Today, on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. You say, Can I trust God? Of course you can. With God, there are no emergencies, no unpredictable situations. He can always be trusted because of his constant character, his eternal truth.
and as a faithful promises. And so in every circumstance of life Joyful and sorrowful, trust God. He's always faithful. Welcome to the verdict. the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe.
Sometimes even our closest friends and family members let us down.
So who can we really trust when times get tough and storms come our way? Today on the verdict, we're continuing our series called What Would You Ask God? by asking a key question for all of us. Exactly why should we trust God? Let's join Pastor Jean Monroe as he introduces today's lesson.
Can you imagine having a friend who's completely trustworthy? He or she never lies, never deceives you. is always true to his or her word, has impeccable integrity. Would that mean you would trust that person in any situation? We're currently studying difficult questions that are teaching us important truths about God.
Today we're considering this question. Can I trust God? The best of friends and the most reliable of people sometimes let us down. And no matter how hard we try, we ourselves are not completely reliable. But God is not like us.
God is faithful. God never changes. God never grows tired of us. God never needs a break or is too busy for us. Therefore, God can be relied on 100%.
If you have a Bible, open it to the last book of the Old Testament, the book of Malachi. And we're going to read just one verse, chapter three. verse six. We're learning that we can trust God Always because of his constant Character. Malachi three then verse six The Lord is speaking.
He says, For I the Lord Do not Change, that's it. I do not change. Therefore, you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. Who is God? God is unchanging and unchangeable.
He is Yahweh. He does not. change. He is God. He is constant in his character.
Therefore, Trust them. There is a second reason. God can always be trusted, first of all, because of his constant character. Secondly, God can always be trusted because of his eternal. truths.
Psalm 119 verse 889. Forever, O Lord. Your word. is settled in heaven. How long is God's word settled in heaven?
Forever. Forever, O Lord. Your word is settled in heaven. Jesus says that the heavens and the earth will pass away, but my word will not pass away. It is forever.
settled in heaven. You can choose not to believe it. You can base your life on a lie. You can base your life on fantasy. You can make your own truth.
You can manufacture your own little God. But it doesn't alter the fact that God's absolute truth is forever settled for all of eternity. And if you're wise, you trust that God and place your life and place your eternal future in the hands of that God. God can always be trusted. first of all, because of his constant character.
Secondly, God can always be trusted because of his eternal truths. And I'm going to ask my dear wife, who's a little nervous about doing this, to come and give an example of an illustration. of trusting Got. Growing up in a caring family in the Faroe Islands with three younger brothers, a sister and numerous cousins, I always thought that one day I would marry and have children of my own. That is how it's supposed to be, right?
In my early twenties I met a man God intended for me to marry. John grew up in a wonderful family in Scotland with loving parents and five brothers. He, too, was looking forward to one day marrying and having a family of his own. We fell in love and married. In our first few years of marriage our life was very fulfilling.
Both of us were active Christians and led very busy lives. We were very much involved in our church. Around our fifth wedding anniversary, we decided to investigate the reason we had not yet conceived. We both expected to have several children. After many different tests without conclusive results, we accepted that if God wanted us to have children, He would make a way.
We were not anxious and claimed Isaiah 41, verse 10.
So do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. John was a busy attorney in Scotland.
We loved where we were in our lives with a lovely home in the country. I must admit, I still thought I would conceive one of those days. It was hard when one by one our friends announced that they were pregnant. I would come home and wonder what was wrong with me. John and I had many discussions during this time about our infertility.
Over and over again John assured me that he loved me very much and that the fact that I hadn't been able to conceive was not going to make him love me any less. No baby didn't mean the end of our happy marriage. We also decided that we were not going to let our infertility take over our lives. Court was in control. In Jeremiah twenty-nine, verse eleven, The Lord declares that He has plans for us, plans to prosper us and to give us a hope and not to harm us, plans to give you a hope and a future.
During this time, God was working in John's heart. He was a successful attorney who really enjoyed his practice of law.
However, God was calling him into full-time ministry. This would mean dramatic changes for us. it was scary for me to even consider moving from our comfortable home and lifestyle into the unknown. When John first told me that he was thinking of going to the US to attend seminary, I was shocked. I tried not to think about it.
I tried to put it behind me.
However, I knew I couldn't continue to ignore it.
So on a Saturday morning, over breakfast, John did ask me if I had even prayed about it. Of course I hadn't prayed about it and confessed that to him. He assured me that if after having prayed about it I felt that I couldn't go, that that would be all right with him. He knew the Lord wouldn't call him into ministry without my total agreement. Again the words of the LORD in Isaiah forty one were precious For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, I will help you.
Do not be afraid.
Well, on our seventh wedding anniversary, we closed on our Scottish home John settled with his business partners, and we moved to Dallas, Texas, where John started his four year course at Dallas Theological Seminary. We loved meeting new friends and the new adventure of living in the US, with Jack in the Box, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Chilis and the Dallas Cowboys. Shortly after arriving in Dallas, we began to talk about looking into adoption. We researched and got many contacts of adoption agencies.
The various applications were exhaustive. Several doors closed on us. One day, a friend mentioned a small adoption agency in Dallas called Quality of Life. Our friends were waiting to adopt a child with them at that time. I called and was told that they did not have a waiting list.
Could I maybe call back in a year's time?
Soon afterwards, our friends got pregnant and called Quality of Life to let them know of their exciting news. Unknown to us, our friends mentioned to Quality of Life who counseled pregnant girls not to have an abortion, but rather to bring the baby into the world that we had tried to call them. The director remembered my calling and proceeded to ask our friends for some information on us. The result was that we received a call and were invited to come to a meeting the following week. Then we were invited to come to a second meeting where we were told that they would indeed work with us.
This took place in March of nineteen eighty three. And this was very exciting. We proceeded to comply with all the requirements of the State of Texas for families who are seeking to adopt, and we got ready for the long wait. During this time, we prayed much for the mother of our baby and the baby God had chosen for us. Christopher John Monroe was born on Thanksgiving morning of nineteen eighty three.
We were asked to come to Parkland Hospital in Dallas two days after his birth to pick him up and take him home. He was the most beautiful baby we had ever seen. We cannot express the emotions that we felt to have this precious baby entrusted into our lives and care. We had then been married for over nine years.
Now began an exciting chapter for us with a new life to love, cherish and nurture in the ways of the Lord. John and I have proved that God is faithful, is always in control, and can always be trusted. Let me close very quickly. We've said that God can always be trusted because of His constant character, because of His eternal truths, finally, because of His faithful promises. Are we saying, Great is thy faithfulness.
Lamentations 3, 22. The Lord's loving kindnesses indeed never cease. His compassions never failed. You get that? Never failed.
never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. When you got up this morning, God's compassion and God's faithfulness to you were new. It's fresh.
He'll never desert you. He'll never leave you. What God promises, He will always follow through with. When He says, I will never leave you nor forsake you. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
When he says, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved. This is trusting God. This is living by faith. This is standing on the faithful and unchanging promises of God.
Even in the dark, even in the storm. Even when the world around us is shaking, even when it seems uncertain, even when we don't know how we will possibly survive and live another day, God is faithful. In an unchanging world, God is always faithful. Let me remind you of a couple of promises of God on which you can absolutely depend. First of all, Purification of sin.
1 John 1. Verses 8 and 9. Here is a great promise based on the faithfulness of God. John puts it this way. In 1 John 1, Verse 8: If we say we have not sinned, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful. And righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all. And righteousness. Here is a glorious promise on which each one of us can depend. Don't deny your sin.
John says, if you do that, you're deceiving yourself. You're not deceiving us. We know you're a sinner. You know, we are sinners. You need Purified.
You need spiritual cleansing. You say, how does that come? It comes through trusting in Christ. who alone is able to cleanse you. who can get rid of your shame and your guilt.
John tells us at the end of verse 7: the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
So the question is: if you confess your sins, Will God forgive you? Of course he will, because God is what? Faithful. and just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If you have not yet come to Christ, I urge you to come to Christ.
You say, John, I've really messed up. I'm a terrible sinner. God specialises in saving Terrible sinners. Paul said he was the chief of sinners. No sin is too bad.
All of this shame. All of the guilt, all of the mess of your life will be wiped out, eternally cleansed. Why? Because God is faithful. He says, if you confess your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive you your sin and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
There is a promise to claim. purification of sin. Here is a second one, the Provision of a way of escape in a time of temptation. First Corinthians ten Verse thirteen Here is a wonderful promise for all of us. Because this verse applies to all of us.
No temptation. has overtaken you, but such as is common to man. Isn't that true? Don't think you're the only person who's tempted. Don't think that you're special.
You are tempted. I am tempted. Our Savior Himself was tempted. The devil tempted him. Temptation is not sinful, it is yielding to the temptation.
So Paul says. No temptation has overtaken you. Apply this to yourself today, but such as is common to man. And God is what? Faithful.
who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. Isn't that wonderful? Don't tell me you could do nothing else but commit that sin. Don't say I'm so addicted to that sin I can do nothing else when that temptation does is to commit the sin once again. Absolutely not.
God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted beyond that which you're able to bear. He will not put you through a test that you cannot endure. Why? Because he's faithful.
So don't attack the integrity of God. Of course, we can choose to sin. But Paul is saying every time temptation comes knocking at your door, And it will. and it does. God is faithful.
and with every temptation There is what? What does the verse say, 1 Corinthians 10:13? There is a way of escape that you are able to endure it. The picture is that we. Are facing the enemy, and the enemy is right in front of us, and the enemy is about to kill us.
They outnumber us in their very fierce, and we think there is no way out, our back is against the wall, there is nowhere to turn. But then we look round and we see a narrow mountain path. There is a way of escape, and we're able to take that and to escape the enemy. That's the picture.
So it's Temptation comes knocking at your door this week. What are you going to do? Look for the way of escape. And maybe Memorizing a scripture or calling to mind a scripture you've memorized, praying to God. Calling a friend.
Leaving the situation, whatever it is, there is always a way of escape. Why? Because God is faithful. Claim the promise of the provision of a way of escape in the time of temptation. Here is a final one in First Thessalonians 5.
verses twenty three and twenty four. There is purification of sin, there's provision of a way of escape, there's also protection from evil in Second Thessalonians three, verse three. But finally, promise for the future. First Thessalonians, Chapter five Verses twenty three and twenty four. Listen to Paul.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. You say, I'm not sure if I'll make it. I'm not sure if I'll make it to heaven. I'm not sure if I'll be ready when Christ comes. Verse 23.
Faithful is he who calls you. and he will also bring it to pass. Here is a promise for the future to those of us who are redeemed, to those of us who know Christ. We all wonder about the future. How will it be?
How will it be when death comes? Will we be able to stand before God? And the answer is yes, God is faithful. What he has promised, he will bring to pass. He never allows one of his children to be lost.
Trust God because he's faithful to his promises. He's absolutely dependable.
Some of you face serious illness.
Some of you are afraid of the future.
Some of you are afraid to die. Will you claim this promise? Will you say, as the psalmist says, Yes, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. Why? Because you're with me.
That's it. You'll say with the psalmist, Psalm twenty seven, verse one, The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Is the future bad? It may well be.
I don't know what's going to happen. People are concerned about nuclear warfare. We're concerned about terrorism. All kinds of things can come into our life. But we, the people of God, take courage.
We claim this promise. God is for us. And if God is for us, who can be against us? You say, but we've got a strong enemy. Yes, but greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world.
Well, you claim the promise of God. Trust him today for salvation. Trust him tomorrow and trust him for your future. Bill Harding the Third was the chairman of the search committee. That called me here, and he has shared this story.
And with this, I conclude. In January 2000, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, Peter invited Billy Graham to a lunch in his honour. Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because he struggles with Parkinson's disease. But the Charlotte leader said, We don't expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you.
So he agreed. After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham stepped to the rostrum, looked at the crowd and said, I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time magazine as the man of the century. Einstein was once travelling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle punching the tickets of each passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket.
He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his other pocket. It wasn't there.
So he looked to his briefcase but couldn't find it. Then you looked in the seat by him. He couldn't find it. The conductor said, Dr. Einstein, I know who you are.
We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it. Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle, punching tickets.
As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket. The conductor rushed back and said, Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don't worry. I know who you are.
No problem. You don't need a ticket. I'm sure you bought one. Einstein looked at him and said, Young man, I too know who I am. What I don't know is where I'm going.
Having said that, Billy Graham continued. See the seat I'm wearing? It's brand new. My wife, my children, and my grandchildren are telling me I've gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be a bit more fastidious.
So I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon on one more occasion. You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which I'll be buried. But when you hear I'm dead, I don't want you to immediately remember the suit I'm wearing. I want you to remember this.
I not only know who I am. I also know where I'm going. You say, Well, he's an evangelist. You say he's a great preacher. God has used them mightily.
Of course, he knows where he's going. But Billy Graham knows where he's going, not because he's a great evangelist. He knows where he's going because his trust, his simple trust and faith, is in Jesus Christ as his Savior and His Lord, and he knows that what God promised, God will bring to pass. He says, I give unto my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish. Do you have That assurance that you're right with God.
Are you trusting in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Do you know where you're going this morning when you die? You say, Can I trust God? Of course you can. With God, there are no emergencies, no unpredictable situations.
He can always be trusted because of His constant character, His eternal truth, and His faithful promises. And so in every circumstance of life, joyful and sorrowful trust God. He's always faithful. But he is always, always totally dependable. Therefore, trust God with all of your heart.
Because great. Great. is his faithfulness. This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us.
From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are, and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.
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It's available wherever you get your podcasts, or simply go to our website. Again, that's theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte. We're located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. If you've been looking for a church home or a community to help you grow in your walk with Christ, We invite you to join us for our Sunday services.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well What's your verdict? As we thought of some of the attributes of God, Have you been encouraged? Have you experienced your faith being deepened? Are you learning to trust God more and more? If your faith in God is weak, the answer is to learn more and more about God.
Ask God to help you. Claim the promises of His Word. Place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And don't forget to join in next time where we consider this question. Is God one?
Or three. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. M
