Passage to Read: (Jeremiah 17:5-10)
Every Believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has entered a race and the only way to finish strong is by staying plugged into God the Holy Spirit. A Believer who is filled with the Spirit (cf. Eph 5:18) is a person who is under the influence of the Spirit and all of his or her decisions are influenced by the Word of God. Often times, the fleshly desires of the Believer is a hindrance to this race. The influence of the Spirit is diametrically opposed to the flesh.
Back to the basics…
Thus says the Lord, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant" (Jer 17:5-6).
Jeremiah vividly describes the curse that comes with confidence in human strength. Trying to solve the problems of life by relying on human good, human intellect, human technology: human strength, is stepping outside the power sphere of God. If we think we can fight the spiritual battle in human strength, we are dead wrong.
When we discount God and turn our backs on the source of all goodness, all truth, all knowledge, all peace, we guarantee misery for ourselves. Any person or any nation who places faith in human strength will be cursed, and no one can blame God, because the curse is self-induced.
The result of reliance on human strength is isolation and spiritual dryness. Life will be unbearably harsh and utterly fruitless. The one who chooses this path will not see prosperity, the blessings of God. When we are where God wants us to be, we receive maximum blessing, because that is the place where God determined from eternity past to drop our supplies. If we are not receiving blessings, it is because the blessings are being dropped for us from the grace of God, but we are somewhere else. We have been distracted, misplaced, and are at the wrong place at the wrong time. God has promised to do everything necessary to make us great in His plan. If we want to do things our way, His prosperity will be there, but we will never see it.
On the other hand, if we realize that we are powerless and that only in divine strength can we stand, then God declares us blessed.
*"Trust" is batach, the Hebrew word for "wrestling faith." To trust in the Lord is to fight our battles relying on divine power. We humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and cast our cares on Him, because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). We take our problems, our pressures, our adversities and body slam them on the Lord, remembering that the battle is His (1 Samuel 17:47).
To illustrate the blessing of trust in the Lord, Jeremiah describes a desert where the river is the only source of life. The river is a picture of God the Holy Spirit. Everything outside the bounds of the river is nonproductive. But by the river a glorious tree is planted; this fruit tree is a picture of the believer living by faith. The roots of the tree reach toward the river, illustrating the supply system that comes through spiritual growth. As the invisible root system grows, so does the tree, but the root system is always greater than the tree—there is more underground than there is aboveground. The supply system is invisible; the production is visible. For the Christian, inner character and greatness will always be more than that which is visible to other people.
The heat in Jer 17:8 is a picture of testing, crisis, temptation; the year of drought refers to extended times of pressure. The green leaves are proof of the strength and health of the tree. The maturing believer will be spiritually strong, healthy, and vibrant in spite of testing. He will not only not be anxious or worried, but will also not cease to yield fruit.
NOTE: Anxiety or worry and divine production cannot coexist. Divine production requires the filling of the Holy Spirit. We are either controlled by the Spirit—spiritual, or controlled by the flesh—carnal, at any point of time. Worry is a mental attitude sin. Sin takes us out of the divine power sphere. Therefore, it is impossible to be worried and at the same time to be the channel of divine production.
The fruit that the believer will not cease to yield as he draws power from the stream is the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. "The fruit of the Spirit" in this passage is singular; it is one fruit, produced like grapes on a cluster.
In the physical realm fruit bearing takes time. We see signs of fruit on a young tree, but full, ripe fruit is found only on a mature tree. In the spiritual realm, as young believers when we are filled with the Spirit we will show signs of fruit. If we continue to choose to walk in the Spirit, we will grow, and the maturing fruit will be an evidence of our growth. At no time can we produce the fruit of the Spirit in our own energy. Jeremiah explains why we so desperately need the divine system of power.
The heart—referring here to the inner man, the place where thinking takes place—is aqob, "deceitful, fraudulent, supplantive." The mind without faith is under the dictates of the sin nature and absolutely cannot be trusted.
Not only is it more deceitful than anything else, it is anash, "incurable, malignant." Who can understand the heart of man? No one but God. Only God knows our real inner workings, and without God we could never understand ourselves. Without the convicting and teaching and illuminating ministries of God the Holy Spirit in our lives, we could never understand who we are and why we do the things we do.
"Search" means "to look for content." "Test" means "to diligently examine with the intent of finding function." God, of course, always knows what is in our hearts, but He wants us to know. He wants us to understand what is on the inside and who is in control there. We will never know what is going on in our souls until God brings it out. So He tests us by sometimes putting us in adverse situations, sometimes in prosperous situations, giving us the chance to apply what we know (Hebrews 4:13).
The ultimate purpose of God's searching and testing is to give to each of us according to our ways, according to the results of our deeds. "Ways" refers to content. "Deeds" refers to function. God is not concerned only with what we do, but much more with how we do it. The Lord Jesus Christ told Nicodemus that there are two kinds of life: physical and spiritual. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh," He said, "and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (JOH 3:6). Nothing that we do in the power of the flesh is acceptable to God (ISA 64:6). Only what is produced by the Spirit of God through us is worth anything.
[Click here for Synonomous Terms]
Every Believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has entered a race and the only way to finish strong is by staying plugged into God the Holy Spirit. A Believer who is filled with the Spirit (cf. Eph 5:18) is a person who is under the influence of the Spirit and all of his or her decisions are influenced by the Word of God. Often times, the fleshly desires of the Believer is a hindrance to this race. The influence of the Spirit is diametrically opposed to the flesh.
Back to the basics…
Thus says the Lord, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant" (Jer 17:5-6).
Jeremiah vividly describes the curse that comes with confidence in human strength. Trying to solve the problems of life by relying on human good, human intellect, human technology: human strength, is stepping outside the power sphere of God. If we think we can fight the spiritual battle in human strength, we are dead wrong.
When we discount God and turn our backs on the source of all goodness, all truth, all knowledge, all peace, we guarantee misery for ourselves. Any person or any nation who places faith in human strength will be cursed, and no one can blame God, because the curse is self-induced.
The result of reliance on human strength is isolation and spiritual dryness. Life will be unbearably harsh and utterly fruitless. The one who chooses this path will not see prosperity, the blessings of God. When we are where God wants us to be, we receive maximum blessing, because that is the place where God determined from eternity past to drop our supplies. If we are not receiving blessings, it is because the blessings are being dropped for us from the grace of God, but we are somewhere else. We have been distracted, misplaced, and are at the wrong place at the wrong time. God has promised to do everything necessary to make us great in His plan. If we want to do things our way, His prosperity will be there, but we will never see it.
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit" (Jer 17:7-8).
On the other hand, if we realize that we are powerless and that only in divine strength can we stand, then God declares us blessed.
*"Trust" is batach, the Hebrew word for "wrestling faith." To trust in the Lord is to fight our battles relying on divine power. We humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and cast our cares on Him, because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). We take our problems, our pressures, our adversities and body slam them on the Lord, remembering that the battle is His (1 Samuel 17:47).
To illustrate the blessing of trust in the Lord, Jeremiah describes a desert where the river is the only source of life. The river is a picture of God the Holy Spirit. Everything outside the bounds of the river is nonproductive. But by the river a glorious tree is planted; this fruit tree is a picture of the believer living by faith. The roots of the tree reach toward the river, illustrating the supply system that comes through spiritual growth. As the invisible root system grows, so does the tree, but the root system is always greater than the tree—there is more underground than there is aboveground. The supply system is invisible; the production is visible. For the Christian, inner character and greatness will always be more than that which is visible to other people.
The heat in Jer 17:8 is a picture of testing, crisis, temptation; the year of drought refers to extended times of pressure. The green leaves are proof of the strength and health of the tree. The maturing believer will be spiritually strong, healthy, and vibrant in spite of testing. He will not only not be anxious or worried, but will also not cease to yield fruit.
NOTE: Anxiety or worry and divine production cannot coexist. Divine production requires the filling of the Holy Spirit. We are either controlled by the Spirit—spiritual, or controlled by the flesh—carnal, at any point of time. Worry is a mental attitude sin. Sin takes us out of the divine power sphere. Therefore, it is impossible to be worried and at the same time to be the channel of divine production.
The fruit that the believer will not cease to yield as he draws power from the stream is the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. "The fruit of the Spirit" in this passage is singular; it is one fruit, produced like grapes on a cluster.
In the physical realm fruit bearing takes time. We see signs of fruit on a young tree, but full, ripe fruit is found only on a mature tree. In the spiritual realm, as young believers when we are filled with the Spirit we will show signs of fruit. If we continue to choose to walk in the Spirit, we will grow, and the maturing fruit will be an evidence of our growth. At no time can we produce the fruit of the Spirit in our own energy. Jeremiah explains why we so desperately need the divine system of power.
"The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds" (JER 17:9-10).
The heart—referring here to the inner man, the place where thinking takes place—is aqob, "deceitful, fraudulent, supplantive." The mind without faith is under the dictates of the sin nature and absolutely cannot be trusted.
Not only is it more deceitful than anything else, it is anash, "incurable, malignant." Who can understand the heart of man? No one but God. Only God knows our real inner workings, and without God we could never understand ourselves. Without the convicting and teaching and illuminating ministries of God the Holy Spirit in our lives, we could never understand who we are and why we do the things we do.
"Search" means "to look for content." "Test" means "to diligently examine with the intent of finding function." God, of course, always knows what is in our hearts, but He wants us to know. He wants us to understand what is on the inside and who is in control there. We will never know what is going on in our souls until God brings it out. So He tests us by sometimes putting us in adverse situations, sometimes in prosperous situations, giving us the chance to apply what we know (Hebrews 4:13).
The ultimate purpose of God's searching and testing is to give to each of us according to our ways, according to the results of our deeds. "Ways" refers to content. "Deeds" refers to function. God is not concerned only with what we do, but much more with how we do it. The Lord Jesus Christ told Nicodemus that there are two kinds of life: physical and spiritual. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh," He said, "and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (JOH 3:6). Nothing that we do in the power of the flesh is acceptable to God (ISA 64:6). Only what is produced by the Spirit of God through us is worth anything.
[Click here for Synonomous Terms]
This material was originally a highlighted topic in "The Basics". Additional topics can be found here.
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