In this sermon, we continued our "A Weary World Rejoices" Advent series by looking in Jeremiah 33 at God's Christmas promises to His people. God's people were living in a very tumultuous world during Jeremiah's time. They were weary from all of the political struggles and oppression they were experiencing and God seemed far off and unresponsive to the injustices Israel was facing. In the midst of their suffering, God faithfully reminded His people of His promise that the coming Messiah would bring righteousness and justice into the world. However, God’s people couldn’t see their own injustice toward God. They were eager for God to send His vengeance against His enemies, not realizing that their disobedience meant that they, too, were enemies of God. Much like the people of Israel in their tumultuous times, we can often fail to see that the greatest injustices in the world start in our own hearts. Before we go to God to heal the injustices we see in the world, we must first ask for God to forgive and heal our own injustices against Him. Only then can we care for the oppressed and engage in the injustices of the world from a platform of compassion and humility, instead of vengeance or hate, because we recognize that Jesus died for our injustices too. As believers, we can rejoice in the name of Jesus, the One who brings righteousness and justice to our world.
