Trust

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 16th of February, 2025.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, trust is one of those intangible emotions.  It can be very difficult to gain, often taking years and much effort to cultivate.  Yet it can be broken and shattered in a heartbeat.  Our US currency is printed with the words, “In God we trust”, but sadly fewer and fewer Americans do, or so it seems.

We humans just aren’t very good with this trust thing, neither in trusting nor in being trusted.  Apparently we’re just not all that trustworthy, not in all areas, at any rate.  I don’t know how many times I’ve heard a person say, “You just can’t trust anyone these days”.

Well, it’s not just “these days”.  Absolute trustworthiness has been impossible to find since mankind first walked in the garden.  Adam and Eve couldn’t trust the serpent and it turns out God couldn’t trust them to obey His simple command not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Most of our trust issues are born of our desires, the result of temptations we just can’t resist.  But many come from the more devious and evil plans and schemes of sinful people.  It has gotten to the point that we aren’t sure who or what we can trust!  Please listen and follow along as the prophet Jeremiah provides a solution to that problem, in verses 5 through 8 of the 17th chapter of the Old Testament book bearing his name, and I’ll be reading mostly from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

5 This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,

who rely on human strength

and turn their hearts away from the Lord.

6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,

with no hope for the future.

They will live in the barren wilderness,

in an uninhabited salty land.

7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord

and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,

with roots that reach deep into the water.

Such trees are not bothered by the heat

or worried by long months of drought.

Their leaves stay green,

and they never stop producing fruit."

--Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, You caution us not to trust in man or in manmade things, and time after time we have seen our fellow humans, and especially the goods we produce, to be untrustworthy.  On the other hand, Father, You have proven to be fully trustworthy, with everything You’ve ever said coming true, every promise You’ve made has been kept.  Thank You, Father, for being holy and righteous and staying true to Your word.  In You we can place our trust with assurance.  But Father, there are times when we do place too much trust in someone or something, thinking it is all we need or they will surely keep their promise.  And then too often we are terribly disappointed.  Please forgive us these times, Father, when we don’t heed Your cautionary word.  May it sink into our brains that You are only trying to help us.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  And please keep us healthy and safe through these trying time.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   

And now may the words of my mouth and the meditations of each of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord our strength and our redeemer.  Amen.

Bernie May, in his book Learning to Trust, gives us this little gem:

There is an old story of a father who took his young son out and stood him on the railing of the back porch.  He then went down, stood on the lawn, and encouraged the little fellow to jump into his arms.  "I'll catch you," the father said confidently.  After a lot of coaxing, the little boy finally made the leap.  When he did, the father stepped back and let the child fall to the ground.  He then picked his son up, dusted him off, and dried his tears. 

"Let that be a lesson, son" he said sternly. "Don't ever trust anyone."  

Ouch!  You can’t even trust your own father, your Dad?!?

While that anecdote may be an exaggeration, a slightly humorous fiction just to make a point, it does speak to the fact that we can’t trust anyone all the time.  We humans are imperfect.  We don’t always act like we should.  Life gets in the way and distracts us.  Satan offers up a temptation we just can’t resist.  Whatever the reason, we sometimes break our promises, go back on our word, don’t do what we said we’d do, or do what we said we’d never do.  100% of us just aren’t trustworthy 100% of the time.

And of course, this is not a new or recent development.  When teaching the multitudes, Jesus cautioned about putting trust in material things, especially riches.  I’m going to switch momentarily to the New King James Version of our Holy Bible to read what the Apostle Mark reported in chapter 10 of his Gospel account, verses 23 through 25…

23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

--Mark 10:23-25 (NKJV)

Now I need you to note how Jesus phrases His statements regarding entry into heaven.  The first time He says “those who have riches”.  But then He kind of qualifies that by saying "those who trust in riches".  It’s not so much that we have riches, but that we put our trust in those riches.

Remember that the Apostle Paul tells us that, “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, and some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith”.  Money itself – riches – is not bad.  It’s the love of money, craving money, putting trust in money to fulfill our needs that brings us to ruin.

We cannot fully trust each other, or even ourselves for that matter.  How many times have we promised ourselves that we’ll eat better or quit some bad behavior, only to fail in a few days or weeks?  Nor can we trust the things we make, which are prone to breaking down and breaking apart.  And the things we make include what we consider our riches, our wealth, our money.  So who or what can we put our trust in?

After His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, His last visit to that holy city, Jesus spoke to His disciples and the crowds.  The Apostle John recorded what He said.  Please listen to what John saved for us in the 12th chapter of his Gospel account, verse 35 and the first part of verse 36, and then verses 44 through 46…

35 Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. 36 Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.”

44 Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust Me, you are trusting not only Me, but also God who sent Me. 45 For when you see Me, you are seeing the One who sent Me. 46 I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in Me will no longer remain in the dark.”

--John 12:35-36a, 44-46 (NLT)

Walk in the light, trust in the light, and become children of the light.  What is this light?

In the opening to his Gospel account, John tells us that in Jesus is life, and the life is the light of men.  Jesus said He came as a light, to shine in this dark world so that those who walk in the light will not stumble or get lost.  If we trust in Him, the light will guide our way and we need no longer stay in the darkness.

Our world is a dark and sin-filled place.  Satan was given free reign over the earth – for a time – and he is having a field day.  So God sent His Son Jesus to shed light into the darkness, that all who trust in Him may see and know the truth.  And trusting in Jesus also means trusting in God.

Man will fail us, as will any manmade creation.  We will even fail ourselves at times – not living up to our word, not doing what we know we should do.  But Jesus will never fail us; God will never fail us.  And we have the proof right here in our Bible, where everything God said came to pass, or soon will.  Everything that Jesus said and did rings true.

So let’s forget about any human, or human made things, or riches or wealth.  At some point, they’ll all let us down.  Our Lord will never let us down.  Let’s place all our trust in God and continue to walk in the light, while there is still time.  In the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, our Master and our Savior.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for always doing what You say, for keeping every promise You make.  And thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to shine the light of truth across the darkness of this world.  Father, we admit that many times we put too much trust in other people.  We often have more faith in things than we should.  And we know that sometimes we can’t even trust ourselves, for we are weak and fall prey to Satan’s distractions and temptations.  Please forgive us these times, dear Father.  Please help us continue to walk in the light by trusting You and Jesus fully and completely.  All others may fail us, but You never will.

Strengthen us, Father, to reach out to others and show them Your love by giving of ourselves in their service, in Your service, just as Jesus did.  And please help us share our Lord Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  Help us pave the way for Your Spirit to do His work on them.

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what comes our way.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You brought light into the world to shine in the darkness of our sin.  When we walk in the light, we will not stumble and fall to the devil’s traps.  By trusting in You, we can be children of the light.  But Jesus, we don’t always do what we should.  We fool ourselves.  We don’t always put all out trust in You and our Father God.  Please help us fully trust in You and only You.  Remind us that everything You said came true, everything You promised came to pass and was fulfilled.

Holy Spirit, please help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing God’s love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us the deeds to bring more followers to Jesus.

And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.