this is the message i gave at church this past sunday 8/22. the scripture it is based on is jeremiah 1:4-10 (jeremiah's call to ministry). you can listen to the audio by clicking here. this is also my fiftieth blog post. woot! enjoy. and let me know what you think.
Kingda-ka. It’s the world’s tallest and fastest rollercoaster. It’s the monster of all monster coasters. This mammoth of a coaster takes you from zero to one-hundred and twenty-eight miles per hour in three-point-five seconds, and then it shoots you four hundred and fifty-six feet in the air before it plummets back to earth making a two hundred and seventy degree turn on the way down. Many riders believe that the ride ends here, but then the coaster takes you over a one-hundred and twenty-nine foot hill giving the rider a weightless feeling. The whole ride last for approximately thirty-four seconds. It lasts for thirty-four seconds.
Kingda-ka is a thirty-four second wild ride, but basically the rider sees what the rider gets, there aren’t any surprises around any bends and from the beginning you can see that one hundred twenty-nine foot hill; after all, you can’t really be surprised by a one-hundred and twenty-nine foot hill after the four hundred and fifty-six foot hill. You know it will be a wild ride! But, as thrilling (or as scary), as that ride is, let’s face it: Our lives aren’t always like that. Our lives aren’t predictable. They aren’t set on a definite plan with only two obstacles that you can clearly see. And you most definitely cannot hold your breath through life. Unlike the riders on Kingda-ka, we can’t always see what mountain we are going to climb or what surprise lies around the next bend. Sometimes, roller coaster riders will close their eyes for the scary parts. Just as often we find ourselves blind to our futures. As I prepare for my senior year in high school and the whole college application process I can’t help but feel I’ve got my eyes shut on the roller coaster. I can’t quite see around the corner yet, and I don’t know how wild the ride is going to be.
Jeremiah felt the same he had no idea how wild the ride would be. When God first appeared to Jeremiah he said “before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I consecrated you”. God had specific plans for us before we were even born? What does that mean for us? And how do we live out those plans? Maybe this means that God has plans for us. He has specific plans for us, but those plans only work if we decide to live guided by faith. See, God isn’t going to push a future that we don’t understand on to us. He has the “best plan” for us and then a plan “b”. The “best plan” works when we live as faithful and sacrificing disciples, but the “best plan” is by no means carefree or an easy ride. It’s no ticket to heaven. It’s hard work. Hard. Dirty. Painful Work. Being a disciple of Christ does not just happen TO us. We must willfully and consciously choose to be lead by faith.
We have no clue of where this great journey called life will take us. The same was true for Jeremiah. Jeremiah was just a young man, not much older than I am right now, when God called him into his service, and Jeremiah was scared. He didn’t believe that he, a young man, could be a prophet. He said that he was simply too young for the job and God told him that age does not matter. God did not accept his petty excuse, but instead told him that he would guide his life and his ministry and Jeremiah allowed his faith in the Lord to carry him through a ministry that lasted for over forty years.
About a year ago, I felt just like Jeremiah. Like Jeremiah I felt like I was way too young. I felt God calling me into his ministry, but I was scared. I was anxious and most definitely intimidated. It is one thing to be here every week, helping in the sound booth or leading a game at youth group on Sunday night, but how could I lead other youth while I am still so young myself? Sure, I’ve been involved deeply in the ministries of this church for as long as I can remember.
I have been an overnight host with my family with Interfaith since I was six years old. I would come and help my grandmother prepare dinner for people who needed a home. I started out in Kids for Christ when I was four, and now I continue to help my mom behind the scenes whenever KFC needs a helping hand. I started going to Sunday school when I was two years old and I am still going now. For several years, I even got to play the part of a shepherd in the Live Nativity this church used to hold at Christmastime every year. When I was four, I got my first chance to be part of Vacation Bible School…I still remember the theme song from that year. Now, I’m still a part of VBS as a leader. I’ve been singing in the choir since I was four and acting in children’s dramas from my earliest role as Mrs. Elephant in an adaptation of Noah’s Ark from the viewpoint of the animals to my most recent role as Ryan D. Best in American Ideal. Since seventh grade, I’ve been a constant member of youth group with four different youth pastors. Being a member of First Church has not just been about something that happens once a week as much as it has been a way of life for me. My week revolves around school and family of course, but most of all around any church activities to which I am committed. On an average week, I am here at least twelve hours. My motivation for me to get my dreaded weekend homework completed has always been youth group.
Spending so much of my life here has been comforting, challenging, rewarding. But, when I think about following Jesus wherever he might lead me in his kingdom, it’s another thing entirely. Will I feel the same excitement and pleasure serving him outside of First Church? How can I present myself in a way that will be well received by God and the people of the church? It seemed like as soon as I realized that I God was calling me to youth ministry, I was automatically expected to be ready to give a message to the entire congregation! I found comfort in the words from today’s scripture: “Now I have put my words in your mouth.” This is a great relief because, I realize that I don’t have to have all the answers, but can be guided by my faith in the Lord instead. While being guided by faith doesn’t always allow you to see the path ahead, like Kingda-ka does, it does allow you to be less fearful and to TRUST. While I may worry about the talents I have for ministry, I know that letting God guide me will result in the best path for me.
As the last verse of today’s scripture says, “See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” What nation have you been appointed to? For some of us it is our own homes, for others it is a specific ministry of the church, for others it is outside of these church walls. What have you been appointed to pluck up and destroy? Maybe we need to destroy our poor habits, our wastefulness, and our complacency. The United States is only 4% of the entire World’s population yet uses 21% of the World’s energy. The United States consumes fifty billion water bottles per year. That’s one-fourth of the World’s water bottles! What is God asking us to do differently? Where are we wasting our time, our talents and our resources? According to Facebook, a social networking site, their users spend 700 billion minutes a month on their site. Imagine if Facebook users reduced their usage by half, that would be almost 6 billion hours that could be dedicated to countless projects that might make a difference. That amount of time could build 6 million houses for projects like Habitat for Humanity. The average American watches one hundred and forty-five hours of television a month. The average person would have an extra full three days if they cut their viewing time in half. What could you do with an extra seventy two hours? Maybe you don’t spend that much time on Facebook or watching television, but can you think of a habit that takes time away from something more meaningful?
Could you perhaps spend an hour or two volunteering with the Sunday school program in the church? What about on Wednesday nights with Kids for Christ or the youth bible study? How about helping to chaperone at the next youth event? What about becoming a part of the Christmas musical? Or coming to a church clean-up day? Our church will soon begin a new outreach program called “Drive-thru Prayer” maybe you could volunteer to be part of this new ministry. Perhaps you are unable to give any more of your time right now. All of these ministries and a dozen more still need your prayers or financial support.
Today’s scripture reminds us not just to destroy and overthrow our old, tired habits and complacency, but also to build and to plant. Perhaps you know of an area in our community that needs rebuilding or a fresh approach, but you’ve held back. Maybe God is calling you to start that fresh approach or rebuild an area that is broken. Perhaps you have been afraid to try because you are fearful of the obstacles you might encounter on the way. Perhaps, you, like Jeremiah, feel that you are not ready or talented enough. But if you live guided by your faith, YOU, just like Jeremiah, can have the faith to lead!
