Press 1 For ……………
Can I see a show of hands for anyone who has had reason to call Nipsco, Verizon, Comcast, or basically any company nowadays? ………Good. What generally happens when you call? ……That’s right! You definitely don’t get a live person, that’s for sure. We get the impression they’re trying to avoid us.
What you get is a recorded voice that tells you to “Press 1 for those of you foolish enough to think you’re actually going to reach a real person.” “Press 2 if you know the extension of the person you wish to talk to…” so you can leave a voicemail because they’re never at their desk anyway. “Press 0 if you wish to speak with the operator”…even though the 0 doesn’t connect you to anybody. And finally, “Press 33 if you really don’t want to talk to anyone…you just like the music we play.”
You all know what I’m talking about because you have lived the touch tone nightmare. And because of that you also know how God feels when he calls one of us to do some type of ministry for him. If he doesn’t get an “I’m too ‘BUSY’” signal, then he gets “Press 1” because we’re trying to avoid him.
God calls us because he wants to be in contact with us. He calls us because he wants to be involved in our lives. God calls us because he needs us. What? I know that sounds odd but it’s true.
We read in the Bible many incredible stories of God’s involvement with his people. The most amazing story is not that God created everything, or that God brought a tremendous flood on the earth, or that God rescued Israel through feats of supernatural power.
No, the most incredible, amazing story is that God needs us. You’re thinking, “No way!” But I say, “Yes way!” Or, if we were Swedish or German, we might say, “Yah weh!”
Now, you might find it hard to believe that the God who created the Milky Way, a galaxy so big it takes a light ray 100,000 years to pass from one end to another and countless other galaxies, would have need of us. But it’s true. The Bible tells us so and, since this is a Bible-believing church, we must believe it.
Moses, Gideon, Solomon, the widow of Zarephath, the disciples, Jeremiah. None of these felt they were capable of doing what God called them to do. When God first called them, they all had a case of “the onlys”. But God needed them.
Moses tells God, “I can’t stand up to Pharaoh. I’m only a shepherd. I can’t even talk good” (Exodus 3:12, 4:1).
Gideon tells God, "I’m only the least in my family," when God calls him to deliver Israel from Midian (Judges 6:15).
Solomon, faced with the challenges of being king like his father tells God: "I am only a little child" (1 Kings 3:7).
When asked for bread and water by Elijah, the widow of Zarephath replied: "I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug" (1Kings 17:12).
The disciples, when told by Jesus to go feed the multitude, protested: "We only have five loaves and two fish" (Matthew 14:17).
Jeremiah, when called by God, tells him: "I am only a boy" (Jeremiah 1:6).
How old was Jeremiah when God called him? Jeremiah’s reply of “I’m too young” probably means he was still in his teens. A teenager! Now parents, when you ask your teenager to take out the trash, or something equally simple, what kind of response do you get? Aww!
I got a similar response from the Confirmands. At the end of each class, I would ask, “Who would like to close in prayer?” They always responded, “You!” Aww!
Jeremiah was saying “aww” to God, using his youth as an excuse. If God came to you and told you to go speak in his name to people he hadn’t even named yet, and that you were not going to be afraid, how would you react? You might say, “no way!” “Yah weh!”
Yahweh knew that Jeremiah needed assurance, so he said to him, “…don’t be afraid of the people for I will be with you and take care of you.” Then God touched his mouth and said, “See, I have put my words in your mouth.”
As we saw with Moses, Gideon, Solomon, et al, the “but I’m only” excuse doesn’t get it. God’s answer is “I’m the only God”. God’s not playing the “Press 1 for ……someone else” game. Plus, when we call Nipsco, Verizon, etc., we often get tired of waiting and hang up. God doesn’t get tired. He’ll keep calling.
And God doesn’t call wrong numbers. God wanted the stuttering Moses. God wanted to feed 5,000 on the ration of five loaves and two fishes. God wanted Jeremiah no matter his age. And God wants us.
God calls us and we get a case of the “onlys”. We say, I’m only ordinary, only young, only old, only an amateur, only a few years left, only one hand, only this, only that. We’ve all done it at some point in our lives. We have complexes thinking we’re never strong enough, humble enough, smart enough, articulate enough, good enough.
The Bible says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). You are strong enough, humble enough, smart enough, articulate enough, good enough. Because you are created in the image of God.
Now you may be thinking, “Okay, John. I believe that we were created in the image of God but I just don’t see how I can do what God is calling me to do. I couldn’t possibly do what you do. I couldn’t possibly be a nurse, teacher, undertaker, evangelist, or whatever.”
No problem! What you need to understand is that He has a purpose and plan for your life that is different from every other person who was ever created. In God’s infinite wisdom, God has chosen you, only you, as the only one who can perform a particular kind of ministry. You are the only one God chooses for this task. Only you can do God’s work the way you do it. Together with every member of the body of Christ, we make up a community of "onlys."
Instead of clinging to the insecurity of being an "only," we need to take hold of the power that our status as "one" reveals. Try replacing "I am only" with "I am the one." One answer to a call is all God needs.
I remember when Cody was 6 we helped finish remodeling a house for a friend whose husband had passed away. We were up working on the roof one day when Wendy and Mrs. Adkins came out of the house. They both looked up and, as any good mother would do, they both quickly told Cody to get back from the edge of the roof. They didn’t want him to fall off.
That’s a little different from a baby bird sitting on the edge of a nest. You see, a human mother would bring him back to the center of the nest. But, BOOM! The mother bird pushes her baby out of the nest. That baby bird now has a couple of options; one, he can spread his wings and fly or two, he can become a messy splat on the ground. The mother knows that her baby may die right then but she also knows that sometimes they need a little push to get them going.
In the same way as that mother pushes her baby, nudging it into the next phase of life, God does the same for us. When Jeremiah told God that he couldn’t do what he had been instructed to do, God said, “Do not say, ‘I am too young’, for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.”
In the song, “I Believe I Can Fly,” R. Kelly says: “Now I know the meaning of true love, I’m leaning on the everlasting arms. If I can see it, then I can do it. If I just believe it, there’s nothing to it.”
This is true, if we just believe in a great big God; there’s nothing we can’t do. God provided a scared stutterer (Moses) with the eloquent voice that made a pharaoh tremble and release the slaves that had been in bondage for years. He gave a boy (Jeremiah) with an inferiority complex the courage to speak to nations. He even gave a terrible sinner (me) a second chance.
In these and all other cases, God gave those he called the gifts to get the job done. He may have had to push some of us. But it’s not really a push like the mother bird gave her baby. It’s more like a gentle hand on the back which, if you think about it, can also be a hand used to steady us when we falter with the task God has called us to.
Several of you have mentioned to me that, in your eyes, I have grown more confident, more relaxed, or less nervous in the pulpit. I don’t know. What you need to understand is that this is a journey. I didn’t finally answer God’s call and instantly become as confident as you think I am.
I had a case of the “onlys” at first. But God kept his hand on my back, sometimes gently pushing, but always supporting me. There is a saying, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with single step”. That means you can’t get from here to there all at once. You have to take that first step. And remember that God will be with you the whole way.
Which is what Jeremiah needed to be reminded of. The Lord said he would give Jeremiah the words to say, then he hits him with the rest of the story. In verse 10 we see to whom Jeremiah was to go speak. He was to speak to the nations and kingdoms. Maybe that’s where our hesitation comes in.
We’re afraid God may ask us to do something REALLY REALLY BIG. What God generally asks of us is nothing compared to what he asked Jeremiah to do. He probably won’t ask you to speak before General Assembly but he might ask you to give a talk at a Great Banquet gathering, or maybe just talk to your neighbor.
God may not call you to be the pastor of a church but he might want you to lead a Bible study. God may not call you to feed 5000 people, but he might call you to work at some funeral dinners. God may not call us to be prophets, but God does call us to serve Him.
God is calling us. We must answer. We must take the first step, no matter how scary it may seem. God is patient. He’ll keep calling. And remember, if God takes you to it, then God will see you through it. Unlike the mother bird that just pushes and watches, when you start to free fall God is right there to help and support you.
So when God calls, answer. Don’t make him “Press 1 for……”. Don’t put him on hold. Find out what he wants, take that first step, and get ready for an exciting journey……with God.
