Intimacy through trust

 

1.    About 18 years ago a church building needed a new speaker system.

2.    A small company was asked to do the job and the technician came out with a very long ladder.

3.    The speaker had to be mounted on short chains from the ceiling.

4.    I do not know how high the ceiling in that building is, but it is far enough that he expressed some concern.

5.    He was not very confident in climbing that far up with the ladder braced against a single beam of wood.

6.    I told the man to trust me.

7.    It took some convincing, but he got on the ladder and made his way to the top.

8.    He had at least some trust in my standing below and helping him.

 

TODAY’S TEXT COMES FROM FIRST SAMUEL 17.

 

1.    The philistines had gathered their armies together for battle; Saul and the men of Israel were also assembled.

2.    Israel stood in one place and Philistines were gathered in another.

3.    In the camp of the Philistines was a giant named Goliath.

4.    Children and adults have often studied about Goliath’s size.

5.    We know how this giant defied the army of Israel (verse 8).

6.    The Philistine champion was seeking a one-on-one contest.

7.    He was willing but Saul and his men were not interested in this type of match.

8.    David was the youngest of several sons (verse 14).

9.    One day David went to the area where Israel and the Philistines had gathered (verse 20).

10.  After learning about the situation David said he would find the giant (verse 32).

 

AS EXCITING AS THIS STORY IS, SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL WORDS COME FROM THE MOUTH OF YOUNG DAVID – VERSES 34-37a – READ.

 

a)      God has “delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear.”

b)      David was close to God; he had an intimate relationship with God very early in life.

c)      In the four verses just read we find a reason—a significant reason—for this closeness.

 

2)      David trusted God.

3)      Trust is an interesting word.  As mentioned earlier, sometimes people ask someone to trust them.

a)      Sometimes trust is good and sometimes that is bad.          

b)      Let’s consider some examples involving trust.

c)      Many here use a bank or credit union.

d)      Do we fully trust our local bank?

e)      If we submit a deposit and ask for cash back, do we count the change?

f)        Someone might say the check the money because they bank might overpay them.

g)      Is that the only reason for checking?

h)      Do we insure we receive a transaction receipt back for what is done?

i)        Why?  Is it just a reminder for us, or do we check the account number as well as the dollar amount?

 

4)      How fully do we trust our doctor?

a)      Have we ever asked for a second opinion?

b)      Have we ever received a medical recommendation and then looked up information on the Internet?

c)      Speaking of the Internet, how fully do we trust the computers we use?

 

5)      Are we so trusting of our electronic gadgetry that never feel a need to copy our data?

6)      Do we have so much faith in firewalls and e-mail protection we feel we are 100% free from problems?

7)      Trust is something that for us is almost like a sliding scale.

a)      There are people are things wherein we have no trust.

b)      Other matters and people are given a reasonably high level of trust.

 

8)      Our little trust meter also applies to God.  Not everyone trust Him to the same degree.

9)      How much do we trust God?

a)      The lower our trust is, the lower our level of intimacy with Him will be.

b)      David trusted God.  He had trusted Him in the past and God had delivered him from deadly situations.

c)      David trusted God on this occasion to again preserve his life.

d)      David is the same man who authored Ps. 23.

e)      “The Lord is my shepherd” is how Ps. 23 opens.

 

10)  What did David mean when he spoke these words?

11)  Part of what he meant was “I trust God; He is my shepherd; He is the one I depend upon in life.”

12)   Then in Ps. 23:4 we come to another point:  “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.”

a)      When summer comes in this area of the world shepherds take their sheep into the hill country.

b)      Sheep are literally “driven” to these areas (think of the cattle drives in some of the old westerns).

c)      As sheep are being taken to these places they frequently encounter dangers.

d)      A river may be flood and sheep are in peril of drowning.

e)      Rockslides are possible.  Sheep may eat a poisonous plant.  Predators are an on-going threat.

f)        As sheep are taken through valleys they are exposed to a variety of hazards.

 

13)  David knew these things and therefore spoke about the “valley of the shadow of death.”

14)  Sheep need to trust their shepherd to see them safely to their destination.”

15)  David needed to trust God in regard to his life.

a)      Today we need to trust God when it comes to our lives.

b)      This is easy to say, but it is often hard to apply.

c)      As people and especially as Americans we like to control trust.

d)      We may say we trust to someone, but many ultimately go back and verify what they say we trust.

 

16)  One of the most difficult things for us to do is to fully and entirely trust God.

17)  We have the capability to fully trust in someone or something.

18)  The Bible expresses this capability in places like Lk. 12.

a)      Jesus said (Lk. 12:16) there was a “rich man.”

b)      This man had a farming operation that “brought forth plentifully.”

c)      This farmer had some much his storage facilities were inadequate (verse 17).

d)      This man had trust and very possibly absolute trust in something.

e)      Lk. 12:19 – READ.

 

19)  Does it not sound like this man was absolutely convinced he was all ready to go for many years?

20)  He didn’t say, “I think or I hope” these goods will last for a long time.

21)  He said “I have” and “I can take it easy for many years to come.”

22)  He had great trust but it was misplaced – verse 20 – READ.

a)      The problem with trust is not with our capability; we can have full confidence in someone.

b)      Our problem is in the object of trust.

c)      If absolute trust is not centered God, intimacy with Him will be hindered.

d)      How can we fully trust in wealth but have a limited trust in the one who has made it?

e)      How can we trust in some type of earthly power but not fully trust in the one who has all power?

 

23)  If trust is not in money, it may be in self.

24)  Going back to 1 Sam. 17, we find that Goliath trusted in himself.

25)  He said he “defied” the armies of Israel (verse 10); he was fully confident in himself.

26)  Verse 16 says this man “presented himself” for 40 days twice per day.

27)  No matter how strong or mighty someone is, trusting in self will fail.

a)      Age weakens the strongest person.

b)      Time eventually ends all lives.

c)      Abilities pass away at one point or another.

d)      Fully trusting in self or wealth is a common but deadly mistake.

 

28)  If not self, wealth and health are not what people trust in, maybe trust is based on the government.

29)  There are people who believe a nation or nations are what should be trusted.

30)  This is not a new idea.  It was a bad idea in the past and it still a bad idea now.

31)  Listen to Isa. 31:1, 3 – READ.

32)  All the basic things people put full trust in fail.

33)  Because what is of the earth fails, we must ask if there is something that is deserving of full trust.

34)  To this question we may say “yes.”  God is deserving of full trust.

35)  Jesus was very hungry (Mt. 4) and Satan tempted with food.

36)  Jesus trusted God rather than take the devil’s offer.  Did Jesus die of hunger or was His life preserved?

37)  Satan also offered a way for the Lord to have a following and receive power.

38)  Jesus chose to trust heaven’s plan, and His trust was not misplaced.

39)  Job (13:15) said he had some things to say about how things were going.

a)      In essence he meant, “God I am going to start complaining.”

b)      Job knew what he planned to say and he admitted he would be direct and hostile.

c)      He said God might slay him for what he was going to say.

d)      Yet, whatever the outcome he would not give up his trust in God.

 

40)  Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him was what this man said.

41)  A lot is written in our world about trusts, a financial tool.

42)  Some trust are “revocable” (they can be changed).

43)  Job had created an irrevocable trust in Job 13; he would not stop trusting God.

a)      His family could be taken away.

b)      His health could be destroyed.

c)      His friends could turn against him.

d)      He could suffer a substantial loss concerning his wealth.

e)      His community standing must have certainly declined radically.

f)        On every hand it must have looked like his life was being torn apart.

g)      Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.

 

44)  David’s version of trusted operated in this same way.

45)  God had delivered him from the lion and bear and He would deliver David again.

46)  Great people of the Bible—people intimate with God—had an unshakable trust in God.

47)  As Christians this must be one of our goals—a trust that exists and one that is absolute.

48)  No matter what happens we will not falter in our trust and service to God.

49)  We sing songs about trusting God. 

50)  We even have trust in some of the titles like “trust and obey.”

51)  It is possible to put a lot of emphasis on the “obey” part of that song but very little focus on trust.

52)  How far and how fully do we trust God?

    

    

    

    

 

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