By Appointment Only [Part 1]

Pastor, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright. This is a radical countercultural lot because culture asserts that we form our own destiny and that we become form by our own efforts and then we get no but what God says is I know you then I form is a reverse pastor other message of good view that will help you see your life in old I'm deliberate excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series remain as presented in an old church in North Carolina. I will stay with us throughout the entire program today.

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Not here Mike residence you're not on this planet by accident. In fact you are here by appointment you walk with God in a very real sense by appointment only. I want to talk to you about the call of Jeremiah as we continue in this new series that I called simply remade because the prophetic ministry of Jeremiah offers restoration hope in a time of impending exile time of great turbulence. That's not unlike our own time. Time of uncertainty time in which there was much polarization disagreement about the way forward and into the midst of it like a trumpet. Jeremiah brings the word of God. Both of the judgment against the disobedience of the people and the promise of restoration from exile, so today we are in Jeremiah chapter 1 and this is the words that we read beginning at verse four Jeremiah 1 verse four of the word of the Lord came to me saying before I formed you in the womb I knew you before you were born I consecrated you, I appointed you a prophet to the nations that I said Lord God hold.

I do not have know how to speak from only a you Lord said to me did not say only a you for it all to whom I send you, you shall go, whatever I command you, you shall speak to not be afraid of them from with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.

Then the Lord put out his hand and touch my mouth the Lord said to me, behold, I put my words in your mouth and then these couple verses from the apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 2. For by grace you've been saved through faith.

This is not your own doing is the gift of God.

Verse nine, not a result of work, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. You know the importance sometimes of an appointment. I am having to go through the process of help in my adult son take his same phone number that is been on our wireless plan for so many years and transfer it now to his own legit plan with his law firm and so this is going be one phone off of my bill now.

I said sure is that I might need you to talk to the provider and give them authorization to do this and so I called and was put on hold and waited for about 10 minutes and then it came up and said that the wait time would be an hour and 1/2 would I like to continue to hold. Sure, I'd love to just be on the phone for our and have it know at if you'd like you can schedule an appointment for tomorrow and so I did schedule one for the next day at 11 eight yeah, and at 11 AM the next day. By the way, have you noticed that it's very easy to get through to somebody after call in a TV provider or a cell provider and you want to sign up for something but it's like a two day weight on the phone to actually cancel something but anyway I had the next morning at 11 AM when they're supposed to call. I am in the process of a crisis ministry with someone in abject need and I am just thinking is this going to get resolved before the 11 o'clock phone call comes in when you know know it did. I'm on the phone and I look down on the collar thing that it is my cell phone people call and about one shot and I'm just sit there like I care about is capital ministered to the person you know some things by appointment only become precious and I don't want to show you in this call tonight this this this centerpiece of it that he Jeremiah was appointed as a prophet to the nations because God knew him before he formed him.

I just want to ask you a simple question get you thinking about this, how much in your life would change if you really believed that God had appointed stuff for you to do before you were even born. And how would it change the way you look on every day life.

Take a closer look at this text again. Verse four the word of the Lord came to me and the word here in Hebrew for coming to me is actually probably better translated. It happened to me it's it's it's like the coming of the word of God into Jeremiah's life will end and ours is more of a total experience a happening, then it is merely a hearing of something. It's like an event, and so Jeremiah unlike some other other prophets and others who experience call. He's not saying I saw something or I heard something he saying it happened to me this is just what I experienced, and we don't know how you experienced it, but experienced it was like like you sometimes have a knowing inside of you and it verse five before I formed you, I knew you. So God forms we seem like a potter. He creates the world out of nothing and then he scoops up dust from the ground to make a man he he creates out of nothing and then out of what he's made.

He forms that he he brings it into existence, and then the Holy Spirit brooded over the face of the chaos and brought order out of it and so God saw one who forms and to say I formed you before I knew you. This is a thought. I cannot get this out of my mind. It's so glorious and mindbending to contemplate it. But what the Lord is saying is that he he saw you because he had an idea for you and then he formed it means you began as God's glorious idea like an artist who just has a vision of something to create and then forms it and this is a radical countercultural thought because culture asserts that we form our own destiny and that we become formed by our own efforts and then we get no but what God says is I know you then I formed as a reversal and then at verse five before your born I consecrated you. This is even more radical because we consecrated, literally means to be set apart, which is the definition of what it means to be made holy. To be holy in the Bible is not a religious concept about doing certain religious duties or services.

It is about a position and about belonging to be holy unto the Lord is to belong unto the Lord and note this well Jeremiah didn't make himself holy God. And you don't make yourself holy God does. God makes us holy by setting us apart.

And when you trust in Christ his own righteousness becomes yours. A lot of people are very confused about this and think that they were on some sort of mission to become more more righteous and so them will be more holy people know you already are a holy people in Christ and what's what really are.

Spiritual growth is as were growing into it continuing to verse five, I appointed you a prophet to the nations, and the word for a point here is a a word in Hebrew, not Don like the name Nathan that it means in the largest sense, give its I give you as a prophet to the nations. This is speech action. It is like saying, I hereby make you. I hereby make you my prophet to the nations.

That's Alan Wright will have more teaching moment from today's important series.

Many Christians in America today.

You're starting a nation's culture has turned away from God values in our country have changed. Suddenly, most people don't go to church or had a biblical can make you feel like an alien in your own culture. There's a lot to learn from Danielle when he was exiled to the pagan land through our special life. It is not you can learn to live under the favor of guarding and carrying culture the way Daniel gave before the end in mind listening to Pastor Alan's idea series, Daniel favored for you may feel like a stranger in this world that is not shared favor to Daniel and his four man God's grace is upon you as well. Nation will not only help you navigate through these troubling times.

It will also help someone else links for your partnership with how I might ministry we missed us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor.like today's teaching now. Can you once again is Alan Wright Jeremiah, like others, like Moses or Joan on people that complain when God comes to them. He he says, Lord.

Verse six Lord.

Behold, I do not know to speak. I'm only a you and one translator says it be best rendered as oh no not that are the old language. Alas, this is what Jeremiah says. He says all know I can't speak. I'm only a kid.

That's what it really means and what's ironic, of course, is that Jeremiah is a powerful communicator. I think what it is taking place here is Jeremiah just doesn't know it yet. And so the Lord doesn't entertain the complaint.

He just says simply, you shall go, and you shall speak and so you can say of this call that, like every call from God. Yes, we have a choice, but not that much because of the goodness and the power and the glory of God that become so compelling and I want to talk to you about these principles that you can see in Jeremiah's call principles of divine empty appointment on the first thing to say is that when you get an appointment from God. An appointment with God you think really differently about that. It's unthinkable to miss an appointment with God. Essentially, to say that's the first thing I want to see and think of it this way and that if you started looking on your life as God has made this extraordinary appointment with you, and you saw it that way is like. I wouldn't dare miss it. I don't know I got I got interested and for some reason I was thinking about this concept about whether that was the hardest restaurant reservation of the world to get you know some restaurants it is hard to get it is hard to get a reservation there. So I looked it up. I have no idea how to pronounce the first one I think it is something like Sugiyama. She Sugiyama sheet. Maybe if I sit it really faster than watching it might sound right. So go back to see Sue, Suki Bussey, I am sorry to just do that to the one of his famous restaurants the world in Tokyo, Japan. Run by 95-year-old sushi master there only 10 seats and to get one of them. You have to have influential friends or you have to be a regular at one of two of the most luxurious hotels in Tokyo in the concierge might be able to get your reservation, but it probably won't be on the date that you would like to have the second one is on the list I saw on this website is radios in New York and exclusive Italian restaurant in order to get a reservation at one of the 10 tables you have to either be a regular or no or regular, and most of those regulars are celebrities, but even then going to take a year to find a date and I'll give you one more that his famous Sonoma and Copenhagen Denmark if you want to stand a chance of getting a table you're going to need to be on the normal weds website. The minute the booking opens which is three different times during the year and if you managed to secure a table, you will need to pay for the food up front. If you have an idea of an appointment that is so hard to get in rare you think of it differently, I appointed you a prophet to the nation.

I'm designated you.

I have arranged for this Jeremiah when he started seeing your day full of divine appointments and getting appointment being appointed to a position is altogether different than being voted into an office like the difference in a a judge and I'm locals superior court or District Court to get elected versus a federal judge that is appointed.

It's a big difference. One, you have to gear up and run for an election get voted in an improve yourself to people other. You just somebody who has the power to do so appoint you to the place I live. I don't know if ever really shared this traumatic experience in my life. I think I've gotten over it but I'm not sure when I was in seventh grade. A wonderful honor happened, I was appointed by the ninth-grade president of Mendenhall junior high school I was appointed that fresh in my my seventh grade year to be the seventh grade student representative on the student council because I knew the girl that was the president and she appointed me. The problem was that then there would be an election.

The second semester I was just the appointee kind of you know, holding the position but the election how can I lose, I mean I grew up in the area.

I knew most of these kids and I was the incompetent, so surely but there was an election at the beginning of the second semester and unfortunately a northerner had moved down a guy named Greg O'Brien had moved down was he one of the nicest guys ever did he speak to everybody in the hallway as he went by was a really good friend eventually to me. Yes, he was but imagine my pain when I'm sitting there in homeroom and over the intercom for the entire Mendenhall junior high. It was announced to the new seventh grade student representative was Greg O'Brien and the whole rest of the students just barely even heard it like they didn't even care.

But that's the problem of an election. I had been appointed but now I got an election. I lost when you're appointed, you can't lose it when you're in election you gotta fight for it.

You got a hold on to it. You gotta keep on get elected I appointed you as a prophet to the nation. God said in an appointment situation, it means that if it's the wrong person.

It's not so much on that person as it is the one who appointed him or my guys and I know what I'm doing.

I'm pointing you the appointments of God. The call of God are connected so God calling Jeremiah into the ministry is to give him the announcement of the assignment that he has and it is such good news because it is God's appointment, but Jeremiah doesn't understand that yet and but if you can understand the call of God this way that even when you have to face challenges by what he is called you to do that.

There is with Internet and an assignment from God that is a blessing to you and a blessing to the world. It always is. So you have to think of being called. You have to think of of appointment that God gives you have to think of all the speak to you about your life in those terms like what's 10 can you think of when you had when the happiest phone calls you ever got.

Did you think of that I went was a kind of phone rang and you just that call just displays dear dear friend of our church David Beatty who was who is a pastor at River Oaks and our daughter church and I was I was with him this week and you Sandy city got what I have your phone call zero got his five-year-old grandson from Tennessee called him first time ever that he that the boy a little boy himself had called because it calls David G. Daddy and David answer the phone. He has his grandson on their and his NAD daddy and Ed and yeah and he said I just want to call and tell you that I have trusted in Christ as my Savior. He said that's one of the best phone calls I have her hair there hasn't given Alan Wright. Today's good news message by appointment only from the series remade and Pastor Alan is here with assuring a parting good news thought for the day. In just a moment. Many Christians in America today. You're starting a nation's culture has turned away from God values in our country have changed. Suddenly, most people don't go to church or had a biblical one can make you feel like an alien in your own culture. There's a lot to learn from Danielle when he was exiled to the pay command through our special offer. This night you can learn to live under the favor of God in Aryan culture the way Daniel gave before the end in mind. The senior Pastor Alan Zaidi, a series Daniel favored for you may feel like a stranger in this world that is God should favor to Daniel and his four man God's grace is upon you as well.

Nation will not only help you through these troubling times.

It will also help someone else links for your partnership with how I might ministry we missed 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor and dialect that you know Pastor Alan reporting the news of the day.

The teaching is by appointment only, and are leaving on the clipping are there of this a really great phone call and yeah asking is in question. I've I've had a few that they really cheers never forget you never forget a call since the call were talking about Jeremiah's call and I love and Jeremiah one what God says I appointed you before I formed you in the womb I knew you for your born I consecrated you, I appointed you so were talking about life with God.

According to the appointments of God and I think that all of us can identify their some things are hard to get appointments for as we talk about in the sermon. Some restaurants that you get appointments far in advance or if you get it if you get a good appointment at the DMV. You don't want to miss that. I Ed so appointment with God's appointment.

If you begin to think of your life that way you don't want to miss it. What would happen if you start looking on life more than appointment than a random happening and if you start seeing it that way.

These cursing God involved in everyday moments. So were talking about that more tomorrow about the call of Jeremiah, but also the way in which God calls us. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online@pastor.org or call 877-544-4860 877-544-4860 if you only caught part of today's teaching. Not only can you listen again online also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources, and pastor out and.org that's pastor out and.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production Alan Wright Ministries