God's Welfare Plan

INTRODUCTION

OPENING STORY:

In the mid 19th century, the Methodist Thomas Barnwell looked around at the children of God in his church and didn’t like what he saw. So many were struggling with addiction to alcohol, and were genuinely trying to kick the habit. So they would go away and get dry, only to come back to church on communion Sunday and observe the sacrament in the only way it was served back then- wine. Many would relapse. Thomas thought to himself that something had to be done. So he became the first to pioneer non-alcoholic grape juice, and the Methodist church began substituting it for wine in communion, and those who were struggling with addiction to alcohol were greatly helped. Oh, by the way, Thomas’s full name is Thomas Barnwell Welch. That’s right- the next time you go to your refrigerator and pour you a glass of Welch’s remember it was created by a Christian man wanting to help the children of God who were failing miserably. Out of failure something beautiful was created.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT:

THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT’S GOING ON IN OUR TEXT. OUR PASSAGE IS A BIT OF WELCH’S GRAPE JUICE. GOD’S PEOPLE HAD FAILED MISERABLY- GOING BACK GENERATIONS. LIKE THOSE ADDICTED TO WINE IN THOMAS’ DAY, THE PEOPLE OF GOD WERE ADDICTED TO IDOLATRY AND DISOBEDIENCE. IN FACT, IN JEREMIAH, GOD TELLS THEM THEIR PROPHETS WERE LIARS, THEIR PRIESTS WERE IMMORAL, AND THE PEOPLE LIKED IT THAT WAY. FAILURE. FINALLY, AFTER CENTURIES OF PATIENT WARNING, THE BABYLONIANS, LEAD BY NEB, CAPTURE ISRAEL AND LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND IN CAPTIVITY AND INTO EXILE. PSALM 137 CAPTURES THE COMPLETE DEVASTATION BROUGHT ON BY THEIR SADNESS WHEN THE PSALMIST SAID BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON WE WEPT. THEY WERE OVERWHELMED BY FAILURE WONDERING IF GOD HAD GIVEN UP ON THEM.

APPLICATION:

EVER BEEN THERE? EVER BEEN SO OVERWHELMED BY NOT JUST YOUR SIN, BUT BY YOUR SIN PATTERNS, THAT YOU GET TO THE POINT OF FRUSTRATED FAILURE AND YOU SIT DOWN BY YOUR OWN PROVERBIAL WATERS OF BABYLON AND WONDER IF GOD COULD EVER USE YOU? MAYBE YOU’RE GOING THROUGH A DIVORCE RIGHT NOW…AND IT’S YOUR FAULT, AND THE THOUGHT OF YOUR FAILURE HAS OVERWHELMED YOU. MAYBE THERE’S SOME ADDICTION YOU’RE BATTLING AND YOU KEEP TRYING AND TRYING AND TRYING AND FAILING AND FAILING AND FAILING, AND YOU’RE WONDERING IS GOD DONE WITH ME? MAYBE YOU GOT RELEASED FROM YOUR JOB FOR AND YOU HAVE TO ADMIT IT WAS FOR A GOOD CAUSE, AND YOU’RE WONDERING IF THAT’S IT FOR ME? WELL, IF THIS IS HOW YOU FEEL, THE APOSTLE PAUL CAN RELATE…OH WRETCHED MAN THAT I AM…AND ISRAEL CAN RELATE.

POINT: TO A PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST BLOWN IT, YOU KNOW WHAT THE MESSAGE OF OUR PASSAGE IS? GOD IS SAYING I HAVE A MISSION I STILL WANT YOU TO GET ON. I HAVE A CALL ON YOUR LIFE I STILL WANT YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN. YOUR FAILURE ISN’T FINAL. I CAN MAKE SOME DIVINE WELCH’S OUT OF YOUR MESS. OH COME ON SOMEBODY…THAT’S GOOD NEWS!

(WELL, WHAT IS THIS CALL THAT GOD HAS FOR US, AND WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO ENGAGE IN THIS MISSION HE HAS FOR US? OUR PASSAGE IS GOING TO TELL US. COME WITH ME TO JEREMIAH 29:1-14.)

THE MISSION- JEREMIAH 29:7

EXPLANATION: HERE IS ISRAEL WHO HAS COMPLETELY BLOWN IT AND FAILED, AND AS A RESULT HAS ENDED UP IN EXILE IN THIS FOREIGN PLACE CALLED BABYLON AND GOD SAYS THESE WORDS IN VERSE 7- I WANT YOU TO SEEK THE WELFARE OF THE CITY. IN OTHER WORDS, MY MISSION IS I WANT YOU TINY FAILED ISRAEL TO BE A BLESSING TO BIG BAD BABYLON.

IN ORDER TO GET A HANDLE ON THIS WE NEED TO GO TO GENESIS 12:1-3. PALM YOUR BIBLES. ABRAHAMIC COVENANT: GOD’S HEART IS TO USE HIS PEOPLE, THE JEWS, TO BLESS THE WORLD. SEE THE BIBLE THROUGH THIS LENS. JOSEPH A JEW BLESSES EGYPT. DANIEL BLESSES BABYLON, LEADING NEB TO CHRIST AND DARIUS TOO. THE ULTIMATE IS SEEN IN THE GOD-JEW, JESUS, WHO WOULD BLESS THE WORLD ON AN OLD RUGGED CROSS. AND NOW WE HIS CHURCH- JEW AND GENTILE TOGETHER- ARE TO BE THE VEHICLE GOD USES TO BLESS THE WORLD. AND IN OUR TEXT, ISRAEL IS RIGHT IN THE CROSSHAIRS OF GOD’S MISSION AS THEY HAVE FOUND THEMSELVES IN BABYLON, THIS GENTILE NATION. GOD IS SO MUCH GOD THAT HE CAN USE OUR FAILURES TO POSITION US PERFECTLY FOR HIS DIVINE PLANS. ALL OF SCRIPTURE CAN BE SEEN THROUGH THE PORTAL OF THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. THIS IS IMPORTANT, BECAUSE GOD’S MISSION FOR GOD’S PEOPLE IS NOT THWARTED BY THEIR FAILURE. EVEN IN THEIR FAILURE THE MISSION CONTINUES.

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE- SEEK- TO INVESTIGATE AND LOOK INTENTLY. WELFARE- SHALOM, COMPREHENSIVE WHOLENESS- SPIRITUAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL. WE SEE THIS IN JESUS.

POINT: GOD IS SAYNG I GOT A MISSION FOR YOU- AND NO IT’S NOT ULTIMATELY ABOUT WHAT YOU MAJOR IN, WHERE YOU GO TO SCHOOL, WHAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING OR WHO YOU MARRY. THESE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT, BUT SECONDARY. WHAT’S PRIMARY IS MY MISSION WHICH IS ABOUT BRINGING SHALOM- COMPREHENSIVE WHOLENESS. THIS MUST BE THE SINGULAR PRIORITY IN YOUR LIFE.

ORDER OF OPERATIONS ILLUSTRATION...

ADAM ILLUSTRATION: RECORD PRODUCER, WHO SAW HIS TELEVISION SHOW AS HIS MISSION FIELD. STEP ONE WAS TO JUST DO GREAT MUSIC. WOW PEOPLE WITH HIS WORK. PRAYING THROUGHOUT. THEN HE BEGAN TO JUST PLANT SEEDS. WOKE UP ONE DAY AND HE WAS LIKE ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE COMING TO ME WITH THEIR PROBLEMS ASKING ME TO PRAY FOR THEM. TALKED ABOUT JESUS. HE SAW HIMSELF AS THE CHAPLAIN OF HIS JOB. WASN’T MONEY OR HITS. THAT STUFF WAS JUST THE MEANS TO THE MISSION.

THE PROMISE- IN ITS WELFARE YOU’LL FIND YOURS. YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS IN HEBREW- WHEN YOU FULFILL GOD’S MISSION BY BRINGING COMPREHENSIVE WHOLENESS TO WHEREVER YOU ARE, YOU WILL WILL BE FULFILLED, YOU WILL FIND WHOLENESS. FULFILLMENT IN LIFE ISN’T FOUND IN DOING MY STUFF, DOING WHAT I WANT TO DO AND ASKING GOD TO JOIN IN…IT’S FOUND WHEN I JUMP IN ON HIS AGENDA AND HIS MISSION.

THE FOUNDATION OF MISSION- JEREMIAH 29:4

EXPLANATION: HOW DID THEY GET TO BABYLON? YES THEIR SIN CAUSED THEIR DEMISE, BUT VERSE 4 GOD SAYS SOMETHING INTERESTING- HE SAYS I’VE SENT YOU THERE. IN OTHER WORDS THEY ARE CALLED BY GOD TO BE THERE. THEY ARE NOT IN BABYLON BY ACCIDENT, BUT BY ASSIGNMENT. I LOVE ACTS 17. PAUL ON MARS HILL. AND HE SAYS THAT GOD HAS DETERMINED THE VERY PLACES WE ARE TO LIVE. WHERE WE LIVE IS OUR MISSION FIELD, IT IS OUR ASSIGNMENT. SO IF YOU ARE LIVING IN RDU, IT’S YOUR ASSIGNMENT. AND BOY WHAT AN ASSIGNMENT IT IS TO LIVE HERE.

STATS:

THE NATIONS ARE COMING TO US!

OVER 1 IN 10 PEOPLE IN RDU WERE BORN OUTSIDE THE US

RDU IS 80% HIGHER IN OUR NON-US BORN CITIZENS THAN THE REST OF THE US

OF THE FOREIGN BORN PEOPLE HERE, 43% ARE FROM LATIN AMERICA, 34% FROM ASIA, 9% FROM AFRICA

GOD IS LITERALLY BRINGING THE WORLD TO THE TRIANGLE.

CLARIFICATION: SO NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING- DOCTOR, TEACHER, LAWYER, BARISTA, PROFESSOR, LANDSCAPER, FULL TIME MOM…THIS IS YOUR ASSIGNMENT, YOUR MISSION FIELD FOR NOW. IT’S NOT JUST FOR THOSE IN FULL TIME VOCATIONAL MINISTRY, BUT EVERYONE.

COLTRANE ILLUSTRATION: LOVE JAZZ…SO MUCH I NAMED MY SON MYLES. THE OTHER CHOICE WAS COLTRANE- WIFE WAS LIKE SLOW YOUR ROLE…CAN’T LOVE JAZZ WITHOUT LOVING COLTRANE. IN THE 1950S HE ALMOST DIED OF A DRUG ADDICTION. THIS WAS THE TIPPING POINT WHERE MANY PEOPLE SAY HE CAME TO CHRIST. NOT LONG AFTER THIS HE WOULD RECORD THE FAMOUS LOVE SUPREME, WHICH IS REGARDED AS ONE OF THE GREATEST ALBUMS IN ANY GENRE. LISTEN TO WHAT HE WROTE IN THE ALBUMS LINER NOTES, “Dear listener: All praise be to God to whom all praise is due. Let us pursue Him in the righteous path. Ys it is true: ‘seek and ye shall find.’ During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music. I feel this has been granted through his grace. ALL PRAISE TO GOD.” One night he was playing one of the cuts from this album, and when he finished, those on the front row heard him pause and mutter, “Nunct Dimittis” which is from a latin prayer whose opening lines was Lord let your servant depart in peace. DON’T YOU SEE COLTRANE WASN’T JUST PLAYING MUSIC, HE WAS USING HIS MUSIC AS AN OFFERING TO GOD, AND TO BRIN A SENSE OF SHALOM TO HIS WORLD.

APPLICATION: THIS IS PARADIGM SHIFTING FOR YOU AND I. WHEN WE REALLY EMBRACE THE CALL TO JOIN IN ON GOD’S MISSION THROUGH OUR LABORS IT CHANGES EVERYTHING. D. MARTYN LLOYD JONES SAID SOMETHING THAT HAS NEVER LEFT ME. HE SAID THAT WHEN YOU RETIRE OR TRANSFER OR LEAVE FROM YOUR JOB, OR WHEN YOU MOVE OUT OF THAT NEIGHBORHOOD OR APARTMENT COMPLEX AND THERE ISN’T A SENSE OF LOSS, A SENSE OF A SPIRITUAL HOLE, THEN WE FAILED TO LIVE ON MISSION. IT’S OUR CALLING, AND MAY GOD HELP US.

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF MISSION- JEREMIAH 29:5-6

EXPLANATION: BUT HOW DO WE DO THIS? I GET WHAT THE MISSION IS- TO BRING SHALOM- COMPREHENSIVE WHOLENESS. AND I GET THE CALL, THAT WHERE I LIVE AND WHAT I DO ARE THE MEANS TO THE MISSION. BUT EXACTLY HOW? LOOK AT VERSES 5-6. THESE VERBS ARE ALL COMMANDS:

BUILD HOUSES AND LIVE IN THEM

PLANT GARDENS AND EAT

TAKE WIVES

HAVE SONS AND DAUGHTERS

GIVE YOUR DAUGHTERS IN MARRIAGE

MULTIPLY THERE

YOU KNOW WHAT ALL THESE WORDS CONVEY? OWNERSHIP. THIS IS INTERESTING BECAUSE PSALMS 137 SAYS BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON. SO THEY ARE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN. GOD IS ACTUALLY SAYING MOVE INTO TOWN AND SETTLE DOWN. OWN THE ASSIGNMENT. I’VE CALLED YOU HERE. THIS IS THE MISSION. NOW OWN IT.

POINT: THIS PRINCIPLE OF OWNERSHIP AND MISSION IS SO KEY. MISSION WITHOUT OWNERSHIP IS CARELESS COLONIALISM. OKAY LET ME SET UP SHOP, I HAVE A JOB TO DO. BUT OWNERSHIP WITHOUT MISSION IS CONSUMERISM. REAL GOSPEL INFLUENCE MEANS MISSION AND OWNERSHIP.

MLK ILLUSTRATION: MID 1960S RIGHT AFTER HUGE LEGISLATIVE WINS, KING AND THE MOVEMENT SHIFTED THEIR ATTENTION TO POVERTY AND THE NORTH. CHICAGO. KING WANTED TO SEE REAL GAINS MADE IN URBAN COMMUNITIES THAT WERE BEING MISTREATED. SO WHAT DOES HE DO? HE ACTUALLY RENTS AN APARTMENT AND MOVES HIS FAMILY IN…IN THE HOOD. KING UNDERSTOOD THAT MISSION WITHOUT OWNERSHIP BLUNTS INFLUENCE.

APPLICATION: I DON’T KNOW HOW LONG GOD HAS YOU HERE. SOME OF YOU ARE HERE FOR COLLEGE, AND MAYBE YOU HAVE PLANS TO GO ELSEWHERE. THAT’S FINE, BUT WHILE YOU’RE HERE PUT DOWN ROOTS AND JOIN A CHURCH. WHAT I TELL COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO LEAVE MY CHURCH. JOIN A CHURCH. SAME FOR MED SCHOOL. PUT DOWN ROOTS, OWN IT. BE INVESTED, ALL IN…SEE YOUR APARTMENT, DORMITORY, FRAT HOUSE AS YOUR MISSION. BE ALL IN.

THE FUEL OF MISSION- JEREMIAH 29:11

EXPLANATION: BUT WHAT KEEPS MISSION GOING? WHAT FUELS IT? THERE WILL BE TIMES WHERE WE WON’T WANT TO LIVE INTENTIONALLY MISSIONAL. WHAT THEN? LOOK AT VERSE 11…TO THESE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THUMBED THEIR NOSES AT GOD FOR YEARS, GENERATIONS…GOD GIVES THEM A SHOT OF WELCHES. GOD SAYS I HAVE PLANS FOR YOU. TO GIVE YOU A FUTURE AND A HOPE. YOU KNOW WHAT WE CALL THAT? WE CALL THAT GRACE. AND I DON’T THINK ITS ANY ACCIDENT THAT HE CONNECTS THIS PROMISE WITH THEIR MISSION. BECAUSE GRACE IS TO FUEL THE MISSION.

LES MIS ILLUSTRATION: JEAN VAL JEAN IS A STUNNING MAN. RUNNING A CITY WITH CARE AND COMPASSION. HUGE HEART FOR THE MARGINALIZED. CARING FOR AN ORPHAN GIRL. WHAT GRACE. BRINGING SHALOM. WHERE DID THIS COME FROM? YOU KNOW. STEALS FROM THE BISHOP, AND THE BISHOP SHOWS HIM GREAT GRACE IN FRONT OF THE AUTHORITIES, SPARING HIS LIFE. AFTER THEY LEAVE HE SAYS WITH THIS ACT I HAVE SET YOU FREE. AND FROM THEN ON HIS LIFE WAS NEVER THE SAME, AND HE LIVES ON MISSION SEEKING TO BRING SHALOM. WHAT CHANGED AND FUELED HIM WAS GRACE.

GOSPEL CONCLUSION:

JESUS LIVED ALL OF THIS. HE LIVED A LIFE THAT PRIORITIZED THE MISSION OF GOD. HE WAS A CARPENTER FROM NAZARETH WHO ANNOUNCED THE KINGDOM, AND FED AND HEALED AND CLOTHED PEOPLE BRINGING SHALOM. AND HE DIDN’T DO THIS FROM THE BALCONY OF HEAVEN. NO LIKE MLK MOVED INTO THE SLUMS OF CHICAGO, JESUS MOVED INTO THE CHAOS OF THIS WORLD AND PUT ON FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US. HE BOTH LIVED ON MISSION AND WITH OWNERSHIP, SETTING US AN EXAMPLE.

AND DON’T YOU SEE...

WE ALL ARE ISRAEL- STUCK IN OUR SINS, COMMITTING IDOLATRY, WORSHIPPING THE FALSE GODS OF THIS WORLD.

LIKE ISRAEL’S SINS, OUR SINS LEAD US INTO BONDAGE, INTO SLAVERY.

AND JUST LIKE GOD PROMISES IN THIS PASSAGE A FUTURE DELIVERANCE FROM THEIR CAPTORS, OUR DELIVERANCE WAS PROPHESIED YEARS IN ADVANCE, AND FULFILLED WHEN JESUS PUT ON FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US AND DIED ON A CROSS FOR WE SINNERS.

AND NOW HAVING BEEN SET FREE BY THE GRACE OF GOD, HE GAVE US A MISSION- TO MAKE DISCIPLES AND TO BRING SHALOM. THIS GRACE IS TO FUEL THE MISSION!