Jeremiah's Defiance: A Beacon of Hope Amidst Despair
The central theme of our discourse revolves around the profound concept of hope, particularly as articulated through the lens of the biblical narrative in Jeremiah 33. We reflect on the dichotomy of hope, elucidating that while a modicum of hope can be beneficial, an excess thereof may engender peril. In a world often engulfed in despair, we draw parallels to dystopian narratives, such as the Hunger Games, to underscore how those in power may seek to ration hope in a manner that maintains control rather than inciting transformation. Furthermore, we traverse the historical landscape of Judah's exile, wherein the remnants of faith appeared to be extinguished, yet we proclaim the enduring promise encapsulated in the prophetic declaration, “The days are surely coming.” This episode invites listeners to embrace a bold and tenacious hope, one that defies the prevailing cynicism and anticipates a future where divine righteousness prevails.
The discourse delves into the concept of hope, elucidating its profound significance amidst despair, particularly within the context of historical and contemporary narratives. The speaker invokes the allegorical backdrop of 'The Hunger Games' to illustrate how hope can serve as a double-edged sword—while a modicum of hope can inspire compliance, an excess of it poses a threat to the established order. This notion invites listeners to ponder the delicate balance of hope as it exists in their own lives, paralleling the plight of the Israelites during their exile, when they grappled with feelings of abandonment and despair. The speaker, drawing on the prophetic voice of Jeremiah, proclaims the arrival of a transformative hope that transcends mere survival; this hope is depicted as a radical, divine promise that asserts God’s unwavering commitment to His people, suggesting that genuine hope is rooted in the assurance of future redemption.
Takeaways:
- Hope, while a powerful force, can be dangerous when it is abundant and unrestrained.
- The concept of rationed hope suggests that we must maintain balance to avoid chaos.
- Jeremiah's prophetic declaration signifies that a time of fulfillment and salvation is assured.
- In the midst of despair, the statement 'the days are surely coming' serves as a profound reminder of hope.
- God's covenant with humanity guarantees His faithfulness, regardless of our shortcomings and failures.
- The promise of Jesus' return embodies the ultimate hope, transcending present struggles and sorrows.
Transcript
You'll remember the Hunger Games where President Snow leans over his roses and hisses to the game maker.
Speaker A:Hope.
Speaker A:It is the only thing stronger than fear.
Speaker A:A little hope is effective.
Speaker A:A lot of hope is dangerous.
Speaker A:A spark is fine as long as it's contained.
Speaker A:He wanted every district to have just enough hope to stay in line, but never enough hope to burn the whole system down.
Speaker A:That's straight from the pit, friends.
Speaker A:That's the enemy's entire playbook.
Speaker A:Rationed hope, measured.
Speaker A:Light a candle with a lid on it.
Speaker A:Now.
Speaker A:Fast rewind.
Speaker A:2700 years.
Speaker A:Judah is in exile.
Speaker A:Jerusalem is in rubble.
Speaker A:The Temple, God's front porch is in ashes.
Speaker A:The family line of David looks like a dead stump.
Speaker A:Every superpower that marched through the town shouted the same thing.
Speaker A:Your God lost.
Speaker A:Pack it up.
Speaker A:The temple, God's front porch torches and ashes.
Speaker A:The family line of David looks like a dead stump.
Speaker A:Every superpower that marched through the town shouted the same thing.
Speaker A:Your God lost.
Speaker A:Pack it up.
Speaker A:I promise you.
Speaker A:There were Israelites who thought maybe we'd be better off without God.
Speaker A:Maybe it would be better off if God had never chosen us at all.
Speaker A:Being the people of promise felt like wearing a target, not a crown.
Speaker A:And right there in the middle of that graveyard of dreams, Jeremiah, who's already been beaten, mocked, and thrown into a cistern for preaching truth, stands up and commits the ultimate act of holy rebellion.
Speaker A:He opens his mouth and says four words that will still make hell nervous.
Speaker A:The days are surely coming.
Speaker B:Marcus Aurelius said, what we do in life echoes through eternity.
Speaker B:What is your life echoing through eternity?
Speaker B:Welcome to echoes Eternity with Dr. Jeffrey Skinner.
Speaker B:Our mission is to inspire, engage and encourage leaders from across the globe to plant missional churches and be servant leaders.
Speaker B:So join us and hear the stories of servant leaders, reverberating lives as God echoes them through eternity.
Speaker B:Brought to you by Missional Church Planting and Leadership Development in Dynamic Church Planting International.
Speaker A:Well, hello, Echoes Through Eternity family, this is your host, Dr. Jeffrey D. Skinner.
Speaker A:What is God echoing through your life today?
Speaker A:Well, today we are in the thick of Advent.
Speaker A:I'm your brother in the trenches, the chaplain who still believes the gospel is wilder than any story that Hollywood could ever dream of.
Speaker A:Like I said, today we're in the thick of Advent, and I've got one line that's burning in my chest from Jeremiah 33.
Speaker A:The days are surely coming, says the Lord.
Speaker A:Grab your coffee, light a candle if you've got one, and let's lean in for 15 minutes.
Speaker A:That I pray, will wreck your hopelessness.
Speaker A:In the best possible way if you're new here.
Speaker A:We plant churches.
Speaker A:We walk hospital hallways.
Speaker A:We walk with people in the trenches and in the chaos of life because we know that our Lord and Savior walked into places where other people dare not walk.
Speaker A:The people that other people claimed were unclean, he touched and made clean.
Speaker A:The ones who were untouchable.
Speaker A:He touched.
Speaker A:The ones who other people avoided, he hung out with.
Speaker A:And I try to preach like Kevin is closer than the next breath.
Speaker A:Hit.
Speaker A:Subscribe Share this with friend who's barely hanging on and let go.
Speaker A:Got a confession for you.
Speaker A:I'm a nerd for dystopian stories.
Speaker A:I like the Hunger Games.
Speaker A:I like.
Speaker A:The there's another one out there very similar to that, that.
Speaker A:That I can't remember off the top of my head now, and I can't remember the.
Speaker A:The name of it.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But I love those type of stories.
Speaker A:And so bear with me because we're going somewhere holy here.
Speaker A:You'll remember the Hunger Games, where President Snow leans over his roses and hisses to the game maker.
Speaker A:Hope.
Speaker A:It is the only thing stronger than fear.
Speaker A:A little hope is effective.
Speaker A:A lot of hope is dangerous.
Speaker A:A spark is fine as long as it's contained.
Speaker A:He wanted every district to have just enough hope to stay in line, but never enough hope to burn the whole system down.
Speaker A:That's straight from the pit, friends.
Speaker A:That's the enemy's entire playbook.
Speaker A:Rationed hope measured.
Speaker A:Light a candle with a lid on it.
Speaker A:Now.
Speaker A:Fast rewind.
Speaker A:2700 years.
Speaker A:Judah is in exile.
Speaker A:Jerusalem is in rubble.
Speaker A:The temple, God's front porch, is in ashes.
Speaker A:The family line of David looks like a dead stump.
Speaker A:Every superpower that marched through the town shouted the same thing.
Speaker A:Your God lost.
Speaker A:Pack it up.
Speaker A:I promise you.
Speaker A:There were Israelites who thought maybe we'd be better off without God.
Speaker A:Maybe it would be better off if God had never chosen us at all.
Speaker A:Being the people of promise felt like wearing a target, not a crown.
Speaker A:And right there in the middle of that graveyard of dreams, Jeremiah, who's already been beaten, mocked, and thrown into a cistern for preaching truth, stands up and commits the ultimate act of holy rebellion.
Speaker A:He opens his mouth and says four words that will still make hell nervous.
Speaker A:The days are surely coming.
Speaker A:Let's read that slow.
Speaker A:Jeremiah 33, 14, 18.
Speaker A:The days are surely coming, says the Lord.
Speaker A:When I will fulfill the promise I made, I will cause a righteous branch to spring up from David.
Speaker A:He shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
Speaker A:In those days, Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety.
Speaker A:And this is the name by which it will be called.
Speaker A:The Lord is our righteousness.
Speaker A:For thus says the Lord.
Speaker A:David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne and the Levitical priest shall never lack a man to offer burnt offerings forever.
Speaker A:Pause and breathe that in.
Speaker A:They spent centuries trying to be righteous enough for God.
Speaker A:And God said stop trying.
Speaker A:I'm going to be your righteousness.
Speaker A:The throne will never be empty.
Speaker A:The priest will never stop interceding.
Speaker A:The promise is locked in eternity.
Speaker A:Somebody listening right now is carrying a katniss sized burden.
Speaker A:You open the scan results and the room spun.
Speaker A:You set the table and there's still an empty chair where the laughter used to sit.
Speaker A:Your prodigal is still out there running.
Speaker A:The dream you buried feels six feet under with no resurrection in sight.
Speaker A:And the enemy of your soul leans in with his rose scented breath and whispers.
Speaker A:Hope is just enough light to keep you playing the game.
Speaker A:God stringing you along.
Speaker A:It's that same whisper that we heard in the garden.
Speaker A:Surely you would not die.
Speaker A:God just doesn't want you to be like him.
Speaker A:A little spark but he'll contain it before it ever changes anything.
Speaker A:Here Jeremiah crash through that line like a battering ram.
Speaker A:The days are surely coming.
Speaker A:Not maybe not if you perform better.
Speaker A:That there's no special ritual that you go do in the temple or stand in the church, no prayer you pray that's going to make you better.
Speaker A:Says surely there's no conditions there.
Speaker A:It doesn't say that.
Speaker A:If you do it right I will come.
Speaker A:Otherwise I'll withhold blessing.
Speaker A:That's not our God.
Speaker A:God made covenant with Abraham at a time where Abram was his name at the time.
Speaker A:And Abram was put to sleep at a time where both sides were expected to walk through the cut calf as a testimony that if either side were to break covenant.
Speaker A:The result would be death.
Speaker A:They would suffer the same result as that calf.
Speaker A:They would be cut in half.
Speaker A:As a result of breaking covenant.
Speaker A:Covenant was a serious business.
Speaker A:But Abram was put to sleep by God.
Speaker A:Because God knew that Abram could not carry the covenant.
Speaker A:He could not fulfill his end of the bargain.
Speaker A:He knew that his offspring would always fail.
Speaker A:But for God.
Speaker A:But for God, the root of Jesse springs up.
Speaker A:That's why Advent feels like defiance.
Speaker A:Light four little candles In a world that prefers fluorescent cynicism we sing oh come, oh come Emmanuel while the mall speakers blare Santa baby we're saying out loud the story is not over.
Speaker A:The branch has already come once as a baby in a feeding trough.
Speaker A:He's coming again wearing the crown that was promised to date.
Speaker A:David's line.
Speaker A:And this time every knee will bow.
Speaker A:Some in terror because they feel their own guilt.
Speaker A:Some in relief because the priest king has finished the sacrifice and taken his throne forever.
Speaker A:Now when you hear those words, I don't want you to read this story like we are so prone to read Revelation as a dystopian story like the Hunger Games where justice finally prevails and the katniss of the world, our hero stands there and puts an arrow through the heart of the President of the Capitol.
Speaker A:I don't want you to read it that way.
Speaker A:God comes, Jesus comes back to claim his own.
Speaker A:We made a mistake of one time thinking that Jesus was going to kind of take over and kill those who disagreed.
Speaker A:But Jesus is coming to establish his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
Speaker A:Read your Bibles.
Speaker A:Read the Lord's Prayer.
Speaker A:When Jesus was given an opportunity to pray, when the disciples asked him, jesus, teach us to pray.
Speaker A:He said, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Speaker A:It didn't say, come one day Lord, and take us away to live forever in heaven.
Speaker A:He says, we want heaven to be established here on earth in the hearts and minds of his people.
Speaker A:No more sickness, no more pain.
Speaker A:The root of Jesse.
Speaker A:Jesus comes to reign forever and take his throne not as a benevolent dictator, but out of love for all of creation.
Speaker A:For his creation.
Speaker A:So here's your assignment this week.
Speaker A:Hope dangerously hope loud.
Speaker A:Hope like it could topple empires because it already did at the cross.
Speaker A:And it will again when he returns, when the doctor speaks.
Speaker A:Worst case, answer with the days are surely coming when the silence is deafening, whisper back the days are surely coming.
Speaker A:When the news cycle wants to bury you in despair, love, light another candle and say it again.
Speaker A:Surely the days are coming, saith the Lord.
Speaker A:Despite what the world looks like, despite what the news cycle tells us, despite what all the bad news in the world wants to tell us.
Speaker A:They want to tell us to despair.
Speaker A:They want to tell us that it's all a game and that the system is rigged.
Speaker A:And God says, not my system, not my kingdom.
Speaker A:In my kingdom, kingdom heaven will be on earth.
Speaker A:Earth will be as heaven.
Speaker C:Many hundreds of years ago, the Christ child came into the midst of the dirt and darkness of this warring world.
Speaker C:And Christ is still alive in the hearts and minds of those with whom his peace has been made.
Speaker C:In us the promise of peace has been answered.
Speaker C:And in us that peace shall still spread and prosper.
Speaker C:So may the bells of Christmas forever ring resounding with the praise.
Speaker C:Of peace on earth and goodwill toward men.
Speaker A:Sam.
Speaker C:Then you hear the bells more loud and deep.
Speaker C:God is not dead, nor doth he sleep.
Speaker C:The wrong shall fail the right prevail with peace on earth, good will to end.
Speaker C:Then feel the bells more loud and deep.
Speaker C:God is not dead nor dull his sleep the wrong shall fail the right prevail with peace on earth, good will to fail.
Speaker C:With these honored goodwill to.
Speaker A:Name.
Speaker C:With peace on earth, goodwill to.
Speaker A:Let's pray.
Speaker A:Lord Jesus, righteous branch sprung up from Jesse's stump.
Speaker A:You're the yes and the amen to every promise God ever made.
Speaker A:When God feels foolish, remind us you're the God who keeps lighting sparks the devil can never extinguish.
Speaker A:Teach us to hope the dangerous, unconscionable kind until the great day dawns and runs screaming from your face.
Speaker A:Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
Speaker A:The days are surely coming and we can hardly wait.
Speaker A:Amen.
