Do You Trust me?
Selected Passages
Introduction
Faith is a living well-founded confidence in the grace of God, so perfectly certain that it would die a thousand times rather than surrender its conviction. Such confidence and personal knowledge of divine grace makes its possessor joyful, bold, and full of warm affection toward God and all created things -- all of which the Holy Spirit works in faith. Hence, such a man becomes without constraint willing and eager to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer all manner of ills, in order to please and glorify God, who has shown toward him such grace.
Martin Luther
God asks the question: Do you trust me?
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.
God asks the question: Do you trust me?
Body
God wants you to trust Him
Moses trusted God to deliver the Israelites at the Red Sea. Joseph trusted God while he languished in the Pharaoh’s prison. David trusted God for a victory when he was facing down Goliath. Jonah trusted God to answer his prayer in the belly of the whale. Peter and John trusted God as they stood before the Sanhedrin and gave their defense of the Christian faith.
What does it mean to trust?
Webster: Basic dependence on someone or something, Belief that something will happen or someone will act is a prescribed way
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
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
God asks the question: Do you trust me?
John 14:1 – Do not let your hearts be troubled; trust in God, trust also in me.
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
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
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?
God asks the question: Do you trust me?
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
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.
God asks the question: Do you trust me?
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 to trust in God. The more senseless life becomes the greater our need to trust in God.
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.
God asks the question: Do you trust me?
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.
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
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
God asks the question: Do you trust me?
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.
Once my hands were always trying; Trying hard to do my best;
Now my heart is sweetly trusting, And my soul is all at rest.
Once my brain was always planning, And my heart, with cares oppressed;
Now I trust the Lord to lead me, And my life is all at rest.
Once my life was full of effort, Now ’tis full of joy and zest;
Since I took His yoke upon me, Jesus gives to me His rest.
-- A.B. Simpson
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.
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?
