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Love
You In The Lord Ministries
JEREMIAH 2:1-13 - IT'S TIME TO FIX THE LEAK INTRODUCTION: Have you ever had a "keep sake" or something that was really special to you just to see it dropped and broken? Or even worse, you find your favorite glass with a fracture or crack in it caused by the dish washer and can not use it any longer because every time you fill it with your favorite drink it simply seeps out and the glass is worthless for the intended purpose. God must surely have been saddened by Israel and their sin in that every time God tried to fill them up with His Blessings they stayed empty because they had a leak in their life. It was a place that sin had caused and they were not able to find it. All they knew was that every time they went for water the well was dry. Every time they looked for a full cistern all they could find was an empty, man made, container. V2 - GOD REMEMBERS HOW YOU USED TO BE Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. When a person decides to go back on their commitments to God it is highly visible to everyone but them. People never just wake up one day and quit, but it happens over a period of time. You ask them if everything is ok and they say yes, is anything bothering you and they say no, but deep inside they are gradually changing and the well is stagnant and drying up with within. Only by keeping fresh water in the well can we keep a cool drink of good news to help the sinner know that Jesus really loves them and there is hope at the well of life. It's time to fix the leak. A - KINDNESS OF YOUR YOUTH What a precious picture of the hunger of God to fellowship with His people when the almighty God remembers and yearns for the way you used to be. Kindness is the Hebrew word (checed, kheh'-sed) kindness towards God, piety, beauty, favor, good deeds, and mercifulness. God was saying oh how I loved you when you looked at others with mercy and when you worked to do good things. What has happened to you today, you have grown older and colder rather than wiser and bolder? POINT: When we have lost or if we are losing our ZEAL for God's house, God's programs, God's worship, God's presence ,,,,,,, It's time to fix the leak. B - LOVE OF YOUR COMMITMENTS God was saying that you were committed to
marry me. You were in love with me and I was in love with you --- C - WHEN YOU FOLLOWED HIM IN THE WILDERNESS Imagine the faith it took for Abraham to
leave Mesopotamia just to follow faith into the wilderness. V3 - GOD REMINISCES ABOUT HOW YOU USED TO CARE Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD. God reminisces about how Israel used to take
care of their devotions and sacrifices before the Lord. A - WHEN ISRAEL WAS HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD When is the last time you heard the word
Holiness used when talking about God's people? Here
the word means, " a sacred place or thing; or sanctuary." B - THAT ISRAEL WAS THE FIRST FRUITS OF HIS INCREASE Who had ever heard of such a thing? C - HOW GOD PROTECTED ISRAEL AGAINST EVIL It is hard for us to conceive the thought
that God is actually watching over us and protecting us from evil. But Jesus
said in His prayer teaching the disciples to pray, If we could just understand how much God
loves us and desires to commune with us we would all bow on our faces and
weep before such a loving and thoughtful God. V5 - WHAT ABOUT THE LOVE OF GOD MADE YOU LEAVE HIM Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? One of the strongest indictments against Israel, America, or the Church is this. What has God ever done to you to make you want to leave Him once you have found Him? You say we have not left Him, but have we? If not, then what excuse do we offer for not being faithful, for not evangelizing the lost and dying world, for not giving all we can to make sure that our church never is in need or lacking when it comes to helping other? POINT: Until we face the truth, that we have left God out , --- It's time to fix the leak. Out of our Government, Schools, Homes, Churches, Worship Etc .... V6-7 - WHY HAS NO ONE ASKED WHERE IS THE LORD MAY BE FOUND (6) Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? (7) And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. A lot has been said about the booming economy and rising stock market but little is being said about the lack of morality and decline of the family in America. Could it be that when we get in the plentiful country that we tend to forget the one that placed us there? The sad truth is that we look for God in times of great trouble such as serious surgery or unexpected tragedy but when things are good we look for a good time. Point: As long as we take for granted the blessing of God, --- It's time to fix the leak. V8 - WHY IS MINISTRY NOT CRYING OUT AGAINST SIN The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. God placed the ministry among the body of Christ to cry out against sin and to teach people the ways of the Lord. (Eph 4:12 KJV) For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: (13) Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: God help us, but generally speaking today the ministry has no idea of even who God is. Please do not take that to mean that no Godly Ministers are left but rather that we must step up to the pulpit and preach a balanced message of repentance and hope in the Lord. POINT: When is it time to plug the leaks: Until men of the cloth choose to be Godly and to preach with the power of God, with compassion and unity of faith, ---- It's time to fix the leaks. don't let another day of God's love, presence, grace etc... leak out of the cracks of your life. Let God mend the broken vessel. V9 - GOD SAID I HAVE NOT GIVE UP ON YOU YET Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead. This is the kind of God we serve. God is saying, I have not give up on you and will keep pleading against your sin and my willingness to forgive those who will call upon my Name. The word plead means to grapple, defend, or contend. God said I will plead with you, I will plead with your children, I will plead with your grandchildren. I will not give up until you hear my voice and heed my call unto you to repent and come back to me so I can continue to bless you with the water of life. POINT: Until we and our families turn back to God, ---- It's time to fix the leak. Until the pleading of God has turned our hearts from doing evil -- It's time to fix the leak V11-12 - WHAT GOD DO WE SERVE TODAY (11) Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. (12) Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. What God did and said to Israel is what our forefathers came to America to fulfill and to serve? This nation was founded upon Judeo Christian principles with the ten commandments as the basis for our laws. We came to this country in the name of the Lord God of Israel, proclaiming Jesus Christ as the only answer for salvation and the only redeemer from hell. But today we are mixed up, what God do you serve? Many say today: Are we not all on the same road to heaven no matter how we get there? Isn't God inclusive and respectful of all religions and all good men? The answer then was NO and today it is still NO. (Acts 4:12 KJV) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. 13 - MY PEOPLE HAVE COMMITTED TWO EVILS (Jer 2:13 KJV) For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Man tends to complicate things and bend things to fit their way of thinking but God explains things in a manner that we all can understand. There are two reasons why my people are in the condition they are in and these two things must be changed. #1 Face the truth, for the most we have forsaken God in our lives #2 We have used man made vessels to take the place of Gods vessels A - THEY HAVE FORSAKEN ME THE FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATER Isn't it amazing that Jesus talked about living water to the woman at the well? The woman came with a empty water pot and an empty heart. Jesus made the first move in asking for a drink of water from this woman. She was astounded that a Jew would ask of a Samaritan a drink of water and responded by asking Jesus why he would even ask her for a drink. John 4:10-11 - Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? (John 4:13 KJV) Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
(John 4:14 KJV) But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
(John 4:15 KJV) The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. (John 7:37 KJV) In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
(38) He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. B - HEWED THEM OUT CISTERNS, BROKEN CISTERNS, THAT CAN HOLD NO WATER God said the second evil that God said His people had done was to hew them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Think about this for a minute and see if we are not all guilty sometimes of trying to live off of yesterdays blessings. Jesus said give us this day our daily bread, and the manna was provided on a daily basis, and Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God is saying don't try to store up something that needs to be used today. If you have living water then there are thirsty souls that need a drink from the fountain of life and tomorrow may be to late. Don't try to build a cistern where the cracks and decay of time can change but keep emptying out everyday your cup and hold it up to the Lord and ask Him to fill it again and again with His living water of Life. CONCLUSION: It is time for someone to recognize that no
matter how many times you put water into a man made cistern when it has been
broken by sin it will never hold water. We must turn loose of the man made container and realize that living water comes from the Lord and as Jesus said "out of your belly flows rivers of life". Our praise has to come from God living inside
of us Vessels adorned for Him, His work, His glory
Etc ... Why not let God PLUG THE LEAKS with his love,
mercy, grace, forgiveness. Back To Sermons At |