answer the call...
We have started a new sermon series in this new year entitled, Proclamation. We are asking ourselves, as followers of Jesus, two very important questions that need to be answered if we are to have a “fresh start” in 2022.
What are you proclaiming to others with your life?
Are your proclamations consistent with your beliefs as a follower of Jesus?
As God’s church, we have an opportunity; an obligation to proclaim unity through our diversity in a world that is divided over so many things. (1 Corinthians 12) We also want to proclaim our “calling” from God. Do you know what God has “called” you into obedience to Him and in service to His kingdom?
The sermon this Sunday explores God’s call on Jeremiah’s life recorded in the Old Testament book of the Bible, Jeremiah 1… check it out!
“These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests from the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. 2 The Lord first gave messages to Jeremiah during the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah. 3 The Lord’s messages continued throughout the reign of King Jehoiakim, Josiah’s son, until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah, another of Josiah’s sons. In August of that eleventh year the people of Jerusalem were taken away as captives.” Jeremiah 1:1-3
Jeremiah had his whole life planned out at this point; he was going to follow in the footsteps of his family and become a priest. It was the family business so to speak! But God spoke up and Jeremiah was listening; he was tuned in to the voice of God. God had other plans for Jeremiah.
I believe God still speaks to His creation today, and sometimes on rare occasions, we hear His voice. In reality, God is always speaking and trying to get our attention, and we are usually too busy, too skeptical or too distracted to hear what God has to say to us. God wants your attention because He wants you to accept His “calling” for your life. Out of that “calling”, God has something for you to proclaim!
Stop for a moment… close your eyes, turn off the distractions and spend a few minutes listening. Who is God calling you to become and what are you to proclaim to others?
God is speaking and we need to be in a season of listening and proclaiming what He is telling us. Jesus said that if we are God’s sheep, we will know His voice and pay attention to what He is saying…
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me…”
“The sheep recognize Jesus’ voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.” (John 10)
God is speaking… are you listening? God is speaking… what is He saying to you? God is speaking… what does He want you to proclaim for Him?