The King's Church in Ilford
The following is the text of the talk given on 30th May 2010 by Georges Kisombola
"Challenges of Growth"
- Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. I would like to preach today a message geared to help us live and act wisely in our daily lives, I want to talk about an obvious sign of wisdom - and yet, it is overlooked even by Christians.
The motto "In God We Trust" was placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War. The Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase received many appeals from devout persons throughout the country, urging that the United States recognize the Deity on United States coins. It appears that the first such appeal came in a letter dated 13 November, 1861 from a preacher from Pennsylvania.
As a result of these letters, on 20 November 1861, The Secretary Chase instructed in a letter the relevant person to prepare a motto. He wrote:
Dear Sir:
No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition. Since 1938, all United States coins bear the inscription "In God We Trust".
My question today is this: do such words really reflect our attitude as a nation or as a church or as individuals in the 21st Century? Do we really trust in God?
There are obvious examples of those who do not trust in God.
There are atheists, and they deny that there is any evidence that anything ever existed that was not part of the natural world.
There are also agnostics too, who say, "I don't know anything about God, and based upon my investigation, neither do you."
The problem is that we are surrounded by many people who do not trust in God but the most serious unbelief I find comes from people who say that they trust in God. I think the most serious issue comes from people who claim to have put their trust in God and yet live their daily lives as though their trust was anywhere, and everywhere, else. Proverbs 3:5-6 (AMP) Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.
What a great passage! What a great promise! Consider this verse. It can have major impact on your life because that is a major step in process in today's topic: trusting God.
If you want to get your life together or if you've it together and you want to keep it together, there's only one way to pull it off-you've got to learn to put your trust in God.
I know for a fact that, until Jesus returns, there are going to be those who - in spite of what any national motto states - in spite of how clearly the gospel is preached - they will deny that there is a God to trust at all.
And there will be those who claim to believe in God but don't know enough about Him to trust Him. But that cannot impact those of us who have put our trust in Him. Even for us who state with fervency that, without a doubt, "In God We Trust," I think that there are times when we have to ask ourselves, "Do we really?" A lot of times we tend to try and do it all on our own.
Most of us seem to trust God on selected things; the things that we think seem out of our reach. But with everyday routine things we leave God out.
We think that we we've learned enough about life and studied hard enough in our fields of labor to trust in our wisdom and understanding. Take a look at what Paul states in Philippians 3:3 -
For we [Christians] are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit and by the Spirit of God and exult and glory and pride ourselves in Jesus Christ, and put no confidence or dependence [on what we are] in the flesh and on outward privileges and physical advantages and external appearances
There is a very practical reason that Paul points out a characteristic of every believer: we don't put any trust or reliance in human flesh. The reason is that the flesh will sooner or later let you down every time. Today, we will look at these verses from the book of Proverbs that teach us when and how to put our trust in God. I can safely say there are three times in life when you and I should trust in God. Doesn't sound like enough? Let's see.
I. PUT YOUR TRUST IN GOD…
A. WHEN THINGS HAPPEN THAT YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND (VERSE 5)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In other words, when life takes an unexpected turn, you don't have to understand everything that's happening. When things happen that you don't understand, that is when you need to put your trust in God.
Consider Abraham's poor example in Genesis 12. Abraham's wife, Sarah, was well beyond child bearing years and Abraham couldn't imagine how God could possibly keep His promise. Abraham chose Hagar, to be his surrogate wife. Hagar gave birth to a son, Ishmael. Abraham and Sarah thought they had everything figured out, but their understanding was far more limited than God's was. He had a plan greater than they could have imagined, but they weren't focused on God's plan. They didn't put their trust in God; they put their trust their ability to work things out according to their limited understanding. Disaster followed. Hagar ran away with Ishmael to a foreign land and the sons of Ishmael and the sons of Isaac have been at war practically ever since.
Things may be happening in your life that you don't understand right now. You don't have to understand, you only have to trust God. Your own sense of understanding will not get you through life; but trusting God when you don't understand will.
B. WHEN YOU ARE FACED WITH A DECISION (VERSE 6)
We all know it's a good idea to seek God's guidance when we're making a major decision: changing careers, moving to a new city, or getting married. But it's not just the big decisions we need to trust God with; we need to turn to him for guidance on any decision we make. In all your ways acknowledge him You have to acknowledge God in all areas of your life. The way you manage the different areas of your life comes down to the kind of decisions you make.
In all your decisions you need to acknowledge God, and let him play the role in that decision that he wants to play. Making a decision in accordance with God's will is a way of trusting God. It's saying, "God, this is not my natural inclination, and it's not an easy choice, but it's right, it's what you want, and I will do it your way." Include God in the decision making process. He will honor your obedience.
C. WHEN THE FUTURE SEEMS UNCERTAIN (VERSE 6)
… and he shall direct your paths.
Sometimes the future doesn't seem bright at all; it seems cold, difficult if not impossible. This is the time to trust in God. If your future seems uncertain, He can handle it with certainty. He will make your paths straight. This verse isn't saying that he will make your life easy; it means that he will make your life focused. He will give you a direction and a purpose in life-you will know where you are going and what you are doing.
We don't have to see ourselves in the one-dimensional terms of what we do for a living; we see ourselves in the multi-faceted terms of what God is accomplishing through us. You're not just a teacher; you're a husband, a father, a counselor, a leader, an ambassador for Christ. Each one of those roles is significant - each one has a purpose - and God uses it for his glory.
Trusting God means that you don't have to try to make sense of all the areas of your life. He will make them make sense for you. If you're not sure where you are going in life, if you're uncertain about the future, this is the time to trust God.
Those are the three times in life to trust God. You say that seems like all of the time? Good! That's the point!
II. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO TRUST GOD?
You've heard the song "Trust and Obey": "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." Trust and obedience go hand in hand. By obeying God, you show that you trust Him. Obeying God is a way of stepping out in faith and saying, "God, I'll take Your word for it that You know more about my life than I do."
What do you need to hear and obey God regarding? Are you here this morning thinking that you're doing a pretty good job of navigating this life on your own? Are you thinking that you've been pretty good and have earned some bonus points with God? I'm afraid that that isn't the case. The Bible tells us that, even on our very best days, we fall way short of God's standard of perfection.
Isaiah 64:4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Think about whatever it is you trust today: your brains, your ability to think on your feet, your good looks or your suave sophistication. God says it doesn't measure up. When the rubber meets the road, none of those things is worth staking your eternity on. And there is an eternity to face.
The Bible tells us that, left to our own devices and concoctions; we will spend it separated from God. But it's not a hopeless situation. God knew that we did not and could not measure up to His standards. The Bible says that He provided a substitute to pay the price for our sin, in spite of our waywardness.
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me Trust Jesus right now and you are wise. You'll be equipped to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. You can begin to grow into a person who is seen and known as wise because you follow His Word and teaching.
When it comes to living your life, as you seek to get it together and keep it together, you can follow one of two strategies. You can either wander around in the dark, trying to figure out on your own how to get there, or you can follow the directions. You don't have to know all the details about how things are supposed to work; you only have to follow the directions God has given. What are they?
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
