Sunday Morning Live Worship July 11th, 2021

[Music] so [Music] foreign [Music] uh [Music] amen what a friend we have in jesus is there another hallelujah is there another amen this morning what a friend we have in jesus oh we're so glad this morning that he is indeed one who the word of god says sticks closer than a brother one that we can depend on in any and all circumstances of our lives welcome to church this morning welcome to god's house to worship and we believe as we share together today that god by his spirit has a message for us and i believe we'll minister to each of our hearts today as we share together welcome to our friends online today from all over this great world we pray that god would bless you today as we share together as well my goodness the week is past and gone how has your week been as you have you found that friend in jesus if not i pray that this day as we gather for worship that you will have an encounter with a living god and that he will indeed fall afresh upon us the word of god in john chapter 7 verses 37 to 38 says on the last and greatest day of the festival jesus stood and said in a loud voice let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink whoever believes in me as scripture said rivers of living water will flow from within them you know because of who jesus is because he is the living water because he is the bread of life because he is our lord our savior our messiah and yes our coming king today we have caused to worship him and we have come to worship the king of kings and the lord of lords come now is the time to worship join us stand as we sing these words together and worship our lord today [Music] [Applause] amen [Applause] [Music] now is [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] still the greatest how was the time too now is [Applause] [Music] uh [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] still the greatest [Music] now tragedy [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] just [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh jesus [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes we give the lord praise today serve him serve him today will you decide now [Music] no turning down amen you may be seated this morning i have decided to follow jesus you want to know why it's because of who he is it's because of what he's done for me it's because he came and he lived and he died and he shed his blood for my salvation for my justification and he has washed me whiter than snow so that when the day comes and he calls me home when i can live with him that he will open up his arms and he will welcome me there i serve him because this life is hard and i wouldn't want to do it without him i wouldn't want to have to face the trials and the difficulties that come the decisions that have to be made in life without one who knows it all without one who knows what's around the next corner without the direction of him who knows me better than i know myself without the love of god without the grace and the mercy of our lord jesus christ who walks with me and who forgives me and who directs me who gives me peace so often we have to live without peace we don't have peace in our lands we don't have peace in our families we don't have peace within our own spirits within our own selves but god has promised that when we come to him he gives us a peace that passes all understanding and he gives us a peace that this world cannot take away no matter what it does no matter who comes against us it cannot take away the peace that jesus gives to us there are many who are in need of peace today who are suffering from illnesses of the body and of the mind families such as the sharp family who have been caused to mourn in these days and so we remember them and i'm sure you know others in your circle of friends and family who are in need of specific a specific touch from jesus christ today who need the peace that only he can give the only real peace that i find dear lord is in you it's not in anything of this world there's nothing in nothing that the world can give us and we'll look at that in a few moments when we look into the word of god what we need and who we need it's found all in jesus christ now it doesn't matter who you are doesn't matter where you're from doesn't matter what your background is it doesn't matter what religion you come from the bottom line is is that you need jesus and i need jesus and he is the only one that can take us through life and take us into eternity with him we're gonna sing together the only real peace that i have dear lord is in you through all life's frustrations i need you and that's where we need to find ourselves this morning we need to find ourselves in that place where we can be honest with ourselves and honest with god i need you and i know i do but it can't stop there because the realization of something is not the same as the acceptance of something and though we may realize we need him we need to take that moment when we bow before the king of kings and the lord of lords we when we bow before jesus the son of god and we say lord i accept who you are and i accept the direction that you have for my life and that's not just speaking to those who haven't yet accepted the lord that's speaking to all of us here today doesn't matter how long we have walked with him there are still times when we allow the world to kind of seep in but we need to make a fresh vow unto the lord this morning and a fresh commitment to him and may we do so as we share together and then we'll bow for a moment of [Music] prayer the only real peace [Music] please [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] am [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] peace [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] me [Music] [Applause] peace [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] father i want to praise you for who you are today i want to lift you high and i want to worship you because you are above all above all kingdoms above all worlds above all wonders you are the creator and you're the master of this universe the governor of all things and we take these moments to worship and to lift you high and to praise you and to adore you and to sing unto your name so that others would hear the message of who you are and the greatness of our god how good you are and how you are pleased to meet the needs of your children and so we pray as we gather in this place this morning that you would be blessed by our worship that it would be genuine and that it would be truthful and that would be it would be from a heart that is sincere in our love for you it would come from a spirit whose desire is to live for none other than you who would bow before no other gods but [Music] you we thank you because in this life that you have blessed us with [Music] though there are times when there are storms and there are frustrations and there are discouragements there are moments of joy and happiness and elation as we just walk and we we soak in the beauty of this earth and the realization that you by your spirit walk with us and so though we may face those difficult moments at times we never have to face them alone we thank you because we realize i pray that we would realize today that our joy and our peace and our happiness and our hope is not found in anything else that this world can give but it's found only in you and i pray father that for those of us who are here today for those who are joining us online today that we might all sense the very real presence of your holy spirit that you are here and that you want to move within us and you want to do a work within your people today and i pray that you would help us turn to that source of living water that source of of fresh water that source of revitalization and refreshment upon our souls that become so dry and so weary and that we would not be looking in any other direction of anything this world can offer or give or throw upon us because there's no satisfaction there there is no peace there at the end of the day we're left with nothing but when we come to you the source the source of living water we pray that our thirst might be quenched today and that as you refresh us that our praise might just return unto you and that you would have your way among your people we pray for those who have specific needs today for health for their wellness for those who are sorrowing for those who have been given devastating news for the news headlines in our province in our country around our world oh father we need you like never before have your way among your people and use us use us to spread your gospel and the love of your son jesus christ in your name we pray amen and amen praise god what a great sense of the presence of the lord we feel in this the lord's sanctuary this morning he is here amen and i believe wants to minister and touch the hearts and lives of so many today our team is looking a little bit different around us today as we have a few that are away on vacation and and uh brandon is working and we're thankful for the many who are willing to step up and help us out and to come alongside and use their gifts and their talents as well there's a couple of here that you might not even know who they are you're wondering who this guy was that's over here playing the bass guitar and now back here playing the the double b in the band well that's my good friend and brother in the lord rick pilgrim and rick and donna have officially become part of us in these days they've moved in from central newfoundland are now living close by and we'll be seeing a little bit of them so thank you rick this morning for helping us out and i don't know but something tells me that we're going to see a little bit of this fellow too his name is tyler hopkins from twillinggate uh he's got a little something for our daughter emily so we're thankful to tyler this morning helping us out on the drums and we're always grateful to adam who fills in wherever needed bless you buddy and thank you so much we're going to sing together again now with the help of the band here's somebody else filling in this morning charlene thank you again today for helping us out in the leadership of the band and we're going to sing lord jesus i long to be perfectly old would you want to stand as we sing these words together i want thee forever to live in my soul cast out every idol break down every idol cast out every fall now wash me and i shall be whiter than lord snow [Music] [Music] oh [Music] uh [Music] foreign [Music] one praise the lord amen beautiful singing this morning this is a progression a prayer to our lord this morning and then we get to the final verse and we receive the answer don't we the blessing by faith amen i receive from above all glory my soul is made perfect in love my prayer has prevailed amen and this moment i know the blood is applied thank you jesus the blood is applied i am whiter cleansed redeemed by the blood of jesus whiter than snow the final verse [Music] amen you can be seated bless you so much to do to get ready if you have your bibles this morning please open them to the book of jeremiah chapter 2. jeremiah chapter two we're going to be looking at when israel forsakes their god the words are on the screen and you can follow along we're reading verses 1 down through 13. jeremiah chapter 2 the word of the lord came to me go and proclaim in the hearing of jerusalem i remember the devotion of your youth how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert through a land not sown israel was holy to the lord the first fruits of his harvest all who devoured her were held guilty and disaster overtook them declares the lord hear the word of the lord o house of jacob all you clans of the house of israel this is what the lord says what fault did your fathers find in me that they strayed so far from me they followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves they did not ask where is the lord who brought us up out of egypt and led us through the barren wilderness through a land of deserts and rifts a land of drought and darkness a land where no one travels and no one lives i brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce but you came and you defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable the priests did not ask where is the lord those who deal with the law did not know me the leaders rebelled against me the prophets prophesied by baal following worthless idols therefore i bring charges against you again declares the lord and i will bring charges against your children's children cross over to the coast of kitim and look send to kadar and observe closely see if there has ever been anything like this has a nation ever changed its gods and yet they're not gods at all but my people my people have exchanged their glory for worthless idols be appalled at this o heavens and shudder with horror declares the lord 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 may the lord bless his word and give us wisdom and understanding to hear what he says to us today amen amen i've inserted this course that we're about to sing into the order of service for a purpose this morning a very special purpose a time of recognition for one of our members in our congregation our lead local officer in our congregation major lloyd george and we're going to sing these words and we're going to take some moments to recognize him this morning and give glory to god and it's for a very significant reason and we'll do that in just a moment but i want us to sing these words he's been faithful to me major lloyd loves this course i thought we'd sing it this morning he supplies all my needs he's been faithful to me he's always been there amen lloyd he's always been there every burden to share he's been faithful to me yes my lord's been faithful to me all of us can acknowledge the presence of the lord and how wonderful and how faithful he has been and continues to be in our own lives in these days listening these words then major lloyd could you join us here on the platform please after we sing he's been faithful to me [Music] me [Music] is he's always [Music] me to me [Applause] [Music] he supplies all my [Music] [Applause] [Music] he's [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] amen we shared a couple of weeks ago a number of family members of major lloyd and marlene and friends and colleagues we gathered at the holiday inn out on portugal cove road and we shared in a big celebration for this guy i know he doesn't look old enough for this but you know what this man is retired officially retired from active service as a salvation army officer and i thought you know we should acknowledge him within the congregation as well and give all you folks an opportunity to celebrate major lloyd we know how important he is and how special he is to each of us we love you lloyd we do and we're thankful for the privilege we're thankful for the privilege of being able to work alongside of major lloyd here as our core sergeant major in cbs and if there's one thing that stands out in my mind regarding lloyd is in conversation he loves to talk about his appointments he loves to talk about all the appointments that he had over his 35 years of active service as a salvation army officer and he would always follow it up with this statement i never had a bad appointment i would go back to either one of them and he's got such a heart and a love for people and i believe over the years many congregations and communities in which he has served have been the recipient of many blessings because of the faithfulness and the love that he shows to his lord and to his congregations and his people and are we blessed to have him here as our core sergeant major we sure and so effective july the 1st major lloyd uh rolled into active retirement act of retirement i think that's a good way to put it isn't it he rolled into active retirement not going to be a man to sit back in his lazy boy chair with his remote control but this man is active i play ball with this guy every thursday evening it's an experience it really is we have a lot of fun good times together lloyd as a congregation here in cbs and as your pastors claudette and i we wish you nothing but the best my friend and we believe that god's got wonderful things in store for you yet you're certainly not finished with ministry as we're blessed to have you served here and i know the lord will use you in many many different places and times in the days to come so here's a certificate that was uh presented to major lloyd from the divisional commander lieutenant colonel eddie vincent back a couple of weeks ago and it's my privilege again this morning in front of this congregation and all of you watching at home to present it once again and to show our love and appreciation to lloyd and to wish him all the best in his future endeavors lloyd and i spend a nice bit of time together so i think for us masks aren't really required right here right now so forgive us for that as we spend a whole lot of time in coffee and chatting together where we don't wear masks there so i don't know that we need to wear them right here this morning in front of each other bless you lloyd thank you so much paul in writing the church at thessaloni cecil north carolina said this he who calls you is faithful and that's one thing i've proven in our officership he's been faithful every moment of every day as we uh travel the journey i do like talking about our my appointments and it's not the appointment itself it's the people in those appointments i've often said the four core appointments that we've had we've gone into a congregation but we left the family and uh i i would i would go back again to those appointments but maybe someone more capable is there now but i think i thank god for that for that opportunity and as majors already said i never had a bad appointment yeah there are challenges in some of those appointments but you know we've been blessed beyond measure in reflecting back i remember when we when i was growing up in this core just down the road well i guess it's the third said though i grew up and started off in a little little signal down the road then with the second one this one i've as i reflected back i guess i was the least likely to leave home i've heard people say you'll never leave home he's too shy i and i was to a fault but you know god at his plan of my life he has end of my life and things that led up i remember going um working and i getting laid off work and getting laid off and said this is not life i want and so i remember going to i won the career so i went to the fire department in central fire department and i went in and made application and you know the ironic thing about it i'm frightened out of heights you know but but when i came out of that fire department across the way it was a police police station and i felt led really of god to go in there and i went in and made application to the police force and you know within three or four weeks i was accepted for the police force and i that's god's shaping of my life i was so shy but you know you can't be shy as a police officer and i remember my my first ship was a night shift and the first while we were on muster we got called down to a pub was a fight in the pub and so again got introduced and god god continued to groom i i believe grew me because i felt the call of officership on my life but again the handicap that i had i felt kept me from answering that call and then in 1979 we had officers come with two teenage daughters and they're still here they're still here and one became over and again that's god's god's plan for my life marilyn has been a strong-armed she's been a stalwart in my life and as we uh as as we begin as we begin to get serious i remember one day she said to me lloyd do you ever feel called to be an officer and i said wow yeah i did i did but i would never express to anyone because of my shyness and god god used that and you know the appointments we've had in the little town of charlottetown we began there how god moved in our congregation i remember people just coming to put across we went to huntsville ontario and you know people saying well they're different up there you know but you know there are people there who came and accept the lord jesus christ and the savior lord moved on to glace bay nova scotia we were blessed there god god used us in in a powerful way and then louis park and then then on to our social appointments i better cut this short i'm not preaching this morning but god god just used us and i believe he used us in spite of who we are in uh someone once said he takes the foolish things of the of the world to confound the mighty i don't know if i can found it much mighty but it takes the simple things and he molds them and into his likeness and he uses them for his glory and anything that has happened in our ministry in the last 35 years it's not because of me it's because of him him you amusing me for his glory and i thank god for that and it's been my privilege to after many years that as we if we traveled before we left trinity college our first daughter was born her first appointment a second daughter was born in that third appointment we had two more and and i wonder who was going to get another appointment but but but we thank we thank god for our daughters that they've been a blessing in our grandchildren and our foster children that we've had the privilege to foster you know i've been truly blessed i've been truly blessed as a person and i thank god for every blessing and i pray that as we continue to i'm retired as an officer of salvation army but i'm not retired from serving the lord jesus christ i'll serve him with all my passion with all my heart and i've had the opportunity of coming back home to our home congregation once again to serve him and again i am blessed and i thank you and i pray that as we work together for the glory of god that we'll see men and women giving the hearts of the lord jesus christ that's all that matters that all that matters that we be an influence and impact on others for the lord jesus christ we can't save them he can but he can use us to lead him into a relationship with him god bless you and thank you so much for all that you've been god [Applause] there we go hold on congratulations major lloyd and actually uh his testimony kind of fits in with um what i'm going to say here this morning god works in mysterious ways for sure um it's about putting god first in our priorities and i'm sure that major has constantly put god before his own needs and it turns out that when we do that we end up leading an absolutely blessed life um i was in conversation with a friend of mine uh this week and it actually came up that when i don't spend time with god every day i can feel it in my everyday life the things that i want to get accomplished probably sometimes get missed so i have a little demonstration here to talk about that this morning so let's talk about the things that we like to do i can get it here and i'm gonna make a mess again this morning but it's okay all right so what are some things that we like to do some things are fun i never heard someone say that they like to play soccer which is not a bad thing i love play soccer it's good to be physically active let's see let's pour that in that's for playing soccer what else do we like to do i know someone here likes to play with dinosaurs i think we like to play with dinosaurs right yeah we like to play dinosaurs so we'll make it a real mess uh what else what's something else we like to do we like to play with our friends i get to clean it up so it's okay it's all good yeah what's that oh swimming yeah we like to go swimming camping oh summer camp yes that's a really important one glenn that's an awesome one we like to go to summer camp so there's all the things that we like to do but what about the things god wants us to do so these balls here are going to represent some things that god wants us to do so what are some of those things anybody want to shout one out read the bible perfect good one read the bible what pray right pray is a good one what else go to church yeah that's another good one love he wants us to love he wants was that being kind he wants us to be kind doesn't he oh what else was another one maybe listening to our parents obeying our parents yeah let's see they're not all going to fit are they sometimes we fill our lives with the things we want to do and we forget about what god wants us to do so let's try again by doing what god wants us to do first let's see let's get all this out here they're gonna go away that's okay that's okay let's start again all right so what did we say god wanted us to do go read our bible right pray go to church love and to be kind right and we're missing one more and obey our parents that's an important one that's a good one all right now what about all the things that we like to do i'll hold it up so we can do a little bit better swimming summer camp right playing with dinosaurs playing soccer swimming playing with our friends and all those things and they all seem to fit with room despair when we put god first in our lives all those things will be added onto us all those things we're not missing out when we take the time to pray and to read our bible and to be kind we're not missing out on anything boys and girls god will always give us room to spare and he will always give us what we need to follow him isn't he amazing he's amazing amen god bless you all we've said it so many times there's no way the children's time is just for the children there's a good lesson in there for all of us charlene very very moving to watch you share that this morning we're going to continue to worship our lord and we're going to sing shout to the lord all the earth let us sing glory and majesty praise to the king mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of your name it's a beautiful worship song this morning enter in and sing it with us you're going to want to stand halfway through when we get to that part that says shout to the lord stand to your feet and praise him let's share it together my jesus [Music] [Music] i is [Music] let every [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] let us [Music] mountains [Music] [Applause] forever [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] let us [Music] the mountains [Applause] [Music] forever [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] let us [Music] [Music] [Applause] oh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] nothing compares [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] um [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] uh [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] more but what i need [Music] [Applause] [Music] please [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] and father we pray today that as we've gathered in this place that we would know what it is to give more and more of self up that we would learn what it means to surrender what we have and who we are that we might be able to have more of you we realize that you are here and you are here in all of your fullness but too often in life we fill our things we fill up with other things besides you and that leaves so very little space as charlene so wisely demonstrated this morning but when we come to you the source and the fountain of living water when we seek first your kingdom all of these other things will be added on to us we will not go without we will not be without father our prayer today is that you would give us the strength to release whatever we are holding on to that we might have more and more room for the spirit of the living god to just come and to take over and to work within us have your way now as we look into your word speak to our hearts give us wisdom give us understanding open our ears that we might hear you and the strength and the willingness to obey in your name we pray amen and amen you may be seated study tells us that the portion of scripture that we read earlier today is probably jeremiah's first sermon after he was ordained major lloyd has a little bit further look back than what i do but reflecting back on the beginning of our ministry after college i was remembering how new everything was and remembering how big the task seemed and the immense responsibility to god and his gospel that had become ours and i remember feeling inadequate and i remember feeling kind of stomach sick as the time to speak drew nearer feeling who am i really who am i who am i to stand before those who were a lot older than me at that point in time who were more versed in scripture than me who have walked with god longer than what i had who am i and what could i say what could i give them that would help them in their walk with god and so i sympathize a little here with jeremiah as he begins his ministry and he has to relay the message that god has given him it was a huge task to begin with for one just learning to preach but then to add to that this message is not an easy one to hear it wasn't a message to make the people of israel feel good about themselves in fact god's message was that he was beginning to lay out charges against israel for being disobedient from being rebellious to him they were guilty as verse 11 tells us of exchanging their glorious god for worthless idols they turned their backs on the one true god who had been their glory and they turned towards things instead that could do absolutely nothing for them and why this is what the lord says what fault what fault did your ancestors find in me that they have strayed so far from me and the answer none there is no unrighteousness in god there is no unfaithfulness there is no lack of truth there is no lack of integrity they could find no fault because god is a covenant keeping god he had never failed them and he would never fail them in fact the message that god gave jeremiah outlines what god had actually done for them he had brought them up out of egypt he had led them through the barren wilderness through a land of deserts and ravines of drought and darkness where no one travels and no one lives he brought them into a wonderfully fertile land after all he had done for them the people of israel were ungrateful and the lord through the prophet jeremiah calls for the attention of them because all of them had been guilty and let's not think here that the prophet was speaking to those who didn't know better that he was speaking to those who didn't know the lord and were not aware of what he had done for them this message was sent to god's people god's people to those who believed to the ones who were supposedly living for him and they were all cautioned to listen very carefully they had failed the lord in their thinking in their actions in their knowledge and in their everyday living they were no longer living for god but living for self pride self-conceived self-absorption self-obsession they all cause people to want to please their physical bodies they want to please their flesh and god's people allowed these things to grow and to reign in their lives they pleased their flesh by worshiping things they could see with their physical eyes or or touch with their hands they were actually committing spiritual adultery to god how timely is jeremiah's message for our world today everywhere we look every news broadcast we hear every new law that is being passed we see how god who has so blessed us in the past has been forsaken and how our nations have turned to other things self-pleasing things but let's not forget to look at this individually we can't just blame our nation and our government we have to look a lot closer have we personally turned away from the one true god to other things the israelites had gotten into the habit of accepting substitutes for god have we too exchanged our glorious god for worthless idols as god watches how we are living is he saying once again as he did in verses 12 and 13 be appalled at this you heavens and shudder with great horror 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 wow israel had abandoned the lord the source of their spiritual salvation and sustenance and they have turned to what are useless objects of trust that's not only idolatry but idolatry from those who should have known better cisterns for about half the year rainfall is quite scarce in the middle east and as a result it's important that water be stored during those rainy months for a long dry season and so people would use cisterns to store water their families needed to drink their flocks and herds needed to drink now a cistern is not a well we're familiar here in newfoundland about a well and the fresh water it gives a well is fed by an underground water source while a cistern can only store the water that is literally put into it and what happens to standing water it becomes stagnant it becomes polluted it becomes disgusting it's a breeding ground for insects and for germs and so if you were standing in between a cistern and a source of fresh flowing water with a glass which would you choose if you were getting water for your family who were dying of thirst which would you choose which would you assume israel would have chosen any person in their right mind would want fresh living water and so why here in jeremiah 2 do we find god accusing israel of preferring the stagnant polluted waters of a cistern to the cool refreshing unlimited living water that god wanted to give them because symbolically that's what they were doing look at verse 13 they have dug their own cisterns their cisterns they owned them it was their water they didn't have to ask anyone let alone god for permission to use this water and so why did israel leave the pure living giving water of god for that contaminated water found in broken cisterns because they weren't willing to come they weren't willing to listen to god revelation 22 17 says whoever is thirsty let them come and whoever wishes let them take free the free gift of the water of life and then jesus said in john 7 we read at the beginning of the service this evening this morning john 7 37 and 38 if anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink whoever believes in me as the scripture has said streams of living water will flow from within him but in order to get god's kind of water and in order to find lasting satisfaction that's going to quench the thirst that otherwise would never be quenched you have to come to god you have to listen to what jesus has to say and you have to accept his standards and live according to his desires and not your own israel had gotten to the point that they didn't want god they didn't want anyone else to tell them what they should aim for or who they should be how they should live they wanted to dig their own wells they wanted to drink their own water they wanted to follow their own evolutionary thinking they wanted to make their own decisions on what was right and what was wrong they wanted to be free to do their own thing but how did the israelites get to being like this did they just wake up one morning and say hey you know what i don't want to serve god anymore no these were still a very religious people according to verse 8 these people still had priests they still had prophets they still had those who dealt with the law the problem was not that israel had stopped being religious they had simply gotten into the habit of creating god in their own image making him to be what they wanted him to be and we say well you know what we would never do that we're smarter than that now we've come a long way from the time of the israelites you know maybe it wouldn't be intentional but we need to understand that at times accepting substitutes for god isn't a matter of openly rejecting god sometimes it's simply a matter of compromising our faith so that life is easier for us without realizing it we quietly accept choices we quietly accept the decisions made by those around us to keep the peace we avoid standing up for what is right because we're afraid to make a noise and we won't question the the not quite right actions and behavior of family or friends because we fear for the relationship we want to keep our relationship with our family and with our friends how many have allowed their integrity at work to slip because of pressures put on them or try to justify what is wrong because of the greater gain without realizing what is happening we begin to dig our own systems we allow our god to be molded by our jobs and our relationships and our government decision makers and before we know it the one true living god of abraham isaac and jacob the god of the bible has been changed into a small god that won't offend anyone a substitute what did the lord tell jeremiah in verse 8 the priest did not ask where is the lord even the priests never bothered to seek god they never bothered to seek his will or anything else that god wanted the desire to know god and to make his name known among the nations had had gone the longing to be right in the sight of god had gone the healthy fear of the lord had gone and instead the cravings of the sinful nature and the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life had crept in we are to long for god and to yearn for him as david wrote about in psalm 63 and one he said o god thou art my god i shall seek thee earnestly my soul thirsts for thee my flesh yearns for thee in a dry and weary land where there is no water david says there are no substitutes there is nothing else that can satisfy nothing else that would be acceptable he literally felt that he would die of thirst if he accepted anything less than what god supplied but that's not how our society feels today is it it's easy to see as we look around us that god has been forsaken it's no longer a popular thing in society to be a christian people look at you funny if you bow your head and close your eyes to say grace or give thanks in a restaurant people are calling you out on open line have you listened to them this week day in and day out we see how immoral our nation has become family members killing each other people making up false accusations against others there are still school shoutings the discovery of these residential school children who were murdered the drug community has gone wild everyone wanting the right to do whatever they want in the name of freedom we know we know when we think back into history we know that there were upwards of 17 million people killed during the holocaust and and we're appalled at that as we should be it absolutely breaks our hearts when we think of that type of devastation the worldometer reveals that at the years end on december 31st 2020 december 31st 2020 there were 8.2 million people who had died from cancer 5 million who had died from smoking 1.7 million who died of hiv or aids approximately 20 million people had died from cardiovascular disease but do you know the leading cause of death globally abortion a man made decision on the right of life was once again the number one cause of death globally in 2020 with 42.7 million unborn babies being killed in the womb during those 12 months that's a hundred and sixteen thousand nine hundred and eighty-six per day and that's the ones we know about stats for canada in 2019 83 576. stats for newfoundland for 2019 999. that's what happens when we turn our backs on god when we dig our own cisterns and when we drink from that stagnant disease-ridden water our entire world is in turmoil our world is lost our country our province our communities we are continually looking for something to replace god and yet we know and we have that longing within our hearts and within our souls and our spirits that it is god and god alone that can satisfy him we thirst after him and yet we deny him the word of the lord that came to jeremiah can has easily come to us today they have forsaken me they have forsaken me for broken cisterns that can hold no water we have wandered from the one the psalmist called the fountain of life and we've gone after other gods small g israel had failed to find satisfaction in various sins and and other futile attempts to fill their lives but their attempts were like trying to fill broken cisterns whatever they did accumulate became stagnant and they weren't able to hold on to much of what they found they were constantly running after life but it was just running through their fingers like sand they were trying to gain possession after possession more and more and more but they had nothing of real eternal value there was an emptiness inside of their hearts and they knew it but they were unwilling to turn to the true god whose supply of life was endless and they were not sure that they could trust the lord to satisfy their thirst and so here's the first truth we find in this passage today we are all thirsty all of us we are all thirsty in other words there are legitimate deep thirsts and longings in our lives that are placed there by god we long for our lives to have meaning we are searching for a legitimate purpose in which we can all invest our lives we are looking for love and we are looking for intimacy and we run after joy we run after happiness we desire peace we yearn for freedom and all of these longings are a part of what makes us human and friends i want to tell you it's not a sin to be thirsty it never has been but trying to satisfy that thirst in ways other than coming to god is a sin it's not a sin to desire love to want to be loved want to be held but how you decide to meet your need for love might very well be a sin it's not a sin to want meaning and purpose in your life but when your life's essential purpose and meaning doesn't line up with god's will for you then it's wrong it's not a sin to want freedom unless you're wanting to be free from god it's not a sin to want to be happy but trying to meet your longing for happiness outside of the will of god is not only wrong but it's destructive to you in your life and that's where addictions come in that's why divorce is so high that's why the abortion rate is so high that's why gambling is such a problem that's why people become workaholics and they they work themselves they run themselves into deep depression that's why suicide is continually on the rise it's like drinking that smelly stagnant diseased water at the bottom of a broken cistern you and i know better but we do it anyway we try to fill that void that only christ can fill with everything but christ and it reminds me of what the writer of ecclesiastes says in ecclesiastes 2 7-11 i bought male and female slaves and i had other slaves who were born in my house i also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in jerusalem before me i amassed silver and gold for myself and the treasure of kings and provinces i acquired male and female singers had a harem as well as the delights as well the delights of a man's heart i became greater by far than anyone in jerusalem before me in all this my wisdom stayed with me i denied myself nothing my eyes desired i refused my heart no pleasure my heart took delight in all my labor and this was the reward for all my toil yet yet when i surveyed all that my hands had done and what i had toiled to achieve everything was meaningless chasing after the wind nothing was gained under the sun god is our source of our supply and our best attempts to satisfy our needs in our own way will only result in failure the greatest loss of today's society isn't the things we think we need the greatest loss is that we've forsaken our father he is the fountain of living water his grace is ever flowing he designed life and he knows best how life was meant to be lived meet those needs his way and we experience fulfillment and freedom try to meet those needs our way and we experience frustration and failure the second truth is that many people are busy digging cisterns we are not so different from the people of jeremiah's day are we the one thing that is different is that we have more available to us with which we try to satisfy that that deep longing and the thirsting of our lives we pile up our possessions we build up our bank accounts we we take in whatever pleasure and entertainment we can we treat ourselves we entertain ourselves we amuse ourselves we're still playing that absurd game of trying to build our own cisterns while the stream of god's fresh living water is just flowing right along next to us god is calling out to us and he's inviting us to come and drink and be satisfied but we don't want to hear what god is telling us our man-made cisterns are leaking out faster than we can fill them and yet we still deny god what is in us that makes us prefer to do things our way rather than accept god's way why do we insist on building broken cisterns why do we run from one thing to another never ever finding that satisfaction that we are searching for and yet never run to god the words rebellion that's why we may be ruining our lives but at least no one is telling us what to do we don't need anyone including god to interfere with how we want to live that's the reason why the third truth from this passage in jeremiah is that we have a choice to make and the team is going to take their place and get ready to lead us into a time of reflection this morning but we have a choice to make we can go on trying to feed our desires ourselves or we can come to god and have our deepest longings met have them satisfied we can try we can go on trying to to make our lives work by our own effort or we can ask god's presence to fill us we can do it god's way or we can do it our way but understand something this morning god is the only fountain of life in him alone is the all-sufficiency of grace and strength that we need all of our hope all of our life all of our energy that springs from him comes from him when we look to anything else we cheat ourselves and when we we leave behind god's goodness and his mercies for lies and for empty promises of this world it took a lot of effort to dig out stone cisterns that could receive water blood sweat tears trying to create something to bring satisfaction only to realize that it's brokenness only to see the false security that all of that brings us when the israelites came to quench their thirst they found nothing but dirt and mud and the leftover filth of standing water if we work and strive and end up making idols of our wealth and our pleasure and our power and our honor if we labor to get where we want to go and to gain all the freedoms that we believe are found in doing things our way if we make that our joy and our love our hope and our confidence friends we're going to find that is simply a broken cistern a hole that we have worked hard to dig to hold everything we work for but a hole that's filled with cracks and crevices in which nothing can stand and at the end of the day at the end of the day when we go to receive from it we will find it empty empty of the hopes empty of the promises empty of the joy and the refreshment that could have been ours if only we had come to if only we had received from the fountain of living water i fear this morning for those who have never ever made a real commitment for those whose life is hectic and perhaps even looks full and yet they are losing everything i fear for those who are trying to just be casual christians when it's convenient and it's not working and i fear for those who have become rigidly religious and they're missing out on what it means to have a wonderful intimate relationship with god don't allow the influence of this world and its philosophies and its perceptions and its attitudes to build your cisterns and to draw you away from the lord don't allow them to draw you away from the only source of abundant life instead let us therefore with purpose of heart cleave only to the lord for where else can we go he has the words of eternal life find your life find your love find your joy in him alone find your hope find your peace find your fulfillment in him alone and leave behind those broken cisterns that can hold nothing and cling to the source of living water to the river i am going [Music] bringing everything that i can't bear anymore in my life [Music] precious jesus i am ready to surrender every care are you there this morning are you ready to leave behind those old stagnant waters of broken cisterns and to accept the water the fresh flowing fountain of living water saved and unsaved alike we need to re-consider we need to re-evaluate where we are and come to him come to him and find the life that we're looking for [Music] me [Music] me [Applause] [Music] me [Music] from [Applause] [Music] i am [Music] jesus [Music] take my hand down leave me closer lord i need [Music] we bring up the words of that first part the first verse come and cleanse me are we there are we at that point in our lives where we recognize that we need to be cleansed or are we still too caught up in the way life is and how we want our own way [Music] we need to feel that longing we need to be thirsty we need to be hungry we need to recognize the sins that are ours and we need to call out to him to come and cleanse us the second part of that verse roma in these waters in the fresh water that's flowing from the fountain of living water there's healing mercy and we don't ever have to feel like we are trapped in the ways of the world we don't ever have to feel like we are stuck or to feel that we have just gone so far that things can't change but in the waters in those fresh waters that god is offering us when we come to him through his son jesus christ there is healing mercy and that water is flowing with freedom from despair who wants to be free from despair this morning oh how many in our world are so distraught and yet there's freedom there's freedom if we would but drink can we start again i'm going to invite you to stand i want us to enter into this time of worship we'll pick it up just a little bit get the flow going a little easier i want us to sing it with conviction this morning the spirit of god is moving within your spirit raise your hands step out in the aisle come forward there is freedom in this place there's freedom in the waters of god's mercy if we would just avail of what's available to us stand as we share together and sing unto him [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] healing mercy [Music] i am lord i need to meet you jesus i am leave me closer come and join us he is calling me [Music] jesus [Music] every time [Music] me [Music] is [Music] me [Music] turn your eyes upon [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] strangely [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] strength [Music] [Applause] we don't have it on our lead this morning but can we sing the course that says i'll worship only at the feet of jesus his cup alone my holy grail there'll be no other gods before him just jesus only will never fail that's where our hope is that's where our joy is that's where our eternity lies is in knowing jesus christ i'll worship only at the feet of jesus [Music] it is [Music] me [Music] is [Music] [Music] me [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] me [Music] me [Applause] heavenly father we thank you this morning for the privilege of worship the privilege of your holy word speak it into our hearts into our minds and into our lives lord once again today we know that your word has become alive to us again what a challenge lord it's been today and i just pray that we would allow it to mold us and shape us that we will apply it to our lives today that as this course says that we will have no other gods before you just jesus in all our ways we will acknowledge you lord we will seek first your kingdom in all things lord we thank you that you are the source of life you are the giver of eternal life you are the source of living water lord our prayer today is that you will have your way in the hearts and lives of your people those who were challenged today probably that have not yet given their lives over to you that this word would speak to them they would give their lives completely in full surrender to jesus this day and they'll be able to sing from their hearts yes i have decided to follow jesus no turning back it's our prayer lord go with us this day we pray lord for our open air this evening this afternoon that the spirit of god would speak into the hearts of your people that you would bring them in lord and that the word would go in the open air and lives will be changed and transformed because they've heard the gospel because they've experienced jesus today we ask it in jesus name amen and amen well that was a that was a prayer and an announcement all in one yes there is an open air this afternoon and uh we're looking at the weather some of you are taking your phones and saying major are you sure yes i'm sure i'm sure i think the rain will stop if it hasn't already by one o'clock and uh we're then running into the sunshine friends so it's going to be good and we're looking forward to it i got to be honest i was a little downcast all week looking at the forecast looking at the forecast wasn't looking good and my wife said come on it's going to be all right it's going to be a good day it's changed before it'll change again and it changed again and we praise god for the opportunity so come and join us four o'clock this afternoon and i would encourage you to bring your lawn chairs you are allowed out of your vehicles you don't have to be cooped up in your vehicle bring your lawn chair sit out by your vehicle we'll probably have a few chairs set up in the front here as well so if you would like to come and join us and be our choir that would be wonderful too and worship along with us we're looking forward to it i have one other announcement passed along by our very own major cora she will be on vowr monday to friday this week at 9 00 a.m sharing a devotional thought with us so please take moments to tune in to what the lord has laid on major chorus heart to share uh with so many this week on v o w r that's it we're going to sing a course we're not going to get the band back in place we're just going to sing what we sang at the beginning this morning i have decided to follow jesus and you are then dismissed for lunch to come back this afternoon and worship with us again the offering will be received on the way out the ushers will guide you thank you for worshiping with us today god bless each of you and may you be a blessing to others [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] behind me [Applause] [Music] [Applause] me [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Salvation Army Conception Bay South Corps

Views: 6,694

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Id: Ha9frfZntmY

Length: 103min 57sec (6237 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 11 2021