I’m up here
tonight to give you something to walk out into your life with. And so I am going to take this opportunity to
imitate my Rabbi and ask you a question. Will
you follow & trust God or trust & follow God?
Follow & Trust vs. Trust & Follow
Maybe this
is all it comes down to. In the modern
American Christian culture we lean on our natural tendency to work. In relation to God we work hard, we shape up,
we start ministries, we give it our all…and then we trust that God will pay us
back for it. That no matter where I go
or what I do God will bless me.
This doesn’t
require any courage at all because everything is under our control and our
direction, we are simply looking for some heavenly backup.
I’m doing
this for you God. I’m cleaning up as
much sin as I can in my life. And then you will do this for me right? I’m following after You in general and then I
trust You. God I trust you to bless my
plans.
Now for
something different. Now for the one
phrase I wish you take with you into the rest of your lives. Trust
God first.
This
requires all the courage you can find in your soul. Courage to trust God’s way in your life. Trust the way He cleans you, and at His
pace. Trust the way He transforms you,
at His pace. Trust the opportunities He
gives you. Trust that He is working in
the hard times. Trust that He is working
through your pain. Trust God first, then
follow.
How do we
know where we are going if we lead God and wait for backup? Or worse expect blessings.
So it’s not
Follow & Trust it’s Lead & Trust.
Who do you
really trust in this scenario? You. You become the protector of your day. You protect yourself from judgment with lies
and avoidance. You surround yourself
with company that will validate or justify the way you are living, whether it
looks like it’s for God or just for you.
This is the
path to disappointment in your futures.
This is the path that ends up with you broken and hurting and feeling
distant from God. This is path that
leaves you asking God, where were you?
But if as
the sun rises each day you look to trust God first and THEN follow, well that’s
a completely different path.
You might
think, um, I’m not following down that path I might end up in Africa on
missions, or a youth pastor in the inner city, or (gasp) a teacher at a
Christian school THAT I JUST GOT OUT OF.
Well you might. Or God might lead
you to be a journalist, a congressmen, a scientist, an engineer anything and
anyone that trusts Him.
When you
trust God, He will protect you. When you
tell people you are not perfect but you love Jesus He will protect you. When you go to a new college where you don’t
know anyone but you love Him He will protect you. When you take a job that is out of your
comfort zone because you love Him He will protect you.
Trust first,
then follow. This is a game
changer. Consider the rich young
ruler. How we read the story of Jesus
and the rich young ruler will be an indicator of whether we are in the lead
& trust or trust & follow camp.
It’s found
in Luke 18:18
This rich
young ruler asks Jesus the most critical question anyone can ask. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Did you catch that? What MUST I DO?
At the time
of this conversation the Jews lived under the Old Covenant. They had been given a set of laws to follow
and if anyone could follow all of them without one mistake they would be
perfect. This we all know is an impossibility.
Following and failing at the law was proving to the rich young ruler
that he wasn’t good enough. So now what
must he do? He is not expecting the
answer to be trust in perfect Jesus.
Perfection
is the requirement for eternal life. It always has been. Apart from Jesus
sacrifice for us none of us would ever qualify.
Jesus tells
the rich ruler some commands to do to be good.
They were all straight from the law.
Don’t commit adultery, don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t lie, honor your
parents.
Ruler says,
“I totally do those already.”
Jesus
answers in verse 22, “One thing you still lack.
Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
When he
heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
Some view
this as a salvation passage, not possible, Jesus had not yet made salvation
possible. With that out of the way…
If you are
in the follow and then trust camp, you read this and you exclaim, “Yes! Let’s
get started, I have so many ideas of things I want to do. I will
do all kinds of radical things that I feel will be pleasing to you maybe and
then I trust that you will give me treasure.
I do, you bless. Call the press
everyone will see it, and God would be proud of our accomplishments. I will blaze these trails and I trust You to
honor that.” This is how you might read
it.
If you are
in the trust and follow camp you might have seen something completely
different. Again Jesus said in verse 22,
“One thing you still lack. Sell all that
you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
The
following was second. The selling
possessions and giving to the poor was what this rich man needed to demonstrate
trust to God. Trust THEN follow.
The follow
and then trust camp believes they can do enough to earn God’s favor. To quote Captain Malcolm Reynolds, “That’s a
long wait for a train don’t come.”
See we
cannot earn favor.
Meanwhile
trust and follow camp knows that their obedience will always, always be partial
on this side of the Kingdom of God. The
bar is just too high. Even what Jesus
asks of this man is not doable on his own.
He must trust God. The
undoableness increases their trust.
They know
God might ask them to do the same thing as the rich man, but probably not. God might ask them to do something
dangerous. God might ask them to give up
an expensive hobby so as to have money to bless others with. God might ask them to enter a career path
that isn’t their dream. God might ask
you to be a millionaire island princess.
Whatever it
is, it’s not their plan, it’s God and they trust it. Trust THEN follow.
When the follow
or lead and then trust camp messes up they cover it up, and self-protect,
desperately trying to keep it all together to receive blessings.
When the
trust and follow camp messes up they still trust God. And they know they have not forfeited their
chance to follow His way in the next opportunity.
There is
always another opportunity to trust and follow.
Following
opportunities can easily be interpreted as “Wait for a sign.” Just, no. There are thousands of Christians who are
wasting their lives, waiting for God to make clear to them their calling. God has given us the Scripture, which reveals
God’s general will for all believers.
When Moses
and God were talking at the burning bush and his mission was given to him he
asked, “Suppose the people will not believe me or listen to me?” (Ex 4:1)
God replied, “What is in your hand?”
What was in Moses’s hand? The staff
God would use to display His power.
Your next
opportunity might already be in your hand.
You might be waiting for a drastic call, a burning bush experience, or
specific directions. I know I still do
that too. But what is in our hands? What
in our pathways? What happens next in the story? That is your opportunity to trust and follow.
What a
freeing, beautiful, messy way to live.
It’s the way we were meant to live.
I watched
you guys grow up these last 4 years.
When I first met you, you were little freshmen inadvertently doing your
best to break my classroom protocols and at times I resented it. We met again when you were juniors and we
promised to make new impressions and you guys had a charm about you and
demonstrated a love for God’s Word. Now
as seniors you demonstrate maturity and leadership and I believe with absolute
certainty two majors things…1. That you can be the leaders of this messy trustfall. 2. I love you guys.
Seniors, your
lives are about to change. For some of you it will be drastic, for others
subtle, and some of you will be blown away with what is to unfold. I am confident that God goes before you. So ask you one last time, Will you follow & then trust God or
trust & then follow?
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