Waiting for GPS (God’s Positioning System)
Lectionary passages: Jeremiah 29:1, 7-14
II Timothy 2: 8-15
Luke 17: 11-19
When I read the scriptures for today and began thinking about which one I wanted to speak on, I knew most of you would have heard the story of the ten lepers that were healed but only one came back to say thank you in the passage from Luke.
And most of us could also quote the important advice from II Timothy 2:15. “Study to show thyself approved unto God..”
So that left Jeremiah. But on the surface it seemed it was such a few verses and really not a very important subject on which to preach. Until I looked closer at verse 4 and saw,
“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says…”
And I began to study….to try to “rightly divide the word of truth”
As I began to dig in and put thoughts on paper and read commentaries it amazed me to see that several other sermon authors had been struck with the same general idea that seemed to stick out for me.
That’s when I knew I must be onto something that God truly wanted to say to us today.
It is a message for right where we live.
Look at verse 1.of Jeremiah chapter 29.
“This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon"(NIV).
The nation of Israel was divided and demoralized.
These people were wondering,
“What do we do until this exile is over?
They were just waiting to go back home.
Jeremiah urges them to embrace the present as the arena in which God will work, and abandon the false hopes they placed in military rebellion and trying to recreate what was already lost.
How do we identify with their problem?
I think the clue is in a quote by Richard Evans:
“The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it”
.
You know most folks are just biding their time until…
they find a better job, or until school is out, or until they get to feeling better, or until they get out of debt, or get married, or whatever. They put off or seem powerless to change their current situation.
I read this funny illustration the other day.
:
A fortuneteller was gazing into a crystal ball, and talking to a frog: who was sitting across from her. “You are going to meet a beautiful young woman. From the moment she sets eyes on you she will have an insatiable desire to know all about you. She will be compelled to get close to you--you’ll fascinate her."
"Where am I, at a singles club?" the frog wondered.
“Biology class." said the fortuneteller.
So the first thing we need to learn is how to perceive our position.
God gave the exiled Israelites an answer.
And it is an answer for each of us to consider how to live right now, wherever you are with whatever is going on in your life.
Our text speaks to the issue of dealing with present realities, but not within our frame of reference, but from that of the Lord.
God knows where we are and calls us to be His representatives in that place.
#1 Get Perspective (about your position)
Notice verse 4 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon”. (NIV)
Wait a minute! Who carried the Israelite people into captivity?
This says it was God, but verse 1 said it was Nebuchadnezzar. Is this a typo?
No, it was God!
Nebuchadnezzar was just the man He used to carry out His plan.
God knew, allowed, and purposed this for Israel.
His grace was sufficient for them in Babylon, too.
Remember God neither slumbers nor sleeps.
He knows where you are and how you got there.
#2 Get Productive (plough and plant and reproduce)
Look at what God told the people in our text. in verses 5-6. “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 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.
They are not to believe that this world or the peoples’ present conditions are so bad that children could not survive or should not be subject to this life.
Jeremiah is telling the people to start focusing on life, and no longer focus on destruction
Don’t wait for the perfect place and perfect timing to take action in your circumstances. Go ahead and start settling into real living. They say life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.
The Lord is giving them a hint that this exile is going to be pretty long. They will have time to have families and see their children grow up here. They will be the salt and light in Babylon.
#3 Get Prayerful (about the people in this place)
Verse 7 says “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” (NIV).
This reminded me of Job’s situation. We are told that Job got better when he began to pray for his friends. (They were not comforting him, but he still prayed for their welfare.) This is the way God’s economy works. You get back what you send out.
#4 Get Peaceful (about God’s promises and plans)
I just had to read on into this chapter and see what else God told them. Look at verses 10-14.
“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.
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.
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (vs. 10-13 NIV)
I think this is the best part in the whole chapter!
God lets them know when their exile will come to an end and he gives them hope and assurance they have a brighter future.
When we try to predict the future we are sorely lacking in accuracy. Here are a few quotes to illustrate this fact:
“Theoretically, television may be feasible, but I consider it an impossibility--a development which we should waste little time dreaming about”.
Lee de Forest, 1926, inventor of the cathode ray tube.
“I think there is a world market for about five computers.”
Thomas J. Watson, 1943, Chairman of the Board of IBM.
“We don’t think the Beatles will do anything in their market. Guitar groups are on their way out”.
Recording company expert, 1962.
“More than at any time in history, mankind faces a crossroads--one path leading to despair and utter hopelessness, the other leading to total destruction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”
Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State, U. S. News and World Report, Jan. 9, 1989.
If you were the people of Israel and your magnificent kingdom was torn apart by some foreign power and all your significant leaders had been hauled off to another country, what might you be thinking? Maybe this is the end?
Corrie Ten Boone said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
Some people refer to God’s acts as “Providence.”
The word providence means “to see before.”
God is allowing Israel to see His plans before they come to pass .And everything that God says about the future is 100% accurate.
In his book “The Purpose Driven Life” Rick Warren says,
“God’s ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort but character development.”
Are you resolved that this is God’s reality for your life.
or are you living in the “What might have been” reality or “What could be” reality?
The truth is, regardless of what brought us to this place, maybe sin in our lives or the sin of others or whatever it is, this is our reality and this is where God has placed us.
We must live here for now.
God has a plan for your life, Are you ready and willing to go God’s way? He has a bright future planned for you.
F.E. Marsh has enumerated some of God’s blessings:
An acceptance that can never be questioned. (Ephesians 1:6).
An inheritance that can never be lost (I Peter 1:3-5).
A deliverance that can never be excelled (2 Cornthians l:10).
A grace that can never be limited (2 Corinthians 12:9).
A hope that can never be disappointed. (Hebrews 6:18, 19).
A bounty that can never be withdrawn. (I Colossians 3:21-23).
A joy that need never be diminished (John 15:11).
A nearness to God that can never be reversed (Ephesians 2:13).
A peace that can never be disturbed (John 14:27).
A righteousness that can never be tarnished (2 Corinthians 5:21).
A salvation that can never be canceled (Hebrews 5:9).
Prisons or palaces make no difference in the lives of His called ones.
They have perspective, get productive and pray until the situation becomes peaceful. They can see the promise land and know this is not their final home.
That is the really good news we found by studying and dividing the word of truth this morning.
Now go tell it and live it!
Amen.
