Super bowl XXXVIII will kick off in just a few hours. One team will win. One team will lose. Somebody will come up short. And the focus will be on the winners. We
live in a world of winners and losers. Effectiveness, results, and success are part of the
playbook to the game of life.
Even Christians feel the pressure of success. We want blessing and prosperity – be it in our congregation or our personal life – so there is tangible proof we’re successful. Nobody wants to come up short. God’s Word for today assures us that this won’t happen to his people. God has kept some amazing promises and accomplished some amazing facts. So, DON’T SELL YOURSELF SHORT. 1) God has Chosen You, 2) He Promises to Be with You, and 3) He Gives You His Word.
1) God Has Chosen You
We learn those three truths from Jeremiah. His long ministry stretched over the last 40 years of Judah’s history before they were led captive to Babylon. During those forty years, the talk on Jerusalem’s streets included names like Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh Necho. These two great world rulers were engaged in a battle at Carchemish, which would determine the fate of the Middle East. The Pharaoh was defeated and, as a result, Judah became dependent on Babylon.
Throughout this period Judah, as always, was caught in the middle. Though a small and weak kingdom, Judah was important because it was the land bridge between Babylon to the north and east, and Egypt to the south and west. For this reason, each of those countries tried to control the land of Israel.
As a result, the little southern kingdom (Judah) felt as if they were sold short. They felt as if God didn’t know or care about them – merely pawns in a political war – so they turned away from the Lord. Yet, God wanted the people to know he had never forgotten them. He was in control even if they didn’t realize it. And he made that point evident as he called Jeremiah to be his prophet: 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; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
It is important to note that the phrase “the word of the LORD came” appears 21 times in Jeremiah. This is a regular reminder that the Lord desires to communicate with his creation and when he does, he communicates with words. What a marvelous message he communicates to us. The Lord knows all things; he is omniscient. In fact, the Lord “knew” Jeremiah. God had an intimate knowledge of Jeremiah. The covenant God of love thought of Jeremiah not only when he was a cute baby or a teenager. God’s love for Jeremiah and God’s knowledge of Jeremiah began before his birth, even before he was conceived in the womb.
God intimately knows you, too. God’s knowledge isn’t like some abstract data stored on a computer disk. God’s knowledge is active. God’s knowledge brought you into existence. He knew you and made you. He knew you would be born a sinner. He knew you needed a Savior. And he caused his word of salvation to be proclaimed by faithful ones such as Jeremiah, so that the hope of a Savior would be shared. It was the gospel proclaimed to us, which created faith in us and has led us to believe that God loves us.
God’s choice is what made Jeremiah. God’s choice is what made you and me – not the other way around. Such a concept flies in the face of our contemporary world. Business promotions are based on performance. Sports teams win championships by their own efforts. Many people apply such thinking to matters of faith. They think they must make a decision to accept and know God. That is not the case. God considers us worthy because of his choice. He considers us worthy because of what his Son, Jesus Christ, has accomplished for us. It is the Holy Spirit who works a buoyant trust in our hearts to believe and to receive the blessings of God’s grace.
God chose Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations. What a comfort there! God is the one who calls his messengers to the world. I can take comfort in this text because the task of sharing God’s Word with his people is a task that God has given to me; it is not a mission I have chosen for myself.
The same is true for all of us. God has chosen each of us, even before our conception or birth. At our baptism, he made that choice known to us. Look at your own baptism, and you will find the same kind of promise, assurance, and anchor in the Lord as Jeremiah did when he considered how God called him.
The Lord has brought us to this congregation for a reason. He’s given us the personalities, talents and abilities, for a specific reason. God gave Jeremiah specific abilities and he called him to service in his name. Now, Jeremiah had a difficult ministry. People mocked him. Kings tried to kill him. He was beaten and imprisoned. His ministry wasn’t always easy. Our service to God may not always be easy, either. We may find it hard to simply get up on a Sunday morning to praise his name.
Sometimes, it will be even harder for us to serve him in our congregation. Maybe we don’t always want to get involved and help out. It’s easier to come up with excuses than it is to serve. Yet, God hasn’t appointed you to make excuses. He led you to faith in Jesus, so that you could be the Savior’s witness to the world around you. Even though things may not always go according to our plans – either in our church or home – God knows us. He knows our sins, our problems, our fears, and our challenges. God knew you before the world began and he chose you as his own.
2) He Promises To Be With You
Yet, Jeremiah felt overwhelmed and under qualified to serve. He was intimidated: I do not know how to speak; I am only a child. 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. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.
Jeremiah was inexperienced and immature by the standards of his day. The word “child” literally means “one who has not yet taken responsibility for a profession.” Jeremiah didn’t have experience and wisdom. But the Lord responded clearly and decisively. Jeremiah was not to identify himself as a boy. He was the Lord’s ambassador. Jeremiah would not have to go it alone. And that was the Lord’s point. God would provide the audience and the message. As the prophet later came to understand, his audience was not always ready to hear what he had to say. That didn’t matter either. God sent him to those people who needed to hear the message he carried, for the message was nothing less than what God had commanded.
If any doubt remained, the Lord dealt with it. First, he gave a clear command – “Do not be afraid.” And then he backed up the command with a promise – “for I am with you and will rescue you.” This promise has great value. Jeremiah had no reason to fear. The Lord was sending Jeremiah to people who would seek to kill him, but God prepared Jeremiah for that persecution even before it happened.
God’s promise is for you and me. He knows us and promises to be with us. We don’t need to fear. We don’t need to be intimidated by the troubles that may be thrown our way. God promises his protection and presence. The Lord stands behind his promises. That’s what it means when we say we have hope.
The world has a different view of hope from the Christian view. A humanistic view of hope is superstitious and almost ridiculous. The world’s view of hope can be illustrated this way: If I were to hold a glass of water up in mid-air, it would be foolish for me to let go of the glass and say, “ I hope the glass doesn’t fall.” Yet, that’s the impression a lot of people have of hope – it’s uncertain; a desire or expectation and nothing more.
Christians have a different view of hope. Our hope is based on truth and reality. Our hope is based on God’s promises. A Christian’s hope can be illustrated this way: If I were to place a glass of water on a table, I could let it go and in all certainty say, “I hope this glass doesn’t fall.” I can say that because the reality is that the table will support the glass. When the Lord says that he is with us and we have no reason to fear, the Lord means it. And we have hope because God’s promises prop us up and fill us with confidence. When God promised to send a Savior for you, you can believe it. When God promised to make you his child, you can believe it. When God promises to be with our congregation, you can believe it. Believe the sure Word of God – its as certain and real as setting a glass on a table.
3) He Gives You His Word
Not only does God stand behind his Word, he gives his Word to us. Jeremiah experienced that in a profound way: Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “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 up and to plant.” Jeremiah admitted his inadequacies and uncertainties; he didn’t consider himself qualified to speak as one with authority. So the Lord touched his mouth and gave him “his words.” This symbolic act is quite in line with Scripture. It’s as Peter wrote: Prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).
So Jeremiah’s mouth was filled with a message for others. The Lord doesn’t put his words into the heart of a prophet to be stored away. He places them into a prophet’s mouth, where they will be consumed, digested, and proclaimed. The point is clear: God wants believers to proclaim and to speak. We may not be prophets sent to God’s Old Testament people, but the message God put in Jeremiah’s mouth is the same message he places on our lips. It is a message to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build up and to plant.” This is the message the Bible proclaims: Law and Gospel.
Sinful hearts don’t like this message, though. Did you cringe when you first heard those words today? Uprooting, tearing down, destroying, and overthrowing are not pleasant pictures, but they are so necessary. Jeremiah was sent to proclaim law and announce judgment on sin. We don’t like to hear such a message because our smug hearts think everything is just fine. God calls us to be holy as he is holy and we respond saying, “But Lord I’m O.K. as I am. Take it or leave it.” We live in a world that confirms the attitude of every sinful heart. Our society believes in relative truth; there are no absolutes, what’s good for you may not be for me. Yet God says that sin is sin. And sin cannot coexist in his presence.
So God calls for sin to be torn down, uprooted, and destroyed. We tear down our sinful hearts by bowing before God and humbly admitting, “Lord, I am a poor, miserable sinner.” All the monuments we erect to sin in our lives must be broken down. The victory garden of selfishness must be uprooted. The sinful attitude that wants to rebel against God and his Word must be overthrown from our hearts.
And so God breaks apart the foundation of sinful pride. He pulls up the roots of selfishness. He revolts against stubborn arrogance. The Lord shows us our sin and failure so that we despair in ourselves. When we despair in ourselves, we can only cling to God for mercy. And there God promises his mercy to us. He reaffirms his faithful promises to us – promises he fulfilled in his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus came to bear our sins for us. He came to be torn down, uprooted, and destroyed in our place. The crimson blood that flowed from his veins covers our sins. God dealt with sin. And Jesus’ resurrection is the seal of God’s approval – we are forgiven and eternal life is ours! That is the message God has given to us. It is the message the Holy Spirit chooses to use to change hearts – to bind up, heal, build, and plant. God’s Word fills us with hope. We are forgiven children of God. That is why this church exists. We have been given that same message to proclaim. And God will keep us bold to proclaim it faithfully and joyfully.
Our hearts are filled with hope and our lips are filled with a message of hope. We might live in a world of vast contrasts – winners and losers. This afternoon we’ll see that contrast played out again. Only one team will win the Super bowl – either the Patriots or the Panthers. One will come up short.
Life can seem cruel and cold. It’s a world of winners and losers. But don’t sell yourself short. God continues to tear down our sinfulness and builds up our faith. He has chosen you to be his own regardless of what others may think. God has promised to be with you when life seems scary. God has given us his Word. May his grace continue to open our weak lips to proclaim his Word to the world around us. Don’t sell yourself short. You’re a winner in Christ. Amen.
