“Faith and a Radical Financial Investment”
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
(verses taken from NRSV unless noted)
Wakelee Church ~ September 19, 2004
Theme: Faith comes when we are willing to be radical in exercising our faith!
Introduction - Florida swamps, Brooklyn bridges and Love Canals
Land purchases are risky ventures. We’ve all heard the horror stories of people buying land that is in reality nothing more than a landfill. We’ve heard of people buying swampland in Florida, or stocks in the Brooklyn bridge, or the many who lost their homes due to the hazardous waste at Love Canal. Land purchases are risky investments today, with thousands of dollars often spent on site surveys simply to determine if the site is inhabitable.
And although the risks are different today than in Jeremiah’s time, land purchases then were still radical financial investments. To many, Jeremiah’s land purchase looked like the selling of Florida swampland to gullible purchasers, the selling of the Brooklyn Bridge to the immigrants, or maybe even another Love Canal story.
But to Jeremiah, this radical financial investment, meant everything. God was calling Jeremiah to get a little radical. To buy this land meant that he was exercising his faith more than exercising his need to be conservative, more than exercising his need to be rational, to be safe, and more than exercising his need to be fully in control.
From that jail cell, Jeremiah heeded God’s instruction and bought what was to be the Promised Land. He showed that faith comes when we are willing to be radical in exercising our faith…
And maybe, just maybe, God is calling to get a little radical with our faith as well. But we often are the reluctant aren’t we…walking out on faith is often a risk.
ILLUS) There’s a story of man who fell off a cliff, but as he tumbled off he managed to grab a tree limb on the way down. As he hung there, he shouted to the heavens, “Lord, are you up there?”
“I am the Lord. I am here to help.”
“Save me, then!” replied the man.
“Do you really think that I can save you?”
“Of course, you are God, you can do anything.”
“Then let go of the limb…”
“WHAT?!”
“I said, if you have the faith that I can do anything, let go…I will save you.”
The man thought and pondered his dilemma, and said, “Is there anyone else up there?”
(Bits & Pieces, June 24, 1993, p.3)
We know that we’re supposed to show our faith…to trust in God…but we also know that it requires risk to do so. And to risk is dangerous. But to take a step of faith is to risk, and to risk for the sake of Christ, is being Christian. John Wesley once said,
“Christian faith is then not only an assent to the whole Gospel of Christ, but also a full reliance on the blood of Christ, a trust in the merits of his life, death, and resurrection; a [resting] on him as our atonement and our life, as given for us, and living in us.”
(Salvation By Faith, Sermon #1, Works 1, 121)
In short, we exercise our faith when we acknowledge that we are not taking any risk at all, but rather our step of faith is demonstrating that the Christ in us, the hope of glory, is moving the Kingdom forward. Because of our full reliance and trust in Christ, we can rest even in the most faith exercising times knowing that God is with us and that through Christ, God loves and cares for us.
This is the story of Jeremiah in our passage. As the Babylonian army came knocking at the door of Jerusalem, Jeremiah made the decision to exercise his faith by making this radical financial investment without worrying about swamp swindles, bogus bridge buyouts, or hazardous waste wonderlands.
And in Jeremiah’s story, we may learn some things about exercising our faith as well.
I. First, we may learn that exercising our faith looks beyond our immediate circumstances (vs. 1-3)
Verses 1-3 show Jeremiah’s immediate circumstances. Not only were the Babylonians besieging Jerusalem (which would have been around 586 BC) but Jeremiah found himself in jail because King Zedekiah of Judah didn’t like Jeremiah’s prediction that the King would lose his land to the Babylonians once all was said and done.
Jeremiah’s immediate circumstances were grim to say the least. God had told him that his fellow citizens were going to be shattered like a potter shatters a pot to make something better. (Jeremiah 18:1-11). He didn’t want to preach doom and gloom. In fact, like many of us, I can only assume that he wanted to fit in. But Jeremiah knew that he needed to show his faith in preaching what he had been given to preach. God wasn’t done with Jeremiah yet…his immediate circumstance was only the beginning.
And God is not finished with us either. If we are being tested in family relationships or friendships, we need to recognize that God wants us to be faithful to ourselves and to our beliefs in the midst of these trials; if we are facing health issues, we may need to stay the course without becoming disheartened; if we struggle with our finances, instead of moaning that there isn’t enough, we may need to rely on the God of abundance who said that all things are possible; and if we feel like our faith has run dry, we need to remember that even a mustard seed-size faith can move mountains.
Exercising our faith means that we are looking beyond our immediate circumstances.
II. Second, we may learn that exercising our faith often requires decision making that may
look radical to others…(if not ourselves!)
In the verses that weren’t read for us this morning, verses 3-5, we see King Zedekiah trying to figure Jeremiah out, but not getting many answers. The king questions Jeremiah, “How dare you preach saying, ‘God says I am warning you...” But Jeremiah could only reply, “The word of the Lord came to me…prepare yourself!” (The Message)
In a way, Jeremiah was forced to put his money where his preaching was… (vs. 6-8).
Instead of focusing on doubt, Jeremiah knew this was a moment for faith.
Instead of focusing on fear, Jeremiah knew this was a moment for faith.
Instead of focusing on excuses, Jeremiah knew this was a moment for faith.
Even though Jeremiah wasn’t too sure of the purchase at first, that is until his cousin came on the scene, he still knew this was a moment for faith.
Hudson Taylor is accredited saying, “Unless there is an element of risk in our exploits for God, there is no need for faith.”
(www.sermoncentral.com, search using Taylor)
And like Jeremiah, there are times in our lives when we have to recognize that instead of focusing on doubts, fears, or excuses, we too are called to live in the moment – a moment for faith.
We know what it looked like in Jeremiah’s life, but what does it look like in ours? Many of us have already experienced these moments and we can reflect back on them, but others of us may need to consider how Jeremiah is an example for us to follow as we look at our lives.
Jeremiah was exercising his faith even though it may have looked radical to others.
III. And when we’ve been through these moments, we realize that exercising our faith does not always bring immediate results…
As I read this story over and over, I had to keep reminding myself that although Jeremiah’s prophecies were originally of judgment, he now found himself in an opportunity to bring hope.
The purchase of the land did not get him out of jail…(v. 11-13). Even all the paperwork that went into the sale had to be done within the “court of the guard” (vs. 8).
The purchase of the land really didn’t mean much in the moment, since the army was closing in, and the land would go to the Babylonians anyway. It didn’t change the outcome.
But the purchase of the land did accomplish something…
Jeremiah knew that this act was something for future generations… (vs. 11-14). It showed the faith that the land would be there’s once again.
And Jeremiah’s purchase did facilitate the fulfillment of prophecy. The Message translation of vs. 15 reads, “The God of Israel saying, “Life is going to return to normal. Home and fields and vineyards are again going to be bought in this country.”
While patience may be a virtue, faith is so much more than just patience. Jeremiah’s faith did not mean immediate results, but his faith did bring about God’s will for his people, and our faith can bring about God’s will for others and ourselves as well.
IV. Which leaves us with one last thing to glean from this passage, exercising our faith gives us even more faith.
When AnnMarie and I decided to come to Wakelee some six years ago, it was one of those exercising moments for us. We knew that becoming pastor and pastor’s wife was going to change how we did things. We struggled with whether to or not to, doing a whole bunch of praying before we even considered it.
But, like Jeremiah we knew. We knew that by faith, God was going to take care of us. We knew by faith, that because we were willing to step out of our comfort zone, we would be given the faith we needed to make it through. And even though it may have looked radical to some, we made the plunge in to full-time pastoral ministry.
Charles Kettering once wrote, “No one would ever have crossed the ocean if [they] could have gotten off the ship after the storm.” (www.sermoncentral.com, search using Kettering)
For AnnMarie and I, we didn’t jump ship, but instead decided to continue crossing the ocean, with God doing the navigating. The result, our faith has grown because of that decision.
Jeremiah didn’t give up after the storm either, but continued to follow “the word of the Lord” in his life, even beyond this land purchase. In fact, Jeremiah, in verse 27, is reminded that the Lord is God and that there is not anything too hard for those who follow the Lord in their lives as well.
V. Call to Discipleship: What Does This Mean For Us?
Each of us is in a different place this morning, and we’ve all heard this story differently, but yet there is something in this story for each of us. We each need to consider how we are exercising our faith beyond our immediate circumstances? What is God calling us to do that requires us to take a step of faith? What is God calling us to do that may not make sense to others and maybe not even ourselves? Looking back, we also need to consider the times in our lives when we can see that the risk in faith we took was a benefit to our future.
Michael McCartney knew this when he wrote this impressive prose…
“To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing our true self.
To place our ideas, our dreams before a crowd, is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing and is nothing…only a person who risks is truly free.”
(www.sermoncentral.com, search using McCartney)
Why can we do this? Why could Jeremiah do this? Jeremiah could exercise is faith because he understood the relationship that he had with God. He understood that God loved him and that God wanted only the best for him. Jeremiah understood that God was in control, and rather than strike fear in him, it provided him comfort.
We too can make that claim today. Each of us needs to examine our relationship with Jesus and claim His love for us. In our times of radical, faith exercising decision making, with all the doubt, fear, and excuses, it is so easy to bail out. But if we pause and reflect on the cross, we realize that Jesus could have bailed on us at any time; instead, he chose to die so that we can live.
Just like Jeremiah, we too can claim the relationship that Jesus offers. We too can claim the love of God, and we too will find ourselves stepping out in faith because we know God is with us and cares for us.
May be it be so in each of our lives, as that radical faith continues to grow in us because of our radical faith in him.
Let us pray…
Gracious God,
When we sit in the jail-cells of our lives,
When we can feel the ground shake with the advancing of the enemy, help us to have faith.
When we follow you outside of our comfort zones,
When we love the unlovable and touch the untouchable, help us to move forward.
When everyone seems to be laughing at us,
Calling us unreasonable and over zealous.
Help us to remember that they laughed and scorned you also.
Awesome Creator, Merciful Redeemer, Grace-filled Sustainer, help us to exercise our faith, so that we may grow stronger in you.
Amen.
Closing Hymn # 467 – Trust and Obey
