Thesis
Drawing from Jeremiah 29, Pastor Bill Bush challenges the popular, comfort-centered reading of Jeremiah 29:11 by restoring its original context: a letter written to exiles whose lives had been completely upended by God's own discipline. True goodness, he argues, is not defined by happiness or prosperity but by God Himself. Every plan God allows or orchestrates — even painful ones — is aimed at drawing us back into wholehearted relationship with Him, because anything that does not lead us to God, no matter how pleasant it feels, simply is not good.
Key points
- 1
Recognize who God is — He is both infinitely powerful (Lord of Heaven's Armies) and intimately personal (God of Israel), and that combination is the foundation for never losing hope.
- 2
Respond to what God is doing — when life feels wrecked, stop asking 'God, what are You going to do about this?' and start asking 'What am I supposed to do with this?' because He may be tripping you so you pick something up while you're down.
- 3
Remain fruitful and faithful — God told the exiles to build homes, plant gardens, raise families, and work for the peace of Babylon, calling them back to His original mission of being a blessing to the world.
- 4
Don't grab hold of false hope — false teachers promising quick deliverance (and today's prosperity gospel) only produce deeper hopelessness, because good defined by comfort or wealth is not God's definition of good.
- 5
Embrace the hard reality of God's timeline — Jeremiah 29:10 ('You'll be in Babylon for seventy years') must be accepted alongside verse 11; true victory requires surrendering to God's plan even when it is long and painful.
- 6
Give yourself wholeheartedly to the only true hope — when we wholeheartedly pursue God, He changes our hearts so that our desires become His desires, and only then do we truly get what we want.
- 7
God's ultimate good plan points to the new covenant in Jesus — Jeremiah 31:31-34, quoted in Hebrews 8, shows that every discipline and every plan was aimed at the day when Jesus, the ultimate priest, prophet, and king, would forgive sins and write God's law on our hearts.
Outline
Introduction — The Idling Car
Pastor Bill opens with a humorous story about his daughter leaving a car running unnoticed in the driveway, using it to illustrate how Israel kept their faith idling on the side while chasing other loves — and why the prophets had to confront that.
Big Idea and Series Context
The sermon's central thesis is stated: 'If my good doesn't lead to God, it's not good.' This frames the entire message from the book of Jeremiah within the Foretold series on the prophets.
Old Testament Background — Priests, Prophets, and Kings
Pastor Bill gives a rapid overview of the three offices in Israel — priest, prophet, and king — as imperfect illustrations of Jesus, and explains the disciplinary (not punitive) nature of the prophets' message.
Jeremiah's Historical Setting
The Babylonian exile is traced through three strikes against Judah; Jeremiah's unpopular call to submit is explained, ending with the destruction of the remnant that fled to Egypt.
Ruining Jeremiah 29:11 — Restoring the Context
Pastor Bill exposes the popular misreading of Jeremiah 29:11 by revealing it was written to exiles whose houses had been burned and who would remain captive for 70 years — not a promise of comfort, but a call to trust.
Point 1 — Don't Give Up: Recognize, Respond, Remain
Three sub-movements address how not to give up when life feels hopeless: recognize God's dual nature (all-powerful and intimately personal), respond to His plan rather than waiting for your preferred outcome, and remain fruitful and faithful by living life and serving others as God's missionary presence.
Point 2 — Don't Grab False Hope
False prophets promising quick deliverance mirror today's prosperity gospel; Pastor Bill argues that good defined as health, wealth, and happiness is not the Bible's definition — God is good because He defines good, not because He meets a standard we set.
Point 3 — Give Yourself Wholeheartedly to True Hope
Verses 12–14 and Psalm 37:4 are unpacked to show that wholeheartedly pursuing God transforms our desires into His desires; the new covenant promise of Jeremiah 31 is cited as the ultimate destination of every painful plan God allows.
Conclusion — Nothing Else Will Do
Pastor Bill closes with the image of a child at worship shouting 'I just want You and nothing else,' declaring that this is exactly what God's good plans are designed to produce in every believer.
Memorable moments
if my good doesn't lead to God, it's not good
God isn't good because he does all the good things. He meets up to the list of good. God is good because he defines good
There is no victory without surrender
a false hope is only a one way ticket to no hope
It's not about I do these things and God changes his heart towards my desires. It's about I get close to God and God changes my heart where my desire is his desire. And when I want God's will, I always get my will
Quit leaving your faith as an engine running in the driveway and then trying to drive through life in another car
Application
Pastor Bill's call to action is straightforward and personal: stop leaving your faith idling on the side of your life while you drive toward comfort, happiness, or whatever feels good in the moment. When life is hard — when God allows or even orchestrates something painful — the right response is not to freeze, flee to false hopes, or bargain for an easier path. Instead, recognize that He is both all-powerful and deeply personal, respond to what He is doing rather than fighting it, and remain fruitful and faithful right where you are. Practically, that means showing up to worship, getting rooted in a community (a home group, a class), and living intentionally — using your time, gifts, finances, and story to point others to Jesus. The goal of every one of God's plans is to bring you to the place where, like that child at worship, you can honestly shout: 'I just want You — and nothing else will do.'
