The evolution of trust

David VanAcker, Pastor of Discipleship

Grace Church, Sunday Worship

Psalm 20

October 19th, 2008

 

Main Points

1.      Trusting in Jesus means “eagerly obeying Jesus as a result of the knowledge of the worthiness and sufficiency of Jesus”.

2.      Trusting in Jesus and following Jesus are inseparable.

3.      One of the best measures of our trust in Jesus is our obedience to Jesus.

4.      Trusting in or following Jesus isn’t simply for times of pleasantness.

5.      Jesus will protect us when we trust in him.

6.      Our obedience to God is meant to give us confidence in God’s good will toward us.

7.      Our trust in God is meant to be a source of joy to Christians.

8.      There are many, many things that we can put our trust in.

9.      God is the only thing truly worthy of our trust—of our eager obedience—because he is the only thing truly sufficient to meet our needs and satisfy our souls.

 

Introduction

The title of this message is “The Evolution of Trust”. 

“Evolution” by most non-biological accounts means something like, “A process of formation or growth” or “The gradual development of something.”

And by trust (in a person) I mean something like, “Eager obedience stemming from a knowledge of worthiness and sufficiency” or, as Jesus words it, to trust something means to follow that something. 

So here’s where we’re going this morning…I want to talk to you about the growth or development of our joyful obedience to things that we feel are sufficient to meet our needs and worthy of our allegiance…the evolution of our trust. 

Knowledge and Affection

My Evolution of Trust

The evolution of my trust (like that of all Christians) has two phases.  The first phase had four very distinct and recognizable stages:

First, I trusted my parents (aprox. birth – 3rd grade).  I spent many years obeying my parents because I believed them to be worthy and sufficient.  I didn’t trust them perfectly in that there were times when I didn’t obey eagerly (or at all) and there were times when I struggled to trust their sufficiency or worthiness.  But, generally speaking, there was a rather long stage of trusting in my parents. 

Second, I trusted in popularity (aprox. 4th grade – 10th grade).  Clearly in my mind I remember moving out of the parent trust stage and into the stage of trusting popularity.  That is, I eagerly obeyed the rules of popularity because I felt that they were most worthy and sufficient.  For some time if I had to choose between trusting in my parents (buy the cheaper jeans or the off-brand shoes) or popularity (Jordash jeans and Reebok shoes), I chose popularity.  Gradually I realized that a general popularity wasn’t quite worthy or sufficient so I moved on to a more specific kind of popularity—popularity with girls.  For a long time, in a very real way, I truly felt that girls were worthy and sufficient enough to warrant my eager obedience.

Third, I trusted in myself  (aprox. 11th grade – 18 years).  During this stage I began to shift gears to personal accomplishment and recognition.  That is, I began to trust in myself as sufficient and worthy of obedience.  I went to college to go become a lawyer and I worked hard to become a runner because my trust had evolved to myself. 

Forth, and finally, I trusted in Jesus (aprox. 19 years – eternity).  At this point Jesus gave me (apart from any work of my own) a trust (faith) in Him that saved my soul; that justified me before God.   Christianity is about eagerly obeying Jesus as a result of the knowledge of the worthiness and sufficiency of Jesus.  Jesus alone is truly deserving of our trust.   

Brief Testimony

The first phase of my evolution of trust, as I just mentioned, began with my trust weaving in and out of various earthly things and ended when I came to trust in Jesus (which was a gift from God). 

There are some of you here this morning whose trust has not yet come to this point.  You have not yet placed your trust in Jesus.  You are still trusting in your parents or popularity or yourself or…There are some of you who simply do not believe that Jesus is sufficient or worthy of your eager obedience.  I promise you (because the Bible promises you—Psalm 62) that He alone is worthy of and sufficient for your trust.  And I promise you (because the Bible promises you) that if you call on (trust in) the name of the Lord Jesus you will be saved (Romans 10:13) and that He will never let you down (Hebrews 13:5-6).  Place your trust in Jesus today.

The second phase of my evolution of trust has been going on ever sense (this is where many of you are as well).  That is, as a Christian my trust has evolved (grown over time) also.  This too is a gift from God, but it is also an act of the will—indeed, it is a partnership with God.  That is, even though there is a kind of trust that God gives us which does not include works (for our justification) there is another kid of trust that God gives us (in the process the Bible calls “sanctification”) which we must work at (with all that we have).

The rest of this message is an invitation for those of you who are believers in Jesus to join me in pursuing the kind of trust in our lives that is still lacking to some degree for the glory of God. 

the relationship between trusting in jesus and following jesus

I want to begin by talking about the relationship between trusting Jesus and obeying (or following) Jesus?

Right to the point, many Christians in practice, if not also in theory, tend to think of trust as a mental condition and following Jesus (or obedience) as the proper response/action to trust.  I don’t believe that the Bible makes such a distinction.  In other words, there is no such thing as Biblical trust void of action (following Jesus).  And there is no such thing as Biblical obedience (following Jesus) apart from trust.  So when we read Jesus’ words in John 12:44 (“Whoever believes [trusts] in me, believes [trusts] not in me but in him who sent me”), beckoning us to trust in Him, we should see them as an echo of his words in John 12:26 (“If anyone serves me, he must follow me [obey]; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him”), beckoning us to follow Him. 

In short, we must never fall into the trap of believing that we are properly or fully trusting in Jesus when we are not properly or fully obeying Jesus.  Let me be very clear…

  • If your days are filled with anxiety because of the economy, because your investments took a hit, or because your job is less stable, you are not fully trusting in Jesus.

  • If you are relying on your job or your family or your home or your savings more than Jesus for comfort and security, you are not fully trusting in Jesus.

  • If evangelism isn’t a regular part of your day and the cry of your heart, you are not fully trusting in Jesus.

  • If serving the less fortunate is not part of your families’ standard operating procedure, you are not fully trusting in Jesus.

  • If love for people isn’t dripping from your life—if you are consistently negative and difficult, you are not fully trusting in Jesus.

  • If prayer and fasting aren’t the natural outcome of your time with Jesus, you are not fully trusting in Jesus.

  • If spending time in God’s Word is a chore or if it is erratic, you are not fully trusting in Jesus.

  • If worshiping God isn’t the native tongue in your home, you are not fully trusting in Jesus.

  • If serving in the body of Christ isn’t the third (behind God and your family) primary objective in your life, you are not fully trusting in Jesus.

  • Men, if you are failing to lead your families or are looking at porn or are refusing to disciple your kids, you are not fully trusting in Jesus.

  • Women, if you are failing to submit to your husbands or the authority over you or if your words are sprinkled with gossip or if you are struggling to find your significance in Jesus, you are not fully trusting in Jesus.

  • Young people, if you are failing to honor your parents or if you are following the pattern of this world by filling your heart and mind with garbage or if you are balking when it comes to living radically for Jesus, you are not fully trusting in Jesus.

We simply and biblically cannot claim to be rightly trusting in Jesus if we do not also follow or obey Jesus.  Trusting in Jesus and following Jesus are inseparable. 

We simply and biblically cannot as a church claim to have the kind of trust in Jesus that saves us if we do not also demonstrate the kind of trust in Jesus that bears the fruit of obedience.  Trusting in Jesus and following Jesus are inseparable. 

Trusting in/following Jesus according to Psalm 20

What, then, Christians, does a life growing in eager obedience through the growing knowledge of the worthiness and sufficiency of Jesus (the evolution of our trust in Jesus) look like? 

Well, we can turn all of the things that I listed above around.  We will notice fleeing anxiety…

But more specifically, in closing, let’s take a quick look at Psalm 20 for a few thoughts on what trusting (or following) Jesus is meant to progress toward over time (to evolve into) by the power of the Holy Spirit and the great effort of our hearts, bodies, and minds.  This is the cry of my heart for my heart and, again, I invite you to pray for me and join me in this pursuit. 

Psalm 20:1-9  May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!  2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion!  3 May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah  4 May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans!  5 May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!  6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.  7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.  8 They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.  9 O LORD, save the king! May he answer us when we call.

1.      Trusting in or following Jesus isn’t simply for times of pleasantness (v.1 May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!).  If your job and your savings or your health were taken away how would that effect your countenance, your demeanor, your sense of security?  Ultimately, how would that effect your trust in God?  Many of us need to be reminded that Jesus is worthy of and sufficient for our eager obedience even when times are tough.

2.      Jesus will protect us when we trust in him (vs.1-2, 6 May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!  2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion!  6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.).  As scary as it may be to completely  trust Jesus (with the stock market going up and down by 1000 points/day and the threat of terrorism and sickness all around us), HE IS SUFFICIENT AND WORTHY!  He will not let you down!  Some of us need to be reminded that Jesus will protect us when we obediently trust in Him.

3.      Our obedience to God is meant to give us confidence in God’s good will toward us (vs.3-5 May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah  4 May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!).  To put it another way, one of the best measures or indications of our trust in Jesus, as Christians, is our obedience to Jesus (1 John 5:2:2).  When we joyfully or eagerly obey Jesus this should give us confidence in our salvation and the blessing of God on our lives.  Many of us need to be reminded that, even though the doctrine of works-based salvation is extremely dangerous (indeed, heretical), we need not to be afraid of pursuing (indeed fighting and striving and training with fear and trembling) for good works and finding confidence in God’s favor on our lives when they are present. 

4.      Our trust in God is meant to be a source of joy to Christians (v.5 May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners!).  When we trust in God rightly it should be a source of joy for others.  Other Christians should see our trust in Jesus and praise God.  Some of us need to be reminded of the joy producing nature of true trust in Jesus.

5.      There are many, many things that we can put our trust in (v.7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses).  Horses and chariots marked protection and power for the ancient world.  Then, as now, there were countless things besides God for believers to put their faith in.  Again, some of us need to be reminded to make regular checks on the location of our trust.  That is, we need to regularly ask ourselves if our trust is inappropriately placed in 401k’s or marriages/relationships or alarm systems or family structures or even churches instead of in Jesus.

6.      God is the only thing truly worthy of our trust—of our eager obedience—because he is the only thing truly sufficient to meet our needs and satisfy our souls (vs.7-9 But we trust in the name of the LORD our God.  8 They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.  9 O LORD, save the king! May he answer us when we call.).  Let us know and sing Moses’ song now,

 “The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.  3 The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.  4 "Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.  5 The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.  6 Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.  7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.  8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.  9 The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.'  10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.  11 ‘Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?’” (Exodus 15:2-11).   

Indeed, God alone is worthy of our trust!

Conclusion

The evolution of our trust must first progress from trusting primarily in the things of this world to trusting wholly in Jesus.  The ability to do this is entirely from God.  Then, having been given this gift of trust from God, our trust must progress further still to eager obedience to Jesus (flowing from a growing understanding of the worthiness and sufficiency of Jesus).  The ability to do this is a combination of our great effort and God’s great power!

This is my prayer for myself and my prayer for Grace church.  But none of us are trusting in Jesus as we should.  None of us have arrived.  This too is why Jesus died on the cross—to pay for the sins of saints.  And so, by the power of Jesus and for the glory of Jesus, we fight and press on, by faith, to take hold of that for which He died; namely, the salvation of our souls and the purification of our hearts.  He is able to do in us what we cannot do for ourselves.  Trust in Him.  Fight for it.  Go for it.  Trust in Him!