Where are you planted?

Have you ever been at a Crossroads? A place where there were multiple options, but one decision had to be made?

There were Three men who were hiking through a forest when they came upon a large, raging, violent river. Needing to get to the other side, the first man prayed, “God, please give me the strength to cross the river.” Poof! God gave him big arms and strong legs. He was able to swim across in about two hours, having almost drowned twice.

After witnessing that, the second man prayed, “God, please give me strength and the tools to cross the river.” Poof! God gave him a rowboat, strong arms, and strong legs. He was able to row across in about an hour after almost capsizing once.

Seeing what happened to the first two men, the third man prayed, “God, please give me the strength, the tools and the intelligence to cross this river.” Poof! He was turned into a woman. She checked the map, hiked one hundred yards up stream and walked across the bridge.

Go ahead and grab your copy of God’s word and turn with me to Jeremiah 17.

The title of this message is “Where are you planted?”

As i was writing i kept hearing the quote “Location, Location, Location”

Many of us have heard this phrase. We either remember it from historical quotes, the 2000’s house hunter show, or more than likely just from people quoting it every chance we get.

Wherever the origin may be, it’s obvious that we place great value in the locations and positions that we put ourselves in. We say things like, “i’m not going to put myself in that position.” or “They really put my between a rock and a hard place.” or maybe you’ve even heard this one. “I’m not where i want to be, but praise the Lord i’m not where i used to be.” All of those things revolve around a location, a position, or a destination, right?

Don’t believe me? have someone try to convince you to use your vacation time to go somewhere you have no interest in going too.

Our Location is valuable to us. Think about your preference on vacation spots.

Places that people like to go on vacation.

Shows a-lot about a person right?

Beach

Mountains

Travel Internationally

Stay at home

See as many things as possible

See they back of your eyelids as much as possible.

We all have our own preferences when it comes to where we travel for pleasure

The same thing is true when it comes to Places where people choose to Live

City (Metro area)

Country (Rural Area)

Neighborhood/Subdivision

Some wanna live on the Water

Some wanna live on a large piece of land

And while there are certain circumstances that dictate our location here on earth, Jeremiah is going to speak our spiritual location in order for us to see that:

It’s not where you’ve been that determines your Spiritual Condition, it’s where you’re choosing to be NOW.

Jeremiah 17:5-8.

Jeremiah 17:5–8 CSB

5 This is what the Lord says: Cursed is the person who trusts in mankind. He makes human flesh his strength, and his heart turns from the Lord. 6 He will be like a juniper in the Arabah; he cannot see when good comes but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land where no one lives. 7 The person who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed. 8 He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.

Pray

Context

The book of Jeremiah is tough. Not only for us, but the life that Jeremiah had to live was extremely hard. We look at the Prophets today with a sense of thankfulness and admiration, but their lives were literally built on always being the person with the “Bad news”. Anytime we see the Lord send a prophet, it’s never to pat people on the back. When we see prophets, it’s because something’s about to change.

And let’s be honest with ourselves, we don’t like being told that what we are doing is wrong, or that we need to change.

The same thing was true about the people of Judah. Before we make it to our text, Jeremiah has been calling out Judah for its rebellion against God.

The people had been doing awful things!

They had chosen not to listen to what the Lord had instructed them in Exodus

Exodus 19:4–6 CSB

4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine, 6 and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”

They were living two lives by going to Church, but their worship quickly turned to other things as soon as they left.

The influential and rich had everything, but cared little that there were people around them who were forced to live as less than animals

They even became so disillusioned that some would sacrifice children to these other “gods”.

We hear those things and become filled with frustration, and we’re ready to take up arms against that sort of oppression and injustice, and it just makes us sick! We’re ready to go to WAR!! But with who? But with who?

In our passage, Jeremiah highlights two types of People

Two types of People

Cursed and Blessed

Now, i know that if i went into a crowded area and asked 100 people whether they wished to be Blessed or Cursed, 100% of those people would say Blessed. But Jeremiah shows us that maybe what we say we want, doesn’t always line up with what we actually want.

1. Cursed

Jeremiah 17:5 CSB

5 This is what the Lord says: Cursed is the person who trusts in mankind. He makes human flesh his strength, and his heart turns from the Lord.

What does it mean to trust in mankind?

Trust In man

Jeremiah says to trust in man is like being planted in the Desert. A place where There’s no way to get the things that we need from the things around us.

Oh, but don’t we try… What do we do?

We start trying to get the answers from places that aren’t even asking the right questions.

We do this by:

- Blindly putting trust in Influential People

Whether it’s a politician, a community leader, a pop culture icon, a church leader, or even a loved one.

We are constantly looking for someone who has already taken the test and has the answers. But what we fail to realize is that we are all seeking the same answers. Answers that man alone just doesn’t have

Psalm 146:3–4 CSB

3 Do not trust in nobles, in a son of man, who cannot save. 4 When his breath leaves him, he returns to the ground; on that day his plans die.

Not only do we blindly trust People, We are also guilty of:

- Blindly putting trust in groups of People

This is more than likely where many of us will become uncomfortable.

Throughout the Bible, there are numerous examples of the people of God stumbling in their relationship with the Lord because they became more committed to some group of people than to the God of the Universe

In the Old testament, we see the Israelites repetitively putting their faith into political alliances that would ultimately fail them. In the New Testament, the Pharisees and Sadducees (the Religious leaders) were so wrapped up in the power of their religious “Party” that they refused to acknowledge who Jesus was because it would mean that they would lose their control.

Do we do that? Do we see our groups (Political, Para Church, Social, Extracurricular, Athletic) as the most important things in our lives?

We may say no, but does your time commitment suggest otherwise?

The Last way that we worship man, is by:

- Blindly Putting trust in Ourselves

Do we believe that we’re strong? Do we believe that we can “just push through” I can make this list long and repetitive, but the real question is do we have the “if i don’t do it, it won’t get done.” mentality.

A difficult truth for me is that this describes me. And when I feel that way, i am not worshiping God.

We Worship ourselves

“Makes human flesh his strength”

The author of most of the new testament, a man named Paul, talks about our strength. He had lived most of His life relying on His education, His natural giftedness, and His social circles, but after He was radically saved by Jesus his whole perception about strength and weakness changed. He said:

2 Corinthians 12:10 CSB

10 So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

When we believe that we have strength apart from Jesus:

We become bitter, angry, sour, and unable to truly experience joy

as our passage says our: “heart turns from the Lord”

Because of our inability to see what we’ve become:

Jeremiah 17:6 CSB

6 He will be like a juniper in the Arabah; he cannot see when good comes but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land where no one lives.

We become like a bush planted in the desert

We surround ourselves with people who are just as miserable as we are, or when it gets to the point when we can’t even find those people , then We isolate ourselves completely don’t we?

In the end, These people will find that their lives resembles the shrub. They are alone, Barely holding onto life. They will be in a place where Hope, Love, Joy, and Nourishment all seem out of reach.

But Praise the Lord that doesn’t have to be where our story ends!

Though the people of Judah in this passage, and many of the people across our world today choose to be cursed, choose to be cynical, choose to be bitter, choose not to see the Joy in life, Jeremiah speaks of another type of person.

Jeremiah says:

Jeremiah 17:7 CSB

7 The person who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed.

That’s the second type of person that we see. the person who is Blessed

2. Blessed

This person, though few in number, are the one’s who truly trust in the Lord

Trust in the Lord

In the Gospel of John we see Jesus interacting with a woman at a well. Here the conversation is similar to the one that we’re having now. Basically, Jesus tells the woman that the nourishment that comes from the water in the well will eventually fade away, in much the same way as when we trust in mankind for our hope. But Jesus speaks of a supernatural water that will quench our thirst. He says:

John 4:14 CSB

14 But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.”

So in the same way that Jesus is speaking of the Hope of Salvation and eternal life by using the vivid imagery of water in John, The Lord also uses this example our passage in Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 17:8 CSB

8 He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.

So, While in the first two verses we’ve seen brutal and what seems to be hopeless imagery, Here we see a picture of Peace and Hope.

From Vs. 8 we can see a few powerful truths

The First is that those who are Blessed:

- Settle near the Water

Vs. 8 tells us that the Blessed one will be one “like a tree planted by water”.

The imagery here is so powerful! We see a similar example in: the very first psalm

Psalm 1:3 CSB

3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Have you ever heard someone say that they are ready to “put down roots”? This means that the person is ready to find a place to stay, invest, build a life. Here the lord is showing us that the “Living water” of the Lord is the perfect place for us to put down “roots” for us to invest our lives. The dry desert lands of this world have gotten far more of our lives than we ever intended, but now we can settle down and live the life that the Lord has made for us.

The second truth we see in vs. 8 is that those who have settled near the water, are:

- Protected by the Water

Notice here that Jeremiah doesn’t say that life will be easy. But he says that the person who is near the Lord “Doesn’t fear when the heat comes”

This world is a playground for the enemy. A place in which His main game is to Kill, Steal, and Destroy. And unfortunately, our lives will feel the effects of this game that Satan plays.

We will experience loss, We will experience sorrow, We will experience the Struggles of living in this broken world, But those who are near to the Lord will have a medic (a Great Physician) standing by to help us back onto our feet after we fall

A third truth that we see is that the one Near to the Lord will be:

- Nourished by the Water

“it’s foliage remains green”

Do you feel green or brown this morning? Let me explain. I mowed my yard the other day, and to be honest i wasn’t prepared for the heat of the day. And as soon as i finished, realizing how drained i was, went straight in a drank a ton of water.

I know that You’re going through the “Heat” of life each day, so are you often going to the Lord to be renewed so that you remain healthy, or do you wait until your spiritual life becomes like that bush in the desert?

Of course, in order for us to be nourished by the Lord, we must be Confident in the Living Water that He provides

- Confident in the Water

The text says that the Blessed one “will not worry in a year of drought”

There will be times that we feel like we’re just “going through the motions” we just feel “Blah” But in those times we have to keep our heads up, know that the Lord has not abandoned us.

Whenever you feel alone. Whenever doubt starts creeping in. Remember the words of Moses:

Deuteronomy 31:6 CSB

6 Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.”

And Finally, The person who is near to the Lord will be:

- Guided by the Water

Those who are planted by the water… “Will not cease producing fruit”

This tells us two things.

That we as Christians are called to “produce fruit” by growing in our faith, serving in the Church, and pouring into people around us.

When life gets tough, when we want to give up, we must not let the struggles of life distract us from our purpose.

The Lord has Lovingly, intentionally, and specifically designed each one of us . It’s up to us to choose to live that purpose out.

Earlier we said that we were ready to go to war against the enemy. But did we know that we are often soldiers in that army. That when we trust in man we are the cause of the injustice in the world. Yes! Satan is the instigator of all sinfulness, but we make the choice.

In a moment an invitation will be given. An invitation to surrender your life to Jesus.

Maybe you’ve been living your life on your own terms, and you’ve realized that it’s not working.

Maybe you’ve been living your life believing that you were good, but today you’ve realized that you aren’t near to the lord.

In that time of invitation, i invite you to come down and give your life to Jesus. We would be happy to guide you on how to do that. All you have to do is ask.

So.. i leave you with this question.

Where are you planted?

Are you the Shrub in the Desert, or the Tree planted by the water?