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Does it matter to
you ... The only thing necessary for the
triumph of evil is that good men
do nothing.
Here am I ...
It’s about the next part
Here am I ...
in the Gap It’s all about the next part
Here am I ...
in the Gap ...
because ...
it Matters to me
Are you in ...
• Isaiah’s story
Are you in ...
• Isaiah’s story
• Ezekiel’s story
Are you in ...
• Isaiah’s story
• Ezekiel’s story
• Jeremiah’s story
Jeremiah
• Call to ministry c. 626 BC
– Jeremiah
– Lamentations
– 1 Kings
– 2 Kings
Jeremiah
• Call to ministry c. 626 BC
– Jeremiah 1:4-10
– “Now the word of the LORD came to me
saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I
knew you, And before you were born I
consecrated you; I have appointed you a
prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Alas,
Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to
speak ...”
Jeremiah
• Call to ministry c. 626 BC
– Jeremiah 1:4-10
– “Behold, I have put My words in your
mouth. See, I have appointed you this day
over the nations and over the kingdoms, To
pluck up and to break down, To destroy
and to overthrow, To build and to plant.”
Jeremiah
• Discouragement of ministry (c. 587 BC)
– Lamentations 1:8-9
– “Jerusalem sinned greatly, Therefore she
has become an unclean thing. All who
honored her despise her because they
have seen her nakedness; even she
herself groans and turns away. Her
uncleanness was in her skirts; she did not
consider her future. Therefore she has
fallen astonishingly; she has no comforter.”
Jeremiah
• Discouragement of ministry (c. 587 BC)
– Lamentations 1:12
– “Is it nothing to all you who pass this way?
Look and see if there is any [o]pain like my
pain which was severely dealt out to me,
which the LORD inflicted on the day of His
fierce anger.”
Our Day
Source: Stats Canada General Social Survey
1985 2005
30%
21%
Our Day
1985 2005
Our Church
2014 2024
Our Church
• From an evangelical theology
– “You must be born again.”
• To an evangelistic lifestyle
– “You must be born again.”
“You should not be surprised at my
saying, ‘You must be born again.’”
John 3:7
Jeremiah Today
“Is it nothing to
all you who pass
this way?”
Our Day
• A day of trouble
• Not necessarily worse than previous
decades
• Can’t fix the society or the laws
• Can offer salvation to individuals
Our Day
• There are 330,000 live births and
100,000 abortions each year
• About 50% of the mothers are under 25;
64% are single, and 45% have children
Our Day
• In Ontario the annual cost of alcohol-
related health care, law enforcement,
corrections, lost productivity, and other
problems is estimated to be $5.3 billion.
• Tobacco is the leading cause of
premature mortality in Canada.
Evidence suggests that smoking is
responsible for about 17% of all deaths.
Our Day
• In any given year, one in five Canadians
experiences a mental health or
addiction problem.
• Oxycontin & Percocet prescriptions up
850% in 10 years
Our Day
• Average age of first alcohol use = 16.2
• Average age of first cannibus use = 16.1
• “Risky drinking” 30% of high schoolers
in the last 30 days
• 8,200 deaths per year related to alcohol
• 4,000 deaths per year by suicide
Our Day
• It is a known fact that close to one
million Canadians struggle with
anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating or
overeating. Often overlooked, however,
is the fact that many of these people
also struggle with a substance abuse
problem or other addiction.
Jeremiah Today
“Is it nothing to
all you who pass
this way?”
Jeremiah’s Hope
• Jeremiah 31:33-34
– “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Your Hope?
• Do you know the Lord?
• Do you have the law in your mind and
on hour heart?
• Do you do your part?
• “Is it nothing to all you who pass this
way?” Lamentations 1:12
Here am I ...
in the Gap ...
because ...
it Matters to me
Do What?
• Several things ...
1. Pray ...
• Matthew 9:37-38 “Then he said to his disciples,
‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are
few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to
send out workers into his harvest field.’”
Do What?
• Several things ...
2. Support ...
• 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 “Remember this: Whoever
sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and
whoever sows generously will also reap
generously. Each of you should give what you
have decided in your heart to give, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves
a cheerful giver.”
Do What?
• Several things ...
3. Encourage ...
• 1 Corinthians 16:17-18 “I was glad when
Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived,
because they have supplied what was lacking
from you. For they refreshed my spirit and yours
also. Such men deserve recognition.”
Do What?
• Several things ...
4. Be Diligent ...
• 1 Timothy 4:15 “Be diligent in these matters;
give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone
may see your progress.”
Do What?
• Several things ...
5. Get Engaged ...
• Isaiah 6:8 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord
saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for
us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
