Through The Bible: "A Sermon For Our Time"

A SERMON FOR OUR TIME

Tonight (Wednesday, 7/3, 7:00 pm), gather with your Calvary Chapel family in the Holy Grounds Cafe or on our website (www.calvaryinv.com), Facebook, and YouTube (Calvary Inverness) as we continue in the book of Jeremiah (7-10).

God called Jeremiah to be His prophet and voice to His people. God had warned him that they would not listen. Instead, they would mock, ridicule, and try numerous times and ways to shut him down.

Why? Jeremiah's message cut through the pretense of going through the motions. He warned them that God saw through their actions and knew the wickedness of their hearts. There would be no sacrifice the people could make that would appease a holy and righteous God.

What God desired more than their sacrifices was a heart devoted to Him. He looked for men and women who obeyed His law as a response to what He had done for them time and time again.

So, God chose, called,

 and commissioned Jeremiah, who may have been as young as seventeen, to go and stand at the Temple gate and proclaim every word God had given him. He was to be brave and not buckle into the temptation of making the prophecy more palatable to the ears of the worshippers.

God had called Jeremiah to a daunting task. King Josiah was on the throne. He had recently led Judah through the greatest reformation of their history, culminating in the celebration of Passover that hadn't been seen since their Exodus from Egypt.

The economy was booming, and the Temple was packed with worshippers. But, notwithstanding, Jeremiah was told to stand at the entrance and not worry about how things looked outwardly because God's message would deal with a nation's inward corruption.

My prayer is two-fold. First, like Jeremiah, we will heed His call on our lives and seek each day to fulfill the various assessments He gives to accomplish His will.

Second, we would take the time to digest Jeremiah's message and examine our hearts to ensure we live a life worthy of Jesus's sacrifice.

Please pray that this three-year journey through the Word of God will be received by open hearts that long to grow in the Grace and Knowledge of Jesus. Moreover, He would do deep and abiding work in and through us for a world in desperate need of a Savior.

In His Strong Love,

Pastor