WEBVTT 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:12.400 Hey everyone, this is Charlie from Encounter 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:15.080 Church Henley and thanks so much for tuning into 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:18.440 our podcast. Our prayer is that through this 00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:20.760 podcast, you can have an encounter with Jesus 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:23.719 that will change your life. And now get ready 00:00:23.719 --> 00:00:26.199 for an inspiring message from our preaching team. 00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:32.000 Welcome to Encounter Henley. If it's your 100th 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:34.500 time here or your first time here, it's great 00:00:34.500 --> 00:00:37.060 to have you with us. My name is Angus. I'm part 00:00:37.060 --> 00:00:40.119 of the team here. I'm very privileged and honoured 00:00:40.119 --> 00:00:43.520 to be bringing the word this afternoon. So if 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:45.719 you are new, if you are visiting and a special 00:00:45.719 --> 00:00:47.619 warm welcome for you, stick around afterwards 00:00:47.619 --> 00:00:51.920 for free coffee and chats. We'd love to get to 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:56.619 know you better. Before I start, I'd like to 00:00:56.619 --> 00:01:09.109 pray. God, we declare you as king. We declare 00:01:09.109 --> 00:01:11.049 you sovereign over this place and sovereign over 00:01:11.049 --> 00:01:16.769 this world. Father, I pray that as I speak, it 00:01:16.769 --> 00:01:19.849 would be your truth. It would be your words. 00:01:20.790 --> 00:01:24.849 It would be your power. Father, let me just be 00:01:24.849 --> 00:01:26.829 a vessel for what you want to say and how you 00:01:26.829 --> 00:01:30.069 want to move in this place this afternoon. We 00:01:30.069 --> 00:01:32.590 thank you for your great love. We thank you that 00:01:32.590 --> 00:01:36.659 your spirit is here. We thank you that you're 00:01:36.659 --> 00:01:40.840 a God that comes alongside us. You're not absent. 00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:43.719 Father, you are here right now. You want to speak. 00:01:43.780 --> 00:01:48.099 You want to move. You are speaking and you are 00:01:48.099 --> 00:01:53.299 moving. Help us to be open to what you want to 00:01:53.299 --> 00:01:58.920 say to us today. In your name. Amen. And more 00:01:58.920 --> 00:02:01.340 beautiful. Today we are kicking off a brand new 00:02:01.340 --> 00:02:05.400 series. The series is called Quotable. This side 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:10.400 feels better. The Bible is a big book and within 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:14.500 that big book are lots of verses and some of 00:02:14.500 --> 00:02:18.340 them are more memorable than others. There's 00:02:18.340 --> 00:02:21.379 plenty of great ones and they hold a lot of meaning 00:02:21.379 --> 00:02:25.319 for us. If you've ever been to Kurung before 00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:26.840 you would have seen a whole bunch of different 00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:29.479 knickknacks with various Bible verses on them. 00:02:29.580 --> 00:02:33.819 You know like tea towels, coffee mugs. wall pieces 00:02:33.819 --> 00:02:35.939 that you can hang up. If your grandparents are 00:02:35.939 --> 00:02:37.699 Christian you've probably seen some in the toilet. 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:43.379 My grandma's got quite a few. But there's a reason 00:02:43.379 --> 00:02:46.180 that these verses have become so famous, memorable 00:02:46.180 --> 00:02:50.259 and cliché. They're often encouraging, they can 00:02:50.259 --> 00:02:53.180 be warm and they can be a comfort to us when 00:02:53.180 --> 00:02:54.979 we're stressed or perhaps going through the wringer 00:02:54.979 --> 00:02:57.520 a little bit. And while none of this is bad and 00:02:57.520 --> 00:02:59.580 it's great that these verses can remind us of 00:02:59.580 --> 00:03:02.770 some awesome parts of God's Word. It's also pretty 00:03:02.770 --> 00:03:05.110 common for some of these to be taken out of context 00:03:05.110 --> 00:03:08.710 and given new meanings to us in 2026 that perhaps 00:03:08.710 --> 00:03:11.090 could be quite different to what God and the 00:03:11.090 --> 00:03:13.469 original authors meant when it was first written. 00:03:14.810 --> 00:03:16.770 On some cases it can be pretty harmless if you 00:03:16.770 --> 00:03:19.490 don't think about it too much. On occasion it 00:03:19.490 --> 00:03:22.270 can actually be pretty damaging because when 00:03:22.270 --> 00:03:24.509 we take Bible verses out of context and we start 00:03:24.509 --> 00:03:28.129 applying them to our lives we can start to believe 00:03:28.129 --> 00:03:31.360 things that might not necessarily be true. We 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:33.439 can start to hold God to promises that He actually 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:36.479 never made to us, which when we're faced with 00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:39.639 hardship can lead to crisis and a dismemberment 00:03:39.639 --> 00:03:43.199 of our faith. Now don't misunderstand me. Kuroong 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:46.840 is great. I love Kuroong. Tim loves Kuroong. 00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:50.460 And no object is inherently evil just because 00:03:50.460 --> 00:03:52.539 it has an out -of -context Bible verse on it. 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:55.740 All I'm saying is that context is important and 00:03:55.740 --> 00:03:57.840 it's important for us to understand the world 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:01.379 behind the Bible verses so that we can gain a 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:04.219 fuller, more complete understanding of it and 00:04:04.219 --> 00:04:06.840 apply it to our lives properly. When we look 00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:09.379 at some of these famous Bible verses, it's important 00:04:09.379 --> 00:04:11.460 for us to actually understand what they actually 00:04:11.460 --> 00:04:14.759 mean. Are you with me? Three people are with 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:17.759 me. Are you with me? Yes, there we go, that's 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:19.980 better. So to start us off, I'm going to be pulling 00:04:19.980 --> 00:04:23.439 apart a very famous verse, Jeremiah chapter 29 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:27.730 verse 11. Now I actually saw an NBA player post 00:04:27.730 --> 00:04:29.610 this on his story the other day when he got traded 00:04:29.610 --> 00:04:34.269 and so I'm like oh man he should come to church 00:04:34.269 --> 00:04:37.509 this Sunday if he's posting it he probably you 00:04:37.509 --> 00:04:40.370 might be I don't know anyway this is where the 00:04:40.370 --> 00:04:43.410 verse says for I know the plans I have for you 00:04:43.410 --> 00:04:46.209 declares the Lord plans to prosper you and not 00:04:46.209 --> 00:04:49.829 to harm you plans to give you hope and a future 00:04:49.829 --> 00:04:53.610 I have the great joy of working as a school chaplain 00:04:53.610 --> 00:04:56.269 at Blake's Crossing Christian College I absolutely 00:04:56.269 --> 00:04:59.050 love my job and I love coming alongside young 00:04:59.050 --> 00:05:00.910 people and working with them through the challenges 00:05:00.910 --> 00:05:04.029 they face in life. I spend a lot of time with 00:05:04.029 --> 00:05:06.589 teenagers as a result of this and the thing about 00:05:06.589 --> 00:05:08.689 teenagers is that they're always looking for 00:05:08.689 --> 00:05:11.029 purpose and they're always looking for meaning. 00:05:11.589 --> 00:05:15.069 They're always trying to ask and understand what 00:05:15.069 --> 00:05:17.769 was happening in my life. Why is this happening? 00:05:17.829 --> 00:05:19.829 What am I aiming for? What am I striving for? 00:05:20.310 --> 00:05:22.449 And this isn't just reserved for teenagers, you 00:05:22.449 --> 00:05:25.100 know, we all have these questions at times. as 00:05:25.100 --> 00:05:28.120 young adults and going into older parts of life 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:34.720 that I haven't reached yet. Texas Earth. Sorry, 00:05:35.319 --> 00:05:42.720 man. Just catching strays. Yeah, that was pretty 00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:47.600 targeted. Sorry, mate. But as a result of the 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:50.160 nature of my job, back on track now, working 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:53.620 with teenagers, asking these questions... This 00:05:53.620 --> 00:05:56.459 verse from Jeremiah comes up quite a lot and 00:05:56.459 --> 00:05:58.740 I've been guilty of using it out of context as 00:05:58.740 --> 00:06:01.879 well You know a lot of the staff speak this over 00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:04.480 the students at assemblies and grab gatherings, 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:07.300 you know And we're all guilty of taking it out 00:06:07.300 --> 00:06:11.959 of context It is hammered into the kids at the 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:14.079 school that God has a purpose and a plan for 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:18.279 their life and it's true He does he has a plan 00:06:18.279 --> 00:06:21.079 and a purpose for their life But what we often 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:23.579 gloss over or ignore completely is the context 00:06:23.579 --> 00:06:25.939 into which this verse was written, which is actually 00:06:25.939 --> 00:06:29.240 pretty different. Without the context, it can 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:32.420 be super easy for us to read this verse and think 00:06:32.420 --> 00:06:34.480 that it means that God has guaranteed us personal 00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:37.959 success. God has a plan for our lives and we'll 00:06:37.959 --> 00:06:40.680 prosper. That means good things are gonna happen, 00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:43.839 right? We'll be successful. Yeah, we might fail 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:46.339 at times, but at the end of the day, we'll succeed. 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:51.209 God's got us. Things will be fine. We can think 00:06:51.209 --> 00:06:53.110 it means that life will work out the way it's 00:06:53.110 --> 00:06:55.449 supposed to. Or maybe the way that we want it 00:06:55.449 --> 00:06:57.850 to. We don't need to worry because God's got 00:06:57.850 --> 00:07:00.589 us in His hands. He has our best interests at 00:07:00.589 --> 00:07:03.009 heart. Everything will work out just fine. God 00:07:03.009 --> 00:07:07.269 has good plans for me. Sometimes we can take 00:07:07.269 --> 00:07:09.250 it to mean that by trusting God we'll be protected 00:07:09.250 --> 00:07:12.850 from suffering. God's got our backs. He wants 00:07:12.850 --> 00:07:15.290 to prosper me. He has plans for me and my future. 00:07:16.050 --> 00:07:18.430 Plans not to harm me. That's what the verse says, 00:07:18.470 --> 00:07:21.079 plans not to harm me. There's no way things will 00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:23.040 go badly. There's no way that I'll be hurt. There's 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:25.259 no way I'll experience suffering because I've 00:07:25.259 --> 00:07:30.259 got God on my side. These thoughts are very comforting 00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:36.060 for us, right? But they're also not true. This 00:07:36.060 --> 00:07:37.899 verse is not a love letter from God promising 00:07:37.899 --> 00:07:41.660 us a life free from suffering. It's not a promise 00:07:41.660 --> 00:07:44.399 that everything will be okay all the time. We 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:46.720 need to remember that this passage was not written 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:50.569 to us today in 2026. We can read it and we can 00:07:50.569 --> 00:07:52.050 understand it and we can apply the meaning to 00:07:52.050 --> 00:07:56.069 our lives, but we aren't the original audience 00:07:56.069 --> 00:07:59.230 that it was written for. It wasn't written to 00:07:59.230 --> 00:08:00.949 a 16 -year -old high school student trying to 00:08:00.949 --> 00:08:03.509 figure out what they want to do in life. It wasn't 00:08:03.509 --> 00:08:05.370 written to us as a comfort when we feel like 00:08:05.370 --> 00:08:08.970 we're stagnant or unsure of ourselves. It was 00:08:08.970 --> 00:08:11.509 written for Israelites who have been exiled out 00:08:11.509 --> 00:08:15.290 of their home. A people who had their homeland 00:08:15.290 --> 00:08:19.120 invaded were removed from their houses and forced 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:20.860 to live in a foreign land under an oppressive 00:08:20.860 --> 00:08:23.759 regime government, away from the promised land 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:27.519 that God had given to them. Have you guys experienced 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:31.579 that? I haven't. It's pretty different to what 00:08:31.579 --> 00:08:35.000 we have to go through, right? When we look at 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:37.919 the verse with this context in mind, suddenly 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:41.879 the meaning shifts. It can mean something slightly 00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:46.059 different. The book of Jeremiah was written by 00:08:46.059 --> 00:08:48.750 Jeremiah. He was a prophet in the Old Testament. 00:08:49.190 --> 00:08:51.409 And this verse is just a small snippet taken 00:08:51.409 --> 00:08:54.490 out of a letter that Jeremiah wrote to the exiled 00:08:54.490 --> 00:08:58.190 Israelite people. Exile is an ongoing theme in 00:08:58.190 --> 00:09:00.029 the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament. 00:09:00.570 --> 00:09:02.610 We don't really hear much about people going 00:09:02.610 --> 00:09:05.830 into exile today, but it happened all the time 00:09:05.830 --> 00:09:09.990 back in the day. Going into exile is more than 00:09:09.990 --> 00:09:13.320 just being kicked out of your home, though. The 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:15.759 Israelite people had a deep connection to the 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:18.740 land that they lived in. It was promised to them 00:09:18.740 --> 00:09:21.879 by God and it's central to who they are as a 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:24.399 people and it was central to their identity. 00:09:26.700 --> 00:09:29.779 We read about in the book of Exodus when God 00:09:29.779 --> 00:09:32.980 uses Moses to lead the Israelites out of exile 00:09:32.980 --> 00:09:36.860 in Egypt and into the promised land. A promise 00:09:36.860 --> 00:09:41.320 God made to his people was fulfilled. The story 00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:44.759 This story is about God showing his faithfulness 00:09:44.759 --> 00:09:48.080 to his people. It's symbolic of new life and 00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:53.360 creation and restoration. Fast forward a few 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:57.799 generations to where we are now in Jeremiah and 00:09:57.799 --> 00:10:01.100 the Israelites are back in exile, torn from their 00:10:01.100 --> 00:10:02.899 inheritance and the promise that was made to 00:10:02.899 --> 00:10:05.539 them due to falling into sinful patterns of behaviour. 00:10:06.860 --> 00:10:10.710 This is symbolic of death, destruction, and separation 00:10:10.710 --> 00:10:14.789 from God. The Israelite story of being saved 00:10:14.789 --> 00:10:18.389 from oppression in Egypt has been reversed, and 00:10:18.389 --> 00:10:20.970 they find themselves back in exile in Babylon. 00:10:22.470 --> 00:10:25.750 And when we look at the verses before verse 11, 00:10:26.070 --> 00:10:28.549 we also read that God tells the Israelites they're 00:10:28.549 --> 00:10:33.750 going to be exiled for 70 years. That's an entire 00:10:33.750 --> 00:10:36.970 lifetime. For almost all of the people that would 00:10:36.970 --> 00:10:40.139 have heard this, they wouldn't live. to return 00:10:40.139 --> 00:10:44.159 back to their homes. This is a passage that was 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:47.539 written to a people in great suffering and experiencing 00:10:47.539 --> 00:10:52.139 incredible hardship. And God doesn't even promise 00:10:52.139 --> 00:10:55.720 them an immediate escape. He promises them 70 00:10:55.720 --> 00:11:00.340 years. In verses five to six, God says to the 00:11:00.340 --> 00:11:04.700 Israelites, build houses and settle down. Plant 00:11:04.700 --> 00:11:08.519 gardens, marry, have children. Find wives for 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:11.080 your sons give your daughters in marriage so 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:16.580 that they can have kids Get comfy guys, you're 00:11:16.580 --> 00:11:20.279 gonna be here a while Imagine how it would have 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:26.440 felt for the Israelites Imagine how they would 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:29.120 have felt feeling like you know God's allowing 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:32.100 them back into exile and then rather than offering 00:11:32.100 --> 00:11:35.000 to save them He tells them to start pitching 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:37.870 their tents and create a new life for yourself. 00:11:39.110 --> 00:11:42.129 It would have been pretty disheartening. They 00:11:42.129 --> 00:11:44.450 probably would have felt forsaken. They would 00:11:44.450 --> 00:11:47.470 have felt like God has abandoned them, going 00:11:47.470 --> 00:11:50.450 back on the promises that he's made. I'm sure 00:11:50.450 --> 00:11:54.669 we've all felt like that before as well. I'd 00:11:54.669 --> 00:11:56.230 venture to say that for most of us in the room, 00:11:56.230 --> 00:11:58.769 we've had times in our lives when we've found 00:11:58.769 --> 00:12:01.250 ourselves questioning. You might not be a Christian, 00:12:01.330 --> 00:12:05.090 but maybe you've been looking for something. 00:12:05.389 --> 00:12:06.809 If you are a Christian, maybe you've been seeking 00:12:06.809 --> 00:12:10.169 for God, asking Him, where are you? We've all 00:12:10.169 --> 00:12:12.809 had hardships. We've all had difficult times. 00:12:13.789 --> 00:12:16.350 Maybe you've read this verse, Jeremiah 29, 11. 00:12:17.049 --> 00:12:20.250 You've read this verse talking about God having 00:12:20.250 --> 00:12:22.850 a great promise for us, a hope and a future, 00:12:23.830 --> 00:12:25.509 plans for our life. And you're looking around 00:12:25.509 --> 00:12:29.149 thinking, well, hello, where are these plans? 00:12:29.990 --> 00:12:33.980 Where is this great future? But church, God never 00:12:33.980 --> 00:12:37.659 promises a life without pain. We're never promised 00:12:37.659 --> 00:12:41.000 a life without suffering and hardship. We are 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:43.340 never promised individual personal success in 00:12:43.340 --> 00:12:46.419 the things that we do. Quite the opposite, in 00:12:46.419 --> 00:12:50.740 fact. This is why taking verses out of context 00:12:50.740 --> 00:12:54.039 can be damaging. And this is why this series 00:12:54.039 --> 00:12:58.240 is so important. By reading the Bible in context 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:00.120 and understanding the world and the intended 00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:03.210 audience at the time, we start to understand 00:13:03.210 --> 00:13:05.870 what the verse actually means. And it takes on 00:13:05.870 --> 00:13:10.929 a much richer, deeper meaning. So we know that 00:13:10.929 --> 00:13:13.309 this verse isn't a promise of success, it's not 00:13:13.309 --> 00:13:15.990 a promise of protection. But if that's the case, 00:13:16.029 --> 00:13:19.830 what does it actually mean? In short, this passage 00:13:19.830 --> 00:13:24.110 is a message of hope. Not an immediate hope that 00:13:24.110 --> 00:13:28.029 everything will work out. Not a promise that 00:13:28.029 --> 00:13:30.980 everything will... work out necessarily the way 00:13:30.980 --> 00:13:36.840 we want it to. But it's a deeper hope that endures 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:40.759 beyond our circumstances, beyond the circumstances 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:44.500 and the situations we find ourselves in. Even 00:13:44.500 --> 00:13:47.899 though this wasn't written to us, God still speaks 00:13:47.899 --> 00:13:50.960 to us through it. And in this verse today, we 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:54.460 can uncover at least two promises that God does 00:13:54.460 --> 00:13:56.320 make to us. And so that's what I'm gonna be unpacking 00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:57.740 a little bit over the next couple of minutes. 00:13:58.509 --> 00:14:00.529 There's probably much more that you can dig into 00:14:00.529 --> 00:14:06.070 but I've only got 30 minutes so The first promise 00:14:06.070 --> 00:14:11.070 is a promise of faithfulness The verse says I 00:14:11.070 --> 00:14:15.610 know the plans I have for you God isn't denying 00:14:15.610 --> 00:14:19.970 the reality of the situation The Israelites are 00:14:19.970 --> 00:14:23.210 in exile they're suffering the consequences of 00:14:23.210 --> 00:14:25.779 their own disobedience their own misbehaviour 00:14:25.779 --> 00:14:28.200 and unfaithfulness to God is part of the reason 00:14:28.200 --> 00:14:31.399 why they've been sent out into exile. They've 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:34.200 lost their land, they've lost their security, 00:14:34.779 --> 00:14:38.600 and a huge part of their identity. But God still 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:45.360 says, I know the plans I have for you. He has 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:49.500 not forsaken them. And He doesn't forsake us 00:14:49.500 --> 00:14:52.860 either. In the book of Lamentations, which is 00:14:52.860 --> 00:14:54.990 also written by Jeremiah, It says in chapter 00:14:54.990 --> 00:14:58.750 three, verse 22, 23, because of the Lord's great 00:14:58.750 --> 00:15:02.049 love, we are not consumed for his compassion's 00:15:02.049 --> 00:15:06.450 never fail. They are new every morning. Great 00:15:06.450 --> 00:15:11.110 is your faithfulness. If we stick to looking 00:15:11.110 --> 00:15:14.029 at context, this passage from Lamentations was 00:15:14.029 --> 00:15:16.149 written in the aftermath of Jerusalem being completely 00:15:16.149 --> 00:15:20.990 destroyed. This verse isn't about blind optimism. 00:15:21.760 --> 00:15:25.799 It's a powerful declaration of who God is. He's 00:15:25.799 --> 00:15:29.519 full of compassion. Great is his faithfulness. 00:15:32.340 --> 00:15:34.259 And looking at the Bible as a whole, we see evidence 00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:36.179 of God's faithfulness to the Israelites and his 00:15:36.179 --> 00:15:39.559 people all the time. He saves his people. He 00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:43.440 journeys with his people. He provides. He sustains. 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:50.659 He demonstrates his love. Everything. is an evidence 00:15:50.659 --> 00:15:54.539 to his faithfulness. For the Israelites, exile 00:15:54.539 --> 00:15:58.299 might have felt like silence from God. But God's 00:15:58.299 --> 00:16:00.820 promise that he has plans for his people demonstrates 00:16:00.820 --> 00:16:04.299 that even in the times of crisis, God is still 00:16:04.299 --> 00:16:06.539 working to see his good plan for his people come 00:16:06.539 --> 00:16:11.539 to pass. Not in their timing, not in our timing, 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:16.440 but in his. He's preserving and preparing them 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:21.259 for what is to come. God plays the long game. 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:24.799 God is doing more for the Israelites in the waiting 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:28.399 than he is if he rescues them immediately. He 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:31.639 is teaching them to have confidence in his faithfulness. 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:33.519 And this is something that we need to learn as 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:38.320 well. I know I do. For us in 2026, it's important 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:41.179 for us to remember that we cannot equate God's 00:16:41.179 --> 00:16:47.039 faithfulness to comfort. We cannot equate God's 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:51.539 faithfulness to our own comfort. Just because 00:16:51.539 --> 00:16:55.240 things are bad doesn't mean God isn't here Just 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:56.679 because things are good doesn't mean that God 00:16:56.679 --> 00:17:05.640 is there He is But it's not the only time I Know 00:17:05.640 --> 00:17:07.180 for me that there have been times where I felt 00:17:07.180 --> 00:17:13.099 stranded and I felt abandoned by God There have 00:17:13.099 --> 00:17:15.900 been times I felt like my life is falling apart 00:17:15.900 --> 00:17:20.869 That I'm just filled with suffering And like 00:17:20.869 --> 00:17:22.609 the Israelites in exile, I've been left asking 00:17:22.609 --> 00:17:27.509 God to turn up only to have nothing happen. Have 00:17:27.509 --> 00:17:33.549 you been there before? Church, when we find ourselves 00:17:33.549 --> 00:17:37.990 in this space, it's not an absence of God, and 00:17:37.990 --> 00:17:40.990 it's not an absence of His faithfulness. God 00:17:40.990 --> 00:17:42.950 promises us that He will be with us. He will 00:17:42.950 --> 00:17:47.970 not forsake us. His goodness and His faithfulness 00:17:47.970 --> 00:17:51.190 is not measured by our circumstance. It is measured 00:17:51.190 --> 00:17:54.589 by Him being with us in our circumstance. There 00:17:54.589 --> 00:17:56.369 are times we feel far from God and there are 00:17:56.369 --> 00:17:58.789 times when we can stop and we can ask, what the 00:17:58.789 --> 00:18:00.690 heck are your plans God? Because I have no idea 00:18:00.690 --> 00:18:03.970 and everything sucks right now. What is going 00:18:03.970 --> 00:18:11.329 on? But God is faithful through it all. In our 00:18:11.329 --> 00:18:14.109 hardship. And even like the Israelites, when 00:18:14.109 --> 00:18:16.809 our actions and decisions have made us feel distant 00:18:16.809 --> 00:18:21.349 from God, He is still faithful. He is still with 00:18:21.349 --> 00:18:27.029 us. Jeremiah 29 and 11 is not a guarantee that 00:18:27.029 --> 00:18:28.930 God will reveal His plans to us immediately, 00:18:29.230 --> 00:18:31.349 but it is a promise that He will be faithful. 00:18:32.710 --> 00:18:35.789 In the same way He was faithful to Abraham, Jacob, 00:18:36.109 --> 00:18:41.210 Joseph, David, everyone else in the Bible. He 00:18:41.210 --> 00:18:49.259 is faithful. to us, to you today. Are you still 00:18:49.259 --> 00:18:55.299 with me? Very good. The second promise that the 00:18:55.299 --> 00:18:57.940 Jeremiah gives us in this verse is a promise 00:18:57.940 --> 00:19:03.240 of restoration. The verse says that he has plans 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:06.460 to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to 00:19:06.460 --> 00:19:10.200 give you hope and a future. Now, like I've said, 00:19:10.220 --> 00:19:12.700 this is not a promise to immediately take the 00:19:12.700 --> 00:19:15.000 Israelites out of their suffering. It's not a 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:17.559 promise to give them success. But what it is, 00:19:17.740 --> 00:19:19.680 it's a promise that exile is not the end of the 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:24.759 story. There is a promise and there is a hope 00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:30.079 for something more. There's a key Hebrew phrase 00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:32.720 in there that's kind of translated a bit awkwardly 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:37.839 because, yeah, the Hebrew phrase is, I hope I 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:43.240 say this right, Makkashavot Shalom. Makkashavot 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:47.660 Shalom. Is anyone going to correct me? No? Great. 00:19:47.859 --> 00:19:49.680 Amazing. I've got the microphone, which means 00:19:49.680 --> 00:19:57.720 I'm right. Amazing. This roughly translates to 00:19:57.720 --> 00:20:02.839 plans to prosper. If you've been around church 00:20:02.839 --> 00:20:05.500 for a while, you have a shalom. But it's not 00:20:05.500 --> 00:20:07.809 the prosperity we might often think, where you 00:20:07.809 --> 00:20:10.950 know, it refers to being rich or life being great 00:20:10.950 --> 00:20:12.990 and being successful and all the rest. This is 00:20:12.990 --> 00:20:17.930 what we often think prosperity might mean. When 00:20:17.930 --> 00:20:20.430 it talks about plans to prosper you, this is 00:20:20.430 --> 00:20:24.769 what it means. Holiness, peace, flourishing, 00:20:25.089 --> 00:20:28.529 restoration. It's about being in right relationship 00:20:28.529 --> 00:20:32.589 with God. It's not about achievement. Shalom 00:20:32.589 --> 00:20:35.490 doesn't mean getting everything you want. It 00:20:35.490 --> 00:20:39.339 means being whole. Being in right relationship 00:20:39.339 --> 00:20:44.539 with God with others yourself Even when life 00:20:44.539 --> 00:20:49.740 is still hard God instructs the Israelites to 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:54.940 like married have kids But through this promise 00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:57.039 of faithfulness that we just spoke about God 00:20:57.039 --> 00:21:01.240 also promises restoration Exile is not the end 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:04.099 of the story and he uses it as a vessel for his 00:21:04.099 --> 00:21:09.200 plans In verse 10, God says, when 70 years are 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:12.980 completed for Babylon, I will come to you and 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:15.440 I will fulfill my good promise to bring you back 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:19.619 to this place. Now again, for most of the people 00:21:19.619 --> 00:21:22.900 hearing this, they would not live to see it happen. 00:21:25.180 --> 00:21:28.640 But it is still a promise of hope for the future. 00:21:29.660 --> 00:21:31.759 Because in scripture, we see that restoration 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:36.000 often takes generations to unfold. In the book 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:38.859 of Joel, God says, I will restore to you the 00:21:38.859 --> 00:21:43.339 years the locust has eaten. Restoration does 00:21:43.339 --> 00:21:47.339 not erase the pain of the past, but it does redeem 00:21:47.339 --> 00:21:51.640 it. It declares that we don't have to remain 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:55.019 in these feelings of loss and suffering. They 00:21:55.019 --> 00:21:57.539 do not have the final word in our lives. For 00:21:57.539 --> 00:21:59.559 the Israelites in exile, that is not the final 00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:03.279 word. But we can see God out working both his 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:06.400 promise of faithfulness and restoration ultimately 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:11.220 through his son Jesus And I thought you can come 00:22:11.220 --> 00:22:20.839 up and twinkle if you like Humanity lives in 00:22:20.839 --> 00:22:27.460 a spiritual exile you and I we live in this spiritual 00:22:27.460 --> 00:22:30.440 exile Not like the Israelites being removed from 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:34.319 their home, but an exile in which we're separated 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:40.400 from God. Just like how Israel was separated 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:44.240 from the land where God's presence dwelled, sin 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:47.859 separates us from the life God created us for. 00:22:50.259 --> 00:22:54.240 Our sin has created a rift between us and God. 00:22:55.860 --> 00:22:58.759 It's a rift that could only be overcome through 00:22:58.759 --> 00:23:03.400 Jesus. God shows he is faithful by giving us 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:06.940 a way out of our exile. And he offers us restoration 00:23:06.940 --> 00:23:10.000 through the acceptance of his love into our hearts. 00:23:11.539 --> 00:23:13.400 The apostle Paul writes in second Corinthians, 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:16.980 if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has 00:23:16.980 --> 00:23:23.960 come. The old is gone, the new is here. This 00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:26.119 is the life of restoration that is promised to 00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:32.180 us. The old is gone. The new is here. It isn't 00:23:32.180 --> 00:23:35.599 a life free from suffering or pain, but it is 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:40.799 a life alongside a loving God. Jesus came and 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:43.779 He showed us the way out of our exile. He came 00:23:43.779 --> 00:23:46.640 and He was nailed on a cross bearing the weight 00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:49.319 of our sin and our brokenness so that we could 00:23:49.319 --> 00:23:53.049 be restored to the Father. God is so faithful 00:23:53.049 --> 00:23:56.710 to us that he gave his one and only son to die 00:23:56.710 --> 00:23:59.930 a criminal's death on a cross so that we didn't 00:23:59.930 --> 00:24:01.950 have to stay apart from him. How good is that? 00:24:04.150 --> 00:24:06.210 We can look around at our lives and we can think 00:24:06.210 --> 00:24:09.529 it isn't fair. We can think, God, where are you? 00:24:10.630 --> 00:24:12.690 But the reality is if life was fair, Jesus wouldn't 00:24:12.690 --> 00:24:15.430 have had to be nailed on the cross. We would 00:24:15.430 --> 00:24:20.319 be up there instead. Jesus lived the perfect 00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:22.740 life. He did nothing wrong and yet he paid the 00:24:22.740 --> 00:24:25.859 ultimate price for all of humanity, for you and 00:24:25.859 --> 00:24:30.220 I. Jesus is well acquainted with the hardships 00:24:30.220 --> 00:24:34.039 of life, the suffering that we go through as 00:24:34.039 --> 00:24:38.779 people. He knows it. He knows it well. He took 00:24:38.779 --> 00:24:40.759 on our burdens and our sin and he put them to 00:24:40.759 --> 00:24:44.079 death on the cross so that we no longer have 00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:46.819 to be slaves. so that we no longer have to stay 00:24:46.819 --> 00:24:49.480 in this exile, but we can step into the light 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:54.799 and the life that is restored to God. Not without 00:24:54.799 --> 00:24:58.640 pain, not without suffering, but a life that 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:06.200 has God with us through all of it. So yes, it's 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:10.279 true. God has great plans for you. He has a plan 00:25:10.279 --> 00:25:14.779 to prosper you. And what plan could possibly 00:25:14.779 --> 00:25:20.119 be greater than an eternal life with Him? That 00:25:20.119 --> 00:25:23.900 is the plan that God has for us. It's a life 00:25:23.900 --> 00:25:27.039 with Him that's no longer separated, no longer 00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:32.700 apart, no longer in exile, but restored to Him 00:25:32.700 --> 00:25:43.769 through His faithfulness. If I'm being honest 00:25:43.769 --> 00:25:46.630 with you church, the last few weeks, months have 00:25:46.630 --> 00:25:51.829 been pretty tough for me. The last few weeks 00:25:51.829 --> 00:25:56.269 especially I've been wondering and asking what 00:25:56.269 --> 00:26:00.609 God's plan is for my life. I've been feeling 00:26:00.609 --> 00:26:04.750 lost and I've been feeling out of place. I've 00:26:04.750 --> 00:26:06.390 been wrestling with the very thing that I talk 00:26:06.390 --> 00:26:09.509 to my students about at school. I doubt and I 00:26:09.509 --> 00:26:13.539 question what God has in store for me. So when 00:26:13.539 --> 00:26:16.380 I saw that I was preaching on Jeremiah 29 11, 00:26:16.400 --> 00:26:25.859 I just died a little bit inside Why But like 00:26:25.859 --> 00:26:27.579 what usually happens when I prepare a message 00:26:27.579 --> 00:26:32.980 God speaks to me first God showed me that his 00:26:32.980 --> 00:26:35.440 plan for me goes beyond what I can think of for 00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:41.599 myself God's plan for me goes beyond what my 00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:47.319 career aspirations are, goes beyond my goals, 00:26:49.460 --> 00:26:56.559 my marriage, my family, my friendships. His plan 00:26:56.559 --> 00:27:03.859 for my life is for eternity. And that's true 00:27:03.859 --> 00:27:10.079 for you too. God's plan for you is for eternity 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:16.259 It's not for your comfort here and now So forever 00:27:16.259 --> 00:27:27.960 it's a long time I Don't know about you, but 00:27:27.960 --> 00:27:30.220 I would rather believe and have faith in a God 00:27:30.220 --> 00:27:34.660 who plans for forever Rather than a God who just 00:27:34.660 --> 00:27:38.059 plans to make my life comfortable now Yeah, it 00:27:38.059 --> 00:27:44.059 sucks. It really sucks sometimes But it's greater 00:27:44.059 --> 00:27:54.500 It's so much greater So Jeremiah 29 11 is not 00:27:54.500 --> 00:27:56.339 a promise that everything will be okay right 00:27:56.339 --> 00:28:00.039 now I Don't know what it is. Is this happening 00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:02.640 in your life if maybe you're going through the 00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:08.329 ringer like me a little bit But it is a promise 00:28:08.329 --> 00:28:12.890 that in the waiting, God is faithful. It's a 00:28:12.890 --> 00:28:14.890 promise that God is working. It's a promise that 00:28:14.890 --> 00:28:19.069 restoration is coming. Even when we don't see 00:28:19.069 --> 00:28:25.750 it. God has great plans for you. And I don't 00:28:25.750 --> 00:28:28.269 mean an easy life or a successful one by the 00:28:28.269 --> 00:28:33.670 world standards. I mean a life anchored in Him. 00:28:36.330 --> 00:28:40.529 restored fully in eternity through the work and 00:28:40.529 --> 00:28:45.869 the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for us. God 00:28:45.869 --> 00:28:51.430 is faithful, God restores, and exile is not the 00:28:51.430 --> 00:28:57.890 end. Thanks so much for tuning into this week's 00:28:57.890 --> 00:29:00.769 message. If you felt challenged or need prayer, 00:29:01.109 --> 00:29:02.990 we would love to hear from you on Instagram, 00:29:03.289 --> 00:29:06.299 at EncounterHendley. Or if you're interested 00:29:06.299 --> 00:29:08.480 in how you can support this ministry, please 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:12.619 go to our website incanadelaide .com .au. Thanks 00:29:12.619 --> 00:29:14.480 again for listening. God bless you.