Sunday Service – May 2, 2021

Jeremiah 29:11-14a

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.”

Revelation 2:7

Whoever has ears that them hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

Jeremiah 29:11-14a CLOSED DOORS
Springford Baptist Church: May 2, 2021.

Do we trust God with doors that are currently closed? Are we trusting God in a time when our church doors are closed? We prefer open doors, but closed doors can also be a timely part of God’s plans to give us hope and a future.

How will our praying bring us closer with God and more aware of Him and His hope filled plans for us?

What more do we keep expecting in experiencing God?
What causes you to feel close with God?
What may interfere with that or cause God to feel far away?
*If God feels far away, we are the ones who have moved.

What is the most effective way to build strong human relationships?
-spending time with, talking to, letting go of hurts and regrets, laughing and crying together (sharing both joy and sorrow)
This spending time with and sharing all of life with God is also how we build a strong relationship with Him.

Are we seeking God with all of our hearts and expecting more and more of His Holy and Loving Presence in our lives?
If we are experiencing more and more of God, we should expect to be changing!

How can we pray for each other in this continued desire to experience more and more of God and to be changed/ transformed by Him?

Looking at these verses from Jeremiah, we need to admit we are lost in order to find direction to where we need to go. We need to find that there are some doors that are closed to us and want to discover the doors that God intends to open.

This seems obvious, but it is often the thing that delays us finding our way both when on the highway and on the road of life (spiritually speaking).

Only when we realize we need God and turn to Him for direction, are we ready for God to show us the way. Then we are ready to trust God both with closed doors and with open ones.

These verses that I read are part of a letter the prophet Jeremiah sent to those who had been exiled to Babylon, taken away from their homes and everything familiar to them.

God’s word to the exiles was to prepare for a long stay in Babylon. They were to build houses and settle down. They were instructed to plant gardens to sustain them during this time. Life was to continue on. When we are faced with a major change in life, we may find it difficult to follow usual routines. There is a measure of security in usual routines, but when things change drastically we struggle to think of usual routines.
You know how it is though, even when life seems topsy turvy, we still need to attend to eating regular meals and having time for rest.

When we consider our spiritual well being, we need to maintain a close connection with God even when faced with chaotic or uncertain circumstances. This has been evident during the pandemic we still find ourselves in.

We need to be in the habit of praying constantly and seeking God’s Presence so that whatever happens, this will be a part of our everyday activity. God is the One who can bring understanding and acceptance of closed doors.

The people addressed in this Scripture from Jeremiah who were in exile were urged to marry and have sons and daughters. They should not expect to put things on hold until they get back home because this is going to take a while.

There were prophets and diviners among them who were telling them what they wanted to hear which was that they would be going back home right away. They desperately wanted this to be true that the closed doors would open without delay.

God declares this to be a lie.

Have you noticed that there is always someone who will tell you what you want to hear?
Sometimes we even fill that role, convincing ourselves that things are going to turn out a certain way because that is what we longingly hope for.

Looking for God, seeking God with all of our hearts, inviting God’s direction. All of these pursuits involve us being open to what He will show us, not having already drawn our own wishful conclusions.

The Lord reveals that these exiles will have a long wait before they will be returning home. It will be a 70 year wait!
Does seventy years seem like a long time to you? It does to me!

Even though it is a long wait, God’s promise is certain,(vs. 10,11) “I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 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 70 year Exile was a part of God’s plans to give this nation of people hope and a future.

It was also part of God’s plan to have His people come to a place where they would seek Him with all of their hearts.

What in your life has prompted you to seek God with all of your heart?

For these exiles, during this time, they were prompted to seek God wholeheartedly.

What does God promise will happen when they seek Him with all of their hearts?
vs. 13 “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”

Here is what is so significant!

We feel lost or uncertain about which way to go and we come to God looking for direction.
The most important discovery we make in the process is God Himself.

Sometimes when we pray, we may be not be asking the questions that will result in God’s clear direction. We are aware of closed doors that we want to open and that is our persistent focus.

But when we, like the people who received this word from God through Jeremiah, make discovering and encountering God our number one priority, we have the promise that we will find Him.

This means that we will then have a personal Guide and Interpreter for every time we need direction.

It is so much better than getting a map for a specific trip to be in the company of the Master Mapmaker who can show us the way step by step every single day, whatever arises.

In the case of God’s people exiled to Babylon, they could receive God’s reassuring Presence and direction even in a foreign land far from everything familiar and secure. They could be confident that God had not abandoned them even when they were staring at closed doors.

We may not know exactly how long we will have to wait for what we long to see (70 years for them) but God will be with us in the waiting just as He was with them.

How soul satisfying when we find God just as He promises. We admit we are lost and don’t know how to find our way home and God says, “I was just waiting for you to ask.”

Ultimately, we are lost in sin and need to be found and rescued (“I once was lost but now am found. Was blind but now I see”). God does open our eyes to see and what we see is God!

The gift of salvation through God’s Son Jesus sets us on the right path but to stay focused on God and to ensure we are headed in the right direction, we must seek God with all of our hearts, all the time!

God does have plans to prosper us and not to harm us. Plans to give us hope and a future.

Are we willing to consider that a time will come when you and I will learn to thank God for closed doors?

Knowing that our God is an awesome God of love, we will want to look constantly for God and His direction. We discover God, when instead of focusing on the closed doors, we look for God and seek Him with all our hearts!