OPEN: Last year, when Jim Carrey starred in his movie “Bruce Almighty” the writers of the script gave God a phone number that Carrey could dial to talk with the Almighty. But instead of using the 555 prefix that movie makers and TV shows generally give phone numbers – they gave God a 776 prefix.
People who saw the movie wrote the number down and started dialing it. One lady in St. Petersburg, FL received 20 calls an hour from people who wanted to talk to God.
ILLUS: In one small church, the minister called the children to come down front every Sunday and then he’d tell them a story. Once he brought a telephone to better illustrate the idea of prayer.
“You talk to people on the telephone and don’t see them on the other end of the line, right?” he began.
The children nodded yes.
“Well, talking to God is like talking on the telephone. He’s on the other end, but you can’t see him. He’s listening, though.”
Just then a little boy piped up and asked, “What’s his number?”
APPLY: What is God’s phone number? In Jeremiah 33:3 God declares: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Jeremiah 33:3
What is God’s phone number?
How can I be sure I’m connecting up with God…
I mean - here in Jeremiah 33 God is reassuring Jeremiah that if Jeremiah will call upon Him, God will tell Jeremiah great and unsearchable things.
I. Now, I find it intriguing that Jeremiah should be advised by God to call upon Him. I mean, after all, Jeremiah is a prophet of God. “Calling on God” should be something he does on a regular basis.
It occurred to me that something must have happened in Jeremiah’s life that had sapped the energy out of his faith. But what could it be?
Look at Jeremiah 33 Verse 1 “While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time.”
(Ask the audience) Where was Jeremiah? Jeremiah is in jail! And he’s been there for a while. This verse tell us that this was the 2nd time God has talked to Jeremiah since he’d been there.
(Some background) What’s happened is this:
God gave Jeremiah a message to declare to Jerusalem: “Babylon will come down from the north and destroy the city… and unless you’re will to repent… there’s not a blessed thing you can do to stop it.”
Zedekiah, the King in Jerusalem didn’t like that message. And he didn’t want to repent.
So - what do you do when you don’t like the message? You shoot the messenger.
Well, Zedekiah didn’t actually shoot Jeremiah, but he did throw Jeremiah in prison.
Now here’s Jeremiah locked up for doing God’s will.
And there’s something not quite right about that! This shouldn’t be happening! When I obey God everything supposed to turn out ok, isn’t it?
Well… apparently not. In fact Jesus told us: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets (guys like Jeremiah) who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12
OK. I can accept that. But (really now) it doesn’t make it any easier does it?
It doesn’t make it any easier when I suddenly discover that life isn’t fair
It doesn’t make it any easier when I find that I can be
* a nice guy
* and a good Christian
* that I go to church every Sunday
* and do good things for people
And then to have nothing work out the way I think it should. That’s just not right.
Now consider Jeremiah’s situation. He’s obeyed God and yet:
People have mistreated him, insulted him, and thrown him into prison.
He’s not sure about what his future holds.
He’s not even sure he’s ever going to get out of prison.
It’s little wonder his faith might be at a low ebb.
II. It’s in the midst of this dark moment in his life that Jeremiah is told “call on God.” Apparently, even religious people need to be reminded to do that.
When David was experiencing difficult times he deliberately reminded himself to do just that.
In Psalm 4:1-3 David wrote: “Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer. How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him.”
Again in Psalm 86:3-7 “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.
Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.
In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.”
We need to be REMINDED to call upon God.
That’s what’s so important about Bible Studies
And Sunday School
And church
And most importantly – about Communion
These are times when we’re reminded to call upon God.
These are times when we’re surrounded by others who have had their hard times too.
Others who have learned to call upon God
and who can teach us to call upon God.
Jeremiah was told that if he called upon God – God would reveal to him “great and unsearchable things”
And that reminded me of what Paul wrote in Ephesians. Paul said that God was “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” Ephesians 3:20
The same God who promised to reveal great and unsearchable things to Jeremiah is ready and willing to do immeasurably more than anything we can ask or imagine!
I want that!
I want to call upon God so that He can do immeasurably more than anything I can ask or imagine.
III. So… how do we do this “calling on God” thing?
We often think of calling upon God as merely asking for help - praying for God to come down and shake us loose from our tragedies and hardships.
(pause…) And IT IS as simple as that!
But there are a couple of things you can do to make your “call” more effective:
1st - we can focus on God’s faithfulness in the past.
David described how he called on God
“…call on his name…” he wrote.
Well, how am I going to do that, David???
“… make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always. Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced.” (I Chronicles 16:8-12)
You see, God DOES ANSWER us when we call upon Him… but sometimes He doesn’t answer right away. Sometimes we have to wait for Him to step in. And when He does step in, it might be in a way that we’re not looking for… and we might even miss what He’s done because we’ve given up waiting for the answer.
At those times, it’s helpful to focus on what God’s done in the past:
All of His astonishing acts
All of the great things He’s done in the lives of the heroes of the Bible
And all of the wonderful stories of what God has done for others around us.
Yes, even to remember how God has worked in your life in the past.
AND then THINK about those things.
To TALK about those stories.
And even – as David advises – sing about those things so that we can “Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced.”
What David is saying is – pay attention to how God has been faithful in the past.
That way, as you’re waiting for Him to answer your cry
… you won’t lose hope
… you won’t be overcome with despair.
And when God answers… you’ll be sitting there (by the phone) to hear His answer.
So… 1st - focus on God’s faithfulness in the past
2ndly – We should focus on God’s promises for the future.
That’s what God was helping Jeremiah to do. First God says: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know’ (Jeremiah 33:3) and then God proceeds to tell Jeremiah some of those great and unsearchable things.
God tells Jeremiah exactly what He intends to do for Israel. God gives Jeremiah specific promises for the people. God tells Jeremiah:
· I’m bring Judah and Israel back from their captivity (vs. 7)
· I will cleanse them and forgive their sin (vs. 8)
· Jerusalem will have honor and renown (vs. 9)
· There will be the sounds of joy and bride and bridegroom (vs. 11)
· In that day I will raise up my righteous branch (Jesus) – vs. 14 & 15
God gives Jeremiah promise after promise after promise. And God gives Jeremiah these promises – in part – to give him hope.
ILLUS: Several years ago, I was going thru a particularly hard time in my ministry. I kept calling out to God for help… but God’s help wasn’t showing up. Days ran into weeks, weeks into months, and months ran into years… and still I wasn’t being delivered from my frustrations and difficulties.
One of the things that kept me focused - all thru that time - was remembering the promises of God. I memorized scriptures like:
Romans 8:28 “… in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
And 2 Timothy 1:12 “…I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
While I was struggling in my faith and in my ministry, one preacher shared a couple of passages that had helped in a similar situation and I wrote those down in the front of my Bible so that I wouldn’t lose them.
Those verses - those promises - gave me hope. And I was able to weather the storm.
I was able to keep my eyes on God rather than the circumstances that surrounded me.
It’s in keeping our eyes on the promises of God has made and on the faithfulness of God has shown in the past that really makes the difference in how strong we can be as we call upon God and wait upon His answer.
CLOSE: The Bible is filled with men and women who did the impossible because they kept their eyes on God… not on their circumstances. They called upon God and God delivered them in spite of the overwhelming odds that were faced.
Moses led Israel out of Egypt with only a staff in his hand
David killed a giant with nothing more than a sling and a rock
Gideon and 300 men attacked and put to flight 135,000 Midianite soldiers with trumpets and torches (Judges 7:8)
Why did they succeed?
Why were they able to overcome overwhelming odds and difficulties?
BECAUSE they had called upon God… AND they relied upon His promises and His past faithfulness.
That’s the kind of God I serve.
That’s the kind of God that supplies for my needs… in His time and in His way, but always in powerful and wondrous ways.
(For the Bulletin)
EMERGENCY BIBLE PHONE NUMBERS
When in sorrow call John 14
When men fail you call Psalm 27
If you want to be fruitful call John 15
When you have sinned call Psalm 51
When you worry call Matthew 6:19-34
When you are in danger call Psalm 91
When God seems far away call Psalm 139
When your faith needs stirring call Hebrews 11
When you are lonely and fearful call Psalm 23
When you grow bittern and critical call I Corinthians 13
For Paul’s secret to happiness call Colossians 3:12-17
For understanding Christianity call II Corinthians 5:15-19
When you feel down and out call Romans 8:31
When you want peace and rest call Matthew 11:25-30
When the world seems bigger than God call Psalm 90
When you want Christian assurance call Romans 8:1-30
When you leave home for labor or travel call Psalm 121
When your prayers grow narrow or selfish call Psalm 67
For a great invention/ opportunity call Isaiah 55
When you want courage for a task call Joshua 1
For how to get along with fellow men call Romans 12
When you think of investments & returns call Mark 10
If you are depressed call Psalm 27
If your pocketbook is empty call Psalm 37
If you are losing confidence in people call I Corinthians 13
If people seem unkind call John 15
If discouraged about your work call Psalm 126
If you find the world growing small and yourself great call Psalm 19
For dealing with fear call Psalm 34:7
For security call Psalm 121:3
For assurance call Mark 8:35
For reassurance call Psalm 145:18
Emergency numbers may be dialed direct. No operator assistance is necessary.
All lines to Heaven are open 24 hours a day! Feed your faith and doubt will starve.
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES
· Formed For A Purpose - Jeremiah 1:4-1:10
· Accept No Substitutes - Jeremiah 2:4-2:13
· The Smell of Sin - Jeremiah 5:20-5:25
· If I’ve Got It Why Can’t I Flaunt It? - Jeremiah 9:23-9:24
· The Effect Of Judgment - Jeremiah 10:17-10:25
· Time To Decide - Jeremiah 15:15-15:21
· Planning For The Future. - Jeremiah 29:8-29:14
· A New Hope - Jeremiah 31:31-31:35
· Knowing God’s Phone Number - Jeremiah 33:1-33:3
· You Can’t Tell Some People Anything - Jeremiah 44:1-44:30
