Moving Out In Trust Series

When We Move Out, God Moves In Part 3

“Moving Out In Trust” ( All my sermons use illustrations from sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted)

We are in the middle of a five part series entitled, “When We Move Out, God Moves In” and we have seen the importance of stepping out of God’s way in humility and we have spoken about leaving our comfort zone in order to achieve the things that God wants us to achieve. This morning I want to talk a little about moving out in trust.

A little boy was walking down the beach and he approached a lady that was seated on the beach reading a book, and he stopped and he looked at her for a moment, and then he asked her, “Lady, do you believe in God?” She was a little startled by such a question but she answered him, “Why, yes I do!” And he said, “Good” and he just stood there and she went back to reading her book. She was kind of hoping that he would just go away, but he didn’t. A few seconds later he said, “Lady, do you go to church?” She stopped her reading and said, “Well, yes I do.” “Good” he said. Again he just stood there and she went back to reading. A few seconds later he said, “Lady, do you read your Bible and pray?” “Yes, I do!” she replied with a hint of sternness in her voice. He said, “Good, would you watch my quarter while I go for a swim?”

It is hard to find people to trust anymore, and yet, everyday in our lives, we have to make decisions about who we will trust and just how much we will trust them. I am sure you will agree with me when I say, that in the world we live in, TRUST is disappearing like an endangered species. 30 to 40 years ago we didn’t lock our doors, we could leave the keys in the car with it running, those days are gone. We could send our kids to school and know that they were learning and they were safe. Today we are not sure they won’t get shot, and we know they are being enticed by the world. Today we put alarms on our homes, our cars and even our churches. Pastors have been shot while preaching God’s Word. The world is not a place of TRUST. We have been told that we can get things ABSOLUTELY FREE, and we are sold things that are supposedly NEW & IMPROVED, only to discover that it is all a lie. We have been let down by politicians, priests, pastors and leaders of all kinds. Many of us want to trust people, BUT after we have been burned a few times we become guarded and skeptical. This morning I want to talk about TRUST. We will look at how important trust is in our lives, in our relationships with one another, and in our relationship with our God.

I believe that most of us, if asked, “Hey, do you trust in God?” Would answer “Sure I do.” BUT often times our lives are so full of doubt, and deceit that we really don’t trust at all, period. And no one is immune to mis-trust.

An elderly man was desperately ill. Knowing the time for his departure was near, he called for his closest friends to come see him one last time. Attending him were his doctor, his pastor and his business manager. The old man said, “I know you can’t take it with you, but who knows for sure? What if the experts are mistaken? I want to account for all possibilities. So I’m giving you each an envelope containing $100,000. When I die, I want you each to slip the envelope in my jacket pocket at the funeral service. Then, if I do need money in the life to come, I’ll be ready. And I’m giving the envelopes to you because you are my most trusted friends.” Shortly thereafter, the man did die. Each of his three friends was seen slipping something into the deceased’s coat pocket as he walked up to the casket to pay his final respects. Following the service, while these friends were visiting with each other, the doctor, with a sheepish look on his face, said, “Guys, I have a confession to make. You know with the cost of medicine today, I don’t make that much money. The hospital is desperate for funds. We can’t even replace the CAT scan machine that’s broken down. So, I took $20,000 for the new CAT scan and put the rest in the coffin.” The minister cleared his throat and looked down at his shoes. He said, “I, too, have a confession to make. As you know, our church is seriously overburdened by the needs of the homeless. I couldn’t just see burying that money. So, in hopes of helping the homeless, I took $50,000 out of the envelope and put the rest in his pocket.” Looking sternly at the doctor and the minister, the businessman exclaimed, “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I am astonished and deeply disappointed that you would treat a solemn trust so casually. He was our friend. I want you to know that I placed in his casket my personal check for the full $100,000.” (From Sins We Love, by Randy Rowland, p. 125-126)