Oh The Places . . ., Jeremiah 29:10-14, 06/22/14

Sermon  6-22-2014   Oh the Places... Jeremiah 29:10-14 NI

 ¹⁰ This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 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. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.  I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

This is the last stand alone sermon

Next week a new series……..neglected virtues

Context of this passage

A promise claimed by Christians……..its about me

Or an invitation to find Gods plan

Prosper in god's economy is never about finding money, its always about finding God

In fact, Christ followers are are not promised a rose garden.

²⁹ For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,

Phil 1:29

The scripture reminds us over and over that God has ideas that are bigger than ours

James-4:13-17

¹³ Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

It's not about guilt its about god having a plan

Parable of the talents.

God had a plan

We never asked what it was.

Its Not about guilt. Its about god having a plan.

Its about potential

The world crushes us down – it tells us not to dream

We believe we are no longer artists.

The spirit seeks to lift us up

I suggest to you that this passage from Jeremiah is not a promise that we can claim for our own agenda but that it is god telling us he has a plan

And so the question, What is gods plan?

Adam Phillips wrote a book called missing out

he speaks of the lives that we never lived, only wished that we had lived

Socrates said, the unexamined life is not worth living
Adam Phillips asks the question…….is the unlived life worth examining

what if it’s not about the plans you want god to have for you
what if it is about the plans that god does have for you
and you will never know what they are until you let go of your agenda for your life and follow him

Christianity is not simply thought
Christianity is lived
what if there is something more out there for you? 

Going from Nazareth to Jerusalem ‘at least’ three times a year for feasts from the age of 5 till the age 30. This is 240 miles 3 x 240 miles, which is 720 miles/year  720 x 25 years = 18,000 miles 18,000 miles: Jesus walked from Nazareth to Jerusalem And return by age 30. * 3,125 miles: 3 year public Ministry. * Grand Total Miles -21,525

you are not too old, you are not too young, it is not too late, you are not too big of a sinner.
if you are still alive, there is something for you to do

what are your dreams
what are god's dreams for you?  for this church
I have a glimpse of the unrealized potential of this congregation.  Dare I say that god is ready to work in and thru us in ways that we have not yet known.

What would Jesus do?

What did Jesus do
he went- how many miles?

We are not

If you are going to follow Jesus you better get ready to go

He is on the move

What is our life mission?

Mission- what we are about

Must be talked about from time to time

If we forget gods plans we fall back quickly to our own

Vision leaks

Ford f-150 ac leak

Mission statement

Who are we

What are we about

Connecting people to Jesus Christ

Points people back to Jesus

Connecting = no formula

Why- it’s the best life.  It is our hope

If a vision is how you live out your mission, we talk about vision- invite, grow, send

When I get a chance to talk to new pastors or anyone about healthy churches

Love the people

Preach good sermons

Set a course

Three crosses – tom bales - Joe mcmurtrey

Build a team

Work like a dog

If you have found a time of pain in life.  Then rest.  But once you are healed, get ready to go.  Prepare to be deployed for the sake of christ.

There is something for everyone to do

you are not too old, you are not too young, it is not too late, you are not too big of a sinner.
if you are still alive, there is something for you to do

Volunteer at the cancer center –

Join the prayer chain

Sanctuary angels

Send notes of encouragement

Help w funeral meals
 

its been an interesting last few years

Worship center

new mission building
Raytown campus
pastor Shawn is being deployed

Stacy Williams - Branson, mike Scott – Raytown, Steve Elkins

Others staff have been invited

I have a question- who will stand in the gap?

is there someone else here
inside your soul there is something burning that says,
I want to be in mission
I want to love others
I want to be a pastor - Are you called to ministry?

If that is not for you, that is ok.  You know inside.

But the question remains for all of us……

What new missions will we find ourselves in if we follow Jesus

What new people will rise to lead them
I cant be involved in them all, I cant even know about them all

Jesus is going somewhere
what about you? 
will you consider gods plan for your life? As it pertains to this church?

Don’t let any part of your life go unlived

You can't do everything- but you can do something. 

Lives are lived by all who breathe. 

Lives are changed by those who dare to be used by god.

Would you dare to be one of those?.