Trust & Obey Pastor Timothy Hinkle December 30, 2012

Proverbs 3:1-8 New King James Version (NKJV) 1 My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; 2 For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you.your 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, 4 And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.of your heart

Proverbs 3:1-8 New King James Version (NKJV) 5 Trust in the L ORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the L ORD and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.eyes

Proverbs 14:12 New King James Version (NKJV) 12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

Isaiah 55:9 New King James Version (NKJV) 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.your

Proverbs 3:5-6 New King James Version (NKJV) 5 Trust in the L ORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Simple Facts We Must Accept 0 We serve a SOVEREIGN GOD! 0 HE does what pleases HIM 0 His ways are HIGHER AND BETTER than our ways 0 We should not question or challenge His will for our lives 0 God’s ways do not make sense to us 0 Our ways are fallible and lowly just as our righteousness is like filthy rags

0 God loves us with an everlasting love and therefore HE ALWAYS HAS OUR BEST INTEREST AT HEART! 0 When we are discouraged, we must remember this 0 We must also remember that left to our own devises, our ways only lead to death Simple Facts We Must Accept

Hearing His Voice 0 We have established that we MUST TRUST God and OBEDIENCE is evidence of that TRUST 0 In order to obey God, we MUST also be able to hear God’s voice. Question: How do we hear God’s voice? Answer: Through prayer and time spent in God’s Word

Hearing His Voice—We Have Assurances Deuteronomy 4:29 But from there you will seek the L ORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.your Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.

Jeremiah 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.your Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Hearing His Voice—We Have Assurances

John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 1 Kings 19:12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the L ORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Hearing His Voice—We Have Assurances

2 Ways to Hear God 0 The still small voice—the Holy Spirit (the Helper) 0 Through the Word—also the Holy Spirit bringing clarity and life! Hence: The two will always be in agreement 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

In Application 0 Obeying God is not always an easy thing to do. 0 Many around you will not agree when you are listening and following the voice of God (remember His ways are highter than man’s ways, but man always thinks he knows best—even though his [man’s] ways lead to DEATH)

Matthew 10:34-39 New King James Version (NKJV) 34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

Prayer Dear Heavenly Father, I have purposed in my heart to both trust and obey YOU! Help me be disciplined enough to spend time in prayer and time in Your Word (the Bible) so that I can hear Your voice and obey you. Give me the strength and the courage to obey you even when those closest to me come against me. I recognize your Lordship over my life and humbly present myself as a living sacrifice which is my reasonable service, having been bought by the precious blood of Jesus. In Jesus’ name, AMEN