Pentecost +20: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; Psalm 66:1-12; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19

‘I know the plans I have for you... to give you a future and a hope’ (Jeremiah 29:11).

This was God’s long-term purpose for His people.

It was important that they did not lose sight of this.

There would be ‘seventy years’ of captivity in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:10).

At times, they must have wondered, ‘Will this ever end? Is there really something better still to come?’

Our life on earth may, sometimes, seem like the ‘seventy years’ in Babylon: ‘The length of our days is seventy years... yet all they bring us is trouble and sorrow’ (Psalm 90:10)!

We wonder, ‘Is there a glorious future still to come?’

We wonder, ‘Where can we find strength that is greater than our suffering?’

* In our times of suffering, we draw our strength from God’s Word.

God’s Word says to us: ‘Come and see what God has done’ (Psalm 66:5). God invites us to look into His Word, to read His Story, the Story of all that He has done for us.

God’s Word says to us: ‘Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what He has done for me’ (Psalm 66:16). God invites us to listen to the preaching of His Word, to let His Story become our story, to let His salvation become real in our lives.

We read God’s Word. We hear His Word.

This is our journey of discovery. We discover what the Lord has done for us. We discover how much He wants to bless us.

- He waits to hear our prayer - ‘May God be gracious to us and bless us...’

- He answers our prayer - ‘God has blessed us’ (Psalm 67:1, 6-7).

- He wants us to ‘be glad and sing for joy’ (Psalm 67:4).

- He wants us to call ‘all the ends of the earth’ to ‘worship Him’ (Psalm 67:7).

* In our times of suffering, we draw our strength from Jesus Christ.

As we read God’s Word, we learn from the psalmist and we learn from the prophet.

They are not,however at the very centre of our faith. They point us to Someone who is greater than themselves. We are to remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead (2 Timothy 2:8).

God’s servants become part of our past. Christ remains the heart of our future.

He is the risen Christ, the living Lord.

When God’s servants become a distant memory, we must remember Him.

Keep your eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ. We must keep Him at the very centre of our lives.

If we are to be ‘lovers of God’rather than ‘lovers of self’, we must keep on saying, from the heart, ‘I must decrease. Christ must increase’(2 Timothy 3:4, 2; John 3:30). Keep your eyes on Jesus!

* In our times of suffering, we draw our strength from our glorious future.

Through our Saviour, Jesus Christ, we catch a glimpse of a glorious future.

- Our lives need not be dominated by our past.

Our life is not to be controlled by our sin. We have been cleansed (Luke 17:17).

Let us come to the Lord with praise and thanksgiving (Luke 17:15-16). Let us come to Him with the attitude of gratitude, giving thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

- Our lives can be shaped by His future.

Our life is to be inspired by Christ’s redemption. Here is the source of our strength - Jesus is coming again (Luke 17:24).

He is coming for us: I will come back and take you to be with Me (John 14:3).

Let us press on to this glorious future. Let us put our sin and shame behind us. Let us live by faith in our Saviour (Luke 17:19). He is leading us on to His eternal glory.

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The Bible Readings are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary – Year C.

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Pentecost +19: Lamentations 1:1-6; Lamentations 3:19-26 (or Psalm 137); 2 Timothy 1:1-14; Luke 17:5-10

Jerusalem had fallen into hard times. Her sad situation is described for us in Lamentations 1:1 – “she who once was great among the nations... has now become a slave.”

In their difficult and distressing situation, God’s people were forced to ask the question: “How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?”(Psalm 137:4).

There are times when it seems nothing is going right for us. We look around us and all we see is our “affliction” (Lamentations 3:19).

* In such times, we must remember the faithfulness of God.

We must take encouragement from the words of Lamentations 3:22 – “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end.”

When we find ourselves in circumstances of great distress, we must learn to look beyond the things that are happening to us. We must learn to look to the Lord and say, “Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23).

It will not be easy to see God at work in our lives when everything seems to be going wrong.

We must be patient as we wait for the blessing of the Lord to return to our lives. We must put all our hope in the Lord, trusting in His precious promise: “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:25-26).

* Trusting in God’s faithfulness, we grow in faith.

It is not easy to keep on worshipping the Lord when so many have given up on worshipping Him.

What are we to do when our faith seems so weak and we are on the verge of giving up? - “Ask the Saviour to help you, comfort, strengthen and keep you.”

What will we find when we come to the Lord, looking to Him for strength? - “He is willing to aid you. He will carry you through.” God gives us strength to keep on going when we feel like giving up – “To him that o’ercometh, God giveth a crown. Through faith we shall conquer, though often cast down. He who is our Saviour, our strength will renew. Look ever to Jesus. He will carry you through.”

Let us pray for an increase of our faith (Luke 17:5). Let us pray for an increase of the Lord’s blessing (Luke 17:6).

As we grow in faith, let us give all the glory to God: “Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23).

* Growing in faith, we are called to share our faith.

God’s Word is not to be kept to ourselves.

Paul was called by God to be a "preacher" of "the Gospel" (2 Timothy 1:11). He passed God’s Word on to Timothy, encouraging him to share the message with "faithful" people who would pass it on to others’(2 Timothy 1:13; 2:2).

Everyone has their part to play. Things didn’t come to a standstill when Paul wasn’t around. Timothy was to make sure that everything didn’t revolve around himself. There were others who were to carry the work of God forward.

We must not make too much of certain individuals. The work of the Lord is always much more than the work done by any one person. God is always looking for more people who will take up the challenge of seeing that His work is not left undone.

Serve the Lord in the "power" of "the Holy Spirit." Trust Him - His work is "safe in His hands"(2 Timothy 1:7, 14, 12).

As we serve the Lord, there are two things we must never forget.

- We are always ‘unworthy servants’ (Luke 17:10).

- We will never outgrow our need of "God’s mercy" (Romans 12:1; 2 Corinthians 4:1).

Sharing our faith, let us give all the glory to God: "Great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:23).

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The Bible Readings are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary – Year C.