BEFORE I FORMED YOU IN THE WOMB I KNEW YOU

CHRIST THE ROCK CONGREGATION

SUNDAY JANUARY 21^ST 2024

Sermon by Pastor Marc Simeon

BEFORE I FORMED YOU IN THE WOMB I KNEW YOU

Jeremiah 1:4-9

 4 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

 6 Then said I: “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”

 7 But the LORD said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak.

 8 Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD.

 9 Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

INTRODUCTION

• Today we are going to analyze Jeremiah’s calling to be a prophet.
• We will discover God’s great interest in the life of every human being.
• We will when God’s interest in an individual begins.
• We will what God thinks about age of service.
• We will personalize the calling of Jeremiah as our own.
• We will challenge our present way to view life according to God’s word.

GOD IS THE SOLE AUTHOR OF LIFE

• God takes full responsibility of the existence of every human being.
• Although the human element is present for the formation of the body, God is the sole author of life.
• Since God is eternal, His forth-knowing ability makes the future to look like the past for Him.
• Nothing escapes the knowledge of God; nothing can surprise God for all eternity.
• God knows the end from the beginning.
• God can tell you the minutest details of the events that will happen a million years from now.
• Everyone who will walk on the face of this world is already known by God.
• Everyone is born with an assignment pre-ordained by God to fulfill in his or her lifetime.
• God always equip people to impact their generation.
• If you are alive today, it’s not by accident.
• To your parents, you have been an accident, but not to God.
• You may have been born out of wedlock but you are not an accident for God.
• Everyone’s life is purposeful and timely.
• There is a mission with your name tag on it waiting for you to be born.
• There are some wrong to fix before you leave this earth.
• There is a contribution to make for the wellbeing of the human race before you die.
• There is something to invent.
• There are some books or articles to write in your lifetime before you leave this earth.
• There is something to build.
• There are some bridges to build for the coming generations.
• There are some errors to fix in this present generation that you alone have the ability and the mandate to do it.
• There are some people to reach with the good news of Salvation that God put on your account to do.

GOD KNOWS US EVEN BEFORE OUR CONCEPTION

• God knew who you would before your dad met your mom.
• God is saying to each one of us that He is your designer.
• God wants you to know that you are tailor made and fashioned by Him.
• God chose your gender.
• God chose your physiognomy.
• God chose the time of your entrance and the time of your exit on this earth.
• God chose your parents, your race, and the geographical location of your birth.
• God put all your body parts together.
• All of us are wonderfully made but different.
• Don’t waste your time and energy wishing to look like someone else.
• Take pride on the way God made you and discover your inner and outer beauty by yourself and not the magazines.

I SANCTIFIED YOU

• I picked you.
• I selected you.
• I empowered you.
• I equipped you.
• I fashioned you.
• I set you apart.
• I molded you for your mission on earth.
• In the case of Jeremiah, God forth-ordained him to be a mighty prophet to the nations.
• I’ve already given you authority to speak to anyone on my behalf even at a young age.
• I have lent you my power.
• I have put in you everything necessary for your mission.
• We are so busy looking at our weaknesses that we fail to discover our strength.
• We are so busy gazing at our obstacles that we fail to embrace our mission.
• We are so busy comparing ourselves with others that we fail to notice our uniqueness.

PRE-BIRTH INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENTS OF GOD

• The Bible contends a list of people who were prophesied about long before their birth.
• For example Jesus in Genesis 3 verse 15 that was the first prophecy about his coming.
• Isaac was prophesied by God although Abraham was very old, though his name was not mentioned.
• Samson was prophesied by God before his birth with the mission he was to accomplish.
• John the Baptist was prophesied by God with great details about his mission on earth.  
• There is a king in the Bible named Cirus that was prophesied by name by God hundreds of years before his birth.
• He was not even an Israelite King, he’s from the Medo-Persia Kingdom and God prophesied about that he would be the one to send the deported Jews back to the land after the Babylonian captivity.
•  When the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell into spiritual idolatry, God told them that a king from the Southern Kingdom named Josiah would someday destroy those pagan altars by putting their priest of those altars.
• These are just the reported cases, but all of us are pre-ordained by God before we take our first breath on this earth.

GOD KNOWS THE END FROM THE BEGINNING

• In God’s forth-knowing ability, he also knows your future.
• You will always have choices to make throughout your life because God has built you with a free will, but God already knows the choices you’re going to make because nothing escapes God.
• God is not surprised by anything.
• God will always send all sorts of help at your disposal to keep you in the right part, but He already knows where you will spend your eternity whether with Him in heaven or with the devil in the Lake of Fire.
• God will not interfere with your free will.
• God says that life and death are before you, but God advises all of us to choose life.
• Christians need to seriously seek the Lord concerning their future so that they would deviate from the plan that God originally created them.
• It is a big waste when people deter from God’s pre-ordained plans for their lives, for they can never achieve anything in life with as much effectiveness as if they had yielded to God’s plan.
• God already orchestrated all the dots to fall in their places when you are his perfect will.
• Your husband is there; your wife is there; your children are there; your career is there; the people to be affected by you are in your folder if you follow God’s plan.
• Many pick a different folder for convenience’s sake, but at the end of their lives, they feel void.
• Satan also has a pre-planned program for everyone.
• There are endless distractions to numb people from pursuing the most important things in life.
• The plan of God also includes eternal life.
• By dismissing your mission in life, you also risk missing your salvation because it’s all in god’s package for you.
• Those who make it to Heaven without fulfilling their mission will spend eternity regretting it; the missed opportunities will be flashing before their eyes for them to see.
• The associated rewards they would have had if they had obeyed will also be flashing in their eyes.
• You will have only yourself to blame for not embracing the destiny that God had put in life for you.

CONCLUSION

Jer 1:4 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

 6 Then said I: “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”

 7 But the LORD said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak.

 8 Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD.

 9 Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

• You may have a ton of excuses as to why you cannot embrace the plan of God, but none of them will hold ground when you stand before God.
• God will also show you the help He had at your disposal if you had obeyed.
• At a young age David already had a great reputation for killing a giant enemy of God named Goliath.
• At the age of twelve, Jesus was found in the temple discussing the word of God with the religious leaders.
• Don’t think of the big task at end but think of the big intervention of God to help you through.
• God is not looking for your skills but He is looking at your willingness to let him help you.
• Avail yourself fully to God and you will see how far He will take you. Amen!