Words: Jeremiah 29:1-14
Key Verse 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.”
Happy Memorial Day! Remembering history is important. There is a saying about this. “There is no future for those who have forgotten history.” Memorial Day is a holiday to remember and honor the U.S. soldiers who have died. We must remember and thank those who have made the sacrifice to keep Americans free. In this way, we may remember and thank those who have sacrificed to build New Jersey UBF. There are many missionaries, shepherds, and shepherdesses, including missionaries John Park, Grace Park, Peter Kim, and Sarah Kim. Because of their sacrifice and dedication, we are now living a gracious life at New Jersey UBF. We appreciate and applaud their dedication. There is someone we should be more grateful for. He is our God. God sacrificed his Son to free us from sin.
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father. Now we thank those who sacrificed for America. Thank you to those who have dedicated their lives to New Jersey UBF. We thank Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died for us. We also give thanks and glory to God for giving us plans of hope. At this time, we want to have God’s hope through Jeremiah 29. May the Holy Spirit give us a new spirit and mind so that we can find your hope for us. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen!
The title of the message is “Plans to give you hope and a future.” Let’s read verse 11 together. “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.” The background of this text was when Babylon invaded Israel and many Israelites were taken captive. It was the darkest and most miserable period in Israel’s history. The reason for this was their sins. They disobeyed God’s Word. They served pagan idols. There was no hope. But God made plans of hope for them. God is the Lord of hope. We want to be sure of God’s hope. Also, let’s learn what we must do until his hope is completed.
Part1 plans to give you hope and a future (1-11)
Today’s text is Jeremiah’s letter to the Israelite captives taken to Babylon. From verses 1-3, Jeremiah explains the background of this letter. At that time, the king of Babylon took the king and queen of Israel, the court officials, eunuchs, craftsmen, and artisans. In other words, all talented people were brought to Babylon. There were no people to rebuild Jerusalem. Israel was in a desperate situation. The prophet Jeremiah delivered God’s message to Israel captive in Babylon. The letter begins as follows. “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says…” (4) This letter is not personal. It is the word of God who has authority. Therefore, those who receive the letter should obey it with humility. Even if it’s different from their thoughts, or even if it’s hard for them to accept, they must obey God’s word. Because it is the command of the Lord God Almighty.
God told them how they should live in Babylon. Verse 5, “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.” God wanted them to build houses and live there in the captive land (5a). God tells the Israelites not to think about leaving Babylon. Verse 6 makes this clear. “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.” (6) In verse 7, God asked them to seek peace from their enemy, the Babylonian Empire, and pray to God for them (7a).
It was difficult for them to understand God’s Word. Because they hoped to escape Babylon as soon as possible. They expected to return to Jerusalem within two years according to the false prophets (Jer 28:3). Also, they couldn’t find anywhere in the Bible that said “Pray for peace for Babylon.”
Why did God ask the Israelites to seek the peace of Babylon? Because when the Babylonian Empire is at peace, Israel will also be at peace. In verse 7b, it says, “Because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” When a country is not at peace, the minority group suffers the most. If Babylon is not at peace, Israel, the minority in it, will suffer the most. Therefore, the ultimate purpose for the peace of Babylon is for the peace of Israel. God wanted to use Babylon as an incubator to give Israel a new birth.
However, the period they were in God’s incubator was too long. This requires a lot of time, 70 years. Is anyone here today 70 years old? They know how long God’s plan for incubation would take. Why did the Israelites require such a long period of time? God wanted the Israelites to realize their sins, repent, and be renewed in Babylon. And God planned to send the Israelites back to Jerusalem from Babylon. It’s verse 10b. “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.”
Also, God made plans for them. Let’s read verse 11 together again. “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.” It is to give them a hopeful future. However, God did not tell the details of his hope for Israel. God just expects, “Look forward to the plans of God.” A sign of hope for Israel appears in the last chapter (chapter 52) of this book. Here is an unexpected and hopeful story. The king of Babylon released the king of Israel, from prison. Also, the king of Israel, made it possible to have a daily meal with the king of Babylon. This gives them confidence in the future hope.
God’s hope for Israel is the same for us. No matter how hopeless we may be, God has hope for us. Because God has hope for us, he wants us to be renewed through times of difficulties. God’s training period may be longer than 70 years, or it may be shorter. Observing the history revealed in the Bible, God does not give up hope for his people in any hopeless situation. He is the God of hope. And when the time comes, God fulfills the plans of hope. We must always remember this truth. “God fulfills the plans of hope.”
For example, COVID-19 is a disaster of plague. Many people lost their lives because of this plague. The economy has suffered all over the world. The cost of living is skyrocketing, but income is not growing. So many people live with anxiety and fear. However, according to the Bible, the COVID pandemic is not a disaster but a kind of birth pain. If you look at the Bible, the plague shows God’s hope, not a disaster. The Old and New Testaments mention plagues (Exodus 9, 2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21, 1 Kings 8, 2 Chronicles 5, Luke 21, Revelation 16). The plagues are God’s judgment on human sins. But despite the disaster of the plagues, God’s Hope continues. God’s hope persists. God creates a new history through the plague. In Luke 21, the plague makes us look forward to the second coming of Jesus. And also historically a plague epidemic(in Korean, 콜레라) in the 14th century killed the lives of a third of Europeans. But, through this, God abolished the European feudal system and started the ‘Renaissance’. God also gave the spiritual revival of the Reformation. In this way, through the plague of COVID-19, God will fulfill plans of hope. Therefore we must prepare for ISBC 2023 with this hope. The title of ISBC is “His Glory.” Many people despair and sigh in the midst of disasters. But we must reveal His glory with confidence in His hope.
Looking back on the history of UBF, many staffs left UBF in 1977 due to the sins and immaturity of the leaders. At that time, Missionary Samuel Lee came to the United States with this incident. It was a time of division and despair. It was a time of severe difficulties. However, God did not lose hope in UBF. Instead, he refined UBF. In this way, God fulfilled the hope of the world mission through our ministry by sending thousands of missionaries to 90 countries.
In 2001, a similar trial happened again in UBF. In particular, some chapters left UBF. Because of this, missionaries, shepherds, and shepherdesses fell into hardship and despair after losing the mother church. Some missionaries in New Jersey were discouraged and lost their strength. However, God trains them and leads them to fulfill his plans of hope. God is the Lord of hope. Therefore, we should not despair in any difficult situation. We must be sure of our hope in the midst of any difficulties.
New Jersey co-workers have many difficulties in the mission field. Getting used to English and strange food in New Jersey is very difficult. In addition, there will be difficulties while raising children and Jesus’s disciples. At this time, our hearts are easy to fear and worry in difficult situations. But God has plans of hope for us. And God’s plans of hope will surely come true. Of course, these hopeful plans may not come true in our day. It can be done through our 3rd and 4th generation missionaries after 70 years. But God will surely fulfill the plans of hope. I believe that God’s hope for New Jersey UBF is to raise 7,000 missionaries. Over the past 33 years, New Jersey UBF has faced many difficulties. Also, there will be many difficulties in the future. However, these difficulties are the training to achieve the hope of raising 7,000 missionaries. The greater our difficulties, the greater God’s hopes. Amen!
Part 2 seek God with all your heart (12-14)
God gave them another promise. Read verses 12 and 13 together. “Then you will call on 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.” When they seek God with all their hearts, God listens to their prayers. They will find God if they seek him with all their heart. When they meet God, He brings them back to their homeland. Thus, they will begin the ministry of rebuilding Jerusalem. Also, God forgives them (Jeremiah 33:1-13). God restores the covenant with them. Through them, the work of salvation continues.
In this way, when we seek God and pray, we will meet God. Where can we find God? We can find God by reading the Bible and studying the Bible. Also, we must pray with all our hearts. The pray of all our hearts is important. We cannot have a new spirit by praying only with our heads or lips. We must pray with all our hearts until we repent of our sins. We must pray so that we can give up worldly values within ourselves. Then we will meet God personally.
I couldn’t pray with all my heart on the reason for studying at the seminary. I repent of this. And I will pray with all my heart. When I pray to God with all my heart, I will meet God and become a new person every day. I will enjoy peace within myself with God. When each of us is at peace, our community will be at peace. This peace will be linked to God’s plans for a hopeful future.
Meanwhile, what is the enemy that keeps us from meeting God? The enemy is sin. The power of sin is stronger than the power of Babylon. So we cannot escape the captivity of sin by our own strength. Tobacco or alcohol addiction can be broken through human power. But freedom from sin is impossible on our own. Therefore, we must seek and meet God by praying with all our hearts. When we seek and meet God, the power of sin disappears. When we have a personal relationship with God, we are set free from sin. When we are with God, we live in the peace and freedom of the soul that God gives. We live in the grace of God’s kingdom.
Spiritual leaders these days point out the sins of young people seriously. The youth’s sins are lust and love of money. That’s right. This is a sign of the end times prophesied in the Bible (2 Tim 3:1-5). The second-generation missionaries must repent of their sexual sins and love of money. A more important prayer topic than this is for parents to repent of their sins. And we parents must earnestly seek and meet God. We parents should pray as follows. “O Lord, I repent of the worldly lusts and love of money in my heart. Help me to keep the Lord alive in my heart. So help us make a spiritual impact on the second generation.” Likewise, when we parents repent and pray with all our hearts, we will find and meet God. Finding and meeting God is the way to prepare for God’s plans of hope for the future. I have a question. “What are you doing to fulfill God’s hope?” We must pray with all our hearts and meet God in order to fulfill God’s hope. Amen!
Conclusion.
God punished Israel for their sins and sent them captive to Babylon. But God did not end everything in this disaster. God gave them hopeful plans for the future. In other words, God wanted to restore the relationship with Israel and give them a hopeful future. For this, God made them pray to him with all their hearts. We also have to pray to God with all our hearts. By doing so, we want to cleanse our sins, meet God, and get a hopeful future.
Let’s pray together. Heavenly Father, thank you for making us sure of God’s hope through Jeremiah 29. We realize that the difficulties are not disasters but God’s hope. God’s plans of hope for us are sure to come true. Help us not despair in times of difficulties, but to be sure of God’s plans of hope. Our co-workers want to prepare for the Lord’s plan of hope by seeking and meeting God with all our hearts. Please help us always be with the peace and hope that the Lord gives. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen!