"Your Unchanging God" Jeremiah 9:23-24 23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. Introduction: Sometimes our abilities and successes become our greatest snares. On the one hand, it is a great blessing to have natural abilities or advantages, on the other hand, we can become dependent upon our own fickle and frail nature. We are surrounded by efforts to fan the flame of our burning egos. The world seems to be more interested in the self esteem of our children than their education. I spoke with a man while were soul winning on Saturday who believed that everyone had Divine ability deep within their own soul. Many Christians have lost their much of their faith because the focal point of that faith was another frail human being. The contrast set up in this passage is between man's limited and fragile abilities and God's unchanging character. In this day and age of believers falling to the left and right we need to have a solid basis for our faith. Do not trust in your fickle strengths. Do not rest in the natural talent of some other dynamic human leader. Trust in your intimate knowledge of The Holy One Of Israel. When nations fall, pastors stumble, and people fail, place your hope, your faith and your life in the hands of an ever present, unchangeable God! The prophet Jeremiah was talking to a people who were about to have many things that they relied on change. The Holy Spirit warned the people of Israel to be careful where their trust and comfort was placed. They were warned to place their trust in an unchanging God. I. Do Not Rely On Your Natural Ability For Security And Happiness. Jeremiah 9:23 23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: The term glory means " to praise, celebrate, or boast". It is so easy to sit back and depend upon some strength that God has given you especially if you have more of a particular thing than other people around you does. It is a mistake for a wise man to trust in his wisdom. This term is used for those who possess high technical skills, or those who have developed a lifestyle of consistently making the right choices. This strength can be a weakness if you rely on that strength alone! God gave you that wisdom to use, and He may take it away some day. If He does, what will you have left? I have many great memories of the wisdom that has been imparted to my by my father. Dad had an incredible ability to synthesize information and come up with very prudent decisions and compelling arguments for those decisions. He served as city councilman for 16 years and as a deacon in a large church for even longer. People from all walks of life benefited from his keen insight. Dad also had a very close and personal walk with the Lord. I suppose that one could surmise that Dad had a close walk with the Lord out of gratitude for the wisdom that he enjoyed. Several years ago, my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. His keen mind and wisdom has slowly faded away. There is one thing that remains, he still cries when you talk of the grace of Jesus Christ! He still hangs on every word that you speak that glorifies the Savior! Dad has learned not to trust in human wisdom, it may pass, but God in unchangeable! God's Word also warns us not glory in our might. This term refers to physical strength. Face it, some people are built for beauty and some are built for strength! Once again we find that the very ability to perform huge physical tasks may actually be our weakness. We must still remember that this ability is frail and changeable. We will not always possess this ability. God gave you this ability and He can take it away, especially if you place your trust in it rather than in Him. Let us read the stories of two men who had to be humbled by having their strength become weak in front of all men. Judges 16:15-21 15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. 16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; 17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. 18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. 19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. 20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. 21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. Daniel 4:28-37 28 All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. 30 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? 31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws. 34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: 35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? 36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. 37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. Not only is our wisdom and might a poor source of comfort and stability, but so also is our riches. Do you have a large bank account? Praise God! Listen! It may not always be there! If you are happy only because it is there, then you are in for a world of hurt if it ever is taken from you. Everything that you have ever financially accomplished has been by the hand of the Almighty God! Psalm 127:1 1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. Do not trust in your riches. They are temporary at best. You can either lose the physical possession of them like Job did, or the pleasure that you found in them like Solomon did. Job 1:13-22 13 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: 14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: 15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: 19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. 2 I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it? 3 I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. 4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: 5 I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: 6 I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees: 7 I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me: 8 I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. 9 So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. 10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. 11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. II. Rely On Your Knowledge Of The Unchanging Character Of Your God. Jeremiah 9:24 24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. Here is some life saving, sanity keeping advise given in God's Holy Word. Keep your trust focused upon a completely reliable source, the character of God! The term "exercise" here means that in which God delights. Your God practices these qualities that you can count on. God exercises lovingkindness! That is, God demonstrated steadfast and unchanging love. In a world filled with divorce and hatred, it is good to find that God IS love! The psalmist David found out that even after he committed the sin of adultery and murder, he could seek and find God, because David could count on God's lovingkindness! Psalm 51:1 1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. God exercises perfect judgment! You can count on that! In a nation that is cursed with a court that allowed the murder of unborn babies but not prayer in schools, it is good to know that God is still a just judge. Not only is God just, but He is the advocate for everyone that is under the thumb of society's tyranny. Psalm 146:7-9 7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners: 8 The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous: 9 The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. Here is the most comforting character that I can think of. God exercises perfect righteousness. This term speaks of demonstrations of mercy. God is love, He does not wish anyone to go to Hell. God is just, so He must judge sin. He has stated over and over in His word that the penalty for sin is death. He could not show love and still be just except for His righteousness. God demonstrated mercy by offering righteousness that was paid for by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Look at this passage and marvel at the unchanging righteousness of your God! Romans 3:25-26 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Conclusion: Where do you draw your sense of personal security? Is it because you have natural wisdom? That can end. Do you rest in your physical well being? That can change. Do you find great comfort in your financial stability? That could be pulled from you at any time. There is something that you can count on for all eternity. You can count on the unchanging character of your God. He is love! He is just! He has offered His Son for your righteousness. If you are still trusting in yourself, trust in Jesus Christ alone to save and keep you today!