November 14, 2025 • 36 mins
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Jeremiah's calling wasn't based on his qualifications but on God's eternal plan. This truth extends to all believers.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Biblical Talks.
Sermon of the Week.
Beloved God is completelysovereign.
He knows all things, evenbefore they happen.
In Jeremiah, chapter 1, thecall to Jeremiah, the Lord said
Before I formed you in the womb,I knew you, and before you was
(00:24):
born, I consecrated you, Iappointed you a prophet to the
nation.
Listen, this wasn't based onJeremiah's qualification, but on
God's eternal plan.
The truth of the matter is thatthis is staying to all
believers.
God knows us from eternity pastand his love was set on us
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before we even existed.
Every Christian has been calledto a consecrated life, with a
specific work prepared for us todo.
Here's Pastor Rick Phillips,before I.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Form you.
Jeremiah, chapter 1, verse 4-10.
Blessing to be here.
I've known about this churchfor a long time and it's a joy
to be among you, andparticularly since my old friend
Kevin has been your pastor formany years.
Everything I ever learned Ilearned from Kevin.
But I was a new believer in1990, and Kevin was teaching
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Sunday school, and the firstSunday school class I attended
he was on repentance and itscared me because I did not yet
know about the Spirit of Godworking in the hearts of God's
people.
I knew I couldn't do it and hewas a great teacher to me.
I've held him in greataffection over the years, so
thank you for having me to come.
Let me read Jeremiah, chapter 1,verses 4 to 10, which will be
my text, and then I'll have you.
(01:52):
I gather you stand for thereading of God's word.
Listen to now to the God's holyand errant and life-giving word
, beginning at verse 4 ofJeremiah 1.
Now the word of the Lord cameto me saying Before I formed you
in the womb, I knew you, andbefore you were born I
consecrated you.
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I appointed you a prophet tothe nations.
Then I said Ah, lord, godbehold, I do not know how to
speak, for I am only a youth.
But the Lord said to me me,behold, I have put my words in
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your mouth.
See, I have set you this dayover nations and over kingdoms
to pluck up and break down, todestroy and overthrow, to build
and to plant.
May God be praised through thereading and hearing of his holy
word.
Amen.
Let's pray, father in heaven.
We thank you that we openedthis book and out of it come
words of life.
Oh, speak to us, lord, throughyour word.
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Bless me as I speak, bless usas we hear.
May you be among us.
We know you will.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Please be seated by the way, Ididn't say greetings from your
brothers and sisters inwonderful Greenville, south
Carolina, where I have the greatprivilege of pastoring Second
(03:25):
Presbyterian Church.
I've been there 18 years, infact, this week I wrap up my
18th year there but I've longknown about this church.
I've known Randy as well asKevin, and it's a joy to be with
you.
Well, looking at our text, I'mreminded of the French army that
was commanded by NapoleonBonaparte, which produced an
astonishing number ofinteresting personalities,
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perhaps none more remarkablethan Baron Jean-Baptiste de
Marbeau, who was aide-de-camp tothe emperor and several of his
marshals.
Now, in those days, general'saides played a vital role in the
command and control system ofthe army.
That's how you communicatedwith your units, and they
conducted missions of strategicimportance.
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And I remember as a young manreading the adventures of Baron
Marbeau of how he swam theDanube at its wide point to
capture some Austrian prisoners,and how he rode through Russian
Cossacks to deliver orders to aregiment, how he stormed the
walls of Radisbon during hissiege.
An aide like Marbeau, he wouldhave personally known the
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leading figures of the age.
He would have had a front seatat the making of history.
They were fascinating people,and I think of a person like
that when I think of a prophetlike Jeremiah, because a prophet
of the Old Testament was like aNapoleonic aide-de-camp, except
that his messages came from arather higher authority than a
mere emperor.
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Prophets conducted missions thatwere assigned by the Lord.
They would interact with allthe leading figures of the day.
Jeremiah certainly did that.
He prophesied during the reignof many important kings, along
with some who were not soimportant.
He knew them personally, hespoke to them, and so we often
have this popular view of aprophet as being this
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wild-haired person living on thefringes of society.
No, jeremiah, by any standard,was one of the leading figures
of his day.
Everybody knew him.
Now, a napoleonic aid wasrecognized by his elaborate
uniform.
A prophet in the old testamentwas recognized by his dramatic
calling, his appointment by godthat he would speak god's word.
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And the passage I've read,jeremiah 1 to 4, 4 to 10, is the
record of his specific callingand appointment, as he is called
here, a prophet to the nations.
And he was going to prophesy toa wicked nation, israel.
He was going to bring out amessage that was largely one of
condemnation and judgment, andso the Lord here gives him a
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vivid and unforgettable callingso that it will fortify his will
in the years to come.
Now, the manner of the Lord'sintervention indicates God's
sovereign control of all of hissubjects, and so did the words
he spoke to Jeremiah, words thatreach into eternity past.
Look at verse 5.
He says before I formed you inthe womb, I knew you.
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Before you were born, Iconsecrated you.
And so Jeremiah's life, welearn, was shaped by an eternal
destiny, a divine calling.
I think we usually think ofJeremiah as a distraught old man
, like the portrait of Rembrandtweeping over the desolation of
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fallen Jerusalem.
But all that's years, decadesin the future.
What we see now is Jeremiah asa youth, probably an adolescent,
as the Lord reveals to him hislife's work, hitherto unknown to
him, and he's told that hislife work was predestined in the
will of God.
Before I formed you, in thewomb, I knew you, and so we
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learned here that before he waseven conceived, jeremiah had a
relationship with the Lord.
Before I formed you, I knew you.
He had been in the mind of Godfrom before the beginning.
God fully knew not only who hewould be, but what he was going
to be.
And you may know, the biblicalidea of knowing involves the
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idea of loving.
He was loved by God in eternitypast.
I have loved you with aneverlasting love.
Those words come from this book, and the New Testament says
that is true to each of you aswell.
In love, god predestined us foradoption, through Jesus Christ,
as sons.
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Now this means that if youtrust in Jesus Christ as a child
of God, his fatherly love foryou did not begin when you
believed.
Rather, from eternity, god'slove has been set on you, and
that is why you believe.
What a thing it is to believe inJesus Christ, because so many
things must be true of youaccording to the Bible, if you
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believe in Jesus Christ, and oneof them is that God has loved
you from eternity.
God does not love you becauseyou believe.
You believe because he lovedyou.
He's sovereign in our salvation.
That's what the Bible shows.
You did not come into being andthen God knew you.
No, he knew you forever andtherefore you came into being
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Now.
One thing this means is that Godunderstands us better than we
know ourselves.
Do you realize that?
I remember when I was raisingteenagers.
There was a wonderful time inour lives.
No, kevin, we loved ourchildren and I was raising
teenagers and one time one of mydaughters said to me you don't
understand.
And I laughed See, you don'tknow what it's like to be a
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teenager.
I said oh, I know better thanyou do.
I've been young longer than youhave been.
I've been through all thesethings before.
Don't ever say to God you don'tunderstand me.
In fact, you know we talk.
So many people today say I'mtrying to discover myself.
My friends, if you want todiscover yourself, read your
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Bible.
You will discover.
Haven't you experienced this,you discover yourself on the
pages of scripture, because Godhas known you forever.
What a wonderful thing that is.
Now.
Verse five does show that alllife comes from God.
I formed you, he said.
Now there's natural processesby which a mother and a father
produce a child, but we are allcreated by God, and so, mothers,
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when your little child says toyou, mommy, where did I come
from?
A very good answer is you camefrom God.
Kevin mentioned that we'reabout to have our first
grandchild.
I am much older than Kevin.
Kevin's a young man, but I gotmarried a little later.
I had children a little later.
So I'm having my firstgrandchild, and we know how many
times I say to my son and mydaughter-in-law God is the one
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who will give you the child.
God is the author of life.
Now, this tells us, by the way,that a fetus is a human being,
and so law is declaring thathuman life begins only at birth,
so that the baby may be legallydisposed of prior to birth,
running conflict not only withscience but, even more
importantly, with the Bible.
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One writer says the purpose ofthis passage was not written to
make a comment about the currentabortion debate, but it does so
anyway.
God's sonogram does not revealtissue, it reveals a person.
Now, verse 5 also states thatsalvation results from God's
eternal choosing.
We call this the doctrine ofelection, which means to choose.
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He chose us in Christ beforethe foundation of the world.
Now you were chosen and youwere saved in time.
I was saved at age 30.
My mother nagged me to go tochurch.
I loved my mama.
I wanted to tell her.
I went to church.
I wandered into the churchwhere Kevin was, but he wasn't
preaching and the pastor waspreaching.
And by the power of the word ofGod, I was born again.
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And that happened at a certainplace in time, but it happened
because God had previouslychosen me.
This means that our assuranceof salvation relies not on our
choosing, not on our meriting inany way, on God's eternal
foundation of sovereign grace.
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But not only that in thispassage.
In fact, the emphasis in thispassage is not on his salvation
per se, but on his service.
Here's such an insight.
It's his service.
His life is also predestined.
Before you were born, Iconsecrated you, and to be
consecrated is to be set apartto the Lord and to the work the
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Lord has for you.
And notice that Jeremiah'sconsecration took place before
he was born.
Before he was born, consecratedpersons or things were reserved
for the sole use of God, and soJeremiah was not to live on his
own terms, he was to live onGod's terms.
He was not to chart a course ofhis own design, but of God's
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design, and that also is true ofyou.
What an exciting thing it is Torealize.
God not only chose me ineternity past, but he has
ordained, he has consecrated meeternally for a work that I'm
going to do.
I am consecrated and, yes, tobe a Christian means that I am
no longer the master of my fate.
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What an absurd thought it is.
I have a master, I am the bond.
Oh, how often I think of theVirgin Mary, our dear sister,
when the angel Gabriel comes toher and she's a virgin, she's
going to be pregnant, the HolyOne's going to be in her, and
she says behold the handmaidenof Yahweh.
And I think how many times inmy own life I've been to the
place that said behold thebondservant of the Lord.
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Because I am.
And I want to say this what ourgeneration needs is Christians
who realize we have been calledto a consecrated life.
Am I tell me if I'm wrong.
These are not the times for acasual half in, half out
Christianity.
It's not, in fact, it nevercuts it, but it's decidedly not
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true today.
What we need are Christians whorealize I am a holy person, I
am set apart for the service ofGod.
I am to live for him.
That's what our generationneeds and no doubt so much of
the situation we find is becausethat has not been
characteristically true of thechurch movement of which we are
a part.
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Well, all Christians were chosenby the Lord in eternity past
that we would live for him andwe would do so in conformity
with his will.
I think of that great statementin Ephesians 2, verse 10.
I actually didn't come to yourSunday school class till chapter
4.
So that's the reason.
That's the reason.
But listen to what Paul says inEphesians 2.10.
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For we are his workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good
works which God preferredbeforehand that we should walk
in them.
Now, jeremiah is consecrated tothe vocation of a prophet that
God's message would be deliveredto him.
But see, each of us has aconsecration.
(14:24):
There's work that only you cando and there's a certain glory
that God's going to show throughhis grace that he's going to do
through you.
And part of the thrill of beinga Christian is learning what it
is.
And you start serving.
Here's how it works.
You start serving and the Lordstarts sending you down paths.
I love it.
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I'll be sitting up in thepulpit and I'll see a young, a
new believer standing at thedoor handing out bulletins.
And I go and so it begins.
And so it begins.
When I was a college professor,my first preaching was in a back
toto-baptist student union andit was always in disarray
because of the pianist.
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What a wonderful pianist youhave.
And he showed up on time.
Our pianist never showed up ontime.
In fact, he was often not there, and every time I preached
there was just chaos at thebeginning of the service.
Oh, he's going to play piano.
And then some months later Ilearned that a guy who'd been
there every week was a greatpianist.
He never volunteered.
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So I asked the obvious questiondude, why did you not volunteer
?
And I forgot what he said to meIf I start serving the Lord
here, he's going to send me toAfrica, and I don't want to go
to Africa.
You know where he is.
You know where he is.
The dude's in Africa, which isa wonderful place.
I'd love to be a bachelormissionary.
I love the place.
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Let me say this it is anoxymoron to be a purposeless
Christian.
You know we're living in ageneration.
We have all this affluence.
Why the depression?
One of the reasons is there'sno purpose in life, but every
Christian has been deliveredfrom that.
You are a consecrated person, aconsecrated woman, a
consecrated man, and youdiscover the thrilling purpose
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that God has given for you tomake your contribution to the
eternal glory in Jesus Christ,with infinite blessings to
people you will touch.
There is no, you are not apurposeless Christian.
You are to be purposeful.
God consecrated you under this.
Andrew Dearman writes of a manwho was born out of wedlock and
he was rejected by his fatherand mother.
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What a terrible thing that is.
And of course he soon enteredinto crime and he was convicted.
He went to prison but there wasa church there that had an
evangelistic outreach to theprison.
He heard the gospel and hebelieved and he began studying
the Bible and the Lord openeddoors for him to be a Bible
teacher to his fellow prisonersand this realization opened up
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and healed deep wounds in hisheart.
Dearman writes how many arelike this today?
He says, see, this meant to him, that God wanted him, even if
his parents didn't.
And there was a purpose, therewas meaning, there was value to
his life and God had given him acalling.
There was a place for him,there was a consecration.
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The man didn't get out ofprison, didn't need to get out
of prison, he was saved and hewas living under God.
My friends, that's our calling.
Well, young Jeremiah gets hiscalling by direct revelation.
Verse 5, I appointed you aprophet to the nations.
Now, the prophets revealedGod's word to the people by the
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inspiration of the Holy Spirit,and we usually think of prophecy
being prediction of futureevents, and they do that.
But what they mostly do is theypreach.
They foretell more thanforetell.
And in times of greatinfidelity, like those in which
Jeremiah lived, they deliveredthe news of God's judgment and
they brought what theologianscall the covenant lawsuit to the
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people who'd broken the oldcovenant, threatening God's
judgment as a result.
Now, Jeremiah didn't volunteeror pursue this calling.
It wasn't an ambition of his,he was appointed by the Lord.
Christopher Wright writesJeremiah is not a driven man,
but a given man.
It's not a task he chose, but atask God chose for him.
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And I think we rightly takethis as a paradigm for the
calling, particularly ofministers of the gospel.
That it's not something you setout to do, it's not an ambition
, it's something you're calledto.
I always tell young men if youare able to do anything else, go
do it.
That's not to devalue theoffice, it's actually to value
the office, because I knowfirsthand that if you're called
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to it you're going to do it andyou're like Jeremiah will be
later.
In fact, in this chapter Ican't not speak, I must preach.
It's a divine compulsion.
Jeremiah was consecrated aprophet and those called to
preach and teach the Bible areset apart to the essential
ministry of proclaiming the wordof God into the darkness of a
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sinful world and often thedarkness of a sinful church.
Now, the Old Testament prophetshad in common not only this
definite appointment from God,but they also tended to respond
in the same way, namely withalarm and horror.
I think of Isaiah.
He complained about his corruptnature.
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I am a man of unclean lips, Icome from a people of unclean
lips.
Isaiah 6.5.
Gideon, he objected.
He was the least in hishousehold, he was from the
weakest clan in all, israel.
I think most similar toJeremiah and my personal
favorite was Moses' reaction atthe burning bush.
I'm about to say I'm actuallyreading from the Bible oh Lord,
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please choose someone else.
Don't you love that there'sMoses?
Can't you find somebody?
Have you ever prayed that Lord?
Choose someone else, pleasesend someone else.
Well, jeremiah, in verse 6, ahLord, god, see he's recoiling
because he thinks himselfunsuited.
Verse 6, behold, I do not knowhow to speak, for I am only a
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youth.
Now.
A prophet's supposed to be agood, you know speaker, a
preacher, and Jeremiah's shortresume does not include anything
that suggests his qualification.
If you're going throughLinkedIn looking for a prophet,
there's nothing for 12-year-oldJeremiah.
That's what's going on there,and it was the old men who spoke
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in the village assemblies ofAnathoth and he had no
opportunity to even know if hehad gifts to preach.
It was hard to know if anyonewould take him seriously, but
the Lord had an answer whichalso addressed our objections
when our calling to servicecomes.
In short, what mattered was notthe ability or the experience
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of the one who was called, butthe faithfulness and power of
the God who did the calling.
That's true for you and Godputs you in the situation you go
oh Lord, god doesn't matter howweak you are, doesn't matter
that you're a new believer,doesn't matter that you're young
, doesn't matter that you're old.
What matters is thefaithfulness and power of God,
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who set you there and whoconsecrated you.
Under this.
Don't say I'm only a youth.
That's a good word for theyoung people here.
Young people can serve and evenspeak in an important way, so
long as they back it up withfaith and godliness.
I want to encourage young peopleto take a lead in the word of
God and in the ministry of theword.
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To take a lead in the word ofGod and in the ministry of the
word.
Well, the reason Jeremiah couldand would fulfill the calling
was because the Lord was sendinghim To all to whom I send you,
you shall go.
He was just simply going to.
This is us too.
He needed to trust that theLord knew his business.
Do you trust that the Lordknows what he's doing?
He knows his business.
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The details have been decidedin eternity past by God.
Moreover, jeremiah's speakingability was not the issue.
It was not his words, but itwas going to be God's word that
he would speak.
Whatever I commend you, youshall speak.
Here's a good word for youngmothers wondering how am I going
to raise Christian childrenwith God's word?
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How's New City Fellowship goingto impact your part of
Chattanooga With God's word?
Because God is faithful byGod's power, and that's what he
says.
Whatever I command you, youshall speak.
And that's a similar thing theLord said to Moses when he
objected.
Apparently, moses had a speechimpediment, but God said I will
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be with your mouth, I will teachyou what you shall speak.
Jeremiah, let me put it this way, he did not have to be skilled
in crafting public addresses.
He had a great speechwriter,namely the Holy Spirit.
So do we?
Well, these features ofJeremiah's calling are
replicated in the life of God'sservants today, particularly
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preachers, who select neitherthe recipients of their message
nor the message itself.
Jeremiah was not being told topick the specific target
audience he thought would bereceptive.
He was not challenged or askedto craft the kind of message
that he thought would bepalatable.
(23:23):
Today, the purported prophets ofchurch success.
They advise pastors to target aspecific demographic and then
to cater to the preferences ofthat demographic and then to
shape their messages based upona sociological analysis of their
audience.
But God see, he tells his trueservants to speak to all kinds
of people and to proclaim hisword, whether or not it seems
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likely to be received.
In fact, often it is not likelyto be received.
Paul said the same thing in 2Corinthians 4.
He said we refuse to practicecunning or tamper with God's
word, but by the open statementof truth we commend ourselves to
everyone's conscience in thesight of God.
There's the minister.
When Paul parted from theEphesian elders, he said to them
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I did not shrink from declaringyou the whole counsel of God.
This is why your pastor doesthings like long studies through
a book of the Bible, becauseit's the Holy Spirit's agenda.
It's a great thing as a pastornot to sit there on Monday and
go what do I feel like talkingabout?
That's a dangerous thing.
But you begin by going okay,what's the Holy Spirit saying in
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the next passage?
And then you deliver the wordof God to them.
Now this is going to come at acost.
What Christopher Wright saysabout Jeremiah's calling is true
for all who faithfully preachGod's word.
Listen to this.
He is going to stick out like afuneral director at a wedding.
Let that sink in a little bit.
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He's going to say things thatpeople think are inappropriate.
We wish you wouldn't say that.
Can't you just be quiet?
Don't you realize?
And you go.
When is the right setting totell people they're under the
judgment of God because of sinwhich they are, and somebody's
got to tell them and there'snever a time to say it and it's
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never going to go well.
Well, I mean, it's never goingto be popular.
It will lead to salvation inmany cases.
But he's to stick out like afuneral director at a wedding
and it's clear that already inhis mind he's going oh man, I'm
going to have a terrible life.
And God says do not be afraid ofthem.
See, there it is.
Do not be afraid of them.
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Yes, his faithfulness to Godwill come at a high cost.
Your faithfulness to God's wordwill come at a cost to you.
Do not be afraid of them, for Iam with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord, and the bookof Jeremiah will reveal.
I'll study the book of Jeremiah.
It's a wonderful book and hegoes through many and severe
trials, and yet God proves thatpromise.
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In fact, the book ends with thegreatest calamity of the Old
Testament the fall of Jerusalem,the burning of the temple, and
yet the Lord delivers.
Jeremiah.
Now that's all in the future.
But we're seeing here that Goddoes not promise us that we are
immune from difficulties, thatthere will be resistance.
Many of you converted infamilies and your families want
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you not to bring it up.
I was the first convert in myfamily and it's a little awkward
to say well, I realize I'm asinner and I'm saved by grace
alone.
I want to encourage you and Igot it back to me.
How dare you call us sinners?
Well, I say it in love and wehave to say the truth of the
word of God and the gospel.
And God does not promise usthere will be no price to be
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paid.
He promises that he willpreserve us, as he did Jeremiah.
Well, this promise is extendedto all of God's people.
I've often thought of Hebrews 13, 5 to 6.
I will never leave you, norforsake you, the Lord promises.
So we can say with confidencethe Lord is my helper, I will
not be afraid.
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What can man do to me?
Well, the book of Jeremiahstands as a monument to God's
faithful care over all peoplewho consecrate their lives to
him.
Again, what we need in ourgeneration is not part-time
Christians, not part-wayChristians, consecrated
followers of the Lord Jesus.
And the Lord will be with you,he's promised in his word.
(27:22):
Well, today, when a man isconsecrated to ordained minister
, we lay hands on him.
It's our way of symbolizing theblessing of the Spirit, the
conferring of sacred office.
But when Jeremiah becomes aprophet, he gets something.
By the way, he's alone.
There is no one there to do it.
And so the Lord.
Look at verse 9.
This is wonderful.
The Lord reaches out his handand he touches the member that
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Jeremiah is going to use inserving him.
The Lord put out his hand andtouched my mouth, and then
here's the message Behold, Ihave put my words in your mouth,
and so Jeremiah will be able tospeak because God will give him
words.
But he must speak the Lord'smessage only, not what the
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audience wanted to hear, noteven what he himself wanted to
say.
Ministers have to disciplineourselves.
My opinion means nothing.
I'm to stand in the pulpit, I'mto preach the text of the word
of God, in the spirit of God,delivering the message of the
Holy Spirit.
John Calvin made this thehallmark of a true ministry.
He said let us then know thatwhatever proceeds from the wit
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of man ought to be disregarded,for God wills this honor to be
conceded to himself alone.
He will be heard in his church.
It hence follows that noneought to be acknowledged as
God's servants except thosethrough whom God speaks, who
invent nothing themselves, whoteach nothing according to their
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own fancies, but faithfullydeliver what God has committed
to him.
Now, on those terms, the Lordsays in verse 10, see, I have
set you this day over nationsand over kingdoms.
When a minister speaks God'sword, even kings and presidents
may be commanded to listen.
Jeremiah is not being grantedsovereignty.
(29:16):
He's speaking for the one whois sovereign, and so do we.
Well, so much of the pain thatJeremiah suffers in this book is
going to arise from the task,the heavy task, of giving a
message of rebuke for sin.
Do you realize that ourgeneration needs to be told this
?
It's not unloving to tellpeople that there's a judgment
(29:36):
coming, that there's a holy Godand we are.
Are we a wicked generation?
We are a wicked generation andwe need to repent before a holy
God because he will judge.
If we love people, we will tellthem that, and then we'll tell
them about the cross of the LordJesus Christ which, by the way,
sometimes I'll be thinkingabout this, the things that I
believe and I realize.
No wonder they think I'm crazy.
(29:57):
I believe that history is goingto end when the heaven's part
and the Son of man is going tocome on the clouds of glory, and
that's true, by the way.
I believe it because of theWord of God, but I'm not
surprised that they think I'mcrazy.
But we preach and God says Iwill make your preaching
powerful, I will cause them tohear.
(30:17):
And he says your job will be totear down and then to root down
and to replant.
And Jeremiah's ministry, somuch of the book, is tearing
down.
There must be a tearing down.
And then he says but see, I'mgoing to out of that new soil,
I'm going to have a freshplanting of grace.
You know how many times in ourown lives catastrophe strike.
(30:41):
We go through situations thatwe've dreaded, but we learn
later it was God clearing awaythe rubble for a new day of
grace in us.
Well, let me wrap it up bysaying this Despite many
similarities, ministers todayare not Old Testament prophets.
And yet when I bow my head eachweek, asking God's grace in
(31:01):
preparing my sermons, asking himfor insight and wisdom and
faithfulness and courage.
I am humbled and awed to knowthat I pray to the very same God
who appointed Jeremiah aprophet long ago.
And when you parents are tryingto raise your children, this
generation, you know you needpower and you cry for help.
(31:24):
You're praying to the same Godto whom Jeremiah cried, a God
who's proven his faithfulnessand power to us and my friends.
We must speak.
We must speak in our homes.
We've got to read the Bible inour homes.
We've got to disciple ourchildren.
We've got to invite people tothe church.
(31:44):
One thing I know aboutChattanooga is that Chattanooga
Lake, greenville, needs JesusChrist, and here you have a
church, a pastor who preachesthe Lord Jesus, bring them.
I have a deal with mycongregation, a simple deal you
bring a visitor to church, Iwill preach Jesus to them.
Fair enough, right, you bringthem to church.
You want to encourage me afterthe service?
Nice words are very I doappreciate them, but what to
encourage me after the service?
Nice words, I do appreciatethem, but what really encourages
(32:06):
me in my church is, pastor, I'dlike you to meet my neighbor
who's at church today for thefirst time.
It's the Spirit of God upon aconsecrated church.
I don't know anything aboutyour situation, but the answer
to your challenges as a churchis a consecrated congregation in
the power of the Holy Spirit,who prays to the same God who
spoke to Jeremiah and he says Iput my word in your mouth, do
(32:28):
not fear.
Do not fear.
Jeremiah had a daunting call,and so do you.
Go, therefore, and makedisciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name ofthe Father, son and Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe allthat I've commanded you.
That's a big job, but he givesus the same promise.
(32:48):
I'll close with this Behold, Iam with you even to the end of
the age.
Father in heaven, I pray yourblessing on the preaching of
your word today.
And, father, we look back onJeremiah's incredible life, but
he's not alive today.
Father, we are the ones who arealive today.
And, father, we want to saywith them ah, lord, god, you
mean it's us, but, father,you're the same sovereign God,
(33:12):
you're the same God of grace andpower, and you have placed each
of us in neighborhoods, infamilies, in workplaces.
There's people around us whoare perishing because they do
not know the good news, andthere we are.
And there's other ways in whichwe serve together as a church.
Father, cause everyone heretoday to realize I am a
(33:33):
consecrated person, that theywould resolve to live for you
wholeheartedly and that theirlives would be infused with an
eternal purpose, to the praiseand glory of your grace in
Jesus' name.
Oh bless this church.
I pray in Jesus' name.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Hello, my name is Michelle Tolliver and Biblical
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(34:10):
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Thank you for listening toBiblical Talks.
Welcome to Biblical Talks.
Sermon of the Week.
Beloved God is completelysovereign.
He knows all things, evenbefore they happen.
In Jeremiah, chapter 1, thecall to Jeremiah, the Lord said
Before I formed you in the womb,I knew you, and before you was
(00:24):
born, I consecrated you, Iappointed you a prophet to the
nation.
Listen, this wasn't based onJeremiah's qualification, but on
God's eternal plan.
The truth of the matter is thatthis is staying to all
believers.
God knows us from eternity pastand his love was set on us
(00:50):
before we even existed.
Every Christian has been calledto a consecrated life, with a
specific work prepared for us todo.
Here's Pastor Rick Phillips,before I.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Form you.
Jeremiah, chapter 1, verse 4-10.
Blessing to be here.
I've known about this churchfor a long time and it's a joy
to be among you, andparticularly since my old friend
Kevin has been your pastor formany years.
Everything I ever learned Ilearned from Kevin.
But I was a new believer in1990, and Kevin was teaching
(01:31):
Sunday school, and the firstSunday school class I attended
he was on repentance and itscared me because I did not yet
know about the Spirit of Godworking in the hearts of God's
people.
I knew I couldn't do it and hewas a great teacher to me.
I've held him in greataffection over the years, so
thank you for having me to come.
Let me read Jeremiah, chapter 1,verses 4 to 10, which will be
my text, and then I'll have you.
(01:52):
I gather you stand for thereading of God's word.
Listen to now to the God's holyand errant and life-giving word
, beginning at verse 4 ofJeremiah 1.
Now the word of the Lord cameto me saying Before I formed you
in the womb, I knew you, andbefore you were born I
consecrated you.
(02:12):
I appointed you a prophet tothe nations.
Then I said Ah, lord, godbehold, I do not know how to
speak, for I am only a youth.
But the Lord said to me me,behold, I have put my words in
(02:43):
your mouth.
See, I have set you this dayover nations and over kingdoms
to pluck up and break down, todestroy and overthrow, to build
and to plant.
May God be praised through thereading and hearing of his holy
word.
Amen.
Let's pray, father in heaven.
We thank you that we openedthis book and out of it come
words of life.
Oh, speak to us, lord, throughyour word.
(03:05):
Bless me as I speak, bless usas we hear.
May you be among us.
We know you will.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Please be seated by the way, Ididn't say greetings from your
brothers and sisters inwonderful Greenville, south
Carolina, where I have the greatprivilege of pastoring Second
(03:25):
Presbyterian Church.
I've been there 18 years, infact, this week I wrap up my
18th year there but I've longknown about this church.
I've known Randy as well asKevin, and it's a joy to be with
you.
Well, looking at our text, I'mreminded of the French army that
was commanded by NapoleonBonaparte, which produced an
astonishing number ofinteresting personalities,
(03:48):
perhaps none more remarkablethan Baron Jean-Baptiste de
Marbeau, who was aide-de-camp tothe emperor and several of his
marshals.
Now, in those days, general'saides played a vital role in the
command and control system ofthe army.
That's how you communicatedwith your units, and they
conducted missions of strategicimportance.
(04:09):
And I remember as a young manreading the adventures of Baron
Marbeau of how he swam theDanube at its wide point to
capture some Austrian prisoners,and how he rode through Russian
Cossacks to deliver orders to aregiment, how he stormed the
walls of Radisbon during hissiege.
An aide like Marbeau, he wouldhave personally known the
(04:32):
leading figures of the age.
He would have had a front seatat the making of history.
They were fascinating people,and I think of a person like
that when I think of a prophetlike Jeremiah, because a prophet
of the Old Testament was like aNapoleonic aide-de-camp, except
that his messages came from arather higher authority than a
mere emperor.
(04:53):
Prophets conducted missions thatwere assigned by the Lord.
They would interact with allthe leading figures of the day.
Jeremiah certainly did that.
He prophesied during the reignof many important kings, along
with some who were not soimportant.
He knew them personally, hespoke to them, and so we often
have this popular view of aprophet as being this
(05:14):
wild-haired person living on thefringes of society.
No, jeremiah, by any standard,was one of the leading figures
of his day.
Everybody knew him.
Now, a napoleonic aid wasrecognized by his elaborate
uniform.
A prophet in the old testamentwas recognized by his dramatic
calling, his appointment by godthat he would speak god's word.
(05:37):
And the passage I've read,jeremiah 1 to 4, 4 to 10, is the
record of his specific callingand appointment, as he is called
here, a prophet to the nations.
And he was going to prophesy toa wicked nation, israel.
He was going to bring out amessage that was largely one of
condemnation and judgment, andso the Lord here gives him a
(06:00):
vivid and unforgettable callingso that it will fortify his will
in the years to come.
Now, the manner of the Lord'sintervention indicates God's
sovereign control of all of hissubjects, and so did the words
he spoke to Jeremiah, words thatreach into eternity past.
Look at verse 5.
He says before I formed you inthe womb, I knew you.
(06:25):
Before you were born, Iconsecrated you.
And so Jeremiah's life, welearn, was shaped by an eternal
destiny, a divine calling.
I think we usually think ofJeremiah as a distraught old man
, like the portrait of Rembrandtweeping over the desolation of
(06:45):
fallen Jerusalem.
But all that's years, decadesin the future.
What we see now is Jeremiah asa youth, probably an adolescent,
as the Lord reveals to him hislife's work, hitherto unknown to
him, and he's told that hislife work was predestined in the
will of God.
Before I formed you, in thewomb, I knew you, and so we
(07:11):
learned here that before he waseven conceived, jeremiah had a
relationship with the Lord.
Before I formed you, I knew you.
He had been in the mind of Godfrom before the beginning.
God fully knew not only who hewould be, but what he was going
to be.
And you may know, the biblicalidea of knowing involves the
(07:33):
idea of loving.
He was loved by God in eternitypast.
I have loved you with aneverlasting love.
Those words come from this book, and the New Testament says
that is true to each of you aswell.
In love, god predestined us foradoption, through Jesus Christ,
as sons.
(07:53):
Now this means that if youtrust in Jesus Christ as a child
of God, his fatherly love foryou did not begin when you
believed.
Rather, from eternity, god'slove has been set on you, and
that is why you believe.
What a thing it is to believe inJesus Christ, because so many
things must be true of youaccording to the Bible, if you
(08:16):
believe in Jesus Christ, and oneof them is that God has loved
you from eternity.
God does not love you becauseyou believe.
You believe because he lovedyou.
He's sovereign in our salvation.
That's what the Bible shows.
You did not come into being andthen God knew you.
No, he knew you forever andtherefore you came into being
(08:38):
Now.
One thing this means is that Godunderstands us better than we
know ourselves.
Do you realize that?
I remember when I was raisingteenagers.
There was a wonderful time inour lives.
No, kevin, we loved ourchildren and I was raising
teenagers and one time one of mydaughters said to me you don't
understand.
And I laughed See, you don'tknow what it's like to be a
(08:59):
teenager.
I said oh, I know better thanyou do.
I've been young longer than youhave been.
I've been through all thesethings before.
Don't ever say to God you don'tunderstand me.
In fact, you know we talk.
So many people today say I'mtrying to discover myself.
My friends, if you want todiscover yourself, read your
(09:20):
Bible.
You will discover.
Haven't you experienced this,you discover yourself on the
pages of scripture, because Godhas known you forever.
What a wonderful thing that is.
Now.
Verse five does show that alllife comes from God.
I formed you, he said.
Now there's natural processesby which a mother and a father
produce a child, but we are allcreated by God, and so, mothers,
(09:44):
when your little child says toyou, mommy, where did I come
from?
A very good answer is you camefrom God.
Kevin mentioned that we'reabout to have our first
grandchild.
I am much older than Kevin.
Kevin's a young man, but I gotmarried a little later.
I had children a little later.
So I'm having my firstgrandchild, and we know how many
times I say to my son and mydaughter-in-law God is the one
(10:06):
who will give you the child.
God is the author of life.
Now, this tells us, by the way,that a fetus is a human being,
and so law is declaring thathuman life begins only at birth,
so that the baby may be legallydisposed of prior to birth,
running conflict not only withscience but, even more
importantly, with the Bible.
(10:27):
One writer says the purpose ofthis passage was not written to
make a comment about the currentabortion debate, but it does so
anyway.
God's sonogram does not revealtissue, it reveals a person.
Now, verse 5 also states thatsalvation results from God's
eternal choosing.
We call this the doctrine ofelection, which means to choose.
(10:50):
He chose us in Christ beforethe foundation of the world.
Now you were chosen and youwere saved in time.
I was saved at age 30.
My mother nagged me to go tochurch.
I loved my mama.
I wanted to tell her.
I went to church.
I wandered into the churchwhere Kevin was, but he wasn't
preaching and the pastor waspreaching.
And by the power of the word ofGod, I was born again.
(11:11):
And that happened at a certainplace in time, but it happened
because God had previouslychosen me.
This means that our assuranceof salvation relies not on our
choosing, not on our meriting inany way, on God's eternal
foundation of sovereign grace.
(11:32):
But not only that in thispassage.
In fact, the emphasis in thispassage is not on his salvation
per se, but on his service.
Here's such an insight.
It's his service.
His life is also predestined.
Before you were born, Iconsecrated you, and to be
consecrated is to be set apartto the Lord and to the work the
(11:55):
Lord has for you.
And notice that Jeremiah'sconsecration took place before
he was born.
Before he was born, consecratedpersons or things were reserved
for the sole use of God, and soJeremiah was not to live on his
own terms, he was to live onGod's terms.
He was not to chart a course ofhis own design, but of God's
(12:17):
design, and that also is true ofyou.
What an exciting thing it is Torealize.
God not only chose me ineternity past, but he has
ordained, he has consecrated meeternally for a work that I'm
going to do.
I am consecrated and, yes, tobe a Christian means that I am
no longer the master of my fate.
(12:39):
What an absurd thought it is.
I have a master, I am the bond.
Oh, how often I think of theVirgin Mary, our dear sister,
when the angel Gabriel comes toher and she's a virgin, she's
going to be pregnant, the HolyOne's going to be in her, and
she says behold the handmaidenof Yahweh.
And I think how many times inmy own life I've been to the
place that said behold thebondservant of the Lord.
(13:00):
Because I am.
And I want to say this what ourgeneration needs is Christians
who realize we have been calledto a consecrated life.
Am I tell me if I'm wrong.
These are not the times for acasual half in, half out
Christianity.
It's not, in fact, it nevercuts it, but it's decidedly not
(13:21):
true today.
What we need are Christians whorealize I am a holy person, I
am set apart for the service ofGod.
I am to live for him.
That's what our generationneeds and no doubt so much of
the situation we find is becausethat has not been
characteristically true of thechurch movement of which we are
a part.
(13:42):
Well, all Christians were chosenby the Lord in eternity past
that we would live for him andwe would do so in conformity
with his will.
I think of that great statementin Ephesians 2, verse 10.
I actually didn't come to yourSunday school class till chapter
4.
So that's the reason.
That's the reason.
But listen to what Paul says inEphesians 2.10.
(14:04):
For we are his workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good
works which God preferredbeforehand that we should walk
in them.
Now, jeremiah is consecrated tothe vocation of a prophet that
God's message would be deliveredto him.
But see, each of us has aconsecration.
(14:24):
There's work that only you cando and there's a certain glory
that God's going to show throughhis grace that he's going to do
through you.
And part of the thrill of beinga Christian is learning what it
is.
And you start serving.
Here's how it works.
You start serving and the Lordstarts sending you down paths.
I love it.
(14:45):
I'll be sitting up in thepulpit and I'll see a young, a
new believer standing at thedoor handing out bulletins.
And I go and so it begins.
And so it begins.
When I was a college professor,my first preaching was in a back
toto-baptist student union andit was always in disarray
because of the pianist.
(15:06):
What a wonderful pianist youhave.
And he showed up on time.
Our pianist never showed up ontime.
In fact, he was often not there, and every time I preached
there was just chaos at thebeginning of the service.
Oh, he's going to play piano.
And then some months later Ilearned that a guy who'd been
there every week was a greatpianist.
He never volunteered.
(15:26):
So I asked the obvious questiondude, why did you not volunteer
?
And I forgot what he said to meIf I start serving the Lord
here, he's going to send me toAfrica, and I don't want to go
to Africa.
You know where he is.
You know where he is.
The dude's in Africa, which isa wonderful place.
I'd love to be a bachelormissionary.
I love the place.
(15:48):
Let me say this it is anoxymoron to be a purposeless
Christian.
You know we're living in ageneration.
We have all this affluence.
Why the depression?
One of the reasons is there'sno purpose in life, but every
Christian has been deliveredfrom that.
You are a consecrated person, aconsecrated woman, a
consecrated man, and youdiscover the thrilling purpose
(16:10):
that God has given for you tomake your contribution to the
eternal glory in Jesus Christ,with infinite blessings to
people you will touch.
There is no, you are not apurposeless Christian.
You are to be purposeful.
God consecrated you under this.
Andrew Dearman writes of a manwho was born out of wedlock and
he was rejected by his fatherand mother.
(16:31):
What a terrible thing that is.
And of course he soon enteredinto crime and he was convicted.
He went to prison but there wasa church there that had an
evangelistic outreach to theprison.
He heard the gospel and hebelieved and he began studying
the Bible and the Lord openeddoors for him to be a Bible
teacher to his fellow prisonersand this realization opened up
(16:53):
and healed deep wounds in hisheart.
Dearman writes how many arelike this today?
He says, see, this meant to him, that God wanted him, even if
his parents didn't.
And there was a purpose, therewas meaning, there was value to
his life and God had given him acalling.
There was a place for him,there was a consecration.
(17:16):
The man didn't get out ofprison, didn't need to get out
of prison, he was saved and hewas living under God.
My friends, that's our calling.
Well, young Jeremiah gets hiscalling by direct revelation.
Verse 5, I appointed you aprophet to the nations.
Now, the prophets revealedGod's word to the people by the
(17:36):
inspiration of the Holy Spirit,and we usually think of prophecy
being prediction of futureevents, and they do that.
But what they mostly do is theypreach.
They foretell more thanforetell.
And in times of greatinfidelity, like those in which
Jeremiah lived, they deliveredthe news of God's judgment and
they brought what theologianscall the covenant lawsuit to the
(17:59):
people who'd broken the oldcovenant, threatening God's
judgment as a result.
Now, Jeremiah didn't volunteeror pursue this calling.
It wasn't an ambition of his,he was appointed by the Lord.
Christopher Wright writesJeremiah is not a driven man,
but a given man.
It's not a task he chose, but atask God chose for him.
(18:22):
And I think we rightly takethis as a paradigm for the
calling, particularly ofministers of the gospel.
That it's not something you setout to do, it's not an ambition
, it's something you're calledto.
I always tell young men if youare able to do anything else, go
do it.
That's not to devalue theoffice, it's actually to value
the office, because I knowfirsthand that if you're called
(18:44):
to it you're going to do it andyou're like Jeremiah will be
later.
In fact, in this chapter Ican't not speak, I must preach.
It's a divine compulsion.
Jeremiah was consecrated aprophet and those called to
preach and teach the Bible areset apart to the essential
ministry of proclaiming the wordof God into the darkness of a
(19:06):
sinful world and often thedarkness of a sinful church.
Now, the Old Testament prophetshad in common not only this
definite appointment from God,but they also tended to respond
in the same way, namely withalarm and horror.
I think of Isaiah.
He complained about his corruptnature.
(19:28):
I am a man of unclean lips, Icome from a people of unclean
lips.
Isaiah 6.5.
Gideon, he objected.
He was the least in hishousehold, he was from the
weakest clan in all, israel.
I think most similar toJeremiah and my personal
favorite was Moses' reaction atthe burning bush.
I'm about to say I'm actuallyreading from the Bible oh Lord,
(19:50):
please choose someone else.
Don't you love that there'sMoses?
Can't you find somebody?
Have you ever prayed that Lord?
Choose someone else, pleasesend someone else.
Well, jeremiah, in verse 6, ahLord, god, see he's recoiling
because he thinks himselfunsuited.
Verse 6, behold, I do not knowhow to speak, for I am only a
(20:13):
youth.
Now.
A prophet's supposed to be agood, you know speaker, a
preacher, and Jeremiah's shortresume does not include anything
that suggests his qualification.
If you're going throughLinkedIn looking for a prophet,
there's nothing for 12-year-oldJeremiah.
That's what's going on there,and it was the old men who spoke
(20:33):
in the village assemblies ofAnathoth and he had no
opportunity to even know if hehad gifts to preach.
It was hard to know if anyonewould take him seriously, but
the Lord had an answer whichalso addressed our objections
when our calling to servicecomes.
In short, what mattered was notthe ability or the experience
(20:56):
of the one who was called, butthe faithfulness and power of
the God who did the calling.
That's true for you and Godputs you in the situation you go
oh Lord, god doesn't matter howweak you are, doesn't matter
that you're a new believer,doesn't matter that you're young
, doesn't matter that you're old.
What matters is thefaithfulness and power of God,
(21:18):
who set you there and whoconsecrated you.
Under this.
Don't say I'm only a youth.
That's a good word for theyoung people here.
Young people can serve and evenspeak in an important way, so
long as they back it up withfaith and godliness.
I want to encourage young peopleto take a lead in the word of
God and in the ministry of theword.
(21:39):
To take a lead in the word ofGod and in the ministry of the
word.
Well, the reason Jeremiah couldand would fulfill the calling
was because the Lord was sendinghim To all to whom I send you,
you shall go.
He was just simply going to.
This is us too.
He needed to trust that theLord knew his business.
Do you trust that the Lordknows what he's doing?
He knows his business.
(22:00):
The details have been decidedin eternity past by God.
Moreover, jeremiah's speakingability was not the issue.
It was not his words, but itwas going to be God's word that
he would speak.
Whatever I commend you, youshall speak.
Here's a good word for youngmothers wondering how am I going
to raise Christian childrenwith God's word?
(22:20):
How's New City Fellowship goingto impact your part of
Chattanooga With God's word?
Because God is faithful byGod's power, and that's what he
says.
Whatever I command you, youshall speak.
And that's a similar thing theLord said to Moses when he
objected.
Apparently, moses had a speechimpediment, but God said I will
(22:41):
be with your mouth, I will teachyou what you shall speak.
Jeremiah, let me put it this way, he did not have to be skilled
in crafting public addresses.
He had a great speechwriter,namely the Holy Spirit.
So do we?
Well, these features ofJeremiah's calling are
replicated in the life of God'sservants today, particularly
(23:03):
preachers, who select neitherthe recipients of their message
nor the message itself.
Jeremiah was not being told topick the specific target
audience he thought would bereceptive.
He was not challenged or askedto craft the kind of message
that he thought would bepalatable.
(23:23):
Today, the purported prophets ofchurch success.
They advise pastors to target aspecific demographic and then
to cater to the preferences ofthat demographic and then to
shape their messages based upona sociological analysis of their
audience.
But God see, he tells his trueservants to speak to all kinds
of people and to proclaim hisword, whether or not it seems
(23:48):
likely to be received.
In fact, often it is not likelyto be received.
Paul said the same thing in 2Corinthians 4.
He said we refuse to practicecunning or tamper with God's
word, but by the open statementof truth we commend ourselves to
everyone's conscience in thesight of God.
There's the minister.
When Paul parted from theEphesian elders, he said to them
(24:11):
I did not shrink from declaringyou the whole counsel of God.
This is why your pastor doesthings like long studies through
a book of the Bible, becauseit's the Holy Spirit's agenda.
It's a great thing as a pastornot to sit there on Monday and
go what do I feel like talkingabout?
That's a dangerous thing.
But you begin by going okay,what's the Holy Spirit saying in
(24:32):
the next passage?
And then you deliver the wordof God to them.
Now this is going to come at acost.
What Christopher Wright saysabout Jeremiah's calling is true
for all who faithfully preachGod's word.
Listen to this.
He is going to stick out like afuneral director at a wedding.
Let that sink in a little bit.
(24:52):
He's going to say things thatpeople think are inappropriate.
We wish you wouldn't say that.
Can't you just be quiet?
Don't you realize?
And you go.
When is the right setting totell people they're under the
judgment of God because of sinwhich they are, and somebody's
got to tell them and there'snever a time to say it and it's
(25:12):
never going to go well.
Well, I mean, it's never goingto be popular.
It will lead to salvation inmany cases.
But he's to stick out like afuneral director at a wedding
and it's clear that already inhis mind he's going oh man, I'm
going to have a terrible life.
And God says do not be afraid ofthem.
See, there it is.
Do not be afraid of them.
(25:32):
Yes, his faithfulness to Godwill come at a high cost.
Your faithfulness to God's wordwill come at a cost to you.
Do not be afraid of them, for Iam with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord, and the bookof Jeremiah will reveal.
I'll study the book of Jeremiah.
It's a wonderful book and hegoes through many and severe
trials, and yet God proves thatpromise.
(25:54):
In fact, the book ends with thegreatest calamity of the Old
Testament the fall of Jerusalem,the burning of the temple, and
yet the Lord delivers.
Jeremiah.
Now that's all in the future.
But we're seeing here that Goddoes not promise us that we are
immune from difficulties, thatthere will be resistance.
Many of you converted infamilies and your families want
(26:17):
you not to bring it up.
I was the first convert in myfamily and it's a little awkward
to say well, I realize I'm asinner and I'm saved by grace
alone.
I want to encourage you and Igot it back to me.
How dare you call us sinners?
Well, I say it in love and wehave to say the truth of the
word of God and the gospel.
And God does not promise usthere will be no price to be
(26:38):
paid.
He promises that he willpreserve us, as he did Jeremiah.
Well, this promise is extendedto all of God's people.
I've often thought of Hebrews 13, 5 to 6.
I will never leave you, norforsake you, the Lord promises.
So we can say with confidencethe Lord is my helper, I will
not be afraid.
(26:58):
What can man do to me?
Well, the book of Jeremiahstands as a monument to God's
faithful care over all peoplewho consecrate their lives to
him.
Again, what we need in ourgeneration is not part-time
Christians, not part-wayChristians, consecrated
followers of the Lord Jesus.
And the Lord will be with you,he's promised in his word.
(27:22):
Well, today, when a man isconsecrated to ordained minister
, we lay hands on him.
It's our way of symbolizing theblessing of the Spirit, the
conferring of sacred office.
But when Jeremiah becomes aprophet, he gets something.
By the way, he's alone.
There is no one there to do it.
And so the Lord.
Look at verse 9.
This is wonderful.
The Lord reaches out his handand he touches the member that
(27:47):
Jeremiah is going to use inserving him.
The Lord put out his hand andtouched my mouth, and then
here's the message Behold, Ihave put my words in your mouth,
and so Jeremiah will be able tospeak because God will give him
words.
But he must speak the Lord'smessage only, not what the
(28:10):
audience wanted to hear, noteven what he himself wanted to
say.
Ministers have to disciplineourselves.
My opinion means nothing.
I'm to stand in the pulpit, I'mto preach the text of the word
of God, in the spirit of God,delivering the message of the
Holy Spirit.
John Calvin made this thehallmark of a true ministry.
He said let us then know thatwhatever proceeds from the wit
(28:32):
of man ought to be disregarded,for God wills this honor to be
conceded to himself alone.
He will be heard in his church.
It hence follows that noneought to be acknowledged as
God's servants except thosethrough whom God speaks, who
invent nothing themselves, whoteach nothing according to their
(28:53):
own fancies, but faithfullydeliver what God has committed
to him.
Now, on those terms, the Lordsays in verse 10, see, I have
set you this day over nationsand over kingdoms.
When a minister speaks God'sword, even kings and presidents
may be commanded to listen.
Jeremiah is not being grantedsovereignty.
(29:16):
He's speaking for the one whois sovereign, and so do we.
Well, so much of the pain thatJeremiah suffers in this book is
going to arise from the task,the heavy task, of giving a
message of rebuke for sin.
Do you realize that ourgeneration needs to be told this
?
It's not unloving to tellpeople that there's a judgment
(29:36):
coming, that there's a holy Godand we are.
Are we a wicked generation?
We are a wicked generation andwe need to repent before a holy
God because he will judge.
If we love people, we will tellthem that, and then we'll tell
them about the cross of the LordJesus Christ which, by the way,
sometimes I'll be thinkingabout this, the things that I
believe and I realize.
No wonder they think I'm crazy.
(29:57):
I believe that history is goingto end when the heaven's part
and the Son of man is going tocome on the clouds of glory, and
that's true, by the way.
I believe it because of theWord of God, but I'm not
surprised that they think I'mcrazy.
But we preach and God says Iwill make your preaching
powerful, I will cause them tohear.
(30:17):
And he says your job will be totear down and then to root down
and to replant.
And Jeremiah's ministry, somuch of the book, is tearing
down.
There must be a tearing down.
And then he says but see, I'mgoing to out of that new soil,
I'm going to have a freshplanting of grace.
You know how many times in ourown lives catastrophe strike.
(30:41):
We go through situations thatwe've dreaded, but we learn
later it was God clearing awaythe rubble for a new day of
grace in us.
Well, let me wrap it up bysaying this Despite many
similarities, ministers todayare not Old Testament prophets.
And yet when I bow my head eachweek, asking God's grace in
(31:01):
preparing my sermons, asking himfor insight and wisdom and
faithfulness and courage.
I am humbled and awed to knowthat I pray to the very same God
who appointed Jeremiah aprophet long ago.
And when you parents are tryingto raise your children, this
generation, you know you needpower and you cry for help.
(31:24):
You're praying to the same Godto whom Jeremiah cried, a God
who's proven his faithfulnessand power to us and my friends.
We must speak.
We must speak in our homes.
We've got to read the Bible inour homes.
We've got to disciple ourchildren.
We've got to invite people tothe church.
(31:44):
One thing I know aboutChattanooga is that Chattanooga
Lake, greenville, needs JesusChrist, and here you have a
church, a pastor who preachesthe Lord Jesus, bring them.
I have a deal with mycongregation, a simple deal you
bring a visitor to church, Iwill preach Jesus to them.
Fair enough, right, you bringthem to church.
You want to encourage me afterthe service?
Nice words are very I doappreciate them, but what to
encourage me after the service?
Nice words, I do appreciatethem, but what really encourages
(32:06):
me in my church is, pastor, I'dlike you to meet my neighbor
who's at church today for thefirst time.
It's the Spirit of God upon aconsecrated church.
I don't know anything aboutyour situation, but the answer
to your challenges as a churchis a consecrated congregation in
the power of the Holy Spirit,who prays to the same God who
spoke to Jeremiah and he says Iput my word in your mouth, do
(32:28):
not fear.
Do not fear.
Jeremiah had a daunting call,and so do you.
Go, therefore, and makedisciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name ofthe Father, son and Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe allthat I've commanded you.
That's a big job, but he givesus the same promise.
(32:48):
I'll close with this Behold, Iam with you even to the end of
the age.
Father in heaven, I pray yourblessing on the preaching of
your word today.
And, father, we look back onJeremiah's incredible life, but
he's not alive today.
Father, we are the ones who arealive today.
And, father, we want to saywith them ah, lord, god, you
mean it's us, but, father,you're the same sovereign God,
(33:12):
you're the same God of grace andpower, and you have placed each
of us in neighborhoods, infamilies, in workplaces.
There's people around us whoare perishing because they do
not know the good news, andthere we are.
And there's other ways in whichwe serve together as a church.
Father, cause everyone heretoday to realize I am a
(33:33):
consecrated person, that theywould resolve to live for you
wholeheartedly and that theirlives would be infused with an
eternal purpose, to the praiseand glory of your grace in
Jesus' name.
Oh bless this church.
I pray in Jesus' name.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Hello, my name is Michelle Tolliver and Biblical
Talk's book offer for the monthof January is Obedience to
Christ.
Striving for the GreatestWisdom of All, by AW Tozer.
Sin is never something to beproud of.
Wise actions always considerthe consequences, but sins
ignore them.
True wisdom comes from trustingin God and finding shelter in
His strength.
(34:10):
Obedience, though often aborted, is at the heart of living as a
Christian.
Salvation and obedience, Saviorand Lord, go hand in hand.
Accepting Christ as Saviormeans surrendering to Him
completely, no matter theoutcome.
While the world might be thisas foolish, Go hand in hand,
rewards will vanish when Christreturns.
Through obedience to Christ,the composer inspires us to
(34:44):
reinvent the hope of heaven.
For any amount of donation toBiblical Talks, we will send you
the book.
Please go to BiblicalTalkscomand click the Donate here tab.
Thank you for listening toBiblical Talks.
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