Are You Usable?
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Are You Usable?
Are You Usable?
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.”
Jeremiah was known as the “weeping prophet”. He was the last prophet for Judah, before the Lord would hand the nation over to a ruthless people (The Babylonians.)
Jeremiah had a heart for the people. He knew that if the people did not turn from their evil ways and turn back to the Lord, then there would be no hope for them.
Jeremiah done everything he could to proclaim the hard truth; even when it would fall on deaf ears, when he suffered abuse, or threats of death.
But he was not always this confident. Matter of fact, he was the opposite, which we will see in scripture this morning.
God would reveal to Jeremiah and us who we are.
Who we belong to
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.”
Jeremiah 1:4-
Think back to before your child(ren) were born.
How did you picture who they would look like?
What plans did you have for them?
What did their marriage look like and what did their possible spouse look like?
How did you feel that you were going to protect them from the dangers of life?
The Lord told Jeremiah, just as He tells us that He had a plan in place on how we were going to look; what we would be like; and the role that we would play in the kingdom.
The Lord chose you, had a plan that was great for your life, and gave you a job to reveal Him.
Have you chose to walk in that direction?
I’m going out on a limb to say that each of us has drifted away from that plan.
Some of us may still be drifting in doing things our way.
When He created each of us, He gave us “free will”.
Though He has a plan, it is still up to us to chose that plan.
Many of us do exactly what Jeremiah does
2. Be Obedient, not excuse makers
6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”
Jeremiah 1:
Jeremiah is not the first to do so.
Moses did
10 But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
Gideon did
15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
Judges 6:15-
We could spend all day in scripture and pull many other people that made excuses, but what we would see is that they chose to say “Lord, what ever you desire and how ever you desire to use me, I’m willing.
Have you responded to the Lord with excuses? Are you still?
3. He has equipped you.
3. He has equipped you.
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.”
Jeremiah 1:
Though we may fill inadequate or the wrong person for the task. He has called you and equipped you.
The Lord told Paul in
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.”
Moses spoke to the people of Israel before they crossed the Jordan
5 And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:
The Lord tells Isaiah in
10 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
The One that made you, has given you everything that you will need to accomplish the task given to you.
He has given you the Holy Spirit to guide you and the words to speak when needed.
17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Church the Lord has given us a calling, (as a whole and individually). He wants to reveal His glory and salvation in and through each of you.
There is a world that is in need of salvation. Jesus is the only one that can give that. But the Lord has created you to reveal this “Good News” to them.
Will you tell it? Will you share it?
Will you be as Isaiah
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”