Thanksgiving

This recording is from Christ Kingdom Church in Waterford Lakes, East Orlando. Visit us online at ChristKingdom.org for our calendar, driving directions, and more audio recordings. Proverbs, verses 5-6 of chapter 3. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your past straight. This is God's Word. If you haven't already turned to that passage, go ahead and turn there. It's also in the insert in your bulletin if that makes it easier. And just before we get started, I wanted to remind you once again we talked about this last week, but we as a church are inviting and encouraging everybody that wants to participate to use this Advent Jesuitry devotional. It's $11, we have copies out here. That's just what it costs us to get them and bring them here. So there's no profit to be made by us on this, but just as a tool, that we're going to be using starting next Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, believe it or not, that we'll be going through using this as a guide, Matt will use it at youth group. So we'll kind of tie in. We would love for a whole church family to go through with us on it. There's a devotional daily reading for children as well as for adults. And so it works well whether or not you have whatever age you have, you can make it work. And of course it starts reading, I mean, the reading starts on December 1st. So you don't have to participate, but we invite you to and we have some resources back there on the table. So just draw that to your attention as well. And that's my copy. So don't take it. I need that. Anyway, Proverbs 3, 5 through 6 is the title of our sermon here this morning because I couldn't think of a better title, believe it or not, and seemed appropriate. And the reason why we're preaching, I'm preaching on Proverbs 3, 5 through 6 here is that this is the verse or the passage that God has been laying on my heart over and over again week after week, this entire fall. And it's a very popular verse. In fact, I've had people already say, you know, that's one of my favorite verses of all time. And many would say that because it's been around and it's one of the first ones if you're in Sunday school that your teachers might make you memorize, or if you went to Christian school, they probably made you memorize, or your parents maybe did, or heard of because it is such a powerful verse. So short, but in two verses so much as said there in so many powerful ways. And I've been surprised even as I've been thinking about what I should preach on this week, I've talked to some of you. And without me even telling you that this was about my verse, I had some eye just this past week, come up and say, you know, I'm going through a tough time, but God keeps bringing me back to Proverbs 3, 5 through 6. And I'm like, really? That's happened several times in the last few weeks. And even my mom had picked up the bolt in this week and was stuffing it. She said, you use them when my favorite verses this week. God continues to bring this to heart and to mind. And if for nobody else this sermon is for me, but I'm hoping and praying that it might be for some of you as well here this morning, maybe to be reminded of a very faithful old truth. Maybe for the first time, if you haven't dwell on this passage, to be here with some things that are new, but certainly the truth is not new. It's as old as God himself is and old as the faith is. So as we look at here this morning, I wanted to give you a little bit of a story behind why we're looking at this this morning. Because I think God has something, I know he has something to teach me. And I'm praying and hoping that he has something to teach you as well through the process. But we're going to look at three aspects in Proverbs 3, 5 through 6 here this morning as we do that. That may or may not resonate with you but I trust and believe they really will. Let me read it one more time. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. You're following along on your outline there inside your bulletin. Number one is this. The first thing I want to look at is trust, response, trust, response. Trust is always responding to something. Trust is always faith that has an object in something. It's totally illogical and inappropriate to say, I'm a trusting person and if it's my word to say, well, trusting in what? You say, I don't know, it's nonsense. You're always trusting in something if you're trusting. If you're exercising faith, it's always in something. Faith and trust both work together and pretty synonymous here. Require an object. But even more than an object, I want to propose to you that this passage even reminds us as well as other places and scripture that trust is always in response to something. It's never just made up. It's never just determined on your own. It's always in response to something else. That something else is a promise or a perceived promise. If you're trusting in something, there is something out there that is promising you something that you're like, all right, I'm going to believe that. I'm going to trust that. This person has implied or said something and I'm going to trust what they said. Every single person here that's married, they got married in any kind of religious ceremony process. You stood at the altar and you exchanged vows that were expressing trust in something that was being said by the other party. A promise for better, for worse, sickness and health to death through this part. Trust is always in response to a promise or at least a perceived promise with that. And it's just the same here with God. One of the things that we as parents have a right to passage is whenever we have children, especially as they're growing up and they're having their first encounter with a swimming pool, is that we have the joy and I don't know a single parent that hasn't exercised this either the mom or the dad or both of what I like to call the child leap of faith. You know the child leap of faith? It's when a dad sits on the side of a pool or a mom and says, hey honey, hey sweetheart. Jump. I'll catch you. And every kid that I know, including me when I was growing up and I bet you had an encounter where you had to make that choice where you stood on the edge of a perfectly safe and good, concrete edge of a pool and had some irrational parent come and say, hey, as good as that is and as good as safe as that feels, there's something better here. But I don't want to just carry in because every kid starts off being carried into the pool, but there comes a place in the time. It's a right-of-passage for the child to make the leap of faith. The first few times can be a little messy looking too, but nevertheless, we as parents have this desire to see our child exercise and put faith in us in one of a very simple way, but such a profound thing is taught in the life of that child and for us as parents, it's a bonding in their relationship as well. It's the child leap of faith I call it and I've had experience it with all my kids as they've grown up. When God says, trust me, it's not just a empty statement of desire. God's saying, trust me and I have a promise or promise says for you. I'm inviting you to believe and believe something that is for you from me and it takes you stepping out to trust and believe it, to experience it. That's what God is saying. That's what He's doing. That's why He says in Proverbs 14-12, there's a way that seems right to a man, but the end leads to death. That's a pretty scary proverb. If there's a way that seems right, if there's a way that makes you think, hey, this is good. This is the way to go, but it leads to death and that should cause you to have pause or caution to go, whoa, I need to be careful. The path I'm taking. So when God makes the promise in Proverbs 3-5-6 and all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight, what a powerful promise that is. If the same God who says that says, look, if you leave it to yourself, if you follow just the world philosophy, if you get what you get off TV or the radio or the movies or in a book or pop psychology or what you hear at school maybe, you're going to take a wrong path and it will seem right, but I'm telling you it's not. But trust in me with all your heart, not on your own understanding or the understanding of others, and all your ways acknowledge me and he will make your path straight. Matthew 7-13-14, Jesus speaking on the servant of the mount, he says, you can enter God's kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad. It's gate is wide for the many who choose that way, but the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult and only a few ever find it. Proverbs 14-12, then it put a little bit of fear, righteous fear in you. Certainly Jesus' words in Matthew 7 should, that if you're going with the flow, you're definitely going the wrong way. If you find the easiest path on the widest gate, you will know you're going the wrong way. But yet look to the narrow gate, look to the narrow path that leads to life. And if you find it, but Jesus came to earth to give specific directions and how to find it, and him in fact being the way itself. It's not just a promise that's important by the way, but it's the person making the promise, right? I mean there's not a single person here sitting in the room that's not old enough to say they have had some promise given to them on some level, but it was in a classroom and a store with a family member, you know, on some contract that you signed, some promise given, but it wasn't backed up because the promise or the person giving the promise turned out not to be reliable, turned out not to be trust worthy. So it's not just a promise that God wants us to put our faith in trust and He wants us to put our faith in trust in the one who's making the promise because we're not short for promises in our culture and day and age here, that's for sure. You know another thing that reminds me about that little analogy with the pool here is that I've had older kids with younger kids, and even though they're maybe physically big enough and willing to, the younger siblings, at least on their first try, they're not so interested in jumping into the older siblings' arms and the pool, okay? Because one, they probably have been tricked before at some point about something, two, they're not quite as big as mom or dad, in many cases. So there is some question there, not necessarily if they mean well, but do they have the ability? Or sometimes there's a question that they have the ability, but do they really mean well? Are they going to trick me? You know, they're going to pull their arms out, let me splash in. So it's not just anybody making a promise, but there's something different about a dad or a mom whose those intentions and the ability are both united in trustworthy, that a child is looking for. And let me tell you, those of you who are children of God, you're looking for it. And those of you that would be children of God, you have a father in heaven that's extending that promise. And you say, don't just trust my words, trust me who's making those words because they go hand in hand. I remember the first time I went on a youth career repelling trip. I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and so there we were going up to North Georgia, in fact we went to a place called Mount Yona. There's a chance maybe some of you've even been there, but I actually went online and tried to find some pictures of the exact place where I repelled for the first time. And this will give you kind of a picture of it. And I consider myself a pretty courageous guy as a 15, 16 year old high schooler, but this, this made me need to change clothes looking at the edge of this. And looking at friends who had gone before me and said, hey, you're going to love it. It's easy. You know, you just kind of tie up here and you get in the harness and you just kind of back off the mountaintop. And it's incredible. It's fun. And once you get used to it, you're going to start going crazy and you can go Australian style and turn down and look face forward going down. And I'm like, going, you guys are, what is wrong with you? This is a perfect view to look from the top. Why have any need to go down the side of it on a rope? But it was for the fact that a guy named Mark Falon, who was a volunteer youth worker, who not only have the knowledge of it, but who I actually trusted, because you know, somebody's tying the knot on the rope at the top. Okay, around a tree. Somebody's tying the knot. Somebody has bought the rope and inspected it. Somebody is doing the figure eight loop thing around your little figure eight thing that you have. Somebody has tested the harness and somebody's putting it on you for the first time. And somebody's strapping up and saying, look, that looks good. You're fine. Trust me. And Mark Falon had to say those words and I had to look Mark Falon in the eyes and go, all right, you know what you're talking about. You have my best interest in mind. You volunteer to come to youth group and go on youth retreats all this time. It must be your reason. You're not getting paid to do it as a volunteer. It was him, not just his ability, but who he was that allowed me to trust him for the first time. And it was one of the scariest moments of my life backing off the edge of a mountain for the first time and had to really put my weight and my full trust in a rope and a harness that was tied by somebody I trusted. But what a wonderful experience. What a wonderful time. I need you to know that. With God, the promises are always built on who he is. Not just what he says. And notice, you may skip past it, but this says trust in the Lord. In your Bible, it should be in all capital letters. Why? Because it's a reminder, this is the name Yahweh. This is the God who promised to Abraham to make him a nation and a blessing to all the nations. This is the God who appeared to Moses and delivered the Israelites out of Egypt's bondage. He's the one that first gave the name. I am, which would be come Yahweh to Moses. This is God who established David's throne in his temple through Solomon, a dwelling place for his people. So who is this God that makes a promise? This is a God who is a blessing God, a delivering God, a presence dwelling God. That's who this is. His words aren't just reliable. Who he is in its essence is reliable. So trust is always in response. And when you read Proverbs 3, 5 through 6 this morning, there is a God who is trustworthy speaking these words to trust in me with all your heart and to lean not on your own understanding. And in all your ways, acknowledge me and I will make your past straight. There's a personal God who created you and created this universe that is saying that to you. Well, trust not only responds, but as we all know, to trust risks, trust risks. The trustworthy promiseer in his promise calls us to action. It's always a call to action. Know that kid by the side of the pool, okay? It's a fun experience to make that invitation for that child to jump. But what does the parent do next? They wait. Hands up. And what's required next, a risk. That child, especially that first time, has to make a decision. One, can they trust as a trustworthy parent in the water? It's not like he cares for them. They have to respond and they have to make a choice also to take the risk. The last big toe has to leave the edge of the appropriately saved concrete edge of a pool. Faith, trust always have a component of taking a risk with that. And when you say yes to a new job, you take a risk, don't you? When a couple says, I do, they each are taking a risk. When you move into a new neighborhood, you take a risk. When you decide to have a baby or adopt a baby, you take a risk. There is risk involved with trust, with faith always. The risk is leaving behind some perceived type of safety or reality, always for some better hoped reality. And what's the parent doing? The parent is saying, look, the edge of the pool and looking at the pool is really cool. But it's nothing compared to being in the pool. It's nothing compared to feeling yourself in flight with safe arms to catch you. It's nothing compared to the joy of feeling yourself caught in that air. I want to love you. And they may all splash around together in the water. There's always this risk involved. There's a promise that there's something better but you got to leave behind the comfort of where you're at. You got to leave behind the perceived security of where you're at to believe and trust that there is a better hoped security that you haven't experienced yet. But you haven't even known yet. God offers that and He invites you to do that. That's in Taylor, the great man of faith who founded the China Inland Mission. He says this, he said, unless there is an element of risk in our exploits for God, there's no need for faith. We said again, unless there is an element of risk in our exploits for God, there is no need for faith. And if you tag that with the Hebrews 116, which says without faith, it's impossible to please God, you see the dilemma. There is no working and serving and being obedient and worshipping God without an element of risk, of trust, of faith because it goes hand in hand. There's a call to faith or trust. That's the risk. The question is, what is God calling you to leave behind today? I don't know where each of your unique stories are, but what is he calling you to leave behind today? Maybe it's a life of complete unbelief in this God. Maybe you're not, maybe deep down, you know, you're not a follower of Jesus Christ. You might be a religious person, but you're not a follower of Jesus Christ. Maybe the invite has to take the risk, which really lay it all in the line and follow him. Maybe you are a follower of Christ. Maybe it's to leave behind a specific area of sin in your life and struggle. A pet sin that wills you in and draws you in. An area of source of unbelief. Others may know about it. They may not know about it, but you know about it. You know God knows about it. He's inviting you to take a risk that the promises that that sin offers it will ever deliver and it will turn to abandon you and lead you down the wrong path. But he's inviting you to come and to believe that righteousness really has your best interest in mind. The path of Christ really will bring you ultimate fulfillment happiness like you've never imagined, but it's a risk. His passage says, lean not on your own understanding. Trust him with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. The word lean can be also translated, rely or trust or support oneself or to rest oneself. So this passage could read, trust the Lord with all your heart and trust not on your own understanding. It could be translated, trust the Lord with all your heart and do not support yourself on your own understanding. Or trust the Lord with all your heart and do not rest upon yourself in your own understanding. Or trust the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding. You pick it, all those would be suitable translations for this text. But be clear, the call to trust is to take a risk and to lead something for something else. Now let me be clear here what we're not saying. We're not saying, or I'm not saying, is that God's saying, look, you don't need to use your intellect or you don't need to use any understanding whatsoever. Because Proverbs goes on and talks about the importance of wisdom, doesn't it? Jesus goes on and talks about the importance of studying the word. In fact, 2 Timothy 2.15 says this, do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed rightly handling the word of truth. So this is not a blind turn the intellect off. But what it is saying is to trust God's intellect and understanding is being far superior to yours. A line yours with his and then understand that his goes eternally farther and greater than yours ever could. That's why Isaiah 55.9 says this, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours and my thoughts than your thoughts. That's why 1 Corinthians 2 says this, the man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned. But we have the mind to Christ. This is not a verse that says turn the intellect off. This is a verse that says, submit your intellect to the one who is all knowing, to the one who is all powerful, to the one who is wisdom. As we've read, it will not line up with the ways of the world. It will not line up with your natural inclinations. It will feel very unnatural because it's not of this world. How does the mind of Christ lead us to take risk? What does that really look like on the tangible day today? Well, I love this story about Beth Moore and I know many of our ladies are going through her study on that and probably have heard this story before. She writes about being the Knoxville airport and let me just read it to you in her own words as she had a call to take her risk. She says, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say that because I want to tell you it's a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you. You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise. Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons, not the latest of which is your ego. She goes on and writes, I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair. He was skin and bones dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least 20 pounds lighter or 20 pounds heavier, sorry. His knees protruded from his trousers and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in a shirt. His hands looked like a tangled mass of veins and bones, but the strangest part of him was his hair and nails, stringy gray hair hung all over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long or long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man. I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face and as I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I had just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then I remembered reading somewhere that he was dead, so this man in the airport maybe impersonator he might be, but was certainly not him. The wonder was there a camera on us somewhere. There I sat trying to concentrate on the word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with the feeling for him. Let's admit it, curiosity is a heat more comfortable than true concern and suddenly I was a wash with an aching emotion for this bizarre looking old man. I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feeling, something dramatic is a bound to happen and it may be embarrassing. I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and starting to argue with God in my mind. Oh, no, God, please no. I looked up at the ceilings if I could stare straight through it into heaven and say, don't make me witness to this man. Not here, not now. Please, I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't get me, don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord, there I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging his highness, please don't make me witness to this man. Not now, I'll do it on the plane. Then I heard it. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair. The words are so clear in my heart leapt into my throat and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No brainer. I look back up in the ceiling and said, God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I'm ready to witness to this man. I'm on this, Lord, I'm your girl. You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in her life. What a difference does it make to if his hair is a mess or if he's redeemed? If he's not redeemed, I'm on him. I'm going to witness to this man. Again, as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. That's not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair. I looked up at God and equipped. I don't have a hair brush. It's in my suitcase on the plane. How am I supposed to brush his hair without a hair brush? God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily begin to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word. I will fairly finish you into all good works. Second Timothy 3.7. I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell the store, my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as dimirly as possible. Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair? He looked back at me and said, what did you say? May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair? To which he responded in volume 10. Little lady, do you expect me to hear you? You're going to have to talk louder than that. At this point, I took a deep breath and blurred it out. Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair, at which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Longlocks. Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat. I watched him look at me with absolute shock on his face and say, if you really want to, are you kidding? Of course, I don't want to, but God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart and talked at utter the words, yes, sir, I would be pleased, but I have one little problem. I don't have a hair brush. I have one of my bag, he replied. I went around to the back of the wheelchair and got on my hands and knees and unzip the stranger's old curing on, hardly believing what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do many things well, but I must admit, I've had a notable experience untangling, knotted hair, mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either a man or a molissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull. A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and brushed and I brushed until every tingle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange, but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I, for that few minutes, felt a portion of the very love of God. They hid overtaking my heart for a little while while like someone renting a room and making himself at home for a short while. The emotions were so strong, so pure that I knew they had to be gods. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's. I slipped the brush back in his bag, went around to the chair to face him. I got down on my knees and put my hands on his knees and said, sir, do you know my Jesus? He said, yes, I do. Well, that figures. He explained, I've known him since I married my bride. She went at marry me until I got to know the Savior. He said, you see, the problem is I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open heart surgery and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting there thinking to myself, what a mess I must be for my bride. Only God knows how often he allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This on the other hand was one of those rare encounters. When I knew God had intervened in details, only he could have known. It was a god moment and I'll never forget it. Our time came to board and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed for how I'd acted earlier and would have and would have been so proud of accompanying him on that aircraft. I still had a few minutes and I gathered my things to board. Their line hostess returned from the corridor. Tears coming down her cheeks. She said, that old man sitting on the plane sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that? I said, do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing. And we got to share it together. I learned something about God that day. He knows if you're exhausted because you're hungry. You're serving in the wrong place or it's time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation or he knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell him your need. I got on my own flight. Sobs choking my throat. Wondering how many opportunities just like that one I had missed along the way. All because I didn't want people to think I was strange. God didn't send me that old man. He sent the old man to me. Trust response and trust risks and lastly trust rest. Trust rest. You know there's a moment in that parent's story with that child's story where they do take flight usually with the last big tail leaves the edge of the pool where they're in mid-air and the child is at rest strangely mid-air at rest because their eyes are fixed on a loving parent because the loving parent's arms are fully extended because they know they're going to be caught. Isaiah 35 says this says this is what the sovereign lord the holy one of Israel says in repentance and rest is your salvation in quietness and trust is your strength. You know the ironic thing is that rest if honest takes a lot of work doesn't it. Rest is not easy. I'm not saying you work it up. I'm saying it takes a lot of emotional work. It's all right God. I'll let go. All right God I'll trust. All right God I'm leaving this safe edge in this particular situation or area of my life and if you don't catch me I'm going to hit the ground or hit the water. It's hard to let go emotionally of a situation to rest in God's control. It's hard to jump into the arms of an invisible God. It's hard to relinquish rights and to rest in the king of kings who has purchased you and saved you for himself. Rest for the follower of Christ shows itself by a life that in all ways acknowledges him. That's the other half of this passage. Trust the Lord with all your heart. Lean not upon your understanding in all your ways acknowledge him. You make your path straight. Trust as it rest chooses by faith to acknowledge him in all their ways because I rest in God's love. I'm free to acknowledge him by loving others because I rest in God's forgiveness. I'm free to acknowledge him by extending forgiveness to others and sharing with them about God's offer forgiveness to Christ. Because I rest in the one who left heaven to serve me and die on the cross I'm free to acknowledge him by serving others that God puts on my path. Trust is in response. Trust requires risk and trust is manifest when we rest. We make knowledge him in all those ways because of who he is because of his power and out of circumstance. If your circumstance doesn't require you to exercise faith then it's not a circumstance you're going to grow or experience much life through. It's those circumstances and those choices in life that require us to exercise faith that we have to trust God to see if you'll really show up. A child never knows that mom or dad they can be trusted until they get caught by him. The wonderer parents wants to get to the pool and say, come on, come on, trust me, jump. The wonderer, a perfect father in heaven says, come on, trust me, jump. God knows he'll catch you but you don't until you jump. And you're the one that needs to know. A parent's child is one that needs to know if they jump. That's what a young patazette Indian from North America learned during the colonization period of time around the 17th century, early 17th century. He was living here in the new land and he encountered some traders from England. He learned from the English and he helped them communicate with the Indian tribe and so he was befriended pretty quickly as you can imagine. Even was given the invitation to return to England so that he could see this other world. His family of course wanted him to stay but he being kind of a young guy and wanting to experience new things he agreed and he sailed back the two, three months trip it was back to England. He lived in England with a family there and learned even more about English and the culture and the customs. He became homesick though almost about 10 years later. Decided it was time to go back and he got on a ship with a guy named John Smith who was making his second expedition to the new world around 1614. He helped John Smith translating with the Indians when they got back and after he had served with Smith for sometimes Smith permitted him to return to his home village. It was on the way that he was returning to his home village to see his family hadn't seen in 10 years that another captain of his ship came captain Hunt came and tricked him invited him back on board of his ship and then with 20 other Indians and prisoned him and took him to Spain where he was sold as a slave even this close to being back with his family and now he's in another part of a world another two three boat two three month boat ride eventually while he was there while he was dealing with the hardships of slavery as it would be like group of monks acquired him and as they acquired him their goal and his eye was to free him so they freed him they set him free as a slave and in more than that they shared with him the good news of Jesus Christ so that he might be freed spiritually and he made a professional faith in Jesus Christ then they helped pay his way to get back to England where he had connections there and that would eventually get him back to to America after another three years there in England he was able to find another ship returning to the new world another two or three month voyage back across the Atlantic when he finally returned to his village after years away to his surprise the village was deserted completely wiped out and gone and as he asked around and figured and asked what had happened apparently a massive plague had come in probably brought by white men and had totally wiped out and killed every single one by disease all his family all his relatives completely gone he was told that they were no longer in existence at all and after coming back now after all the journey after being in slavery after four trips across the Atlantic here it seemed like all was lost well he joined in nearby went upon a Indian village to make a new home he wasn't gonna go back across another trip he stayed there but it was two years later on March 22nd 1621 that another Indian friend took him to nearby new village of settlers new group of white people that needed desperate help with translation needed desperate help to adapt and survive in this new world see they'd only been there three months but through even though they've been there with only like just over a hundred people to at the first winter they'd lost half they'd lost 53 people had died in the first winter they were in desperate need of help to learn how to survive in this new environment with compassion for this group of people who shared his faith in Jesus Christ he begins to live with them not with the Indian tribe he moves in and lives with them and four months time they see they only caught one cod fish one he taught them how to provide for the necessities of life including how to fish for cod how to plant corn with a fish how to stalk deer how to plant pumpkins how to skin beavers and what berries you could eat and what ones you shouldn't eat well by the next harvest they would have 20 acres of corn thanks to him and by the fall they'd be skilled enough to hunt and they did and went out on a turkey hunt see his name was Squanto and these were the first pilgrims because of him there was a first Thanksgiving meal got him William Rafford who was governor for a time there later wrote that Squanto was a special instrument sent by God for their good beyond their expectations Squanto trusting God allowed him to rest in God's sovereignty even though he had lots of reasons to be angry and bitter he had lots of reasons not to help another group of white people while struggling to return home finding his home devastated he had lots of choices along the way but he chose to rest and to trust the sovereign work of the God that he loved and served his trust expressed that he acknowledged God in all his paths and God did make his path straight God used him in a mighty way and we will celebrate Thanksgiving in large part because of one who was a servant of the most high God to do and to call him beyond his comfort zone to believe and trust God so let me ask you a few questions if you trust him if you and I if you trust in this morning will not school look a little different those of you or students if you trust him it will show it school when your friends pressure you to go against your conscience if you trust him it will show at home when you're overwhelmed by needs and fears if you trust him it will show when the doctor tells you what you didn't want to hear it will show at work when you have a choice of taking your shortcut or working diligently knowing that only God can know and see if you trust him it will show and how you respond to a stressful situation if you trust him it will show on the computer when you're tempted to lust it will show when you lose a job it will show in lying would make things so much easier it would show when you get extra money to invest it would show in how you choose to spend your free time it would show when a friend betrays you it would show when you see someone in need it would show on how you spin the holidays and it will show and how thankful you are even this week

is your trust first responding to God's promises and to who he is second is your trust risking in a faith that's grounded on God's promise is your trust resting in God alone trust the Lord with all your heart lean not on your own understanding and all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your past straight let's pray God we ask that you would come and you would show your goodness and your faithfulness that you would come and make past straight that you would come and align our hearts with yours now even as we come to your table as we see our need God our need to be reminded of who you are on your promises here today when you come remind us that you tell us that we believe in trust in Jesus Christ that we forsake our own righteousness that you promise to give us eternal life you promise to adopt us you promise to draw us home and you promise to be our God to let us be your people so God will become the hearts that are in need of trusting this morning God you know each unique situation of every single person sitting here in this room and you know what you're calling them to trust you in uniquely even today God would you grant the grace and the faith to believe in a trust and to walk and trust today maybe even before they leave this facility God maybe before the service is even over as he spent time with you now so God come meet with us come remind us that your promises are all yes in Christ they're all fulfilled Jesus Christ and what he has done for us and what he is doing when he returns again we look to that with hope in Jesus Amen