Lamentations 3:22-23, He did it again..

Psalm 16:8 “I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.”

Introduction.

New Hope, when as i was thinking back over these past couple of weeks and seen what all has gone on around this area, i had to ask myself, am i truly thanking God for all that HE has done for me..

on my day job, there has been some serious wrecks that have caused multiple fatalities..

there has been several murders...

and the list goes on...

that’s just the local area..

nation wide families and friends are falling apart behind these elections...

i watched some news and some city was cleaning up a homeless area..

throwing these peoples stuff away without any concern for these people..

and as i was thinking about these things that were going on, i said to myself, that could be me or some of my family BUT GOD HAS DONE AGAIN FOR ME...

i hope you don’t mind but i might get happy on this one, even if i go by myself..

because when i think of the goodness of God and all of His love for me....His grace given to me and His brand mercy for me....I have to raise my voice and say THANK YOU..

TALK, PREACH......

Let’s get something straight, i do not think i am better than anyone...

my heart and my prayers go out to those that are going thru what they are going thru...

let me tell you something, i am going thru something right now but I know my God is bigger than my problem

and when He woke me up this morning and started me on my way, my didn’t consume me

His mercy was brand new and all i can say is THAT HE DID AGAIN...

he spared me, he kept me

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might not be that important to you but as for me...

in everything, God will get glory...

let me refresh someone’s memory...

first, remember mercy is God keeping you away from you truly deserve.....

let’s call the roll....

that doctor gave you some bad news but that next morning with new mercy...

you should have been up under the jail house, but that next morning with that new mercy...

that man or woman tried to break you down but that next morning with that new mercy...

TALK, PREACH......

church, HE DID IT AGAIN...

he looked beyond my faults and he saw my needs...

he gave me another chance...

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

Psalm 103:10–12 “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

TALK, PREACH.....

Let me get to this text...

Let’s walk in the text...

History...

the book of lamentations…credited to the prophet Jeremiah..

Jeremiah was a prophet for Judah but this book Lamentations was written for all Jewish exiles at the time...

of course the reason for exile SIN...

the only thing that can keep us from God..

now the meaning of lament is to mourn aloud, wail…basically crying..

so lamentations is a book of a bitter cry of despair over the destruction of Jerusalem…God’s judgement over his disobedient people...

it reminds us what can happen, if we too disobey God..

but there are a few things about this book that we need to note..

yes jeremiah began the book in despair but from grief to consolation to hope and some good news..

the people should be remind that God is faithful in His word .....

the God is sovereign, in full control

that God even in punishment, still can and will show mercy to those who truly trust and repent...

and this book asks a question, if God judged his very own chosen children so harshly, what do think he will do to those that reject His word today?

that’s a whole lot of meat right there but for today let’s focus on..

how faithful God is, how God shows mercy even in our punishment and how God is in full control...

in chapter 1, we see the affliction of Jerusalem

in chapter 2, God’s anger with Jerusalem

and here in chapter 3 we the prophet start out in anguish and then give us some hope...

that even though we suffer, and are not deserving, God is still faithful and forgiving and gives us chance after chance....He did it again...

Let’s go deeper into the text...

Points..

Lamentations 3:22–23 “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

THRU IT ALL WE ARE STILL HERE...

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, ..

Exalting Jesus in Jeremiah, Lamentations When God Seems against You, Remember: Great Is His Faithfulness (Lamentations 3:19–33)

we come to one of the most beautiful passages in all Scripture. Jeremiah remembers that there is something he has previously forgotten: God’s love. The hope that was lost (v. 18) is now recovered by the memory.

This was one of the things Jeremiah remembered. He remembered that as beat down and defeated the people of Jerusalem and Judah were, they were not yet completely consumed. There was still a remnant, and remnant with a promise of restoration. Wherever God leaves life, He leaves hope..

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once again Mercy, God not giving us what we deserve...

Charles Spurgeon stated, ‘Bad as my case is, it might have been worse, for I might have been consumed, and I should have been consumed if the Lord’s compassions had failed.’” (Spurgeon)

He did it again...

Because His compassions fail not.

Even in the severity of correction God’s people endured, there was evidence of His compassions. There was rich comfort in realizing that the tender affection of God was not completely spent; these compassions were new every morning.

Holman Concise Bible Commentary Confidence in God’s Faithfulness (3:21–42)

The Lord’s love, compassion, and faithfulness had kept the nation from total destruction.

Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament Lamentations

God in His mercy spared a remnant of Judah, protected and blessed them during their years of captivity, and then permitted them to return to their land once again. He enabled them to rebuild their city and temple; He protected them from heathen nations that hated the Jews. How merciful God was to His people. How merciful He is to us today

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Lamentations 3:23 “They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

BRAND NEW MERCY..

Each dawning day gives mankind hope in fresh mercies and compassions from God. We need a constant supply and God has promised to send them without fail. No matter how bad the past day was, God’s people can look to the new morning with faith and hope.

as i tossed in the image of death, MERCY...

when i opened my eyes to a brand new day…NEW MERCY..

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These mercies are always new because they come from God. “Our treasures, which we lay up on earth, are the stagnant pools; but the treasure which God gives us from heaven, in providence and in grace, is the crystal fount which wells up from the eternal deeps, and is always fresh and always new.” (Spurgeon)

Every morning ends the night.

Every morning brings a new day.

Every morning brings new provision for the day.

Every morning brings new forgiveness for new sins.

Every morning brings new strength for new temptations, duties, and trials.

Great is Your faithfulness.” ..

All this made Jeremiah consider the great faithfulness of God; that He never fails in sending His mercies and compassions. Even in their catastrophe, God was faithful. He faithfully announced His judgments and performed them, and God would prove to be just as faithful in His promised restoration.

Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament Lamentations

The faithfulness of God is a tremendous encouragement in days when people’s hearts are failing them for fear. If you build your life on people or on the things of this world, you will have no hope or security; but if you build on Christ, the Faithful One, you will be safe forever

I know He has been faithful to me...

let me call my roll, if i come down your street, talk back to me if you can..

He said I will never leave or forsake you…Faithful

I am with you always…Faithful

God has been so good and faithful to me…I can say He has done it again for me

and i will praise His holy name..

TALK, PREACH.......

Conclusion...

When life is lifeing and it seems like you are drowning…you are ready to give up hope and throw in the time..

be like Jeremiah and please remember, that God has brought you thru this and brought you thru that

remember that In the midst of sorrow and ruin remember the mercy of the Lord. “His compassions fail not.” We have failed Him, but He cannot fail us. “Great is Your faithfulness.”

when i sit back and think things over, i can shout the He did it again for me...

what i deserve he kept it from me

and He did it thru Jesus..

TALK, PREACH, CLOSE...