The Call of God
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Scripture
Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
You have heard of the term, Predestination. When you read the first chapter of Jeremiah, you cannot but help to think about how Jeremiah’s life was predestined or predetermined. Normally, when we think of the term “predestined or predestination” we think of of our history or someone who made a major contribution to our people. Now, Jeremiah was given the choice of responding to this call. The call was within the will of God. To avoid the call was not in God’s will. God calls all of us to salvation, but not all who are called will choose to comply. Here, in Jeremiah’s call, God had called him to be his mouthpiece for a people who were gone astray. God had called Jeremiah to be a prophet. Jeremiah could have chosen against God’s will and if he had, his life would have been miserable because he would have chosen a course other than the one that God had mapped out for him.
Like most all people, Jeremiah questioned his purpose in life. God had informed him that his purpose was predetermined even before his birth. Jeremiah was trying to think of some of the things that might disqualify him.
Moses and Isaiah also tried to think of how they were not fit for the task that God had called them. Like Moses and Isaiah, Jeremiah mentioned his lack of eloquent speech as a reason that would disqualify him.
God was clear to point out that his manner of speech would be dependent upon what God put on his heart to speak. God was telling Jeremiah as He tells us, that “He is not interested in our ability but in our availability.”
All throughout the scriptures we see God calling men and women to the work of the Kingdom, but some had very special and unique callings. Some included God Himself being very personal with people.
It is God who calls, and it is for His purpose, to fulfill His plan!!!
· Such was the calling of Abraham when God called him from UR of the Chaldees
· Such was the calling of Moses when God appeared to him in the Burning Bush
· The calling of Joshua “Moses My servant is dead”
· The calling of Isaiah: “Who will go for us, and whom shall we send”?
· The calling of Gideon, Samuel, David, Jonah, Disciples
· Such was the calling of Isaiah with his vision of the Glory of God in the temple
· In N.T., Paul’s encounter with God on the Damascus Rd.
Transitional sentence: Today I want to consider the Call of Jeremiah, that great man of God who became known as “Weeping Prophet”. The call of God on Jeremiah’s life can be seen in the following three actions of God
I. The Call of God v. 4-5
1. The call of God: The summon of, the request, the invitation, beckoning, appeal to, plea
2. God Speaks to Jeremiah
· Concerning foreknowledge
a. Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee.
b. Before you came forth from the womb I sanctified thee.
c. Before your parents knew you, or you knew yourself, I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Is. 46:10 “God declares the end from the beginning”
d. You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you John 15:16 “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”
e. Consider the prophecies concerning John the Baptist being the forerunner of Jesus
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
II. The Commission of God v. 7
· The commission of God: The assignment, direction, charge, order, or command.
· The Great Commission- contrast
1. Jeremiah Speaks to God
i. Ah Lord God, I cannot speak: for I am a child. These words actually mean "No, Lord God!" Jeremiah pleaded that he was a youth and that he lacked the ability to speak. But God replied that he was being called not because of age or ability but because God had chosen him.
2. God says:
· Do not say: “I am a child”
· For you shall go to all that I shall send thee.
· Whatsoever I command you, you shall speak.
· I have directed you, I’ve charged you, I have ordered you, etc.
3. God touches him v. 9-10
· Here God hand-delivered His words to the mouth of Jeremiah
· He also gave him his orders, tare down, take apart, destroy and build over again.
4. There were times when Jeremiah felt like giving up
f. At times Jeremiah tried to hold back from his prophetic proclamation. But he found that the word of the Lord was "like a burning fire shut up in my bones”.
III. The Commitment of God v. 8
· God’s Commitment: His Promise, vow, pledge, oath, assurance, binder, obligation
· God’s commitment is to be with him, to give him the words to say and look after him
I will, and have given you the words to say.
Don’t be afraid of their faces, I am with thee to deliver thee.
God will never tell you to go where His grace can’t keep you.
· But you must also stay committed to God like Elisha was to Elijah
1. He was called one day when Elijah passed by enroot to Damascus and threw his mantle upon him.
2. He was immediately called to the ministry
3. Slaughtered his oxen prepared a meal
4. Kissed his family goodbye and followed the call of God on his life.
o Hasn’t He said that “I will go with until the end”; “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee”?
o God Says:
2. 2 Kings 2:1–15 “And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tar…”
Application for today: God is still calling! He is still commissioning! And He is still committed to His people that obey his call and commission!
Conclusion: Has God been calling you?
The Call of God will have a profound impact on your life. I was headed to one destination in my life, but that was not my destiny. The Call of God literally changed my entire life and all my plans.
Closing
Closing
It should not surprise us that God knows our talents and potential talents because He knew of them even before we were born. God made each of us with a special purpose. It is God’s will that we follow Him and learn who we are as His children and how it is that He has called, is calling and will call us to be in His service. First, God calls us to salvation. Then, God calls us to serve. Our ability is often uncovered in how well or how poorly we make ourselves available for the manner of service that He has called us to.
Like Nat Turner
Like Harriet Tubman
Like Booker T. Washington
Like George Washington Carver
Like W.E.B Du Bois
Like Marcus Garvey who founded Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in 1914
Like General Benjamin O. Davis Sr. the first Tuskegee Airmen who saw combat against German and Italian troops.
Like Jackie Robinson who broke the color barring in baseball in 1947
Like Emmett Till who was killed for the situation with a white lady
Like Martin Luther King Jr. who brought us Civil Rights
Like Malcom X who was the influential leader of the NOI, which combined Islam with Black nationalism
Like Jesus Christ who bleed, suffered, and died for all to receive external life with God