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Trust In God
Contributed by Stephan Brown on Sep 27, 2001 (message contributor)
Summary: Contrasts the successful life of the person who trusts in God with the disastrous life of the one who trusts in man.
TRUST IN GOD
I. Introduction
A. The choice between a curse and a blessing.
B. The Curse - Trust in man
1. Depends on the Flesh for Strength (17:5)
a. Flesh is the opposite of Spirit (Isaiah 30:1-3)
b. Relying on the world’s systems
i. economically
ii. for advancement
2. Turns his heart away from God
C. The Blessing - Trust in God - Confidence in him (17:7)
Recognizes his dependence on God for strength
1. Listens to the Spirit (Follows God’s Counsel) (Ps. 1:1)
2. Stays close to God - His source
II. The foundations of the two men
A. The one who trusts in man is like a bush in the desert. (17:6)
1. Shallow roots (Ps. 146:3,4)
2. Has no connection to the source of life.
B. The one who trusts in God is like a tree by the waters. (17:8)
1. Deep roots
2. Connected to the source of life
C. The opportunity for transplantation
III. The fixed state of the two men
A. Illustration - Mortgages
B. The one who trusts in man (17:6)
1. Good will come
2. He will not benefit from it.
C. The one who trusts in God (17:8)
1. Bad times will come.
2. They will not affect him (Ps 91)
IV. The fruitfulness of the two men
A. The one who trusts in man (17:6)
1. Complete barrenness (Mt. 3:10; Lk 3:9; Jn. 15:2)
2. He’s in the place of God’s judgment (Deut. 29:23)
B. The one who trusts in God (17:8)
1. Constant fruitfulness
2. No anxiety
V. Conclusion
c. 2000