AG ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON 14 IN BRIEF APRIL 2 2023

TEXT: JEREMIAH 1:1-19

MEMORY VERSE: Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations – Jere1:5

CENTRAL TRUTH: God empowers through the Holy Spirit those He calls to gospel ministry.

The Bible only recognises as legitimate prophets who have received divine call to the prophetic office. Prophet Jeremiah was one of such prophets whose role (like Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel etc) was more about “forthtelling” than “foretelling”. That is to say, Jeremiah was not just predicting what the future holds; but dictating direct instructions from God to the people, thus God uses prophets to convey messages of exaltation, correction, rebuke, hope, encouragement, instruction, judgement, etc, to his people. So today’s lesson will explore the call of prophet Jeremiah and it’s significance for our understanding of our own prophetic or ordained mission in the world, thus the lesson is subdivided into the following major outlines;

1. Call To Prophetic Ministry

2. Vision Of Divine Judgement

3. Divine Encouragement And Empowerment.

CALL TO PROPHETIC MINISTRY – JERE1:1-10

Jeremiah’s call to prophetic ministry was a divine calling or divine choice that though there was a resistance, a reassurance from the Caller was pronounced for the man of God not to be afraid.

Lessons Derived: Jeremiah chapter1:1-5 and other Scriptures like Heb5:4 records that the call into prophetic ministry and other areas of God’s calling comes from God. The account of many who served in this ministry even before Jeremiah came on board shows that a call is not something people choose for themselves, it is not a career choice, but a divine call from God. As the Omniscience God, He knows our respective assignments before we were even formed in our mother’s womb. So there is no point faking or deceiving people of what we are not given or ordained by Him because there are consequences. Now, Jeremiah was called into the prophetic ministry to declare God and God’s intent to the nation(or world) of Israel; in the same vein, He has called us today into the Business world, Education, Medicine, or Parenthood, etc, to declare or present God in these fields of endeavour. So we have to take responsibility to stand in for God in these worlds irrespective of the challenges we may be faced. Like Jeremiah each of us needs to be willing to accept the challenge of our divine call, whether that calling brings us recognition or obscurity, riches or poverty, acceptance or rejection. Feelings, human calculation, present circumstances or realities should not be a barrier to working ourselves up the call of God because God never ask people to do something without supporting them in the task to which they are called. With the gift of His Holy Spirit in our lives excuses and any form of inability can be surmounted for the work of God to flourish.

VISION OF DIVINE JUDGEMENT – JERE1:11-16

God who called Jeremiah revealed his plans of divine judgement through a vision of an almond branch and a boiling pot. God sometimes uses pictures of strange things or familiar images than the direct revelation of his plans to his Prophets, but the most important thing is that, those Prophets are empowered to know the exact meaning of such visions.

Lessons Derived: God first assured Jeremiah that he will carry out his plans of judgment against the children of Israel who have turned against Him by indulging in all manner of wickedness and idolatry. So, while the almond branch signifies God’s intent; the boiling pot signifies how God will carry out his plans. Now the lesson here is, any person truly called by God into the prophetic ministry will receive clear interpretation of God’s word, no guess work. If it is coming from God, it is not partial, it must be complete revelation. Jeremiah saw the almond branch, then the boiling pot which would be poured out from the north and would flow over the leaders, and people of Judah, causing untold pains, destruction and untimely exile, all because of their unfaithfulness.

DIVINE ENCOURAGEMENT AND EMPOWERMENT – JERE1:17-19

A commitment was demanded from Jeremiah for a commission that God gave him with divine encouragement and empowerment. So is every believer with the call of God as stated in scriptures is empowered to be committed in their respective callings or commission.

Lessons Derived: Now the following demands was placed on Jeremiah and to all believers by extension;

*Gird up thy loins:

It is one thing to know ones calling and another to get prepared to undertake God’s assignment. It is not a call to laxity, nor to be casual; but a call to garner all amount of seriousness and vigour to ensure the mission succeeds. As Jeremiah we all need to be emotionally and spiritually prepared, knowing we will meet opposition in course of our assignment.

*Arise, speak to them all that I command you:

The commandment or the commission God gave us must be obeyed to the later without adding or taking anything away from the command. It is a solemn thing to speak for God and so we must speak only what God has directed us, which must be based upon the truths of his Word.

*Be not dismayed(or afraid) before them:

Like Jeremiah, all believers are instructed all through Scriptures to be bold, to be strong, to fear not for as God is no respecter of persons; the carriers of His mandates ought to impart God’s message to the people without fear or fervour of any mortal or devilish being.

Lastly, the boldness to arise and speak the truth as commanded irrespective of opposition should be prompted by the assurance of making us like a defensed(fortified) city with iron pillars and brazen walls that no man can break in,(just like he fortified Jeremiah). Also He promised to be with us, never allowing the opposition to prevail so long as we remain faithful to the calling.

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