Truths to Live By – Part 3

Deuteronomy 4:15-16
"Nobody trusts anybody anymore."
People are people.
"What's behind the decline in trust?"
"When I trust anything or anyone more than God."
Deuteronomy 4:15-16 (GN) "For your own good…don't sin by making an idol in any form."
 
#1. What happens when I trust anything else more than God?
  • I'm disappointed.
  • Jeremiah 10:14 (GN) "…those who make idols are disillusioned…"
  • Isaiah 44:20 (NLT) "The poor, deluded fool is trusting something that can give him no help at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask: ‘Is this thing, this idol…a lie?'"
  • Hebrews 2:18 (NIV) "Of what value is an idol? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation."
  • I'm degraded.
  • 1 Corinthians 12:2 (GN) "…you were controlled by dead idols, who led your astray."
  • Psalm 115:8 (GWT) "Those who make idols end up like them. So does everyone who trusts them."
  • If Jesus Christ is the most important thing in my life, I become a Christian.
  • Do I exist for God or does God exist for me?
  1. Don’t misrepresent Me.
  2. Don’t make phony images of Me.
  3. Don’t make idols that aren’t Me.
#2. Why don’t I trust God more?
  • I don't know God.
  • He will reward you for your consistent service and trust.
  • God is a cosmic cop.
  • God is a celestial Santa Claus.
  • God is the Force.
  • If you don't know the truth about God, you can't trust Him.
#3. Why should I trust God completely?
  • Because He is the truth.
  • Hebrews 6:18 (LB) "We can completely count on Him, for it is impossible for God to lie."
  • Romans 3:4 (NCV) "God will continue to be true even when every person is false."
  • Because He loves me.
  • 1 John 4:16, 18 (NCV) "We know how much God loves us, so we have put our trust in Him…because God's perfect love drives out fear."
  1. I'll lose my freedom.
  2.  I'll lose my fun.
  3. He'll make me some kind of religious fanatic.
  • Because He's in control.
  • Romans 8:28 (NLT) "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them."
  • Because God will help me, I can trust God completely
  • Proverbs 3:5-6 (NCV) "Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don't depend on your own understanding. Remember the Lord in all you do, and He will give you success."
  • The more quickly you are obedient, the closer you are to God.
  • "Trust the Lord with all of your heart and He will give you success."