In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of keeping our eyes on God and seeking His presence in all circumstances. He reminds the audience of how God's people had rejected Him and faced the consequences of their actions. The preacher encourages repentance and turning back to God as the only way to have a future. He shares the example of Jeremiah, who cried out to God and declared that the Lord is his portion and inheritance. The preacher concludes by praying for God's blessing on a couple, asking for their faithfulness to God's will and for them to be an example of holiness to others.

We ask you Lord that you would presence yourself, Lord Jesus and that you would speak to us through your holy word Bless Henrik and Sharon and all of us who are present that this may be a memorable time in our lives Amen. Lamentations chapter 3 verse 24 and 25 I say to myself, the Lord is my inheritance, therefore I will hope in him The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek for him I say to myself, the Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek for him After the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Jeremiah's people, nation and the city of God, Jerusalem, had been destroyed by Babylon The people were killed, tortured, taken captive Jerusalem was the city of God In today's language we would say it was the church of Christ God's judgment came down destroying and destruction came upon them Because they had rejected their God, the God who made them, who loved them, who sought repeatedly to bless them Jeremiah who is known as the man of tears, he said he cried and he cried and he cried till there were no more tears left The book of Jeremiah was written or spoken before Jerusalem fell And Lamentations after Jerusalem and God's people had fallen So the one book we look forward, the other book, Lamentations, we look backward And in this destruction When the man of God, Jeremiah, found himself in this spiritual mess He said to himself, I say to myself, the Lord is my inheritance, therefore I will hope in him The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek him And that strengthened him in this unhappy, heart-breaking situation There is so much that we could say, but I am trying to keep it short One day when Hendrick was at work and came out of one of the tunnels, he said suddenly It was as if God was speaking to him and telling him, throw met Sharon, get married to Sharon He says it wasn't just a thought, it went deeper than a thought And he was surprised and for quite a time he battled with this It is wonderful when young people heed, seek and wait upon the Lord concerning marriage That they know God's will in this Now God has laid it in such a way that we are all witnesses of the fulfillment of this today And this is the word that had been upon his heart I say to myself, the Lord is my inheritance, therefore I will hope in him Other translations say, the Lord is my portion, therefore I will hope in him In African, the Lord is my portion, therefore I will hope in him God is my portion, therefore I will hope in him Now, in the original language, the word H L K, chelek, is used Chelek is a word difficult to translate The root of that word, chelek, comes from a Chaldean language It means measure, mass stuff, slinganese Of earth deal, inheritance, or lot, and many have translated it, may deal my portion But it is very interesting that we find this word as well Remember when David killed Goliath He took five stones Luther translates, smooth stones Many translators must have asked themselves, how shall we translate this? So many translations say, smooth stones Now, in the original language, it is interesting that he took five chelek stones We may ask the question, what kind of stones were those? Were they round? Were they smooth? What quality of stones were they? And the Bible says they were chelek stones As we read here, the Lord is my portion Chelek stones That means David just didn't go around and just took the stone He looked for chelek stones Stones that had to do with God Stones that were in the hand of God Stones God could use And Jeremiah says, chelek, that's what I seek And therefore, I will hope in him God was in those stones That's why he used only one And he hit the nail on the head God was there with him and with these stones That's why he was successful And that's why Jeremiah says, even if I live in such circumstances, it seems to be hopeless But my hope is in this That God is with me Hendrik, Sharon You have spoken to me about human life And many of us We don't know what the future holds for you But if God is your portion If God is with you You can start hoping for the future So, no matter what may come their way If they are in the presence of God And they live in his presence Are with God No matter what happens Whether the world be destroyed Whether Christians fail Whether the people turn their backs on God You see to it That God is your portion That you are with God Then it will be well with you Whether it's ten years, fifty years or a hundred years Nobody can say today What we'll meet up with in the future As a nation As a church In the future But that we keep our eyes upon God And that he is with us When times may be sorrowful Heartbreaking Never forget this word that you have chosen That he is your portion That you are in his presence And that his will shall be done Whether those stones when you face the enemy Are made of gold or silver Or rough or smooth Keep your eyes upon God all the time God's people had rejected God You remember that God loved them He repeatedly tried to bless them But they turned their back to God Then they had a bitter and sour price to pay Then destruction took over Then there is no future Until we repent Confess our sin And turn back to God Let's remind ourselves then what Jeremiah did in these awful situations Where he cried so much he says day and night till he had no tears He said to himself The Lord is my portion The Lord is my inheritance Inheritance everybody knows what inheritance is We are glad for inheritance Many children break with each other because of their inheritance Inheritance is something after death And it is of great meaning to us But spiritually we can be glad we needn't wait till after death It can be our portion right now If we have God as our portion That's the only foundation The only foundation of hope Without that there is no hope for any man No matter what kind of a person he is If God is not with us If God is not with us There is a portion that possesses everything Something that possesses us Not only in the future but now And if he is our portion That's the foundation of our hope Things will never go wrong But always right If we abide in his presence And we will be victorious Even if we are facing the biggest enemy in this world And the Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek him Some people listen to what people say Maybe your brother, your sister, your parent, your child But there is something of great importance And that is that we listen to God and his will And abide in his presence That's the only foundation of hope Without that there is no hope for any man No matter what kind of a person he is If God is not with us There is a portion that possesses everything Something that possesses us Not only in the future but now And if he is our portion That's the only foundation of our hope That's why I will call upon him The Lord is good to those who call upon him To the soul that seeks him Now, what is my portion? Is it the Lord? Or is there something that is more important than him? If the Lord seeks us wholeheartedly And he wants to seek Then he promises to be good to us And to take care of us If we are given the Lord's eye all the time And he is our portion Then we can call upon the Lord as the scribe Because he is our scribe If we are given the Lord's eye all the time And he wants to seek Then he promises to be good to us If we are given the Lord's eye all the time And he wants to seek Then he promises to be good to us If we are given the Lord's eye all the time And he wants to seek Then he promises to be good to us If we are given the Lord's eye all the time Then he promises to be good to us If we are given the Lord's eye all the time Then he promises to be good to us Then we can face the future If he is our portion I hope that what I have tried to explain is well understood He is our king And David knew that life and that secret And as he chose those stones He must have prayed in his heart And sought God's will And said Lord I liked I want that stone Out of your hand With your blessing And as he prayed in his heart And said Lord I like I want that stone Out of your hand And said Lord I like I want that stone The Lord is wonderfully good to those Who wait for him He knew what it was to wait For God And to seek him And as he prayed in his heart And said Lord I like I want that stone Out of your hand With your blessing And as he prayed in his heart And said Lord I like I want that stone Out of your hand And said Lord I like I want that stone And as he prayed in his heart And said Lord I like I want that stone Out of your hand With your blessing And as he prayed in his heart And said Lord I like I want that stone Out of your hand With your blessing Bless them in spirit Soul And body By your grace Keep them Faithful To your will Till Death shall part them Or the great Trumpet shall sound Be with them In a special way May they be an Example To young and old Walking in holiness Day by day Seeking their portion Putting their hope In you And abiding In your presence So That the future Will be wonderful That they will be more Than conqueror In any situation Anything that may come Their way Lord we are living In a world Where it's not everyday Sunshine Times Are changing Times are difficult But If you are their portion we have heard In all those Things Sunshine or thunder They will be more than conqueror So we are committing them For time And eternity into your hands That by your grace You will keep them And be with them And work Exceeding Abundantly Above What we are able to pray Or ask for And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ The love of God the Father And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit Be their portion From now on Right to the end When we will face thee And see thee face to face Amen