THE CURSED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING
I. THE CURSED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING
(Jeremiah 17:5-6)
Declaratively and decisively Jeremiah proclaims, "This is what the Lord says." The prophet is not trying to mince words or massage his message. He knows that the prophetic statements he is making represent "the word of the Lord." He also was certain the people needed to hear this message. They were starving for the truth of God in plain and understandable language.
A. The Cursed Life Is Trusting In Oneself
"Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, and makes flesh his strength.." Here Jeremiah is describing the cursed life as one which trusts in himself or herself. You have to trust someone or something and the people who do not trust in the Lord find themselves trusting in themselves alone. This is the natural human tendency and tragic philosophy of life for those who make the Sinatra Doctrine their way of life. What is the Sinatra Doctrine? It is essentially reflected in the famous crooner's song, "I did it my way."
With the recent crisis in the financial markets, we have heard people say, "I trusted in Bernie Madoff and he turned out to be a crook." Others have said, "I trusted in this financial firm or this bank only to be amazed at the meltdown of the whole system." This kind of trust is futile and foolish. The end result is to be cursed by a misplaced trust. When you discover that you have trusted someone who became a traitor to you and to others, you realize just how devastating such an action can be. It destabilizes your life; it shakes your confidence in yourself and in the future, and it leaves you with a trust deficit and a faith void, which only can be filled by the presence of Christ.
B. The Cursed Life Is Turning From The Lord
Jeremiah further describes the cursed life as one which "...turns his heart from the Lord." How tragic a situation!!! Turning your heart from the Lord is like a drowning person turning away from a life preserver or a life guard seeking to save a life. It is the picture of idiocy and stupidity. Yet, the cursed life is a life which has turned away from the very One who can save. Can you imagine how badly a life guard feels after seeking to reach a drowning person and the individual refused his help? That to me represents the folly of those misguided souls who just turn their backs on the Lord and walk away. The Rich Young Ruler in the NT Gospels is described as making that kind of decision. He was saddened at the words of Jesus and he turned heart away from the Lord.
C. The Cursed Life Tumbles Through Life Without Direction
The cursed life is one that trusts in self, turns away from the Lord and tumbles through life without direction. This is the essence of what Jeremiah is saying in verse six of our passage. The juniper bush could be best understood as a tumbling weed on a desert, just being blown in any and every direction with the winds of change. There is no set course, just a life blowing in the wind, existing on a parched desert, with no hope of meaningful living. This sad commentary is an apt description of so many people today. They are just like little tumble weeds blowing in this direction and then that direction, ultimately in the wrong direction, without the guidance of the Lord. One man recently confessed, "I have lived two ways in my life. One way I have lived has been out of the will of God; the other has been in the will of God. I can tell you," he said, "living in the will of God is the only way to live. To live otherwise is to live in misery and pain."
To be out of God's will is to lived a cursed life. I know that is strong language, but it is a true statement. The blessed life is the life lived in the will of God. There is a world of difference between these lifestyles. No, to be more exact there is an eternal difference between these lifestyles. The cursed life, motivated by selfish ambitions and directionless goals, is just not worth living. It is an existence without an experience with God and His people.
II. THE BLESSED LIFE IS THE ONLY LIFE WORTH LIVING
(Jeremiah 17:7-8)
Jeremiah paints a beautiful picture of the blessed life, the one lived in the will of God. He employs the image of a tree to help us see this magnificent picture. Growing up in Birmingham, we planted a little tree when we moved to a new community. At first, I was much taller than the tree, but in time, the tree grew way beyond my height, and its branches extended in all directions. As I grew older, I climbed the tree and claimed it as my quiet place for reading and reflection. The tree was healthy and strong, and it demonstrated the purpose of a tree in society. It is created to grow strong, and that is the goal of every believer as well.
A. The Blessed Life Is Planted In The Lord
The Blessed Life is one which is planted in the Lord. In several places, including Psalm 1, the well lived or godly life is compared to a tree planted deeply in the ground near a river bank. That is the case here as Jeremiah describes the Blessed Life as planted firmly in the Lord. There is no better ground in which to find your roots than in the Lord. If you are rooted in this present life, you will not experience the Blessed Life. Proverbs 11:28 says, "A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God shaped life is a flourishing tree." All of us want to have "a God shaped life" which flourishes for the Lord. You surely do not want to be dead stumps, which get in the way of progress, and they have to be cut down. No, we want to experience the blessed life which flourishes for the Lord.
B. The Blessed Life Is Protected By The Lord
The Blessed Life is one which is protected by the Lord. Jeremiah is so instructive at this point. Trees planted deeply at the riverbank are like lives planted firmly in the Lord. Such trees or lives are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Into each life, come storms and struggles, but for the believers and followers of Christ, we cannot be separated from His love. That is the message of the latter part of Romans 8. Currently, we are deluged with negative news which produces anxiety in the lives of all people, including Christians. The promise of this verse is that no matter what happens we can depend upon the sufficient grace of Christ to meet our need for protection.
C. The Blessed Life Is Productive For The Lord
The Blessed Life is one which is productive for the Lord. The text is so picturesque at this point. The blessed life is trees planted in the rich fertile ground near the flowing river and protected from the destructive elements in life. Therefore, "their leaves stay green and they go right on producing delicious fruit." Nothing is more delightful than to see a fruit bearing tree blessed with its bountiful produce. Does the Lord see us as bountiful fruit bearing people sharing the good news with others and helping our churches to grow and to stay on mission with the Great Commission? That question is synonymous with the Rick Warren question "What on earth are we here for?"
Conclusion
There are numerous examples of the cursed life, but I want you to be blessed, not cursed, so I shared their stories with you. You can live the blessed life and you can begin it today by acknowledging your sins and trusting in Christ, not yourself. You can begin following His direction in life, not your own. You can be come a blessing to others and not a curse. Choose the blessed life and it will make an eternal difference in your life. That is what you are here on earth to do - to live the blessed life. The next time you ponder that Purpose Driven question, What you can say is: "I am here to experience a blessed life and to help others
(Jeremiah 17:5-6)
Declaratively and decisively Jeremiah proclaims, "This is what the Lord says." The prophet is not trying to mince words or massage his message. He knows that the prophetic statements he is making represent "the word of the Lord." He also was certain the people needed to hear this message. They were starving for the truth of God in plain and understandable language.
A. The Cursed Life Is Trusting In Oneself
"Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, and makes flesh his strength.." Here Jeremiah is describing the cursed life as one which trusts in himself or herself. You have to trust someone or something and the people who do not trust in the Lord find themselves trusting in themselves alone. This is the natural human tendency and tragic philosophy of life for those who make the Sinatra Doctrine their way of life. What is the Sinatra Doctrine? It is essentially reflected in the famous crooner's song, "I did it my way."
With the recent crisis in the financial markets, we have heard people say, "I trusted in Bernie Madoff and he turned out to be a crook." Others have said, "I trusted in this financial firm or this bank only to be amazed at the meltdown of the whole system." This kind of trust is futile and foolish. The end result is to be cursed by a misplaced trust. When you discover that you have trusted someone who became a traitor to you and to others, you realize just how devastating such an action can be. It destabilizes your life; it shakes your confidence in yourself and in the future, and it leaves you with a trust deficit and a faith void, which only can be filled by the presence of Christ.
B. The Cursed Life Is Turning From The Lord
Jeremiah further describes the cursed life as one which "...turns his heart from the Lord." How tragic a situation!!! Turning your heart from the Lord is like a drowning person turning away from a life preserver or a life guard seeking to save a life. It is the picture of idiocy and stupidity. Yet, the cursed life is a life which has turned away from the very One who can save. Can you imagine how badly a life guard feels after seeking to reach a drowning person and the individual refused his help? That to me represents the folly of those misguided souls who just turn their backs on the Lord and walk away. The Rich Young Ruler in the NT Gospels is described as making that kind of decision. He was saddened at the words of Jesus and he turned heart away from the Lord.
C. The Cursed Life Tumbles Through Life Without Direction
The cursed life is one that trusts in self, turns away from the Lord and tumbles through life without direction. This is the essence of what Jeremiah is saying in verse six of our passage. The juniper bush could be best understood as a tumbling weed on a desert, just being blown in any and every direction with the winds of change. There is no set course, just a life blowing in the wind, existing on a parched desert, with no hope of meaningful living. This sad commentary is an apt description of so many people today. They are just like little tumble weeds blowing in this direction and then that direction, ultimately in the wrong direction, without the guidance of the Lord. One man recently confessed, "I have lived two ways in my life. One way I have lived has been out of the will of God; the other has been in the will of God. I can tell you," he said, "living in the will of God is the only way to live. To live otherwise is to live in misery and pain."
To be out of God's will is to lived a cursed life. I know that is strong language, but it is a true statement. The blessed life is the life lived in the will of God. There is a world of difference between these lifestyles. No, to be more exact there is an eternal difference between these lifestyles. The cursed life, motivated by selfish ambitions and directionless goals, is just not worth living. It is an existence without an experience with God and His people.
II. THE BLESSED LIFE IS THE ONLY LIFE WORTH LIVING
(Jeremiah 17:7-8)
Jeremiah paints a beautiful picture of the blessed life, the one lived in the will of God. He employs the image of a tree to help us see this magnificent picture. Growing up in Birmingham, we planted a little tree when we moved to a new community. At first, I was much taller than the tree, but in time, the tree grew way beyond my height, and its branches extended in all directions. As I grew older, I climbed the tree and claimed it as my quiet place for reading and reflection. The tree was healthy and strong, and it demonstrated the purpose of a tree in society. It is created to grow strong, and that is the goal of every believer as well.
A. The Blessed Life Is Planted In The Lord
The Blessed Life is one which is planted in the Lord. In several places, including Psalm 1, the well lived or godly life is compared to a tree planted deeply in the ground near a river bank. That is the case here as Jeremiah describes the Blessed Life as planted firmly in the Lord. There is no better ground in which to find your roots than in the Lord. If you are rooted in this present life, you will not experience the Blessed Life. Proverbs 11:28 says, "A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God shaped life is a flourishing tree." All of us want to have "a God shaped life" which flourishes for the Lord. You surely do not want to be dead stumps, which get in the way of progress, and they have to be cut down. No, we want to experience the blessed life which flourishes for the Lord.
B. The Blessed Life Is Protected By The Lord
The Blessed Life is one which is protected by the Lord. Jeremiah is so instructive at this point. Trees planted deeply at the riverbank are like lives planted firmly in the Lord. Such trees or lives are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Into each life, come storms and struggles, but for the believers and followers of Christ, we cannot be separated from His love. That is the message of the latter part of Romans 8. Currently, we are deluged with negative news which produces anxiety in the lives of all people, including Christians. The promise of this verse is that no matter what happens we can depend upon the sufficient grace of Christ to meet our need for protection.
C. The Blessed Life Is Productive For The Lord
The Blessed Life is one which is productive for the Lord. The text is so picturesque at this point. The blessed life is trees planted in the rich fertile ground near the flowing river and protected from the destructive elements in life. Therefore, "their leaves stay green and they go right on producing delicious fruit." Nothing is more delightful than to see a fruit bearing tree blessed with its bountiful produce. Does the Lord see us as bountiful fruit bearing people sharing the good news with others and helping our churches to grow and to stay on mission with the Great Commission? That question is synonymous with the Rick Warren question "What on earth are we here for?"
Conclusion
There are numerous examples of the cursed life, but I want you to be blessed, not cursed, so I shared their stories with you. You can live the blessed life and you can begin it today by acknowledging your sins and trusting in Christ, not yourself. You can begin following His direction in life, not your own. You can be come a blessing to others and not a curse. Choose the blessed life and it will make an eternal difference in your life. That is what you are here on earth to do - to live the blessed life. The next time you ponder that Purpose Driven question, What you can say is: "I am here to experience a blessed life and to help others
#edited# Hope Project GH#
thehopeprojectgh.blogspot.com
thehopeprojectgh.blogspot.com
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