who are elected and raised up will be those who speak out for the most vulnerable,
provide for those who are in need,
making sure that resources and needs are given to those who are without.
We pray, Father, that we would seek to keep our leaders accountable,
but that we would also pray for them,
praying that they would know the help of God in their lives
as they seek to lead a nation.
And yet, Father, we thank you that you have not left us in the dark
to any of these things.
You have given to us your word.
And so we want you to speak to us afresh today,
that we would listen carefully,
be aware of what you are saying and applying it to our lives.
So please help us all this morning in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, if you'd turn, please, to Deuteronomy chapter 18.
That's where we're first going to start this morning.
Deuteronomy chapter 18.
As you're looking that up,
we've been looking at the big story of God.
And the wonderful story of the Bible
is that God who spoke and created this world in which we live
and breathed physical life into us
has made himself known to us.
And we call this revelation.
So God reveals himself to us
by speaking to us through his words
so that we can know him,
so that we can love him,
and enjoy him.
You see, unless God spoke to us,
we would not know what God is like
or how we should live in this world.
So right at the very beginning of the story,
right in Genesis,
we see God telling us who he is
and how we should live in relationship with him.
Now, one of the primary ways that God speaks to us
is through his chosen prophets
or through people like Moses.
So have a look at Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse 18.
So this is God speaking through Moses.
And this is what he says, God says.
Verse 18.
I will rise up for them a prophet like you
from among their brothers.
I will put my words in his mouth
and he will tell them everything I command him.
If anyone does not listen to my words
that the prophet speaks in my name,
I myself will call him to account.
So the prophets were God's mouthpiece
speaking the very words of God to others.
So as the prophets spoke,
God's voice is heard.
It was God's primary way of communicating
with the people he had made for himself.
Now the prophets, like Moses,
other people like Nathan, Elijah, and Elisha,
these prophets really came to the fore
during the time of the kings
as we were looking at last week.
You see, the kings were also God's leaders
set in place over the people
to lead them towards God.
But instead, the kings were leading them away from God.
So instead of relationship with God,
there was further rebellion against God.
So in place of the kings, as it were,
God raised up prophets
who would speak his gracious word
into their lives and into the situation,
reminding them of who God is
and how they should live in relationship with him.
Now one of those prophets
that we're going to be looking at this morning
was a man called Jeremiah.
So you can go to the prophet Jeremiah.
Keep going forwards in your Bible.
Jeremiah chapter 1.
There's roughly 17 main prophets
that are recorded for us in the Bible,
starting with Isaiah and finishing with Malachi.
And one of the big prophets
was a guy called Jeremiah.
So Jeremiah chapter 1.
Has somebody got a page number
and I can call it out?
755.
755 if you're using a red covered Bible.
755.
Jeremiah chapter 1.
So here's one of the prophets
that God raised up in that time
to speak to the people.
We'll pick it up in verse 4.
The word of the Lord came to me.
That's Jeremiah saying,
Before I formed you in the womb,
I knew you.
Before you were born,
I set you apart.
Now on an aside,
they're great words for those
who want to change the Eighth Amendment,
aren't they?
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
Ah, sovereign Lord, I said,
I do not know how to speak.
I'm only a child.
But the Lord said to me,
Do not say I am only a child.
You must go to everyone I send you to
and say whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you
and will rescue you,
declares the Lord.
Then the Lord reached out his hand
and touched my mouth
and said to me,
Now I have put my words
in your mouth.
God's mouthpiece, you see,
speaking the very words of God to others.
Now when we look at the prophets,
there's lots that they have to say,
but we can really say that their message
comes in three different parts.
There's three parts to their message.
Here's the first one.
God's word confronts our sin.
You see,
one of the ways our relationship with God
is explained
is by using the illustration
of marriage.
So look at chapter 2,
verse 1.
Again,
and just make note of all the reference,
the word coming to Jeremiah.
So the word of the Lord
came to me.
Go and proclaim
in the hearing of Jerusalem.
I remember the devotion
of your youth.
How as a bride
you loved me
and followed me
through the desert
through a land not sown.
So here we've got
a wonderful picture
of a faithful,
loyal marriage.
God has loved us.
He's made us his people.
We belong to him.
We are,
verse 2,
his bride.
Now a marriage relationship
is to be exclusive.
So when someone
in the marriage
is unfaithful,
that means
the relationship
breaks.
And that's what we see
happens
to God's people,
Israel.
Have a look at chapter 3,
verse 6.
Chapter 3,
verse 6.
So during the reign
of King Josiah,
the Lord said to me,
have you seen
what faithless
Israel has done?
Remember Israel
where it was the nation
in the north?
She has gone up
on every high hill
and under every
spreading tree
and has committed
adultery there.
In other words,
she's given herself
over to other gods
and to other things.
Verse 7,
I thought that
after she had done
all this,
she would return
to me,
but she did not
and her unfaithful
sister Judah
saw it.
I gave
faithless Israel
her certificate
of divorce
and sent her away
because of her adultery.
Yet I saw
that her unfaithful
sister Judah
had no fear.
She also went out
and committed adultery.
You see,
there's nothing
more hurtful
than a husband
or a wife
leaving
for someone else.
The one left behind
is heartbroken,
their love
has been betrayed,
their intimacy
is shattered,
all trust
has been lost.
So it would take
an enormous,
immense love
to reach out
to the person
who has left
and had an affair
or had an adulterous affair,
to reach out
to them
and to welcome
them back
and to say,
I forgive you.
And that's what
God does.
God is jealous
for his people
because he loves
his people.
He reaches his hand
out to them
and says,
come back to me.
Look at verse 11
of chapter 3.
The Lord said to me,
faithless Israel
is more righteous
than unfaithful Judah.
So go proclaim
this message
towards the north.
Return,
faithless Israel,
declares the Lord.
I will frown
on you no longer
for I am
a merciful God,
declares the Lord.
I will not
be angry
forever.
Only
acknowledge
your guilt.
You have rebelled
against the Lord
your God.
You have scattered
your favours
to foreign gods
under every spreading tree
and have not obeyed me,
declares the Lord.
God is
reaching out
to them,
calling the people,
come back to me,
return to me,
take responsibility
for your sin,
own up to your
adulterous affair
and I will have
mercy on you.
You see,
God's aching
desire
is that
his people,
that people like us,
that we would
return
return to our
true love.
Verse 14,
return,
faithless people,
declares the Lord,
for I
am your
husband.
Our relationship
can be mended.
I can
forgive you.
We can start
afresh,
come back to me,
come back
home
with me.
But yet God
pleads for them
to return,
but they do not
repent.
Verse 20,
like a woman
unfaithful to her
husband,
so you have
been unfaithful
to me,
O house of
Israel,
declares
the Lord.
You see,
it's a tragic
story,
isn't it,
of broken love,
of broken
relationship.
And the
uncomfortable
truth for us
as we listen
to this story
is that we
are so like
Israel and
Judah.
In his love,
God has made
us.
God has
provided us.
Think of all
the things that
we have and
all that we
enjoy.
God has given
to us
everything.
He sustains
us with life,
giving us the
very breath we
breathe right
now.
He's given us
a world to
enjoy.
He made
us,
He created
us for a
relationship
with Him,
to know and
experience His
love.
But like an
unfaithful spouse,
we have given
our love to
other things
and other
people.
We don't
love God
with all our
hearts and
with all our
soul and
with all our
mind.
Our love is
so often
self-centered.
We hurt
others with
our words
and we
ignore what
God has
to say.
But
incredibly,
God does
not give
up on us.
He reaches
out across
that broken
relationship and
He offers to
take us back
again and
again.
Only,
He says,
acknowledge your
guilt.
Only take
responsibility for
your sin.
Return,
faceless people,
for I am your
husband.
Loyal,
loving,
caring.
I will not
let you down.
Our
relationship can
be mended.
I can
forgive you.
We can
start afresh.
Come back
to me,
O people.
Come back
home with
me.
This is the
God who
confronts us
with our
sin and
calls us
back to
Himself.
God.
The second
big message
that the
prophet brings
is he
announces
our
judgment.
You see,
God held
out His
hand to
the people,
but because
of their
persistent,
unrepentant
sin,
God said
He would
bring His
judgment
upon them.
And the
way in which
He would
bring His
judgment is
He would
send the
Babylonians,
this growing
nation in
the north,
who was
going to
come down
to Judah
and take
them all
off to
slavery.
So have a
look at
chapter 4
verse 5.
Follow with
me,
chapter 4
verse 5.
Announce
in Judah
and proclaim
in Jerusalem
and say,
sound the
trumpet
throughout the
land.
There's a
message,
there's an
announcement.
Cry aloud
and say,
gather together,
let us flee
to the fort
cities,
rise the
signal to
go to
Zion,
flee for
safety,
without delay,
for I am
bringing disaster
from the
north,
even terrible
destruction.
Verse 16.
Tell this
to the
nations,
proclaim it
to Jerusalem.
A besieging
army,
that's Babylon,
is coming
from a
distant land,
raising a
war cry
against the
cities of
Judah.
They
surround
her like
men
guarding
a field
because she
has rebelled
against me,
declares the
Lord.
Why will
this happen?
Your own
conduct and
actions have
brought this
upon you.
This is your
punishment.
How bitter
it is.
How it
pierces
to the
heart.
God's
judgment.
Now to
help us
grasp the
seriousness of
these words,
the seriousness
of God's
judgment,
Jeremiah gives
us three
pictures,
three visual
pictures to
help us
understand.
First picture
that he gives
us, chapter
13, he
says it will
be an
unbearable
future, this
judgment of
God.
Have a
look at
chapter 13.
In chapter
13, God
says to
Jeremiah, I
want you to
go out and
to buy a
belt.
And this
linen belt is
something that he
would wear around
his waist.
It was a
precious, a
very important
part of their
clothing.
So Jeremiah
goes out and
buys it and
then God
tells him, I
want you to
take this
belt, this
expensive belt,
and bury it in
the crevasse of
some rocks.
Now let's
pick it up
in verse 6
of chapter 13.
Many days
later the
Lord said
to me, go
now Jeremiah
to Perth and
get the belt
I told you to
hide there.
So I went to
Perth and I
dug up the
belt and I
took it from
the place
where I had
hidden it,
but now it
was ruined
and completely
useless.
Then the
word of the
Lord came
to me.
This is what
the Lord
says.
In the
same way
I will
ruin the
pride of
Judah and
the great
pride of
Jerusalem.
These wicked
people who
refuse to
listen to
my words,
who follow
the stubbornness
of their
hearts and
go after
other gods
to serve
and worship
them,
will be like
this belt,
completely
useless.
us.
You see,
the attitude
of the
people was
this,
God's
never going
to judge
me.
God's so
forgiving.
After all,
he rescued us
from Egypt.
He wouldn't
do that.
Well,
God does
forgive,
but he will
not ignore
the stubborn
hearts who
refuse to
repent.
For those
who do not
turn back to
God,
the future
will be
unbearable.
Just as
this belt
rotted away,
so the
nation will
be completely
ruined and
destroyed.
They will
become useless,
slaves in a
distant land,
not fit for
anything.
Why?
Look at the
end of verse
11.
They have
not
listened.
But he
also had
another
picture.
He said
it would
be an
inescapable
punishment.
Look at
chapter 19,
verse 1.
Chapter
19,
verse 1.
This is
what the
Lord says.
Jeremiah,
go and
buy a
clay jar
from the
potter,
and take
along with
you some
of the
elders of
the
people and
some of
the
priests.
Now read
verse 10.
Then take
this clay
jar and
break the
jar while
those who
go with you
are watching
and say to
them,
this is what
the Lord
Almighty
says,
I will
smash this
nation and
this city
just as this
potter's jar
is smashed
and cannot be
repaired.
they will
bury the
dead in
Topheth
until there
is no
more room.
You see,
the point has
come where
there is no
time to
turn back.
There is no
time to
repent.
That time
has passed.
Judgment
is going to
come.
It will be
inescapable for
the people.
There will be
nowhere to
run,
nowhere to
hide.
Verse 12.
This is what
I will do
to this
place and
to those
who live
here,
declares the
Lord.
I will
make this
city like
Topheth.
Now,
Topheth was
like the
city dump
where everything
was thrown
out,
except for
now,
he says,
the whole
city is
going to
become a
dump.
Not a
rubbish,
but a
dump of
dead
bodies.
Why?
Verse 15.
This is what
the Lord
Almighty,
the God of
Israel,
says,
listen,
I am
going to
bring on
this city
and the
villages
around it
every
disaster I
pronounced
against them
because they
were stiff-necked
and would
not listen
to my
words.
Now,
what we
read
should
shock us,
but we
shouldn't be
surprised.
You see,
Jeremiah is
now 40
years into
his ministry.
He's been
calling them
back to
God over
40 years,
but they
haven't
listened.
In fact,
800 years
have passed
since their
rescue from
slavery in
Egypt.
That means
800 years
of persistent
rebellion and
rejecting God
and his grace,
walking further
and further
away from
him.
God is so
patient,
longing that
the people
would return.
But yet,
as we
read of
these images
and these
pictures,
what happened
to Judah
is a
picture of
how seriously
God takes
our sin
and our
rebellion.
God
longs for
people to
return to
him,
but he
cannot and
he will
not overlook
the ongoing
evil that
he sees
all around
us.
In fact,
what happened
to Judah
when Babylon
came in
and took
over them
is a sign
of a
universal
judgment
that is
to come.
And here's
the third
picture that
he gives
us.
Go to
chapter 25.
In chapter
5 we have
this very
disturbing
vision that
Jeremiah is
given.
And in
this vision
Jeremiah,
as it were,
is taken
before all
the nations
of the world
and before
the nations
of the world
he's telling
them that
they have
to drink
this cup
and this
cup is
filled with
God's
judgment
and the
nations of
the world
are to
drink it.
Verse 15
This is what
the Lord,
the God of
Israel,
said to me.
Take from
my hand
this cup
filled with
the wine
of my wrath,
my anger,
and make
all the nations
to whom I
send you
drink it.
And when
they drink it
they will
stagger and
go mad
because of
the sword
I will
send among
them.
You see
Israel,
God's
people,
they had
rebelled
against him
but not
only them,
all the rest
of the
nations
had done
it as
well.
So they
too must
drink it.
So look
at verse
19.
Pharaoh,
king of
Egypt,
his
attendants,
his
officials,
and all
his people,
and all
the foreign
people there,
and all
the kings
of us,
and all
the kings
of the
Philistines.
Verse 22,
all the
kings of
Tyre.
24,
all the
kings of
Arabia,
and all
the kings
of the
people who
live there.
And verse
25,
all the
kings of
Zimri.
Verse 26,
and all
the kings
of the
north,
near and
far,
one after
the other,
all the
kingdoms on
the face
of the
earth,
and after
all of
them,
the king
of
Sheshach,
which is
Babylon,
will drink
the cup
too.
No one
is excluded.
No nation
is led
off the
hook.
This is a
universal
judgment.
Verse 28,
and if they
refuse to
take the
cup from
your hand
and drink,
tell them,
this is what
the Lord
Almighty
says,
you must
drink it.
See,
I am
beginning to
bring disaster
on the
city that
bears my
name,
and will
you indeed
go unpunished?
You will
not go
unpunished,
for I am
calling down
a sword
upon all
who live
on the
earth,
declares
the Lord
Almighty.
Suppose
you take
a walk
around
Carragoline
one night,
and as
you go
for a walk
you get
attacked.
You get
beaten up,
and you
get robbed.
And later
in the week
you get
news from
the guards
that the
guy who
did it
has been
caught,
and you've
got to
go to
the court
to appear
as a
witness.
And when
you get
to the
court,
the judge
stands up
and he
makes this
statement,
case
dismissed,
what has
happened
does not
matter.
How would
you as a
victim feel
if a judge
said that?
Of course
it matters.
Where's the
justice?
Now do you
think God,
who is
judge of
all the
earth,
will dismiss
everything that
goes on and
just say,
you know
what,
it doesn't
matter.
The rape and
the torture and
the beheading of
ISIS?
It doesn't
matter.
The trafficking
of children
as sex
slaves?
It doesn't
matter.
The wars and
the power
struggles that
leave millions
homeless and
without food?
It doesn't
matter.
The hundreds
of children and
other people who
have died as
they've tried to
make their
escape from
Syria across
the Mediterranean
Sea?
It doesn't
matter.
and the
lies and the
hurts that
we cause?
It doesn't
matter.
Our selfish
actions,
our stubborn
behaviour,
throw it all
out,
case dismissed,
it doesn't
matter.
Live as you
like and do
as you please.
Of course
it matters.
God looks
and he sees
upon the
history of
this world
and the
nations and
he sees
everything.
And God
longs for
us and
for the
world to
return to
him.
But he
cannot let
us carry
on as we
please forever
ruining and
destroying our
lives and
the world
around us.
He cannot
ignore
persistent
and unrepentant
sin.
God will
bring his
judgment.
And one
day,
each and
every single
person,
every single
person,
ourselves included,
will stand
before God
and give
an account
of our
lives.
Not one
person will
be excluded.
God's
judgment will
come and
it will be
unbearable.
It will be
inescapable
and it will
come to
all.
But there's a
third part to
Jeremiah's
message and
that is a
promise of
hope.
You see,
while judgment
should be
expected,
God also
holds out
this promise
of hope.
hope.
You see,
the Babylonians
did come
to Judah.
They did
take them
off into
exile to
Babylon where
they were
slaves.
And there
they would
remain for
70 years.
And while
they're in
captivity,
Jeremiah
writes this
letter to
them.
Have a
look at
chapter 29.
Verse 10.
These are
well-known
words,
often quoted,
important to
read them in
their context.
Jeremiah
chapter 10
verse 20,
sorry,
Jeremiah 29
verse 10.
So here's
this letter
that Jeremiah
writes to
these people
who are
sitting in
judgment in
a foreign
land in
slavery.
This is
what the
Lord says.
When 70
years are
completed,
for Babylon,
I will
come to
you and
fulfill my
gracious
promise to
bring you
back to
this place.
For I
know the
plans I
have for
you,
declares
the Lord,
plans to
prosper you
and not
to harm
you,
plans to
give you
hope and
a future.
Then you
will call
upon me and
come and
pray to
me and I
will listen
to you.
You will
seek me and
you will
find me and
when you
seek me with
all your
heart.
I will
be found
by you,
declares the
Lord, and
I will
bring you
back from
captivity.
I will
gather you
from all
the nations
and the
places where
I have
banished you,
declares the
Lord, and
I will
bring you
back to
the place
from which
I carried
you into
exile.
What a
letter to
receive.
Could you
imagine hearing
those words?
this is a
promise of
hope.
Just as
God had
rescued them
from slavery
all those
years ago
in Egypt,
God is
going to
come and
redeem them
from exile
in Babylon.
Because this
is the kind
of God
that we
have.
His grace
and mercy
surprises us
at every
turn.
When we
think there
is no
more hope,
God intervenes
once again
and delivers
his promise
of hope.
Now just
as God's
word has
reminded us
of our
failure,
so God's
word tells
us of a
better future,
something God
is going to
do,
something new,
something
better.
There's two
big things
that Jeremiah
tells us.
He promises
a new
relationship
with God
for the
people.
Chapter
31,
verse 31,
God promises
a new
relationship
for the
people.
Verse 31,
the time
is coming,
declares the
Lord,
when I will
make a new
covenant
with the
house of
Israel and
with the
house of
Judah.
That covenant,
that relationship,
I'm going to
bring that
marriage relationship
back together.
God has
come and he
promises to
change them.
You see,
in the past,
they didn't
listen and they
wouldn't obey.
But now,
verse 33,
this is the
covenant that I
will make with
the house of
Israel after
that time,
declares the
Lord.
I will put my
law in their
minds and I
will write it
on their
hearts and I
will be their
God and they
will be my
people.
God has
come and he
promises to
change them
on the
inside.
I will give
you a new
heart to
follow my
ways.
God's going
to turn their
minds and
their hearts to
him.
So instead of
a desire to
love someone
else or other
things, they
will have a
desire to
love God and
to follow
him.
But there's
something more
to this
relationship.
Look at the
end of verse
34.
He says,
I will
forgive their
wickedness and
will remember
their sins no
more.
God is going
to no longer
hold their
sin against
them.
Every sin is
going to be
removed and
wiped out.
Never be to
be remembered,
never to be
reminded.
And so a
new relationship
will be
established.
The past
failures forgiven
and a new
heart to
live for
God.
God says,
I'm going
to promise
this new
relationship
for you.
But he
also promises
something else
for the
people.
He says,
I promise
you a new
city.
Look at
verse 38.
The days
are coming,
declares the
Lord, when
this city,
which had
been destroyed,
will be
rebuilt for
me.
From the
tower of
Hanel to
the corner
gate, the
measuring line
will stretch
from there
straight to
the hill
of Garib
and then
turn to
Goa.
So these
are the
great big
boundaries of
the city.
The whole
valley where
dead bodies
and ashes
are thrown
and all the
terraces out
to the
Kidron Valley
onto the
east as
far as the
corner of
the horse
gate will
be holy
to the
Lord.
This city
will never
again be
uprooted
or demolished.
You see,
the city
was always
a place
of peace
and security.
People
came into
the city
for protection,
to escape
from harm
and danger.
But when
they did,
Babylon
came in
and overtook
them and
the city
was destroyed.
Now God
is saying
to them,
I'm going
to build
you a
city,
end of
verse 40,
that will
never be
uprooted
or demolished.
But read
it carefully.
This isn't
just a
city for
God's
people,
this will
be a
city for
God
himself,
verse 38.
The days
are coming,
declares the
Lord,
when this
city will
be rebuilt
for me.
God
and the
people will
dwell in
this city
together where
there will
be no harm
and no
danger will
ever come
to it.
What a
plan,
what a
future.
A new
relationship,
a new
heart,
a new
city,
a new
people.
This is
the promised
hope of
God,
spoken
through his
prophets.
How is
God going
to do
all of
that?
How can
he on the
one hand
announce this
judgment that
is going to
come, a
universal
judgment,
and then at
the same
time promise
this amazing
hope and
a future?
How can
you have
those two
things together,
judgment and
hope, side
by side?
Well,
Jeremiah's
message didn't
end there.
Jeremiah was
the prophet who
spoke of one
to come.
Have a look
at Hebrews
chapter 1.
Hebrews
chapter 1
and verse
1.
You see,
God had
promised,
you remember
how we
started this
morning in
Deuteronomy?
God said,
I would raise
up a prophet
and I would
put my words
into his
mouth and
he would be
my mouthpiece
to the
nations.
Well,
that prophet
did come.
Chapter 1
verse 1.
In the
past,
God spoke
to our
forefathers
through the
prophets,
through people
like Jeremiah
at many times
and in various
ways.
But in
these last
days,
he has
spoken to
us by
his
Son.
Jesus is
the last
and ultimate
prophet,
the fulfilled
prophet.
So everything
that God
has to say
to us
now is
now said
in Jesus.
Jesus
didn't just
come speaking
a message,
Jesus
himself
is the
message.
It's all
about him
and what
he does.
And as
we read
on in
the story,
we meet
Jesus who
is the
perfect
one,
who stands
before us
and when
we put
ourselves
beside him,
we see
what a
failure and
what a
mess we
are.
He is
the perfect
innocent,
sinless
one,
but we
are not.
and we
deserve
the
judgment
of God
because we
are sinful
and broken.
But yet
this prophet,
Jesus,
is the
one who
comes and
deals with
the judgment.
Jesus is
like the
belt that
we read
about in
Jeremiah.
Jesus was
taken outside
of the
city.
He was
stripped
bare.
he was
put on
a cross,
the crown
of thorns
shoved
on his
head.
He
became
ruined
and useless
for us.
Jesus is
like the
clay pot
that has
been
smashed
and broken
for us
under the
weight of
God's
judgment.
You
remember what
Jesus said
in Gethsemane
as he
faced his
impending
death?
Jesus,
he says,
he cries
out,
Father,
if you
are willing
will you
take this
cup from
me?
The cup
of God's
wrath.
I do
not want
to go
for it,
but not
my will,
but your
will be
done.
And as
Jesus hangs
on the
cross,
he drinks
that cup
of God's
wrath to
its very
last
dregs.
There is
not one
drop left,
it is
drunk
dry,
so that
we do
not have
to face
what we
deserve.
And when
we come
in repentance
to this
prophet,
he cleans
us on
the inside,
he prepares
us to
be that
beautiful
bride,
he gives
us that
new heart,
a new
clothing,
a new
inner self,
a new
mind,
a new
way to
love him.
And he
takes us
and he
welcomes
us to
his
eternal
city,
where we
will dwell
with God
in the
new city,
the new
heavens and
the new
earth,
where no
disaster will
ever come
again,
where there
will be no
more death,
no more
pain,
no more
suffering.
But God
and his
people together
living in
that city
as it's
meant to
be.
But it
doesn't end
there.
Because God,
as it were,
takes us and
he says,
I want you
and I want
you and
I want us
as the
church to
be the
prophetic
voice to
the world
today.
I send
you, as it
were, to
be prophets
into the
world.
Not making
up our
own message,
not coming
up with our
own ideas
and thoughts,
but speaking
the message
of Christ
to the
world of
a saviour
who has
come to
do everything
for us,
to bring
us into
that relationship
with him.
So where
you go
tomorrow at
work, where
you go
tomorrow with
your kids,
where you're
in college or
whether you're
in school,
wherever you
are, God
is sending
you as his
prophet to
speak his
words into
the darkness
and into the
hopelessness of
the world to
bring the
promise of
hope.
That's what
he sent us
to do.
God's
prophets, to
speak the
message of
hope, a
new relationship,
a new
city, a
wonderful
saviour in
Jesus Christ.
Let's pray.
Father,
we see so
much of
ourselves in
this story.
We see our
mess, we
see our
unfaithfulness,
we see our
adultery as
we give our
love to
other things
instead of
to you.
But we
find in
you the
perfect
husband, as
it were, who
reaches out
loyal, loving,
forgiving,
welcoming us
back into
relationship,
providing the
way in which
that could be
possible.
We thank you
for what you
have done.
We thank you
for your word,
for its truth,
for its message.
And we pray
that we as
your people
would go into
this world,
into this
community where
you have us
tomorrow.
And when we
speak about
the elections,
when we speak
about the
match, when we
speak about
the weather,
you would
give us
courage to
speak the
words of
God, the
words of
truth, the
words of
hope.
Father, we
need your
help.
hope, and
we pray that
you would
work in
us and
amongst us.
May people
run to
you and
find their
faith and
their salvation
in you.
Amen.
We're going
to sing
together.
It's a
reflective
piece.
We've been
listening to
God.
Amen.