LW08 - Morning 1 - Responding To God's Call
Jeremiah 1
The Living Word Bible Convention is back for another year, with Jonathan Lamb as this year's speaker. The morning session was sparsely attended - like my father's hair it was almost all grey and thinly spread.
Paul Moore (of St Wilfrid's, Cowplain), the chairman, introduced the session. We sang "To God be the Glory," accompanied by Adrian on the Piano, and then Mark Seager (Paulsgrove Baptist read the scripture, Jeremiah 1).
Here are my notes:
Jonathan started by talking about a pastor he'd met recently named Josef Bondarenko, who he'd prayed for years earlier. Josef suffered under communist persecution of Christians and spent time labour camps in Siberia. (He also mentions Josef in "Integrity: Leading with God watching", p110). Yet despite substantial persecution, Josef remained passionate about serving God and spreading the gospel - much like Paul, much like Jeremiah. Jeremiah is the 2 Corinthians of the Old Testament - ministry under difficult circumstances.
v1-5 The Lord's Call
v1-3 Jeremiah outlines the prevailing crisis. The background is politically uncertain - balance of world power was shifting as the Assyrian empire began to totter. As v3 points out, it ends in captivity for God's people. Jeremiah mentions 4 of the 6 kings whose reigns intersected his ministry - all died in unusual circumstances. It was a time of moral and spiritual turmoil - a situation which resonates strongly with Britain today.
Josiah is mentioned - a good king whose best efforts were not enough to prevent the decay that had set in.
v4-5 God summons Jeremiah. It's a vital experience that colours his subsequent ministry. Not a romantic experience - it's a summons not an invitation. Magnificent and uplifting, but produces more panic than glee.
3 assurances given: 1. I knew you... I shaped you. "knew" implies more than just awareness - God was committed to using Jeremiah. It's the knowledge of relationship. God has designed Jeremiah for the task he is giving him.
2. I have set you apart, consecrated you. Jeremiah was specially chosen for his mission.
3. I have appointed you. He has been givein a global ministry that reflects God's sovereignty over the whole earth.
The greater the turmoil, the greater the need to hear God's word.
v6-9 The Lord's Response
v6 Call. God's call comes, typically, when it's not expected. Jeremiah assumes that God's made a mistake - Jeremiah doesn't have the requisite facial hair to be a prophet! He wishes for a prolonged period of childhood without carrying the burdens of his people on his shoulders. This sense of weakness/inadequacy is an essential pre-requisite for christian service.
v7-9 God's answer. I send you ... I command you ... I am with you.
v9 I will deliver you. This assurance stays with Jeremiah - and even though severe doubts plague him throughout his ministry, God ultimately proves faithful.
v9 I have put my words in your mouth. A promise of authority - an authority not in Jeremiah himself, but that is derived form the fact that Jeremiah proclaims God's words. (The locus of authority being in the word rather than the person is reassuring - the messenger can be killed, but the words cannot be unspoken). The centre of power - God - remains unchanged.
v10-16 The Lord's Message
v10 Strong message of judgment, combined with a message of hope.
Jeremiah has been described as the life and soul of the funeral.
2 mini visions:
v11-12 the almond branch - one of the first trees to blossom; a sign that spring is on it's way. God is ready, he will deliver on his promises.
v13 cauldron facing away from the north - God's judgment is delayed - but only for a limited period of time.
They may be God's people, but that doesn't mean they have diplomatic immunity.
Jeremiah faithfully relays this message of judgment - with tears and weeping. There is no place for smugness when warning of God's judgment.
v17-19 The Lord's Resources
Jeremiah has a similar message to Paul, who was told "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Jeremiah will be like a fortified city, an iron pillar, a bronze wall. He will face opposition. He will experience loneliness. But the attacks on him will ultimately fail.
The guarantee is not that God will stop the fighter, but that he will stand by the fighter. -- Derek Kidner
The defining factor in Jeremiah's "success" will be the faithfulness that is possible when God is present.
If we want to serve, we need to hear the promises God made to Jeremiah - that he will be alongside us in our weakness.
The session closed with the hymn: "I the Lord of sea and sky".
