Please stand as we recite the Shema together.
The Shema
Hear O Israel!
The Lord is our God – the Lord Alone.
Love the Lord your God
With all your heart,
With all your soul,
And with all your might,
And love your neighbor as yourself. Amen.
Thank You Lord. You may be seated.

1 Sam 27:1, Then David said to himself, "Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand." 
	We are in the midst of our consideration of the fact that we need to learn what it means to trust and to obey the Lord. We are often caught up in situations in which we think that we know what we need to do by the way of our own human intellect and reasoning abilities. Because those circumstances are frequently filled with strife and fear and anguish, we often react out of panic rather than from seeking the way of the Lord. We flee under pressure, instead of taking that stand that we will only move when God tells us to do so. 
	I am not stating that fleeing, as did David in our morning’s passage is wrong. There are those times when the Lord makes it evident that our movement away from danger is the most prudent course of action. David’s fleeing to the Philistines was used by God in a mighty course of establishing a number of things which worked for the good of His people through the manifested power and wisdom of God in action. 
	What we do need to have established, however, is that we only go when the Lord says go, and we only stay when the Lord says to stay. Seeking His wisdom and His understanding in every situation and every trial and every circumstance is the course of walk with Him that we need to have established in our lives. It means that we are willingly setting aside our way and our will to be fully obedient and honoring to the Lord in every instance and state of being. Our heart and essence is to honor His will alone. Our trust is established in Him as it grows and stands against all those influences and whispers and taunts against the greater measure of our fidelity and honor of Him. 
	 We turn to the Psalmist with respect to the manner in which this trust in the Lord and the obedience to His way was the cry of his heart. There is that resounding struggle which we all must face as to whether we will trust the Lord and cry out to Him to be our salvation, or try to make it on our own. There is a vast difference in full evidence when we try to do things with our limited human ability and strength and understanding. This is in opposition to when we rely upon the Lord to show His Omnipotence and His Omniscience as the preeminent means of our survival. 
Consider what we read in Ps 31:22-24. Ps 31:22-24, As for me, I said in my alarm, "I am cut off from before Thine eyes"; Nevertheless Thou didst hear the voice of my supplications When I cried to Thee. O love the Lord, all you His godly ones! The Lord preserves the faithful, And fully recompenses the proud doer. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the Lord. 
	Our hope is never to be based in ourselves in any measure. It is always in The Lord God Almighty Who will see us through everything with His power and His might and His wisdom and His understanding. He shows Himself glorious and victorious against every foe and enemy of this age, real or imagined in our minds and fears. 
The Psalmist declares, in Ps 34:1-10, how it should cause us to give God the praise and adoration that fills our hearts and souls as He proves Himself mighty and awesome to save. As we learn increasing trust and obedience to His will and to His direction in our lives, we find ourselves more and more enthralled with the heart that seeks to express our gratitude unto His glory and adoration.
Ps 34:1-10, I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear it and rejoice. O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them. O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! O fear the Lord, you His saints; For to those who fear Him, there is no want. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing. 
	This then brings us to the passage which succinctly puts everything together in a most glorious and concise reality, Prov 3:5-7. Many of us have memorized this passage through those times when there was no other place but the Lord to meet our needs. He has proven Himself faithfully and joyously and manifestly over and over again in all the power of His working might in operation both within us and surrounding us. 
	Prov 3:5-7, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 
	This is a reality that is so opposite what this world puts forth in its campaign of deceit and misinformation. This age tries to continually point us to ourselves as the end all of how to make it in this world. There is the constant bombardment of the media that we are able to make it on our own, that we need to build up that self assurance which will bulldoze its way through every obstacle. Self awareness and self realization is the mantra that is force fed to the inhabitants of the world. 
This is the brain washing that is forced upon all of us. Even before birth some parents-to-be are instructed by the so-called experts of this age that they need to establish themselves in meditation techniques and relaxation exercises. This will teach the fetus the power of self actualized behavior within the confines of the womb. 
After their birth, our children are force fed a diet of any kind of self-centered curriculum which would distract and enslave their minds and their hearts. This fills them with the idea that they are entitled to those things which their depraved minds can visualize as their own. The media is rift with the message that it is all about me, myself, and I. Whatever it takes to get what I want, that is the best way to live one’s life in the manner that will breed success and fame and fortune. This is presented as the pinnacle of this world’s wisdom and value system. What is best for me, that is all that matters.
Again, The Lord makes it very clear and precise and unfailing that the One to Whom we are to look for our wisdom and the meeting of all our needs is God. In Prov 28:25+26, He puts everything into proper perspective against the lies and the deceits of this age.
Prov 28:25+26, An arrogant man stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the Lord will prosper. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered. 
	The Lord also brings to the forefront the fact that those who choose to not trust in Him and obey Him will be caught up in the strife and the fear and the anguish of this realm. When we are not willing to look to the Lord and set our hearts and minds and trust in Him, we will be routed and pursued by the anxiety and the unsettled anguish of this age. This is detailed for us in Isa 30:15-18.
	Isa 30:15-18, For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, In repentance and rest you shall be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength." But you were not willing, And you said, "No, for we will flee on horses," Therefore you shall flee! "And we will ride on swift horses," Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift. One thousand shall flee at the threat of one man, You shall flee at the threat of five; Until you are left as a flag on a mountain top, And as a signal on a hill. Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him. 
	Please notice and take to heart the fact that those who do trust in Him, those who wait for Him in quietness and confidence, will be the recipients of His saving grace and strength and blessing. What this world offers is only distress and anxiousness and terror and trembling and disquietude. There is nothing of this age which gives any true hope or peace or rest. All the strife and the stress and the anxiousness of self-seeking is the plight of those who rely on any strength of themselves. They are pursued by the horses of the riders of death and destruction.
	Again, the Prophet Jeremiah joins in the refrain that only in the Lord God Almighty is found that release from the folly of this age. Please turn to Jer 9:23+24, and ask the Lord to make known the difference that is in place in the hearts and minds of those who trust in themselves and those who trust in the wisdom and the understanding and the power of The Lord.
	Jer 9:23+24, Thus says the Lord, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the Lord.
	The Prophet continues this truth in Jer 10:23, with the recognition that the deceiver of this age, which reared its ugly head in the Garden of Eden, is still trying to capture the minds and the hearts of humanity today. There is nothing new in the way this world puts forth its lies. It has more capability to spread them with the advent of the age of media and the instant messages of the power of humanity and the goodness of mankind and the triumph of scientific endeavors under the guise of human intellectual prowess. 
But the result is no different now than it was then. Man does not control his destiny, as we call it. God is the One Who directs and moves and rules and overrules. Why would one ever consider that he or she would be able to outthink the Lord God Almighty in any measure? Yahweh is The One Who has us all in His hands. He is the Only One Who knows the end from the beginning. 
	Jer 10:23, I know, O Lord, that a man's way is not in himself; Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps. 
	We now turn to the New Testament and the fact that we are to recognize and honor the One Who has redeemed us unto Himself. He is the One in Whom we place our trust and our assurance that He will work to the good for those who are His own. These are the ones who are learning what it means to trust Him and obey Him and serve Him with all our hearts and minds and beings. 
The course of our walk is set before us in Rom 12:14-21, as we learn what it means to live by faith in Jesus Christ. Our lives reflect the wisdom of God which puts every trust in Him to deal with all that comes into our walk on this earth. 
Accordingly, we are dealing with all those in our lives through the love of God which sees their need to come to Him. This can not be done through our own understanding and efforts. It is only through complete reliance on the Lord to show each need and each manner of dealing with others, trusting Him to do what is necessary.
Rom 12:14-21, Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. "But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 	
Again the entire principle that we cannot look to ourselves in any measure to deal with the circumstances and the trials and the situations which arise as we sojourn on this earth is highlighted by the Apostle for us in 1 Cor 3:18-23. Here is detailed the fact that we are not to think that we are able to do that which is needed of our own accord and with our own understanding. We need to continually be reminded that our trust and our confidence and our hope is in God and no where else. 
1 Cor 3:18-23, Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become foolish that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, "He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness"; and again, "The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless." So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God. 
	The whole measure of this consideration comes to the forefront in the writing of the Apostle to the Corinthian church as recorded in 2 Cor 1:8-12. The entire scope of the work of the ministry was put forth through the apostle and those who were teaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. It was manifested in the fact that these workers had to be brought to the point of absolute despair in themselves for the glory of God to be seen in the magnificence of His great work through the witness of the risen Lord Jesus. 
	2 Cor 1:8-12, For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, you also joining in helping us through your prayers, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed upon us through the prayers of many. For our proud confidence is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you. 
	Every step we take must be centered in the reality that God is the One Who is the means and the way and the manner of our walk on this earth. It is nothing that we can do or that we can conjure up or that we can manifest through any measure of our skills or abilities or insight. It is simply as we learn to wait on Him, to trust Him, and to obey Him that His wisdom and power and magnificence will be seen in the lives that are completely His to use to His glory and His praise. So be it.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Amen.

This morning’s benediction is John 21:25. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books which were written. Amen.