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Message Series: It’s Complicated
The D.T.R. (Defining the Relationship): The heart-to-heart conversation a couple has when they need to figure out exactly what they are to each other.
Recap:
1. God sees you as
2. We have broken our wedding
Today’s Main Idea: God Invites Us Back with Open Arms.
God expected an exclusive relationship with us, but we broke our wedding vows by choosing sin over the savior. God has every right to be angry, but instead of breaking off the relationship, God invites us back with open arms.
Jeremiah Chapter 2 is filled with all the ways Israel broke their wedding vows to God:
1. “Strayed so far from me”
2. “Rebelled against me” (x2)
3. “Turn against me”
4. “Turned their backs to me”
5. “Forsaken me” (x 3)
6. “Followed worthless idols” (x 2)
7. “Exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols”
8. “My people have forgotten me”
9. “Lay down as a prostitute”
Question: Will God choose to respond with
Answer: It’s
“6 During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, ‘Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. 7 I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. 8 I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries.’” –Jeremiah 3:6-8 (NIV)
King Josiah, King of Judah: Reigned from 640-609 BC
“I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away.” –Jeremiah 3:8 (NIV)
Assyrian Exile: Completed in 722 BC (82 years before Josiah became King).
“The king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria.” –2 Kings 17:6 (NIV)
The Assyrian Exile of the north Kingdoms (Israel) was the
Does this punishment seem fair? Isn’t God supposed to be infintiely forgiving?
“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished” —Exodus 34:6-7 (NIV)
“12 Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ’Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will not be angry forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt— you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’ declares the Lord.” –Jeremiah 3:12-13 (NIV)**
For I Am Faithful: From the Hebrew word Hesed:
Kindness, lovingkindness, steadfast love, goodness, mercy, favor, faithfulness.
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” –Lamentations 3:22-24 (NIV)
“14 ‘Return, faithless people,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I am your husband.’ ‘I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.’” – Jeremiah 3:14-15 (NIV)
No matter what we’ve done, God welcomes us back with open arms.
3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. 4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?
6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” –John 8:3-11 (NLT)
Application: God is Waiting for You with Open Arms.
It’s time to turn back to God and admit our need for a savior.
Response: Heart-To-Heart
God is calling you to take a hard look at your life and the area(s) where you are a sinner in need of a savior. We can’t ignore the truth any longer. Are you ready to confront the sin and invite Jesus to bring peace, victory and forgiveness into every area of your life?
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Let us know if you’d like to commit your life to Jesus, respond in baptism, or request prayers using the in touch card in our app.
Questions? Contact Bryan: (609) 356-3147 or bfojtasek@westsidelife.org.
Reflection / Life Group Questions
Today’s Theme: God’s Forgiving Nature.
- Open your group time by giving everyone a chance to share about how their week went.
- Today, the sermon focused on how God would respond to Israel’s repeated infidelity / adultery. How do you think the average person would feel and react upon learning that their partner wasn’t being faithful? Why is this such a heartbreaking experience?
- Have a volunteer read Exodus 34:5-7. What do we learn about the heart and character of God from this passage?
- Based on this passage and others you might be familiar with, how does God strike the balance between justice (holding people accountable for their actions) and mercy (forgiving people for their sins)? Why are both of these attributes important for God to possess?
- God endured 500 years of unfaithfulness before he finally “divorced” the northern tribes of Israel (see Jeremiah 3:8). What does that teach us about God’s heart for his people?
- In Jeremiah 3:12-14, God extended an open invitation for Israel to return to him, despite all their spiritual adultery. What is the significance of God continuing to referring to himself as Israel’s husband in verse 14?
- Have a volunteer read Psalm 103:6-13. What are some of the words and phrases from this Psalm that point to the forgiving nature of God?
- This morning Bryan said, “No matter what we’ve done… God welcomes us back with open arms.” What are some of the stories from the Bible that illustrate this principle? (example: the Father’s reaction to seeing the prodigal son return in Luke 15:20).
- What is the one thing God is calling you to know, do, or change because of the truths that you’ve heard today?
- Close your time in prayer for one another.