Step One - Refuse to Trust Yourself
Notes
Transcript
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.
A Sober Mind - weight of the responsibility of the decision
A Pure Heart - Seeing clearly that is ready for God to direct me - willing hearted
A Courageous Spirit - What God often calls us to entail us to us courage and overcome fear - God brings us to big decisions
God’s Wisdom - How does God see this?
Faith - Stepping out not knowing every detail, but willing to follow His direction
Preparing
Now we look at the processes
What to do?
Refuse to trust yourself -
Bad decisions almost always start with me wanting what I want
I’m trusting my plan and asking God to bless this my way
David - Playing the Wii
Jonathan - throwing baby powder everywhere
We can be so focused of on what I want and I what I think is right for me, that I don’t even notice or think of what God is doing to get my attention and direct my focus
Argue with God
Finances
Who to date
This is the way I want it, even though it doesn’t fit, even though it creates more problems
We create a default that I know what is best
The first step is call yourself out and say, I’m 4. I’m a child of an infinity powerful and all knowing God.
He wants what is best for me and knows what is best for me.
We try to argue with God and say I don’t know what happened. I didn’t see anything.
I want what I want or learn to lean into God’s view and God’s leading from the very starting point of the decision making process
Lean - automatically go our way and what we want using our logic
Like getting into a plane that is on fire, the wings are damaged, the engine is sputtering, taking off, and then when the engine stalls and the wings fold up, we use God as our parachute.
God desires us to learn to automatically lean towards what God desires and wants
Like getting into the most comfortable seat on the greatest plane every built
We think we got this and know what we are doing.
Downsize ourselves and upsize God
We don’t know what we are doing!
Come to understand that God is the One that knows and our way is very self-deceptive.
Absolute dependence and trust in God
We want others to think we know what we are doing, but we must get comfortable that we don’t know what is best. I don’t trust me. I don’t trust my understandings.
Why would we want to do this decision alone when we have God, God’s Word, Godly friends, and counsellors?
The younger you are the more prone you are to a self-inflated sense of yourself. The older you grow, the more you want to do this right, because you don’t want to step into the trap (you’ve stepped into enough traps already).
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
David identifies as a sheep
Willingly dependent upon God
Awareness of our vulnerability
The Problem with Self-Trust
Pro 21:2
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: But the Lord pondereth the hearts.
I don’t like to be told how wrong I am.
Self defense
Prone to be wrong
Job 13:15
Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: But I will maintain mine own ways before him.
God I don’t care what You do to me. I trust You
Things going well - I trust You.
Things aren’t going well - I don’t trust You.
God says whatever circumstances come your way, I want you to trust Me.
Difficult time - praying - I tried You, and now I give up.
I don’t know what You are doing, but I still trust You.
You are not doing what I wish You would do, but I trust You.
Your ways don’t make sense to me, but I trust You.
Willingly admit they need help in this decision making process.
Pro 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.
Ps 37:5
Commit thy way unto the Lord; Trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Ps 62:8
Trust in him at all times; ye people, Pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
Trust really kicks in when things aren’t going well.
Jer 17:7-8
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
Slow growing strength
The Subtle Power of Self-Deception
Rom 7:18-25
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Vs. 18 - a struggle between my flesh and my will to get it
Vs 19 -
Vs 20 - schizophrenic - differentiating - real me and a flesh me - new me and old me
2 Cor 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Sin nature was crucified with Christ.
God put a His Spirit, His nature, in us.
We still have a flesh. This doesn’t make us sinless or unable to sin. We still sin because of our flesh.
God brings to life in us at the moment of salvation a new nature that desires to do good and right.
This new creature is the real me.
The real me wants to get it right, but the struggle to choose the easy or convenient way is also very real.
Vs. 21-23 - Spirit (given life at salvation), Soul (mind, will, emotions), Body (sack of meat that you carry around until death or when Jesus returns and we are given a new body as we meet Him in the air).
Decisions ground is in the soul - Spirit of God wants to get it right & the body wants control
Vs 24-25 - I’m caught in this struggle - One day Jesus will redeem my body.
I don’t trust my will, my plan
Jam 1:14
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Trust God first and let your emotions fall in line later
Feelings I don’t trust you
Emotions I don’t serve you
Gal 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Finances in London - Desktop computer - needing a laptop knowing we would need a travel computer
Sold the desktop
Immediately I went to eBay to look for a laptop - too expensive
Went to Craig’s List
Wire me the money first
The desktop was paid with a hacked Paypal account - lost that money
I never got the laptop
Really bad
The Trust Test
Encourage the habit of leaning to God’s understanding and away from your own
Get out a piece of paper
Write out your dream plan, be detailed
Draw a giant red “X” through it and in large words write “Do not trust”
It may not be 100% wrong or 100% right
Make a conscious decision to sever your trust
God gives good dreams - blurry
Hijack the dream and do it God’s way
Emotionally attached to the dream
Every time I give the dream back to God and killed the dream; God gives it back better than I could have imagined or done it myself.
Is 26:3-4
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on thee: Because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: For in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: