1-13-13 Sermon

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Trusting God through Trouble

Trusting God In Difficult Times, Pt. 2

01-13-13 Sermon

Definition of Trust:

·         To allow someone to do something without fearing the outcome.

“The Lord has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.”  Nahum 1:3 (NKJV)

“In God I trust, I will not be afraid.”              Psalm 56:11 (NIV)

·         To run into a shelter or hiding place; to seek refuge. 

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” Psalm 91:1-2 (NIV)

“In you my soul takes refuge.  I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.”  Psalm 57:1 (NIV)

·         To lean the weight of your soul on the faithfulness, reliability, integrity or friendship of another person.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” 

Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)

·         To take someone at his/her word.

Get a New Perspective

“We do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you...”  Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;

perplexed, but not in despair;

persecuted, but not abandoned;

struck down, but not destroyed.” 

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV)     

“We live by faith, not by sight.”  2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV)

In the Meantime .  .  . 

1.       Feed______________________________________—it is the water, milk, bread, and meat of the spiritual life.  Feed yourself daily. 

2.      Pray for______________________________________of the Holy Spirit to soften the ground in your heart and quench your thirsty soul. 

3.   Pull______________________________________—get rid of anything that entangles you and trips you up, or chokes the life of Christ in you (worries, unforgiveness, bitterness, envy, etc.)

4.   Guard______________________________________—those things that steal your joy, rob your energy, or deplete your resources (habits and behaviors, poor choices, unhealthy relationships, etc.)

5.      Prepare______________________________________

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you...”  Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)

Trusting God through Trouble

01-13-13 Sermon

Last week I started a series on trust.  I talked about how you trust God through the changes of life.  There are all kinds of ways we can think about trusting God.  Trusting him when we’re taking steps of faith, taking risks, trying something new. 

What I want to talk about today is how do you trust God in trouble, when you’re going through trouble and hardship, how do you keep your trust in God? 

On your sermon notes, I’ve put at the top some definitions of trust.  I think there are some words we use so often we actually forget what they mean and they just become commonplace.  And it’s good to go back and say, what does that word really mean?  So that when we talk about trusting God we know what we’re talking about.  We have a bigger understanding of that word.  I’ve given you some definitions.

·        Here’s the first one:  To trust is to allow someone to do something without fearing the outcome. 

You may have a hard time doing that with people.  It’s hard to delegate things to people.  You always think, I’d rather just do it myself.  Because what if they mess up or what if they don’t do it the way I would do it.  Or what if they fail?

So when you’re trusting God you have to delegate, and allow him to do what he wants to without fearing the outcome.  I have to let God do what God wants to do.  I have to trust God enough to let him do what he wants to do on his own terms in his own way on his own time, and not fear the outcome. 

One of the neat verses about trusting God actually comes from the Old Testament.  From a little tiny book called Nahum.  The Bible says “The Lord has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds are the dust of his feet.”  He has his way in the whirlwind and the storm. 

My tendency when I’m facing the storm, when I see trouble coming, I want to run way from the storm.  I want to try to find a way around the storm.  But somebody once said the quickest way around is through.  The Bible tells us “The Lord has his way in the whirlwind and the storm.  And the clouds are the dust of his feet.”  So if there are clouds on the horizon, that just might be the dust of his feet.  I’ve got to follow him.

There are a couple stories in the New Testament where Jesus’ disciples found themselves in a storm.  One time Jesus is with them.  He’s asleep in the boat while they’re in the storm.  Anybody ever feel that Jesus is asleep in your boat?  Another time he comes walking to them out on the water.  But in both of those storms they are in the storm because they are doing what Jesus told them to do.  They’re obeying him.  They haven’t done anything wrong.  They’re doing everything right.  Because they’re following Jesus they find themselves in the middle of a storm.

But there were lessons that they learned about Jesus that they could not have learned anywhere else under any other circumstance.  It had to happen in the storm.  There are things we learn about ourselves, about God, about life that we can only learn when God takes us through a storm.  When we’re following him, looking for the clouds, the dust of his feet, and we follow him into the storm.  We have to be willing to let God do what he wants to do and not fear the outcome.

The Bible says this in Psalms 56:11, “In God I trust, I will not be afraid.” 

·        Here’s another meaning of trust.  This comes actually from a biblical word, an Old Testament word.  It’s a word picture.  It means to run into a shelter or a hiding place; to take refuge in something.

So when you read in the Psalms where David is saying “The Lord is my fortress, my hiding place,” he’s talking about trusting God.  It’s not a passive attitude.  It’s an active, deliberate state of mind and heart.  He was saying I’m going to hide myself, I’m going to run into God and take refuge in him.

How do you actually do something like that?  It’s a beautiful phrase, but how do you hide in God? 

There are a couple of things you can do to do that.  Because remember he’s talking about your state of mind and the state of your heart. 

So one of the things you can do to hide yourself in God is hide yourself in the Word.  Get into the Scriptures.  Sometimes it’s just a verse or a phrase or a promise.  Find something from the Word of God and think about it.  Think deeply about it.  Mull it over and repeat it to yourself over and over and over again.  Because as you fill your mind with God’s word you begin to fill your heart with God’s peace.  His presence becomes even closer. 

You can choose a verse out of our outline today.  But if you’re going through trouble you want to find some part of the Word of God and let it steep into your soul.  Chew on it.  Memorize it.  Repeat it to yourself.  Repeat it to God.  And you’ll find that your perspective begins to change.

Another thing you can do is create an atmosphere of worship by tuning out all the bad news, tuning in the good news, and listening to worship music.  Put in CDs at your house, on your IPOD, in your office, in your car.  And create an environment where you’re focusing yourself on the Lord.  That’s what it means to take refuge and to hide in the Lord.

Here’s what the Bible says will happen when you do that.  Psalm 91, “He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest.  [You’ll find rest in the shadow of the almighty.]  I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.”  And Psalm 57:1 says “In you my soul takes refuge.  I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.”  You hide in the Lord until the disaster has passed.

·        Here’s another definition of trust.  It means to lean the weight of your soul on the faithfulness, reliability, integrity or friendship of another person. 

To lean the weight of your soul, it’s like a ladder leaning against the wall.  It needs to be leaning against something that’s going to hold it up.  And because you know that wall is not going to move, the ladder is safe to climb on. 

So what are you leaning your life on?  Are you leaning it on the trouble?  Are you leaning it on something that is uncertain?  Or are you leaning the weight of your soul, all of your life on God and on his Word and climbing that ladder and taking him at his word and believing that it’s not going to fall--That you will not fall.

That’s why the Bible says this in Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all of you heart, [all of your heart – fully committed] and lean not on your own understanding.”  You’ve got to lean on the Lord.

·        Another meaning of trust is to take someone at his word. 

Friends take friends at their word.  To trust God means I’m going to take him at his word.  You cannot say, “Yeah, I’m trusting God but I’m really not sure I believe what he says.”  It doesn’t work that way.  You can’t say, “Lord, I’m going to trust you to meet my needs, but I’m really not sure I believe that the Bible is true.  Lord, I’m trusting you but I’m really not sure I believe that if I do things the way you want me to they’re going to work out the way they’re supposed to.” 

To trust God is to step out in faith and to take him at his word.  But in order to take God at his word you’ve got to know what his Word says.  That’s why you’ve got to hide yourself in the Word and then live your life as though you believe it’s true. 

To trust God is to say, “Lord, you said you’ll never leave me, so I’m taking you at your word…. Lord, you said you’ll meet every need I have, so I’m taking you at your word… Lord, you said I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength, so I’m going to take you at your word.  I’m going to lean the weight of my life into you and take you at your word and believe you.”

So when God asks you the question, Do you trust me?  You’ve got a decision to make.  You’ve got to decide-- Am I going to set my heart and my mind to follow God and to find him, to take refuge in his Word, to take him at his word?  Am I going to lean all of my life on who God is and believe in him? 

When you make the decision to trust God, fully trust him with all of your life, it will not make your troubles go away.  So if somebody tells you when you give your life to Jesus all your problems disappear, that’s just not true.  Your problems will not go away.  What will happen is your perspective will change on your troubles in life.  You get a new perspective.  It will change the way you see things. 

The apostle Paul knew this just about better than anybody else.  Because the apostle Paul went through troubles like nobody else had gone through before.  Paul was beaten, he was imprisoned, he was shipwrecked, he was snake bit, he was whipped, he was put in chains, he was thrown into prison, was sentenced to death.  That’s what I call trouble.  But he had a perspective, a faith- filled perspective that we need to look at.

Here’s what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4 “We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles [shipwrecked, snake bit, beaten, imprisoned, sentenced to death.  Our light and momentary troubles he calls them] are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

How do you fix your eyes on unseen things?  Obviously he’s talking about the eyes of your heart.  A.W.Tozer calls it the gaze of your soul.  Later on, in Ephesians 1, Paul is writing again about the eyes of your heart, about seeing the unseen things.  He says this “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.”  When the eyes of your heart are enlightened it fills you with hope.  When the eyes of your heart become enlightened, when you begin to see things the way that God sees them.  When you begin to think about things the way he thinks about them.  And you say “Now I get it!  Now I can see what God is doing.”  Because it gives you hope.  It gives you a new vision, a new perspective on the things you’re going through.

What does it mean to see unseen things, to fix my eyes on the unseen?

As many of you know in enjoy gardening.  I have fruit trees and berry bushes and a large garden and I grow fruits and vegetables for Peg and I and the Joelton Hope Center.  As a result of ordering seeds and trees and bushes around this time of the year, in the cold of the winter, when the trees are bare and only weeds seem to grow, my mailbox gets flooded with seed catalogs and gardening supply catalogs. 

Here’s the reason I’m telling you all this.  It’s because it’s a great word picture of the passage we’re looking at in 2 Corinthians.  How our troubles achieve a glory that far outweighs them all.  Because when I plant that seed in the ground I’m fixing my eyes on what is unseen.  As I look at the pictures of the vegetables and fruit in the catalog I understand the potential that is inside of that seed if I were to order it.  I know the beauty that is hiding there.  So I understand the process.  I understand that it has to be buried.  I understand the pressure, the darkness, the sense almost of abandonment if you’re that seed.  I understand the transformation of trouble.  Because I can see the glory that is coming and I know the trouble that seed is going through is only for a season.  There’s something great coming when that season of growth is over.

Getting back to our text if we look again at what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, “We do not lose heart.  [You can’t just give up and say, “Oh gee!  Nothing’s going to happen!” when you put the seed in the ground.  We do not lose heart.]  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

What are these light and momentary troubles he’s talking about?  Back up in the text to verses 8 and 9 he says this “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, by not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 

Look at those phrases.  There’s something wonderful in each of them.  It’s something very small but very significant.  It’s the commas.  Look at the commas and listen as I say this again: “We are hard pressed on every side [comma] but not crushed; perplexed [comma] but not in despair; persecuted [comma] but not abandoned; struck down [comma] but not destroyed.”

Here’s my question for you: Which side of the comma are you living on?  Do you live on the trouble side of the comma?  Or do you live on the trusting side of the comma?  It’s a choice that we each can make.  Which side of the comma do you live on?

If you’re on the trouble side of the comma, you may be saying, “I am hard pressed right now.  I am under pressure.  I feel like I’m being buried alive.”  That’s the troubled side of the comma.  But the trusting side, the faith-filled side of the comma says: “But I will not be crushed.” 

          The trouble side of the comma says “I’m perplexed today.  I don’t understand what’s going on.  None of this is making sense and I don’t know how much longer I can go through this.  I am stretched to my limit.”  That’s what the word “perplexed” means in the Greek language.  Stretched to my limit.  That’s the troubled side.  But if you’re living on the trusting side, on the faith side of the comma you know that you do not need to despair.  You will not lose heart. 

          If you’re living on the troubled side of the comma then you may feel like you’re being persecuted.  That’s the fertilizing that happens.  We all know what fertilizer is made of, don’t we?  Need I say more?  The fertilizer is the persecution.  You’re being persecuted for your faith – misunderstood, people are out to get you.  But if you’re living on the trusting side of the comma, the faith-filled side of the comma, then you know that you are not abandoned, that God is not turning his back on you.

          The troubled side of the comma says “We have been struck down.”  Not only have you been buried, but you’ve been stabbed in the back, kicked to the curb.  All your dreams are turning into nightmares.  We have been struck down, he says.  But if you live on the trusting side of the comma you know that it is not the end, that you will not be destroyed.  You know that these light and momentary troubles are achieving something.  A glory that far outweighs the suffering that you go through.

If you’re trusting God and living on the trusting, faith-filled side of the comma you may be broke but you’re not poor.  Because your Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills and he’s promised that he will meet your needs.  You may be unemployed, but you are not worthless.  You may be knocked down, but you are not knocked out.

Which side of the comma are you going to live on?

Your seed right now, your trouble, might be financial.  It might be something in your marriage, or something going on with your kids.  It might be in your business or your home.  Whatever kind of trouble that you’re going through, you have to decide, am I going to live on the trouble side of the comma or am I going to live on a faith-filled trusting side of the comma. 

That seed, can sit on a shelf for years and nothing will come of it.  Nothing grows out of it.  The beauty is not released until it begins the process, the transformation of trouble.  It has to be buried.  There’s something about the dirt and moisture that begins to release the beauty for which it was created in the first place.  Weeks might go by with no sign of life. 

Our troubles that we go through, some of them last weeks or months or years.  Time can go by and you’re not seeing any good come out of this.  But you can’t dig the seed up out of the ground and look at it and see if it’s making any progress or you’ll have to start all over again.  You have to trust the process. 

You have to trust the gardener.  You have to believe and allow God to do what God wants to do and not fear the outcome.  You have to enable God, release God, allow God to take you through the transformation of trouble.  You have to believe that he will not abandon you.  And as he says in his Word, as he promises, he is working all of these things for your good.  He works all things together for the good of those who love him.

The seed of adversity when it’s planted in the soil of faith and cared for by the gardener will bring forth life and beauty in its season.  The Bible says that God makes all things beautiful in their time.  Remember to trust God, hide in him, get into his Word and allow his Word to get into you.  Taking refuge there.

So what trouble are you facing today?  “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”  That means that life is pulsing.  You may say I’m losing my job.  There’s life in that seed.  Your marriage might be in trouble, but there’s life in that seed.  You might be going through a health crisis right now.  But there is life in that seed. 

Whatever suffering, whatever trouble you’re going through, there’s life in that seed.  God is at work in ways that you cannot see.  It hasn’t sprouted up out of the ground yet.  But there is an eternal glory that is coming.  There is the character of Christ that God is developing in you.  There is fruit that he wants to bring out of that.  He will grow joy out of your sorrow.  He will grow peace out of your troubles.  He will grow patience out of the adversity that you’re going through.  He will grow kindness out of the mistreatment that you’ve experienced.  God will grow compassion out of the pain you’ve experienced if you will surrender to the process and allow him to do what he wants to do and not fear the outcome.  Which side of the comma are you going to live on?

Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 5:7 “We live by faith and not by sight.”  This trouble will not last.  It is only momentary.  It’s all in your perspective.  How you see your trouble is how you will face your trouble.  Don’t see it as the end.  See it as a beginning, that God is birthing something in you, something of glory and beauty and life that he is working in you.

How long does this process take?  Just as long as it needs to.  Some plants grow quickly.  [Weeds certainly do!]  Some of them take a long time before that seed bursts open and life starts to come out of it.  God will not make you go through it any longer than is necessary.  But the process has to be followed.  As I said, you can’t take the seed out and then start over again.  You’ve just got to allow it to happen.  You cannot hurry the process.  But you can hinder the process by not feeding and nurturing that seed while you’re going through this trouble. 

There are some things I want you to write down as I finish the message here.  There are five things you can do to cooperate with God in the process of turning your troubles into beauty.

The first thing you can do is feed on the Word of God.  Feed on his Word.  The Bible tells us that the Word of God is the water, the milk, the bread, and the meat of the spiritual life.  You’ve got to be feeding on the Word of God.  Just like you can’t go more than a couple of days without eating something, it’s the same way in your spiritual life.  Don’t go without eating something every day, even if you only have time for a quick bite. 

It doesn’t mean that every time you sit down to the Word you’ve got to read five chapters.  Sometimes you don’t have time to sit down to a five-course meal but that doesn’t mean that you say, “I’m never going to eat again.”  No.  You grab a quick bite.  It might just be a verse.  But take something you can think on that you can feed yourself on throughout the day.  Get yourself into the Word.

The second thing to do is pray for the rain of the Holy Spirit.  Pray for the rain of the Holy Spirit to soften the ground of your heart and quench your thirsty soul.  God has his way in storms.  So pray for the rain of the Holy Spirit to come and water the seed.  Say, “Lord, come and soften my heart.  Don’t let my heart become hardened to you.  Don’t let my heart become hard toward other people.”  But pray for a fresh rain of the Holy Spirit every day.

The third thing you can do is pull the weeds, because they’re going to grow.  Pull the weeds.  That means get rid of anything that entangles you or that chokes out the life of Christ in you.  Get rid of the weeds of worry, the weeds of bitterness, the weeds of unforgiveness.  Pull them out and let them go.  Get rid of those things so that the life of Christ is being nurtured and not being choked by those things.

The fourth thing you can do is to guard against bugs.  Guard against the bugs.  The snails and the caterpillars.  All the bugs and critters that want to come in and destroy the life that is growing in you.  You’ve got to guard against those things.  They will rob you of your energy.  The things that will deplete your resources, the bugs are habits, behaviors, life styles, addictions.  They’re poor choices.  Bugs can be unhealthy relationships that just take all the life and the joy away from what God is working in your life.  Guard your heart against the bugs.

The last thing to do is prepare for a harvest.  “Weeping may endure for a night but joy will come in the morning.”  God is working something new in you.  He is promising life and beauty and fruitfulness.  He makes all things beautiful in their time.  The Bible says this in Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, [Don’t give up he says ] for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

What does God want to do in your life?  What will be the lasting fruit of this trouble?  It’s the character of Christ.  It’s the fruit of his Spirit developing in you. 

The lessons that you learn through the hardship and through your trouble are just like the flowers and vegetables and fruit in a garden.  They’re meant to be given away.  Just like a bouquet, they’re meant to be turned into gifts that you give to the people.  The lessons you learn.  The victories you win. The Bible says we’re to comfort others with the comfort that we receive.  So as God works things out in you, he wants you to give those things away.

Here’s my prayer for you.  Back to the verse we read in Ephesians 1:18.  The Bible says this “I pray that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which he has called you.”

Prayer:

      As you bow your heads I just want you to quiet yourself for a moment.  I want to give you the opportunity to tell the Lord what’s troubling you today.  What’s the trouble?  What’s the seed?  I want you to tell him about it.  He already knows but tell him anyway.  Go ahead and tell God what is troubling you today. 

      Then in the quietness of your heart say, Lord, I’m at an end.  I need your help.  I want to trust you with this.  I can’t handle this trouble.  Lord, I believe and I’m taking you at your word when you said you work all things together for our good.  That you make all things beautiful in their time.  That I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.  That you won’t let me go through something that you won’t give me the strength to endure.  Lord, I’m taking you at your word and I trust you today.  I want to live on the trusting side of the comma.  I pray that your will will be done in my life. And I want to lean all the weight of my soul and my life on you.  I want to hide in you, Lord, and find protection until this storm has passed.  I trust you, Lord, to bring life and beauty out of my troubles. 

      If you’ve never opened your life to Jesus before maybe the trouble you’re facing today is his way of getting your attention.  If you need to open your life to Christ and say, Lord, I surrender.  I want life to come out of this.  Then you just pray this way: say “Lord, I’m giving my life to you today.  I want a new perspective.  I want a new way of seeing.  I want that eternal glory that your Word promises.  Lord, I give myself to you.  I’m opening my heart to you.  I ask you to forgive me of my sins, to cleanse me, to give me a new life and a new hope, to help me to live a life that pleases you.  So I invite you to come into my life, Lord.  Bring life and beauty and growth and fruitfulness out of my life.  I give myself to you now.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

1-6-13 Sermon

To listen to the sermon, click here.

TRUSTING God IN LIFE’S CHANGES

Trusting God In Difficult Times Pt. 1

01-06-13 Sermon

       “As long as the earth remains, there will be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night.”  Gen.  8:22 (NLT)

                                    Change is ________________________________

                                    There is no growth without change

                                    There is no change without loss

                                    There is no loss without grief

                                    There is no grief without pain

      “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Rom.  8:28 (NIV)

      “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”  Gen.  50:20 (NIV)

      “The purpose of these troubles is to test your faith as fire tests how genuine gold is.  Your faith is more precious than gold, and by passing the test, it gives praise, glory, and honor to God.”  1 Peter 1:7 (GW)

GROWING FROM CHANGE

1.   Look for God ________________________________________________

      “If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me.”  Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT)

2.   Ask God_____________________________________________________

      “If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you.  He will not resent your asking.”        James 1:5 (NLT)

3.   Listen for ____________________________________________________

      “Then the Lord passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks—but the Lord was not in the wind…, and then there was an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After that there was a fire—but the Lord was not in the fire.  But after the fire there was the soft whisper of a voice.  When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.  The voice said to him, ‘Elijah, what are you doing here?’” 1 Kings 19:11-13 (TEV)

4.   Don’t ask _________________________________________________

      “I’ve learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little.  I have the strength to face all conditions by the power Christ gives me.”  Phil.  4:12-13 (GN)

      “… even in our trials and troubles – These very things… will develop mature character.”  Rom.  5:3-4 (PH)

      “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

      1 Th. 5:18 (NIV)

5.   Focus on ____________________________________________________

           “I have loved you with an everlasting love.”  Jer. 31:3 (NIV)

           “His plans endure forever; His purposes last eternally.”  Ps.  33:11 (NIV)

     

      “The Word of God shall stand forever.”  Isa. 40:8 (NIV)

6.   Don’t ________________________________________________________

“Two are better off than one… If one of them falls down, the other can help him up… Two men can resist an attack that would defeat one man alone.”  Eccl. 4:9, 12 (GN)

7.   Become a _______________________________________________________

      “I am sure of this: that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished in the Day of Jesus Christ.”  Phil.  1:6 (GN)

      “You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon Him, for you are his personal concern!”  1 Peter 5:7 (Ph)

      “The righteous man does not fear bad news, nor live in dread of what may happen.  For he is settled in his mind that God will take care of him.”  Ps.  112:7 (LB)

8.   Tell God I’ll _____________________________________________________

      “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.”        Job 13:15 (KJV)

      “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord!”                    Job 1:21 (KJV)

   TRUSTING God IN LIFE’S CHANGES

01-06-13 Sermon

During this first month of the new year we’re going to begin a new series on Trusting God in Difficult Times.  I want us to begin with Trusting God in the Changes of Life. 

The fiscal cliff has been put off for two months.  Taxes are going up.  Some of you are struggling with personal changes.  Kids going off to school, loved ones passing away, getting older and having difficulty remembering things – all kinds of different changes.

There are a lot of changes in life but I want us to look today at the kind of changes you can’t control.  Of course everybody would agree that the world is changing.  About the only thing you can predict accurately about the future is this: it’s going to change.  Tomorrow will be different from today.  We don’t know what it’s going to be but we do know for certain that change is an inevitable part of life.  So you have to learn how to deal with it.

The problem that we face today in this generation is that the speed of change and the scope of change and the type of change and the size of change --all that is increasing.  You notice that things are changing faster, faster than they used to.  And it’s getting faster and faster.

Let me give you first four things I know about change.  I know for certain that change is inevitable.  Nothing stays the same.  On this planet everything changes.  God even told us this was going to happen, way back in the first book of the Bible.  In Genesis 8 the Bible says this, verse 22, “As long as the earth remains, there’s going to be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night.”  In other words, God instituted change.  Things don’t stay the same.  It gets hot, it gets cold.  It gets summer, it gets winter.  There are seasons in life.  Things change.  There’s day and night every twenty-four hours.  Change is inevitable.  But here’s four things to remember about change.

First: there is no growth without change.  If you’re going to grow spiritually, if you’re going to grow financially, if you want to grow relationally, intellectually, if you want your business to grow, if you want our church to grow, whatever you want to grow it means it’s going to have change.  Growth is something different from the way things are now.

Two, there is no change without loss.  Every new beginning is an ending of something else.  And every end is a new beginning.  There is no change without loss.

There’s no growth without change, there’s no change without loss, there’s no loss without grief.

Grief is good.  Grief is a good thing.  Grief is how we transition through the transitions of life because every end is a new beginning.  If you don’t learn how to grieve properly then you’re going to stuff all those emotions down.  You can’t get on to the next transition of your life without grieving. 

You don’t get over grief.  You get through grief.  A person who’s been married fifty years and loses her husband or loses his wife you don’t get over that; you get through it.  It’s a transition to the next stage of your life.  So grief is a good thing. 

There is no loss without grief.  And there is no grief without pain.

Everybody hates pain because it hurts but pain is actually a helpful thing.  Pain is a good thing.  Why?  Pain tells you something’s wrong.  It teaches what needs to be changed.  The things you’re going through when you get in pain in any area of your life are saying, Warning Sign!  Something’s out of whack here!  Emotional pain means something’s out of whack with your emotions.  Relational pain says there’s a problem in my relationships.  Physical pain means there’s a problem in my body.  So pain in many ways is a good thing because it has things it can teach us. 

So change is inevitable.

Regardless of where change comes from – you choose it, other people choose it, consequences or circumstances, we do have this promise of God.  Romans 8:28 “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  This is one of the great verses of the Bible.  We know in all things God works for the good.  It doesn’t say everything’s good.  It says God works for the good.  For everybody?  No.  Just for those who love God and are trying to follow his purpose.  This is not a promise for everybody.  But if you say, God I want to do what you want me to do.  I want to have your purpose for my life.  I want to love you.  God says I will work everything out for good in your life.  Even the choices, even the circumstances, even the consequences.  Good or bad, I will use them for good in your life.  That’s a great promise.

God’s purpose for my life uses even the human error and sin.  Even though Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, God used that in Joseph’s life so when he was the number two man in Egypt he could say to his brothers “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”  Gen.  50:20 (NIV)

Change is always, always a test of your faith.       “The purpose of these troubles is to test your faith as fire tests how genuine gold is.  Your faith is more precious than gold, and by passing the test, it gives praise, glory, and honor to God.”  1 Peter 1:7 (GW)

Let’s look at some principles for growing through change. 

1.  Look for God in the change.

Look for God in the change that you’re going through.  Mother Teresa, when she was asked, why do you help the poorest of the poor?  She said “Because I see the face of Jesus in the poor and I want to help him.”  She was right but what I discovered is you can find the face of Jesus anywhere if you look close enough.  Even in the worst situations.  Even in something that God created that’s been perverted.  You can look and see the original intent; you can see the face of Jesus around you.

Jeremiah 29 says this in verse 13 “If you look for me in earnest, [God says] you will find me when you seek me.”  Circle the word “earnest.”  “If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me.” 

You know what our problem is?  When change comes we look for everything else except the Lord.  We look for a quick fix.  We look for an easy solution.  We look for a way out.  We look for comfort.  We look for relief.  What you need to look for is the Lord.  You need to look for God.  When you’re in the middle of a problem you don’t go, what’s the quick fix?  How do I get out of this?  How do I save my skin?  How do I turn things around?  That whole way is missing the point.  You look for the Lord.  Don’t seek the comfort.  Don’t seek the relief.  Seek the Lord and you’ll get all these other things – the solution, the answer, the relief, the comfort, the strength and all that you need.  You look for God in the change.

2.  Ask God for wisdom.

When you’re going through a change that you didn’t plan, you didn’t want, you don’t like, you say, Lord, what do you want me to do?  What do you want me to do in this situation?  My plan didn’t work out.  It’s obviously not going the way I intended.  So what do you want me to do?  How do you want to redirect me?  How do you want to correct me?  How do you want to inspect me?  How do you want to perfect me in this situation? 

The reason you need to ask for wisdom is because in a change, your thinking has to change.  Follow me on this-- To do what you’ve never done, you’ve got to think like you’ve never thought.  Old way of thinking, stinking thinking, that won’t work.  You’re in a new situation, a new time, a new relationship, a new energy, a new development, a new commitment, a new circumstance, what you’ve never done.  You’ve got to think in new ways.  So you say, Lord, what do you want me to think?

James 1:5 says “If you need wisdom, if you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him and he’ll gladly tell you.  He will not resent your asking.”  You have not because you ask not.  You need to stop and say, Lord, what do you want me to do in the situation?

3.  Listen for God’s whisper.

You’ve got to be quiet because he’s not going to shout it to you.  God speaks to those who take the time to listen.  But you have to be quiet.  Your brightest insights will often come during your darkest days.  If you humbly listen to God in quiet trust. 

A good example of this is in 1 Kings 19.  It’s the story of Elijah.  Elijah was up on the mountain, nursing his wounds, having a pity part, hiding in a cave.  And God needed to get his attention.  It says in verse 11 “Then the Lord passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks−but the Lord was not in the wind… Then there was an earthquake−but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After that there was a fire−but the Lord was not in the fire.  But after the fire there was a soft whisper of a voice.  When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his cloak and he went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. [He knew this was God talking.] The voice said to him, ‘Elijah, what are you doing here?’”

Has God ever said that to you?  What are you doing here?  How did you ever end up here?  I didn’t plan for you to end up here.  What are you doing here?  I don’t want you here.  Hanging out in a cave in the mountain saying poor me.  Everybody hates me.  Nobody loves me.  I’m going to go eat worms.  Have a little pity party for yourself.

No.  God speaks in the still small voice.  In a whisper.  So what you need to do when you’re going through change is you need to slow down your mind.  You need to slow down the rpm’s.  Go out and sit in your backyard and be quiet and say, Lord, is there anything you want to say to me?  You sit and you just listen.  You be quiet and you let your mind slow down.  You read the Word of God and you talk to him in prayer.  You stop and you just be quiet.

Look for God in the change, ask God for wisdom, listen for God’s whisper.  Then the fourth thing about change is this…

4.  Don’t ask why but what.

What do I need to learn?  That’s the question you need to ask.  Don’t ask why.  That’s the question of explanation.  Ask what?  What do you want me to learn?  That’s the question of education. 

In fact, every situation is an education.  It’s an opportunity for you to grow.  You’ll either grow better or you’ll grow bitter depending on your response.  What you need to do is don’t focus on the circumstance; focus on your character.  Don’t focus on the problem; focus on your personality.  Don’t focus on what’s going on around you; focus on what God wants to do in you.  That’s the difference.

Your time on earth is a character development school.  God’s number one purpose in your life is to make you like Christ and to grow you up, to develop true spiritual maturity and character.  He doesn’t want you to be a spiritual baby all your life.  So what he does is he allows circumstances that teach you in the school of hard knocks.  Some things you only learn through difficulty.  Some things you only learn through experience. 

You know, you’re not taking your career to heaven so that doesn’t really matter to God.  You’re not taking your cash to heaven; that doesn’t really matter to God.  You’re not taking your house or your clothes or even your reputation to heaven.  But you are taking your character into eternity.  What you are, what you became, you’re taking that into eternity with you.  So God’s far more interested in what’s happening in you than what’s happening around you.  How is it changing you?

Every time you go through a circumstance you didn’t choose, you didn’t like, you’re going through a change, you’re going to either resent it or you’re going to grow from it.  You’re either going to be a victim or a victor.  You’re going to be a whiner or a winner in life. 

God is saying I want to get your attention.  Don’t ask why, but what.  God doesn’t owe you an explanation for everything that happens in your life.  In fact, you’re not going to get it.  If you had an explanation for everything you wouldn’t need any faith.  Some things that happen in your life you’re never going to understand until you get to heaven.  And when you get to heaven you’ll go, “Now I get the whole picture.  I see the beginning and the end.  I see the whole thing.  I see what was happening here.” 

So what do we need to learn in life? 

One thing we need to learn is contentment.  Philippians 4:12 Paul says “I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I’m full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little. I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.”  We like the second part of that verse – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  But we don’t like the first part – learning to be content with too little or when I’m hungry.  We don’t like that part. 

I want you to circle “learned.”  Because contentment and character is something you learn.  It doesn’t come naturally.  I am not by nature content.  You are not by nature content.  By nature I naturally want to take care of my needs.  I’m not thinking about you.  I’m thinking about me.  My needs, my hurts, my wants.   It’s all about me.  You have to learn to be content.  That’s a spiritual development.  That’s why God says I’m going to use it all to teach you.

Romans 5:3-4 says this “Even in our trials and troubles− these very things… will develop mature character.”  The trial, the problem, the circumstance, the change you’re going through right now, God wants you to grow up, to develop mature character. 

Since I know that God’s going to use it all for my good what should be my response?  The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

People say, I’m in this transition right now.  I’ve lost my job or I’ve lost my health or I’ve lost my family; I’ve lost this or that.  What is God’s will for me right now?  There it is.  This is God’s will for you, that you give thanks in all circumstances.

You say, “But wait a minute!  How in the world can I give thanks for what’s happened to me?”  I didn’t say that.  Notice the Bible does not say, give thanks for all circumstances.  Circle the word “in.”  Give thanks in all circumstances.  Not for, in.  Big difference.

If I have a child who gets leukemia, I don’t have to be thankful for that.  That’s stupid!  If I have a friend who gets raped, I don’t have to be thankful for that.  That would make God evil.  God hates evil.  He hates it.  If I have a son or daughter who gets shot in Afghanistan or Iraq, that’s not good.  I don’t have to be thankful for that.  The Bible never says that.  It says, “In all circumstances give thanks.”  

I’m not giving thanks for the circumstances.  I can give you a hundred things to be thankful for in the circumstance.  I can be thankful that God is in control, that God loves me, that it’s not changing his plan for my life, that he will help me out, that he’ll give me strength, that he’ll use everything for good in my life.  There’s all kinds of promises.  I could give you a hundred things to be thankful for in the situation.  Not for but in.  That’s how you grow.  That’s how you grow by learning to give thanks.  “Lord, I don’t like what’s going on right now.  I’m out of work.  I’ve got no income.  I’ve got a health problem that’s coming up right now.  I’ve got marital conflict.  All these things are happening right now.  I don’t like this but I’m going to give thanks in the circumstance because I know you love me, you care for me and all these other things that we can be thankful for.  I’m still breathing, I’m alive.”

5.  The fifth thing you need to do when you’re facing a major change is focus on what never changes.

Don’t focus on the situation; focus on what never changes.  And what never changes?  Three things.  God’s love, God’s promises, God’s purpose.  God’s love for you is never going to change.  God’s promises, his Word is always true.  God is not a liar.  It’s never going to change.  God’s purpose for your life is never going to change. 

Jeremiah 31, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.”  Psalm 33, “His plans endure forever.  His purposes last eternally.”  Isaiah 40, “The Word of God shall stand forever.”  God’s love, God’s truth, God’s purposes for my life are never going to change.  That’s what you focus on when things are flying through the air.

6.  Don’t face it alone.

Don’t face the change alone.  Accept help from others.  This is the exact opposite of human nature.  Our tendency when we’re in pain is to pull into a shell.  Our tendency when things aren’t going well in our lives, we retreat in fear to our castle.  We pull up the drawbridge, fill the mote, release the alligators, turn on the electric fence because I don’t want anybody to get near me.  Big mistake.  That’s not how you get through the change.  And that’s not how you grow through the change.  What you need to do is tell other people what’s happening in your life.  You don’t have to tell everybody but you need to tell a few close friends.

What you need to get through this difficult time, what you need to get through this major change in your life is God’s grace.  There’s only one way you get God’s grace.  Humble yourself.  How do you do that?  By sharing your need with somebody else. 

Fifty-one times the bible says love one another, bear one another’s burdens, care for one another, pray for one another, share with one another.  You’re breaking the laws of God if you’re not sharing with anybody else.  You need to get a couple of Christian friends who will pray for you and encourage you, pray for you.  Get in that small group.  You don’t even have to share with the whole group, maybe just a few people in the group.  But you need people to share with. 

Ecclesiastes 4“Two are better off than one… If one of them falls down, the other can help him up… Two men can resist an attack that would defeat one man alone.”  If you go through this crisis by yourself you’re going to be defeated.  You will be defeated.  You need other people in your life.  God wired us in such a way that we need each other.  No man is an island; no person ever made it on their own.  When I humble myself and I share what’s going on in my life with some other people and they can pray for me and encourage me… a burden that is shared is halved and a joy that is shared is doubled.  It happens every time.

7.  Become a promise person.

Build your life on the promises of God.  There are over seven thousand promises in the Bible.  They’re there waiting to be claimed.  They’re like blank checks where God says “If you do this, I’ll do this...  if you do this, I’ll do this…” you need to memorize them.  You need to bank on them.  You need to claim them. 

Build your life on the promises of God.  Not the way things seem but the way God says they will be.  When you build your life on the promises you can stand enormous levels of stress.  Because you’re not looking at circumstances, you’re looking at the Word of God.

One of the great promises of the Bible, God says I’m not going to give up on you.  I’m not finished with you.  What I started in your life I’m going to complete.  Philippians 1:6 says this “I am sure of this: [I’m confident.  It’s not a hope or dream or wish] that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished until the Day of Jesus Christ.”  What God starts he finishes in your life.

God did not bring you this far just to leave you where you are.  The story is not finished.  The last chapter has not been written.  You’re still in the middle of the movie.  God did not bring you this far just to leave you where you are!  He says what I’ve started in your life I’m going to complete if you’ll let me do it.  1 Peter 5:7 “You can throw the whole weight of your anxiety on him  for you are his personal concern.” 

Did you know that?  Did you know that you are God’s personal concern?  He says you can take all that stress you’re feeling, all that worry, all that anxiety, all that insecurity and just dump it on me. 

Psalm 112:7 “The righteous man does not fear bad news, nor live in dread of what may happen.  For he has settled in his mind that God will take care of him.” 

Your happiness doesn’t depend on the stock market, or the job market, or anything else.  You don’t need to live in dread of what may happen if you’ve settled in your mind that God is going to take care of you.

Here’s the last step and it’s the most important one of all.  When I’m going through change I don’t like…

8.  Tell God I’ll trust him no matter what.

Even if it’s not the storybook ending, even if it doesn’t turn out the way I want, I’m going to trust God no matter what because God is a good God.  He loves me.  He made me.  He knows what’s best for me.  He created me.  He has a plan, a good plan, for my life. 

Job did this.  When Job lost everything in his life.  Job 13 “Though he [God] slay me, yet will I trust him.”  He said, God even if this is the end of the road, even if I don’t live another day, even if I don’t make it, God, I’m going to trust you.  If you decide to take my life right now, if it’s over, if my life is over, I’m still going to trust you because I still have heaven.  That’s the ultimate test of faith.   God, I’m going to trust you.  No matter what happens.  I don’t care good or bad, no matter what happens, I’m going to trust you.

Friends, let me give you a great stress reliever.  Let it go.  Hold everything God gives you with an open hand.  Anything you grab onto is going to kill you.  Anything you grab onto is going to stress you out.  Because it becomes an idol.  Even good things can become an idol.  The first two commandments are have no other god’s before me and no idols.  And anything you grasp onto and you can’t hold it with an open hand that God has given you is an idol.  If God has given you something in your life and you couldn’t give it up, you don’t own it; it owns you.  You need to hold it with an open hand.  God can put one job in your hand.  He can easily put another job in your hand.  If he turns on one faucet, he can turn off another.  If he turns off one, he can turn on another.  If he closes one window he can open another window.  If he closes one door he can open another.  You belong to him.  You need to come to the point of maturity where you say, my identity is not in my job.  My identity is not in my relationships.  My identity is not in my wealth.  My identity is in Jesus Christ.  That can never be taken from me.  Then you can say, like Job did,  Job 1:21 “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord!”

Prayer:

      Would you pray this: Dear God, I realize there’s no growth without change; no change without loss; no loss without grief; and no grief without pain.  But I thank you that in all things you’re working for good in my life.  Even when people have intended to harm me, you meant it for good.  I thank you that the purpose of what I’m going through right now is to test my faith; so I want to look for you, Lord, in the change.  I want to seek you.  Not a solution, not a quick fix, not a way out.  I want to ask you for wisdom.  God, I need your wisdom.  Forgive me for being too busy and too noisy to hear your whisper.  I want to be quiet.  I want to spend time with you on a daily basis and read your Word and be quiet and listen to you and pray.  Lord, help me to stop asking why and to start asking what do you want me to learn.  Help me to give thanks in all circumstances, not for them but in them, because this is your will for me.  Develop mature character in me.  Grow me up.  Help me to focus on that which never changes: your love for me, your purpose for me, your promises to me.  Forgive me for my pride and not being willing to share what I’m going through with others.  You’ve told me you don’t want me to face this alone.  Help me to get into a small group.  Help me to share with a few people what’s happening in my life so that they can bear the burdens with me.  I want to become a promise person.  I thank you that you who began a good work in my life are going to finish what you started.  The story is not finished.  What you start you complete.  That you will have the last word and your word is good.  I want to throw the whole weight of all my anxiety on you right now.  Thank you that I am your personal concern.  I want to be a godly man/I want to be a godly woman.  That it’s settled in my mind that you’re going to take care of me.  Father, I want to say to you today, that no matter what happens, I’m going to trust you.  No matter what the ending is, I’m going to trust you.  Because you are a good God. 

      Be the manager of my life.  I want to learn to trust you and love you.  In your name.  Amen.