“The Calling of God” – Dr. C. David Matthews from RLBC Media on Vimeo.

Jeremiah 1:4-10 [show]Jeremiah 1:4-10 The Call of Jeremiah [4]Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, [5]"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." [6]Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth." [7]But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. [8]Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD." [9]Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. [10]See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."

It cannot be said too often that biblical prophecy is not about predicting the future, except in one very important sense, which we will see in a moment. Biblical prophecy is not concerned with forecasting specific future events. I am fully confident that there is nothing about the modern nation of Israel anywhere in the Bible, nor is there anything in it about a time when and a place where Christ will return to the earth, nor does the Bible say anywhere that everything that happens is predetermined. Biblical prophecy predicts the future only in the sense of saying “whatever you sow, you will reap.” Biblical prophecy has nothing to do with clairvoyance and everything to do with spiritual wisdom and moral insight.

The prophets of the Old Testament appeared when Israel was in a political crisis because of spiritual disobedience. A covenant, established by God, was the structure of the relationship between God and Israel. God had said, “I will be your God and you will be my people” – - as in a marriage. Faithfulness to the covenant resulted in peace and prosperity, but unfaithfulness was disastrous. The prophets all followed the same pattern of prophetic proclamation. First, there were warnings of judgment that indicted Israel for betraying the covenant. Second, there were calls to repentance. Third, there were promises of forgiveness and new life. This is essentially what biblical preaching is in every age. Three points: first, like sheep you have gone astray; second, you face dire consequences and need to repent and return; third, when you do you will find forgiveness and a new beginning. Most importantly each prophet had a calling from God.

Jeremiah was one of Israel’s greatest prophets. As a young man he heard God say, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Time is part of God’s creation, which means God is outside of time as well as in time. Some theologians suggest that outside of time God loved us and decided to create us. It’s an interesting thought, God loving us before we were born. Jeremiah’s response is, “Ah, Lord God! I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” Then there is a beautiful symbolic gesture. God touched the boy’s mouth and said, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.”

Jeremiah lived during the most tragic period in Judah’s history. After an eighteen-month siege of the city, and with many of its citizens already deported to Babylon, Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B.C. Throughout his life Jeremiah was torn between his love for God’s people and his agony over their sinfulness. He was often God’s prophet of judgment. He once  took a pottery flask to the Potsherd Gate of the city, probably the gate to the refuse dump. He broke the flask, saying, “Thus says the God of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, so that it can never be mended.” (19:11) This angered the king, Jehoiakim, as well as the temple officials. Jeremiah was beaten and placed in stocks. When he was released he was forbidden to enter the temple. Much later, after the destruction of the city, Jeremiah was permitted to remain in Jerusalem, a prophet in the ruins. Then, as we will see, he became for his defeated people a prophet of hope and of promise, and of a new covenant.

The God of the Bible is a calling God. God calls Abraham to leave home for a land God will show him. God calls Moses to the burning bush and assigns him to lead the Exodus. The prophet Hosea sees God’s calling as literally a calling, a vocation. The word “vocal” becomes the word “vocation,” a calling. Hosea hears God say, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” (11:1) God’s call is God’s initiative with us. God calls us to repentance, to salvation, to service, to compassion. Jesus calls us to follow him. The important aspect of this is that God calls each of us, and awaits our response.

Is it unthinkable that you have something in common with Jeremiah? Think what it would say about God if God only called preachers! Isn’t it possible that God could have loved you before you were born and dreamed a dream for you? My sister and brother-in-law were expectant parents for a long time, much longer than nine months. They discovered that natural childbirth was impossible for them, so they waited for years for their first child, who finally came to them through an adoption agency. I remember visiting them during that period of expectancy. In a wonderful old country home just outside of Waco there was a room for this baby who had not yet been born. There was a cozy bed, endless toys, baby furniture, baby wallpaper, and a total atmosphere of preparation and expectation for someone who was not yet a citizen in the world of the living. It was as if they already knew this child who did not even exist. If such love is possible for human parents, could God possibly love any of us less? Your feelings of being an orphan, or of having no purpose in the world, are totally false.

Does it disturb or distress you to think you have a calling from God? Do you not feel worthy? Look at Moses. Look at Isaiah. Look at Jeremiah. None felt worthy. None felt qualified. But they would each discover the miracle of God’s call:  whom God calls, God equips. With the call comes the ability to carry it out. This is not to say that God will make you successful in whatever effort you attempt. But the calling of God comes with a promise: “I will be with you.”

Obviously God does not wait for us to become spiritually mature before calling us. Again, look at Moses, a murder in his past! Look at Isaiah and Jeremiah, still wet behind their ears. God calls us to do something – - to go, to help, to risk, to confront. Answering God’s call, and succeeding or failing, this is how we grow toward maturity. Waiting until you are qualified, or until you are worthy, is like waiting for your ship to come in. God calls us to do something, knowing this is how we grow. Doing as much of God’s will as we know to do is the first step toward becoming who we really are. Does it take courage? Of course! And faith.

True story, from a woman named Carolyn Hughes: A middle-aged woman named Jill was thinking about going to seminary. To help her decide, she worked for a time as an intern in a hospital chaplain’s office. One day Jill was approached in a hospital hallway by a distraught man. “I don’t know what I’m asking for,” he said, “but your name tag says Chaplain. We are not church people. But my father seems to need to talk to someone before he can die. Something’s holding him back. Please come see what you can do for him.” Jill began to panic. She was not a priest, not even a chaplain. What could she do to help? She was led into a darkened room where a pale, emaciated figure lay on a hospital bed. She touched his shoulder gently, and he acknowledged her presence with a flutter of the eyelids. She mumbled something. When she finished he still seemed to be holding on to something, still there was something wrong. She thought he might be waiting for some final blessing, or last rite. But she was not even ordained. With this frail, tortured figure before her, she recalled long ago experiences of putting her three small children to bed at night. “I can do that,” she thought. “I can do what mothers do.” She gave the old man a gentle kiss and a motherly touch, and left the room. Later, the son found her. “Thank you, lady,” he said. “He’s gone. I don’t know what you did, but thank you.” Almost without thinking Jill said, “I gave him permission to cross the street.” And Jill realized she already had a calling to minister in Christ’s name. Mothers and fathers already know how to bless, how to absolve. Eventually Jill decided not to go to seminary. She already was a minister.

Prayer:  Grant us the courage to listen to your call, lest we miss the meaning of our lives. Amen.

C. David Matthews  /  Royal Lane Baptist Church  /  Dallas, Texas 75230  /  8.22.10