Lesson 25: From A Wasteland To Bearing Fruit
Question 3
God's thoughts and ways are higher than man's. Higher than the heavens are above the earth. So the distance from heaven to earth is the illustration of how much higher God's thoughts and ways are to man's. Now notice the description of the person who "trusts in man," who "draws strength" from "mere flesh."
“That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.” Jeremiah 17:6 NIV
Like a bush in the wastelands
They will not see prosperity
They will dwell in parched lands
In a salt land where no one lives
Friend, this was my life before experiencing life in Jesus' death and resurrection. I was spiritually thirsty, out in the wastelands, in a parched place in the desert and in salt lands where no one lives, and nothing grows. This description thoroughly illustrates our lives apart from Christ - desperate, isolated, wandering in the wilderness, and in urgent need for Someone powerful and strong enough to rescue us out of it.
And this is what Jesus rescued us from when He died and rose again. Jesus hung on the cross in our wastelands, parched, thirsty, and alone. He became sin under the wrath of God and was like the "bush in the wastelands" with no root, which dries up quickly, becomes a tumbleweed, and is blown away by the hot desert wind, dead!
Turning to the wisdom of man is foolish because it turns our hearts away from the Lord, and keeps us in captivity (Colossians 2:8) to sin. The world's counseling methods and efforts leave us thirsty, dried out, and without roots. Although “progress” may seem to have been made through temporary behavioral changes, the very heart of the person is being drawn “away from the Lord” and therefore in the opposite direction of healing and hope, forgiveness, and freedom.
“The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” Isaiah 29:13
Question 3. According to Isaiah 29:13, what happens when we come near to God only with our mouth and lips?