Christ Lutheran Church 605 South Fifth Street Norfolk, NE 68701 Share God s Word, share His love, and do it now! Pastor Chip Winter, Director of Ministries ChristLutheranEducationPurchase jstiek@clnorfolk.org Pastor Chip Winter PleaserefertoAppleQuote:2200745971 Pleaseplacethisorderandshipitto: I ve Got Plans for You Jeremiah 1:4-10, 17-19 Epiphany 4 January 31, 2016 Grace to you and Peace, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen. The text for our sermon is the Old Testament lesson appointed for the day and already read for us. ChristLutheran JaredStiek My 605S.5 dear th family St. in Christ, in many organizations the president is responsible for the overall Norfolk,NE68701 movement or work of the group. They are the big picture person, overseeing the overall operation and where it is going. It is then left to the Vice-President to see to it that the various committees are Pleasebillthisorderto: doing their jobs or the Chief of Operations seeing to the functioning of the various departments, to ChristLutheran get to that JudyBohn overall picture and goal. 605S.5 th St. Norfolk,NE68701 One might get the impression from reading the accounts of creation in Genesis 1 and 2 that (TotalO$1456.97) God the Father is the former. He s the One Who set things in motion and then allowed the well - ordered creation to run merrily along its way, begetting one generation after another. Pleasecontactmewithanyquestions. But the overwhelming impression we get from other passages of Scripture, such as our Old God sblessings, Testament lesson today, is that God is intimately involved in the creation of every human life. DCEJaredStiek Human ChristLutheranChurch life part of God s master plan and He s got a plan for every life. Yes, every life. Your www.clnorfolk.org Father in 605SouthFifthStreet heaven is involved in the day to day planning and operations for this world. Norfolk,NE68701 402O371O1210 jstiek@clnorfolk.org 1
In the text before us Jeremiah is call by God in Jeremiah s youth. He s intended by God to be a prophet. However, in spite of this honor given by the Almighty Jeremiah is reluctant to serve in this capacity. His knee jerk reaction is to claim that he is too young, too inexperienced for such work. God, of course, knows better. He will make certain that Jeremiah is able to fulfill the task he s given. It is this same LORD who will later say to all His people through Jeremiah I know the plans I have for you to give you a future and a hope. Without saying it, though, Jeremiah hints that he s still afraid. For his own people are headed for judgment as a result of their disobedience of God s commands. In fact, that will be his message to them. And since his people persecuted previous unpopular prophets, Jeremiah perhaps fears the same for himself. Truth is we may be reluctant, too. We ve got, in part, a tough message to share with this world and this age. There is disobedience all around us. A rescent pro-life feminist, marching last week in Washington, D. C., wrote this description in a social media post : Its about being against a culture which shames motherhood and rejoices in sexual objectification. Its about refusing to accept that fertility is regarded and treated as a disease to be medicated and cured. Its about refusing to accept violence as a proposed solution to the problems we face. God s word is clear about these things. It was clear in the day of Jeremiah, when God enabled Jeremiah to proclaim the message God wanted spoken; that God s patience had run out and there are consequences for that. Nevertheless God would ultimately send a Savior, whom Jeremiah would also promise to the people. Jeremiah s calling has implications for every human life. It reminds us that every life is conceived in eternity by God before it is conceived within a mother s womb. This God knows every 2
child from conception and has plans for them. It was David who wrote, For you, O LORD, are my hope Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother s womb. (Ps. 71:5-6). Such a hope and purpose devised by God could be considered by us a destiny. There is a plan appointed for you which reveals you have a divine dignity and worth in the eyes of the Eternal God. No child is a mistake, even if they are conceived in a manner that is not what God has desired. Now that plan, or at least some of its parts, are hard to decipher. The overall goal is clear God would have you to be His dearly loved child now and forever. But what that means for what you re going to be up to tomorrow well, there is a great deal of leeway! Thirty-five years ago I was asked to come up with my 10-year plan. At that time I was studying Electrical Engineering and hoped that I might be able to work for Hewlett Packard in Fort Collins, CO. Since that time as a college freshman I have lived in Fort Collins, and I still find math to have an elegance all its own but the rest of it is pretty different. But, that was my plan. This is God s plan and He has been so gracious, loving and protecting through all these years. Eventually, Jeremiah completed his calling by bringing the message of judgment to the people. Yet his work would still ultimately be to give you a future and a hope. That would be fulfilled by the One Who would at one time be associated with Jeremiah. As Jesus once asked His disciples who the people thought He was, they replied, Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets (Matt. 16:14). The just mentioned John would grow up to prepare the way for the coming Savior, and Jesus would be that Savior, rescuing His people from their sin. For Jesus was called by the Father from eternity and sent to our world to suffer and die for every sinner at the hands of wicked men. Then, in the power of His resurrection, Jesus rescued every sinner from everlasting damnation and 3
for everlasting life. Such is the power of God s planning. Such is the power of God s Words. Such is the power of God s actions on your behalf and mine. It is in this new life that each forgiven sinner has the calling to serve God s divine plan and will. You and I are equipped with these powerful Words to meet everyone, every day with the good news of forgiveness and life for all through faith in the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. These words also empower us to see our callings as the places where God is serving the needs of the people He would redeem to Himself. What is on your list of things to do tomorrow? As you think about those tasks and obligations consider (1) what gifts has God given you to accomplish them, (2) with what experiences has God prepared and equipped you to do attempt them, and (3) with whom will you be working on these things? God is the One Who has worked through those things in your life to enable you to be His daughter, His son in that position. Oh, I know, sometimes it s not what you wanted to go through. Sometimes it s not where you want to be. But the interesting thing about that quote we ve used from Jeremiah a few times now giving you a future and a hope comes from their Babylonian captivity. 4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. 8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in 4
my name. I have not sent them, declares the Lord. 10 This is what the Lord says: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. That is absolutely where they did not want to be and what they did not want to endure. God was encouraging them to grow where they had been planted, to live fully where they happened to be. That was His design for them. That is His design for us. And His assurance in 1 Corinthians is that none of us will be tested beyond what we can bear but that He will provide the way for us to bear up under it. He is with us every step of the way. He has called us, forgiven us and assured us of life with Him, now and forever. That is God s plan for you. That is God s plan for every one, every day and in that loving promise we take hope and strength. Amen. 5