Sermon Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, 

And never brought to mind? 

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, 

And days of auld lang syne! 

For auld lang syne, my dear, 

For auld lang syne. 

We'll take a cup o' kindness yet, 

For auld lang syne. 

A Dream

The movie, “Its a wonderful Life” is a story about a man named George Bailey who lived in a small town called Bedford Falls. The quaint little town was actually based on Seneca Falls which is an hour away from here. George was the eldest of two sons. His father was Peter Bailey. Peter ran a local money lending company called the Bailey Savings & Loan with his absent-minded brother Billy. Peter was not a great business man but he was generous and he used his small loan office to help those not as well off afford their own homes. 

But George’s main dream in life was to leave Bedford Falls. One evening he walked home from a high school dance with his future wife, Mary, and she asks him about his future. George responded by saying.

I'm shakin' the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. Then, I'm comin' back here to go to college and see what they know. And then I'm gonna build things. I'm gonna build airfields, I'm gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I'm gonna build bridges a mile long…

What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary

In the Bible there is a prophet named Jeremiah. He spoke God’s word to the people of Judah during the reign of Judah’s last five kings. And when God called Jeremiah to be a prophet as a young man- probably younger than George was, 17 or so- these were the words God spoke to him.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you. I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.

Jeremiah 1:5-10

Here we have this awesome calling by God. Before Jeremiah’s birth, God had set him a part for greatness. He was made with a purpose. He was made to have a mission. He was to be the herald of the almighty God, speaking truth to kings and rulers of the world with the authority and protection of the everlasting, omnipotent Being. God was giving him the power both to raise up kingdoms and destroy the nations of the world. Before Jeremiah was born, God had a plan for him. A plan for greatness.

My question for you is, what dreams do you have? What dreams has God laid on your heart?

A Dream Dashed

Going back to George’s story, the night that he declared his dreams to Mary- about building cities and traveling the world- that very night those dreams all began to fall apart. Moments after he shared his dream with Mary he gets a message that his Dad died. And because of the death of his father, Peter Bailey, the stockholders of the Bailey Savings & Loan wanted to sell the business to Mr. Potter. Mr. Potter was an old, greedy businessman who didn’t care about the poor and the foreigners in Bedford Falls. All he cared about was money and power. The only way the stockholders were willing to keep the Bailey Building and Loan was if George ran it. So, George’s plan to see the world was halted. He agrees to run the Building and Loan until his brother, Harry, gets back from college. 

But years later, when Harry returns, Harry is married and has a great job set up in another town. George sees the opportunity for his brother and congratulates him. And George is stuck still in Bedford Falls. 

Later, George gets married and he starts driving off to his honeymoon where he finally has the  opportunity to leave Bedford Falls and explore the world, even if it is just for a short period of time. But as he drives off, he sees a crowd gathered at the Savings and Loan office. The year was 1929 and the great stock market crash just happened. In order to save the Building and Loan and care for the people in his community, George had to use up all of the money he had saved for his honeymoon.

And George Bailey never goes out and sees the world. He never builds buildings or skyscrapers. He never lassos down the moon for Mary. He never leaves Bedford Falls.

I wonder if Jeremiah also had his dreams dashed. I do not know what Jeremiah’s expectations were when God called him, but the reality of his life was filled with much more pain and hardship than what I would expect it to be based on the promise God had for him.

• Because of his calling, Jeremiah  never married or had children “Jeremiah 16:2”
• Because of his calling, he never attended weddings or funerals “Jeremiah 16:5"
• Because of his calling, he never never even got to go to any parties or feasts. Jeremiah 16:8
• Actually because of his calling, he never joined the company of anyone who was involved with any type of celebration whatsoever Jeremiah 15:17.
• His enemies threatened to have him killed again and again.
• He was thrown into a well to be left to starve to death.
• He was left in jail in spite of innocence.
• The people he was called to give God’s message to, never listened to what he had to say. 
• He had to sit and watch his city go through war, famine, and destruction as the Babylonian empire took over.
• The only friendship he received was from someone who wasn’t of his own people, a foreigner, an African, that rescued him after the Babylonian invasion.
• And even then, he was taken to Egypt against his will by his own people. In Egypt, they continued to not listen to his guidance and his wisdom. 

Now, none of us can say that we have had a life like Jeremiah’s. Most of us have not experienced the tragedy, hardship, and rejection he has. But we all still have things in our lives that we sit back and say, “This is not how its supposed to be.”

• Maybe you are like George Bailey and have planned your whole life to see the world, and build cities or companies and it just never came together.
• Or maybe although you grew up with a close knit family, divorce has invaded your life and now things are not right at home.
• Or Maybe death has taken away one of the people you were closest to. And now you have to deal with living the rest of your life with that person not being here.
• Or maybe you were in a romantic relationship and you were thinking, “wow, maybe this could be the one” and now… that relationship is just over. 
• Or maybe you had a close relationship with someone and something got in the way and things have just been distant over time. And it doesn’t look like it will ever be like it ever was before ever again.
• Or Maybe you or someone you deeply love is suffering from an illness or a disorder and healing has not come yet.
• Or Maybe you feel trapped in an addiction and have lost hope.
• Or maybe you have a child who has strayed away from the Lord and you are wondering if you will be with them in heaven some day.
• Or maybe you have been violated in some unspeakable manner which has torn apart your life.
• Or maybe even being part of a fellowship like this where everyone loves each other and cares for each other, for some reason you feel isolated and alone.

And you think to yourself. This is not how its supposed to be. This is not how its supposed to be.

George Bailey wasn’t supposed to be stuck for the rest of his life in Bedford Falls. He was supposed to see the world. He was supposed to see Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. He was supposed to build things, airfields, skyscrapers a hundred stories high, bridges a mile long… You want the moon Mary? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. But the only things George Bailey feels like he is pulling down is pain, mediocrity and regret.

End of your rope

But George Bailey seems to deal with his life even with his dreams gone. When he hears stories of his brother and his friends doing things he always wanted to do, it is hard for him. But for the most part he shuts out his dreams and lives out his life. He becomes numb to the loss. How about you? Do you do that? Are you numb to the loss?

Then one day, around Christmas time, George’s coworker uncle Billy comes back to the office saying he misplaced eight thousand dollars of the company’s money. By today’s currency that is about the equivalent of over $96,000. 96,000 dollars! George knows its the end of him. It is the end of the Bailey Savings and Loan. It is the end of his life as he knows it. He is going to be thrown in jail for mismanagement and corruption. He will be taken away from his family and friends. His name and reputation will be strung through the mud. The little he feels like he does have is being taken away from him.

So what does George do. All through his life, he never had  enough money to save for retirement or anything like that. The only option George thinks he has is to go to the evil, greedy Mr. Potter and ask for a loan. But Potter throws him out, telling him to go to his poor friends. He tells George to go to the ones he has devoted his life to helping care for all of these years. But George knows they don’t have the resources to help him out. George believes he is left with one last option. He has to kill himself so that his life insurance will provide for his family with enough money to survive. 

And thats when an angel shows up. Clarence. Now Clarence isn’t the smartest angel of the bunch but Clarence is able to do something for George. He allows him to see what the world would be like if he had never been born. 

And with this new picture of reality George realizes

• His brother Harry never would have become a war hero without George saving him from drowning as a child
• His old boss, the pharmacist Mr. Gower would have become a destitute man without George  stopping him from accidentally giving poison to a couple of boys. 
• The Bailey Savings and loan would have fell apart as soon as George’s dad died without George stepping in to help.
• George’s uncle Billy would have went to an insane asylum because he was so bereaved from his Brother, Peter’s death, without George’s leadership and guidance.
• George’s mom would not have a family without having George, Harry, Peter, and Uncle Billy.
• And the entire town of Bedford Falls would have become a place filled with blight and immorality because George wasn’t there to fight the big, greedy businesses and care for the needy.

And as we look back at George’s life we see that he never built buildings or saw the world. He never brought a moon down for Mary. He never left Bedford Falls. But he did have a wonderful life. Because of the sacrificial love he showed to other people, he saved many people from ruin and despair. He provided ways for those in his community to live life well. A faithful life of loving others is wonderful life.

As for Jeremiah. We see a man who was faithful to God. Through Jeremiah’s obedience, the people of Judah had the opportunity to know God as Jeremiah spoke to them about God’s Word. And we, today, also have the opportunity to understand God better through the writings Jeremiah left us. But, one of the most important things that Jeremiah did was give hope to remnant of Jews that survived the Babylonian take over. According to the Book of Jeremiah:

This is what the Lord says: “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 your 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 29:1-14

Jeremiah gave the Jews taken away to Babylon a hope for the future. A hope that God would show up. That one day, in the near future, God would bring them back from exile and he would be with them again. A faithful life of loving others is wonderful life. And a faithful life of obedience to God is a wonderful life.

And this is the story for us too. If we live a life of sacrificial love, if we live a life of obedience to God, we too will live a wonderful life. We may not build buildings, see the world, or lasso down the moon, but we will do what God has called us to do. There will be parts of our lives that are tragic, but God will use us for his purposes and there is no greater use for our lives than that.

After George’s epiphany he calls out to God and he is brought back to his normal life again. He goes throughout Bedford Falls and finds everything as it was before. He returns home happy to see his family. Ready for the consequences of the lost money, but happy to be alive.

A Bigger Story

We never know what happens to Jeremiah. The last place we hear of him he is being taken against his will out to Egypt. I would like to think that after all of trials, and seeing all of his prophesies of death and destruction come true, that God gives him a plot of land, a quaint little home, and a family to raise. But we will never know. The book of Jeremiah ends by saying.

In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil-merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind to Jehoiachin and released him from prison on March 31 of that year. He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon.  He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb and allowed him to dine in the king’s presence for the rest of his life.  So the Babylonian king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived. This continued until the day of his death. 

Jeremiah 52:31-34

The last chapter of the book of Jeremiah has nothing to do with Jeremiah at all. It has to do with the last king of Judah, Jehoiachin. But why? To the Jews this ending is very interesting. It was very important. This was a message of hope for them. To think of Jehoiachin’s prosperity, they were reminded about a prophesy from long, long time ago given to King David. 

Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings!  For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong.  He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. 

2 Samuel 11a-13

Jehoiachin was one of the descendants of David. His prosperity meant that the line of David would go on. Although Jerusalem had fallen, God’s promise to raise up a descendant of David to have an everlasting kingdom can still come true.

At this time of year, Christians celebrate the season of advent. We remember the time before Christ and how they waited expectantly for the messiah to come, the king who would rule an everlasting kingdom. And on Christmas we celebrate the birth of that King. Jesus Christ. The Godman who came down from heaven and dwelt among us. The sacrificial lamb that paid the price with his life that we may be united to our father in heaven. And if you have not made a decision to follow Christ, may the advent of your waiting for the messiah end today. Put your faith in Jesus Christ that through his death and resurrection you can have forgiveness of sins and be born again. You can be united with God and have everlasting life within his kingdom.

So what happens to Jeremiah is of little consequence. His life was caught up in a greater story pointing to the coming messiah. And in many ways our lives are that way as well. We wait in advent for the time to come when Christ will return and rule the nations. We wait for the day when He brings heaven down to earth. All of the pain and suffering that Jeremiah went through is because he had a hope in something greater. Something that would last beyond him. We see this faith in all of the heroes in the Bible: Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Peter, Paul, and John. In book of Hebrews it says

"All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.  Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.  But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

Hebrews 11:11a-13

There will be a day, when we all be home. Where Job, Peter, and Jeremiah can all sit together and laugh. And we can be there too with all the saints and all those who came before us. We can sit enjoy the deliverance of our strong God. And all of the toils and strife we run into in this life will dissolve into a vapor. In the book of Revelation it says,

Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Revelation 21:3-4

Glimmers of Heaven

But! sometimes, we even see glimmers of heaven here and now. Even today, we see shadows of what is still to come.

We left George running home in celebration of own life thinking that he still had to face years in jail away from his family and friends. But while he was gone, people all over the city and all over the country were praying for him. And God was calling them. God was calling others to be there for George. And when George gets home something amazing happens. All of the people he has cared for and shown love to all of these years show up at his home. Although they were people of little means they each gave what they could to help George out. Soon friends from all over the world call George up telling him that they are sending him money. A party breaks out. People start passing around Champagne and start singing songs . There is joy and laughter. Even those who come to put George in jail start to chip in. They rip up the warrant for his arrest. By the end of the story, George has become the richest man in town. 

Just thinking about this story gets me choked up. George is at the end of his rope, thinking that his life is over. Then God shows up. God uses the love of the community of his people to care for George and his needs. God mocks the lie that says staying in the small town of Bedford Falls was a waste of George’s life. Sacrificial love and obedience to God is worth it. And although this is a fictional story, we see glimmers of heaven just like this all of the time.

We have seen these glimmers of heaven. We have watched our pastor for six years go through sleepless nights, pain, and suffering, not knowing if that pain would ever end. not knowing what the physical toll on her body would mean for the future. Not knowing if having another child could even be a possibility. So we prayed and we prayed and we prayed. And we hoped and we hoped and we hoped. So what happened. God showed up. Pastor Joanne is living pain free and has just yesterday given birth to a second child. We are all witnesses of a glimmer of heaven.

And we saw another glimmer of heaven this past week. As I stated earlier, we have friends in our family here, Chris and Ronnie and their girls, who suffered a great tragedy this week. They lost everything. All that they owned. A lot of items that had significant value to them. And I can’t minimize that. I can’t minimize the unsettledness they still feel. Their experience this week was absolutely terrible. But then we prayed and hoped and prayed and hoped. And God showed up. And now people are donating money and gifts from literally all over the United States. Hundreds of items. Thousands of dollars. The community of God has come together just like it did for George Bailey. And although the pain is still ripe, we can celebrate. We have witnessed the acts of the one true God. And he has given us another glimmer of heaven.

Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen, Friends, guests, its a Wonderful Life. It is filled to the rim with pain and hardship many of us unfortunately know all too very well. But if we give our dreams to God, put our faith in him, love sacrificially, follow him obediently, pray with a hope that he will come back and make everything the way it is supposed to be, we will live in joy. We will live in peace. We will live truly wonderful lives.