Selling Ourselves Short (Jeremiah 1:1-10)

About three years ago, a friend of mine came to me with what sounded to me like a crazy idea.  Her name is Leah Dewey, and she said, “I have a dream of holding a music festival at Loch Leven, and I want you to help me plan it.”

A few weeks later, there were three of us: Leah, Doc Rogers, and myself.  Leah said, “I want to put on a music festival at Loch Leven, to support the camp.” 

Doc said, “It’s going to be just like Spirit West Coast,” which is a multiple-day Christian music festival that draws 20,000 people.

I just looked at them like they were nuts.  And I said, “You want to do THAT at Loch Leven?”

And the answer I got was, “Yeah.  More or less.”

My next thought was, “What can I possibly do to help make this a reality?”  I looked at the two people sitting across from me, and there was some hint that maybe they knew a little about what they were proposing – Doc in particular, with his music experience – but come on!  We were just three people, and we were talking about a music festival that would draw, well, maybe not 20,000 people, but certainly more people than had ever been on the grounds of Loch Leven at one time. 

But still; what could I possibly contribute to this, I who knew nothing about putting on any kind of a concert, much less an all-day music festival?

Have you ever been called to a task that you felt you just weren’t up to?  Did you ever feel asked to do something, and think that, just maybe, the one asking you had chosen the wrong person?

It’s a common experience.  Especially when we’re asked to do something by God.

Consider the case of Jeremiah.  God spoke to Jeremiah, saying: “I know all about you.  I’ve been watching you, I’ve been with you, and I have chosen you to be a prophet to people of all different ethnic groups and walks of life.”

Jeremiah’s response?  “Whoa, whoa, whoa; back the truck up.  A prophet?  You mean, one who speaks for you? You want me to act as your mouthpiece to people from different nations?

“But I’m just a boy.  I’ve never done anything like that.  I’ve never so much as taught a Bible study at my local synagogue…. Besides, it’s just not­–  well, it’s just not cool to go around talking about God and religion when you’re a teenager… no offense.”

Jeremiah’s not alone.  Isaiah experienced something similar when God called him to be a prophet.

Isaiah was there, minding his own business, when all of a sudden he had this vision of God sitting on a throne in the temple.  There were seraphs all around God, strange creatures with six wings: a pair of wings covering their faces, a pair of wings covering their, um, private parts (apparently they were both naked and shy, these seraphs), and a pair which they used to fly.

And the place shook and was filled with smoke, and Isaiah knew that this was something major, something significant, something involving him, and he said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa!  There’s got to be some mistake!  I’m a person of unclean lips.  I said two cuss words just last night when I banged my head on the top of the doorway.  I really wish doorways weren’t so low… Anyway, this can’t be all for me, you must have the wrong guy…”

Then there is Gideon.  You’ve heard of Gideon, right?  His Bibles are in every hotel room in the country.

When Gideon was a young man, Israel was suffering through a difficult time.  God came to Gideon and said, “Gideon, I want you to use your might to save Israel.”

And Gideon said, “What might? My family is the weakest clan in the land, and I’m the weakest member of my family.  I’m the one everyone else always picks on... And you want me to use my might?  What might?”

How often do you feel weak?  Inadequate?  Lacking in power? 

How often do you feel like Gideon?

And then there is Moses.  Once upon a time, Moses had exercised some leadership in Egypt, but when that responsibility got to be too much for him, he fled into the wilderness and became a shepherd.  And he thought to himself, “Yes, spending time alone with the sheep suits my abilities better than trying to be a leader.”

I think maybe Moses was an introvert.

But then God called to Moses; and God said, “Moses, I’m sending you back to Egypt.  You are going to march into Pharaoh’s palace, go right to Pharaoh himself, to bring my people out of Egypt and out of slavery.”

And Moses presented God with not one, but four, objections.

Objection number one:  “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh?”

Objection number two: “I don’t know what to say.  What do I say when Pharaoh asks who has sent me?”

Objection number three:  “What if no one believes me?”

Objection number four:  “I’m a terrible speaker.  I’m not eloquent.  I failed public speaking in college, and I have terrible stage fright.”

Well, apparently, after enough complaints and objections and whining, even God can lose patience.  God said to Moses:  “Come on!  Who gave humans their speech?  Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind?  Is it not I, the Lord?  Now go on, get out of here.  I’ll give you the words to speak.  Just go!”

God, it seems, has an answer to every one of our objections.

When Gideon complained that he was too weak, God simply said, “But I will be with you.”  That’s an assurance God makes to every person God calls.  And how weak are you, really, when God is with you?  Your weakness only serves to show God’s strength and glory all that much more.

And in response to Isaiah’s objections that he was a man of unclean lips, one of the seraphs flew to Isaiah and touched his mouth with a live coal from the altar, and said, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 

And then the voice of the Lord said, “Whom shall I send?  Who will go for us?”

Isaiah looked around and didn’t see anyone else.  Was this a rhetorical question? 

Apparently God really was calling him, despite his imperfections.

And in response to Jeremiah’s objections, God said:  “Don’t say, ‘I am just a boy.’  There is no ‘just.’  I have consecrated and appointed you.  I will give you the words to speak.  Your imperfection and lack of experience is just what I need; it will allow my words and my glory to be seen in you.”

At the General Assembly, in one of the workshops I attended, folks were invited to introduce themselves.  Now there are a lot of pastors at General Assembly, and as we went around the room, it became clear that about half of our group were ordained ministers.  And the others, when they introduced themselves, would say, “I’m just a layperson.”

There is no just.  Ordained ministers like myself are called to a specific role in the church, but so is everyone else.  Every person has a ministry, and every ministry is significant.  Every person is called. 

There is no just.

God called Jeremiah, and said, “Now I have put my words in your mouth.  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.”

All those who are called by God are given great power, but too few realize it or are willing to exercise it.

It won’t be long now until we start looking to 2014 and filling the various leadership roles we have here at Bixby Knolls Christian Church.  Those who are asked to fill various leadership roles are asked because the congregation believes that God is calling them to that particular role.

Sometimes they respond by saying yes and accepting the call.  Other times they say no and decline the call.

Sometimes the reasons they say no are good and valid.  They may be going through a difficult time personally.  They may feel overcommitted already.  Those are good reasons to decline the call.

But sometimes they say they don’t feel qualified.  They feel that their faith isn’t strong enough.  They say they feel as though they’re still figuring out this whole faith thing, that they have more questions than answers and don’t feel that their faith is strong enough for the role to which they’ve been called.

Perhaps they recall others who have held that position, and it seemed to them that they were men and women of great faith: strong, confident, with gifts of leadership and influence.

They don’t think they measure up to other leaders they’ve seen, and when they are called, they end up selling themselves short, insisting that they just aren’t qualified.

But God never calls those who are qualified.  God qualifies those who are called.

If the examples presented today don’t convince you, just look at the disciples.  A more motley crew of bumbling misfits, one couldn’t find anywhere. 

What qualified them for the task was their willingness.  Their willingness to say, “Yes, here I am.”  Their willingness to learn.  Their willingness to make mistakes.  Their willingness to stumble, stand back up, brush the dust off, and keep going.

Rock the Loch is one month away.  It’s our third year.  All of our music acts so far have been musicians and bands that have volunteered their time and talent; people who believed in Rock the Loch enough that they agreed to perform for free.  However, this year, for the first time, we are able fly out to California a professional singer/songwriter from Nashville to be our headline act.  Her name is Andra Moran, and many of the songs we sing here in worship were written by her.

Also, this year, for the first time, we have several food trucks that will be present.  Food trucks aren’t going to drive all the way to some place like Loch Leven unless they can be assured that there will be a crowd.  Because of the success of Rock the Loch over the past two years, we were able to assure them that we’d have a crowd for them.

There is a lot of buzz surrounding this year’s Rock the Loch.  It will certainly be the biggest one yet, and the biggest event Loch Leven has ever hosted. 

And as a member of the planning team, I have found that there are ways for me to contribute to the success of this event, even though I still feel that I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. 

But I’m glad I said yes.