This month’s theme is very important to where we are going and leading as an individual, as a church or as a group or as a company. We all need to have vision. What do we see this 2020? What do we see ourselves this year? It all goes down to our perspective this year. This month as we are now in the middle of it there is a need to know the importance of our theme One in Christ’s Vision.
As I meditate the theme, I was left with questions, what is Christ’s vision for me? Or what could be God’s plan or purpose for me. And then I was led by God to the calling of one major prophet in the Bible in the life of Prophet Jeremiah, why he was called, why he was appointed? It was because of a vision that God has prepared for him. Let us read our text tonight…
Jeremiah 1:4-19 New Living Translation:
4The Lord gave me this message:
5“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born, I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
6“O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”
7The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.
8And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” 9Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth!
10Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down,
destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant.”
11Then the Lord said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?” And I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.”
12And the Lord said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching, and I will certainly carry out all my plans.”
13Then the Lord spoke to me again and asked, “What do you see now?” And I replied, “I see a pot of boiling water, spilling from the north.”
14“Yes,” the Lord said, “for terror from the north will boil out on the people of this land.
15Listen! I am calling the armies of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem. I, the Lord, have spoken! “They will set their thrones at the gates of the city. They will attack its walls and all the other towns of Judah.
16I will pronounce judgment on my people for all their evil— for deserting me and burning incense to other gods. Yes, they worship idols made with their own hands!
17“Get up and prepare for action. Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them.
18For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. You will stand against the whole land— the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah.
19They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
If there is one prophet in the Bible with a one of the colorful lives it is Jeremiah. Let us see his brief background:
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.
Just like Jeremiah, we are called for a very special purpose, and plan and it all starts to have His vision. How can we have God’s Given Vision?
1. We have to be Created for it – v5
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born, I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah was created to be a prophet since birth! In fact, God knew him already and already assigned as one of His prophets. He was created for a purpose, and God saw it happening during His time.
The Bible says, “you did not choose me but I choose you”, God chose Jeremiah to do the task since birth.
We are born to be visionaries of God’s purpose just like Jeremiah. But sometimes we have many excuses like we are too young for the job just like Jeremiah said in v6 “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”
The vision of God in us may not come true because we have many reasons and excuses:
I’m too young to be assigned…for opening prayer, to exhort, to lead a life group or a ministry. What if they will not listen to me because I am not that educated, eloquent, or trained? But what did God tell him in v7? God said “don’t tell me that I’m too young”. His vision is not only for the old, educated, trained but for everybody because we are known by God even when we were not born yet.
Even Apostle Paul mentioned this to Timothy when he said in 1 Timothy 4:12 NLT “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.”
We are created to be pure in order to see God’s plan for us and to see God Himself. In other words, without seeing God we cannot clearly see His vision for us. Hebrews 12:14 NLT says “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.”
We are created for His vision and receive it without hesitation.
2. We have to be Called for it – v7
The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.
We’re not only created but in due time God will call us for His purpose and plan for us and to fulfill His vision. God called and instructed Jeremiah to go whenever, wherever he will be sent by God, he must be ready and prepared!
I remember our devotion on January 6 in Isaiah 6:8 when the Lord asked “Is there someone I can send? Will someone speak to us?” And Isaiah said, “I’ll go, send me!” God is asking the same question today. And whoever will volunteer should clearly see God’s calling in his/her life so he/she will be effectively used by God. There are times God will call us and He will just wait for someone who will respond to His call in order to represent God’s vision for His people. But there are times that God also appointed and called a specific person to the job for Him. And one of it is Jeremiah.
Calling is important for every vision that God is giving to His own people. For without that call from God, we will not survive. We need His assurance that He will go with us and protect us just as He said in v8 “And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” It’s the same promise that God gave to Moses, Abraham, David and even to His Son Jesus.
For a ministry to survive, we need to be assured of our calling in order to develop self-esteem and confidence not only to ourselves but to God Himself who called us. Like JILCW. The vision was given to Bro. Eddie Villanueva 41 years ago and we are only partakers of the said vision.
Illustration: A story about a person who was Naitulak lang at hindi talaga tinawag. A boy who was pushed in order to win not because of the prize but due to save his own life.
Who is pushing us to work for the ministry, is it our calling or is it only for the sake of surviving?
Sometimes in order to receive His vision…
3. We have to be Consecrated for it – v9
“Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth!”
Putting God’s Word in the mouth of Jeremiah requires a purified life, a life that is consumed for God’s glory. To give a clearer scenario is the calling of Isaiah in chapter 6:
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”
Touching the lips of an individual by God means forgiving his sins by putting God’s Word to it. And when we are consecrated just to deliver what God wants for His people it satisfies us. The Word of God is not only the way of God to fulfill His vision to us through consecration but also to satisfy us also.
Look at the calling of Prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 3:1-3 NLT
1The voice said to me, “Son of man, eat what I am giving you—eat this scroll! Then go and give its message to the people of Israel.” 2So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll. 3“Fill your stomach with this,” he said. And when I ate it, it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
When God gave His vision as He consecrate us, not only that He will satisfy us but He will also fill us with good things in life. Look at David in Psalm 81:10 “For it was I, the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.”
Talking about God’s vision is a serious matter to us. That is why we…
4. We have to be Commissioned for it – v10
“Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down,
destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant.”
God is telling us His vision not yesterday, not tomorrow but today! He is willing to give His perfect plan and purpose for us if we are only available and able for God. It’s not easy we know, just look at what God wants Jeremiah to do for Him:
Stand up against nations and kingdom -> we all know that Jeremiah was called when Israel was on the captivity of the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar.
To uproot and to tear down and to overthrow -> God will use Jeremiah to destroy the enemies of Israel even though they were captivated yet God did not abandon them.
Build and plant -> Instead God gave them hopes that is why He gave them Jeremiah 29:11. His plan to build and plant Israel to new hopes. It is all because of God-given vision.
Look at Israel today because of that vision. I saw once a post in FB how Israel was made after 70 years, and I was amazed how God transformed His nation from the time they were captured by the Babylonians, to the time they were gathered as 1 nation by enduring all their captors like Hitler, etc. God is really over them because of His vision.
What does God want us to see? How should we accept His vision? In verse 11 God wanted Jeremiah to see the vision of God:
11Then the Lord said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?” And I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.”
12And the Lord said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching, and I will certainly carry out all my plans.”
In verse 12 God said “That’s right”, but in other translation in NIV it says “You have seen correctly!” This is what the Lord wants from us, to see a 20/20 vision, not blurred, not ala-tsamba, but clear and correct! You see almond tree is the first tree in Palestine to bud so it means literally the “watching tree” as if it were alive and eager to come to life. It speaks about a new thing that God will be doing for us this year 2020. And God is certain that what He has planned will really happen.
What does our devotion says last January 14 in Isaiah 14:24 NLT “It will all happen as I have planned. It will be as I have decided.” There is nothing that can thwart the plan of God it’s just that He wants us to see that it is really happening. We should put our faith on every word on every vision that God has given us.
And sometimes, this is the reason why the prophets are disliked, persecuted every time they will warn the nation because of the impending danger. But for Jeremiah, God asked him again in verse 13-15:
13Then the Lord spoke to me again and asked, “What do you see now?” And I replied, “I see a pot of boiling water, spilling from the north.”
14“Yes,” the Lord said, “for terror from the north will boil out on the people of this land.
15Listen! I am calling the armies of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem. I, the Lord, have spoken! “They will set their thrones at the gates of the city. They will attack its walls and all the other towns of Judah.
This was a clear judgement of God to His nation Israel. What was the reason why God punished Israel? It says in verse 16:
“I will pronounce judgment on my people for all their evil— for deserting me and burning incense to other gods. Yes, they worship idols made with their own hands!”
Was it a coincidence that after the January 9 Feast of the Black Nazarene the catastrophe of Taal Volcano eruption happened? Or was it already God’s judgement towards us is happening? Not only that we should have faith to receive the vision but we should be bold and brave enough to declare it! On this case we should not declare God’s judgement over us but His tender mercy and favor despite of what happened to us and in our country.
Lastly…
5. We have to Carry on about it – vv 17-19
17“Get up and prepare for action. Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them.
18For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. You will stand against the whole land— the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah.
19They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
We have to carry on, continue to fight until that vision of God comes true to us. We have to get up, prepare for battle, prepare for war if it’s necessary we need to do it now. Otherwise there is a warning in v17b “Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them.”
Jesus said in Luke 9:26 NLT “If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.”
We don’t want to grieve God because of our unholy, unpleasing life by being unfaithful to His vision, His message of hope. But instead we have to carry on for God is there to strengthen us (V18) and His protection and success will overpower us (v19).
Conclusion:
Jeremiah was a prophet to clearly see God’s vision. Like us God wants us to see His vision for this year 2020. We only need to be
created for it
called for it
consecrated for it
commissioned for it and
carry it on until it is completed
Walt Disney never lived to see the opening of Disney World. During the opening ceremonies, someone is reputed to have said to Walt’s wife, "It’s a shame Walt is not here to see this." To which she responded, "He did see it, or it wouldn’t have been here."
We may be gone in this world without seeing God’s vision happening but remember His words in Isaiah 55:11 NLT “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
Are we ready to receive God Given Vision?
