“The Call and the Authority”

Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4-19

For the past month and a half, we’ve been considering what deep faith did to encourage and strengthen a number of people in scripture, and what it can do for us in our times of trial. Today, we begin a look at the specifics of faith in both the life of a prophet and its absence in the life of a people. Judah had been moving in the same direction as Israel did, and their destiny would soon mimic that of their brothers and sisters to the north. The Lord had sent messenger after messenger to warn the people that their sinful lives were going to lead them into deep trouble, but the allure of worldly ways seemed to be stronger than the desire to follow God’s word.

Jeremiah had been called to bring the Lord’s most recent plea for the people of Judah to return to his grace. But the prophet might as well have been shouting into the wind, for all the good it would do. That’s the plight of a man or woman of God – faithful obedience has little to do with gaining success in our endeavors.

In 1974, Senator Mark Hatfield was touring Calcutta with Mother Teresa and visited the "House of Dying." He saw sick children were being cared for, and the dispensary, where the poor line up by the hundreds to receive medical attention. Watching Mother Teresa minister to these people, feeding and nursing those left by others to die, Hatfield was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the suffering she and her co-workers face daily.

"How can you bear the load without being crushed by it?" He asked.

Mother Teresa replied, "My dear Senator, I am not called to be successful, I am called to be faithful."
- From SermonIllustrator.org/I am called to be faithful

The greatest prophetic orator can deliver the perfect words from God, and the bottom line is that the recipients still get to choose whether they will act on those words or not. Jeremiah, the son of a priest, would do as his Lord told him, and yet, the words would constantly fall on deaf ears - he would be chastised, he would suffer, he would go into captivity, and through it all, his faith never failed.
Today, we consider the timing of God’s call on his life, the message that he would be given for the people of Judah, and the divine authority to act on the Lord’s behalf.
Read Jeremiah 1:4-8

The Lord’s plan and call on our lives is never some spontaneous exhortation. It was put in motion long before we ever existed, and is closely tied to all that God does – either in his own miraculous ways, or through the lives of other people. And the uncomfortable truth is that every one of us is part of his plan and has an important part in it, whether we realize it and like it or not! Jeremiah’s call to prophetic ministry would remain on him for about 40 years, and his message is as important today as it was 2,500 years ago.

Jeremiah was confident in his call, and our passage for today begins “The word of the Lord came to me.” Of course, many false prophets have used those very same words, but the test of accuracy is whether the message that is being delivered is compatible with God’s nature. If the prophet’s words don’t reflect the divine character, then they can’t be from God, regardless of what the messenger proclaims.
Another indication of this call to Jeremiah is found in Deuteronomy 18:17-20, in which God tells Moses that another prophet, who is very much like him, will be raised up, that he will put his own words into his mouth, and that the man will be faithful to the call on his life. Jeremiah’s call had been prophesized over 500 years before he was ever born.

The situation and ability of the prophet is also irrelative in the earthly sense. Jeremiah was called when he was just a boy, and he himself had some grave doubts about his ability to serve Yahweh in this way, but the only limitation that God ever has is when we say “no” to him. The plan for this boy had been in place and had been at work long before he was even conceived, and if this was the time that God had ordained for him, it was the right and perfect time for the lad to begin ministry. The Lord tells him not to worry about who he is and what he can, or cannot, do – just do exactly what I tell you, go to the places and the people who I send you to, and don’t fear anything that might come against you.

God not only calls us to service in his name, but he also enables us, and ensures that we can complete the task that is set before us. We don’t get to choose the timing, we don’t get to decide when and where to deliver it, and we definitely don’t get to decide what the message will be. We simply follow in a way that I like to think of as “the ministry of showing up”! We follow the Lord’s lead to wherever he decides, speaking the words he gives us, to the people he chooses, and work very hard not to interject our own thoughts and ways into his plan.

Read Jeremiah 1:9-14

The Lord gives the boy some additional detail on how far his efforts will be carried – that his ministry will be over “nations and kingdoms” and not just over the kingdom of Judah, and, apparently, would also not be limited by the years. Jeremiah’s prophecies would extend far beyond his own life, and their truth and poignancy will continue long past even our lifetimes. They would also not only “tear down and destroy” evil, but they would also serve to build up the righteous. This “child” must have been shaking in his boots! “God is going to do all this through me?”

Then he is given two visions that would also confirm his calling. The first is a vision of an almond branch. It isn’t the branch itself that holds significance – it is shown so that Jeremiah will know that this is the Lord who is speaking to him. It is very similar to the code letters and numbers that we have to enter correctly into our computer when updating software or confirming our identity. It lets the system know that we are who we are supposed to be and that we have the right to be doing what we are doing. In Jeremiah’s case, he correctly identifies the object in the vision which confirms that the Lord’s word is within him and that he will carry out the mission as God has created it.
The second vision is both a secondary confirmation as well as a prophetic message. He correctly identifies the object as a boiling pot that is leaning toward the south. Boiling liquids are generally very harmful to living organisms, and in particular to humans, and is also a means of sterilization. In this case, it means that God will be destroying the sin of Judah and will be purifying the lives of the people. God tells the prophet that destruction will be coming against Judah from a power out of the north, which in all likelihood, signifies Babylon. It is one more confirmation of the message that this boy will be taking to the people of Judah.

Read Jeremiah 1:15-19

This power out the north will gain control over Jerusalem and the lives of all the people in the nation. And why must this happen? Because the nation and its people have turned away from God and his ways, and have begun to put their loyalty and worship in the false gods of the surrounding lands. And because of that, the Lord will be removing his protection from them.

But the power of God will not be taken from Jeremiah. He is told to trust the Lord, to do exactly what he is told to do, and to never fear those who will come against the words he speaks. Neither the leaders of Judah – both secular and religious – nor the people themselves will have any power or authority over the prophet. God will be the strength and protection and word that will sustain him throughout his ministry.

The Lord wants all people to “stand up” and pay attention to what he has to say. This expectation isn’t just for the prophet – it is for all who would profess faith in the Lord God Almighty. Stand Up means that we are to get ready to serve. It isn’t a time to relax or take a nap. It isn’t a time to study and discuss. It isn’t a time to ponder alternatives or to develop our own plan of action. We Stand Up to do God’s will and not our own.
We need to pay attention to the instructions that God has for each of us. Just as Jeremiah confirmed and affirmed the two visions that the Lord gave him, we, too, must acknowledge the signs and words that God gives us. When I was growing up, I remember more times than one, when my mother would make me repeat the instructions that she had given me. You lose every right to claim that “I didn’t know!” or “You never told me!” when you have actually said the words yourself! God wants to be sure that we understand his call on our lives, as well as his promise to lead us as we go out to serve in his name.

The overriding message of Jeremiah’s story is that God can and will use anyone, at any time, in any way, and for the most unusual or unexpected purposes, that any of us can possibly imagine. And when “the word of the Lord comes to us”, it isn’t something to fear or to hesitate over – we just “stand up”, get ready to follow the Lord’s will, claim the authority that the word of God carries with it, and prepare to be amazed at what our glorious Lord can do, even with the likes of you and me!

Next week, we begin to see the necessity of God’s message to the people.
Praise the Lord, for he is truly good, and can do all things through the lives of his faithful! (Philippians 4:13)