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New International Version Jeremiah 29:11-13 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. Matthew 7:7 Ask, Seek, Knock 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Jeremiah 29:11-13 has always been a favorite Bible Scripture for me. In The Message translation God says- “I know what I am doing. I have it all planned out- plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, I’ll listen. When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed” In Jeremiah, God was talking to the people of Judah who were sent into exile and told they would be in exile for 70 years. Yes 70 years, I’m sure the people wanted immediate escape from their difficult situation, but God tells them that He has a plan for them to prosper in the midst of their hardships, and suffering. I wonder if that was really what they wanted to hear? Especially if they wouldn’t be released for 70 years! When I hear the word plan my mind immediately goes to a plan or blue print for a house or an apartment building. I’m pretty sure that happens after being married to a contractor for over 48 years. When a good contractor looks at a blueprint he or she can visualize exactly what the finished product will look like, and exactly how thy will get from the beginning to the end. From the first shovel full of dirt dug to the last nail pounded in the roof. God has a plan for us also. From our first breath as a newborn to our last breath as we prepare to leave this world. God knows our plan and He knows exactly what our journey will look like from the beginning to the end. I started my journey being the 4th child born into a Christian family in north eastern North Dakota. I had three older brothers. My mother took us to Sunday School and Church every Sunday! We never missed! This was a time in my life that I was taught to pray and to talk to God. I am so thankful that I had that foundation from my earliest days. I have a hard time remembering what I had planned for my life as I grew up, but I do know that there have been many times when things have happened that absolutely were not my plan. One of the earliest events was when my husband Dean and I moved from North Dakota to Wyoming in 1981. We had a three old son, Kyle, and I was 5 months pregnant with our daughter, Karissa. We left all our family and friends and ventured off to Wyoming. When we arrived in Thermopolis we lived in a 20 ft camper and lived pay check to pay check and even with regular paychecks coming in we didn’t have enough money. We had one quarter that we kept in a cup to use for the pay phone booth. Yes, a phone booth!! We did not have cell phones then and so the quarter was used to make collect calls to family, mostly to my mother, and then once the call was completed we would get our quarter back and immediately it went back into the cup until the next call! Another money saving trick we learned was how inexpensive pancakes were to make, but we always had to make sure to buy the pancake mix that you only mixed with water and not the mix that you had to add eggs and oil. We didn’t have the money for those extra ingredients. We ate pancakes several meals a week. Was this in my plan? Absolutely not. Since I had learned to pray as a child I just prayed through this situation, and as you can tell we all survived!! In 1997 both my dad and my 46 year old brother were diagnosed on the same day with cancer. They both passed away a few years later within 3 months of each other. Was this in my plan? No, but I prayed and relied on friends and family to help me through this stressful time. Throughout the years we have dealt with divorces in the family, a diagnosis of Diabetes that is still a daily struggle for me, a teenage grandson who was suffering from depression, a granddaughter that is raising a two year old on her own while attending college on line and holding down a job, and sadly enough more family deaths. None of these things were in my plan but I managed to deal with them mostly by praying. I know each of you here have dealt with many similar situations and heartaches in your lives too, we all do. I feel like with each situation I came out on the other end a stronger person. I learned not to let the entire staircase overwhelm me. I learned to just focus on the first step and deal with that first. God shows up for us in creative and timely ways through people, words, nature, and in other ways we could not even imagine. A quote of Corrie Ten Boom that I particularly like is this- “Every experience God gives us, every person He puts into our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only God can see.” Let me repeat that… The Jeremiah 29:13 verse gives Christians comfort and hope when facing challenging situations. It reminds us that God has a plan for our lives, even when circumstances seem difficult and that God knows our plans even when we do not. He is with us every step of the way and knows where we are headed. When God said I know the plans I have for you, God was reassuring us that our faith in Him will be rewarded. He wasn’t saying He’d swoop down and make everything easy for us and did not promise immediate relief, but rather that God has a plan for our lives despite our present circumstances. He is telling us that even though we have hard times in our lives, we must continue to have faith. That is the key point here. We must continue our faith no matter our circumstances. In Jeremiah 29:12-13 It says, In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” God promises listening ears to our prayers. He tells us to seek Him, assuring us that those who search for Him wholeheartedly will indeed find Him. In Matthew 7:7 It says Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you” Jesus encourages persistence in prayer, telling us that those who pray and continue to ask, seek and knock will receive answers. This verse emphasis the importance of perseverance and faithfulness in prayer. Have you ever noticed when we don’t listen to God and His plans and just forge ahead with our own plans that many times it gets us into a mess. We have to remember that God can see the end result and we cannot. “Some people spend their whole week waiting for Friday, their whole year waiting for summer and their whole life waiting for what they’ve had all along in Christ.” While these people are waiting for Friday, for summer or something just better they miss all the good things that are happening while they wait. We must learn to not start our day with the broken pieces of yesterday. Everyday is a fresh start. Everyday is a new beginning. God has given us a beautiful promise in Jeremiah 29:11. His plans for us are good and there is hope in our future. God holds my life, and your lives ever so carefully in His Hand. There is no need to worry, over plan, or try to take control. God has this!! So what’s the plan? Will you follow him and let God be in control of the blueprint of your life? I know that is what I intend to do! I’m sure many of you are wondering who or what this Leafy is that is part of the sermon today. Let me introduce Leafy to you… Leafy was created by LuAnn Wall in 1994 for our church’s Vacation Bible School that year. It was titled “Beneath the Storytelling Tree, Parables Jesus Told.” Leafy introduced the Parable for each night. Leafy also showed up for many more church functions after that, one being the church’s 100th Anniversary. Many of you have met Leafy before, so this might be a bit of a reunion for you! What? What did you say? You want to what? Ok? This was not the PLAN!! Leafy asked to pray the Lord’s Prayer for you today, she loves this prayer and learned it so many years ago just like all of us did. Go ahead Leafy…. Skit-The Lord’s Prayer “Our Father which art in heaven….” Yes, Don’t interrupt me, I’m praying. But you called me. Called you? I didn’t mean to call you. I’m praying. “Our Father which art in heaven…” There you did it again. Did what? Called me. You said, “Our Father which art in heaven. Here I am. What’s on your mind? But I didn’t mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day. I always say the Lord’s Prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like getting a duty done. All right. Go on! Hallowed be thy name… Hold it! What do you mean by that? By what? By “Hallowed be thy name? It means…it means… Good grief! I don’t know what it means! How should I know? It’s just part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean? It means honored, holy, wonderful. Hey, that makes sense. I never thought what hallowed meant before. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. you really mean that? Sure, why not? What are you doing about it? Doing! Nothing, I guess. I just think it would be kind of neat if you got control of everything down here like you have up there. Have I got control of you? Well, I go to church. That isn’t what I asked you. What about that habit of gossiping you have? And your temper? And judging people? And your lack of patience? You’ve really got problems! Stop picking on me! I’m just as good as everyone else! Excuse me! I thought you were praying for MY will to be done. If that is to happen, it will have to start with ones who are praying for it. Like you for example. Oh, all right. I guess I do have some problems, some hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I could probably even name some others. So could I. I haven’t thought about it very much until now, but I would really like to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know, be really free. Good! Now we are getting somewhere. We’ll work together, you and I. Some victories can truly be won. I’m proud of you! Look Lord! I really need to finish this up, some of these nice people are waiting for coffee hour. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. Ok…Give us this day, our daily bread. You really need to cut out some of that “bread”. You’re overweight as it is. Hey, wait a minute! What is this Criticize Me Day? Here I was doing my religious duty, and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my problems and shortcomings. Praying is a dangerous thing. You could wind up changed, you know. That’s what I’m trying to get across to you. You called me, and here I am. It’s too late to stop now. I’m interested in the next part of your prayer……(pause)- Well go on! I’m afraid to Afraid? Afraid of what? I know what you’ll say next. Try me and see. Ok…Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. What about Mary? I knew it! See, I knew you would bring her up! Lord, she’s told lies about me, and cheated me out of some money, and is the biggest phony around. She never paid back that debt she owes me. I’ve sworn to get even with her and then never associate with her again!! But your prayer! What about your prayer? I didn’t mean it. It’s just a prayer! Well, at least you’re honest. But it’s not much fun carrying around that load of bitterness around inside you, is it? No, but I’ll feel better as soon as I get even. Boy, have I got some plans for old Mary! She’ll wish she never did me any harm. You won’t feel any better. You’ll only feel worse. Revenge isn’t sweet. Think of how unhappy you are already. But I’ll change all that. You will? How? Forgive Mary, Then the hate and sin will be Mary’s problem, not yours. You may lose the money, but you will have settled your heart. But Lord, I can’t forgive Mary. Then how do you expect me to forgive you? Oh, you’re right! You are always right! It doesn’t sound easy, but deep down, I know it will be worth the effort. Thank you, Lord for helping me through this. You aren’t finished with your prayer. Go on! Oh, right…And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Good, Good!! I’ll do just that. Just don’t put yourself in a place where you can be tempted. What do you mean by that? Change some of your friendships. Some of your so-called friends are beginning to get to you. Don’t be fooled! They say that they are having fun, but for you it could be ruin. Either you are going to have to stop being with them, or start being a positive influence in their lives. Don’t use me as an escape hatch! I don’t understand. Sure you do. You’ve done it a lot of times. You get caught in a bad situation. You don’t listen to me and you get yourself into trouble, then you come running to me saying, “Lord, help me out of this mess, and I promise you, I’ll never do it again.” You remember some of those bargains you tried to make with me, don’t you? Yes, I do, and I’m ashamed Lord, I really am. And I’m really sorry, Lord, up until now, I thought that if I prayed the Lord’s Prayer every day, then I could do what I liked. I didn’t expect anything like this to happen. Go ahead and finish your prayer. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. Do you know what would really bring me glory? What would really make me happy? No, but I’d like to know. I want to please you. I know what a difference it can make in my life. I can see what a mess I’ve made of my life, and I can see how great it would be to really be one of your followers. just answered my question. I did? Yes. The thing that would being me glory is to have people like you truly love me and I see that happening between us now. Now that these old sins are exposed and out of the way, well, there’s no telling what we can do together. Lord, let’s see what we can make of me and my life, ok? Yes, let’s see!!
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