God's Divine Itinerary for Your Life

Introduction

(Illustration of Itinerary) A couple of years ago, our family went on our first family cruise. It was an experience. We drove to all the way to Galveston to load the ship. I had never gone on a cruise before in my life. I had mixed emotions of excitement and hesitance. That’s a lot of water out there! Then there was point when we were to tour on land. At this point the tour guide had an itinerary for us. There was a schedule and an agenda. It was important to follow the guide and the itinerary because if we did not, we could miss the boat.

Central Idea of the Text - the deportees from Jerusalem had been given false hopes from the Prophet Hananiah in Chapter 28 that they would return to the land in two years. So, Jeremiah is now giving them God’s Divine Itinerary for their Lives, a ray of hope, as it relates to their current residence in Babylon and future return to Jerusalem.

Main Objective of the Sermon - when we leave today my prayer is that we ALL leave hopeful knowing that God has greater plans for our lives, even this year.

I. The Sovereignty of God (10a)

I. The Sovereignty of God (10a)

God is SOVEREIGN. This means that God possess supreme and ultimate power. This means that God is IN CONTROL!!! God is speaking through the prophet. God declares that “Babylon” will be powerful for 70 years. God declares the longevity of this powerful nation because God is ALL-POWERFUL, OMNIPOTENT!

No matter what man says, God has the FINAL say! There are people who feel like they have some great authority, but God has the final say. Your boss, your supervisor, your manager, your spouse, your doctor, your surgeon, your pastor, whoever—ONLY GOD has the FINAL SAY in and over your life and the plethora of situations and areas of your life!

II. The Promise of God (10b)

The word “promise” in this text literally means “word”. God says He will keep His word! That’s good news! God will keep His word.

We live in an age and time when people don’t keep their word. It use to be said, “A man’s word is his bond.” There was no need for contracts, because we had a person’s word. There was no need for a “marriage pre-nuptial agreement” because the husband and wife had a covenant marriage.

Let’s get back to the point where our WORD means something! If we say that we are going to do something, let’s do it!

III. The Plans of God (11-14)

plan n. — a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished.

misery/hurt/evil n. — a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune.

misery n. — a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune.

A. Revelation (11)

1. Hope (11)

hope (feeling) n. — the general feeling that some desire/expectation will be fulfilled.

hope (feeling) n. — the general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled.

2. Good Future (11)

future n. — the time yet to come.

future n. — the time yet to come.

B. Restoration (12-14)

1. Fellowship (12-13)

a. Prayer (12)

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume Jeremiah 29:8–14

God will stir them up to pray: Then shall you call upon me, and you shall go, and pray unto me. Note, When God is about to give his people the expected good he pours out a spirit of prayer, and it is a good sign that he is coming towards them in mercy.

b. Seeking God (13)

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume Jeremiah 29:8–14

In seeking God we must search for him, accomplish a diligent search, search for directions in seeking him and encouragements to our faith and hope. We must continue seeking, and take pains in seeking, as those that search; and this we must do with our heart (that is, in sincerity and uprightness), and with our whole heart (that is, with vigour and fervency, putting forth all that is within us in prayer), and those who thus seek God shall find him, and shall find him their bountiful rewarder, Heb. 11:6.

2. Worship (14)

A Handbook on Jeremiah Section Heading

I will restore your fortunes: This may also be given the more restricted meaning of “I will restore you to your land” (TEV). Equally possible is “I will give back to you your property [or, land].” Other translators prefer to keep the sense quite general, as in “I will make things good for you again.”