Jeremiah, Edgar Allan Poe

Jeremiah,
Edgar Allen Poe & The Tell-Tale Heart

Part
1

Jeremiah
17: 5-11; 20:8-9

Introduction  

Kenny Harrelson & I on Wednesday, were talking about the
conditions all of us are facing here and throughout the rest of the world &
that it is clear that we’re slipping from a spiritual recession straight into a
spiritual depression.

The things written by Paul to Timothy in his second letter, though
they have been happening in times past, they are occurring more & more
frequently and one can see clearly that we are much closer to the return of
Christ for His church then most want to believe.

People scoffing at God, disobedience, considering nothing to be
sacred, cruelty & hating what is good; betraying friends, puffed with
pride. The intolerance of the tolerant secularist demanding their philosophical
views to be the only correct views, demanding the doctrines of homosexuality,
child murder be codified. -- and on & on. You will find it 2 Timothy 3:
1-5.

Granted that this nation is not alone in this thinking, but
because it has always considered itself to be a nation under the blessing of
Almighty God, its people will suffer as did Judah under the curse of
God.. 

Like Judah during the time when Jeremiah prophesied and her sins
were written with an iron pen in tablets of stone, that is embedded deep in
Judah’s heart so have ours been.

Josiah called for a revival and Judah enjoyed what looked to be a
great revival, (2 Chron. 34:1 - 35:19). But, as nation Judah oly experienced a
‘skin deep’ revival & not as Josiah did, who had true piety, the people
never came away nor gave away their altars & asherah poles on the high
hills, places of worship to pagan gods.

The hearts of the people under Josiah were far from God & the
observation of the true was only superficial & done by  rote. Today
the use of religion as in some of the memorials and dedications are used only
as an appearance of godliness but at the same time denying its power thereby
denying its power; blaspheming the Lord God; it all comes to putting one’s
trust in man, the world, the world systeme.

We are taught by Scripture that the one who trust in God is like a
tree planted in the Garden of the Three Springs -- a place in the
middle of a sparse land southwest of Galilee called also Gan Hoshlosha a
national park today.

The pools & waterfalls are filled with deep, cool,
emerald-blue water that is continually refreshed by underground springs that
are also naturally worm - One can swim year round
-                                                     

It’s said to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.

And, to know God is to be refreshed continually by His grace -
just like a tree watered by underground springs.

The Psalmist and Jeremiah, in Psalm 1:3 & chapter 17 in
Jeremiah, both offer the same benediction for godliness.

Both tell us that the one who trusts God is like a well watered
tree.

They not only pronounce the same benediction, they both pronounce
the same curse upon those who trust in themselves rather than God Thus says the LORD:
"Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose
heart turns away from the LORD. (v5).

This verse is a direct assault on us, our
culture here & throughout the world at large. Cursed is the man who
trusts in man and makes flesh his strength. -- that’s anyone who puts
complete trust in man: his technology, psychology, economics, government, or
any other aspect of human culture is under the curse of God.

If you want to understand this modern culture,
read Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay, “Self-Reliance”.

He tells his readers not to care for the poor,
nro love their families, or listen to preachers. Be self reliant, insist
on yourself, never imitate, be a nonconformist, nothing is sacred but the
integrity of your mind. Nothing can bring peace but yourself.

Curses

Jeremiah says just the opposite - Don’t
trust yourself, doing so is turning away from God - you’ll be cursed. Self
reliance brings terror not peace.

Three things will befall you, loneliness,
poverty & death.

V. 6, heart turns away from the LORD. 6
He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall
dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt
land. 

Putting yourself first before anyone else,
you’re truly cutting off God first of all, then all other human beings - you’re
gonna end up like a dwarf juniper tree in the middle of the desert.

Let me go to verse 11, Like the partridge
that gathers a brood that she did not hatch, so is he who gets riches but not
by justice; in the midst of his days they will leave him, and at his end he
will be a fool. 

The partridge would go after the eggs in
another’s nest to hatch them; when the chicks hatched since they weren’t
partridges they would fly off when hearing their true mothers voice.

The same goes for those who amass great
fortunes by taking advantage of other people. The money was never theirs; in
the end it will leave them.

The founder of New Era Philanthropy, John
Benneg had set up in the 90’s a charitable foundation providing funding for
non-profit organizations. It turned out to be a ponzi-scheme & dozens of
institutions were taken for millions of dollars - there have been others. John
Bennettt was disgraced and imprisoned

When his life was half gone, the riches he
unjustly gained deserted him - The man who trusts in his own strength turns out
to be a fool.

Then death comes to those who trust in
themselves. V 13, O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall
be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,
for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water. 

You leave the oasis & go out into the
dessert brings death - No water, no survival - one can only go about three days
without water - 

Turn away from God, turn away from the living
water of God’s grace, there is no spiritual life. God warned them, He warns us
today, my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the
fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken
cisterns that can hold no water. (2:13).  

But there are people that would rather die of
thirst than turn to God. There is no water, no life apart from God.

Blessings

Trusting in God brings blessings - The contrast
is absolute: Trust in self, you’re cursed; Trust in God, you’re blessed.

It all pivots on where your heart is - the
question then; Where is your heart? Where is your confidence?

Do you rely on yourself most of the time, or do
you trust in God all of the time? God only blesses those
who trust in Him.

Let me veir to a brief analogy. When learning
to fly solely by reference to instruments, you have to place all of your trust
in the instruments. The artificial horizon/attitude indicator will tell you if
you’re straight & level. It will tell you if you’re nose high or nose low.
The rate of climb indicator will tell you how fast you’re climbing or
descending. The bank & turn will tell you if you’re in a coordinated turn and
the airspeed indicator will give you readings for the proper attitude of the
airplane for a landing….. 

The point here is, the moment you start flying
the aircraft inside the clouds with no outside visible reference you have a
choice. Trust the instruments, or trust in your seat of the pants. Your inner
ear will tell you one thing and the instruments will tell you something else.
Believe your inner ear and you’ll be cursed; trust the instruments and you’ll
be blessed.

Likewise, total complete trust in God brings
life. The life that God gives cannot be taken away.

The man or woman who trusts in God is blessed
like the tree planted by the water. That tree won’t become parched when
there’s a heat wave --- No it won’t -- It’s leaves stay green when the weather
is hot; it won’t wither during a drought because there is a constant supply of
water. 

That tree will be in full bloom when the bush
in the desert dies.

I’ll conclude here and will continue on Sunday
after next.

Let me close by saying that to live like a tree
by the river is to live close to Christ - 

Jesus is the water of life; in Him there is
water in times of drought for thirsty souls - To the samaritan women Jesus
said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14
but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty
again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water
welling up to eternal life.", (John 4:13-14)

On the last day of the feast, the great day,
Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and
drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart
will flow rivers of living water.'" 39 Now this he said about the Spirit,
whom those who believed in him were to receive, (John 7:37-39).

In Jesus there is water for cleansing from sin.
Every tree planted to Jesus Christ will have green leaves & rich fruit no
matter the conditions - and everyone who drinks from His fountain will never
die -