"IN GOD WE TRUST"
Psalm 121:1-8
Think with me this morning on these four words.
In... God... We Trust.
It is a phrase that has known an important place in the history of our nation now for many years.
It was in November of 1861. A letter was written to the Secretary of the Treasury by Rev. M. R.
Watkinson..... Watkinson was a Minister of the Gospel from Ridleyville, Pennsylvania.
The reverend’s letter included theses comments
“One fact touching our currency has hitherto been seriously overlooked..... I mean the recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins.”
As a result of that letter., Secretary Chase wrote a letter to the Director of the Mint at Philadelphia, to prepare a motto for our nations coins.
Chase’s letter to the director of the mint, dated November 20, 1861: included these words
Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God,
or safe except in His defense.
The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins.
The rest is history....
Let’s read Psalm 121:1-8 as we think of our trust in God.
IN.... GOD..... WE TRUST
May God help us realize that this little motto is more than a slogan.
It is a tremendous spiritual truth.
Only by exercising our faith to the point of trust are we able to be saved and to live a life pleasing to the Lord.
Salvation does not come without trust in our Lord
To live a life pleasing unto God does not come without trusting our Lord.
We MUST have faith in God and our faith reaches it’s highest point in our TRUSTING Jesus Christ and His completed work on the cross.
Faith alone can mean many things...To many Different People
It would not take us long to observe numerous individuals in the world who have numerous sorts of faith.
But there is no faith great higher and purer than faith in Christ Jesus.
It is our faith that leads us not only to say these four words.........IN.....GOD.....WE....TRUST.... But our faith and trust helps us to live out these words in our actions.
Southern Baptist Missionaries were serving in Jiblah Yemen in a hospital on Dec 30th when a gunman came in shot two dead and shot a third, left for dead. Why where the missionaries there?...
They new it was not a nation of Christians but a nation of Muslim belief....but why where they there?.....How could they even begin to feel safe?
The Answer is Four simple words.
....IN .....GOD....WE....TRUST....
Their faith in God is so great.....At the Southern Bapt Convention the family of that third missionary came to the platform and shared...that they are planning to return to Yemen in August.....How ?
How could they be so brave and so bold?....It’s easy to see some people truly can say.....
IN GOD WE TRUST
True Christian Patriots are not only those who would give their lives for their country but those who would give their lives for God’s Kingdom.
They are The Christian Patriot
What about you and I..... with what comprehension do we say IN GOD WE TRUST?
Do we say it in cliche...
People say "have a nice day"
They say it many times just as part of conversation....its not that they wish you a bad day.... but there is no real feeling sometimes because it has become such a common place expression.
I fear that for far too many of us as Americans today we say IN GOD WE TRUST and if we are not careful it has become cliche ...it has become hollow....It has become but words flicking off the tongue....... but where is the meaning...where the depth of it.
Our understanding of True... Trust in God
can be well understood in three ways
We must trust in God as our Source of Help
We must Trust in God to find a true Source of Happiness
We trust in God as our Source of a Heavenly Home
In God we trust as our
I.A SOURCE OF HELP
Someone has well said No man is even near to becoming a Christian...
who does not first realize that we are... helpless,... undone, sinful creatures.
Self reliance opposes faith.
Self Reliance believes... trust is found in self.
Self Reliance believes that help is found in self.
Romans 3:23 tells us that every person who walks the face of the earth is a sinner. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God
We must understand that each person is a sinner ....And that you nor anyone else other than Christ can reconcile your sin....Can fix your sin.
You know what that says to me?.....
You MUST TRUST God as your SOURCE OF HELP
This is why the good news of Jesus exists.
That He came and died on the cross as the only one who could be the restorer of all mankind destine for destruction because of their sin.
But Jesus is the SOURCE OF HELP if we will trust him.
Look with me at verse 1
v1 The Psalmist asks the question, "where does my help come from?"
The answer is in v2 "My help comes from the Lord”
The direction was given in verse 1 where it says
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills".
The Bible instructs us for our SOURCE OF HELP that we can TRUST....... LOOK UP to GOD!
Listen to me carefully this morning
Ask a Mormon if they trust God ...they’ll say yes
Ask a Jehovah’s Witness if they trust God......OH YES
Ask a Muslim if they Trust God...they say yes but guess what WRONG GOD.
If we are to trust God as our source of help.. we have to understand. listen to me.... Christ must be in God and God in Christ.
V 2 the psalmist says our help comes from the maker of heaven and earth.
Listen to Col 1:16-17 Paul is speaking about Jesus and says "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all
things were created by him / for him."
WHO ARE YOU TRUSTING TO BE YOUR SOURCE OF HELP?
I PRAY THAT IT IS JESUS CHRIST who is God because God is triune. He is God the Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit.
This morning not only do we say IN GOD WE TRUST AS OUR SOURCE OF HOPE
but we must trust God if we are ever to achieve a
II. TRUE STATE OF HAPPINESS
God’s constant care for His children is one of the most heartwarming and blessed truths in all the Bible.
If you are a child of God you can have TRUE happiness
Without health. Without wealth, without popularity.
Some people out there are preaching a health and wealth gospel and it is a sermon straight from the hottest part of Hell.
It is not from God when people preach....God wants you to have what ever will make you happy.
Here is the message God wants us to receive.
God wants you!....And He wants you to WANT HIM!
and when you are in Him and He has you that is all you need to find happiness.
Ask people when the happiest time of their life was?
Not just Christians or church goers but ask everybody especially people who don’t trust in God ...wen the happiest time of their life was?
A whole lot of them will say “well back where it all began”
“When my life began I was a child and happy too.”
Listen to me carefully....Happiness is where life begins.
Happiness is where life begins.
But it is important how you define where life begins.
Life does not begin at the hospital when you are born.
Life does not begin when you become a teenager
Life doesn’t begin at 20 or 30 or 40 -
It begins when you get saved!
It begins when your TRUST IN GOD through Jesus Christ.
In verses 3-6, the God’s Word says to us words of assurance about His constant watch-care over us.
And that ought to bring us HAPPINESS!
His presence and His care.
The Bible shows our trust in God as
One who is not a sleep or slumbering.
Young people guess what ....God has never not once been to a slumber party..He never will He’s always awake watching over us caring for us.
The Psalm says... v3 “He’ll keep our foot from slipping”
He is our stabilizer
The Psalm says v5 He is our shade from the sun”
That is to say God is our shelter.
IN GOD WE TRUST AS OUR SOURCE OF HAPPINESS because nothing can make a believer happier than knowing that God is watching over them 24-7 everyday of the year every moment of the day.
Well perhaps there is one thing that could make a Christian even happier than to know the God is watching over them constantly and that is to know...
We Can Trust in God as
III. THE SOURCE OF OUR HEAVENLY HOME
It has been said by so many people... so many times but it is so beautiful and true so I will say it again.
Heaven is a prepared place.... for prepared people.
Heaven is our eternal habitation. The place where those who have trusted in God through Jesus Christ will be forever and ever and ever and ever
.
we have from Christ Himself...the promise of John 14.
We hear Jesus say, "In my Father’s house are many mansions;.... if it were not so,
...I would have told you.
He says.....”I go... to prepare.....a place..... for you".
Oh the joy of Heaven. Listen to the Psalmist in v8
v8 “the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”
IN GOD WE CAN TRUST ....As our source for a heavenly home. Why? Because God has given us victory through our Lord Jesus
Jesus the only name by where we can Trust for our heavenly home.
A blind man was waiting at a busy corner for everyone to cross to the other side.
One person noticed the man was blind, but also noticed he was carrying a bible.
The observing young man said, can you really read your bible since you are blind. He was carrying his Braille bible and said, yes, I can;.
He said read me something from it.
The blind man opened up his bible and it fell open to Acts 4:12. He began, FOR THERE IS SALVATION IN NONE OTHER. He stopped and went back and read it again. THERE IS SALVATION IN NONE OTHER. The young man said, cant you read any further?
The blind man said, OH YES I can read it all but I just cant get over that marvelous truth that there is salvation in none other.
Where is your trust? Is your trust in God and does it flow from the shed blood of Jesus when He died on the cross for you.
If you have not put your full trust ....your complete trust...your true trust in Jesus Christ...wont you do it today.
NOTES - The closing illustration is not original, I am uncertain where I found it. The name of the surviving missionary was purposely left out.
