DARING TO TRUST
In 1855, an acrobat & tightrope walker named Charles Blondin claimed that he could walk from one side of Niagara Falls to the other on a rope. Some people thought it was impossible. Without a net, the crossing would be treacherous at best. Crowds came and paid to watch him make the attempt. Before crossing he asked the crowd “Do you believe I can walk across to the other side” the crowd yelled “we believe you can do it!” He then said “do you believe I can cross the falls with a man on my back?” The crowd yelled “we believe you can do it!” Then Bondin said, “Who will volunteer to take the trip on my back?” You could have heard a pin drop, if Niagara weren’t so loud. Finally, one man raised his hand and said “I Believe!” and he climbed on Blondin’s back and the two of them crossed Niagara Falls together. The man was Harry Colcord, Blondin’s manager. He not only believed that Blondin could do it, he stepped out in faith and showed his belief through his actions.
We are starting a new series today called Daring Faith. Today I want to start by talking about the difference between belief and trust.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
A lot of people think they believe in God, but they really don’t. Many are going to miss heaven by about eighteen inches because they believe with their head but not in their heart. They have come to an intellectual assent (head knowledge) about God but they don’t have a true heart commitment. They have never fully committed their lives to Him. What does it mean to TRUST (acrostic) in Jesus?
1. TURN Everything Over to Jesus
This verse starts by saying “Trust in the LORD with all your heart.” You trust God when things are going great AND when things are really awful. You hand over to Jesus the good, the bad and the ugly. I turn over my past, my present and my future. I give him the reigns of my finances and of my relationships. I turn everything over to Jesus. What does the bible say is the way that we know if we are saved? How can you know whether you are going to heaven or not?
Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
The word used here for ‘believe’ is the Greek word PISTEUO which means to have faith in or to trust.
This is a promise of God. It doesn’t say you might be saved if you really want to or you really wish you can be saved. It says you can count on the fact that you’re going to heaven. You can know for certain. You are saved if you do these two things. Confess with your mouth “Jesus is my Lord.” And believe in your heart God raised him from the dead.
Most of us here I am sure have already done the second thing – you believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. That is an established fact. In a few months we will celebrate Easter. You believe in your heart Jesus rose from the dead, that he was who he claimed to be.
The question is whether you have truly done the first part. Have you confessed with your mouth that Jesus is my Lord? By that, I do not mean you have just said it. That is not intellectual assent. Confession means to agree with. Are you living a life that demonstrates that Jesus is your Lord?
Do you even know what the word Lord means? It is a word that we do not often use these days living in a nation as a democracy. In a monarchy you have kings and queens and lords and ladies and knights and squires. What does saying ‘Jesus is my Lord’ really mean? It means that He is my master. He is calling the shots in my life, not me. He is in control. Jesus is not just resident in my life; he is president.
I would recommend you either believe God up to the hilt, or else not believe at all. Believe this book of God, every letter of it, or else reject it. There is no logical standing place between the two. Be satisfied with nothing less than a faith that swims in the deeps of divine revelation; a faith that paddles about the edge of the water is poor faith at best. It is little better than a dry-land faith, and is not good for much. - C. H. Spurgeon
I once saw a bumper sticker that said “God is my co pilot.” That is totally untrue. God is not and does not want to be your co pilot. He does not say to us ‘You take control of the plane half the time, I’ll control it the rest of the time.’ God wants total control all the time. The cockpit is locked. God is the pilot and you are just sitting back in economy. You are locked out. God has a right to total control in your life because he made you, he loves you, he created you, he sent his Son to die for you and he wants you with him forever in eternity. He has a right. He is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.
Remember what it was like when you were calling the shots? When you were trying to be in control? How did that work out for you? Did everything go according to plans? Did everything work out the way that you wanted it to? Were you totally fulfilled and happy as a clam? Of course not. You were never meant to be God. Problems in life start when we try to sit in God’s place. Turn Everything Over to Jesus
2. REST in His Love
The verse says “Trust in the LORD with all your heart” and then goes on to say “and lean not on your own understanding”. What does it mean to trust in Jesus? It means I rest in his love. Let me explain this. I chose the word “rest” intentionally because what is the opposite of resting? It is working. God is saying that you do not have to work for your salvation. Doesn’t the bible say that we need to work for our salvation:
Php 2:12-13 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed -- not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence -- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
We are not to work for but work out our salvation. That means you cannot earn your salvation, but once saved it should mean that you live very differently. You do not have to work for God to love you. You do not have to earn His love and deserve to be saved. Growing up, some of us learned conditional love. We learned pretty quickly that if we wanted people to love and accept us, we had to do certain things and behave in certain ways. We grew up seeking to earn the love of other people.
God’s love for us is not like that. God loves us unconditionally. It is not based on what you do or fail to do. It has nothing to do with behaviour. God loves us because God is love. His love is not based on who we are but rather on who He is. It is part of His character.
Because it has nothing to do with us, we know that it will never change. God’s love is unconditional, unwavering and unending. It is forever. Because His love for us will never change, we can relax.
We can stop trying to earn it and deserve it. We do not have to lean on our own understanding or effort to figure it out. We just receive it in faith and trust.
Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This gives us confidence. We have eternal security. It you want to have personal security you must put your trust in something that can keep your valuables safe, so they cannot be taken from you. If your security is in your bank account, that can be lost. If you put your trust in your looks, I hate to tell you this but you are already losing that. If you put your security in a person, you can lose them. Everyone dies. There is only one thing that will never change and that is God’s love for you.
To believe in Jesus means I accept what he says about God’s love for me and I rest in his unconditional, unending love. You turn, then you rest…
3. USE Your Life to Serve Others
The verse goes on to say “in all your ways acknowledge him…” What does that mean? It means that you use everything you have to obey God by serving Him. How do we serve God? It starts by serving others. We are saved to serve.
One day we will see God in heaven. Though we do not fully see Him now, one day we will. God wants us to learn to live by faith on earth. So how do I serve a God I cannot see? You start by serving those who you can see. You serve God by serving others.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
There is no greater thrill in life that to use the gifts and abilities God has given you to serve others. God created us to serve. When we do what He created us to in beings joy and satisfaction. It brings significance. You will never find fulfillment from things like money, sex, power or pleasure because you were not created for those things. You were made to serve, so serving brings significance.
You were created to live for something greater than yourself. You were made to live for something beyond just yourself. If you live for you, you’re going to be bored and bitter with your life. Let me just be blunt. If you claim to be a believer in Jesus Christ but you have no desire at all to serve others, then I question your faith. Becoming a follower of Jesus changes my priorities. It changes your motivation and attitudes. James said it like this;
James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
It is not about belief but about trust. A mental assent of truth is not going to get you to heaven because it is not true faith. Belief without belonging means nothing. Faith without expression is worthless.
God has given all of us a ministry, a place to serve. He has given us the choice to serve or to not serve. You can miss your calling; you can reject your ministry. Many people do. The greatest tragedy in life is not death. The greatest tragedy in life is to miss your purpose. To waste your life and not be the man or woman that God intended you to be. You turn, then you rest, then you use your life…
4. STAND for What is Right
What else does it mean when it says “in all your ways acknowledge him?” Believing in Jesus isn’t always convenient. Anybody want to give a testimony on that? We live in a nation that was founded on Christian principles but it is increasingly growing militant about Christianity. Living for Jesus is not always comfortable.
When Jesus walked the earth, there were people that hated him and misjudged him and disagreed with him. Even though he lived a perfect life, helped people and never sinned, there were still those who hated him. As followers of Jesus, we can expect the same.
John 15:18-19 If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
Let’s say you have a boss who is unethical. He comes to you and tells you that we are going to lie and steal in order to make this company move forward. All he is concerned about is making money. As a Christian you know that is unethical, so you go to him and say, “Sorry boss. I’m a follower of Jesus Christ and therefore I have to do the right thing and tell the truth.” Do you think your boss is going to be happy? Are you going to get a promotion for having integrity? No, you are probably going to be demoted or fired. People suffer for doing the right thing all the time because they are Christians.
People do not like feeling guilty, and when they are around people that remind them of what is right and what they are supposed to be doing, they get uncomfortable. Following Jesus Christ is not for weaklings. It is not for people who are wishy washy. Believing in Jesus Christ demands courage. Doing the right thing is not always the easiest or popular thing. It is not comfortable or convenient. You will be criticized, ostracized and maligned. In many countries around the world, you could lose your life.
Mark 8:34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Jesus was honest about this. In those days nobody took up a cross unless the Romans were going to nail him to it. He says are you have to be willing to suffer for my name. You have to be willing to die for what you believe in. Are you willing to die for your faith? If we were in China and a group of soldiers burst in and said that they were going to kill you, and all you had to do was say you are not a Christian and you would live, what would you say? If you are willing to die for your faith, are you also willing to suffer for it?
Philippians 1:29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him
That’s the privilege nobody wants to talk about. But I just want to be up front. The Christian life is not for weaklings. It is for the courageous. For people willing to stand up and do what’s right.
5. TRUST What God Tells You
This verse ends by saying “… and he will make your paths straight.” A straight path means that you have a clear direction. There are no twists and turns. You have a clear straight road to follow. That means that I trust what Jesus says. And if Jesus says to do it then I do it. And if Jesus says not to do it, then I do not do it.
If ever you have to choose between what God wants and what I want – God always wins. That is what it means to make Jesus Lord. You do not get to pick and choose which commands to follow. You do not get to read the bible and say “I like this part so I will follow it but I disagree with this part so I will ignore it.” You do not get to decide. God has made His will clear, His word is available. It is a straight path, so walk it.
Proverbs 4:25-27 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
If we will simply trust God and walk according to His will then life is going to go a whole lot easier for you. You will be a better spouse and a better parent. You will be happier and more productive. Along with the commandments of God, we have His promises. They help us when we are going through dark days. Tough days of doubt and depression when we cannot see forward. Hold on to these promises.
Psalms 33:4 For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.
Who else can make a promise like that? I can’t. You can’t. It is not true of the government or the media. Everybody gets things wrong from time to time. Do you believe and trust everything you read in the newspaper or on television or on the radio or the internet? Of course not. So then why do we give so much of our attention to those things? Only God is always right, always faithful.
Anne Graham Lotz used to tell about how she and her husband Denny loved going to football games. Sometimes they would get in a crowd of people and it would be hard to figure out direction. However, her husband was a lot taller than she was, he was 6’7”. He could look over the crowd. He would take her by the hand and lead her to their seats. She said, “The way I get from the car to my seat is just by holding his hand and following him closely through the crowd.” In the same way, she says, “I just try to faithfully follow the Lord by holding his hand and letting him lead the way, step by step - day by day.”
So why is it sometimes so difficult to trust? As a pastor, I think the number one reason that people lose their faith is because of pain. They experience a loss. There is a death, or they are abused, or they are betrayed. At some point their heart was broken and they could not understand why a God of love could have allowed that to happen.
The reality is that pain is just a part of life. In this life, bad things happen. That is just part of living in a fallen world. All of us are broken. One day we will all die.
What makes the difference? Why is it you can take two people, put them in the exact same circumstance, the same pain, the same unexplained tragedy. And one person will run away from God and the other person will run to God? What causes that? The simple answer is trust.
Sometimes we want God to explain everything to us. To give us the reason behind our suffering. The reality is that God does not owe us an explanation. One top of that, explanations are not what we really need. Explanations do not bring comfort. If your spouse died, you might know the reason why they died but that is not a comfort to you. It does not make it less painful. Comfort does not come in the explanation of a plan but in the empathy of people.
Say a person decided to go out this afternoon, get drunk, get in a car and have an accident that killed three people. That is not God’s will. You don’t blame God for that. A broken person made a bad decision and as a result people died. Could God have prevented it. Yes, by removing free choice.
Bad things happen, but God specializes in bringing good out of bad. Sometimes we do not understand how He does that, but we do not have to understand. We just have to trust. Don’t run from God just because you have been hurt. Just because you are in pain.
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”- Winston Churchill
I heard the story of a lady that got on a plane heading for her home in Cleveland. As she settled into her seat and the plane was headed for the runway, she noticed a strange phenomenon. On the other side of the airplane, she could see a sunset filling the entire sky with glorious color. However, on her side of the plane, as she looked out the window all she saw see was a dark threatening sky with black clouds. There was no sign of the sunset.
As the plane’s engines began to roar and the wheels of the plane lifted off the runway a gentle Voice spoke within her. 'You have noticed the windows. Your life, too, will contain some happy, beautiful times, but also some dark shadow times. Let me teach you something that will save you much heartache in life. It doesn’t matter which window you look through; this plane is still going to Cleveland. You have the choice. You can dwell on the gloomy skies or you can focus on the beautiful sunsets. The final destination is not influenced by what you see or feel along the way. Trust me, and I will get you home safe.’
