A Nation Forsakes God

We saw a couple of weeks ago that Jeremiah is called to be a prophet. Chapter 1, Jeremiah 1, verse 5, the Lord says, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.

And before you were born, I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah lives from 627 to 585 B.C., and he's called to preach a message, a message of repentance, a message of judgment.

To the north is the superpower of Babylon. They have conquered the Assyrians, and they're knocking, as it were, at the door of Jerusalem and Judah. And God raises this man to speak to the nation. It's a very solemn message. It's a message of repentance. And if you don't repent, Jeremiah is saying, judgment will come. Not a popular message, and he's opposed — we read — by the kings, by the priests, by the people of the land. Chapter 1, verse 19, as we saw last time, they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you. Jeremiah, in spite of the opposition, is called to faithfully speak the Word of God. Any relevance for us today?

Absolutely, we live in a world, in a society which is increasingly hostile to those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ and who take the Bible seriously. And God calls us to display and proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ to all the nations, even though there's opposition, even though there's persecution. We are called by our Savior to go to all the nations. And as we do that, our Lord Jesus promises to be with us.

He gives that promise to Jeremiah. He gives that promise to you and me that Jesus says, I am with you to the end of the age. God is with us. God cares for us.

God protects us. God strengthens us. We believe that Christ is building His church and He is victorious.

Now this groundbreaking of our expansion today, I believe, is a visible symbol that this church, Calvary Church, is not on the retreat. In the grace of God, we seek to bring up our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. We are committed to building marriages which are founded on Jesus Christ. We are committed to be and make authentic followers of Jesus Christ throughout the world. We are called, as Jesus says, to be light illuminating the darkness. We're called to be salt permeating the corruption.

We believe that this book, the Bible, is the unearned Word of God. We want to be like Paul who says, I'm not ashamed of the Gospel. Are you ashamed of the Gospel sometimes? Are you ashamed that you're Christian sometimes? Your work?

Your relationships and your family at school? That bank where you work, are you sometimes ashamed to be a Christian? Never be ashamed of the Gospel. Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the Gospel.

Why is that? For, he says, it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. This is the message. The message that we believe is to go to all of the nations because this salvation found and found alone in the Lord Jesus Christ brings salvation to all who believe. So we're building this expansion to welcome people in the name of the Lord Jesus, to reach them where they are with the message of Christ's love and truth, to help everyone from young children through our seniors to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ so that we in turn will go out increasingly into this world. And we're learning from Jeremiah something very, very important. Something I find very encouraging that in a dark time, it is possible to stand true to God's Word.

That is possible. And to demonstrate as we do that, as Jeremiah does, as we'll discover in the series, that our God is a God of mercy, a God of love, a God of compassion, a God of restoration, but also a God of truth. And today, we'll learn something very serious. We'll learn what happens when a nation, a church, a family, an individual forgets God. So let's read Jeremiah chapter 2, and we're going to read the first 13 verses. Jeremiah 2 verse 1, the word of the Lord came to me, that's Jeremiah saying, go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, the capital, thus says the Lord, I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holy to the Lord, the first fruits of his harvest, all who ate of it incurred guilt.

Disaster came upon them, declares the Lord. Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob and all the clans of the house of Israel, thus says the Lord. What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me and went after worthlessness and became worthless? They did not say, where is the Lord, who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in the land of desert and pits, in the land of drought and deep darkness, in the land that none passes through where no man dwells? And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. The priest did not say, where is the Lord?

Those who handle the law did not know me. The shepherds transgressed against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit. Therefore, I still contend with you, declares the Lord, and with your children's children I will contend.

For cross to the coast of Cyprus and see, or send to Kedar and examine with care, see if there has been such a thing. Has a nation changed its gods, even though there are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens at this.

Be shocked. Be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn out cisterns from themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water." What a message Jeremiah receives from the Lord and goes right as it were to downtown Jerusalem and preaches such a message. A nation forgets God. Israel forgot God.

Notice how chapter 2 begins as Jeremiah makes his first address to the nation after his call. The people of God formally love God as a man loves his new bride, verse 2. I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride.

I had the privilege of officiating at a wedding right here, a young couple. And it's obvious by looking at this couple how they love each other. The bride is absolutely mesmerized by her husband.

We trust that continues. She's very much in love with him. That new love is wonderful to see, isn't it?

And a couple newly married, that's the picture. The Lord says, I remember your love. It was like your love as a bride. God delivered you from slavery. He's saying, I led you through the wilderness. I provided you, and I brought for you, verse 7, into a land, a plentiful land, to enjoy its fruits and its good things. Yes, the Lord had been abundantly gracious and kind to Israel.

They had no reason at all to forget God, their Creator and Redeemer. Did you notice the statement in verse 5? That says, the Lord, what wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me? Is there anything wrong in God that these people would ever forsake Him? Is there any flaw in God? Is there anything lacking in God that you would turn from God and go far from Him? Fourteen times in the book of Jeremiah, we read that they forgot God. Look at verse 17, chapter 2, have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the Lord your God when He led you in the way? Verse 19, your evil will chastise you and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God. The fear of me is not in you, declares the Lord of hosts. Verse 32, can a virgin forget her ornaments or a bride her attire?

Rhetorical question, obviously. Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. Fourteen times in the book of Jeremiah, we read that you have forsaken me.

You've forgotten about me. Fifteen times, we read that the people of God disobeyed God. Thirty-four times in the book of Jeremiah, we read you did not listen to me. Fathers, disappointed when your children don't listen to you, isn't it?

Imagine this. Thirty-four times the people of God are delivered this message through Jeremiah. You, my people, did not listen to me. They forgot God. They disobeyed God. They didn't listen to God.

What did they do? They committed spiritual adultery. They worshiped false gods. Back to chapter one, verse 16, which is a very key verse here in Jeremiah. I will declare my judgment against them for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped works of their own hands. Astonishing, isn't it? Chapter two, verse 27.

This is how bad it was. Who say to a tree, you're my father. They're worshiping a tree and they're saying, you're my father. And to a stone, you gave me birth. That's my mother. For they have turned their back to me and not their face, but in the time of their trouble they say, arise and save us.

What an indictment. You're making these false gods. You erect a tree and say, it's your father. You say to a stone, this is your mother. And you've turned your back to me and not your face. Oh, they should turn their face to God. We always should be facing God, shouldn't we?

Always looking to God, worshiping God, loving God. No, what you've done, Israel, you've turned your back on me. Have you ever had anyone turn their back on you and walk away? I've had that happen.

Very disrespectful, isn't it? You're speaking to someone and they're so annoyed, they just turn their back on you and you walk away. That's what you've done, Israel. Instead of turning your face to me, you've turned your back to me.

You've walked away from me. Ah, but did you know this? What they do in the time of trouble, arise and save us. Isn't that what you do? You walk away from God. You live your own life. You're fed up with God. You're tired of your Christian heritage. You no longer believe what your parents believe. You're going to do your own thing. Ah, but whenever any trouble comes into your life, what do you do?

Oh God, please help me. That's Israel, isn't it? They worshiped false gods. What about the leadership of the nation? What are the leaders doing?

The spiritual leadership of the nation totally fails. Did you know this verse 8 of chapter 2? Their priest did not say, where is the Lord?

Those who handled the law didn't know me. The shepherds transgressed against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit. A total failure in the leadership of Israel. Go over to chapter 5, Jeremiah 5 verse 30. An appalling and a horrible thing has happened in the land.

Who is there? What's so horrible and terrible in the land in the view of God? The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction. My people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?

Isn't it shocking? Here are the priests. Here are the spiritual shepherds. Here are the prophets, and they turn from the Word of God. The prophets give false prophecies. The priests, instead of giving instructions in accordance with the Word of God, they're given their own direction. They're giving their own opinions. What's the result? The people love to have it so.

What a condition. The people are being deceived. The Word of God is not being declared, and the congregation, as it were, say, this is absolutely cool.

Wasn't that a cool service? And they go away feeling very good about themselves. You know what God says? It's an appalling, and it's a horrible thing. You familiar with the teaching of Jesus about false prophets?

The Pharisees and the Sadducees seven times, isn't it, in Matthew 23? Woe to you. Woe to you.

Woe to you. Blind leaders of the blind. The unthinkable had happened. This is Israel, loved by God, delivered by God, provided by God, brought into the Promised Land.

The unthinkable happens. They abandon the living and the true God. They forget God. They turn their back on God.

They disobey His commandments, and they worship false gods. Jeremiah is sent to such a nation, and his message is really a simple one. Repent. And unless you repent, judgment is coming.

He says disaster is coming from the north. He knows the Babylonians are there. They're a powerful foe, and they're going to come, and they're going to destroy Jerusalem.

They're going to destroy the temple unless you repent. Israel forgetting God. Let me ask you, do you think we as a nation, United Nations, United States, are we forgetting God?

Those of you who are older, think back to your childhood. Think back even 30 years ago, and compare it with today. Think of the blessings this country has had from God.

Think of its remarkable history. Think of its moderner coins in God we trust. But isn't it true we are increasingly forgetting God? We're ignoring God. We're marginalizing God. We're even denying God. And like ancient Israel, we've lost the fear of God.

Chapter 2, verse 19. At the end of verse 19, the fear of me is not in you. Are we as a nation God-fearing?

Would you say? I wonder if we're even God-fearing in the church. We're going to turn the sanctuary, a place of worship, into a kind of Starbucks where people walk in and God's really cool, God's my buddy, and God's there to help me.

The fear of God. We as a nation not only tolerate sinful conduct, we openly applaud it, don't we? So this month, this month, is LGBTQ plus pride month. And if you don't applaud it, you're regarded as a bigot. We have same-sex marriages. We have openly gay preachers. We have rampant divorce. We have transgenderism.

We have epidemic immorality. Marriage as ordained by God is disregarded. I read a couple of weeks ago that we now have women who marry themselves. It's called sologamy. You don't know whether to laugh or cry.

But this series, they're doing this. Instead of marrying a man, I'm going to marry myself. They have a wedding dress. They have a wedding ceremony to develop a relationship with themselves.

It's described as a symbolic expression of self-love and an affirmation of a deep, meaningful relationship with oneself. Tragic, isn't it? All of this, make no mistake, is an attack by our enemy on God's created order. And many churches are strangely silent on these issues. Biblical preaching, the teaching of doctrine are de-emphasized. Doctrine, we're told, is boring.

We should have fun. Although Paul says that all Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for, first thing he says is teaching. But we ignore it.

We replace it. We want make me feel good sermonettes, inspiring and sentimental stories. Isn't that amazing how sentimental the church has become?

Biblical ideology, traditions, pragmatic techniques, hype, fun, excitement, raw emotionalism, pop psychology, all replacing the exposition of the Word of God. I ask you, what are true shepherds of God's people to do? Look at chapter 3, verse 15. You've got these unfaithful leaders misleading the people of God, but the people love it.

And what do we have here? Chapter 3, verse 15, I will give you shepherds after my own heart. What does a shepherd do after God's own heart? He will feed you with knowledge and understanding. Oh, I thought the preacher was to make me feel good, was to have fun. No, first, knowledge. There are things you need to know.

There are things you need to understand so that you're not swayed by the raw emotionalism, that you're not taken in by the inspiring, sentimental storyteller, that there is knowledge which is essential for leadership. But isn't it true in an attempt to be cool, many churches simply mirror the surrounding pagan culture. Someone said if you want to know really what's going on in America, you go into one of these contemporary churches, and it's just like the surrounding culture. A glaring example is this church, we can't call it a church, in Texas which hosted a family-friendly drag show entitled The Pride Prom. It's astonishing, isn't it? It's appalling, it's in the United States. Isaiah writes many years ago, 700 years B.C., chapter 5 verse 2, "'Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.'"

Isn't that what we're doing now in our country? We're calling evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. The spiritual leaders in Jeremiah's time and many in our time will become, we go over to chapter 5 verse 13, he gives this incredible description of them, chapter 5 verse 13, the prophets will become wind. The word is not in them, thus it shall be done to them.

We would call them windbags, right? A lot of noise, a lot of emotion, a lot of fun, a lot of excitement, but there is nothing there, it's wind. The Word of God is not there. And my people love to have it so, chapter 5 verse 31. They don't want the truth. They can't handle the truth. Let me ask you at Calvary Church, very serious question.

Don't shout it out, but answer it, each one of you. Do you want your spiritual leader at Calvary Church to proclaim the truth? Do you really? Do you really? I mean, don't you want to leave a service feeling good about yourself saying, well, we really had fun at church today.

It's remarkable how churches become like kindergarten, isn't it? Everyone's got to be fun, everyone's got to be excited, everyone's got to be hiked up. Do you want to have fun all the time? This week I went to my cardiologist, and what does a cardiologist do? He checks your heart. I do have a heart.

Number one, I can get it in writing if you want. So he checks it out with a conversation about different things. He tells me, by the way, he says your heart, heartbeat is very strong.

So I thought, thank you for that, doctor. So we had to talk, and I said to him, I said, now what would you do if there's something wrong with my heart? And he thinks, what are you talking about? He said, I'll tell you. I said, well, don't you want your patients to think you're a great doctor, that we leave feeling good, that this is a kind of fun examination.

He looks at me. No, he's a cardiologist. He's there to tell me the truth, whether I like it or not. That is his job.

If he doesn't do it, we call that professional incompetence. But I said to him, what happens if I, if there was something wrong about my heart, I said, could you not give me something so that I would leave feeling good? He smiled, he said, yeah. He said, that could make you feel really good. He could give me some drugs so that I'm flying high.

I could leave that office. I could, whenever I thought there was a problem in my heart, take some pill, take some drug that would make me feel good. And I said, well, why don't you do that? He said, if I gave that to you, then it would destroy you.

I thought, yes. This cardiologist is wiser than most preachers, isn't it? Do you want to be lulled into a false sense of security? Do you want to come to a place of worship where you're just reinforced in your own prejudices and desire? The goal of preaching is not so that you feel good, but it is to proclaim God's perfect truth. And the wonder is that when you receive that truth, and when that truth transforms you and saves you, it will give you an incredible joy that will last whatever happens in life because that joy, as we'll see in a moment, is rooted within you. And so Paul says to Timothy, 2 Timothy 4, there's going to come a time when your people will not endure sound teaching.

They will have itching ears. They will, he says, accumulate teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. In other words, there's going to come a time when the congregation select a preacher who's going to reinforce them in what they want so they feel good, but instead of hearing the truth, they wander away into myths and to their own destruction.

Our nation, isn't it true? Largely speaking, is turning from the truth, has forgotten God. We have pursued idols such as money, sensuality, pleasure, success, entertainment, sport, ourselves or families. John says in 1 John 5 verse 21, little children, keep yourself from idols.

Any idols in your life? Don't forget God. What happens when a people forget God? Jeremiah tells us. When God is forgotten, life ultimately is meaningless. Look at chapter 2 again, verse 5. What wrong did your fathers find in me that you went far from me?

I want to ask you that question. You're away from the Lord. Someone here is away from the Lord, and you're here this morning, and your heart's hard, you're bitter, you're resentful, and you're far away from God. I ask you, what did God do so that you did that? What wrong did God, what wrong did you find in God that you went away from Him?

That's the question. And they went, notice, after worthlessness and became worthless. Worthlessness. It's a Hebrew word, Havel.

Solomon loves it. In the book of Ecclesiastes, if you know your Bible, he says all is vanity. Vanity of vanity, he says the preacher.

That's the word. Havel, he's saying life is vain. It's a vapor. It's pointless. It's meaningless. It's empty. It's worthless.

That's the word translated here in the English Standard Version as worthlessness. After 2, verse 8, they went after things that did not profit. Chasing winds.

Lot of activity, but going nowhere. You may have heard the story of the man on the bicycle pedaling down the street in a great hurry to catch a ferry. And as he came down to the waterfront, he saw that the vessel was only about 10 yards away from the jetty and he saw a plank at an angle and he was able to, as he came on his bike, to go on that plank, went right up in the air. He was able to grab the side of the ferry and haul in the bike to the ferry. And he said to the crewman, he said, well, that was a very close thing.

Actually, he said to the crewman, the ferry is on the way in. And as I read that, I thought, that's life isn't it? People don't know whether they're coming and going. They try this, they try that. Law of activity. We're all so busy.

That's how we get kind of prestigious. How are you doing? Oh, I'm very busy. My life is busy. Probably busier than yours.

Let me tell you all I do. Law of activity, but a lot of it is worthless. Pursuing false gods is worthless.

It's a pointless endeavor. And Jeremiah is saying when the time of trouble and judgment comes, there is nothing that these idols can do. We saw that in verse 27 and 28 of chapter 2, verse 28. Where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise if they can save you in your time of trouble.

For as many as your cities are your gods, oh Judah. I mean, you've left God, you've pursued your career, you're doing really well, you've turned that into an idol, and now a time of sickness comes and all of your success in your business doesn't help you one little bit. And who do you turn to?

Wall Street for help? No. You cry out to the Lord. You've got these false gods. They're absolutely worthless in your time of trouble, isn't it? Where do you go in your time of trouble? Where do you go in the crisis? Where do you go in the disappointments and tragedies of life?

Listen to what the Lord is saying through Jeremiah. Life without God is meaningless. Jesus put it this way, what shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul? I ask you that question. What will it profit you if you gain the whole world, if you realize your dreams and you lose your own soul?

The answer is given in the question. What happens when you forget God? Jeremiah tells us, the people have committed two evils. Verse 11, chapter 2, verse 11, has a nation changed its gods even though there are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens at this. Be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils. They've forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, they shoot out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

They commit two evils. Water is a rare commodity in Israel, two and a half thousand years ago. We were recently in Israel, we were down at the Dead Sea, it was an optimum sound, it was 105 degrees. That's a little hot for me. I was out at my back deck this morning reading and praying and Gooden comes out and says, it's a bit cold isn't it? I said you're kidding me, it's 62 degrees. That's probably the temperature of heaven. It's just wonderful.

105, it's a little hot. And I know some people, we have them on the fourth floor who go around carrying, you know, a gallon of water, and I thought where are they when I need them? And I've got this little bottle of water.

Think of it. The time of Jeremiah, we didn't have waters, we had water. When we were in Israel, we went to the north of the country and we saw these streams of cold, refreshing, pure water bubbling out of the ground, the source of the Jordan.

Beautiful to see. What have these people done? Evil number one, they forgot the Lord who is the fountain of living waters. What a beautiful description of God. Who's God?

He's the fountain of living waters. How about they've done something else too? They had shooed out hiss systems for themselves, broken systems that can hold no water.

That's utter madness, isn't it? Why would you leave the spring of fresh, pure water and drink from a cracked cistern? It can't hold water. The water in it is old and dirty and stagnant and polluted and stale. It's got disease in it. It's got insects in it.

Why would you do that? Utter folly. What the nation has done, as Jeremiah uses this graphic illustration which immediately would resonate with them in that culture, what the people have done is absolutely shocking.

It's absolutely appalling. They have exchanged the glory of God for false idols. Paul says in Romans one much the same thing. This is where we are, aren't we? See, when we forget God, that's an evil. But here's another evil.

We pursue false gods. We drink from polluted cisterns. So I invite you one day over to my house and I grill you a delicious ribeye steak, one of my favorites incidentally. So I grill it.

It just looks absolutely brilliant. But instead of eating that ribeye steak, I see you foraging in my garbage can, hoping to find a piece of an old hamburger. I mentioned to you that a couple of weeks ago it was absolutely horrible.

I took a little bit of it and I threw it into the garbage. And I'm presenting you with a beautiful, newly grilled ribeye steak, and there you are foraging in the garbage can for a piece of little hamburger which is absolutely, what's the word? Horrible. I would like a stronger word than that, but we'll take horrible. It's horrible. What are you doing?

Is there anyone here as crazy as that? Let me ask you, sir. What are you doing? Why have you forsaken God?

Why are you pursuing that which is worthless? This is what happens when a nation, a family, a church, an individual forget God. We live meaningless lives chasing wind. And I say, aren't we forgetting God?

I'm just not talking about the nation, I'm talking about us here this morning. Are you marginalizing God? Are you taking God for granted each day of our lives? We are to thank God. We are to praise Him. We are to realign our life with the living and the true God.

We're told to look unto Jesus, the author and the perfecter of our faith. I plead with you, do not forsake the fountain of living waters. Don't do that. That's an appalling thing.

That's a horrible thing. You know better than that. And as we read this illustration of Jeremiah, if you know your Bible, you think of a scene with our Lord Jesus at a well, and there's a woman there who's been drinking from the broken cistern in John 4. She's looking for fulfillment in a series of relationships. She's been trying to quench her thirst. She's had five husbands and they're all ended. These relationships have ended in bitterness and hollowness and meaninglessness, and there she is isolated, alone at the well.

She's chasing the wind. And Jesus meets her. Incidentally, notice that Jesus does not reject her. Notice that Jesus does not ridicule her because she's had five failed relationships. God's not like that, is He? What does Jesus do? Jesus does to her what He does for you and me if we're humble. He meets us at our point of need.

Isn't that wonderful? That's mercy. That's compassion.

Whoever you are today, you may have messed up your life. You realize you have been chasing wind. You realize that you've committed all kinds of sins, but God in His grace has brought you here today when He tells you that Jesus meets you at your point of need.

However, He never leaves us where we are if we're humble. He lovingly offers her living water which will be in her and will spring up into eternal life. He says to her, listen, if you drink of this water, the water of the well, you'll thirst again. But if you drink of the water that I give you, you'll never thirst again, for that will be in you a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.

What an offer. Just as water satisfies our physical needs, so this living water, this spiritual water which Jesus Christ offers will satisfy our deep spiritual longings. Our hearts are restless until they rest in God. And God incarnate Jesus Christ on that great day of the feast in John 7 stands and shouts, if anyone is thirsty, let them come to me and drink. Do you hear it? Do you hear Jesus saying that to you? Are you thirsty? Come to the one who's a fountain of living water and you'll never thirst again. Oh, this water that Jesus gives us quenches our thirst forever. It never runs out.

It's sourced in us. It springs up into eternal life such as the grace of God and the Spirit of God and the transforming work of God in our hearts. And you may have drunk deep of the many experiences and pleasures of this world. You may, to use Jeremiah's analogy, you may have drunk much from the broken cisterns, but they've left you dissatisfied, empty, disappointed, and perhaps even cheapened. Never before have so many people in our society pursued and experienced so many pleasures and experiences. Never have we had so many bored, discontented, anxious, and insecure people.

Our world, our society is full of fun, full of experiences, but so lacking joy, lasting joy. Will you listen to Jesus? If you drink of the water I give you, you will never thirst again. You're created by God. God has a purpose for you. You're accountable to God. Don't forsake God. Don't take God for granted. Don't marginalize God.

He's a living sovereign Lord. He's created you. Don't drink from the broken cisterns of the world, but drink much of the living water of eternal life. Now, as I speak to you, and as I close, I realize many of you have tasted of this living water. You've had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. You've heard Him say, come to me, and you've come. And through His Spirit, as you've humbly come to Him, turning from your sin through the wonder of redemption that flows from His death, birth, and resurrection, He has offered you eternal life, and He's offered you this eternal water, and you've drunk of it.

But could it be you're not presently enjoying the fullness of the Spirit or the true joy of the Lord? What's happened? What's happened? I'll tell you what's happened. To use the analogy, mud has entered your heart.

Sin has come into your life and is polluting that water, polluting your enjoyment of that pure water. You want God, but you also want the world. James says you can't do that. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. Jesus says, no you can't have two masters.

Make up your mind who you're following. And some unhealthy spiritual habit, attitude, sin has come into your life. Will you confess that this morning?

Will you do that? If we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Here we baptize people by immersion, the symbol of the cleansing, the symbol of the living water that through our Lord Jesus Christ all of our sins are gone, that we are totally clean, 100 percent forgiven, all because as we have sung of what He has done through His glorious person and work, that He comes to the sinner and says, now if you repent, if you turn from these broken systems and come to me, you can drink of this water so that you'll never thirst again.

It's time today to abandon these old wells which contain polluted waters. You know what they are, sir. You know what they are, young lady.

Your own ideas of happiness and success. What are you doing? It's called repentance and drink from the living, eternal waters of our Lord Jesus Christ who comes in great love to us. He comes to us where we are, Emmanuel, God with us, takes our sin, rises from the dead and says, now come to me, turn from that and drink of this living water.

Will you do that? Will you open your heart to Christ? We're going to sing a song of invitation. We'll use that to repent, to confess, to open your heart to the Lord Jesus. Don't ever forget God. Follow Jesus. Drink of this living water and you'll never, ever thirst again. Will you bow as we pray?

As we pray, you ask the Spirit to work in your life. You know where you are. I don't know your heart. I don't know where you are spiritually. You may be a member here.

You may be for the first time. I'm speaking to all of you. I'm speaking to you. I'm speaking to myself. Repent.

Ask God for His forgiveness and to give you the strength to stop drinking from these polluted waters. Our Father and our God, you know our hearts. Thank you for these words. They're hard words to us. They convict us.

In a sense, we don't like them, but we realize how true they are. We are so like Israel, and we want to be those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. We want to follow the Lord Jesus, and so I pray.

Perhaps there's some boy here who's never opened his heart to Christ. An older woman who's here and she's burdened, she's broken. Father, I pray for her. Open her eyes through your Spirit to see her sin and to see the purity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the purity of this living water. May she drink of it. For those who are saved but have compromised themselves with sin, may they turn from it. Confess it, Father. And thank you that we have a Savior who comes and meets us at our point of need and forever changes us. We thank you in His name. Amen.