The Disappointment of a Degenerate Plant - - Posted 03-30-2010

The prophet Jeremiah prophesied in chapter 2, verse 21:

     "Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the
degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?"

The Lord was speaking through his servant Jeremiah to the nation of Israel. Disappointment
was obvious in the words from God.

He had planted a certain "seed", but the offspring of that seed was not at all what it should
have been.

It had started out as the "right seed", but now that it had bloomed, the result was a
"degenerate" plant.

What went wrong? What happened between the time of planting and the time of harvest?
How was this possible?

The Apostle Paul dealt with a similar problem with the Church in Galatia.

He was driven to ask them in Galatians 5:7,

     "Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?"

How is one who begins his or her walk with God right, suddenly turned aside and go the
wrong direction?

The Bible teaches in Proverbs 16:25,

     "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of
death."  (emphasis mine)

When man decides for himself that the deeds he is doing are right, then he goes astray. It is
simple.

YOU MUST OBEY THE LORD!

Disobedience against the Word of God will always result in failure. Always!

Israel did not consistently follow the will of God Almighty.

Sure, they would do things God's way for a short time, but they always reverted back to their
own ways.

Yes, they were still RELIGIOUS! Sure, they were still going to CHURCH! They were even still
reading their BIBLES!

BUT, those things alone did not satisfy the requirement of Jehovah God.

He requires a fully consecrated heart to follow His will.

You cannot reserve small portions of your life for your own agendas. You cannot close certain
areas of your soul to the moving of His Spirit. You cannot neglect to align yourself with His
holiness. You cannot half-heartedly serve Him.

Jesus Christ spoke to the Laodicean Church in Revelation 3:16,

     "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my
mouth."

You cannot be a "Sunday-Morning" Christian!!!

God WILL NOT accept you. He CANNOT accept you. And, He DOES NOT accept you.

When He returns to examine His plantings, He expects fruit of the seed that was originally
planted. But, when He examines the hearts of many "so-called" Christians, what does He find?

Degenerated plants. Foreign foliage. Strange fruit.

Vines with misshapen leaves. Branches with distorted appearances.

THIS IS NOT WHAT GOD PLANTED!!!!

A man or woman who decides to follow the will of Almighty God, but suddenly changes course
cannot satisfy the Lord.

Apostle Paul warned his student in ministry, Timothy, of this movement in the church in II
Timothy 3:4&5.

     "...lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying
the power thereof: from such turn away."  (emphasis mine)

"Church-goers" who no longer hold to the unchangeable characteristics and attributes of God,
have fallen away.

They are not producing the plants that the seed was designed and created to produce!

Jesus Christ will not take second row to anyone or anything!

Matthew 6:33 states,

     "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be
added unto you."

You cannot love ANYTHING more than you love God, and still be considered a "Christian".
IMPOSSIBLE!!!

I know that some who read this will not agree with it, but that does not matter! It is truth! And
truth will make you free!

My friend, if God planted in you seeds of righteousness, why do you produce a degenerate
plant?

Malice. Envy. Bitterness. Jealousy. Cursing. Lying. Drunkeness. Adultery. Perversion. Lust.
Discontentment. Gluttony.

This is not what God planted. Not even close!

If He planted in you the seed of Jesus Christ, why does God no longer find Him abiding within
you?

Instead, God finds within the tables of your heart:

Pleasures of this sinful world. Ungodliness of every kind. Tolerance for sin. Critical attitudes.

Read this very carefully...

GOD IS NOT PLEASED!!! God is disappointed to find a degenerate plant.

Why continue in the wrong direction??? Why allow yourself to live a lie??? Why go another
step without Him?

II Corinthians 6:2 says,"...behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of
salvation.”  (emphasis mine)