Do Not Say, "I Am A Youth!"
(Selected)
“Dwight
L. Moody was once asked, ‘How many converts did you have last night?’ Moody answered, ‘Two and one half.’
The other person said, ‘Two adults and a child?’ ‘No,’ Moody replied. ‘Two children and one
adult.’ A child converted is an entire life converted.”
Dwight
Moody had a respect for youth. He realized that they are the future, and it is they who will carry throughout their entire
lives what they learn when they are still young.
The youth
have not yet been fully exposed to the world. They are not yet set in their ways, and they are still shapeable and moldable.
If
we try to talk about Christ to an adult who is already set in his or her ways, that person will more than likely reject what
we say. If the person accepts the message of Christ, they are still likely to regress to their former habits. If we reach
a young person with the Gospel they will more readily accept it, and be more apt to hang on to their beliefs throughout the
rest of their lives.
Ecclesiastes
12:1 expresses this viewpoint when it says, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult
days come, and the years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’.” Youth, it is very important
to come to know the Lord now before you encounter the hardships of the world. If you take the Lord with you, then you can
endure what lies ahead. If you don’t you will say “I have no pleasure in life,” and you may choose to end
your life.
“A
man came rushing up to a ferry, breathless after running at an [extremely fast] pace, but he got there just as the gateman
shut the door in his face. A bystander remarked, ‘You didn’t run fast enough.’ The disappointed man answered,
‘I ran fast enough, but I didn’t start on time.’ To try to accomplish the most for God in a lifetime, you
must start early – ‘in the days of your youth.’”
You
must not only come to know the Lord in your youth, but you must begin to serve the Lord in your youth as well. This morning
we are going to look at a “youth” who was called to serve the Lord. This youth was named Jeremiah. As we look
at Jeremiah, let’s keep our eyes open to how he responded to God’s call in his life. I believe we will see that
he is just like any other youth. He was no different than young persons today, but the Lord was able to use him in a spectacular
way. Let’s begin looking at his story.
Ah,
Lord God! (Jeremiah 1:4-8)
The first thing I
want you to notice here is that after the Lord told Jeremiah that he had already made him a prophet before he was born, that
Jeremiah said, “Ah, Lord God!” Was Jeremiah exited and relieved to go for the Lord? Was his reply of “Ah”
a sigh of relief? I actually looked up the word “Ah” in a Hebrew dictionary. Do you want to hear how this word
was really said by Jeremiah? Jeremiah didn’t say “Ah,” he said, “Awww.” It was a sigh of pain
and agony.
How
old was Jeremiah when God called him? Jeremiah’s reply of “I am a youth,” probably means he was still in
his teens. What do you think of that? Jeremiah was teenager! Now you can probably understand his response. How many of you
teenagers, when your parents ask you to do something difficult; respond with “awww mom,” or “awww dad?”
Jeremiah was saying “awww” to his heavenly father.
Look
at what the Lord told Jeremiah in verse 7. He said, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth’.” In verse 8 he said,
“Do not be afraid.” With similar words, the apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 4:12, “Let no one despise your
youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” Do not let
the fact that you’re young hinder you from following the Lord.
In
Jeremiah’s case he was using his youth as an excuse not to go where God was calling. But the Lord told Jeremiah he was
going to go where he commanded, and that he was not going to be afraid. At this point God had not yet told Jeremiah what his
mission was.
Now,
if the Lord came to you and told you to go speak in his name to people he hadn’t even named yet, and that you were not
going to be afraid, how would you react? You might say, “There’s no way I’m going to do that!” Well
the Lord knew Jeremiah needed some assurance, so let’s look at what he said to him.
Words
of assurance (Jeremiah 1:9-12)
If you were in Jeremiah’s
sandals at this moment, wouldn’t you need a little assurance? You would probably need some big assurance that you could
do what God was asking. The Lord knew that Jeremiah was having trouble following him, so he gave him some words and signs
of assurance that he would be with him.
Back
in verse 6, one of Jeremiah’s cries was “I cannot speak!” Youth, what did some of you say when I asked you
if you would give your testimonies? You said, “I’m no good at speaking,” didn’t you? Verse 9 shows
us what will happen if we follow the Lord. God reached out and touched Jeremiah’s mouth, and gave him the gift of speech.
God’s exact words were, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.” Does this story sound like another
we have heard?
In
Exodus 4:10, after God called Moses to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses said, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent,
neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” The Lord replied
to Moses, “I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say” (Ex. 4:12). We don’t have to worry
about how our speech will sound if we obey the Lord. Everything will work out for God’s glory.
In
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Paul said, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom
declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words
of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in
the power of God.” Paul just reaffirmed what has been demonstrated in many previous witnesses for the Lord. We see that
telling people about God is scary, but the Lord will be with us and give us the words to say when we obey him.
Now
that the Lord said he would give Jeremiah the words to say, he hit him with the bad news. In verse 9 we see to whom Jeremiah
was to go speak. He was to speak to the nations and kingdoms. Can you imagine a teenager going to kings and pronouncing God’s
judgement upon them? Well Jeremiah did just that! If I were you I wouldn’t want Jeremiah to put me to shame. What God
asks of us is nothing compared to what he asked Jeremiah to do. All the Lord asks of us is that we tell ordinary people about
Jesus Christ.
In
verses 11 and 12 we see another sign of assurance given to Jeremiah; the branch of an almond tree. How was this a sign of
assurance? Well the word in Hebrew that meant “almond branch” was the word: “shaqed.” In verse 12
when God said, “I am ready to perform My word,” the Hebrew word for “perform” is: “shoqed,”
sounding similar to: “shaqed,” the word for “almond branch.”
God
was giving Jeremiah assurance by saying that he would make his word come to pass. Whenever Jeremiah saw an almond tree it
would be a reminder to him of this promise. It’s kind of like tying a string around one’s finger to remember something.
God gave Jeremiah a reminder.
Today
we have a branch to remind us that the Lord is with us. In Isaiah 11:1 we learn that the Messiah is to be “a branch.”
Jesus Christ is our almond branch. He is Immanuel, “God with us.” When we remember our savior Jesus Christ, we
will know that he is with us, and that we can do all things through his power. Paul said in Philippians 4:13, “I can
do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” This is a good verse to remember when the odds seem against us.
Time
of Reflection
Youth, remember that
just as the teenager Jeremiah was called to proclaim the words of the Lord, we are too. Don’t be afraid to stand up
for Jesus Christ because you think you are too young. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. I want to
challenge you to serve the Lord while you are still young. Right now you are developing habits that you will carry with you
the rest of your lives. Telling people about Jesus is a good habit to form while you’re young.
I also
want to extent an invitation to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior if anyone here today does not know him. We already heard
Ecclesiastes 12:1 which says, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come,
and the years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’.” Don’t wait too late to accept
the Lord. If you don’t have Jesus Christ in your heart, then you are going to be in for a hard life when you get older.
Who are you going to turn to when you are lonely and hurting, if you don’t have Jesus? Please consider the words of
this classic hymn of the Church below:
TAKE THE NAME OF
JESUS WITH YOU
Take the Name of Jesus with you,
Child of sorrow and of woe,
It will joy and comfort give you;
Take
it then, where’er you go.
Precious Name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of Heav’n.
Precious
Name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of Heav’n.
Take the Name of Jesus ever,
As a shield from every
snare;
If temptations round you gather,
Breathe that holy Name in prayer.
Precious Name,
O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of Heav’n.
Precious Name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of Heav’n.
O
the precious Name of Jesus!
How it thrills our souls with joy,
When His loving arms receive us,
And His songs our
tongues employ!
Precious Name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of Heav’n.
Precious Name, O how sweet!
Hope
of earth and joy of Heav’n.
At the Name of Jesus bowing,
Falling prostrate at His feet,
King of kings
in Heav’n we’ll crown Him,
When our journey is complete.
Precious Name, O how sweet!
Hope of
earth and joy of Heav’n.
Precious Name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of Heav’n.
