Raise Your Arms To God.

Sermon Title: Raise your arms to God.

Scripture Text: Lamentations 3:23-33

INTRODUCTION TO LAMENTATIONS 1

This chapter contains a complaint of the miseries of the city of Jerusalem, and the nation of the Jews; first by the Prophet Jeremiah, then by the Jewish people; and is concluded with a prayer of theirs. The prophet deplores the state of the city, now depopulated and becoming a tributary, which had been full of people, and ruled over others; but now in a very mournful condition, and forsaken and ill used.

This text can be used for us, the human, to see what happens when we disobey God.

It is indeed written in a different form from the other chapters, in another sort of metre; and though in an alphabetical manner as the rest (each verse beginning with an alphabet).

The first part of Chapter 3 is mournful and sad. Jerusalem has been conquered and put in servitude. In this half that we are looking at today Jeremiah is talking about how to subdue our problem by talking about Jerusalem.

In Lamentations 3:22; instead of complaining, it would be better, it is suggested, to attend to the duties of examination of their ways, and of repentance, and of prayer.

Lamentations 3:23–33 NLT

23 Great is his faithfulness;

his mercies begin afresh each morning.

-Daily renewal is important because the world and sometimes friends can beat you down. So start out a day with realizing God’s love, grace, and the mercy of God.

24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;

therefore, I will hope in him!”

Just as we have an inheritance from the people on earth that love us we have an inheritance from God. There are many but the biggest is the Salvation through Jesus Christ of Living with him in eternity and having him walk with us while we are on earth. So we have hope, that well ground – well founded confident expectation that an all knowing God is walking with us.

25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him,

to those who search for him.

We are to search for God. That's not a casual look. We are to search for God everywhere. It's good to start with searching our heart first. We need to know God, not just about him.

26 So it is good to wait quietly

Wait- Be expectant!

for salvation (deliverance) from the Lord.

27 And it is good for people to submit at an early age

to the yoke of his discipline:

Its Good that we should turn our lives over to our God at an early age. Then we can learn his ways and escape many problems of this world.

28 Let them sit alone in silence

beneath the Lord’s demands.

Sometimes we just need to go to our place, the closet as it says in the Greek Scriptures, and be with God. Even sitting in silence is good for us in God’s presents.

29 Let them lie face down in the dust,

for there may be hope at last.

Let us bow to the eternal Father in our hope of who he is: Hope, that well ground – well founded confident expectation that an all knowing God is walking with us and will do what he says.

30 Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them

and accept the insults of their enemies.

Sometimes we are wrong. We should be willing to admit it. But when people insult our God it’s hard to do but God wants us to do that. By the way this doesn’t say we don’t have the right to our own self defense.

31 For no one is abandoned

by the Lord forever.

As a friend of mine has said: Nuft said.

32 Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion

because of the greatness of his unfailing love.

This is one of the most misunderstood verses. There are others that sound like it.

God brings grief within you to bring you to an understanding of what happened. If you are running down a road in your car and the speed limit is 45 mph and you are doing 75 mph and you run off the road and your friend is killed or hurt. God can bring grief upon you to let you see what went wrong.

God will not kill someone to get a person to confess Christ

People forget the rest of this verse: because of the greatness of his unfailing love. God is that Love that passes all understanding, the God that gives us strength. The God that holds us close with that big hug and wonderful smile too.

33 For he does not enjoy hurting people

or causing them sorrow.

He enjoys causing joy, contentment, satisfaction and giving us that piece within who he is by the power of the Cross that Jesus died on for us.