Love Babylon but Long for Jerusalem: Living Faithfully

Devotional

Day 1: Building Homes in Babylon While Longing for Home

Jeremiah’s call to plant gardens and raise families in exile mirrors our tension: invest fully where God plants us while holding heaven’s hope. This isn’t passive waiting but active faithfulness—building schools, businesses, and relationships that reflect God’s goodness. Babylon isn’t home, but neither is it a prison. Every act of creation—a meal shared, a child taught, a business run with integrity—becomes a signpost pointing beyond this world. The challenge is to live with hands engaged in the present and hearts anchored in eternity. [56:21]

“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.”
(Jeremiah 29:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: What practical step can you take this week to “build” or “plant” in your current season instead of waiting for circumstances to change? How does this act point others to God’s faithfulness?

Day 2: Resisting the Urge to Renovate Babylon’s Hotel

The danger isn’t just hating Babylon—it’s redecorating it to feel like home. Like absurdly renovating a hotel room, we risk clinging to temporary comforts: perfect careers, political victories, or cultural influence. Yet every earthly hope eventually crumbles. Jeremiah’s exiles prayed for Babylon’s peace but never confused it with Jerusalem’s promise. Our calling is to steward, not idolize, the places God plants us. True peace comes not from stabilizing Babylon but from anticipating the King’s return. [01:00:40]

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.”
(1 Peter 2:11, ESV)

Reflection: What “renovation project” (goal, relationship, or possession) have you been over-investing in lately? How might releasing it free you to live as an expectant exile?

Day 3: Repairing Roads for the Coming King

Ancient cities repaired roads before a king’s arrival; we prepare hearts. Faithfulness means filling potholes of cynicism, clearing debris of greed, and paving ways for grace. When we pay bills honestly, parent patiently, or work diligently, we’re not just “being good”—we’re creating highways for others to encounter Jesus. Our ordinary acts of integrity shout, “The King is coming!” louder than any sermon. [01:06:10]

“Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”
(1 Peter 2:12, ESV)

Reflection: What “road repair” (habit, attitude, or relationship) can you prioritize this week? How might this mundane act help others glimpse Christ’s kingdom?

Day 4: Feeding One When the Mass Overwhelms

Mother Teresa’s “feed one” ethic cuts through despair: faithfulness thrives when we stop calculating global impact and start loving actual neighbors. A casserole for the grieving, a lawn mowed for the overwhelmed, a listening ear for the lonely—these small obediences defy Babylon’s chaos. Every “one” matters because every soul carries eternity. [57:50]

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”
(Matthew 25:35-36, ESV)

Reflection: Who is the “one” person God is asking you to serve this week? How can you meet their need without expecting recognition or results?

Day 5: Dying to Self to Plant Orchards in Exile

Jeremiah told exiles to plant orchards they’d never harvest. Our call is similar: sacrifice comfort for future generations. This means mentoring coworkers who’ll outshine us, giving generously to ministries we won’t see flourish, and parenting with legacy in mind. Like farmers planting acorns, we labor in faith, trusting the King will bring the harvest. [01:16:00]

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
(John 12:24, ESV)

Reflection: What “orchard” (investment, relationship, or project) are you being asked to plant this season that may outlive you? How does this shift your perspective on daily sacrifices?

Sermon Summary

Jeremiah speaks to a disappointed people whose world has collapsed and tells them that exile is not proof of God’s absence but of God’s discipline and plan. The Lord claims agency over their displacement and sends them into Babylon with clear marching orders: build houses, plant gardens, marry, raise children, multiply, pray for the city, and seek its welfare, because in its welfare their welfare will be found. Against voices that promise quick relief and easy peace, the text insists on seventy years, not two, and calls the people to faithful presence rather than anxious pause, ordinary obedience rather than dramatic escape, and tested truth rather than ear-tickling comfort.

The Lord then frames the tension faithful exiles must carry. Babylon is to be loved for its good while Jerusalem is longed for as home. The command to settle in does not mean to settle down in heart. The promise of “a future and a hope” anchors identity beyond the addresses and successes of the moment. The image lands plainly: do not remodel the hotel. Steward the room, enjoy it, honor God in it, but refuse the quiet drift from stewardship to attachment. Every earthly thing eventually disappoints, so the future rests not in perfecting Babylon but in the God who restores.

Peter’s language helps name the posture. The church lives as sojourners and exiles, not tourists but ambassadors. The city is not conquered, abandoned, or absorbed; it is blessed. Like road crews preparing for a king, the people repair what is broken and announce who is coming. The call is not to shout louder but to live visibly so that neighbors meet patience, generosity, and hope before they ever master a catechism. People should experience the kingdom before they understand its theology.

The alternatives prove thin. Withdrawal hides the light. Conquest trusts horses and chariots. Assimilation decorates Babylon to look like Jerusalem. The text calls for something truer: build, bless, pray, live, wait. The deepest need of any city is not better optics or smoother politics but reconciliation with God through Jesus. The Lord places his people in time and place on purpose, and their ordinary faithfulness becomes a signpost that says, make way. The King remembers. The King is coming. Until then, love Babylon and long for Jerusalem.

Key Takeaways

1. God plants exiles on purpose Exile is not random drift but the Lord’s placement for formation and mission. The command to build, plant, marry, multiply, and pray dignifies ordinary work as holy work right where the church lives. Faith does not wait for perfect conditions; it obeys in present soil. Hope grows by tending the ground God assigns. [50:25]
2. Build faithfully without making it home Loving the city is not the same as anchoring identity in it. The heart slides from stewardship to attachment when comfort becomes nonnegotiable and outcomes become ultimate. The text cuts that cord and frees the church to bless without bowing, to invest without mistaking Babylon for Jerusalem. [62:46]
3. Seek the city’s good as strangers The people live as sojourners whose honorable conduct makes the gospel plausible. Ambassadors do not echo the city’s appetites or mock its needs; they embody the King’s character in public view. Visible trustworthiness turns curiosity into questions that grace can answer. [64:42]
4. Resist withdrawal, conquest, assimilation Three shortcuts promise relief yet hollow the soul. Hiding abandons neighbors, grasping power confuses influence with redemption, and blending in trades witness for ease. Faithfulness blesses Babylon and points beyond it, keeping confidence in Christ who alone restores all things. [69:31]
5. Test voices by fulfillment, not comfort Competing words will always promise quick fixes and painless peace. The text teaches discernment that tracks promises to their fruit rather than their tone. Ears trained by Scripture prefer the hard word that proves true over the sweet word that dissolves by sunset. [51:37]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[32:38] - Good morning and national gratitude
[40:22] - Global crises and prayer
[42:40] - Jeremiah 29 and dual citizenship
[46:48] - Why Jeremiah speaks to exiles
[48:36] - False peace vs true warning
[49:55] - Exile as God’s discipline
[50:25] - Reading Jeremiah 29:4-14
[53:21] - Two years or seventy
[55:55] - Love Babylon, long for Jerusalem
[56:50] - Ordinary faithfulness in exile
[62:46] - From stewardship to attachment
[64:42] - Sojourners and honorable conduct
[68:27] - Repair the way for the King
[76:22] - Prayer and sending

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Jeremiah 29:4-14 (ESV)
4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 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. 7 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. 8 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, 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord. 10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 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. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 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.”

Observation Questions

What specific actions does God command the exiles to take in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:5-6)?
Why does Jeremiah emphasize a 70-year exile instead of the two years promised by false prophets? [53:21]
How does the passage contrast the outcomes of listening to false prophets versus trusting God’s promises (Jeremiah 29:8-9)?

Interpretation Questions

Why might God command His people to build homes and plant gardens in a place that isn’t their permanent home?
What does the tension between “loving Babylon” and “longing for Jerusalem” look like in daily life? [55:55]
How does the promise of a future hope (Jeremiah 29:11) shape the way believers engage with temporary circumstances?

Application Questions

Where in your life have you been waiting for circumstances to change before fully investing in relationships or work? How can you start building faithfully where God has placed you now? [56:50]
What practical steps can you take this week to “seek the welfare” of your neighborhood or workplace without becoming overly attached to earthly outcomes?
How might the warning against “remodeling the hotel” apply to areas where you’ve prioritized comfort over stewardship? [01:02:46]
Which of the three shortcuts (withdrawal, conquest, assimilation) do you most struggle with, and what would it look like to choose faithful presence instead? [01:09:31]
What ordinary, daily act of faithfulness (e.g., patience, generosity) could you practice to make God’s kingdom more visible to others? [59:31]

Sermon Clips

65s

#FaithfulWaiting

“``God says, live faithfully while you wait. But some of us have quietly moved from stewardship to attachment. We get so attached to this place, and that's why we get so fixated and we get so overwhelmed when things aren't going the way we want them to go. We need things to stabilize so we can have peace. My retirement numbers have to have to be exactly right. And when so and so gets in the office, then things are gonna be right. When my kids succeed, when the church grows, But scripture all the while is whispering at us, your hope was never there. The danger is that not to just withdraw from Babylon. The danger is decorating Babylon so it looks like Jerusalem, decorating America so it looks like heaven, build faithfully without anchoring your hope here because every earthly thing eventually disappoints. Can I get a witness?”

44s

#RepairTheWay

“Our mission is not merely to survive until Christ returns. Our mission is to repair the way. So this morning, if you walked away and you heard nothing else from me today, you could just kind of start right here, this moment. If you've kind of been snoozing, wake up and get these few words I wanna say to you right now in this moment. Hear this. Remember what the world needs most. Remember what the world needs most. Jesus. Jeremiah didn't tell the exiles to escape Babylon. He doesn't tell them to become Babylon. He doesn't tell them to take over Babylon. Build, plant, pray, live, wait, hope.”

71s

#PointPeopleToJesus

“Stay present where God has placed you. Build things that reflect his goodness while never stop being a witness to the hope and the confidence that you have in Christ and that he will make all things new. But know this, the deepest need of our city is not ultimately better economics, better politics, or morality, though I do very much believe and convinced that Christians should care about those things. The deepest need for the world is reconciliation with God through Jesus, that God has made you with purpose. He's put you here for such a time as this, that you have a mission. You have purpose. Your purpose is to point people to Jesus. Not because Jesus improves life, it's because he restores life. It's not because Jesus makes Babylon more comfortable, it's because he brings people home. He brings his people home.”

75s

#NotOurForeverHome

“Imagine take a little break, get away from town, you find yourself a hotel, and it's a beautiful hotel. You check into your room, and it the the room is just gorgeous. It's got a great view. And above it all, it's got a comfortable mattress and really comfortable pillows. I know you gotta imagine with me, but then this is it's an awesome hotel. And you're there and you're loving it. You're there for a few days, and the next thing you know, you're like, man, this is so awesome. You're getting comfortable. Next thing you know, you run over to Home Depot and you come back and you're you're painting the walls, you're replacing the floor, You're installing custom cabinets in it. And the obvious question is, what in the world are you doing? Stay there. Enjoy it. Appreciate it. But don't anchor your identity in it. But this is what we can do sometimes. As crazy as that sounds, this is what we can do sometimes here in Babylon is we we get so anchored here that we forget that this is not our forever home.”

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Love Babylon but Long for Jerusalem: Living Faithfully

Devotional

Day 1: Building Homes in Babylon While Longing for Home

Day 2: Resisting the Urge to Renovate Babylon’s Hotel

Day 3: Repairing Roads for the Coming King

Day 4: Feeding One When the Mass Overwhelms

Day 5: Dying to Self to Plant Orchards in Exile

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Love Babylon but Long for Jerusalem: Living Faithfully

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