DATE: 5-4-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our series in Romans this weekend — taking a final look at the spiritual gifts that Paul mentions in his letter so we all understand what these gifts are and how they’re to be used in our faith family. These aren’t all of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible — just the ones Paul mentions here in Romans.

So — for the last time for some time — the purpose of the spiritual gifts is this: Spiritual gifts are abilities given to individual believers by the Holy Spirit in order to equip God’s people for ministry, both for the edification of the church and for God’s salvific mission to the world. – Lexham Survey of Theology

Here’s what Paul says about the gifts — in Romans chapter twelve — beginning in verse four. There we read…

Romans 12:4–8 ESV

4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

We took two weeks to explore the gift of prophecy. Then we looked at the gifts of service, teaching, exhortation, and giving. And — last week — we looked at the gift of leadership. Which means that — today — we’re going to look at the final spiritual gift that Paul lists in our verses — the gift of mercy, which he mentions in verse eight where he writes…

Romans 12:8 ESV

8 the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

WHAT IS THE GIFT OF MERCY?

So let’s begin by answering the question, “What is the spiritual gift of mercy?” The definition of this gift that I shared with you a few months ago is…

Mercy

The gift of mercy is the divine strength or ability to feel empathy and to care for those who are hurting in any way.

Like the other spiritual gifts that we’ve looked at — mercy is something that’s both a spiritual gift and is something that all Christians are to practice regardless if we have the gift or not. Which means — no matter if this is a spiritual gift you have — and regardless of your temperament or personality — being merciful towards others is something you’re to regularly practice if you’re a follower of Jesus.

Jesus made this clear when he told a parable — a parable is a short story meant to teach a moral lesson — and the parable I’m referring to is known as the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Luke 10:25–37 ESV

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Jesus purposely made the religious leaders — the priest and the Levite — merciless in the parable. And the individual — who the expert in religious law couldn’t even bear to say who he was — the despised Samaritan — is the one who is merciful in the story. So what’s the point of the parable? 

Jesus is telling us that we can be very religious and — yet — lack mercy. We can do rigorous religious activities and still miss the point of what it means to follow him.

This is what the prophets of the Old Testament had told the Jewish people.

Micah 6:8 NLT

8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

And…

Zechariah 7:9–10 NLT

9 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. 10 Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.

And we’re to be merciful towards others because God has first been merciful towards us. As we also read in Scripture…

Psalm 103:8 ESV

8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

And…

Lamentations 3:22–23 ESV

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.

And…

Psalm 145:8–9 ESV

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

And possibly the greatest display of God’s mercy is seen when…

John 11:35 ESV

35 Jesus wept.

We worship a merciful God — thus we’re to be people who are known for our mercy.

THE GIFT OF MERCY AND THE CHURCH

Yet — we want to better understand how the spiritual gift of mercy is a benefit to us as a local church. So let’s look at a few examples of this gift in Scripture. But — before we do so — I want to share a quote on mercy that I think paints a clear and compelling picture as to why this gift is so vital to our life as a faith family. Here’s the quote:

Mercy means to be led by God to be compassionate in our attitudes, words and actions. It is more than feeling sympathy towards someone; it is love enacted. Mercy desires to answer the immediate needs of others and alleviate suffering, loneliness, and grief. Mercy addresses physical, emotional, financial or spiritual crises with generous, self-sacrificial service. Mercy is a champion of the lowly, poor, exploited, and forgotten, and often acts on their behalf.

We’ve seen how mercy is something that all Christians are to live out — yet — for some among us — because of the Spirit’s empowering presence in you — you’ve been gifted with mercy in a way where you can’t help but desire to meet the immediate needs of others, to alleviate their suffering, loneliness, or grief. You can’t help it — it’s like you’re compelled — to serve those who are poor, exploited, or forgotten by others. What a needed and necessary gift if we want to be the church that Jesus gave his life for us to be.

THE GIFT OF MERCY IN SCRIPTURE: JESUS

Speaking of Jesus — here’s an example of mercy from his life. One day — as he and his disciples…

Matthew 20:29–34 ESV

29 went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

When you read the gospels — pay attention to how many times Jesus is stopped like this — where his plans are interrupted by the needs of others. And how — instead of moving on to the business at hand — he paid attention to the interruption — for often — the interruption was the business his Father wanted him to attend to.

For those who have the spiritual gift of mercy — you can’t help but read this passage from Matthew and think, “Yup. That’s exactly what you do. You stop and care for the person in need. And how dare the crowd try to get the two guys to be quiet!” If I may tap into your gift of mercy for one moment — for those of us without this gift — let me admit — it’s easy to miss the interruption as God’s business. I know this isn’t good of us — but — when you don’t have the gift of mercy — even when we know the commands about being merciful — it’s easy to be just like — not only this crowd — but Jesus’ own disciples — who once — when they were with Jesus and…

Mark 6:34–37 NLT

34 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. 35 Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. 36 Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.” 37 But Jesus said, “You feed them.” “With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!”

It’s easy to ask “With what” — or to tell some blind beggars to be quiet — before, “This is an opportunity to be merciful” crosses our mind. We’re working on it — but know that this is why we’re so thankful for the Spirit’s empowering presence in you through the gift of mercy. For those with this gift rarely ask “with what” when told to feed a large crowd — or shush those begging for Jesus to heal them — and this is the Holy Spirit at work in and through you for our benefit — especially when someone’s in desperate need of mercy. 

And — as Paul says — you do so — you show mercy — and you do so with cheerfulness. Meaning — unlike others of us — who don’t have the gift — sometimes our mercy comes off a little less cheerful — or lacks it altogether. But for you — because of God’s Spirit displaying himself through you in this way — you’re able to lift the spirit of those who are suffering. 

Again — we’re all growing together here — and thank you for your patience and mercy towards those of us without the gift.

THE GIFT OF MERCY IN SCRIPTURE: DEACONS

John Owen — a pastor who lived in the 17th century — wrote, “Mercy has to do with man’s misery.” Historically — in the church — the people who have been known as ministers — or servants — of mercy — whose ministry is often called “mercy ministry” — are the deacons. Our deacons have been brought up a few times in these sermons on the spiritual gifts and — as you’ve heard me say before — this is an important group of individuals in the life of our local church. Now we add to our running list of why they’re important: they are our ministers of mercy.

Deacons first appear on the scene in Acts chapter 6. We’ve looked at this passage a few times before — so we won’t turn there now — but here’s a snapshot of what was going on. The church had grown quite quickly and Christians — of both Jewish and non-Jewish backgrounds — were all figuring out how to follow Jesus together. But they were still dealing with cultural hangups — like we all do — resulting in some of the widows in the church not having their needs met.

So the apostles — the key leaders in the church at this time — told the people to select individuals who would make sure the widows’ needs were met. Because — not having what you daily need to survive — is a recipe for misery. 

Seven individuals were selected and they are the first deacons — or ministers of mercy — in the church. And their important ministry of mercy continues today.

Here at Gateway we have 15 individuals — men and women — who serve as our deacons. To ensure that everything they’re responsible for is covered — they’ve divided themselves up into four teams. A group of deacons is responsible for preparing the communion elements and cleaning up after our monthly communion services. Each Gateway campus has its own communion team. In a few minutes we’ll be taking communion at both of our campuses and know that a deacon was the behind the scenes hands preparing the bread and juice for all of us. An act of service for which we should all be thankful.

Now — though important — preparing communion doesn’t fit the ministry of mercy that we’ve been looking at today. Again — deacons do many important tasks for us — not all are acts of mercy. But earlier I said that the deacons have divided themselves up into four teams. 

One of those is the Benevolence team which oversees the distribution of benevolence funds to those within our church family who are in need of financial assistance. Priority for assistance is given to church members — specifically those who are sick, handicapped, single parents, or elderly — though other members or active regular attenders may also be assisted through the fund. This is definitely a ministry of mercy.

There’s the Service team which helps with meeting a variety of hands-on, physical needs within our church family. These needs include setting up Kidway spaces each weekend, shoveling church entrances on a Sunday morning, and providing building access for a variety of events held at the church. Additionally, they handle requests for physical help such as yard work, help moving, or light construction work for people in need. There are definitely times when this team does acts of mercy.

Finally, there’s the Food team which is responsible for a variety of food needs within the church. These include funeral meals, as well as food and snacks for volunteer training and church or outreach events. One of our deacons also oversees our Meals Ministry, which comes alongside Life Groups to provide meals to people after a new baby is born, or someone has surgery, when there’s a death in the family, and so on. Again — many times when this is a ministry of mercy.

So that’s a snapshot of what our deacons do — generally speaking. But — specifically — here are some ways these mercy ministers have allowed the Spirit of God to display himself through their acts of mercy for people in our faith family.

There’s the young mom who’s part of our church. Her husband wasn’t able to work for over a year — due to health issues — and her availability to work was limited because their toddler also had health issues requiring regular appointments at Nationwide in Columbus. How did the deacons help this family? They worked with our local partner — the Women’s Resource Center — and got them diapers. One of our deacons gave them some hand-me-down clothes for their toddler. Meals were coordinated. Gas and grocery cards were provided. And the deacons coordinated eight weeks of childcare while the husband recovered from a surgery.

For two elderly men in our congregation — who were both limited by health issues — the deacons lined up people to mow their lawns and take care of yard work. Similarly, the deacons put a team of six people together to do some fall landscaping for one of our elderly couples who aren’t able to keep up with the yard work as easily as they used to.

For one of our single women — who needed a new roof but didn’t have the funds — the deacons helped her to pay for the new roof through our benevolence fund.

For a family who had some hot water issues — one of our deacons helped them out twice. Once to repair their old hot water heater and then — five months or so later — to help them install a new one.

For one of our young families — who needed some financial help — the deacons were able to help them cover some medical and dental bills, provided them with some food gift cards, and helped them with some car maintenance issues. The deacons provided similar help to an international student studying at the University of Findlay who needed some help with their car.

They helped another of our young couples move. And — if all of that wasn’t enough — one of our deacons even went and helped deter a pesky skunk from one of our church member’s property.

And — oh by the way — that’s just some of the ways the deacons have done acts of mercy in the past year. What a group of deacons we have — ministers of mercy who are allowing the Spirit of God to use them to be a blessing for us.

CONCLUSION

Now — as we wrap up this series on spiritual gifts — something that’s been encouraging to me — over the past few months — has been the increase among you all in signing up to volunteer in areas of ministry. The church staff have mentioned that more of you have signed up to serve as you desire to allow the Holy Spirit to use you — with the gifts he’s given you — to be a blessing to the rest of us. This has been such an encouragement to me.

I’ve also been encouraged to hear about many of you wanting to explore what gifts you’ve been given. From asking for advice on spiritual gifts tests and how to discern which gifts you have — I’m thankful for the curiosity and interest in wanting to know how the Spirit of God has gifted you for God’s glory and all of our good. Keep searching. Keep serving in different ways. Keep praying and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to you your gifts.

Finally, I want to thank our elders. They’ve made themselves available to pray with you throughout this series on the spiritual gifts. They all serve in many other ways — but they didn’t hesitate to stick around after our worship services to bless you — and lay their hands on you in prayer — as you’ve come forward desiring a particular spiritual gift. And so many of you have come forward for prayer — which has been incredible to see.

Your shepherds pray for you — I hope that encourages you — your elders care about you and there’s no group of men I’d rather have by my ministry side than the men we’re blessed with as our elders. 

Would you please pray with me?

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, you are the God of all comfort who comforts all of us in our afflictions. And your mercies are new to us every morning. There’s not a day that’s gone by that we haven’t experienced your mercy. What a thought to behold. I wonder how we’ve already experienced your mercy today?

Holy Spirit, thank you for empowering some among us with your gift of mercy. A unique and impactful way you use your people in the most difficult days of life. When sorrow abounds — your stewards of mercy bring healing as you use them to lift us up. When the darkness doesn’t lift — your ministers of mercy bring the light of Christ to shine in our dark world. When our grief is an overwhelming burden — too heavy for us to carry — your servants of mercy put their shoulders under our burden and lift it up — giving us some reprieve.

And — Jesus — this is all possible because of the mercy you displayed in giving your life on a cross for our sins. When mercy was the last thing we deserved — you gave it to us anyway. In fact — when we held back mercy from you — you gave us mercy anyway. What a faithful and merciful Savior you are — thank you for your mercy towards us. And — Jesus — if there are any here who’ve yet to receive your mercy — may you faithfully offer it to them again today. 

Right now — Jesus is offering you mercy — forgiveness of your sins — reconciliation, joy, hope, peace — a light shining in the darkness around you. Will you receive his mercy? Will you run to the One whose arms are open — ready to embrace you with unending love?

We pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

SCRIPTURE: Lamentations 3 (ESV)

DATE: 8-12-18

It’s good to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And one thing I want you to know — and it doesn’t matter if it’s your first time with us or if you’re worshiping at our North Main campus — one thing I want you to know is that God loves you and I love you too. 

SERIES INTRODUCTION

And we’re in week three of a series we’re calling Finding Jesus. And in this series I want you to see that you can read and understand all of the Bible — because the whole Bible is telling one story — the story of Jesus. And once you know the one story the whole Bible is telling — it becomes easier to understand some of the places in the Bible you may have avoided in the past. 

Here’s another way to think of what we’re doing. Think of reading the Bible like exercise. Running a marathon starts with a first step. And then a second. And then a third. And so on. It starts with walking, then jogging, and then running a quarter mile. You have to build up to running a marathon. And understanding the Bible is similar. There are steps you can take to better understand the Bible. But it all starts with opening it up and reading it.

Now I’ve been asking you to bring a physical Bible with you during this series and here’s why. According to a study that came out last month — by Barna research — 90% of people in the US who read the Bible use a physical Bible. That’s 30% higher than digital Bible reading. And — in knowing this — it seems to make sense to have you bring the Bible you’re reading throughout the week with you to Gateway so I can show you — in the Bible you read all week long — what we’re looking at. That way you can take notes, circle words, or make highlights so when you’re reading your Bible — you’ve got things from our time together to help you throughout the week. 

ANNOUNCE THE TEXT

So let’s open our Bibles to the book of Lamentations. We’ll be looking at the third chapter of Lamentations together today as we continue in our Finding Jesus series.  

And, if you’re a guest with us, something we like to do at Gateway is let you ask questions. So if you have a question during the sermon, you can text your question in to the number printed on the bulletin or you can submit it on the Gateway app.

OVERVIEW OF LAMENTATIONS

How do you respond to the evil in our world and the suffering it produces? Throughout history, men and women have written book after book on the issue of evil and suffering. Every generation has wrestled with the idea of evil and suffering. From the academics in universities to the mom who wonders where her family’s next meal will come from — one thing we can all agree on — is that there is evil and suffering in our world. 

And — if we’re honest — evil and suffering are really hard to understand. From mass shootings to racism, children going without food to abusive dictators — even things like car accidents that take the lives of those we love or military veterans who return from war with PTSD. We struggle with why evil and suffering exist.

Now many people use evil and suffering against God. “If God is good, then He must not be all-powerful because evil and suffering exist,” they say. Or “if He’s all-powerful, He must not be good.” But — in actuality — our questions don’t trap God like we think they do. In fact, these kinds of questions reveal more about our heart than they force God into a corner. Here’s why. 

Suffering has a way of helping us see what’s ultimate in our lives like nothing else does. Suffering helps us realize what’s really most important to us — not just what we say is most important when life’s going our way — it reveals what we value most.

And in the Bible, we find the answer to our why question — why does evil and suffering exist? And the Bible tells us that evil and suffering are a result of sin. That though many of us are moral, productive, and kind people — none of us are without sin. And we don’t like the Bible’s answer to our why question because it confronts our natural inclination to blame something other than ourselves for the suffering and evil in the world. We want to look outside of ourselves for the reason why things are the way they are, but the Bible forces us inward. 

It’s brutally honest with us — which is refreshing in a way — as culture and other religions seem to agree with us — the problem’s out there. But the Bible is refreshing not only because it challenges our tendency to blame others — the reason it’s refreshing is the fact that it gives us a reason to have hope in this world of evil and suffering. 

If you want to know what the book of Lamentations is about, here’s how one pastor has summarized it: “Life is hard; God is good.” That’s the book of Lamentations in a nutshell. Life is hard; God is good. 

Life is hard, right? Some of you don’t know this yet, but life can be brutal. Just here in our congregation, we’ve got broken marriages, people fighting cancer, people struggling with addictions, and numbers of your children who’ve given up on the Christian faith. We’ve got a middle school aged boy who’s got open-heart surgery plans in the near future — that wasn’t on his family’s radar a few weeks ago. We’ve got young parents whose baby girl has more surgeries in her future. We’ve got a husband trying to hold on to hope while he watches his wife suffer with an illness that’s killing her. And the list of suffering goes on and on and on.

One writer captured a truth well in his words, “I walked a mile with Pleasure; she chattered all the way; but left me none the wiser, for all she had to say. I walked a mile with Sorrow; and not a word said she; but, oh, the things I learned from her; when sorrow walked with me.”

When sorrow becomes your companion, will you learn from her? Will you have reason to be hopeful when this world throws suffering your way? If you’re in the thick of suffering right now — be honest — do you have hope? What Lamentations tells us is there is reason to have hope even in sorrow and suffering. Why? Because though life is hard; God is good.

Now what does this book’s title mean, Lamentations? It comes from the word lament. And a lament is “a song of mourning or sorrow…caused by bereavement, personal trouble, national disaster, or the judgment of God.” So when you think of a lament — we’re not thinking “happy go lucky songs” about the good times of life — we’re thinking biblically truthful songs about the sorrows and sufferings of life.

Now our book isn’t the only place in the Bible where we find lament. There are 150 psalms in the Book of Psalms. Fifty-nine of them are laments. Now the book of Psalms is essentially the hymnal of the Old Testament and more than a third of it are songs of mourning or sorrow. Now compare that to what you hear on K-Love or the songs sung in churches on most weekends. Somehow we’ve lost sight — at least here in the US — we’ve lost sight as Christians that expressing sorrow and mourning is OK — it’s not a sign of spiritual weakness — lamenting is biblical. And — often — when life slams us — we don’t know what to do because we haven’t been taught how to lament — we haven’t spent time in the psalms with David — or time in the book we’re looking at today — an entire book full of mourning and grief as life can be hard due to the evil and suffering in our world. And when we don’t know how to lament — when life gets hard — we get angry. Angry at God. Angry at others. Angry at ourselves. And our anger never produces hope.

Now the book of Lamentations is a collection of five poems. And it’s actually a literary work of art in the Hebrew language — so let me tell you what’s going on in the Hebrew because the artistry doesn’t come across well in our English Bibles. Lamentations has five poems and each poem is an acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet. What does that mean? That means that each new verse in the poems begins with a new letter of the Hebrew alphabet. There are 22 letters, so each chapter — each poem — has 22 verses.

Except…chapter 3. Chapter 3 is the pinnacle of the book, so instead of an acrostic poem — chapter 3 is a triple acrostic. Each Hebrew letter doesn’t have one verse — but three. So the third chapter has tripled in size to 66 verses. The author’s trying to scream at us — THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHAPTER OF THE BOOK! 

So who’s the author — who wrote this book? Jeremiah wrote it. Now we learned a lot about Jeremiah last week. He was a prophet who lived during the destruction of Jerusalem. The Jewish people had abandoned God — they did what was right in their own eyes — and suffered the consequences of their choices, which was the invasion of the Babylonians and the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah saw the destruction of the Temple and God told Jeremiah to tell the people that this was His judgment — God’s judgment — upon them. So don’t fight — don’t resist the Babylonians — but repentance would be a great choice. 

And do you know what happened to Jeremiah because of this message? The people put him in jail. In fact, Jeremiah spends most of his time in some sort of dungeon or prison. Instead of repenting of their sin — instead of owning the fact that the reason for this evil and suffering was just as much in them as it was out there — instead of listening to God through Jeremiah — the people threw him in prison. Which is a good reminder to always be aware of how you respond to God’s Word. Do you repent or do you silence the messenger?

LAMENTATIONS 3

So, let’s look at our passage — Lamentations chapter 3 — and because this is such a long text, I’m going to read straight through it — pausing every now and then to give a comment or two. Let’s begin in verse 1. 

“I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath (even though God’s judgment is on all the people — suffering is being talked about in a personal way. And get this — even though Jeremiah’s been faithful — he suffers with the people.); 2 he (that’s God — now look at all of the things God is doing to Jeremiah — He…) has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; 3 surely against me he (God) turns his hand again and again the whole day long. 4 He (God) has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he (God) has broken my bones; 5 he (God) has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; 6 he (God) has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago. 7 He (God) has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he (God) has made my chains heavy; 8 though I call and cry for help, he (God) shuts out my prayer; 9 he (God) has blocked my ways with blocks of stones; he (God) has made my paths crooked. 10 He (God) is a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in hiding (I just want to pause and ask — when you think of God — what do you usually think of? Most people say ‘love.’ What about a bear or lion waiting to maul you? One pastor described what’s going on as, “God’s the predator and Jeremiah’s the prey.” That doesn’t sit well with us, does it? Because we see evil as out there — not within. But if evil is in us — part of us — then this picture of God begins to make sense.); 11 he (God) turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces; he (God) has made me desolate; 12 he (God) bent his bow and set me as a target for his arrow (now God’s an archer and Jeremiah’s the target). 13 He (God) drove into my kidneys the arrows of his quiver; 14 I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, the object of their taunts all day long. 15 He (God) has filled me with bitterness; he (God) has sated me with wormwood. 16 He (God) has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; (and notice what this does to Jeremiah. He says…) 17 my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; 18 so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.” (Life is hard for him. And he’s to the point of thinking all hope is lost.) 19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! 20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. 

Are you encouraged yet? Don’t you want to put these verses on your coffee cup so you start the day off right? 

A few weeks ago, my two boys and I had a guy’s getaway. We went down to Columbus to go to COSI and then the next day we went north of the city to go on a hike. Now we had talked about the trip — we made the plans together — I gave them options of places we could visit — I wanted them to have a say in what we were going to do. So we get in the car — and I kid you not — not 10 minutes into the trip — Caleb — my 12 year old — he was 11 at the time — so we’ll chalk this up to him not being as mature as he is now that he’s 12 — Caleb asked, “Dad, where are we going?” And — of course — I’m thinking, “Are you kidding me?” But I decided to ask a few questions.

“What do you mean where are we going? Didn’t you pack stuff for the trip?” 

“Yes.” 

“Don’t you remember us talking about the trip?” 

“Yes.” 

“So where are we going Caleb?” 

“Dad, I don’t know, that’s why I asked.” 

Now when you’re a kid, you get used to getting in the car and going wherever mom or dad take you. And if things at home are healthy — the child trusts their parents — they don’t have to worry about where they’re going — because they’re with someone who loves and cares for them.

But then we grow up. And after enough “life is hard” moments, we shift from trusting to needing to be in control. And even as followers of Jesus — when life gets hard we can so want to get our lives back in control that we don’t even trust God. And that’s a bit of what Jeremiah’s expressing here. He’s using “raw, real, I’m in pain and life isn’t fun right now” language.

And — remember — God put this in the Bible — the Bible is His book. Yes, He used human authors, but He told them what to say. So He could’ve left this part out if it offended Him — it’s no accident that these words are here — because God has Lamentations in the Bible so we can learn something about Him. And this is what we learn. Look in verse 21.

21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 (And I want you to appreciate the shift here — another Bible translations reads, “But there’s one thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope” — so there’s a shift to hope in these verses — they’re the only verses of hope in the entire book. Three verses ago he was hopeless — but now — in the midst of suffering, this is what Jeremiah remembers — this is how he finds hope. He remembers that…) The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end (Do you know that God’s love for you will never end? Unlike everyone else you’ve ever met — yourself included — God’s love for you isn’t based on your performance. It’s not based on an audit of your life. It’s not based on what you do. God’s love for you is based on what Someone else has done for you. And when you begin to understand what it means to be eternally loved by God — you’ll desire to respond to His love by obeying Him — you’ll want to do good things because He loves you — not to get Him to love you.); 23 they (God’s mercies) are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. 26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. 27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. (It’s good to learn at a young age that life is hard. It’s good to learn that this world isn’t the heaven we long for. It’s good for a young person to learn that though pain and sorrow and evil exist — God — is — good.) 28 Let him (a person) sit alone in silence when it (sorrow) is laid on him; 29 let him put his mouth in the dust — there may yet be hope; 30 let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults. 31 For the Lord will not cast off forever, 32 but, though he (God) cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; 33 for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. 

Jeremiah continues with more truths about God and us.

34 To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth, 35 to deny a man justice in the presence of the Most High, 36 to subvert a man in his lawsuit, the Lord does not approve. 37 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? (Yet Jeremiah knows why this sorrow has come upon Jerusalem.) 39 Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? 40 Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! 41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: 42 “We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven. 43 “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity; 44 you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through. 45 You have made us scum and garbage among the peoples. 46 “All our enemies open their mouths against us; 47 panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction; 48 my eyes flow with rivers of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49 “My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite, 50 until the Lord from heaven looks down and sees; 51 my eyes cause me grief at the fate of all the daughters of my city. 52 “I have been hunted like a bird by those who were my enemies without cause; 53 they flung me alive into the pit and cast stones on me; 54 water closed over my head; I said, ‘I am lost.’ 55 “I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit; 56 you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear to my cry for help!’ 57 You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’ 58 “You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life. 59 You have seen the wrong done to me, O Lord; judge my cause. 60 You have seen all their vengeance, all their plots against me. 61 “You have heard their taunts, O Lord, all their plots against me. 62 The lips and thoughts of my assailants are against me all the day long. 63 Behold their sitting and their rising; I am the object of their taunts. 64 “You will repay them, O Lord, according to the work of their hands. 65 You will give them dullness of heart; your curse will be on them. 66 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them from under your heavens, O Lord.”” (Lamentations 3:1-66 ESV)

FINDING JESUS IN LAMENTATIONS

Now in this series, each week I’m showing you a way to find Jesus in the whole Bible because the whole Bible is about Him. So finding Jesus is the goal — “how does what I’m reading point me to Jesus” — that’s the question we should always be asking when we read our Bible. And here’s a way that Lamentations helps us find Jesus.

In the midst of lamenting — Jeremiah finds hope. But where does his hope come from? Does it come from Jeremiah thinking about how awesome he is? No. Does it come from Jeremiah gaining some kind of control over his situation? No. Does his hope come from the hardships going away? No again. When life was hard for Jeremiah, where did he find hope? He finds hope by remembering — so what does he remember? He remembers who God is. 

And as he thinks about God, Jeremiah starts listing attributes — or characteristics — of God. In verse 22 Jeremiah remembers God’s love and His mercy. In verse 23 he remembers God’s faithfulness. In verse 25 God’s goodness. In verse 32 God’s compassion. In verses 37 and 38 that God speaks. In verse 39 that God judges. In verse 56 that God hears. In verses 59 and 60 that God sees. And from verse 61 to the end that God is just. These are all attributes of God. Individually they describe an aspect of God and together they give us a better understanding of what we mean when we say “God.” 

And the Bible is full of these attributes of God. For instance, God is independent — meaning — contrary to popular belief — God doesn’t need us. Speaking to people who had misunderstandings about God, Paul says, “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” (Acts 17:24-25 ESV)

God’s independent. He doesn’t need us.

God’s unchanging — He doesn’t change. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17 NIV)

God is eternal — He has no beginning or end. “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:2 ESV)

God’s omni-present — He’s everywhere. He’s omniscient — He knows everything. He’s wise. He’s truth. He’s patient. He’s holy. He’s righteous. He’s jealous. And He’s wrathful. Those are just a few of the attributes of God we find in the Bible.

And all of these characteristics — all of these attributes — point us to Jesus because we find all of God’s attributes in Jesus. You can take any one of these attributes of God and follow it straight to Christ. One quick example to show you how to do this.

A hymn — based on Lamentations chapter 3 — is the song “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” The title comes right out of verse 23. And notice how the hymn is saturated with attributes of God.

“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father, — from verse 23 — God is faithful.

There is no shadow of turning with Thee; — from James 1:17 — God doesn’t change.

Thou changest not — Thy compassions, they fail not — Lamentations tells us that God’s mercies are new every morning — God is compassionate.

As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be — from everlasting to everlasting He is God.

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided —

“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!” 

The faithfulness of God is a beautiful thing. It gives hope. It’s an anchor for the soul when life is hard. And it’s a thread — in Lamentations — that leads us to Christ. For in speaking of Jesus, the apostle Paul wrote, “The saying is trustworthy (that’s Paul’s version of “you can bet your life on what I’m about to say” — ), for:  If we have died with him (Jesus), we will also live with him (there’s no resurrection without death; no living for Jesus without dying to yourself); 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he (Jesus) remains (what? He remains…) faithful — for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:11-13 ESV)

Jesus is faithful. Always. Without exception. It’s part of who He is — it’s one of His attributes. And when you see the faithfulness of God in the Bible, let that point you to Jesus — who is always faithful. And every time you see the love of God, or the power of God, or the justice of God, or the mercy or kindness or wrath of God…let them drive you straight to Jesus “for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” In Jesus we find all of God’s attributes because He is God.

And this is especially important to remember when life is hard. When life will be hard isn’t up to us — we don’t get to say, “If I’m going to have a hard time, how about next Tuesday between 2 and 3pm?”  — that’s just not how life works. But we can prepare for the hard times. How? By knowing who God is. By studying His Word and learning more about His character — growing your understanding of who He is — so that — when hard times come — you’re ready to fight for hope by remembering who the God is you worship — so that — when life gives you reason to mourn — you mourn with hope. 

How are you preparing for the hard days that are sure to come?

Yet there’s one other connection to Jesus that I don’t want you to miss. Jeremiah is lamenting because of the destruction happening to Jerusalem. The people have disobeyed — they’ve rebelled — and they’re getting their just judgment. 

Hundreds of years later, Jesus walks through a rebuilt Jerusalem. As God promised, a day of hope would birth out of the darkness — Jerusalem would be rebuilt. And as Jesus walks through a rebuilt Jerusalem — as He walks among a people who were once again abandoning God — and were about to reject God in the ultimate way — by killing Him on a cross — Jesus laments over the city of Jerusalem. He says, “”O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! (Think of Jeremiah’s life and the hardships he faced as a prophet of God.) How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings (notice the tenderness of Christ — the mercy — the desire for a close relationship with the people who are rejecting Him. And he says though I want to be close…), and you were not willing! 38 See, your house is left to you desolate.” (Matthew 23:37-38 ESV)

Another judgment is coming for the city of Jerusalem. Houses will be desolate again. Destruction will come. The Temple will be destroyed. The city will burn. God’s judgment is coming — for the people have rejected Him yet again — and this time they’ll go so far as to murder Him. 

CONCLUSION

But notice the compassion of Jesus. Notice His faithfulness. Notice His tender care — how He desires to gather the people in His arms — to hold them close — to let them experience His compassion and mercy. 

And the words He said to the people of Jerusalem are words He’s saying to you today. Jesus is saying to you, “How often I’ve desired to gather you in my arms. How often I’ve desired to hold you close. How often I’ve desired to let you experience My compassion and mercy — and yet you were not willing. When life has been hard — you’ve run for control — instead of to Me. But because I cannot deny who I am — always faithful — I’m here for you. With my arms open wide. Ready to give you new mercies for today. Ready to shower you with the eternal love I’ve always had for you.”

How will you respond to Jesus and His words of hope to you? He cannot deny who He is. Even when we are faithless — great is His faithfulness towards us. Life is hard — but thank God — Jesus is good. Let’s pray. 

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for Your eternal love for us. Even though we don’t deserve it, could never earn it, and often reject it — You cannot deny who You are — and You love us. Help us to respond to Your love. 

Jesus, thank you for Your faithfulness. When we run from You, cheat on You, chase after other things that we foolishly think will give us something only You can give — You never waiver in Your faithfulness to us. What a gift we have no right to — but a gift You give us nonetheless.

And God, I ask You to give us a desire to know You better. Help us to grow in our understanding of who the Bible tells us You are, so we’re prepared to trust that You are good — when life is hard. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.