“Trusting God Knows Me”
Jeremiah 1: 4-5
February 6, 2005
Intro: Have any of y’all seen the show “Wife Swap”? Probably some of you are thinking, “The only thing this preacher does is watch reality TV shows all the time!” Actually I take Sundays off. But I promise you the show “Wife Swap” isn’t as bad as it sounds. What happens is 2 wives switch homes and see what it’s like to live the life of someone else.
-My guess is all of us have fantasized @ doing that before. We’ve all dreamed of living someone else’s life. I can’t tell you how many fantasies I had as a kid of being the QB for the Dallas Cowboys and throwing the winning touchdown to win the Super Bowl over the Pittsburgh Steelers!
-Lately my fantasy has been becoming a professional bass fisherman and having my own show on ESPN on Saturday mornings. But we all dream of swapping lives at one time or another. That’s why this month we’re beginning a new series of messages entitled “Life Swap.” But what we’re going to discover @ this life swap is that it’s not fantasy.
-It’s real! I don’t know how you are @ driving but when I go somewhere I pretty much like to be the driver and not the passenger. Ultimately it comes down to the fact that I’m the best driver in the world and I don’t want to put my life in the hands of anyone else.
-But in life if we’re going to see real change occur, we must be willing to get out of the driver’s seat of our lives and let Jesus take the wheel. And when that happens, everything changes. 2 Cor. 5: 17-“Therefore, if any man be in Christ he is a new creation. Old things pass away, behold, new things come.”
-Seems pretty outrageous when you think @ it. But what you’ll discover is that when you become a follower of Jesus, your life changes. And it’s then you’ll find that Jesus is trustworthy. Now it’s pretty overwhelming to think that Jesus can actually change your life. It’s even more overwhelming to think that Jesus actually knows you are!
Sermon Idea: Today in our passage of Scripture we’re going to see that Jesus really does know who we are. And when I say He knows who you are, I mean who knows you specifically. He knows all @ you.
-We’ll see the story of a man named Jeremiah and God shared w/Him how intimately He knew Him. Now you might be thinking, “How well does God know me?” Well, we’re going to see several things God knows @ you and me.
TEXT: JEREMIAH 1: 4-5
Bckgrd: Jeremiah was a prophet in Israel. Now you might say, “What’s a prophet?” Well, a prophet was one who would foretell future events; he was one who’d receive a specific message from God to speak to people; and he was able to do this by the power of God. A person doesn’t just decide one day that they’re going to be a prophet. You had to have a calling from God to do this.
-And it’s in the midst of Jeremiah’s call to be a prophet that Jeremiah discovered something amazing @ God. He discovered that God knew who he was. Now folks, we live in an impersonal world. You can shop, do your banking, go to school and do your work in front of computer screen w/o ever having to speak to another person.
-Living in such an isolated environment makes it difficult to imagine that there’s a God who truly knows who we are; who knows us on an intimate level. How intimate? Well, our text today points out 3 things @ you and your relationship w/God. 1st, before you were born:
DIV. 1: GOD KNEW YOU (v. 5)
Exp: Now I can’t imagine getting any more intimate than that! Think @ that for a second. Before you were ever born, God knew you! Not even your parents can say that! I remember how excited Emily and I were before each of our children were born. We couldn’t wait to see what they looked like.
A. We couldn’t wait to see what they were going to be like and what they’d become. I couldn’t wait to simply meet them. But the Bible says that before we were born that God KNEW us!
1. The word “knew” carries w/it a sense of relationship and approval. In other words God had a stamp on Jeremiah’s life. It means that God specifically knew Jeremiah. Obviously God was speaking to Jeremiah here, so you may think God knew Jeremiah but He doesn’t know you.
a. A recurring theme in the Bible is that God made us. Ps. 139: 13-16 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you b/c I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
b. Eph. 2: 10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” There is no doubt that the Bible teaches God knew us before we were born. You might be wondering what the big deal is that God knows us.
2. The big deal is if God knows you then it means He knows what you’re going thru in life. It means you’re not all alone. It means you haven’t been forgotten. I don’t know if there’s anything worse than to be forgotten.
ILLUS: There was a married couple that stopped for gas in Montgomery, Alabama. After the husband finished pumping gas, he got in his car and continued his journey. 5 hours later he realized he’d forgotten something back at the gas station…his wife! So at the next town he stopped at the police station, got in touch w/his wife and tried to explain to her what happened.
-Eventually he had to tell her that for 5 hours he just didn’t realize she wasn’t in the car w/him.
a. Guys, I don’t know @ you but if I was that husband I would’ve just kept on driving b/c I would’ve been a dead man. Now some of us think God’s going to do the same thing w/us. We think He either doesn’t know us b/c He’s already got too much on His mind or that He’ll forget @ us.
b. But God doesn’t forget! He always knows what’s going on. Knowing that God knows us should give us confidence. God told Jeremiah this at the beginning of his calling to be a prophet in order to give Jeremiah confidence. Jeremiah was commissioned by God to spread a message of judgment to the people of Israel.
B. Not exactly what you’d call a real fun message to preach. But it was as though God was telling Jeremiah, “I know you’ve got a tough message to deliver, but let me tell you something. I know you! I’m not going to leave you alone. I’m going to be by your side as you deliver this message.”
1. This same message is for us as well. Heb. 13: 5-6-“God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say w/confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
a. Folks, if God knows you, He’s going to take care of you.
ILLUS: A young boy came upon an old man who was fishing in the Mississippi River. Immediately the boy started talking the man’s ear off. With patience the old man answered each question. Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by the whistle of the River Queen boat paddling down river.
-The sight of the ship caused the surprised spectators to stare in awe and appreciation. Then above the noise of the paddle wheel was heard a small boy’s voice calling across the water; ’Let me ride! Let me ride!’ The old man turned to the boy and tried to calm him down explaining that the River Queen was too important a ship to stop and give rides to little boys.
-But the boy kept on yelling out, ’Let me ride!’ The man was stunned as the great ship pulled up and a gangplank was lowered. In a flash the boy ran onto the deck. The ship with its new cargo safely on board began to pull back into the main stream. The old man continued to stare after the ship looking for the boy
-A few minutes later the boy appeared above the rail. The boy yelled out, “Mister, I knew this ship would stop for me. The captain knows me. He’s my father!”
-God doesn’t forget His children.
Reit: Today we’re going to see some amazing things in your relationship w/God. 1st, before you were born God knew you. 2nd, before you were born:
DIV. 2: GOD SET YOU APART (v. 5)
Exp: God told Jeremiah He had set him apart. What that means is that God had a specific purpose in mind for Jeremiah before he was ever born. In Jeremiah’s case, he was set apart for the purpose of being a prophet. Jeremiah was born w/a certain task he was created to perform.
A. And let me tell you something. Each person in this room was created for a specific reason. Each person in this room was created on purpose for a purpose. Isn’t that cool to think @? You know what that indicates to me? It indicates to me that no one is a mistake.
1. It indicates to me that no one accidentally came into this world. For one, God had you in mind before you were ever born. But also, God had a purpose in mind for you when you came into this world.
a. That is a message people need to hear! People need to hear that God has them in mind; that God has a purpose and plan for their life! Jer. 29: 11-“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.”
b. Yet so many of us don’t realize God has a plan for our lives and we’re trying to fill up our lives w/our own plans. And what’s happening is we’re left feeling empty.
ILLUS: I read a story on the CBS website @ an African plant called Hoodia. It looks like cactus and it grows wild in the desert. The plant’s getting a lot of attention b/c it seems to be a good food suppressant. Scientists have discovered that when you eat small amounts of the plant, it leaves you w/a sense of being full; when in fact you’re not.
2. Some of us are filling up our lives w/things that we think are making us full. We’re filling up our lives w/work and material things. We’re filling up our lives w/things that physically make us feel good. But as time goes on what we’re going to discover is that those things actually don’t make us full; they don’t actually give us a well balanced and full life. They in fact leave us empty.
a. But Jesus came here to fill us up. Jesus said in John 10: 10-“I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” The word “abundant” is in reference to being “overfilled.” Now a person can’t have an “abundant” life if they feel as though there’s no real purpose or meaning in their life.
b. God told Jeremiah He had set him apart. The phrase “set you apart” means to separate. In other words, God separated Jeremiah from the rest of creation for a special task. His calling was on Jeremiah’s life to perform a specific task. And God has a calling on your life for a specific task as well.
B. What task has God called you to? I can name one task God has in mind for you: submit your life to His leadership. 2 Pet. 3:9-“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient w/you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
1. That is God’s desire and purpose for your life. But I also believe God has specific purposes in mind for each one of us. I have no doubt God has specifically called me to preach. I have no doubt that He called Emily and me to start a church right here.
a. But while God has a plan for all of us to be His followers, we don’t all follow His plan. And if we don’t follow His plan, if we don’t follow the map He lays out for us, we’re going to get lost and we’re not going to end up where we want to be at the end of life.
Reit: We’re examining 3 things @ you and your relationship w/God. 1st, before you were born God knew you. 2nd, before you were born God set you apart. And finally, before you were born:
DIV. 3: GOD APPOINTED YOU (v. 5)
Exp: The word “appointed” means “gave.” So you could also read this verse like this: “I gave you as a prophet to the nations.” God is always giving. He’s always generous w/us. And He’s generous w/His creation. He gave Jeremiah away to the people as a prophet before Jeremiah was ever born.
A. That’s exactly what God did w/Jesus. He gave Him away. He didn’t keep Jesus in a museum so we could all look at Him. He didn’t put Jesus in a lock box so no one else could enjoy Him. He shared Jesus w/the world.
1. John 3: 16 tells us that God loved the world so much that He gave His Son to us. He also gave Jeremiah away. I’m sure Jeremiah was a little frustrated at that prospect. He could’ve thought, “Wait a minute! Don’t be so quick to give me away. I’ve got my rights! You can’t give me away! I have some decisions I want to make on my own!”
a. But that kind of thinking is totally backwards. That type of thinking is where we say, “God was created for me. He was created for me to call out to for help; He was created for me to grant me my wishes.” In reality you and I were created for God to do w/as He chooses.
b. Jer. 18: 6-“O house of Israel, can I not do w/you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand.” Think @ that. Does a ceramic bowl get that way b/c it chose to be a bowl? Absolutely not. It becomes a bowl b/c that is what the potter wanted it to be. Now you might say, “What if I don’t want to become what God wants me to become?”
2. You have that choice. You don’t have to conform. If a potter gets a piece of clay that doesn’t conform to the image he wants it to conform to, he takes that clay and throws it out.
a. The problem though is the clay will be missing out on being a productive vessel. I think this is a major reason why so many people are miserable in life; why so many people feel such a void in their lives.
b. It’s b/c they’re not doing what they were created to do. And the end result of that is always frustration.
ILLUS: Harry Houdini, the famous escape artist, issued a challenge wherever he went. He claimed he could be locked in any jail cell in the country and set himself free in just a matter of minutes.
-Always he kept his promise, but one time something went wrong. Houdini entered the jail in his street clothes; the heavy, metal doors clanged shut behind him. He took from his belt a concealed piece of metal, strong and flexible. He set to work immediately, but something seemed to be unusual about this lock. For 30 minutes he worked and got nowhere.
-An hour passed, and still he hadn’t opened the door. By now he was bathed in sweat and panting in exasperation, but he still could not pick the lock. Finally, after laboring for 2 hours, Harry Houdini collapsed in frustration and failure against the door he couldn’t unlock. But when he fell against the door, it swung open! It had never been locked at all! But in his mind it was locked, and that was all it took to keep him from opening the door and walking out of the jail cell.
B. Too many of us are trying to pick the lock to having joy and freedom in life. But we’ll never discover it until we quit trying to do things on our own and simply lean on Jesus.
1. And as we lean on Jesus we’ll find the door to real life will open up. Jeremiah’s life was lived w/purpose and passion b/c he trusted that God really knew him. He trusted that God knew what was best for him. And as he was obedient to God’s leadership in his life, he impacted the lives of his people for generations.
Conclusion: It’s time for some of you to do a life swap; to give up the reigns of control and turn them over to Jesus and decide you’re going to trust Him. Jeremiah did that b/c he discovered that God really knew Him. And God really knows you as well. Before you were born God knew you. Before you were born God set you apart. And before you were born, God appointed you.
-Are you ready to trust God w/your life? If you are, pray this prayer after me. “Dear Jesus, I know I’m a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. I know you died for me and you rose from the grave. I ask you to save me.”
