What a great God we serve. Be blessed today as you rejoice in His wonderful presence. As the Lord told Jeremiah’s scribe Baruch, ‘your life is a prize’. Rejoice in this truth!
Jeremiah 44: Judgment for Idolatry
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros,
2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them,
3 because of the evil that they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make offerings and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers.
4 Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, 'Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!'
5 But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods.
6 Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day.
7 And now thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant?
8 Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, making offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live, so that you may be cut off and become a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth?
9 Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, the evil of the kings of Judah, the evil of their wives, your own evil, and the evil of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
10 They have not humbled themselves even to this day, nor have they feared, nor walked in my law and my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers.
11 "Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah.
12 I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be consumed. From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, and they shall become an oath, a horror, a curse, and a taunt.
13 I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence,
14 so that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return to dwell there. For they shall not return, except some fugitives."
15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah:
16 "As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you.
17 But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster.
18 But since we left off making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine."
19 And the women said, "When we made offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands' approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out drink offerings to her?"
20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women, all the people who had given him this answer:
21 "As for the offerings that you offered in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them? Did it not come into his mind?
22 The LORD could no longer bear your evil deeds and the abominations that you committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.
23 It is because you made offerings and because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey the voice of the LORD or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies that this disaster has happened to you, as at this day."
24 Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, "Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt.
25 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, 'We will surely perform our vows that we have made, to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.' Then confirm your vows and perform your vows!
26 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the LORD, that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, 'As the Lord GOD lives.'
27 Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them.
28 And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the land of Egypt to live, shall know whose word will stand, mine or theirs.
29 This shall be the sign to you, declares the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, in order that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for harm:
30 Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life."
Jeremiah 45: Message to Baruch
1 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
2 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch:
3 You said, 'Woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.'
4 Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up---that is, the whole land.
5 And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the LORD. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go."
Things to think about…
1. Look at the words we see in Jer 44. These are against Johanan, the other leaders and the people who willingly followed them to Egypt. Jeremiah told them before they left that the Lord’s arm would find them in Egypt. Jeremiah gives them a more full word of judgement here and how it will look. No-one will come back from Egypt to Judah except a few fugitives, Jer 44:14. When things get tough, do you quit? Those who were left in Judah after the Babylonians came quit the land and the promises of God and left for Egypt against the Lord’s will Jer 44:1-7. They were now setting themselves up for more judgement as a result, vs 8. If God has said he would bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you, don’t quit when it looks as if His promises will fail. This is where faith is requited. God’s promises are yes and amen. The best is yet to come. Stand your ground and watch what He will do.
2. Have you ever thought about your old life before you became a Christian? Do you remember that it wasn’t all bad, some things felt and were pretty good? These things were hard to give up and even now are still a temptation to return to from time to time. I spent a lot of time around horses and the Polocrosse scene before becoming a Christian. I love horses, they are beautiful animals, but they take a lot of time to look after – they were an idol in my life. Well that’s what the people of Judah were saying. They believed that when they worshipped the Queen of heaven they had plenty of food and blessing Jer 44:16-19. Now they were in famine. The thing is, the LORD gave them plenty of food, but when they worshipped the Queen of Heaven He started to take away their food and then sent the Babylonians. But it didn’t happen right away. Hence their reasoning in Jer 44:17, 18 that when they sacrificed to her they were blessed. The thing is, the Lord is slow to anger. We should never presume upon His grace.
3. These men and their wives said defiantly that they would not listen to Jeremiah. They would continue in their worship of the Queen of Heaven, Jer 44:17-19, 25. Jeremiah then reminds them that judgement would then come upon them as they lived in Egypt, vs 27. Not very nice of course but there it is. This did actually come true in 567 BC. The thing is, the Lord loves us more than we love our sin. Praise God! He won’t let our sin separate us from Him. This is a mercy on His part, but still very much a struggle on our part. What has been hard for you to let go of? What idols take your time away from worshiping the Lord privately with Him or corporately with His people? Make 2022 a year when you make worship and seeking the Lord a priority in your life.
4. Baruch’s ministry attracted a lot of persecution because it was closely aligned with Jeremiah’s ministry. Jer 45 is all about realigning what is important in the light of eternity. Jer 45:5 “seek great things for yourself, seek them not!”, is an often quoted verse. It applies very much to our generation of materialism and the desire to make this life as comfortable and as easy as we can possibly get it. The ultimate prize the Lord says to Baruch is his life. He will no doubt be one of the fugitives that will return to Judah. Our prize of course is eternal life. What is your heart presently seeking after? Seek Christ above all things and your prize is eternal life with Him.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sunday’s sermon “The best is yet to come” – reading Jeremiah 30:18-Jer 31-14
1. We have all known the pain of loss. Israel would lose everything, but her sorrow would be turned to joy. Has the Lord restored something to you after a season of loss?
2. The nation of Israel is a modern day miracle. Jeremiah says “I will again rebuild you”, Jer 31:4ff. What do you know of the history and conflict over Israel, the two state solution and what is happening in Israel today.
3. We know the Messiah is the One who fully restores the fortunes to us and to Israel. They will one day recognise their Saviour. Discuss your understanding of this and what you understand about the Millennial kingdom.
4. Perfect peace and restoration will come from the heavenly Jerusalem. This is where we live with our Lord forever. There will be a new heavens and a new earth. Do you ever think about this.
Prayer Points
1. Melinda Fourie bad ear infection.
2. Ministries as they have started back.
3. That we see Christ even as Covid goes through the community.
4. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
5. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Kayla Newberry - National U18 national Heptathlon Champion.
2. People returning to church as Covid is passing through the church and community.
3. Faithful; message on Sunday – thanks Doug
4. Worship and technical team. Thanks Suzie, Gina, Zac, Bec and Tim.
Announcements
1. Cell groups back. A new cell group has started at the church for residents around Karalee. Wed 7pm at church.
2. Kidz@Church every Sunday
3. Members Meeting after the service 27th Feb
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for February...
Q. 16. Who should partake of the Lord's Supper? A. Only those who repent of their sins, believe in Christ for salvation and live according to his word.
