Investing in God's Future
Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 (NIV)
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.
3Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do?
Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’
8“Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’
“I knew that this was the word of the Lord; 9so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. 10I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy— 12and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.
13“In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 15For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’
Message: Investing in God's Future
Jeremiah buys land
Jeremiah was a colourful prophet
Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations - he was not scared to express his emotions and pain
And reading the book of Lamentations, there’s a good chance that this prophet suffered from depression (similar to Elijah)
Being a prophet was not an easy calling
One of my favourite Christian authors, Eugene Peterson (The Message) wrote a book about Jeremiah: “Run with the Horses”
In Jeremiah 12:5, God says to the prophet, "If you're worn out in this footrace with men, what makes you think you can race against horses?"
He was a prophet in one of the darkest times in the history of the people of God
They were under siege from the Babylonians - death was at the door (think Gaza or Ukraine)
He had to bring the message from God to people who lived in fear and uncertainty
Everything they were used to was under threat
Their way of living was being challenged
Jeremiah was already in trouble with Zedekiah for prophesying in the way he did
And in the midst of all this going on, God tells Jeremiah to buy land
Who wants to buy land that is under siege?
No one wants to invest in land that is about the be conquered and taken
Everyone thinks Jeremiah is crazy
But he goes through with it, because there is a message from God
At the end of the day, it is what a prophet is supposed to do, isn't it?
To bring a message to people who are caught up in circumstances that prevent them from seeing what God is doing
In the perceived craziness of Jeremiah’s act of buying land, God is bringing a message to his people:
There’s hope!
This is not the end!
There is more to come!
Don’t give up!
And actions speak louder than words - Jeremiah’s most powerful prophecy comes through action!
Investing in God’s Future
Now there’s a prophecy for us today!
Today is Presbyterians Sharing Sunday - a day when we remember that we belong to a greater denomination and contribute to the work of a denomination that makes a difference in this world, despite all the reports of the serious decline of mainline churches
Today is also reconciliation Sunday - a day to reflect on the sad history of our involvement in residential schools and think of how God is calling us to be part of the future where the wrongs of the past can be corrected
Today is a day of mixed emotions in our newly formed congregation, as there is sadness in the final service being held in Holstein this afternoon - with all the excitement of a newly amalgamated church, there is the difficult ceremony of letting go of the way things were
And in the midst of all this going on, there’s the message of Jeremiah buying land!
A message of investing in God’s future despite the odds!
A message from God reminding us that there is a future despite the bleak outlook we see
A message of hope despite everything that is going on around us
And a strong reminder to all of us that actions speak louder than words
Let us not dig into all the negative talk of our time… decline of the church, how God’s message is being distorted by politics, all the us and them talk we here…
Let us do something meaningful
Let us turn our minds to the future and ask God to lead us into the future
Let us change our focus from maintaining to growing
Let us refuse to get stuck in our circumstances
It’s time for action!
I believe God is calling us to lift our minds and invest in the future, despite the odds
I believe God is reminding us:
There’s hope!
This is not the end!
There is more to come!
Don’t give up!
Let us then respond by investing in God’s future!
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