January 31, 2010, "The Headwaters of Life"

Message – “Headwaters of Life”
January 31, 2010 – Jeremiah 1:4-10

1. God had big plans for Jeremiah …
a. As God does for all us …
b. We’re all a key to some part of God’s plan …
c. Maybe not as big as God’s plan for Jeremiah.
d. But big enough …
i. Like being a parent – that’s a big deal.
ii. Like keeping your head when others are losing theirs.
iii. Being a positive influence where you work.
iv. Staying ethical when others cut corners.
v. Steady in prayer and growing in faith.
2. In order for God to move Jeremiah forward, God had to take Jeremiah backward … to the headwaters of life.
a. Before anything else, I knew you.
b. Before you were conceived, I loved you.
c. Before you were born, I had a plan for you.
3. Bulletin cover … take a look … this is the Mighty Mississippi …
a. Small, isn’t it.
b. God can be really small sometimes.
c. Like a little cradle in Bethlehem.
d. Small, not to frighten us.
e. Father tells a story … little boy … Florida trip – going to the beach … a family pulls up in the car – Wisconsin license plates … the family dashes out to the beach … a little boy – stands by the ocean, for the first time, and wets his pants!
f. God doesn’t want us wetting our pants.
g. So God takes us to the headwaters, not to the ocean.
h. In time, the ocean.
i. But now, the headwaters – small and gentle.
j. Jesus is like that.
k. In time, Jesus takes us to the Father.
l. But for now, Jesus.
4. The headwaters …
5. So that Jeremiah would know – you can trust God no matter what, no matter where …
a. Jeremiah was going to face some really tough times.
b. God gives Jeremiah inner strength …
6. I got you here; I will get you through!
7. Don’t we all have to learn that?
8. Just how good God is.
9. Jeremiah learned how to defer to God!
a. Turn to God in prayer.
b. Turn to God in trust.
c. Turn to God for wisdom and courage.
d. Turn to God for patience and peace.
i. Psalm 46 says it well:
ii. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.
iii. Psalm 91: You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day, or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand but it will not come near you.
10. When we defer to God, something mighty important happens.
a. We get connected to God …
b. Not just using God, but connected to God!
c. Everyone wants to use God, but not everyone wants to be connected to God.
d. This is a serious issue with spirituality … using God, but preferring to stay at a distance from God …
e. Sort of like a job and like work – everyone wants a job, but not everyone wants to work.
f. Everyone wants to use God, but not everyone wants to be connected to God.
g. Jeremiah learns how to be connected to God!
h. Connected to God’s network …
i. Connectivity is the heart of faith, networking …
j. “No man is an island,” wrote the poet, John Donne.
k. But so many of us live as if we were … social relationships are at an all-time low … casual is the word … lonely is the result! And frustrated …
l. It does take a village to rear a child … it takes a village to get anything done … collaboration, teamwork … connectivity.
m. Connecting to God ...
i. We are no longer an island.
ii. No longer isolated.
iii. No longer our own!
iv. Now that’s a toughie for Americans.
v. We’re proud of being our own: self-made, self-governed, self-helped … but it kills a big part of our soul … pride in our individual prowess cheats us of the power of others.
vi. The heart and soul of faith: we are not our own …
n. Calvin understood this … not the Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes … but the Calvin of Geneva …
o. Calvin’s words – 1541 edition, Institutes … p.685
p. We are not our own; therefore let our reason and will not rule in our counsels and what we have to do. We are not our own; therefore let us not set it as our goal to seek what is expedient to us according to the flesh. We are not our own; therefore let us forget ourselves as much as possible, and all that is about us. Next, we belong to the LORD; let us live and die to Him. We belong to the LORD; let His will and wisdom preside in all our actions. We belong to the LORD; let all the parts of our life be referred to Him as their unique goal [Chapter 17, Institutes, 1541 edition; Elsie McKee trans.].
11. The key to spiritual strength … the heartbeat of faith.
12. Social networking on steroids …
13. Primal and powerful … the headwaters of life … where it all begins: unconditional, totally reliable, pure and good … like the mighty Mississippi flowing out of Lake Itasca … this is where it begins … the headwaters of life!
14. To God be the glory!