DIVINE FOREKNOWLEDGE
Jeremiah 1:5; Ephesians 1:4
INTRODUCTION: The God Who Knew You First
Church, I want you to turn with me to Jeremiah 1:5. Read it aloud with me:
"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."
Somebody shout, "He knew me!"
This morning, we begin a journey. A five-week expedition into the most sobering contrast in all of Scripture.
On one side, you have Jeremiah 1:5, where God declares, "I knew you."
On the other side, you have Matthew 7:23, where Jesus pronounces the most terrifying words a human being will ever hear: "I never knew you. Depart from Me."
Two statements. Same word. Opposite eternities.
One leads to the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9).
The other leads to outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30).
The question that hangs over this series, beloved, is not whether God knows about you. The demons know about Jesus (James 2:19).
The question is whether God knows you in a covenant relationship. Whether your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life (Revelation 21:27), or whether you have built your house on the rock of obedience or on the sand of religious performance (Matthew 7:24-27).
This morning, we start at the beginning. Not your beginning. God's beginning.
• Because before your mother held you, God held you in His eternal mind.
• Before your father named you, the Father had already written your name.
• Before your first heartbeat echoed in your mother's womb, the heartbeat of God was already beating for you.
Psalm 139:16 says, "Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."
Glory to God!
• You are not an accident.
• You are not a mistake.
• You are not a random collection of cells that happened to survive.
• You were chosen before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).
• You were known before you were knit together.
• You were purposed before you were placed in your mother's womb.
Let's stand on this Word together.
I. GOD'S ETERNAL PLAN
"Before I Formed You, I Knew You"
(Jeremiah 1:5; Ephesians 1:4; Psalm 139:13-16)
The first thing I need you to understand is this: God's knowledge of you is not reactive. It is not responsive. God did not discover you when you were born. He designed you before time began.
In Jeremiah 1:5, the Hebrew word for "knew" is yada. This is not casual awareness. This is intimate, covenantal, experiential knowledge. This is the same word used in Genesis 4:1 when Adam knew Eve, and she conceived. It speaks of deep, personal union.
When God says, "Before I formed you, I knew you," He is saying, "Before I shaped your body, I had already entered into relationship with your soul. Before I gave you lungs to breathe, I had already breathed purpose into your existence."
A. The Eternal Election of the Saints
Ephesians 1:4 says, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight."
Church, you need to wrestle with this. Before God said, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3), He had already said, "Let there be you." Before the stars were hung in the heavens, your name was hung in the heart of God. Before the mountains were formed, your destiny was formed.
This is what theologians call "divine foreknowledge." But I want you to hear it in plain language: God loved you first. 1 John 4:19 says, "We love because he first loved us." Your love for God is a response. His love for you is an origin.
You did not find God. He found you. You did not choose Him first. He chose you first. Jesus said in John 15:16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit."
Shout if you know you've been chosen!
B. The Divine Craftsmanship of Your Being
Now look at Psalm 139:13-14: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
The word "knit" here is the Hebrew word sakak. It means to weave together, to interlock, to cover protectively. God did not mass-produce you on an assembly line. He hand-crafted you like a master weaver creating a tapestry.
• Every strand of your DNA was a decision.
• Every feature of your face was a choice.
• Every talent,
• Every temperament,
• Every tendency was woven into you with intentionality.
Psalm 139:16 continues: "Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."
God wrote the book of your life before you lived your first chapter. He ordained your days before you woke up for your first morning. This is sovereign providence. This is divine foreknowledge in action.
C. The Blueprint of Your Soul
Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
The word "handiwork" is the Greek word poiema. We get our English word "poem" from it.
• You are God's poetry.
• You are God's masterpiece.
• You are the creative expression of an infinite mind.
And notice: the good works were prepared in advance. Before you were born, God had already laid out the path of obedience. Before you took your first step, God had already mapped out your journey.
Jeremiah 29:11 confirms this: "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."
God is not making up His plan as He goes. He is not reacting to your circumstances. He knew the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). And He is working all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
II. OVERCOMING HUMAN EXCUSES
"Do Not Say 'I Am Too Young'"
(Jeremiah 1:6-7; Isaiah 6:5-8; Exodus 4:10-12)
Now, here is where it gets personal. Because when God reveals His purpose, our flesh immediately begins to manufacture excuses.
Look at Jeremiah 1:6: "'Alas, Sovereign Lord,' I said, 'I do not know how to speak; I am too young.'"
Jeremiah heard the call of God, and his first response was to disqualify himself. "I am too young. I do not know how to speak." He looked at his limitations instead of looking at the limitless God who called him.
How many of you have done the same thing?
• God says, "I have called you to teach," and you say, "But I am not educated enough."
• God says, "I have called you to lead," and you say, "But I am not confident enough."
• God says, "I have called you to go," and you say, "But I am not qualified enough."
You are making the same mistake Jeremiah made. You are evaluating God's call based on your capacity instead of based on His capability.
A. The Excuse of Inadequacy
Jeremiah said, "I do not know how to speak." Moses said something similar in Exodus 4:10: "Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."
Look at God's response in Exodus 4:11-12: "The Lord said to him, 'Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.'"
• God does not need your eloquence. He needs your obedience.
• He does not need your talent. He needs your surrender.
• He is not looking for ability. He is looking for availability.
2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Your weakness is not a disqualification. Your weakness is a platform for God's power to be displayed.
B. The Excuse of Unworthiness
Isaiah had a different problem. When he saw the Lord high and lifted up in Isaiah 6:1-4, he did not say, "I am too young." He said, "I am too sinful."
Isaiah 6:5: "'Woe to me!' I cried. 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.'"
Isaiah felt unworthy. He felt disqualified by his sin. He felt ruined by his impurity.
But watch what God does. Isaiah 6:6-7: "Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my lips and said, 'See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.'"
God did not deny Isaiah's sin. He dealt with it. God did not overlook Isaiah's unworthiness. He cleansed it. And then, in Isaiah 6:8, God said, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And Isaiah, now cleansed and commissioned, responded, "Here am I. Send me!"
Your sin is not greater than God's grace. Your past is not bigger than God's purpose. Romans 8:1 says, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
C. God's Response to Our Excuses
Look back at Jeremiah 1:7-8. When Jeremiah said, "I am too young," God did not say, "You are right. I will find someone else." God said:
"Do not say, 'I am too young.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you."
Three commands. "Do not say." "You must go." "Do not be afraid."
God silenced the excuse. God issued the assignment. God promised His presence.
This is the pattern throughout Scripture. God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called.
• Gideon was the least in his family (Judges 6:15).
• David was the youngest and forgotten (1 Samuel 16:11).
• Peter was an uneducated fisherman (Acts 4:13).
• Paul was a persecutor of the church (1 Timothy 1:15).
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27).
Stop telling God what you cannot do. Start telling God, "Here am I. Send me."
III. PURPOSEFUL COMMISSIONING
"I Have Appointed You a Prophet to the Nations"
(Jeremiah 1:5,10; Acts 9:15; Galatians 1:15-16)
Now we come to the third and final point: God's knowledge of you is connected to God's assignment for you. He did not know you for knowledge's sake. He knew you for Kingdom purpose.
Look at Jeremiah 1:5 again: "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."
Three actions: Knew you. Set you apart. Appointed you.
• Knowledge led to sanctification.
• Sanctification led to commission.
o You were known, so you could be set apart.
o You were set apart, so you could be sent out.
This is not about Jeremiah alone. This is about every believer. 1 Peter 2:9 says, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
You are chosen. You are royal. You are holy. You are His special possession. And all of this is "that you may declare His praises." Purpose follows position.
A. Set Apart for Sacred Service
The phrase "set you apart" in Jeremiah 1:5 is the Hebrew word qadash. It means to consecrate, to sanctify, to make holy.
God did not set Jeremiah apart to be comfortable. He set him apart to be consecrated. Separation precedes commission. Holiness precedes usefulness.
Romans 12:1 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."
• You cannot be used by God while you are still conformed to the world.
• You cannot be a vessel of honor while you are still defiled by sin.
2 Timothy 2:21 says, "Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work."
Cleanse yourself. Set yourself apart. Be holy, for He is holy (1 Peter 1:16).
B. Appointed for Global Impact
Jeremiah was not appointed as a prophet to his village. He was appointed as a prophet to the nations. His assignment was international. His impact was global.
Look at Jeremiah 1:10: "See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."
Six verbs. Four are destructive: uproot, tear down, destroy, overthrow. Two are constructive: build and plant. The prophet's work involves both tearing down what is false and building up what is true.
This same global commission echoes throughout Scripture. When God called Abraham, He said, "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3).
When Jesus commissioned the disciples, He said, "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19).
When the Spirit fell at Pentecost, people from every nation heard the gospel in their own language (Acts 2:5-11).
Your calling is bigger than your comfort zone. Your assignment extends beyond your neighborhood. The Great Commission is still in effect.
C. The Pattern of Divine Commissioning
This pattern of foreknowledge leading to commission is repeated throughout Scripture.
Look at the Apostle Paul. Galatians 1:15-16 says, "But when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles..."
Paul was set apart from birth. Called by grace. Given revelation. Sent to the nations.
Acts 9:15 records what God told Ananias about Paul: "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel."
"Chosen instrument." That is what you are. A tool in the hand of God. A weapon in His arsenal. A vessel for His glory.
The question is not whether God has a purpose for you. The question is whether you will submit to it.
CONCLUSION: The Take-Home Question
Church, we have covered sacred ground this morning.
We have seen that God's knowledge of you is eternal, intimate, and covenantal. He knew you before He formed you. He chose you before the foundation of the world. He wrote your days in His book before you lived one of them.
We have seen that God's call overcomes every excuse. Your youth is not a disqualification. Your inadequacy is not a barrier. Your unworthiness has been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 1:5).
We have seen that God's purpose for you is global and powerful. You have been set apart for sacred service. You have been appointed to impact nations. You are a chosen instrument for His name.
But here is the sobering truth that will echo throughout this series:
Being known ABOUT by God is not the same as being known BY God.
In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
These were religious people. Prophesying people. Miracle-working people. But they were not obedient people. They called Him "Lord," but they did not do what He said (Luke 6:46).
James 2:19 warns us, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder."
Belief without obedience is demonic faith. It acknowledges God's existence while rejecting God's authority.
The eternal I AM has revealed Himself fully in Jesus (John 8:58; John 14:9). He has shown you His love at the cross (Romans 5:8). He has extended His invitation: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
Here is your take-home question:
The eternal I AM has revealed Himself fully in Jesus. Will you believe, bow, and follow?
To believe is to trust that Jesus is who He says He is: the Son of God, the Savior of the world, the only way to the Father (John 14:6).
To bow is to surrender your will to His will. To make Him Lord in action, not only in words. To say, "Not my will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42).
To follow is to walk in daily obedience. To hear His voice and do what He says. To build your house on the rock of His commands (Matthew 7:24).
ALTAR CALL: Will You Be Known?
I want everyone to close your eyes and bow your heads.
The presence of God is in this place right now. The Spirit of the Lord is moving among us. And He is asking you a question:
"Will you be known by Me?"
Not known about. Known. In covenant. In a relationship. In obedient surrender.
Maybe you are here this morning, and you have never given your life to Jesus. You have heard about Him. You have learned about Him. But you have never surrendered to Him. Today is your day. 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, "Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation."
Maybe you are here, and you have been living a double life. You call Him "Lord" on Sunday, but you live like He does not exist on Monday. You have religious activity, but no relational intimacy. Jesus is calling you back. Revelation 2:4-5 says, "You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first."
Maybe you are here, and you have been making excuses. "I am too young. I am too old. I am too sinful. I am too unqualified." God is saying to you right now what He said to Jeremiah: "Do not say that. I am with you. I will rescue you. I have appointed you."
If that is you, I want you to come forward right now.
Do not let pride keep you in your seat. Do not let fear keep you from your destiny. Do not let another moment pass without settling this question.
The same God who knew Jeremiah before He formed him knows you. The same God who called Paul from his mother's womb is calling you. The same Jesus who died on that cross and rose on the third day is standing before you with open arms.
Romans 10:9-10 says, "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."
Come now. The altar is open. Heaven is waiting. Your destiny is calling.
Before you were formed, He knew you. Before you were born, He set you apart. Today, He is appointing you for His purpose.
Will you answer the call?
Come.
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)
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Blessings,
Pastor JM Raja Lawrence
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
email: lawrencejmr@gmail.com
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