No Excuses, Jeremiah 1

[Music] [Applause] [Music] all right if you have your bible get it open to jeremiah chapter one we are going to be there in just a little bit we're going to be going through the book of jeremiah for the next four weeks so i'm really excited about this jeremiah's a great prophet to study if you read through the entire book of jeremiah it gets kind of dry in between so i think what happens is when we study it and we learn about a little bit we can really know what jeremiah is all about that's that book and that profit all right so the bottom line up first in this very first week is this if it is important to you you will find a way if it is important to you you will find a way if it's not important you'll find an excuse so if it's important you'll find a way if it's not important you'll find an excuse i i think we are amazing human beings we have the capacity for so many excuses right i i once knew a pastor who said you know what i do tim i i use this this phrase i use this phrase all the time and this phrase goes like this i don't know you know pastor pastor can you help me with this i i'm not really quite sure how to do x y and z i don't really know how to do that well he may know a little bit he may know just a slight bit he may know a lot but he says i don't know now why does he do this well because he knows that he says if he says i know exactly how to do that or i think i have an idea then that task will be put onto him now this sounds like a cop-out but in in reality it's kind of a clever way of doing things because he's making excuses so he doesn't overburden himself now there probably is a better way to do it but i thought that was kind of interesting although my favorite excuse i found this one my favorite excuse is this when i got up this morning i accidentally took two xlax and my prozac i can't get off the toilet but i feel good about it all right maybe a dad joke a little groaner right there all right we make excuses all the time even if we know that what we're supposed to do is the right thing or a good thing to do for example my wife and i have read the book younger next year and it is a wonderful book it's about how we can become younger each year even after age 50 and we can have healthy and flourishing lives all the way into our 80s all right phenomenal book if you haven't read it before get the book read through it it's a great january book for 2021 all right so the author outlines seven things that we can do so that we actually live lives that flourish in lives that thrive so number one he says that we as as human beings we should be exercising six times a week and we need to do this for the rest of our life now you might be thinking well that's that's a big ask but here's what i want you to know look at people who exercise in their life and as they've gotten older do they look different from people who haven't well they sure do uh there's one person in particular i'm thinking about uh he used to run during his lunch breaks at the bank he used to run like five miles during his lunch break and then he'd come back in i met him uh it's it's actually a relative of carol tades and he was in his i think mid 80s and he was he he looked great his mind was there he he um was you know able to get up and move and he had all functionality it was it was amazing he he acted like somebody in their late 60s well why because he exercised so much throughout his life his body was busy repairing itself building it back up and so when he got into his mid 80s he still was doing really well now what the author says is that we should not only exercise six days but the second thing is we need to make four of those days uh aerobic exercise you know get our heart up and we need to do that for at least 45 minutes third thing that he says is we need to be lifting weights two of those days and we need to do that for the rest of our life fourth thing is he says spend less money than you make now why would he say that well the whole idea of the book is to flourish and thrive in life and if you're 60 years old and you're in great health but as you're looking toward retirement you've got nothing except for lots of debt you're not going to thrive in your 70s and 80s you're going to be working so what he says is spend less than you make and save so that you have money to retire on makes sense right i love this one number five quit eating crap simple right when you when you eat a twinkie as you put it in your mouth you're like this is probably not a good idea and and you'd be correct we put so much crud into our mouths and we expect to feel good here's the thing we know it's not good for us so stop knock it off number six care about other people and care about others in life so care about people it sounds so simple it's like this guy sold two million books giving us knowledge that we already knew if you want a good life if you want to thrive in life care about other people well didn't jesus talk about that right and then the last one is this he says connect with others and commit to serving others because he says we as human beings we need relationships so cultivate relationships connect with other people we need each other and we need to be serving other people doesn't that sound biblical i mean right now when i list all these things off none of them probably stuck out to you like oh wow i never would have thought of that no because we know these we know if we want a life that is healthy and flourishing we we know we need to be doing these things but here's what we do we make excuses don't we i don't have enough time to exercise i am so busy as i watch the bachelor or i watch the office six times through i'm talking to my kids right now all right um i don't have time to do that but here's the thing you have time you just need to find it you need to get rid of things that don't really matter and start doing things that really do some people say i can't pay off my debts because i just don't make enough well here's the thing if you can't pay off your debts because you don't make enough start getting rid of things in your budget actually first of all make a budget how many people here don't have a budget i mean think about this if we want to start paying off our debts so we can put money away and save it then we probably should start paying off our debts we should probably take a look at where our money is going because our money and our bank account is sort of like hemorrhages if we don't think about it we slide a card here we sign a card here slide a card here and all our money is just gone before our next paycheck so you do make enough very likely you just need to look at where that money is going and that's hard how about this one i don't really eat that badly i think i think i eat pretty well you know my favorite this is one of my favorite stories a relative of mine said you know uh i haven't really ate much today all i had today was a bag of skittles for lunch think about that skittles have practically no nutritional value whatsoever eating a bag of skittles doesn't mean that like you haven't ate much eating a bag of skittles means that you're eating incredibly unhealthy and that right there it ruins your body after time and time again if you get in the habit of doing that what's going to happen well you're going to balloon up and gain weight and then you're going to feel miserable how about this one i'm too busy to help others you know i've heard people say that in other ways we don't say it like that but i'm too busy let somebody else do that because i just don't have time for it in the christian world that we live we also make excuses one that i hear a lot of times was that's not my job that's the preacher's job shouldn't the preacher be doing that isn't that why we pay him or her or how about this one that's not my gift my gift is not in that area so i i really can't help out there or how about this one i've already served let someone else do it i've done my time that's one of my favorite ones i i've done my time well here's one thing what if jesus would have said you know what i served two years already in this ministry done my time let somebody else do it jesus never does that god never says all right i've done enough good now it's somebody else's turn god doesn't say that why do we say that how about this one i'm too busy i'm too tired i'm too young i'm too old to do that again back to the main idea if it is important to you you will find a way if it's not important to you you will find an excuse jeremiah he was ready for the excuse when god called him to be a prophet listen to jeremiah chapter 1 verses 4 through 10. it says the word of the lord came to me saying 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 alas sovereign lord i said i do not know how to speak i am too young but the lord said to me do not say i am too young you must go to everyone i send to you and say whatever i command do not be afraid of them for i am with you and will rescue you declares the lord then the lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me i have put my words in your mouth see today i appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down to destroy and overthrow to build up and to plant let's take a moment we'll pray over this heavenly god we ask that today you will be here with us that your holy spirit will anoint this word that you will be with us pastor you'll be with us open up our hearts and our mind to see the excuses that we make and help us to make a commitment to action to follow you lord to do what is right to to live lives that are healthy and flourish we pray this in your name amen so what we're going to do today is we're going to talk about all the excuses that jeremiah gives starting out with excuse number one god you're asking too much god you're asking too much now this excuse is more inferred because on verse five it says i have appointed you as a prophet to the nations let me talk about that being a prophet was a very difficult gig to have back then see jeremiah's father and grandfather were priests and being a priest back then was actually a pretty good job to have it was predictable you knew exactly what you were supposed to do you had the laws and the torah and things like that it was sort of like being a pastor you knew that you're going to have to teach and you're going to have to do stuff at the church or the temple back then you knew what life looked like likewise being a priest you protected the status quo you wanted things to kind of stay the same and you know what people like it when things stay the same don't they also as a priest you had a steady supply of income you know it was mandated that the people give you their grain at least 10 percent and people would come with their sacrifices and you're able to take a little bit off that you know you had some income you had something to eat you were provided for now let's look at the profit a prophet you don't know what's next in life it's totally unpredictable if god gives you a word if god puts a word on your heart you must say it a prophet disrupts the status quo a prophet will go in somewhere and say you know what i know you've been doing this for years now i know you'll love it but we're going to have to stop this that doesn't work out so well does it a prophet oftentimes is given a message from god that invokes hatred we don't like to hear prophetic words and finally a prophet has really no source of income you don't get tithes and offerings as a prophet you don't get food given to you there's really no great retirement plan or benefits think about it this way jesus was a prophet jesus offered a message of change um he told people to repent the kingdom of god is near uh did people like his message no they hated it he challenged a status quo and guess what happened he was crucified but with every excuse that jeremiah gives god also gives a promise and the promise is this god has made you for his calling god had made jeremiah for the calling that he put upon jeremiah's heart listen to jeremiah 1 verse 5 it says i chose you before i formed you in the womb i chose you before i formed you in the womb i set you apart before you were born see jeremiah was designed for this he was created for this moment for this time for this purpose god knows jeremiah's potential just like god knows your potential god knows your limits god has a plan for your life in fact god created you for this purpose and so jeremiah says you know what god you're asking too much why can't i just be a priest like my father my grandfather it's a great gig i'll still worship you i'll still do exactly what you want me to do but god says no i didn't create you to be a priest i created you to be a prophet and likewise we say this to god all the time hey god um you know i just can't do this it's just beyond me you're asking too much for me but god's like you know what i created you for this and for you to say no goes against my created work are you saying that i did something wrong because you're not wanting to fulfill the calling that i put upon your life god said i made you for this see god designed you to fulfill god's purpose so that's the first excuse excuse number two is this i can't jeremiah basically says i can't do it i can't listen to this uh jeremiah 1 6. but i protested oh no lord god look i don't even know how to speak since i'm only a youth see jeremiah felt inadequate he felt like he wasn't able to preach and teach he wasn't able to speak well sounds kind of like moses doesn't it now this is something that that we feel a lot if you're somebody who's been called into preaching and teaching as a pastor preacher or whatever um oftentimes we have these feelings like god did you really call me uh there's all these other people who are far better at doing this than than i am in fact when i was called to be a preacher i had a relative of mine who was really close she said something like this have you ever thought of anything else tim wow burn my favorite professor that i had in seminary uh dr elmer collier he's also a united methodist pastor as well as a professor he he was one of those people um he didn't really fit the bill for the preaching type in fact in high school he rode his motorcycle through the hallways of the school and when he went back to high school reunions people actually laughed at him when he said i'm a preacher now god can do it god can make you into the person that he calls you to be and in my household can't is a four-letter word we don't use it we don't use the word can't it's a pet peeve of mine i hate it when people say the word i can't because god has a way to overcome he can overcome your weakness he can overcome your lack of knowledge he can overcome your lack of skill or lack of experience the truth is and listen to this truth you might want to write it down the truth is that the people who are most aware of their own inadequacies are usually the people who are most dependent on god think about that the people who know how weak how pathetic how how much how little they have to give they are the people that are most used by god because they are most dependent reminds me of second corinthians it says my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in your weakness the promise is is that god can see jeremiah says i can't do it i cannot do it god i don't i'm too young for this and we say the same thing i just can't do it i can't lose the weight i can't start an exercise program i can't make a budget i can't do this this and this but god says you're right you can't do it you weren't expecting that were you you're right you can't do it but i can see god can do it we can't do it on our own but if god is with us we can do it god doesn't call the equipped he equips the called i'm sure you've all heard that before but god doesn't call the equipped god equips the called and god rarely uses the most talented the best speaker the best looking person although i'm up here just joking but god uses the most unlikely people to do god's purposes so if you don't feel like you can do it what god is putting upon your heart but there is a passion and there's a willingness then surrender yourself to it and god will enable you to be able to do it number three the third excuse that jeremiah gives and i love this excuse because i've used this time and time again god this isn't really a good time for me it's not a good time for me uh going back to i'm only a youth now when when he says i'm only a youth um look at this like he he's basically saying god i don't have enough experience now back then a youth wouldn't necessarily mean a child youth is anywhere from their teens all the way up to about 25. it means that you're a young man who is not yet married uh scholars believe that jeremiah was anywhere from 20 to 25. so you know when when we look at jeremiah he he's actually an adult now he's not just a youth he's an adult and in fact most people didn't live past age 32 the average age was 32 or so and so for him to say i'm too young for this it's kind of a funny statement because he's actually fairly old in that culture so why did jeremiah say it well it's because he felt inferior he didn't feel like he had the experience he felt intimidated so he has the excuse when i'm older i'll do it when i have more experience god when i've done this this and this maybe then will be the right time and listen to what god says because this is great do not say i'm too young boom do not say i'm too young you must go to everyone i send to you and say whatever i command do not be afraid for i am with you and i will rescue fear is what was stopping jeremiah fear he didn't feel like he was able to do it because he feared that he was inadequate feared that he was inferior fear that he wouldn't be able to do the job right you know we all make excuses like this um how many times have you said i'll start that tomorrow well you know what the best time to start is right now don't ease to don't ease into it if you feel like this is where god's calling you if this is something you want to do in your life go for it find somebody to hold you accountable uh i i don't say this very often but like if you want if you feel like you need to start running because that's what god has put on your heart if you feel like that's where you need to go in your life right now to get fit and healthy go and buy treadmill i know it sounds bad well you know i don't know how i'm going to afford just go out and buy a treadmill you have a stimulus check most of us just go out and buy a treadmill get on it six times a week walk run whatever start it right now start eating healthy after this sermon you know for lunch have something healthy instead of having crap this afternoon make a budget if you want your finances in order make a budget line out all your debts create a plan with you and your significant other or you and somebody else in your household uh to tackle this or how about spiritual disciplines you know like i've always felt like god wants me to read my bible every single day or i've always felt like god wants me to pray or take time just to meditate or journal do it this afternoon don't wait do it see jeremiah says this isn't a good time for me and we say the same thing god um maybe later this isn't going to be a good time for me but god says stop making excuses i'm with you now excuse number four is actually a fun one because we understand this anybody who's been to middle school excuse number four is basically this i'll look weird i'll look weird people won't like me see jeremiah is called to give a message that nobody wants to hear it's a message on judgment and he will be misunderstood he'll be persecuted he'll be arrested he'll be imprisoned it's very unpopular listen to jeremiah chapter 1 verse 13 it says god used the image of a boiling pot to communicate his coming wrath his coming wrath again the lord of the word of the lord came to me inquiring what do you see and i replied i see a boiling pot and it's lip tilted from the north to the south so what does he see here he sees the impending doom of israel the boiling pot is meant to be babylon and babylon is on the verge of taking over israel and destroying it this is not a joyful message it's not popular see jeremiah's message is to uproot and tear down to destroy and overthrow i don't want to be the person who does that but he also has another role to build and to plant this is vital because the people of israel they need somebody to call them out on their actions they are worshipping false gods they are not following god in the way that they could and god cannot bless them unless they repent from their old ways and start walking toward god so jeremiah's job is to rip them from their complacency help them to see their sins and their evil so that they can stop this impending doom how'd you like to be jeremiah right now it's not a task that anybody wants show of hands how many of you like it when somebody tells you that you're wrong i don't like it when somebody tells me i'm wrong i feel cruddy about myself if somebody tells me i'm wrong and then i take it out on people i love most right that's what we do that's humanity we don't like to be told that we're wrong but here's the promise jeremiah says i'll look weird nobody will like me it's not the popular thing but god says i will give you the strength to endure in jeremiah chapter 1 verses 18 through 19 it says today i am the one who has made you a fortified city an iron pillar and bronze walls against the whole land against the kings of judah its officials its priests and the population they will fight against you but will never prevail against you since i am with you to rescue you man what god is saying is i will be with you you're not going to be popular no one's going to like you but i will be with you i will fortify you i will make it so no one can stand against you you will be solid and unshakeable and jeremiah's excuses well i look weird and god responds yep you sure will suck it up buttercup that's what it means to be set apart in this world being a christian gives us the opportunity to look weird you know my family and i we we go to culver's once a week and what we do is we we all sit at the table and we have people's day we we do our prayer um we have different days that uh our kids and i are assigned uh days to prayer and if it's your day to prayer then you pray we do that you're gonna look different from the world around you you're gonna look weird because you have values because you have standards you know when it comes to the sanctity of human life you're going to look different than a lot of people around you when it comes to human sexuality you might look different than other people around you when it comes to how you treat other people you'll look different and yes you'll look weird but you know what god will give us the strength to endure so jeremiah has made all these excuses and the very last thing that we see god say is this basically get going jeremiah it's it's your time see god was expecting immediate action uh verse 17 it says now get up stand up and tell everything i have commanded you see god called jeremiah to action he called him to move out among the people call him to give an offensive message called him to not be welcomed to be despised and people would be angry at him but that's calling that god has given and with all those callings there's a promise that god will be with him that god will strengthen him that god will will bless him if he does this so my question for you is this has god called you to do something now i'm not just talking the christian things in your life we'll get to that in a moment but how about your marriage has god called you to act differently in your in your marriage has god called you to maybe do something for your spouse maybe it's a date night maybe it's bringing her flowers or something like that treating her in the way that she needs to be treated has has god called you to do something within your single life maybe in your single life god's called you to to find ways to build relationships uh with other people maybe god has called you to be single what about with your children has god called you to be a certain kind of parent a parent that reads their kid a parent that does bible studies with them a parent that that maybe takes away their phone over uh different times of the day so that they're not glued to it every single day what about with your finances has god called you to be a good steward of your finances to take a look at uh what you spend your money on to to figure out does it glorify god or am i glorifying myself what about with your health has god called you to to improve your health situation maybe god's calling you to eat better maybe god's calling you to exercise maybe god's calling you to feed your mind with reading you know there's so many different things that god can call us to outside of even the spiritual realm but my thing is is this if you flourish in those areas your relationship with god can flourish as well so it's holistic here likewise there's spiritual disciplines has god called you to read your bible every day has god called you to regularly attend church as god called you to to serve in some capacity in the church whether it's leading a small group being a teacher for children serving meals bringing food in or whatever has god called you to serve in the world whether it's going to honduras or going to nigeria or doing something outside of our community has god called you to do these things and the main idea is this if it's important to you you will find a way but if it's not important you're going to make an excuse you know jeremiah says you're asking too much god this is too much for me but god says i made you for this you see god designed us to fulfill his purpose jeremiah says i can't but god says you're right you can't but i can god doesn't call the equipped god equips the calls jeremiah says this is not a good time for me god says stop making excuses i'll be with you jeremiah says i'll look weird nobody will like me yep you sure will suck it up buttercup because that's what it means to be set apart if it's important you'll find a way if it's important you'll find a way if not you'll be making a whole lot of excuses so as i close here what i want you to do is this i want you to just think in your mind for a few moments what is it that god is calling me to do and if you can if you have a piece of paper i want you to write that down what is it that god is calling me to do okay and now right below that i want you to do this this is the fun part what excuse have i been giving what excuse have i been telling god you're asking too much i can't it's not a good time i'll look weird write that one down too all right and finally what are you gonna do about it i want you to write that down too and i want you to be specific on your action plan i will read my bible at six o'clock in the morning when i wake up i will change into my exercise clothes immediately when i get home so that i will exercise that evening i will create a shopping list a grocery list of healthy foods that i will buy and make meals out of them i will stop buying this junk and i will start doing this whatever it is write down your action plan and also put a date on it and i will start at this time on this date we have a lot of excuses that we can make but god calls us to be set apart god says stop making excuses the right time to start is right now let's pray heavenly father we thank you so much for your word we thank you for jeremiah and the call that you placed upon him and we know it was not an easy task but he leaves a legacy lord he leaves a legacy for those of us who follow him and lord we remember his faithfulness and we also want to be faithful as well we want to follow you we want to do what you have called us to do so lord help us to see that call that you put on our lives help us see the excuses and help us to be firm and in our commitment to move forward to follow that call lord we thank you so much for your word and all the things that you've done to bless us we pray this in your powerful name the name of jesus christ amen

Channel: Bloomfield United Methodist Church

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Id: 58t7qX2Szf8

Length: 34min 46sec (2086 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 17 2021