Cursed or Blessed
Jeremiah 17:5 “Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:7 “Blessed be the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.” I’m
When God says, “cursed” to anyone…..then He is giving that one over to the bondage of sin…..the weight of sin,….the darkness of sin….the penalty of sin.
The curse is sin. Sin is the refusal of God’s authority over our life….in thought, attitude, and action (Romans 14:23, James 4:17).
When God says, “blessed” to anyone…..then He is giving His Spirit and the influence of love, joy, peace….and liberty of obedience to that one.
(In the Bible, the heart is the personality of a person.
God gave us a personality when He formed us….
….of the dust of the ground He formed our bodies,
….He breathed into us the “breath of life” (the Holy Spirit) into our spirits,
….And we became a living soul….living personalities that responded to our Creator, God.
Ecclesiastes 7:29 “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright [righteous]; but they have sought out many inventions.”
We were made upright….fully capable of not sinning. We had the Holy Spirit within, and we did not have a sinful nature….till Adam willed to sin, instead of obey God.
Many inventions….many things which will take the place of God in the heart.
And the biggest thing we try and fill our hearts with……is us.
Our plans, our riches, our jobs, our friends, our…whatever…
…but it is “our”….”mine”.)
In Jeremiah’s time, under king Josiah, there was a “revival” of religion.
Josiah was a godly king and ordered the Temple worship re-established and had one of the few Passover feasts that Israel had.
He ordered those of the priestly family who knew the Law, to go about teaching it.
Many came back to worship God…..but many came back to the Temple,…..and still worshiped their other gods.
Time came, when Josiah died…the kings after were wicked…..and the worship went on,…but in form only.
There were still those who preached the truth, wrote the truth to be read,….and who believed God…..yet they were becoming less and less.
Jeremiah was told to tell them of their sin…..(remember sin is the curse)…
….and God said:
“Cursed is the man that trusteth in man….and whose heart departeth from the Lord.”
“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.”
These are the choices every person has to make….
We trust in our own way…..departing from the God who made us and would save us…..and be cursed of God, and left to the sin we have chosen.
(every man can be saved….all they have to do is come to God through Jesus Christ.
John 1:12 “For as many as received Him (Jesus Christ), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”
In the Old Testament….it was faith in the Savior’s coming. In the New Testament time, the time we are living in….it is faith that the Savior, Christ Jesus has come.)
Or to trust in the Lord,….and be blessed of God, and saved from our sin….into liberty of love obedience.
I want to explain something…..
…God is Light. (1 John 1:5)
If you love the darkness so you can hide in it with your sin…then, face it, your sin is ruling you….and you will not want the Light….that is why you are rejecting God…and for no other reason.
…God is Love. (1 John 4:8)
God’s love in not an indulgent pat on our head….
….His love is a consuming fire which burns up our hatred, anger, resentments, and self-pity.
He will continue to love us….taking away all those emotions which destroy us….and will change our hearts into vessels of overflowing peace and praise.
…God is Truth.(John 14:16)
His truth is our safety. Never is our step more safe and firm, then when we are walking in His truth….not following the crooked ways of the world.
…God is Life. (John 14:16)
Only in His life, can we have life.
If your breathing in and out, yet without Christ….you are merely existing.
Life is walking, talking, and having a personal relationship with Christ Jesus, letting His Spirit empower, enable, comfort and encourage us.
…God is Faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9, 10:13)
Both in His promises and in His threatenings…..for He is Able to do everything according to His Will.
He is faithful “to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him (Jesus Christ)…” (Hebrews 7:25)
He is faithful….”and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15)
In these titles…..I am not seeking to make you love and admire God….only the Holy Spirit can do that….
….but seeking to manifest your choice…
…cursed or blessed? Which? Choose God, or your own way.
He spoke to Israel before they were taken away into captivity….so they would turn….and be saved.
He speaks now to all…
John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.
He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
We are condemned already…..cursed already because of our sin…..
…but God, through Christ will save us….if we believe on Him.
And He speaks to Christians:
2 Corinthians 6:17, 18-7:1 “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Holiness is sanctification….to set ourselves aside to God in all the parts of our lives….to keep coming after Him, who loves us and saves us.
Cursed is the man….whose heart departeth from the Lord.
Blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord…
We have a choice…..which will we choose.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 