We have the privilege of trusting the One who is perfectly trustworthy. In this full sermon, Bill Johnson teaches from Proverbs 3: 5-6 and challenges us to allow our faith and trust in God to be refined and deepened. Any area of fear or anxiety in our lives is not a cause for shame, but an invitation to deeper trust in God in that specific area.
you always become like whatever you
worship and whatever you worship will
determine what you trust
[Music]
I can sing the right songs down here on
Sunday morning raise my hands sing
loudly give the shot of Praise but if
when I face a difficulty I turn to
something other than God then my trust
area is being challenged
thank you thanks
and I love you too thank you
uh Eric and Candace are
in Mexico they’re at uh Rancho de sus
ninos the orphanage slash Bible School
slash church planting Ministry slash
anything you can think of that needs to
be done these guys do it and they’re
down for the 30-year anniversary the
30-year anniversary of that Ministry
and it actually interestingly started
from with a family a couple that was
with us in Weaverville for a couple
years and they went from there to start
this orphans and we’ve been involved
with that place for all these years Eric
is on their board at Rick and Candace
and so anyway they send their love they
miss you they will be home later
um I saw funny sign I think it was
yesterday it said
I was I was tasered at the airport
yesterday
apparently the security guards don’t
like it when you yell out hi Jack
hi Jack
bummer of a name for a friend at that
point in time right there all right
Let’s uh open your bibles if you would
we’ve got three portions of scripture
we’re going to read we’ll start with
Judges chapter 6.
so if you go there first it’ll take a
little bit of time there
we’re going to jump over to Psalms 115.
and then from there to proverbs 3.
so if you want to put a piece of paper
or something at least one of those
that’d be helpful
there’s a
an unusual
connection kind of a seamless connection
between three subjects in Scripture
fear worship and Trust
fear worship and Trust what you fear
will influence what you worship
and what you worship will be proven by
what you trust
worship isn’t merely an act of song
kneeling raising hands or whatever it is
actually something that’s kind of like
two-part epoxy it’s the second part that
proves and establishes what real worship
is in our heart of hearts and that is
Trust God is continuously looking for
trust in his people because our trust
mirrors who he is
the most reliable
thing in existence is God himself
he’s more trustworthy than the sun
rising tomorrow morning
that could end that’s
temperate temporal that could end but he
cannot he cannot change he’s perfectly
faithful
so our entire life is learning this
expression
and learning this lifestyle of absolute
trust in God
delayed answers seem to dial up all
kinds of stuff in us on where we
actually mistrust God and it’s never
punishment it’s never for humiliation
it’s always to expose where I have need
to fully confess of weakness because
when I confess in agreement with God I
step into a Grace where I can forsake
something that has perhaps plagued my
life for my entire life
God is looking for people who trust him
the Bible says
that he um that he looks for worshipers
interestingly he doesn’t look for
worship
he’s not an egotist in need of
affirmation
he looks looks for worshipers because we
always become like whatever we worship
we’ll see this more Illustrated in a
moment but you always become light
whatever you worship and whatever you
worship will determine what you trust
I can sing the right songs down here on
Sunday morning raise my hands sing
loudly give the shot of Praise but if
when I face a difficulty I turn to
something other than God then my trust
area is being challenged
it doesn’t mean that I can’t use counsel
it means that all has to be in
accordance to What God Says and what he
thinks what his purpose for my life
people say well we’re entitled to our
own opinion well you can have yours I
don’t want mine
it’s only gotten me in trouble
I don’t want to have thoughts or values
that are inconsistent with his thoughts
and values
I want to think creatively within the
confines of his lordship
because there’s more Liberty in the
lordship than there is Liberty outside
doing what I want
it’s crazy but there’s more room in the
house than there is out of the house
it’s the logic of a kingdom where you go
low to go high
where you empty yourself to be full
yes indeed all right
so here we have the two episodes of
scripture once again
this faith hope and love the greatest of
these is love and the second is
we cannot do anything to please him
apart from faith
love in his faith
Paul in Galatians talked about these two
subjects as though they were one
I look at them as two sides of the same
coin
where he says Faith Works through love
one is the expression of the other
reality the other influence
and so the Lord from day one has been
working to build a community of trust a
Community of Faith because that rep best
represents who he is in the Earth and it
best connects us to who he is in the
Earth
so we’ve got this passage in the Book of
Judges chapter 6. in verse 10
the Lord speaks and he says I said to
you I am the Lord your God do not fear
the gods of the amorites in whose land
you dwell but you have not obeyed my
voice
interesting verse look at it again I
said to you do not fear the gods of the
amorites but you have not obeyed
what did Israel do when they feared
other gods
they would always always worship other
gods and turn to those gods in
difficulty
for example Baal was considered the god
of abundance and so Israel if things
were shaken their relationship with God
if things weren’t going correctly they
would turn to Baal and they would
worship this false god strangely
throughout history there were times they
would try to worship God on the Sabbath
day and on other days or other
experiences they would turn to another
God they tried to have this dual
Devotion to multiple gods plus the real
God
it was always a point of downfall for
Israel it was always a point of
disintegration of who there were who
they were and their identity
and so the Lord looked at Israel and he
said I told you not to fear the other
gods but you didn’t obey what was the
evidence they worshiped other gods the
point is what you fear determines what
you worship that’s the point look at
Psalms 115.
Psalms 150 honey could you I’ve got a
bottle of water down there I forgot to
bring him
it’s summer oh there it is thanks thank
you
Psalms 150 I love this psalm
I I remember in in the early days when
we’d have so many unusual things happen
in a gathering and people it seems like
people’s favorite question was well
where is that in the Bible
I tell them Psalms 115 because verse 3
says he does whatever he pleases
where is that in the Bible
the Bible is not a book of lists
or let me let me put a better way the
list in the Bible don’t confine God they
reveal him
the nine gifts of the Spirit don’t limit
God they reveal how he works
a couple of my family members when they
were baptized in the Holy Spirit wrote
in perfect Chinese
say well that’s the devil
yeah except it was all praise to God
when it was translated by a Chinese
missionary
the devil’s not knowing for worshiping
Jesus
well it’s not on the list yeah but it’s
consistent with the list
it’s consistent with the list why
because those who speak in an unknown
tongue speak to God not to men and it
says in Acts 2 verse 11 says they are
speaking of the mighty Deeds of God in
these other languages which is what
praise
that prayer language we’d call it the
secret language with our children that
secret language is a language of prayer
intercession and a language of worship
of praise
so the list that exists in the Bible are
not to restrict or confine God they are
listed reveal God
so chapter Psalms 115 verse 3 says but
our God is in heaven he does whatever he
pleases that’s like my favorite verse he
does whatever he pleases
verse 4 their Idols are silver and gold
the work of men’s hands
they have mouths but they do not speak
eyes they have but they do not see
the have ears but they do not hear noses
they have but they do not smell
they have hands but they do not handle
feet they have but they do not walk
nor do they mutter through their throats
those who make them are like them
so is everyone who trusts in them
what you fear determines what you trust
what you trust
is what you become like
in this case it’s a strange story of
molded images it may be out of stone it
could be out of wood or Rock but the
point was is they would worship these
these idols and we don’t have that type
of thing today but the Apostle Paul said
that greed is idolatry greed is the
worship of other gods
strangely you’ll see greed
you’ll see idolatry warned against and
adultery in the same phrase throughout
the Bible
those two because idolatry is in the
spirit realm what adultery and
immorality is in the natural Physical
Realm they are they’re the same sin
expressed in two different realities
greed then is idolatry according to
scripture the worshiping of other gods
what I fear
affects what I worship what I worship
affects what I trust
if I fear
going broke
I will turn my heart of affection
towards money and obtaining to try to
create a security for myself
I may sing the right songs in the
morning I may raise my hands even dance
but if the Heart Is Anchored in the
affection for things other than God
then what happens is it actually defiles
my trust
my authentic worship is exposed when a
difficulty comes because that’s when you
discover what and who I trust
Jesus when he talked about
this subject of God and Mammon
he said in the gospel of Matthew says
you can’t serve two Gods you can’t serve
God in Mammon and in that passage he
actually spoke of Mammon as though it
was a spiritual being he wasn’t talking
about dollars in the pocket
is talking about a principality that
actually has influence over the
economies of the world
says you can’t serve God and Mammon and
when he went to illustrate that he said
you will either love the one and hate
the other
or you will hold to the one and despise
the other
love hate whole despise
love hate
your love for God is actually in many
ways
revealed by what you hate
you don’t you can’t hate people it’s
just stupid
but we’ve got to hate evil
this whole thing of having no emotion
where we become like Spock unmoved by
circumstances around us that is not
Kingdom peace
that some Eastern religion but it’s not
Kingdom
and that kind of Peace only exists where
that person is in charge
it’s never where there’s chaos
okay
so Jesus said you either love the one
hate the other would you remember when
my kids were small when they finally had
permission to hate something
I remember Brian walking around the
house saying I hate the devil I hate the
devil he was he had been freed
om to hate once again because we are
talking Ken hates son you can’t say I
hate this I hate that we told him he
could hate the devil and I remember Eric
and
Brian Leah walking around the house
going I hate the devil I hate the devil
and they just had a whole new Liberty in
life so
it will since you can love the one and
hate the other when you’re devoted to
God your love for God will be seen in
what you hate but when Mammon is what I
serve it says I will hold
to the one
and despise
anytime money is talked about in church
the fairy fact that I become aggravated
over a subject of that nature being
brought up in church only reveals that
there is a measure of trust and worship
that is misdirected
Proverbs 3 is the verse a
honestly I’ve been looking forward to
talking to you about so why don’t you oh
I I forgot I forget a key verse here in
verse Psalms 115.
sorry about that verse 8 says those who
make them are like them so is everyone
who trusts in the Lord the very next
phrase oh Israel trust the Lord
what is the implication the implication
is that those who worship false Idols
become like the idols they were
they make an idol that’s blind they lose
their ability to perceive
they make an idol that can’t speak they
lose their voice in the world
they make an idol that can’t touch they
lose their own sensitivities their own
perception
they’re making out of the can’t hear
they lose track of the voice of God in
their life because we become alike
whatever it is that we trust and so at
this point God steps into the middle of
the equation he says all right now
Israel trust the Lord why because you
become hearing perceiving
sensitive to touch you become like him
in your capacity and ability to live
life
trust is what opens up the supernatural
Grace the ability to live like Jesus
it’s trust
amen Bill good point all right
Proverbs chapter 3.
my my mom’s parents lived with us for a
good part of our life most of my life
uh I was I went to grade school in
Sacramento they lived with us there we
moved to Los Angeles for my
parents pastored and and uh and they
lived with us there when we came to
reading my parents actually built an
apartment on the back of the house and
they moved in there and I would go over
and and uh and visit and I this is the
This Is the grandma that I’d go over and
visit her and she’d say Billy she always
call me Billy Billy would you like some
pie
and I said No thanks Grandma I’m full
and our next question was would you like
ice cream on it
because it she had no comprehension of
anyone not wanting a piece of pie it was
just it didn’t register and so it was
just automatic I was going to be eating
pie the only question was with or
without ice cream so that was Grandma
she was losing her sight at the end of
her
life she died when she was in her upper
80s
and so I would go over and I’d read to
her
and I remember reading a book by Corey
ten Boom for and and uh and she she
loved to memorize scripture she would
always encourage us to memorize
scripture and it really worked with her
son David my uncle because he would
memorize books of the Bible entire books
you know he memorized like Hebrews
Gospel of John Romans so you know
lighthearted stuff we’re not talking
we’re not talking Ephesians and
Philippians we’re talking about John the
gospel and so he would he would visit us
you know and he would retire in the
middle of the afternoon go back to his
bedroom and and what’s what’s what’s
Uncle David doing well he’s going
through the book of Hebrews all this
week and he’d take an hour in the middle
of his day and he’d have the book in
front of me he just began to quote
Hebrews because he wanted to stay
current in the memory of Hebrews me
hahaha for God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son you
know I get that stuff down but the books
of the Bible man I I tried but failed
miserably anyway grandma was a great
proponent for memorizing scripture and
she would quote scripture to me and this
was one of the verses she wanted me to
memorize which I now know
grandma
I got it
I got it all right I’m not talking to
the Dead
[Applause]
I can see the emails now
foreign
[Laughter]
Proverbs 3 verses 5.
and six trust in the Lord with all your
heart lay not on your own understanding
in all your ways acknowledge Him and He
Shall direct your paths
look at it again trust
in the Lord with all your heart
lay not on your own understanding
in all your ways acknowledge Him
and he will direct your paths
I can still hear grandma
quoting that verse
trust in the Lord with all your heart
lean not on your own understanding in
all your ways acknowledge Him
he will direct your paths
look at verse five trust in the Lord
with all your heart do not lean on your
own understanding why are those two
phrases back to back
because if I truly want to trust in God
completely my perception of things will
undermine my trust
perception has to be given to us by God
so that we see the way he sees and we
see what he sees
we see what his promise before it comes
to pass
that way our mental creative energies
are directed towards the will of God and
not worrying against the will of God
trust in the Lord with all your heart
all your heart is a place of absolute
surrender
I have no personal interest in my own
opinion as I’ve stated
well Bill we need to be free to think
for ourselves I I get that and I and I
want to always be free in my thinking
but there’s more freedom in his will
than outside of his will
and so I want to think consistent with
his Liberty in me I want to think
consistent with his promise over me
I’m not a robot that is to be programmed
by commands
but in a relationship
your thought life
is The Offspring of Who You commune with
and I want to tap into The Offspring so
to speak God’s inspired ideas over my
life
so he says trust in the Lord with all
your heart so it’s a place of absolute
surrender
lay not on your un understanding why
because your own perception of things is
weak and misguided and it will undermine
what you’ve said you want from your life
that’s the absolute trust and
abandonment in Christ
trust in the Lord with all your heart
lead not on your own understanding in
all your ways acknowledge Him
all you always acknowledge Him
it’s interesting
for us the word acknowledge means
Chris is in the front row I walk in the
room and go hey Chris nice to see I
haven’t seen you all week good to see
you glad you’re home what have I done
I’ve acknowledged but that’s not this
word
this word is the word that means to come
to know in an Irish experiential and or
intimate way
this word is actually used to describe
it’s the verse in Genesis and Adam knew
Eve as she conceived and brought forth
the sum
I mean you understand Adam didn’t walk
into the room and acknowledge
wave Eddie hey good to see you let’s get
together
and move on it wasn’t that kind of
acknowledgment it was an experiential it
was an acquaintance it was a coming
together
this is interesting because God is
actually giving everybody in this room
an invitation to come to know him in all
the different ways of our life
we have so many ways to be we would take
all day to even try to listen but let me
give you a few family like that’s one of
the ways that we have in our life it’s
our relationships our friends that’s a
way it’s our financial life that’s
that’s a part of our life it’s our
ministry it’s our church life it’s our
mental health it’s our emotional health
it’s our area of Faith it’s our area of
business or work gifting we have all
these things all these are ways in our
life and what happens is we may have an
area of maturity let’s say that you just
have a Grace on your life where you just
know how to raise children and your
children are thriving they’re doing good
your spouse is happy your family doesn’t
mean we never have problems just you
know how to weather them you have a
Grace for that because you’ve come to
know God in that part of your life but
when it comes to money there’s just
constant fear constant constant worry
and anxiety you know worry and anxiety
gives us the false sense of being
responsible
it gives us a false sense that we’re
being we’re being responsible people no
that’s counterfeit responsibility
because we’re taking on a responsibility
he didn’t give us it doesn’t mean I
don’t take ownership of my decisions and
my my my issues financially it just
means that worry anxiety all that stuff
actually gives place to for me to
actually put my trust in something else
it’s the holding to or despising that’s
what happens in the life that goes down
that road so here we’ve got this issue
the issue of in all your ways
acknowledge Him
so what is he saying here let’s say that
let’s say that your family life is good
Finance is a good
but when something happens that’s just
out of the ordinary the car breaks down
maybe a dear friend just betrayed you
and just made up lies they really hurt
you those things are always going to
hurt they’re always going to challenge
our faith but they devastate some and
it’s never it’s never
supposed to devastate a person’s life
so let’s just say that in the situation
like a man you know I do so good for so
long and then something happens somebody
says a lie about me they post something
online and I just get this emotional
nosedive and I don’t like this emotional
instability God I want to know you as
the one who is emotionally stable
because you are the creator of my
emotions and you yourself are emotional
it says his anger lasts for the night
but his favor lasts for a lifetime
there’s emotion involved there
God I want to know you as the creator of
emotions I want to come to know you in
this area so that I can actually manage
this part of my life
this is what he says he says in all your
ways acknowledge come to know him and he
will direct your paths he’s not just
saying here I’ll give you the direction
that you seek for in your life that’s
not it at all there’s two things number
one the word here for direct pass is to
make straight
I’m going to take a crooked crazy path
that you’re on a horrendous
life-threatening past
nerve-wracking journey and I’m just
going to straighten that road out we’re
going to take a treacherous Trail and
going to turn it into a four-lane
highway that’s what we’re gonna do and
that’s what the Lord is saying says I’m
going to make it straight I’m going to
make it straight so pedal to the metal
you can go where you’re supposed to go
but the second thing is what is the path
of the direction of the Lord he would
always work to take Israel into their
inheritance into their promised land so
when the Lord says we say God I want to
know you in my emotions I want to know
you in my finances I want to know you I
don’t want to just have ideas and run
with them I want to experientially
encounter you as the God who provides
you’re the one who with a word sustains
all of life you’re the source of life
you’re the sustainer of life I want you
to be the sustainer of my economic
well-being
I want to know you there what happens he
says awesome let’s talk
and he begins to work with us and
encounter us things begin to expand in
our thinking our expectations what’s
happening we’re coming to know him as
the god of Finance
what happens then
he makes what was crooked straight
and it takes us right into inheritance
it’s the shortcut to break through
in all your ways come to know
it may be that there’s a child that is
just different than all the other kids
which we all have kids who there’s a
they’re all different than the other and
uh I heard one comedian say
I have two wonderful children
and then there’s a third one
that’s a bad joke
I just thought it was funny
we have three wonderful children
but they’re they’re so unique that you
may have a your personality your gifting
your Insight may be prone to succeed
better with one over the other it’s not
that you prefer one over the other it’s
just your own makeup fits well for with
this individual and so what happens is
we need to encounter God in that way of
life in that part of our life I need to
have more than Concepts and thoughts and
be able to quote verses and and
principles I need to know the god of
child rearing with somebody that has
that creative of that creative of a mind
I need to know how to work with that
because I I think so much differently
you understand what I’m saying so we we
come to know God so what does that mean
it means I have to set my heart to know
him who is Lord over that expression in
life
God I’m so weak in this area I would
love to be you know more in tune
artistically or musically or whatever
he’s the creator of it all so we take
time to seek his face we set our heart
on knowing him in that way and what
happens that encounter transforms who we
are and what we’re capable of doing so
here’s the verse trust in the Lord
with all your heart absolute surrender
don’t lean on your own understanding
it’ll undermine your faith
Romans 8 says the mindset and the flesh
is hostile to God it is not even capable
of obeying God
is that amazing
so the mind
separate from the holy spirit’s
Direction and influence is actually at
war with God
so that’s why he says trust in the Lord
with all your heart don’t lean on your
own understanding don’t feed into that
which will undermine your faith and
eventually rob you of your destiny
but instead in every part of your life
every area of your life acknowledge the
way that you have in your life I have a
financial part of my life I have a
business part of my life I have a
relationship with friend part of my life
I have all these different aspects of
life God I’m acknowledging you I want to
know you here so that out of my
relationship with you financially there
is The Offspring of a Prosperity that I
will know what to do with because you
are my absolute Lord and King
and I always acknowledge Him
you know make your path straight
and he’ll take you right into your
promise
I love in the prayer we just had on the
screen
that five-year-old from TD Jake’s church
that child knows how to pray
I I’ve I watched it yesterday a number
of times and today already
a bunch of times
I love it
I love though
I love the prayer
I love the prayer for
Promised Land breakthrough
I love his prayer God they are fully
qualified for the inheritance of Jesus
come on
fully qualified Jesus qualified me for
his inheritance that’s amazing
well here’s the deal
that idea excites me but I want to see
measured answers
the concept is nice
but none of the concepts are merely for
eternity
faith is always to have a measured
effect on now
and one of the great passions for me
this year for us is to see the measured
impact
of promises fulfilled
we’ve got this thing this banner I saw
it there today Hometown victories that’s
what we’re contending for is more and
more and more Hometown victories
the greatest Hometown victory at all of
all
is for people that would come and spend
time with us
as you have here today
to know what it is
to be not only forgiven of sin
but to know what it is to be a part of a
family that’s God’s own personal family
it’s amazing to me
that when I said yes to Jesus he adopted
me the interesting thing about being
adopted
is you’re not an accident
it was on purpose
and when the father said I’ll take you
and he took me and he took you and you
and you
it was a deliberate choice to bring into
his family
to show what it’s like to be a son or
daughter of God to be forgiven of sin
and to actually be empowered to become
what he designed you to become that’s
the life in Christ
and there’s always a chance when there’s
a crowd this side that there’s people
here who have not made that turning to
put faith in Christ and if that’s you
and you would say in your heart of Arts
bill I don’t want to leave the building
until I know I’m at peace with God till
I know what it is to be forgiven of sin
and adopted brought into his family if
that’s you then I want you just to put a
hand up say Bill I don’t want to leave
till I know that’s that’s right back
here wonderful anyone else real quick
yep
here right over here is another one
you’re saying I want to give my life to
Jesus
I am putting my faith in Christ you know
he’s the only one I see that he’s the
only one who has the right to run my
life
and yet he is the most gracious loving
father
he has the right and I have the
privilege of surrender
so I want you to stand if you would
and we’re going to pray together
before we do we just had two people may
have been more but I saw two that put
your hands up saying I’m putting my
faith in Christ I want to know what it
is to belong to the family of God I’m
going to ask please no one move around
right now this is too precious a moment
for anyone to be distracted by your
movement all right
I want to ask the two and if there’s
others to come right over here to my
left
the these folks have their hands up
right here if you could just come right
down here
come right down over here to my left
these are people that we know and trust
that will just simply pray with you
that’s all they want
everyone come right down here beautiful
there’s another one
just come on down yeah come right over
here
and if you have a friend you can walk
with him that’s great yeah bless you
beautiful
greatest Miracle of all is absolute the
change that takes place in people’s
lives bless you
wanted to ride down here
we’ve got yeah we’ve got right here all
right we’ve got three or four that have
come forward to saying yes to Jesus and
uh that’s just the greatest Miracle of
all Nothing Compares with that right
here the absolute Destiny of people’s
lives listen to this not just their
lives but their family line
Legacy their children their
grandchildren entire family lines are
being transformed right now as we speak
so we just bless you guys in the name of
the Lord boy I just pray that he had
filled in with the Holy Spirit in power
wow wow wow
all right I better not get too
distracted here I’m gonna I’m gonna do a
I’m going to jump into the middle of
that crowd I won’t do that all right
let’s have uh let’s have a Ministry team
come real quickly if you went to the
front and I want to pray over you as a
as a church family before we dismiss
so Ministry team come up real quick
because I want you to be able to pray
for anyone who needs a miracle in their
body
to pray for anyone who just has any kind
of family crisis whatever it might be we
have people here that we love and trust
that are willing and able to pray for
you no matter what the situation is all
right
now how about let’s quote that verse
together Proverbs 3 verses 5 and 6. you
ready if you if you don’t know the verse
just do
watermelon watermelon water just keep
your lips
or just pretend like you know
let’s say it
trust in the Lord with all your heart
lean not on your own understanding in
all your ways acknowledge Him and He
will direct your paths
so father I pray that this year would be
the year of unusual breakthroughs again
that Promised Land of Victories would
take place an increased level
I’m asking that you’d help us to come to
know you in all the different parts and
ways of life we ask all of this in the
honor of the name Jesus amen amen hold
your places and we’ll get some direction
on what to do next so good yeah I’m so
glad that you watched this video I do
pray that it’s a great great strength
and encouragement to you and I’ve got a
verse that it really is My Cry for all
of us and it’s Psalms 20 it’s verse 4.
may he grant you your heart’s desire and
fulfill all your plans
that’s my prayer that’s my prayers that
this would be the season of rich rich
fulfillment
thanks for joining us