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