I Surrender Some

Introduction

Good morning. Absolutely love that song. I will call upon the Lord. If you will, open in your old testaments with me to 2 Chronicles chapter 16. 2 Chronicles chapter 16. As you’re turning there, as you consider the reverse of calling upon the Lord would be refusing to trust in him, having a lack of trust that God will take care of your problems, that God actually knows who you are and will deliver you. That whatever you’re facing, that God is there. And whatever you’re facing, God hears you if you are his child. The difficulty with that, of course, is that we often think that we do trust God until the rubber meets the road. Until we don’t understand why things are happening, until we don’t see what God’s plan really is for me in my life.

And then our trust, while we acknowledge it’s there, while we know and we say we are calling upon the Lord, and we are truly praying to him, we don’t fully show the trust that we must show. Consider this morning with me the idea that we might surrender some. Of course, we know that we should surrender all to our God. In 2 Chronicles chapter 16, beginning in verse 1. In the 36th year of the reign of Asa, Baasha, king of Israel, went up against Judah and built Rama, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa, king of Judah. Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the Lord and the king’s house and sent them to Ben Hadad, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, There is a covenant between me and you, and there was between my father and your father.

Behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. Go break your covenant with Baasha, king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me. And Ben Hedad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Azion, Dan, Abel Mayam, and all the store cities of Naphtali. And when Bayasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and let his work cease. Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Rama and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Gebah and Mizpah. Now you know what’s interesting about that is not just that King Asa was in a war, and obviously we’re going to make the point that King Asa didn’t turn to God, but rather turned to the king of Syria to help him.

But if you go back to verse one, if you know where this war is, in the reign of the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha, king of Israel, went up against Judah. Of course, as you think about Israelite history, not only did they come out of the land of Egypt together, not only did God make a special covenant with his people, the nation of Israel, but eventually they reached a point in 1 Samuel chapter 8 where they come to Samuel, the judge of Israel, united, and say, We want a king, we want to be like everyone else around us. And while God tells Samuel to acquiesce to their request, telling them they haven’t rejected him, but they have rejected me from being king over them, as God’s message to Samuel, they have this united kingdom under Saul, who then turns against God, and is replaced by David, a man after God’s own heart, despite his many obvious, glaring faults.

And then there was Solomon, the son of David, the wise man, the Solomon, who had prayed to God and was given great wisdom as well as great riches in the kingdom. But after Solomon the kingdom split, and you have the ten tribes of Israel in the north, and the two tribes of Judah in the south, and it’s unfortunate, it’s crazy, it’s even preposterous to think that just several hundred years have passed, and they’re going to war against one another. If you know what Asa did though in verse two, he didn’t just go out to war with Israel. In verse 2, he took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the Lord and the king’s house and sent them to Ben Hadad, king of Syria.

Now here’s the best part in verse three. He says, Well, there’s going to be a covenant between us, just like there was between my father and your father. But what does he want him to do at the end of verse 3? Go break your covenant with Baasha, king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me. So not only is he crossing Judah in war, he is double crossing Israel as it pertains to taking the services of Syria. It’s interesting to believe that Asa is actually one of the good kings of Judah. While Israel continued to have not a single good king, not a single righteous king, who encouraged the nation of Israel to turn back to God so that they could be spared the looming disaster that could, would, and did come at the hands of the Assyrians.

King Asa was actually one of the good ones. He was a good man who did not always trust in the Lord. Look in 1 Kings chapter 15. If you note the description of Asa in 1 Kings 15, it’s kind of interesting that Asa would make the decision he did. In fact, we’ll see he doesn’t just not trust God in times of war, but also in times of personal conflict. But consider first this great designation of who Asa was as king of Judah. In 1 Kings chapter 15. Note in verse 9. In the 20th year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah, and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Miachah, the daughter of Abshalom. And Asa, verse 11, did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done.

This was a good king. This was a king who served righteously like David had done. This is a great description, especially when you consider the dearth and the other lack of good kings that Israel and Judah had. This is a good king. In verse 12, what did he do? He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. He also removed Machiah’s mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And assa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron. But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days. Esau was a very good king by and large.

In fact, any time you have a description is found in verse 11 that you did what was right as David had done, David, a man described as a man after God’s own heart. And in verse 14, that the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days. Those are powerful descriptions of a good king. Asa certainly did good things as king. But it’s unfortunate to note that in 2 Chronicles 16, not only did he not rely on God in time of war, but consider with me as the reading continues in verse 7 on down. After he has gone to the king of Syria, after the king of Syria has spared him, Israel’s advances. In verse 7, at that time Hananiah the seer came to Asa, king of Judah, and said to him, Because you relied on the king of Syria and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you.

Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless towards him. You have done foolishly in this, and from now on you will have wars. Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this, and Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time. That’s our good king. You have to ask. This is the good king, the king who not only is rebuked for not relying on the Lord, but note how he responded to that in verse 10.

What did he do to Hananiah the seer? Asa was angry. He put him in stocks and in prison, for he was enraged with him because of this, because of the message that there would be wars brought upon them because of whose decision? Because of King Asa’s. Because of his refusal to rely on the Lord and rather to trust in the great army at the time of the king of Syria, he would be punished and afflicted. But it wasn’t even just that that punctuates this strange turn for a good king. The last part of verse 10, Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time. Strange but true, this man who did good things as a king, who followed in the ways of David, his father, as the text says in 1 Kings 15, whose heart was wholly true to the Lord all of his days, also in 1 Kings 15, that he would not rely on God in time of war.

But also he doubles down on that mistake in verse 11. The acts of Asa from first to last are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. In the 39th year of his reign, Asa was diseased and his feet and his disease became severe. Yet even his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from the physicians. And as Azus slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. They had buried him in the tomb that he had cut for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier that had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the performer’s art, and they made a very great fire in his arm in his honor.

Asa did not rely on God in time of war. Asa did not seek the Lord when even facing physical disease. We saw that again in verse 11 and 12. And in the 39th year, it does, verse 12 says, as he finds himself diseased in his feet. His disease is noted to be severe. Who did he trust? He had even his disease, he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from the physicians. King Asa was a very good man. And what’s interesting and ironic about the story is that we consider ourselves good people, but when we talk about trusting in the Lord, we know we should. We know God’s ways are best. There’s nothing miraculous about saying that other than revealing the inspired word of God to reveal what we know to be true.

But it doesn’t necessarily mean that we do trust God. It doesn’t necessarily mean that even if we do good things, or even if we are mostly, if not almost all, almost all entirely committed to God, would we not see? Can we not admit that maybe, perhaps likely, there are times when our trust in God will be tested. And just like Asa, we may fall behind. We may trust in things which are not God, whether ourselves or others or people we find to be highly skilled, rather than trusting, inquiring, and relying upon the only one who can help, and that is the Lord our God. Why is it so difficult to fully trust in the Lord? If we know it to be true, if we know God is our creator and he hears our prayers, we pray to him, we sing praises to him.

1. We Don’t Like to Give Up Control

We’ve gathered on this first day of the week to learn more about him, to praise him, to remember what Jesus did for us at the eternal plan of our God. Why is it so hard to trust in the Lord? Consider three possible reasons this morning. The first one is we don’t like to give up control, and I’ll tell you what I mean by that as we turn to Genesis chapter 12. In Genesis chapter 12, the problem with relying on the Lord is the same problem that comes with relying on anybody. That is that we don’t necessarily trust that it’s going to happen the way we want it to come out. In Genesis chapter 12, note the trust of Abraham. How powerful, how strong, not only his faith, but his trust in the Lord was.

In Genesis chapter 12 and verse 1. Now the Lord said to Abraham, Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse. And in you all families of the earth shall be blessed. Note verse 4 particularly. So Abraham went as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abraham was seventy-five years old when he departed from Aaron.

God appears to him, God makes these promises to him. And as you read the rest of chapter 12, you see those promises coming to a completion. But as you consider what Abraham did and the fact that he was told to go, and verse 4 says Abram went, Hebrews chapter 11 punctuates what Abraham did. Turn to Hebrews chapter 11, that great hall of faith. We know the verses, but they stand strong, particularly as we juxtapose them with the life and choices of Asa. In Hebrews chapter 11, let’s talk about that mission that God sent Abraham on, or Abram, as he’s called in Genesis chapter 12. In Hebrews chapter 11, we learn about Abraham and what type of faith did he have in verse 8. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called out to go to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.

And he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise, for he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. This is what propelled Abraham. It was his faith. My faith in verse 8, he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith in verse 9, he went to live in the land of promise as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents even with Isaac and Jacob, as verse 9 reads. As you think about what Abraham did, he was willing to say, God said it, so I will do it, and that’s that.

Now, the one part of this that’s interesting is that we know the first part of verse 8 is true. That Abraham went out, he did obey God because he knew something was coming. As verse 8 describes it, that he was going to receive an inheritance, the land to which he was going. And the truth is, when it comes to things that are a blessing to us, we do like to trust God. When we have good things, we we think we properly thank God for what he’s blessed us with. When life is going good, when we have the job and the family situation and the health and the money that we expect and like and know and have and enjoy, things are good. We like to trust God then.

Abraham was going out, though, yes, to receive an inheritance, but what did he have to do to gain that? He had to step out to go into a foreign land, not knowing where he was going. You see, it’s easy to say see the prize. That Abraham was willing to take the journey. And the truth is we know God has promised us something great. We are looking for that same city that Abraham was. Look in verse 10. He was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. Is that not what we are looking for this very day? Verse 13, these all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. That is the city which we are seeking. We are seeking the city whose foundation and builder and designer is from and of God. That’s our mission. That’s what we know. But the truth is, even though we know that inheritance is there, we know that we can be heirs according to the promise of Abraham and receive the promised eternal inheritance. It’s hard to go somewhere not knowing where we’re going.

2. Times of Difficulty Shake Our Faith

And that really is the rub. When you think about difficult times throughout the scripture, you see that men of faith, the people who truly trust to God didn’t always have things go peachy. And we’re going to study some of those this morning. But as you consider moving through, we need to stop and think about our station in life and realize where are we going? Because if we know we’re going towards God, whether we understand it, whether we agree with it at the time, we know we need to go where? Toward our God who’s making a way and a place for us. Consider a second reason that we have a difficult time fully trusting in the Lord is that times of difficulty shake our faith. In Matthew chapter 6 and verse 25, I find perhaps the most violated scripture throughout the Bible.

In Matthew chapter 6 and verse 25, as you turn there, we read of what Jesus says. When he says, Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body what you will pe what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Why would we be anxious about this life? Why would Jesus have to name that we shouldn’t be anxious about what we eat or what we’ll drink or what we will wear? Or about our bodies. Because when we see those in need, or we see those even, frankly, in this country in want, we allow ourselves to start thinking, wait a minute, maybe I’m not doing this right.

Maybe I’m missing something. Why is God not giving me this? Why am I not blessed with that? We’re taking these moments that should make us think about God, to trust in God and realize what He has given us, we’re focused on what we don’t have. What is the solution to anxiety that Jesus puts forward? Well, in verse 26, he says, look around. Look at the birds of the air, that they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. And yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin.

Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Jesus says, Don’t be anxious about your life. Look around, know what. Look around, see what. See God. See how God’s plan is perfect, how God takes care of his creation. We don’t need to be anxious about this life, because God will provide. That’s how we get through. And the problem is, when we don’t see that, when we only see what we’re lacking or what we think we should have, then we have to question the provider. If we don’t think we have been provided for, then who does the finger go back towards? Unfortunately, too often we point it at God. In verse 30, Jesus continues, if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you?

O you of little faith. Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat, what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For the Gentile seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Our problem is not that we don’t have someone to provide for us. Our God has promised us in verse 33 that if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, what would be added to us? All these things, these temporal, physical life things that we get so caught up with and concerned with, because our existence to our knowledge is primarily physical.

We allow ourselves to be shaken away from recognizing we are going towards God. We’re striving towards that city whose designer and builder is God. We’re looking for the eternal inheritance, not physical ease. God never promised physical ease, but he does in these very verses. Jesus promises that God will take care of his creation. If he’s going to take care of the grass of the field, if he’s going to take care of the birds of the air, how much more will he take care of us as his creation, as Genesis 1 says, made in the image of God, he created us. We cannot allow times of difficulty to shake our faith, to seek our trust that our God knows what’s best for us, and that our God’s way is best.

3. We Think We Know What We Need

But consider thirdly, we think we know what we need. In 1 Samuel chapter 8, a passage we referenced earlier. In 1 Samuel chapter 8, as Samuel is reigning as judge over united Israel. Consider the rationale behind Israel’s request for a king. It’s not just because everyone else is doing it, although that’s a part. Consider what Samuel has requested and why, and what God’s answer is to why we should not take this path. And yet, of course, they did anyhow. In 1 Samuel chapter 8, when Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second Abijah. They were judges in Bersheba. Yet his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after Gain.

They took bribes and perverted justice. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Rama and said to him, Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations. I cannot and will never go past us without stopping at verse five. You know it’s not going well when the first phrase is, Behold, you are old. And that’s the best you got today. In verse six, for the thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, obey the voice of the people and all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

God told Samuel, They’re not rejecting you. Even though your sons are perverting justice and taking bribes, they’re not rejecting you. They’re rejecting me from what place? The proper place that God had always maintained over Israel, King. God. Everything. They owed him everything. He had freed them. And yet, consider the warning that God gives in verse 10. Samuel tries to tell the people, God’s going to let you have a king, but know what having a king will lead to. Verse 10. Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. He said, These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you. He will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots, and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.

He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plough his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves.

But the Lord will not answer you in that day. The people say, We need a king to go before us. We need a king to judge us like the other nations. And God says, I’m God, Samuel, but you give them what they want, but warn them first, what was going to happen. The king was going to take their everything. The king was going to be ruthless. The king was going to be someone who took. Over and over, we find the word taking, appointing. He was going to take from the people, he was going to take their best and leave them what was left. And in verse 19, their response, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, No, but there shall be a king over us, that we may also be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.

What were the people wanting? It wasn’t just wanting a king to be like the other nations. They wanted someone to go before them to fight their battles, to do their bidding, and they were willing to reject God as being king, and to reject the wisdom of God being their king to pay the price. The truth is that God’s way was best. And what Samuel warned the people of came to pass in so many different kings. Many commentators say that this king or that king fulfilled that, but the truth is, if you look at the history of Israel as a united kingdom, and Israel and Judah as a divided kingdom, over and over, the kings took advantage of the people, just as Samuel warned hundreds of years before some of them even were born.

And yet, as was said in verse 18, in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves. But the Lord will not answer in that day. Why is it so difficult to fully trust in the Lord? Because we, like the people of Israel, think we know what we need. You know what we’re missing? The people of Israel said, We just need a king. He’ll allow us to be victorious. The king will judge for our problems. And God, all along, his way was right. He had maintained his spot as king over them. But it didn’t matter. They didn’t want God. They wanted a physical king that they could rally behind, that they could see, and who would fight their battles for them.

We have to trust that God’s ways are greater than our ways, that God’s ways are higher than ours. We must trust that his thoughts are greater than our thoughts, just as Isaiah 55, verse 8 and 9 makes so clear. Why is it so difficult to fully trust in the Lord? Because we don’t want to. And because we’re preoccupied with the physical. We’re worried. The times of difficulty come when our physical life is shaken, when we don’t understand why this is happening to me, or why my job is lost. We don’t understand because we can’t fix it on our own. And relying on someone else doesn’t give the peace of mind that relying on myself does. Times of difficulty may shake our faith, but they only do so because we think we know what the solution is.

And when God doesn’t drop the solution right into our laps, we question and say, God, where are you? God, why can this happen to me? We need to trust that when God puts us through something, God sees it. God knows it. He isn’t fooled. We aren’t hidden from him, but we must do what? We must accept God as our King. We must never reject Him from the place of prominence in our life that He not only deserves, but must maintain. Why is it so difficult to trust in the Lord? Because we don’t want to give Him that level of trust. How can we do that? How can we grow in our trust, not just in saying that we trust in the Lord, not just saying that I will call upon the Lord, but to truly live a life that says, God, your way is best, and I will live it because I know it’s true.

4. Take Perspective of This Particular Moment in Life

Consider with me, first of all, we need to take perspective of this particular moment in life. Turn in your old testament with me to Genesis chapter 37. Further backwards in the first book of the Bible in Genesis chapter 37, as we see a station in life of Joseph. In Genesis chapter 37, we know the story of Joseph. He starts as one of the twelve sons of Jacob, and we know where he concludes the story of Genesis as being almost second in command of over the nation of Egypt, this powerful country led by this powerful man who was blessed by God. And yet, depending on where you stop the story for Joseph, you might have questioned if you would have the trust in God that he perhaps had.

In Genesis chapter 37, note where he finds himself, beginning in verse 23. When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. They took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it. Then they sat down to eat, and looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with their camels bearing gum, balm, myrrh, and on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us seal him to the sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.

And his brothers listened to him. Then Midianite traders passed by and they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver, and they took Joseph to Egypt. Now we see and we know in the story: here’s how Joseph gets to Egypt. This is powerful, this is God’s providence. But I want you to stop for a minute and go back and read verses 23 and 24. Where is Joseph finding himself at this particular moment in life? Down in a pit thrown by his own brothers. Then what’s the next step of this? He is sold into slavery. He is sold into slavery by his brothers who threw him into a pit. This is not a shining moment of a great God blessed life.

At least the way that we look at it, is it? It’s easy to see what the end of Joseph’s story already recorded for us for so many thousands of years, to know, of course, this is God’s plan. And while we wouldn’t do it this way necessarily, we wouldn’t have the foresight to see this through. This is how Joseph ended up in Egypt. I wonder if we would stop for a minute and sit back and think. Maybe I am in my moment in life where I’m in the pit. Maybe I’m in a tough moment that I need to get out of, recognizing that there is something more. There is light at the end of the tunnel. But too often we find ourselves just shaking our heads saying, It’s not fair, and woe is me.

And speaking of fair, in chapter 39, note where Joseph’s life continues. He finally rises to some degree of prominence within Potiphar’s household. And in chapter 39, beginning in verse 16, after he has rejected from sleep rejecting the fornicating with Potiphar’s wife, he flees, but she catches his garment, and in verse 16, she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, and she told him the same story, saying, The Hebrew servant whom you have brought among us came in to me to laugh at me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house. As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, this is the way your servant treated me.

His anger was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. And again, we stop the reading, and if you looked just at Joseph’s life, you’d say, Yeah, he had some good times. Yes, God was blessing him, but now he’s found himself in a pit. Now he’s in jail for acting righteously. If I was Joseph, I would be thinking, God, how is this possible? How is this fair? I don’t understand. Why have you left me here? I don’t understand your plan. How can I trust you? I think verse 21 is critical to the story. Even there in prison, note the Lord’s awareness. And verse 21, but the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed. Where was God when Joseph was in the pit? Where was God when Joseph was in prison? He was there with his servant. He never left his side. He never left. Joseph may have questioned if God was there, but God absolutely was. And so when I look at my time in life, and it may be something that struggle I’ve struggled with for months, maybe even years, I need to know that regardless, my God is with me.

Our God, who we can and must trust, is there. He is watching, he is listening. He is there for us, his children. That’s a powerful blessing. Amen. That God is with us, that God is watching, and that God will bless us. In Joseph’s case, again, like with Abraham’s, we could say it’s a little bit different because he was receiving a blessing. But do we really know how our life will turn out? How many of you here believe that 10 years ago your life would have gone on exactly as it did? How many of you in the last ten years have gained someone new or lost someone you loved? How different is the world just in every year, let alone every decade, every century. Every moment in this life is precious and powerful and wonderful.

5. God Alone Brings Victory and Peace

But the question is not, is God there? The question is when will God’s will fully be done? And the answer to that is after this life. We need to recognize that God alone brings victory and peace. Was that not exactly the message that Hananiah the seer had for Asa back in Second Chronicles chapter 16? He said, You have already had these victories like the victory over the Libyans. God provided you the victory because you relied on him. But the fault of Asa, the fault that had Asa furious with Hananiah the seer, telling him that there would be more wars at the end of verse 9, was that he did not rely on the Lord. Instead, who did Hasa rely on? The king of Syria, someone tangible, someone there.

How do we trust that God’s going to bring victory? We know it conceptually to be true. How do we believe it? Isaiah chapter 25 and verse 1 is a powerful example of how we can learn, how we can know. It’s easy to say where God isn’t, but we need to look where God has been and where he always will be. Isaiah 25 and verse 1, he writes, Oh Lord, you are my God. I will exalt you, I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. Where is God in my life? If you don’t see him anywhere, know he was at the cross when he sent Jesus to die for our sins. If you don’t see where God is working in your life, whether it’s in your family or in your job, or even within the local area of Orlando that you live in.

Recognize where is God? He is loving you. Before the foundation of the world, he had a plan. Jesus would die on the cross for our sins, that we could be with Him forever. That is the victory that God offers. That is the strength behind the peace that surpasses understanding. In Philippians chapter 4, we read about the unique blessings that we can have. We need to rejoice in God. We need to meditate on good things, recognize all the good that He has done. But if we’re going to trust in God, we have to recognize that our trust is not dependent on our physical circumstances. Our trust is in Jesus who has already won the victory. That’s a life, that’s a game changer. Because my life will be different if I’m living for that eternal city.

That city whose designer and builder is God. I need to trust that God alone brings that victory that gives that peace. And that means looking beyond my moment in life. It means looking as Isaiah references in chapter 25 and verse 1. Look at what God has done. See what he’s done for you in your life. Even bring it back to a physical perspective. Think about all the blessings God has given you. The health that you do have, the things that you do enjoy. The blessings that are unique to this country and perhaps all the history of the world. Our God is good all the time. In times of physical prosperity and in times and most importantly, of spiritual victory. That’s what God promises. We need to evaluate is our trust in God only going as far as He blesses me?

6. Take Perspective of Eternal Life

Because if then my faith is no better than the Jews who were looking for a physical kingdom. Instead of rejecting and crucifying the spiritual Savior, the spiritual King, Jesus the Christ. We need to look for that eternal salvation. And the bottom line is we need to take perspective of eternal life. In Mark chapter 9, verses 43 through 48, we see over and over that Jesus tells us, if it comes to it, if your eye causes you to sin, you’re better off to do what than to burn with it in hell? To pluck it out. If your hand or your arm causes you to sin, what is better than to burn with your hand in hell? To cut it off. There is nothing that is worth being separated from God forever.

Nothing. And our trust in God tells us that because we know being with Him is everything. Hell is the absence of being with God. But look with me at one final passage this morning in Hebrews chapter eleven as we conclude the lesson. In Hebrews chapter 11, as we read about these great men and women of faith, consider their physical circumstances. Consider the way that their life ended. Consider why they persisted, how they got through, how their trust in the Lord was sure and resolute. In Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 32, and what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah of David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouse of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put armies to flight.

Women received back their dead by resurrection. And we see the great power of God there. It’s easy to trust a God who we know can stop them outs of lions. But do we have the trust that the rest did? As verse 35 continues, some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth, and all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

This group of individuals took perspective of eternal life, not just those who God favored in the physical life, stopping the mouths of lions, granting kingdom victories. It’s not enough to trust God when things go well and he blesses us with physical gain. We must trust God all the time, never allowing our faith to be shaken. We need to take perspective of this moment, realize this moment is fleeting, this moment is passing. God alone offers victory. God alone offers peace. And we need to take perspective that even if I suffered with whatever affliction I’m going through, however many in number they might be, however large in scope it may be feeling, this life will end. But eternity with God is forever. We need to choose today to trust in our God who will bring spiritual victory, who grants us and wants us to be with Him forever, gaining access to the eternal life available through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Conclusion

We need to recognize that, like those men and women of Hebrews chapter 11, that whether in victory or in physical defeat, our God reigns. Our God wins. And those who are with him will gain the victory that only trusting in the Lord will provide. Do you trust in Jesus? Will you trust that his way is best? Not just acknowledge it, but truly recognize that what Jesus has said will come to pass. Recognize that you can make your life right with him now. If you do believe, if you do know and understand that God’s way is not only best, but the only way to true salvation, to true victory. Don’t be like Asa. Be like Asa in the sense that he was wholly true, the Lord is God.

But don’t be like Asa and trust physical people of the world. Don’t trust physicians. Trust in the mighty spiritual physician that is God. Recognize that this life is temporal, this life is passing. You can make your life right with God today. Repent of any sins, repent of any lack of trust in God, and have your South Bumbi brothers and sisters pray with and pray for you. And if you’ve never been a Christian, recognize that the victory in God is only available through Christ Jesus our Lord. Only available by becoming an heir of Abraham, offspring according to that great promise. Do you trust in God today? If so, make things right with Him. Don’t leave this building without being right with God. Come forward as we stand and sing the invitation song.