Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Thank you. Well, good morning.
[00:00:03] I'm so happy we're here. We're wide awake. We had enthusiastic candidates, and that's exciting. And next service we have four baptismal candidates. In the evening service, we have three more baptismal candidates. So it's great.
[00:00:19] Ten people and all are going to be baptized today. God is working, folks, in the lives and hearts of people. So why don't we just open our hearts with prayer? Father, I just pray today as we examine your word, that your holy spirit would take these truths and bring Lord a word that would be living, dynamic, and life changing. And we thank you for that. In Jesus name, amen. Amen. How many know that? Probably one of the most well known verses in the Bible, we probably quoted to ourselves and other people more often than not, is found in the book of proverbs when it says, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. Now, I think both of these injunctions, there's kind of two parts of this are both kind of challenging, right? We got to trust God and then resist trying to figure everything out. And I think we can struggle with this idea, especially when we're going through a challenging moment in our life and things don't seem to be adding up. We're kind of wondering where God is in the equation. And so learning to trust God can be challenging. And we're going to turn this morning to Jeremiah, chapter 32. And last week we looked at a poetic section. Today we're going to look at a narrative section, and it's going to sound like it's just an economic business transaction. But in reality, I think we're going to discover some very powerful things about how God wants to speak to each of our lives. In a time when we cannot see what God is really doing, it's kind of a time of darkness. And we've all gone through those moments. We're know, God, where are you in the situation I'm in? So here, God has now been working through Jeremiah. He's been preaching about his upcoming message of disaster that's going to happen to the nation of Israel and particularly the destruction of their capital city of Jerusalem. And in chapter 32, we actually have the context where the Babylonians have their siege ramps right up to the city walls. Okay, that's the picture. It's not looking good. And we're going to pick up the story where the last king, Zeddkaya, has now arrested Jeremiah. He's actually imprisoned because of this situation. And his words, literally in the king's mind, seem very unpatriotic, maybe even worse than that. Treasonous. And Fb Huey says Jeremiah probably was kept under arrest because his calls for surrender were demoralizing the will of the people to resist the enemy. And then God does something unexpected. How many know God can do the unexpected? God spoke a very interesting word into the life of Jeremiah. And Jeremiah began to wonder what? And he needed a little reassurance that he was really hearing from God on this situation. He's told that his cousin is going to show up and tell him that he needs to redeem a piece of property that their family owns. Now, how many know? It doesn't seem quite logical to be buying property when the enemy is about to destroy your city and you're going to be carted off into exile. How many go that's not quite seeming to fit your mind? And Jeremiah was struggling, I think, a little bit with this. And yet God is now about to give what I think is a tremendous word of reassurance. It's a prophetic picture that one day in the future, 70 years later, that they will actually be rebuilding the city. They will be buying and selling and doing business transactions. And so this is a picture that God wants to assure the nation that this is not a rejection forever, but rather a moment of discipline. And how many know? In our darkest hours, we kind of wonder, where did God go? And the answer is, he's doing something. And in your darkest moments are often the very moment when a new day is about to dawn. And that's what we're going to see here today. So my question is, how should we respond in the darkest moments of our lives? How do we come to grips when our personal worlds are being shattered and destroyed? And what is there to cling to when all around us, things are falling apart? Now, maybe you're going, I relate to these questions, and maybe that's where you're camped right now. And I believe God has a special word for you this morning. And here it comes. I want to look at three things that will help us in our moment, in our hour of darkness. And the first, r1. Simple is to embrace and act on what God is saying, even though what you're seeing around you may seems to contradict what you're experiencing. But we got to hang on to what God is saying. It is an unchanging word. It's a stable word in a time of instability. It's a refuge for our soul. Jeremiah is to act in a way that in his mind, seems apparently contradictory to the current time in which he's living in buy a piece of property, right? So God's current message to Jeremiah, as I said, seemed inconsistent. What he had been previously saying and what he was currently experiencing now.
[00:05:39] Robert Davison says it this way. In itself, the incident is trivial. But think of the background. Babylonian army is on the point of destroying the city of Jerusalem. Normal business deals probably now are at a standstill. How many know? When you think the city's going to collapse, you're not selling property, right? Who's going to buy it? That's the other thing. It doesn't look good. He goes on to say the bottom had fallen out of the market. There was no confidence in the future in this situation. A prophetic act. Jeremiah purchased that field to indicate his faith that houses and fields and vineyards will once again be bought in the land.
[00:06:18] He's looking actually beyond the disaster to the return of normal life. And here we have the context of the message for which Jeremiah now has been imprisoned. Let's take a look at Jeremiah 32, a lot of verses. This morning. I looked at this chapter 44 verses, but let's look at them. It says, this is the word that came to Jeremiah from the lord in the 10th year of Zedekaya, the king of Judah. He only lasted eleven years, so we know this is near the end, which was the 18th year of NEBucHADNEzZar, the army of the king of Babylon then besieging JeRusalem. And JeremiAh the prophet, confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah. Now ZedddkAya, king of Judah, had imprisoned them, saying, why do you prophesy as you do? You say, this is what the Lord says. I'm about to give the city into the hands of the king of Babylon and he will capture it. Zedekiah, king of Judah, will not escape the Babylonians, but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the Lord. And if you fight against the BabylOnians, you will not succeed. So that's kind of an intense message. And you can see why Jeremiah was considered not being very patriotic when they're trying to fight an enemy. But see, God was trying to discipline this people who had continually resisted the message of repentance for generations. And so now God is going to finally break through in their lives. And yet, in the midst of that situation, in the hour of darkness, a new day is about to dawn. How many know that's true. Sometimes the hour that seems the darkest at night is just before the day is about ready to shine forth. And that's the picture we need to see here. God gives to Jeremiah this prophetic sign of restoration. So let's take a look at what's happening now in the next number of verses. It says, jeremiah said, the word of the Lord came to me. Hannah meal, son of Shulam, your uncle, is going to come to you and say, buy my field at Anathoth, which is a little village close to JeRusalem. Because as nearest Relative, it is your right and duty to buy it. It's the law of the kinsman redeemer. He's the nearest kin, and he needs to redeem this property.
[00:08:37] Then, just as the lord had said, my cousin Hannah meal, came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, buy my field at Hanathop in the territory of Benjamin. You know you're hearing from God when God tells you ahead of time what's going to happen, and then it starts happening. That's exactly what God is doing here. To affirm to Jeremiah that what he's hearing is correct.
[00:08:57] He says, since it's your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself. I knew that this was the word of the Lord. See, God had to confirm to him, truly, this is what I'm saying.
[00:09:10] So I bought the field. He was obedient at anathoth from my cousin, Hannah meal. And I weighed out to him 17 shekels of silver. I signed and sealed the deed. I had it witnessed. I weighted out the silver on the scales. This is a business transaction. Doesn't this sound inspiring to you?
[00:09:29] Well, it is. I took the deed of purchase, the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy, and I gave this deed to Baruch, son of Naraya, the son of Masiah. This is his, actually, first time we get introduced to his secretary here, Baruch, in the presence of my cousin Hannah Mel, and of the witnesses who had signed the deed of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard. So he's got all these witnesses. He's doing this business transaction. How many think this is kind of a little bit humorous? He's in jail. He's buying property. Right. Okay. In their presence, I gave Baruch these instructions.
[00:10:06] This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says. Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deeds of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so that they will last a long time. In other words, I want people to know that I own this property because we're not going to be acting on this for a long time. So he's telling them that actually, it's interesting, because when you go to Israel and you get to Qumran and the caves there, they actually put all those scrolls in these kind of clay jars and that preserved them for literally almost 2000 years. Is that amazing or what? Okay, let's continue reading. For this is what the Lord almighty, the God of Israel, says. Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land. The fact that they were put into these jars tells us this is not going to happen quickly. He's not going to take over this property, but it's a picture of future hope. It's telling the people that there's a day coming when they will be brought back. There will come a moment of restoration. You know how many need to hear a word that when life seems to be falling apart, you need to be assured that God hasn't forgotten your address. Anybody ever felt that way? Hey, God, where are you in this mess? I've actually asked that question. But God is know and he's about to do something. That's the message that Jeremiah has now been given to give to the people of God. Walter Brugerman says, moreover, the public act, and it's narrated report, put Jeremiah on public record as claiming that there is indeed life after Babylon. Isn't that neat? Can I just say this? There's indeed life after the pandemic. We need to hear this. Amen. Amen. We need to hear that message. There's life after, right? And the prophet has put his money where his mouth is. That's a good thing, because a lot of times people are just doing this, but they're not backing it up. I mean, he's buying property when the nation is collapsing and he's telling them, hey, this is going to happen, guys, and I'm investing in this. I think that's pretty powerful. Tremper Longman actually concurs and says this. Thus, this 17 shekel parcel of land in antithop is an earnest of the future land possession. It's like a down payment, right? God is not permanently abandoning his people. See, you and I don't relate to how significant this is. The land was actually where God's presence was. Now that they were being exiled, they were literally being cast from God's presence because of their sin. Sin always impedes our relationship with God. But God says, listen, it won't be like that forever. I'm going to restore you. I'm going to bring you back to myself. But you're going to be a different people when this is all done. How many know when God disciplines you? You don't come out the same way.
[00:12:53] You're changed. Something happens to you, you'll become a new understanding in your relationship with God. He goes on to say, here there will be a return has rightly seen this episode as an answer to Zedekai's question of why in verse three when he says judgment must fall upon Jerusalem. Because it's only through that refining fire that any hope for the future of the people of God becomes possible. Life can only come through death. That is powerful. Here we have a foreshadowing of the power of a resurrected life coming from a judgment, and we're going to look at that because I think this is foreshadowing something far more significant. When Jesus Christ comes and he dies on the cross and then he rises again, can you see the picture? We're going to get back to that image in a few minutes. The second thing we need to do in times of darkness, not only do we need to embrace and act upon, stand upon, believe in God's word, but we need to pray.
[00:13:53] Anybody ever notice that's a good time to be praying when things are falling apart, that's a time to be calling out to God.
[00:14:01] But the proper response to disciplinary action is to talk to God, to cry out to him. I think we need to go to God and address our soul before know. Here we're being reminded of God's discipline by the hands of the Babylonians. Jeremiah begins by reiterating the siege of the cities, telling us and the coming exile. The nation had violated their terms of their agreement with God, their covenant with God. They had broken their side of the equation. God, however, looks past the hour to the future. I like that. Isn't that neat that God sees the whole thing? He knows the beginning from the end. He knows your story. He's in the details. I love that about him.
[00:14:45] We're caught in time. He's not even in time. He sees everything. He sees the first moment. He decided to create creation to the last moment as coming to an end. He sees the kingdom of God as a done deal, totally taking over the planet. The kingdom of our Lord will become the kingdoms of our world. Just watch. It's coming. We're going to see it. We will witness it.
[00:15:10] So R. K. Harrison explains the siege ramps raised against Jerusalem testifies that God's warning had now become reality. He'd been saying he was going to do it. They didn't believe it. Now it's reality. Because of this, Jeremiah could scarcely believe that a reliable and consistent deity would instruct him to acquire property when the end of organized life in Judah was at hand. It was a little bit of a conflict here. What's going on? But God wanted to reassure them he was going to restore them later, and that's why he did it. I want you to notice the nature of prayer as it teaches us how we ought to pray. A lot of our prayer in life is that we usually begin with ourself and our problem, how many go. That's the temptation, right? Ouch, I'm hurting. We start talking about where we're coming from. But I want to teach us something about the nature of prayer and how if we pray in the right way, I'm not saying a magical way, but the right way, something changes inside of us. And I believe that that's what God wants to bring about in our life. Let's take a look at what Robert Davison says, because our focus tends to be upon our personal pain rather than upon the nature of God. And I believe God wants us to start upon the nature of God, which will help us address our personal pain. It's the very opposite of what we think. So let's take a look at what he says. Like some other prayers attributed to specific occasions in the old testament, it is largely a general prayer of adoration, thanksgiving, praising God for all that he is and all that he has done for his people in the past. In other words, the focus is upon God, not us, not upon our problem. Okay, this surely tells us something about where our priorities in prayer ought to be. We're often tempted to rush into God's presence in prayer to bring to him our immediate problems and concerns. But prayer brings us into the presence of a God who's always there, to a God whose greatness and love are far beyond our feeble understanding, a God before whom we bow in adoration, knowing that we exist to serve his purposes. So the prayer that Jesus taught us begins not with give us, forgive us, or lead us not into temptation, because that's our focal point. But rather, Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. How many already see that what he's saying is he's shifting us away from where we're coming from to where God is. Now, how many believe that when you really focus in on where God is and how great he is, that actually affects how you think about your problem. Because if you see God as the almighty God, all power belongs to him. Nothing is too hard for him. It changes how you're able to look at your problem. And I believe that's what he's doing. He's changing our perspective, our focus. Listen to how Jeremiah prays now. After I had given the deed of the purchase to Baruch, son of Naraya, I prayed to the Lord. Let's hear his prayer. Awe, sovereign Lord. Sovereign means the God who's in control of everything. You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power. An outstretched arm, he's pointing back to the God who created everything. Nothing is too hard for you. Okay, God, how many say in your life, there's a lot of things too hard for you, but for God, it's not too hard for him. I love that. He goes on to say, you show love to thousands, but bring the punishment for the parent sin into the laps of their children. After them, great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord Almighty. Why is it because when we as parents go the wrong way and live in sin, we're modeling for our children how to follow us in sin. And so they end up in following right along with us. We end up bringing a hold, not only our generation, but the next generation, into sin. That's sad. He goes on to say, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. How many go? He's focusing away from our agenda here, isn't he? Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind. You reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. I know we preach grace, but let me just say something to us. God is watching how we're living. He sees our behavior. He sees when you're kind and forgiving and loving and generous, God's going, I like that. That's what I do. You're behaving like me. I want to reward that. How many know, as a parent, you want to reward your kids when they're doing the right things? How many say, that's true and you want to discipline them, or you reluctantly, but you have to discipline them when they're doing the wrong stuff. And it's the same with our father in heaven. It says, you perform signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours. You know, God is still amazing. He hasn't lost his shine. You brought your people, israel, out of egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror, you gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. God, you have blessed us. That's what he's saying. They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law. They did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster on us. In other words, we rebelled against you, didn't keep our end of the covenant. Now we're suffering. See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. And what you said has happened. As you now see, he's talking to the people. And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, sovereign lord, say to me, buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed. Wow, a lot of information there. Here we're reminded of God's greatness, his sovereignty, his faithfulness, and his justice. God does show love, but he will also punish for sins. And even though God often delays this retribution into other generations, even then, that generation which is now being judged is also responsible for their own sins.
[00:21:24] The land now has been. Walter Brugerman says the land has been invaded and occupied and has become worthless. Yahweh, however, counters that outcome of worthlessness with a resolve and a promise. He's telling Jeremiah, invest in.
[00:21:43] Know that's kind of good business practice. Sometimes when things are at the bottom end and you buy it and it comes back around again, you're not going to do too bad. It's just a thought. Do all these in faith against the present data. The data is all babylonian. God, however, speaks beyond Babylon to anticipate the liberation and revaluing of the land. I like what Fb Huey says regarding the possible meaning of this prayer. His statement you say to me by the field is capable of actually two interpretation. It may be a statement of Jeremiah's unshakable faith. He may have been confident that in spite of impending ruin and defeat, God would have him buy a piece of family land to show that life would return to normal one day. That's one interpretation. I think that's good.
[00:22:26] His words could also be interpreted as an increduous reaction in this hopeless situation. Why would you have me buy a field? If the latter, it may parallel our own response in a difficult situation. In other words, we have a hard time. Sometimes when God asks us to do something, we go, really? You want me to do that?
[00:22:43] I tell you, it can be challenging, right? He goes on to say, we readily affirm that God can do great things, such as create the universe, but do we really trust him in life's decisions? What is he saying? We have an abstract idea God can do anything, and then we have a problem. Go. Can God really do this? That's what he's telling us. Isn't that funny how we are as human beings? Yeah, no problem. God creates the world. But can he handle my problem over here? What do you think, guys? Do you think God's big enough to handle your world when he created the whole world? Well, of course he's able to do that. Of course.
[00:23:20] So in a arrow of darkness, we too often lose sight of God's goodness, his abilities, and his promises.
[00:23:30] In describing the signs of the end times of human history, Jesus warns against some things. And I'm going to just say this right now to us because I sense that a lot of people are really getting excited right now and not in a good way. Well, let me just tell you what I mean. Jesus says in the last days there will be perilous times. But, you know, the last day started 2000 years ago. I don't know if you know that it did. And there's always been terrible times. And if you think our time is bad, I have a book you can read. It's on the 14th century, far worse than where we're living right now by a long shot.
[00:24:04] But Jesus says in the moment before he comes, there'll be famine, earthquakes in many places, pestilence, persecution. Nations will be in anguish and in perplexity. People will be living in terror and apprehension in these moments. So in other words, people will be freaking out.
[00:24:21] Okay, now, but listen to what Jesus says to you. And I, the believer, don't freak out. That's how he says it. No, that's my paraphrase. This is how he says it.
[00:24:31] When these days begin to take place, stand up. Lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near. In other words, in the darkest moment, a new day is about to dawn. Jesus is coming back to take over the planet. Yes.
[00:24:48] Yeah. So let's not get too excited and going, oh, no, what's going to happen? Well, what I'm going to tell you is going to happen. Jesus is coming back and we ought to get excited when everybody else is freaking out and carrying on. We should be going, praise God. And they're going to look at you like, what are you happy about? That's just a sign of the times. Jesus is about to come back home. Hallelujah. Come back to our planet, take over our world. I love it. I vote for him every day.
[00:25:20] Okay, let me move on to the final thing is to embrace God's answer to our prayers. You know, sometimes God answers prayer and we just don't embrace them. Isn't that true? We don't like what he's doing.
[00:25:32] God is a prayer. Answering God, boy. Jeremiah 33 is coming up, and I like verse three. Call unto me and I will answer and show you great and mighty things you do not know. Isn't that beautiful? I've been praying that prayer every day. Say, lord, I'm calling out to you. You're going to answer. Show me. Show me the great things you're about to do. I want to be in on it. Isn't that great? Don't you think? Those early disciples, they were kind of walking with Jesus. He was letting them in on stuff nobody else knew.
[00:26:06] I want to be in on it. I want to be a follower of Jesus. I want to understand what's going on so I don't have to get paralyzed. Like the majority of our culture, God can explain the reason why the season is happening in our lives. You know that's true. Maybe you're in a dark time. He can explain the reason. It may take time for us to understand it, and it may even take time for us to appreciate it. I can say amen to that. I've been in moments, and later on I go, I don't appreciate this. But later on I said, boy, I really do appreciate that. I was through it now, but now I learned a bunch of stuff and I said I actually needed that. It straightened me out.
[00:26:42] Sometimes it's discipline, sometimes God's disciplining us. You ever have those moments? God's disciplining you at the moment you go, this isn't fun, but later on you go, thank you for disciplining me. It can also be moments of spiritual testings and development which we are not grasping, and we don't appreciate the good fruit that's going to come from it. In our text, it's obvious that this prayer was in some way a question as to the action that Jeremiah was about to take in securing the property for his family. But it was done as a sign to the people of Judah that God planned a future restoration. Now he answers Jeremiah's prayer, and I love the way God answers. It's a big yes. I'm about to do something. He affirms what Jeremiah is praying. There is nothing too hard for God. There's nothing too difficult for God. There's nothing impossible with God. God rehearses why the city is going to be destroyed. He explains how they have become idolaters. That means they've not trusted in God. They're not putting him first in their lives. They're doing their own thing. They're worshipping other things, and they've done it in their personal lives. They've done it in their corporate worship. They've broken their covenant with him. They've destroyed their families in the process. Boy, it sounds like today we've destroyed a lot of things. They've offered up their children as human sacrifices to demons because that's what idols are. Can you imagine that? But we can do the same thing. We can offer up our kids on the altar of materialism. We can do all kinds of stuff like that. But look what he says here. Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? God says, what do you think the answer is? It's a rhetorical question. Of course not.
[00:28:27] I've got this. God says, hey, I want you to take your biggest problem right now and say, okay, God, you've got it.
[00:28:34] You've got it.
[00:28:37] Sometimes in my life I've had a problem. I go, I have no idea what to do with this thing. So I know what I say. I go, you've got it. I've given it over. You've got it. It's yours now. I'm just going to watch what you do. I'm going to just be still. I'm going to be quiet. I'm going to shut up. I'm going to let you do something, because I haven't got a clue kind of handy to have someone to turn things over like that, and he can handle it. Therefore, this is what the Lord says. I'm about to give the city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who will capture it. Mark my words, it's going to happen. He says, the Babylonians who are attacking the city will come in and set it on fire. They're going to burn it down, along with the houses where the people arouse my anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods. The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth. Indeed, the people of Israel done nothing but aroused my anger. But what their hands have made, declares the Lord, probably all the idols that they've been building. He goes on for the day it was built until now. This city has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight. You know, God hates evil.
[00:29:46] God hates oppression. God hates injustice. God hates abuse. Listen, after a while he says, I'm fed up of this stuff. This has gone on for centuries.
[00:29:57] You and I probably can't handle it for about a week or two, maybe a month or two or maybe a year. God's been putting up with it for hundreds of years.
[00:30:05] The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done. They their kings and officials, their priests and their prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. That's a nice way of saying everybody's guilty.
[00:30:17] Sometimes I talk to people. I said, you know, sin's universal. We all have the same problem. We're all sinners.
[00:30:23] Sometimes we got to hear that. Sometimes we get very self righteous. I'm not a sinner. Yes, you are.
[00:30:30] Just ask your spouse. Really?
[00:30:36] And if they won't give you a straight answer, ask your kids. They will. They turned their backs to me and not their faces. Though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. I tried to get through to them. They set up their vile images in the house that bears my name and defiled it. Can you imagine dragging images into the house of God? That's what they were doing.
[00:30:57] They built high places for Baal in the valley of Ben Hinon to sacrifice their sons and daughters to molech, though I never commanded, nor did even enter my mind, that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin. Wow. Jeremiah stated that there's nothing too hard for God. And the people respond, of course not. Walter Brugeman says this. The impossibility which God will work according to both prayer and the oracle, or the word, is twofold. First, God will work a massive judgment, which is here expressed in a lawsuit form, verses 18 to 36. These prophets were just basically God's prosecuting attorneys pointing out, you're guilty. That's their job. You've broken the covenant. It is not impossible for God to terminate Jerusalem. I mean, that's true. We're scarcely prepared for the second aspect of God's impossibility. Now, you know, a lot of times people feel very secure when life is good. I will never be shaken. I can never foresee any disaster. God can turn your life around in a moment, so let's not go down that track. Everything is possible for God to get a hold of us. Indeed, in verse 26, the text makes an enormous leap away from verses 28 to 35 to God's second impossibility. Now the news is good. It's not been impossible to destroy the city, and it's also not impossible. We are now told that God will revive the city, which is now about to be in ruins. Isn't that amazing? God says, I'm going to turn all that around. Yeah, you're going to have no city left when I'm done with it. But then later on I'm going to help you rebuild the city. What a great promise. So God promises restoration after exile. Let's finish these verses. You're saying about the city by the sword, famine, plague, it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon. But this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. I will surely gather them from all the lands where I have banished them. In my furious anger and great wrath, I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.
[00:32:57] They will be my people and I will be their God. What is God saying?
[00:33:03] I'm remarrying you. I'm entering into the covenant with you. I'm going to make a new covenant with you. We talked about that last week. He goes, I will give them singleness of heart and action. Isn't that beautiful? No more duplicity, no more a lack of integrity. You're going to be true so that you will always fear me in the right way, the right kind of fear.
[00:33:25] And all will go well for them and for their children after them. How many say, that's what I want? I want my life to go well. And I want my life and my children for their lives to go well. Yeah, just walk with God. It goes on to say, I will make an everlasting covenant with them. I will never stop doing good to them. How many go? That's my verse. God never stopped doing good to me. How many are claiming that verse? I'm standing on that one, Lord. Never stop doing good to me. I'm going to hang on to that promise. I will inspire them to fear me, Lord. I like that verse. I want to continually walk in the fear of the Lord so that they will never turn away from me, Lord. I'm going to hang on to that. I never want to turn from you. I never want to turn away. I want my face to be looking at you and your face looking at me. Because you know, when that happens, I have the favor of God in my life. I don't want to turn my back on you. God's not going to turn his back on us. Unless we turn our back on him.
[00:34:16] Verse 41. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. Thank you, Lord. This is what the Lord says as I've brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. Once more fields will be bought in this land in which you say it's a desolate waste without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians. Fields will be bought for silver and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes. Declare the Lord here. You thought this was just an economic transaction? No, there's a lot more being said here. What an amazing thing. What God is about to do after destruction would come new life. And I love what George Steiner in his book real presence. Is there anything in what we say? He points out the tension between living between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Let me just summarize. Not quoting them. I'm just going to summarize them. Here we see the drama of death and life unfold before our eyes. How can real change come about when so often we live in the day between Good Friday and the crucifixion of the innocent person. That's Jesus. And the amazing power of the resurrection with all of its newness of life. Is that beautiful? We find ourselves so often trapped between those two days, stuck in the pain and despair of the long Sabbath day, Saturday, that day that Jesus was in the tomb. Sometimes we feel we're living there. Maybe you're here today. It's a day of darkness. You're awaiting the new dawn of hope. Listen to the words of the promised restoration. This is what the Lord says. As I have brought all this calamity on this people, so I will give them all prosperity, all the prosperity that I have promised them. I'm going to restore them. God will bring us out of a sentence of judgment and death into the newness of the resurrection and new life with him. I love that. So when everything is darkest, a new day will dawn. What a hope that brings to us who stand upon God's word, commune with him in prayer and embrace his amazing promises.
[00:36:35] And I like how Walter Brugerman says about God's power at work and bringing about transformation into the life of the nation. I love this quote. Israel's destiny is to lose what it treasures and then to have it handed back by God in mercy, massively broken and then powerfully blessed.
[00:36:56] Did you catch this line of action? What is God saying? If I have to, I'll take everything from you.
[00:37:05] And then in my mercy, I'll give it all back to you, but I'll break you in the process so that you will be a different person.
[00:37:15] And you know what? That's what real revival is. You see, a lot of people have a funny idea what revival is. I'll tell you what it is.
[00:37:22] It's a breaking of the believer and a new awakening to our sinfulness. And then all of a Sudden, there's a confession before almighty God, I'm wrong.
[00:37:34] And God says, everything I've taken away from you now will give back to you, because now you're able to handle what I took away from you. I believe that's true.
[00:37:44] So what is true of the nation of Israel is also true of us. Often it takes God's judgment in our lives upon our sins, the brokenness that comes from our rebellion, and then an awakening and a deeper repentance that allows God's great restoration and renewal to occur within our souls. So maybe you're here today and you're walking in a time of darkness.
[00:38:06] Listen, a new day is about to dawn. Let's stand.
[00:38:15] I don't know about you, but I like this book of Jeremiah.
[00:38:19] I have been learning so much, and I love these chapters because we've been talking about restoration.
[00:38:27] Maybe you're here today and you say, you know what?
[00:38:31] When I look around our world today, all I see is problems and brokenness. But I don't have to look out there. I could just look in here in my soul. Maybe you're there and you're going, it's a time of darkness.
[00:38:45] I want to assure you, allow the love of God to break into your soul.
[00:38:52] God is patient. God is kind. He wants to break in. And if he does that, something's going to happen in your life. You're going to move from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. How many say, I'm anticipating.
[00:39:08] I'm looking for a new dawn, a new day.
[00:39:12] You know what? That day is coming to an end. The day of Babylon's judgment, the day of difficulty in my life, the day of maybe judgment for sin, or the day of God developing and stretching and maturing and growing it. That day of darkness will come to an end.
[00:39:32] And I want you to know that new day that dawns. It is a new day.
[00:39:38] There'll be a new spiritual authority, a new quiet confidence in God.
[00:39:45] Arrogance will be removed. It leaves. It can't stay there, because now you've been broken, changes you. You're not the same person. How many say, man, that sounds so good. Pastor, you become more like Jesus. You'll become more kind and more patient. You'll become more like God. Godlike. That's what it means to be godly. Godlike like him. I want to be more like Jesus. I just finished 16 weeks teaching book of first corinthians, and I summarized the whole book in four words. Four words, you say, what are those words, pastor?
[00:40:20] Do everything in love.
[00:40:25] How many say, if you start living like that, it's going to change your life and the people around you?
[00:40:31] Amen.
[00:40:33] You say, what is love? Love is patient. Love is kind.
[00:40:38] Right off the bat. That's what God's like. God is extremely patient with you and with me and with others. And God is extremely kind. He does not give us usually what we deserve. He gives us grace. He blesses us.
[00:40:55] Isn't that a challenge? Lord, I am not like you. I am not necessarily very patient with people or situations, and I'm not necessarily very kind.
[00:41:04] Come on. Do we need God to do a work in our souls? We sure do, don't we? Amen. How many here today? Maybe you're walking through that dark hour. We're going to have every head bowed. Maybe you say, pastor, this is so amazing. This word is coming to me right at this moment. This is a dark hour for my soul. Is that anybody here? Just raise your hand. I want to pray with you this morning. How many are walking through the dark hour of your soul? Okay. Yeah, that's okay. Not everybody, but there's a few.
[00:41:32] I'm making a declaration to you. A new day is about to dawn. New day. A new day. Hang on to that. A new day is about to dawn in your life.
[00:41:43] And when it does, it's going to bring great joy. Weeping endures for the night, but joy comes in the morning. And there's a new morning coming to you. There's a new morning coming to you. I believe that.
[00:42:00] Let's pray. Lord, I thank you that you're working in our lives. I thank you. You're calling us to yourself, and you do walk us through an hour of darkness. We've all walked through those seasons. We've all had moments of Gethsemane in our soul. They're powerful moments. They're moments where we say, not my will, but yours be done. Lord, I pray that we will make a paradigm shift. I didn't mention this. I don't know why I didn't, but it's hitting me right now, Lord, that when we start learning, it's not about me. It's not about us. We were created for your good pleasure, not ours. We were created for your purposes, not our own. That powerful. But when we embrace your pleasures and your purposes for our lives, then we discover what true pleasure and true purpose is. It brings great joy. It brings great joy. Lord, I thank you this morning. Thank you for your word. I thank you for your presence. I thank you for hearing our cry. You will answer.
[00:43:04] Help us to stand on your word. In Jesus name, amen. God bless you as you leave this morning.
