There are No Fast Passes

Introduction

Opening Story/Illustration: This last Wednesday, Pastor Dakota was speaking to you the Youth and he said something that struck me. I was praying that day and sort of wrestling through what to speak on this evening. I always do my best to ask - What is it God wants to say?

Pastor Dakota got up and said he had been to Disney recently and that he didn’t enjoy it as much because there were no fast passes.

If you’ve ever been to a theme park, you know they all now have these features where you basically get to skip the line. You go to a kiosk or pull up an app on your smart phone and you select a time you want to ride the ride and you show up and that time and you get to skip everyone waiting in line.

We hate waiting in line so much that we invent ways of either avoiding the wait or we invent ways of making the way more fun. The last thing we want to do is feel like we are waiting.

But here’s the thing that struck me, and the idea that stuck with me - God does not offer a fast pass. Sometimes in our walk with God, there is no way to get out of the wait. Sometimes in our walk with God there is no way to make it feel like we aren’t waiting.

Biblical Background: One of my favorite books in the Old Testament talks about this. The Prophet Jeremiah deals with the people of Judah.

Because of their sin, the people of Judah were ripped from their homes and taken into Babylonian Captivity.

In 598/97 B.C. The Babylonians invaded Judah and took King Jehoiachin and many others with them (Including the Prophet Ezekiel) back to Babylon.

So at this point in history, there is a group of people from Judah who have been taken to Babylon and group of people who are still in Jerusalem and Judah. Jeremiah has remained behind.

And there’s all sort of speculation as to how this situation is going to turn out and everyone has an opinion on the matter - Much like our situation today.

In fact, there are prophets who are saying - Listen, this is only temporary, don’t worry, everything is going to be fine and normal is going to return real soon. One prophet even says that within 2 years, everything would return to normal.

The prophet Jeremiah, inspired by the Holy Spirit, writes a letter to this group of people who are exiled in Babylon. It is this letter that I want to read this evening and look at. It’s a familiar passage, but one that is often mis-understood.

Biblical Text: Let’s turn in our Bibles to Jeremiah 29:1-14. I want us to look together at the content of this ancient letter.

Jeremiah 29:1–14 ESV

1 These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: 4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But 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 find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord. 10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Preview the Main Idea: This evening I want to remind us of a truth we often don’t want to hear - When it comes to our development into who God wants us to be - There are no fast passes.

Preview the outline structure: I want to bring out a three things that I notice within this letter and how that applies to us today.

Points

Exegetical M.I. – The Prophet Jeremiah wanted the exiles to know that even though they were in exile God still had a good plan for them.

God placed the people of Judah in a place they did not desire to go.

God had placed them in Babylon (vs. 4)God sent them there because of their disobedience.

They were far from home and wanted to return, but Jeremiah tells them to settle down and make their home in Babylon.

They were sent away because of their disobedience.

But this isn’t the whole story.

You see, if you want to break it down on an individual level, some of the people taken into exile included: Daniel, Ezekiel, Shadrach, Mescach, Abindigo.

What had they done personally to deserve exile? From all we know about them, they were righteous people.

Sometimes, even the righteous go through things they don’t want to go through.

God kept the people of Judah there longer than they desired.

The false prophet Hananiah said they would be there for 2yrs (28:1-4)

This is one of the most fantastic interactions in all of Scripture.

God speaks to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 27:2-12 and asks him to wear an oxen yolk. He’s to go around like an illustrated sermon and preach with this yolk on his neck. His message is this - God is going to make you submit to the King of Babylon. The king of Babylon is going to put a yolk on your necks.

Jeremiah 27:2–12 ESV

2 Thus the Lord said to me: “Make yourself straps and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. 3 Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the sons of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: 5 “It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. 6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave. 8 “ ‘ “But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. 9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 For it is a lie that they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11 But any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to work it and dwell there, declares the Lord.” ’ ” 12 To Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people and live.

The Prophet Hananiah takes offense at Jeremiah’s message. He comes to him in Public and says - “The Lord says in two years, I’m gonna bring the people back from Babylon.” In a dramatic display the then breaks the yolk off of Jeremiah. Jeremiah Says, “I hope what you say comes to pass.”

Jeremiah goes home and God speaks to him and he comes back to Hananiah with a chilling word - “Hananiah, You broke a wooden yolk, But God says he’s going to replace it with a yoke of Iron…and by the way, because you prophesied falsely, you’re going to die this year.”

Jeremiah 28:17

Jeremiah 28:17 ESV

17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.

So on the one hand, you have prophets like Hananiah claiming that everything would be back to normal soon - But Jeremiah says they would be there 70yrs. Jeremiah 29:10

Jeremiah 29:10 ESV

10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.

How were they to respond to this new normal?

The people were to work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. (29:4-7)

Jeremiah 29:4-7

Jeremiah 29:4–7 ESV

4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But 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 find your welfare.

They were to settle down and increase in number.

God Still had a good plan for the people of Judah (vs. 11-14)

Here’s the truth of the matter - Even though they were where they did not want to be and they were going to be there longer than they expected, God still had a plan.

Jeremiah 29:11-14

Jeremiah 29:11–14 ESV

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

God had not forgotten or abandoned Judah.God was not surprised our shocked with their situation.God was still in complete control and was working things out for their ultimate good.

Homiletical M.I. – Even in difficulties God has a good plan for you.

God often places us in places and situations where we do not desire to go.

Illustration – Let’s face it - Right now we are in a situation in our country and in our world we did not desire to be in. Coronavirus, economic issues, racial issues, political issues.

Then we get further down into our own lives and we’ve got personal issues, family issues, financial issues.

We often end up where we don’t want to be - and sometimes it’s no fault of our own. We didn’t decide this. We were doing right.

Sometimes we land here because of our own decisions

Sometimes we land here because of other’s decisions

Sometimes it’s just life

Job was righteous yet he went through situations he did not desire to go through.

At times those who are the most righteous seem to suffer the most. Life often puts us in circumstances that are beyond our control.

Illustration: I spoke a few weeks ago, I shared of my hatred for roller coasters. I remember when I was about 13 or 14yrs old, I went with my youth group to Six Flags over Saint Louis. And my friends convinced me to get on this barrel spinning ride. Of course, they said the normal stuff about it not being that bad, etc. but they were lying. You get in this barrel and you stand against the wall and they spin it fast. like real fast. And they let the centrifugal force hit you and push you against the wall and then they drop the bottom out of this thing while you’re pressed up against the wall. I was so worked up, I started speaking in tongues and holding the hand of whoever was next to me - And I’m not sure I even knew who they were.

But life is like this - We end up on a ride we didn’t want to be on. And it’s spinning us and then the bottom drops out. And we don’t know what to do. So we pray hard and hang on with everything we’ve got.

God at times keeps us there longer than we desire.

Right now you hear a lot of people say - and I’ve said it - we just want everything to get back to normal.

I’ve come to this conclusion, and maybe I’m wrong - There is no going back. The world we knew before is gone.

I believe this is the Lord’s doing

So what do we do in this moment when we feel like we are in a place we don’t want to be longer than we want to be there?

God’s word to the exiles is his word to us here:

Settle in. Serve me in the midst of your situation. Honor me in the midst of your situation.

I think in these moments we take our cues from Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abindigo - They had been taken to a place they didn’t want to go, they were there longer than they wanted to be there, but in the midst of it they settled in and let God use them.

There is work to be done - Not later when things get back to normal - But right now in the mist of our current situation.

Exile was the place in which men like Daniel shown the brightest. What about you? Perhaps this moment is your moment to shine!

But here’s the thing - we have to stop crying about what was and ask God what he wants of us where we are.

This is a time to plant. To work. To see God work in the lives of our neighbors. To settle in and do the work that God has called us to in this moment.

God’s timing is not ours!

We often look for a quick way out and God seems to be waiting around.

Remember - God doesn’t offer a fast pass!

Remember Abraham – God had promised him a child but he did not want to wait. Sometimes God wants us to settle down and make the best of the situation in which he has placed us.

God still has a good plan for us.

God had the whole situation under control. He had a plan. God is not surprised by the situation that you are facing. Even though you do not see and end to your circumstance, God is still in control.

Quote - “Hind Sight is Twenty-Twenty” –Unknown

Here’s what I know - When it comes to God’s calling on your life there are two types. His general calling and his specific calling. For instance, in my life my specific calling is that of a pastor. But everyone one of us, despite our specific calling has a bigger, more important general calling. What is that calling? To be a servant of the Lord Jesus.

To serve him in the situation you find yourself.

To serve him by loving our neighbors

To serve him by serving our coworkers

To serve him by doing something in our community to make it a better place

This is our calling - To serve Jesus and to let the world know he is alive by making things better.

Too many of us are caught up in grieving what was instead of serving faithfully where God has placed us!

Here is part of God’s Plan: Jeremiah 29:4-7

Jeremiah 29:4–7 ESV

4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But 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 find your welfare.

In what ways are you seeking the welfare of the culture around you?

Part of God’s Plan - When you find yourself in a place you don’t want to be, and your’e there longer than you want to be there, Seek the welfare of the place in which God Has placed you.

Seek Good for your neighbors

Seek the Good for your co-workers

Seek the Good of our nation

Seek the Good of your friends who don’t know Jesus.

Conclusion

Restatement of M.I. - Even in difficulties God has a good plan for you.

So What?

Learn to remind yourself that even in the midst of a difficult situation God is still in control.

Put scriptures concerning God’s promises around where you will be reminded of them daily.

Learn to be content where God has placed you.

Make a conscious effort this week to change your attitude concerning your situation.

Spend time in prayer asking God to give you a fresh outlook on the situation.

Learn to share what you are going through with a friend. Get with a close friend this week and share your heart with them. Let them encourage you as you walk through your difficulties.

Now What? If you are here today and you have lost hope because of the situation that you are facing, or if you are struggling with remembering that God still has a plan and he is still in control, and you need prayer would you raise your hand?

Prayer: God, help us to remember that you are still in control and that you still have a good plan for us. Amen.