You Know Better
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You Know Better -Jeremiah 17:5, 7
You Know Better -Jeremiah 17:5, 7
5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord.
Have A Word Of PRAYER!
Confession of Faith
Confession of Faith
I am not moved by what I see or by what I feel. I am moved by what I believe. I believe the WORD of God! The victory is mine! I have it now! I can see it through the eyes of my faith! In Jesus Name!
I am not moved by what I see or by what I feel. I am moved by what I believe. I believe the WORD of God! The victory is mine! I have it now! I can see it through the eyes of my faith! In Jesus Name!
Introduction:
I heard a parent asking a child - why would you do that? Then she followed up with you know better!
It got me to thinking
How many times have you and I have made decisions about something when we know better!
How many times have we gotten ourselves in situations and we knew better and the situation did not work in our favor
How many times have we allowed people to influence us to action when we know these people didn't know what they were talking about
How many times did you know what to do and you didn’t do it!
Lean In -
How many times did you know it was sin and you did it anyway and then had the gaul to be upset at the punishment!
In the Book of Jeremiah
Ok remember Jeremiah was a prophet called by God to deliver messages of warning and messages of hope to the nation of Judah.
Now in Chapter 17 we find that God is addresses the sin of idolatry in the tribe of Judah!
Jeremiah is also reminding the tribe of Judah about the consequences of trusting in human strength rather than in God
In the message translation
1 “Judah’s sin is engraved with a steel chisel, A steel chisel with a diamond point— engraved on their granite hearts, engraved on the stone corners of their altars.
2 The evidence against them is plain to see: sex-and-religion altars and sacred sex shrines Anywhere there’s a grove of trees, anywhere there’s an available hill.
3 “I’ll use your mountains as roadside stands for giving away everything you have. All your ‘things’ will serve as reparations for your sins all over the country.
4 You’ll lose your gift of land, The inheritance I gave you. I’ll make you slaves of your enemies in a far-off and strange land. My anger is hot and blazing and fierce, and no one will put it out.”
God is not happy with his children! Because of what they were doing and they Know Better!
The thing that get’s to me is when I clearly know better and I sin anyway!
Now Hear me:
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
The bible says, when we don’t acknowledgement God in our hearts and in our minds
When we don’t hold on to the knowledge of God in our hearts and in our mind
That means we choose to reject or disregard God’s truth
That means we choose to disregard the word of God in our life
That means we choose minimize God and elevate our flesh
When that happens the bible says God gave them over to a reprobate mind !
That is a mind that has become morally corrupt
That is a mind that has refused to accept God’s truth
That is a mind that has refused to accept God’s guidance
That is a mind that now is spiritual hard
That is a mind that now has no principles
That is a mind that now has chosen a path of disobedience
That is a mind that has rejected God’s will
Listen I don’t want that mind! As a follower of Jesus Christ I don’t want that reprobate mind controlling my decisions and my actions - day in and day out!
I know better! - You know Better
Here is the really scary part - When God turns you over to this reprobate mind - you don’t even know it! When people point out things that go against what God’s will is for your life or what the bible says - we justify our reprobate mind! We tell them they are wrong! We are offended that anyone would even come to us in that manner!
19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.
I know Better - You know Better
God has made himself known to you and me!
20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
I don’t have any excuse for not knowing God!
I know better - You know better
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
Now check this out:
22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.
I got my degree, I have my job, I have some money, I have a position in the church, I have a positron in society, - wait on the other hand - some of us say - Well I have never experience a punishment for doing what I do - so I must be right
The bible says - you become an utter fool
23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
Paul is saying what Jeremiah was saying to the tribe of Judah
24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.
25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.
I know better - You know better!!!
Now everyone likes to stop at Romans 26 and 27
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
But what if that is not what you have been turned over to
Lean in
here is what I believe is the craziest thing - Paul is talking about all of us who worship the creations and not the creator! He is talking about those of us who know better that has traded the truth about God for a lie! he is talking about those who do whatever shameful thin their hearts desire
29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.
30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.
31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.
32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
I know Better - You know Better
What are we doing ya’ll -
When we have a reprobate mind - we believe what we are doing is right and correct - and then we justify the punishments that come along with the decisions the reprobate mind makes!
God may have turned you over to a reprobate mind and you arent even aware!
I know better - You know Better!!
man - let me tell you
Paul continues in chapter 2
1 You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.
2 And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things.
3 Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things?
I Know Better And You Know better
5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord.
God gives them a glimmer of hope ! Now this hope is for the ones who choose to trust God without doubt! This is for those of us who are going to trust him with all their heart !
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
The term "blessed" in Hebrew means being happy, being fortunate, or being deeply content.
Blessed is a place of well-being - Blessed transcends external circumstances! Blessed is rooted in a growing - flourishing relationship with God.
Blessed comes from Trusting in Jesus! Blessed is more than imere belief;
Blessed is a deep, unwavering confidence in God’s character, and in God’s promises, and in God’s rule over every aspect of our lives.
Blessed is an active surrender of our will to God’s will! Blessed is acknowledging that God alone is worthy of our trust and reliance.
Let’s quit playing with God - I know better - You know better! All this struggling, all these problems! We must get back in to intimate relationship with God!
Blessed people are like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream."
What are we talking about - w are talking about a life of stability, a life of nourishment, and a life of resilience. A tree planted by water has a constant and abundant source of sustenance! This allows the roots to grow deep and strong. The bible tell us -those who trust in the Lord are firmly rooted in Him, those who trust in the Lord draw upon God’s strength and those who trust in the Lord experience God’s grace to deal with the storms of life.
A tree with roots reaching out by the stream reminds me of intentional dependence on God's Word and The Holy Spirit.When we spend time immersing ourselves in His truth and living our lives in the presence of God , our minds and souls get what they need withstand sin, to withstand problems, to withstand adversity!
The bible says - those who God blesses "don’t fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green."
When I trust God in every aspect of my life - I have experienced a peace during hard times! My spirit has not dried up - like the leaves on a tree in the hot dry seasons! When I trust the Lord - When you Trust The Lord - we have roots that get the nourishment we need to stay vibrant and to flourish
Man, Regardless of the trials or challenges we face, our faith in God keeps us and takes away fear.
Listen, I know better and you know better and we all know that life on this side of heaven we will experience times of testing, we will experience barren seasons in our careers, in our finances, in our relationships, even in our health - but when you are planted in the presence of God - He provides for us the things we need on a daily basis at times moment by moment to give us the spiritual fruit that displays a life that testify s of God’s grace, God’s mercy, God’s love! Some of us are still here today only because of God’s grace
As A Christ Follower we must quit trusting man, we have to stop making the world and fleshly desires our focus! We must stop letting our mind and hearts depart from the word of God!
I know better - You know better! No excuses!, No more justifcations, No more hiding and lying! I know better - You know better
Jeremiah 17:7-8 offers each of us a reminder and an invitation to trust in the Lord! Trust Jesus wholeheartedly and experience the abundant blessings that flow from intimate fellowship with Him.
We should be like the tree planted by the water, draw upon God’s strength, finding everything we need in God’s Word, and , then living a life that testifies to His faithfulness and goodness.
God bless you and God keep you is my prayer