SermonBelievers Trust God
An all-creatures Bible Message

Believers Trust God

A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church

15 December 2019

Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Isaiah 35:1-10
Matthew 11:2-19
James 5:7-11

Believers trust God is quite a bold statement, because we have known people who have claimed to believe in God, but they don’t trust Him, because they didn’t truly and wholly believe and have faith.

When we are truly born again and have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we should also be living in the heavenly will of God here on earth as it is in heaven, and if this is true, then these believers trust God that He will do all that He said He would do.

But, do believers trust God enough to understand that rescuing us from all harm could mean that we will go to heaven after we die here on earth, and this also includes loved ones we have prayed for God to save?

In other words, do we accept God’s decision?

If we do not accept God’s decision, even if we may not like it, it means that we don’t trust God.

Let’s now look at Isaiah 35:1-10, and see how it applies to us trusting God…

1. The wilderness and the desert will be glad,
And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom;
Like the crocus

2. It will blossom profusely
And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
The majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They will see the glory of the LORD,
The majesty of our God.

These first two verses are a two-fold prophecy: one is the first coming of Jesus Christ and the other is His second coming which includes the vision of a perfect earth which reflects God’s original creation in Eden, a place and time where humans, animals, and the environment will no longer be subject to any harm.

This peaceable kingdom didn’t happen with Jesus’ first coming, but it will happen following His second coming, but in the meantime, we are to do everything in our power to help free creation from its present corruption and violence that cause millions of humans and billions of animals to suffer and die every year.

This is the job of every peacemaking child of God.

3. Encourage the exhausted,
and strengthen the feeble.

This is where believers trust God comes into play, for if we can encourage others to truly believe, especially those who have physical and perhaps some mental problems, then they are strengthened by trusting in the promises of God.

And, this is what Isaiah tells us next…

4. Say to those with anxious heart,
"Take courage, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
The recompense of God will come,
But He will save you."

We also need to remember and trust God’s decision that being saved may not be here on earth, but in heaven.

5. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.

Jesus did some of this, but there were still some blind and deaf people on earth when Jesus was killed, and they have been dying with those physical ailments until this day, so some of this physical healing must wait until after His second coming, or when people go to heaven.

6. Then the lame will leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb will shout for joy.
For waters will break forth in the wilderness
And streams in the Arabah.

7. And the scorched land will become a pool,
And the thirsty ground springs of water;
In the haunt of jackals, its resting place,
Grass becomes reeds and rushes.

Along with the healings of the body, the Lord will bring about a healing of the land, and when this happens, we believe that the corruption of creation will also end, and the animals will no longer be exploited.

Are we trusting God that this will happen?

We hope and pray we are, for true believers trust God.

8. And a highway will be there, a roadway,
And it will be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean will not travel on it,
But it will be for him who walks that way,
And fools will not wander on it.

9. No lion will be there,
Nor will any vicious beast go up on it;
These will not be found there.
But the redeemed will walk there,

10. And the ransomed of the LORD will return,
And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
With everlasting joy upon their heads.
They will find gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
NASB

Only a small part of this happened when the people returned from captivity in Babylon, but there was no righteous highway, nor was the land transformed as Isaiah predicted, so this must be something that will happen in the future.

However, we strongly believe that if we are truly peacemaking children of God who accept the challenge, they can bring about a lot of the healing of the whole of God’s creation.

In Matthew 11:2-19, the writer relates some of the things about the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus that has to do with faith

2. Now when John in prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples,

3. and said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?"

We always wondered about this verse, because when John baptized Jesus he seemed to know who Jesus was, but maybe being in prison caused his faith to waiver, and perhaps this is the reason that Jesus responded the way He did.

4. And Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see:

5. the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

6. "And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me."

Jesus didn’t answer his question directly, but instead reminded him of the things He had been doing, which fulfilled the prophesies about Him that He knew that John already knew in order to strengthen his faith, because believers trust God.

7. And as these were going away, Jesus began to speak to the multitudes about John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?

8. "But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' palaces.

9. "But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet.

Jesus is also reminding the multitudes about who John really is in order to strengthen their faith and trust in God.

He wants them to think for themselves and not just be told everything.

10. "This is the one about whom it is written,
'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.'

11. "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Jesus is telling them very plainly by quoting the Hebrew Bible that what was written spoke of John, but we don’t understand why the writer of Matthew added the last part of verse 11, why who is least in the kingdom of heaven would be greater than John.

12. "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.

Creation, which was created in the heavenly will of God is now so corrupted by violent people who have taken it by force and caused millions of animals and billions of animals to suffer and die every year, and have contributed greatly to the pollution and destruction of the environment.

13. "For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John.

14. "And if you care to accept it, he himself is Elijah, who was to come.

And considering what Jesus said next the last part of verse 11 even makes less sense.

But, what was said here, also should be an encouragement to our own faith and trust in God, because believers trust God.

And this is why Jesus said…

15. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

We need to think for ourselves about what the Bible tells us, especially when we see that some of these things have come to pass, and these things should increase our faith in God, for believers trust God.

16. "But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children,

17. and say, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.'

I seriously doubt that this has changed to this very day, and it may have even gotten worse.

18. "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon!'

19. "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
NASB

Evil people always seem to resort to name calling when they cannot properly challenge the other person.

And everything that Jesus did was vindicated by His deeds.

James 5:7-11 challenges our faith by telling us to believe what James wrote…

7. Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.

We are still patiently waiting for the second coming of the Lord, unlike the farmer who usually has to wait only for the rain, unless there is a drought in which case the farmer has to wait until the rains come, but he knows it will eventually come even if it is not in time to save his crops.

That assurance that the rains will come again is like what we have said about believers trust God; the farmer trusts that the rain will come again, and we need to trust God that He will do all that He said He would do.

8. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Well, at least we are 2,000 years closer to the second coming of the Lord.

9. Do not complain, brethren, against one another, that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.

But even if He isn’t ready to return immediately, we need to heed what James wrote, for the Lord knows everything we have done and are doing.

10. As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

11. Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
NASB

Yes, He certainly is, but He is also a righteous Judge; therefore we need to trust God no matter how long we have to wait for the Lord’s return.

Believers trust God!

Amen?

Amen.

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