“Safe But Not Sound” Jeremiah 7:1-11; 16-19  7-11-10

The world is full of people who believe they are safe when they are not.

                We visited a Roman city, Beit Shaan, with a huge mall and an elaborate system of hot baths;  One day everyone was shopping, the next day an earthquake came and destroyed the whole city.  They were able to date the earthquake because a lady ran back inside the store and grabbed some gold coins- that dated when it happened.  One minute it was just an ordinary day- shopping at the mall- the next the whole city was destroyed. 

                Pompeii is a city where people were warned of an eminent disaster but did not pay attention.  On August 24, 79 AD the city called “The Sodom and Gomorrah of Roman” was buried in an instant with 12 layers of volcanic ash. 

                When Hurricane Katrina was getting ready to hit New Orleans,  Mayor Nagan issued a mandatory evacuation order the day before.  While an estimated 1 million evacuated, at least 100,000 people stayed.  There are youtube videos of thousands of people walking up and down Bourbon Street partying- pretending that nothing will happen to them.  Some stayed because they were poor or elderly or sick.  But many stayed because they felt people were over-reacting, and that they were safe.  Some actually became snipers when authorities approached them about evacuating their homes- before or even after the flooding.  1,400 lost their lives, and many of us can remember the reporting on the chaos inside the superdome.

Like the person who thinks all they have to do is put gas in the car- never check the brakes, tires, or engine, many naively think that nothing bad will ever happen to them in life. They do not examine themselves, and are careless about their own safety.  They do not base this on belief in God- they base this on some sense of invulnerability.   Most American believe they are going to heaven- no matter what they believe, no matter what they do, no matter what period.  This is a sense of reckless carelessness.   For those who do not believe there is a heaven, Pascal rightly asked the question- what if there really is?  I have nothing to lose if there is no such thing- except I have lived a life of hope and helping others; while you may have everything to lose if there really is a heaven and you have lived recklessly- carelessly, following your feelings instead of following God. 

I. SAFE BUT NOT SAFE
There are a lot of people who have a false security about their lives. 
This was true in Jeremiah’s day as well.  We have the temple of the Lord- so we are safe.

Religion, when it is not heart-felt, can provide false security. 
In about 1,100 BC, the Philistines had a strong army, and the people of God thought they would win if they brought the Ark of the Covenant into battle.   But the people were far from God, the priests were greedy and sexually immoral.  The ark was captured and the priests were killed and army routed.  Later the ark was returned.
In 1187 AD in one of the last battles before Jerusalem fell- crusaders marched with the “true cross of Christ “ going into battle-thinking they could never lose.  But the crusaders had fought among themselves, committed adultery, robbed people, were mercilessly killing others.  They were massacred and the cross captured.
What about today?  Some say we are America- the place the pilgrims founded, the place the puritans started, a  predominantly  Christian country.  We have “IN God we trust” on our coins- but we do not trust in Him.  We have “one nation under God” but for many it means little.  How can anything bad happen to us?  People were shocked when the twin towers and the pentagon were attacked- and asked how God could have left them.   Billy Graham’s daughter, Ann Lotz, had a good reply.  Americans in a sense have shaken their fist at God and said, God, we want you out of our schools, our government, our business, we want you out of our marketplace. And God, who is a gentleman, has just quietly backed out of our national and political life, our public life. Removing his hand of blessing and protection. We need to turn to God first of all and say, God, we're sorry we have treated you this way and we invite you now to come into our national life. We put our trust in you. We have our trust in God on our coins, we need to practice it.

II. SAFE TO DO WHAT?  In many ways we live under the illusion that life is safe.  Life is not safe. 
This past week, someone tried to rob First Community bank;  one of our members had their mail stolen and bad checks written on their account; three cars in my neighborhood were broken into and stuff taken out of them; our business administrator had her trailer robbed.   I used to think Chapin was a crime-free place.  But the more the economy suffers, and the more people use drugs, and frankly- the more they turn away from the Lord who tells us to not steal- then we realize we are not so safe here.

Verse 9 says it all- “Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not know, and then come and stand before me in this house which bears my Name and say, “We are safe—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house which bears my Name become a den of robbers to you?  But I have been watching, declares the Lord.

Christians are called to be disciples- not just to be saved and “safe.”  We are called to listen, to follow, to have to do with the living God.   This is not some game that we play trying to see how much we can get away with.   Someone asked me the other day, “What does it mean to say, ‘I’m a Christian but not a practicing Christian?”  Often we hear, “I’m a catholic, just not practicing.”   Or, “I’m a Jew, just not a practicing one.”  Today, there are many people under the illusion that they can be a Christian without following Christ.  That is hogwash and useless stuff. 

One of the saddest verses in the Bible is found in Jeremiah 7.  It says, “Do not pray for this people, nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. “   There literally was a time when the people of Jerusalem didn’t have a prayer. 
The good news is that though we have messed up, we still have a prayer!

III. WHERE OUR REAL SAFETY LIES- You have heard the words “safe and sound.”  Sound means “solid- peaceful- shalom.”  Ironically, our true safety depends on our being sound- that is having peace with God. IN the eternal God- and being in solid relationship with Him.  Nothing can take that away.  Oh yes, it is a matter of faith. 

Jeremiah was trying to get them to hope in what is truly worthy of hope.  Jeremiah, right before the invasion of Babylon, told them (vs. 3) “Reform your ways and your actions and I will let you live in this place.”  Safety is not found in a building, or that our ancestors believed, but in our willingness to listen and obey God. 

It’s like Jeremiah were to say, “Look at this frozen pond.  Part of this is frozen solid- part of it is not.  How do you know which part is safe?   There is the guy who owns the pond, and he tells you to go to the right.  Yet there is an old sign that tells you to go to the left.  Some don’t care about anything- they just go off onto the pond like children who can’t read or listen- and they fall in.  Then there are those who look to the old sign- and think because that sign has been there for years, they’ll go with that- but they get cold and  wet.  But those who listen and trust in the keeper of the pond.  What is he telling you?  

Where does your safety lie?   Ultimately it lies not in anything but God. S

Last week a lady was trying to lock up her car and keep it from thieves.   She was attaching a device- I used to have- called “the club.”  It’s a big medal bar that attaches on your stearing wheel that basically makes your car undrivable.  While she was in her car attaching this thing- someone broke into her car and threatened to rob her.  She had not finished attaching “The Club” and proceded to use the thing to beat the fellow over the head, over and over!  The man ran away.  This could be an advertisement.

She thought the club was meant to be used one way, but she quickly adapted the club to its old way of being used.   We need to adapt too.  Our safety does not lie in our mottos or pledges- it lies in our God behind it all.  Having the mottos and pledges are reminders to us to get our hearts right with Him, and to look to Him for protection and help.