“Where Are You Going?”
Jeremiah 1: 1-10 January 31, 2010
I was in my senior year of high school when Diana Ross came out with a hit song. It was the
theme song of the movie Mahogany. It went like this:
Do you know where you're going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you? Where are
you going to? Do you know? Do you get what you're hoping for?
The truth is that I thought I knew back then. I had a plan laid out for my life. I was going to study
political science at USC. I had my acceptance letter in my hand and I was excited to go. I wanted
to make a difference in people’s lives. I wanted to give them hope and make great things possible.
But somewhere along the way, my world shifted. USC and the west coast dropped out of my
plans. Within two years almost every dream I had came tumbling down. I was out of school, out of
money and at the bottom of a pit of my own making
I learned a lesson back then that I carry with me today. It is this: Your plans may fail. Your
schedule may implode. Your hopes and dreams may fall. But God’s plan for you cannot be stopped,
cannot derailed and cannot be delayed.
Jeremiah was a prophet in Israel in the 6th century BC. He’s known as the “weeping prophet”
because he seems to be the bearer of so much bad news. He predicts that the kingdom will fall, the
people will be taken into captivity and that ruin will follow them. Yet, he decides to go with the
people when that finally happens. He becomes the man who ends up giving them hope that one day
their fortunes will be restored.
Now the Bible is filled with people who are called to share the message of God’s love and grace.
Most of us would gladly stand in line to be one of them. Very few would choose Jeremiah’s lot. He
was to be the prophet of bad news.
Yet there was a reason why Jeremiah didn’t balk at the call. It is found in our text today. It is a
truth that extends well beyond Jeremiah. It is true for all of us. You see God knows us. Even
before we were born, he knew our names and he placed a call on our lives.
The closest I can get to understanding this, really understanding this, is to think about my own
family.
Back in the winter of 84/85 Lori was carrying our first child. We didn’t know if it was a boy or a
girl. We liked it that way. We had two names picked out. Matthew Clayton if it was a boy and
Rebecca Jane if it was a girl. Like all parents we began to imagine what he or she would be like. We
had accepted the call to come to Norwich and they were getting the parsonage ready. “What color
do you want to paint the baby’s room?” they asked. We chose blue. They thought maybe we knew.
I said, we’ll paint pink balloons on the wall if it’s a girl.”
At 10:06 a.m. on July 3 the doctor said, “It’s a girl, it’s a girl. What’s her name.” And I said
Rebecca Jane. From the moment I laid eyes on her it was as if she had always been our child.
I think that’s how it is with God. But his knowledge goes even further. He’s always known us,
even before we were born. He has put his hand on us and he had laid out options for our life.
There is a recurring theme in the Bible. It is that God made us. Ps. 139: 13-16 says, “For you
created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am
fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was
not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the
depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written
in your book before one of them came to be.”
Eph. 2: 10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
There is no doubt that the Bible teaches God knew us before we were born. You might be
wondering what the big deal is that God knows us.
The big deal is if God knows you then it means He knows what you’re going thru in life. It means
you’re not all alone. It means you haven’t been forgotten. I don’t know if there’s anything worse
than to be forgotten.
There was a married couple that stopped for gas in Montgomery, Alabama. After the husband
finished pumping gas, he got in his car and continued his journey. 5 hours later he realized he’d
forgotten something back at the gas station…his wife! So at the next town he stopped at the police
station, got in touch w/his wife and tried to explain to her what happened. Eventually he had to tell
her that for 5 hours he just didn’t realize she wasn’t in the car w/him.
Guys, I don’t know about you but if I was that husband I would’ve just kept on driving because I
would’ve been a dead man.
Now some of us think that God doesn’t really know us. We can’t matter that much to Him. We’
re not that important. If you are thinking that way, the devil is feeding you a lie. The Bible speaks
against that lie. God knows every one of us.
That’s why he spoke to Jeremiah. He wanted to let him know right off the bat that He knew him
and that He had set him up for this life he was going to live. He also wanted him to know that He
would not be alone.
Jeremiah was commissioned by God to spread a message of judgment to the people of Israel. Not
exactly what you’d call a real fun message to preach. But it was as though God was telling
Jeremiah, “I know you’ve got a tough message to deliver, but let me tell you something. I know
you! I’m not going to leave you alone. I’m going to be by your side as you deliver this message.”
This same message is for us as well. Heb. 13: 5-6-“God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never ..
will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What
can man do to me?”
If God knows you, He’s going to take care of you.
A young boy came upon an old man who was fishing in the Mississippi River. Immediately the
boy started talking the man’s ear off. With patience the old man answered each question. Suddenly
their conversation was interrupted by the whistle of the River Queen boat paddling down river.
The sight of the ship caused the surprised spectators to stare in awe and appreciation. Then above
the noise of the paddle wheel was heard a small boy’s voice calling across the water; ’Let me ride!
Let me ride!’ The old man turned to the boy and tried to calm him down explaining that the River
Queen was too important a ship to stop and give rides to little boys.
But the boy kept on yelling out, ’Let me ride!’ The man was stunned as the great ship pulled up
and a gangplank was lowered. In a flash the boy ran onto the deck. The ship with its new cargo
safely on board began to pull back into the main stream. The old man continued to stare after the
ship looking for the boy
A few minutes later the boy appeared above the rail. The boy yelled out, “Mister, I knew this ship
would stop for me. The captain knows me. He’s my father!”
God doesn’t forget His children.
Here is a second thing you need to know. God has set you apart to do something only you can do.
God told Jeremiah He had set him apart. What that means is that God had a specific purpose in
mind for Jeremiah before he was ever born. In Jeremiah’s case, he was set apart for the purpose of
being a prophet.
Each person in this room was created for a specific reason. Each person in this room was created
on purpose for a purpose. Isn’t that cool to think about? Sounds a little bit like Rick Warren in
Purpose Driven Life. That means that no one is a mistake.
I got myself into a little trouble this week on Facebook. Tim Tebow, last year’s Heisman Trophy
Winner,, is at the center of a controversy. There may be an ad on during the Super Bowl where
Tim Tebow tells how his mother almost made the choice to have an abortion. I responded to that
by saying that the same was true for me. My mom as a newlywed 17 year old. She found out that
she was pregnant and for days and weeks she woke up crying every morning. She thought her life
was over. For a long time I went around thinking I was an accident. I wasn’t planned.
These words to Jeremiah, the words in Psalm 139 tell us that without a doubt, that no one
accidentally came into this world.
With his own personal testimony to bear witness, Jeremiah relays a message to the people from
god. He says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and
not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.”
You remember I said that I planned to go to USC and become a political science major. I was
thinking politics as a way to make a difference in people’s lives. But God had other plans. Not only
didn’t I go to California, I didn’t end up going into law or politics or anything else like that. I ended
up going to seminary and became a deliverer of grace and good news.
The vision I had of making a difference was real. It’s just that I am doing it God’s way instead of
my way.
God told Jeremiah He had set him apart. The phrase “set you apart” means to separate. In other
words, God separated Jeremiah from the rest of creation for a special task. His calling was on
Jeremiah’s life to perform a specific task. And God has a calling on your life for a specific task as
well.
So where are you going? What are you going to do? If you don’t know, I suggest you pray about
it. Talk to your maker. Maybe your job is to be a good mother and nurture and care for your
children. Maybe your calling is to be an honest laborer to give witness to God’s faithfulness. Maybe
your call is to go into politics to restore confidence to government. Maybe your call is to be a
doctor or nurse and bring healing to a broken world. Maybe your call is to be a clerk in a store and
to be a bright light to someone’s day.
Where are you going? God knows. For he was the one who created you and like with Jeremiah,
he created you for a purpose. So the first step is to give your life to Christ, to live for him and let
him use you.
Jeremiah 1: 1-10 January 31, 2010
I was in my senior year of high school when Diana Ross came out with a hit song. It was the
theme song of the movie Mahogany. It went like this:
Do you know where you're going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you? Where are
you going to? Do you know? Do you get what you're hoping for?
The truth is that I thought I knew back then. I had a plan laid out for my life. I was going to study
political science at USC. I had my acceptance letter in my hand and I was excited to go. I wanted
to make a difference in people’s lives. I wanted to give them hope and make great things possible.
But somewhere along the way, my world shifted. USC and the west coast dropped out of my
plans. Within two years almost every dream I had came tumbling down. I was out of school, out of
money and at the bottom of a pit of my own making
I learned a lesson back then that I carry with me today. It is this: Your plans may fail. Your
schedule may implode. Your hopes and dreams may fall. But God’s plan for you cannot be stopped,
cannot derailed and cannot be delayed.
Jeremiah was a prophet in Israel in the 6th century BC. He’s known as the “weeping prophet”
because he seems to be the bearer of so much bad news. He predicts that the kingdom will fall, the
people will be taken into captivity and that ruin will follow them. Yet, he decides to go with the
people when that finally happens. He becomes the man who ends up giving them hope that one day
their fortunes will be restored.
Now the Bible is filled with people who are called to share the message of God’s love and grace.
Most of us would gladly stand in line to be one of them. Very few would choose Jeremiah’s lot. He
was to be the prophet of bad news.
Yet there was a reason why Jeremiah didn’t balk at the call. It is found in our text today. It is a
truth that extends well beyond Jeremiah. It is true for all of us. You see God knows us. Even
before we were born, he knew our names and he placed a call on our lives.
The closest I can get to understanding this, really understanding this, is to think about my own
family.
Back in the winter of 84/85 Lori was carrying our first child. We didn’t know if it was a boy or a
girl. We liked it that way. We had two names picked out. Matthew Clayton if it was a boy and
Rebecca Jane if it was a girl. Like all parents we began to imagine what he or she would be like. We
had accepted the call to come to Norwich and they were getting the parsonage ready. “What color
do you want to paint the baby’s room?” they asked. We chose blue. They thought maybe we knew.
I said, we’ll paint pink balloons on the wall if it’s a girl.”
At 10:06 a.m. on July 3 the doctor said, “It’s a girl, it’s a girl. What’s her name.” And I said
Rebecca Jane. From the moment I laid eyes on her it was as if she had always been our child.
I think that’s how it is with God. But his knowledge goes even further. He’s always known us,
even before we were born. He has put his hand on us and he had laid out options for our life.
There is a recurring theme in the Bible. It is that God made us. Ps. 139: 13-16 says, “For you
created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am
fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was
not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the
depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written
in your book before one of them came to be.”
Eph. 2: 10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
There is no doubt that the Bible teaches God knew us before we were born. You might be
wondering what the big deal is that God knows us.
The big deal is if God knows you then it means He knows what you’re going thru in life. It means
you’re not all alone. It means you haven’t been forgotten. I don’t know if there’s anything worse
than to be forgotten.
There was a married couple that stopped for gas in Montgomery, Alabama. After the husband
finished pumping gas, he got in his car and continued his journey. 5 hours later he realized he’d
forgotten something back at the gas station…his wife! So at the next town he stopped at the police
station, got in touch w/his wife and tried to explain to her what happened. Eventually he had to tell
her that for 5 hours he just didn’t realize she wasn’t in the car w/him.
Guys, I don’t know about you but if I was that husband I would’ve just kept on driving because I
would’ve been a dead man.
Now some of us think that God doesn’t really know us. We can’t matter that much to Him. We’
re not that important. If you are thinking that way, the devil is feeding you a lie. The Bible speaks
against that lie. God knows every one of us.
That’s why he spoke to Jeremiah. He wanted to let him know right off the bat that He knew him
and that He had set him up for this life he was going to live. He also wanted him to know that He
would not be alone.
Jeremiah was commissioned by God to spread a message of judgment to the people of Israel. Not
exactly what you’d call a real fun message to preach. But it was as though God was telling
Jeremiah, “I know you’ve got a tough message to deliver, but let me tell you something. I know
you! I’m not going to leave you alone. I’m going to be by your side as you deliver this message.”
This same message is for us as well. Heb. 13: 5-6-“God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never ..
will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What
can man do to me?”
If God knows you, He’s going to take care of you.
A young boy came upon an old man who was fishing in the Mississippi River. Immediately the
boy started talking the man’s ear off. With patience the old man answered each question. Suddenly
their conversation was interrupted by the whistle of the River Queen boat paddling down river.
The sight of the ship caused the surprised spectators to stare in awe and appreciation. Then above
the noise of the paddle wheel was heard a small boy’s voice calling across the water; ’Let me ride!
Let me ride!’ The old man turned to the boy and tried to calm him down explaining that the River
Queen was too important a ship to stop and give rides to little boys.
But the boy kept on yelling out, ’Let me ride!’ The man was stunned as the great ship pulled up
and a gangplank was lowered. In a flash the boy ran onto the deck. The ship with its new cargo
safely on board began to pull back into the main stream. The old man continued to stare after the
ship looking for the boy
A few minutes later the boy appeared above the rail. The boy yelled out, “Mister, I knew this ship
would stop for me. The captain knows me. He’s my father!”
God doesn’t forget His children.
Here is a second thing you need to know. God has set you apart to do something only you can do.
God told Jeremiah He had set him apart. What that means is that God had a specific purpose in
mind for Jeremiah before he was ever born. In Jeremiah’s case, he was set apart for the purpose of
being a prophet.
Each person in this room was created for a specific reason. Each person in this room was created
on purpose for a purpose. Isn’t that cool to think about? Sounds a little bit like Rick Warren in
Purpose Driven Life. That means that no one is a mistake.
I got myself into a little trouble this week on Facebook. Tim Tebow, last year’s Heisman Trophy
Winner,, is at the center of a controversy. There may be an ad on during the Super Bowl where
Tim Tebow tells how his mother almost made the choice to have an abortion. I responded to that
by saying that the same was true for me. My mom as a newlywed 17 year old. She found out that
she was pregnant and for days and weeks she woke up crying every morning. She thought her life
was over. For a long time I went around thinking I was an accident. I wasn’t planned.
These words to Jeremiah, the words in Psalm 139 tell us that without a doubt, that no one
accidentally came into this world.
With his own personal testimony to bear witness, Jeremiah relays a message to the people from
god. He says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and
not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.”
You remember I said that I planned to go to USC and become a political science major. I was
thinking politics as a way to make a difference in people’s lives. But God had other plans. Not only
didn’t I go to California, I didn’t end up going into law or politics or anything else like that. I ended
up going to seminary and became a deliverer of grace and good news.
The vision I had of making a difference was real. It’s just that I am doing it God’s way instead of
my way.
God told Jeremiah He had set him apart. The phrase “set you apart” means to separate. In other
words, God separated Jeremiah from the rest of creation for a special task. His calling was on
Jeremiah’s life to perform a specific task. And God has a calling on your life for a specific task as
well.
So where are you going? What are you going to do? If you don’t know, I suggest you pray about
it. Talk to your maker. Maybe your job is to be a good mother and nurture and care for your
children. Maybe your calling is to be an honest laborer to give witness to God’s faithfulness. Maybe
your call is to go into politics to restore confidence to government. Maybe your call is to be a
doctor or nurse and bring healing to a broken world. Maybe your call is to be a clerk in a store and
to be a bright light to someone’s day.
Where are you going? God knows. For he was the one who created you and like with Jeremiah,
he created you for a purpose. So the first step is to give your life to Christ, to live for him and let
him use you.
Pastor Cal Lord's Recent Sermons
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