Devotional for the Week —7 September 2009

Devotional for the week – 7 September 2009

Sermon Title: Have We Forgotten God?
Sermon Text: Jeremiah 2:4-13

Main Scripture Theme Passage
“My people have committed two sins. They have forsaken Me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” (Jeremiah 2:13)

The scripture passage is about the unfaithfulness of God’s people during the time of King Josiah. King Josiah was made king when he was only 8 years old. (2 Kings 22:2). He was a good king who did right in the eyes of the Lord. He did not forsake God and worship other idols. (2 Kings 23:5)

Yet, even though the Kingdom of Judah had such a godly King, God pronounced his judgement against His people through his prophet Jeremiah:
1. A corporate charge because the people turned away from God to follow worthless idols (Jeremiah 2:5)
2. Against the priests who undermined God’s authority (Jeremiah 2:8)
3. Against the teachers who taught God’s law who abused the law to their advantage (Jeremiah 2:8)
4. Against the leaders who did not obey but rebelled against Him
5. Against the false prophets who followed false idols

For ultimately, religious piety is worth nothing to God without a change of heart. While the people were enjoying peace from war and prospering under the reign of a godly King, they had forgotten about God. They had thus committed two sins against God (Jeremiah 2:12-13). God said His people had dug their own cisterns. A cistern, which contains stale and contaminated water, is a stark contrast to that of living flowing water.

God’s words are relevant to us today. God is concerned with our relationship with Him and with others. We tend to be like the Israelites that complain and grumble against the Lord. Despite this, God reasons with His people. (Jeremiah 2:5. “What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from Me?”) God does not want us to become a Sunday Christian and not be an active part of the Body of Christ. God is also concerned that we are not willing to be transformed and changed by Him. The work of the Kingdom is not the task of some godly Christians but the responsibility of all who are disciples of Jesus.

We must be attuned to God and not always look to His gifts.
The message from the passage today is to guard against the sin of complacency. As we grow more successful /established in the areas of our lives, we must not turn away from the One who made al this possible. If we are not careful, a sense of religious supremacy will creep in and replace the Holy fear of God and cause us not to submit to each other in Love and Authority. As Jesus commands in Luke 10:27, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Contrast this to Jeremiah’s words.)

God will hold us accountable for the things that we did and did not do for each other.
The message is also a call to repentance. God’s people had committed two sins. Today, are we consciously or unconsciously digging our own cisterns and have forsaken God? All that we build on our own are broken cisterns that cannot contain living water. However hard we try, whatever we do on our own ability (personality, head knowledge), it is useful unless surrendered to God, and blessed by God. Unless the Lord blesses a work, it will not succeed.

We must learn to depend entirely on God, and trust in Him fully, or we will act like rulers in our own kingdom. Are we so self-sufficient that we do not need God anymore? Let us remember the first time God called us, touched our hearts? Do you remember when you first knelt down and prayed the sinner’s prayer? Do you remember the first time when you saw the Lord face to face? Do you remember how God answered your prayer during the times of trial and tribulation? All of us in our walk, have at some stage, forgotten God.

God is calling us back to Him today for He alone is all that we need. Let us remember God’s faithfulness in our life. Let us remember that we can love because He first loved us. Are we still experiencing the first love in our life?

Prayer response:
Lord, I repent if I have built my own cisterns instead of seeking after You, the Living Water. Lord, I pray that You will touch my heart once again, and set it on a Holy fire and passion for You. You are my first Love, dear Lord, and I pray that today I may return to You and worship You in Spirit and in Truth.

Devotional based on the sermon by Pastor Joshua Loo

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