Why Would I Need Rescuing?!

14^th Sunday after Pentecost

August 21, 2016

Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; Hebrews 12:18-29

I.                   Jeremiah’s call story

a.     Everyone has one – Moses, Gideon, every pastor

b.     I met with our new DS this past week – first question, what’s your call story? Remember & be sure of your call for when times get tough

II.                Wait a minute, why am I going to need rescuing?!?!

a.     “Don’t give excuses or think that you’re not enough. Where I send you, you must go; what I tell you, you must say. Don’t be afraid of them, because I’m with you to rescue you.” (Jer. 1:7-8)

b.     Uh, God, why would I need rescuing?!?!

c.      Why is God sending me somewhere where he knows I’ll need rescuing?

                                                                i.      Rhetorical question?

                                                              ii.      My husband: Is God a jerk?

III.             Reality: tough times are part of life

a.     Sometimes life is hard; we were never promised smooth sailing

b.     Sometimes God does send us somewhere where he knows we’ll need his help to survive – leave your family, the familiar, security behind and go

                                                                i.      Ex: God called Abram to leave his land and go

                                                              ii.      Ex: God called me to leave lots behind to go to Nicaragua

c.      Sometimes we make the mess ourselves and need saving from our own mess – we need God’s help

                                                                i.      Shakespeare: “O what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive.”

                                                              ii.      “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss: “This mess is so big and so deep and so tall, we cannot pick it up, there is no way at all!”

d.     1 Corinthians 10:13 – “Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.”

IV.            Good news that comes out of this: God is faithful

a.     When the times are tough, for whatever reason, God will rescue you

b.     Those of us who have been thru any ordeal have learned that God is faithful, we can depend on him, we can trust him – usually

c.      Story of friend who left church during divorce and had to get herself through process on own – I pointed out God gave her the strength to do so – sometimes we need others to point out to us when God was there

d.     Sanctification – To refine, purify, remove the dross, become more like Jesus – yet fire burns, even as it removes the impurities

e.      Hebrews 12:28 – “Let us be thankful, then, because we receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that will please him”