Jeremiah 01, Call of a Reluctant Prophet, Jeremiah 1:1-19

[Music] father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for your presence with us and we ask that now by the Holy Spirit of God among us you would speak to us and draw near to us Jesus in and through your word we pray this in Jesus name Amen Jeremiah chapter one beginning now at verse 1 the words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah of the priests who were in an enough and the land of Benjamin well it begins very simply and very straightforwardly doesn't it verse 1 tells us that these are the words of Jeremiah and with these brief words we begin this incredible book that covers the words that God spoke in and through the Prophet Jeremiah his 40-year ministry was a tremendous display of faithfulness and courage in the face of incredible opposition that he had to face as a prophet of God and we noticed as well that he tells us where he's from he was from the village of Anathoth now since Jeremiah was from a priestly family it made sense for him to be from this village which was just a few miles away from Jerusalem matter of fact from the way that the hills are situated there are places in the village of Ana north where you can see the walls of Jerusalem Jeremiah didn't live in Jerusalem but he didn't live far from there actually just a day's walk away or less now verse 2 to whom the word of the Lord came and the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah in the thirteenth year of his reign he came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah in the year end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month now notices verse two begins to whom the word of the Lord came notice the contrast look how verse one begins the words of Jeremiah then look at verse 2 to whom the word of the Lord came so what are we dealing with are we dealing with the words of Jeremiah the Prophet or are we dealing with the words of the Lord God and the answer is yes it's both isn't it and this is how God worked through his divine messengers that brought forth the Word of God to us where it was God speaking through those men in an infallible way to give us his true and perfect word at least in the original autographs nevertheless the personality of each one of these men come through in a very powerful way so when Jeremiah writes there's something about Jeremiah in the writing when the Apostle Paul writes there's something about the Apostle Paul each one of these inspired authors God used a combination of his Holy Spirit's guidance and their human personality to bring forth his Eternal Word and so notice again starting there in verse 2 it says that it began in the days of Josiah and that tells us something else because actually King Josiah was one of the better kings of the southern kingdom of Judah he was zealous for reform and according to 2nd chronicles chapter 34 it was in the eighth year of Josiah's reign that he sought the Lord and that he began a aggressive campaign to purify Israel of its idolatry and it's sin it's really sort of fascinating we have these forty years before Israel goes into captivity and some forty years before that time God raised up a very godly King and a very godly prophet to work right beside him you could say that God called forth these two giants Josiah and Jeremiah to serve him and to serve his people in that needful generation and each one of them supported the other but what's interesting is they didn't leave behind an enduring legacy of a change in other words you could say this if Josiah and Jeremiah were really so effective in bringing God's Word and a sense of revival to ancient Judah then why did they get conquered by the Babylonians some 40 years later well I'll tell you why because first of all many of the things in the culture that had been set in motion up to that time were unchanged in the hearts of the people but let me tell you one of the great things that God did through Josiah and Jeremiah was he gave the people no excuse I think about that I think about that with a nation such as our own the United States of America but that's not unique you could apply any nation any nation that in some way or another seems to be moving farther and farther away from God becoming more and more secular look I don't want to be entirely dark in our understanding of what God is doing in America and in the spiritual condition of America because in many countries around the world sometimes God is doing a marvelous work but you just can't perceive it yet and wouldn't it be wonderful if really God is preparing the groundswell right now for a mighty revival that's gonna sweep our nation wouldn't you be excited about that I sure would and if that's what God is doing right now I thank him for it but I'll be honest with you to my eye and it's an imperfect eye I admit but I'll tell you nevertheless it's my eye too my eye doesn't look like it to my eye the culture continues to rush towards a deserving judgment well you might say David if you knew that there would be no revival if you knew that there would be no recovery that that's sort of this airplane that's on a downward spiral or spiral heading down to a crash that it's not going to pull out and gain altitude again if you knew that's gonna do that what why would you still do the work that you do and I'll tell you why because there's even value in that and that God can use a faithful man or a faithful woman to take away any excuse from the peep for whom judgment is gonna come upon the friends isn't that a heavy idea that sometimes the value of a person's ministry is not found in the response that comes from people but in the excuses that it takes away from people in a time of judgment and I'm here to tell you that was largely the result of Jeremiah's ministry his ministry was not successful because people had a radical turning to the Lord we want to wish so but his ministry was successful because it stripped away any excuse that people had for their failure to repent and turn to God well going on now notice the Kings that are mentioned there in verses 2 & 3 he mentions Josiah and Jehoiakim and Zedekiah now I want you to notice something that if you follow the history of Judah he actually left 2 Kings out he left out jehovah has and two Joya kin why would he leave those two Kings out I'll tell you why because they only reign for a matter of months they were almost aberrations they didn't even live long enough to secure the throne and so he mentions the three kings who reigned in any appreciable time Josiah Jehoiakim and Zedekiah until what look at verse 3 until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month now this is a book that will take us all the way to the captivity of Judah conquered by the Babylonians but let's look at this verse 4 where it begins the call that God gave to Jeremiah so I just kind of wants you to well brace for impact buckle your seat belts because you know what there's gonna be a lot of in the Book of Jeremiah a lot of judgment a lot of woe now we're also gonna see that God cannot keep himself from giving hope and giving reason for faith even in the midst of the pronouncements of judgment but it's gonna get ugly tonight it's pretty cool tonight we're talking about the call of a prophet in Jeremiah 1 you're gonna get inspired tonight next week you're gonna be flat-out depressed if preach the scriptures Facebook you can be going oh man was that bad but it is bad and this what we got to get honest about and the Book of Jeremiah is gonna help us to do it anyway verse four then the word of the Lord came to me saying before I formed you in the womb I knew you before you were born I sanctified you I ordained you a prophet to the nation's and notices the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah now it came to him as a young man he had a personal encounter with the Lord apparently he was raised in a godly home apparently the priestly things were around him yet nevertheless he had to have his own personal encounter with the Lord the word of the Lord had to come to him now what's interesting is if you go through the prophecies of Jeremiah and if you read them carefully you will find echoes you will find phrases that are used in the prior prophets that came before his time such as Hosea that's just one example what it shows us is that Jeremiah was a man who was familiar with the Word of God the word of the Lord came to him because his heart and his life was filled with the Word of God and that's why the word came to him but it says here in verse 5 God spoke to him saying before I formed you in the womb I knew you and he said I ordained you to be a prophet to the nation's now God spoke to Jeremiah as a young man but he wanted him to know that his call on his life went back even further than his youth Jeremiah you existed in my heart and in my mind even before you ever existed on this earth now by the way if God holds a life precious before it exists in the womb how much more should we think that God regards a life precious while it is in the womb but notice this Jeremiah the point that God was making to him was simply this before all of that I knew you or all of that I called you God wanted Jeremiah to know that you are in my plan and I have a plan for you ever before you existed in your mother's womb why was it important so that he could walk in God's preordained plan for his life no and what you think about it it's it's interesting when you read ancient Jewish legends ancient Jewish legends and friends they're nothing more than really rabbinical legends but ancient Jewish legends tell us that Jeremiah was so-called of the Lord that he was born circumsized that's a trick isn't it they also say that he came out of his womb prophesying and as the legend goes in his out of the womb prophecy he comes out of the womb prophesying he complained of the faithlessness of his mother now that's quite a thing for a newborn baby to do isn't it so there when he complains about the faithfulness of his mother his mother says something the effect of son how could you say such a thing about him he says oh no mother you don't understand I'm speaking symbolically of Jerusalem as the mother of the people of God all right so rabbinical legend there's no real truth but this way I want you understand when God told Jeremiah when he spoke those words to you before I formed you in the womb I knew you the information wasn't given just to interest Jeremiah it wasn't given to satisfy his curiosity it wasn't given to entertain him it was given so that he would know God's will and be encouraged with that and therefore align his life the best he could with God's revealed will Jeremiah had to hear this call and God gave him the call you know there's many people who never hear the call of God on their life because they refuse to listen that the proper attitude of any man or any woman before God is simply to say this to check in with God from time to time about what his call is on your life do you have a sense that you know what God has called you to be and to do for him in this world well if you think you know great praise the Lord I'm not gonna try to dissuade you from that but isn't it good just to check in with God from time to time see God what is it that you have me first one has to hear the call but then you have to respond to the call and that's what Jeremiah had to do many people hear God's call but they don't respond to it as they should through the years many times I have heard somebody say something like this once I thought I was called to be a missionary you know long time ago I thought I was called to be a pastor now friends I think for some of those people it's definitely true that maybe they thought they were called to be a missionary or a pastor or some kind of you know service in that weight unto God and they were an air about it isn't that entirely possible that somebody could think well God wants me to be a pastor and then later on in their life they find out not or at least not now God wants me to be a missionary but later on they felt well no not or not now that's entirely true but but aren't there probably many people who did hear God correctly but they did not respond in faith in an obedience let me give you a challenging thought it's been said that in every generation God calls enough workers to minister to his people and reach the world the question is how many of those respond to that call Jeremiah had to respond to it now let me just clear up two common misconceptions about the calling of God on our life first of all some people confuse calling with how they make their money if God has called you to serve his people in some way that also might be the way that you earn a living or it might not it shouldn't matter to you calling and vocation can be two different things listen I know that when I was a young man let's see I would have been probably about 17 when I really understood my calling before the Lord I knew that I was called to teach and to serve God's people that that's what God had called me to do I had no clue whatsoever that that would be how I earn my living I thought I'd be working at a grocery store and I thought well great I'll work in a grocery store and God is you giving me opportunities I'll feed your people I'll teach them I'll lead them we need to separate calling may not necessarily be the same as vocation but secondly some people think there's something more holy in being called to be a pastor or a missionary or whatever friends that isn't true at all that the faithful carpenter that the faithful teacher that the faithful auto mechanic and the faithful pastor will all be rewarded equally according to their faithfulness unless unless God is called the pastor really to be a carpenter or God is called the carpenter really to be a missionary then you're really not being faithful to your calling are you but whatever vocation God has called you to do or to have then fulfill it as the calling of God this is what God was telling Jeremiah that he was to be looking at there in verse 5 a prophet to the nation's now his focus through most of the book is the southern kingdom of Judah but he speaks a great deal to the nation's as well verse 6 then I said ah Lord God behold I cannot speak for I am a youth let's stop right there I'm calling you Jeremiah Oh Lord God it's really actually a very vivid phrase in the ancient Hebrew it's like oh no way Lord no not at all I can't do it behold verse 6 I cannot speak for I am a youth and we don't know exactly how old Jeremiah was the commentators I've read estimate anywhere from 16 years of age to 20 years of age but in some way or another Jeremiah would be considered a young man and apparently he felt that his youth prevented him from being a good or an authoritative Messenger of God's Word and what did God say in response to him Jeremiah says no no I can't do it I'm too young verse 7 but the Lord said to me do not say I am a youth for you shall go to all whom I send you and whatever I command you you shall speak do not be afraid of their faces for I am with you to deliver you says the Lord then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth and the Lord said to me behold I have put my words in your mouth see I have this day set you over the nation's to put down excuse me in over kingdom's to root out and to pull down to destroy and to throw down to build and to plant friends isn't that heavy what did Jeremiah say when God called him O Lord I can't do it I'm too young I'm buddy youth and what did God say don't you say that to me looking for 7 do not say I am a youth the Francis is what don't you understand even though Jeremiah's protest was true was he really a youth yes he wasn't youth it was irrelevant yes your youth I don't care God says God didn't want to hear it and he didn't want Jeremiah to say it God insists on his right to call young people and to use him if he so chooses so friends don't say I'm a youth do not say I am a youth and excuse yourself from the calling of God because God used David even as a young boy remember that he killed a lion and a bear and then Goliath on top of that do not say I am a youth because God filled John the Baptist's with the Holy Spirit when still in his mother's womb that's a youth don't you think do not say I am a youth because God used Timothy even as a young man even though the Apostle Paul told him let no one despise your youth but be an example to the believers in Word and conduct in faith in spirit in purity do you see that friends do you understand that young people can be an example to the body of Christ of what in Word in conduct in love in spirit in faith in purity don't you say I am a youth think of a man like Hudson Taylor do you know the name Hudson Taylor Hudson Taylor was one of the greatest missionaries this earth has ever seen and he was a man who had 17 years of age received a call to go to China he dared to seek God and he totally surrendered himself to God's will and almost immediately he received the impression that he was to go to China and that God wanted him to live on the mission field purely by faith not by the normal channels of support so what did he do he set himself right then immediately in London to start living by faith right where he was by the time he was 22 he was in Shanghai and began a glorious career serving God in China friends God can use young people so don't excuse yourself I know that the times I have to speak to young people one of the messages I like to bring to them again and again and again is this give God the young years of your life and you'll never regret it I know that that is the testimony of the life of both myself and my wife Inga Lille sometimes we sit back and look you get a little older and you get kind of nostalgic and such over the early years and all that but we look back and we say and we say it with gratitude to God we gave God the young years of our life and we don't regret it for a moment what I like to speak out against with all the strength I have whenever I can speak to young people is that attitude that says well yeah man I'll do my thing for ten years and then when I'm old like 30 and past the time of having fun then I'll get serious about serving the Lord young person that is a grave mistake you will regret that in your life you will regret not giving the young years of your life to serving the Lord so don't make that mistake do it now starting now dedicate yourself in a special way to serve the Lord and don't you dare give God that excuse I am buddy youth what will God say to you don't tell me that get serious about serving me matter of fact look at what he says there in verse 7 for you shall go to all whom I send you and whatever I command you you shall speak God spoke with both encouragement and persuasion to Jeremiah Jeremiah protested that he couldn't go because of his youth but what did God say you shall go you're going that's all there is to it there's nothing else to say about this now and then he said verse 8 do not be afraid of their faces for I am with you to deliver you Jeremiah had two reasons to be afraid first of all he was young second of all think about it God gave this young man a message that was very difficult to hear you know if you're a young man it's pretty cool if God gives you a message you can realize your god-given potential that's pretty cool message for a young man to preach isn't it or you know this positive great inspiring wonderful good news but if you're a young man and God gives you the message of judgment to speak to his people that's tough but what does God tell Jeremiah to do look at it there in verse 8 do not be afraid of their faces for I am with you the fact of my presence with you is greater than any of the things that would push you away from it friends would want to be real about it and I would say this to young people as well I would say I want to be honest there is a price to be paid for answering God's call I'm not gonna sugarcoat it you will pay a price in your life for answering God's call I'll assure you it's totally worth it but I'm not gonna try it you can have it all you can't have it all if you want to answer God's call in your life there's gonna be things that you say no to and ways that you have to die to self that are gonna put you through the wringer but it'll be worth it you see if we will answer the call only if it's easy or only if it's comfortable then we're not worthy followers of Jesus Christ at all friends do you think it's too difficult let me encourage you Jesus Christ will be with you to strengthen you along the way it won't be too difficult I've heard it I can't bear to disappoint my family if you're called you can bear it I can't give up all that I've worked for if you're called you can do it I can't live in a new place if you're called you can do it I can't learn a new language if you're called you can do it I can't look like a fool in front of my friends or in front of other people if you're called you can do it God strengthening you can do it verse 9 then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth isn't that beautiful and what did he say to him verse 10 see I have this day set you over nations and over the kingdom's to root out and to pull down to destroy and throw down to build and to plant it do you see that thing that he told her to do in verse 10 you're gonna do six things what are the six things root out and pull down destroy and throw down and then to build into plant you your ministry is going to be four parts of judgment for every two parts of grace yeah thanks Lord what a commission that is but notice verse 10 he says see I have set you this day friends Jeremiah was definitely called but he didn't fulfill the call God had for him in his first year it took a full 40 years of ministry for Jeremiah before he fulfilled the call that God had in his life that's another thing I would say to young people who have a passion they want a calling to serve God in their life I'd say go for it be energetic give it all your heart be passionate but along with your passion take some patience don't expect that you're going to fulfill the call that God has given to you at least in any kind of fullness in your first year in your first five years in your first 10 years give it some time for God to do his work and Jeremiah you could say that there were three distinct phases of his ministry the first period of Jeremiah's ministry took place under the protection of the godly King Josiah and that was an amazing time when he had a lot of protection and published his sport report he preached for some 23 years even though many people didn't seem to listen and threatened his life still he had official protection but then after King Josiah died things got worst Jeremiah read a scroll of his collected prophecies to the new king jehoiakim and what did the King do he took the scroll he cut it in pieces and he threw it in the fire in that general period Jeremiah was chained and whipped and he survived a very close brush with death there was a period of persecution and then in the third period it was under another King Zedekiah Zedeck I was put on the throne by the Babylonians but he didn't continue to obey them and God used Jeremiah to bring a message under Zedekiah that must have seemed crazy it must have seemed like madness to his generation and what was the message Jeremiah basically said this the conquering from the Babylonians is inevitable just get used to it just surrender to it God's judgment is not going to turn back just surrender to it and it seemed like madness for his generation for him to do that but that was God's message he told them to prepare for the 70 year exile and to have a peaceable attitude towards the Babylonians he was regarded as a traitor and he was imprisoned so you have these three distinct periods in his ministry under the three different Kings verse 11 moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying Jeremiah what do you see and he said I see a branch of an almond tree then the Lord said to me you've seen well for I'm ready to perform my word see well what's the big deal with an almond tree well first of all can I just say it was simple the village where Jeremiah grew up they grow almonds there to this day he'd seen a lot of almond trees say that's an almond tree that's an almond branch yeah I see it before me God gave him something very simple to begin with you're not talking about flaming Seraphim or wheels within wheels something very simple but notices the almond tree is known as one of the trees that buds first in the spring you see it's just very simple it's God is ready to do something just like the almond tree signals that spring is ready to happen here's the second one verse 13 and the word of the Lord came to me the second time saying what do you see it I said I see a boiling pot that's facing away from the north then the Lord said to me out of the north calamity shall break forth on all the inhabitants of the land for behold I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the North says the Lord they shall come and each one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem and against all its walls around and against all the cities of Judah I will utter my judgments against them concerning their wickedness because they have forsaken me burned incense to other gods and worshipped the work of their own hands what does he see next he sees like a pot or a cauldron and its opening is towards the south it's coming from the north towards the south and it's as if this judgment is being poured out upon the land from the north to the south and what God is saying when judgment comes upon Judah it's going to come from the north it's going to come from the Babylonians it will come because Jerusalem and Judah have forsaken me and gone after idols I just want you to hold that point I could develop it but I won't because the next few chapters that we get into next week ladies and gentlemen it's going to go into it in great detail and describe why Israel deserve this judgment let's take a look and conclude with the last few verses of this chapter verse 17 therefore prepare yourself and arise and speak to them all that I command you do not be dismayed before their faces lest I dismay you before them Jeremiah you saw properly in these two visions you passed your prophets test and you got your learner's permit go out now and I can use you to do a work go out but notice what he says he says speak to them all that I have commanded you and do not be dismayed before their faces lest I dismay you before them friends there's something about it speaking the word of the Lord two faces that don't want to receive it now I thank the Lord that I so rarely have that in this congregation here in Santa Barbara it is so rare that I see a face that dismays me while I'm preaching I may see a face from time to time that says Lord bless their sleep as you give them rest but rarely do I see a face that dismays me but friends I've seen it I've seen it in my years of ministry I've seen people that when you see the look on their face when you're trying to bring them the Word of God it's like whoa maybe I should just shut up and at that moment God says no don't you dare they need to hear it they need to hear what God says to them and that was God's Word - Jeremiah and I look at it here verse 18 for behold I have made you this day a fortified city an iron pillar and bronze walls against the whole land against the kings of Judah against its princes against its priests and against the people of the land they will fight against you but they shall not prevail against you for I am with you says the Lord to deliver you welcome to the ministry Jeremiah look at that phrase in verse 19 they will fight against you and then the next phrase they shall not prevail against you you know every once in a while when we recognize the call of God upon somebody's life and we bring them up on the platform and lay hands on them and ordain them I don't know if I've ever ordained somebody with those words lay hands on them and say they will fight against you but friends maybe I should you know the ministry isn't a playground it's a battleground and you got to go in there willing to take on the fight but with utter complete confidence in the Lord who says they shall not prevail against you well friends this was Jeremiah's call to ministry and this is I think God's speaking to us about whatever he has called us to fulfill in our life I believe that God has a call a purpose a direction for every soul listening to this I pray that he gives you the courage in the insight to follow the calling he's put upon your life just as much as he's put upon my life or anybody else before the Lord father this is our prayer you [Music]

Channel: David Guzik

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Keywords: david guzik, guzik, enduring word, jeremiah, jeremiah 1, call of a prophet, prophet, prophet jeremiah

Id: v9PBhe3KeR4

Length: 35min 17sec (2117 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 12 2019