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Now, please take your copy of the scriptures this evening and turn with me to Jeremiah chapter eight, please. Jeremiah chapter eight. It's a verse that's often considered when we come to this harvest time of year. And it's where I want to spend the next few moments with you after we sing another hymn. So Jeremiah, the chapter eight. Let's commence our reading at verse number 13. Jeremiah 8, verse 13. I will surely consume them, saith the Lord. There shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall feed, and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them. So this is not a God who's for the people, but a God who's against them. Verse 14. Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves and let us enter into the defense cities and let us be silent there for the Lord our God hath put us to silence and given us water of gall to drink because we have sinned against the Lord. We looked for peace. But no good came, and for a time of health, and behold, trouble. The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan. The whole land trembled at the sound of the name of his strong ones, for they are come and have devoured the land and all that is in it, the city and those that dwell therein. For behold, I will send serpents cockatrices among you which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord. When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me. Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people, because of them that dwell in a far country. Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their grieving images and with strange vanities? The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt. I am black. Astonishment hath taken hold in me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? Amen. We'll end our reading there at the conclusion of that chapter. We're thankful to the Lord for giving us His word. And we have read it as it is in Jeremiah chapter 8. Jeremiah 8 and the verse 20. It says there, is past. The summer is ended and we are not saved. Now the harvest time, as our brother was making very clear this morning, it is a time of thanksgiving. We are here to give thanks for the fruit. We do not worship through the fruit. No, we worship God for the fruit, for our blessings. We are thankful this evening for the measure of health and strength that we possess. As we do consider others this very evening who lie in hospital beds, sick and unwell, some more serious than others, does it not make us ever more thankful for every breath our lungs are able to take? Life is brief. men and women and God gives us every heartbeat and every breath which we therefore ought to give thanks to God for this day. That is why it is wise to keep short accounts not only with men but also with God. Make sure before men your records are right, your friendships are well, you are ready to depart because you know not, you know not what a day may bring. It is foolish to live as if we're going to be here forever. Therefore be wise with your words, be wise with your actions and indeed be wise towards God. And so we have to ask the question tonight, are you able to give thanks for salvation? Yes, we can thank God for health and strength, for a degree of wealth, for clothing, for food tonight, but can you give thanks to God for salvation? Are you able to lift up your voice and say, Lord, thank you for dying for me. Spirit, thank you for opening my heart. God, thank you for sending your son for dying for me. Thank you for the heaven that I'm about to enter into someday. Are you able to give thanks for that or are you still Still a stranger to grace and to God. So harvest, yes, is a time of thanksgiving, but it is also a time to count, to consider. It is a time to think and wonder, what have we done in the year gone past? Have we been wise with our soul? Have we made sufficient preparation? The Lord has given us life for another year. How have we used it? Have we taken every breath and every heartbeat and once again ignored the grace of God? Have we been hard-hearted against Him who is able and willing to save? How do you stand tonight? Do you know what it is to have Christ in you? Your heart. Verse 29, here's the challenge of the text. The harvest is past. The summer has ended and we're not saved. So think about this for a moment. The harvest has passed. That's what we're celebrating tonight. The harvest has been brought in. And if you go into the grocery stores, there is ample food, ample choice, ample opportunity to purchase as much as you desire. A harvest has been brought in, and it's good to enjoy the food that God has given us. Indeed, the Lord gives us all things richly to enjoy, and what's right and good to enjoy God's blessings. But the harvest indicates that the year is nearing. It is the autumn time. And perhaps you're here tonight, it's the autumn time of your life, and you don't even know it. For all you know is, this could be the very winter of your life. This could be the 11th hour. You have no idea. A couple of weeks ago, our dear brother, Alan Kearns, did not anticipate being in hospital so severely ill. And you don't know where you could be in a week's time. Therefore, we ought to be cautious. It is disappointing, many of you have indicated to me as well, that during this whole pandemic, although we have much to be thankful for again, in our health service and everything else, and the good job that's being done, yet, how much genuine conviction has there been? How much repentance? How much genuine fear towards God? Yes, people are fearful of a pandemic, fearful of a condition that can bring you to your death, but who is afraid of God? Therein lies the great question. And it exposes, it exposes the darkness and the pagan nature of our nation. Is there any fear of God? Is there any thanksgiving to God? Well I can say yes. There's a remnant who loves the Lord, fears God, is thankful to the Lord. But the vast majority have forgotten about a sovereign God altogether. The harvest is past. That's true for us. The summer has ended. That's true. The clocks have changed. We've went back the hour. We're entering into the dark months of the year. And the challenge of this text is that people had to confess, that people had to say, we are not saved. And what an awful situation to be in tonight. If you have to say before God, another year has gone, harvest passed, summer ended, and I am still not saved. It's not that you're struggling with assurance tonight. It's not that you're wondering whether or not you're right with God in the sense that you pray the right prayer. You're troubled. You're anxious about your sin. No. You're simply no beyond any shadow of a doubt. You've never called upon God. You've had no time for God. And you're heading to hell. You are not saved. If that's you tonight, I would urge you. I would urge you to listen. As we go through these texts. And do not allow your hard heart to proceed any further. but bow the knee before God this night. To understand, really, Jeremiah 8.20, we need to review the previous chapters. So let's go back to the very beginning of Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter 1. And let's turn, please, to the verse number 4. Jeremiah chapter 1. We have an introduction to the penman. And then you come to verse 4. This is where I want to be. Then the word of the Lord Now let's just pause there for a moment. Why does the scripture even say that? The word of the Lord came on to me because it is being clarified for you and me. Who's speaking? This is not the imagination of some individual. This is not some super intellectual coming to his own conclusions. No, this is a man to whom God is speaking. The great creator of the heavens and the earth was moving and working and speaking to Jeremiah. Then the word of the Jehovah came on to me saying, here's what God said, verse five, this is true of you and me. Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. Now, that verse begins by saying, I formed thee. We think now, but inside the mother's womb, when you were conceived by the grace of God, and in the womb, God was forming you. That's a miracle in and of itself. Physical birth, men and women, is remarkable. God is the one forming. God is the one shaping. You are who you are by the providence of a sovereign almighty God. And you might ask the question, well, if that's the case, why do I, from birth, have this particular weakness, this particular disability, this particular problem? Well, I would put it to you like this, that everything you have is even for your good. Maybe there's an individual would love to be an athlete, but their limbs, for whatever reason, from birth, Malfunction. There's a problem within the bone or a problem within the ligaments that's never been right from birth. I would suggest that's given to you of God so that you would not make an idol out of athleticism. But instead you would recognize your weakness and instead of focusing upon a career in sport you'll be focusing upon your relationship with God. So we're formed in the womb according to a sovereign God. But in Jeremiah's case there's something more here. In Jeremiah's case it says, I knew thee in the womb. And those verses make it clear that God the Holy Ghost worked in Jeremiah's soul before he was born. That's a huge theological statement tonight. Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew you. That's the language of salvation. So you need not say that just because someone is still in the womb before they're born, we know the argument. That does not mean to say they're not a living soul, for that conceived little being in the womb is very much real, and it's a soul that will never go out of existence. For the mother who miscarries, That was a child that's now in glory. The child in the womb is an everlasting soul. And that's clear from that text. Because how could Jeremiah have been saved if he had no soul? So the Lord makes it clear. Birth. That first act of life is sovereignly from him. And tonight, God knows you. He has made you the way you are in His sovereign purpose and plan. And dear men and women tonight, would you only curse God? Would you only complain to God about all your issues and whatever instead of those very things making you go to God for salvation? Those problems, those disabilities, those inclinations, those difficulties. God in sovereignty knows what He's doing. Now Jeremiah here was called to be a preacher. But I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto nations. Now God particularly called Jeremiah to be a preacher, to preach something, to send Jeremiah with a message to the other people that he had created in the womb. And here's the message which he would go on to preach. Let's go to chapter 2 and the verse 11. As we work towards our text. Well actually let's go to verse 6 first of all. Chapter 2 and the verse 6. Neither said they. Well let's actually go back to verse 5. Thus saith the Lord, what iniquity have your fathers found in me? This is the message. What fault What error, God says, have you found in me? That they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain. Neither said they, where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt? And so on and so forth. What this verse is saying is a challenge. The Lord is challenging the people. He sends Jeremiah with this message. Why? Why do you neglect me? That's God's question to every individual upon planet earth. Why do you ignore me? Why do you not read the word of God that I have given you? Why do you not bend down in prayer and plead before me? Why do you not recognize me as your creator and your carer and the one who was crucified to bring man to salvation, to glory? What inequity Have you found in me God says that you would have no time for me. Because that was the problem with the people of Israel. They had enjoyed another summer. They had enjoyed another harvest. They're embracing everything that God's giving to them without any recognition of who it's from. Not giving thanks for the blessings he has given. That sounds eerily like our own nation doesn't it? taking everything without either giving thanks or recognizing from whom every blessing comes. Let's go then to verse number 11, please. We're in chapter two. And the verse number 11, it says here, half a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods, but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not. Prophet, be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid. Be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. And verse 11 is making that great statement. Hath a nation changed their gods? And the question is simple. Is there a nation which has enjoyed blessing from a God? and has enjoyed victory after victory and forsaken their God. No. You think about the Philistines. Their God was Dagon. And it didn't matter how often they lost in battle, they still worshipped Dagon. Yet here's the people of God who have been enriched, who have been delivered from Egypt, who have been carried through the wilderness by a pillar of fire by day and a cloud by night, and they were fed manna in the wilderness. God did miracles, preserved them, brought them into the promised land, did incredibly before them, and yet the people have forsaken them. And here you are tonight. Has God not worked wonderfully for you? He has formed you in the womb, made you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Has he not sent his son to Calvary to bleed and die for sinners? Has he not created this world and is creating a heaven? And yet, yet, the same thing is said of you. You've changed your God. You've went after something else that does not satisfy. Whether that, again, the same list as always, entertainment, sport, whatever, wealth, perhaps, fame, whatever it is, you would choose something other than God. That's what the people of Israel were guilty of at this point, and perhaps so were you. We're still in chapter two, and look with me at verse 13. It says, for my people, have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and number two, hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, and that can hold no water. Now, the Lord says there's two evils. He essentially summarizes his people. And here's the two things they have done. Number one, they have forsaken the true well of living water. The idea of living water is this. You can think of it in John chapter 3 as well, the woman at the well. The Lord said to that woman, when you receive the living water, it lives within you. And when something lives, it continues to, well, work. It continues to grow. It continues to, as it were, amplify. That's the idea. It's alive and living and developing and growing. And when Christ comes in, when salvation enters in, it's living. It doesn't go dry. It doesn't stop working. It's alive and in you. And the Lord says, when I enter in, the living God enters in. And it's a marvelous change. And what God is saying is this, the people of that day, perhaps like you tonight, you have forsaken the living water. You have forsaken the living God who would come in and change you. And instead of that, You've hewn out, as the text says here, hewn out broken cisterns. And what that means, these are ways to get water, but they're malfunctioning. They don't work. You're not getting satisfied. Isn't that not true of the world today? Unsatisfied, pursuing as many ideas and philosophies and religions and entertainment and whatever the case may be, and yet, Suicide rates are rising. Divorces are becoming more and more common. Abortions are worldwide huge numbers. All kinds of exploring into darkness and sin and wickedness and vileness because men and women aren't finding happiness. Going to substance abuse and becoming more miserable the more they abuse the substance. Why? Human broken cisterns finding no satisfaction and instead of drinking from the living water, drinking from a broken cistern. How sad. And we have loved ones, don't we? We have relatives, we have friends. And this is their condition. That's heartbreaking. When there's life, when there's a God who can do us such good. Now, chapter two, let's move on to verse 19. It says here, thine own wickedness shall correct thee. And thy backslidings shall reprove thee. Know therefore and see that if it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts. And this verse opened up by saying, thine own wickedness shall correct thee. Here's what it means. When you begin to play with fire, you're going to be burned. Again, the most obvious illustration You take drugs. You start to take drugs. They will correct you. You enter into sinful and moral relationships. They will correct you. You enter into worshipping of something else. Maybe it's finance and money. You will find that will correct you because the very thing that you love most will greatly disappoint you. Mindless doesn't bring happiness. We're not designed to be satisfied by money. were designed to be satisfied by God. Your own wickedness will correct you. You will find that you'll be stranded, waylaid, disappointed by what you would pursue instead of God. So turn to chapter three now in the verse one. With all that being said, the people had forsaken God, ignored him, Chosen other things to pursue instead of God and yet note the grace of God chapter 3 Verse 1 just jump to the end of the verse where it says yet Return again To me sayeth the Lord you come to me That's what the Lord says. It's an invitation to Come to me, the Lord says, and I will receive you. Come on to me, all ye that labour under heavy laden, and I will give you rest. That's a gracious God. Although forsaken, he still graciously invites you to come. Go to verse 10 of chapter 3. Verse 10, it says here, and yet for all this, her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned onto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the Lord. This verse is dealing with the hypocrite. Because it says here, note verse 10 halfway down, hath not turned onto me with her whole heart, but feignedly. You see, the Lord sees the heart. And you can be someone who, yes, you know the Bible, and you know the way of salvation, you know you're a sinner, and you know there's a heaven, you know there's a hell, and you begin to fiend religion. Perhaps you've persuaded even yourself that you've come to the Lord. Perhaps you have involved yourself in religious activity, both in public and in private. And you think that you've come. And it's nonsense. The Lord knows. Faintly saith the Lord. He knows those who come broken. Those who lament their sin. Want nothing to do with their sin. They're wanting forgiveness. They're wanting to enjoy freedom. And those who are holding on to their sin are wanting a wee bit of heaven as well. A bit of both. That doesn't work. You can't come grasping both. The Lord says you choose your sin or you choose me. It's one or the other. Verse 11, and the Lord said unto me, the backsliding Israel have justified herself more than treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say return thou backsliding Israel. I would encourage you tonight to do so. The verse goes on, saith the Lord, and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you, for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever. Isn't that beautiful? The Lord reminds those who would offend him, those who would reject him, he says that I'm merciful. I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you. Maybe you're terrified tonight. Maybe you're terrified. You're not saved. You never called upon God. You're wanting the best of both worlds. Well, the Lord graciously says here, come and call and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you. Oh, take this invitation because you do not know what a day may bring. Let's go to chapter four. Chapter four and the verse number six. Because the people on that day did not hearken on to Jeremiah's message. They didn't come. So, verse 6. Set up the standard towards Zion. Retire, stay not, for I will bring evil from the north and a great destruction. The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way. Now that's sufficient. Let's just consider that for a moment. The Lord is making clear to people whom he has been long suffering with, the people he's been patient to, and the day of grace is now coming to a close. And the Lord has warned and invited and warned and invited. He has raised up Jeremiah, his prophet, to preach and proclaim the invitation of the gospel, and the people still have not received. And so the Lord says, the lion has come up from his thicket. And what that means is the destroyer, death, has left its sleeping place. It's no longer slumbering, but it is on its way to bite and devour. And so the Lord is still warning. He's saying, the lion's coming. Death is near you. You're just around the corner from eternal destruction. God is warning them. There's still time to repent. But time will run out. Time will run out. We're in chapter 4. Let's go to chapter 5. In the verse number 3. After speaking of hypocritical religion, that's what you have in the beginning of chapter 5. But verse 3, it says, O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved. Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a rock. They have refused to return. Maybe that's you. The Lord has corrected you. The Lord has rebuked you in the past and you know that. You know full well. The Lord has corrected you and as it were rebuked you in ways that should have caused you to repent. But instead of repenting, instead of turning to God, you turned away from the Lord and you've only grown harder. You have just grown harder after all of these years. Verse 19. 5. And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? Then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours. And now Jeremiah tells them the future. He's telling them, here's what's going to happen, you're going to go to Babylon, and you're going to be weeping, and you're going to be wailing, and you're going to complain, and you're going to ask, why has God forsaken me? And Jeremiah tells them, so that you know, when you weep, and when you wail, and when you curse God, know this, it's because you have forsaken Him. He has forsaken you because you have forsaken Him. He has only given to you what you have been giving to Him all your life. And that is very much the reality for you who die outside of Christ. When you enter into your eternal Babylon, to your place of departure, to your hell, to the only hell, you will weep and you will weal and you'll be gnashing of teeth and you'll be cursing God. Why did God forsake me? Well, let me tell you now the answer. It's because you, this night, forsook Him. Only you will come to Christ and be saved. Now, chapter 7 and the verse 16. Therefore, sad verse here. Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up crying or prayer for them, neither make intercession to me for I will not. hear thee. A day comes when God says to the people, stop praying for them because I will not hear. They have become reprobates. They have had opportunity after opportunity, invitation after invitation, correction and chastening after correction and chastening, and they have received many, many blessings and have not come. I would hate to be at the stage with anyone here where we would have to stop praying for you because the time is up. You be cautious tonight. That then brings us to chapter seven, verse 23. And then we come to our text, which closes our consideration tonight. Chapter seven, verse 23, but this thing command I them saying obey my voice and I will be your God. And ye shall be my people and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you that it may be well with you. Do you see that? Here's God's desire. I command you he says obey my voice that it may be well with you. This is the God who invites you, this is the God we preach, a God who is just and a God who will judge sin and yet a God who loves mankind enough to send his son to die for sinners that it might be well with you. That's why we call him a God of justice but also a God of love, a God of wrath but also a God of mercy. It is God's will and desire therefore from that text that it would be well with you. So respond to the invitation of the gospel. That brings us then to our text in chapter 8 and the verse 20. Just turn with me there then. Chapter 8 and the verse 20. Why would you feign religion anymore? Why would you sit pretending that all is well when you know full well that the harvest is past? You know tonight that summer has ended and you're not saved. That was the realization of these people. We're not saved. The blood of Christ has not been applied. We're not under the cross. Our sins are not erased from God's records. We're not adopted into God's family. We are not redeemed. We're not the children of God. We're not heirs with Christ. We're not ready to stand before the great judge of all the earth. We have too much debt, too much sin, too much iniquity, too many offenses. We're not ready for heaven. Tonight, you must You must call upon God. And you must make a decision to seek Him this evening and God makes it clear, those who seek, He will save. Those who seek me early shall find me. The Bible is covered in promises to those who call will be received. And even if there wasn't one promise in the gospel, And all we had was a text that tells us that Jesus died. That would be enough. Because why? For what reason did Jesus die? But to provide a way for you to be saved and forgiven. That is invitation enough. That is clearly indicating the mind of God that he's making a way for you to be saved. That's why there was a cross and a calvary. And the Lord who hung there says come. What more can you need? You would stand before God on the judgment day with no excuse. Physically speaking, the harvest has passed. The summer has ended. That may be true of your life tonight as well. And we would urge you before, not before this year ends, before this night concludes, that you would call upon him and know you're in Christ. Let's bow together for a word of prayer. O gracious God and heavenly Father, as we do bow before Thee, it's been a solemn message. We have so much to be thankful for, but I trust tonight that everyone will be able to thank Thee for the gift of salvation and the gift of having peace with God. Lord, tonight bless Thy word, for the harvest has passed and the summer has ended. And perhaps there are some here tonight and still they're not saved. Lord, may their faces and hearts not be hard any longer, but in submission to thee, might they simply call upon thee and enter into Christ. Be with us, Lord. We thank you for these meetings. We thank you, Lord, for this weekend with the Reverend Johnston and the times that we did have on Friday and Sunday morning. Lord, may thy word continue to speak on to us all. Be with us now. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen and amen.
Harvest past and no salvation
Harvest past and no salvation:
Jeremiah 8 : 20
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
ID kazania | 1025202345466329 |
Czas trwania | 36:51 |
Data | |
Kategoria | Niedzielne nabożeństwo |
Tekst biblijny | Jeremiasz 8:13-22 |
Język | angielski |
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