- “Then the
man and his wife heard the sound of the
LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day”
(Genesis 3:8)
a.
“Enoch
walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 5:22, 24)
b.
“Noah
was a righteous man, blameless among
the people of his time, and he walked
faithfully with God.” (Genesis 6:9)
c.
“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said,
‘I am God Almighty; walk before me
faithfully and be blameless.’” (Genesis 17:1)
- “So the
LORD God banished him from the
Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.” (Gen
3:23)
a.
We’re no longer in the garden, and we’re
no longer walking with God as we were created
b.
Banishing man from the garden was as if
saying, “Let’s see how you do on your own!”
c.
This cursed world in which we live is
the ultimate demonstration of “tough love” on us
d.
God allows us to endure pain and
suffering to teach us that we can’t survive without Him
e.
God allows us to be put in situations
that pressure us to call upon Him and trust Him
- God created
us to walk in a relationship with Him and relationships are built upon
trust
a.
Pastor Ryan Polk once said, we don’t
have good relationships by reading books about others
b.
Much of my Christian life, I read the
Bible but wasn’t walking in a close relationship with God
- Relationships
are not one-sided—we not only trust Him but we must be found trustworthy
by Him
a.
I’ve heard Jim White say that the
Christian life is summarized in two words: Trust and Obey
b.
Our basis for trusting Him is proving
ourselves trustworthy and obedient to Him
c.
Why should He show Himself dependable
to us if we haven’t proven dependable to Him?
d.
Our obedience and trustworthiness is
tested by making sacrifices—it’s not really obedience when it’s convenient,
comfortable, and easy
- As God’s
children, we relate to God the Father as in a parent/child relationship
a.
“If
you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
(Matthew 7:11)
b.
“As
a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on
those who fear him.” (Psalm 103:13)
i.
How do you feel when your children fuss
because they don’t get their way?
ii.
But what about when your children are
well-behaved and have good attitudes?
iii.
God is a Person and is pleased when we
love others but angry when we’re selfish
c.
“Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the
LORD your God disciplines you.” (Deuteronomy 8:5)
i.
“Those
whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.” (Revelation
3:19)
ii.
“If
you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true
sons and daughters at all.” (Hebrews 12:8)
iii.
Being disciplined by God is one of the
greatest assurances of salvation I’ve experienced
- We all want
protection, provision, and praise—but do we seek it from people or from
God?
a.
Is the source of our protection,
provision, and praise here on earth or from heaven?
b.
Protection – “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you ... in God I trust
and am not afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:3, 11); “I will say of the
LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.’” (Psalm 91:2); “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him”
(Nahum 1:7)
c.
Provision – food, water, clothing,
shelter, transportation
d.
Praise – being liked, honored,
respected, recognized, included, applauded
i.
“How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek
the glory that comes from the only God?”
(John 5:44)
ii.
“For they loved human praise more than praise
from God.” (John 12:43)
iii.
“Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.” (Romans 2:29)
iv.
“We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our
hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4)
- “Trust in the LORD with all your
heart and lean not on your own
understanding” (Proverbs 3:5)
a.
“You
will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” (Isaiah
26:3)
b.
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to
a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”
(Hebrews 11:8)
c.
We want to know God’s will because the
unknown means having to trust God
i.
I’m a planner by nature—I want everything
planned, organized, and prepared
ii.
Trusting God means that things won’t
necessarily turn out the way we want or expect
iii.
I’ve found that many times things turn
out in a way I never even thought or imagined
- Why are we
in such a hurry, multi-task, and increase productivity? God can accomplish
more in one second than we can in our entire lives! Why don’t we just slow
down and trust Him?
- “… you of little faith? So do not
worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’
or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’” (Matthew
6:30-31)
a.
We have little faith when we can’t even
trust God for the basic necessities of life
b.
If we can’t trust God even for the basics,
how can we trust Him for anything else?
c.
“Therefore
do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day
has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)
i.
Worrying about tomorrow hinders us from
obeying God today
ii.
If we don’t obey Him today, why should
He even give us tomorrow?
- Trusting
Him means being sincerely content in any situation and with whatever
happens
a.
“Though He slay me, yet will I trust
Him” (Job 13:15 NKJV)
b.
“Though the fig tree does not bud and
there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields
produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the
stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
(Habakkuk 3:17-18)
c.
“I have learned to be content whatever
the circumstances.” (Philippians 4:11)
d.
Many times our prayers are answered once
we’re content with them not being answered
- The Old Testament
gives many, many accounts of God’s faithfulness and trustworthiness
- A few short
testimonies about calling out to God and trusting Him
a.
Times when God has been real to me in a
relationship with Him
b.
The testimony of the preacher when we
camped at Land-Between-the-Lakes
- Often
people don’t come to Christ until they’re desperate and hopeless
a.
My mom became a Christian once she was
diagnosed with cancer and didn’t have long to live
b.
We’re always just a moment away from
financial ruin, serious health issues, and even death
c.
Many times in the Old Testament,
particularly in the period of the Judges, God allowed His people to become
desperate and hopeless so that they would call upon Him and trust Him
d.
If you’re not a Christian, you can call
upon God anywhere—it doesn’t have to be here in church
e.
Please don’t wait until you’re in a
desperate situation to call upon Him, do it now while you can