This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, July 08, 2007, and was taken from Jeremiah 3:1-18.
There is something in the heart of every man that tells him that something is just not quite right. We never quite feel fully at home. Our only hope of finding that desired fulfillment lies totally outside of ourselves.
In the passage before us we discover the goodness and grace of God, leading the wayward sinner back home.
- God lovingly confronts the sinner with the depth of his depravity. The strong language in verses 1-12 is the language of love. Because God loved His people, he hit them square in the face with their sin. If He didn’t care, He wouldn’t have even bothered. The first step in going home is to realize you are not home.
- Once God has confronted his children with the depth of depravity then God gives the divine call for repentance (verses 12-14). The way home starts with God. God places conditions on His mercy:
- Acknowledge your guilt.
- Turn away from your sins.
- Turn to God in obedience.
- God mercifully restores the repentant sinner and providing us godly leadership, pointing the way home (verses 15-18).
This is the glorious good news of the gospel. God’s grace finds you, calls you, leads you, saves you, and keeps you.