Jeremiah 29:1-23; Romans 15:13

Introduction: Hope dies last.

Wisdom comes from unexpected places. This particular wisdom comes from a retired migrant farm worker....

WITH US, THERE'S A SAYING, La esperanza muere ultima. Hope dies last.
You can't lose hope. If you lose hope, you lose everything.
Jessie de la Cruz, retired migrant farm worker, quoted in Studs Terkel, Hope Dies Last: Keeping the Faith in Troubled Times

One of my favorite verses of Scripture is Jeremiah 29:11....

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Je 29:11 NIV

Jeremiah's Chaotic Times!

Jeremiah writes this letter to captives who are in Babylon!

· The trouble had begun to intensify when Jehoiachin's father, then King of the Northern Kingdom,

· Jehoiachin (King) ruled for three months before he abdicated the throne and was sent by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon along with many of the other leaders and artisans.

· Zedekiah king of Judah sent a message from Jeremiah to the Exiles in Babylon by official envoy.

The Exiles Situation!

Living on the outskirts of Babylon in areas for those who were captives.

They were able to form their own communities.
Their first homes were hovels that didn’t compare in any way to what they had in Jerusalem.
Their first gardens were pathetic.
Those who were leaders and artisans had to work with their hands, a humiliating spot.
On the positive side they were given the freedom to set up their own businesses. And they did quite well…some of them became very rich. In fact in the archeological digs they have found bank records. On these records there are the names of some of the people mentioned in Ezra and Nehmiah.

God's Message for Jeremiah's Chaotic Times!

Let’s look at the Letter

It is a letter with surprises…It is just the opposite of what I would expect. What would I expect? " Build a fortress community. Stay out of Babylonian community. They are an evil bunch. Have nothing to do with them."

First: Listen to this advice:

“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jer 29:5-7 NIV

This is not welcome news. It does not tell of a quick release.
"Seek the peace and prosperity of the city into which I have carried you."
But the advice is good. And apparently it was listened to because we know that many prospered in Babylon
Because if they prosper, you will prosper.

Second: Then follows a caution: "Don’t listen to other’s who are prophesying." Warns the Lord.

8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 29:8-9 (NIV)

These prophets were telling the people the good news: “In a couple of years they will be free.” They claimed this message came from God.

The effects of this message:

Incite to riot.
Failure to settle down.
These prophets will pay with their lives.

Third: Then comes the words of hope and encouragement.

After 70 years are finished “The Lord will return you to your homeland.”
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Jer 29:11-14 NIV

These are words of grace and hope. In no sense do we find any condemnation from God on the exiles.

He renews His relationship with them.
And even though they are in Babylon, exiled because of disobedience, here is a statement that is emphatic!
"I know the plans I have for you."

Positive message! (prosper and not harm!)
A Healing message!

They have hope! How important is that?

What happens when there is no hope?

"WHEN HOPE DIES, the killing begins. Hopelessness and brutality are just two sides of the same coin."
Jurgen Moltmann, In the End—The Beginning: The Life of Hope
When we have hope we have a future!
The truth: this letter gives us an inkling of Jesus teaching, “Pray for those who persecute you.”
This teaching from Jeremiah is just as upside down as the instructions that the people receive.
It is this hope that made it possible to live in difficult times. They continued to trust God to carry out his plans.
Conclusion:
Hope, however, is not without its challenges:
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT distinctions I have learned in the course of reflection on Jewish history is the difference between optimism and hope. Optimism is the belief that things will get better. Hope is the faith that, together, we can make things better. Optimism is a passive virtue; hope, an active one. It takes no courage to be an optimist, but it takes a great deal of courage to have hope.
Jonathan Sacks, The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations
Why is that it takes courage to have hope?
· Courage is not the absence of fear. But it is doing the right in spite of fear. It puts boundaries around fear. Courage does not let fear dictate the next move. It instead lets faith or trust in God dictate our next move.
When there is faith and hope then what becomes possible? Love. Paul reminds us that there are three attitudes in the heart of the Christian: Faith, (trust in God), hope, (if God is with us we can make things better), Love (acts of kindness, forgiveness, giving without requiring anything in return)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Ro 15:13 NIV

Overflowing with hope!