Jeremiah 17:5-10 Get the heart Right
1. According to Jeremiah Judah has much sin in their Hearts
• Their sins were “written with a pen of iron” 17:1 The method used to inscribe the most permanent of records
• Their Hearts and all their works were sinful it had left permanent damage
• The text refers to Horns of the altar . horns of their altars. The people of Judah have backslid so badly that their sins are engraved not only on their hearts but also on their altars--to be remembered by God rather than to be atoned for (see Lev 16:18).
2. God tells Jeremiah and Judah Don’t Trust in mere mortals
• 5This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
• Those who trust in mortals are cursed or ill will towards someone or something.
• I’ll will means or negative stuff will happen to those who follow mere humans
• If we trust in man we will be “6He will be like a bush(Shrub) in the wastelands(desert); he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.
• If we trust in man we will die from drought and be un-sustainable that is the meaning
3. Judah has some Heart Issues The Deceptive Heart One
• The prophet Jeremiah says : “The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse — who can understand it?”
• One commentator said, How can I ever escape from the clutches of my cravings? It is going to be the death of me!”
4. The Heart is not just the vessel that pumps blood, but it is also described in the bible
• In the Bible, the heart is described as the center or seat of emotions and desires.
• It is where feelings such as love, joy, sorrow and all our thinking and will.
• Scripture views the heart as the center of a person’s thoughts, intentions and will.
• It is where decisions are made and intentions are formed.
5. Jeremiah tells Judah they need a heart examination or self-examination.
• Self-examination: Jeremiah encourages Judah and us to have a periodic wellness check.
• Self-examination is important Socrates, said that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”
• Aristotle wrote that “knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
• The great thinker, Ralph Waldo Emerson, said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
• St. Augustine, said, “Know yourself that you may know God”
• King David, fearful that his heart might not be an honest as it should be, wrote in Psalm 139: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
6. Jeremiah tells Judah and He tell us we need some Do;s in our life
• Do not trust in man but do trust in God that will get your heart right
• Do not crave the evil but do crave for the good that will get your heart right
• Do not neglect examining ones heart but do have a checkup every now and then
• Jeremiah shares do these Be Faithful, Be the tree planted by 7"Do like the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Have our confidence in God that will keep our heart right.
