[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 13th of October, 2024. A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]
Family, I’ve heard a lot of different sayings about trust over the years. “Trust your instincts”, or “Trust your gut”, are probably the most common. I’ve heard “Trust no one” in many movies, usually the action/adventure or suspense type. And back in the ’80s, President Ronald Reagan popularized the old Russian proverb, “Trust, but verify”. In today’s environment, some folks need to do more of the verifying part, what with all the scams and misinformation going around. One of my all-time favorite trust sayings is “In God we trust – all others pay cash”. But I can’t help but wonder how much we really do trust in God.
Think for a moment about faith. Can we not say that faith is trusting in something that we have no proof for; believing without proof? Believing in Jesus is an act of trust, isn’t it?
Jesus often talked about trust, especially about trusting in God, and about where we place our trust. Please listen and follow along to one conversation Jesus had with a person who it seems wanted to believe, wanted to follow Jesus, but just couldn’t quite let go of the world and take up their own cross. This exchange, and a follow-up Jesus had with His disciples, was recorded for us by the Apostle Mark in the 10th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 17 through 27, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…
17 Now as Jesus was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.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.”26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”
--Mark 10:17-27 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us the wonderful gift of faith. We trust You, Father. We have trust in Your word and Your promises. Sadly though, Father, our trust wavers and falters at times. We are just too often beset by all the lies and evilness filling our days and our trust weakens. We begin to put our trust in other people, even when we have no good reason to. Forgive us these times, Father. Please help us set aside our desire for worldly things and keep our trust in You and all that You provide. And help us be more obedient to You and Your Son’s command to spread Your word and the Good News it bears. Give us the courage and the will to step out into the world witnessing to the non-believers, sharing the Gospel and showing Your love. Please forgive us when we hesitate to speak and act on behalf of You and our Lord Jesus out of fear or anxiety.
Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today. Help us share the Good News of forgiveness and everlasting life in our daily walk. This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
A gentleman by the name of Robert W. Sutton once noted that, “A television program preceding the 1988 Winter Olympics featured blind skiers being trained for slalom skiing, as impossible as that sounds. Paired with sighted skiers, the blind skiers were taught on the flats how to make right and left turns. When that was mastered, they were taken to the slalom slope, where their sighted partners skied beside them shouting, 'Left!' and 'Right!' As they obeyed the commands, they were able to negotiate the course and cross the finish line, depending solely on the sighted skiers' word. It was either complete trust or catastrophe.
What a vivid picture of the Christian life! In this world, we are in reality blind about what course to take. We must rely solely on the Word of the only One who is truly sighted - God Himself. His Word gives us the direction we need to finish the course.”
Mr. Sutton does indeed paint a vivid picture of what Christian life should be, but I’m not sure we really live up to it very well. It’s been said that there are no atheists in a foxhole, meaning that anyone will start praying for God’s help when they are in bad enough trouble. The same probably holds true in a hurricane. I bet thousands of people were praying, “God, please help me get through this storm OK”, or “God please don’t let my house get damaged”. But I wonder how may people trusted in God enough to simply ask, “God, please stop this storm”.
Jesus did that once, remember? Mark recorded it earlier in his Gospel account. Jesus and His disciples were crossing over the Sea of Galilee when a tremendous storm blew in and threatened to capsize their boat. Jesus simply said, “Peace, be still”, and the storm ceased to exist, the seas calmed, no one was hurt. God can calm the storm, and He can calm the storms raging within us.
Getting back to our scripture, could the young rich man have managed to sell all his possessions, give the proceeds to the poor, and then follow Jesus? Not on his own initiative, not without a lot of second thoughts and doubts. Mark tells us that the man had “great possessions”, apparently too much and too many for him to part with willingly. With God's help, trusting fully in God, he certainly could have done so, but instead, he trusted in his riches.
Do you remember when Jesus told His twelve disciples that they were to be His apostles and He sent them out two-by-two into the villages and towns around the area, to places He would soon visit? Mark also recorded this for us a little earlier in his Gospel account. When Jesus sent them, He told them to take nothing but a walking staff – no bag, no food, no money, not even an extra tunic. He wanted them to place all their trust in God, that He would provide for their needs while on their mission. Too often we tend to trust in our own resources, forgetting just how powerful God is, and how much He loves us.
At the end of our scripture reading, when Jesus was explaining to His disciples what had just happened and why it went down as it did, He told them it was hard for someone who trusts in riches to enter the kingdom of heaven, that it would even be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. The men were astonished and asked among themselves “Then who can be saved?” Jesus responded that for man, it is impossible. No one, by their own efforts or deeds or will, can be saved. Only through God can we find salvation, for with Him, anything and everything is possible.
We have another great example where God showed nothing is impossible with Him. We find this very early in our Gospel story, actually before Jesus was even born. Please listen to what the Apostle Luke recorded for us in the 1st chapter of his Gospel account, verses 26 through 38…
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
--Luke 1:26-38 (NKJV)
Is it possible for a woman to become pregnant without having first had sexual relations with a man or without the benefit of artificial insemination? No, not in human wisdom or knowledge. But with God, nothing is or ever will be impossible. With God, all things are possible. Mary fully trusted in God and in His word sent by His angel Gabriel, no matter how improbable those words sounded. She put her trust in God.
What do we put out trust in? In people or things of this world? Or in God? People will fail us. Things built by human hands will fall apart and break. What people and things can do are very limited. But with God, all things are possible. With God, anything and everything is possible.
So let’s put all our trust in God and get out there and do the work our Lord assigned us. Let us love our Lord with all our heart and soul and mind, and let us love our fellow man enough to help them find salvation through Christ Jesus. In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we can trust. Amen.
Let us pray… Almighty God, thank You for showing us that nothing is impossible for You. There is nothing that You cannot do. But sometimes, Father, we still struggle with all the nastiness we see around us, both locally and globally, the damage and desolation from the storms and from wars, all the cruelty and corruption, all the evilness, and it weakens our faith and our trust. We worry over the future for our children and grandchildren. We think that surely it won’t be much longer before Your send Your Son Jesus back to call us home. Still, we trust in You, Father. We know You are working all things according to Your plan and to the good for us and all who love You and are Your chosen. Thank You for showing Your love in this way. But sometimes, we just have trouble letting go of our worries and anxieties. Please forgive us these times, Father. And forgive us when we let the world dictate our thoughts and actions. Please help us reach out more into the world, serving You by serving others. Help us be more like Your Son Jesus, being more forgiving and merciful in our dealings with others. Please strengthen our spirits to do Your will and help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.
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 gave us a job to do, and You even showed us how to go about doing it. You want us to trust in God for our help, for our strength, for the right words to say and the right things to do so that others might see You in us. Please help us be more considerate and caring of others, more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving. And heal the hurts that still separate and divide us one from another. This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior. Amen.
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