Hope
Jeremiah 29:10-14 – Victory Fellowship
November 2, 2025 - Rev. Roderick Grabski
Introduction:
I. At times seems the world is hopeless. Protests everywhere, Christian persecutions, school problems
a. Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all...As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength. (G.K. Chesterton, Signs of the Times, April 1993, p. 6)
b. Hope is not hope unless one believes that things will get better – even where there is no evidence to support such a notion.
c. FAITH is thanking God for the results yet to be realized.
II. THE DETAILS:
*Jeremiah was prophet from 627-583 BC
*God knew him before he was formed in his mother’s womb (1:5)
*He told Judah of their error in not following God with such passion that he was called the weeping prophet.
*Even when in 605BC people began being carted off to Babylon, Judah still put their faith in false prophets saying this was only a
temporary situation.
Lessons from Jeremiah’s ministry:
-God knows us before we are conceived and He has a plan for us.
-The majority opinion is not always what God’s will is.
-Even in the face of trouble and punishment for sin, God’s Mercy provides hope
-Serving and honoring God does not necessarily guarantee earthly security.
Jeremiah was right. Judah was exiled to Babylon little by little from 605 until 583 when Jerusalem was destroyed. For 70 years they were in exile. The false prophets of security were wrong. Judah would have been wise to “hear the Word of the Lord.”
By the time we get to chapter 29, Jeremiah is offering Judah instruction for how to live a long time in exile.
Basically, everyone who is a child taken into captivity will be old by the time they can return to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
In the text this morning, Jeremiah is providing comfort and assurance that, despite their sin, God has not forgotten His people.
a. GOD’S PLANS – the good news after the bad news – Jeremiah encourages Israel before they go into 70 yrs of captivity.
i. Not for their harm
ii. For a future and a hope
b. CALL UPON THE LORD
i. Pray
ii. Seek God’s face
iii. Seek Him with all your heart
iv. God brings restoration and renewal
III. APPLICATION:
a. Because of God’s plans for us, we can…
i. Have Hope in our present circumstances
ii. Have Hope in our present trials
iii. Have Hope in our future
b. New life in nouns and adverbs
The school system in a large city had a program to help children keep up with their school work during stays in the city's hospitals. One day a teacher who was assigned to the program received a routine call asking her to visit a particular child. She took the child's name and room number and talked briefly with the child's regular class teacher. "We're studying nouns and adverbs in his class now," the regular teacher said, "and I'd be grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn't fall too far behind."
The hospital program teacher went to see the boy that afternoon. No one had mentioned to her that the boy had been seriously injured and was in great pain. Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told him, "I've been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs." When she left she felt she hadn't accomplished much.
But the next day, a nurse asked her, "What did you do to that boy?" The teacher felt she must have done something wrong and began to apologize. "No, no," said the nurse. "You don't know what I mean. We've been worried about that little boy, but ever since yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He's fighting back, responding to treatment. It's as though he's decided to live."
Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization. He expressed it this way: "They wouldn't send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?" Bits & Pieces, July 1991.
c. In the same way, God wouldn’t send His Son to die on the cross if there wasn’t much Hope for you and me.
Conclusion: Let’s seek God with our prayers and with our heart. Trust Him to lead us and our church to Glorify Him and increase His Kingdom.
Prayer
Song: You Keep Hope Alive
Jeremiah 29:10-14 HCSB
10 For this is what the Lord says: “When 70 years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm My promise concerning you to restore you to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place I deported you from.”