Jeremiah 1:7-9- But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. 8. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. 9. Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Within these few verses we see some very important things about a man called by God to preach. Jeremiah 1:7 introduces us to the Prophet and gives us a description of who he is. The first thing I want you to notice is the phrase the Lord said unto me. It is an awesome thing to know when God is speaking and God spoke to Jeremiah. Are you not glad when God speaks to you? It is so wonderful to hear God speaking, but at the same time it should also cause us to humble ourselves because the God of the Universe is stooping down and speaking to us. He stooped down and spoke to Jeremiah. When the Holy God of the Universe stoops down to speak to us, it should demand our attention.
Let's move up one verse. Notice what Jeremiah says. He says I cannot speak, for I am a child. Jeremiah was young and he felt because he was so young that he could not speak. But notice the response that God gives him in verse 7. He says, say not I am a child: In other words He is telling Jeremiah, I have searched you and I know you and I am going to use you because I see what you will be. Yes, Jeremiah was frightened because of his young age, but God saw this young man's maturity. He saw that Jeremiah had a heart for God. Age does not determine spiritual maturity! Many churches act like because a man is not a certain age he is not pastor material. In fact, they look down on younger men for some reason and will not give them the chance. But we see clearly in verse 7 that God saw spiritual maturity in this young man. He saw a man that was willing to be used. God is looking for people willing to be used. Are you useable? Or do you tell yourself you can't do it? I got news for you! With God on your side, there is nothing impossible to him or her that believeth. So God tells Jeremiah that thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee. He says Jeremiah, you are going wherever I send you and to whomever I send you and you are going to declare what I command you to say and I am going to give you the strength to do it. God provides the strength! He provides His messengers with the strength to preach thus saith the Lord.
And it does not stop here. This is getting good! In verse 8, He says be not afraid of their faces. He is saying not only do I want you to preach, and not only do I want you to be my prophet, I want you to do so with boldness and without fear. This is what many preachers need to hear in this day and time because the truth of the matter is many preachers are just afraid. They are afraid of what people might think or what people might say so they cower down and by doing so, they are not pleasing to God. Quite frankly, if God told Jeremiah that He will supply the strength, then He will also supply us with strength to preach boldly ,unashamedly, and unapologetically. So, because He has given us strength we should fear no man. We should not back down to no man. We are called to preach the Word and it does not matter what anyone says. We are to please God and not man!
In verse 9 it says the Lord put forth His hand and touched Jeremiah's mouth. He touched Jeremiah's mouth! He empowered Jeremiah and put the words in the Prophet's Mouth! When the Lord touches your mouth, something happens! It can turn a timid man into a powerful preacher! This is what God can do. Verse 9 goes on to say, I have put my words into your mouth! The Lord will put His words into your mouth! He will preach through you. There is not a better feeling in this life then when God speaks through you and you feel the Spirit surging through your body. Aint no demon going to be able to stand because it is not you speaking but God Himself. God speaks through His preachers. I know because the Spirit gets a hold of me and I know when that sermon is over that it was not me but God Himself. Because in my flesh, I am like Jeremiah. I am weak and I am nothing. But with Christ speaking through me and the Spirit taking over, nothing is impossible, and then I can take on anything Satan throws my way because it is not I who live but Christ who lives within me.
In conclusion, God will use an ordainary individual with many weaknesses, such as myself, and He will empower that person and use them in ways they never thought were possible! Are you putting your trust in God, or are you relying on your own strength? God's strength is unlimited! So do not be afraid! Stand boldly and proclaim thus saith the Lord without fear and see God move like never before in this nation! Do not back down to no man! May God raise up some preachers in these last days who will preach what God tells them to preach and not fear any man! May we see revival in this nation again in our churches and may there be a great harvest of souls come to know Him in these last days! Send me, I will go!
No comments:
Post a Comment