Trusting Man = Cursed

CURSED IS HE WHO TRUSTS IN MANKIND

Text: Jeremiah 17:5-11

Proposition: Why are those cursed who trust in mankind?

Introduction

Benito Mussolini trusted in man and turned his heart away from the Lord.

Mussolini was an avowed atheist until the late 1920s, (Rocker Rudolf (1998) "Nationalism and Culture" New York ISBN 1551640945, 9781551640945) when, motivated by a desire to consolidate his power in Italy, he become a Catholic.(Rocker)

He also said:

"Religion is a species of mental disease. It has always had a pathological reaction on mankind." (Neville P (2004). Mussolini. Routledge ISBN 9780415249898 at 84)

"The God of the theologians is the creation of their empty heads."

"The history of the saints is mainly the history of insane people."

"Science is now in the process of destroying religious dogma. The dogma of the divine creation is recognized as absurd."

In his book Mussolini, British historian Denis Mack Smith writes that Mussolini;

"forcibly denounced those...who thought religion a matter for individual conscience or had their children baptised. [In Mussolini's opinion] Science had proved that God did not exist and the Jesus of history was an ignorant Jew whose family thought him mad... Religion, he said, was a disease of the psyche, an epidemic to be cured by psychiatrists, and Christianity in particular was vitiated by preaching the senseless virtues of resignation and cowardice."

Mussolini’s death

Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci were stopped by communist partisans Valerio and Bellini and identified by the Political Commissar of the partisans' 52nd Garibaldi Brigade, Urbano Lazzaro, on 27 April 1945, near the village of Dongo (Lake Como), as they headed for Switzerland to board a plane to escape to Spain… Mussolini had been traveling with retreating German forces and was apprehended while attempting to escape recognition by wearing a German military uniform. After several unsuccessful attempts to take them to Como they were brought to Mezzegra. They spent their last night in the house of the De Maria family.

The next day, Mussolini and his mistress were both summarily executed, along with most of the members of their 15-man train, primarily ministers and officials of the Italian Social Republic. The shootings took place in the small village of Giulino di Mezzegra. According to the official version of events, the shootings were conducted by "Colonel Valerio" (Colonnello Valerio). Valerio's real name was Walter Audisio. Audisio was the communist partisan commander who was reportedly given the order to kill Mussolini by the National Liberation Committee. When Audisio entered the room where Mussolini and the other fascists were being held, he reportedly announced: "I have come to rescue you!... Do you have any weapons?" He then had them loaded into transports and driven a short distance. Audisio ordered "get down"; Petacci hugged Mussolini and refused to move away from him when they were taken to an empty space. Shots were fired and Petacci fell down. Just then Mussolini opened his jacket and screamed "Shoot me in the chest!". Audisio shot him in the chest. Mussolini fell down but he did not die; he was breathing heavily. Audisio went near and he shot one more bullet in his chest. Mussolini's face looked as if he had significant pain. Audisio said to his driver "Look at his face, the emotions on his face don't suit him". The other members were also lined up before a firing squad later the same night. ("Benito Mussolini". Celebritymorgue.com. 1945-04-28.http://www.celebritymorgue.com/benito-mussolini/. Retrieved 2009-03-13)

Mussolini's body

On 29 April 1945, the bodies of Mussolini, Petacci, and the other executed Fascists were loaded into a moving van and trucked south to Milan. There, at 3 a.m., they were dumped on the ground in the old Piazza Loreto. The piazza had been renamed "Piazza Quindici Martiri" in honor of 15 anti-Fascists recently executed there. (Time Magazine, May 7 1945)

After being shot, kicked, and spat upon, the bodies were hung upside down on meathooks from the roof of a gas station. The bodies were then stoned by civilians from below. This was done both to discourage any Fascists from continuing the fight and as an act of revenge for the hanging of many partisans in the same place by Axis authorities. The corpse of the deposed leader became subject to ridicule and abuse.

Fascist loyalist Achille Starace was captured and sentenced to death and then taken to the Piazzale Loreto and shown the body of Mussolini. Starace, who once said of Mussolini "He is a God", (Quoted in "Mussolini: A New Life" - Page 276 - by Nicholas Burgess Farrell – 2004) saluted what was left of his leader just before he was shot. The body of Starace was subsequently strung up next to the body of Mussolini

(I took the above iitalicized information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musolini)

Mussolini sided with Hitler in WWII. Mussolini trusted in his own power. He trusted in the power of Hitler. He thought he would be a great man in the history books, but he turned out to be one of the most hated men in the history books.

Jeremiah is trying to warn the people of Judah not to trust in their military. Not to trust in Egypt for help. Their only hope is to trust in the Lord and surrender to the Babylonians. They didn’t listen to Jeremiah. They chose to trust in themselves instead of the Lord. Their city and temple were burned with fire and they were taken captive by Babylon.

I. He will be like a bush in the desert (Why is he like a bush in the desert?)

A. He won’t see when prosperity comes

1. Jeremiah 17:6

2. Those who trust in themselves end up with nothing. Many times they are like the people of Judah or Mussolini they end up destroyed. They lost everything they had worked so hard to gain. They were trying to gain the world, but they didn’t get that and they lost their soul. They were not able to see the fruits of their labor because they had trusted in man.

B. He will inhabit parched places.

1. He will be away from the presence of the Lord.

2. He doesn’t have the fountain of living waters supplying him with life giving water.

3. Jeremiah 17:13

4. His troubles will never end. He doesn’t know what to do when hard times come. He is confused and frustrated and doesn’t know what to do. James 1:8, “He is a double minded man unstable in all his ways.”

C. He will be in a salt waste

1. Very little grows in a land of salt. It is only good for salt mining. Large fruitful trees won’t grow there.

2. The man who trusts in mankind is like a bush in a salt waste. He will never be a large fruitful tree bearing fruit and providing blessings for other people.

3. He may prosper for a while by his wickedness, but his wickedness will catch up to him.

4. Saddam Hussein trusted in man

a. Hussein's first contacts with U.S. officials date back to 1959, when he was part of a CIA-authorized six-man squad tasked with assassinating then Iraqi Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qassim.[3](Wikipedia)

b. Hussein, while only in his early 20s, became a part of a U.S. plot to get rid of Qassim. Hussein was installed in an apartment in Baghdad on al-Rashid Street directly opposite Qassim's office in Iraq's Ministry of Defense, to observe Qassim's movements. The move was done with full knowledge of the CIA, and Hussein's CIA handler was an Iraqi dentist working for CIA and Egyptian intelligence.[1] The assassination was set for Oct. 7, 1959, but it was completely botched; the 22-year-old Hussein lost his nerve and began firing too soon, killing Qassim's driver and only wounding Qassim in the shoulder and arm, Qassim escaped death. Hussein was shot in the leg, but escaped to Tikrit with the help of CIA and Egyptian intelligence agents. Hussein then crossed into Syria and was transferred by Egyptian intelligence agents to Beirut, the CIA paid for Hussein's apartment and put him through a brief training course, the agency then helped him get to Cairo, where he made frequent visits to the American embassy. During this time the CIA placed him in an upper-class apartment observed by CIA and Egyptian operatives.[1] (Wikipedia)

c. Saddam was later able to return to Iraq and Qassim was ovethrown and killed in 1963. Saddam rose to power and the United States supported him in the Iran-Iraq war. They loaned him money and gave him intelligence information on the Iranian military positions. The United States considered him the lesser of the two evils in the war. Then he invaded Kuwait. He was run out of Kuwait by the United States and their allies. Then the United States invaded Iraq. He was captured and hung. He made flesh his strength.

D. The man who trusts in the Lord is like a tree planted by streams of water.

1. He doesn’t worry when drought comes.

a. He has put his trust in the Lord. His roots are drinking from the fountain of living water (vs. 13)

b. He has put his delight in the law of the Lord. He meditates in it day and night. He has based his decisions on God’s word so he is stable in all his ways.

c. He has lived within his means. He has worked hard and used his time wisely. Even if his material possessions fail him he knows that the Lord is still with him.

d. Job 13:15, Job lost everything he had. He hadn’t lost his hope in God. He knew God would take care of him. God did. Later God gave back to Job double what he had lost. He gave him back his health, and 7 more sons and 3 more daughters.

e. Job was a fruitful tree. He was planted by the fountain of living water.

II. He is deceitful (Who were some men who were deceitful?) (Jeremiah 17:9)

A. Jehoiakim

1. Jeremiah 22:13-19

2. He had men do the work to build his house, but he didn’t pay them. His father Josiah was an honest man and he prospered. Jehoiakim was evil and he received what he deserved. The burial of a donkey.

3. Jeremiah 17:11, Jehoiakim’s riches were like the partridge’s eggs that weren’t hatched. He didn’t get to enjoy his riches.

4. Those who don’t pay their bills are deceitful.

B. Jacob

1. Genesis 27:1-30

2. Jacob had a deceitful heart. He deceived his own father and cheated his brother. He was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. If he had a deceitful heart we have to watch out for our own.

C. Joab

1. II Samuel 3:22-27

2. II Samuel 20:8-12

III. Man is weak and limited in his resources (How is man weak and limited in his resources?)

A. He is no help against superior forces.

1. II Kings 18:21, Rabshekah knew that the Assyrian forces were superior to Egypt’s. He said if you rely on them you will just hurt yourself.

2. II Kings 17:4, Hoshea, the king of Israel, was put in prison because he asked Egypt for help.

3. Hezekiah didn’t ask Egypt for help. He asked God for help. God is the greatest ally. He has unlimited resources and strength. God helped Hezekiah and Judah. God sent an angel and he killed 185,000 in the Assyrian army. God has superior forces.

4. Isaiah 31:1

B. Man has limited knowledge

1. The United States has satellites for spying on her enemies. She can monitor enemy troops and see the movements of military trucks and ships. The United States has the best planes and was the first to invent and use atomic weapons. She has great knowledge, but her knowledge is limited. We don’t know for sure if Osama Bin Laden is dead or alive. God knows and God knows exactly where he is.

2. God knows everything. He is the one we are to rely on.

3. Psalm 20:1-9

C. Man thinks the more he works the richer he will be.

1. Jeremiah 17:20-27

2. They thought they would get ahead if they would work on the Sabbath

3. God said you won’t this city will be burned with fire if you don’t keep the Sabbath. Not that keeping the Sabbath was the most important thing, but it was the most obvious.

4. Baptism isn’t the most important part of salvation, but it is the most obvious. When people skip this part of salvation they are trusting in the wisdom of man instead of the wisdom of God.

Conclusion

If we trust in God we will be blessed instead of cursed God is:

Jeremiah 17:12-14

• A place of sanctuary
• The hope of Israel
• The fountain of living waters
• The Healer
• The Savior The praise of the saved