THE CALLING
​JEREMIAH 1.1-10

            What does a divine call mean to you?

            Status? Power? Influence? Prosperity? Honor?

            While many people might think these are synonymous with a divine calling, today we will learn from the story of one of the greatest prophets in biblical history that ministry is quite different.

Who was Jeremiah?

• He was from a family of priests, so Anatoth lived, and was quite young when he was called. Maximum 20 or 21 years.

• He is the prophet who weeps for a nation that will suffer the judgment of God for its sins (see Lamentations of Jeremiah)

• he Was a lonely prophet because he was forbidden to marry and have children (Chap.16)

• The book was probably dictated by Jeremiah and written by the scribe Baruch, mentioned 21 times in the book. Inspiration was given to Jeremiah, but he needed a secretary!

• Jeremiah had a tough ministry in Judah and Benjamin who had turned away from the Lord after the reign of the reforming king Josiah. Afterwards, his message will also be directed to the nations neighboring Judah.

• His ministry lasted 40 years, with no visible conversion, although he was faithful in his ministry, speaking God's truth to the people, including about the Babylonian captivity. Which the professional prophets of the court and politicians of his time did not talk about. If it were today, we would call Jeremiah's ministry unproductive! His ministerial reports would certainly be rejected by the council or the presbytery!

• His message was addressed to the people, kings and authorities of his time and was not pleasant – It was a message of salvation through the judgment of God, just as Isaiah his predecessor preached, however, with more emotion than he did. He was firm in his message, but also loving to the people!

• Jeremiah is a type of Christ in the Old Testament. When Jesus asked the disciples who the people said he was, one of the answers was: Some say you are Jeremiah! Jesus' tears for Jerusalem demonstrate the same feeling as Jeremiah 626 years ago.

 

How did Jeremiah's call to prophetic ministry come about?

• It took place in eternity – v.5 – Demonstrating that God had a purpose for his life, before his formation in his mother's womb. A sign of this kind of calling occurred to John the Baptist in his mother Elizabeth's womb in Luke 1. When John the Baptist felt Jesus' presence in Mary's womb, he shuddered with joy.

• Jeremiah hesitated when he was called (v.6) – He was too young for such a responsibility, but the Lord didn't think so.

• God promised to empower his prophet:

1. With authority to speak in the name of the Lord (v.7)

2. God has promised to deliver him from his ministerial enemies (v.8)

3. God anointed the prophet's mouth and put his words in it (v.9)

4. God gave him power to destroy and to build entire kingdoms (v.10) – First destroy and then build – Jeremiah was called to be a reformer, just as Luther was to the Protestant Reformation!

 

            LESSONS ON THE CALL OF THE LORD

 

            1. GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR EACH OF US, EVEN BEFORE WE ARE BIRTH (v.5)

 

            God told Jeremiah that he had chosen him before his formation in the womb to be a prophet.

            God has a well-defined purpose for each of us and at one time or another we will have the exact notion of our ministry.

            I remember that as a child I had only one answer to the question: Renato, what will you be when you grow up? I would say: I want to be a singer and a pastor. Well, music has been part of my life since I was a child and the pastoral ministry for almost 13 years! It has not been easy, but we are continuing our vocation. Just today I had the pleasure of receiving a photo of a youth festival in a church that we planted, practically from scratch, in Iguabinha- ​​Araruama. The photo had a young man leading the service. I was pleased to introduce this young man as a baby in that Congregation and now I am pleased to see him in this position. Extraordinary!

            Believing that God has a purpose for us gives meaning to life. We are not here by chance, we were not an accident when generated, we did not create our future we just execute it! He is in God's hands!

Do you know God's purpose for your life?

 

2. AGE OR INEXPERIENCE DOES NOT MATTER TO GOD (v.7)

 

            Jeremiah's call was revealed to him as a young man. Why shouldn't he be afraid?

• Josiah, the reforming king, was called by God at the age of 8 to reign in Judah

• David was also young when he was called by the Lord

• Timothy was also young when God called him to shepherd

• Hudson Taylor was just 17 years old when he was called by the Lord and at 22 he arrived in Shanghai, China, to carry out one of the greatest missionary efforts in that country.

 

            Your age doesn't matter to God! He will use you if you are 8 or 80 years old!

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3. GOD WILL BE WITH US TO DELIVER US FROM MINISTERIAL HAZARDS (v.8)

 

            Jeremiah suffered serious threats against his ministry and his own life. For example, in chapter 11, God reveals a conspiracy against Jeremiah's life from his own land Anatoth.

            God's response to Jeremiah's fatigue in chapter 12 is interesting: “If you tire of men who go on foot, how can you compete with those who go on horse?!” (v.5)

            In chapter 18, he prays an imprecatory prayer over those who persecute him.

            Chapter 26 again says he was threatened with death.

            He was arrested and thrown into a cistern (Chapters 37 and 38).

            And so was the prophet's ministry...

            God didn't promise that our ministries would be easy; but that he would be with us until the end of the Ages!

            Remember this when you are persecuted for faithfully exercising your ministry!

 

4. GOD EMPOWERS HIS CHOSEN (vv.9-10)

 

            Another extraordinary thing that happens to God's chosen ones is that he empowers them. It was like that with Jeremiah, who received the words of the Lord and authority to prophesy and it is like that with us too.

            Anyone who knew me as a child would never have imagined that I could speak in public. Although I wanted to do it, I had something that was my stumbling block – shyness. I always sang in church doing solos or in musical groups, but always with my eyes closed so as not to face the audience. Until, as a teenager, one day I was challenged to make a short one-verse comment, before the youth group presented a song. My immediate response was: I don't do this at all! The person responsible for the group said: Yes, you will!

            So I went home, prepared the verse against my will, and gave my first presentation at that Sunday service. Over the years, my shyness was overcome until I became a preacher years later. God empowers his chosen ones!

            So, no matter if you're shy, can't speak or even have a health problem, God will enable you to exercise your ministry!

 

​CONCLUSION

 

            Jeremiah had an extraordinary ministry despite his rejection of his preaching. His name was saved in biblical history and was compared to that of Christ.

            Relevant ministries will not always be well accepted at first, but over time they will prove divine.

            Remember that:

1. GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR EACH OF US, EVEN BEFORE WE ARE BIRTH (v.5)

2. YOUR AGE OR INEXPERIENCE DOESN'T MATTER TO GOD (v.7)

3. GOD WILL BE WITH US TO DELIVER YOU FROM MINISTERIAL HAZARDS (v.8)

4. GOD EMPOWERS HIS CHOSEN (vv.9-10)