How sad it would be if we go through life complaining about our misfortune, focused on ourselves, and blind to all the beauty that God has placed in our path.
Sermon Title: A FUTURE AND A HOPE
Sermon Text: JEREMIAH 29:11 (NIV)
Sermon Series: SCRIPTURE SNAPSHOTS: TIMELESS TRUTHS IN A FEW WORDS
By: PTR NESTOR SY
Sermon Notes:
JEREMIAH 29:4-11 NIV
4 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” 8 Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the LORD. 10 This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God’s plans for you are always better than any plans that you have for yourself.
I. YOU ARE WHERE GOD WANTS YOU TO BE
PSALMS 137:1-4 NIV
1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?
The most painful wounds are those that are self-inflicted.
JEREMIAH 29:4 NIV
4 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:
JEREMIAH 24:6-7 NIV
6 My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.
It is always better to be in the will of God in Babylon than to be out of the will of God in Jerusalem.
PROVERBS 16:9 NIV
9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
You are where you are right now because God wants you there.
REFLECT
So how do you view your current circumstance today?
Wherever the will of God takes you, his grace will always be enough to sustain you.
II. YOU ARE CALLED TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR SITUATION
JEREMIAH 29:5-7 NIV
5 Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Bloom where you are planted. Make the most of your situation.
REFLECT
Do you believe God can take care of you right now so you can serve him right where you are?
We must now allow our circumstances to shape our view of God, rather we let God inform our view of our circumstances.
III. GOD’S PLAN IS ALWAYS THE BEST PLAN
JEREMIAH 29:10 NIV
10 This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.
God has purposes in mind that go beyond what we see.
“The universe exists so that we may live in a way that demonstrates that Jesus is more precious than life.”
John Piper
JEREMIAH 29:11 NIV
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
JEREMIAH 29:11 YLT
11 or I have known the thoughts that I am thinking towards you--an affirmation of Jehovah; thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give to you posterity and hope.
God thinks of us even when we don’t.
“The child playing on the [boat] deck does not understand the tremendous engine whose beat is the throbbing heart of the stately Atlantic liner, and yet all is safe, for the engineer, the captain and the pilot are in their places, and well know what is being done. Let not the child trouble itself about things too great for it.”
Charles Spurgeon
Our focus should be centered on God’s steadfast faithfulness, not on fleeting gratification.
God’s presence in our lives means we are never truly alone.
“I can’t read. I can’t think. I can’t pray. But I can trust.” J. Hudson Taylor
REFLECT
Do you start with your problems, or do you start with God?