Call to Commitment

 

Jeremiah’s person and ministry

In 1976, a well-known and appreciated 75-year-old preacher, named Vance Havner, from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, publicly reminisced about his life’s calling. He said, in his heavy southern drawl, “I never knew the day when I did not feel called to preach.”  He preached for the first time at age 12. Charles Spurgeon was not much older, when he began to preach. The first time that he was invited to preach in London, some smiled at his country accent. They had no way of knowing that one day London would not have an auditorium big enough to attend the crowds that came to listen to him.

 All good commentators agree that Jeremiah was very young, when God called him into the prophetic office: "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." Jeremiah spoke very literally, when he argued of his incompetence for the ministry, particularly because of his youth: "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth." Adam Clarke estimated that he was about 14-years-old.

 He was born a priest, therefore of the tribe of Levi, and came from a Benjamite town, called Anathoth. When Solomon was a new king, he deposed his high priest, Abiathar, banning him from Jerusalem and sent him to this town a few miles northeast of the great city (1 K.2:26-35). Abiathar came first to David in exile, having escaped the massacre of the priests in Nob (1 S.22:20). Jeremiah could have been a descendent of the disgraced high priest, although from the time of Joshua, Anathoth had been given as a residence for the priesthood (Josh.21:18), so already there were priests living there.

 There is no mention of a wife or family, but his father was Hilkiah. Possibly, he was the high priest, whose timely discovery of the Book of the Law in the neglected temple, ended King Josiah’s search for the true God, which began when he was 16 years old (2 K.22:8). It happened in the 18^th year of Josiah’s reign and brought revival to Judah.   

 A contemporary of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, was also a priest. However, a prophet, unlike a priest, is not born a prophet, but called by a God, who does as He pleases. It is His way to call the unlikely ones and we see that pattern throughout the Bible, particularly in Christ’s calling of His disciples. 

 Albert B. Simpson was raised in a strict Calvinistic Scottish Presbyterian tradition, to the extent that, when he came under deep conviction of sin, his parents, either did not know how to help him or, more probably, thought that it was improper to interfere with God’s work of salvation. However, young Simpson struggled under the weight of sin for too long and found no relief, until he discovered a line in Walter Marshall’s Gospel Mystery of Salvation, “The first good work you will ever perform is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.” This little ray of light, given by a human writer, brought Simpson to commit his life to “Jesus Only”, his burden was lifted and he was gloriously converted.

 A. B. Simpson was founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, a movement which was dedicated to taking the gospel to the far ends of the world. This is the movement, to which A. W. Tozer belonged and, in fact, Tozer wrote Simpson’s biography, Wingspread. My father also belonged to the C&MA and loved to read Simpson’s Christ-exalting books. 

 “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”  Matthew 17:5

 At the same time, I find things in which I disagree with Tozer, although they are not many and certainly not vital matters. We should follow no man exclusively, because we are all brothers in imperfection and we only find perfection in Christ. I mention Tozer, because you will see that I have presented some of his thoughts previously and I want to do some again. Here are some things that Tozer had to say concerning loyalty and following man. Tozer was a pastor, principally in two churches in his lifetime, one in Chicago and the other in Toronto, so he is speaking on this subject from a pastoral standpoint. He always pointed his people to Christ alone:

 In Rut, Root or Revival, chapter five, he said: “Faith in Jesus is not commitment to your church or denomination. I believe in the local church… I believe in the divine assembly. We ought to realize that we are, as a group of Christians, a divine assembly, a cell in the body of Christ, alive with His life. But not for one second would I try to create in you a faith that would lead you to commit yourself irrevocably to a local church or to your church leaders.”

As I prepare and share radio programs on the Old Testament kings, I am made aware, once more, of man´s inability to handle power, no matter how great his character and spiritual maturity. We need constant reminders of the propensity of a common fault in human nature. David fell and a long line of Israel and Judah´s kings followed him. I just studied good King Uzziah, of whom it was said that “he became exceedingly strong… he was marvelously helped till he became strong.” But then, “When he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction.” He became furious, when the priests tried to advise him for his own good, and ended his life alone and in disgrace.

 The apostle Paul understood this defect in human nature, even in those born again, and was humble enough to write of his own personal experience: “Lest I should be exalted above measure… a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me… for when I am weak, then I am strong.”  

 Don’t think that Tozer chose this text, looking for a sermon for his Sunday morning service in his church, or that he prepared it for preaching in one of the annual “Councils” (as they called them) of his denomination. That is, he wasn’t motivated by an urge to have an interesting text to catch the attention of the thousands of people attending from all parts of America and representatives of various parts of the world.

 We lived within 300 miles of Chicago, where Tozer was pastoring a church. I was only 19-years-old when Tozer died and I don’t remember ever hearing him in person, but I have read every book I could find of his and listened to dozens of his tapes. My dad heard him on various occasion in these “Councils”, that I mentioned, or in pastoral conventions, because he belonged to the same denomination. Also, I communicated for at least ten years personally, by letters and by telephone with a good friend of Tozer, Leonard Ravenhill. Len preached in Tozer’s church, prayed alone with him and considered him his mentor.

 No, from what I know about Tozer, he didn’t write this chapter because its theme would fit nicely into his book. He wrote it because he knew personally some of these “kings¨, just like the one described in Ecclesiastes, and I suspect that he found some of them in the organization that he belonged to. Tozer had enemies, who didn’t like him, because he brought to light the situations that he knew on his back doorstep. I had a friend, who was a student at a Bible school under the same denomination. Tozer came to talk to the students at the school’s “spiritual life week”, and afterwards was severely criticized by some of the professors.  

 In the meantime, we are studying a tool for evangelism. Christian, if you have a desire to share the gospel with friends, relatives, and whoever the Lord would have cross your path, you need to study it. I am not talking about following a method, but using biblical and spiritual principles in evangelism. This was the way of the great evangelists throughout church history. They would start with the law of God, then show that no one has kept it. Therefore, everyone needs to repent. When there were signs of true repentance, the evangelist would share the hope of the gospel… the good news! It is there that the sinner must put his trust. Trust is synonymous with faith; faith in the person and the work of Christ. This is what Jesus meant, when He said, “Repent and believe the gospel!”

 You might want to review the first two articles. Here is the last part of this excellent tool. It deals with the following issues… Condemned by our genes… The only remedy… Your debt has been paid!... The need to be born again… God promises a new life… A future without end… What are you waiting for?

 If you want to give people something of value to read, you can receive this and two other installments in the form of a small book. Simply write us at loelmarga@telefonica.net . A tract is all right, in order to get someone’s attention, but it gives little information concerning salvation and the reason why it is needed. This little book will inform them clearly about the righteousness and the love of God. I really wish that many, who have a desire to evangelize, would use it.