4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the
womb I knew a you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as
a prophet to the nations.” 6 “Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know
how to speak; I am only a child.” 7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say,
‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever
I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will
rescue you,” declares the LORD. 9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and
touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
- Jeremiah 1:4-10, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
In the name of the One who has called us to faith and calls us into his service, dear friends:
Maybe I was the only one who was thinking about the Fourth
of July this past week, but I had a very good reason. The City of
This holiday in particular gives Americans the chance to reflect. Especially this year, we will remember the people who fought and died to preserve the freedoms we enjoy. Through the traditional fireworks and parades, we salute the men and women who bravely answer our nation’s call to serve.
That call is perhaps captured best by one enduring symbol, a
poster. This poster depicts a
gray-bearded man decked out in his patriotic red, white, and blue. There is a sense of urgency in his eyes as he
points his finger at anyone who passes by and says, “I Want You.” Uncle Sam and
the
In the text chosen for this Recruitment Sunday, God is
pointing his finger at someone. But the
Lord’s call has even greater urgency.
God called Jeremiah to be his prophet during the darkest time in
The Babylonian armies were charging down hard from the
north. It wouldn’t be long before the
walls of
The Lord may not operate the same way today. He doesn’t come to us directly. He doesn’t make his presence known via spectacular visions. But God still speaks to his people through his Word. And God continues to call workers into his harvest field.
We have come together this morning to worship the Lord of the harvest and to celebrate the fact that God continues to call people to serve him. Whether that call is general or very specific, God looks each one of us directly in the eye and declares…
Listen carefully to how Jeremiah describes his call from
God: “The word of the Lord came to me,
saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set
you apart’” (4,5).
Right from the start Jeremiah recognized that he was not the important part of this equation. God came to him. God called him. And God had every right be so assertive because he was the one who had given Jeremiah life.
God knew Jeremiah before he was born. He knew Jeremiah before he was conceived. He had an intimate knowledge of Jeremiah before the creation of the world. And the Lord knew Jeremiah better than anyone else, even better than Jeremiah knew himself.
Every single day of Jeremiah’s life was a gift from God, but his spiritual life was an even greater blessing. Before there ever was a person named Jeremiah, God had chosen him to be his child. Not because Jeremiah was perfect. Not because Jeremiah was just a little better than the people who lived around him. Not because of anything in Jeremiah at all. Jeremiah’s faith stands as a monument to the amazing grace of God.
It is perhaps even more amazing that God calls sinful
people, sinners like Jeremiah, clay jars like you and me, to do his work. In the opening verses of his book, Jeremiah
tells us a little bit about his family background. He grew up in the
So maybe Jeremiah just assumed that he would follow in his
father’s footsteps. Maybe he assumed
that he would enter the Lord’s service one day.
Maybe he had it in his head that he would be the great prophet who would
turn
When you think about it, this is a great comfort. The fate of God’s kingdom does not rest in our sinful hands. The advancement of God’s kingdom does not depend on human whims and ambitions. God doesn’t wait for us to decide what we will do and how we will do it. He is always in control.
That was reinforced in God’s conversation with Jeremiah. The Lord stated emphatically: “I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (5). These words leave no room for confusion. God called Jeremiah. He told him what to do. He told him where to go. And the same Lord supplies workers for his church today.
Maybe you have heard the statistics. Maybe you have seen the billboards around town encouraging men to consider the priesthood. Across the board, there is a severe shortage of clergy in our country. And our church body is not immune. There are approximately seventy-five pastoral vacancies, and roughly the same amount of teacher vacancies in our synod.
What does that mean? It means there are world missions without missionaries. It means there are churches with empty pulpits. It means there are schools with empty classrooms. It means ripe fields are being left untouched simply because there is no one to harvest them.
But the picture isn’t all gloom and doom. Listen to these statistics. The current enrollment at
That means there is reason to be optimistic about the future. That means more teachers in the classrooms. That means more students at the seminaries. That means more pastors in the field. That means more congregations calling staff ministers. The means the Lord remains true to his Word.
As individual Christians, we rejoice with Jeremiah because God has called us to faith. Today we also rejoice because God calls men and women to serve in the public ministry. And what is so reassuring is that with God there is no guesswork. We have God’s firm promise that he will go with us.
When Jeremiah received his call from God, he appeared to be overwhelmed. He said: Ah, Sovereign Lord, I do not know how to speak; I am only a child” (6). Jeremiah knew himself all too well. He could see the inner faults and flaws that were not visible to others. And God still wanted him? He objected: “God, I’m too young. God, I’m not a good speaker. There has to be someone out there more qualified than me.”
Was Jeremiah being too hard on himself? Apparently God felt that Jeremiah could do the job. Otherwise he would not have called him. When Jeremiah was questioning his own abilities, wasn’t he really questioning God’s judgment? When Jeremiah was questioning his own adequacy, wasn’t he really questioning God himself? Wasn’t he really doing what we ourselves do all the time?
For example, I can find a thousand reasons NOT to talk to someone about Jesus. “It’s too soon. It’s too late. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what they will say. I’m not very good at sharing my faith. I don’t want to push my friend away.” What really lies at the heart of these excuses? Is it a lack of self-confidence or a lack of trust in God?
When you feel like you are totally inadequate, take to heart God’s words for someone else who had his share of doubts. The Lord said to Jeremiah: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the Lord” (7,8).
Notice how God handled Jeremiah’s excuses. He didn’t change his call. He didn’t lighten his load. And he didn’t say that his work would be easy either. But God did give him a promise. God promised both his presence and protection. No matter who opposed him, no matter what threats were made against him, Jeremiah had nothing to fear because God was always at his side. And we have the same divine assurance that we are never alone.
Even though he ascended into heaven almost two thousand years ago, Jesus is still with us. Maybe he isn’t here visibly. Maybe we can’t see him. Maybe he doesn’t come to us in prophetic visions anymore. But the Lord is with us just as much as he was with Jeremiah. How can we be so sure? Because God says so.
We have God’s promise: “Never
will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). We have God’s promise: “Surely I am with
you always to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). When
the seminarian steps into the pulpit for the first time, the Lord is with
him. When the teacher steps into the
classroom for the first time, the Lord is with her. When Christians step forward to defend God’s
name knowing that they will face harsh criticism, the Lord is there too.
We can go about the Lord’s work without fear because God goes with us. And we can go about the Lord’s work with confidence because the Lord has equipped us.
God gave Jeremiah powerful tools to carry out his ministry: “Now, I have put my words in your
mouth. See, today I appoint you over
nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to
build and to plant” (9,10).
The Lord gave Jeremiah his powerful Word. God also gave Jeremiah the unenviable task of preaching a message of “Repent or else.” He sent Jeremiah to warn his people that judgment was on its way. That’s why he used words like uproot and tear down and destroy and overthrow.
But God also sent Jeremiah “to build and to plant,” to remind the faithful that God cannot go back on his Word, to repeat God’s promises of a Savior who was to come, to assure penitent sinners of God’s free and full forgiveness. God equipped Jeremiah with the law and the gospel, the law to show people their sin, the gospel to show people their Savior.
This morning we thank the Lord for the churches and schools and pastors and teachers that equip young people with the same tools. This morning we thank the Lord for the sons and daughters of our congregation who are preparing for the public ministry. This morning we also recognize that there may be future called workers sitting in these pews.
It might be a first grader who has already told his mom that he wants to be a pastor when he grows up. It might be an eighth grader who has been told that God has given her the gifts to be a teacher. It might be a high school student who wants to learn more about staff ministry. It might even be one of a growing number of people who are seriously considering public ministry later in life.
Are you one of these people?
Or are you in a position to encourage one of these people? “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are
few. Ask the Lord of the harvest,
therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew