From a sermon on Jeremiah 1
If God’s call came to you today, what would you say? The preacher takes Jeremiah’s call and shows five things that help you receive it, confirm it, and walk it out until its purpose is complete.
1. Don’t measure the call by how small you feel
- Jeremiah’s excuse. He looked at himself and thought he couldn’t even speak. God answered, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’” (v. 7)
- Our excuses are the same. “I can’t speak English. I can’t speak Hindi well. I am a girl, nobody will listen to me.”
- A low view of ourselves is learned. It builds from childhood and from our culture, caste, family background, education, and social position. As he puts it: “Where can I compete with people with PhDs?”
- It’s not only for the young. Older people carry the same low view of themselves.
- That low view breeds fear. This is why God says, “Do not be afraid of them.” (v. 8)
- God’s one answer: “I am with you, and I will rescue you.” He says the questions, fear, and doubt are all neutralized in that one sentence.
- This isn’t self-confidence. It is understanding God and trusting his promise to be with you.
- Others went before us. He points to Moody, who struggled to speak, and to Moses, who got the same answer: “I will be with you.” He also quotes Paul: “Our competence comes from God.” (2 Cor. 3:5)
- You’re not called for your qualifications. Not education, wealth, or status. God called you anyway.
2. Your purpose was set before you were born
- Start from God’s purpose, not your qualifications. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you… I appointed you.” (vv. 4-5) He says this isn’t about finishing seminary but about God’s purpose for your life.
- God had a purpose before you existed. “That would change everything.”
- Family expectations can pull us the wrong way. Some families are all IAS, all teachers, all medical, all pastors. Jeremiah was born into a priestly family, yet God set him apart as a prophet.
- This is where we struggle. We follow our own thinking, our parents’ desires, and what people say. Then, when God’s call comes, we feel like no one.
- You were born with a purpose. God gives perhaps 70 to 80 years to fulfill it. Jeremiah was young, so he had his whole life. The preacher says he would feel regret if he came to serve God only after retirement.
- To the young: if God’s call comes at your age, you are greatly privileged.
- When things aren’t going right, stop and think about God’s purpose for your life.
3. The call brings vision and provision
- Most of us move without vision. Someone calls and I go. A seminar comes up and I attend. Someone arrives from Chennai, then from Bombay, and I run after each one. “I have no purpose.”
- Your time is precious. “You don’t have one day to waste.”
- Jeremiah’s vision was clear. God put it plainly: “to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” (v. 10)
- God’s vision is different from our ambitions. Our parents, elders, and community create ambitions in us, and we feel useless if we don’t meet them. God’s purpose is beyond ourselves and gives a clear path to run.
- God supplies the words. Jeremiah’s worry was that he couldn’t speak, and God said, “I have put my words in your mouth.” (v. 9) We don’t have to invent something new.
- Jesus gave the disciples the same answer. When they asked how the kingdom would come, he said the Holy Spirit would give them power.
- God still does this. People from very simple backgrounds now travel the world and reach millions. The children in Sunday school may one day be mighty instruments in the Lord’s hands.
- Apart from him, nothing. “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
4. Get ready and stand up
- Something belongs to us. God promised his presence, vision, and words, but we must “get ourselves ready” (v. 17) and take initiative.
- Spiritual preparation. Learn God’s word, grow in maturity, and spend time with God.
- Train yourself to be godly. (1 Tim. 4:7) This training comes from home, from church, and from your own study. It can come from seminary too, if God sends you.
- Then stand up and say whatever God commands.
- His example of God’s doing: a man with no Christian background picked up the Bible and read it with ease. Some who grew up in Christian families don’t know where Jeremiah is.
- What God is working in you was prepared and set apart before you were born.
5. God makes you a fortified city
- God’s last words to Jeremiah. “Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land.” (vv. 18-19)
- This is the strength God provides against those who fight you.
- Our nation is going through a hard time. He notes that some people think even the church won’t survive. He says God has a plan for the church in India.
The takeaway
- Look to God, not yourself. His “I am with you” answers every fear.
- You’re here on purpose. God set you apart before you were born.
- Run with God’s vision, not borrowed ambitions or whoever calls next.
- Prepare, then stand up. Train yourself in God’s word and speak what he commands.
- God will make you strong. He is your fortified city.
Something to ask yourself: If God’s call came to you this morning, what would you say? And how would “I am with you” answer it?
