Muskoka Lakes Ministry of Knox, Port Carling & Zion, Torrance
Sunday August 8, 2021
Message: Our King ~ Our Hope
Reverend Glynis Faith
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Announcements
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* Monday evening ‘The Story’ study group via Zoom, 7 pm
* Thursday evening study group via Zoom, 7:30 pm
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Prayer of Adoration & Confession
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You, O Lord, are the great promise keeper, therefore we can put our trust in You. In Your Word we find hope and promise. In You we find life and we are renewed. You, Lord, are all that we need – in You we have all that we need.
Jesus, our Saviour and King, we bow humbly in Your presence acknowledging Your sacrifice and Your sovereignty. You, Lord, stepped down from Your throne that we might be with You in paradise. You suffered and died for our sins that we might have eternal life.
Holy Spirit, You enable us to see when we open our eyes and to hear when we open our ears. When we seek to know You with all our heart, you give us what our heart desires.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit we lift our hearts in praise to You.
As we seek to know You better and to grow in our relationship with You, Lord, we are mindful that our sins hinder that relationship. Holy Spirit, enable us to see our sins clearly and to confess all we see. Forgive us our sins, we pray. In Jesus’ name. AMEN
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Prayer of Intercession
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We bow our heads before You, Lord, lifting up our prayers of intercession.
As covid numbers begin to increase again, there is growing stress and fear. Give us calm and help us work together for the good of all. We pray especially for countries with little to no access to vaccines. Stir a spirit of compassion and cooperation into the hearts of wealthy nations, that vaccines will be shared and not wasted.
We pray for peace in places where there are growing instances of gun violence. We pray for lives lost unnecessarily and for families who mourn.
We offer our prayers to the people of BC amidst the relentless forest fires. We pray for rain without lightening. We pray the winds will be calmed. We pray for the safety of those evacuating and we pray, Lord, that you will keep the firefighters and emergency crews safe from harm.
Lord, wrap those who grieve in Your comforting Spirit. Give strength and patience to people whose surgeries were cancelled during this pandemic. Bless those who are seeing family for the first time in almost two years. Bring healing to the sick, strength to the weak and direction to those who have lost their way. Bring revival in our land – hear the prayers of Your people and bring revival, we pray. AMEN
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“ Our King ~ Our Hope”
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As a Canadian, I am pleased with the hard work, commitment, and amazing efforts of our Canadian Olympians. Some will bring home medals, and others will be plotting out their training strategies in preparation for their next competitive event. The medals are awesome, but true success is measured in their commitment to their sport – the training, competing, and being a positive role model for their sport, while encouraging the next generation to consider being a part. . With or without a medal, they are all Olympians.
The same can be said about our faith journey. As Christians, we are already part of God’s family – we are champions. The only measure of success in the family of God is faithfulness – trusting in His Word, following in the footsteps of Jesus, and sharing with others the hope you have found in the Gospel. There will be no medals in heaven, only a great banquet for the faithful to celebrate with our head coach, our one true King, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
Last week we looked at the prophet Isaiah and the importance of remembering God’s promises. Remember what God has promised – remember what God has done – family (far too numerous to count), a new nation, freedom from bondage, care, provision, guidance and a new land – the Promised Land.
Remembering God’s promises – promises kept, helps us remain faithful to God, even when it looks like things are falling apart all around you. Today we are looking at the prophet Jeremiah who is sometimes referred to as the prophet of doom and gloom, and other times as the weeping prophet.
As God’s children, let us now continue our journey through the Old Testament, reading Jeremiah’s lament over the fall of God’s people.
Lamentations 1:1-6
“How deserted lies the city, once so full of people!
How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave.
Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are on her cheeks.
Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.
After affliction and harsh labor, Judah has gone into exile.
She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place.
All who pursue her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.
The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to her appointed festivals.
All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan,
her young women grieve, and she is in bitter anguish.
Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease.
The LORD has brought her grief because of her many sins.
Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe.”
Where Isaiah had been called to urge the people to repent and return to God, Jeremiah is called to spell out what lies ahead for the people – captivity, the temple totally destroyed, the walls of the city in ruins. This is where his doom and gloom label comes in.
The other prophets have been relaying God’s message, “return to me, for with me there is grace and protection from your enemies, but without me you face your enemies alone.”
Jeremiah is called to say, “you face your enemies alone, and it is not going to be pretty.” Jeremiah is called to tell the people they are going into exile (not a message anyone wants to deliver), and God asks him to remain behind, to give witness to the destruction, to look at the ruins and write down what he saw.
What Jeremiah wrote down can be found in the Old Testament, in a book called Lamentations. The word Lamentations means to weep, thus the reason Jeremiah is also called the weeping prophet.
The people had put their faith in themselves, in their financial security, in their military strategies, even in their kings.
Now let’s reflect on the kings for a moment. God built the nation of Israel, thus it was His nation. His covenant with them was, “I will be your God and you will be My people.” But the people decide they want an earthly king, like all the other nations have. So, God gives them what they want.
We know the first king, king Saul, started off well, but ended in disaster. David’s reign was a success story of faithfully leading the people in God’s ways. Oh, his reign was not perfect, as it was tainted with adultery and murder, but David showed humility and repentance when confronted with his sins. His Son, Solomon, started off on the right foot, but he too got off track along the way, and his military alliances gained through his extensive wife collection paved the way for a divided kingdom under his son’s reign. During the time of the divided kingdom there were 38 kings in all. Any idea how many were good kings – faithful to God? Only 5! Scripture tells us 33 kings did evil in the eyes of the LORD.
The last king was Zedekiah and according to Jeremiah 52:2, he too did evil in the eyes of the LORD. Under Zedekiah’s reign the remaining southern kingdom was captured, the Temple destroyed, the city burned and the city walls demolished. There was no more kingdom.
Last week I ask you, ‘isn’t this getting a little gloomy?’ I ask you the same thing again, ‘isn’t this getting a little gloomy?’ (perhaps a lot gloomy) Only 5 out of 38 kings are faithful to the LORD; only 5 lead the people to reform (or revival). Jeremiah, unlike Isaiah, is not calling people to turn from their sinful ways; but rather, he is saying ‘the time for judgement has come.’ At one point king Zedekiah pleads for help from the prophet Jeremiah, and Mr. Doom and Gloom informs the king and the people that Jerusalem would fall and their only chance to live now was to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king. Not hard to see why he wasn’t named ‘Mr. Life of the Party.’
Like last week our sermon seemed to be heading downhill fast. And today, like last week, our prophet speaks the truth, but also points to something more. Isaiah pointed us to the promise of the True King – One to come - a Suffering Servant – the One who would lay down His life for His people – Isaiah pointed to Jesus. We paused to remember God’s promises recalling how God had always kept His promises. Promises to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. Promises to David, a promise that a seed from David would always be on the throne.
God’s chosen people were now exiled – the Promised Land – the Temple in utter ruins. What the people needed now was hope.
Through the prophet Jeremiah God promised the people hope:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
The people’s exile was the result of their turning away from God, of trusting in their own power and resources instead of trusting in God’s promises. But God is God and God is good, reminding us that we are part of His plan – giving us hope and a future. In their exile, God would not leave His people; but rather, God would continue to work out His plan to redeem them, and God promises a New Covenant with His laws written on their hearts. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
600 years later hope arrived through the true King who was born in a stable in Bethlehem. And on the night He was betrayed, Jesus, inaugurated the long promised New Covenant.
Luke 22:20 “and in the same way Jesus took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in My blood.”
Through the prophets God spoke truth, and the truth is often hard to hear. One of the struggles the two studies groups have identified in reading the Old Testament is the tough truths of God’s divine justice, such as allowing the destruction and captivity of His people. we have had some tough discussions throughout our Old Testament reading. But we must hear the truth, for in hearing the truth we also hear the promises and the hope.
The truth, my friends, points us to the need for a Saviour. The truth points to Jesus. In the truth we see that we are all sinners, in need of God’s grace. In the truth we see the depth of God’s great love, the witnesses of His promises kept and the hope the prophet Jeremiah speaks of, when he says:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Hope and a future for all who will listen and learn from the truth of God’s Word.
The earthly kings have failed and the promise of the One True king is made – a seed from the line of David would come, and with Him - - HOPE!
Friends, Jesus was, is, and always will be the one true King. A King who loves you enough to die for your sins. A King whose love for you is so pure, that death could not hold Him. Jesus, our Lord and King has been raised from death and sits on the throne at the right hand of God, the Father. King Jesus has promised to one day return and bring home all His champions – that is all who have put their faith in Him. In this season of Olympic champions let us remember that the only measure of success in the family of God is faithfulness – trusting in His Word, following in the footsteps of Jesus, and sharing with others the hope you have found in the Gospel. There will be no medals in heaven, only a great banquet for the faithful to celebrate with our head coach, our one true King, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. The question is: will you join Team Jesus and train for the Kingdom of God?

Please pray with me:
Jesus, You are the True King, and it is an honour to serve in Your kingdom here on earth. In truth, You have told us that we will face trouble in this world, and in love, through Your death, you have already defeated this world. In You we have hope.
Help us to stand firm in Your truth and Your promises. Help us to stand firm in our faith - - - help us to grow daily in our faith and our understanding of God’s great love for us. May we be grounded daily in Your Word, sharing Your love through our words and our action. You are our hope at all times! Thank you Jesus. AMEN
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#479 The Church's One Foundation (vs 1,2,4,5)
Words: public domain Music: public domain
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The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord;
we are his new creation by water and the word;
from heaven he came and sought us that we might ever be
his living servant people, by his own death set free.

Called forth from every nation, yet one o'er all the earth,
our charter of salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth,
one holy name professing and at one table fed,
to one hope we are pressing, by Christ's own Spirit led.

'Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of our war,
we wait the consummation of peace forevermore;
till with the vision glorious our longing eyes are blest,
and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.

We now on earth have union with God the Three-in-One,
and share, through faith, communion with those whose rest is won,
O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we,
like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with thee.
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Commission & Benediction
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May you leave today with the hope of God’s promises in Your heart. Go, and share that hope with others,
and as you do . . .

May the love, grace and peace of God go with you. AMEN