1 PP Teen Titans Series: Jeremiah Jeremiah 1:1-9 8/11-12/2018 You may recall Samuel, a young boy who God called to a life of service David was just a teen, and in fact God had to tell Samuel not to look at how short David was at the time because he would doubt that this boy is to the king of Israel You heard last week of Josiah, king of Israel at 8, powerfully seeking God at 16 Hudson Taylor was saved at 17 and pioneered one of the greatest missions movements in history CT Studd, came to faith at 18, gave up fame and fortune and served God in China and Africa Dwight Moody was 18 when God saved him, called to preach the gospel to thousands Charles Spurgeon was saved at 15 years old, he became the pastor of a church at age 17 Amy Carmichael, saved at 16 and spent 5 decades in Southern India rescuing girls who had been forced into prostitution for Hindu Temples Billy Graham, saved at 16 years of age, called to preach to over 200 million people God continues to our own day calling young Christians into amazing lives of ministry Welcome to the Teen Titans series where we are looking at amazing young people in the bible PP God has a plan for your life, and His calling is your invitation into that plan! And we re about to watch this unfold in the life of a teenager called Jeremiah Notice in Jeremiah 1:1-2, that Jeremiah came from the priestly line of the Levites, and grew up in the small town of Anathoth, 3 miles North of Jerusalem King Solomon had earlier stripped Abiathar of his High Priest role and exiled him there Anathoth unfortunately earned a shameful association which will fit Jeremiah s story well as he would live a life of constant difficulty, rejection and despair Israel had been a spiritual mess, full of pagan priests and their foreign gods and detestable ways It was a time of political upheaval and military threats all around them It was then that God called 17-year-old Jeremiah to what seemed an impossible life PP *God s calling is made clear through His Word Now the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, 1:4 It is an ironclad truth that young Christians will be most confused with their calling in life if they make little of God s Word The bible, as David said in Psalm 119, lights up the way we should go Solomon said that acknowledge God, finding Him in His Word, will make your path straight If you are struggling to understand God s purposes for your life, then seek Him in His Word PP I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. Psalm 40:8 God began to speak into Jeremiah s life when the Word of the Lord came In the book of Jeremiah, this phrase occurred 49 times as God s Word dominated his life Nearly every deep encounter with God I have ever experienced has come through His Word When you begin to understand that what you do in life is not your invention, but what God wants you to do, then your first hurdle from hearing God speak is overcome You ll being to understand then that the calling of God, what He has purposed for your life cannot be figured out or solved like a puzzle, it is only revealed
2 And the way God reveals this is connected to His Word PP Hebrews 4:12 tells us that God s Word is living and active, meaning it is endowed with the power of God to work out God s will It doesn t become living and active when you believe it, it is already living and active, which helps you to believe and live out the promises of God PP So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 Have you ever considered God s Word quite like that before? It has the power in and of itself, to accomplish all that God wants in your life and in our world There is no other book in the universe like this, no matter how well-written it is When we read and study and memorize God s Word, it is working in you in a way that accomplishes the will of God for you and through you It is not a requirement that you figure out the Bible, solving its mysteries before it can unleash its power in your life Do you love God s Word, trusting in its authority, seeking to obey it in the power of God? If so, His Word will prepare and empower you for a faithful, effective life No Christian will ever do much for God without a confidence in, a love for, and time spent in God s living and active Word You will hear God speak, and know what He wants for you, because His Word will make it clear One of our clearest examples of this truth is the life of Jeremiah PP *God created you perfectly for the calling He has for you Before I formed you in the womb I knew you Jeremiah 1:5 PP formed was a potter s word that means to squeeze into shape God purposely shaped you exactly for the calling He would one day give you Living out God s purpose is not about your abilities, but your design Yet even more, before God squeezed you into shape, He already knew you completely You ve been in the eye of God for eternity past There wasn t a day a million years ago, that God sat around bored, and thought you up He has always known you and looked forward to the day He would create you, knowing already the life calling He would give you, designing you perfectly for that calling David praised God because he recognized that God had fearfully and wonderfully made him Job realized that God had fashioned him together in his mother I find that for most Christians, this is not a bedrock truth in their faith God created Jeremiah for a purpose, and the same is true for you You have the physical abilities, natural talents, and personality that God decided for you All your experiences you would have-good and bad-were known by God, and not one of them is an obstacle to your calling, and in fact, they will aid in it PP I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2 Christian, settle this now, especially when you are young: God created you according to His exact specifications, knowing perfectly the calling and purpose He would give you God knew you fully, your weaknesses and strengths, vices and virtues, failures and successes, and still He set His love on you and gave you a calling that is unchangeable
3 You may be hyper analytical, easily distracted, physically limited, socially awkward, yet His purposes will prevail in your life Jeremiah was a shy, sensitive, honest, emotional man, hardly the material typical of a prophet His whole life he will yearn for a love and acceptance from his people that he would never get He will be hated, rejected, persecuted, and hurt his entire decades-long ministry Through it all, He will need God s Word speaking truth into his soul that He chose this calling for Jeremiah, knowing perfectly who he was all that would happen to him God knew that Jeremiah would fulfill the call of God PP *God chose you for this calling before you were born "and before you were born I consecrated you; 1:5 PP consecrated is a powerful word that means to be set apart for a divine, holy use God is saying to this young priest, You are mine and I will not let you go! In fact, I chose you before you were born...your calling is my choice, not yours The Apostle Paul echoed this same truth, expanding on it even in the well-known Romans 8 PP And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified. Romans 8:28-30 God calls us according to His purpose, knowing us from eternity past, and choosing us You might make an appointment with your guidance counselor, and take personality and skill inventories and try to wisely choose your career path And it can be helpful to understand how God has made you, but know this: God has known you perfectly before you were born, chosen you and set you apart for a special calling, and He will reveal that calling in time through His living and active Word If you want to know your calling, then pursue your relationship with God with zeal and passion knowing He has set you apart for Him PP *God s calling will create a crisis in your faith I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5 At last, the calling of God on Jeremiah s life is made clear a prophet to the nations To the Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Phoenicians, the enemies of God s people who had done terrible things to them And a prophet no less, and he would soon learn he d be hated, despised by his own people No wonder his response was Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth. 1:6 I cannot be a prophet, the mouth of God, speaking and preaching the Words of God Jeremiah is absolutely overwhelmed; his faith was not big enough for this calling Christian, do not be surprised when God s call on your life is made clear, and you are thrown into a crisis of faith
4 If your response to the clear call of God in your life is, I ve got this, you are more often than not unable to see it clearly, or you are overestimating your natural abilities Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Elijah, Paul, Peter and more all had the same response to the call that God gave them I cannot do this! PP But [Jesus] said, What is impossible with man is possible with God. Luke 18:27 God s call is overwhelming to the natural mind because it can only be done in the power of God God may call you to lead a bible study in your school or dormitory, or work place. and you will immediately doubt you could ever do that He may call you to give up your career and pursue full time ministry and the loss of income, and security, and retirement collide with your faith God may call you to a career path that looks impossible and all you see are why it won t work I believe that Jeremiah glimpsed in the moment of his call what it would require of him PP Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land! I have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all of them curse me. Jeremiah 15:10 The Rabbis called him the weeping prophet, born, they say, already weeping Michelangelo painted him on the Sistine Chapel ceiling in a posture of despair, shoulders hunched and face turned away as if he has just been struck with hand covering his mouth He would cry out, PP Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail? Jeremiah 15:18 When those times of crushing doubt and discouragement come, God will confirm His calling PP Go, and proclaim these words Jeremiah 3:12 PP Stand in the gate of the LORD s house, and proclaim there this word Jeremiah 7:2 God tells Jeremiah repeatedly, this is what I have made you to do, now go and I will be with you PP Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:19-23 PP *God equips the called to do all He commands 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. Jeremiah 1:7 God will never ask you to do anything without the guarantee that He will enable you to do it PP His calling is always preceded by His equipping and accompanied by His presence! PP God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work 2 Corinthians 9:8 PP May God 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. Hebrews 13:21 God equipped Jeremiah for his calling: 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 1:9 He promises His presence and power to Jeremiah in verse 19, and he will need them both
5 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you. 1:19 This is true for every Christian and a power to live the calling of God: He will be with us always! PP All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20 God s equipping is always accompanied by His presence in every calling He gives to His people Christian, young and old, remember these principles PP (all these) You ll understand God s calling in your life as you are immersed in scripture God has shaped you perfectly for the calling He s given you, for He has known you forever God chose your calling, and it will be the greatest life you could ever live His calling will create a crisis of faith, but He will confirm it over and over in your life God has given you all you need for the calling you will receive from Him Amen? Pray