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Living by Faith: Trust

Delight in Grace / Grace Bible Church / Rich Powell
The Truth Network Radio
January 14, 2025 11:41 am

Living by Faith: Trust

Delight in Grace / Grace Bible Church / Rich Powell

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January 14, 2025 11:41 am

The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand. That’s Psalm 37:23-24 and part of the text from today’s message. Pastor Rich lays out what it looks like to walk through life trusting the very One who establishes our steps. How boldly and freely we can live life when we are devoted to the Omipotent, All-Knowing Master who uses His power on our behalf! Let’s listen in.

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Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The steps of a man are established by the Lord. When he delights in his way, though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.

That's Psalm 37, 23 through 24 and part of the text from today's message. Pastor Rich lays out what it looks like to walk through life trusting the very one who establishes our steps. How boldly and freely we can live life when we're devoted to the omnipotent all-knowing master who uses his power on our behalf. Let's listen in. This is part two of a message first preached on February 3, 2024 at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Lord promised me you'll uphold me. No, that's not what he does.

What does he do? He gets out of the boat. He had to get out of the boat in order for the Lord to uphold him on the water.

Some of you might say, well, Rich, that's just too fantastic. That's okay because God is fantastic. God is infinite and he is good.

There's not anything he cannot do. But Peter had to get out of the boat before the Lord would supernaturally uphold him. Think about that.

Think about that, all right. This is why, folks, this is why you and I need to review history, the record of scripture. And I'm coming back to this again. I've said it numerous times. Don't just leave this on your shelf or your coffee table as a reference book for when you need an answer to something. It can serve that. But if that's all it is to you, you're missing out royally and your faith is hard. Am I describing you this morning? Is your faith hard?

It's probably one reason why is because you're not consuming this. This is the record of God's history of what he has done. This is what gives you every reason that you can trust him because God is like what God has done. You need to review the record of God's character and purpose. What is he like?

How do I know I can trust him? What has he done? So when I commit to him and trust him, as David is calling us to do here, it says commit your way to the Lord and trust him and he will act. What will he do? When he acts, what is it that he will do? Verse six, and he will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noon day. And many of you are sitting there thinking right now, that's great. What does it mean?

Aren't you? Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him and he will act. This is what he will do. Now, as he says this in verse six, he will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noon day. Contrast that with verse one. Go back to verse one. Look in your text back at verse one.

Fret not yourself because of evildoers. Be not envious of the wrongdoers for they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Life is temporary and God alone has the opinion that counts. And so when he says this, he will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noon day. He is saying this as a contrast to the ungodly who are prospering in verse one. Because many times you might be saying you compare yourself to other people and there are people who do not acknowledge God at all and they seem to be making it just fine in life and you're sitting here asking the question through your struggles, why should I even bother to trust God?

Because sometimes frankly, there's a rub there and people are pushing back on the fact that I trust God. I need to consider the end as the psalmist says in Psalm 73. I need to again review the why of life. All things were created by him and for him.

That's the why of life. And so when it says your righteousness, he will bring forth your righteousness as the light. That means the work that God is doing in you, he is piercing the darkness that exists. Does darkness exist in this world?

Yes, he does. And you know what? You're an instrument in his hand to pierce that darkness. And when it says that he will bring forth your justice as the noon day, you know what that is? That is the promise that in the end, darkness will be overcome completely.

Now isn't that good news? Not only will the darkness be pierced, but in the end, darkness will be overcome. We are all living under the just and sovereign rule of God.

All of us, every one of us, no exceptions, even the ungodly who seem to be prospering at this time. But the darkness of injustice, of oppression, of self-centered living that does not acknowledge God tends to lead us towards negative feelings. It leads us to nagging questions. It creates in us a longing for justice and those are good because we are created in God's image and so we long for that justice. We long for things to be right.

We long for things to be as they ought to be. Because that's what God is. And so I reference back now to the scripture that was read earlier in 1 Peter chapter 2.

Look at 1 Peter 2, 12. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that, here it is, when they speak against you as evildoers. Why would they speak against you as evildoers? Because you're not marching to their drumbeat. You have a different master.

You're not getting along with everybody because you're marching to a different drumbeat. When they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. This is exactly what Psalm 37 verses 5 and 6 are telling us. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in Him and He will act.

What does that mean that He will act? They will see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. This takes living by faith right down to where the rubber meets the road. And in the context of a broken unrighteous and self-serving world, here's the reality. Your walk of faith, when you commit your way to the Lord, your walk of faith will be strange at the very least.

And to some it will even be a threat. They are the ones who will speak against you as evildoers. In this context of brokenness, your walk of faith will be strange and to some it will even be a threat. Take Noah for example. Noah trusted God. He followed God. He obeyed God. He built an ark.

He was ridiculed. But in the end, who was rescued? Whose righteousness shown? Take the first century church. All the persecution that even the apostles experienced.

And Gamaliel was right. You know, if this is of God, leave it alone. There's not anything you can do to stop it. If it's not of God, leave it alone. It'll fade away. He was exactly right.

Guess what? It hasn't faded away. The church is a God thing. And so we need to understand that that's why we commit our way to the Lord.

That's why we trust Him. And this is why Jesus, in promoting the character of His people, of those who are His people, in Matthew chapter 5, it all comes down to this. What does it look like to commit your way to the Lord, to trust Him, so that He brings your righteousness as the noonday? Your justice as the noonday and your righteousness as the light. What does that look like?

It looks like this. Jesus said in Matthew 5, to love your enemies. To love your enemies. That's unnatural behavior, isn't it? That's supernatural behavior.

You don't naturally do that. But when you commit your way, when you roll your life onto the Lord, and He defines it, He directs it, He protects it, then you have the means by which you can love your enemies. And that supernatural behavior will result in what Peter is saying here.

They will see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. That's walking by faith. That's living by faith. To love your enemies. And so you will be, what does He say?

Sons of your Father. You see, you are reflecting the character of God. So back to 1 Peter 2.12, when they speak against you as evil doers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. That's Psalm 37 verses 5 and 6.

And then what does Peter say after this? Live as people who are free. And right before he says that, he's talking about honoring all people, being subject to all governing authorities. I just read a post this last week, somebody who strongly disagrees with their governor, and they put a big post of their picture of their governor with one of those cross out signs. And it was a Christian that said, not my governor. True or false?

False. That governor is ordained by God. Christians, don't do stupid stuff. Live by faith. Live by faith. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in Him and He will act. Who will act?

He will. What's your job? Commit your way to the Lord and trust in Him and He will act. Live as people who are free.

Free from what? Free from the judgments of others. And that's what Jesus did. Peter gives us the supreme example of Jesus Christ. Who could be reviled more than the Son of God was?

Nobody could. But what was Jesus' example for us? He left us an example that we should follow in His steps.

And what was His example? 1 Peter 2, 23, when He was reviled, He did not revile in turn. When He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. Folks, learn that verse. Learn that verse. Consider, contemplate the second half of that verse. When He suffered, He did not threaten, but, here it is, continued entrusting Himself, that's the same concept, entrusting Himself, rolling Himself onto Him who what? Judges justly.

Who is that? God alone. The outcome is God's business. Your business is to trust, to roll yourself onto Him. Trust Him. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in Him, the one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10am.
Whisper: medium.en / 2025-01-14 12:07:15 / 2025-01-14 12:11:47 / 5

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