Ready to Serve
Though age and experience
are normally priorities in
God's requirements for spiritual leadership,
we are all to be available for God's use
to achieve His divine purposes in this world.
Here now is Gene Getz:
This is one of the very first Principles
that emerges right from the very
beginning in the book of Jeremiah.
And that is that God is going to speak to
Jeremiah, even though he's a very young man.
And He's going to challenge him.
He's going to call him.
And so we're going to begin
with actually verse 4 of chapter 1,
which I've called the call of Jeremiah.
In verses 4 and 5:
The word of the LORD came to me: ...
And I want you to notice that this was
a very personal experience
on the part of Jeremiah.
And this was communication
from God Himself.
That's an awesome thought in itself.
Because of all humanity,
very few people literally had this kind of
experience with God. To give us
what we have in the Scriptures today.
And here's what God said:
...I chose you before I formed you
in the womb ;...
And you'll notice the backdrop to
this particular message is
a picture of the womb.
And isn't it interesting that in this passage,
God is addressing Jeremiah as one
who is alive in the womb.
I addressed you.
And you see the word you
all the way through.
Before the womb.
In the womb.
After the womb.
And so God said:
...I set you apart before you were born. ...
Before you were born.
You--while you were in the womb.
Need I say more about that?
That really communicates.
... I appointed you a prophet to the nations.
Now this was a startling message.
A startling message for Jeremiah.
And we see that in his fear.
Jeremiah's fear.
In verse 6:
But I protested, [I protested,]
"Oh no, LORD GOD!
Look, I don't know how to speak
since I am only a youth."
Now if you think about it and if you look
at the context, you can understand
why he was afraid.
He was fearful.
We don't know exactly how old he was
except that he says I'm a youth.
That word, by the way in Hebrew,
was used anywhere from birth
up to 20 or early 20s.
Some believe he probably was in his late teens
or at least in his early 20s.
And God is going to choose him
to do something that is remarkable.
In fact, it's intimidating.
It's frightening.
Now you see, Jeremiah lived just about
three miles northeast of Jerusalem.
That's very close.
He was of the priestly class.
And when you're living that close--
and maybe even his father was a priest--
he knows what's going on inside
the walls of Jerusalem.
He knows the evil that's going
on inside the walls of Jerusalem.
And so he protests.
He's fearful.
But the Lord reassures him:
Then the LORD said to me:
Do not say, "I am only a youth," ...
God's not putting him down.
But what God is saying: I'm going to
speak through you:
...for you will go to everyone I send you
to and speak whatever I tell you.
Do not be afraid of anyone,
for I will be with you to deliver you. ...
And then, at this particular point,
God says something to him
that He repeats again and again
throughout this book:
...This is the LORD'S declaration.
I'm God. I'm speaking to you.
And I'm asking you to do something
where I will be with you
regardless of how young you are.
Now centuries later, I couldn't help
but think of Timothy.
Paul left him in Ephesus.
It was a tough task.
He was to set in order what
was happening there.
There were religious leaders
that were trying to emerge
to become leaders in the church
who were not qualified theologically
or in their lifestyle.
And so Paul challenged Timothy
with these words and it's an echo really
from the Old Testament in terms of
what God said to Jeremiah.
Here's what Paul said:
Let no one despise your youth; ...
Now Timothy was probably a little older
than Jeremiah. Maybe 27, 28, 29, 30--
we're not sure.
That's young, by the way, to have the
responsibility that he had there in Ephesus
with all the carnality that was taking place.
...Let no one despise your youth;
instead, you should be an example
to the believers in speech, in conduct,
in love, in faith, in purity. ...
And then he says something
that relates to communication
through preaching and teaching.
First, he said: Be an example.
Because your example, in these areas,
is what gives you credibility in terms of
your speech, what you say.
And so he says:
...Until I come, give your attention
to public reading, exhortation, and teaching.
A real challenge because Timothy
obviously was intimidated.
And Paul was saying: Don't allow yourself
to be intimidated. But be an example
in all of these areas. And [God] will be with you.
God will be with you, Timothy:
Paul was saying to young Timothy.
So here's the Reflection and Response question
I think that comes with this Principle:
What other biblical examples
can you think of where God used
younger people to achieve His purposes
in this world?
And I raise that question because it
gives us more substantial
biblical evidence that God
does use young people.
It's an exception, generally speaking,
but God did.
For example, Joseph--17 years old when
he was sold by his brothers into Egypt.
He went through horrible things there.
But through it all, he became the
prime minister of Egypt when
he was about 30 years old.
Probably the age of Timothy
when he was in Ephesus.
A little older than when God called Jeremiah.
To do this tremendous task.
Daniel--Daniel was 17 when he
and three other young men
were taken into captivity on the first siege.
On the part of Nebuchadnezzar.
Was taken into Babylon along with
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
And these four young men,
and particularly Daniel,
was used immediately in that situation.
When I say immediately, within the first year or two
to have a tremendous impact.
And Daniel, of course, lived into his
eighties there in that area serving
not only the Babylonian king
but the kings of Medo and Persia.
God used him.
And then, the interesting thing is,
that as we'll see, and as we see in
the opening verses, Jeremiah was called
during the time of Josiah.
And Josiah became king when he
was 8 years old in Judah.
But when he was about 26 years old,
he found the book of the law
and began to bring reforms into Judah.
So God uses young people.
And so here's the Principle that comes
right into our culture today:
Though age and experience are
normally priorities in God's requirement
for spiritual leadership...
And that's true.
In fact, when you look at the
New Testament, it talks about elders,
which implies older men
who have experience, who are more mature.
Though not exclusively referring to
older people. But the norm is that with age,
should come experience,
wisdom, as believers, to lead.
But there are exceptions.
And that's what we're saying
with this Principle:.
Though age and experience
are normally priorities in
God's requirements for spiritual leadership,
we are all to be available for God's use
to achieve His divine purposes in this world.
And I might add, no matter what our age.