God is in Control
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Introduction
King Nebuchadnezzar called a meeting with his leaders of his army. He planned with his leaders to prepare to overcome the land of Juda and Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar instructed Ashpenaz which was the leader of his eunuchs to bring some of the children of Israel to serve him. The plan was made and early one morning as everyone was sleeping and there was no one on watch you can her the crickets when the Isrealites was woken with a large shout of CHARGE!! Before the Isrealites can even know what was happening the Babylonian was racing toward them and taking their best youth, family, and even the utensils of their temples. The inserection was so strategically planned that by the time the Babylonian where gone Juda was desolated. I can only imagine what was going through the minds of the captives. What’s going on? What is our future going to look like? Where is God in all of this? I can’t believe this is going on.
Prayer
Prayer
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,
‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.
In Jeremiah’s letter the first counsel that God tell’s the Irealites that where taken into captivity is to build houses and live in them.
In other words, don’t stop living.
When we have issues at work. Don’t stop living
When our children become rebelious. Don’t stop living.
When our vehicles stop working. Don’t stop living.
When you feel trapped in a relationship. Don’t stop living.
When our loved ones leave us. Don’t stop living.
When the goverment does not go your way. Dont’t stop living.
The second counsel that God told His people in excile is for them to plant gardens and eat their fruit.
In other words, take care of yourselves.
Be productive
Be accountable
Be useful
‘Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease.
The fourth councel that God told his people in excile is for them to procreate.
Have babies and don’t stop having babies even when you think that this is the worste thing that can happen in my life. Have babbies.
Children brings
Joy
Discipline
Future
‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’
The fifth councel that God told his people in excile is for them to seek for welfare (שָׁלֽוֹם) Shalom
The word Shalom means peace.
When I have turmoils with my supervisor. Seek Peace
When I have turmoil with my children. Seek peace.
When I have turmoil with my goverment. Seek peace.
When I have turmoil with myself. Seek peace.
When I have turmoil with my neighbor. Seek peace.
But how do I seek peace? Sixth Councel pray for them or the situation.
Pray for your goverment.
Pray for your supervisors.
Pray for children.
Pray for yourself.
Pray for your neighbors.
“For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream.
‘For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.
Seventh Counsel keep your eyes out for prophets, diviners, and dreamers.
They can even say it is in the name of Jesus but God says He did not send them.
People want to take us out of this mess that we are in so they want to put a date when Jesus is coming when the Bible says
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
People claim they are prophets
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.
We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
The people of Isreal where also influence in the theory by prphets from within the land and prophets even from Isreal that there excile was soon coming to an end when that was not sent from God.
Hananiah’s predicted that they where going to come out in two years but he ended up dead.
God warns to keep our focus on His promesis that never fail.
“For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.
God promised that in 70 years God would visit His people in Babylon (the nation of confusion) and bring them back to Jerusalem.
Some scholars believe that God allowed 70 because that represented a lifetime in those days.
Some seemed to beleive that seventy years is to long but in reality it is not the length of time but the purpose of God’s plan.
Many times we want the outcome but do not want to go through the process to achieve the outcome.
Want to have better families, but don’t want to invest the time with our children and training them in the way it should go.
Want better communities, but don’t want to invest the time to disciple and mentor the sinners.
Want to grow our churches, but don’t want to invest the time to spend time together and expand our boarders.
We yearn for the outcome but we don’t want to go through the process.
The Isrealites was promised 70 years but Jesus Christ has not given us a time and we have been through this process of excile for more than 2000 years. The truth is that we also struggle through the same issues that the Isrealites faced. But God’s promises are still true today.
‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
The good thing is that God has a plan.
God’s plan are always the best.
God planned your birth.
You where not a mistake.
God planned your our world.
God created this world.
God planned our redemtion.
Even before He created this world.
God planned our salvation.
God planned our restoration.
God is soon to come and even that is planned.
What is God plan
God wanted His people to depend on Him. Welfare (שָׁלֽוֹם) Shalom
The word Shalom doesn’t means peace but also can mean completeness.
In other words God wants to not only give us peace but also complete us throgh this excile moment.
God want us to know that He does not want to destroy us but to complete us.
God wants to give us a future
Our future is good becausse of Jesus Christ
Because He lives I can face tommorrow.
Our future is awesome because we await Jesus returning and taking us home.
God wants to give us hope.
The hope that God gives is not based on our actions but on His promised.
The hope of eternal life with Him.
The hope of no more pain.
The hope of no more dying.
The hope of no more crying.
The hope of no more sin.
The hope of Jesus Christ and His righteaousness.
So what is your plans, future, and hope built on?
When your heart is broken know that God is in control.
When your life goes into turmoil know that God is in control.
When your family is not going the way you predicted know that God is in control.
When you are being mistreated know that God is in control.
When you are being persecutted know that God is in control.
When you think you can’t take it no longer know that God is in control.
Today I challenge you to find blessings of God in all circumstances.