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Good Morning Church!
I sure hope everyone is doing well this morning. Hey do me a favor stand to your feet this morning, everybody repeat after me, IM ALIVE, IM ALERT, AND I AM READY TO HEAR GODS WORD. Im so glad to hear you say that, lets pray:
Heavenly Father this is your day, this is your house and these are your people, Father I pray that as we seek your word over the next few moments that you would peirce hearts with your truth and bring encouragment and passion for Your Son our Lord Jesus it is in His name and authority we pray. AMEN
You may be seated
If you have your Bibles will you please turn in them to Jeremiah 29 this morning. There has been a debate raging among Christians and really all people that has been going on for about 200 years. The debate is when are you allowed to start listening to christmas music?
Like there is deep division among the people of God… are you allowed to listen to christmas music whenever you want or should you give thanksgiving its space, you know… listen this is serious I wouldn’t have brought this up… no I ma just kidding
But as we enter into this Christmas season I want to preach a series of sermons entitled THE GIFTS OF CHRISTMAS. We don’t serve a stingy God, our God is generous He just gives and gives and gives. So in the spirit of the Christmas season which is called the season of giving. Let’s remember and reflect on Gods heart and the gifts He has given us during this time.
The first gift that God has given to us is probably the greatest gift anyone can ever give. That gift is hope.
There are alot of people today that are living with a sense of hopelesness: AM I EVER GONNA GET TO WHERE IM SUPPOSED TO BE?
AM I EVER GONNA GET IT RIGHT?
WIlL THIS SEASON OF DIFFICULTY EVER END?
IS LIFE EVER GONNA WORK FOR ME?
They’ve lost the sense of hope. My sermon for today is taken from one verse.
‘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.
Now you ought to feel a little better right now.
I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU DECLARES THE LORD
Now I know some of you are thinking Im glad somebody knows em because Im having a hard time figuring them out.
I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU SAITH THE LORD
Let me tell you this much They are not for bad, they are for good. I am going to give you a future… a tomorrow and a hope. Have you ever seen people who have lost their hope?
You lose your hope because you don’t see a future. This verse is found in a bad chapter, this is not a great verse in a great chapter this is a great verse in a bad chapter. So if your having a bad life this is a good verse. Israel is in captivity in Babylon verse 4 in the chapter says:
Jeremiah
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,
This verse is to people who have been placed into exile in judgment for rebelling against God. THey are under the disciplining hand of God for thier sins. They are being spanked, they are there day after day, month after month, and year after year, and there is no soloution in sight.
What makes it worse is the place where they are being incarcerated, their circumstance, is as pagan as you can get. Babylon is not where the Christians hung out. This was pagan, evil, idolatrous, it was a terrible place to have to live. Especially if you were an Israelite, so they are being judged for their sins, they are in a pagan land, and on top of all that the Bible says that the preachers were leading them astray.
Jeremiah
“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.
You see there alot of people out here giving people false hope. In the name of God, He said they prophecy in my Name, come here give your tithe get rich. You serving God you aint gonna get sick, thats false prophecy, thats not true, its never been true and it will never be true.
But you see when people need hope, cause all hope is gone they will listen to about anything. Cause when people dont have hope then they search out of their emptiness and out of their pain. He says there were false prophets in this case that were taking advantage of that and misusing that and abusing it.
Of course heals, of course God blesses. Thats not what I mean, i mean to give people the impression that serving God means there is no problems… thats a lie. They havent been serving God long. These people are in a desperate situation, negative circumstances, divine discipline, a pagan land.
They are being lead astray by the prophets. It is in the midst of this hopelessness that verse 11 finds itself. It is in the midst of this discouragement that verse 11 comes. It is in the midst of this pain verse 11 shows up. I know the plans I have for you...
If you are here looking for hope, looking for meaning and purpose, your tired of walking aimlessly through life. Wondering meandering, and you wanna know God which way do you want me to go cause I wanna go there.
Its not a matter of me not going its just I dont know where to go. Im confused as to where I need to go, I cant listen to the prophets cause they are not telling me right, I cant listen to the Babylonians cause they aint got it right, You ticked off at me thats the reason Im here in the first place, whats a man supposed to do?
Where do you find this hope?
verse 11 says I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU
I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU
I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU
Now why is that important cause God says I still have a plan. Its not over...
How do you know God still has a plan for you?
Simple
YOU HERE
You can assume I am right
If you are here the plan is still operative, you say but you dont know about my past… well they had a bad past… God says I know the plans I have for you… yeah God but you dont understand I dont know the plans you have for me.
Youre greatest lesson in faith will be learned in the dark. (repeat)
It is when you dont know what God is doing how He is doing it, why is He taking so long to get it done, when God is ticking you off the most.... is when you have to trust Him the most.
Cause He says
I KNOW SOMETHING YOU DONT KNOW
I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU
I know it may look dark right now I know it may be unclear exactly where youre headed I know it may be unclear where God is taking you, it may be pitch black outside… hold on
Cause when God moves youll know it. But He said I know the plans I have for you, even though you messed up, even though your in a pagan land, even though maybe the church isnt doing right I know the plans I have for you.
I knw the plans I have for you
God has a plan for you
I know you dont know it, the details arent fully laid out there, I know that all of these things are coming at you right now, and you may wanna pull out your hair. In the midst of confusion god says I HAVE PLAN AND I KNOW IT
He does give you just a little bit of info, heres what He says
Its plans for wellfare not for calamity, He says it involves your tomorrow and its a plan that has hope in it. Thats good news. God has got your tomorrow covered even thought you aint even been there yet. He has already scoped out tomorrow and He has come back to tell you that He has the plan for tomorrow already scoped out.
I know its dark dont walk off I have a future for you! So what do you mean you want me to sit back and just do nothing?
No, cause He spends verses 5 on telling them I dont want you to do nothing, He gives them a few things to do:
‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.
Jeremiah 29:5
Become as productive as you possibly can, dont sit and do nothing, do all that is at your hand to do PLANT GARDENS AND EAT THEIR PRODUCE
all that there is that you can do, all that there is to do… do that
Maximize what is in front of you and while you are waiting on God to make a change come, while your waiting on God to turn things around seize this moment. Alot of us while we are waiting on God are doing nothing. When there is plenty to do, there is only one time when it is ok to do nothing, that is when there is nothing that you can do.
If there’s nothing you can do then you do nothing, but if God has given something at your hand to do then you do it with all of your might. You say but I dont see where all of this effort is pulling things off. Thats cause you havent seen the rest of the story but there is someone who has!!!
‘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.
He says be productive and then He says multiply… become as fruitful as you possibly can even though you messed up and are in a pagan land He says in verse 7
‘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.’
Seek out the welfare of others, see how you can be a blessing...
As you are being a blessing, you are setting yourself up to be blessed. As you are being a blessing, one of the reasons we lose hope is cause the only person were concerned about is ourself. If you messed up and the only person you see is you, then you helping you to destroy you.
See if you messed up and the only person you see is you, then you are helping you to destroy you. HE SAID SEEK THE WELFARE OF OTHERS become a blessing while you are waiting on me to come to help you.
In spite of their circumstances they were to be productive, and they were to impact others. He says in verse 12 and 13
‘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 search for Me with all your heart.
Now we dont quite read that verse like that, we read it when you seek the soloution youll find the soloution when you seek the solution with all of your heart.
THATS NOT WHAT IT SAYS
WHEN YOU SEEK ME, WHEN SEARCH FOR ME, WITH ALL YOUR HEART>
God says I have plans dont go looking for the plans, look for Me I know where I put them. The Bible tells us about Adam and it says while he was asleep God performed an operation, He cut open the mans side now you know the story it says He took out a rib the Hebrew word for rib is side.
so He is laying there for half of Him gone the Bible says that God went over and fashioned a woman the Hebrew word for fashion is built. So when I look at my wife and think man shes fine shes built I am being very biblical when I say that.
to fashion means to use intricate details in order to form in such a way as to compliment that which it is being built for. it means to be buit with the ideal specs for the other party. Eve was fashioned the Bible even says when God created the man it says He picked up the dust of the Earth and kind of threw it together.
He does not use the Hebrew term fashion when He makes the man only fashion when it comes to the creation of the woman, because he had to creat a detailed compliment with unique specs.
So out of his sleep Eve is fashioned uniquely made for him. Eve opens up her eyes now she doesnt know anything about a man. The only thing she knows about is her creator, because thats the only thing she has been exposed to. The only reason I know she doesnt know anything about a man is because the Bible says God brought hewr to Adam.
So she wakes up completely content with God she doesnt wake up and say oh no I am 35 and i am not married yet… No she puts her hand in Gods hand and He marches her over to him and God plays match maker.
Adam looked at Eve and looked and the Zebras and the cows and pigs and he looked at all the creation and said see yall later. Because even when he was in the dark asleep God was doing something for his good.
God does some of his best work while you are asleep, when its dark, when you dont think He is doing a thing. He is behind the scenes working it out. I have a plan for you and its a good one.
maybe you should have gotten it earlier in you life maybe so, maybe ifyou hadnt done this or done that or gone here or there then maybe you would have gotten it. I know you wish you could turn back the hands of time and go back and change the mistakes you made, and I know you feel like you been in this thing too long and I know you dont know how much longer its gone take to get out but still with all your questions
I HAVE A PLAN FOR YOU AND ITS A GOOD ONE, AND IT WILL GIVE YOU A FUTURE AND IT WILL GIVE YOU A HOPE
it would be 70 years before they see the plan.
God says it may take a while but be as productive as you can right where you are until you see what you need to do.
Malachi wrote the last book of the OT and then things went dark for 400 years. Israel hadn’t heard out of God in over 400 years. Its called the silent yearsbecause God wasnt talking.
THEN RIGHT WHEN EVERYONE THOUGHT GOD HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THEM A CHILD WAS BORN A SON WAS GIVEN.... THE SON OF GOD BROKE INTO HUMAN HISTORY WITH ONE AGENDA
HE HAD A PLAN FOR YOU
NOT US
BUT YOU
ME
HE CAME OUT OF THE DARKNESS AND HE WAS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
HE SHINED THE LIGHT OF THE LOVE OF GOD ON SINFUL HUMANITY HE LIVED A PERFECT SINLESS LIFE AND THEN HE DIED A CRIMINALS DEATH ALL BECAUSE GOD HAD A PLAN FOR YOU!
God is inviting you into the drama of the ages yo say I dont like the dark.
Cant help you with that, because without faith it is impossible to please God. Them that come unto God must first believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
You dont which way to go? SEEK HIM
you in pain? SEEK HIM
YOUR CONFUSED? SEEK HIM
YOUR TIRED: SEEK HIM
If you come and ask me im gonna send you back to Him. because He has not told me His plan for you. 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ put up the payment for the plan and He who has begun a good work in you shall continue it until the day of redemption.
What God starts God finishes, what God begins God ends, what God initiates God completes...
BUT YOU SAY YOU DONT KNOW MY MESS!!! YOU DONT KNOW MY GOD!
If you forget the sermon remember the verse
‘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.