Total Trust

Total Trust

How to Trust God Completely

10.18.06

I. Introduction

In preparation for the message tonight, I thought to myself, “What great wisdom shall I impart this time?” “What incredible nugget of truth should I communicate with such vigor and passion to serve as an inspiration to all who hear?” “What life-changing message should I craft that would tug at their hearts and spur them on to action?” And after over an hour of pouring over a message I thought would surely do the trick, I was reminded of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2:4 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. And so I prayed this prayer right from the Scripture, “God, may the message I share not be about human wisdom, but rather a demonstration of Your Spirit and power. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” And suddenly my office was filled with a bright light and a voice from heaven spoke so clearly in a loud, booming voice…No. Actually, nothing happened. No bright light. No loud, booming voice. Nothing but the subtle hum of my computer piercing the silence.

Then, as I got quiet on the inside, I sensed the Holy Spirit’s whisper nudging me in one particular direction. So we’re going to talk about “TOTAL TRUST.” One of my favorite Disney movies of all time is Aladdin and there’s a scene in that movie that I want to show you.

(Show clip)

Aladdin asks the Princess one question, “Do you trust me?” and he stretches out his hand and waits for her response.

I love the picture that this scene paints…not because of the romantic love story that unfolds, but because it’s symbolic of our relationship with God. He has stretched out His hand and asked us, “Do you trust me?” and He waits patiently for us to step out in boldness and take His hand by faith.

Let’s pray.

II. The Trust Picture

There’s a Scripture that I memorized years ago in Sunday school and I imagine it’s still being used as a memory verse today. You’ve probably memorized it yourself, but I wonder if we really grasp the truth contained in this passage.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

Perhaps reading it in a different translation may breathe some new life into its meaning.

Proverbs 3:5-6 MSG Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.

Hmmm…the familiarity of this passage disappears as we see it in a new light. It’s no longer a verse committed to memory. It’s a fresh Word for us today, right now.

Let’s break it down piece by piece.

That word TRUST in the Hebrew has the meaning of putting all your weight on something. If you think about it, we put our trust in things all the time. Even now, you’ve put your trust in that pew you’re sitting on to hold you up. I don’t see anybody squatting over their pew worried that the pew is going to break if they put all their weight on it. Well, when you put your trust in God, you put all your weight on Him.

When you were a kid, did you ever move someone’s chair away just as they were about to sit down? Did someone ever move your chair?

Well, we’re going to play this same game tonight to see who we can trust.

I’m going to choose someone to come up here and then that person has to choose someone who isn’t going to pull the chair away when they sit down with their eyes closed and their hands over their eyes. Now, be very careful who you choose because your fanny is on the line!

Let’s try it with someone else. This time you’re going to fall backwards and that person you choose has to catch you.

That was just a little game of trust. You put your trust in someone you knew wouldn’t let you fall – that was a good choice.

So, there you see a clear illustration of what it means to trust. We have to put our complete TRUST in God knowing that He’ll always be there and we can rely on Him. Ok, let’s move on. How do we trust?

III. With All Your Heart

The NKJV says “Trust in the Lord WITH ALL YOUR HEART.”

Well, what is the heart? The heart here and in many other instances in the Old Testament refers to the spirit. Not the Holy Spirit, the human spirit, the real you on the inside. This means that you’re trusting God from the very depths of your being…not just merely agreeing mentally that the Bible is true and God is good and all of that, but really KNOWING it. The MSG says “Trust God from the BOTTOM OF YOUR HEART.” The imagery here is that your trust in God has DEPTH. It’s not just some shallow, “oh yeah, I agree with that.” It’s a TRUST that goes down deep on the inside, a trust that is deep enough to count when it truly matters. Alright, what’s the next part?