Misunderstood • Week 11

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Good morning. If you have your Bible, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join me

in Jeremiah 29. This is a two-parter, and Matthew chapter 4. So jump to the Old Testament,

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

get you Jeremiah 29. Jump to the New Testament, get you Matthew chapter 4. If you don't have a

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

Bible, we have some of these black Bibles. They're at the back at this table, right back here to my

left. We would love for you, if you want to go grab one right now, you absolutely can if you want to

grab one in the service. Please come back and get one. This is our gift to you. If you don't get

anything else today, what we want you to have is a copy of God's Word, to know the truth of who God

is straight from His Word. And so please go back there and get one of those copies. That's whether

you're a guest, you're a tender, you're a member, wherever you find yourself, we want to be able

to gift that to you. If you're a first-time guest, we do want to thank you for being here and for

worshiping with us. There's a QR code in the back of the chair in front of you. If you can scan that,

and then that will help you, that'll help us get connected with you, and you can fill out that

information. And then also at the end of the service, my wife and I will be back at that black

table. If you wouldn't mind stopping by there just for a few minutes so that we could learn your name

and thank you personally for being here. Well, a couple dynamics in our service today, that's a little

bit different than our normal week-to-week. At the end of the service, so after the message, we'll have

a song, and then at the very end of the service, we will partake in the Lord's Supper together. And so

we've got these cups that are right here. If you miss that coming in, they're at the very back. So

the question is, can you partake in the Lord's Supper with us? If you are a follower of Jesus

Christ, if you profess faith in Him as your Lord and Savior, we want to invite you to partake in that

with us. We'll walk through some of that at the end of the service together, but you do not have to be

a member of our church or even a member of our denomination in order to participate in that with us.

And so we want to invite every follower of Jesus Christ to do this. And then the last part is after

the Lord's Supper, kind of hang around. We got just one more thing that we're going to do. School is

starting for so many of our students, teachers, educators, district workers, homeschool parents,

homeschool kids. And so at the very end of the service, we're going to ask that all of those people,

college students, if we got any college professors here, trade school students, wherever you may find

yourself, to come down front. And we want to spend some time praying over you because here's what I

personally believe, and I think this is what we see, is that the mission field that we can go into with

the greatest level of impact is in the education system. And so to see students boldly live for

Christ in their mission field where God has placed them, public, private, homeschool, to see teachers and

educators and district workers and homeschool parents be able to influence not just the mind,

but the heart. And so we want to take some time at the very end in order to do that.

And then I guess lastly, all right, lastly, lastly, here's where I'm at, all right.

We've got seniors in the Bradbury house, and if you just see me kind of wandering around Lexington,

I'm just not okay. I'm not okay. They had their senior pictures on Friday. Erin had to work,

and so I thought that she couldn't go, and I didn't know that I needed to go. And Emma said,

you're going with us tomorrow morning, right? And I said, well, sure. And I just did not want to.

I was not ready for that photographer to see a 46-year-old man ugly cry in front of him. Like,

it was just that. So that night, Erin got home from school, and she was like, hey, I'm going to go in

the morning for the kids' pictures. And I'm like, fantastic, you do that. So I'm going to be starting

a support group for all of us. If your kids are graduating, we'll meet on Thursday nights at 930.

We'll just come up here and cry and hold each other together and remind ourselves that it will be

okay. All right. So let me go ahead and start off with our first verse that we're going to look at

this morning. Jeremiah 29 11. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare

and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Let's go to the Lord in prayer.

God, we thank you so much for this opportunity for us to gather together, Lord, to study your word.

God, I pray that as we meet here, may the truth of your word be the sweetness that's on our lips.

May it be what penetrates our heart.

Lord, in the power of your Holy Spirit, may it stir us to take a step of faith.

Whether it be a step of faith in obedience, a step of faith in profession of faith for the very first

time. God, we thank you for who you are. We thank you for how you're working. Lord, we thank you for

how you're moving. In this, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, Jeremiah 29 11. Very,

very, very well-known, very, very popular verse. Let me read it to you one more time.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil,

to give you a future and a hope. I will be willing to bet that if you go to any Christian store,

Christian literature store, Christian decorative store, well, whatever it is, that if you walk in

and search through the t-shirts, search through the artwork, search through the bumper stickers,

what you will find guaranteed is Jeremiah 29 11. For many of you, you may not have known when I gave

this Jeremiah 29, it's what we're going to be. But the moment that I began to say those words,

it began to resonate within you, whether that you've heard that, that you recognize that,

that you identify with that. It's a John 3 16 level verse that is just known amongst the world for I

have plans for you. The personal aspect of that declares the Lord. Most of the time, instead of plans

for welfare, the word that is put in there is the word prosper. Plans for prosper, plans for prosperity.

And when we see this, we cling to that verse as a verse of hope, as a verse of potential, a verse

of prosperity. I don't know if you have a life verse, but if you do, this is a definitely a very

common life verse. I think in our house, we have it on a coffee mug. When Grayson was born, someone at the

church that we were at gave us some artwork that they had painted, a painting for Emma that was pink and

had crowns and jewels on it. And for Grayson, it had a football. And Grayson's verse was this verse.

And we hung it over his crib. And as we walked into his room, it was the reminder of who God is

in what God desired to do. But this series that we're in in the last week is not the most

understood books of the Bible or verses of the Bible. It's the most misunderstood

verses of the Bible. So the question comes for us as we think about this particular passage,

when we see in the commonality of how so many of us frequently like to use this verse,

the question becomes, is it okay to do so? Is it okay to claim this as my personal life verse? I

know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not for evil.

Is it okay to claim this verse over our children? Is it okay to claim this verse over our family? Is it

okay to claim this verse over our business? Is it okay to claim this verse over our church?

Is it okay to do so? And I'll give you the answer that most of us, myself included, oftentimes don't like.

Well, it depends. It depends. It depends. It depends on how you define prosperity.

That's how you define prosperity. You see, in the times of Jeremiah, it was a dark time of despair.

God's people were marked by corruption, by idol worship, by disobedience, from kings, spiritual leaders,

all the way down to the common people themselves. And I'm going to skip over a lot of what is happening,

a lot of what is going on, but God has had enough.

Warning after warning after warning, which is what we see commonly

as God communicates through His prophets to His people.

Warning after warning after warning.

And so Jeremiah, as God calls him and raises him up

to be a prophet to the people of God,

is to bring a message.

And the message that He is to bring is a message of wrath.

It's a message of judgment.

God's people, time and time again,

corruption,

wandering from God,

idol worship,

partaking in the activities

that mark those who were not God's people,

instead of being set apart for who they are

as God's people.

And so God gives them a prophecy

that God's people would be conquered

by their enemies

and taken into exile for 70 years.

And the reality of this judgment that comes

is it devastates the people.

Many of the people will not live past the exile.

I mean, imagine being 20 years old

and hearing that you're going to be in exile,

that you're going to be conquered,

that you're going to be enslaved for 70 years.

It's a death sentence.

You'll be enslaved.

You'll be taken from their home.

And it's not just those who are corrupt,

but it's those who've been faithful to God as well.

But God gives His people hope.

Let's look at Jeremiah 29 back to verse 10.

He says,

For thus says the Lord,

when the 70 years are completed for Babylon,

I will visit you,

and I will fulfill to you my promise

and bring you back to this place.

For I know the plans I have for you,

declares the Lord.

Plans for welfare, not for evil.

To give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon me

and come and pray to me

and I will hear you.

You will seek me and find me.

And when you seek me with all your heart,

I will be found by you, declares the Lord.

And I will restore your fortunes

and gather you from all the nations

and all the places where I have driven you,

declares the Lord.

And I will bring you back to the place

from which I sent you into exile.

So Jeremiah 29, 11,

of what we see

is a promise for God's people

of a future promise

of the faithfulness of God.

So is it okay to use this life verse

for you, for your child?

Well, again, I think it comes back to

how do you define prosperity

and who do you seek it from?

That's what we find over and over and over again.

Jeremiah 29, 11 is not a promise

that you won't face death,

enslavement, despair, suffering.

It's God saying,

no, you will,

and I sent you there.

But it's a promise

that God delivers

that as they walk through

both the corrupt

and the faithful,

but as they walk

through this season

that God is faithful.

So now,

let's fast forward

600 years to Matthew 4.

we see a similar

set of circumstances.

God's people

are once again

oppressed

and suffering.

God's people

are under Roman rule.

Their spiritual leaders

are corrupt.

Everything is falling apart

around them

of what they sense

and what they feel.

And then Jesus shows up.

And Matthew 4,

starting in verse 23,

says,

and he went through

all Galilee

teaching in their synagogues

and proclaiming

the gospel of the kingdom

and healing every disease

and every affliction

among them.

So his fame spread

through all Syria

and they brought him

all the sick,

those afflicted

with various diseases

and pains,

those oppressed

by demons,

those having seizures

and paralytics,

and he healed them.

And great crowds

followed him

from Galilee

and the Decapolis

and from Jerusalem

and Judea

and from beyond

the Jordan.

and seeing

the crowds,

chapter 5,

verse 1,

and seeing the crowds,

he went up

on the mountain

and when he sat down,

his disciples

came to him.

When we look at

the context

of Jeremiah 29,

9-11

and we see a people

who have wandered

from God

and God says,

what I'm going to create

in you

is a desperation.

And then we fast forward

600 years

and we see a people

who are wandering,

who are far

from God,

who are

struggling,

who are sick,

and there's a man

that shows up

and he works

and he moves

and he heals

and he teaches

like it's never

been taught before

to them

and they're drawn

to him.

They're drawn

to the words

and this morning

what I want to talk

to you about

is a desperation

for Jesus.

Claim

Jeremiah 29-11

if it comes out

of a heart

of desperation

for Jesus.

You see,

what I want us

to get to

this morning

as we look

at this,

as Jesus

prepares

amongst this crowd

to teach

the first public

sermon

that we see

in Scripture

is a desperation

for Jesus

and the question

that I have

for us today

that could have

happened

during the time

of Christ,

is there a desperation

for Jesus

or is there

a desperation

for the benefits

of Jesus?

You see,

because here's

what we see

throughout the course

of his ministry.

Oh, he's healing?

He's casting out demons?

He's causing

the blind to see

and the lame

to walk?

Oh, I want that,

Jesus.

Jesus then says,

oh, but in order

to be one of my followers

you've got to hate

your father and mother.

You've got to take up

your cross

to follow me.

You've got to leave

all that you have

behind and pursue

after me.

Well, I don't want

you that bad, Jesus.

So the question

we come to

as we hang

that picture

over

the crib

and the nursery

as we sip out

of that coffee cup

as we wear the t-shirt

as we put on

the bumper sticker,

the question

that we have

is are we desperate

for the benefit

of Jesus

or are we just

desperate

for Jesus?

The sermon

that Jesus

then begives

the sermon

on the mount

begins with

the Beatitudes

and this sermon

is a wonderful

collection of truths

designed by Jesus

to prepare

his followers

for the kingdom

which involved

a lifestyle

radically different

from that of the world.

Jesus is going

to teach them

what it means

to be blessed,

what it means

to be happy,

what it means

to be content

but in order

to do that

he has to

redefine that

in the lives

of his followers

in their hearts

for the truth

of God's word

to penetrate

down to who

they very are

to their core

and blessed

in his mind

prosperity for Christ

prosperity for his followers

will not be

a temporary

feeling

but instead

will be an internal

settling

of joy

in their heart

it will be

beyond their

circumstances

beyond their

afflictions

beyond their

exile

beyond their

reality

it's penetrating

to the core

and these truths

that Jesus gives

they can stand

on their own

we're going to look

at all eight of them

as quickly as I possibly

can this morning

thanks for the laugh

I said as quickly

as I possibly can

alright so here we go

verse 2

and he opened his mouth

and taught them

saying

blessed are the poor

in spirit

for theirs

is the kingdom

of heaven

now imagine this

you've got the beaten

you've got the oppressed

you've got the struggling

you've got those

that are gathered around

a movement

is going to begin

and we begin

with

blessed are the poor

what's Jesus

talking about

what does it look like

to live in this

reality

to cling to

to hope for

the blessing

the prosperity

that God has for us

blessed are the poor

in spirit

for theirs

is the kingdom

in heaven

well with that

and with you and I

as we see these

as they link together

into a chain

and building on one

for the other

this is what Jesus

begins with

he says blessed

are the spiritual

those who are

spiritual bankruptcy

to be poor

in spirit

is to recognize

that you

and I

are spiritually

bankrupt

before God

but what in the world

does that mean

that means that you

and I

and who we are

in and of ourselves

we know

that we

that you and I

of ourselves

have nothing

of worth

to offer

God

that because

of your sin

because of my sin

that we are

completely

spiritually

destitute

Jesus

that we're

blessed

when we

understand

that you

and I

that we

can't

save

ourselves

from our

situation

and we

definitely

can't save

ourselves

for eternity

and that

our only

hope

is

Jesus

is

Jesus

and we

understand

our

sinfulness

so that we

can understand

that we

need

a Savior

when we

understand

our

sinfulness

it's

in that

moment

that we

know

that we

need

a Savior

blessed are

the poor

in spirit

blessed are

the poor

in spirit

for theirs

is the

kingdom

of heaven

Jesus

speaking of the

kingdom of heaven

talks about

salvation

salvation not only

for eternity

but salvation

for today

so imagine

these

followers

they're sitting

around Jesus

and they're

at poor

in spirit

kingdom

like we're

good right

like we've

got that

covered

we can

take

we can

run

with this

poor

kingdom

that's

ours

but Jesus

continues

look at

verse 4

blessed are

those who

mourn

for they

shall

be

comforted

blessed

are those

who

mourn

for they

shall be

comforted

you know

normally

when we're

mourning

our mourning

doesn't happen

because we're

surrounded by a lot

of great things

that are happening

but Jesus

says blessed

are those

who

mourn

for they

shall be

comforted

so what in

the world

is Jesus

talking about

so he

continues to

build

the chain

it's not

just knowing

that you

are a sinner

but it's

beginning to

understand

that you

grieve sin

that you

grieve sin

blessed

are those

who grieve

their own

sin

grieving

is not

fun

but grieving

is good

and grieving

is necessary

grieving

deals with

the heart

you grieve

when someone

that you

love

has died

and you

grieve

not because

you knew

them

but you

grieve

because you

love them

I remember

when my

grandmother

passed away

in 2020

I remember

knowing that

her death

was coming

I remember

going and

spending time

with her

on her

last night

here

me and

Aaron

and Emma

and Grayson

we drove

down there

we sat

by her

bed

we made

the drive

back home

the next

morning

my dad

calls me

your grandmother

has passed

I remember

taking that

and allowing

that to be

information

in my

mind

because I

had to

perform her

funeral service

had to speak

at her funeral

service

officiate

that's the word

I'm looking

for

and I

remember

the morning

of the

service

everything

had been

written

all the

verses

had been

there

all the

poems

that she

had

written

blended

into

what I

was

going

to talk

about

what I

was

going

to do

all the

logistics

of the

music

and everything

was worked

out

I remember

sitting there

in my

office

not having

cried

a tear

since I

heard

and Aaron

walked in

and she's

like

are you

good

and I

said

yeah

I just

need to

I just

need a

minute

as I

finish

this

up

and she

said

okay

and she

walked

out

of the

office

and I

grieved

and I

grieved

because in

that moment

I was moving

from being

pastor to

the grandson

and I

grieved

her loss

and I

grieved

her because

I loved

her

Jesus

here though

is speaking

of a

different

kind

of grieving

Jesus

is not

speaking of

mourning

over

the

loss

of

someone

Jesus

is speaking

of the

mourning

or grieving

over

one's

sin

but you

and I

we're not

just

irritated

we're not

just

annoyed

but you

and I

grieve

over

our

sin

not

because

we need

to

punish

ourselves

not

because

we need

to make

ourselves

feel bad

but because

when we

grieve

the sin

that is

in our

heart

we

agree

with

God

the Bible

tells us

that God

grieves

our sin

and so

when we

grieve

our sin

we agree

with God

and then

here comes

the promise

of the

comfort

of the

Holy

Spirit

to affirm

in us

as we

grieve

that we

are loved

that we

are forgiven

that we

are accepted

that we're

clean

the

third link

in the

chain

that we

see

in

verse

five

blessed

are the

meek

for they

shall

inherit

the earth

the chain

of the

prosperity

of what

it means

to be

blessed

in

God

is

humility

before

God

and

humility

before

others

meekness

and humility

is having

the right

or the

power

I read

this this

week

meekness

or humility

is the

right

or the

power

to do

something

but

refraining

from the

benefit

of someone

else

we see

this not

as a

limitation

or a

weakness

but

instead

restrained

power

for the

benefit

of others

this is

what we

mean

when we

see

this

word

in

scripture

and

it's

the

description

of

Jesus

it's

the

picture

of

who

he

is

at

his

very

core

in

his

humanity

and his

divinity

in

Philippians

2

5

through

8

let

each

of

you

look

not

only

to

his

own

interest

but

also

to

the

interest

of

others

having

this

mind

amongst

yourselves

which

is

yours

in

Christ

Jesus

who

though

he

was

in

the

form

of

God

did

not

count

equality

with

God

a

thing

to

be

grasped

but

emptied

himself

by

taking

the

form

of

a

servant

being

born

in

the

likeness

of

men

and

being

found

in

human

form

he

humbled

himself

by

becoming

obedient

to the

point

of

death

even

death

on

the

cross

Jesus

had the

right

Jesus

had the

power

Jesus

had the

ability

to do

whatever he

wanted

Jesus

is God

but for

our

sake

he

submitted

himself

to

death

even

to

death

on the

cross

humility

before

God

but

humility

before

others

surrender

before

him

but

laying

down

and

surrendering

before

one

another

as

well

I

can

I

could

I

know

but

you

probably

shouldn't

are we

willing

to

serve

are we

willing

to

love

are we

willing

to

bite

the

tongue

are we

willing

to

forgive

are we

willing

to do

all

the

things

that

surrender

ourselves

as

servants

so

that

we

can

have

the

opportunity

the

hope

to

share

the

gospel

with

those

around

us

humility

before

God

humility

before

others

verse

six

another

link

in the

chain

the

fourth

link

of the

prosperity

life

the

blessed

life

that

he

promises

blessed

are

those

who

hunger

and

thirst

for

righteousness

for

they

shall

be

satisfied

blessed

are

those

who

hunger

and

thirst

for

righteousness

for

they

shall

be

satisfied

those

who

seek

those

who

seek

God

I

love

this

picture

that's

painted

because

I

feel

like

it's

a

picture

that

we

all

can

understand

especially

like

living

in

South

Carolina

in

July

and

August

right

blessed

are

those

who

hunger

and

thirst

for

righteousness

now

I

have

a

theory

I've

been

blessed

in

the

years

I've

been

with

I've

been

without

but

I

can't

ever

tell

you

a

point

in

time

and

you

can

like

look

at

me

and

tell

that

I've

truly

been

hungry

right

like

I've

been

ready

to

eat

but

I

haven't

struggled

with

hunger

anybody

there

with

me

all

right

but

thirst

I

get

thirst

I

know

the

best

picture

that I

could

ever

tell

you

about

what

it

meant

to

thirst

one

of

the

very

first

mission

trips

I

went

on

was

in

July

we

went

to

Mexico

central

it's

hot

to

a

whole

nother

level

and

we

get

there

and

we're

pouring

a

basketball

court

concrete

basketball

court

we

got

two

wheelbarrows

four

shovels

and

thirty

college

students

and

so

we

get

out

there

and

we're

mixing

and

we're

mixing

and

we're

mixing

and

they

told

us

not

to

worry

about

bringing

water

from

the

hotel

because

there'd

be

water

there

well

we

got

there

and

there

is

no

water

8 a.m

no

water

9 a.m

no

water

10 a.m

no

water

11 a.m

no

water

noon

no

water

1

2

3

o'clock

3

o'clock

now

in

fairness

I

had

hydrated

well

on

coca-cola

that

morning

because

the

coca-cola

and the

glass

bottles

in

Mexico

just

taste

better

than

everywhere

else

right

and

man

like

I

could

feel

it

in

my

core

it

was

every

part

like

I

could

feel

the

desperation

within

me

and

when

the

water

showed

up

it

was

the

pursuit

for

it

it

was

the

desperation

for

it

honestly

like

it

kept

feeling

like

I'm

gonna

die

I'm

gonna

die

and

then

there's

my

salvation

the

water

showed

up

when

we

begin

to

fall

into

the

desperation

of

desperately

seeking

for

God

to

hunger

and

thirst

for

him

we

will

no

longer

hunger

and

thirst

for

the

things

of

the

world

it's

no

longer

the

money

the

fame

the

fortune

the

self

the

flesh

that

we

desire

we

pursue

but

we're

called

to

hunger

and

thirst

for

him

but

so

many

of

us

so

many

of

us

if

we

move

from

the

things

of

the

world

and

again

we're

looking

in this

desperation

for

Jesus

the

desperation

for

God

we

often

times

think

that

we're

supposed

to

hunger

and

thirst

for

the

things

of

God

but

what

we

see

in

scripture

is

that

we're

to

hunger

and

thirst

for

God

these

verses

will be

on the

screen

Psalm

63

1

oh

God

you

are

my

God

earnestly

I

seek

you

my

soul

thirst

for

you

my

flesh

faints

for

you

as

in

a

dry

and

weary

land

where

there

is

no

water

you

see

we

don't

simply

hunger

and

thirst

for

the

things

of

God

but

we

hunger

and

thirst

for

the

thing

of

God

for

God

himself

because

in

him

and

in

him

only

will

we

find

satisfaction

we

won't

find

satisfaction

in

the

rules

we

won't

find

satisfaction

in

the

blessings

that

we

perceive

but

we

find

our

satisfaction

in

him

in

him

alone

because

when

we

are

satisfied

with

God

it's

because

we

are

filled

with

God

and

it's

only

when

we're

filled

with

God

that

we're

even

then

capable

of

beginning

to

do

the

things

of

God

so

hunger

and

thirst

not

for

righteous

acts

but

for

the

righteousness

of

God

verse

seven

blessed

are the

merciful

for

they

shall

receive

mercy

continue

on

in

the

link

of

the

chain

those

who

have

experienced

the

relationship

those

who

have

experienced

the

satisfaction

those

who

hunger

and

thirst

for

him

what

we

begin

to

see

is

those

that

offer

forgiveness

and

compassion

to

be

merciful

is

not

to

feel

bad

for

someone

to

be

merciful

is

not

to

simply

throw

tokens

of

encouragement

at

people

to

be

merciful

is

to show

both

forgiveness

and

compassion

and

we're

blessed

when we

do

this

because

we're

relaying

what

God

has

shown

and

what

God

has

given

us

that

we

in

our

trespasses

and sins

desperately

needed

the mercy

of God

and

it's

what

he

gave

us

in

his

compassion

in

his

love

he sent

his

son

and

through

the

work

of

the

cross

he

offers

us

forgiveness

for

just

as

you

were

at

one

time

disobedient