“An Awesome Purpose”
Jeremiah 1: 1-10
A little boy came home from church looking visibly upset. His mother asked what was wrong.
"We learned a stupid song in Sunday School today."
"What was the song?" the mother asked.
"It says Jesus wants us to be his sunbeam."
"What's stupid about that?" said the mother.
"Because," the little boy fumed, "I don't want to be a sunbeam. I want to be a Fireman."
Do you remember those commercials where someone climbs to the top of a high mountain to ask a Guru, ‘What is the meaning of life?” It truly is a fascinating question. One that I have asked myself many times. And I would venture to guess that everyone wonders about? Why are we here? What is the meaning of life?
Our Father has a purpose for every life. We can read about His purpose all throughout scripture. We know He has a plan for His creation. And everything He has created is a part of his plan.
All through the Holy Scriptures we are reminded of that plan. In Romans chapter 9 the apostle Paul tells us.
“In order that God's purpose of election might stand, not because of works but because of him who calls.
Yes our Father has a purpose for everything under heaven and he has a purpose for you and me.
O we might be like the little boy who wanted to be a Fireman, but it is our Fathers purpose, not ours that counts.
Have you ever wished you had the power to set the destiny of your children, especially when you see them making some terrible decisions? Well God has that power, and what He wills, happens. O we can mar that purpose by our sinful behavior, but eventually, Our Father’s will wins.
Becky and I recently read the Book of Jeremiah and I have been led today to show you something special. It is the call of the then young Jeremiah. There is a line in that scripture that really sticks out to me. It speaks to me something very precious. It speak of our Fathers, love and power. It is where He states in his call in verse 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.”
Now Jeremiah was born into a priestly family. From his father on back, all of his family where priests and Jeremiah was expected to be a priest as well.
But our Father had other plans for his life; instead, he was called to be a prophet. The Priests where loved, respected, and honored all the days of their lives, but
Nobody likes prophets. They tell us the things we don't want to hear--they tell us we're sinners, they tell us we've got to look after the poor, they tell us that we're prostituting ourselves to the popular culture, and if we don't turn ourselves around RIGHT NOW and obey God, then we're in for disaster. This is not at all the type of ministry that Jeremiah was looking forward to.
Well, like many of us when God calls us, Jeremiah began to come up with excuses: I'm too young, I wouldn't know what to say. Jeremiah's excuses are no different from our excuses; the bottom line is that in our modern society, we seem to think that we know better than God, That his word is old fashioned and too restrictive. It seems we do not fear God any more and even the church is willing to tell Him that he is wrong.
But our Father tells Jeremiah: "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."
Wow! What an awesome charge. And then, in the following verses, God promises to be with Jeremiah and equip him for the task.
Jeremiah would need those words of assurance. As a prophet, he would be mocked, humiliated, beaten, imprisoned, and threatened with death. And yet, Jeremiah never once gave up. He lived to see his prophecies fulfilled and his name vindicated.
But what kept him going? I believe when Jeremiah was at his lowest point, locked deep in a dungeon, without human contact, abandoned by everyone, he remembered these words, "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." He was special, he had a purpose, and he was not alone.
I want to ask you something. If you could ask our Father one question, what would it be? “A few years back, a company called Yankelovich Partners conducted a nationwide survey, and asked people that question: One-third of the people said if they had an audience with God, they would ask why they were put here on earth. (1) In other words, what is their purpose in life?
THIS PASSAGE, APPLIED TO YOUR LIFE AND MINE, TELLS US THAT WE HAVE A PURPOSE IN LIFE TOO. You are not an accident. You were made and "set apart" for a very important task: to glorify God and reflect His image to others. You see our greatest purpose to give God the Glory He deserves.
Does that mean you have to give up your job and spend all your time in prayer and Bible study? No. Maybe you glorify God through your position as a father, a special Ed teacher, an accountant, a bank clerk, or a mechanic.
Someone wrote in to the "Ask Marilyn" column in Parade Magazine (July 30, 2000) and asked her to answer the age-old question: what is the purpose of our life? The questioner included his own opinion that the purpose of each individual's life is to pursue his or her own happiness and fulfillment, regardless of the means of reaching this goal.
What did Marilyn, who is listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as having the highest recorded IQ in the world, reply? Well, fortunately, this brilliant lady was wise enough not to give an answer. Instead, she turned the whole question around. She wrote that if there is an intelligent Creator and a plan behind the creation of the universe, then our purpose is decided by our Creator. But if there is no intelligent Creator behind the universe, if it all happened as the Big Bang theory says, then there is no ultimate purpose in life. (2)
Did you get that? If there is no God, or if we live as if there is no God, then there is no purpose to our life. But, if there is a Creator, then there is a purpose to it all. That's good news! There is a purpose to our lives. We were made to glorify God.
Don't buy into the idea that serving God is an either/or situation. You can be a Fireman and be Jesus' sunbeam at the same time. I remember when Becky decided to go to Law School. Someone at the church asked her, “How can you be a Christian and a Lawyer? It kind of shocked her. Of course, her answer was that, Christians are needed in every profession.
No matter where you are in life, you have a holy and awesome purpose for living. Never forget that.
THE SECOND THING THIS PASSAGE TELLS US IS THAT WE ARE SPECIAL. God knows us. God loves us.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart . . . "God really knows you, not just the clean and shiny version of yourself that you present to the world, but the real you. He knew you long before you even had the consciousness to know yourself. And He loves you. As someone once said, "God could not love you more, and He will not love you less." You are special.
Over the years of my ministry, I have challenged us all to begin each day by saying , I am God’s son or Daughter………and then live as though you are his son or daughter. I ask that we view ourselves differently and allow this new realization to change our lives. To stop living for yourself and start living for God.
I am hoping it will make us realize how much God really does love us and in kind, how much we need to glorify him, not ourselves, in our daily living. You see our Father is working his purpose in you this very minute.
I leave you with the words of Paris Reidhead from his famous sermon, “Ten Sheckles and a Shirt"
“I say to you Christian friend, you come to the cross and join Him in union, in death, and enter into all the meaning of death to self in order that He can have glory. I say to you dear Christian, if you do not know the fullness of the Holy Ghost, come and present your body a living sacrifice, and let Him fill you, so that He can have the purpose for His coming fulfilled in you and get glory through your life. It’s not what you’re going to get out of God, it’s what He is going to get out of you.”
Lord in your wisdom, have mercy on us and allow us to glorify you in our living…..help us to put humanistic thoughts away, and turn to you, glorify You and serve You all the days of our lives. Amen
