"In God We Trust"
Proverbs 3:5-6
Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Introduction:
I. The Attitude (...trust in the Lord...)
When the good Lord led me to this text I was thinking that there has never been a time when people in general and Christians in particular have been more fearful. The world is becoming more and more like what the Bible says the last days would be like. Listen to what the apostle Paul writes to Timothy:
2 Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
Think of what we have seen in just the last few months with foreign and domestic terrorism on the increase, the killing of police officers in our major cities, the political situation with all of its uncertainty, a stagnant economy, most of the Middle East in flames, and so many other issues that fill people's hearts and mind with uncertainty and with uncertainty comes fear. Fortunately for us the Word of God gives us the antidote to fear and that is faith, faith in God and His promises. With faith comes an attitude of dependence our Creator instead of His creation or any other creature! This attitude of dependence is critical to faith and it's important that we get it right.
Illustration - A student pilot was taking his first solo flight. He thought he had done pretty well during the flying lessons, but now he was up there on his own. All had been going just fine until he came to the place to land the plane. He found the designated runway. His teacher was on the radio on the ground instructing him. He nosed the plane down rather sharply toward the runway. The he heard the instructor saying over the radio: "Correct your attitude."
The student pilot thinks: "My attitude? What's wrong with my attitude? My attitude is just fine." The voice comes more urgently, "correct your attitude." "What's wrong with my instructor, there's nothing wrong whatsoever with my" .....CRASH!
Two weeks later he woke up on the hospital, his instructor was there. He had the flight manual opened and a definition underlined: "Attitude: The plane's inclination toward the earth."
What is your attitude? Is Your attitude to go up to God by faith and trust Him?
Illustration - "Real true faith is man's weakness leaning on God's strength." D. L. Moody
Second, notice the depth of that dependence. It is to be absolute.
II. The Absolute (...with all thine heart...)
Not in a creature, the best, the holiest, and the highest; not in any creature enjoyment, as riches, strength, and wisdom; nor in any outward privilege, arising from natural descent and education; not in a man's self, in his own heart, which is deceitful; nor in any works of righteousness done by him; not in a profession of religion, or the duties of it, ever so well performed; not in frames, nor in graces, and the exercise of them; no, not in faith or trust itself: but in the Lord, the object of all grace, and in him only; trust in Jehovah the Father, as the God of nature and providence, for all temporal blessings; and as the God of all grace, for all spiritual blessings, and all the needful supplies of grace; and for eternal happiness, which he has provided, promised, and freely gives. Trust in him at all times; in times of affliction, temptation, and darkness: there is a great deal of reason for it; all power and strength are in him to help; his love, grace, and mercy, move him to it, and are always the same: the consideration of what he has done for others that have trusted in him, and for ourselves in times past, should induce and encourage to it; as also the happiness of those that trust in him, who enjoy peace and safety; and his displeasure at those that show any diffidence of him, or distrust him. Trust in Jehovah the Son; in his person for acceptance; in his righteousness for justification; in his blood for pardon; in his fullness for supply; in his power for protection and preservation; and in him alone for salvation and eternal life. Trust in Jehovah the Spirit, to carry on and finish the work of grace upon the heart; of which a saint may be confident that where it is begun it will be completed. And this trust in Father, Son, and Spirit, should be "with all the heart", cordial and sincere. The phrase denotes not so much the strength of faith as the sincerity of it; it signifies a faith unfeigned; it is not saying, or professing, that a man believes and trusts in the Lord; but it is with the heart, and with his whole heart, that he believes unto righteousness, if he believes aright
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
Illustration - TRUST IN GOD
"Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment, Trust in money and you may have it taken from you; But trust in God, and you are never to be confounded in time or eternity." --D.L. Moody
(From a sermon by Jeff Strite, Trusting in Ravens, 8/8/2011)
III. The Admonition (...lean not to thine own understanding...)
The word "lean" here means to lean ones whole body on something, to be strengthened by it, to be supported by it. There is a principle that is at work that we need to recognize. The more we lean on self the less we lean on God. The more we lean on self the more susceptible we are to fear. The more we lean on self the more vulnerable we are to stress and strain. Listen to what our Lord had to say:
Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Illustration - DO YOU HAVE THE NERVE OF A SQUIRREL?
A young writer with a very uncertain income went into a quiet park to contemplate a serious problem. For four years he had been engaged, but felt he did not have enough money to get married. He wanted to live and write in Paris, Rome, Vienna, London--everywhere. However, without the security of money, his plan seemed hopeless.
As he thought about his situation, he looked up and at that moment saw a squirrel jump from one high tree to another. He appeared to be aiming for a limb so far out of reach that the leap looked like disaster. He missed that limb--but landed, safe and unconcerned, on a branch several feet lower. Then he climbed to his goal, and all was well. An old man sitting on the bench next to him said, "Funny, I've seen hundreds of them jump like that, especially when there are dogs around and they can't come down to the ground. A lot of them miss the branch, but I've never seen any miss the tree or get hurt in trying." Then he chuckled. "I guess they've got to risk it if they don't want to spend their whole lives in one tree."
Suddenly the writer thought, a squirrel takes a chance--have I less nerve than a squirrel? They were married two weeks later and scraped up enough money to go to Europe. They jumped off into space, not sure what branch they would land on. He began to write twice as fast and twice as hard as ever before and soon they were living comfortably.
(From a sermon by Rick Boyne, Trust in Action, 4/13/2011)
IV. The Acknowledgement (...in all thy ways acknowledge Him...)
In all decisions, in every difficulty, in all distress, in every danger, let the Lord be ever before you, turn to Him and His ways, not your own. The Scripture remind us that our ways end in death and destruction.
Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Illustration- Pharmacists For example, * You go to a doctor whose name you cannot pronounce and whose degrees you have never verified. * He gives you a prescription you cannot read. * You take it to a pharmacist you have never met. * He gives you a chemical compound you do not understand. Then you go home and take the pill according to the instructions on the bottle. All in trusting, sincere faith
V. The Assurance (...He shall direct thy paths...)
Psalms 119:24 Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.
Illustration - Trust the One Who Can See Over the Crowd
In a time of fear and uncertainty, Jesus disciples were very careful to do exactly what He told them to do and that's what we must do if we want to survive and thrive in these days of fear and uncertainty.
Illustration - Anne Graham Lotz says that when she and her husband, Denny, attend football games at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina, thousands of people cram in the parking lots, and she can't see where she's going. However, her husband, a head taller at 6'7", can look over the crowd, so he takes her hand and leads them to their seats.
"The way I get from the car to my seat is just by holding his hand and following him closely through the crowd," Lotz says. In the same way, she says, "I just try to faithfully follow the Lord step by step and day by day."
(Randy Bishop, "Just Give Me Jesus," Christian Reader, September/October 2000, p.25; www.PreachingToday.com)
From a sermon by C. Philip Green, Living in Uncertain Times, 2/20/2010
Conclusion -- Let's review our text again and the five phrases that are the keys to faith and not fear:
Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Illustration - ABOUT A 100 PLUS YEARS AGO A YOUNG MAN HAD TO LEAVE HOME BECAUSE HIS FAMILY COULD NOT AFFORD TO FEED AND HOUSE HIM. ON HIS WAY TO HIS FUTURE HE MET AN OLD FRIEND WHO WAS CAPTAIN OF A CANAL BOAT. THE CAPTAIN ASKED WHERE HE WAS OFF TO. HE REPLIED, "I DON'T KNOW." HE TOLD HIM IT WAS GOOD TO BE ON HIS OWN BUT HE HAD TO START OUT RIGHT AND IF HE DID THAT HE WOULD BE FINE. THE YOUNG MAN RESPONDED THAT THE ONLY TRADE HE KNEW WAS SOAP AND CANDLE MAKING. THE CANAL CAPTAIN SAID THAT'S ENOUGH "LETS PRAY AND ASK THE LORD TO GIVE YOU WISDOM AND INSIGHT AND THEN OFF YOU WILL GO." SO THEY PRAYED AND THE CAPTAIN PRAYED THAT WILLIAM WOULD BE THE LEADING SOAP MAKER IN NEW YORK." THE BOY WAS SO EXCITED, THE CAPTAIN TOLD GAVE HIM SOME MORE ADVICE. HE TOLD HIM TO GIVE HIS LIFE TO CHRIST AND MAKE SURE HE GAVE THE LORD ALL THAT BELONGED TO HIM. HE EXPLAINED TO HIM ABOUT TITHES AND OFFERINGS AND THEN EXHORTED HIM TO MAKE AN HONEST SOAP AND HAVE INTEGRITY. HE VENTURED OF TO NEW YORK FOUND EMPLOYMENT WITH ANOTHER MAN IN SOAP MAKING AND SOON AFTER YEARS OF HARD WORK BECAME A PARTNER WITH THE MAN. THE MAN PASSED ON AND HE BECAME THE SOLE OWNER OF THE BUSINESS. HE ALWAYS REMEMBERED TO GIVE TEN CENTS OF EVERY DOLLAR TO THE LORD FROM THE FIRST DOLLAR HE MADE. WHEN HE BECAME MORE AND MORE WEALTHY HE INSTRUCTED HIS BOOK KEEPER TO KEEP A LINE ITEM ACCOUNT WHERE HIS TEN PERCENT OF HIS GROSS ALWAYS WENT TO THE "ACCOUNT WITH THE LORD" THIS MONEY ALWAYS WENT TO THE LORD'S WORK. HE PROSPERED QUICKER THAN HE COULD HAVE EVER IMAGINED. HE THEN INSTRUCTED HIS BOOKKEEPER TO GIVE THE LORD'S ACCOUNT 20%, THEN 30%, THEN 40%, THEN 50%. HE EDUCATED HIS FAMILY ON GIVING TO THE LORD, HE TOLD EVERYONE THE REASON HE WAS A SUCCESS WAS BECAUSE HE HONORED GOD FIRST. HE ACCOMPLISHED ALL HIS PLANS FOR HIS LIFE. HE CONTINUED PROSPERING SO MUCH THAT EVENTUALLY HE GAVE MOST OF HIS INCOME TO THE LORD'S WORK. HE ENDED UP TOWARD THE END OF HIS LIFE GIVING AWAY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO THE LORD'S WORK. HIS NAME BECAME FAMOUS ALL OVER THE WORLD AND HE GAVE GOD THE GLORY. HIS NAME WAS WILLIAM COLGATE.
From Gene Edwards' Sermon: Faith, Finances, and Fleecing
In Times Like These
During the fearful days at the height of World War II, this comforting hymn was written.
In the midst of a busy day as a housewife, Ruth Caye Jones felt a direct inspiration from the Holy Spirit. She stopped her work to quickly put down both words and music, just as they were given to her by God.
Since that day the hymn has been a blessing to countless Christians at special times of need. It has brought comfort during illness, has been used widely at funerals, has encouraged and challenged Christian workers, and has drawn many to salvation.
Mrs. Jones experienced for herself the consolation the words of the song could bring as she spent time recovering form serious surgery a few years after it was written.
--Kenneth W. Osbeck
++++++++++
In Times Like These
(1) In times like these, you need a Savior,
In times like these, you need an anchor;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
(2) In times like these, you need the Bible,
In times like these, O be not idle!
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock.
CHORUS:
The Rock is Jesus, Yes, He's the One,
The Rock is Jesus, The only One
Be very sure, be very sure, Your anchor holds,
And grips the Solid Rock.
