PLAIN TRUTH: Choosing people over preferences unleashes God’s presence, promise, and purpose.

When we step outside of our preferences:

1. Beyond your preference, God reveals His presence in your pain.

2. Outside your preference, God reveals His promise in your participation.

3. If we pursue God persistently, then He will reveal His purpose.

My purpose in life is _________________. (take time to fill out in silence)

Life Group Lesson for the Week of October 15, 2017

The prophet Jeremiah was seen as a traitor because his message seemed to be on the side of the Babylonians. Impending disaster was already in motion due to rampant and unrepentant sin of Judah’s kings, religious leaders and prophets, the men who were supposed to be shepherding God’s people. “Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them” (Jeremiah 23:2). The LORD was sick of the wickedness, so He ‘whistled’ for enemy forces to ‘come from the north’ and destroy His beloved Jerusalem and Judah.

Too often, we pretend, as well. Instead of leading, we get distracted with this world and find ourselves worshiping comfort and personal preference. And because the Lord disciplines those He loves, He sends fire to strip away our wickedness. It’s painful, but the question is, will we respond in humility and surrender to His love, or will we stubbornly buck-up in pride and refuse to turn? We often quote Jeremiah 29:11, but skip over Jeremiah 18:11 and Jeremiah 21:10. It would be a ‘remnant’ of those sent into exile who would be spared—a remnant spoken of in Jeremiah 23:3. Although the LORD was about to send utter destruction upon Jerusalem, God would use their place of exile as refuge until His judgment passed over (70 years).

Read Jeremiah 29:1-14

While God is the God of all comfort, He is also a refiner’s fire – removing the dross of sin and impurity. God is going to use LEGACY 2:10 as a refining fire to remove the ‘fluff’ from Christ Church.

1. Are you among the ‘fluff’ of Christ Church or will you remain true through the fire by setting aside your preferences and sacrificing beyond yourself?

If you haven’t already confided in someone regarding your convictions and commitment (i.e. spouse, close friend, or fellow Life Group) are you willing to audibly ‘speak’ your conviction aloud to a trusted individual?

Unspoken convictions remain secrets in the dark until we voice our pledge to someone else (or at least write it down) in order to communicate our resolve. But when no one else knows about it we are off-the-hook, aren’t we?—totally happy not being held accountable by brothers and sisters who love us, our pastors, and our church family.

In many ways we live in an opposite world. In chapter twenty-nine, Jeremiah writes from Jerusalem to those already in Babylon, the place of exile. They think they are the ones being punished, and there are prophets there (in exile) among them falsely predicting the survival of Jerusalem. But Jeremiah says those left in Jerusalem are the objects of God’s destruction (Jeremiah 29:15-19). Yet, back in Jerusalem they thought those sent away into exile were being punished. Do you see the opposing viewpoints? And while it is true that to some measure all of Judah was under God’s wrath, the spiritually dead were blinded to the truth.

2. We live in a culture where God’s truth is often blurred, miscued, misunderstood, and misinterpreted. Indeed, it is complicated – until we sit for a long while at the feet of Jesus. What happens when we look deep into God’s Word and remain quiet in His presence?

If you look, you will see that the feet of Jesus have nail scars. What do those scars represent to you personally?

We prefer to take the path of least resistance. Yet, throughout Scripture we see that it was when God’s people moved beyond their comfort and personal preference that God’s presence, promises, and purpose were unleashed. Think about Abraham. Being obedient to the LORD’s voice required life change over preference. And yet, if Abraham had never left Ur of the Chaldeans, he would have never received God’s promise. Think about Jeremiah. His personal preference was not to be scorned and made fun of: “…Now I am mocked every day; everyone laughs at me. When I speak, the words burst out. ‘Violence and destruction!’ I shout. So these message from the LORD have made me a household joke” (Jeremiah 20:7b-8). Yet, Jeremiah alone spoke God’s truth in one of the most pivotal moments of Israel’s history.

3. Read again the promise God gives His people in exile:

“You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the LORD. “I will end you captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land” (Jeremiah 29:10-14).

God’s heart is to bring His people home. May the next generation not only know the Lord but fall in love with Him! May the next generation not only remember the mighty things He has done but faithfully pass on His promises to the generation after that!

In the space below, write at least one way the Lord is refining you through LEGACY 2:10:

“My purpose in LEGACY 2:10 is ________________________________________________." Amen.