ENGAGE
I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. I know what some of you are probably thinking right now – we’re not surprised at that.
Some of those mistakes were a result of my pride. Like on our wedding night, when I had made reservations at the Camelback Inn, which at that time was one of the nicest resorts in the Phoenix area. After the reception we headed for the hotel and Mary asked me if I knew how to get there. “Of course”, I answered, “It’s right on Camelback Road”. In my defense, you have to remember that this was before the days of Google Maps, GPS and even the internet. Well we got to Phoenix and drove up and down Camelback Road but couldn’t find the hotel. At one point Mary suggested that we stop and ask directions, but I just chalked that up to the fact that we were newlyweds and she didn’t realize that she was calling into question my manhood with that suggestion.
Somehow, we did finally make it to the hotel, which it turns out is located on Lincoln Drive, in the wee hours of the morning. It was a really nice hotel, but since we had to check out by 10:00, I think if you calculated the hourly rate for our stay, it would have been rather excessive. That mistake was a result of my pride.
But I’ve made other mistakes in my life because I lacked a sense of my life purpose. Because of that, I made some decisions to do some things that weren’t necessarily bad, they just weren’t the best things I could have done at the time to carry out God’s purposes for my life.
One of those decisions came in the late 1980’s when several people urged me to run for the school board in the Amphitheater School District. In spite of Mary’s misgivings, I decided to do that anyway and unfortunately, I actually got elected. Now serving on the school board was not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just that it took away from some other things that were more important at the time, like being a good husband and father.
Looking back, I can also see that the decision to become the pastor at the first church I pastored was not a very wise decision either. Because I was so anxious to become a pastor, I missed a lot of the signs that indicated that particular church was not a good fit for me and my family.
TENSION
My guess is that I’m not the only one here this morning who has made mistakes for both of those reasons – pride and a lack of knowing my life purpose. This morning’s message probably won’t do a whole lot to help with that first reason – pride. But hopefully we will learn some things that will help us avoid the mistakes that come from not knowing our life purpose.
Last month in our men’s breakfast we watched the Man in the Mirror video which was titled “Purpose: Why Do I Exist?”. During that study, Patrick Morley said something that would have saved me a lot of heartache in life, if I had only been wise enough to follow it all of my life:
…I will do anything God wants me to do but only that.
This morning, we’ll learn how to do that in our lives by taking a look at the call of a young prophet name Jeremiah.
TRUTH
Before we took the last three weeks to study the fall feasts, we left off in our journey through the Old Testament with the account of King Josiah in Judah. Josiah began his reign at only 8 years of age, but he was a good king who did all he could to restore the worship of YHWH and to remove the idols and get rid of the pagan worship that had been incorporated into the life of Judah during the reigns of his wicked father and grandfather. Unfortunately, that return to God would not be widespread or lasting and as soon as Josiah’s reign ended, the people rebelled against God once again.
It was during that transitional time that a young man named Jeremiah comes on the scene. We’ll read the account of his call to ministry this morning in Jeremiah chapter 1:
[Read Jeremiah 1:1-3]
Jeremiah is born into a priestly family in the small town of Anathoth. His father, Hilkiah, is probably not the same Hilkiah that we read about in the account of Josiah, since that Hilkiah was specifically identified as the high priest, unlike Jeremiah’s father.
The word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah in the 13th year of the reign of Josiah – probably round 627 BC. The northern kingdom of Israel had been conquered by Assyria almost 100 years earlier, in 722 BC, but by this time Babylon had replaced Assyria as the major power in the region. Jeremiah’s ministry continued through the reigns of the last four kings of Judah – a period of a little over 40 years.
Although I’m primarily going to focus on just a few verses in the rest of the chapter, let me go ahead and read it as you follow along.
[Read Jeremiah 1:4-19]
We don’t exactly how old Jeremiah is here. The only clue we really get is the word translated “youth” in verse 6. But that particular word is rather general and could describe anyone from a teenager up through a young man in his early twenties.
In most of your Bibles, this section probably has a heading that reads something like “The Call of Jeremiah”. We often use the term “call” in Christian circles, but my experience has been that most people believe that is something reserved for only a select few like pastors, or elders or others in vocational ministry. And it is certainly used in that sense at times in the Scriptures.
But far more often, it is a term that is applied to every disciple of Jesus. In his letters to the various churches, the apostle Paul frequently refers to all disciples of Jesus as being “called”. Here is one example:
To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Romans 1:7 ESV)
Obviously, as the word “all” indicates, Paul is addressing all the believers in the churches in Rome to whom he is writing.
Peter takes this idea that all Christians are called by God even one step further:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
(1 Peter 2:9 ESV)
Again, Peter is writing to the entire church here. And not only is each and every disciple of Jesus called, we have been chosen by God to be priests who have been given the task of proclaiming the excellencies of Jesus, who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
So there is a general sense in which every disciple of Jesus is called. Or in the terms that I’m using this morning, every disciple of Jesus has been given a life purpose by Him.
In the video that I referred to earlier, Patrick Morley pointed out that we all share a universal earthly purpose. Since he does such a great job of summarizing that universal purpose, I’ll let him explain it.
[Show video clip]
In addition to that universal purpose, each person is also unique and God gives to each of us a personal life purpose in which we carry out those universal purposes in a variety of different ways. And that is what we are going to focus on this morning.
I am convinced that this encounter is what enabled Jeremiah to persevere through an impossibly difficult life of ministry. From this point forward, Jeremiah spent the next 40+ years trying to awaken the southern kingdom of Judah to what would happen to them if they did not turn back to God. And in all those years, he never once saw any encouraging sign. Every other prophet got to see at least some kind of impact from their preaching, even if, like Jonah, that result was not what they were hoping for. But not Jeremiah. Never once did he observe that his preaching made any impact whatsoever on the people of Judah or their leaders. As far as we can tell, he had only two “converts” in all those years of ministry – his secretary Baruch, and an Ethiopian eunuch names Ebed-melech who rescued him from a cistern.
APPLICATION
So what was it about this call, that equipped Jeremiah to persevere under those circumstances? And what can we learn from his experience that will help us to know our life purpose so that we can avoid the kinds of mistakes that come from not having that understanding?
Or to put it in the terms that Patrick Morley used, how do I come to the place in my life where I can say…
…I will do anything God wants me to do but only that.
How do I know what God wants me to do?
1. Listen to God
One of the phrases that we see over and over throughout the book is “The word of the Lord came to me…” Here in chapter 1, we see that phrase used three times – in verses 4, 11, and 13. And in verse 7, Jeremiah writes something similar - “The Lord said to me…” And the only way Jeremiah could have known that God was speaking was for him to be constantly listening for God’s voice.
As we’ve seen throughout our journey through the Old Testament, what Jeremiah did here in listening to the Lord was not very common throughout the history of Israel and Judah. That was true for both the nation as a whole and for individuals within that culture. But Jeremiah bucked those cultural norms so that he could hear from God.
While it is certainly possible for God to speak to us in an audible voice, the way He did with Jeremiah, that is no longer the primary means by which God speaks to His children today. I know that I’ve emphasized this over and over, but it won’t hurt to be reminded of it again - God primarily speaks to us today through the Bible and through the Holy Spirit. But just knowing that doesn’t do any good unless we are also consistently spending time in God’s Word and in prayer.
I know there have been times in my life when God has called me to a specific task when I really wasn’t expecting it. I still remember sitting in church one day listening to a sermon when God impressed upon me that is what I was going to be doing one day. It wasn’t like I heard an audible voice, but I was pretty sure that thought came directly from God. But it was not until after I spent time in the Bible and in prayer that I was able to confirm that call.
2. Quit making excuses
The first thing Jeremiah does in response to God’s call is to make excuses. Look at verse 6. Jeremiah claims that he is too young and that he doesn’t know how to speak. Sounds a lot like another person we met earlier in our journey, Moses, doesn’t it? But God makes it clear to Jeremiah that none of those excuses really hold any water. God has created Jeremiah exactly the way He planned even before Jeremiah was born and He knows exactly what He is, and isn’t, getting when He reveals His plan for Jeremiah’s life.
The same is true for every one of us. In verse 5 we find…
Four things God has done to make you the unique person He wants you to be
• He formed you
The word God uses here is the same word used back in Genesis 2 in the creation account when God “formed” the man from the dust of the ground. It conveys the idea of something that has been carefully designed and then fashioned after that plan.
In Jeremiah’s case, it was no accident that he was young or that he couldn’t speak well. God was going to use those weaknesses in Jeremiah to display His greatness and receive glory.
Whatever you may think are weaknesses in your life are not to be used as excuses. You are exactly the person that God has designed you to be.
• He knew you
This is an amazing truth, isn’t it? God has a plan for our lives even before we are conceived. He knows us intimately. Jeremiah wasn’t telling God something that He didn’t already know.
The same is true for us. When God calls us and gives us a life purpose, He already understands our weaknesses and flaws. So it’s really pretty lame to try and use them as excuses, isn’t it?
• He consecrated you
This word literally means “to be set apart”. The idea here is that God has separated Jeremiah from all the rest of the nation in order to carry out the task that God is going to give to him. In other words, God, in His perfect wisdom, has determined that Jeremiah, and Jeremiah alone, is the right person to carry out this particular task.
God has done the same thing in your life. He has set you apart to do things that only you are to do. Many of those things are pretty obvious. If you’re married, then you are set apart to love your spouse in a way that no one else can do. If you’re a parent, you’ve been set apart to bring your children up in the training and instruction of the Lord in a way that no one else can do. In your job, you have the ability to minister to others in a manner that is unique to the way God has made you.
Certainly other parts of our life purpose may not be quite as clear on the surface, but if we’re listening to God He will reveal those areas where He has set us apart.
• He appointed you
The idea here is that God is giving Jeremiah to the nations as a prophet. Even though the nations certainly don’t want that “gift”, it is a gift that they sorely need.
When God gives us a life purpose, it is almost always because there is another person or group that needs us in their lives for some reason and in a sense, we are God’s gift to them. Sometimes, like in Jeremiah’s case, it involves a purpose that can be painful and unpleasant, but which is needed nonetheless.
Let’s get really practical with this idea of making excuses. You’ve probably noticed by now that there is a blank sticky note on your sermon outline this morning. Here’s what I want you to do with that right now. Write down some of the excuses that you’ve used in the past or maybe some that you’re using right now when it comes to doing what God is calling you to do. It might be something like “I don’t know enough about the Bible yet” or “I’ve never done that before” or “I’m too old” or “I’m too young”. Obviously there are a lot of other possibilities. Just write down whatever comes to mind.
[Let people write down their excuses]
I know that some of you have just gotten started here, so you might need to take this home and complete your list. Some of you might even need another sticky note or two. But once you’ve finished your list I want you to confess those excuses to God and then throw away that sticky note as a physical object lesson to remind you that you are no longer going to make those excuses.
3 Look to see where God is already at work
God gave Jeremiah two “tests” to make sure that Jeremiah understood how God was already at work and how God was calling Him to be a part of that work.
The first thing that Jeremiah saw was an almond branch. Some of you probably noticed that there is a footnote in your Bible that tells us that there is a word play here since the Hebrew words for “almond branch” and “watching” sound very similar. God wanted Jeremiah to understand that God was watching over His Word to ensure that it was fulfilled. So Jeremiah could be confident that when He spoke God’s words to the people of Judah those things would come to pass.
The second vision was of a boiling pot that was a picture of the disaster that God would bring upon Judah when Babylon would attack from the north. I think that vision just confirmed what Jeremiah already knew from his familiarity with the words of some of the other prophets who preceded him. And with that vision, God was also confirming something else that Jeremiah must have sensed – the task of bringing a message of judgment to God’s people was not going to be easy or pleasant.
So how do we see where God is already at work? If we’re already spending time in God’s Word and in prayer, then to a large degree, it is merely being aware of what is going on around us
It means being aware of the people that God is bringing into my life, especially when that is a frequent occurrence and then thinking about how God might be able to use me to serve that person. Here at TFC it means recognizing who God is brining into this body and how God might want to use me to minister to them. It means when I often see a large group of kids up front for the “In the Bag” message on Sunday mornings and see how few people we have who are working in Children’s Church or our Bible Club that perhaps that is where God might want to use me. It might mean being like Gene Melzer who is always looking for things that need to be done here at church or for some of our people. There are virtually unending possibilities if we’ll just look for them.
How to do only that
Jeremiah, just like all of us, was incapable of carrying out, his God-given life purpose on his own. But the good news is that God was giving him everything He needed to do that. Perhaps you’ve heard somebody say something like this:
God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
And that is exactly what God does for Jeremiah here and what He will also do for us. The fact is that you probably aren’t qualified to do what God is calling you to do. But that just means that God has you right where He can use you.
As you read through this chapter, you can’t help but notice that God is the one who is doing everything that is necessary to qualify and equip Jeremiah to carry out the task that God gives to him. Look at all the times that God uses the personal pronoun “I” to describe what he has already done in Jeremiah’s life, what He is doing right now for Jeremiah, and what He will do for Jeremiah in the future. There are three things that He tells Jeremiah that can depend on – three things that we can count on as well.
1. Depend on God’s…
• Presence
In verse 8 and again in verse 19, God promises Jeremiah that He is with him to deliver him. It is important to note that the word translated “deliver” in both those verses does not mean that God is going to remove Jeremiah from the very difficult circumstances he is going to face throughout his ministry. Rather it conveys that idea that that God will be with Jeremiah in order to protect him in the midst of those difficulties. And that is exactly what God does for the next 40+ years.
This is so important for us to understand. As we carry out God’s purpose for our lives, things aren’t always going to be easy. And often God won’t remove us from those difficult circumstances. But the one thing He has promised is that He will be with us when we go through those difficult times.
• Power
In verses 9 and 10 we see that God touches Jeremiah’s mouth and He puts His words there. And then in verse18, God promises to make Jeremiah a fortified city, an iron pillar and bronze walls. In other words, God would empower Jeremiah with the right words and the strength to stand in the face of the persecution He would face.
Often when God calls us to a specific task, it is in an area where we have glaring weaknesses. I know for me, when God called me to be a pastor, one of my biggest weaknesses was a lack of formal seminary education. But one of the reasons God does that is so that He can display His power in our lives and that way He is the one who gets the glory.
• Promises
In many ways, verse 12 may very well be the most important verse in this entire passage. There God promises that He is watching over His word to make sure that it comes to pass.
The Bible is full of God’s promises to us that we can rely on because God is watching over His word to perform it. So one of the practical things we can do in order to do what God wants us to do and only that is to read, write down and even memorize those promises.
INSPIRATION
…I will do anything God wants me to do but only that.
I’m convinced that if we could all come to the place in our lives where that was true, we would completely transform the way that we live and that in turn we would make a tremendous difference in the lives of others and in our culture. So I’ll leave you with this question to ponder as we close: What do you need to do in your life in order to be able to make that true for you?
[Prayer]
ACTION
I know I’ve run a bit long this morning, but I think this is one of the most important sermons I’ve preached in a while. So I would be remiss if I didn’t leave you with one more way to make a practical application of this message.
One of the most important ways to put this message into practice is to develop a personal life purpose statement. That’s something I wish I’d done many years ago because it would have saved me a lot of heartache.
While I don’t have time this morning to describe in detail how to develop such a statement, here are some steps to get you started. (I’ve adapted these steps from Patrick Morley and you can get some more detail here: http://www.maninthemirror.org/a-look-in-the-mirror/10-how-to-develop-a-written-life-purpose-statement)
Developing a written Life Purpose Statement
1. Pray, and ask God to reveal His purpose to you.
2. As you read the Bible jot down passages that might have some relevance to your life purpose
3. Create a “draft” statement. Then pray over it and let it “stew” for a while.
4. Share you draft with others who know you well and get their input.
5. Finalize your statement, Revisit it on a regular basis to make sure this is still God’s purpose for your life.
Here is my statement:
To shepherd God's people through the effective preaching and teaching of God's Word in order to equip them to know, love, serve and proclaim Jesus.
Bible Roundtable
1. What are some mistakes you made in the past because you didn’t understand God’s purpose for your life?
2. Do you think we have just one personal life purpose that remains throughout our lives or can that change over time? Can you give some Biblical examples to support your answer?
3. When we “beat ourselves up” over things that we don’t like about ourselves, how might that distort or view of God? How can we avoid doing that?
4. Why is it so hard to depend on God rather than trust in our own capabilities?
5. What are some things we can do in order to discern God’s personal life purpose?
