Hope In Exile: Trusting God’s Plans
Notes
Transcript
Jeremiah 29:1-10
Jeremiah 29:1-10
Billy Graham has quoted this about hope, “My hope does not rest in the affairs of this world. It rests in Christ, who is coming again.”
I have thought about Jeremiah and how he must have felt going through the captivity of his brothers and sisters by Babylon. What despair he must have felt knowing this was going to happen and then watch it play out just as YHWH said it would.
How many of us have been in a place where we didn't want to be? What did you do about it?
I recall our time at Kemp, FBC Lively, where the leadership decided they didn't like the church's growth. They discovered that a deacon and his wife were embezzling money. Once they decided to remove me, I remember that all I wanted to do was get out of that place. I fought with God about being there, but He would not budge. I had no desire to preach the Gospel to these people. I felt alone and abandoned by God in this place. Kemp felt like Babylon to me.
During this time, I felt God’s work not only in me but in the community he placed us in. Jeremiah’s letter of the Word from God to those who were in Babylon gave me comfort when He opened my eyes to what He was doing. There are three promises God gives Israel and us when we are in the place He has us—first, His attention; second, growth; lastly, His promise.
God's Attention Despite Displacement
God's Attention Despite Displacement
Jeremiah 29:1-4
How many of us have been in a position where we longed to be home? Right now, most of us are only a couple of hours from home in a car or a plane. None of us is a prisoner in a foreign land. I remember when I was in the Army and it was mail day. Every one of us eagerly waited for our name to be called. It meant we had a letter from home. It was our way of staying connected while we were away. Reality, at times, is what keeps us sane. How we longed to be back home to the comfort of the life we lived. The problem is that life did not train us to be soldiers who were ready to defend our loved ones and the country.
Jeremiah’s letter was a message of Hope from God to His people. Even though they had been displaced from their homeland, they were not forgotten by Him. Just like I was displaced from home, those letters gave us hope that we had not been forgotten. The Word of God is letters of Hope for us today. He has not forgotten about us and the Promise. He is going to send His Son for us. But while they are there, God promises growth.
Growth in the Grounded Place
Growth in the Grounded Place
Jeremiah 29:5-7
While I was in the Army, they taught us everything from survival to hand-to-hand combat. These skills were taught in a different state from my home. So many valuable lessons of life were learned during this time. During times of exile, growth occurs at a rapid rate, unlike when life is comfortable. The problem most of us have is that we want to skip this growth process. If the men during training had skipped all the required skills assessments, they would not have had the necessary learning to handle situations in the field when they came about.
Growth occurs for us when God moves us to an uncomfortable situation where we cannot lean on our understanding but must rely on Him only. God gives them commands in these verses. First, they were to build houses and live in them. He is telling them this will be an extensive exile, so get comfortable (Jeremiah 29:28). Second command, plant and eat of the produce. The third command is to take wives and have children, multiplying there. The last command is to seek welfare. What is God telling them?
“For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘The exile will be long; build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their produce.’ ” ’ ”
He is instructing them to get comfortable and live where He has placed them. During this time, they will grow not only in numbers but also in their trust in Him. Another area of growth is in their hope that comes from the Father. When you are in a place that He has placed you, it is not always a joyous situation. During times of persecution is when your growth in Him will prosper.
The house we build is on the foundation of Christ (Mark 12:10; John 14:23). The seed we plant is the Gospel of Christ (Luke 8:11). We multiply the Kingdom by living where He has placed us (Acts 1:8). Where we live, we seek welfare by being role model citizens (Titus 3:1).
“Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone;
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
“Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed,
Too many times, we want to go our way and do it our way without consenting to God’s authority over our lives. Listen to what God tells those who are in exile, Jeremiah 29:4. Another thing that most people miss here is that God also had to clean up Jerusalem before those who were His could come back. If they had returned anytime sooner than the seventy years, they would have been caught up in God’s wrath. God’s promises are beyond the present of their pain.
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,
Promise beyond Present Pain
Jeremiah 29:8-10
God promised them He would bring them back. There was a set time that this promise would come about. There would be pain because anytime God is working on us, it comes with some sort of pain. But by holding on to His promise, they could endure this time. We, too, have a promise from God that He would be with us and come for us (Matthew 28:20; John 14:3).
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
If we believe Him, then we are to trust Him even in the painful times totally. Our ability to overcome the pain is by abiding in Him and living by His Word. We are to be still (Psalm 46:10) and wait on the Lord. That is what the Israelites had to do, and it is what we do in our lives.
“Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
God is working around us, through us, and in us. The problem is we want to get involved and take over the work. God does not need our input or help; He needs us to trust and obey. When we do this, we find where He is working and we're invited to join Him.
Hope is found in trusting and obeying our Father. The idea emphasizes that faith without obedience, or obedience without faith, is incomplete. While both trust and obedience have volitional aspects, trust is seen as an incitation rather than a demand, bringing with it a positive cognitive stance.
Let us sing Trust and Obey (page 447) by John H Sammis, in the Hymnal!
