.
15 For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah.
16 And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.
17 But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them.
18 And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.
19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”
Pray
1. The Call (vv.4-5)
1. The Call (vv.4-5)
God’s call is not conditional on circumstances
We can shipwreck ourselves and disqualify ourselves, but even this is not without God’s sovereign will being accomplished
God isn’t the author of sin, but He does use sinful people and even the actions that they willfully commit to accomplish His purposes
God formed Jeremiah to the call, not the other way around
First there is the call to know God in salvation
Second there is the call to serve God in ministry
Ministry is not just a professional calling, but is the work of the body as a whole
Application
Ephesians 1:3–6 tells us that God has called us to salvation before the foundation of the world.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
God hasn’t just invited us, but He has ordained it and yet we are also responsible. However we will respond since He has called us.
Illustration:
Think of it like this: God has determined the number of your days and knows when you will die. That doesn’t mean that you do not seek to live as long as you can by eating and drinking and taking care of your body. You don’t go dance in the street and play Frogger with the cars since God has determined your destiny. You work along with the destiny trusting in His plan for your life, even while you seek to live and make decisions to prolong it.
2. Ability vs. Availability (v.7)
2. Ability vs. Availability (v.7)
7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
3. God’s Promise to Be With Us (vv. 8-19)
3. God’s Promise to Be With Us (vv. 8-19)
No need to fear
God’s promise to be near
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Tests to demonstrate God’s promise
Vision of the Almond Branch - God is watching over His Word
Almond sounds like Watching in Hebrew
Vision of Boiling Pot
God is bringing judgment from the North
God’s command to Jeremiah
Dress for Work (v.17) - gird your loins
17 But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them.
Speak the Whole Truth
27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
Don’t Be Afraid - (Hebrew - filled with terror)
Do you ever not share the gospel because you are afraid or filled with terror?
God said He is the one to be dismayed before, not the other way around
God promises to make Jeremiah like a walled city (v.18), not with stone walls that crumble and fall apart, but with bronze walls that are impenetrable
Paul in Corinth
9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent,
10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”
No one can touch us
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God’s promise to Jeremiah did not mean that he would not have opposition. It simply meant that God would defend Jeremiah and that no one would prevail against him.
God’s promise to us is the same. We will have adversaries.
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Conclusion
For us as believers, we must first make sure we know that God is our God.
God has chosen us and called us to salvation.
Second, we must make sure we are available to God to use. God has a way of getting our attention like He did with Paul on the Road to Damascus.
Third, we must trust in the Lord to be with us and protect us. If we lose our lives for the gospel, remember that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.
