God’s Attributes #4 “Trustworthy”
Pastor David Moore
Old Testament reading: Genesis 15:1‐20
After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.
He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
Theme this week is Trust. Can we trust God? Is He trustworthy? When He makes a promise, will it be fulfilled? ~D. Moore
“Faith isn’t a feeling. It’s a choice to trust God even when the road ahead seems uncertain.” ~Dave Willis
New Testament reading: Hebrews 16:12‐20
We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who, through faith and patience, inherit what has been promised. When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to use may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
We believe in a big God, who can do all things. He knows the past and the future and is in all places at once. This is where our faith meets the road. The struggle of trust in God has been going on since the beginning of human existence; people have sought and wanted Yahweh. ~D. Moore
Trusting God is necessary, possible, and practical.
As humans we long for something to be our answer. Our soul longs for an answer in God. That person (God) we long for is not bound by time or space but connects us in time and space. ~D. Moore
When storms come, let your hope be anchored in the Word of God.
If we trust others, we’ll go crazy. If we trust ourselves, we’ll be hardened. If we trust God, we’ll be okay.
Characteristics of Christians trusting God:
1. Trusting God is practical. Our ability to trust God comes from God because what He has done first. It is about seeing and knowing what God has done.
2. We are to understand the promises of God.
3. Delight (trust) in the Lord God with all of your heart, and rest in Him and He will give you the desires of your heart.
4. We must obey God unconditionally. Disobedience is essentially mistrust.
This week contemplate Trust. We have a God who is more powerful than we can ever fathom. Read the TODAY quote, above, each morning or any time you feel insecure or lost.
Have a blessed week.