O 498 – Where He Leads I’ll Follow O 397 – Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus O Opening Prayer O 170 – In Gethsemane Alone O 392 – Count Your Blessings O 637 – Wonderful City Of God O Sermon “In God We Trust – Are You Sure?” O 319 – Only A Step O 430 – Take The Name Of Jesus With You

Isaiah 53 7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 9And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 12Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Matthew 27: And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. 29And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! 30And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. 31And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

O 498 – Where He Leads I’ll Follow O 397 – Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus O Opening Prayer O 170 – In Gethsemane Alone O 392 – Count Your Blessings O 637 – Wonderful City Of God O Sermon “In God We Trust – Are You Sure?” O 319 – Only A Step O 430 – Take The Name Of Jesus With You

“In God We Trust: Are You Sure?”

Psalm 118 O 1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2 Let Israel now say, “His mercy endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron now say, “His mercy endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the LORD now say, “His mercy endures forever.” 5 I called on the LORD in distress; The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place. 6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

Introduction O It’s easy to worship God when … O things are great O you are surrounded by others of like mind O you walk on a quiet beach or sit on top of a mountain O Those times, however, may be the exception rather than the rule.

Introduction O How do you worship God when you don’t “feel” like it? O How do you keep a relationship when He seems far away? O We’re talking about the deepest level of worship & relationship.

Introduction O To be able to praise Him in spite of pain O To thank Him in spite of trials … O To trust Him when you don’t understand O To love Him when He seems a million miles away … O That kind of faith isn’t easy.

Friendship is Tested by Separation O What’s true in human relationships is also true in our spiritual relationship. O The point: We have to work at our relationship with God and — we won’t always feel close to Him. O And that’s when worship and faith gets difficult.

O There will be times when we will feel that God has ignored, abandoned, and forgotten us. O And we’re not the only one! O Ps.10:1; 22:1-2; 43:2A; 89:46 O Truth: God had not turned His back on them anymore than He will turn His back on us! (Deut.31:8; Heb.13:5). O Key truth: Beware of basing your faith upon feelings because … your feelings will betray you!

When God Seems Distant O Job … O There were times Job felt disconnected from God (23:8-9).23:8-9 O His feelings of abandonment had nothing to do with sin, but were a test of his faith. O Will we continue to trust and obey when we don’t feel His presence?

O A common mistake — seeking an emotional experience rather than seeking Him! O If the feeling happens we conclude that God is with me. O However… if it doesn’t, we conclude that God doesn’t care about me.

O There were times when Job didn’t feel close to God. Same with David. O Yet even though their feelings were absent, their faith remained! O Feelings and facts are two different things. O Sometimes there is beautiful harmony, but sometimes (due to our emotional state) the feelings are AWOL. And that’s when we have to focus on the facts.

O The fact is: God is always near. His presence in your life is too profound to be measured by your emotional ups and downs. O I believe God wants us to sense His working in our life (Phil.2:13), but more—Phil.2:13 O I believe He wants us to trust Him even when we can’t feel Him. O There will be life-situations that will stretch your faith to the max — and if we go by feelings …God seems to have abandoned us.

O How do we praise Him when our life falls apart and Heaven is silent? O How do we “fix our eyes on Jesus” when they are filled with tears?” O We do what Job did. And David. O Walk by the facts when the feelings aren’t there.

4 Things We MUST Do: O Tell God how you feel. O Job did (and held nothing back), 7:11. 7:11 O As parents seek open dialogue with their children, so our Father wants the same from us. O Until we do, He will continue to feel distant.

4 Things We MUST Do: O Focus on His unchanging love. O Regardless of our circumstances, confess the facts we know to be true. O In other words, never doubt in the dark what God has revealed in the light! O Job19:25 — “For I know that my redeemer lives” Job19:25

4 Things We MUST Do: O Trust God to keep His Promises. O On those days when we come up empty, discipline ourself to rely upon His promises — not our emotions! O In other words, don’t be troubled by trouble. (Job 23:11-12; Rom.8:28).Job 23:11-12; Rom.8:28

4 Things We MUST Do: O Remember what He has done for us always. O Rom. 5:8 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.Rom. 5:8 O Isa.53:6 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Isa.53:6

Conclusion O Our feelings will betray us! O There are times when God seems distant because He is distant! O It’s not that He has walked away, but we have! O Sin removes us from a relationship with Him, Isa.59:1-2.Isa.59:1-2

“I Know My Redeemer Lives”