Developing Trust
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Who are you going to trust? So far in this series, Values to Live by, we have talked about developing your standards, choosing what’s going to be the standard for your life. Last time we talked about accepting responsibility for your life. The next question that comes up is,
Who are you going to trust?
Who are you going to trust?
As we have talked about, there has been a decline in values in our culture. One of the dramatic examples of that is the decline in trust in our society. Who do you trust?
When I was a kid, it seemed you could trust the authorities. If I got into trouble at school, I was in trouble at home. Now, parents want to go and fight the teachers.
Customers don’t trust businesses… employees don’t trust their bosses… clients don’t trust their attorneys … no one trust the government anymore.
Least trusted professions in America: telemarketers, used car salesmen, media, and at the bottom - politicians.
What’s behind this decline of trust in our culture? I said the answer to this in a previous message. It’s not tooth decay, it’s truth decay
In the first session, we talked about how our society doesn’t value truth anymore. With the news, it doesn’t matter if it’s true or not as long as the ratings are good. Listen, Truth and Trust go together. You trust people who tell you the truth and you don’t trust people who lie.
Most of our culture today says there is no absolute truth. If that’s true, you can’t trust anyone or depend on anything. That causes us a lot of stress because God, our creator, wired us to trust in something bigger than ourselves. He wanted you and I to have a relationship with him. That’s why when people don’t trust God, the will build something else to trust in… education… money… power… science… relationship…
Anything I trust more than God is an idol
Anything I trust more than God is an idol
That’s the definition of an idol. It’s anything we trust more than God. The 2nd commandment said we are not to make any form of an idol.
15 “When the Lord spoke to you from the fire on Mount Sinai, you did not see any form. For your own good, then, make certain 16 that you do not sin by making for yourselves an idol in any form at all—whether man or woman,
He says here, for your own good, don’t have an idol.
So today we will answer three questions.
1. What happens when I trust something else or some one else more than God?
2. Why does it seem so difficult to trust God?
3. What are the reasons that I really ought to trust God with my life?
1. What happens when I trust anything more than God?
1. What happens when I trust anything more than God?
There are 2 negative effects.
When I trust something more than God, I am disappointed
When I trust something more than God, I am disappointed
Anytime we expect anyone or anything to meet needs in our lives that only God can meet, we will be disappointed because they can’t. It doesn’t even have to be anything bad.
Family - northing wrong with family unless we thing that family or any person to meet all of our needs. Kids grow up and move away or have their own families and you are not the center of their world any longer.
spouse - If I could just meet the right person…
Job - If I could just get this job, then everything would be ok…
MOney -
When you do any of those, you have created yourself an idol. Idols will never meet your needs.
14 At the sight of this, people feel stupid and senseless; those who make idols are disillusioned, because the gods they make are false and lifeless.
18 “Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
When someone in a primitive culture carves out an idol of a piece of wood and bows before it, we say that’s pretty dumb. However, we do that all the time. We do it with our careers, our relationships, our bank accounts, our … We act as if that is what gives us significance or meaning to our lives… our self worth.
When we do this, we will be disappointed and disillusioned.
It is amazing to me how people come up with all sorts of things to put their trust in other than God. People spend millions on psychic hotlines, horoscopes, palm reading, tea leaves. Just go to the Quarter and look. Drive down 4th Street and look. We wear things around our necks, hang things from our mirrors… as if that little statue can protect us.
You will be disappointed. Look wha the Bible says.
20 The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”
Yes it is and when you trust anything or anyone more than God, you will be disappointed.
When I trust something more than God, I am dominated
When I trust something more than God, I am dominated
2 You know that while you were still heathen, you were led astray in many ways to the worship of lifeless idols.
Led astray - controlled
if I said to make a list of the top 10 things that are most important to you and you did it. The thing at the top is your god. If it’s not God, you have made yourself an idol. Whatever you value the most will eventually control you. You may think you control it, but it’s just a matter of time when it controls you. Look at what the Bible says…
8 And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.
Whatever you value in life, you will become like it. If I value money the most, I’ll be very materialistic… If I value pleasure the most, I’ll become a hedonist. If I value what works the most, I’ll become a pragmatist. If I value Jesus the most, I’ll become more and more like Jesus. Whatever you value will shape you, and if it’s not God, it will mess you up.
Have you ever wondered why we do this? Why we trust everything in the world but God? We do this because we want a god we can control. We want to shrink him to a size we can manage so he can help us when we want him and leave us alone when we don’t want him around. We want him for our convenience. He becomes a check box just like exercise, etc. What we really want is a genie that will do whatever we want.
We often will refer to this building as God’s house or temple… but God is bigger than any building… not even the universe can contain God.
48 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says:
This is important because we all try to do this. We all try to put God in a box and He is too big for any box. He is everywhere at the same time. This is important because how we see God will determine our values in life. Do I exist for God or does he exist for me? … YOU exist for God. God is not a genie in a bottle.
God made people in His image, but we are always trying to reverse it and make God in our image. It really boils down to … we want to the god of our lives. It’s the ultimate form of individualism.
If we can’t do that, we try to shrink him. We want to create a god to fit our lifestyle because we want him to say, Hey, that’s ok… to have babies out of wedlock… to have an abortion… to not help others who are in need… to not treat people with dignity… to … we want God to give us the ok. We do this in politics too. We want God to justify our political opinions…
Then we have those who preach that God wants everyone to be a millionaire… that once you become a Christian, every thing would be smooth… They do this to justify their materialism.
Let me ask you, How many of you like to be misrepresented? Me either and God doesn’t like it either.
A big thing people do today is called syncretism. It’s the combining of different aspects of different religions. You take a little of this one and a little of that one so it fits what you want.
IOW, Gods is whatever you want him to be…
Whenever we do these types of things, it always leads to disappointment and dominance… and eventually destruction. We lose our identity and forget who God made us to be.
2. Why don’t I trust God more?
2. Why don’t I trust God more?
IOW, why do we trust everything but God. Why is that?
I don’t trust God more because I don’t really know God
I don’t trust God more because I don’t really know God
You don’t trust people you don’t know. If a stranger tells you to invest your money here… you don’t trust them until you get to know them and about them.
The same is true about God. If you don’t know God and what he is really like… his character… If you don’t know what he is really like, you will not trust him. So when he tells you what to do with your sexuality… your money… to forgive… you will not listen to him. You will question everything he says to do.
On the other hand, if you really know God and you really know how much He matters to you and how much you matter to Him, and if you really know what He's got in store for your life and if you really understand that He has your best interest at heart, then you don't have trouble at all following what He says to do. What he wants may not make sense to you, but you trust him because you know him and it’s always the right thing to do what Jesus wants us to do. Listen, he created you and he gave us an owners manual and life works better when we use the owners manual. It all comes down to do you know him?
That’s why it’s so important to know who he really is and to know hi personally. There are so many crazy images of who God is. People look at social media and TV to get their ideas of who God is…
Here are some images og God that have been popular through the years.
God the Policeman - People with this view believe that God’s role in their lives is to catch them doing something wrong so they can be punished. Who wants to serve a god like that?
God the Santa Claus. People who hold this view see him as an old Santa approving of whatever we do. He wouldn’t but even if he wanted to stop you he couldn’t. He just loves you. Now understand, God does love you and there is nothing you can do about that, but he does not approve of everything we do. He is the enabler God. He will just keep giving you more stuff even though you are not responsible with it.
God the Old Man - He is just an old man with a few powers but nothing really big. He has faults and failures… doesn’t know all the answers…
God the Impersonal Force - Stars Wars was a good movie but not a movie to draw any theology from. It’s basically pantheism and says that God is an energy force. A lot of people buy into this. This belief says that God is in everything and everything is God. That would mean you are God. You are not...
God is not in everything no matter how many people say it. God created everything, but he is not in everything nor is everything God. This is nothing new, it’s pantheism and it’s been around for thousands of years.
None of these images are anything you want to trust. How do you picture God? When I say God, what do you think of? We all have a lot of opinions, but our opinions don’t really matter.
What God says about himself does matter. And God is clear in his word. Truth matters, no matter what we see in our culture.
10 Those who know the Lord trust him, because he will not leave those who come to him.
3. Why should I trust God completely?
3. Why should I trust God completely?
Four reasons… there are more but we will look at these four.
1. I should trust God completely because He is the truth
1. I should trust God completely because He is the truth
God is truth. He cannot lie so he is the embodiment of truth.
18 He has given us both his promise and his oath, two things we can completely count on, for it is impossible for God to tell a lie. Now all those who flee to him to save them can take new courage when they hear such assurances from God; now they can know without doubt that he will give them the salvation he has promised them.
People always ask. Is there anything that God cannot do? Yes. He cannot lie. His nature is truth and cannot deny his own nature. Jesus said I am the truth… So in a world where people don’t value truth, who do you turn to?
4 No! God will continue to be true even when every person is false. As the Scriptures say: “So you will be shown to be right when you speak, and you will win your case.”
God will always be right… always be true, no matter what our media pundits say, or what’s trending… God is right. So when he tells me to do something, I am going to do it.
2. I should trust God completely because He loves me
2. I should trust God completely because He loves me
Over and over i the Bible, it says how much God loves you and me. He created us out of love. The greatest expression of his love for us is Jesus. Jesus actually died to pay for sins you and I commit.
God wants us to know him so much that he came to earth in human form to show us what he is really like. If you ever want to know what God is really like, look at Jesus. He is the picture of God. Look what he said.
30 The Father and I are one.”
Then look what God said,
17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”
9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.
Jesus is god so if we want to know what God is like, we just have to look to him. I have had people say, and many think this way in our culture, Ho do you know Jesus is the only way? He said he was.
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
If he is not, he is not a great teacher he is a liar. He is the only way. If you don’t like that, take it up with Jesus not me. Look at these verses.
16 And so we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love. God is love. Those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
18 Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love drives out fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear, so love is not made perfect in the person who fears.
God’s love drives out fear. What keeps most people from trusting God? Fear does. People are afraid to trust, after all, nothing in our culture is trustworthy - right? People are afraid they will
Lose their freedom
Lose their fun
Become a religious fanatic
If you know what God is really like and you know He tells the truth and you know He loves you, do you think a God like that is going to turn you into a nut case? No. The more you know about God, the more you trust Him. The less you know the more you're afraid of Him.
3. I should trust God completely because He is in control
3. I should trust God completely because He is in control
Sometimes it might not seem like it, but God is in control. He created the world and he will end it one day… One day Jesus will come back and nothing is going to stop it, speed it up or slow it down. But right now, he will work in your life to help you fulfill your purpose if you will let him.
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Paul does not say everything is good. It’s not. Nor does it say that God causes everything . god doesn’t cause evil… war… cancer… rape… abortion… human trafficking… incest… molestations… God doesn’t cause evil to happen. When he created humans, he gave us something that nothing else in creation has… a free will. We have the freedom to choose right or wrong and unfortunately many people choose wrong… evil.
But Paul is saying that God will take that evil and work it for the good of those who love him. Note, it’s not a promise for everyone… it’s a promise for those who love HIM.
When you see the news, I know many of you get wigged out… you become fearful. I don’t. I don’t like a lot of whats happening but I know God is in control. If i didn’t know that, it would be fearful Every day, we have multiple shootings, kids and babies are beaten… that used to cause us to feel bad, but it doesn’t any more. Things that used to shock us don’t shock us anymore. But God is still on control, and right now he will work things for your good if you love him, but one day Jesus will return and set things right.
About our ability to choose. One of the great things God did when he created us was to give us the ability to choose, but that ability is not unlimited. You can choose to cheat… lie… be mean… thumb your nose at authority… or God…say you don’t believe in God. You are free to make choices in your life.
But you are not free to dictate the consequences of your choices. God is in control. Once you make a choice, you are not free from the consequences of that choice. God causes consequences to happen.
Drunk every night - eventually you will have a hangover… go to jail or worse… be killed in a wreck.
If you do drugs pregnant, you will cause great harm to your baby.
Cheat on your taxes - go to jail or pay huge fines.
God says, here is the line, don’t step over it. If you do, there will be consequences.
4. I should trust God completely because He will help me
4. I should trust God completely because He will help me
There are thousands of promises of his help in the Bible. Here is one
5 Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding. 6 Remember the Lord in all you do, and he will give you success.
He knows what’s best for YOU and if you will trust him, he will give you success. You will have a successful life.
Look at “don’t depend on your own understanding.” A lot of times it will take courage to do what God wants you to do because it doesn’t make sense from your view point. But God’s view point is both better and right. My dad was always right. If I don’t trust God enough to listen to him and do what he says and I make my decisions based on my own understanding, I will reap the consequences. If I do what God wants, I will reap the consequences of that choice as well.
How do you know that you are trusting God? You know by how quickly you obey what he says for you to do. Is it immediate? Delayed? Do you argue? What do you do?
ILL - I'm a little boy and I'm standing in the middle of the street and my dad is standing over to the side. A semi truck is coming down the road and I'm going to get smashed. My dad says, "Robert! Get out of the middle of the road. " And I say, "Who is he to tell me what I should do? I know what's best for me" because I don't see the truck coming.
How quickly I obey my dad and follow his instructions are dependent upon how much I trust him. If I know that my dad tells me the truth and I know that my dad loves me and wants what's best for me, then I'm going to move quickly. I may not see the problem but it's coming. You can tell how much you trust God by how quickly you do what God tells you to do
There is a verse that describes our culture today.
4 The people have appointed kings without my consent, and princes without my approval. By making idols for themselves from their silver and gold, they have brought about their own destruction.
This is a picture of our culture today. We are destroying ourselves through the idols we've created. We have systematically over the last fifty years reduced and replaced God in the center of our society. The evidence is everywhere. Problems, crime and massive amounts of stressed out people…
Larry King live… many watched it. One day he and his daughter were being interviewed. A talk show host asked his daughter Kia, "What's the best and worst thing about your dad, Larry King?"
Kia said, "The best thing about my dad is that he hasn't forgotten his roots. He still the same guy today that he was before he became very famous. He's got his feet on the ground."
"So what's the worst thing about your dad?" Kia: "It's that he doesn't have a sense of peace about his life. I wish he could find a center of peace for himself." The host asked King, "Is that true?"
King responded that his daughter was right, "I don't have a center of peace. In fact, I'm looking for that peace even more seriously as I get older. I've interviewed all the world's religious leaders many times and I know there must be something out there but I've never taken that step of faith." Tragic.
Maybe you are like Larry King. You have heard the truth, but you have not acted on it. You have never put your faith in the one who can give you that center of peace - Jesus Christ. Maybe you have had a warped view of Jesus… God and your sin. Maybe yo are afraid of God because you don’t know him.
Jesus said,
36 But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”
Don’t be afraid. Trust him.
ILL - Daddy used to have me jump into his arms… I trusted him so I would jump.
That’s what God is asking you today. To trust him. God is waiting with his arms wide to catch you. he loves you and he wants you to jump into his arms… to trust him with your life.