Promise
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, rto give you an †expected end. 12 Then sshall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And stvye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me uwith all your heart.” [1]
I. Thoughts
A. Peace
B. Purpose
II. Talks
A. Prayer
B. Progress
III. Together
A. Pursue
B. Properly
Introduction: It seems that we are in a long wait and see period. Rachael made the comment Tuesday that there seems to be less of an effort to persuade people to stay apart from each other now than with the last phase of this man-made, God allowed virus. Though the ignored numbers are indicating more people have actually died from the new variant of this virus this year than last year, less is being reported about that now. The big push to vaccinate still continues though nobody in the press is talking about natural immunity. In 2020 we in Merry Oaks Baptist only heard of others who were affected with few in our immediate families. Now it seems that most of us have someone in our immediate families who have been tragically affected. Why with the numbers of those affected being up aren’t people locking down again?
Could it be that people are just finally weary enough of being apart or is it perhaps that those who paid for the politicians they wanted are satisfied again with those who they have put into leadership? Maybe people are so tired of broken promises they are willing to take whatever pill they have to just to get back to something close to normal.
Several years ago the book entitled “The Harbinger” hit the stands and was a best seller. In the last few years “Harbinger II” was released. I’m in the process of reading that one now. The synonyms for the word harbinger include: forerunner, herald, omen, indication, and other words that have to do with warnings or prophecies. We understand that we study what happened to Israel the nation because as goes Israel so goes other fallen nations that once believed and followed God but decided to turn away. As the people of Israel are referred to as God’s bride so we the church are the bride of Christ.
We have been studying Hosea recently in our evening services. The similarities of what happened in Hosea’s time so many years before Jesus’ entry the first time and what is happening now in these last days before His return are amazing. As Christians studying the prophets it is easy to see what happened to Israel. As a people who love our nation though, it is scary to know that we now are seeing what they saw. How can we keep our hopes up when there is so much preaching about the fate of our world?
Today we will look into another prophet who was threatened, tortured, and nearly killed yet God gave Jeremiah words of comfort even though God instructed Jeremiah to tell the truth even as other preachers and prophets were lying to God’s people.
With the Holy Spirit we receive the gifts that He gives. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is discernment. Holy discernment allows the Christian to recognize the difference between an evil spirit and The Holy Spirit. It is actually a logical thing if you take time to read the Bible. If a person has the spirit of deception and they tell a thing that is in direct disagreement with the Bible, it is a lie. I would not have you to think that reliance on the spiritual gift of discernment is an excuse for not having a daily Bible study in the privacy of your time with God. Because as a Christian begins to understand the scriptures through the leading of the Holy Spirit, the gift of discernment grows stronger until you cannot be fooled.
Sometimes God simply makes clear that the lamb you might trust is really a wolf in sheep’s clothing. God never leaves you with only a message of woe and never a message of love. On the flip side, God never leaves you only with a message of glee when love means warning of impending discomfort. Today we will hear of a harbinger; a promise of that which is to come.
Scripture: The scripture today is Jeremiah 29:11-13. Please stand if you can for the reading of God’s Word.
Prayer: Please be seated.
Message: To understand this passage of scripture we must understand something about the man prophet that foretold it. We must understand the conditions of those who it was applied for. We need to know that God’s speed is not our speed. His will is accomplished in His time and we do not dictate to Him.
Listen as we hear Jeremiah 29:1- 2, “Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of athe elders which were carried away captives, and bto the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; 2 (After that cdJeconiah the king, and cethe queen, and cthe ||eunuchs, dthe princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and dthe carpenters, and dthe smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)” [2]
Jeremiah the prophet was in Jerusalem after the many had been taken away to Babylon. He even went on to explain who Nebuchadnezzar used to kidnap those who were exiled. There were false prophets telling the people that the exile would only last seven years. Jeremiah was still in Jerusalem. Why would those exiled listen to him? Especially when he contradicted what the false prophets were telling that sounded so much better. Jeremiah told the truth and it was later seen as God’s truth. They were going to be there a long time. They were going to be there not seven years but seventy years.
Please leave your Bible open to the text and read Jeremiah 29:4 – 10. First off we learn that it was God who caused the exile. Now through Jeremiah The Lord is telling them to hunker down where they are. Build houses, take wives and have children there so that your number is increased and not decreased. Think about that in comparison to what is happening in this nation of ours today. Is the church being encouraged to increase or decrease as a people? God wants His chosen people to increase where they are.
God warned them to not be deceived in what those against Him were saying but to seek His peace wherever they were and however long it takes. Learn to use discernment because there are those who will attempt to deceive but God did not send them. Who did?
Finally after the seventy years are over, then God would visit them even in Babylon and bring them back to where they had been in fellowship with Him. And now to our famous three verse focal text. The main point here is to not lose heart even though it is taking longer than you think. The thoughts that Jeremiah was talking about were not the thoughts of the false prophets. They are also not the thoughts of an impatient person. They are the thoughts of a loving God.
He is a God of peace who uses whatever He must to show us how much he loves us. He allows all things to show us His purpose for us until we finally get it at the end of the trial. His purpose was, is and always will be for a people created in His image and not our own design.
Notice in verse twelve that communication with God is not a one way street. We pray even in this sanctuary as if we dictate to God. When we talk to God or pray to God we call upon Him. We go and then He hearkens unto us. Regardless of the brainwashing we are listening to today progress is made when we go towards each other. We go to God to pray and He comes to us with His answer. There have been instances in the Bible where God has relented after the fervent prayer of a righteous person. Never forget that He knows the end of the thing and we most often do not. Therefore we have really no other alternative but to depend on Him.
So how do we progress through this life with Him? In verse thirteen He answers that when we seek Him and search for Him in the proper way we shall find Him. Then we will be together or in harmony with God. We cannot be physically with Him until He decides to bring us to Himself. When two or more people sing and they find their place where harmony happens the melody is sweet and we are singing together.
Ye shall seek Me and ye shall find Me when you search for me with all your heart. In the New Testament Paul said in Romans 12:1, “I abeseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye bpresent your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, cacceptable unto God, which is your dreasonable eservice.” [3] So this is how we properly pursue God so that we can be together with Him forever. We pursue Him with all our heart.
This promise to those in exile is the same promise that God gives us. We are here in this world in exile but not for long. We are to live in such a way that we bring more people into His family so that we can be together with Him in eternity. The real good news is Jesus. He also was in this world in exile away from His heavenly home but only for a little while. He lived, He loved, we learned, and He left us with another to be together with until He returns. What a promise! What a God! What a Savior!
Prayer:
Invitation: There is not a person who is hearing this today or reading it on the webpage who is not ready for something in your life to be in your past. We are such an impatient species. We get to a place and we forget what we have been through. We just want to get to tomorrow thinking that has got to be better than where we are now.
The truth is that He knows His plans for us because they are His plans. Where we are now is a temporary place where we are to find contentment with Him in charge. The promise that we find in this particular scripture is; no matter where we happen to be God is God and we are not.
If you have found yourself in a deep place of discontentment and impatience it is because there is still something in you that you think you can fix. He will let you carry that thing just as long as you want to but He has a much better promise. He knows the plans that He has for you and it is a plan for peaceful assurance that in the end you will be as you are; His child.
You can find that place as you place yourself into His hands today. The altar is open and so are His arms. Please don’t leave here today without allowing more of you to be in His care. Make that decision today as we sing…
r So ch. 31:17. Comp. 1 Cor. 10:13.
† Heb. end and expectation.
s Dan. 9:3. So ch. 33:3.
s Dan. 9:3. So ch. 33:3.
t 2 Chr. 15:2. Hos. 3:5. Comp. Lev. 26:39, 40. Deut. 30:1.
v Deut. 4:29. Ps. 32:6. & 78:34. Isai. 55:6. ch. 10:18.
u ch. 24:7.
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Je 29:11–13). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
a See ch. 19:1. & Ezek. 8:1.
b See ch. 23:33.
c 2 Kin. 24:12, 15.
d See ch. 24:1.
c 2 Kin. 24:12, 15.
e ch. 22:26.
c 2 Kin. 24:12, 15.
|| Or, chamberlains. Heb. as ch. 34:19. & 38:7. & 41:16. & 52:25. See 2 Kin. 23:11.
d See ch. 24:1.
d See ch. 24:1.
d See ch. 24:1.
[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Je 29:1–2). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
a 1 Cor. 1:10. Ephes. 4:1. Philem. 9. 1 Pet. 2:11. So 2 Cor. 6:1. & 10:1.
b Ps. 50:13, 14, 23. ch. 6:13, 16, 19 (Gk.). So 1 Cor. 6:20.
c ver. 2. So 1 Pet. 2:5. See ch. 14:18.
d 1 Pet. 2:2 (Gk.).
e See ch. 9:4.
[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Ro 12). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
