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June 21, 2020 – Concluding at Clare And in Conclusion … Follow God’s Blueprint Jeremiah 29:15-19 These past two weeks I have brought you to Jeremiah 29, one of my favorite texts in the Bible, to share what I truly believe: That God has a plan for you as you continue to Make Disciples of Jesus by helping People Know God, Grow in Faith, and Share God’s Love. God took us to a letter he had Jeremiah write to the Israelite exiles in Babylon thousands of years ago and blessed you, I believe, with understanding that you need for today in our time of transition. God has plan for you. It is a plan that gives hope and a future because you are in integral part of God’s master plan to reach your community of Clare and the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This plan is intricately tied to the Clare area. You cannot sequester yourselves away waiting for some future promise. Rather, the future is now. You are called to live in and be a part of “the city [God] has carried you to” (Jer.29:7). You must be involved in and actively seeking and praying for the prosperity of Clare and all who call it home, “for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” This morning we read the remainder of the letter God had Jeremiah write to the exiled Israelites (Read Text). It’s not nearly as positive and heartwarming as the first two thirds of the letter, is it? We might be tempted to disregard this section as having no real significance for us. But God’s Word always has something to say to us … if we will listen. This section describes curses and consequences God is sending on those who did not go into exile as well as those who prophesied wrongly to the exiles. Perhaps this is why we’re not sure this part of the letter applies to us. But, it is a reminder for us that sin and rebellion against God cannot be tolerated. With sin comes consequence and everyone, while living in this world and until God comes bringing a new heaven and a new earth, suffers from the consequences of 1 June 21, 2020 – Concluding at Clare And in Conclusion … sin - their own sin, others’ sin, and the infection of sin in all creation. With rebellion comes the curse of death and those who do not believe and refuse to repent and turn back to God are cursed. Yet, God is full of grace and often releases us even from the consequences of sin. Paul declares, “The wages of sin is death,” that is the curse; but he goes on to say “the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rm.6:23). That is the power of the Gospel that we have. The wonder for us and all those who believe is that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set [us] free from the law of sin and death” (Rm.8:1-2). This is the hope and future that, in addition to the temporal welfare, you are to pray and work for in the city to which God has carried you. Tucked away in this section of the letter is a gold nugget that we dare not overlook. It is the reason for the exile and the curses. It is also the means by which we can know hope and have a future. “For they have not listened to my words,” declares the Lord, “words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either” (vs.9). From the beginning, Israel’s purpose was to illustrate to the rest of the world what a relationship with God is. Moses reminded the nation in Deuteronomy 4 that God had given them a blueprint that, if followed, would build the nation of Israel with such order and structure that Israel would be a witness to the world about the Architect and Designer not only of Israel but of all creation. How many of you are familiar with the works of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright? I have had the privilege of viewing several of his homes. His works stand out because he had a unique design. But, they only stand out because the builders paid close attention to the blueprints, following them to the last detail. God’s blueprints are to be followed no less precisely. Moses had said to the Israelites, “Observe them carefully, for this will show your 2 June 21, 2020 – Concluding at Clare And in Conclusion … wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people’” (Deut.4:6). But the nation of Israel stopped following God’s blueprints and wouldn’t listen to the prophets God sent to get them back on track. The result was a mess; they no longer gave witness to the Master Architect. We have been commissioned to make disciples of Jesus of all the peoples of the world. In that commission Jesus commands us to “teach them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Mt.28:20). As the Church, God has given us a blueprint that will give order to our lives, structure to our relationships, and strength to endure for eternity. The purpose of the Church is to give witness to the Master Architect and Builder in such a way that others will want to become a part of the Kingdom. But to be what God wants you to be, you have to follow the blueprint – to the finest detail. Sadly, the church is as guilty of not listening to God’s words as Israel was. Paul warned, “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2Tm.4:3-4). Maxie Dunham, elder in UMC and past president of Asbury Seminary, suggests that we have lost sight of the blueprint and so have lost our identity. He writes: For at least three decades we have prided ourselves in being a pluralistic church – and we have interpreted that to mean that we are pluralistic in our doctrinal understanding. Taken to an extreme, this is understood to mean we can believe anything we please. After all, all roads lead to heaven, right? Why be so narrow? Why set up anything that would look like a barrier to anybody? In response, we have diminished the authority of Scripture. We have denigrated the uniqueness of Jesus – his incarnation, life, teachings, death, and resurrection. We have relativized the gospel and we have no absolutes. We have no passion for sharing the Gospel because, since one religion is as good as another and everybody is going to be saved, why be so passionate about anything (p.13)? We want the Bible to provide us a way of salvation, we want to hear and respond to the invitation of Christ, but we don’t want to use God’s Word as a blueprint for living (p.15). (Encountering the Power of God’s Word, Good News, June/August 2001) 3 June 21, 2020 – Concluding at Clare And in Conclusion … What is the result of our “not listening” to God’s Word? We need only look at the culture around us. Because the church is not giving witness to God, the Master Architect for life, people are no longer being drawn to the Kingdom. We live in a culture that denies God, the standards for right living, and the fact that many are heading for hell. People do not repent and receive the Gospel, the power of salvation, because they do not see a church that is any different than the culture. John Wesley wrote, “I am not afraid that the people called Methodist should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this will undoubtedly be the case unless they hold fast the doctrine, Spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.” People of God, you must not let this be the case in Clare; do not become a “dead sect having the form of religion without the power.” Instead, live wholeheartedly in the power of the Gospel, paying close attention to the blueprint God has given you in his Word, the Bible. The church God blesses with hope and future follows God’s guidelines for life, knowing the welfare of your community is tied to the conduct of the church. I am confident your new pastor, Rev. Jackie Raineri, will strive to keep you focused on God’s blueprint. So, make a commitment to be in worship to our God and to listening closely to His Word. Commit to studying and teaching this Word so that you might become more familiar with God’s Blueprint. And do this so that you will give witness in your community to your God whose plan is that it, too, will prosper and have the hope that is available to all who will accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is alone the power of salvation for all who believe.

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