FBC Morning Light – September 30, 2023

Good morning, people of faith. We're gonna be reading from Jeremiah chapter one this morning.

And what I wanna look at is what the Lord says about Jeremiah, how many of these things would be true of us?

Starting in chapter, or in verse four of chapter one, it says, and then the word of the Lord came to me, that's

Jeremiah, saying, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.

Is that true of us? I would hope that you believe that it is, that God knows everything, so he certainly knew you even before he formed you.

Before you were born, I sanctified you. Now, that maybe, maybe not, but does he know who it is, who are his people?

He does. I ordained you a prophet to the nations. Is that true of us?

Perhaps, perhaps not. Then said I, ah,

Lord God, behold, I cannot speak for I am a youth. Are we youth?

Well, take for a moment the oldest person you know, compare them to Methuselah, and there's a real good chance that they are less than one ninth the age of Methuselah when

Methuselah died, right? In many ways, we are all still youth, right?

We just all have things to learn, right? And that we're going to find is not a valid reason not to speak.

Verse seven, but the Lord said to me, do not say I am a youth, for you shall go to all whom

I send you. And whatever I command you, you shall speak.

Do you? When you are in conversation at the supermarket or at church or just about your day, in conversation, do you speak what the

Lord commands you to speak? And I'm not talking about getting an audible voice that says here, say this to this person.

I'm talking about faithfully representing the Lord in his word, in your everyday interactions.

I do believe that that's something we can all do. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, says the

Lord. Don't be afraid of those that you speak to, right? If you are speaking truth, they may become very upset at that.

But ultimately, what happens is in the Lord's hands.

Verse nine, then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, behold,

I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms to root out and to pull down and to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.

Now, I wanna suggest to you that that part of it is specific to Jeremiah and is not specific to us, all right?

However, there's kind of a picture here with the Lord touching his mouth that's similar to the last prophet we had been looking at with Isaiah back in Isaiah chapter six and how the angel had to touch his lips with the coal for purification.

And if we are going to have these things apply to us that we would be sanctified, it needs to happen that the

Lord has to cleanse us and it has to be the Lord's doing and not our own.

So Jeremiah is gonna go on and have a tremendous ministry, the weeping prophet, as they say, to the end of the kingdom of Judah before they're taken to Babylon.

And those will not be things that will be true of us today for sure. But as you look at this and you take a step back and you say, who is the one that's in charge of my life?

Is it me that's in charge of my life or is it the Lord and what he knows and what he has foreordained, both for good and for whatever cause ultimately that he has, we do know will be for good.

So let's ponder these things today and let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your son, for the sanctification that we do have in you, in your son's atonement for us.

May you be glorified in us and through us and help us to walk with you this day, amen.