Scripture: Jer 33:1-3; 17:5-8;

¹ Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, ² “Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name): ³ ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ (Jer 33:1-3, NJKV)

This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; 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. “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He 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.” (Jer 17:5-8)

ABCDs of "Trust Jesus Always and Completely":

• Acknowledge Him
• Believe Jesus
• Call on God
• Depend on God

I. Call On God

¹ Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, ² “Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name): ³ ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ (Jer 33:1-3, NJKV)

A. Background

• Jeremiah preached against idolatry, urged the Jews to turn back to God
• The Jews were warned of the impending captivity to Babylon and destruction
• Jeremiah was imprisoned by King Zedekiah
• The Word of God came to Jeremiah a second time
• God encouraged Jeremiah and the Jews to hold on to good hope

B. God's Command

"call to me" (v.3a)

• to call out for help
• a command

"But know that the LORD has set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him." (Ps 4:3)

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (Mt 7:7)

C. God's Promise

“and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (v.3b)

HE will ANSWER and reveal GREAT and MIGHTY things!

• MIGHTY = "fortified" or "inaccessible"

"Nothing is too difficult for God." (Jer 32:7)

• Moses Called on God, Red Sea parted, Israelites walked on dry ground
• Joshua Called on God, Sun stayed on whole day, Israelites won the victory over Amorites

• Are there times when you feel that God is not responding to you when you call Him?
• Are you tempted to take back your burdens, thinking that you can depend on yourself once again?

II. Depend On God

This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; 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. “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He 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.” (Jer 17:5-8)

A. Background

• Judah was entrenched in sins and God revealed their heart condition which were stony and heard
• Judah passed down sins from generation to generation and taught their children to commit idolatry
• Judah’s children will be taken from the land, their treasures would be given away and they will become servants

B. Cursed is the Man who Depends on Man

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength” (v.5a)

• Every created being owed its existence and sustenance from God, but man chose to trust the creatures than the creator
• The Lord pronounced curse on man who assumed and maintained an attitude of independence from God

“whose heart turns away from the Lord” (v.5b)

• To turn toward something other than the Lord was to turn away from the Lord.

“He will be like a bush in the wastelands” (v.6a)

• Image: Barrenness and unproductiveness

“he will not see prosperity when it comes” (v.6b)

• Wordplay: See (yir’eh in v.6) & fear (yira’ in v.8)
• Those who depend in mortals shall not see (yir’eh) when relief comes (v.6) but those who trust in the Lord shall not fear (yira’) when heat comes (v.8)

“He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives” (v.6c)

Salt land:

• Land poisoned by excessive salt
• A place devoid of life

• Have you been depending on your own strength, wisdom, and power to make it through life?
• Have you surrendered your life/future to will of others who may not have your best interest?
• Do you feel like you are in a dry or forsaken place?

God is the ONLY One whom we can COMPLETELY depend on 100%. He has our best interest in mind!

C. Blessed is the Man who Depends on the LORD

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He 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.” (vv.7-8)

• Blessed man: depend not on flesh but on God, find his resources in the Lord
• Why isn’t tree fearful of heat or anxious of drought?
  • Stream flowing unceasingly and tree roots stretched out beside stream.
  • Best position to draw water to sustain life

• Are your roots deeply connected to God?
• Have you been drawing your daily sustenance from God?

“The thing is to rely on God. The time will come when you regard all this misery as a small price to pay for having been brought to that dependence. Meanwhile, the trouble is that relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing has yet been done.” - C.S. Lewis

“I don’t think there is anyone who needs God’s help as much as I do. Sometimes I feel so helpless and weak. I think that is why God uses me. Because I cannot depend on my own strength, I rely on Him twenty-four hours a day.” - Mother Theresa

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:9-10)

David told King Saul that The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine. (1 Sam 17:37)

You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” (1 Sam 17:45-47)