Pastor Sherry’s message for February 16, 2025

Scriptures: Jer 17:5-10; Ps 1; 1 Cor 15:12-20; Lk 6:17-26

For several weeks, I have been preaching about what God wants from us, behavior-wise:  He wants us to love others abundantly and to remain humble.  Today I want to focus on trusting in Him.

Consider this true story:

“There is no situation I can get into that God cannot get me out. Some years ago when I was learning to fly, my instructor told me to put the plane into a steep and extended dive. I was totally unprepared for what was about to happen. After a brief time the engine stalled, and the plane began to plunge out-of-control. It soon became evident that the instructor was not going to help me at all. After a few seconds, which seemed like eternity, my mind began to function again. I quickly corrected the situation.

“Immediately I turned to the instructor and began to vent my fearful frustrations on him. He very calmly said to me, “There is no position you can get this airplane into that I cannot get you out of. If you want to learn to fly, go up there and do it again.” At that moment God seemed to be saying to me, “Remember this. As you serve Me, there is no situation you can get yourself into that I cannot get you out of. If you trust me, you will be all right.”  That lesson has been proven true in my ministry many times over the years.” 

(Pastor James Brown, Evangeline Baptist Church, Wildsville, LA, in Discoveries, Fall, 1991, Vol. 2, No. 4.)

Many of us have learned this over the years, but we need to be reminded of the fact occasionally, don’t we?  We say we trust God with our finances until we discover we owe IRS a bundle with no foreseeable way to pay it.  We say we trust God with our health, until we get the cancer or heart disease diagnosis.  We say we trust God with our relationships until a spouse cheats on us or dies. We seem to trust God as long as He is arranging our lives the way we want them.  It’s when life throws us a curved ball that our faith is stretched and strained. But the wise person trusts in God no matter what comes!

Our Scripture passages today all encourage us to keep trusting in God, no matter the scares we face in life:

A.  The portion of Jeremiah we read today is from chapter 17,verses 5-10. Remember that Jeremiah is the “weeping prophet”, called to pronounce God’s judgment on His disobedient people.  God had warned him ahead of time that no one would listen to him and that no one would heed his words. He was called to a mission of failure–by worldly standards–yet he persevered.

Perhaps he did so because he knew these verses.  God sets out curses and blessings in verses 5-8:  Curses if you put your trust in what human beings say is right; but blessings if you trust in what God says is right.

Jeremiah says those who trust in the Lord are like (v.8, NLT)…trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.  Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.  Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.  What an amazing promise!  Like Jeremiah, we might not experience our blessings this side of heaven, but we can trust in God’s word that if we have been faithful, these blessings are coming.  We want to trust in God, not in news casters, weathermen, climate consultants, economic prognosticators, political analysts, pollsters, etc.  They are only human and can get things wrong.  But God (vv.9-10): search[es] all hearts and examine[s] secret motives.  He knows that the human heart (the Hebrews thought the heart was where we made our decisions, rather than our brains) can be the most deceitful of all things.  We humans can justify to ourselves whatever dishonest or immoral thing we decide to do.  The Lord sees when humans are tripped up by their own dishonorable motives or flawed thinking.  Rev. Dr. J. Vernon McGee puts it this way: “Unfortunately we all have heart trouble …”(Through the Bible Commentary on Jeremiah, Thomas Nelson, 1991, p.81).  In other words, only God sees and knows the Truth all the time.  We need look no further for an example of this than the corruption, fraud, and waste of taxes, recently uncovered by DOGE, and perpetrated by unelected bureaucrats.  These unknown persons dishonorably diverted our tax payer dollars into favorite causes of their own—some even contrary to US interests! Cheating the government is not new. The Israelites at the time of Jeremiah were doing the same or similar things

This passage reminds me of Proverbs 3:5 (NLT): Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

B. Given the remarkable coherency of Scripture, Psalm 1 says essentially the same thing:  Joy comes to those who (v.1): do not follow the advice of the wicked or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.  These are all folks who proudly assert they are correct.

They don’t trust in God or God’s judgment.  Righteous people, on the other hand—those who love the Lord and try to follow His ways–(v.2):  are like trees planted along a river bank bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither and they prosper in all they do.

Again, we are reminded in Proverbs 1:7: Fear [awe, reverence] of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and discipline.  And in Proverbs 3:6: Seek His [God’s] will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.  Human wisdom is limited but God’s wisdom is eternal and infinite.  We would all do well to consult with the Lord prior to making an important decision.

C. St. Paul is still arguing for the truth of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:12-20.  He is asserting that because over 512 eye witnesses saw and interacted with the Risen Jesus, we can trust that Jesus was raised from the dead.  Reports of this event are trustworthy and true.

Jesus’ resurrection did happen.  If that were not so—and Paul utilizes the word if six times—then none of what we believe as Christians would be worth much.  Since it is true and has been verified, however, it is a truth worth dying for! Over the centuries since Jesus ascended to Heaven, hundreds upon thousands, even millions of Christians have died for this truth.  In 2025, we can stake our lives on its truth as well.

D. Finally, we have Jesus’ words of truth in His Sermon on the Plain, Luke 6:17-26 (Luke’s version of Matthew’s “The Sermon on the Mount”).  Because there were no electronic nor any social media at the time, Jesus had to repeat His primary teachings over and over again to different audiences.  He wanted to be sure folks heard His Words/His Truths.  Though many probably came to be healed or to witness healings, many also wanted to learn from this increasingly famous, itinerant rabbi.  And since there were Gentiles from Tyre and Sidon in this crowd, Jesus focused on sharing His expectations of all of His followers for ethical or righteous living.

He pronounces blessings on those who currently suffer.  He has special compassion on the poor, the hungry, and those who grieve.  They will—at some future time and because they believe in Him—experience total provision, satisfaction, and joy.  And if they experience persecution for Jesus’ sake, they can be (1) greatly reassured, for the prophets were treated the same way; and (2) they can rejoice because they are promised a wonderful reward in heaven.  His message is one of hope: Hold on, because the righteous will be blessed.

But He also pronounces curses or “woes” on those who neither care for God nor for other people.  If they were not generous to others with their wealth, their riches while they were alive will have been their total reward—not to be carried over into the afterlife.  If they are solely focused on the good life now, they will not enjoy their life on the other side.  If they are carried away with mirth, pleasure, and entertainment now, they only will grieve later.  If they enjoy accolades now and do not realize they are accountable to God, they will find themselves on the outside of heaven later on. 

Jesus’ message is clear:  Live your life in such a way now that you clearly demonstrate that you love God as well as your fellow human beings.

So how can we live like a tree planted by water?  Remember our three hurricanes of the past year?  We lost many trees in Suwannee County, Florida, blown over by hurricane-force winds and even some tornadoes spawned by the storms.  Many Water Oaks, whose root systems are shallow, running just undergrown and spreading wide, were felled.  Live Oaks, however, which have roots that grow deep into the ground, remained upright.  Trees planted by water tend to send their roots deep.  Our trust in God is like that—it keeps us anchored, no matter what storms blow around us.

The Bible says over and over again that Fools reject God, but those of us who love Him, trust in Him and His Word.  Consider the following  poem:

Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee,

Trust Him when thy strength is small,

Trust Him when to simply trust Him

Seems the hardest thing of all.

Trust Him, He is ever faithful,

Trust Him, for his will is best,

Trust Him, for the heart of Jesus

Is the only place of rest.

We believe in God.  We remember there is more evidence for the truth of Christ’s Resurrection than there is for the existence of Julius Caesar. 

(Josh McDowell, More than a Carpenter, Tyndale House, 1977, pp.96-97)

Jesus expects us to demonstrate our love for God and our love for others in the way we live.  Let us live a life that shows us firmly planted and well watered.  Let us live a life that reflects well on God and on other Christians. Amen!

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams