Text: Jeremiah 1:1-10 Title: Take Your Life Seriously Let s open our Bibles today to the book of Jeremiah. Go to the middle of your Bible, take a right and go about four books and you ll be there. I m starting a new series of messages through the summer. The title of this series is Backs Turned to God, and I ll explain in just a moment where the title comes from because it s at the heart of the message of this part of God s Word. ILLUSTRATION It s important for us to read and study the Old Testament. Someone told me that out on our church lawn there is buried a time capsule. It was placed there on a church anniversary many years ago and it contains items that members in our past wanted the members in the future to see so we would know what was important to them. Well, we re opening a scriptural time capsule from 2600 years ago. Now bear with me for a few minutes because if we re going to get the most out of our study of Jeremiah we need to know a little historical background. Jeremiah 1:1 - The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. So v.1 signals to us that this book is a collection of the words (the messages and sermons) of a guy named Jeremiah. He comes from a family of priests from a town just a few miles outside of Jerusalem. So Jeremiah grew up at the very center of Jewish worship at Temple in Jerusalem. Jeremiah 1:2 - The word of the LORD came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah king of Judah, This all starts with God. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. God is doing something in the nation of Judah and He will use Jeremiah. So the will of God collided with Jeremiah s life and he would never be the same. Has that ever happened to you, where the will of God collided with your life and you haven t been the same since? This all happens in the nation of Judah. Remember there had been a kind of civil war in Israel and the Northern Kingdom (Israel) split from the Southern Kingdom (Judah) where Jerusalem and the Temple were located. The king when God called Jeremiah was a man named Josiah. EVERYONE SAY JOSIAH. Josiah was a
godly king who called the people of God to repent and return to the Lord, but the people were stubborn and Josiah couldn t pull the nation back from the brink of destruction. And this is all going on when Jeremiah starts his ministry; and in v.3 we learn that his ministry spanned several kings. Jeremiah 1:3 - and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile. King Josiah was killed in a battle and, while our text doesn t mention it, a man named Jehoahaz became king for about three months. EVERYONE SAY JEHOAHAZ. And then a man named Jehoiakim became king. EVERYONE SAY JEHOIAKIM. He was a godless king who hated Jeremiah. He even burned one of Jeremiah s sermons. Meanwhile over in Babylon Nebuchadnezzar becomes the king. EVERYONE SAY NEBUCHADNEZZAR. Over several years he will slowly dominate Judah and Jerusalem. Jehoiakim is set aside and a guy named Jehoiachin becomes king. EVERYONE SAY JEHOIACHIN. He is deported to Babylon. Then a man named Zedekiah is set up as the king. EVERYONE SAY ZEDEKIAH. Meanwhile the Babylonians have had enough of the rebellioius Jews and they destroy Jerusalem and most of the people are taken into exile to Babylon. Now the question is: Why has God dealt so severely with His people? This exile mentioned at the end of v.3 is actually God s discipline of His people because they rebelled against the Lord. They had turned away from Him and turned to other false gods. Jeremiah 2:27 - They say to wood, You are my father, and to stone, You gave me birth. They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, Come and save us! Jeremiah 32:33 - They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. But God never gives up on His people and He raises up Jeremiah as His spokesman to speak to Judah during these rebellious days. And beginning in v.4 we have a conversation between God and Jeremiah where God does most of the talking. Read Jeremiah 1:4-10. ILLUSTRATION As a college student I remember feeling envious of people who seemed to be so gifted and whom God was using in such an evident way. One
particular night I went out to a church where some of my friends were ministering, speaking and singing. That night as I was driving home in my Volkswagen Beetle (yes, I could squeeze all six feet and four inches in that little car) I just ached for God to use me like He was using my friends. And as I drove down the highway the Spirit of God just flooded my car with God s presence and He assured me that He would use me just like He was using my friends. That was a real turning point in my life. This is what happened to Jeremiah. God had an assignment for him. And when God revealed that assignment to Jeremiah, his immediate thought was, I can t do this. I m not up to this. Jeremiah 1:6 - Ah, Sovereign LORD, I said, I do not know how to speak; I am only a child. Now it wasn t that Jeremiah physically couldn t talk. He was claiming that at such a young age he couldn t speak like a prophet before others. How old was Jeremiah? The word child could refer to anything from an infant to a young man. So he s probably an older teenager or a young adult. So he felt terribly inferior and inadequate and inexperienced for what God was calling him to do. In Jeremiah s culture, young people were to be seen and not heard. Jeremiah thinks, I m so young; they won t listen to me. Maybe you feel this way about volunteering in VBS this week, or going on a mission trip this summer, or something you ve not yet said yes to God about. But God doesn t let Jeremiah off the hook. He won t listen to Jeremiah s excuses. Instead God issues Jeremiah his marching orders. In v.7 the Lord said, Don t say you re too young and inexperienced. You must go to everyone I send you to. And you must say what I tell you to say to them. And then in v.8 God said, As you do this, Jeremiah, don t be afraid. I m with you. It s a call to Jeremiah to take his life seriously. ILLUSTRATION The TV series Thirteen Reasons Why tells the story of a teenager named Hannah who made the tragic decision to end her own life. But before she did she left recordings for thirteen different people with the reasons why she took her life. The show is outrageously popular among teenagers and young adults, because many young people don t feel they have a purpose for living. Well Jeremiah didn t have thirteen reasons why he couldn t live the life God called him to. He had just one reason; he felt he was too young. But that was enough to
sideline him. And in our text today I see seven biblical reasons God gives for Jeremiah to take his life seriously. And for the same reasons you and I should take our lives, and the calling of God upon our lives, seriously. I want the Word of God and the calling of God to so overwhelm you today that you will never be able to legitimately say, God can t use me because (fill in the blank). Reason #1 to take your life seriously 1. GOD FORMED YOU (v.5) Jeremiah 1:5 - I formed you in the womb Now this is amazing. The Hebrew word for formed was a word that was used for the designing of a house or the sculpting of a statue. God designed and put Jeremiah together in his mother s womb. And God did the same for you. Take your life seriously because God gave it to you. And we must take other lives seriously. How can anyone read a verse like this and not be absolutely convinced of the horrific evil that abortion is. It is perhaps the greatest moral issue of our day, and as believers we have to stand on the truth of God s word that life begins at conception and pre-born children should be protected. Psalm 139:14,16 - I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Take your life seriously because God knit your mind, soul and body together in such a way to fit His unique purpose for you. Let me give you another reason to take your life seriously. 2. GOD KNOWS YOU (v.5). Jeremiah 1:5 - Before I formed you in the womb I knew you Before little fingers began to form on your hands and before little toes began to form on your feet and before your little heart started pumping blood, God knew you. The word knew means far more than just knowing about someone. It means to single someone out based on intimate knowledge. Before Jeremiah ever had a chance to perform or to prove himself, God knew him, loved him and chose him. That s a big reason to take your life seriously. Here s another reason to take your life seriously:
3. GOD SET YOU APART (v.5). Jeremiah 1:5 - Before you were born I set you apart You see, in the OT everything and everyone that was to be used by God or for the worship of God had to be set apart as holy, consecrated and sanctified. So God formed and chose Jeremiah, and then He set him apart for a special task. It s like a composer constructing the instrument on which he will play the music he has composed. And the Gospel tells us that the way God brings this about is through the death of Jesus on the Cross where our sins are covered and we are redeemed. The Bible says that when we put our trust in Christ He sets us apart for Himself. That s a huge reason to take your life seriously. And here s another reason: 4. GOD APPOINTED YOU (v.5). Jeremiah 1:5 - I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. God repeated this down in Jeremiah 1:10 - See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant. God is Lord over all the nations. Some will be destroyed and some will be raised up. God is doing this work among the nations and Jeremiah is appointed as one who will announce what God is doing. So Jeremiah had a destiny, and you have one too. No Christian exists merely to make a living, or raise a family, or enjoy retirement and then die. We all have a part to play in God s great purposes. ILLUSTRATION This week we learned that Sam and Julie, a young couple in our church, have been approved for appointment as missionaries to South Asia. That means the International Mission Board has recognized God s calling and their giftedness and assigned them to that work. God does the same thing for each of us. He s working everywhere and He s got a place for you. Have you discovered that place? Maybe on the mission field, or as an educator or doctor or nurse or homemaker.
Every one of us is appointed for something in God s grand purposes so take your life seriously. Here s another reason: 5. GOD IS WITH YOU (v.8). Now God saw deep into Jeremiah s heart and knew that there was fear in his heart. That s why in v.8 God said to Jeremiah, Don t be afraid. And we know from reading elsewhere that Jeremiah tended to be depressed at times. In fact, at a particularly low point in his life Jeremiah complains to the Lord: Jeremiah 20:18 - Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame? And, yes, the calling of God upon his life would be dangerous. God told Jeremiah to tell the people of Judah to not resist the Babylonians. They must surrender and accept the discipline of the Lord. But many of his people felt that Jeremiah was a traitor that he was being unpatriotic. He was imprisoned, repeatedly threatened and constantly rejected. Jeremiah confronted their idolatry. People don t like it when you mess with their idols. That s why it is important for Jeremiah to hear this from the Lord: Don t be afraid; I am with you That promise will keep Jeremiah going through the difficult days of his life. This is the encouragement that God has given to so many of the men and women whom He used. What is it that allowed them to overcome their fears? The simple assurance from God: I am with you. So take your life seriously and don t be afraid because God is with you. But also, take your life seriously because 6. GOD WILL RESCUE YOU (v.8). Jeremiah 1:8 - I am with you and will rescue you. Now this doesn t mean that Jeremiah won t suffer; he would experience plenty of it. For God to say, I will rescue you, is for God to say, Jeremiah, nothing will come to you that isn t part of my loving purposes for your life. Nothing will happen to you that will be eternally damaging to you. Will you suffer? Yes, but you ll only suffer what I intend to use for your good and for My glory. It s the same thing God said through the prophet Isaiah:
Isaiah 43:2 - When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. So take your life seriously because God will be with you to rescue you. Don t quit. But also take your life seriously because: 7. GOD HAS PUT HIS WORDS IN YOU (v.9). Jeremiah 1:9 - Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, Now, I have put my words in your mouth. It s this anointing that will enable Jeremiah to actually do what God was calling him to do. I believe that what we re seeing here is Jeremiah being filled with the Spirit and the power of God. And this is what happens when the Spirit of God comes to live within us when we are saved. Jesus said, You ll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be My witnesses to the nations. Christ-follower, take your life seriously. The Spirit of God is living in you to give you the power to be a witness for Christ. God s great plan is the Gospel, and the Gospel must be spoken everywhere. And just like God put His Word in Jeremiah He has put His Word in you. Jeremiah was not one to turn his back to God. He said the big YES to God and over the next forty years he will say yes to God over and over again when God told him to go somewhere or say something. Have you said the big YES to God? When you re first saved you turn your life over to God and you give him the big YES. Then throughout your life you will say yes countless more times as God directs your life. Take your life seriously.