Who Do You Trust?
Selected Passages
September 23, 2001
Introduction
In May 1995, Randy Reid, a 34-year-old construction worker, was welding on top of a nearly completed water tower outside Chicago. According to writer Melissa Ramsdell, Reid unhooked his safety gear to reach for some pipes when a metal cage slipped and bumped the scaffolding he stood on. The scaffolding tipped, and Reid lost his balance. He fell 110 feet, landing face down on a pile of dirt, just missing rocks and construction debris. A fellow worker called 911. When paramedics arrived, they found Reid conscious, moving, and complaining of a sore back. Apparently the fall didn’t cost Reid his sense of humor. As paramedics carried him on a backboard to the ambulance, Reid had one request: "Don’t drop me." (Doctors later said Reid came away from the accident with just a bruised lung.)
Q- Who do you trust?
We have trusted many people and many things:
Personal nature: We often trust our families, we have trusted our friends
Public nature: We have trusted our transportation services, We trusted our national security services, We trusted our military services
What do all of these things have in common? Sometimes they fail our trust.
We have all felt the disastrous results of failed trust within our families and by our friends. Confidences are shattered, tears are shed, feelings are hurt, trust is damaged and bitterness often grows.
We have witnessed the devastating results of national failures. Security was breached, planes were hijacked and used like missiles, lives were lost in the thousands, our nation is shaken and stunned, insecurity rises and fear grows.
Q- In times like these, who do you trust?
Body
I. God wants you to trust Him
John 14:1 – Do not let your hearts be troubled; trust in God, trust also in me.
A. Correct your focus
1. A visit to the eye doctor
2. There is a need for correct focus
Far too often in life we become completely focused on the trials and difficulties of life and we lose our focus on Christ. When Peter walked on the water with Jesus he was doing well until he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the waves. The same is true of us today. God can get us through the most impossible situations but we must keep our focus and trust on Him. How can we ever expect to find help and healing when we are still focused on our difficulties and not our deliverance
B. Check your faith
1. Jesus calls us to trust God
a.) Meaning of trust
1.) Webster: Basic dependence on someone or something, Belief that something will happen or someone will act is a prescribed way
2.) Trust is found in our unswerving belief that the God of Heaven will indeed work on our behalf to bring His perfect will for our lives into being
b.) The purpose of Jesus
1.) Jesus was calling the disciples to trust God through any and every circumstance of life. He was about to be crucified and they would be scattered. Jesus was telling them to trust even when they did not understand because God was still at work
2.) These words are also true for us today. As we see the horror and feel the terror of September 11th; we must stand firm in our trust in God
2. Trust can be difficult
a.) The difficulty of trust
If I were to ask you individually, most of you would very quickly say that you trust God but there are times when trust is not so simple
Trusting God means we believe in that which we cannot see and sometimes may not understand
Trusting God is literally against our human nature
Trusting God means that we have to admit that we are not in control of our lives
b.) The need for trust
We need to place our trust in something or someone and we do it every day. We trust our cars to get us to our destination. We trust our employers to deliver paychecks. We trust our doctors top heals our illnesses. How much more should we trust God?
c.) The example of trust
1. Moses at the Red Sea
2. Joseph in the Pharaoh’s prison
3. David facing down Goliath
4. Jonah in the belly of the whale
5. Peter & John before the Sanhedrin
II. God blesses those who trust Him
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
A. Confess your reliance
1. Life is sometimes beyond us
Disasters strike and tragedies happen in our lives. Life can indeed be hard. Life can be uncertain. Life is beyond our control. In times like this, life is beyond our understanding. We are left with raw emotions and tough questions. Answers are beyond us as we grapple with the question of why.
In times like these, who do you trust?
2. Life is never beyond God
Nothing and I mean nothing that we go through in life is beyond God. The truth is that we can and must rely on God in every situation in life. Times that just don’t make any sense in human terms; we need toi trust in God. The more senseless life becomes the greater our need to trust in God.
B. Commit your resources
1. God wants your all
The writer of Proverbs states it simply and clearly that God wants your full and complete trust. Trust God with all of your heart. We must hold nothing back and surrender to Him all that we are, all that we have, all that we may become because without the presence and guidance of God we will go nowhere.
2. This is trust in all situations
God wants you to trust even when you don’t understand. When life just doesn’t make sense. God wants us to follow Him when the future seems uncertain. It is only when we completely trust God that He to give us the power of His direction and the power of His presence.
III. God is worthy of trust
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust n you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:9-10
A. Contribute your trust
1. God is our source of strength
When we feel weak, God is our strength. When we are pressured by life, God is our relief. When we need security, God is our refuge. The full resources of God are at our disposal when we place our trust in Him
2. The key is trust
If you do not place your trust in God, there is no access to His power, His mercy or His love. When trials arise and we go through difficulty; it is then that we must place our trust in God. Without trust in God there is no comfort, no peace, no strength and no relief.
B. Collect your treasure
1. The promise of God
God has made a promise that He will never forsake those who seek Him. The promise that God made so long ago is still valid today because God has never broken a promise yet. He is true and faithful to His people.
2. The treasure of trust
Our treasure is love from the God who created love. Our treasure is grace and peace from the God of all comfort. Our treasure is security from the God who never changes. Our treasure is protection and provision from the God who is all powerful. Our treasure is acceptance from the God who knows everything. Our treasure is eternity from the God who sacrificed His own Son that we could gain it.
God is asking only one question this morning, do you trust me? What is your answer?
