THE LORD PUTS HIS WORD IN YOUR MOUTH
January 29, 2006 - Epiphany 4 - JEREMIAH 1:4-10
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Dear Fellow-Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:
Today you are special. You may not feel special, but everyday you as believers are very special. In fact is if you look at what Scripture tells us, you come to realize you are very, very special. You are not just another person, another number in the millions of the humanity, of mankind. Instead the Lord reminds us today, as he speaks to Jeremiah and as he speaks to us, that we are special because he knows us. God knows each one of us individually. God knows each one of us by name. God knows each one of us and knows our needs in this life and the next. We know longer sit in darkness, but we sit in the light of the knowledge of salvation. No longer are we destined to spend eternity in hell, but the Lord has chosen us to be with Him someday in heaven. Isaiah chapter 43 says: "But now, this is what the LORD says--he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name; you are mine" (Isaiah 43:1). The Lord calls each one of us by name and we are his. That makes us special. Today, that special choice of God is upon each and every believer whether here today or anywhere else in the world. For each believer, each Christian, there is something more special when the Lord says, "I put my word in your mouth." It is true that we sometimes speak the words of men, but the Lord also says, "I put my word in your mouth." Our text reveals to us that
THE LORD PUTS HIS WORD IN YOUR MOUTH. We also learn: I. The Lord knows those he calls and,
II. The Lord sends out his believers.
I. THE LORD KNOWS THOSE HE CALLS
The Prophet Jeremiah is one of the Old Testament prophets whom God called to direct God’s people. They needed these prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah to get them back on the right track, because during this time in their history, they had chosen for themselves kings to be their leaders. The sad part was that most of their kings were not very good leaders. Their kings would follow false gods and worship them. Because they did that, the people would follow the kings. So the prophets came to remind them that there is only one true God--the Lord God. It was not an easy task. Yet, we see in this call the Prophet Jeremiah had the Lord on His side.
Verse 4 says: "The word of the LORD came to me, saying." Thirty times in Jeremiah that same phrase is used--"The Word of the Lord came to me or the Lord said." The Lord spoke all the time to remind Jeremiah and the people and reminding us that these are not the words of men. The words that Jeremiah was going to speak were not the words of men, but the Word of God himself. Now the comfort and assurance that Jeremiah receives: "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.’" The Lord knew Jeremiah even before Jeremiah was aware of his own being. "Before you was formed in the womb," God says, I knew you." God says at that moment of conception the miracle of life began, and the Lord knew Jeremiah. The Lord knew that this very beginning of life was going to be the leader and his prophet. The Lord says, "I knew you then at the moment and miracle when life began."
Then God goes on to say, "Before you were born, I set you apart." So Jeremiah was set apart. He happened to be a son of a priest. Yet, that didn’t make him special; but what made him special was that the Lord set him apart. The Lord set him apart from the nations, first of all, so that he would be a believer. That is why Jeremiah was special. Believers are special in the eyes of God. Then God says, "Now, I will appoint you as a prophet to the nations." His calling was not just to be a believer, but he was to be a prophet, a proclaimer of God’s message, whether it would be judgment or a promise. That is quite a responsibility, isn’t it? The Lord comes and says, "I knew you and I appointed you, made you special, and now you are going to be a prophet."
The natural response--Jeremiah says, "’Ah, Sovereign LORD,’ I said, ’I am only a child.’" When he says he is only a child, he means that he is inexperienced. He thought he was too inexperienced to start proclaiming God’s word. He knew that the kings and the leaders that were there were sometimes opposed to God and his word. Jeremiah didn’t feel he was up to the task. In the original, "a child" is one that has not taken responsibility for their profession in their life, someone still growing up, and someone who is figuring out what he is going to be. The Lord came to him and said he was going to be a prophet, but Jeremiah says, "I am only a child." "But the LORD said to me, ’Do not say ’I am only a child.’" He may have felt inexperienced, like a child just growing up in the wisdom and knowledge of God. But already Jeremiah was special because the Lord knew him and chose him, and the Lord made him his child. Yes, Jeremiah felt he was only a child. True, Jeremiah was not only a child but also a child of God because he was a believer. God knew Jeremiah and chose him to be his own.
A number of years ago the statistician and poll takers said that one of the problems facing America and society in general was the fact that people felt lonely, thought they were all by themselves. They said there was at least 30% of our nation that felt this deep sense of loneliness. I can only assume that it has gotten worse in these last years, because everybody goes into their own little shell, to their own little domain. They can have contact to the world through the internet and media without stepping out the door. So this morning we may have experienced that in our lifetime where we feel alone or forsaken or forgotten. Yet the Lord reminds us that we are never that way, because in God’s eyes he has chosen us to not to be alone but to be part of God’s kingdom.
Whether we realize it or not, as believers, we have God’s choice upon us. There are thoughtless thousands the hymn says, and today we would say millions who are walking down the path of destruction because they don’t know the Lord. They have rejected Him and they don’t care. For us the story is different. The Lord says He knows us from the very beginning. The Psalm says, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful and I know that full well" (Psalm 139:13,14). What a beautiful picture we have. The Psalm writer four or five thousand years ago approximately, not ever seeing a picture or sonogram of the fetus or baby in the womb, but he knew that the Lord knit together every human being, every person cell by cell, and created his miracle of life. God has done that for us. The difference is that we know and believe that and we appreciate it. We know that God has done these miraculous things that we might praise him because we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
The comfort and the reassurance that we have is that God knows us and put his word in our mouth. The Lord said he is going to take care of us. He has first of all created the heavens and the earth. He watches over it with an infinite care. The earth does not go out of orbit and crash into the sun and sun stays where it is supposed to be along with all the planets. The axis of the earth is just right, not too hot or too cold generally speaking. If God does that just for nature and the world, imagine what he does for us. We are not inanimate objects but are living, breathing and have a soul and are precious in God’s sight.
Paul writes in Philippians: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!" (Philippians 3:20,21). He does more than we ask or imagine. In our prayers in asking God for different things, sometimes we cut ourselves short because we look at the things we can see, feel or touch. We pray for these earthly things, but the Lord reminds us in the Lord’s Prayer, a good example, of the seven petitions which only one talks about earthly things. The rest are spiritual. The Lord wants us to concentrate on that which is spiritual. Like Jeremiah says, "I am only a child." The Lord says, "Spiritually, you are God’s child. You are special. You are chosen. You could do great things."
We sit here today as special people of God, God’s children, heirs of everlasting life, not because of anything we have done, not because we have gone out of our way to find him; but God has gone out of his way to find us and drag us literally into his kingdom. In the Gospel of John Jesus spoke these words: "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other" (John 15:16,17). It is interesting how Scripture ties together our Second Lesson where Paul says the same thing--wisdom puffs up, but love builds up. We are to love one another as God has loved us.
You are special because the Lord says; "I have put my words in your mouth." If God’s words are in our mouth, then he is going to send us out that others might hear the message of salvation.
II. OUR LORD SENDS OUT HIS BELIEVERS
The first chapter starts with his calling, and the rest of Jeremiah talks about how he goes out and preaches to kingdoms. He knows the daunting task before him. He also knows, as the Lord reminds him, that God knew him from the very beginning of life. The Lord chose him. The Lord appointed him. The Lord made him his child so that he would know what to say. He made Jeremiah his child, so he knew the difference between right and wrong. "But the LORD said to me, ’Do not say, ’I am only child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. He doesn’t say, "you may go; you might go;" but says, "You must go. The original says, "You must; you have to go." The Lord is going to compel him to go and to say what God wants to be said. We think of Jonah the Prophet. He was to go to Nineveh and preach repentance which he did not want to do; because Jonah knew when Nineveh repented, that down the road in history Nineveh would come back and destroy the people of Israel as God’s judgment. Jonah couldn’t escape and spent time in the belly of a great fish and came back. Nineveh did repent and Nineveh as a great kingdom later did destroy Jerusalem and take the Israelites captive. But the Lord says to Jonah and Jeremiah, "You must go."
Then the Lord reassures him first with words and then with actions. "’Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the LORD." The Lord is going to do it. The Lord is going to send him. The Lord is going to rescue him. He said, "Don’t be afraid of them." If that were not enough--"Then the LORD reached out his hand, and touched my mouth and said to me, ’Now I have put my words in your mouth.’" The Lord said, "Don’t be afraid. If you are, these are my words in your mouth. If any one would come against you, they are not coming against you and your words but against the words of God."
At the end the Lord explains to whom Jeremiah is going to speak that message: "See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant." So kingdoms and nations would listen to the word of the Lord. Kingdoms and nations would suffer the consequences of God’s judgment where at times Jeremiah would proclaim the words of the Law to overthrow and tear down, to destroy and to uproot. That power of the Law would bring sinners into despair. But also the Lord would give to Jeremiah the power of the Gospel to build and to plant, that word of the Lord being planted and the kingdom of God being built up. The Gospel would show God’s salvation and forgiveness to those who repent.
There is no one in Jeremiah’s time or our time that wants to hear about his or her sins. It is not a pleasant thing. There is no one who wants to hear that they aren’t good enough to get into heaven on their own. Especially, in our society there are a lot of sins what have been, by the world, reclassified as sicknesses or diseases that can be treated and cured. But we know differently. There are sicknesses and diseases that can’t be treated and cured, because some of those, which the world calls sickness and disease, are still sin. The Lord says to us, "You are my chosen. I put my words in your mouth. He sends us out to tell people about their sins and also to share with them the Gospel that their sins are forgiven and heaven is their home. In Peter’s letter we read: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15). As you live a life of rejoicing and as you live a life of hope, not just in this earthly future, but in the future kingdom of God, people will wonder. They will ask why you are so joyous in the time of tribulation, why you find hope in a world that seems hopeless, why you are so dedicated to God’s Word.
We might be like Jeremiah and say, "I am only a child and I don’t know the answer. I don’t know the reason." But we do know the reason for the hope that you have. God has chosen and has made you his child. God has given you his word. God’s word in our day and age is readily available. All of us have at least one Bible or more in our homes. It reminds us that the Bible provides God’s power. God’s words that in our mouth so we might taste them and share. God says: "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing the soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). God’s Word, the Law and the Gospel know what is in men’s hearts. We don’t. But God says to us, "I put my word in your mouth."
Now we go out because we look at what God has done for us. God has done everything for us. Though we don’t deserve it, God gives us eternal life. We can’t buy it or earn it. God gives us forgiveness of sins. When we couldn’t save ourselves, he provided a Savior for us. Paul says beautifully in Corinthians: "For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again" (2 Corinthians 5:14,15). Today, we are reminded that we are special because we know that Christ has died for us. That is a special blessing. There are millions in this world who don’t know that and don’t understand that. There is an article in Forward in Christ this month about running into children that don’t know Jesus died for their sins. But after leaving they do know that Christ died for them; because, as Paul says, Christ died for all. As Christ died for us his children, he even died for his enemies. God puts these words in our mouth and this life in our life, this joy in our living, so that others too may see the glory of God, either through our words, through God’s Words, or our joyous life.
God chose us because he knew us from the very beginning. The preciousness of life, the beginning of life is a miracle. It is God’s miracle, and we know that it is God’s miracle. There might be many in this world that don’t want to admit to that. That does not change the truth that God makes life begin. We know that He changes our lives, because He gives us the knowledge of salvation. He makes us special to know what is right and wrong, to live our lives on the path of righteousness rather than the way of wickedness. God has put his words in our mouth and made us his prophets, his proclaimers of his word.
Paul writes to Titus and to us telling us why we would do all this, why we live in the light of Christ, why we would spread the message of salvation: "Our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ...gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good" (Titus 2:14). We are God’s very own. We have God’s very own words and we are sent out eager to do what is right in God’s sight. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
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EPIPHANY 4 Readings: DEUTERONOMY 18:15-20; 1 CORINTHIANS 8:1-13; MARK 1:21-28
