What it Means to Trust In The Lord
Luke 8:22-26
February 2, 2014
AM
Pastor Craig
Ledbetter
Bible Baptist
Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
I.
Introduction (2Cor 5:7; Matthew 12:21)
A.
Everyone has some faith. We all
believe in things we cannot see: atoms, molecules, gravity, wind.
B.
A Christian believes not in just anything we want to, but in
the things told to us in the Bible
1.
We believe what God tells us
about places we have never been and have never even imagined, like heaven, and
hell
2.
We believe that there is a God
in heaven that made everything, in six days
3.
We believe that He is a good
God, that does not sin, or do wrong
4.
We say we believe that He
loves us and cares about us
5.
We believe that he became a
living human being Himself
6.
We believe that He walked and
lived among us on this earth 2,000 years ago
C.
And that is all well and good.
But it does nothing until we act on that
faith, and start trusting the God whom we say we believe!
D.
The question is, do we WALK by faith?
Do we live by it? That is what TRUST is! Trust is living by what we say we
believe!
E.
It is NOT only about having faith in Jesus Christ, you have
to TRUST Him too!
F.
So, What is Trust?
1.
Acting on what we say we
believe
2.
Faith is what we believe about
God
3.
Trust is what we do
with that faith when times get hard!
4.
Faith is what we believe
5.
Trust is HOW we believe
G.
Examples:
1.
I can believe in a doctor’s
ability to do surgery
2.
But I may need to TRUST him
with my life when I need him to operate on ME
3.
Faith is EASY
4.
Trust is hard!
5.
I believe that, it’s easy for
people to place their Faith in Jesus Christ, place their Faith and hope that
Jesus has paid the price for all of their sins, that He wants the best for them,
that he desires an on-going personal relationship with them. I believe that
Faith, really, is the easy part, and I also believe that Faith is easy to fake.
6.
So enters TRUST!
H.
You see Trust, that’s a whole
different thing. Trust has a whole lot more to do with the decision making
process. If I have two choices in front of me, and the world says to make
decision A, and it is a lot more fun, a lot easier, and everyone else is doing
it, but God says make decision B, and it looks scarier, harder, more risky, then
I’m going to have to really ask myself “Do I Trust God in this?”
I.
The Disciples learn this great
truth in Luke chapter 8, by way of a dangerous storm that Jesus puts them
through. Probably, The Lord is trying to teach YOU and I the very same thing!
II.
Background
A.
Jesus was quite busy teaching and healing at this point in
His early ministry
1.
He has just healed the
Centurion’s servant in chapter 7
2.
He resurrected a widow’s son
right out of the coffin as it was being carried to the graveyard
3.
He healed everyone who came to
Him
4.
He taught about John the
Baptist, about the spiritual kingdom of God
5.
And he showed love and
compassion towards sinners – those who were far away from God
6.
He basically did that every
time you see Him
7.
He stayed pretty busy
B.
On this day, in Luke chapter 8 Jesus has already done many
things…
1.
Jesus is travelling through
village after village and field after field in Galilee, teaching
a.
He taught about the parable of
the sower planting the word of God into the four kinds of hearts that there are:
hard, stony, thorny, and good
b.
He taught who his real family
is – those who hear the word of God and obey it (8:21)
2.
He leads His twelve disciples
into a ship, to travel about 10 miles across the Sea of Galilee
a.
About a two hour journey with
good winds
b.
All these men lived by that
large lake
c.
All were well accustomed to
its changeability, but everything seemed good for travelling
C.
Everything was fine at the start – good winds, strong ship,
calm sea
D.
Everyone talked of all the happenings lately – lots of
constant amazement
E.
But then they noticed Jesus was asleep
1.
Remember, as a Man, He was
worn out – they, like we, would forget that!
2.
Took an opportunity to take a
nap
F.
And as you would know it, a storm quickly developed over that
lake
G.
And then reality struck them
1.
They were in danger of dying!
2.
A very real, and imminent
danger of dying out in the middle of that lake
3.
What a way to go! In the prime
of their lives (all of them were 30 and younger)!
H.
Question. Were these men going
to walk by faith at this point, or by sight? By SIGHT
1.
Everything they were feeling
was because of what they SAW
2.
Everything they were
experiencing was all they believed! And they believed they were doomed!
III.
Message
A.
What Were They Doing That Was Right? (Luke 8:22)
1.
They were WITH the Lord Jesus
a.
They had not gone off and done
their own will
b.
They were not backslidden or
rebellious
c.
They were right WITH Jesus
2.
They were doing just what He
had told them to do – journey across the Sea of Galilee
3.
They were right in the very
centre of God’s will for them
4.
They were all going together –
“let us” - no disunity – there was no
“doing their own thing”. There is
something wonderful about people being together with the Lord, even if it is
just two or three!
B.
What Went Wrong? (Luke 8:23)
1.
External Circumstances
a.
Things change
1)
Storms arise, health problems
develop, bills appear, things break, people leave you
2)
You can’t predict the perfect
times to travel
3)
And you can’t expect things to
only go well
4)
Everybody experiences
unexpected change
b.
This was a big storm
1)
Not a little bit of rain and
wind
2)
But a massive, dark,
thundering storm that threatened to sink that small ship right then and there!
c.
A frail ship
1)
It was built to sail this
Lake, and endure some pounding
2)
But you can’t build a perfect
ship – Hello Titanic!
3)
And this ship, capable of
holding thirteen men, was cracking under the pressure
d.
And a lot of water
1)
Sloshing and smashing into
that ship with thirteen men on it
2)
Ship was sinking fast – water
was everywhere in the ship – and that was not good
2.
Internal problems
a.
Panic! There was not one
disciple there who was not panicking and wondering how they would survive!
b.
Fear! There was no way through
this – no rescue ship, no life rafts, no life vests, no sea rescue helicopters
c.
Blame! It always shows up when
there is no faith and trust. Listen to how they talked to their Lord… (Mk 4:38)
1)
You don’t seem to care!
2)
You are doing nothing!
3)
You are letting us all perish!
d.
No Trust! Oh they had had
FAITH in Jesus, but they could not TRUST HIM!
C.
What Things Seemed Like at that Moment
1.
That Jesus was not in control
– that’s what it SEEMED like, but was that true?
2.
That Jesus had made a wrong
leadership decision – should have waited, or should have just walked around the
lake – would have just taken a whole other day,
but they would have been SAFE at least!
3.
That they were not ready for
this experience – we never feel ready do we?
4.
That they were all doomed and
going to die!
5.
That was what they felt.
a.
That was what it was like
living by their SIGHT!
b.
But how they FELT was not
nearly as important as what they should have trusted!
D.
What Jesus Was Teaching?
Even when
asleep, Jesus was teaching His disciples… (and He did it to teach US)…
1.
That His silence does not mean
neglect, or that He is not caring (Mark 4:38)
a.
Psa 13:1 How long wilt thou
forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
b.
Psa 22:1,2 My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words
of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the
night season, and am not silent.
c.
Psa 77:7-9
Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is
his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God
forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.
d.
Job 13:24
Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?
e.
Listen to Isa 49:14-16
But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me…
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the
son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I
have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before
me.
f.
Job 23:8-10
Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot
perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he
hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way
that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
2.
That troubles do not mean
disaster – not for the person living by faith!
a.
Afflictions perfect us (Ps
119:67,71)
b.
Even death is not a disaster
for the believer – it will be awesome to enter into heaven!
3.
That we will NEVER be
sufficient for the problems we face
a.
Everyone who acts like they
are handling troubles are only faking it
b.
No one is strong enough or
smart enough or rich enough to handle life without God
c.
No one! All these movie
actors, and musical stars are LYING FRAUDS, living on prescription and illegal
drugs, paying tens of thousands of dollars for psychological counselling every
week
d.
No one can live without God!
4.
That Jesus is always with us
(Mt 28:19,20; Heb 13:5)
5.
That He is in control of the
smallest matters as well as the biggest, most impossible ones
6.
That He is greater than we
will ever be able to comprehend!
7.
All things, everything obeys
Him!!! Except mankind!
a.
Winds, waves
b.
Demons
c.
Shrivelled up fig trees
d.
Wild donkeys (He rode one into
Jerusalem later with no problem)
8.
If only we just obeyed Him! He
is worthy of our trust. Trust Him enough to…
a.
Head into every storm at His
directing will
b.
Stay the course
c.
Praise God along the way –
instead of griping and complaining
d.
Walk on water when you get the
first opportunity! It was on one journey just like this that peter got to walk
on water – he NEVER would have had that chance, that opportunity without a
storm!
E.
Where Jesus Was Taking Them?
1.
To GREATER faith, greater
battles, bigger storms, harder steps – all through that one storm. You never
know what all that one situation you are going through is supposed to teach you,
so learn all you can from it!
2.
To another need!
a.
Just at the other side was a
demon possessed man that was one of the most impossible cases ever – and they
needed to get there and help HIM!
b.
That’s funny…. They couldn’t
even help themselves!
c.
But Jesus was going to show
them how!
d.
If only they learned to do
more than just believe, and start trusting
3.
And there, these mere mortal
men, would have to learn to trust God for even more
4.
That’s how Jesus grew His
people – how He helps US to grow in faith
5.
That’s how He teaches us to
walk by faith, not by sight!
IV.
Application
A.
This same scenario will happen over and over again throughout
these disciple’s short time with Jesus – 3 ½ years may seem like a lot of time,
but it wasn’t!
1.
They will face this same lake,
and the same kind of storms, three different times
2.
Every event, every
circumstance, every problem, every victory meant something, and was for them!
They were meant to mainly get these twelve fishermen and carpenters to learn how
to TRUST in their Lord
B.
What it means to Trust in the Lord
1.
That the Lord Jesus IS in
control, always has been and always will be – there is never a moment when Jesus
will be on vacation, or distracted, or not interested in your affairs!
a.
Aware of sparrows falling out
of a tree
b.
He keeps a running count of
the hairs on your head
c.
2.
That the will of God is the
safest place to be
3.
That Faith itself is the
victory
4.
Allowing your trust to do all
the following:
a.
Replace ALL your fears
b.
Calm all the storm
c.
Get you to the other side
(Luke 8:26)
5.
Trusting means you are not
only full of faith in God’s abilities
6.
But that you are resting in
His abilities, at ease, calm, confident, and full of hope
C.
How are YOU living today?
1.
By sight?
2.
Or by FAITH?
3.
If you have faith, that is one
thing
4.
But if you WALK by faith,
well, THAT is trusting, and that is the victory!
5.
It all starts with, what do
you believe, and how far will that belief take you?
6.
Are you LIVING/WALKING by
faith, or just SAYING you have faith?
7.
It will make the biggest
difference in your soul today if you would trust the Lord Jesus to save your
soul and make you His child!