Trusting in God's Predetermined Plan

The sermon opens with the foundational promise from Jeremiah 29:11, where God declares that He knows the plan He has ordained for His people—a plan of peace, not disaster, bringing forth a future and a hope. This promise forms the basis for believers' trust in God's good intentions toward their lives.

However, the sermon warns that not every word about peace comes from God. Jeremiah 6:13-14 reveals that from the least to the greatest, all pursue dishonest gain, and both prophets and priests speak falsely, healing the wound of God's people superficially while saying "Peace, peace," when there is no peace. This teaches believers to discern what they hear from those around them, recognizing that not all promises of peace originate from God.

The sermon continues to encourage those who believe while living as exiles (Jeremiah 29:7) to seek the welfare of the city where they live and pray for it, because the city's peace will directly affect theirs. Following this, 1 Peter 2:11-12 emphasizes living a good life among non-believers so they may see the good deeds and glorify God. The sermon further presents that God has appointed all nations of mankind and fixed their times and places of habitation, that they might seek God (Acts 17:26-27). Christians are called pilgrims and strangers in the world (1 Peter 2:11) who must not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewal of their minds (Romans 12:2-3), so they may discern God's good, pleasing, and perfect will.

Finally, the sermon emphasizes the mission of proclaiming the Gospel through Romans 10:13-15, which speaks of the beautiful feet of those who preach the Gospel, and 2 Corinthians 5:20, which calls believers to become ambassadors of Christ. The embodiment of Paul's model in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, where he became a slave to all that he might win more, serves as the pattern for Christians to pursue in sharing the Gospel with those around them.