SERMON NOTES
JEREMIAH 4:1-4 (NLT)
(1) “O Israel,” says the Lord, “if you wanted to return to me, you could. You could throw away your detestable idols and stray away no more. (2) Then when you swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ you could do so with truth, justice, and righteousness. Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world, and all people would come and praise my name.” (3) This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns. (4) O people of Judah and Jerusalem, surrender your pride and power. Change your hearts before the Lord, or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins.
IDOLATRY & INJUSTICE GO TOGETHER
- “The human heart is a perpetual factory of idols.” - John Calvin
- An idol is anything that you functionally rely upon or trust in more than Jesus.
- The essence and concept behind idolatry is about what’s at the center of your heart; what do you worship, and where do you place your faith?
- Disordered Attachments
REPENTANCE & MISSION GO TOGETHER
- Once your heart turns to God, you can join His mission of transforming all things once again.
- It’s an if/then kind of moment.
- The promise of God to bless the world through His people is seen throughout scripture.
SURRENDER & NEW BEGINNINGS GO TOGETHER
- It’s never too late to do some work, to till up the land of your life, so to speak, and to surrender another part of your heart to Jesus.
- Putting together a counterattack to your struggles.
- Worship, volunteering, and service, or really any kind of self-sacrifice, is a powerful weapon because it forces the attention off yourself and places it on another and ideally upon God.
- Surrender is essential to the Christian walk…It requires faith, trust, and reliance — all the things your idols demand — but only God deserves.
- 600 years after Jeremiah wrote this passage and delivered this prophetic poem, Jesus Christ came to earth, sacrificed His life on the cross, and rose from the dead to offer you a new life and new purpose with Him forever.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
- What ‘disordered attachments’ have you/do you struggle with?
- How can you join God’s work of being a blessing to the nations?
- Where is God inviting surrender in your life today?
SERMON AUDIO
