Jeremiah 29:11

0:00 Good evening, church. Today, our study will be focused on Jeremiah 29, 11. Please turn your Bibles to that text so we can read it in just a few moments. When Kelly and I were 31 years old, we had two sons and one other child soon to be on his way. I had a nice job, a house and a dog. We were living the American dream. I had just taken over the family business and become the president of that company.

0:31 I gave myself a nice pay raise, and we both decided to build our dream house. I have to say, at that time, I was pretty proud of myself for all the things that I had accomplished. We bought a five-acre lot that we presently live on today. We decided to save up enough money so that if we had to take a pay cut and an economic downturn, We could last for six months. We were actively involved in our church, attended a Sunday school class, went to Bible study fellowship, and I was a deacon in the children's department.

1:05 Our church at this time came out with a new building planned and a fundraiser was set in place. Kelly and I decided to postpone building our house for two years so that we could give to that building fund. I had all the Christian boxes checked. Surely with my life in order and with the things that I was doing for the Lord, God would be good to me. After a two-year delay, we built our new home. We moved in, and the oil markets crashed within a few months. The company and all the employees suffered a great deal. There were layoffs, salary cuts, and the collateral mess that goes with all that. I had to inform my wife I had just taken a 50% pay cut. Things were bleak, to say the least. We burned through our savings, and we were on the verge of having to sell the house we just moved into. That is a humbling event. What would our friends say? What would people think of me if I failed? At the age of 34, my black hair had

2:09 started to turn gray, and you can tell by my hair color today, I've had a few more bumps in my life. Well, we prayed about it. I questioned God as to why this was happening to me after all I had done for him. Why was he doing this? What lessons are you trying to teach me? I kept on trying everything I could do to fix it myself. In the end, when our savings were gone, I was finally pushed to my knees in prayer. I finally turned the whole issue over to God.

2:41 I remember telling him it was no longer my problem, but his. When I finished that prayer, a real peace came over me. Well, things turned around. We were flat broke, but we made it through. We had a big house with no furniture and no curtains. It was a big playhouse for the kids for many years. We suffered, but we spiritually grew from it. We were right where we needed to be, and that was in God's plan. It took me many months to figure that out.

3:12 The verse we will read in a moment has been taken out of context by many Christians. It is not a health, wealth, and prosperity text. Read this text, take two tunnel, take a nap, and you'll feel much better in the morning. No, as Christians, we know we will suffer. We live in a world of sin. Our health will diminish as we age, and our wealth, if we have any, will not go with us when we pass into eternity. Redemption, salvation, and sanctification in Christ is our true treasure, and that is also our future and our hope. This is a text that was not written to a single person, but was written to the Israelites when they were starting their 70 years of exile. This passage was given to the people as a future hope of redemption from this exile. So, does this apply to us in this present time?

4:03 I can say not all of God's word was written to us, but it is all written for us. Yes, this text has great meaning for us today. Let's read the text. Jeremiah 29, 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. The book of Jeremiah is primarily a message of judgment on Judah for idolatry and immorality.

4:36 Jeremiah was warning the people that God's promised judgment was at hand and his mercy was at an end. God in his mercy spared them over and over, but that saving mercy was over. They were sent into exile. God disrupted his people's plans and their lives. In chapter 29, God tells the people in exile to settle into their new land and to prosper, and that they would be delivered when 70 years had passed. 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.

5:13 One has to think, how did they take that news? Their country was gone, they were removed from it, and were in a state of captivity. all they had lived and worked for had vanished. They were living in a land of pagans. When this promise was given, most of the people would die and never return to Jerusalem. I am sure they questioned their state of being. What happened to God's plan for us? The two points of my lesson tonight are, number one, what is God's plan? And number two, what is prosperity and our future?

5:50 Again, what is God's plan, and what is our prosperity and our future? Point one, God has a plan, so let's hear it. The grand narrative of the Bible is about the gospel, which is fulfilled through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. God's plan is to rescue human beings from their life of rebellion against him by redemption, and to restore his creation, which was marred by man's sin. It's a story of God's interaction with men and women.

6:24 The narrative starts in Genesis with the perfect creation of the earth and all that was in it to the fall of man due to the rebellion against God. And by Genesis 3.15, we have the promise of our Savior. That's a lot of information packed into the first three chapters of the Bible. The creation, the fall, and a promised Savior. In Greg Gilbert's book titled The Epic Story of the Bible, he lists 10 high points in the book that summarize the narrative of the Bible and in detail God's plan.

6:59 And yes, I will cover all 10 points tonight, quickly. So, point one, the creation of the fall in which I just touched on. Excuse me, I have to get a drink of water. Point two, the flood and God's promises that were given to Noah. All of mankind was destroyed by the flood except for Noah and his family. Sin was thought to be over, but again, Noah failed in this area, and by Genesis 11, mankind is in full rebellion.

7:32 The Exodus. We start with the life of Abraham when he was given the promise that God would make a great nation of Abraham and that all nations would be blessed through one of his offspring. The promise was believed and passed down through generations. And as we know today, this promise offspring is Jesus Christ. The grand narrative continues on. It takes us to a point in history where Abraham's descendants are enslaved in Egypt. God demonstrated his amazing power in the saving of his people and sets them free from a life of slavery.

8:04 Point four, the conquest. At this point, the people are free from bondage, and they're in the wilderness. God then enters into a covenant with his people in Exodus 19, 5 through 6. Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possessions among all peoples, for all the earth is mine. And you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Unfortunately, the people failed to live up to their side of the covenant and were left to wander in the desert for 40 years.

8:38 By God's promise, they did finally conquer the land foretold to Abraham. Once again, God demonstrates his power to the people by his saving grace. But within a short period of time, mankind is once more in full rebellion. They would be handed over to their enemies, repent, and then be spared once more. A repetitive story. When I started to read the Bible, I could not help but think how simple-minded these people were. They would repent and then fall away over and over again.

9:12 Why did they do that? As I grew older, I realized we today do the same thing. Even though we are saved, we still sin. We have the whole playbook before us. We understand God's plan, and we still fail. We are in desperate need of a Savior. Anyway, at this point, the story moves forward 400 years. And at this point, oh, I'm sorry, I made a mistake there.

9:47 We are in desperate need of a Savior. Anyway, at this point in the story, the people demand the king to be like other nations. Point five, the crown. The people demanded that Samuel crowned a king, and the king they wanted was not the promised king of God. He therefore gave them what they wanted, a disaster. The first king of Israel, named Saul, slowly turned from God and finally fell to his destruction. At this point in the grand narrative, Samuel was instructed by God to unlay David as king. He was a man after God's own heart.

10:18 The golden age of Israel was ushered in. We come to point six, the exile. Even though David was a great king, he sinned as did all the rest of the kings of Israel and Judah. They were not the promised king that God spoke of. The wickedness of these two nations grew. God sent prophets to turn these nations and kings around, but they did not listen. And it finally came to a point where God withdrew his mercy, and they were taken over by foreign power and driven into exile.

10:49 These people were devastated. What had happened to the promises given to Abraham? Point seven, the return. The people are in exile, but are promised to return to their homelands, which is where we are today in Jeremiah. The covenant was broken by their sin, but they did return as God promised. They rebuilt Jerusalem, and the rebuilt Jerusalem was nothing in comparison to the one they had left. Jerusalem was but a shadow of its past. We now fast forward 400 years to the Messiah.

11:23 At this point in God's plan, we learn from the Gospels that the true king has finally arrived, the promised king from Genesis, Jesus Christ. All others have failed, but this king is the Son of God who fulfilled all scriptures and lived a perfect life amongst us. This king, truly God and man, is the one to bless all nations. Once again, most of the rulers and man rejected him and plotted to kill him, but he freely gave his life for us at his crucifixion.

11:56 He was resurrected from the dead and now sits as our king forever. That act was our redemption. Our salvation comes to us when we accept him as our Lord and Savior. And once our salvation is complete, our sanctification is started by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That continues for the rest of our lives. So what was God's plan from the beginning? What themes were weaved throughout the Bible? The narrative of the Bible is about the gospel, which is fulfilled through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

12:31 God's plan was and is to rescue human beings from their life of sin and to restore his creation, which was mired by man's sin. Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your King, your Lord, your Savior? If not, it's my prayer and all the prayer of the saints in this room that should make that decision tonight. I don't have the time to finish off the grand narrative of God's plan, except to say that point nine is the church and point 10 is the end. I suggest you read Greg's book on the epic story of the Bible.

13:04 I truly enjoyed it. Point two, what is prosperity and our future? I don't want to say we will not prosper on earth, but we do need to understand as Christians what prosperity is. It needs to be put in perspective. In the sphere of man, prosperity or blessings as your position in life, the wealth you accumulate, your happiness, what people think of you, your home, your car, how well your children are doing, your job, what church do you attend, what school did you go to, what vacation did you just have?

13:40 We assume our prosperity is great when we can paint a picture we would like to present to the world for all to see. Isn't social media wonderful? Prosperity should be termed blessings for Christians. And yes, a blessing for us is knowing God watches over us, He loves us, and He cares for us. God knows our needs, and He does provide. What has He given me? Simply put, food, shelter, clothing, a wonderful wife, three sons, and two daughter-in-laws, grandchildren, and I can say they are the best.

14:16 They are fantastic. Mac will agree with me on that one. He has given me parents, siblings, extended family, God's Word, redemption, the gospel, salvation, prayer, the Holy Spirit, the church, our congregation, the faithful preaching at our church every Sunday, and the relationships we have in our congregation. That is just to name a few blessings. Do you faithfully come to church? Is that your habit? Do you open your Bible and read God's Word? Do you pray more than a dinner prayer?

14:48 Do you have relationships with other believers in our congregation? When I joined this church, I did not have a 19-year-old friend in college. I do now. I would have never thought I would be invited to a party of 25-year-olds. I have been. I would encourage you to make these relationships. Get involved in what we call discipleship. Believe me, those relationships benefit all parties. both ways. As stated, once we are saved by God's grace, our sanctification begins. For those that are new in faith, ask an older believer who has been in their faith for some time. Ask the question, have you grown in your walk over the past 40 years? You should not be surprised at their response.

15:40 All the blessings I have mentioned above, through the power of the Spirit, Move you along the trail of sanctification. Make that your future. So back to my story 30-some years ago. What lessons did I learn? Turn it over to God, get on your knees, and pray. Stop chasing after the wind. Let the wind find you. Man's ideas of prosperity versus gods are two different things.

16:16 Choose the latter. Live for the latter. Enjoy the moment that God has given you right now. There is a purpose and there is a plan for it. It is his blessing to you. Be content. In James 1, verses 2-4, it reads, count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete and lacking and nothing i love god's plan for me and i know my future because it is built on the firm foundation of jesus christ let us pray Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the plans you have for us, your plans for our welfare and not for evil, to give us a future and a hope.

17:15 We thank you that by your mercy, we were included in your plan of redemption, salvation, and sanctification. And Lord, we thank you for the blessings you give us each day. May we recognize them and enjoy them in that moment. In Christ's name I pray, amen.