11/3/24 “I’ll Leave the Light on for You”
“I’ll Leave the Light on for You”
Jeremiah 29:1-14
Does anyone recognize the name Tom Bodette?
He’s an interesting guy.
Tom was raised in Michigan, then moved to Alaska for a couple of decades before moving to Vermont where he currently lives.
Tom is an author, radio personality, and – now in retirement – an avid woodworker.
But perhaps Tom will always be best known for being the spokesperson for Motel 6 advertisements…
Does anyone remember his famous tag line?
…”This is Tom Bodette for Motel 6…We’ll leave the Light on For Ya”
….the ad campaign featuring Bodette’s folksy baritone voice became one of the most memorable ad campaigns of the decade.
How do you respond to the phrase “We’ll leave the light on for you”?
To many of us, it’s soothing….it’s comforting to know that someone out there is thinking about you and cares about your well-being, right?
…Of course, in the case of Motel 6, they were just hoping to capitalize on those feelings in the attempt to motivate people to frequent their properties.
…But many times, we hear that line spoken from someone who loves us – and it warms the heart.
I remember back in my 20’s, I had moved in with my grandma on the family farm shortly after grandpa had passed away…the idea was for me to look after grandma, but – in reality – it was the other way around.
At that time – back in the 90’s my band would be playing shows all over the state…
….and on many weekends – depending on what city we played – Madison, Milwaukee, Wausau… I wouldn’t pull in the driveway until 3:00 or even 4:00 in the morning … (I am so happy those days are over!)
But – looking back - the thing that I remember more than any of those performances was the fact that my Grandma Leona would always leave the porch light on for me…
Grandma’s farmhouse was situated in such a way that the front porch area could be seen from about a mile away when coming from the usual direction.
… and – to this day - I still remember looking to see if the light was on when the house would come into view on those early mornings…
…and without fail…it always was.
Now…it wasn’t that I really needed the porch light to guide my way into the house – the moon generally provided plenty of light…
And it’s not that I would fumble to find my house key in the dark…. in those days, no one out in the country locked their doors…
It really wasn’t about the actual light at all…it was about being reminded that grandma hadn’t forgotten about me…
…Through the simple act of leaving the porch light on, she was letting me know that she cared about me - and that she would be praying for my safe return.
This really comforted me…even if I didn’t know exactly how to contextualize it as a young man….looking back, it means so much more to me now.
In today’s passage of scripture, we see something similar happening.
In this case, God is leaving a spiritual porch light on – so to speak – for a segment of the Israelites who had been deported to the city of Babylon a few years before King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army completely ransacked Jerusalem and the southern kingdom of Judah, sending the rest of the Jewish population into Exile.
For some historical context, Nebuchadnezzar was the King of Babylon – one of the most feared and cruel nation-states of the time period.
As part of God’s judgement upon His disobedient people living in the Southern kingdom of Judah, God orchestrated events in such a way that Babylon conducted three separate invasions of Judah…
…Remember, this was the time of the divided kingdom…the northern kingdom had already been overtaken by Assyria over a hundred years earlier in 721 BC
The first of these invasions was in 603 BC.
This is when many young and talented Hebrews such as Daniel –
as well as Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah…better known by their Babylonian names – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – were all taken captive and deported to Babylon.
The second invasion came 6 years later in 597 BC.
This is when the Babylonian army seized many religious and political leaders – along with a significant portion of Judah’s population in general – and deported them the 900 miles back to Babylon.
…Babylon was a city in a region known as Babylonia – which is modern day Iraq.
It was after this invasion and deportation of 597 BC that Jermiah writes the letter comprising our passage of scripture for today…
….A letter from God’s perspective.
The 3rd and final invasion of Judah by the Babylonians comes in 586 BC.
This is the most devastating invasion…where Jerusalem is completely and utterly destroyed.
So…getting back to our text for today…
As I mentioned, much of Jeremiah chapter 29 is a letter from the vantage point of the Lord written to the displaced Jews following the second invasion – all through the pen of the prophet Jeremiah.
These were people who had lost everything…and were starting over as sojourners in a strange land…
A land where the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (The one, true God) was neither worshipped nor acknowledged…
A land where cruel, evil, and desperately immoral activities abounded.
A land where the culture had no respect for the faith of the displaced Jews…
Fellow Christians, does this scenario sound vaguely familiar?
Does this scenario sound a bit like being a Bible-believing, Christ-follower in our world today?
In many ways, it feels as though we are strangers in a strange land…
We are living in a country that no longer resembles the one many of us grew up in.
Another parallel that I see between now and then is this:
God ordained the Israelites to endure persecution in Babylon because they had been willfully disobedient to Him for many generations…and God finally had had enough.
Through their unrepentant rebellion against the Lord, they were exiled to a foreign land and had no one to blame but themselves for their current situation.
…And folks, I strongly believe that the reason America has drifted away from God’s Word to the extent that it has – is because the Church in this country has not been obedient in reaching the culture for Jesus.
…Not this specific church, per se…
…but the collective of faith traditions in this country who claim to follow Jesus have disobeyed the moral mandates of His Word to the extent that – I believe – God is no longer withholding the natural decaying effects of human depravity within the borders of this country….like He was a few generations ago.
Satan has deceived many professed Christians into believing that living for Jesus just means you maybe attend a church service every so often on a Sunday morning…
…and then just do whatever you want to do on the other 6.5 days of the week.
We have been deceived into believing that living for Jesus just means owning a Bible…Not actually reading it, though….our modern lives are way too busy for that!
…I mean, have you seen my kids’ soccer practice schedule?...then there’s music lessons…then there’s swimming lessons…then there’s dance lessons…then there’s club ball practice for the older one….then there’s karate lessons…then there’s…etc., etc. etc.
….you get the point.
Our lives can get very busy….very quickly.
God wants to have a relationship with you…and when we relegate Him to just a corner of our lives, scripture says it grieves Him…
…and eventually, He lets us have our wish of doing life without Him in it.
…this is what happened to the Hebrew people in Jeremiah’s day, AND it’s what I see happening in this country today as well.
There is a bit of good news, however.
The good news is that the God we serve is a forgiving God!
This is God’s “Porch light” to all people – and this porch light of forgiveness is always on…He never turns it off!
2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Do you believe this?
If so, I invite you to devote tomorrow (The day before Tuesday’s national election) to a day of prayer – and if you are physically able – to a day of fasting as well.
Throughout the scriptures, we see these 2 activities of prayer and fasting, as ways of showing God that we are completely dependent upon Him…and serious about wanting to have a healthy relationship with Him..
…and also that we care about our church family, our community, and our country as a whole.
By sacrificing our time, wants, and for a short time – our needs (in the form of Food) - it demonstrates to God that we value His kingdom and His companionship above all else
…It also signifies that we are filled with gratitude for what He has done for us in the past – individually, corporately, and nationally.
Today’s passage is an encouraging letter because it reminds us that – like a porch light shining in the dark – that God still loves us…and He cares about our well-being.
As we are just hours away from another Presidential election in this country, this letter is also a good reminder of how Christians ought to engage in the culture how we ought to view politics in general.
If we look closely, this letter is broken down into 4 sections – each providing Christ followers with guidelines as to how best to engage the culture.
1) The first guideline is to Be Responsible.
This is covered in verses 1 through 6.
God tells the displaced Hebrews in verse 5 (Jeremiah 29:5) to “Build houses and settle down”…to “Plant gardens”…
And in verse 6 (Jeremiah 29:6) to (Somewhat surprisingly) allow your sons and daughters to marry, and be given in marriage with Babylonian citizens…
However…they were to retain their Jewish faith and customs.
When God tells them in verse 6 to ‘Increase in Number’ He is alluding to the fact that His people will remain a distinct entity – and remain true to their identity as Hebrew people.
Verse 10 (Jeremiah 29:10) says that the Hebrew people will be in Babylon for 70 years before being allowed to return home..
…so God is telling them to be responsible citizens of this country for the duration of their time there.
Since the average lifespan in those days was 70 years, most everyone who was displaced would never experience life in Israel again.
Therefore, they were to live as responsible citizens in and among the people of Babylon.
God did not tell the Jewish people to hunker down in caves somewhere and stay isolated from the culture around them…they were to engage with the culture…be present in the community…be a moral guide for the citizenry.
Folks, as Christians…as followers of Jesus…we are to do the same today.
Sometimes, its tempting to sort of hide from the world around us in the safety and comfort of our homes or churches…isn’t it?
…to shelter ourselves and our families from the carnality of the culture around us.
However, God never tells us to do this…in fact, Jesus often tells us to do the opposite.
…We are not to live the life of a monk locked up in a monastery or a nun shut away in a convent somewhere.
Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew 10:16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves….”
Why is that? Why does he desire for his sheep to be around dangerous wolves?
…because he wants some of those wolves to turn into sheep!
..He needs the sheep to demonstrate what it looks like to be led by the quiet waters of God’s grace & mercy…what real peace and joy can look like here on earth through faith in Christ.
In Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John chapter 17, He says this concerning His followers – including you & I today (John 17:15-18) “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
We need to be aware of – and interact with - the world around us…that’s our first guideline to interacting with the culture.
…And part of this interaction has to do with being involved – at least to some extent – politically.
Are you dealing with a lousy local representative?...then run against them.
Are you dealing with a school board that has an anti-biblical agenda?...then run for a school board seat.
Got a crummy mayor?...Run for office against them.
Edmund Burke famously said: “The only thing needed for evil to triumph is for good men (people) to do nothing.”
In other words, get involved.
We Christinas are dual citizens.
We are citizens of God’s spiritual kingdom, but we are also citizens of this earthly country…
And – I believe – part of ‘rendering to Ceasar’ is doing our part politically to help shape a more godly environment here in our own communities.
2) The second guideline is to be prayerful.
Verse 7 of Jeremiah 29 (Jeremiah 29:7) says, “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Again, this is why many of us will be devoting much of tomorrow to being in prayer for our community and our country…
One reason why prayer is so important is that it demonstrates to God that we are dependent upon Him for our future…
Our country was born out of a political declaration of Independence…
but when God’s children seek Him out in prayer, we are making a spiritual declaration of dependence.
…and when our hearts are in submission to God in this way, His word tells us that He answers our prayers according with His perfect Will.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 says “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Also, James 5:16 ends with the words, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
We cannot neglect the Christian duty and responsibility to pray for our nation and its leaders.
…even when we disagree with our leaders…we still are told to pray for them.
The way in which we engage culture must begin with prayer…
Someone once said: “We can always do more than pray after we pray, but we can never do more until we’ve prayed.”
3) The 3rd guideline for engaging the culture is to be careful.
Verse 8 in our passage for today (Jeremiah 29:8) says, “….Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you….”
And in verse 9 (Jeremiah 29:9) “They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them, declares the Lord.”
In the original context, God is referencing some false prophets who were telling the Exiled Israelites lies about how long they would be in captivity..
Some were saying that this was not about God’s judgement and that they would be back into their land of Canaan within a few years…
These were lies…and Jeremiah’s letter is calling out those lies…and the liars who are telling them.
As Christians in our world today, we need to be very careful who we listen to.
There is a lot of ‘fake news’ these days…and some of it can be very deceptive.
Has anyone heard of the term “Deepfake”?
According to Google, “A deepfake is a video of a person in which their face or body has been digitally altered using Artificial Intelligence so that they appear to be someone else, typically used maliciously, or to spread false information.”
For instance, one could take a video of you talking and completely change the words you are saying and have it match how your mouth is forming the words…all in your own voice.
Scary stuff.
If your grandson calls you asking for money to be wired to him…and you recognize it as your grandson’s voice, ask him a question that only your real grandson would know the answer to…or hang up and call your grandson to verify its him…so many scams like this are taking shape these days.
This is why we as believers need to be extremely careful about getting our news from a reliable source…which seems to be more difficult than ever these days…
Not only does this apply to civics and government, but to the church as well.
In his letters, Paul repeatedly discusses at length the need for believers to be vigilant in referencing the scriptures after hearing a sermon or bible teacher espouse anything having to do with God’s Word or His will.
Lastly,
4) The fourth guideline is to be hopeful.
Verses 10 & 11 say this (Jeremiah 29:10) “…When 70 seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
THIS is the Porch Light piercing the dark.
God cares for His people…He cares for His children…
And, as Romans 8:28 says “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
Now, we have to be careful not to take these verses out of context.
God is not telling us that we will prosper materialistically or that you’ll all walk out of here today with keys to a new Porsche.
But what God IS telling us is that His plans (Literally in the Hebrew, ‘thoughts’) are that we will be able to grow in our faith.
Becoming more like our savior is the most important blessing that we can obtain while on this earth…
and God promises this to His children when we honestly and diligently seek to have a relationship with Him.
We can have hope…because God is on the throne.
I’ll leave you with this: God is not worried about Tuesday’s election.
No matter who is voted in as the next president, or senator, or local representative…God is still sovereignly in control.
…And if the next president should institute policies that bring heightened persecution to Christians, then so be it….we will praise Him through it!
…But whatever happens on Tuesday, we have hope!
Why?
Because God is still on His throne
…and we are still His people.
Jesus will still be King of Kings and Lord of Lords
The Bible will still have the answer to every possible question
The tomb will still be empty
The cross, not the government, will still be our salvation
And Jesus will still save anyone who places their faith & trust in Him.
…and if you haven’t done that yet…I urge you to accept him as Lord & savior of your life…
…there is no better decision you could ever make…because it will be a decision that will affect your eternal destiny…
Brothers & Sisters in Christ we have nothing to fear…because God’s Porch Light is ON!
Let’s Pray.