Viewpoint

We are humans, we are born with all our weaknesses.  Lord I rely on You, for Your power is perfect for us.  I will not be ashamed about my weaknesses for in Your grace Lord, we have strength.  Trust in Him for everything and He will take care of our needs.  Your grace is sufficient!

2 Corinthians 12:9
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Oceans
Hillsong United

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
[x6]

I will call upon Your Name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

Message
Jeremiah 7
In this chapter, the people are called upon to amend their "ways and doings," if they want God to stay with them.  They are to treat one another justly, and worship God alone. But they focused in the temple itself and its worship, rather than in God, and the His expectations for the sake of their lives.

God refuses to have anything to do with their claims that the temple protects them, secures them from any disaster, even when they choose not do God’s will.  They have made the temple like a shelter for criminals, where they could escape from the authorities and not be arrested for the crimes they have done. Then, when the coast was clear, they could go forth to do as they have always done. But God will not allow this.

Because of what the people have done, God proceeds to announce the judgment. The temple will be destroyed, and the people will be cast out of the land, and out of God’s sight.

The future is no longer open for the people of God; the judgment is set. Jeremiah speaks the words God gives to him, but the hardened people will not listen, and because of this, their disastrous future is set in stone.

Promise
If the people repented, God would let them stay in the land   v3 "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place."

Command

• Pay attention to God’s Words: v2 "Stand at the gate of the LORD’s house and there proclaim this message: " ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD. "
• Reform/ Amend/ Change your ways and actions v3 "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place."
• v4 "Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!"
• Do not provoke the Lord v20 " ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground, and it will burn and not be quenched."
• Obey the Lord’s command  v23 "but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. "

Warning

• God will punish: v12 " ‘Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.
• Do not provoke the Lord v20 " ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground, and it will burn and not be quenched."
• 32 "So beware, the days are coming, …"
• 34 I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate.

Application
Jeremiah 7:3 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!"

Lord God You are almighty, powerful, yet forgiving God. Thank You for Your mercy, and pardon me Lord, for my sinfulness.  Teach me to understand that going to church regularly, accomplishing my duties as Your servant is not sufficient to show my earnest devotion to You.  Father, please cleanse my heart and soul, that I may sincerely change my evil ways, make an effort to be a better person inside and out, and do all that is pleasing in Your eyes, and glorify Your Name forever.

Message
Jeremiah 4
Jeremiah announces the message of God, declaring that if the people will return to Him, sin no more, and worship the Lord, the Lord will give His blessing.  This is an invitation to repentance.  The Lord warns about the coming disaster.  The people have been deceived by the lying false prophets, and  their wickedness is the sole cause of these calamities.  Prophet Jeremiah describes the sad catastrophe of Jerusalem.

Promise

• God forgives and blesses the repentant: v1-2 "If you will return, O Israel, return to me," declares the LORD. "If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray,  and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ then the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will glory."

Command

• Proclaim that the Lord lives v2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ then the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will glory."
• Let true repentance break up your fruitless and hardened hearts, take heed that worldly cares and concerns do not arise, and, like thorns, choke the good seed. v3 This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: "Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.
• Put away every thing that is against God’s will  v4 "Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done– burn with no one to quench it. "

Warning
God warns of disaster  and all other calamities that will occur

Application
Jeremiah 4:3 "This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: "Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. "

Crops cannot grow on an uplowed ground.  The hardness and thorns prevent the seeds from penetrating, and it is difficult to grow anything on it. Father, thank You for accepting me for who I am.  Help me break up, soften, open up this stubborn heart of mine and remove the thorns – the negative attitudes like anger, impatience, anxiety, intolerance, laziness that hinder my spiritual growth.  Enlighten me so I will constantly remember and obey all Your teachings, most especially in times of adversity.  May I live  every moment according to Your will.  In Jesus Name, I pray.