Trust

Intro

Our entire church on Wednesdays, Sundays, from Preschool to the nursing home, we’re ALL going after this question:

“Am I building an unshakeable life or am I relying on things that won’t last?”

Hear the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:

Matthew 7:24-2=27

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

None of us want a shaky life that falls apart when the wind and waves come. But how can we build an unshakeable life? I would bet that we’ve all had moments where we thought we had it made and watched things fall apart. I bet we’ve all had moments where, in our gut, we knew we had things figured out but things didn’t pan out like we expected.

(Personal Story about a time where you trusted your gut/yourself and got burned. The more fun, the better.)

A while back, my wife and I were going to a family beach house in Delaware, yes Delaware. Look, I love me some 30A but Delaware is beautiful and isn’t drowning in people. Super underrated beaches. We flew in and my mom was flying in to join us so I drove up from the beach house a couple hours to the Philadelphia airport to pick her up. I had made the drive multiple times so I trusted my gut, and, being the genius that I am, I turned maps off . You already know it didn’t go well, here’s an Instagram story from that night. (use the map video – Production Note: Don’t push to campuses as this is Matt’s personal story) I know we’re laughing in the video but that realization when it finally hit us that we’d been driving in the wrong direction for HOURS was brutal. I knew it, deep down, that I had it figured out. I trusted my gut and turned maps off.

But maybe that’s it, maybe I’m the problem. Maybe, even for those of us in the room who are following Jesus we find that the ground beneath us keeps shifting because we keep trusting our gut. We’re stepping off the solid ground that trusting God has provided us, even if it’s just for this one thing, only to find ourselves lost again. How can we build trust in God? Tonight, we’re talking about the unshakeable principle of trust. But not just trust, but who you trust. We’re going to look at two stories side-by-side to see what the unshakeable principle of trusting God looks like versus the shakeable principle of trusting the enemy. How can I continue to trust God in uncertainty, in pain, in frustration, when I feel lost?

You see, trust comes into play when we don’t have all the answers. —when we can’t see the full picture, when circumstances don’t make sense, or when we’re waiting for God to come through. It’s easy to trust when everything is clear, but real trust is forged in uncertainty and this is exactly where Satan, our enemy, tempts us—in the gaps, in the waiting, in the moments where we feel like we need to take control. Just like he did with Eve in Genesis 3. Spoiler alert, it doesn’t go great.

TRUTH

Genesis 3:1

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Satan comes in and immediately distorts God’s words. Satan is the great deceiver, the Father of Lies. God told Adam that they could eat from any tree but one, Satan flips God’s phrasing into something negative and restrictive. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve can freely do anything they want, eat whatever they want, they are literally in paradise. There is no reason not to trust God because he’s given them EVERYTHING and it is good. There is no sin, there is no work, no homework, no pain, no sadness, no boredom… yet, Satan comes with the lie that Lie: “God is holding out on you” and restricting you. Eve was completely content but Satan comes with the lie telling her God is holding her back and her trust begins to shift away from God. In the gap between God's instruction and Eve's uncertainty, Satan's voice grows louder. He convinces her that God is withholding something good from her, that she must take control. Lie: “Trust yourself”. Instead of standing on God's word, she steps onto shaky ground—trusting herself over her Creator.

Genesis 3:2-5

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Eve engages in conversation with Satan. Which might actually be her first mistake. Maybe that’s why some of us find ourselves on shaky ground tonight because we’ve been entertaining conversations with our enemy that God intended us to walk away from. (communicator note, there might be space for you to “cook” a little here if God is moving your heart).

Eve is entertaining what her enemy has to say by leaning in here. Satan comes back to her with another version of the same lie. Lie: “God is holding out on you”. You’re trusting that God has your best interests in mind? Open your eyes Eve! Take control. Don’t you know what’s best for yourself? Again, he is saying, “Trust yourself and you could have so much more”. In the gap of not trusting that God has her best interests in mind, Eve finds herself believing the lies that God can’t be trusted and begins to trust that she knows best. She trusts her gut.

Genesis 3:6

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.

Let’s see how this plays out…

Genesis 3:7-10

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 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, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

Sin enters the world. Shame enters. Eve admits that she was deceived. She trusted herself. They hide from God in their shame… relatable, right? When I mess up, I want to hide.

They get cast out of the garden. The end of paradise… When confronted with temptation, they believed a lie and their lives “fell with a great crash”.

And here’s what’s crazy—Jesus faced the exact same kind of temptation. But his response? You’ll see. Jesus gets baptized (shoutout any of you who got baptized recently), the Spirit leads him into the wilderness where he fasts for 40 days and 40 nights and that’s where we pick up in Matthew 4. He’s hungry, he’s tired, he’s been fully dependent on God throughout this time and Satan shows up.

Matthew 4:3

3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Satan tempts Jesus to use God’s power to for selfish purposes. He’s tempting Jesus to shortcut God’s plans. Trust your desires. Trust yourself Jesus. Aren’t you the Son of God? You know what’s best for yourself. You could solve your hunger. You could solve your problems. In the face of this temptation, Jesus has a strategy in his reply.

Matthew 4:4

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus is quoting scripture at him. This is just a verse out of Deuteronomy! Where Eve entertained the enemy’s voice, Jesus shut it down immediately. Where Eve questioned God’s goodness, Jesus trusted it fully. And where Eve acted on her desires, Jesus stood firm on God’s truth. Jesus models for us what to do in the face of temptation. Stand on truth we can trust. That’s it. Nothing else. Satan is immediately pushed back but doesn’t give up. Just like with you and I, he comes back to tempt again.

Matthew 4:5-6

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Satan is the Father of Lies and he’s smart when he comes for us. He recognizes Jesus quoted scripture at him, so he comes proactively with out of context scripture as he tempts Jesus. Like he did with Eve, he distorts the words of God and tries to get Jesus by distorting a promise that God has made.

Matthew 4:7

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'”

He again uses scripture, in context to Satan, to combat the lies and schemes of the enemy who is trying to see if Jesus will slip and trust himself. Jesus again stands on truth. Truth builds trust in God’s goodness. Jesus uses truth as a weapon against Satan. Temptation is coming for us just as it came for Jesus. That’s the gift of Jesus’ relatability.

Hebrews 4:15

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

Jesus knows what it means to be tempted and he gives us an accessible practice to combat temptation. Trust God’s truth to overcome temptation. This is THE thought for tonight. When faced with challenges and temptations, don’t trust your gut. Trust God’s truth to overcome temptation. What does God’s word say about this? Text your small group leader and ask them. Text your student pastor and ask them. Ask your family! Train yourself to trust God’s Word First. Build the routine of, when tempted, our first response in our mind is to recall scripture. This is a habit we can build. Wear a path in our mind that, when we’re tempted, we walk the path to God’s Word, trusting that his ways are better.

Satan comes back again in a 3rd temptation. Jesus again uses scripture to counter him and watch what happens next.

Matthew 4:11a

Then the devil left him…

Then 👏 The 👏 Devil 👏 Left 👏 Him 👏. Jesus doesn’t fight temptation with some elaborate spiritual power that is inaccessible to us, he fights with scripture. His trust in God’s Word is the weapon he uses to combat the lies that God can’t be trusted.

You probably already know all this. You know that God’s Word will help you stand firm but I’ve heard it said, “Knowledge without application is useless”.

APPLICATION

James 4:7 reminds us of this, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” When we stand on God’s truth, temptation loses it’s power. The tempter flees! Not by our power but by the power of Jesus, the Word Become Flesh, through the true Word of God. Satan is coming for us. The Father of lies wants us to question God’s goodness and trust our gut. He wants us to question if God is holding out on us, if God really wants good things to us. He says to us, (Communicator note: maybe add some lies that the enemy tells you or modify to meet your context)

“You don’t need to pray about that decision, you already have the right answers”

“You don’t need accountability, you’re strong enough on your own.”

“God is the one who created you and put those desires in you, why wouldn’t he want you to follow them?”

“Did God really say that you should wake up early and spend time with him when you could just sleep in and feel more rested? You know what’s best for you!”

“Did God really say that you should wait until you’re married to sleep with your significant other? He’s holding out on you! You’re not getting married forever, you’ll figure out the God thing later.”

“If you really are a blessed son/daughter of God, that he loves so much, how could he let that thing happen in your family? How could he let your parents lose their job? How could your grandma get sick? God isn’t for you. He’s holding out on you!”

He’s coming with lies and until we can find truth to combat the lies he’s speaking to us, we’ll find ourselves on shaky ground. Trust God’s truth to overcome temptation. Truth we can find easily. Truth we can trust. Every day, we’re faced with a choice: Will I trust the shifting voices around me, or will I stand on God’s unshakable truth? The enemy will keep coming, but Jesus already won the war against the father of lies and gave us a tool to combat his lies. And when we stand firm on truth—just like Jesus did—the enemy has no choice but to flee.

As you go to groups tonight, you’re going to get a list of lies with scripture references that combat lies with truth we can trust.

Let’s leave tonight with a plan to memorize scripture, God’s truth, so we can have the same power that Jesus used to combat the lies of our enemy. Everyone needs to pick a few verses and work to keep each other accountable to work to memorize it. We can stand on truth we can trust.

(Closing prayer sealing the desire to act on the knowledge gained tonight)