AI
Sunday, September 02, 2007 2:27:13 PM
Proverbs 3:5,6 - 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....
Trust in the Lord
A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick
Late one afternoon a hiker, climbing along a steep mountain ridge slipped and fell down the side of the mountain. Fortunately, he was able to grab onto a small tree growing out from the rock, and hung on for dear life. Suddenly the hiker heard a voice from above calling to him by name, saying, "Just let go, and you will land safely on a ledge below. Just trust me." For a moment the man was silent. Then he called back, "Is there anyone else up there?"
Proverbs 3:5,6 - 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.
Here is a wonderful promise: "He, the Lord, will make your paths straight". (He shall direct thy paths.) What does that mean? Three ideas come to mind.
He will make your paths level, remove the stumbling blocks, keep you from tripping and falling. This is the same promise given to the captives returning from Babylon: "Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain." (Isaiah 40:4) Remember, we are as captives returning back to our home city, the Heavenly Jerusalem.
He will bring about a successful end, or lead you safely to your destination. Those who trust in the Lord, until the end, will be saved. This is a guarantee, paid for by the death of Jesus and His resurrection.
He will keep you from wandering off the path of righteousness, so that you will not be drawn into sin. It reminds us of the assertion in the 23rd Psalm, "He leads me in the paths of righteousness." In a day when temptations are so abundant, we need to hear this promise, and be motivated to follow His leading.
This is the promise, "He will make your paths straight." But as with every promise of God, there is a condition to fulfill. In this case, the condition is, Trust, or Faith. The basic message is this: Trust God, Distrust Yourself.
Notice that the rest of the statement (in Proverbs 3:5,6) helps us to understand what "trust in the Lord" means. First, it means "don't lean on your own understanding", and second, "in all your ways acknowledge Him".
Take the second. To acknowledge God simply means that we know that God is there in every situation. Any day of week. Every location imaginable. Whatever you may be doing, whom ever you may be with - God is there. Of course someone might say, "But sometimes I don't feel His presence." One of the significant issues today is that we have a great number of people trying to find "it" - the feeling, as though the feeling authenticates the presence. In fact, rather often, people tell me this was their problem, they just didn't feel the Lord being with them. Within the Pentecostal tradition we are especially vulnerable, because we tend to promote the idea that God can, and should be experienced. The danger of this is that we end up reducing our Christian life to an emotional experience. If there's no emotion, we think that God isn't there for us.
We want something that is tangible, something which can be experienced with one of our senses, or at least one of our emotions. But to acknowledge God in all our ways is to declare, by faith, that He is there, in every situation. One of the very fine organizations for Christian girls is Pioneer Clubs. Perhaps we all should learn their slogan, "Christ in every Phase of Life."
But also notice that trusting in the Lord means that we don't lean on our own understanding. Does that mean that while making decisions, we should neglect our own mental powers, or the wisdom we have gained throughout our lives? Of course not. These are gifts of God to be developed and used. The point is that we ultimately must rely on a wisdom that is beyond and above ours. In other words, "don't rest confidently upon" your own understanding, trust in the overriding providence of God.
By the way, the word "lean on" is connected to two ancient images.
One is to lean on one's sword, or shepherd's staff. For the soldier, the sword, and for the shepherd, the staff is always available to lean on, to take a break and rest for a moment. But the deeper message has to do with reliance, "Don't rest on your sword, soldier - it won't deliver you". Rather, "Trust in the Lord." The message here is, "Don't rest on your staff, shepherd, it won't be able to provide all that is needed in every situation." Rather, "Trust in the Lord." For us this could refer to whatever it is that we do in our work - it can't be ultimately relied upon.
The other image is a reference to the king who in public appearances would be seen leaning on his assistants, both physically if he is old and weak, and figuratively - the king relies on the counsel of his advisers. The message is clear: "Don't rely on human counsel. Trust in the Lord."
Now let's get to this idea "trust". It's a familiar expression to us. Every day we use it. Whenever we handle our money, there is this constant reminder: "In God We Trust".
The word "trust" is "batakh", which literally means "to cling to", to "confide in", or "to set one's hope and confidence upon".
I like the idea "cling to". How well I remember walking along Main Street in Rockport, Massachusetts on July 3rd. Fire works were popping all around us as we moved with the throng approaching the beach where the bon fire was blazing. The orchestra was in the band shell across the street, scores of boats filled the cove. We had brought our dog Cloudy with us, but it had become obvious that we shouldn't have bothered with the leash - the whole way there Cloudy clung to my leg for dear life. I could hardly walk.
That's a picture of each of us, in times of high anxiety and stress, clinging onto the leg of God, receiving both guidance and protection.
Actually, this trust which is "to set one's hope and confidence upon" is a trust that we exercise every day as a matter of routine. We understand what it means - the challenge is to direct this trust "in the Lord."
In the Old Testament story of "Daniel's Three Friends", we have a dramatic example.
Daniel 3:28 - Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God."
But notice these three factors:
Trusting God was a habit which had been practiced at the very beginning of their captivity. When the trainers wanted them to eat the "king's meat", they asked to be exempted because it violated their religious convictions about unclean foods. So they negotiated a trial period during which they would only eat vegetables, and trusted God to enable them to be approved. This is a model for us to follow today.
One day some years ago I accompanied a parent to her child's school to meet a teacher who was requiring reading material which was offensive. In preparation, I asked the child to bring with her a book, recommended by the librarian, to be of the same reading level, so that we could ask the teacher to be willing to let the child substitute this book for the offensive one.
The three Hebrew men openly declared their trust in God. They said, "The God we serve is able to save us." (Daniel 3:17) This is the "confession with the mouth." Saying it out loud is important. Unfortunately we live in a land where "tolerance" has become the expected attitude, and this often results in silence. No longer are we willing to publicly declare our faith in God, because someone will get offended with our taking on this superiority complex, and sound like we're judging all those who don't believe the same as we do.
They were willing to trust God even if it would not result in physical salvation. (Daniel 3:18) Here's the ultimate test of faith, a willingness to sacrifice everything in our declaration of devotion to worship and serve God.
Let me tell you the touching story about a man who worked for the MacDonald's corporation. His assignment was to play the part of Ronald MacDonald. Once a month he would go to the hospitals in a given area and try to bring a little cheer to the children there. One of the rules he was bound by was that he was never to touch any of the children for fear that he would carry germs from one patient to another. If he were to break this rule, it could mean losing his job. Here's what Jeff McMullen wrote:
Toward the end of my fourth year of "Ronald Days," as I was heading down a hallway after a long day in grease paint and on my way home, I heard a little voice. "Ronald, Ronald."
I stopped. The soft little voice was coming through a half-opened door. I pushed the door open and saw a young boy, about five years old, lying in his dad’s arms, hooked up to more medical equipment than I had ever seen. Mom was on the other side, along with Grandma, Grandpa and a nurse tending to the equipment.
I knew by the feeling in the room that the situation was grave. I asked the little boy his name - he told me it was Billy - and I did a few simple magic tricks for him. As I stepped back to say good-bye, I asked Billy if there was anything else I could do for him.
"Ronald, would you hold me?"
Such a simple request. But what ran through my mind was that if I touched him, I could lose my job. So I told Billy I could not do that right now, but I suggested that he and I color a picture. Upon completing a wonderful piece of art that we were both very proud of, Billy again asked me to hold him. By this time my heart was screaming "yes!" But my mind was screaming louder. "No! You are going to lose your job!"
This second time that Billy asked me, I had to ponder why I could not grant the simple request of a little boy who probably would not be going home. I asked myself why was I being logically and emotionally torn apart by someone I had never seen before and probably would never see again.
"Hold me." It was such a simple request, and yet...
I searched for any reasonable response that would allow me to leave. I could not come up with a single one. It took me a moment to realize that in this situation, losing my job may not be the disaster I feared.
Was losing my job the worst thing in the world?
Did I have enough self-belief that if I did lose my job, I would be able to pick up and start again? The answer was a loud, bold, affirming "yes!" I could pick up and start again.
So what was the risk?
Just that if I lost my job, it probably would not be long before I would lose first my car, then my home . . . and to be honest with you, I really liked those things. But I realized that at the end of my life, the car would have no value and neither would the house. The only things that had steadfast value were experiences. Once I reminded myself that the real reason I was there was to bring a little happiness to an unhappy environment, I realized that I really faced no risk at all.
I sent Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa out of the room, and my two McDonald’s escorts out to the van. The nurse tending the medical equipment stayed, but Billy asked her to stand and face the corner. Then I picked up this little wonder of a human being. He was so frail and so scared. We laughed and cried for 45 minutes, and talked about the things that worried him.
Billy was afraid that his little brother might get lost coming home from kindergarten next year, without Billy to show him the way. He worried that his dog wouldn’t get another bone because Billy had hidden the bones in the house before going back to the hospital, and now he couldn’t remember where he put them. These are problems to a little boy who knows he is not going home.
On my way out of the room, with tear-streaked makeup running down my neck, I gave Mom and Dad my real name and phone number (another automatic dismissal for a Ronald McDonald, but I figured that I was gone and had nothing to lose), and said if there was anything the McDonald’s Corporation or I could do, to give me a call and consider it done. Less than 48 hours later, I received a phone call from Billy’s mom. She informed me that Billy had passed away. She and her husband simply wanted to thank me for making a difference in their little boy’s life.
Jeff was willing to make the sacrifice required - he took a great risk in order to do what he felt was the right thing to do. Are we as willing to do as much? Are we willing to place our trust in God to the extent that we will stand up for Him, even in the face of suffering and death?
Francis Schaeffer, in his book "The God Who Is There", imagines a situation similar to the humorous story I told you at the beginning of the sermon. A man is caught in a storm on the side of a mountain in the Swiss Alps. The swirling snow makes it impossible for him to see more than a few inches. The man, squatting on a narrow ledge, hears a voice urging him to leap off the ledge to a safe path below which will take him to safety. If an unknown voice is heard, the man will probably not want to take the risk of jumping into the unknown abyss. But when the voice identifies itself as belonging to a well known experienced mountain guide, the man is willing to leap, and ultimately finds his way to safety.
The point of the story is this, we can trust in the "Voice", because we know from the reports of others, as well as from our own past experience, that He is trustworthy, and we can rely on Him to lead us out of this blinding storm.
Discussion Questions
Trust
1. What promise to the returning Babylonian captives that is similar to "he will make your paths straight"? (Isaiah 40:4)
2. What resource is available to Christians to help them keep on the "path of righteousness" (Psalm 23)?
3. In the Christian's daily life, what part is played by "feelings"?
4. To have trust in God requires us to abandon what other trusts?
5. Does trusting God mean that we should ignore common sense, wisdom gained through experience, and the wise counsel of mature Christians?
6. Two ancient images - leaning on one's sword, or shepherd's staff, and a king leaning on his assistants - are connected to the phrase "lean on." What is the message here for us?
7. The message "In God We Trust" is a part of everyone's life. Why is it significant that this message appears on our money?
8. How do the three words "cling", "confide", and "confidence" relate to trust?
9. How did Daniel and his three Hebrew friends express their trust in God when refusing to eat the king's meat?
10. How would you paraphrase the answer given by the three Hebrew men when faced with the threat of the furnace?
11. These men demonstrated their willingness to sacrifice everything in their declaration of devotion to worship and serve God. How was this reflected in the story of Jeff McMullen who played the role of "Ronald McDonald"?
12. What is the difference between faith in God and "blind faith"?
http://www.webedelic.com/church/trust.htm
Trust in the Lord
A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick
Late one afternoon a hiker, climbing along a steep mountain ridge slipped and fell down the side of the mountain. Fortunately, he was able to grab onto a small tree growing out from the rock, and hung on for dear life. Suddenly the hiker heard a voice from above calling to him by name, saying, "Just let go, and you will land safely on a ledge below. Just trust me." For a moment the man was silent. Then he called back, "Is there anyone else up there?"
Proverbs 3:5,6 - 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.
Here is a wonderful promise: "He, the Lord, will make your paths straight". (He shall direct thy paths.) What does that mean? Three ideas come to mind.
He will make your paths level, remove the stumbling blocks, keep you from tripping and falling. This is the same promise given to the captives returning from Babylon: "Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain." (Isaiah 40:4) Remember, we are as captives returning back to our home city, the Heavenly Jerusalem.
He will bring about a successful end, or lead you safely to your destination. Those who trust in the Lord, until the end, will be saved. This is a guarantee, paid for by the death of Jesus and His resurrection.
He will keep you from wandering off the path of righteousness, so that you will not be drawn into sin. It reminds us of the assertion in the 23rd Psalm, "He leads me in the paths of righteousness." In a day when temptations are so abundant, we need to hear this promise, and be motivated to follow His leading.
This is the promise, "He will make your paths straight." But as with every promise of God, there is a condition to fulfill. In this case, the condition is, Trust, or Faith. The basic message is this: Trust God, Distrust Yourself.
Notice that the rest of the statement (in Proverbs 3:5,6) helps us to understand what "trust in the Lord" means. First, it means "don't lean on your own understanding", and second, "in all your ways acknowledge Him".
Take the second. To acknowledge God simply means that we know that God is there in every situation. Any day of week. Every location imaginable. Whatever you may be doing, whom ever you may be with - God is there. Of course someone might say, "But sometimes I don't feel His presence." One of the significant issues today is that we have a great number of people trying to find "it" - the feeling, as though the feeling authenticates the presence. In fact, rather often, people tell me this was their problem, they just didn't feel the Lord being with them. Within the Pentecostal tradition we are especially vulnerable, because we tend to promote the idea that God can, and should be experienced. The danger of this is that we end up reducing our Christian life to an emotional experience. If there's no emotion, we think that God isn't there for us.
We want something that is tangible, something which can be experienced with one of our senses, or at least one of our emotions. But to acknowledge God in all our ways is to declare, by faith, that He is there, in every situation. One of the very fine organizations for Christian girls is Pioneer Clubs. Perhaps we all should learn their slogan, "Christ in every Phase of Life."
But also notice that trusting in the Lord means that we don't lean on our own understanding. Does that mean that while making decisions, we should neglect our own mental powers, or the wisdom we have gained throughout our lives? Of course not. These are gifts of God to be developed and used. The point is that we ultimately must rely on a wisdom that is beyond and above ours. In other words, "don't rest confidently upon" your own understanding, trust in the overriding providence of God.
By the way, the word "lean on" is connected to two ancient images.
One is to lean on one's sword, or shepherd's staff. For the soldier, the sword, and for the shepherd, the staff is always available to lean on, to take a break and rest for a moment. But the deeper message has to do with reliance, "Don't rest on your sword, soldier - it won't deliver you". Rather, "Trust in the Lord." The message here is, "Don't rest on your staff, shepherd, it won't be able to provide all that is needed in every situation." Rather, "Trust in the Lord." For us this could refer to whatever it is that we do in our work - it can't be ultimately relied upon.
The other image is a reference to the king who in public appearances would be seen leaning on his assistants, both physically if he is old and weak, and figuratively - the king relies on the counsel of his advisers. The message is clear: "Don't rely on human counsel. Trust in the Lord."
Now let's get to this idea "trust". It's a familiar expression to us. Every day we use it. Whenever we handle our money, there is this constant reminder: "In God We Trust".
The word "trust" is "batakh", which literally means "to cling to", to "confide in", or "to set one's hope and confidence upon".
I like the idea "cling to". How well I remember walking along Main Street in Rockport, Massachusetts on July 3rd. Fire works were popping all around us as we moved with the throng approaching the beach where the bon fire was blazing. The orchestra was in the band shell across the street, scores of boats filled the cove. We had brought our dog Cloudy with us, but it had become obvious that we shouldn't have bothered with the leash - the whole way there Cloudy clung to my leg for dear life. I could hardly walk.
That's a picture of each of us, in times of high anxiety and stress, clinging onto the leg of God, receiving both guidance and protection.
Actually, this trust which is "to set one's hope and confidence upon" is a trust that we exercise every day as a matter of routine. We understand what it means - the challenge is to direct this trust "in the Lord."
In the Old Testament story of "Daniel's Three Friends", we have a dramatic example.
Daniel 3:28 - Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God."
But notice these three factors:
Trusting God was a habit which had been practiced at the very beginning of their captivity. When the trainers wanted them to eat the "king's meat", they asked to be exempted because it violated their religious convictions about unclean foods. So they negotiated a trial period during which they would only eat vegetables, and trusted God to enable them to be approved. This is a model for us to follow today.
One day some years ago I accompanied a parent to her child's school to meet a teacher who was requiring reading material which was offensive. In preparation, I asked the child to bring with her a book, recommended by the librarian, to be of the same reading level, so that we could ask the teacher to be willing to let the child substitute this book for the offensive one.
The three Hebrew men openly declared their trust in God. They said, "The God we serve is able to save us." (Daniel 3:17) This is the "confession with the mouth." Saying it out loud is important. Unfortunately we live in a land where "tolerance" has become the expected attitude, and this often results in silence. No longer are we willing to publicly declare our faith in God, because someone will get offended with our taking on this superiority complex, and sound like we're judging all those who don't believe the same as we do.
They were willing to trust God even if it would not result in physical salvation. (Daniel 3:18) Here's the ultimate test of faith, a willingness to sacrifice everything in our declaration of devotion to worship and serve God.
Let me tell you the touching story about a man who worked for the MacDonald's corporation. His assignment was to play the part of Ronald MacDonald. Once a month he would go to the hospitals in a given area and try to bring a little cheer to the children there. One of the rules he was bound by was that he was never to touch any of the children for fear that he would carry germs from one patient to another. If he were to break this rule, it could mean losing his job. Here's what Jeff McMullen wrote:
Toward the end of my fourth year of "Ronald Days," as I was heading down a hallway after a long day in grease paint and on my way home, I heard a little voice. "Ronald, Ronald."
I stopped. The soft little voice was coming through a half-opened door. I pushed the door open and saw a young boy, about five years old, lying in his dad’s arms, hooked up to more medical equipment than I had ever seen. Mom was on the other side, along with Grandma, Grandpa and a nurse tending to the equipment.
I knew by the feeling in the room that the situation was grave. I asked the little boy his name - he told me it was Billy - and I did a few simple magic tricks for him. As I stepped back to say good-bye, I asked Billy if there was anything else I could do for him.
"Ronald, would you hold me?"
Such a simple request. But what ran through my mind was that if I touched him, I could lose my job. So I told Billy I could not do that right now, but I suggested that he and I color a picture. Upon completing a wonderful piece of art that we were both very proud of, Billy again asked me to hold him. By this time my heart was screaming "yes!" But my mind was screaming louder. "No! You are going to lose your job!"
This second time that Billy asked me, I had to ponder why I could not grant the simple request of a little boy who probably would not be going home. I asked myself why was I being logically and emotionally torn apart by someone I had never seen before and probably would never see again.
"Hold me." It was such a simple request, and yet...
I searched for any reasonable response that would allow me to leave. I could not come up with a single one. It took me a moment to realize that in this situation, losing my job may not be the disaster I feared.
Was losing my job the worst thing in the world?
Did I have enough self-belief that if I did lose my job, I would be able to pick up and start again? The answer was a loud, bold, affirming "yes!" I could pick up and start again.
So what was the risk?
Just that if I lost my job, it probably would not be long before I would lose first my car, then my home . . . and to be honest with you, I really liked those things. But I realized that at the end of my life, the car would have no value and neither would the house. The only things that had steadfast value were experiences. Once I reminded myself that the real reason I was there was to bring a little happiness to an unhappy environment, I realized that I really faced no risk at all.
I sent Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa out of the room, and my two McDonald’s escorts out to the van. The nurse tending the medical equipment stayed, but Billy asked her to stand and face the corner. Then I picked up this little wonder of a human being. He was so frail and so scared. We laughed and cried for 45 minutes, and talked about the things that worried him.
Billy was afraid that his little brother might get lost coming home from kindergarten next year, without Billy to show him the way. He worried that his dog wouldn’t get another bone because Billy had hidden the bones in the house before going back to the hospital, and now he couldn’t remember where he put them. These are problems to a little boy who knows he is not going home.
On my way out of the room, with tear-streaked makeup running down my neck, I gave Mom and Dad my real name and phone number (another automatic dismissal for a Ronald McDonald, but I figured that I was gone and had nothing to lose), and said if there was anything the McDonald’s Corporation or I could do, to give me a call and consider it done. Less than 48 hours later, I received a phone call from Billy’s mom. She informed me that Billy had passed away. She and her husband simply wanted to thank me for making a difference in their little boy’s life.
Jeff was willing to make the sacrifice required - he took a great risk in order to do what he felt was the right thing to do. Are we as willing to do as much? Are we willing to place our trust in God to the extent that we will stand up for Him, even in the face of suffering and death?
Francis Schaeffer, in his book "The God Who Is There", imagines a situation similar to the humorous story I told you at the beginning of the sermon. A man is caught in a storm on the side of a mountain in the Swiss Alps. The swirling snow makes it impossible for him to see more than a few inches. The man, squatting on a narrow ledge, hears a voice urging him to leap off the ledge to a safe path below which will take him to safety. If an unknown voice is heard, the man will probably not want to take the risk of jumping into the unknown abyss. But when the voice identifies itself as belonging to a well known experienced mountain guide, the man is willing to leap, and ultimately finds his way to safety.
The point of the story is this, we can trust in the "Voice", because we know from the reports of others, as well as from our own past experience, that He is trustworthy, and we can rely on Him to lead us out of this blinding storm.
Discussion Questions
Trust
1. What promise to the returning Babylonian captives that is similar to "he will make your paths straight"? (Isaiah 40:4)
2. What resource is available to Christians to help them keep on the "path of righteousness" (Psalm 23)?
3. In the Christian's daily life, what part is played by "feelings"?
4. To have trust in God requires us to abandon what other trusts?
5. Does trusting God mean that we should ignore common sense, wisdom gained through experience, and the wise counsel of mature Christians?
6. Two ancient images - leaning on one's sword, or shepherd's staff, and a king leaning on his assistants - are connected to the phrase "lean on." What is the message here for us?
7. The message "In God We Trust" is a part of everyone's life. Why is it significant that this message appears on our money?
8. How do the three words "cling", "confide", and "confidence" relate to trust?
9. How did Daniel and his three Hebrew friends express their trust in God when refusing to eat the king's meat?
10. How would you paraphrase the answer given by the three Hebrew men when faced with the threat of the furnace?
11. These men demonstrated their willingness to sacrifice everything in their declaration of devotion to worship and serve God. How was this reflected in the story of Jeff McMullen who played the role of "Ronald McDonald"?
12. What is the difference between faith in God and "blind faith"?
http://www.webedelic.com/church/trust.htm
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