Getting Comfortable in an Uncomfortable place
Notes
Transcript
“ Getting Comfortable in an Uncomfortable place “ Jeremiah 29:4-11
Subtitle: “ Get Comfortable you’re going to be here awhile “
I Know we want to here
That what we are going thru
It won’t last long
But there will be
Somethings in our life
That we are going to go thru
And it won’t end soon
In other words
Get comfortable
You will be here AWHILE
This is what God
Is telling His people
Get Comfortable
Because where you’re at
You’re going to be there awhile
Example: Getting that SPOT at night in your bed
The truth of the matter is
no one likes uncomfortable moments
But God uses
uncomfortable moments
to Teach us & Train us
I know someone
is probably saying
“ Lord teach me another way “
But it's thru
Those uncomfortable moments
That we get to see
And experience
The MERCY — God should have killed you
The GRACE ---- God still giving you Favor
The Faithfulness of God ---- God being right there with you
Question: Have you ever wanted to break up with God ?
It is hard to believe
that the God that we serve
Who is AWESOME
And GREAT
will cause somethings
in our life to go SOUTH
Verse 4B & 7A
Jeremiah 29:4 (KJV 1900)
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
Jeremiah 29:7 (KJV 1900)
And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
But the reason
why that’s so hard to believe
Is because
we have an unbiblical perspective
of who God is
God is Good
But God is Just
Our perspective of God
is made up of
our own thoughts and feelings
That God is Good, Loving & Kind and He is
But God is sovereign
And sometimes God will do things in our lives that don’t make no sense
And when God
does something
totally opposite
of what we think or prayed for
We lose interest in Him [ We give up on God, Church & His word ]
Note: And if you are unbiblical you will LIVE WRONG & THINK WRONG and that will cause chaos between you and God
We have not learn yet
that every time
things are NOT going good
in our lives
that it’s not the Devil all the time
We have not learned yet
That God’s LOVE is
Discipline , It Chastises It Corrects It turns us from the err of our ways
QUOTE: God don’t scare us straight He loves us straight
And that is exactly
what God is doing
in the text
He loves His people
so much to where
God has caused His people
To be in a STRANGE and UNCOMFORTABLE PLACE .
POINT: God’s whole reason for causing Judah to go into exile for 70 years in this UNCOMFORTABLE PLACE was to bring them back to Him. ( And that’s somebody today )
Point: Being in this uncomfortable place was not about Babylon conquering Jerusalem and taking them from their homeland it was about this uncomfortable place changing Israel.
Note: What’s an UNCOMFORTABLE PLACE ? It’s a place where you can’t FUNCTION ( Spiritually, Physically, Emotionally, & Mentally ) because you have no PEACE.
PEACE : Jeremiah 29:7 “And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.”
Psalm 137 History
Being exiled
to a foreign land
was one of the covenantal threats
for disobedience
to the Lord
tangible evidence
that they were under
divine judgment
for breaking
the stipulations of the covenant
He had made with the nation of Israel
In 597 BC
The Babylonians under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar
Came in and conquer
The southern kingdom of Israel
Known as Judah
And destroy the capital city
Known as Jerusalem
In this time
Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians
Destroyed the sovereignty
Of Israel in 597 BC
And Israel would not
Regain sovereignty
Over that land until 1948
They have been a displace people
Who did not have sovereign control
Over the land the Lord had given them
Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians
Came in and destroyed Jerusalem
And the reason it”s call EXILE
When Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians
Came in and destroyed Jerusalem
They laid hold on 4,600 Jews
And exile them
To live in Babylon
Under the hand of the enemy
That destroyed their homeland
You need to know
That it was the custom
Of the Babylonians
That when they conquered a nation
That they didn't just take anybody
They took the best of the best
And left the remaining remnants in Jerusalem
While 4,600 Jews
Where EXILE to Babylon
To live as Babylonian citizens
In essence
They took from Jerusalem
All the human resources necessary to rebuild the city
Even though it was rough
For the remnant of the Jews
Who remained in Jerusalem
The reality of it was
Even tougher for the EXILES
Who now live in Babylon
So the 4,600 Jews
Had to wait
For word of mouth
On the ground
To know what was happening back in Jerusalem
And slowly
Word begins to get to Babylon
That the city had been destroyed
And the temple had been burn down
And that left them with questions with no answers ( WHAT”S REALLY GOING ON )
And now to make matters worse
They are now living in hostile enemy territory
they are now living with the Babylonians
living with people they don't like
adjusting to food that they are not accustomed to
living in a city that they don't know nothing about
working jobs they have no experience at
Learning a language they do not speak
being in a religious system that does not worship the God of their fathers
At this time the 4,600 Jews
The only thing that gave them hope
Was 3 prophets
The only thing
That they can hold onto
Was a word from Ahab, Zedekial & Hananiah
And these 3 prophets
Gave the EXILE some hope
By telling them
That the Lord says “ the EXILE will only last 2 years
These 3 prophets
Gave the EXILE
Some FALSE HOPE
That the Lord
Will deliver you out of Babylon
If you hold on to God for 2 years you'll be back in Jerusalem
And God
Will destroy the Babylonians
That have you captive
And you will be back in Jerusalem
And now this letter comes from Jeremiah ( Chapter 29 )
It's here
Where Jeremiah writes
To the 3,023 Jews
That had already been EXILE
And Jeremiah tells them
“ Y'all don’t listen to Ahab & the other prophets
Ahab - Zedekial - Hananiah is not speaking to you on behalf of the Lord
the Lord told me to write to you
in EXILE that it wouldn't be 2 years but 70 years
Getting Comfortable in an Uncomfortable Place
“ Get Comfortable you’re going to be here awhile “
1st You can be Productive
Jeremiah 29:5–6 (ESV)
(5) Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. (6) Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.
Note: They will be Producing & Prospering in Uncharted Territory
They are Producing & Prospering
In Uncharted Territory
Because God still have His Hand on them
In spite of their forsaken The True & Living God of Israel
“ and do not decrease “
This is because
You are here
You don’t have to
Lay down and die
Here’s the good news
You can make it
Where you’re at
Getting Comfortable in an Uncomfortable Place
“ Get Comfortable you’re going to be here awhile “
1st You can be Productive
2nd Pray for the Peace
Jeremiah 29:7 (KJV 1900)
(7) And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
The Problem is
You’re Praying more for you
Than the other person
Or the problem
Getting Comfortable in an Uncomfortable Place
“ Get Comfortable you’re going to be here awhile “
1st You can be Productive
2nd Pray for the Peace
3rd Watch who you Pay Attention to
Jeremiah 29:8–9 (ESV)
(8)For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,(9) for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.
Getting Comfortable in an Uncomfortable Place
“ Get Comfortable you’re going to be here awhile “
1st You can be Productive
2nd Pray for the Peace
3rd Watch who you Pay Attention to
4th Be Patient
Jeremiah 29:10–11 (KJV 1900)
(10) For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. (11) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Philippians 4:6 (ESV)
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Jesus had an UNCOMFORTABLE LIFE
She wrapped him in clothes. “Wrapped … in clothes” is literally swaddled him.
And placed him in a manger. The manger was no doubt a feeding trough for animals.
His Life
The Cross