Jeremiah says the animals know their master and their season, but the people of the Lord do not. May we know our season when the Lord is speaking to us.
Jeremiah 8:
1 "At that time, declares the LORD, the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be brought out of their tombs.
2 And they shall be spread before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served, which they have gone after, and which they have sought and worshiped. And they shall not be gathered or buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground.
3 Death shall be preferred to life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family in all the places where I have driven them, declares the LORD of hosts.
Sin and Treachery
4 "You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD: When men fall, do they not rise again? If one turns away, does he not return?
5 Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return.
6 I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, 'What have I done?' Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
7 Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the LORD.
8 "How can you say, 'We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us'? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie.
9 The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?
10 Therefore I will give their wives to others and their fields to conquerors, because from the least to the greatest everyone is greedy for unjust gain; from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.
11 They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace.
12 Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the LORD.
13 When I would gather them, declares the LORD, there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered, and what I gave them has passed away from them."
14 Why do we sit still? Gather together; let us go into the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has doomed us to perish and has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
15 We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
16 "The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan; at the sound of the neighing of their stallions the whole land quakes. They come and devour the land and all that fills it, the city and those who dwell in it.
17 For behold, I am sending among you serpents, adders that cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you, declares the LORD.
Jeremiah Grieves for His People
18 My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me.
19 Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people from the length and breadth of the land: "Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King not in her?" "Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images and with their foreign idols?"
20 "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."
21 For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded; I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?
Jeremiah 9:
1 Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
2 Oh that I had in the desert a travellers’ lodging place, that I might leave my people and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, a company of treacherous men.
3 They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the LORD.
4 Let everyone beware of his neighbour, and put no trust in any brother, for every brother is a deceiver, and every neighbour goes about as a slanderer.
5 Everyone deceives his neighbour, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity.
6 Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit, they refuse to know me, declares the LORD.
7 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: "Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do, because of my people?
8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully; with his mouth each speaks peace to his neighbour, but in his heart he plans an ambush for him.
9 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?
10 "I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains, and a lamentation for the pastures of the wilderness, because they are laid waste so that no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard; both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled and are gone.
11 I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a lair of jackals, and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant."
12 Who is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through?
13 And the LORD says: "Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it,
14 but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.
15 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them poisonous water to drink.
16 I will scatter them among the nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them."
17 Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skilful women to come;
18 let them make haste and raise a wailing over us, that our eyes may run down with tears and our eyelids flow with water.
19 For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion: 'How we are ruined! We are utterly shamed, because we have left the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.'"
20 Hear, O women, the word of the LORD, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; teach to your daughters a lament, and each to her neighbour a dirge.
21 For death has come up into our windows; it has entered our palaces, cutting off the children from the streets and the young men from the squares.
22 Speak, "Thus declares the LORD: 'The dead bodies of men shall fall like dung upon the open field, like sheaves after the reaper, and none shall gather them.'"
23 Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,
24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."
25 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh---
26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart."
Things to think about…
1. Imagine a doctor putting a band-aid on a festering open wound. It’s laughable because it would be seen is grossly inadequate. Jeremiah says the priests and prophets were healing people slightly by saying ‘peace, peace’, Jer 8:11. Dealing with sin has to involve the heart. We should never deal just with surface issues or symptoms, but always get to the heart of the problem. Are there any areas in your life or ministry where you could be in danger of ‘healing slightly’? Pray that the Lord speaks to me in this regard because I am certainly not immune. Lord have mercy on your people.
2. Gilead was known for its healing balm Jer 8:22. But there was no healing for the people. Christians should be a people who are able to comfort, heal and bless because they have the truth and presence of God over their lives. Ask the Lord how you can be a voice of healing where there is so much division and pain in our society.
3. Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet, Jer 9:1, 10, 18. He is weeping because the people aren’t listening to God’s words. His desire is to run away to a shack in the desert, Jer 9:2. Ever felt like that? No-one is listening to you and you just want to escape? Like Jeremiah our hope and refuge can only come from the Lord Jesus in times like these.
4. A defining characteristic of the people who were under the judgement of God is that they were liars and were deceiving one another, Jer 9:3-9. God is a God of truth. Satan as we know is the Father of Lies. Let’s never be tempted to dishonour God by lying to one another. A deceiving spirit and one that complaints or gossips tears down the kingdom of God.
5. It’s interesting how the blessing or otherwise of the land is often linked to the obedience of the people, Jer 9:10, 15. By faith we acknowledge God controls the weather patterns. Do you believe the weather is always connected with the blessing or judgement of God? But we also know it rains on the just and unjust so we must be careful how we apply some of these verses. I am loving the rain we are receiving at the moment. Although the sun in winter is always a joy.
6. Jeremiah says the real circumcision is that which is done on the heart, Jer 9:26. The outworking of this is the one who practices love, justice and righteousness, vs 24. In these things the Lord delights. What are you delighting in these days? Jesus circumcises the heart and allows us to rejoice in him.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sermon and reading topic for this week – Sermon “Proclaiming Christ”
Reading – 1 Corinthians 12, 14
1. We all love receiving gifts. Especially if they have been well considered with who we really are and what we like. What is the most thoughtful gift you have ever received?
2. As Christians we all have a spiritual gift/s. What is yours? Are you using it to build up the body of Christ?
3. Paul says not to be ignorant of spiritual gifts, 1Cor 12:1. But there is a lot of confusion regarding the spiritual gifts of especially surrounding tongues and prophecy. Tongues as described in these 2 chapters (1Cor 12, 14) speak of known languages in the world, 1Cor 14:10, 11. Discuss how this gift is abused in some church contexts. How should it be used as outlined by Paul?
4. The gift of prophecy is also not well understood in the modern church. The 1st century Christians did not have the entire bible and needed revelation. We have the complete revelation in scripture and hence saying “Thus says the Lord” as the OT prophets declared is not the role of prophecy as described in 1 Cor 12&14. How do we discern the difference between a genuine prophetic word for someone or the church and a false prophecy?
5. Pray for the use of all the spiritual gifts in the church with a right discernment in their use.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for testimonies that people will be doing every second week. Please consider when you would like to do yours when the pastor asks you to share yours 😉
2. Pray for those on holidays and travelling.
3. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof and solar.
4. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
5. Church finances to meet our new staff and to put a roof over our café.
6. Sunday’s message from Jer 1 - “Not the calling I’m after” – Pastor Jay.
Praise Points.
1. More visitors on Sunday.
2. New cell groups.
3. Praise and worship – thanks Rod, Rin, Molley, Riley, Zac, great job.
Announcements
1. Lockdown over from 6pm tonight for Ipswich and therefore Chuwar Baptist. The mask mandate will be in place for 2 weeks. Masks to be worn on Sunday during worship. Can be taken off when eating in the café with social distancing.
2. New Cell groups starting up. Find one near you.
3. PlayPatch starting up next term for toddlers at church. See Maddison for details.
4. Men’s brekky TBA. But will be down at Colleges Crossing within the next month or so on a Saturday morning.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
