{"id":1643,"date":"2022-02-13T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-13T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/?p=1643"},"modified":"2022-02-14T09:19:36","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T17:19:36","slug":"sixth-sunday-after-epiphany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/2022\/02\/13\/sixth-sunday-after-epiphany\/","title":{"rendered":"Sixth Sunday after Epiphany"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Epiphany-6-02-13-22.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Jeremiah 17:5-8<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This Is What the LORD Says!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is what the LORD says:&nbsp; <em>\u201cCursed is the man who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the L<\/em><em>ORD<\/em><em>.&nbsp; He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes.&nbsp; He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.&nbsp; But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD<\/em><em>, whose confidence is in him.&nbsp; He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.&nbsp; It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.&nbsp; It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; (NIV1984)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think we would all agree that we live in some very challenging times.&nbsp; With inflation at 7.5%\u2014 a 40 year high, with supply chain problems, with computer chip shortages and with the volatility of the stock market there is a great deal of economic uncertainty.&nbsp; The political unrest and the political divisions in our country don\u2019t show any signs of improving.&nbsp; We are now in yet another year of the COVID pandemic and frustrations are openly boiling over.&nbsp; Add to all of that the financial hardships, the rising rate of crime and the anxiety over what comes \u201cnext\u201d and it\u2019s not surprising that many people are experiencing a good deal of personal turmoil in their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When faced with all of these challenges where do we go?&nbsp; What do we do in order to get through them? &nbsp;To be even more specific\u2014 whom can you trust to help you get through whatever it is you are facing in your life?&nbsp; Do you trust yourself?&nbsp; Do you trust the \u201cexperts\u201d?&nbsp; Do you trust the Lord?&nbsp; In the end there are only two options:&nbsp; <strong>Either <\/strong>we can trust in human abilities, <strong>or <\/strong>we can trust in the Lord!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One might think that when you address that question to the children of God, when you address that question to Christians, the answer would be obvious.&nbsp; Unfortunately, as Jeremiah points out here in our text for today that is not always the case.&nbsp; Today, let\u2019s see how this Old Testament prophet reminds us New Testament children of God that when it comes to the matter of <strong>trust <\/strong>our goal is to focus on Jeremiah\u2019s words\u2014&nbsp; &nbsp;<strong><em>This Is What the L<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>ORD<\/em><\/strong><strong><em> Says!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The prophet Jeremiah lived at the time when the wildfire known as the Babylonian Empire was bearing down on Judah and Jerusalem.&nbsp; The Lord God had warned His people that because of their unfaithfulness to Him and because of their unfaithfulness to the covenant that He had established with them He was going to allow the Babylonian army to sweep over Judah and Jerusalem like a tsunami.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How did God\u2019s people react?&nbsp; Where did God\u2019s people turn for deliverance?&nbsp; Whom did God\u2019s people trust to help them?&nbsp; Did they put on sackcloth and ashes and turn to the Lord in repentance?&nbsp; No they did not.&nbsp; God\u2019s people turned to Assyria and to Egypt for help.&nbsp; Did it work?&nbsp; Was their trust well-placed?&nbsp; Hardly.&nbsp; The Assyrians fell to the Babylonians in 612 B.C.&nbsp; Seven years later the Babylonians crushed the Egyptians at the Battle of Carchemish.&nbsp; The people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem learned from bitter firsthand experience exactly what Jeremiah was talking about when he said to them, <em>\u201cThis is what the L<\/em><em>ORD<\/em><em> says:&nbsp; \u2018Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD<\/em><em>.&nbsp; He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes.&nbsp; He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now we could sit here today, shake our heads, lament over the stubbornness of God\u2019s people in the days of Jeremiah\u2014 and as a result miss out on what the Lord is saying to <strong>us <\/strong>in these words.&nbsp; <strong>Or <\/strong>we could take a long hard look at ourselves and use these words to ask ourselves questions such as:&nbsp; In whom do <strong>I <\/strong>trust?&nbsp; To whom do <strong>I <\/strong>turn for help in times of trouble?&nbsp; Is it myself?&nbsp; If so, we wouldn\u2019t be alone.&nbsp; There are many people today\u2014 and sad to say perhaps even many Christians today\u2014 who look to themselves to get themselves through difficult times.&nbsp; People might say, \u201cI\u2019m smart enough, I\u2019m strong enough, I\u2019ve got enough money, I\u2019ve got enough friends to get myself through whatever difficulties I encounter in my life.\u201d&nbsp; Then a volcano unexpectedly erupts in their life and overwhelms them with a tsunami of uncontrollable problems such as:&nbsp; illness and age, heartbreak and failure and the most uncontrollable tsunami of all\u2014 death.&nbsp; That\u2019s when the person who <em>\u201ctrusts in man,\u201d<\/em> that\u2019s when the person who <em>\u201cdepends on flesh for his strength,\u201d<\/em> that\u2019s when the person <em>\u201cwhose heart turns away from the L<\/em><em>ORD<\/em><em>\u201d<\/em> comes to the realization that in reality they were <em>\u201ccursed.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; In reality they were like a <em>\u201cbush in the wasteland.\u201d<\/em> In reality they were like someone who chose to <em>\u201cdwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine how hopeless and how depressing and how fatalistic our lives would be\u2014 <strong>if<\/strong> that is where the prophet Jeremiah ended!&nbsp; Praise God, my friends, that God the Holy Spirit led the prophet Jeremiah to assure us, <em>\u201cThis is what the L<\/em><em>ORD <\/em><em>says\u2026But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD<\/em><em>, whose confidence is in him.&nbsp; He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the streams.&nbsp; It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.&nbsp; It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two things I want to draw your attention to in this portion of our text.&nbsp; First, notice how these inspired words do <strong>not <\/strong>promise us that <strong>no one <\/strong>who <em>\u201ctrusts in the L<\/em><em>ORD,<\/em><em>\u201d<\/em> <strong>no one <\/strong>whose <em>\u201cconfidence is in him\u201d<\/em> will <strong>ever <\/strong>experience a <em>\u201cheat wave\u201d <\/em>or a <em>\u201cdrought\u201d<\/em> in their life.&nbsp; Most of us here today have firsthand experience with the pains and the sorrows, the difficulties and the hardships that are part and parcel of being sinful human beings living in a sin-filled world.&nbsp; We are not \u201cexempt\u201d from any and all the difficulties of this life simply because we are Christians.&nbsp; In fact, as Jesus made clear in our Gospel lesson for today (Luke 6:17-26) our \u201cconnection\u201d to Jesus, our faith in who Jesus is and what Jesus has done <strong>for <\/strong>us and <strong>for <\/strong>the world (Pointing to the cross) brings even more hardships and even more difficulties into our lives.&nbsp; The key difference between us and everyone who does not believe and trust in Jesus as their Savior is: &nbsp;<strong>How <\/strong>do we deal with these difficulties?&nbsp; <strong>Who <\/strong>do we trust to bring us through these hardships?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second point I want to draw your attention to from this portion of our text is how beautifully these words of Jeremiah dovetail with our psalm for today, Psalm One.&nbsp; The person who <em>\u201ctrusts in the L<\/em><em>ORD<\/em><em>,\u201d<\/em> the person whose <em>\u201cdelight is in the law of the L<\/em><em>ORD<\/em><em> and on his law he meditates day and night\u201d<\/em> (Psalm 1:2) that person is <em>\u201cblessed.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; Yes we are <em>\u201cblessed,\u201d<\/em> my friends!&nbsp; We are <em>\u201cblessed\u201d<\/em> in ways the unbelieving world will never be able to comprehend!&nbsp; We are <em>\u201cblessed\u201d<\/em> every time we turn to God\u2019s holy inspired Word with a heart that humbly trusts, <em>\u201cThis is what the L<\/em><em>ORD<\/em><em> says\u2026.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Satan tries to torment us with our sins, when Satan tries to overwhelm us with guilt we turn to the Bible and listen to what the Lord says, <em>\u201cFor as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us\u201d<\/em> (Psalm 103:11,12).&nbsp; When someone looks down on us and tries to convince us that we are worthless or unlovable or unsavable we turn to the Bible and listen to what the Lord says, <em>\u201cFor God so loved the world <\/em>(and yes, that includes <strong>you<\/strong> and <strong>me<\/strong>!) <em>that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him <\/em>(Pointing to the cross) <em>shall not perish but have eternal life\u201d<\/em> (John 3:16).&nbsp; When we are facing difficulty after difficulty and trouble after trouble in our life we turn to the Bible and listen to what the Lord says, <em>\u201cIn this world you will have trouble.&nbsp; But take heart!&nbsp; I have overcome the world\u201d<\/em> (John 16:33).&nbsp; When we look around in the world and see the prosperity of people who outwardly live and talk and act like unbelievers, we turn to the Bible and listen to what the Lord says, <em>\u201cWhen I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny\u201d<\/em> (Psalm 73:16, 17).&nbsp; When people try to confuse us and mislead us and deceive us into thinking that it doesn\u2019t make any difference what a person believes because \u201call roads lead to heaven,\u201d we turn to the Bible and listen to what the Lord says, <em>\u201cI am the way and the truth and the life.&nbsp; No one comes to the Father except through me\u201d<\/em> (John 14:6).&nbsp; When we are coming to the end of our journey here on this earth, when someone we love has died, we turn to the Bible and listen to what the Lord says, <em>\u201cI am the resurrection and the life.&nbsp; He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die\u201d<\/em> (John 11:25, 26).&nbsp; When we humbly listen to what the Lord says, then we are indeed <em>\u201cblessed.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; Then as Jeremiah pictures here in our text we will be <em>\u201clike a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.&nbsp; It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.&nbsp; It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though by the grace and power of God alone we are indeed Christians, we are still sinful people living in a sin-filled world.&nbsp; That reality all but guarantees that we will face difficulties and hardships, pains and sorrows that could easily overwhelm us.&nbsp; The question is:&nbsp; When that happens, where will we turn?&nbsp; In whom will we put our trust?&nbsp; My prayer is that whenever we find ourselves in that situation we will lift up our eyes to the cross (Pointing to the cross) and listen\u2014 listen to what the Lord says!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To God be the glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jeremiah 17:5-8 This Is What the LORD Says! This is what the LORD says:&nbsp; \u201cCursed is the man who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.&nbsp; He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes.&nbsp; He will dwell in the parched [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-worship-service-podcast"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1643"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1644,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1643\/revisions\/1644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}