Sunday Morning, May 19, 2019 AM Part 1

Let's pray together. Father we thank you for your your great and abiding mercy and love that you have displayed and brought near and given in Christ.

Lord we thank you that you have not left us in the dark, you have not left us to our own means, you have not left us groping about in the fog hoping that one day we will finally bump into whatever it is that is the meaning of our existence.

But you, you who have made us in your image, you have given us your word, and you have given us your

Son Jesus Christ. And I pray that this morning as we look at your word that we would hear from you, that we would hear from Christ, and that by what we hear from you we will live in you and for you.

We ask for the gift of life, we ask for the gift of grace, we ask for all this.

Father we need, we need this like the Israelites needed manna from heaven every day.

Father this is what we need. I pray that you would give us clarity of your truth so that we would live accordingly.

We ask for these mercies looking only for your answer because of Jesus Christ at your right hand, the one with whom you are well pleased.

I pray these things in his name, amen. Well I invite you to open your

Bibles and turn with me to Jeremiah 29. Jeremiah 29, we will be working our way through the first 14 verses.

It may take us a little while. Last time about this year as we got close to Ascension Day and Ascension Sunday, it just seemed fitting that as we thought about Christ our

King enthroned on high and his will and desire for who we are and what we do that we take some time to think clearly and deeply and thoroughly on what it means to be a church.

So we spent some time in Ephesians and I think this time as we look through, it won't be 10 weeks

I don't think, but so this time as we look through Jeremiah, we're gonna stay here in Jeremiah, we won't go far afield, but as we think about what is said in Jeremiah 29 1 through 14,

I see it so practically helpful for us as Christians, as followers of Christ in our particular day and time.

So we'll take some time to understand what's the plan. That's the title of the sermon.

It'll be a sermon series, but what's the plan? And that's the question that we need to not only know the answer to, but it's really the question that we ought to be asking ourselves and one another frequently.

We stay focused, we stay on track. What's the plan? And we're going to be looking at that from Jeremiah 29 1 through 14.

For context, we just finished looking at chapter 28 and look at the high -stakes trading that occurs when we trade out vocabulary, when we give up biblical words for non -biblical words, and the high -stakes trading that that entails.

And the fact that the Scripture tells us that there are no free people.

Scripture tells us that we're all slaves. We're all slaves. It's either we're slaves of sin, slaves of righteousness, slaves of the devil, slaves of Christ.

There really is no middle ground. And the liberty that Christ comes and promises us is the liberation from the bondage to sin and the enslavement to Satan to be set free to serve

Christ, to be a slave of righteousness. There's no no one who is perfectly autonomous and perfectly free.

And so it's high -stakes to trade out one yoke for another. Trade out this yoke. If we're breaking this yoke off our necks, then what is the yoke that we're putting on?

Are we asking those questions? So that's what we just looked at in Jeremiah 28.

Now for Jeremiah 29 and we will eventually get to verse 11 for everybody who came to hear verse 11.

We will get there eventually, but I will drag it out as long as I can so you'll keep coming back.

If you please stand with me I'm going to read the Word of God for us. This is the Word of Christ our King and he would have us hear his will for us.

Jeremiah 29 verses 1 through 14. Now these are the words of the letter which

Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile. The priests, the prophets, and all the people whom

Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after King Jeconiah and the

Queen Mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.

The letter was sent by the hand of Elisha the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hezekiah whom

Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon saying, Thus says the

Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their produce.

Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands that they may bear sons and daughters and multiply there and do not decrease.

Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf for in its welfare you will have welfare.

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you and do not listen to the dreams which they dream for they prophesy falsely to you in my name.

I have not sent them declares the Lord. For thus says the Lord, when 70 years have been completed for Babylon I will visit you and fulfill my good word to you to bring you back to this place.

For I know the plans that I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

I will be found by you declares the Lord. And I will restore your fortunes and I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I've driven you declares the

Lord. And I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.

And this is the reading of the word of the Lord. You may be seated. So what's the plan?

Oh how many times I asked that in about a week and we're always operating in terms of plans.

I'm on probably plan C or D for my garden this year which is typical.

Oh that didn't work I'm gonna try this instead and you know triage on my garden.

We're always changing up just exactly how we raise our children. Not that we're ditching principles or anything but we have to change our plans.

Our plans are constantly changing as our children grow older and mature and our life situation changes and the plan from week to week from even day to day can sometimes change.

When we think about God's plans and ours or God's plan and ours, one of the striking distinctions between the way that God plans and the way that we plan is that he doesn't need an alphabet.

There's not even plan A. It's just the plan. You know as humans we are so impressed with the capability to stick with something despite whirling change.

To see anything or anyone to be able to stick with something despite catastrophic changes around them.

We're very impressed by that. That's why we have the pro bull riding circuit. That a man can stay on a 2 ,000 pound whirling tempest for eight seconds will earn him a million dollars cold hard cash in a $25 ,000 gold belt buckle.

We are so impressed with the capacity to stick with something in the middle of drastic change.

And of course I think God has to chuckle at that. God's plan is so different than ours.

In James 4 13 through 15 we're reminded of this. Come now you who say today or tomorrow we will go to such -and -such a city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

Instead you ought to say if the Lord wills we will live and also do this or that.

If the Lord has so ordained it, if the Lord so provides for it, if the Lord so sustains us in this endeavor, this is how it's going to be.

But it's all according to the will of God. That's important for us to remember.

So when we say what's the plan we're not actually asking for ourselves. Based on the most recent set of circumstances, what's the plan for my family?

What letter of the alphabet are we on? Based on this latest change in the world in which we live, what's the what's the plan for the church?

What plan are we on now? When we say what's the plan, we really should be asking about what's

God's plan for us. And when we ask that, we're not asking for what version of the plan we're on because of all the changes in the world.

We're asking what is it that God has ordained for us to do? What is it that God has planned for us to do?

And since it's God's plan, we know it's not linked up to the alphabet.

It's just the plan. No matter whatever has happening, we need to stick to that plan.

But our tendency is different. When political crises hit, when religious, social, and moral crises hit, we we tend to forget to ask what's the plan in that sense.

We may ask what's the plan in the other sense. How do we fix this? Now this is disastrous.

Now what do we do? Stop that. Saying that to me too.

We need to stop that. We need to look at one another. Watchmen on the wall.

Salt. Light. City on the hill. Pillar and ground of the truth.

The kingdom of priests that Christ has made. We look at one another and we got to say this.

What's the plan? What's the plan? Not what's our plan.

Not what's our next reaction. But what's the plan? Instead of moaning and groaning and setting our hair on fire and dreaming of escape and whistling past the graveyard, we say what's the plan?

And what's the plan? Well we have it here in Jeremiah 29 verses 1 through 14.

It's not the only place that it's there. We can find it other places in the scripture which we will be spending a good deal of time looking out throughout the scriptures.

But the plan is here. And whatever happens we need to stick to the plan. Step one.

Proper assessment. We need to make a proper assessment. Something happens and instead of letting other people tell us what that is, we need to take up the

Word of God and say and make a proper assessment of what that is. That's step one. Make a proper assessment.

And we'll talk about that today. We may finish that step. Step two is long -term obedience. We need to engage in long -term obedience.

Not short -term triage, but long -term obedience. Thirdly, we need to maintain an accurate belief system.

We cannot continually change our beliefs based on what happened yesterday and what people said about what happened yesterday.

We maintain an accurate belief system. And fourthly, we need to hold on to that non -negotiable hope.

So PLAN, proper assessment, long -term obedience, accurate belief system, and non -negotiable hope.

We begin with a proper assessment. Verses 1 through 4. Verses 1 through 4.

Jeremiah knows what's going on. Do we know what's going on? Do we understand the times? Do we really understand the times?

Notice how detailed Jeremiah is. Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah, the prophet, sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile.

The priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after Jeconiah, King Jeconiah, and the

Queen Mother, the court officials, and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem. The letter was sent by the hand of Elisha, the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah, the son of Hilkiah, whom

Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Saying, thus says the

Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Jeremiah understands what's going on. He knows the times. He's very particular.

He's very particular, isn't he? We read verses 1 through 3 and say, who and why are these people being listed for us?

And if you've been reading through Jeremiah, it's about the fourth or fifth time that they've been listed. So if you're reading closely, you may be saying, why are you writing it all out again?

It's helpful to remember that when the Bible was written, it was written to be read out loud, and the people were listening to it would be helped by the repetition, and the repetition was for important details.

And these are important details, because Jeremiah is talking about a particular word to a particular people for a particular situation.

He's listing times and places, dates, names of people. He's being very particular so they can understand what is going on.

Do we understand what is going on? Do we understand the times in which we live? If I were to ask you about current events, how would you describe them?

Who would you talk about? What are the things that stand out to you and that it seemed important in the past month, in the past year, the past decade, past five decades?

Do we understand the times? Do we understand what is going on? First Corinthians 14 verse 20 says, brethren, do not be children in your thinking, yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.

We are called upon as those who follow Christ, as those who are in Christ, that we are called to be mature in our thinking.

Mature in our thinking, not childish. Childish thinking is the kind of thinking that gets moved around from week to week, from day to day, from hour to hour.

Being mature in our thinking means that we have a settled, informed worldview, that we understand what is going on, we understand it through the lens of the

Scriptures. And I say that because the very next thing that Paul says in verse Corinthians 14 verse 20, after he says, in your thinking be mature, he says, in the law it is written.

As he's dealing with a particularly thorny issue in the life of the Corinthian church, he says, you need to be mature in your thinking, and then he says, let's go to the

Word of God. Let's go to the Scripture. So if we're going to be mature in our thinking, if we're going to have a mature, advanced worldview to be able to understand what is going on around us, we need to go to the

Word, understand the times. And I think it's helpful for us to see how particularly the

Scriptures speak. I mean, Proverbs, sometimes folks are so attracted to many of the

Psalms and to the Proverbs because it seems so timeless. And then you run into things about, you know, how to build your vineyard and what you do with your slaves, and then everybody's like, oh no,

I don't want to do that. But we tend to gravitate towards the

Scriptures that seem timeless. Those are the ones that make it on the bumper sticker, like verse 11, that seems so timeless, all on its own, by itself.

It seems, that'll make a great greeting card. I understand it's easy to gravitate towards the

Scriptures to feel like we're connected instantly with those passages, but actually the Bible is always written by a particular person to a particular people at a particular time, and that's good.

The particularity of the Scriptures do not, that does not evacuate its power of application.

It's a good thing that we have all the details, so we know exactly what is going on, and we're not left to guess and to take up a truth of the

Scripture and just apply it however we see fit. But the particulars of the text focus us and restrict our interpretation, so we're not left to the creativity of man,

God forbid. Because we can go far, far afield. First Corinthians chapter 10 verse 11 tells us that the particularity of the

Scripture is for our current application. The things that happened to particular people in a particular time, way back when, and all those little details about them, that that was written to them and for them for our current benefit.

First Corinthians 10 and 11, now these things happened to them, what were they? Judgment of God upon Israel for their sexual immorality and their idolatry.

Now these things happened to them as an example and they were written for our instruction upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

Paul acknowledges times are a bit different now than what they were under Moses.

But what was written to the Israelites and about the Israelites, it's written for us, for our example, that we would be instructed.

And then he moves on to talk about not being arrogant, thinking that we're fine, and then he talks about resisting temptation and all getting a bunch of application and help from looking at the

Old Testament. Hebrews chapter 4 and verses 11 and 12, after the writer to the

Hebrews talks about the example of the disobedient Israelites who didn't enter into the rest of the promised land, he says in verse 11, therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest so that no one will fall through following the same example of disobedience.

So they were an example of disobedience and judgment. Very helpful for us that we would read the

Old Testament passages, even Jeremiah when he's talking about the so -and -so and the so -and -so and the what -for, verses 1 through 3.

And why is it that it's important for us to, why? Because verse 12, for the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two -edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow, able to judge the thoughts and the intentions of the heart.

The Word of God is not a mile -wide sledgehammer. It is a mile -deep, double -edged, precision instrument, a sword.

And the particularity that we have in the Scriptures about this person in this time, in this context, is what keeps the

Word of God so sharp to apply to our lives. When we understand exactly what's going on there, we know exactly what it means for us here and now.

And so, if we're going to stick to the plan, whatever happens, we stick to the plan, we need to make a particular assessment about that.

Now I want to clarify. I originally wrote the sentence, no matter what happens, stick to the plan, but that's a bad idea.

It matters what happens. It's not no matter what happens, because it matters what happens.

And the plan is about everything that is happening. And so, just whatever happens, stick to the plan.

First step of the plan is make a proper assessment, and be particular in our assessments. Now this is something that we can see

Jeremiah doing throughout the last few chapters, in chapters 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29.

Just look at the beginning of each one of those chapters. It's always about a particular time frame, and the things that were going on exactly then.

It's always particular, it's always detailed. And so we are given an example that whatever happens, we need to assess it particularly, precisely.

You know, parenting in broad, punishing sweeps never ends well, right?

There's chaos in a room in your home. You walk in, everybody's in trouble, right?

You were loud, you bothered me, so you all are in trouble. No, assess it particularly, which means you're gonna do it with care, with counsel, and with courage.

If you're going to this, whatever happens, make a proper assessment by assessing it particularly, and that means with care.

Do you care about people? Do you care about people? Okay, so when you are dealing with a person, there may be some things in their life that you have a feel for the general theme of what that is, but don't start taking up your experiences and the history of examples that you know of, and taking that up and just saying, oh

I know how to deal with this, here, here's a big bucket of cold water because that worked one time with these other people.

No, we assess it particularly with care. What exactly is going on with this person?

What exactly is going on with my relative, with my cousin, with my aunt?

What is going on with my spouse? What is going on with my children? Doing so with care, assessing it particularly, that you may take the counsel of the

Word of God to their lives. You need to know what's going on in their lives to be able to counsel them with the

Word of God. Whatever happens, stick to the plan, the plan is to make a proper assessment of what is going on, and particularly using the

Word of God to counsel. Psalm 19, 7 through 12, the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the

Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true, they are righteous altogether.

They are more desirable than gold, yes, much fine gold, sweeter also than honey, and the drippings of the honeycomb.

What do we need as those who are made in the image of God? We need the Word of God. Moreover, by them your servant is warned, and keeping them there is great reward.

Here's a good question, verse 12, who can discern his errors?

Hmm, who can discern his errors? I can't, I can't.

How do I, how do I, how can I, all by my own, all on my own, how can I discern my errors?

How can I tell whether I'm right or wrong? How can I tell if I'm doing good or doing evil?

How do I even know? How can I discern not just even the the big questions but the subtleties?

How do I know if I'm making an error? How do I know if I'm making a mistake? And he says, acquit me of hidden faults.

We need the Word of God. We need the Word of God to be particular, precise, getting into the the nitty -gritty of our lives to show us who we are and what is really going on.

And doing so will take courage, doing so will take courage. The more general you are in your language, the more sweeping you are with your words, the broader you are, the less trouble you're going to get into, sometimes.

If you say, well, you know, you get really precise, you're really careful with your language about one particular issue, and chances are it would be called somebody who is intolerant or hateful or being judgmental.

But yet we hear the language of the psalmist, how excited he is to have the

Word of God assess him down to his errors and his hidden faults. This is exactly what we need to understand what is going on.

Whatever happens, stick to the plan, make a proper assessment, being particular in that, and peculiar. Jeremiah is a very peculiar way of interpreting history, a very interesting way.

Notice he's speaking for the Lord, he says in verse 4, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom

I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. So what happened was that Babylon, as a world empire, grew stronger and stronger.

They were once paying tribute to other world powers, but then they grew so strong they decided to stop paying that tribute, and they wanted to be the ones who were collecting it.

So they went to war, and they defeated all their enemies, the major world powers.

They were on the top now, they were the world's superpower, and they began to proceed to bring into subjection all the other smaller city -states and world powers in their area to collect tribute from them.

This is what you do when you're the world empire, that's what's going on.

And Judah just happens to be one of those small little nations with not enough troops to say no to the

Babylonians. Although one of their kings did try to say no, and it went very poorly. And the king who came after him reigned for three months, and when the

Babylonians showed up with all their armies, he promptly surrendered with the cream of the crop out of Jerusalem, and they all went into exile.

And the next king after him was a puppet king, and he was supposed to be there to make sure the tribute got paid on time, but then he ended up rebelling,

Zedekiah, and then comes the destruction of Jerusalem. And that's what's going on in the history books.

That's what's going on in the history books. But what's going on from God's perspective?

What's going on from God's perspective is that his people have been unfaithful, sinful, immoral, idolatrous.

He has been sending them prophet after prophet after prophet to remind them of the things that he told them, calling them to repentance, calling them to turn back to the

Lord to prove how merciful he is, and they would not repent, and they would not turn away.

And so God keeps his promises that he made throughout books like Deuteronomy, and he brings a sword of judgment against them.

And so really, it's God. Really, it's God who is judging

Judah. It's God who has empowered Babylon. It's God who has given all things to the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.

And that's the way Jeremiah is reading history. Exile, this exile that occurred was God's judgment. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, is just God's servant doing what

God wanted him to do all along. And that's the way that Jeremiah is reading history. And why does he read history this way?

Why is chapter 24 of Jeremiah we read that those who were taken away to Babylon were like a basket of good figs, and those who were left behind were like a basket of bad figs?

And God is making these distinctions of grace between those in exile and those who remain. In chapter 25 and 27, we were told that Nebuchadnezzar is

God's servant. We read that the nations under the judgment of God, who are being conquered by Babylon, are drinking the cup of God's wrath.

That as Babylon sweeps across their nation and they're destroyed, that what is actually happening is they're drinking the cup of God's wrath.

So Jeremiah, he's talking about history, but he's talking about it awfully peculiarly. He's not talking about it as if it were a secular history.

He's talking about it in terms of what God is doing in the world. And why does he do that?

Because God is in charge. Because God is sovereign. As we read earlier in Proverbs 21, the heart, the king's heart, is like rivers of water in the hand of God.

He just turns it whichever way he wishes. That's why Jeremiah is reading the history that way.

Because God is sovereign, even over evil. Joseph says in Genesis 50 verse 20 to his brothers who betrayed him and, you know, tried to have him killed and all this, he says, as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.

And what the brothers had tried to do to be evil towards Joseph, God turned that to good and used Joseph to preserve many, many people alive despite the famine, including the ancestors of Christ.

God is sovereign over the world affairs and the judgments that occur. You remember the story of Elisha and his servant as they were in the city of Dothan, and they were surrounded by the enemies of Israel, and they were very angry with this prophet.

They wanted to kill this prophet, and Elisha's servant is despairing. And then Elisha prayed and said, oh

Lord, I pray open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he saw behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Servants saying to Elisha, Elisha, we're surrounded. And he says, we're not the only ones who are surrounded.

They're surrounded too. The perspective of God being in charge of all things.

Isaiah 46, 9 through 11, God says, remember the former things long past, for I am God and there is no other.

I am God and there is no one like me. Listen to what he does. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not yet been done, saying my purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all my good pleasure.

Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my purpose from a far country, truly I have spoken, truly I will bring it to pass.

I have planned it, surely I will do it. And that's the way that we make a proper assessment.

Something happened yesterday, last week, last month, and we're being told from all sorts of sources what it was that happened.

But when we make a proper assessment and identify what actually happened, we have to do so remembering who is on the throne, and who is in charge of the whole thing.

Whatever happens, assess it peculiarly. Let's be very peculiar in the way that we talk about what happened yesterday, and last week.

Let's be the odd voice in the room. Be very peculiar about how we talk about what in the world is going on.

I remember I was in seminary early on, and the professor was sick, and so they found some

PhD student to fill in. He came in, and he was fresh off of a lesson, and he was

Church history, and he was explaining to us how not to do history, saying that when we do history we have to be very remote and distant, and we should never bring

God into the story of history, because that's not a very good discipline. That's not how you actually do history well.

And he got everybody confused, and it was not a great class.

But I've thought about that. What an awful thing to say. Try to live by. Don't bring God into the history books, because that's a bad way to do history.

It's a bad way to understand history, that's for sure, to leave God out of it. How are we to assess things peculiarly, and why do we do that?

Well, we have to do it as those who are chosen. The King James has a great way of saying this, but I'm going to read it in the

New American Standard first. 1 Peter 2 9, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.

Now who's Peter writing to? Christians, members of the church, born -again people.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession.

And that, in the King James, a peculiar people. A peculiar people, a specially -named, set -aside kind of people.

So that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. And if you've been called out of darkness into his marvelous light, and something happens, all peculiar people talk about it how it actually happened.

What just happened? Well, God is on his throne, and he saw fit to display the folly of man by, here it is, this is what happened, assess it peculiarly.

It's always going to be a contrast to what we're being told is actually happening, but in fact, the story we're going to be telling is going to be something that seems like it's against what is actually happening, but it actually is what's happening.

In verses 8 and 9, we're reminded that the false prophets are going to be saying things that are opposite to what the

Word of God says. And in fact, when we get to verses 15 through 32, there is, in essence, a blog war going on between Jeremiah and some false prophets in verses 15 through 32, and they're going hammer and tongs back and forth.

And these guys have a version of what's going on, and Jeremiah has a different version, and they're both calling each other wrong and using some very, you know, strike at the knees kind of tactics.

But there's going to be opposition, there's going to be opposite understandings of what is going on.

So it's going to be some contrast. If we're going to interpret the events and the things going on, whatever happens, stick to the plan, assess it peculiarly.

And the best way to do that is to pay attention to Christ. Whatever happens, it's related to Christ.

Whatever happens, it's related to Christ. Whatever happens, it's related to Christ. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together, says

Colossians 117. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

There's nothing happening in this world today that Christ is not sovereign over and sustaining and upholding.

Whatever's happening is happening, it's related to Christ. What's the date?

Anybody shout it out, what's the date? May 19th what?

2019 what? A .D. A .D.

Anno Domini. Anno Domini.

A .D. That's shortened. That's the shortened version.

Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi. That's the actual name.

It is in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2019.

This is the 2019th year of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Whatever is happening, it's related to Christ. Let's be peculiar in the way that we interpret what is going on, assess what's going on.

Let's be prophetic. Let's be prophetic. This is what Jeremiah is doing time and again.

What does it mean to be prophetic? It's not only about what will come, it's also about the is and the ought.

The idea of being prophetic is to say, this is what is. This is what is going on.

I'm making a proper assessment, being very particular about what is happening. So that's the is. Being peculiar has to do with relating all things to Christ and saying things from his point of view, so that will lead us towards the ought.

This is the way things are, this is the way things ought to be. And then also saying what shall be, because the is and the ought only mesh together when we're thinking about what will be.

We're on a highway, that's the is. There's the signs along the highway, the ought, how things ought to be done, and there's a horizon ahead of us where we're headed.

That's the prophetic way of assessing things. Jeremiah is constantly weighing the turmoil of his day against the is and the ought and the shall be.

He's always weighing things against God's law and the promises of judgment and the hope of the

Messiah. I mean, how else are we going to know what we actually have? I mean, how are we going to know what we have?

How do you hang a picture level? Well, you can just, you know, you're up against the wall, so that's problem number one.

You're trying to put this big picture on the wall and you don't know if it's level or not. You don't know if it's off -center from the wall or not.

You think that's a good spot, but by the time you get up there, you're not sure if it's exactly what you're supposed to do. So what do you do?

Well, you could use a tape measure and measure off from all the sides, and you can see if that, and then make it level, and you hope that your house is level at the same time.

And you can also use a level. Just put the level on the top, but then you don't know if it's centered or not, but at least you know if it's level or not.

Just use that big long level up there, and then you don't even know if it looks good, so you have to have somebody else behind you telling you, this way, this way, this way, this way, tilt it.

I mean, it takes a lot to hang a level picture, tape measure, level, distant perspective. How do we know what we actually have?

What just happened? What just happened? How do we understand what happened yesterday? What happened last week?

What happened a month, a month ago? How do we understand? Well, we have to use, we have to assess things in the prophetic way.

In the prophetic way. Assess it prophetically. The is, and the ought, and the shall be.

Laying things against the Word of God to see what it actually is. When I say assess things prophetically, that doesn't mean something happened in the news two or three months ago, and now

I know who Gog and Magog are, you know. No, that's not what I mean.

Here's a good passage, Colossians. Let's go to Colossians 3. Now, Paul has just said a lot in chapter, at the end of chapter 2, about how not to do religion, okay.

How not to be holy. It is not caught up in the elementary principles of the world, he says.

So here's what he says in Colossians 3, 1 through 4. This is the prophetic way to assess everything.

Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. So you have the is.

You are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. You are where Christ is, at the right hand of God.

By faith, you are seated with him. You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ.

That's the is. Here's the ought. You ought to keep seeking the things above.

You ought to set your mind on things above. And here's the shall be. Christ will be revealed, and you will be revealed with him in glory.

The is, and the ought, and the shall be. Colossians 3, 1 through 4 is a great passage to use, one of many, to make a prophetic assessment of what just happened.

And if you think that means, well, we shouldn't pay attention to anything that happens around us, because it says to keep your mind on things above, not things on here on the earth.

Context. He just said the way to be holy, and the way to be spiritual, is not to go on a diet and pursue this mystical course of stretching.

He says, keep your eyes on Christ. And then, that makes a huge impact on what happens in the world around you.

Because verses 5 through 11, and even further, really, 5 through the rest of the book, the rest of the letter, is all about how things then play out here on earth.

Some people are not heavenly minded enough to be any earthly good.

It is only when we are heavenly minded that we are of earthly good. It makes a difference about how we treat others.

Verses 5 through 11. It deters the sin in our lives, and we're focused upon Christ, and following after Christ.

There's a renewal that occurs as we as we look at Christ in his word.

We will look like him in the world, and there's going to be this great impact in our lives, even down to how wives treat their husbands, and husbands treat their wives.

Verses 18 and 19. How children and parents relate. Verses 20 through 21. How slaves and masters relate.

Verses 22 through chapter 4, verse 2. How we relate to one another in the local church, and then different churches, and the way that you conduct yourself to outsiders, and how you restore those who are against each other.

And everything matters. So everything in life, whatever we're about, all the relationships we have, whatever we're called to do, how do we know what that is?

How do we know what we're supposed to be doing? How do we know? Unless we make a proper assessment. Proper assessment.

To be particular, peculiar, prophetic, and programmatic. Which you lead into next week.

Lord willing. Lord willing. Programmatic. Look, it does no good, it does no good to make a proper assessment and sit on it.

Well, I know what happened now. I've properly assessed what it was that this person said to me, or did to me, or I've properly assessed what happened in the news yesterday.

I've properly assessed what's been going on the last 10 years. I have made a proper assessment. It does no good to make that assessment and sit on it.

Because what we see in Jeremiah 29, 1 through 4, is that we're given the situation in the particular details.

We are told what's actually going on. It's God. It's God at work bringing the judgment of the exile.

We're also told that all of this is set within a context of their disobedience, for their need to repent, and then

God's going to be restoring them in 70 years. It's set within that prophetic context. All the proper assessment is there.

And then there are some instructions. Therefore, go do this. And so any proper assessment that we make has to be set within the program.

What are we supposed to be doing now? If we understand this, then how shall we live?

James says, "...prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in the mirror.

For once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer, but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does."

Meaning, step one is to make a proper assessment. But don't stop. There's no blessing in making a proper assessment and sitting on it.

Once you have rightly assessed what is going on in your home, in your heart, what is going on in the world around you, by the

Word of God, you make that proper assessment, you're only blessed if you follow through. You're only blessed if you follow through.

And we're going to talk about that in long -term obedience. But first, I'm reminded of a particular odd part of the scripture in 1

Chronicles 12. 1 Chronicles 12 and verse 23, we read that, "...now these are the numbers of the divisions equipped for war, who came to David at Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the

Lord." A little story about how most of the tribes were moving their loyalty from Saul to David, and this is through the process of a long and bloody civil war.

Now, verse 32 says this, "...of the sons of Issachar," a tribe, a tribe in Israel, the sons, a clan in Israel, "...of

the sons of Issachar, men who understand the times."

Men who understood the times. The sons of Issachar were those who understood the times. Now listen, "...with

knowledge of what Israel should do." Okay, so it's not just understanding the times, but it's also then understanding what it is that we ought to do.

"...and they with their chiefs of 200 and all their kinsmen were at the command." And there's a special note at verse 40, "...moreover

those who were near to them even as far as Issachar." Issachar was a long ways away from the center of Israel.

They were a long ways away. They were on the fringes, but they knew the times, and they knew what they needed to do.

"...they along with Zebedee and the Naphtali brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and on oxen, great quantities of flour cakes, fig cakes, and bunches of raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep."

Because they were going to come make David king. They knew this is the time. David is king, and they're going to come, and they're going to celebrate that, and bring themselves in subjection and obedience to David the king.

And here's the final note, First Chronicles 1240, "...there was joy indeed in Israel."

Man, when you know the times, and you know what it is to do, who is king, and how we ought to worship him, and you put yourself into that task, oh there's joy.

Oh there's joy. So, whatever happens, stick to the plan.

Stick to the plan. The first step of the plan is this, make a proper assessment. Don't let the

TV tell you what happened. Don't let the Internet tell you what happened. Don't let your friend's friend at work tell you what happened.

Go to the Scriptures to find out what happened. Assess what happened according to the Word of God.

And that's step one of the plan. Let's go to Lord in prayer.

Father, I thank you for our time in your Word. I pray that you would help us to be right thinkers, that we would be mature in our thinking, and go to the

Word, and that we would make a right assessment, make a proper assessment, and that this would lead us into the joy of obeying

Christ. The joy of obeying Christ. Lord, we we need that, we desire that.

Please help us to be faithful and zealous in bringing every aspect of our lives into the scrutiny of your