I WILL DO IT!!

 

March 18, 2024

 

Jeremiah 33:14-18

 

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’”

For thus says the Lord: “David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever.”

 

THE BRANCH

 

It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that God’s love and concern for us rise and fall according to how well we are doing in living the Christian life. It has been my experience that we humans frequently give and withdraw our love from others depending on whether they are living in a way that is pleasing to us. We have talked about this in recent sermons when we compared the basic principles of the culture and world to the basic principles of the bible. We ended up acknowledging with gratitude and thanks, that even though we are marked by inconsistency, God is marked by constancy, faithfulness, and steadfastness.

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God reminds his people that they can count on his promises and that he will always be there for them. He promises his reliability and faithfulness: “David will never fail to have someone sit on the throne … nor will the priests ever fail to have someone offering sacrifices” (vv. 17-18). Here is the truth to which this passage points, Jesus is the king who remains on the throne and who has offered himself as a sacrifice once and for all.

Jesus is the righteous Branch who offers us his righteousness so that we never fear that God’s love and concern for us rise and fall according to how well we are doing in living the Christian life. Why does this matter? This truth matters because it teaches us that we can bring our failures and faithlessness to God. Jesus will not turn his back on us. We will not be rejected. Hear the beauty of all this, that we can bring our repentance to God and know he will receive it. We can count on God giving us a fresh start because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Let us be honest, we all need that fresh start each day. Remember this, if you come to God asking for it, the fresh start, God will be faithful to give it to you.

LET US PRAY

Jesus, we thank you that your mercies are new every morning and your faithfulness is great. Give us grace to repent today of those things which are dishonoring to you, counting on the fact that you will never leave us nor forsake us as we learn to walk in your ways. In Christ’s Name, Amen.