I AM NOT AN ACCIDENT
Jer. 1:4-10
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. WEIGHT-LOSS TIP. An elderly woman was the winner of her weight-loss club for losing the most weight in the six weeks. All the rest of the weight-watchers gathered around her to ask how she had done it. “Simple!” she said, “I just pull out my teeth at six o’clock every night!”
2. THE GOOD NEWS. Dr. Smith asks his patient, "Which do you want first, the good news or the bad news?" The patient replies, "Give me the good news." Dr. Smith says, "You're about to have a disease named after you."
B. TEXT
4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew [chose] 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.
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. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."
C. THESIS
1. Do you beat yourself up because you are not pretty enough – tall enough – smart enough? Do you cut yourself down because you feel you are lacking abilities? Jeremiah, the prophet, faced those kind of “self-doubt” issues too, but he overcame them because of something God said to him. Title: “I Am Not An Accident.”
2. We’re going to look tonight at Jeremiah’s call and its meaning to us on our call, our purpose, and the unfinished task.
I. CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD
A. THE TWO CHOICES
1. Over a century and a half ago, an academic controversy swept the world, as a liberal, materialistic philosophy collected data to give Man a new view of his origins. What are the options? Really only TWO. It all
depends on your premises and presuppositions. Everything comes down to ONE OF TWO ALTERNATIVES, which sum it up like this:
a. "In the beginning, GOD CREATED the heavens and the earth..." (Genesis 1:1) and "By FAITH we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God... so that what is seen does not owe its existence to that which is visible" (Hebrews 11:3 Weymouth Translation).
b. "Once upon a time... perhaps two and a half billion years ago, under a deadly sun, in an ammoniated ocean topped by a poisonous atmosphere in the midst of a soup of organic molecules, a nucleic acid molecule came ACCIDENTALLY INTO BEING that could SOMEHOW BRING ABOUT the existence of another like itself" (Isaac Asimov, The Well-Springs of Life).
2. Two choices. Take the FIRST, and you see all natural history as divinely guided toward Man's coming; with it the conviction that man has special destiny and moral responsibility (with a probable judgment on the horizon as well). Take the SECOND, and you are left with no God, heaven, hell, or for that matter, any confidence in humanity and its future. The choice is really quite narrow. Of course both sides have their creeds, authorities, and prophets, and both in the final analysis are religions -- are matters of faith.
3. WE’RE CREATED BY GOD!
a. Here at this moment Jeremiah hears the voice of God – the Creator of the Universe – He who put the stars in place – He who formed the world and all that we know – from the telescopic to the microscopic – and God speaks to Jeremiah and says: “Jeremiah – you are special. You have been on my mind a long, long, long time.”
b. David wrote: “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works.” Psalms 139:14 (NKJV). God prescribed every single detail of my creation. He deliberately chose my race, my gender, the color of my hair, the color of my skin, the color of my eyes – but guess what – He has done the same for you. You see – I am not an accident – and neither are you.
c. I think that I would echo the words of Psalm eight: “What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?” Psalms 8:4 (NKJV). In other words – how important are we – that God should even pay attention to us? Yet He does! He says we are very important.
d. The voice of God comes to announce our extraordinary worth. This worth is inseparably linked to the fact that we were made by God and for God. Our worth to God started before we were born. We have invaluable worth because we were born in the mind of God – even before we entered our mother’s womb. We were valuable to God before the world began. This fact is something that can never change or ever be taken away from us. It is the something we can never lose.
B. HOW MUCH ARE YOU WORTH?
1. Old estimates (from the book, Time, Chance & Matter = Man & The Whole Universe) put your value (with inflation) at about $7.50; the new reckonings are greatly revised. Your proteins, steroids, and hormones alone are terribly complex and costly, and as for LIVING ORGANS, how much is a replacement heart worth if you need a transplant? The point is, your value has been reappraised because we now appreciate much better the scarcity and sophistication of your molecules. Man IS marvelously complex and complexity shows one of TWO THINGS: incredible luck or intricate engineering.
2. Infinite value of man. You can tell the worth of something, not by conjecture, but by how much someone else is willing to pay for it. John 3:16, God was willing to surrender even His Son so we might be delivered! First Corinthians 6:20 "you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Peter 1:18, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you are redeemed from precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect."
3. Immortality of man. Luke 20:36, "... and they can no longer die; for they are like the Angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection." Romans 2:7, "To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life." 2 Timothy 1:10, "... but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."
C. YOU’RE NOT AN ACCIDENT
1. In Rick Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life” – he makes a profound statement. He says, “You are not an accident. … Your birth was no mistake or mishap, and your life is no fluke of nature. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He was not at all surprised by your birth. In fact, he expected it.”
2. This has great ramifications for your life. This means that your life will be divinely guided, that you have a special destiny and moral responsibility. What an exciting life God has given us! YOU WERE PLANNED BY GOD!
II. GIVEN A TASK TO ACCOMPLISH
A. MAN GIVEN DOMINION
1. In Genesis 1:26, God gave dominion to man over the entire Earth, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth”(NKJV). Psalm 8:6 says, "You made him ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet." Each of us have a place in creation and a job to do.
2. Before we were born, each of us was assigned a task and mission to accomplish. Adam was assigned to be the gardener of the Garden of Eden and to name all the animals. Later they worked the ground. But Adam and his descendants were to be the companions of the Creator and walk in the Garden with Him daily. That still remains one of our chief responsibilities.
B. WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP
1. In Ephesians chapter two Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus and says: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV). The PURPOSE of God’s workmanship – our creation “in Christ Jesus,” – is so that we perform good works!
2. The amazing thing about our post-salvation activities was that they were “prepared for us from the foundation of the world!” Not only has God created each and every one of us unique – He has a purpose for our lives.
3. You are not an accident – You have infinite value – because of who You are in Christ. Further, You have specific tasks God has prepared for you, once you became a Christian.
C. SUMMARY OF THE IDEA
1. We have great value because we were created in the image of God. I have been created in His image – just as you have – just as every human being has. Your life finds meaning only in a relationship with the God in whose image you were created.
2. He has a purpose and plan for your life that is different from every other person who was ever created. God says, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV).
III. OUR MOST IMPORTANT TASK Verses 6-10
A. TO TESTIFY
1. We’ve seen that we are created in God’s image, given dominion over the earth and we have been given specific jobs to do as a result of our being redeemed. But that is not the end of our obligation to God. When God spoke to Jeremiah, He also pointed out to Jeremiah the greatest duty He wished him to accomplish: to testify about God.
2. Jeremiah told God that he did not feel adequate to speak in God’s place. How many of you feel that way? I certainly do. Jeremiah’s excuse was his young age – evidently he was only a child at this time; "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child" Vs. 6).
3. But even that excuse didn’t hold water with God! “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” (Vs. 7). I imagine if being a child doesn’t get us excused from witnessing, then probably nothing does! God’s reason for not accepting excuses was explained next.
B. GOD’S PROMISE OF ENABLEMENT
1. “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.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. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant" (Vss. 8-10).
2. God told Jeremiah & Us 4 reasons we CAN witness and testify to others;
a. God is with us. That means we are not alone when we’re talking to people.
b. God will rescue us. That is, if we don’t know what to do or say in a situation, God will inspire us with something to say that will answer their question or be a way out. So youth or inexperience is not a good excuse.
c. God’s touch on Jeremiah’s mouth is indicative other places of cleansing and preparation (Isaiah 6:7) or of anointing to speak (Ezek. 3:1-3; Rev. 10:8-11).
d. God’s calling to build and plant.
3. Jesus promised us such an anointing in Matt. 10:19-20; “…do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
4. So no matter how inadequate we feel, God tells us that – through Him – we have the ability and calling to share our faith with others.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: The Adopted Son
1. Did you ever hear of Edson Rogers, the son of a wealthy farmer in Virginia? He died in a protracted battle during the Civil War. He was strong and handsome young man, and during those hard days of fighting he met Robert Sawyer. They became best of friends, enduring much together. Bob was a poor orphan, but Ed came from a well-respected family.
2. Near the end of the war, Edson was mortally wounded. Realizing his life was fast ebbing away, he asked Bob to promise he would go to his parents' plantation and tell them of their wonderful friendship. But Bob said, "I am only a poor boy, they will not believe me, they will think I am an impostor." But Ed had thought it all through and wrote a brief letter in a very shaky hand. He gave it to Bob to deliver. Their farewell was sad and sudden.
3. A few months later the war was over, and Bob timidly made his way to the Rogers mansion. His clothes were shabby, which made things worse. But when he explained his visit and delivered the letter, all was changed.
4. Later, when he started to leave, the father said, "Bob, you must not go. We want you here. Edson was our dearest treasure; he was everything to us. In the letter he wrote, he asked us to take you as our son, since he was dying. Won't you please accept his wish and take your place in your new home with your new family?"
5. What an invitation! A poor orphan boy suddenly becoming a son and heir, to be loved and honored in a home of luxury! How did it happen? It was Edson's name that made the difference.
6. How like us! The dying Jesus asked His Father to adopt us into His family because of His death. Now we too, once orphans, are loved and honored in God’s divine family! Praise God for his marvelous gift!
B. ALTAR CALL
1. YOU ARE VALUABLE TO GOD! “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:6-7 (NKJV)
2. GOD KNOWS WHO YOU ARE! He has a wonderful plan for your life, but He needs you to do your part by accepting His grace extended to you. Just sign on the dotted line that you accept the grace of God offered in Christ. If you do, you’ll find acceptance, wholeness, and a new purpose in your life!
3. Go to prayer.
[This is a rewrite of Tom Shepard’s message of the same title]
