Buy That Field | Jeremiah 32 | Pastor William Hixson

I believe what we need to do. And so

instead of just referencing it, I

decided to move through it. So please

turn to Jeremiah 32.

This is quite a long chapter.

Well, I'll read through it once and then

we'll get started just so we know where

we are.

Jeremiah chapter 32. And in your mind,

Jeremiah 32 · chapter mention

remind yourself of chapter 31 and how

significant that chapter is that this

chapter is the next one in the book has

been placed beside it. There certainly

is a reason for that. And so,

uh, let's get started.

the word that came to Jeremiah from the

Lord in the 10th year of Zedekiah, king

of Judah, which was the 18th year of

Nebuchadnezzar.

For then the king of Babylon's army

besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the

prophet was shut up in the court of the

prison which was in the king of Judah's

house. For Zedekiah, king of Judah, had

shut him up, saying, "Why dust thou

prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord,

behold, I'll give this city into the

hand of the king of Babylon, and he'll

take it." And Zedekiah, king of Judah,

shall not escape out of the hand of the

Calaldanss. In other words, a king is

complaining. You're telling him, I'm

going to be defeated and take taken to

Babylon. Why are you saying all this

stuff?

And and uh in verse four, and Zedekiah,

king of Judah, shall not escape the hand

of the Calaldanss, but shall surely be

delivered into the hand of the king of

Babylon, and shall speak with him

mouthto mouth, and his eyes shall behold

his eyes.

So basically what he's complaining

about, you're not just telling about

some of the people going there. You're

ask you're just you're prophesying that

I'm gone that they're going to take me

off my throne and I will be over there.

And of course that's exactly what will

happen.

But anyway, he's complaining. And he

shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and

there shall he be until I visit him,

says the Lord. Though you fight with the

Calaldanss,

ye shall not prosper. The Calaldanss and

the Babylonians are the same crowd. And

Jeremiah said, "The word of the Lord

came unto me, saying, Behold, Hanamel,

the son of Shalom, thine uncle, shall

come unto thee, saying, By my field that

is in Anithoth,

for the right of redemption is thine to

buy it."

Very important.

This Hanameal is Jeremiah's cousin

and he owns some property in Jeremiah's

hometown, Anathon.

And right now he's saying, I want you to

redeem my field. I want you to be the

redeemer of my field. Kind of like the

book of Ruth, right? Where we studied

that. And he had the right of redemption

is yours. Buy it. uh be a Boaz, don't be

a such a one.

And by the field

and

so Hannel, my uncle's son, came to me in

the court of the prison, according to

the word of the Lord, and said to me,

"By my field, I pray thee,

that is in Anithoth, which is in the

country of Benjamin, for the right of

inheritance is thine, and the redemption

is thine. Buy it for yourself.

Now, think about what's happening here.

Jeremiah is in prison. What's he going

to do with the field?

What's a man in prison

going to do with the field? Where's he

going to get the money to buy a field?

He's been imprisoned and possibly going

to be martyed

uh by the king. if the Babylonians don't

get him, the king might. And so Hannel

must have been extremely

uh desperate to come to him and

give him this

uh request.

Then verse eight,

then I knew

that this was the Lord, word of the

Lord.

Jeremiah immediately recognized

in this particular weird providence

the will of the Lord.

Now, why would he do that?

How come he did that?

Well, remember God had asked him to do

many bizarre things.

This was like, oh, another one.

So, God had asked him over a period of

40 years to do all kinds of things that

were difficult. Remember the yoke? Wear

that around. Remember the uh wearing

your underwear on the outside of your

robes, wearing the linen underwear that

got spoiled and the Euphrates River.

Remember the uh the potter's house and

breaking the pottery? All kinds of stuff

were visual aids to get messages across.

And so basically Jeremiah says, "Here we

go again. This is just so bizarre, so

off-the-wall, so out of uh out of uh the

blue

that he realized this is not just one of

those family things.

This is of God.

God has a purpose in here besides

my family dynamics.

I hope we learn to see the hand of God

in the glove of our history.

Whether it's our family, our church, our

ministries,

our nation,

Jeremiah came to a conclusion. And as he

came to the conclusion before God said

anything

perfectly,

it's interesting, isn't it?

God has different ways of showing us his

will.

And so that that little phrase to me is

is is a very interesting one.

Jeremiah has said nothing.

His cousin has said everything. The

timing of it is off the wall

because guess what?

The Babylonian armies are building

ramparts against the gates of the city

of Jerusalem.

at that moment

and they're going to besiege Jerusalem

for a year. But their Babylonians are

already there.

Who'd buy property when it's in the and

Anithoth is three miles from Jerusalem.

Anithoth

is in the hands of the Babylonians.

And Jeremiah has predicted already by

God that the Babylonians are coming and

they're going to take away your

everybody and you're all going to

Babylon.

So what's Jeremiah need property in

Jerusalem if the Babylonians have

control over it? And if the whole

nation's going to go to Babylon,

possibly him.

Now we know he later ended up in Egypt,

not in Babylon. and he stay and and and

there that's a whole but he didn't know

that this point.

So the the the experience of Jeremiah

with God's

providence in his life, he knew this is

not a coincidence.

This is not just a bizarre family person

asking unreasonable things because

that's the kind of person they are.

The news of the Lord.

Remember the men of Anithoth had us

earlier were going to try to kill him

early in his ministry.

So why would you want to buy property in

the town of people that want to try to

kill you?

He didn't do this for himself.

He's got another sermon illustration

going on that he has to fulfill

and he knows it immediately.

So may we see the hand of God. Now we

we're not inspired prophets and we got

to be careful here. We don't we can jump

to conclusions, right? We can jump to

conclusions. this is God's will because

this happened or that happened and so

forth

and uh but it's interesting as we read

this.

So Hannamel, my uncle's son, verse 8,

came to me in the court of the prison,

according to the word of the Lord, and

said to me, "By my field, I pray thee,

that is in Anithoth, which is in the

country of Benjamin, for the right of

inheritance is thine, and the redemption

is thine, and buy it for yourself." Then

I knew it was the word of the Lord. And

I want

I bought it.

Now, if you're in prison, you don't when

you're in prison, you don't.

It's not like you get the kind of things

that American prisons supply.

For instance, even when Paul was in

prison in Rome, even at that time, if

you were in prison and you didn't have a

family, they didn't feed you.

you had to depend on friends and family

to feed you.

And I'm not sure what the Babylonian

policy was, but I know one thing. If I'm

in prison and I can't work and I've got

I'm I I'm obviously under persecution,

I don't want to waste my shekels on a

field that I can't use.

That doesn't seem like the right time

for that investment, right?

It seems like the liquid asset of the

coins, the shekels would be better than

a piece of ground under Babylonian

authority, especially when everybody's

going to be taken into exile. And what's

the land worth if there's nobody around

it?

But he knew that this was the word of

the Lord.

When you know God wants you to do

something, you better do it.

And God's

working in our life providentially with

those kind of convictions is a rare

thing. It's not always

something that is so powerful. Sometimes

it is.

And

when I graduated from Ohio University, I

knew that I needed to go back to New

Philadelphia

and start a Bible class for my family.

That was extremely strong.

I had other things that people offered

for me to do that I wanted to do,

but I turned them down. And I didn't

stay here either.

because I knew that I needed to be up

there. That was an overpowering

conviction

and I believed that it was something

like Jeremiah had. So he went ahead with

it and I bought the field of Hanameal,

my uncle's son that was in Anithal, and

weighed him the money, even 17 shekels

of silver.

And I signed the deed and sealed it,

took witnesses, and weighed him the

money in the balances. So I took the

deed of the purchase both which was

sealed according to the law and custom

that was open.

And I gave the deed of purchase to Baroo

the son of Mariah. That's the first time

he's mentioned in the book. We'll see

him later. the son of Messiah in the

sight of Hannamel, my uncle's son, and

in the presence of witnesses and signed

the deed of the purchase

before all the Jews that sat in the

court of the prison. So, they're not

sitting in the gate like uh uh Boaz is

with such a one. They're sitting in the

court of the prison, but there are

witnesses to this purchase.

And I charged Baruk before them, saying,

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of

Israel, take these deeds, this deed of

purchase, which is sealed, and this deed

which is open, and put them in earn

vessels, that they may continue many

days." And that's exactly what they did.

The same thing with the Dead Sea

Scrolls, right? Same exact thing.

And so they put them in those and they

sealed sealed them up and it's for the

future, right? Is Jeremiah going to ever

open up that jar? No.

He's already been in the ministry 40

years. He's not a young man anymore.

Probably 53, 54, 56, I don't know, maybe

60.

He's already been in the ministry a long

time. The Babylonians are coming.

How long is the captivity going to last?

70 years. What kind of returns Jeremiah

got to get on this thing?

Ever thought 70 years?

Uh, and if if you had some kind of

purchase to make, maybe it was farmland

or or a house someplace and they said,

"You will clean up if you buy this.

The profit you will get in 70 years will

really make it worthwhile." How many

people in this room would think, "Oh,

that sound like a good deal. I think

I'll do it." Well, if you don't have any

heirs,

why would you do that? You're not going

to be around. I don't think anybody I'm

looking at is going to be here in 70

years. We either be in heaven with the

Lord because he comes or we'll be in

heaven with the Lord because we go to

him.

And Jeremiah,

he he knew it was going to be 70 years

before the Jews came back. So, he's not

coming back even if he goes to Babylon.

Now, he ended up not going to Babylon.

He went to Egypt, but it the property

never did him any good.

Except what? He did God's will.

He did God's will.

This is just a fascinating thing. It's a

very interesting thing.

And the fact that he puts the deeds in

the jar is his faith that the Jews are

going to come back to the land. And

those deeds in those jars are going to

be valuable to whoever's going to

examine it later.

And now remember, God commanded Jeremiah

not to bury or have children.

I'm sure you're going to get that point.

What?

>> Who is going to live on paradise?

>> It's got to be other relatives. It won't

be his children or his

>> immediate

>> his immediate relative

or it may go right back to this cousin

family.

You understand what I'm saying? It's not

going to go back to him.

So John,

>> if they found the years later,

>> yeah,

>> the book of Jeremiah would validate what

he did.

>> It sure would. Now, that's that's a good

observation, John. And I believe that

that's exactly the reason God had him do

that

>> and that it would validate what he did.

That's a good one. Okay, let's keep

reading because it's getting it's going

to get hard to even read this chapter.

Now verse 16. Now when I delivered the

deed of the purchased to Baroo the son

of Nariah, I prayed to the Lord saying,

"Have you ever done something, invested

in something? Say, Lord, did I do the

right thing?

Is this really your will?"

And that that's what he's doing. Oh Lord

God, behold you made heaven and earth.

You by your great power and outstretched

arm and there's nothing too hard for

thee. That's a great verse, isn't it?

Nothing too hard for thee. Thou showest

loving kindness and the thousands, and

recompense the iniquity of the fathers

to the bosom of the children after them.

The great and the mighty God, the Lord

of hosts is his name, great in counsel,

mighty in work. Thy hands are open to

all the ways of the sons of men, to give

everyone according to his ways and

according to the fruit of his doings,

who has sent signs and wonders in the

land of Egypt, even to this day. and in

Israel and among other men. And you've

made thee a name as to this day. And you

brought forth thy people Israel out of

the land of Egypt with signs and wonders

and with strong hand and without

stretched arm and with great terror and

have given them, underline this this

land.

He's occupied with the promised land.

You've given them this land. You brought

the whole two million people out of

Jerusalem, out of Egypt. You gave them

this land.

You did swear to their fathers to give

them a land flowing with milk and honey,

and they came in and possessed it. But

they obeyed not thy voice, neither

walked in thy law. They've done nothing

of all that you commanded them to do.

Therefore, you've caused all this evil

to come upon them. That's the whole

Palestinian covenant. If you obey, you

can stay. If you don't, you got to go,

right?

And then he says this, pray. Behold the

siege mounts. There they are. Already

the Babylons are knocking on the gate of

the city. The armies have surrounded it.

Behold the siege mounds. They're come to

this city to take it. And the city is

given to the hand of the Calaldanss that

fight against it because of the sword

and of the famine and of the pestilence.

And what thou has spoken is come to

pass. And behold, you see it.

And all that

is preparatory to this. Lord, did I do

the right thing?

I just spent 17 shekels.

I'm in prison. The Babylonians are

outside. I'm in prison on the inside.

What was this all about, Lord?

You have said to me, oh Lord God, buy

the field with money and take witnesses

for the city is given into the hand of

the Calaldians.

He just saying, Lord, you said it, so I

did it, but I don't understand it. I

need some more light here. I need some

understanding.

And so

he gets it.

And so in verse 27,

verse 26, then came the word of the Lord

to Jeremiah, saying, "Behold, I am the

Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there

anything too hard for me?" One of the

great verses in Jeremiah, right?

Hope you take that one home and meditate

on it. Is there anything

too hard for the Lord? Oh, that person

will never be saved. That church will

never get started. That that that

country will never be open. Is there

anything too hard for the Lord?

Too hard for me. God said, "Therefore,

thus says the Lord, behold, I will."

We're going to we're just going to

remind you what the program is.

Jeremiah, behold, I will give this city

into the hand of the Calaldanss into the

hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,

and he'll take it.

And the Calaldanss that fight against

this city shall come in and set fire to

this city and burn it with the houses

upon whose roofs they've offered incense

to Baal, and poured out drink offerings

unto other gods to provoke me to Israel.

Yes, they're going to take it. they're

going to burn it. And that's exactly

what they did. And they're still finding

places where this was done.

Archaeologists are digging up things

where the burn levels of that fire

that happened u a year after this

prophecy.

And the children of Israel and the

children of Judah have only done evil

before me from their youth. For the

children of Israel have only provoked me

to anger with the work of their hands,

says the Lord. For this city has been to

me a provocation of my anger and of my

fury from the day they build it to this

day

that I should remove it before my face.

Because all the evil of the children of

Israel and the children of Judah, I want

you to underline. We read over that

again. The children of Israel, they

lived in the north, 10 tribes. The

children of Judah, they lived in the

south, two tribes. It wasn't just the

city of Jerusalem in Judah. It was the

whole tribes, a whole bunch of them.

It's a national problem. It's not a city

problem have done to provoke me to

anger. They they their kings, their

princes, their priests, their prophets,

their men of Judah, and the inhabitants

of Jerusalem. And they've turned to me

the back and not the face.

Though I taught them, rising up early

and teaching them, yet they've not

hearkened to receive instruction. For

they set their abominations in the house

which is called by my name to defile it.

What's that? The idols of pagans that

were brought into the Jewish temple. And

they built the high places of Baal,

which are in the valley of the son of

Hinam to cause their sons and their

daughters to pass through the fire to

Malik, which I commanded them not.

Neither came it to my mind that they

should do this abomination

to cause Judah to sin. That ought to

make America quake. We abort babies,

they burn them.

There's a reckoning for such behavior.

And now, therefore, thus says the Lord,

the God of Israel, concerning this city

of which you say, it shall be delivered

into the hand of the king of Babylon, by

the sword, by the famine, and by

pestilence.

Behold, I will gather them out of all

countries. Now, watch. This is worth

underlining if you underline.

Remember I said land. Watch the land.

Now I'm going to gather them. All the

countries, not just Babylon, but all the

countries, not just Judah, but even the

Israelites and northern tribes to which

I've driven them in my anger, in my

fury, and great wrath. And I will bring

them again to this place, and I will

call them to dwell safely.

and they'll be my people and I'll be

their God.

And I'll give them one heart and one way

that they may fear me forever for the

good of them and their children after

them. Now, that one heart that goes back

to chapter 31, doesn't it?

There's going to be a heart transplant,

part of the new covenant.

It's called the new birth.

And I will make an everlasting covenant

with them,

an everlasting covenant with them. I

will not turn away from doing them good,

but I will put my fear in their hearts,

and they shall not depart from me. Yay,

I will rejoice over them in doing them

good. And I'll plant them in this

underline

this land.

Same land they get kicked off of.

They're going to be coming back to the

same land that they were given through

Joshua and then sinned in their own

lives and were taken off of for 70

years. They're coming back this land

assuredly with my whole heart and my

whole soul. For thus says the Lord, as I

brought all this great evil on this

people, so will I bring all the good

that I promised them.

And fields, now this is going back to

Jeremiah buying the property.

and fields shall be bought in this land

of which you say it's desolate without

man or beast. It's given to the hand of

calaldanss. Men shall buy fields for

money and sign deeds and seal them and

take witnesses in the land of Benjamin,

in the places about Jerusalem, in the

cities of Judah, in the cities of the

mountains, in the cities of the Chafala,

and in the cities of the Negab or I will

cause their captivity to return, says

the Lord. You made a long-term

investment, Jeremiah. You won't live

physically to see it, but it's a good

investment.

You did what I told you to do and

there's benefits coming because you did

it. Now, most of us realize we don't

mind making investment for the future if

somebody is going to benefit from it,

right? Especially people we love.

And as you get older, I think you live

more for the people that come after you

than for yourself because you know, I'm

almost out of here. So, and in in our

church, isn't that our mindset? We want

we would love if the Lord would allow it

to have this church continue after we're

gone for Athens and the people of Athens

sake. And that would be our benefit if

it would happen. We would love that. We

don't know that. Nobody knows how long a

church is going to last or not last, but

it's a good prayer to pray. So anyway,

he's talking about

a return to the land. He's talking about

a a resumption of property in the land.

He's talking about the people are

leaving the land, but they're coming

back. And I'm going to give them a new

heart. It's not going to be the same

program. It's going to be an everlasting

covenant, which is the same as the new

covenant. We're not starting over with

the same program that you pe you people

failed at.

I got a new program.

This is all very interesting.

And so, um,

my intention is to focus here on this

particular section tonight

and, uh, think about what's going on.

Think about the Jeremiah is 60 plus

years old probably if you do the math on

it in the book of Jeremiah. You go to

the first part of the book and then

later part of the book and where we are

now. 39 years have gone by since he was

called to the ministry. He was a nahar

and youth which could be anybody from 20

to 30 35 even. And so, you know, he's

not a young man anymore.

And so, the captivity is going to last

70 years. He knows, I'm not, if I go to

Babylon, I'm not coming back. I'm going

to die there.

He didn't know where he was going at

this point. And, you know, we know in

the rest of the book of Jeremiah, bunch

of people were taken out. He wasn't, but

he was taken to Egypt.

But so, it's just interesting. The city

was destroyed. population was radically

reduced for the next seven decades.

And what happened to Anithon? The

property there? Nothing.

Nothing.

Jeremiah didn't benefit Jeremiah. Didn't

benefit anybody.

Uh, and the whole thing of property that

you buy, whether it's a house or a a a

piece of land, is will this property be

more valuable or less valuable in the

future? Isn't that why you buy stuff? I

mean, stuff like property,

you know, your car is going to

depreciate, but you hope your house

will.

And if they don't tax it too much, they

probably get more out of it in taxes in

your lifetime than you pay for it. But

anyway, the point here is uh

we we want things to go forward where

we've spent our time in our life and we

want the ministry to go forward. We have

no way of knowing whether it will happen

or not. But obviously when the

Babylonians are control of it and the

population is gone, the property is

going to be devaluated the whole time of

the next 70 years.

Not going to be worth nothing.

almost nothing.

So unless he's you're married or have

kids, this isn't a good investment. Oh,

but if you're single and you've got an

eternal God that you're working for and

he sees everything you do and he's

pleased with what you do,

I hope you don't just do things to be

rewarded in this life.

There is a life beyond this life.

And so, yes, there's another visual aid

going on and the visual aids are piling

up because people aren't listening. So,

they need to eye gate and eargate and

piling up. And here we go again.

And what an application here. This is a

real good place as well as other places

in Jeremiah to show that sermons need

illustrations.

People need the eye gate and eargate.

And so sermon illustrations are helpful.

They're not a waste of time.

Now, if they're biblical and helpful,

and if they really add add something

now, just to get up and tell stories to

entertain, that's not preaching. But get

people laughing and and so forth. But an

illustration that illustrates something

is a good thing.

And so

what a fascinating business this is. Now

I told you to watch the word land

or field, however your Bible's

translated.

And the there's so many key verses here.

37 to 44, I would say, are major key

verses in uh in this chapter. But

there's others. There's key verses back

in 31 where it deals with the term land.

The new covenant and the everlasting

covenant are one and same. We're going

to deal with premill, post mill, and a

mill. But it's very important for us to

understand the new covenant and what

it's all about in the Old Testament and

how it applies to us in the New

Testament.

Now, Christians differ on this. good

Christians. This is not a matter of your

spirituality or salvation. There's some

doctrines you if you don't believe, it's

obvious you're unsaved. But this is one

of those issues where good Christians

have differed.

Charles Spurgeon was not a

dispensationalist. That might shock you.

I've heard see people say he was. He was

dispensation.

But he did write something very

interesting.

Because he believed the Jews were going

back to the land.

Why did Spurgeon believe that?

He believed it because it's in the

Bible.

And he didn't put it together the same

way Darby did or other people of his

time. But this is what Spurgeon wrote.

It's a sermon he gave in June 3rd, 1855.

And Linda found this and shared it with

me.

This is what he said. The hour is

approaching when the tribes shall go up

to their own country when Judea, so long

a balling wilderness, shall once more

blossom like a rose. Now he's writing

1855.

Think about when that was.

That's before Britain ever thought about

sending the Jews back.

The Balfar that declaration was long

after this.

And he said, "They're going back. The

desert's going to blossom like a rose.

If the temple itself be not restored,

yet Zion Hill shall be raised some

Christian building." You see, we we

believe in a millennial temple. We

believe the throne of David on the

earth. He says, "Well, it might be

something like that, or maybe it'll be a

Christian church or something where

chants of the solemn praise shall be

heard as of the old hymn, Psalms of

David were sung in the tabernacle." And

then he said this, I think we do not

attach sufficient importance to the

restoration of the Jews. That's what he

said.

We do not think enough about it. But

certainly if there's anything promised

in the Bible, it is this.

God's not done with the Jews. Virgin

knew that. So does the devil know?

Listen, you've heard me say this many

times. If God was done with the Jews,

the devil would be done with.

The reason the devil is using Iran and

all these people to attack the Jews and

will use more of them to attack the Jews

and all the Jews have suffered even as

unbelievers and Christ rejectors is

because God's not done with them yet.

That's why the devil's not done with

Why did God

keep attacking Job?

What's God pointed Job out to him? It's

my man.

then like him in the earth and I'm going

to take him out

because I walk to and fro in the earth.

I own everything.

Satan feels very threatened

by the preservation of Jewish people on

this planet.

And he certainly feels threatened by a

return of the Jews to the land. Now, I

know they're there in unbelief. They're

not saved. They're not born again.

That's a fantasy of some people. They

almost make it like they're born again

even though they don't believe in

Christ. But Satan's worried about it.

And in Revelation 12, he's going to be

really worried about it. He's going to

go after him in the tribulation.

But Spurgeon went on said, "I imagine

you cannot read the Bible without seeing

clearly that there is an actual

restoration of the children of Israel.

For when the Jews are restored, you

can't be restored unless you've already

been there.

For when the Jews are restored, the

fullness of the Gentiles shall be

gathered in. And as soon as they return,

then Jesus will come upon Mount Zion

with his ancients gloriously.

And the days of the millennial

millennium shall then dawn. We shall

then know every man to be

each other in each other and a friend in

Christ will rule with universal sway.

Now be careful how you take his words

there. Don't in don't over interpret

them or you'll be making a mistake. But

I'm thankful for what he did say

and I'm thankful for the light he did

have. Of course Spurgeon was a great

Bible preacher.

Hey, so what do we got going on here? We

got just a few minutes. God uh God was

telling Jeremiah and wanting Jeremiah to

do something that everybody could see.

Put your money where your mouth is.

Invest it. Invest in the future of

Israel. And this conf this concentration

on the land and the return to the land

comes right up against the new covenant.

The Jews coming back in the new

covenant.

It's fascinating for me.

And we're going to kind of dive into

this because it's a good place to dive

into it, but not tonight. We're just

going to just make some comments here

before we get to what other people

believe. Uh,

do we believe it ourselves? Do we

believe we can trust God for the final

product? Are we sold on that? We sold on

our message or we do we believe we can

invest financially in it

and all of that.

I hope we are. And uh

I've told this story before, but there

was a man that was preaching the coming

of Jesus, and he even set a date for it.

I don't believe in that at all, but

anyway, this preacher set a date for the

coming of Jesus.

And uh his neighbor was had heard him

preach that. And somebody said, "Do you

believe what he says about the coming of

Jesus at such and such a date?" which

was right around the corner, just a few

years off. He said, "No, I saw him

planting an oak tree last week.

If you're planting an oak tree in your

backyard, you don't really believe your

own message, right?"

There's something really contradictory

there. Uh but God help us. Jeremiah

was consistent with his message and God

blessed him.

And the best way to get people to

believe our message is to invest that

message with our time, with our money,

with our life.

So they know we're really serious about.

And so may God help us to do that. Um,

let your gentleness be known to all men.

The Lord is at hand. We live like those

who are looking for our Lord.

And if we don't believe it, why should

they?

There's a story about uh William Bordon.

1904, he was heir to the Bordon Dair

estate. Graduated

from high school, a millionaire. A

millionaire in his time in 1904,

a lot more money than a millionaire

then. Now, a lot of money now, but it

was a boatload of money then. His

parents gave him a trip around the world

traveling through Asia, Middle East, and

Europe. Gave Bordon a burden for the

world's hurting people. Writing whom he

said, "I'm going to give my life to

prepare for the mission field."

When he made his decision, he wrote on

the back of his Bible, "No reserves."

turning down high-paying job offers.

After graduating from Yale University,

he entered two more words in the Bible.

No retreats.

No reserves. No retreats. Completing

studies at Princeton Seminary. Bordon

sailed for China to work with Muslims,

stopping first at Egypt for some

preparation. While there, he was

stricken with cerebral menitis and died

within a month.

A waste, you say? Not in God's plan. In

his Bible, underneath the words no

reserves and no retreats, he'd written

no regrets.

No regrets.

We don't have charge of how long our

life lasts. We don't have charge of how

God will use us. We don't always know

what God's doing. But, you know, many

people went to the mission field because

of his death.

And so may may we uh commit ourselves to

his mottos.

Uh no reserves, no regrets,

no retreats.

Jeremiah put his money where his mouth

was. The purchase was made. Then the

prayer went up.

What am I supposed to do here? I've done

it. Now what?

And the purchase,

the purchase was made, the prayer went

out, and then the prophecy came

and God gave him insight into why he

asked him to do commanded him to do what

he did and he understood it.

Practical demonstration of faith in the

future of the nation. That's what he

gave with by all this. The Lord's answer

was uh to purchase that that to this

purchase was to tell him what was coming

and how it was coming and all the good

things about it.

Well, um I hope this been helpful to you

tonight as we move through the new

covenant and think about it. Let me read

a couple of things from other authors on

this particular section of scripture.

Philip Reichen said, "How much a how

much of a piece of real estate is really

worth depends on what is expected to

happen to it in the future,

right? It's a bad time to buy when they

the Babylonians are around, at least the

near future." And so, uh, that if that's

how you would look at it, that's how you

should look at it. So, it's a long-term

investment. Take the long view. If

you're going to live your life for

Jesus, you got to take the long view.

You got to look past your life. Past

your lifetime.

Not here just for me. Don't come to

church. Don't pick a church just because

I get something out of it. Pick a church

because I believe this is a place where

other people will benefit after I'm

gone.

And you know, you take the long view and

it's very important.

Um,

so

may God help us to do the same. Seek the

things that are above,

Colossians 3:1 says,

Colossians 3:1

and not the things that are on the

earth.

I I'm I I trust that we understand that

and I trust that we will commit

ourselves to that

and follow Jeremiah and his faith.

We walk by faith, not by what? Sight.

And if we're walking by faith, we walk

by what God says, not what we see.

Some of us have invested a lot of time

in people that we wonder,

is that investment,

my time, worth it?

do how he's doing it and we're not it's

it's beyond us.

And so we just do what God tells us to

do. And when providence hits us with

something that we didn't expect, that

doesn't even seem right.

Seems like this doesn't make sense.

We embrace it.

Not just because we can't change it. But

because we know God has good purposes in

if I Jeremiah in prison and the

government hates me and the Babylonians

has taken over the city, the people

outside are hostile. The people inside

are hostile. I'm sitting in prison. I

would think those 17 shekels are very

important.

The liquid liquid assets are important

in this situation.

I can't I'm not likely to get too much

more money where I'm at.

It's going to get worse before it gets

better.

I should hang on to this.

He didn't play it safe.

He gambled on God.

And that was a good life for him.

It's a good life for us.

Father, we thank you for what we've

looked at in Jeremiah. And as we begin

to think about the land that was

purchased

by Jeremiah and the proximity of chapter

32-31,

the proximity of the land prophecy

to the Jews and to Jeremiah

and the redemption of the land

to the new covenant especially.

It's more than a new heart. It's more

It's more than

the everything that is said in chapter

31.

It's also a new start

for the Jewish people.

And we get in on it.

Not that we even come close to deserving

it, but that's a whole other subject.

So guide us and direct us. We pray in

Jesus name. Amen.

>> As we go from this place

loving you more,

trusting you more.

May the power of your love and the light

of your word shine to a sin darkened

world. As we go from this place,