False Gods, Empty Promises | Pastor Joel King

And I want you to notice that this tragedy happens not because they're ignorant, not because they're confused, but it's an exchange. They know God, and they traded him away. And then he goes on in verse 12. He says this, be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror, declares the Lord. My people have committed two sins. They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. [00:10:49] (34 seconds)  #TradedGodAway

You know what would be crazier? Is you move there, you abandon the flowing spring, you spend all this exhausted effort to dig a a cistern, carving out a storage tank, only to discover that it leaks. Only discover when it leaks. This is idolatry. This is idolatry. It's not just sinful. It's futile. It's futile. False gods always promise more than they can deliver. Period. [00:16:08] (35 seconds)  #IdolatryIsFutile

Why? Because the human heart still thirsts, and nothing created can satisfy what only the creator can fill. Success, leaks. Money, leaks. Pleasure, leaks. Human approval leaks. Whatever your politics are, they leak. They are all broken cisterns. Period. End of discussion. If and if we are honest with ourselves, and this is tough, and I and I say this because I consider myself an honest person, but I lie to myself a lot. [00:18:38] (45 seconds)  #NothingButTheCreator

Now, what would be crazy is for me to live to to move and not think about where water's gonna be if I lived in an area like that. And that in essence, what he was what he's saying is, they've they've abandoned a natural spring in that climate, which is unthinkable. Yet, spiritually, that's exactly what they were doing. They drifted from daily dependence, intimate prayer, delight in God's word, satisfaction in him, just having their eyes on him. And it was probably slow and subtle, but it was drift nonetheless. [00:14:57] (34 seconds)  #SpiritualDrift

Now some of you are here today, and you are already in tune with the fact that you're exhausted from digging cisterns. You chased success, and it has leaked. You've chased comfort, and it didn't satisfy, at least not for very long. You've we've chased control, and it slipped through our fingers. We've chased happiness, and it end up enslaving you. But today, I want you to hear the good news. The fountain, living water, is still flowing. [00:26:42] (34 seconds)  #TiredOfBrokenCisterns

We are honestly naming the reality of our brokenness, of our sin, of idolatry, not just to lead us to despair, but to awaken us to a deep need for grace. Because until we see the diagnosis clearly, the gospel will never sound like good news. The gospel is not advice for self improvement. It's not a spiritual tune up. It is an announcement of God's mercy toward people who cannot fix themselves. [00:01:33] (37 seconds)  #GospelIsGrace

See, God's word and Jeremiah are both a warning and an invitation. The warning is stop digging broken cisterns. The invitation, return to the living water. So before I kinda wrap this up, I want you to ask yourself honestly. Have I been slowly drifting from the fountain? Remember, Jeremiah two is written to the people of God, not the world. It's written to folks like you and I. [00:28:57] (35 seconds)  #ReturnToLivingWater

Again, this is courtroom language. Often a plaintiff in this time and age would ask the elders of the community to register their outrage, the action of another member of the community. Come judge. But in this case, God looks around and doesn't for elders. He goes to the heavens themselves. And he says, be my witness of this absurdity. And he uses strong language here because sin is not merely rule breaking. It is relationship breaking. Relationship breaking. This is the grief of divine love. [00:11:23] (38 seconds)  #SinBreaksRelationship