Jeremiah 1:4-10
“Do Not Be Afraid”
By: Rev. Ken Sauer
Pastor of Grace UMC
Soddy Daisy, TN
www.gbgm-umc.org/grace-sdtn
My freshman year of college I took a public speaking course.
It was a relatively small class and we had lots of fun giving our speeches.
I remember our first assignment.
We were to give a speech comparing and contrasting two different things.
On the day I was to speak in front of the class I brought a boom-box along with some heavy metal cassette tapes, and I gave a speech comparing really good heavy metal music to not so good heavy metal music.
At one point in my speech I made the comment: “Ozzy Osbourne isn’t really all that heavy, and he’s not really all that crazy either. I mean, he’s 40 years old. How crazy could he be?”
Within the review of my speech, I remember my professor writing: “Poor old Ozzy. He’s not crazy. He’s 40 years old.”
Now that I’m quickly approaching 40 I think 40 is pretty young!
Our second assignment for that class was to pick a hero and give a speech from that person’s perspective.
When the day of my speech came, I painted my face like Gene Simmons of the rock group KISS and gave a speech in full KISS garb.
There was about a two-week span of time between my second and third speech…and a lot was happening in my life.
God’s grace was working hard on me.
I had become good friends with another kid who was a born again Christian, and I liked what I saw in his life.
And although I had been raised in the church, and had always believed I had never made a full commitment of my life to the Lord.
My gods played heavy metal guitars and wore grease paint on their faces.
Anyhow, just a couple of days before the day of my third speech in front of this class I gave my life to Jesus Christ…I was born again!
It was quite a shock to my audience when I stood up to give my speech beginning with the words, “A few days ago I gave my life to Jesus Christ…” and I went on to explain the message of the Gospel the best I knew how.
I can still see the jaws that dropped to the floor that day.
In our Old Testament Lesson for this morning we see the Lord call Jeremiah to be one of His prophets at a very young age.
And Jeremiah’s response was “Ah, Sovereign Lord…” “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.”
If you were to look up the word “ah” in a Hebrew Dictionary you would see that Jeremiah’s “ah” was more like “awww.”
It was a sigh of pain and agony.
Many folks think Jeremiah was still probably in his teens when God called him.
That means we can probably understand his response a little better.
How many teenagers, when their parents ask them to do something difficult; respond with “awww mom,” or “awww dad?”
Jeremiah was saying “awww” to God.
But look what the Lord said to Jeremiah in verses 7 and 8: “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…”
God assures Jeremiah, that despite Jeremiah’s youth…
…despite Jeremiah’s inexperience…
…Jeremiah did not need to be intimidated by the power and prestige of those to whom he would be asked to proclaim the Word of God, since God had promised to stand by him and guide him and protect him.
Quite often, when someone gives their life to Christ, we say things to them such as: “You are just a baby. You’re vulnerable and weak, and there’s so much you don’t know yet. You need some good teaching and help, so don’t worry about anything but learning right now. For now, just soak up as much as you can.”
While many of these things are true, the new believer is not a complete idiot when it comes to the Gospel.
The new believer has a lot of knowledge already.
The new believer knows, and it is still very fresh in his or her mind, what it is like to live without Christ as opposed to what it is like to live with Christ.
The new believer, more than likely, has already had quite a journey on his or her way from point a to point b…
…and the new believer has just been rescued…
…the new believer has just been resurrected…
…the new believer has just been snatched from the pit of hell and from the grave!!!
The new believer must learn, but the new believer must tell as well!
And as it goes, no matter how long one is on the journey of following Jesus Christ, one always has much more to learn than has already been learned.
In the book Dedication and Leadership, Douglas Hyde describes how he used to train good, committed communists.
When new converts to communism were found, the leaders wouldn’t try to protect them but rather send them out on a street corner to pass out tracts and paraphernalia to support communism, despite the fact that they knew next to nothing.
People would question them and even attack their new beliefs, but instead of weakening their resolve it forced them to learn faster and better what they needed to know.
It also resulted in their being even more committed to the cause.
It is amazing how persecution solidifies commitment in a follower.
For one thing, it forces us to decide for ourselves what we really do believe in…and how much we are willing to endure for what we believe!
When Christians, new or old, share their faith with non-believers it is not only a mission about making more Christians, it is also a mission about making better Christians.
Facing the onslaught of questions, challenges, and debates, we solidify our commitment—on the front line with bullets flying overhead.
The internal commitment which is formed and strengthened when we share our faith is invaluable to our walk with Christ.
Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”
And taking up the Cross daily is about taking up the Cross of Christ…
…it’s not about some burden we must carry…
…it’s not about some physical ailment or shortfall…
…it’s not about us at all…
…it’s about Jesus Christ!!!
Are we so concerned about saving our own lives that we actually are in jeopardy of losing them…and for the very reason of trying to save them?
We are to lose our lives for Christ…
…and in doing so we become a resurrected people—snatched from hell and the grave by the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God—without blemish or defect!!!
“whoever loses his life for me will save it.”
Is there anything you are holding onto that is keeping you from giving your life completely over to God?
It could be a sense of pride or it could be a sense of insecurity.
Whatever it is…give it to God and believe Him when He says: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Our Old Testament Lesson for this morning is so full…
…it’s so exciting…
…it’s so filled with promise and hope!!!
The Lord said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…”
Not even our parents can say that!
Before you were ever born, God knew you!
The word “knew” carries with it a sense of relationship and approval.
In other words God had a stamp on Jeremiah’s life.
It means that God specifically knew Jeremiah.
Obviously God was speaking to Jeremiah here, so some of us may think that God knew Jeremiah but He doesn’t necessarily know me or you.
But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
A recurring theme in the Bible is that God made us and knows us even better than we know ourselves.
Psalm 139 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, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place…your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
And in the Psalm Judy led us in earlier this morning the Psalmist writes: “Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.”
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Just try and imagine…
…just try and comprehend what it would mean to grow into the person God has created us to be!
There is a well known story that goes like this:
“Long ago on a high mountain three trees were speaking about their future dreams.
The first tree said, ‘I would really like to be made into a cradle, so that a newborn baby might rest comfortably and I could support that new life.’
The second tree looked down at a small stream that was flowing into a big river and said, ‘I want to be made into a great ship, so I can carry useful cargo to all corners of the world.’
The third tree viewed the valley from its mountaintop and said, ‘I don’t want to be made into anything. I just want to remain here and grow tall, so I can remind people to raise their eyes and think of God in heaven who loves them so much.’
Years passed and the trees grew tall and mighty.
Then one day three woodcutters climbed the mountain in order to harvest some trees.
As they cut down the first tree, one of the men said, ‘We will make this one into a manger.’
The tree shook its branches in protest; it did not want to become a feed box for animals.
It had grander ideas for its beauty.
But the woodcutters made it into a manger and sold it to an innkeeper in a small town called Bethlehem.
And when the Lord Jesus was born, He was placed in that manger.
Suddenly the tree realized it was cradling the greatest treasure the world had ever seen.
As the woodcutters cut down the second tree, they said, ‘We will make this into a fishing boat.’
The tree protested, but the woodcutters did as they planned and a man named Simon Peter bought it.
And when the Lord Jesus needed a place from which to address the crowds that were pressing upon Him, He got into that little fishing boat and proclaimed the Good News.
And the second tree suddenly realized it was carrying a most precious cargo, the King of heaven and earth.
The woodcutters then came to the third tree and said, ‘ The Romans are paying good money these days for wooden beams for their crosses.
We will cut this tree into beams for a cross.’
The tree protested so hard that its leaves began to shake and then fall off onto the ground, but it was cut down, nonetheless, and made into beams.
One Friday morning the third tree was startled when its beams were taken from a woodpile and shoved onto the shoulders of a man.
The tree flinched when soldiers nailed the man’s hands to the wood; the tree felt shamed and humiliated.
But early on Sunday morning, as the dawn appeared, the earth trembled with joy beneath the tree.
The tree knew that the Lord of all the earth had been crucified on the Cross it made, but now God’s love had changed everything.
And the Cross from that third tree stands tall to remind people to raise their eyes and think of the God in heaven who loves them.
And did you notice, how in each case, being cut down was the price that was paid for entering God’s glory?
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”
God specifically knew Jeremiah, and God had a special task planned out for Jeremiah to accomplish.
The same holds true for each and every one of us.
We have all been created to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with a lost and dying world.
We have all been created in order to remind people to raise their eyes and think of the God in heaven who loves them so much that He died to save them from their sins, death and hell!!!
Are we going to live into our calling and trust that God will be with us through it all and rescue us…
…or will we simply say: “Awww, Sovereign Lord, I don’t know how to speak. I don’t know enough about the Bible yet. I’m not good enough. I’m not smart enough. I’m not old enough. I’m too old…?”
Those excuses are just cop-outs. They are ways of saying, “I don’t care enough to dare try!”
The story is told of an American tourist in Paris who picked up an amber necklace in a trinket shop.
When he arrived at New York and went through customs he was shocked at the high duty he had to pay.
When he came home, he had the necklace appraised, and the jeweler told him he would give $25,000 for the necklace.
He was stunned and suspected that there was a reason for the offer.
He took the necklace to an expert who appraised it at an astronomical amount.
When he asked the appraiser what made the necklace so valuable, he told him to look into the magnifying glass and see for himself.
When he placed his eye next to the glass, he saw an inscription which read: “From Napoleon Bonaparte to Josephine.”
It was the name on the necklace that gave it extraordinary worth. (from a sermon by Rodney Buchanan)
Inscribed on your life is the name of your Owner.
He has made you with His own hands and written His name across your life.
Your value is found in that inscription.
You belong to Him and He wants to use your life.
He has made you and you are His.
You are unique.
You are special because you are special to God.
No one else can take your place in God’s heart.
And neither can anyone take your place in this world.
“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.”
