If it is too hard, it is probably what God wants you to do

August 24, 2021 Jeremiah 1:4-10 If it is too hard, it is probably what God wants you to do 11th Sunday After Pentecost Year C Prelude Greeting Call to Worship One: Like a solid rock, strong and secure, our Lord stands. Many: This God is our hope! One: From our birth, to this day, and beyond, we trust in God. Many: Rejoice! For this God is the One we can count on. One: Gathered now, let us praise the Lord our God. Many: With power, we lift our voices to sing our praise! (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving)) Opening Prayer Holy God, we do praise your name this day, with hearts filled with gratitude for your presence, your power and your persistence in calling us to you. May our time of worship be filled with joy as we celebrate the community you are forming here as one part of the Body of Christ. May we all recognize the gift we’re given as we participate in worship today with our voices, our hearts and our minds all merging into one grand celebration of our place in your Realm. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving)) Song Jesu Jesu UMH 432 A Sermon for all Ages Yes You Can! Do you ever feel like you’re just too young or too small to do something? Can anyone think of a time when you might have said, "I just can’t do it!" (Pause for responses.) We have all said that at one time or another. Maybe you said it when the coach asked you to play a new position for the first time, or while you were trying to do your homework. (Hold up textbook). We’ve all found ourselves feeling defeated, saying, “I just can’t do it.” Our Bible lesson today is about a man named Jeremiah. One day, God spoke to Jeremiah and said, "Before you were even born, I chose you to be My prophet to all the nations." Wow, that’s a tall order! Can you imagine being chosen by by God to speak His words to all the nations of the world? Jeremiah answered, "I can't! I'm not a good speaker, and besides, I'm too young." "Don't say 'I can't,' " the LORD answered Jeremiah. "If I tell you to go and speak to someone, then go! And when I tell you what to say, don't leave out a word!" Then the LORD reached out His hand, and touched Jeremiah's mouth and said, "I am giving you the words to say, and I am sending you with authority to speak to the nations for Me." God called Jeremiah to a monumental task before he was even born. But He wasn’t going to leave Jeremiah to do it all on his own. God also promised to give Jeremiah all the words he would need to speak. Just like God had some mighty big plans for Jeremiah, He also has some pretty big plans for you too. He knows your name. He knew you before you were even born and He has a plan for your life. There will be times in your life when God will come to you, as He did to Jeremiah, and ask you to do something important for Him. He may call you to do something that feels difficult, or maybe even impossible. You may feel like you’re too young, and you might even want to say, “I just can’t do it.” But when that happens, remember what God said to Jeremiah, "Don't say, 'I can't!' " If God calls you to do something, He will reach out His hand and touch your life to give you the ability to do it. Dear Father, there may be some things in this life that we cannot do on our own. But we know that if You ask us to do something, You will give us the ability to do it if we just trust in You. Amen. A few years ago there was a hot slogan aimed at kids who found themselves facing the temptations of drugs, alcohol, sex, peer pressure of all kinds. "Just Say No!" There is a dynamic Congregational Christian Church in Canada (Brantford, Ontario) named Yes! Church. What a great name for a church! Do you have what it takes to be a Yes! Christian? A few years ago, a hand gesture circulated that was used in tandem with that word "yes." Whenever you wanted to put an exclamation mark in a verbal response, you clenched your first and jerked it into your side while simultaneously saying, "Yes!" As I read this passage of Scripture from 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 (NIV), whenever I came to that word "Yes!" you're going to say it for me. And I'm inviting you to say it not just with your words, but with your whole being, as you gesture the yes while saying the yes. Let's give it a trial run. When I point in your direction, give me a yes. Or when I say, "And all God's people said" . . . give me a yes. 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 18But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." 19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." 20For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. And all God's Yes-people said, "Yes!" ChristianGlobe Networks, Collected Sermons, by Leonard Sweet Responsive Reading Psalm 139 UMH 854 Scripture Jeremiah 1:4-10 Sermon Once upon a time, there was a young man named Jerry. Jerry's dad was a pastor, and all his life it was assumed that Jerry would be a pastor too. His grandma said it: "God's got his hand on you, Jerry. Someday, you're going to wear those fine velvet robes, and put that shiny cross around your neck. And you're going to step into the pulpit and preach the Word, just like your daddy does. And we'll be so proud." Jerry's uncles and aunts said it: "I'll tell you, that boy has a good strong voice. I could hear him halfway around the block. Any preacher would give his right arm for a voice like that." "You know he could read by the time he was three. What does that tell you?" Jerry's mom and dad tried not to pressure him, but they dropped little hints. Everybody at church liked Jerry. He was president of the youth group. He was even dating that sweet girl, Tonya, who sang in the choir. What an asset she would be as a pastor's wife! Then one day, while Jerry was sitting in his seminary dorm room cramming for a Greek exam, the Lord spoke to him. "Jerry, it's time." "What?" Jerry said, because he never expected to meet the Lord at seminary. "Who is it?" He asked with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach because he was afraid he knew the answer. "You know who this is, Jer. It's the Lord. It's time for you to fulfill your calling." "My calling? To be a pastor? But I've just barely started my seminary classes. I've still got to take Greek, and Hebrew, and Contemporary Expository Preaching 101, and Counseling, and--" "I never called you to be a pastor, Jerry." "But, everybody says that--" "Did I say it?" (Pause) "Jerry, I made you. Before you were born, I knew you inside and out. You aren't an accident of nature. You are special and made for a purpose. My purpose. I want you to be a prophet." "A prophet?!?" Jerry exploded. "I don't know anything about being a prophet. And who's going to listen to a young guy like me? Everyone will laugh in my face. Prophets aren't the most popular guys, you know? And what about housing, and health insurance, and my pension plan--" "You didn't let me finish." "I'm sorry." "I was going to tell you that I'll always be with you. Always. I know this isn't going to be easy. You're right, there's no security in it, and there's no pension plan. People are going to laugh at you, and most of them won't listen. But let Me worry about that. You just tell them how I feel--I'll take care of you." And before Jerry could object, God reached down and touched his mouth and gave him the words to say. If you know a little bit of your Old Testament theology, then you recognize the protagonist of our story. In the year 628 B.C. or thereabouts, God called on Jeremiah, a young man from a priestly family. As the son of a priest, Jeremiah was expected to enter the priesthood also. The priests were the bridge between the people and God. Priests taught the Law and guarded the covenant between Israel and God. They offered incense and offerings on God's altar on behalf of the people. They sacrificed animals as an act of atonement for the people's sins. Although the priesthood required a huge amount of work and responsibility, the position had its perks too. Priests were highly respected. They had an honorable and secure place in society. The people usually took good care of their priests. Just like us today, Jeremiah lived in some pretty interesting times. There was a transition of power the Assyrian Kingdom which had been in power for a long time was in decline and fell to the Babylonians. Israel had no real say in middle eastern politics, so that had to adjust to new rules. At the same time, the long time King of Judah had passed away, and power was given to his young Son. Even those things had been okay economically, things were not okay morally. So when the young son Josiah took over, the started lots of reforms to get the county back on track. Just as things were starting to turn around, Josiah is killed in battle and his son takes over. His son could care less about anything but his own comfort. Jeremiah comes from a fairly rich stable family, growing up, he would have heard about the politics of the world. He would have formed his own opinions, He had his ideas of how things needed to change. Even though it was not popular, Jeremiah was willing to tell the truth to power and to the people. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet, because in his deep love for his family and his country he was willing to speak the truth. Even when it was not popular. It is believed the he made the kings so uncomfortable, they put him in exile for the rest of his life. We have a lot going on in our world today – but it is the same things that have been happening for many years. Just as Jeremiah was called by God to speak out and the change the trajectory, so are we. A prophet is someone who God asks what do you see and what are you going to do about it. To be called by God is the place where the our understanding and care and concern for the world, meets the deep need for change. Our Scripture for today is Jeremiah’s call story – it tells us who he was, what he saw, How God spoke to his heart, and his response. This story sticks out to me. Our first writing assignment in seminary was to look at the stories of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament and to decide which one was closest to our story. I chose Jeremiah. Jeremiah could here God clearly, but he told God that he was way too young to do anything important in the world. God reminds him that God knew him before he was born. He was created for such a time as this. And God was clear about who he was talking to and what he was asking Jeremiah to do. I would imagine that we are hearing this story – because a lot of us can identify with this story. God asks us what we see in the world, we know what we see, we know what the world needs, but we are convinced that it is not our job – we don’t have what we need to make a difference. And yet God reminds us that we do. God is the one who gave it to us in the first place. Sometime after we're born we begin to ask, "What is the meaning in my life." As Rabbi Kushner puts it, there comes a point in life where we ask: "Was there something I was supposed to do with my life?"5 Kushner writes: "The need for meaning is not a biological need like the need for food and air. Neither is it a psychological need, like the need for acceptance and self esteem. It is a religious need, an ultimate thirst of our souls."6 You and I need to know more than how to make a living. We need to know the meaning of our living, if we're to truly live. We need to know what God has in mind for our lives. Not how God is manipulating me to get what he wants; but what does God have in mind for me that will give me what I want, which is to live a life full of joy. A few years back, a company called Yankelovich Partners conducted a nationwide survey, the basis of which was one question: If you could ask God one question, what would it be? One-third of the people said if they had an audience with God, they would ask why they were put here on earth. (1) In other words, what is their purpose in life? Would that be your question? Faith is the place where our questions come out. John W. Gardner, founding chairman of Common Cause, tells of a cheerful old man who asked a question of just about every new acquaintance he fell into conversation with: "What have you done," he would ask, "that you believe in and you are proud of?" He never asked conventional questions such as "What do you do for a living?" It was always, "What have you done that you believe in and are proud of?" It was an unsettling question for people who had built their selfesteem on their wealth or their family name or their exalted job title. Not that the old man was a fierce interrogator. He was delighted by a woman who answered, "I'm doing a good job raising three children," and by a cabinetmaker who said, "I believe in good workmanship and practice it," and by a woman who said, "I started a bookstore and it's the best bookstore for miles around." "I don't really care how they answer," said the old man. "I just want to put the thought into their minds. They should live their lives in such a way that they can have a good answer. Not a good answer for me, but for themselves. That's what's important." (5) The larger Catechism, found in the Book of Confessions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), has as its first question, the first thing to learn about how to live, this question: "What is the chief and highest end of man?" Modern Version: What's the point of my life. Answer: "Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever."1 Before all else in life, what life is all about, now and forever, for you and for me is glorifying and enjoying the God who made us. We used to assume that every Presbyterian learned that along the way. Perhaps we need to learn it again. The 19th century hymn writer Fanny Crosby put it this way: "To God be the Glory, great things He hath done! ... Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, Let the People Rejoice!"2 Give Glory to God and be joyful; that's what life is all about. And as Saint Irenaeus put it in the 2nd century: "The Glory of God is a human being who is fully alive."3 Simply put, the purpose of life is living -- joyfully! Faith questions are always challenging. We are not always sure that we want to answer them for ourselves, and surely not for God. And yet God continues to asks us – what do your see, and what are you going to do about it? What is it that God is calling you to do? Again, if you want to know what God expects of your tomorrows, look at what God has done with your yesterdays. God grant us eyes to see how we have been prepared, ears to hear the task that is proposed, and then the faith to realize that God will preserve us for the completion of that task. May God give us each one a little of Jeremiah. CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit, by David E. Leininger And we continue to say that we are not worthy. Many people go through life feeling unworthy. Unworthy of the love of others. Unworthy to live a rich and full life. Unworthy to stand before God. How defeating these feelings can sometimes be. What a denial of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. [We are in a series of messages on the theme, "Five Things Christians Should Never Say." One of the things Christians should never say is "I'm unworthy."] Having said that, however, we should get one thing straight: we ARE unworthy. It's a paradox, to be sure. We should never say, we're unworthy, and yet, in truth we are. "There is no distinction," Paul writes in Romans 3, "since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus . . ." In the light of the holiness of God, nobody is worthy. It is amazing how many ads for luxury items today start off this way: "You deserve this." You deserve this expensive perfume. You deserve this automobile which costs more than we used to pay for houses. You deserve this, you deserve that. I don't want to burst your bubble, but all most of us deserve is a good kick in the pants. That's a little blunt, but think about it. The truth of the matter is that, in terms of our potential, most of us are underachievers. Considering how many advantages many of us started with--good parents who valued education, well-equipped schools, healthy bodies, bright minds, and, most of all, a country filled with opportunities and the freedom to pursue those opportunities--a fact we just fell into by an accident of birth--who among us can say that we exhausted all of which we are capable? A few maybe. But most of us have been very, very fortunate. We deserve a luxury car? It's doubtful. A home on the lake? Yearly trips to Europe? Diamonds around our neck? Armani suits on our bodies? Get over it. It's great if we can afford such niceties, but deserve them? Not hardly. It's like Ann Richards great remark about her aristocratic opponent in Texas a few years ago, "He was born on third base, and thought he hit a triple." We're in the same situation as the guy going into heaven who finds himself behind Mother Teresa and he hears God say to Mother Teresa, "You know, Teresa, you could have done more." Now, here's the question for the day: did the rescue squad put themselves in harm's way to rescue this man because he deserved to be rescued? No. We don't know whether this man deserved saving or not. Maybe he was a fine man who just got depressed. We don't know--and it is beside the point. The Rescue Squad rescued this man because that is what rescue squads do. And here is the Good News for the day: God loves and God saves not because of who we are, but because of who God is. God has declared Himself to be FOR us. We're unworthy, all of us are unworthy, but God has made us worthy of all the riches that are God's. Where do we go from here? Here is where we go: We live life to the fullest knowing that we are God's children. We no longer go skulking though life. We walk proudly, yet humbly, as children of the King. Why? Because we now know that our lives have ultimate worth. Christ died in our behalf. Geologists tell us that only 3 percent of the earth's fresh water is on the surface in the form of rivers and lakes. The other 97 percent remains as a huge subterranean reservoir down below. The potentials of human personality are much the same ” only 3 percent on the surface and 97 percent below. (2) How do we tap the infinite reservoir unseen? How do we bring to the surface the powers and possibilities the Creator has placed within each of us? One thing we can do is to rid our vocabularies of three deadly words. They were the words spoken by a young man long ago by the name of Jeremiah. God came to Jeremiah and said to him, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." "But, LORD," Jeremiah said, "I do not know how to speak." Then Jeremiah spoke those three deadly words, "I AM ONLY...." In Jeremiah's case, he said, "I am only a youth." Jeremiah would become one of the greatest prophets that God called, but first of all God had to deal with those three deadly words, "I am only..." MANY OF US ARE LIMITED BY THOSE THREE WORDS AS WELL. If God came to some people in this room today, someone would say, "But Lord, I'm only a senior citizen. I'm too old to be of much use to the kingdom." Let's get rid of the "I am only's..." I am only the child of a coal miner, I am only a person with a handicapping condition, I am only a member of a minority group. You and I can be anything God calls us to be. And God is calling everyone of us just as he called Jeremiah. God came to Jeremiah and said to him, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." "But, LORD," Jeremiah said, "I do not know how to speak. I am only a youth." See what God does next. He says to Jeremiah, "Do not say, `I am only a youth.' 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. Then the LORD reaches out His hand and touches Jeremiah's mouth and says to him, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant." God had great plans for Jeremiah, but first of all He had to get those three deadly words off of Jeremiah's lips, "I am only..." And, my friends, God has great plans for your life and my life as well. There was a story in the WALL STREET JOURNAL about Harry Lipsig. Lipsig, at age eighty-eight, decided to leave the New York law firm he had spent most of sixty years building up. He decided to open a new firm. So at an age when many people have given up on life, Mr. Lipsig decided to try his first case in some time. Here was the situation. A lady was suing the city of New York because a drunken police officer had struck and killed her seventy-one-year-old husband with his patrol car. She argued that the city had deprived her of her husband's future earnings potential. The city argued that at age 71, he had little earnings potential. They thought they had a pretty clever defense until they realized that this lady's argument about her husband's future earning power was being advanced by a vigorous eight-eight-year-old attorney. The city settled the case for $1.25 million. What if Harry Lipsig had said, "I'm only a senior citizen?" Someone else might answer, "But Lord, I'm only a woman." It is what comes behind the Im only that matters. That is the reason that God has called us to be a prophet of our times. And the final thing we need to understand from the story of Jeremiah is that, in order to accomplish God’s purposes, we must trust God’s plan. Doing great things for God begins with simple trust that the One who has called us will not forsake us as we seek to follow His call. I was struck recently by some wise words written by finance blogger Bob Lotich comparing God with professional quarterback Tom Brady. And no, he didn’t say Brady can walk on water, though I’m sure some of his fans think he can. Here’s what Lotich wrote: “God loves throwing lead passes.” Do we have any football fans here this morning? What does that mean? “God loves throwing lead passes.” Lotich explains that a lead pass in football is when the quarterback throws a long pass not to where a receiver is, but to where a receiver is going. For a lead pass to work, the receiver runs ahead of the ball being thrown and trusts that the quarterback is going to throw it to just the right spot. Bob writes, “With God, when you follow His principles, the results are almost always delayed. As in, when He asks you and me to do something, we rarely see the results of it immediately. We have to keep doing what we know He told us to do (running) and trusting that God will get us the results (the ball) somewhere downfield . . . If I were playing catch with NFL quarterback Tom Brady and he said, ‘Just start running and the ball will be there when you get there,’ I would trust him. He has 7 Super Bowl rings that prove he can sufficiently get the ball to a receiver downfield. “How much more can we trust God when He says, ‘Just start running. I’ll take care of the rest’? “Whatever you are trusting Him for today,” says Bob Lotich, “just keep running, and trust that He’s got it all worked out.” (5) I love Bob’s conclusion: Whatever you are trusting God for today, just keep running and trust that He’s got it all worked out. That’s what Jeremiah learned to do. God didn’t choose Jeremiah because of his outstanding skills and charisma. Look at the final verses from today’s Bible passage: “Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” God’s plan is not about you. It’s not about me. It’s about God working through us. As the Lord said to Jeremiah, “I have put my words in your mouth.” But God gives us a choice. What we give to God, He will use for His purposes. So, what would happen if you gave everything to Him? God made you for a sacred purpose. You can’t un-hear that truth. Every moment you are alive is a sacred opportunity to do good works that God prepared in advance for you to do. The only obstacle standing between you and God’s sacred purpose is your willingness. Will you give every part of your life to God? Will you refuse to let fear shrink your vision? If so, God can use you to bring hope and salvation to people who might never meet Him any other way. Decide today to trust everything to God’s purposes, and God will use you to make an eternal impact in others’ lives. I was not reared in the Wesleyan tradition, but I know that there is a phrase that describes the way God works with Jeremiah. It is called prevenient grace. Prevenient grace is grace that comes before - before anything you or I can do or even think about doing. Before Jeremiah even knows that there is such a being as God, God already knows Jeremiah personally. By the way, the apostle Paul testifies to this same prenatal knowledge and appointment by God as he describes his own call: But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus. Galatians 1:15-17 Before Jeremiah can even ask the question, "What am I going to be when I grow up, God has already given him the answer. God has put a passion on our hearts for such a time as this. Martin Luther did the same thing in the 16th century. One of the great principles of Luther is "the priesthood of the baptized." Luther taught that all of God's people, not just the priests, have responsibility to minister. The word minister means servant. The one who truly serves God and people is the true minister; not just those with turned around collars! The word "layperson" which we often use to denote a nonprofessional, comes from the Bible word "laos" which means "the people" (the people of God). A layman is one who serves God. That's no second-class citizenship! Illusion number one: "We are not ordained clergy." Down. Two to go! We are all children of God called to earth for a certain reason. When God asks what do you see, how will you respond? Let us pray… Song The God of Abraham Praise UMH 116 Prayer of Intercession Listening God, Hear our prayers as we come before you. Hear the ones who are crying with pain in their heart. Hear the ones who are weeping with grief long into the night. Hear the ones who are sobbing in their loneliness. Loving God, Heal their pain. Restore their lives. Mend their broken hearts. Leading God, Lead us through the dark valleys. Lead us through troublesome times. Lead us to our home with you. Teach us to listen to your voice, That we may hear the cry of the needy and respond. Teach us to love that We may offer care that brings others to you for healing. Teach us to lead, With your vision so that we lead others home in you. Amen. Adapted from Rev Abi and posted on Rev Abi’s Long and Winding Road blog. Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Anyone who has thrown out your back, pinched a nerve, or endured deteriorating discs might have true empathy for the woman of Luke 13. This un-named woman had endured a crippling spirit for 18 years! Jesus saw her, called her over to declare, “You are set free from your ailment,” and laid hands on her. She received the gift Jesus could give. What about you? What is it you can give, as a follower of Jesus, the healer? In this offering time, it’s great for any or all of us to give gifts of coin and check. This congregation depends on you faithfully sharing financial resources which then are translated into the means of ministry. But this time is also an opportunity for you to offer your gifts of care and compassion, your gift of encouragement, of challenge, of courageous commentary. Jesus recognized and seized the moment, despite the prohibition of healing on the Sabbath. How will you seize the moment today? Will your actions be the cause for rejoicing? Prayer of Thanksgiving Gracious God, we do rejoice in the many gifts you pour out, and especially in the gift of Jesus, who was a teacher, healer and the incarnation of your Love. We thank you for the gifts which have entered into these offering plates, and for all the gifts which we can offer to encourage, strengthen and support our sisters and brothers (both near and far away). Help us use them to their full capacity, that health may be the gift for each and for all. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Let your light shine in the darkness, and your gloom be like the noonday. May the Lord guide you continually and satisfy your needs in parched places and make your bones strong. And you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail. Amen (Presbyterian Outlook, Roger Gench) Community Time – Joys and Concerns Bnediction Go now in the blessing of God’s love that cannot be shaken, trusting in God’s promises as you work for a world of justice and mercy for all. Amen. Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, March 2 Additional illustrations Jeremiah is sometimes called "the weeping prophet" because, as the message of prophets goes, he had some of the worst news to deliver to his listeners. Jeremiah has also been called the "prophet of the midnight hour," because the message he is given to preach comes just as his countrymen and women are experiencing the horrors of which he preaches. The time to listen to the prophets' words, to repent and return to the Lord has come and gone, and God's people have made no real effort toward reconciliation. Jeremiah is the one called by God to let Judah know that the jig is up. God's judgment on Judah's sin is going to come upon them, and they will not be able to escape it. Our reading from Jeremiah 1 introduces us to this young man, the son of a priest from Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. As Jeremiah tells it, God initiates the conversation, seemingly from out of the blue. Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." - Jeremiah 1:4-5 THIS PASSAGE, APPLIED TO YOUR LIFE AND MINE, TELLS US THAT WE HAVE A PURPOSE IN LIFE TOO. You are not an accident. You were made and "set apart" for a very important task: to glorify God and reflect His image to others. Does that mean you have to go into the ministry? No. Does that mean you have to give up your job and spend all your time in prayer and Bible study? Not hardly. Maybe you glorify God through your position as a father, a special ed teacher, a stockbroker, a data entry clerk, or a mechanic. Pastor Bill Hybels was greeting parishioners after church one Sunday when a woman came up to him and caught him in a big hug. She was crying as she whispered in his ear, "Don't ever stop telling us that we matter to God because it's changed my life." (3) It's true; you matter to God. And if you really, truly believe that, it will change your life too. Max Lucado wrote a cute-sounding, thought-provoking devotional about how much we mean to God. It's called, "If God Had a Refrigerator." If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. What about the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem; not to mention that Friday at Calvary. Face it, friend. He's crazy about you. (4) It reminds me of a comment a manager wrote in an employee evaluation: “He’s never been very successful,” read the evaluation. “When opportunity knocks, he complains about the noise.” (1) Dr. Robert Schuller—famous for coining the phrase possibility thinking—was once asked in an interview how he developed such a positive, optimistic outlook on life. He said he developed this attitude through his morning prayer time. Every morning, he would pray, “Dear Lord, lead me to the person You want to speak to through my life today. Amen.” That’s an interesting prayer. “Dear Lord, lead me to the person You want to speak to through my life today.” How could such a simple prayer change his whole outlook on life? Dr. Schuller says that this prayer caused him to see the people around him as opportunities for God’s blessings. Because of this prayer, every interaction became an opportunity for God to speak through him. Don’t misunderstand. He didn’t assume he had all the answers. But the burden wasn’t on him. He assumed that if he would do his part, God would work through him to bring some truth or love or mercy into that person’s life. What would change about your life if you viewed every moment as a limitless opportunity to live for God? Every moment. The time you spend on the school bus or commuting each morning. The conversations in the locker room or the conference room or the band room or on social media. What would those moments look like if you knew God was working through you to change people’s lives? There is an old story that has gone the rounds many times but it is most apt. A young farmer one day saw a vision while out in his field. Up in the bright blue sky he saw the fluffy, white, summer clouds form the letters "P C." He was convinced that this was God's way of telling him to become an evangelist: "P C — Preach Christ." So off he went. After a few months of a notable lack of success, he came back to his own home church to talk with his pastor, a sympathetic man who realized that the farmer was simply not suited for the task he had set for himself. "But what about the vision?" the farmer asked. And the pastor replied, "In this case, P C did not mean ‘Preach Christ'; it meant ‘Plow Corn.'" God prepares! The age excuse has proven durable over the years, but generally to the other extreme. "Too old" is used far more often than "too young." "Gee, pastor, it really would be better to get somebody younger to teach Sunday school, wouldn't it?" or "I'm too old serve as an officer again; let the young ones do it — it's their turn." There are always excuses. When the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the word was disaster. Jeremiah was just like anyone else: he loved his country; he loved his people. He had no desire to preach judgment and destruction on them. No preacher worth his or her salt ever does. But when we see things around us that we know are wrong, we are frankly stuck. Then, when we dare to mention it, we get in trouble. In light of that, any excuse would have been better than none. Scary business, and Jeremiah knew it. Then the Lord told him not to worry. "They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you, "declares the Lord (Jeremiah 1:19). God had prepared him for a task, God proposed the task to him, and now God promises to preserve him as the task was being carried out. Note one thing: The promise was not that there would be no trouble; the promise was that the trouble would not win. To be sure, Jeremiah did see his share of trouble. He was hated by his family and friends; he was forbidden to preach in the temple; he was arrested and placed in stocks; he was threatened with death; he was beaten and imprisoned; he was dropped down into a cistern that had nothing in it but gooey muck; finally, he was carried off into exile in Egypt against his will. Eventually, he died there. But God had been true to the promise. Jeremiah's life was preserved and his ministry came to span a half-century, even one of the most difficult half-centuries in the history of the nation of Israel. Texas pastor and author James W. Moore tells about a pastor in San Diego, CA who was called into the sanctuary early one morning. The custodian wanted him to see a strange offering that had been left on the altar. There were a pair of brown corduroy pants, a belt, a white T-shirt, a pair of tan suede boots, and a note. There were bloodstains on the shirt and on the note. The note said: "Please listen to God." It was signed, and there was a phone number. The minister dialed the number. A 19-year-old young man answered and told his story. He had run away from home and had been wandering in a wasteland of drugs, drifting from one place to another. He had gotten into all kinds of trouble and sordid behavior. The night before, he hit rock bottom. There was a street fight, and someone had been beaten almost to death. After making sure that the victim of his assault was in the emergency room of a nearby hospital and would recover, the young man came to the church, found an unlocked door and went into the sanctuary. He stayed there all night, crying, praying, and thinking. He asked God to forgive him and show him the way. All at once God's presence became very real. He knew God was there, and he felt God's forgiveness. A wonderful peace came. He committed himself to follow Christ. He determined to make right the things he had messed up. He felt fresh and clean, like a new man. To symbolize his new life and new commitment, he had put on some new clothes he had in his backpack and had left the others. He felt like this symbolized giving God his old life. He walked out the church door a new person with a new vision, new hope, new life, and a new direction. (1) This young man's experience reminds me of Isaiah's experience before the throne of God. You remember that dramatic scene. You may have heard the story about three men walking down a beach who came across a lamp buried in the sand. They picked it up and began wiping it off. A genie popped out and told them, "I'll grant each of you one wish." The first man rubbed the lamp and whispered, "I wish I were ten times smarter." "You are now ten times smarter," announced the genie. The second guy took the lamp and rubbed it and murmured, "I wish I were a hundred times smarter." "You are now a hundred times smarter," the genie mandated. The third man rubbed the lamp and said, "I wish I were a thousand times smarter." The genie pointed at him and declared, "You are now a woman." In art class some children were working with plasticine, a clay-like substance that can be used over and over because it does not harden. A girl had made a very nice model of a creature with wings. She held it up and said to everyone, "See the angel!" There were exclamations of delight from the class and teacher. Then the girl quickly molded the angel back into a ball and asked everyone, "Okay, now. What's this?" Nobody could answer ” except to say, "a ball?" "Nope," said the girl, "it's a hiding angel." The next day when the children came into art class, they were accompanied by a visitor. Another child pointed at the ball of plasticine and said to the visitor, "You know what that is? It's a hiding angel." (4) Some of us have within us hiding angels just waiting to be released. And they can be released when, like Jeremiah, we discover that rather than only a youth, or only a senior citizen, or only a woman, or only a child of poverty, we can say, "I am a child of God. Before I was formed in the womb God knew me. Before I was born I was set apart for something good and beautiful and noble." To believe that about ourselves is to unleash a host of powers and possibilities. Like Thomas Edison and Eleanor Roosevelt, those two young people for whom no one would have predicted extraordinary success ” our lives can become something beautiful and good. Let God touch your lips this day and take off from them those words that hold you back. Say rather, "I am a child of God."