Prayer Meeting 12/12/2023

Real Evangelism

Jeremiah 17:9-10,14

Firstly, our prayer tonight is from the ‘Valley Of Vison’, page 64, or page 36 in the paperback version, and is entitled ‘The Awakened Sinner’:

O my forgetful soul, awake from thy wandering dream; turn from chasing vanities, look inward, forward, upward, view thyself, reflect upon thyself, who and what thou art, why here, what thou must soon be. Thou art a creature of God, formed and furnished by him, lodged in a body like a shepherd in his tent; Dost thou not desire to know God's ways? O God, thou injured, neglected, provoked Benefactor, when I think upon thy greatness and thy goodness I am ashamed at my insensibility, I blush to lift up my face, for I have foolishly erred. Shall I go on neglecting thee, when every one of thy rational creatures should love thee, and take every care to please thee? I confess that thou hast not been in all my thoughts, that the knowledge of thyself as the end of my being has been strangely overlooked, that I have never seriously considered my heart-need. But although my mind is perplexed and divided, my nature perverse, yet my secret dispositions still desire thee. Let me not delay to come to thee; Break the fatal enchantment that binds my evil affections. And bring to me happy and mind that rests in thee, for thou hast made me and canst not forget me.  Let thy Spirit teach me the vital lessons of Christ, for I am slow to learn; And hear thou my broken cries. 

Martin Lloyd Jones in his sermon called ‘Facing Reality’, said that most people in his town, if asked why do people go to church, said they would say:

In order to get away from life and avoid its problems.

That statement when I read it took me on a train of thought. And it is this: Do people really know why you go to church? What do you tell them? Do you tell them about what you hear? And lastly, do you tell them of the effect it has on you from what you hear and apply?

Jones in his sermon is drawing from three verses from Jeremiah 17 verses 9,10,14. Let me read them. Most of you will know them.

Verse 9:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?

Verse 10:

I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.

Verse 14:

Heal me, o Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.

Three verses. The first tells us our condition, that we can hide, lie, be full of secrets and deceit.

The second, whom God is and how we can’t hide from Him, not one thing, and even more than that, He gives us not according to our persona, but our true deeds.

And lastly, the man who recognises God is sovereign, and knows all, is the man who is healed and lives free.

Jones’ teaching , is mostly addressing us personally. And I will also do so. But I also want us to consider what this truth that we have and what we learn, and what we are taught, and how we are challenged - to make us think of those who are not in church and in the dark, as to what the church, the Word, and who God truly is and what He brings to our world.

Most people actually think they live in reality, they think they are aware and are actually in control of their life and actions. They actually think they are able to work things out.

Or if not that, that they can’t change anything, to the point it doesn’t cross their mind that they actually can’t change their life and where it is headed. Add to that that in Christ they can actually learn to take thoughts, feelings, emotions, and even master people.

The question is, do we have the language to explain that to them?

Most people you will meet on a daily basis think they have a grip on their life. They think they have a grip on things around them. They also think they know what goes on in church.

When things happen they can’t cope, when problems happen they can’t deal with them well. Yet they solider on thinking they are in control, and its actually them that’s calling the shots, and not their lack of freedom and ignorance that is doing so. Their life is ran utterly by the flesh.

Yet we often present the gospel and church as if it’s a ‘get a wee hand to help your day’, or more likely a place where, as Lloyd Jones puts it:

Where you can get away from your problems.

Now, I do know we don’t think that when we come. We know its where we are faced head on with our problems. But do we let others know that? Or do we play down the effect?

When was the last time, or if at all, you have spoken to a non-Christian in your life and said: ‘church yesterday was amazing, it really challenged me to the core about areas of my life’.

Some of you have relations who are in superficial churches. Yet, you would dare not say: ‘why do you go to a church that is shallow?’ Or even ask ‘what deeply challenged you at church this week?’

Heaven forbid I ever preach a sermon, where your conscience is not jarred. Where you can simply act the part and not be at all moved. I hope, as we move into a new year, we will refuse to be superficially relational with each other the way the world is.

If a believer can live for any length of time in a church superficially it’s because we have all accepted a carnal relationship. It’s because we have stopped looking at them through spiritual eyes.

If people in the church are not pressed, what do you think we will impress upon others? Nothing but superficial Christianity.

In Jones sermon on ‘Facing Reality’ he shares three points on how true Christianity (true religion, and the Word , and church) is in fact the only place where we can truly deal with who we are, how to change, how to grow, how to live, and even how life is beyond this life.

Oh how we so down-play the need for God, the church, and the Word.

Jones first point is, as he breaks down the passage in Jeremiah

How rarely are we truly conscious of our own nature and depth of deceitfulness of our own minds.

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?

Jones says:

Even our very nearest and dearest don’t know everything about us.

Jones continues:

What remarkable beings we are! There are certain things of which we never speak to anyone about except ourselves.

He adds:

Has this final and ultimate loneliness of your own nature ever stuck you?

How true, no matter who they are, we as humans, always have a portion, or many portions in some cases, where we are not at all an open book.

Jones gives a great example of when we speak to ourselves, after certain situations,

like when we confront, or are confronted, or when we speak frankly. After this we tend to speak so much to ourselves.

Let’s face it, we speak to ourselves all the time. However, not often do we do so with utter humility and holiness.

Have you noticed your self-talk is really not very self-controlled? (is that an understatement?):

…the heart is deceitful, and desperately wicked, who can know it?…

When was the last time, if ever, you said to an unbeliever: ‘I need the church and God’s Word, and to be in church because I will always have secrets, and these secrets and self-talk, God has heard them, and He can help me get honest and free from them.’

Some might say: ‘well, we all have them, no one is perfect.’

You can say: ‘God is perfect, and He has perfectly heard and seen my secrets, and will help me deal with them, as I do not want to live a lie. Just because you can’t hear me, or haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean I’m sorted. God has heard me and God has seen me. Surely anyone that has heard even my inward thoughts and talk, is one greater than we are.’

This is what I would call: evangelicalism by reality, or real evangelism.

Jones’ second point, as he moves through the verse is:

Yes it’s true that we are deceitful but God is deeper.

God does indeed search our hearts.

Jones said:

God is watching and recording everything. No thought enters your mind but that he is aware of.

That’s both a scary, and I think a wonderful thing. It depends on how you want to live

Jones adds:

All the time we continue to be satisfied with the thought that secret actions, thoughts and ideas of ours are unknown to anyone but ourselves, we forget the presence and existence, of God.

Jones says:

God doesn’t just see you, but he sees through you.

And thank goodness He does.

Jones gives a great example of how we, even in arguments and difficulties, have a way of manoeuvring things to suit ourselves, thinking, as Jones puts it:

We are clever and cute…

Oh how amazing we are at turning anything into truth to suit our own issues and agenda.

Jones says:

We have a great reserve of ability at our command in such emergencies, but how ridiculous really is it, when we must be finally face to face with God who knows all.

You would think we would be more honest with ourselves, when we know that God, even is privy to our thoughts, not just our actions.

Again, we would never bring that level, or rarely bring that level of conversation to those outside church. That God knows the deep, inner workings of our very thoughts, and today at church it was a great reminder and challenge to me.

Evangelism by reality. We really ought to use it more.

Lastly, point 3. Jones says:

Is it surprising that the prophet should have prayed: “heal me o Lord, and I shall be healed. Save me and I shall be saved?”

Jones adds:

He had suddenly realised what a fraud his life was and how unsatisfactory it was, and prayed to be released once and for all. He was no longer content with fooling and satisfying others, this man faced himself and God.

What a statement. How true, that all our manoeuvring and lies, and inward thinking, is all but mostly to satisfy ourselves and man. But only when we turn to God as our true source, do we truly taste healing and freedom.

I love this verse from Jeremiah 17:14

Heal me, o Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.

It is truly only when we know that only the Lord can truly heal us, and who knows our inner parts, that we find healing.

Heal me man, and I won’t be healed, heal me lies, and I won’t be healed, heal me flesh and I won’t be healed. None of these things heal us. They only give relief, that allows us to still be praised from man, and build a facade to do so.

None of these things either heal us, and as Jeremiah points out, nor saves us.

The way we defend lies and secrets, and make man-idols, you would think it was them that saved us.

Again, have your ever said to a non-believer: ‘those things can’t either truly heal you nor save you.

Or: ‘I’m grateful I was reminded today, that only God can heal me and not man, or stuff, or what I do in my mind to fix things.’

Evangelism by reality.

Only God, and not our ways, or means can heal us, save us and restore us.

That is why Jeremiah says: ‘you are my praise’.

Oh how we have elevated people and things, to that which we praise. When they can bring truly no healing or salvation to our lives, they cannot keep us from hell - only God can.

How about this: ‘that can’t save you, that truly can’t bring healing to you. Only God can.

The one who knows all, and the one who came from heaven to live among us, to make a way for you.’

He is the light in the darkness. He sees all, knows all, and will heal and save all who turns to Him.

John Calvin says:

We are allured by a thousand things, from true worship of God. Let us learn by Jeremiah’s example to hide ourselves under the wings of God, and pray that he may heal us.

I would add: and all that we meet and get to share this wonderful truth with.

Amen.