Trust- The Foundation
Notes
Transcript
Trust.
Years ago, Monroe Parker was traveling through South Alabama on a hot day. He stopped at a watermelon stand, picked out a watermelon, and asked the proprietor how much it cost. "It’s $1.10," he replied. Parker dug into his pocket, found only a bill and said, "All I have is a dollar."
"That’s ok," the seller said, "I’ll trust you for it."
"Well, that’s very nice of you," Parker responded, and picking up the watermelon, started to leave.
"Hey, where are you going?" the man behind the counter demanded.
"I’m going outside to eat my watermelon." "But you forgot to give me the dollar!"
"You said you would trust me for it," Parker called back.
"Yeah, but I meant I would trust you for the dime!"
"Sir," Parker replied, "You did not trust me at all. You were just going to take a ten-cent gamble on my integrity!"
You cannot trust Him just a bit!
Trust, the most foundational element in prayer. If we do not trust God, then what is the point in praying at all? Truly it would be foolish to pray to a God you did not trust. In fact, prayer in and of itself suggests that if we do not trust God, we at least WANT to trust God. I have been amazed at some Christian’s negative reaction when unbelievers ask them to pray for them, or talk about themselves praying. “If they do not believe in Jesus, they should not ask for prayers!” Some have reflected. Are you kidding me? This is one of the ways God opens up the door for evangelism. If they are asking for prayer it is a sign that at least at some level they WANT to believe in the power of Jesus.
Trust, the most foundational element in prayer. If we do not trust God, then what is the point in praying at all? Truly it would be foolish to pray to a God you did not trust. In fact, prayer in and of itself suggests that if we do not trust God, we at least WANT to trust God. I have been amazed at some Christian’s negative reaction when unbelievers ask them to pray for them, or talk about themselves praying. “If they do not believe in Jesus, they should not ask for prayers!” Some have reflected. Are you kidding me? This is one of the ways God opens up the door for evangelism. If they are asking for prayer it is a sign that at least at some level they WANT to believe in the power of Jesus.
Now, the Bible uses the idea of trust in 3 different ways. Each of these builds upon the next to form a healthy foundation for prayer. Let’s look at each of these for just a moment today.
Trust in the Bible begins with the ability to Acknowledge truth. The world is full of people who’s trust in the Lord will never develop past the ability to acknowledge certain trusts about him. They will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, they will acknowledge that he is able to heal them, or able to save them from their own sinfulness- but that is all it is, an acknowledgement.
What’s the problem there? Well, I can acknowledge that the speed limit on 81 is 70mph, and still continue to do 80 all day long. Just because I acknowledge it does not necessarily mean it impacts my life, my choices, or my beliefs.
Consider the Disciples around the time that Jesus calms a storm in Matt 8. Truly they believe Jesus to be someone of high regard and value, as they have given up their lives to follow him. But up to this point, they have not fully embraced, nor understood who Jesus really is. The story tells us this:
And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Sure, they believed some great things about Jesus, but those things didn’t mean much when the storm threatened to rip their boat apart. They found themselves powerless and afraid. Their trust was in acknowledgement, not in application.
To Believe it. The second kind of trust is when trust becomes something we believe. This is the first level of life altering trust. Consider the father of a demon possessed boy in Mark 9.
And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
Here we see a man that trusts Jesus enough to seek him out in his time of need. His trust in Jesus was active- pushing him to a kind of boldness that moved him to action. This trust is more than just an idea, the kind of trust that this father shows us is a trust that we initiate, we start. It’s the moment that our prayer life becomes ours. We no longer need the prompting of another to approach Jesus; Jesus becomes ours.
But notice the sincerity of the dad. He is fully aware that he still has unbelief- a lack of trust in his heart. I really love this moment between Jesus and this dad- full transparency and disclosure- I DO BELIEVE JESUS! BUT I KNOW THERE IS STILL SOME UNBELIEF IN MY HEART! HELP ME!
This moment between Jesus and the father might illustrate one of the most beautiful moments of prayer in the Bible-a man that is so trusting in the power of Jesus over his own, he renounces his own unbelief with no pressure.
To Rely on it. The third kind of trust is a full reliance and complete abiding in the word and promises of God. When you are so convinced, so hopeful, so comforted in the promises of God that you have a full reliance on their faithfulness.
How many times do you think you use the brakes on your car every day? Do you think- what if these do not work? Every time you use them? I bet not, you hit the brakes with full belief that they are going to stop you. Did you know that we take around 20,000 breaths on average every single day? And most of us never stop to think “what if there is no oxygen the next time I breathe in?”
This is the Shadreck, Meshack, and Abendnigo trust; the Daniel in the Lions Den Trust; the Elijah and prophets of Baal trust. It’s the kind of faith that empowers us to risk everything for our God.
As Oswald Chambers once said “Faith is unutterable trust in God, trust which never dreams that He will not stand by us.”
But, here is the thing- just like trust with an individual, trust with God is something we must learn, and many times we ask God to prove to us. Many times our prayer life needs to grow in trust.
Can I tell you something today? God is not afraid to prove himself to you. He isn’t afraid of your doubt, or intimidated by your need for proof. You have open permission to name your need for God to show you why he is trustworthy. In fact, I believe that God can do a lot more with a heart that is open to admit its need for proof, than someone who refuses to admit the skepticism.
Thomas gets a bad rap in the Bible, doesn’t he? Based on John 20. Remember the story?
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
But here’s the thing- Jesus didn’t shy away from Thomas’ doubt, did he? Eight days later when Jesus walks into the room he doesn’t ignore Thomas, or disown him because he missed the boat. No, Jesus walks right over to him and challenges his doubt in the midst of everyone there. Jesus didn’t condemn him, or scold him, or banish him from his presence- Jesus confronted his doubt and showed him why he could trust him.
A healthy prayer life begins with trust. So, what do you need to trust God with today?