Called to Courage
Jeremiah 1:1-19
John Bunyan lived from 1628 to 1688 He was a tinker, a pot mender by trade until the lord saved him and called him to be a Baptist preacher. During the his lifetime it was against the law to not attend services at the Anglican State Church of England, not to pay your tithe there and especially you could not preach unless you were authorized not by God but by the church of England.
Bunyan was arrested because he would not submit to the authority of a church which was married to the state and did not teach the truth of the word of God. He spent 13 years in prison trying to support his wife an 4 children by making shoelaces. His oldest daughter Mary, was born blind and it was a terrible grief upon his heart that he was not there to care for her and her siblings.
Bunyan could have gone free if he would just promise not to preach anymore. On one occasion he was called before the judge and offered his freedom if he would just obey men and not God. This is his reply.
“I cannot do what you ask of me, M’lord. I cannot place my signature upon any document in which I promise henceforth not to peach. My calling to preach the Gospel is from God, and He alone can make me discontinue what He has appointed me to do. As I have had no word from Him to that effect, I must continue to preach and I shall continue to preach. – John Bunyan.
Another time when he was offered the same opportunity, he told the judge, “If you release me today, I will preach tomorrow.”
Background
The prophet Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet, or the prophet of the broken heart truly the title fit. The name Jeremiah has the literal meaning “Jehovah throws.” On the basis of this, various translations have been made, such as “Jehovah establishes,” “Jehovah exalts,” “Jehovah is high,” and “whom Jehovah appoints.”
By divine design it was Jeremiah who was called to prophesy in the darkest hours of Judah, when Judah as a nation died. He is known as the “weeping prophet” and “the prophet of the broken heart.” But he wept not for his own trials, grievous as they were. It was the sins of his nation and the fearful destruction these sins were bringing upon them that broke Jeremiah’s heart. Jeremiah lived in a day when tragic events were unfolding, and he, as perhaps no one else at the time, comprehended their full significance. He knew that within a short time the proud, beautiful city of Jerusalem with its magnificent Temple would be in ruins, and that his beloved people would be in captivity. He also knew that the nation which had been God’s own peculiar treasure would be set aside for a time because of incorrigibility, and that supremacy would be given to the Gentiles. No wonder Jeremiah wept.
Of all the writing prophets, Jeremiah and Isaiah stand out preeminently. To place one above the other is perhaps arbitrary, for in many ways their ministries were different, and therefore difficult to compare. Their personalities differed, Isaiah being the bold and fearless type, Jeremiah the gentle and compassionate type. Isaiah lived more than one hundred years before the captivity of Judah; Jeremiah ministered just before and during the final catastrophe. Isaiah had foretold the judgments which were coming unless the nation turned to God; Jeremiah’s particular mission to Judah … was to notify the nation that their judgment was at hand, that God had rejected them and that nothing now could save them from the punishment they so fairly deserved. - Irving L. Jensen, Jensen’s Survey of the Old Testament: Search and Discover, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1978), 336–337.
There were several other prophets that ministered during Jeremiah’s time, Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Daniel, and Ezekiel. All had unique ministries, unique callings and each had their sphere of influence among God’s people. Of all of them Jeremiah’s ministry was the most opposed and he was the most persecuted by his own people.
He wrote describing the conditions in Israel in Jeremiah 5:30-31 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; 31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
Jeremiah lived in Judah after the reign of King Manasseh and his even son Amon, two of the most wicked and evil of all Israel’s kings. 2 Chronicles 33:9-10 So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. 10 And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
Jeremiah was called by God during the reign of the last good king of Israel, Josiah. Josiah led a great revival in Israel and would be ranked with Jehosophat and Hezekiah but then he died young in a senseless battle against Egypt’s King Necho. When Josiah died Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations because he knew there was now no hope for his people. After Josiah, Israel would not recover, and the empire of Babylon would not be stopped from destroying what was left of Jerusalem and the Temple.
Jeremiah knew that he was called by God to a task in which he could not succeed, a life that meant abuse and isolation, and a cause that meant pronouncing judgment on his own nation. How could he stand the pressure, the persecution and the opposition? Yet he did stand and the reason he stood was because God had called Jeremiah and God gave him the courage to fulfill that calling.
So lets turn to Jeremiah 1 vs 4 and listen to God call.
Jeremiah’s Call - Jeremiah 1:4-8
4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 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. 6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. 7 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. 8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
God's Commission and Jeremiah's Omission
In vs 4-5 we see God's plan and purpose for Jeremiah. God told Jeremiah Before I am made you, before you were born, I had set you aside, sanctified and ordained you to be a prophet.
But in vs 6 we hear Jeremiah's excuses. Lord, I lack experience, I’m but a youth. I don’t have the ability to speak as a prophet.
In answer in vs 7-8 we see God's power overcoming Jeremiah’s excuses.
He says, don’t say you are only a child because I am the One
sending you
I am the one commanding you
I am the One who will be with you
And I am the One who will deliver you.
God’s call was so powerful, so overwhelming that later when the persecution was so oppressive that Jeremiah wanted to stop serving the Lord, he could not. Jeremiah 20:9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
Heaven’s Three Calls
I believe that there are three calls from Heaven in a Christian’s life.
The call to salvation when we hear the Gospel “John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me
The call to service. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, [yea], and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
The Call to come home. “2 Timothy 4:6-8 6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Like Jeremiah we may offer our pale excuses to God as well. Whatever they may be they are not valid in the face of God’s call. There is no excuse when a person hears the Gospel and sees Jesus lifted up for their sin, not to accept His sacrifice as the gift of grace and find forgiveness.
In the same way we have no excuse for not answering God call to service once we are saved. Just look at who God has used in His service. Abraham was a wandering nomad in the desert and way too old to be any use. Moses killed a man and had a speech impediment. Miriam spoke against the Lord’s prophet. Rahab was a pagan harlot. Naomi was a widow. Ruth was a foreigner. Gideon needed extra assurance before he would fight. Samson? We don’t even want to talk about Samson. Elijah was depressed and wanted to die. Hosea's family was the definition of dysfunctional. David committed adultery. Solomon was girl crazy. Amos' only training was in the school of gathering figs. Jacob lied to Isaac, his blind father. Peter was so afraid he denied even knowing the Lord. Thomas doubted that Jesus was resurrected. Paul put Christians in prison where they could be executed, after salvation he said he wasn’t an eloquent speaker and may have had poor eyesight. Timothy was too young and often sick. The last apostle John was around 100 years old, exiled to a desert island and waiting to die. And if you still think you have an excuse not to serve, then just think of Lazarus? He was dead but Jesus still used him.
In each and every instance God called them and then used them for His purpose, not because of who they were but because of who called them.
You and I will not be called as a prophet or writer of scripture, but we are all called by God in His word to serve him in the commission of carrying the Gospel wherever and however we can.
Peter put it this way, 1 Peter 2:9-10 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Paul put it this way 1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31 that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
As the song says, It’s not about me, its not about you, but its all about Him.
And in Him just like Jeremiah and all those who have gone before us we will find the courage to answer the call and serve Him.
Jeremiah’s Courage - Jeremiah 1:9-10
9 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. 10 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.
God's promise is Jeremiah's power.
vs 9 The Lord reached out and touched Jeremiah’s mouth, much as the angel with the coal form off the Temple’s altar touched the lips of Isaiah. God did this to show Jeremaiah that It was God's word that would give him voice.
And then in vs 10 He was given God’s promise and throughout his harsh, hard ministry it would be God's promise that would give him courage.
God’s Word Is Still Our Voice and His Promise Our Courage
God's Word
Matthew 10:19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
It is not our words that have power but the word of God. Let God speak through you by taking His word and sharing it with those who have never heard. It is His word that is fire and in the bones. It is his word that is like a hammer. It is His word that is the sword cutting to the care of sinner heart.
God's Promises
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
2 Tim. 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Those are our promises as the New Testament, new Covenant people of God and the church of Jesus Christ. And they are as sure and powerful as those given to any Old Testament prophet.
We simply must take God at his word. It is true of all but especially true or the Christian, that “Courage is not the absence of fear it is the mastery of fear." We master our fear by the word and promises of our Master Jesus Christ.
Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909)
A pastor and author during the civil war and wrote for the cause of freedom for the slaves. He wrote a famous saying that was used by the abolitionists and fits us today as we fight for freedom for the slaves of sin.
I am only one, but I am one.
I can't do everything, but I can do something.
And what I can do, I ought to do.
And what I ought to do, by the Grace of God, I shall do. - Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909)
Finally, lets look at God’s cause an became Jeremiah’s Cause
Jeremiah’s Cause - Jeremiah 1:11-19
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. 12 Then
said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to
perform it. 13 And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,
What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is
toward the north. 14 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall
break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, lo, I will call all
the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come,
and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of
Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the
cities of Judah. 16 And I will utter my judgments against them touching all
their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other
gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
17 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I
command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.
18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar,
and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against
the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the
land. 19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against
thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
God's Assurances and Jeremiah's Authority
God give three assurances to Jeremiah. Two of these were visions of destruction in vss. 11-13.
God’s Word Will Stand vss 11-13. First God gives Jeremiah a vision of a rod made from Almond wood. He asks Jeremiah what he has seen and when the prophet says “a rod of an almond tree” God responds and says, “Though hast well seen, for I will hasten or watch over my word to perform it.” Jeremiah was seeing an almond rod while God was seeing over his word to bring it to action soon.
Without a background study of Hebrew you can’t possible understand what an Almond tree has to do with God’s word. But when you study it you see that this is a play on words. Almond tree is shāqēd and hasten is shōqēd. The mention of shāqēd brings to mind shōqēd, which sounds like it. This kind of play on words is frequent in the Hebrew Bible. – Wycliffe
God was warning that his punishment for Israel’s sin was coming soon. Whereas Isaiah looked a hundred year in the future for Judah’s punishment, Jeremiah is looking at only a few years away.
God’s Wrath Will Come – vss. 14-16 The second vision is of a boiling pot being overturned and flowing pouring toward Jerusalem. This is a picture of Babylon’s upcoming invasion and destruction of the nation. It would be terrible, painful and unstoppable.
God’s Watchcare Will Overcome - Then vs 17-19 Jeremiah is told fulfill his calling by relying upon God for strength. Jeremiah 1:17-19 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. 18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. 19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
Trust God And We will Fulfill The Cause
Even today we are called to prophecy God’s Word. No, not foolish made up, meaningly man-made prophecies or predictions. We’re not talking Psychic Friends Hotlines or Charismatic, Apostolic Renewal Preacher Charlatans. And believe me if I had to choose a prophecy from a fake psychic or a fake charismatic prophet, I would pick the fake psychic because at least they don’t blaspheme the name of God by saying, “Thus saith the Lord” when they know it is not the Lord.
We are called to prophesy, to teach, to forthtell not foretell the word of God. God has told us the future of this world and all mankind and we are called to pass those warnings to others.
We know this world will end in the most horrific natural and supernatural disasters that have ever taken place and they will be concentrated into a 7 year time period called the Tribulation. We know because God’s word tells us and we are commissioned to tell others.
We are called to warn people that after they die if they don’t know Jesus as their Savior then they will suffer in hell for all eternity.
We are commission to warn families that they stand no chance in this wicked world without the foundation of God’s word and a close relationship to His church.
We must tell the hard truth, that lives will be ruined unless those lives are built on the rock of Jesus’ teachings.
We the people of God, are called to forewarn, to prevent and to reclaim those this world and it’s sin are destroying.
Jesus Himself set the example and foresaw us. When He spoke at the synagogue in Nazareth He told them of His own commission and call.
Isaiah 61:1-4 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; (And here is our cause) that they (those freed from sin, those redeemed by Jesus) might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
We can’t claim the mantel of Jesus as the Savior but we are saved and freed from sin and sorrow that we might tell others of Him so that they can see Him as their Savior and redeemer and be free. That is our commission, that is our call.
Conclusion
There is an old Gospel sung that as I was working on the sermon played on my Spotify hymns playlist. It’s called I’m a Hard Fighting Soldier on the battlefield.
Oh, I’m a hard fighting soldier, on the battlefield
I’m a hard fighting soldier, on the battlefield
Oh, I’m a hard fighting soldier, on the battlefield
And I’m bringin souls to Jesus
By the service that I yield
I’ve got a helmet on my head, in my hand a sword and shield
I’ve got a helmet on my head, in my hand a sword and shield
I’ve got a helmet on my head, in my hand a sword and shield
And I’m bringin souls to Jesus
By the service that I yield
You gotta walk right, talk right, sing right, pray right, on
the battlefield
You gotta walk right, talk right, sing right, pray right, on
the battlefield
You gotta walk right, talk right, sing right, pray right, on
the battlefield
And I’m bringin souls to Jesus
By the service that I yield
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