“Invitation to God’s Mission” - Jeremiah 1:4-10
Sermon Title: Invitation to God’s Mission
Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4-10
Introduction:
When Pastor John Son was in seminary, one of his professors would wake up each morning asking himself these two questions: 1) God, what are you up to?; 2) How can I participate?
These two questions assume that God is always up to something, and God is always inviting us to partner with Him.
But how many of us actually wake up with this mindset, morning after morning? We may not choose to embrace each day with this missional mind because we think God only moves within the four walls of a church or a Christian institution or organization (temple spirituality).
Temple spirituality was important in the Old Testament days, but after Jesus came and rose, after His Spirit descended and dwells within each of us – we have now become the temple of God. As God is a missional God, as God is always on mission, we are called to be on mission as well because we follow a missionary God.
Overview:
Through our passage today, we are reminded that God is always seeking for His people to join Him on mission.
God calls Jeremiah
God knows and He waits for us to come into existence to join Him on missions (v5)
God calls upon Jeremiah as the Israelites have gone wayward, and the world was unravelling. Our world is not much different.
The issue before Jeremiah was overwhelming and yet God called him into it. Similarly, the issues before us are overwhelming and yet, God calls us into it as well.
In verse 1:5, God tells Jeremiah:
“I have consecrated you” – God’s call has always been to set Jeremiah apart for special use
“I have appointed you” – God’s call through His grace and gifts in Jeremiah, is for him to offer his life up in mission
Jeremiah’s response
Jeremiah sees himself as inadequate and his deficiency (do not know how to speak; being a youth) does not qualify him for God’s mission for him (v5)
God’s reminder to Jeremiah is:
God does not call the qualified, God qualifies the called (v7-8)
God’s mission is already being carried out, we are merely invited to discern how He’s moving and make our God visible
Our confidence in partnering with God on mission and to bear much fruit for Him is that the way has already been prepared for us
Jesus has already done the hard work. He is the One who has defeated sin and death, He is the One who resurrected from the grave, and He has already made a Way.
Post-sermon questions:
Meditate: Do you believe you are worthy enough as called by God to partner with Him on mission? If not yet, what are some shortcomings, worries, or anxieties hindering you?
Reflect: What specific gifts, experiences, tasks, setbacks, strengths, or weaknesses has God given you to use for His commission and to speak His words?
Application: Do you know what mission God has called you to live out, with your life here on earth? If not specifically, do you have an area of your life or person you desire to see the truth of God come alive within?
