Why you can trust that God is doing good to you pt.2

Read Jeremiah 32:40–41 “And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’”

Intro

I want to talk about

the story

of Luke Aikens. (luke aikens pic)

A man

who went skydiving

25,000 feet

in the air

with no parachute. (skydive no parachute pic)

(optional skydive short vid)

Somehow

landing

at a speed

of 120mph

he fell perfectly

in a 100 by 100 ft net.

And he did this

even though

he has a wife

and at the time

a 4 year old son. (aikens family pic)

Anyone think this guy is crazy?

A lot of people

when things are going bad

look at God

like Luke Aikens

like some crazy maniac.

Even though

Luke was able

to skydive without

using a parachute

and landed safely

you still think its crazy.

And even though we know

that God is all powerful

that he can do anything

and that God is good

when our life is falling apart

we think God

is crazy too.

So today

we’re going to continue

why you can trust that God is doing good to you

so that even though

you know

God is good

when things are rough

you will be able to see

that God is doing good to you.

Quick recap of last week

In case

you weren’t here

last week

I’m going to give

a quick recap

of the context

of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah

an OT prophet

is imprisoned

by the Israelite king.

You see

right outside

the walls

of Jerusalem

is a massive

Babylonian army

that has besieged

and completely surrounded

the city.

So

what Jeremiah does

is preach God’s word

to the king

and tell him

that he’s going to lose

and the city

will be destroyed

and the inhabitants

sent off

to Babylon

in captivity.

This is why

Jeremiah

was sent

to prison

because prophets

were supposed

to be

preaching

that their army

will win

so that they would be confident

in their fight.

But Jeremiah

does the opposite

making the king

think

that perhaps he’s an enemy spy.

Because not only

did Jeremiah

preach against

the king

with his mouth

he also

did someting

suspicious

with his hands.

Does anyone remember?

Jeremiah goes ahead

and buys land

during war

while the enemy

has siege mounds

right outside the walls. (siege mound pic)

Why would Jeremiah do this?

Maybe

he really is a spy

and is buying land

to prepare

for the new conquerors

who will repay him

with money.

Maybe that land will actually

be free for him

when the enemy

conquers the city.

And maybe also

they will make Jeremiah

a great title and position

of power

in the newly

Babylonian

controlled

Jerusalem.

But here’s the problem.

Jeremiah is not a spy.

So he’s not benefitting

at all

from buying land

that’s about to be taken

by the enemy!

Imagine buying a new phone

knowing

that tomorrow

it will be stolen!

How dumb is that!

But something even more shocking

is that Jeremiah

was told by almighty God

to buy land

during the siege.

During a siege

where people are starving to death

and things are literally collapsing

before their very own eyes.

So Jeremiah asks God

‘why?

I know you can do all things

but why?’

Jeremiah doubted

if God

was truly good.

So God responded

by saying

one day

people will buy land

in this city again

because

I will bring back

my people

out of the hands

of the Babylonian.

But not only that

in v.39

He says

I will give them a new heart

so that they actually

love

to follow me

instead of sinning

and burning their children

to Molech

on the rooftops

which is why

I am sending the Babylonians

to punish

the evil in the city.

So that was last week.

1. God promises to give you the ultimate good (v.39)

But today

we look at the rest

of v.39, ‘then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever’’

But wait.

I thought point #1

was that God gives you the ultimate good?

How is fear

good?

Let alone

the ultimate good?

Anyone watch a scary movie before? Raise your hand When I was in high school

and early college

I used to watch

a lot

of scary movies. (scary movie pic)

Horror films.

Some of these movies

were just cheesy.

But others

really

disturbed me

and when I would go to bed

lay down

and close my eyes

I would see

those terrifying images

the scary movies

imprinted

in my eyes.

Even worse

were the scary movies

that weren’t so

much visually scaring me

like with jump scares

but the ones

that distrubed me mentally

and just made me feel

a certain way

for multiple days

at a time.

And honestly

this wasn’t very helpful.

It’s not good

to have something disturbing

on my mind

when I’m just trying

to do everyday things

like tying my shoes

or eating dinner.

And that’s

how we usually

think of fear.

But fear

itself

is not

always bad.

There is a fear

that’s good.

And that is the fear

of losing something.

For example

who would feel

very uncomfortable

and unpleasant

if they lost their wallet.

Raise your hand.

I’ve lost my wallet

before

and it’s not fun.

What if someone steals all my money

or my identity?

In fact

I’d say

that I’m afraid

to lose my wallet.

Now

what if

you lost

a loved one?

I think we can all say

that we’d fear

losing

our loved ones.

Fear

is not inherently bad.

It all depends

on what

or who

you fear

losing.

And thankfully

God’s Word

tells you

who

exactly

to fear

losing.

v.39 says, ‘fear Me’.

v.40

also Jeremiah 32:40

Jeremiah 32:40 (ESV)

And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.

In other words

God is saying

the fear

that is good

is the fear

of losing

me.

Now, here’s a question

why should I

be afraid

of losing God?

I mean

isn’t God

everywhere?

How could

I lose God?

The problem

is not in God.

But the problem

is us.

I mentioned earlier.

That I’ve lost my wallet before.

I’ve also lost my keys

my phone

all sorts of things.

But there is one thing

that I lose

almost everyday

that baffles my mind

is the remote control

for my TV.

Now before

you say

Pastor Brandon

you’re old

because you watch TV,

all I watch

on

my TV

is Youtube

or Crunchyroll

and sometimes Prime Video

not the traditional

TV channels

or cable.

Back to the remote.

Almost

every day

I lose

my remote controller.

Here’s a picture of

this stupid thing

that I keep losing! (remote picture)

What amazes me

is that I sit

right

next to it.

Every time I use the TV

and I get up

to get a snack

from the kitchen

and I come back

to my couch

and it’s gone!

Or I leave it

on a desk

I come back

and it’s gone!

And is it the remotes fault?

No.

Actually

it’s the couch’s fault

because whoever designed it

made it so that whatever gets through the cushions

is sucked into another dimension.

Just like

when I drop my airpods

between the driver seat

it’s awful.

The spaces are so tight

that you literally

cannot see

if you dropped

something there

so you have to get out the car

and turn on the lights

and push the seat

all the way back

and there it is!

They literally made car seat gap fillers (car gap filler)

because that’s how serious the problem is!

Jokes aside

it is my forgetfulness

that is the cause

of losing

my remote.

My negligence.

I need to stop

leaving

my remote

on the couch.

That’s my fault.

Proverbs 19:27 (ESV)

Cease to hear instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

What will happen

if you stop listening

to God’s Word students?

You will stray.

And that’s not

God’s fault.

That’s ours.

You can lose God

not because of God being able

to be lost

but because of our straying.

Hebrews 3:16 ESV

For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?

Who were the people

who rebelled

and strayed against God

in the wilderness?

The Israelites

God’s very own people

who saw

with their very own eyes

the sea

God

split in half

before them

to save them from slavery.

Just because you go to church

does not mean

you can’t stray.

But a few verses later

we are given the solution

to rebelling

and straying:

Hebrews 4:1 (ESV)

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.

What is the solution students?

Read it together:

let us fear.

Fear what?

Losing

the rest

God provides

through Jesus.

Fear

losing

Jesus.

But thankfully

as Jeremiah wrote

God promised

to give you the fear

of losing Him

so that you don’t stray!

But if you don’t

have

the fear

of losing God

you not only

lose Him

but you lose something good.

The rest of v.39 says, ‘then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.’

You see students

the reason

why it is good

for you to fear

losing God

is because

God gave you

the ultimate good thing:

himself.

Pastor HB Charles

told a story

about how

as a kid

he and his friend Sean

were playing

in his backyard

and there was a treehouse.

And HB

didn’t tie his shoes

so as he was climbing

up the ladder

to get into the treehouse

he slipped

in between

the steps

of the ladder

and got stuck.

Struggling

and screaming

even Sean

was unable

to pull him out.

So HB tells Sean

‘go in the house

and get my dad!’

So Sean comes back

with HB’s dad

and his dad

climbs up the ladder

to get his son.

And he didn’t

wrap his arms

around his son

or try to pull

his leg out

he just

broke the steps

so that his son

would come into his arms

and drop to safety.

And his dad asked,

‘are you alright?’

and then he walked back inside the house.

So Sean and HB go back to playing

and Sean

later just started staring

so HB asks

‘what’s wrong?’

And Sean says,

‘man your dad is strong!’

How satisfying it is

when you have a father (father pic)

so much bigger

and stronger than you

who cares for you

than you can call on

at anytime!

You see students

when you have someone

who is far above you

in being

and infinitely more powerful

than you

what else do you need?

Colossians 2:9–10 (NKJV)

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

You have the powerful

almighty

God

of the universe

above

who is above everything in existence!

What more do you need?

Just by having

God

you are complete!

Colossians 2:10 (ESV)

and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

The ESV also translated it

as filled!

Having God

makes you complete

and fills you up

so are you satisfied

and need

nothing else!

So students

when you doubt

that God is good.

Trust him.

Did anyone

ever wonder

how

Luke Aikens

was able

to skydive without a parachute? (skydive pic)

He did it

because he already did

18,000 jumps

and trained

opening his parachute

and the very last possible second.

Students train yourself

by remembering

that you have

the ultimate good:

God. (holding hands cross pic)

When friends

betray

when family

disappoints

when your health

declines

when you feel

alone

it feels like

you’re falling

25,000 feet

in the air

with no parachute.

But remember.

You have

the massive

100x100

safety net

that will catch you:

God.

Luke Aikens didn’t need a parachute.

He only needed

the net.

Students you don’t need

fake friends

you don’t need

acceptance

on social media

you don’t need

a romantic relationship

with an unbeliever.

You have God.

He gave you the ultimate good:

Himself.

Your powerful

supreme

almighty

Father.

And that’s all

you need.

Gospel conclusion Because a world

where you always believe

that God is doing good to you

with zero doubt

is a world God designed…

The Lord’s Supper

Lord’s Supper

At this time

we are now

going to celebrate

the Lord’s Supper.

Our servers

are going to start bringing forward

the Lord’s supper

but

I want you to remember

what the Lord’s Supper is

by first explaining

what is not.

This is not a ritual

that saves you

or gives you brownie points

with God.

It is a celebration

and a memorial

of what God did for you

on the cross.

What that also means

is that if you don’t believe

in what Jesus did on the cross

or

you are in sin

and you are unrepentant

meaning you don’t plan to stop

a particular sin

that you are fully aware of

then please pass

the elements

and just observe today.

Otherwise

you lie

by falsely participating

in the Lord’s Supper today.

As you receive the elements

take the time to celebrate

Jesus did for you

and to reflect

if there is any sin

in your life

that you must stop.

Matthew 26:26–28 ESV

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.