Invitation and Humility

Lamentations 3:34-45
October 18, 2020
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

It is nice to be invited in life. It is nice to be invited to hangout with friends. It is nice to be invited to a wedding. It is nice to be invited to the school of your choice or the job of your dreams. It is nice to be invited over for a home-cooked meal.

All of these invitations are great. But there is one that is greater than all: the invitation to return to the Lord.

The saints of old who experienced the fall and exile of Jerusalem were invited to return to the Lord. The Lord spoke through the narrator of Lamentations and said these words in verses 40 and 41: “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven….”

This is amazing. The saints of old sinned against the Lord. They were guilty of rebellion against him. They deserved to die. But the Lord still invited them to return to him. He did this because he kept his covenant of grace. He kept his promise of salvation. He kept loving his people. This is amazing.

Dear Highland, today I am happy to inform you that the covenant of grace is still on. The promise of salvation has come true. And Jesus loves you. The fall and exile of Jerusalem was a teaching moment and an act of discipline for the saints of old. If your Savior and Lord is teaching you or disciplining you during this time, then today I am happy to inform you that you are invited to return to him.

Test and examine your ways. Confess your sinfulness and grow up. Do not lose heart. Return to Jesus. You are invited.

You are invited to return to Jesus over and over again if you are already a believer in Christ. And if you are not, then you are invited to return to Jesus for the first time today. Jesus said to Peter, “Do you love me? Feed my sheep.” Jesus said to the thief by his side, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

While I am happy to share all of this with you this morning, I am also sad to tell you that many people struggle with this invitation. We struggle because we do not like to test and examine ourselves. We like to test and examine others. We struggle because when the Lord sovereignly disciplines us in times of suffering and lamentation, it is easy to wish for justice upon our enemies. We struggle because it is easy to grow weary of his discipline in our lives. It is easy to start to complain to him when we are being sanctified. This is the struggle of many.

But the Lord gives us wisdom for humility.

The saints of old who were exiled after the fall of Jerusalem experienced injustice from their enemies. As prisoners who were scattered on the earth, they were crushed underfoot. They were denied justice. And they were subverted in their lawsuits. The Lord did not approve this. The Lord was and is and always will be a God of justice and righteousness.

But his people were not invited to test and examine their enemies. They were invited to test and examine themselves. They were not invited to be proud. They were invited to be humble. Because while their enemies were guilty of wrongdoings, so were they. And they were being disciplined by the Lord. Therefore, the narrator of Lamentations said that it was not wise for them to complain to the Lord about what they were going through.

Dear Highland, please remember this wisdom in your life as you return to the Lord. Jesus is sovereign over all things and he has commanded all that comes to pass in your life - all the good things and all the bad things. Jesus is the Lord. You are not the Lord. Do not grow weary of the Lord’s discipline in your life. Do not complain to him when you are being sanctified. And if you think that your enemies deserve justice for their wrongdoings, just remember that you deserve justice for your wrongdoings as well.

But more than anything, remember that the Lord gave you grace and not justice. He died on the cross as a sacrifice for you and a substitution for you so that your sins would be paid for and so that you would be forgiven of your sins. He was made to be like scum and garbage. And he credited to you his righteousness and obedience to the law so that you would receive eternal life in the kingdom of God. Brothers and sisters, that is not justice. That is grace and mercy and love.

Therefore, as you return to the Lord, I hope that you change the way that you think and feel about things in life. You can think about your sufferings or this pandemic year or the discipline of the Lord in a negative light. Or you can think about all of these things in life as an invitation to return to the Lord.

Soli Deo Gloria