Recently, I shared a strange picture I believe the Lord gave me as I prepared the sermon. It was an ugly picture of a garbage dump mounded high with decaying food, discarded household items, and clothing, a silent scene except for the sound of squawking seagulls circling overhead. It is an eyesore to all traveling the adjacent highway and the source of a terrible odor for all who live nearby. Day after day trucks ascend Mount Trashmore, adding fresh refuse to its ever-expanding girth.

 

Eventually the trash will be covered with dirt and planted with grass—every so often a flame burning the methane gas produced by the decaying refuse.

 

I understood this as a picture of sin and its dreadful effects. Whether it is buried, burned, or dumped into the ocean, it remains a constant source of pollution. Here’s the reason: We are completely helpless to clean up or remove the mess sin creates!

 

The second picture that came to me was a large cross standing over Mount Trashmore. The crucified and risen Son of God has paid in full the penalty for sin, setting free those willing to bring their sins to Him. God assures us in His Word
of His ability to completely remove sin by describing three things He does with our sins: He separates us from them as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12); He throws them behind His back (Isaiah 38:17) and He remembers them no more (Isaiah 43:25).

 

How liberating and how important it is to remind ourselves of what God has done with our sins so we can confidently confront the lies of the evil one who will continue to accuse us, desperately attempting to undermine the priceless gift of
forgiveness we received through Jesus. As the songwriter Carmen once said: “When the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.”

 

Pastor Ed Grant

My dear friends in Jesus’ love, we have embarked on a prayer journey as a congregation, a journey rooted in God’s loving heart and resting upon the promises found in His Word.

 

As I said recently in a sermon, our prayer is the lever resting on the immovable rock of God’s Word. Through our prayers God accomplishes for us what we could never dream possible on our own.

Many of us are familiar with the promise God made to King Solomon when the recently completed temple was dedicated in Jerusalem.

 

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

As followers of Jesus we, not our country, are the people called by His name. God provides four actions that lead to forgiveness and the healing of our land.

 

Humbling ourselves before God means to acknowledge our overwhelming need, our responsibility for what we are experiencing, and our inability to change on our own.

 

On bended knee we pray, finding an encouraging welcome as we enter God’s presence through the merits of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

 

Seeking God’s face means to seek His favor. Rather than seeking His hand, that is—what He can do for us—we first address our fractured relationship with Him. This provides a different perspective on our sin.

 

Isaiah experienced an overwhelming dread when he realized he was no longer at worship in the earthly temple. God brought him to the heavenly temple, where angels surrounded His throne. There he became aware of the punishment his sin deserved in the presence of a holy God. You and I also, as we seek God’s face, will be more forcibly confronted by the wicked ways we need to turn from and bring to the cross.

For His part God promises to hear from heaven. Whenever the Bible speaks of God hearing or seeing something, it means He is about to act.

 

First, He forgives our rebellion, our idolatry, and then He deals with the consequences our rebellion has caused through healing our land. God will do what He promised if we do what He has commanded.

 

The elders and I are very excited to see what God will do in our country, community, and congregation as we seek Him with our whole heart!

 

Pastor Ed Grant