Then we would encourage you to take your Bible and this morning turn to Jeremiah chapter 29. We'll be reading from verses one through 14. If you're using the Pew Bible this morning, you find this on page 656. Actually, that must be a misprint, it's 833. Page 833 in the Pew Bible, Jeremiah 29. And in some ways, the motivation behind the selection of this text is to coordinate it with Independence Day or the 4th of July and to give us the opportunity to consider how we as Christians ought to live within our land, including within our own cities in light of the freedoms that the Lord has given us, but also in light of some of the cultural developments that we see around us. And I believe that the passage in Jeremiah 29 is very instructive for us on these matters. So we wanna read the first 14 verses here now together, the reading of the word of the Lord. These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles and to the priest, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after King Jeconiah and the Queen Mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. The letter was sent by the hand of Elasha, the son of Shaphan, and Jemariah, the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. It said, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat the produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name. I did not send them, declares the Lord. For thus says the Lord, when 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you. And I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord. And I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord. And I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. Thus far for now, our reading from the word of God. A Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, well, it is a title of a somewhat popular book written by Francis Schaeffer in the 1960s, I believe, perhaps the 1970s. The title is How Then Shall We Live? And while that was a title of a book composed in the 20th century, that question, how then shall we live, has really been a question that the Christian church has asked for its entire existence. and that individual Christians ask to one degree or another, at one level or another, all throughout their lives. How then shall we live? And this question is asked in a unique setting. How then should we live? And you could add to that question, how then should we live in this world? How then should we live in this world post Eden? After the fall? And is this not the question really that is being asked and answered within our own time within ecclesiastical circles with two what I'm going to call extremes? When it is asked how should the Christian and how should the Christian church live in a post Christian culture. On the one hand, you have individuals in the broader church give what you might call the radical two kingdom answer. And while it's a generalization, which is always somewhat dangerous, there is this sense, well, the way to live is by retreat. On the other hand, you have in the broad evangelical circles, those who say, along the lines of Christian nationalism, the way to live in this world is not to retreat, but actually to advance and to attack. I would submit to you this morning, on the basis of the authority of the word of God, as expressed, for example, in Jeremiah 29, verse seven, that the answer is actually somewhere in the middle. How should you live in a post-Christian Western world with the advancements of secularism? And as secularism advances, it brings a certain distortion to creational ordinances. And we see that all around us. The attack, for example, on the institution of marriage. The confusion regarding human sexuality. The nearly universal abandonment of the Sabbath ordinance. How should we then live? Should we retreat in some type of monastic holy huddle? Should we wield the swords of protest and attack our culture? Or is the answer perhaps verse seven of Jeremiah 29? But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. So consider with me this morning in the time allotted to us this theme, seeking the peace of the city. We'll notice, first of all, the context for seeking this peace, and then secondly, the action in seeking this peace, and then thirdly, the purpose of seeking this peace. And there is so much in all of scripture, but also in these 14 verses in Jeremiah 29, that we will not have the time to explore all of the beautiful themes and truths revealed within it. So we focus simply upon this theme, seeking the peace of the city. Notice, first of all, the context or the setting for seeking this peace was one of exile. The people of God, the covenantal people of God, the unique chosen selected people of God had been cast out of the promised land. They had been cast out of the promised land into a foreign land, into an ungodly foreign land, from Jerusalem to Babylon. You could not imagine a greater contrast. At least as it was supposed to be. Jerusalem was the chosen city of God. Jerusalem, the city of David. Jerusalem, the place where the temple had been. The place where the Ark of the Covenant had been. The place where the covenant people of God, the church and the old, had gone up numerous times throughout the year to worship Jerusalem, that city that David wrote of. The city of Zion. You have that on the one hand. Babylon. The city of idolatry. The city of barbaric brutality. The city of every imaginable form of ungodliness. And what you have is the covenant people, the church, being exiled from out of the glorious city of Zion into the dark city of Babylon. And so Psalm 137 verse one captures the spirit of the exiles when they said, by the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yes, we sat down and we wept when we remembered Zion. Imagine a covenant people with tears streaming down their faces as they sit in the city of exile, Babylon. as they've remembered the glorious city, Zion. And yet this was not something that happened by way of accident. The Lord was behind and in this exile, as is clear from verse four and verse seven. Verse four, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile. It's a clear reminder to the covenant people. These things did not happen by accident. And verse seven repeats, but seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile. I just wanted to make this point of application. It's important for us as Christians and it's an important for us as a Christian church to remember and appreciate that the Lord has placed us in this time and in this city. Our existence in this place and in this time is not a result of an accident. And I want to especially make this point to those of you who are younger. You are here now. because God placed you here now. Nothing happens by accident. The context is also one of a pilgrimage. The covenant people were not to be perpetual residents in Babylon. The Lord does not say your new perpetual home is Babylon. He says 70 years. And that identifies the reality that yes, the church lives in the here and in the now, but we live in the here and in the now as pilgrims. One passage I want to cross-reference in connection with this is found in Hebrews chapter 11. We are very, very appreciative of our homeland. We are thankful for all of the privileges that living in the United States of America provides us. But if you look at Hebrews 11, verse 13 through 16, talking here about the heroes of the faith from the Old Testament, it says, these all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country. It is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. So if you think about this first point, the context for seeking the peace of the city is a context of being exiled and then having the status of being a pilgrim or a sojourner. That reminds us of our identity. We live in this land because the Lord has providentially placed us in this land. but we live in this land, or at least we ought to live in this land with a view towards the future, recognizing we live here now, but we live here only for a temporary period. And with our eyes on that heavenly homeland, that puts everything into its proper perspective. I am rather convinced that far too many Christians, including myself, become discouraged when our view is too limited. We look at the day, we look at this week, we look at this year, we look down, we look around, and we lose that broader view. We are merely exiles and pilgrims. Well, what action should we engage in then? That's our second point of consideration. Seek the peace of the city. How do you seek the peace of the city? First of all, by the action of diligent prayers. Verse seven states, but seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf. Now there's two phrases I want to focus on just for a moment. Pray to the Lord, intercede to the Lord, request be made to the Lord. The Lord, you'll notice in our translation, is all capitalized. This is the covenantal name of God. the God who has made covenant promises to his people. This is not some vague deity. This is not just some type of cosmic power in the sky. This is not some type of universal ecumenical prayer gathering towards the greater spirits who may exist. This is a very specifically focused prayer. Pray to the one true God, the triune God, Pray to the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit. And of course the Apostle Paul picks this theme up if you want to cross-reference to 1 Timothy chapter two. There he likewise gives very similar instructions for how we ought to conduct ourselves as we live as exiled pilgrims. He says in 1 Timothy chapter two, first of all then, notice the primacy of that, first of all then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions. And if you think back to the second part of the phrase of Jeremiah 29 verse seven, pray to the Lord on its behalf, on behalf of the city. On behalf of what city? On behalf of the city of Babylon. And you have to imagine a covenant member of Israel saying, wait, stop. I'm supposed to pray to the Lord on behalf of Babylon? I could understand to pray to the Lord for Jerusalem, that makes sense. I could understand to pray to the Lord for Nazareth, that makes sense. I could understand to pray to the Lord for Israel and Judah, that makes sense. But to pray to the covenant Lord on behalf of Babylon? How does that make sense? Because in its peace, or in its, as the ESV has here, in its welfare, you will find your welfare. First of all, let us pray. And by way of a point of application, I would encourage you, when you evaluate your own attitude towards political leaders, whether at a local level, a state level, a national level, is our first response or action prayer? or complaint? Do we find it easier to pray for our leaders or do we find it easier to complain about them? You could ask the question this way and I wrestle with this question myself so don't think I'm coming with a you versus me attitude. If it were to be published that next week, next month, whenever you want the time to be, there was going to be a prayer meeting for the governor of the state of Michigan. Or if it was published and broadcast that there was going to be a protest gathering against the governor of Michigan. What would you be more excited to attend? The prayer gathering or the protest gathering? Doesn't it get to the heart of the question of Jeremiah 29 verse seven? Jeremiah doesn't say, and I understand there are legitimate ways in which to bring matters to the attention of the civil magistrate, but Jeremiah doesn't say, Thus says the Lord, when you get to Babylon, make sure you protest. He says, pray. Pray on its behalf. And the second action is that of simple godliness. This also, of course, was incorporated in Paul's instructions in 1 Timothy 2. Why are we to pray for kings and all those who are in high positions? so that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way, so that we might lead a quiet and peaceful life. If you go back to Jeremiah 29, this is just a beautiful description of living what used to be known as an antithetical life, Nowadays we sometimes use the language more of a counter-cultural life. Look at verse five and verse six. What are these exiled pilgrims to do in the land of Babylon? Pray, certainly pray, but then work. Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there and do not decrease. This is basically just a restatement of what has been known as the cultural mandate given by God to Adam. What did God say to Adam? Be fruitful and multiply. And tend to the garden. And so what is the Christian to do, living in our cities, living in our towns, living in our villages? Well, pray for the land in which we live, but then go about a godly life in a very practical way. And the amazing thing is that especially in our culture, this is so counter-cultural. You wanna change the world? And young people, young men especially, you wanna really do something? Accomplish something? Be something? Here's the marching orders. And do time and everything else we acknowledge that. Build a house. Buy a lot. Buy some property. Work diligently with the skill sets God has given you. apply biblical principles to the practical areas of life, build a house, and then find a wife. Find a daughter of Zion, find a Christian young woman, and walk with moral integrity in your relationship, and marry her. You notice how counter-cultural this is already. Marriage, why? Well, because it's a wonderful gift of God that brings great joy to those who enter into it when they live according to the biblical principles. But it's also the context in which there is to be procreation, have sons and have daughters. This is not retreatism. This is not a defeated mentality. Continue on in the cultural mandate. And then notice the generational continuation of that. And when your sons and daughters are of age, give them in marriage. So they can do what? So that they can build houses. That they can plant gardens, be industrious. Not necessarily in the agricultural sector, it may be in any sector of life. So that they can then establish families. That they can then have children. And what is the purpose of all of this? So that you do not decrease. And it's remarkable to me that even secular statistics show that many, many a nation has a declining population because the birth rate is not equal to the replacement rate. And all of a sudden, countries are awakening to this alarming trend. And they're saying, we have a problem. Our problem is we're dying off faster than we're being born. Now all of a sudden you have countries that once had a iron fist of totalitarianism, now they're trying to motivate people to have children. But it's not working, because it's not based upon a biblical principle. But the Lord is basically saying to the covenant people in Babylon, continue on, so that your numbers do not decrease, but rather increase. Well, what is this purpose more specifically in our third point? The purpose of seeking the peace of the city of going about these counter-cultural biblical normative actions. This is not just simply some type of urban revitalization. The Lord is not saying, you know, there are some areas in Babylon where the buildings are dilapidated and there's not quite enough green space and boy, if you covenant people can just you know, build some of the buildings again and develop more green space, then it'll be a wonderful place to live. This is not some type of gentrification. Many have used this text and continue to use this text to say, well, missions ought to only focus on, you know, the big cities. I don't believe that's what the text is saying at all. Certainly missions ought to focus on big cities, but it also ought to focus on small cities, all cities. The purpose of seeking the peace is simply that we might live a quiet life of piety. Shalom. That's the word that is translated in the ESV here, the welfare of the city. And notice it's used three times in this one verse. Seek the welfare of the city for in its welfare, you will find your welfare. And this word is so beautiful in the original language because it's so full. It has the idea of including prosperity, completeness, safety. It has the idea of an absence of strife, an absence of conflict. It has the idea of a harmony in relationships. It has the idea of living a quiet and a peaceable life in our homes. in our marriages, in our family interactions, as we go about our daily calling. Seek the welfare of the city, for in its welfare, you will have welfare. But ultimately, the purpose is not just so that we can have an easy life. not just so we can enjoy some material earthly prosperity for 70, perhaps 80 years, and then just die a rather comfortable death if there is such a thing. The purpose ultimately is much greater than that. The purpose is the continued progression of the covenant of grace. of that plan and of that promise that God spoke to Abraham, I will be your God and you will be my people. And remember that the Lord told Abraham, look at the sky, the stars, innumerable, so shall your descendants be. the sand upon the shore, seemingly innumerable, so shall the covenant people be. Well, how's that going to happen? By seeking the welfare of the city, so that in its welfare, you may have welfare, that you may have the welfare sufficient to build a home. to marry a wife, to have sons, to have daughters, to have them be baptized, to have them be instructed in the fear of the Lord, to have them make profession of faith, to have them marry within the covenant, and then to have grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, But you might say, well, and sometimes you hear people express this and I understand a certain extent the sentiment behind it. Sometimes grandparents will say, well, I'm fearful of what my grandchildren will have to live through. I'm fearful about the world they'll have to live. But notice verse 10 of Jeremiah 29. So the command is, seek the welfare of the city, pray for it, build a house, marry a wife, have children. For thus says the Lord, when 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you. That congregation is the promise that motivates our counter-cultural action. Why should I pray for our national leaders? Because my Lord has said, I will visit you. Why should I build a house? Why should I marry a wife? Or of course, if you are a lady, marry a husband. Why should we have children? The Lord says, I will visit you. To do what, just to catch up? Just to see how things are going? Just to check in? Of course not. I will fulfill to you my promise. That's the glorious motivating factor. The Lord is not done doing his work. and his work is grand, his work is glorious. What is his work? The establishment and the advancement of his kingdom of grace. And sure, all of the worldly leaders, they jockey for position, and they speak words of pompous arrogance, and this leader rises up, and that leader rises up, and you hear of wars and rumors of wars. But in all of that, you have to hear the echo of Jeremiah 29 verse 10, the Lord saying, I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. This place is not the earthly geographical location of the city of Jerusalem. This place is ultimately the new Jerusalem. the new heaven and the new earth. And see, here's the point of application. When your eye of faith, when your eye of hope, of this certain confident expectation is scanning what we might call the escholotical horizon, looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, looking for His return, knowing that He is the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords, and knowing that right now He is seated at the right hand of the Father, executing the eternal decree in the light of Psalm 2. Sure, every day brings something that could potentially be unsettling to our confidence. Sure, you can look at our leaders and you can find much to complain about and much to protest. But if all of that is put into this proper perspective, the Lord has said, after a set time, he will visit us. First, of course, in the incarnation. and then ultimately in the culmination with the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that when he visits us, he will bring us back to this place, to the new heaven and to the new earth. And when we know that all of the promises of God are yes and amen, certainly, verifiably true in the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, that ought to shake off all despair and give us a wonderful spirit of optimism. Optimism for the church and optimism for our life here in the world. So how then shall we live? seeking the welfare of the city, and wish the Lord has placed us knowing that in its welfare, we will find our welfare, based upon the promise of our Lord. Amen. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the promises that you reveal to us in Scripture, for the promises that are entirely centered upon the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we ask that you would give us hearts of wisdom that we might understand how we then should live in times such as these. Father, we ask that by the work of the Holy Spirit, you would make us a praying people, and that in our prayers there might also be prayers for civil magistrates. And we ask, Lord, too, that you would make us an active people, that we would be active in the cultural mandate, in the simple biblical imperatives of going about life, building our houses and our homes and our families, and may our young people seek and find godly spouses, and would you bless couples in the state of marriage with children, and then bless those children with the spirit of regeneration and of faith. And would you continue your covenant from one generation to the next generation? And give us hope, hope not based upon who we are in and of ourselves, but a hope that is based upon our Lord, especially the person of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen.