The Call: Created for Good Works--Jeremiah 1
The Call: Created for Good Works—Jeremiah 1
Don Carson, in Preaching Today, states:
Some years ago we had a lot of denominational leaders visiting the campus where I teach. In one meeting with the faculty, we went around the room and asked this diverse group about their call to the ministry. Some of them had some extraordinary experiences. For others, it had been a fairly cerebral thing. But as I listened to the denominational leaders and then faculty, do you know what I found in common without a single exception? Each one of them would speak of a text that had just leaped off the page and grabbed them by the throat and wouldn't let go.
What was common in all of them was a profound, unswerving, immutable passion that believed the gospel is so central in all of human life that nothing in comparison with its proclamation is worth doing.
Not for a moment am I saying God doesn't call some Christians to be chemists or others to be garbage collectors. But you will find in the proclaimers of God's message those who sense a call upon their lives. You will find without exception they have this sense of the sheer non-negotiable value of the gospel. (Found on PreachingToday.com.)
The key phrase is “the sheer nonnegotiable value of the gospel.” As we study Jeremiah, we will see a man who understood “the sheer nonnegotiable value” of the word of God.
Last night, I watched a program on C-Span of a panel discussion in which one of the panelists was Jimmy Carter. During this discussion, Carter revealed that America spends less than one percent of its total GNP in helping African nations. This figure has declined over the years as we have become wealthier. He also stated how carelessly we pass bills, such as the recent farm subsidy bill in which he admitted that his own farming operations benefit, although it was a benefit he said he did not need. This farm subsidy bill has the world wide impact of shutting down the ability of smaller agricultural countries to compete with us in world markets, thus as our large agribusinesses become wealthier through tax subsidies, smaller African nations become poorer.
A political cartoon I saw last week by The Cincinnati Post’s Stahler had three sincere Americans saying the pledge. In it, they had their hands on their hearts saying soberly, “…one nation under greed…”
I am convinced, from Scripture, that our greatest problem as a nation is that the Christian church is now under greed, not under God. Most of America’s Christians are dedicated to comfort, self-centeredness, and pleasure. As our wealth increases, we spend more and more on our houses and SUVs while our proportionate giving decreases. Less and less Christians tithe, must less give proportionately.
Most Christians live as if the gospel is a mere option in their lives, not the “sheer nonnegotiable” sine qua non of everything we say and do. We’ve sought peas rather than pearls, or rather the single that Jesus proclaimed, the pearl of great price.
What we have forgotten is that each of us has been called by God for a specific ministry.
That is the theme of this chapter in Jeremiah—called to a specific ministry.
Our specific ministry is one of God’s word being expressed through our words—ours is a revealed ministry
Jeremiah 1:1-2 (NIV): “The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah…”
Note “the words of Jeremiah,” but “the word of Yahweh came to him…” The Holy Spirit superintended the words of Jeremiah so that what Jeremiah said, his words, were the word of Yahweh. God spoke as Jeremiah spoke using Jeremiah’s vocabulary, experiences, background, education, grammar, metaphors, figures of speech, and psychology as the vehicle through which God revealed himself.
In revelation, God unveils something that until now was hidden, so that we might know and
…that it may be seen and known for what it is. Accordingly, when the Bible speaks of revelation, the thought intended is of God the Creator actively disclosing to men his power and glory, his nature and character, his will, ways and plans—in short, himself—in order that men may know him.[1]
General revelation—nature--Romans 1:20 (NIV):
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Special Revelation—Hebrews 1:1-2 (NIV):
1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
2 Peter 1:19-21 (NIV):
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
God does not speak to us in the same manner he spoke to Jeremiah. God has spoken to us fully in Scripture. In one sense, God has revealed all he intends to reveal.
Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV), “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”
God can and does sometimes speak to some of us directly, but to others of us he speaks in other ways. But when he does address us specifically, it is never in the sense of new revelation, and it never contradicts Scripture.
Caution—“direct words of God,” dreams, and visions might be counterfeit—either from God, the flesh or Satan—sometimes from overactive imaginations…If you have sensitivities that separate you from other questions, be very cautious…Understand that how God talks to you will be different that how he talks to me…Be sensitive, be discreet
Our specific ministry is one for these specific times, in a specific place, for specific people—
“Jeremiah” either means “Yahweh reveals” or “Yahweh hurls”
Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah, “my portion is Yahweh”—Hilkiah was a priest
He ministered through the following kings:
· Josiah—“May Yahweh give”
· Johoahaz—not mentioned in this list—“Yahweh has grasped”
· Jehoiakim—“Yahweh has established”
· Jehoiakin—not mentioned—“May Yahweh establish”
· Zedekiah—“Yahweh is my righteousness”
Our specific ministry was determined in eternity past
Jeremiah’s call-- Jeremiah 1:4-8 (NIV):
4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 “Ah, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.”
7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
Before he formed us in the womb, he knew us
He set us apart
He appointed us to specific tasks
Psalm 22:9-10 (NIV),
Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Ephesians 1:3-6 (NIV),
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
When God calls, we feel our inadequacy—Moses, “I cannot speak”…Jeremiah, “I am only a child”…Isaiah, “I am a man of unclean lips”
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV), “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Jeremiah’s appointment— Jeremiah 1:9-10 (NIV),
Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Our specific ministry has its unique purpose
Jeremiah was called to be a prophet.
Abraham was the first prophet (Gn. 20:7). Moses is the OT epitome of a prophet (Dt. 18:15-19, 34:10).
The prophet was a servant of God
Foretelling and forthtelling
Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (NIV),
20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.” 21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
Our specific ministry has its Divine assurance
Jeremiah 1:11-12 Jeremiah 1:11-12 (NIV):
11 The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied. 12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”
The almond branch is called “wakeful” in Hebrew. It buds long before spring comes. It is the first sign of spring. In periods in which it appears God is not active, he is wakeful. He neither slumbers nor sleeps.
Jeremiah 1:13-16 Jeremiah 1:13-16 (NIV),
13 The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?” “I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the north,” I answered.
14 The Lord said to me, “From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land.
15 I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem; they will come against all her surrounding walls and against all the towns of Judah. 16 I will pronounce my judgments on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made.
The boiling pot--
Judgment always begins with the household of God.
Amos 3:2 (NIV), “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”
1 Peter 4:17 (NASB95), “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
1 Peter 4:17 (NIV), “17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
The divine command and assurance
Jeremiah 1:17-19 (NIV)
17 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand 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 will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
I love the way the NASB puts it:
Jeremiah 1:17 (NASB95), “Now, gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them.
This needs to be our divine call.
Ephesians 5:14 (NASB95), “For this reason it says, ‘Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.’”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “The snail, by perseverance, reached the ark.” But only two snails made the effort. The rest were too comfortable in their own habitats, therefore they perished. They left no legacy.
----
[1]Wood, D. R. W. 1996. New Bible dictionary (3rd ed. /) (Page 1014). InterVarsity Press: Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.