Healthy Independence-4

HEALTHY INDEPENDENCE-IV—Jeremiah 17:1-14

Attention:

Jn. 15:18-19—Jesus told His disciples:—“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

Jn. 17:15-16—Jesus prayed for His disciples:—“I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”

God’s people must exhibit a ‘Healthy’ independence from the world in which they live.

?Are you living INDEPENDENTLY of that which has potential to destroy you?

The prophet Jeremiah contrasted two major aspects of Independence—Independence from God versus independence from the world.

*Dependence upon YHWH brings independence from worldly influence.

What can be gleaned by contrasting healthy & unhealthy independence?

*How can I be independent of worldly influence?

So far we’ve found that A Healthy Independence Engages(deals with/handles/manages)...

1. A RESIDENT REBELLION(:1)

2. An ABERRANT EDUCATION(:2)

3. BLINDLY SIGHTED BENEFITS(:3-4)

4. An ANGERING LIFESTYLE(:4e)

5. MISPLACED/Aberrant TRUSTS(:5)

Today we’ll find that...

6—A Healthy Independence Engages(deals with/handles/manages)...

The CURSE Of MISPLACED/Aberrant TRUST(:6)

Explanation/Illustration:(:6)

:6—“For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,

And shall not see when good comes,

But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,

In a salt land which is not inhabited.”

This verse illustrates what verse :5 promises. It highlights the “curse” that is guaranteed to come upon the person who trusts “man”, makes flesh his strength, & whose heart is not with God.

•A person will try to justify & hide the pain/heartache/uncertainty/lostness/darkness that the curse has brought into their life by by their own invitation(Jn. 3:19-21).

•Jn. 3:19-21—““And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, & men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.””

Verse :6 paints a picture of ‘Mere Survival’ as contrasted with ‘Life’(that which is better & is of God).

A.—“Like a shrub in the desert”—A picture of stunted growth, desolation, loneliness, meager living, existence only, never thriving, never reaching one’s potential, continually ‘knocked back’ by your environment. The shrub is not dead but is always on the verge of death.

•“A shrub” is reminiscent of a person who would live wildly & in places in want, & with even minimal creature comforts. It is a picture of ‘survival’ rather than ‘thriving’, & forced ‘minimalism’ rather than ‘enough.’

•A heart given to God is a grateful heart that ‘turns what we have into enough.’

“Shrub/Bush/Heath”...

[KJV]—rere ar-awr’—Adj.—1) Stripped, destitute. Strong—Naked, i.e. figuratively--Poor. Used 2X--.?From—rre aw-rar'—To bare; figuratively--To demolish; a primitive root.

-OR...

[BHM]—rewre ar-o-ayr' OR--rere ar-awr’—Noun Masc.—1) Naked, stripped, destitute; 2) Tree or bush—2a) probably Juniper or cypress. Strong—A juniper(from its nudity of situation). Used 1X--Jer. 17:6.?From—rre aw-rar’ reduplicated—Verb—1) To strip, make bare, strip oneself; To bare; figuratively--To demolish.

“Desert”—hbre ar-aw-baw’—Noun Fem.—1) Desert plain, steppe, desert, wilderness. Strong—A desert; especially(with the article prefix)--The (generally)sterile valley of the Jordan & its continuation to the Red Sea.?From—bre aw-rab'—To grow dusky at sundown; a primitive root [identical with bre[to braid, i.e. intermix; to traffic(as if by barter); give to be security(as a kind of exchange)] through the idea of covering with a texture].

B.—“Shall not see when good comes”—Impossible to consider “good” coming into one’s life. No hope & without God in the world(Eph. 2:11-12). Only have temporary worldly securities! Those worldly securities will be unavoidably appealing—tempting—to someone who has absolutely nothing of spiritual substance.

•Preacher,...Do you mean to tell me that people who can afford to live in places most cannot—who ‘have means’, who are well-heeled, who are well-kept, & who can afford an opulent lifestyle—that the rich, will never “see when good comes”?

•First—It is no sin to be rich—to be financially secure, IF GOD brings that richness!

•Secondly—IF God does NOT bring the richness/financial security, then all that is regarded as ‘rich’ & desirable according to man/flesh/world, is actually abject poverty at best!—They have everything except heaven!...everything except eternal security!...everything except life in Christ Jesus!

•Being financially well-off is NOT The SAME THING as “goodness”! Being financially well-off does not equate to being “good”, nor does it mean that that which such a person receives is “good.”

“Not”2X—al lo’, awl low’, hl loh(De 3:11) OR-- wl—Adverb—1) Not, no—1a) Not(with verb - absolute prohibition), 1b) Not(with modifier - negation), 1c) Nothing(substantive), 1d) without(with particle), 1e) Before(of time). Strong—a primitive particle; Not(the simple or absolute negation); by implication--No; often used with other particles.