April 13, 2008
Morning Worship
Text: Proverbs 3:5-10
Subject: Trusting God
Title: I Know Whom I Have Believed
Author Tim Hansel tells this story in his book, Holy Sweat.
One day, while my son Zac and I were out in the country, climbing around in some cliffs, I heard a voice from above me yell, "Hey Dad! Catch me!" I turned around to see Zac joyfully jumping off a rock straight at me. He had jumped and them yelled "Hey Dad!" I became an instant circus act, catching him. We both fell to the ground. For a moment after I caught him I could hardly talk.
When I found my voice again I gasped in exasperation: "Zac! Can you give me one good reason why you did that???"
He responded with remarkable calmness: "Sure...because you’re my Dad." His whole assurance was based in the fact that his father was trustworthy. He could live life to the hilt because I could be trusted. Isn’t this even more true for a Christian?
Tim Hansel, Holy Sweat, 1987, Word Books Publisher, pp. 46-47.
Isn’t that an incredible story of trust in a father? Do you know the benefits of trusting God that way? I want to show you today what the scriptures say about trusting God in all things. For some of us that is a hard thing to do! But I want you to see the benefits that are gained when you trust God for everything and not just some things.
Would you open your hearts to God’s word today and let the scriptures speak to you? Would you open your spiritual ears today to hear what the Lord is saying? Would you open your spiritual eyes today to see the kind of life God is calling you to today?
I just want you to know today that you can trust the Lord for all things.
I. RELIANCE ON GOD’S WISDOM. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding… I suppose that the hardest thing for a Christian to do is to trust God even when what is going on around you doesn’t make sense. On Wednesday night we just finished a short study on the names of God. One of the things we learned is that in the OT, when you see the word LORD spelled out with all capital letters like in verse 5, that word (LORD) is always the Hebrew word for God, Yahweh (Jehovah). It is the word that God told Moses to tell Israel when they would ask, “Who sent you”? God told him to say, “I AM” sent me. “IAM WHO I AM” or “I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE”. The message is that God will be for you whatever you need Him to be when you need Him to be. How can we know that for sure? Because God is not only “I AM” but is the one who causes everything else to be. Now in various other places in the Bible we see that God wants us to know Him by various other names that are joined with “I AM”. He is Jehovah-Jireh, the God who provides or “I AM” provision; He is Jehovah-Rophe” – “I AM” healing or the God who heals. He is “Jehovah-Shalom” – “I AM” peace. And so on… So as we come to the understanding of how God desires to be known among us we begin to see what it is that He desires for our lives. You see when we get to know Him that way we can begin to trust Him with all our heart – even when what is going on I n our lives doesn’t make sense. In 2 Kings chapter 5 there is the story of Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army. He was stricken with leprosy. You know the story. He was sent to the prophet Elisha and Elisha sent him down to dip seven times in the Jordan River. It didn’t make any sense that he should go down to the muddy Jordan River when there were clear streams in his own country. But when he was persuaded to do as the prophet said he was healed of his disease – even though it didn’t make sense. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding… Trust is the opposite of doubt. Doubt is based on your circumstances. James says that the man who doubts shouldn’t think that He will receive anything from the Lord. Trust or faith is based on God’s promise. Do you know God that way? He wants you to. Matthew 10:28-31, 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. That is why I preach about believing God’s word so much. Because His word reveals His love for us by declaring that He is “I AM”. So when your body says “I’m Sick!” but God’s word says, “By His stripes we are healed!” which are we supposed to believe? Matthew 18:1-3, 1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. That is where God wants you to be – where you can just trust Him and not rely on yourself.
II. DEPENDENCE ON GOD’S DIRECTION (6-8) …6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. This goes beyond just a confession of who God is. The word “acknowledge” means to cause to discern or understand; to ascertain by seeing”. It carries the idea of seeking God’s plan for everything in your life. “In all your ways, “seek Him; discern His will; understand His desire for your life” and He will direct your path. Not just some of your ways, but all of your ways. I really want you to get this next couple of verses. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. There are two scenarios that can be given here. 1) If you do what is right in your own eyes, what seems OK according to world standards, there is spiritual death that results. Proverbs 14:12, There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. What seems right to a man tells us that no matter what god you worship, if you are sincere in your beliefs you will get to heaven. Listen, I don’t care what Oprah says, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, No one comes to the Father but by Him. There’s an old Imperials’ song that goes kind of like this,
Well old buddha was a man,
And I’m sure that he meant well.
But I pray for his disciples, lest they wind up in hell.
And I’m sure that old muhammed, thought he knew the way,
But it won’t be hare chrishna we stand before on the
judgment day.
No it won’t be old buddha, whose sitting on the throne
And it won’t be old muhammed, that’s callin’ us home
And it won’t be hare’ chrishna, who plays that trumpet tune
And we’re goin’ to see the Son not reverend moon.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. Look what happens when you follow that line of reasoning. 2) The second scenario is not spiritual but physical, Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Living clean, wholesome and holy lives has its advantages. Look around this congregation and tell me that clean living doesn’t lead to long life. There are those who would try to capitalize on God’s grace and say that since we are no longer under the law but under grace we can do whatever we want and we’re covered. That the same argument that Paul dealt with in Romans 6, 13Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. You know, there are so many things in the Bible that if you follow them will lead to good health and long life. Instructions about diet, work habits, attitudes, relationships etc. all those things will lead to good physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Why? Because God gives us His word on it! All you have to do is trust Him.
III. CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S PROVISION (9-10) The last part of this passage is one of the great promises in scripture, but is also one of the most abused promises in all of scripture, especially in this age of TV evangelists. 9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. Here we see the call to give your tithe (firstfruits) to the Lord and then watch Him provide your every need. As a matter of fact, it goes beyond need, but that you will have more than you know what to do with. This is a perfectly legitimate promise from the Lord, but I want you to understand something, this is not a holy investment program where you put money in just so you can see a great return. This is a promise from God so you can trust Him to provide for you. You give to God because you love Him and you trust Him, not because you want to get rich quick. Now, having said that, when you are faithful in your giving for the right reasons, God will bless you. 1 Samuel 2:30, Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. Malachi 3:10, Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, 6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. You see, I’m not going to stand here and tell you that if you give to my ministry that the Lord will bless you thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold. I’m not going to tell you that if you support this ministry that you’ll be blessed. The reason I don’t say that isn’t because it is not true. It is the Law of the Harvest – sewing and reaping. The reason I don’t focus on that is because I don’t want you giving for the wrong reasons. I want you to give because you love God. I want you to give because you trust His word when it says to bring your tithe into the storehouse. I want you to give because you know that God will take care of you. I want you to give because you understand that it all belongs to the Lord anyhow. God knows your heart and your intentions. If you give and then your plan is to store up for yourself what God gives back, I doubt whether you’re going to get the kind of return you want. But if you give with the attitude that when God gives you back you will reinvest that into the kingdom, look out. Here come the blessings. God’s provision is never lacking. It is our faith and our motive that is often lacking. So don’t trust yourself for your needs. Trust God and God alone. 9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
It all boils down to this simple fact. You have two choices. You can trust God to be the God He says He is or you can trust yourself. Oprah with her New Age philosophy says that you don’t have to trust anyone but yourself because you are God. This New age theology has been around for a long time but is now becoming popular because of the source.
The God of the Bible says Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Haddon Robinson tells this story.
Years ago, Monroe Parker was traveling through South Alabama on one of those hot, sultry Alabama days. He stopped at a watermelon stand, picked out a watermelon, and asked the proprietor how much it cost. "It’s $1.10," he replied. Parker dug into his pocket, found only a bill and said, "All I have is a dollar."
"That’s ok," the proprietor said, "I’ll trust you for it."
"Well, that’s mighty nice of you," Parker responded, and picking up the watermelon, started to leave.
"Hey, where are you going?" the man behind the counter demanded.
"I’m going outside to eat my watermelon." "But you forgot to give me the dollar!"
"You said you would trust me for it," Parker called back.
"Yeah, but I meant I would trust you for the dime!"
"Mack," Parker replied, "You weren’t going to trust me at all. You were just going to take a ten-cent gamble on my integrity!"
Haddon Robinson.
I’m afraid that is the way we trust God. We just trust Him when it is easy. We trust Him for little things. We don’t trust Him the way the Bible says we should.
If you are going to trust God, trust Him with all your heart. Trust Him for everything. Trust Him even when it doesn’t make sense.
Who are you willing to trust today - God or self?
Who are you trusting to get you to heaven?
Who are you trusting to meet your needs?
Who are you trusting to lead you through this life?
If your answer is anything besides trusting God you will fail.
But God gives second chances.
Trust Him!
