Northside Church - Sydney
Brand New Year Same Old You? – Week 1: A More Trusting Person
You're listening to another great message from Northside Community Church. I've got to say it was quite chilling television to watch. This was last year I was watching a current affairs program and they were showing how easy it is to lure little children into the clutches of strangers. They had set up some cameras, they had some parents watching on monitors and they set up various scenes with using professional actors and parents were shocked and as I say it was very chilling to watch because even kids whom the parents thought had been well versed and well schooled in this area were going off when somebody said would you like to come to my car and pat my puppy or I know your mum and she's asked me to take you back to her that was seen in a McDonald's play area and of course we all know why this happens because children are so trusting. I mean it's one of the most beautiful aspects of childhood it's one of the character traits of little children they're just so darn trusting so innocent it makes them terribly vulnerable. It makes parents become terribly anxious and concerned of course as we get older our inclination to be so trusting changes of course we experience more and more of life and this change for the most most part is both necessary and it's desirable for our own protection. We come to realise there are people out there who don't have our best interests at heart. There are people out there who can't be trusted and we better be aware of that and provided we can avoid becoming cynical and jaded which is not a good option at all provided we can develop a healthy level of distrust and awareness if I can put it that way it can save us from a lot of hurt and a lot of disappointment but here's the thing for many of us our tendency to be less trusting less naive in the broad areas of life is also reflected in the tendency to become less trusting of God or should I say less inclined to put our trust in God believing we should be able to figure things out for ourselves we should have all the answers to the situations in which we find ourselves. Now that's a sad reality it's happened in my life I know it's happened in your life it's a sad reality because when you really think about it our trust in God should increase as we move deeper into spiritual maturity as we move deeper into life because life becomes more fragile problems become more serious relationships become more complex I mean there's a world of difference between a little girl in kindergarten saying Ben won't give me back my pencil case to that same little girl in later life saying Ben's not talking to me anymore Ben doesn't respect me anymore Ben tells me he doesn't love me anymore and he's leaving me and the children I mean you just can't compare those two scenarios the issues we sometimes have to deal with in life in our adult years can be extremely difficult and really heart-rending so you'd think on paper you'd think we'd be more inclined not less inclined to put our trust in God as the source of our strength and as the provider of our peace and as the giver of our guidance you'd think that on paper but of course that's not always the case is it we struggle at times to put our trust in God believing we have the ability or should have the ability to solve our own problems and meet our own needs meanwhile the clear message of the Christian faith is we need to trust God more we should trust God more this is what preachers tell us is what teachers tell us is what we read in Christian books it's what we hear on crystal see on Christian DVDs and it's seminars we all know the theory but friends you know it's one thing we it's one thing to say we need to trust God more but there's a prior question and that's the question why why should we trust God more now I have a belief and it's a it's foundational it's a foundational component to this particular message I have a belief we would be inclined to trust God more if we were more cognizant more aware of the reasons why we should and as a further set up to this message here are three reasons number one God asks for it that's as basic as it gets like any loving parent so our heavenly Father delights in seeing his children respond to him in faith and trust it's what deepens a relationship it's what strengthens the bond those of you who are parents and grandparents you know how important it is that the children in your life trust you you know how important that is you know how important it is that they have absolute trust in you and you know what a thrill it is to have them express that trust in you is that not one of the great joys of parenting and grandparenting I landed in Adelaide on Boxing Day as the second part of my little Christmas celebration having been to Melbourne for Christmas Day and I decided I knew that babe was coming babe she had already told me she was coming in the car with cadence my oldest granddaughter five years of age just the two of them would be coming to pick me up I thought I'd get into the mood Boxing Day had the Santa hat on at the airport which is takes a bit of courage and as I was waiting on the sidewalk on the footpath I saw the car coming and I saw from the smiles on the waves that you know it was working the Santa hat but the from cadence that was didn't see Beth but when the car pulled up and cadence was able to do a little seat belt she the door flew open she ran off and I said hey well wait a minute what sort of welcome is that for grandpa you know grandpa we got to have a run up now we always have a run up at home I didn't realize we had to sort of duplicate the run up at the airport but it seemed like we did now that little girl I'd tell you like she is getting taller she is getting stronger she is getting faster like she launches herself with the power and the velocity of a satin rocket I mean like it's just phenomenal you know so and I'm expected to do that you know the hey well you know the whole thing and like this little girl she thinks I'm invincible well maybe I was one stage but you know but I mean what kind of grandfather would I be if halfway through that I did that hey well that is a surprise you know I mean you could do irreparable damage if you stepped away at that critical time of course she needs to know that until she's given further advice we'll work out how we explain that that grandpa can can do that he can catch it no matter what well it's a great thing to experience the trust of somebody this is how God sees it he loves to see his children exercise trust in him the best known Bible verse when it comes to trusting God of course is Proverbs 3 verses 5 and 6 trust in the Lord with all your heart lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your powers that's the best known one but there are many others for example let me share a couple of them with you Psalm 37 verses 4 and 6 seek your happiness in the Lord and he will give you your heart's desire give yourself to the Lord trust in him and he will help you he will make your righteousness shine like the midday sun and over in Isaiah chapter 26 verse 3 you Lord give perfect peace to those who keep their purposes firm and put their trust put their trust in you and finally Isaiah 57 verse 13 when you cry for help let those idols of yours save you says God in a taunting sort of way a puff of wind will carry them off but those who trust in me will live in the land and worship me in my temple God asks for our trust that's the first reason why we need to trust him secondly we are at our best we're at our best when we're in a trusting relationship with God when we put our trust in him not until we reach the point where we're prepared to push beyond our own ability to manage our lives only at that point will we discover what we're capable of in the areas of service leadership generosity sacrifice perseverance only when we push beyond what we know we're capable of in other words when we trust God to fill in the gaps and take us to the new level look at the scores of Bible characters who only discovered their capacity their potential when they reached a point of saying okay God I can't fully understand where you're leading but I'm going to believe that you will deliver I'm going to step out in trust with you I mean you think of a number of Bible characters for whom that was their story Moses Abraham Ruth David Esther Paul Peter you know they had to push beyond what they knew they were capable of and trust God for the rest I think back on my life as I'm sure you can think back on your life to certain pivotal moments certain defining moments when when from a human standpoint you had all sorts of hesitations and misgivings but you made a conscious decision to trust God and looking back you can see how he was there all the time if you had more time I'm sure you could think of those sort of moments I think of the one big moment in my life and that was to train for the ministry that was the single biggest step of trust I've ever taken because it was so in contrast to how I thought my life was going to work out I had a picture a very clear picture in my mind for at least a decade before of how my life was going to work out that started as some of you know because I've shared this before it started when I would look as a young boy in the upper primary school might have been first year of high school and I would watch most mornings as my dad would leave for work very successful businessman he would leave in a beautiful suit white shirt carrying a beautiful briefcase get into a company car and that was my dream to be like my dad and that's that's all I was thinking of in terms of a career I actually responded to an advertisement in the West Australian which said we're looking for young people who want a career in commerce that was the wording I responded BP Australia were very good to me they took me from Perth to Brisbane to Melbourne I was training to be a corporate executive so it was it was a huge turnaround for me when God started to put his hand on my life and say Graham any leadership gifts I may have given you I don't want you to use them in corporate Australia I want you to use them in my church I couldn't see how that could be anywhere near as exciting as corporate Australia I'd been around churches for a while all my life so got it to do a major work on me but looking back that step of trust even when I signed that application form thinking okay God this is four years and I wasn't a great student well looking back you can see how that was not only the most significant step of trust for me but also the most rewarding because as I've shared with you before there is nothing like doing what you know you are destined to do and I know that's not everybody's experience and I feel for people for whom that is not your experience but when it is when you are doing what you know you are destined to do you can push through anything if your faith and trust is in the Lord why trust God he asks for it we're at our best and thirdly he's at his best he is at his best God does his best work through individuals and churches who trust him to act who believe he has the power to achieve the miraculous who are confident that the one who begins a good work will bring it to pass according to Philippians Philippians 1 verse 6 friends our God consistently does great things through groups and individuals who allow his spirit to move freely whereas whereas very little of any kingdom significance happens where his spirit is inhibited restricted quenched where faith and trust are little more than words on a banner on the stage of the church or references in a dreary worship experience not much happens in those sort of settings but of course of course whenever Christians talk about the need to trust God more there's usually a huge elephant in the room which nobody is prepared to address this is Christians when Christians talk about the need to trust God more there is often a huge elephant in the room that nobody's prepared to talk about nobody's prepared to acknowledge and that elephant is in the form of a question and the question is this what about when we put our trust in God when we pray our little hearts out and nothing appears to happen or at least nothing that fits in with how we think it should happen the outcome we'd like to see in my pastoral experience this would have to be one of the main if not the main reasons why people have difficulty putting their trust in God and a parent lack of response or a disappointing outcome I've said from this platform many times many times that one essential requirement in the development of or rather as we move towards our maturity in Christ is the development and the nurture of a strong and healthy theology of suffering it's just it's just essential if we're going to become mature Christians as Christians we must be able to reconcile our belief our trust in a loving gracious miracle working merciful God and the reality this side of heaven of pain suffering disappointment hurt injustice you've just got to be able to reconcile those two there are no easy answers but this is a quest this is a lifelong quest of the disciple among other things it's it's it's seeing suffering not as an impediment to our faith but as fuel for our faith it means seeing suffering not as an impediment to our faith but as fuel for our faith Abraham Wright was a Puritan pastor who'd suffered a lot in his life and in the mid-1600s on one occasion he wrote this look at this I am mended by my sickness enriched by my poverty and strengthened by my weakness that's pretty powerful and Paul put it this way back in the first century Romans 5 verses 3 to 5 we boast of our troubles because we know that trouble produces endurance endurance brings God's approval and his approval creates hope and this hope does not disappoint us for God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the holy spirit who is God's gift to us and friends I know that when you're up against it when you're facing major setbacks and disappointments health challenges financial problems difficulties at work things just aren't working out I know that no amount of words in the short term make any difference it's just words it's it's just really hard to hang on and to keep believing to keep trusting but you know that's what we must do that really is what we must do and with a brand new year upon us it's a great opportunity to prayerfully and consciously make that choice that choice to hang on it's a brand new year it need not be the same old you if you've struggled in this area of of trusting God as lovingly as I can as your pastor and your friend I want to urge us all to increasingly put our trust in God and believe that ultimately his plan and purpose will prevail I prove that in my life so many times despite the short term defeats apparent defeats I've got a final word today which has been of great help to me in tough times and maybe it might just make the difference between you hanging on and and making an alternative choice and here it is if you can't trace the hand of God trust the heart of God if you can't trace the hand of God in your situation trust the heart of God let's be honest it's not always easy to see the hand of God in the midst of something that's going down in your life and in my life but it's then we need to remind ourselves of the heart of God the nature of God seen most vividly most vividly in the one who sat with the suffering the one who prayed for the powerless the one who wept with the grieving the one who restored the broken hearted I read earlier from Romans chapter 8 it's widely known as one of the favorite passages of many Christians most Christians this Christian the favorite chapter why is it so popular for many reasons I think one of them is because it has these verses in it Romans 8 24 if we see what we hope for then it is not really hope for who of us hopes for something we see but if we hope for what we do not see we wait for it with patience in the same way the spirit also comes there help us weak as we are can you identify with that for we do not know how we ought to pray can you identify with that the spirit himself pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express and God who sees into our hearts knows what the thought of the spirit is because the spirit pleads with God on behalf of his people and in accordance with his will friends you read that every day for a week see if it might make a difference in your situation you see this is the heart of God this is the this is the nature of God he's the one who gets alongside he's the one who's promised there will be ultimate victory he's the one who's promised that nothing can ever separate us from his love you'll never leave us or forsake us this is the this is the nature of God when you can't see the hand of God at least trust the heart of God and in my experience and the experience of others I could call on if we could pass the microphone around when you run to God your heavenly father and you fling him you fling yourself into his arms he's not going to step away just like the earthly grandparents and parents he delights in seeing that level of trust it takes faith takes courage what are you facing right now sometimes that's the only option when you agree sometimes life is so tough what what else can you do but say God I believe I can't see how this is working out but I'm trusting that you have me right there in the power of your hand let's break