ethos

Last week we talked about looking at your past and not being  overwhelmed by your baggage.  To cry out to God and he will answer.  To have hope because he has given us the promise of a future.

Tonight, I want to talk about the fact that you are where you are, how to properly look at it, and prepare for those promises that have been given to us.

I shared with you about where I’ve been since 2001 and how it came to a head a few weeks ago

• Quickly sum up burn out story again

Jeremiah 33:10 –“ You say about this place . . .” – This where  they  were

Set up story again

• The Babylonian armies under Nebuchadrezzar were laying siege to Jerusalem, with its fall and destruction imminent
• Babylon had already captured the city once in 598 BC, and replaced the Davidic king (Jehoichin) with a puppet king, Zedekiah. However, because of world events and a resurgent nationalism, Zedekiah was persuaded to rebel, which precipitated the return of the Babylonian armies to lay siege to Jerusalem in 588 BC. Within months of the beginning of that siege, a new Pharaoh came to power in Egypt. Sensing the threat posed by Babylon control of Palestine, Pharaoh Hophra sent an army north to confront the Babylonians and relieve the siege of Jerusalem. As the Egyptian army approached, the Babylonians temporarily lifted the siege (37:4-5), which led to a euphoric sense of relief in Jerusalem as many insisted that God had provided another miraculous deliverance as He had done in the days of Hezekiah (2 Kings 18-19).
• But Jeremiah knew better. He continued to insist, as he had for 40 years, even in the face of threat of execution as a traitor, that this time God would not spare the city and the land. It was not only because the people had so long been unfaithful to Him, but also because they continually refused to repent and return to God beyond expecting Him to bail them out of trouble (chs. 6-7). The “weeping” prophet (8:18-9:1) knew that an end was coming, and in fact was only a matter of months away.
• Still, Jeremiah resolutely held out the hope of a new future. Jeremiah saw a newness arising only beyond the ashes of a devastating catastrophe. For Jeremiah’s vision of the future to be true, that future had to be God’s future, not a future orchestrated by kings and soldiers, implemented by alliances and power, and worked out in the security of false ideas about God. Jeremiah’s hope was rooted in the ongoing activity of God in the world on His terms, and on His terms only.
• I have been looking at the devastation of my life in these recent days and feeling hopeless
• The Israelites were looking at the devastation of their cities and the coming exile and saw no future –“ a desolate waste”

1)      Let’s be honest – You gotta be honest  if you are going to prepare for the promise – if we are going to be able to receive anything

• Things were bad for the Israelites and then got a little better
• So they got lax and didn’t come completely clean with God
• We must be brutally honest with where we are and where God wants us and the gap in-between or we will wind up worse!
  • When I got up from my breakdown and had to admit I was not at a good place
  • I have had to evaluate the patterns that led me there
  • I’ve had to ask others what  they see and listen (Listen to Jeremiah)

2)      Let’s prepare – You have to take where you honestly are and then prepare accordingly to receive what God wants to give you

• You can’t keep doing the same things the same way and expect things to change
• There are things that the Lord wants to teach you and give to you that you may be unable to receive
  • Anger, fear, pain, selfishness
  • Remember it’s on God’s terms and His terms only
  • We must realign to God’s heart via Luke 10:27 “Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength”

This is what I’ve been doing to realign and prepare

1. Put God first
   1. Repentance
   2. At the beginning of the Day
      1. i.      Rise early, Sleep in
      2. ii.      Let scripture study you
      3. iii.      Journal
      4. Put Things in Order
         1. Prioritize
            1. i.      85, 10, 5
            2. ii.      Fill and drain
            3. Take Care of the Temple
               1. Rest
                  1. i.      Say no
                  2. ii.      Sleep in
                  3. iii.      Retreat
         2. Live
            1. i.      Exercise
            2. ii.      Eating habits

Results

• Getting energy back
• Getting  vision and passion back
• Getting  patience and compassion back
• Getting creativity back
• I’m hearing His voice and feeling His presence