“Don’t Waste Your Life On Sorry Substitutes”
Jeremiah 2:1-3:5
Sermon Series: “Don’t Waste Your Life”
Introduction: I am going to wrap up my preaching in this series with what may be the most important subject in the Bible-the glory of God. It may be the most important subject because it is foundational to every other subject because everything is about the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Glorifying God is the very purpose of our existence. Isaiah 43:7 says, “Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” Glorifying God is also the purpose of our salvation. Ephesians 1:6 says, “To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” We will either live for the glory of God and fulfill our purpose, or we will live for false gods and waste our lives. A false god of any type is an idol, and it is a sorry substitute for the one true and living God.
What is the glory of God? The glory of God is part of the very nature of God. It is intrinsic within Him. It is who He is. Millard Erickson says that God’s glory is “the greatness of His entire nature.” It “conveys the meaning of brightness, splendor, magnificence, and fame.” Rick Warren says that “it [glory] is who God is. It is the essence of his nature, the weight of his importance, the radiance of his splendor, the demonstration of his power, and the atmosphere of his presence. God’s glory is the expression of his goodness and all his other intrinsic, eternal qualities.” Warren also says, “It [God’s glory] was portrayed as a consuming fire, a cloud, thunder, smoke, and a brilliant light.” Ultimately, God’s glory is manifested in His Son, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:3a says that Jesus is the “brightness of His glory and the express image of His person.” Heaven is actually lit by the magnificent glory of God (Revelation
21:23).
Main Idea: When we live for anything other than the glory of God, we end up wasting our lives on sorry substitutes.
1. Sorry substitutes ignore the goodness of God (v. 1-8). God created us, sustains and takes care of us, and ultimately loves us so
much that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came and died for us. We ignore and demean His goodness when we worship other things.
2. Sorry substitutes give glory to a false god instead of the real one (v. 9-12). God is glorious and created us to give Him glory. It is an affront to Him to give that glory to another.
3. Sorry substitutes leave us unsatisfied (v. 13). John 4:13-14 says, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
4. Sorry substitutes bring pain into our lives (v. 14-19). They promise pleasure but bring pain and slavery.
5. Sorry substitutes cannot save us (v. 20-28). Only Jesus can! A Savior is what we really need. Jesus alone is the way to God. At the beginning of chapter 3, He graciously invites the idolatrous children of Judah to return to Him and gives us the same invitation today.
Conclusion: Romans 11:36-12:1 says, “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Who are what are we giving glory to in our lives? Are we a living sacrifice to the Lord, or are we living as a sacrifice to and for something else? Let’s not waste our lives on sorry substitutes for Jesus Christ!
