Our scripture reading this evening is taken from two passages. First of all, from Second Chronicles, Chapter 34, the first seven verses. Second Chronicles, Chapter 34, the first seven verses, where we read of the Reformation under Josiah. Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand nor to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father, And in the 12th year, he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images. And they break down the altars of Baalim in his presence. And the images that were on high above them, he cut down. And the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he break in pieces. and made dust of them and strewed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. And so did he in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon, even unto Naphtali with their mattocks round about. And when he had broken down the altars and the groves and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. Next, we turn to Jeremiah chapter 4. Jeremiah chapter 4, and read verses 5 and following. Jeremiah 4, beginning at verse 5, where the Lord says, Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, and say, blow ye the trumpet in the land. Cry, gather together, and say, assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defense cities. Set up the standard toward Zion. Retire, stay not, for I will bring evil from the north and a great destruction. The lion has come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way, he has gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate, and thy city shall be laid waste without an inhabitant. For this, gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl, for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us, and it shall come to pass at that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princess, and the priest shall be astonished, and the prophet shall wonder. Then said I, Ah, Lord God, surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace, whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul. At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan nor to cleanse. Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me. Now also will I give sentence against them. Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariot shall be as a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us, for we are spoiled. O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from Mount Ephraim. Make ye mention to the nations, Behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah. As keepers of a field are they against her round about, because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the Lord. Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee, This is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart. Mine bowels, my bowels, I am pained at my very heart. My heart maketh a noise in me. I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried, for the whole land is spoiled. Suddenly are my tents spoiled and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet? For my people is foolish. They have not known me. They are Sottish children, and they have none understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form and void, and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate, yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black, because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen. They shall go into thickets and climb up upon the rocks. Every city shall be forsaken, and not a man shall dwell therein. And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair. Thy lovers will despise thee. They will seek thy life. For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hand, saying, Woe is me now, for my soul is wearied. because of murderers. Yes, we're here for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Really, in an evening like this, we can do two things. We look backwards at the history that has led up to this very moment. We look backwards at what God gave some 500 years ago in giving this monk, Luther, that desire to have the church reformed and nail 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg. We look backwards, but we also look forwards. And that's why we're also happy to see so many children here, students. We're looking forward to what our past is so that we know what the future ought to be. May he bless you all and give us a good evening. This evening we want to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Well, children, that's a mouthful. 500-year Reformation. Can you count to 500? That takes a while, doesn't it? Maybe you are 10 years old. Some people become 100 years. Then you're old. What do you think of 500 years? That's a long time. Now we live in 2017. 500 years ago it was the year 1517. That long time ago The Reformation started. Now the word Reformation. What does that mean? Reformation. The first syllable, Re, means again, or anew. And the word Formation means that something has formed. Reformation of the church means that the church formed again, anew. And that happened. 500 years ago. And we are used to saying that the Reformation started on October 31, 1517. What happened on that day? Well, listen carefully, children, then I will tell you something. Look over there. A man walks through the street wearing a long robe and it's held together with a cord around his waist. It's a monk. A man who lives with other religious men in a big building, a monastery. He's very smart. He can study the Bible and other books about the Bible. The man is crossing the road, holding a big piece of paper in one hand and a hammer in his other. He walks straight to the castle church of the town of Wittenberg. It's a nice town in Germany. There was only one church in that time, namely the Roman Catholic Church. And everyone was a member of this church. Everyone believed what the priest proclaimed. And at that time, people were not able to read the Bible. It was too difficult since there was no translation in the German language. And many sad things took place in the church because the priests did not preach the gospel. They did not listen carefully to God's word. They did not expound God's word. What did they do then? They merely followed forms and traditions which meant that everyone gave heed to the Pope first and foremost. The Pope is the Bishop of Rome and is the head of the church. What he says is regarded as more important than God's word. What do you think? Would it go well in church if one man is head of the church instead of the Lord Jesus Christ? No, of course not. Every man, also a minister, has a sinful heart. We all need the Lord Jesus as our head. He rules over His church by His word. whose name is Martin Luther, comes to the door of the Schlosskirche. That's the German name of the castle church. And he holds up the paper to the door and hammers some nails through it. And now the paper is attached to the door. Luther uses the door of the church as a bulletin board. That was the way to spread news or information. And we wonder, what does Martin Luther have to tell the people of Wittenberg? Well, he has written 95 theses to debate or to discuss. These theses are written sentences which are about the false traditions of the church. Martin Luther has discovered the gospel of free grace. He has had an arduous and difficult time. It was so dark in his heart. He struggled with his sins and he did not know how his sins could ever be forgiven. But miracle of grace, the Lord opened his eyes for the beauty of the gospel, namely for the miracle that the Lord Jesus has merited, but you and I can never merit, namely the forgiveness of sin and eternal life. Luther discovered, not my good works, not my monastic life makes me acceptable in the sight of God, only the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And for Luther, a new world had opened up when he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. He says in one of his writings that it was as if the door to paradise opened up to him. He discovered the riches of the gospel. Now Luther's eyes are opened for the many abusers in church as well. There is one desire, that the church may be purified from all its false doctrines. And with the 95 Theses, Luther opposes the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. And this act, children, is what we regard as the beginning of the Reformation. Imagine that you lived in Wittenberg at that time. You stay on the side of the road while Luther hammers the 95 theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg and some passers-by read the theses. Imagine that you would ask them, do you think that this is the beginning of a reformation. They would look at you with wondering eyes as if saying, what are you talking about? No one expected a reformation, not even Luther. He only wanted to start a discussion about his theses since he believed that there were grave errors in the church. He touched some sensitive nerves of the church and he was not afraid to do so. Even if all church leaders were to offend him, he was determined to disclose the mistakes of the church. Why did he do so? Because Luther loved the Lord. Because he loved the gospel of free grace. and because he loved the church. Luther regarded the church as a sick mother, which you never leave but nurse till she recovers. You will stay with her. That was Luther's aim. He had a burden to make the church healthy again. But the Pope and the Cardinals were offended and indulged a hostile spirit. They threw Luther out of the church and banned him. But many people followed Luther. It grew into a great movement that would affect the whole of Europe. And now we want to commemorate the Reformation. Or should we say celebrate? That brave action of Luther turned out to be the birth of a new movement at that time. A movement whereby the Church of the Reformation began. Actually, because of the Reformation, we are a Reformed Church. That means that we stand and build on the doctrine of the Church of the Reformation. which is nothing but biblical truth. And generation after generation after generation, this truth was transmitted. That's actually the meaning of the word tradition. We stand on a reformed tradition, on the transmitted truth, the doctrine which has been moved from one generation to another over a time period of 500 years. And the theme of this evening is celebrate the 500th anniversary of Reformation. And the theme closes with an exclamation mark and a question mark. Look carefully at your program. That means that we can read the theme as a Call to celebrate. Celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. That is, remember the miracle the Lord has performed long time ago. Don't forget God's wondrous works. And at the same time we can read it as a question. Celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation? With other words, is it proper? to celebrate the Reformation that at one time took place? Would it not be more appropriate to humble ourselves before the Lord since the church in Canada and Europe is in decay? Are we not in need of a revival? We want to find an answer to this question by listening to God's Word. First we want to listen to the Reformation of King Josiah and secondly we want to listen to the Prophet Jeremiah who lived in the same time period. And so we divide the theme in two parts. The 500th anniversary of the Reformation is first of all a call to remember and secondly a call to repentance. A call to remember and a call to repentance. This evening we read about a reformation as well. In 2 Chronicles 34 we hear about the greatest reformer of the kings of Judah, namely Josiah. The most important thing we can tell about this king is that he was a truly God-fearing man. He was only eight years old when he came to the throne and was made king. And when he was a teenager, he made the good choice. We read in verse 3 that in the 8th year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David, his father. So he was 16 when the Lord regarded him, when the Lord regenerated him. causing him to repent and believe in the Lord. And he followed the footsteps of his ancestor David. Four years after his turning point, he brought about a huge reformation in this country. He began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of their high places. That means that he destroyed the idols, the Assyria poles, the cast idols and cast images. He cleansed the land of the abominable idolatry that we felt everywhere. And he began also to restore the temple. In righteous anger, he killed the priests of the high places. He acted in obedience to God's law, which demanded the destruction of those who initiated idolatry. The standards of Josiah's reformation was the holy law of God. And this rule and touchstone was almost precise a reformation, must almost precede a reformation. A firm foundation to stand on is necessary for a reformation. And that is what we notice in every true reformation. In Josiah's days also and in Luther's days as well. And Josiah stood on the foundation of God's word and he departed neither to the right nor to the left of it, as we read in verse 2. That means that he did not compromise the service of the Lord. He did not serve the world and God. He did not tinker with the service of the Lord one bit. No, he was resolute. Josiah would not tolerate insincere compromises. He made the good choice according to God's Word. He was to brighten the depressive darkness of his days. The Holy Scriptures put their stamp of approval on Josiah's seal for an honor of God by the praiseworthy testimony it gives of him as a man who acted righteously and honorably. And the people of Judah and even some of the ten tribes of Israel were forced to serve the Lord. Josiah strived after a national righteousness and religious conscientiousness. He wanted every inhabitant treated honestly and justly in his country according to God's Word. And you can imagine that The approach of this king had great effect in Judah and Israel. The people were not allowed to serve any idol. Daily life was governed by the king's righteousness and justice. Josiah achieved a national reformation. The biggest reformation after King David. Try to picture it, children. Imagine that our Prime Minister Trudeau would make a law ordering that everything in society must be carried out in obedience to the Lord. Unborn lives will again be respected. Merits will be restored in honor. All shops will be closed on Sunday. All cinemas and pubs will be broken down. No pop music will be broadcast any longer. And at every workplace there will be daily devotions. No swearing will be heard in public. And all kinds of entertainment will be toned down. Reformation in all aspects of life. That would be a blessing for every Canadian. Now we assume that we would then celebrate the Reformation every year, won't we? Back to Josiah's days, we assume that his Reformation has been accorded as an extraordinary event which effects would be felt over many decades. It was noticeable and reason to celebrate. We also experienced the effects of the great movement of 500 years ago. A reformation took place. God has sovereignly given us back the true gospel of free grace by means of people which the Lord called. The Lord has done wondrous things. And there's much reason to remember this. Yes, it is a call to remember and a call to celebrate God's works of the past. But there's more to say. Let us listen to a prophet who lives in the days of Josiah, namely the prophet Jeremiah. We may assume that he surely has recorded this huge movement of King Josiah. You would think so. But oddly enough, we read nothing about Josiah's reformation in the book of his major Prophet Jeremiah. Nothing at all. And we wonder why? Was there a reason to commemorate the reformation of Josiah? It was a powerful reformation. People were not allowed to serve other gods anymore. It was the best ever theocracy. It must have been joyful for Jeremiah to watch the reformation that was initiated by this God-fearing king. And yes, I believe Jeremiah has delighted in it. But when he was to speak the words of God, we don't read of any gratitude, let alone of any celebration. during the Reformation in Judah, the Lord sent Jeremiah to prophesy. Not to acknowledge the Reformation, neither to encourage the Reformation or the people who strongly supported the Reformation. No celebration of the Reformation. No. Jeremiah would ask, why do we need to celebrate the Reformation as long as your heart is not with the Lord. A reformation is in vain as long the hearts of the people remain impenitent. And in the time of Josiah's reformation, a call to repent sounds in Judah and Israel. Chapter 3, verse 14, Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord, The Prophet points to the sin of the people. No, not the public sins, since these have diminished by the Reformation. The Prophet points to the sin of impenitence. They were still committing spiritual adultery. That means, children, that their heart was still focused on everything but the Lord. For sure, Public life had been purified. Many things had changed in Judah. In an outward sense, it seemed that all people had turned to the Lord. The reformation of Josiah seems a great success. And yet, they did not serve the Lord from their hearts like King Josiah. it happened that the Lord needed to execute his judgments over Judah but in this chapter we read we hear about the miracle of God's long-suffering and faithfulness he continues to warn his people for we read in Jeremiah 4 verse 14 And we will listen to this text. O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? Wash thine heart from wickedness. Wickedness has been removed by Josiah. There was no idols any longer. Josiah had cleansed the whole land. Everything was focused on the Lord and His will. that Josiah could not wash the people's hearts. An outward reformation does not automatically lead to an inward reformation. An outward reformation does not wash the hearts, but without the cleansing of the heart there will be no true reformation. It's remarkable that Jerusalem is mentioned here and not Judah. Jerusalem is the place where the temple is. It is the place the Lord had chosen to be His presence amongst His people. In Jerusalem, you find the Lefites and priests performing their tasks in the service of the Lord. Josiah reformed the service in the temple as well. And it was good, of course. But the hearts of the people who stood in the service of the Lord remained impenitent. They needed to have their hearts exposed. They needed to become honest before the Lord with confession of sin, with a broken and contrite spirit. They needed to be cleansed from their sins. The power of sin needed to be broken. and without true repentance there will be no true reformation. Though Josiah has done a good work, though Josiah was a strong-minded in the pursuing a national reformation, a reformation in truth will be held off as long the people do not return their hearts. As long as they do not wash their hearts from sin, they will not escape God's anger. They need to wash their hearts from their wickedness. And what is the wickedness of their hearts? Do we need to think of wicked sins like adultery, stealing, lying and deceiving? Oh, these are wicked sins. Wicked sins are also enjoying the sins of someone else. That's what you are doing when you enjoy watching a movie where actors play to commit sin. Wicked sins like pornography, violence, addiction to drugs, alcohol, games, work, etc. Wickedness does not only include outright bad sins. Jeremiah points in this text to vain thoughts. And what are vain thoughts? Vain means like air and void. It's worth nothing. It proceeds from nothing but emptiness. It's without purpose and superficial. And that possesses the people's thoughts, says Jeremiah. It comes in the place of the true service of the Lord. It dominates the heart and is opposed to God. And let us apply this directly. What are vain thoughts? This does not only include heinous sins, but also so-called small sins. For example, daydreaming. That seems like an innocent sin. Some people are inclined to daydream. What is wrong with daydreaming? They keep you from concentrating on the service of the Lord. Even when you listen to God's word or read his word, your thoughts so easily go astray. They take possession of your heart and mind and expel thoughts about God. Or what about empty entertainment? That is entertainment without any content. It's focused on self-satisfaction. Well, you can find it in computer games, watching movies, superficial chats and text messages. You allow your time to be filled with satisfying yourself. That is a life that is concentrated on your ego. Vain thoughts. That does not mean that there is no place for religion anymore. There can be even much religion in your life. You live along with the church. You faithfully attend church services. You believe it is important to commemorate the Reformation. Meanwhile, it is possible to remain in penitence. You know about God's truth. You have memorized the five solas of the Reformation, but you are a stranger to a broken and contrite heart. You remain focused on yourself. There is no experience of the sinfulness of sin and your guilt before God. You don't know anything of Luther's struggle. How can I ever meet a righteous God? There is no sincere pray for grace. There is no desire for God's love. There is no continual watching and praying. Which vain thoughts do you need to be converted from? What in your life fills your thoughts, your attention, so that you cannot concentrate on the service of the Lord? No, I fully understand that you are not so bad as many others. But as long as the Kingdom of God and His righteousness is not the first thing you seek, you are worse than the worst sinner. As long as you indulge your vain thoughts, no true revival will take place in your life. As long as you indulge vain thoughts as a congregation, there will be no revival in Canada or Europe. Meanwhile, we can notice God's judgment on this world. What judgments do we see? Consider the turmoil of this world. The world is burning socially, diplomatically. Many people live in distress. There's a lot of unrest in this world. Persecutions are on the rise. ecclesiastical developments of, for example. Consider the many denominations that are present in Canada and in Europe. All different churches which claim to proceed from the Church of the Reformation. But the difference between the various denominations can be so great and unbridgeable, and we wonder how far Have we departed from the church of the Reformation? In the days of Jeremiah, the Lord warned the people of Judah, if you don't repent, my anger will fall upon you. If you don't acknowledge your iniquity, then I will keep my anger. And in the book of Revelation, we read about the epistles which are written to the seven churches of Asia. In the epistle to Ephesus we read Christ's exhortation. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the first works or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of his place except thou repent. God will remove the candlestick. That means that God will remove his gospel. God removes his word. Are you never afraid this is going to happen in our country? We hear that the church is growing in China and Korea. in several parts of Asia, it seems that the Spirit is working powerfully. That's something to be thankful for. It's also a reason to humble ourselves. The Lord is sovereign where and how he works. But should we not wonder why a revival stays away in our country? And would it not be time to examine ourselves? Am I remaining impenitent? Am I sloppy in the service of the Lord? Is the service of the Lord for me no more than an outward worship without getting involved with my heart? God will remove the candlestick out of our place if we don't repent. And I hope You sense with me that these words are very current. What is left after 500 years of Reformation? Maybe you counter. Be not so gloomy, Pastor. There are so many things to be thankful for. We still have a trustworthy Bible translation. We still confess the five solas of the Reformation. And we still confess the three forms of unity, namely the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of the Lord. And we still have faithful preaching based on the principles of the Reformation. I hope you are right. But would you say that this is enough? What about you? Do you live out of this reformed confession? Do you live from the truth of God's word? We need to know a life of repentance. We need to die to self and to rise in Christ. It is said specifically to spiritual concerns, wash thine heart from wickedness. that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy faint thoughts lodge within thee? An unrepentant lifestyle or a sloppy way of life is like permitting faint thoughts to lodge within you. To lodge within you. What is a lodge? Well, that someone who stays with you for a couple of nights. Who? Well, for example, a nephew or niece, a friend maybe. Would you also offer lodging to a stranger which you just met on the street? Or a thief? Or even worse, to a murderer? No, of course not. You would not risk your life by offering lodging to people who you cannot trust. You are right. But as long as you keep bosom sin, a sin you do not want to get rid of, a sin that you nurture, then you act even worse than someone offering lodging to a murderer. Even worse? Yes. Because sin brings forth And when you harbor sin in your heart, you are killing your soul. You know who the devil is. He's the murderer from the beginning. Sin and devil want nothing but your eternal condemnation. Do you have a bosom sin? Do you live impenitently? Are you sloppy in spiritual matters? The Lord asks you this evening, How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? How long? The Lord appeals to your common sense. Just think about what you are doing. Do you want destruction? Do you want to remain lost? Do you want my offered mercy and grace? There is peace with me. There is salvation with me. It pleases me to make you partaker of it. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? Is it not high time to repent? This is an urgent question, a question which we also hear from the lips of the Lord Jesus. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stones them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathered her chickens under her wings, and ye would not How often have you heard the free offer of grace from the pulpit and you did not repent? Bend your knees and confess to the Lord your sins, your unwillingness, your blindness and pray the Lord for mercy. The Lord of Josiah and Martin Luther is still the same and it pleases Him to grant grace to lost sinners. And tonight I may point you to the only surety and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, since He is able and willing to wash you from your wickedness. There's no way to wash yourself. You need the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the righteousness of God, whereby God is satisfied. And by the finished work of the Lord Jesus, you can be reconciled to God. Josiah knew that, though he did not know the Lord Jesus as the New Testament saints did. But from the shadows of the Old Testament worship service, he learned that there is forgiveness of sin through the shedding of blood. And Martin Luther discovered that he could not be delivered from his guilt by good works. That he could not be released from eternal punishment by buying an indulgence. Only faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can save a sinner from everlasting damnation. Since Christ is the righteousness given by God. And all those who are engrafted in Christ by faith shall live. Do you know this truth in the way of repentance and faith? You need to know this to have a decent lifestyle and to be a contender of the Reformed. Truth is not sufficient to get saved. You need to repent of your sins. that involves humbling yourselves before the Lord with the confession of sin and guilt, with an ardent prayer for God's mercy. Do you know of this prayer? Children, are you sad because of your sins? Do you pray ceaselessly for God's mercy? Luther had a sincere concern for the people of his days. that they were wholly ignorant of the seriousness of sin since they believed that they could simply be released from the penalty by buying an indulgence so the first thesis Luther opened his 95 theses with was when our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said repent he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance Our entire life should be repentance. Is that the fruit we find in our midst 500 years after the Reformation? By the gracious operations of the Spirit, it is found in our midst. But should there not be more of the spiritual fruit? What is yield of 500 years of reformation? There is reason to be thankful for all the Lord has left. We still may stand on the shoulders of the reformers like Luther, Calvin, John Knox, and many, many others. There is still a sound biblical preaching in our country. But if we observe the little fruit on it, We have much more reason to humble ourselves. Discord and division in God's church is a tragedy. Secularization has come into the church. Living in two worlds as it were seems to be a normal way of life. And the call of the Lord by the word of Jeremiah are more relevant than ever. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? And what about you? We live in the last days. The Lord Jesus will come soon. How long will he stay away yet? It's five to twelve. You can hear the footsteps of the Lord Jesus in all the world history and in the world events of today. Seek heart reformation with the Lord. Seek it in the way of turning from self to the Lord. Need and sorrowful to thee I cry. Let thy salvation set my soul on high. Amen.