OceanSide church of Christ




Click here to see all of the YouTube videos belonging to OceanSide
(opens in a new browser)

 Previous Return to Sermons Next  Click to download Audio

TRUSTING IN GOD REGARDLESS (2)

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.     How many people can you honestly say you trust? 

1.       You are fully confident regarding all they say and all they promise and all they do.

2.       You are willing to put every ounce of your care in their hands.

3.       You would learn from them, obey them, and follow them regardless.

 

B.      Sadly, very few human beings fall into the category of another person’s full, complete, unwavering trust.

 

C.     But, this is precisely the type of trust we are to have in the living God.

1.       Psalm 118:8 is said to the be middle verse of the Bible.  Listen to David’s words.

 

It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man.

 

2.       Proverbs 3:5

 

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart…

 

3.       1 Timothy 6:17

 

Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.

 

D.     Sometimes there are obstacles put between us and God that make trusting in Him difficult.  Last week we noted four things that might dampen our trust in God.

1.       Too little knowledge

2.       God’s will does not appeal to our common sense

3.       Something seems too difficult

4.       We appear to be very weak

 

E.      When obstacles like these come our way, we have to trust in God regardless. 

 

F.      We want to continue to look at this topic this week.  Our title is simply:  “Trusting in God Regardless.”

 

I.                    REGARDLESS OF THE TIME INVOLVED

 

A.     Time is a very important commodity to us. 

1.       Often, there is only a certain amount of time in which something can be accomplished.

2.       If too much time passes, we often think we have run out of time.

3.       Time is not something that bothers God.

 

B.      The example of Abraham:

1.       At the age of 75, Abraham was told he would become a great nation.

2.       Sometime between the age of 75, and 100 God appeared to Abraham again and promised him a son from his own bowels (Gen. 15:4).

 

And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

 

3.       At the age of 99, God again made the promise of a son to Abraham through Sarah (Gen. 17:16).

 

And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her:  yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

 

4.       Finally, at the age of 100, a son was born to Abraham and Sarah (Gen 21:5).

 

And Abraham was a hundred years old, when Isaac his son was born unto him.

 

C.     Twenty-five years is a long time to wait upon a promise to be fulfilled, especially if you are in old age.  God’s promise came to pass in Abraham’s life regardless of the amount of time it took to bring the promise to fruition. 

 

II.                 REGARDLESS OF DISTANCE

 

A.     We sometimes are hindered by distance. 

 

B.      Example: 

1.       We want to be involved in a mission work but the distance often keeps us from being as involved as we might like.

2.       We want to be a tremendous influence on our children and grandchildren, but distance creates a barrier.

 

C.     Recently, we studied the healing of the nobleman’s son in John 4:46-54.

1.       This was the second miracle of Jesus.

2.       It was performed when Jesus was in Cana of Galilee after being approached by a nobleman.

3.       However, the son was about 17 miles away sick of a fever in Capernaum.

 

D.     The nobleman wanted Jesus to go home with him, but Jesus told him:  “Go thy way; thy son liveth” (John 4:50).  When the man was told that his son was alive, he asked the hour when he began to mend.  “So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth…” (John 4:53).

 

E.      Some might say:  “Well, that was a miracle, and miracles have ceased.”  This is true, but God has a power that rises above miracles.  It is the power of His divine providence that does wonderful things on our behalf.

 

III.              REGARDLESS OF THE AUTHORITY’S DEMANDS

 

A.     When men get authority, several evil things can happen.

1.       They forget their power comes from God.

2.       They get lifted up with pride.

3.       They forget their power has limitations.

4.       They believe their decrees are more powerful than God’s law.

5.       They become oppressive, and, even, destructive to those under them.

 

B.      When rulers become evil, they will often times make demands on Christians that cannot be obeyed.

1.       Do not talk about Jesus Christ.

2.       Do not affirm that the Bible is the sole religious authority.

3.       Do not pray in public.

4.       Do not speak out about sins that are socially acceptable.

5.       Do not worship God if we tell you not to.

 

C.     When the demands of the authorities go against the will of God, we must trust in God regardless.

1.       Psalm 118:9

 

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.

 

2.       Daniel 1:8a

 

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor the wine which he drank…

 

3.       Acts 5:29

 

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

 

IV.              REGARDLESS OF THE ENEMIES’ THREATS

 

A.     The enemy hates God and opposes God. 

 

B.      Often the enemy will react out of anger toward the people of God.  They may even threaten to harm or kill God’s people because of their convictions.

 

C.     When this happens, we must trust God regardless of what men will do to us.

1.       When the children of God were taken into captivity in Babylon, there came a time when Nebuchadnezzar set up an image of gold in the plain of Dura (Dan. 3:1).

2.       A herald was sent out to all of the people with a message from the king (Dan. 3:5-6).

 

That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:  and whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

 

3.       It was not long until the Chaldeans approach the king and told him about “certain Jews” who refused to obey the king and worship the image (Dan. 3:12).  These Jews had been set over the affairs of the province of Babylon.

4.       When questioned by the king, the three Hebrew youths were not careful to answer Nebuchadnezzar in this matter (Dan. 3:16-18).

 

If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

 

5.       In every instance, God may not preserve life.  However, we need to trust Him enough to believe that He can if He so desires.

V.                 REGARDLESS OF PERSONAL DESIRE

 

A.     Personal desires are some of the most difficult obstacles that get in our way of submitting to God.

1.       We long to do various things, things that are fun or profitable to us.

2.       We rationalize and justify why we can do them even though they cause us to violate God’s will.

 

B.      Examples:

1.       When Saul saw the people departing from him, he made an animal sacrifice instead of waiting for the prophet Samuel.  His reasoning was because “..the Philistines will come down now upon me in Gilgal…” (1 Sam. 13:12).

2.       When this same man refused to kill all the flocks and herds of the Amalekites, he blamed the people, saying they desired to sacrifice them unto God (1 Sam. 15:21).

3.       Naaman would not dip in the Jordan River because he believed the rivers of Damascus were better than all the rivers of Israel (2 Kings 5:12).

4.       The rich man left Jesus instead of giving them up to follow the Lord (Matt. 19:22).

5.       Demas forsook Paul and went to Thessalonica “having loved this present world” (2 Tim. 4:10).

 

C.     Personal desires are extremely difficult to overcome, but we must trust God regardless (Ps. 37:23).

 

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord:  and delighteth in his way.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.     Some might wonder why we need sermons like this. 

 

B.      The reason is because the word “regardless” is an all-encompassing term.

1.       We are to trust in God regardless.

2.       There is never a time when a person is justified in failing to trust in God.  The persons, the problems, the persecutions, the personal preferences do not matter. 

3.       We trust in God regardless.

 

C.     Jesus trust in God regardless of what He faced.  The end of His trust involves the ability for all men to be saved.

1.       What if Jesus had said:  “I am not taking on flesh.”

2.       What if Jesus had said:  “I am not facing the temptations of the devil.”

3.       What if Jesus had said:  “I am not going to suffer the rejection of the Jews.

4.       What if Jesus had said:  “I am not going to lead a band of ignorant men who will forsake me.”

5.       What if Jesus had said:  “I am not going to suffer the pain and anguish of the cross.”

6.       Instead, He trusted God regardless of what He suffered and now God has “highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name” (Phil. 3:9).

 

D.     God will also reward us in the Last Day, if we will trust in Him regardless (Rev. 3:21).

 

To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne.