Thank you for listening to this message from Life House Church.
It's good to have each one of you here worshiping and if you're online listening, thank you
for worshiping the Lord this morning.
We're just trusting your worshiping there in the East Shore.
But this morning we have a very special treat for you.
We have one of our own who has come back, I say come back home.
For those of you that maybe are newer, yeah, come on.
This is Ms. Hannah Walker.
Come on up, Hannah.
And Pastor Hannah, she has served at Life House a long time.
She's one of us.
And for some of you that are new, since that time, it's been about what, two and a half
years, roughly two years, right around two years.
She went out.
She's serving in a different church and she's doing an administrative role, pretty much
associate pastor role.
And God's just used her in so many ways.
She can sing, she can preach, she can do it all.
So yeah, so we're just thrilled to have her back.
And for us, it's always a homecoming when she comes back here because she is truly,
we feel like she's got DNA from Life House running through her veins.
But if you will just give her one more applause for what God's doing in her life.
Well, good morning, Life House.
I am genuinely so excited to be back here.
This feels very much like a full circle moment, which is so cool.
So Pastor Kipp did share a little bit.
But for those of you who don't know, I attended Life House for six years.
I started here my junior year of college.
And then after school, I just, I knew this was my place.
I did not want to leave.
So I actually moved to the Mechanicsburg area after graduating so that I could stay at Life
House.
And it was a huge role in my decision to stay here.
And so when I was here, I had the opportunity to just serve in a million ways between Pastor
Kipp and Jenna.
I was not really getting away from what it was that the Lord had placed in my heart,
which was good.
It was good.
But for those of you who know, especially Jenna, she will push you a little bit.
But it was good.
It was so needed.
So I had the opportunity to serve in Kidstown.
I loved working VBS here.
I was able to lead life groups, work with the hospitality team to serve on the worship
team, which is amazing because I actually now I'm serving as a worship pastor at the
church that I grew up in.
So it's just, it's pretty cool to see all that the Lord has done in my life while I
was here at Life House, the way that it's coming out now.
And then I get to be back with you all today, which is just so cool.
So I'm excited.
But this morning, the title of my sermon is just this Lego and my God.
I, you know, I was praying about what it was that the Lord would have me bring this morning
when Pastor Kipp asked me to speak a few months ago, he said, you know, it's going to be our
kickoff service for VBS.
He said, you know, you can preach on this or if the Lord lays something else on your
heart, that's totally fine.
So I immediately started to pray into it and I was certain that this is what the Lord was
drawing me to.
So this is this is where we're going this morning.
Lego and like God.
Another thing about me, I am a little bit of a Lego nerd.
I'm going to expose myself a little bit.
So I was pretty excited when I saw this is what the theme was to be preaching surrounded
by Legos.
I mean, come on, like who else gets that opportunity?
This is pretty cool.
I didn't play with Legos a ton as a child, but I just loved the idea of Legos, the show
Lego Masters.
I don't know if any of you have ever watched that.
Yeah, I was so obsessed with that show.
It's just it's so neat to me the way that they can just bring things to life.
So we're going to be talking today about just the idea of what it is for God to be the one
that's building our lives and why it is that we need to trust him.
So as we open up this morning, I'm going to have you guys turn in your Bibles to Proverbs
Chapter three, verses five and six is what we're going to be focusing on.
This is actually the focus verse for VBS.
And another reason that I was so certain this is what the Lord was calling me to bring is
because this is my life verse.
And for those of you who don't know what I mean when I say that, I just mean that this
is the verse that has really just marked everything that I've done my entire life.
Whenever I was probably about three or four, my mom had my brother and I every single night
before bed recite this verse.
This was the first verse ever committed to memory.
And then just throughout the course of my life, this has just carried me so far.
So to be able to preach on this topic is something I'm truly excited about.
And then they're going to be putting that verse up for you guys.
I believe they should have it back there.
Proverbs three, five and six.
And we're just we're going to jump in.
We're going to read it.
So this is coming here out of the New Living Translation.
I guess I should probably turn there myself too so I can see it.
So starting at verse five, it just says this.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do and he will show you which path to take.
Let's pray.
Father God, I just thank you so much for this day and this opportunity.
It truly is a homecoming for me to be able to be back here with my life house family.
I thank you for them.
I thank you for what you're doing in this church, Lord, in the way that I just see you
growing and expanding their kingdom work here, Lord.
And I pray that you would continue to bless and prosper that God.
But today, as I speak, as I bring the word that I believe you've laid on my heart, Father,
I just pray that you would help me to be totally surrendered and submitted to you.
Holy Spirit, I pray that you would speak through me.
I don't want to say a single thing, Lord, that you haven't placed in my heart.
I pray that you would hide me this morning behind the cross and all that would be seen
and everything that I say, all that would be heard is Jesus, the truth that he saves
us, that he sets us free.
And Lord, what it is that you long to do in our lives, Father, I pray that you would make
every heart that's here and everyone that's listening, Lord, let our hearts be good soil
this morning.
Let us just receive what it is that you are depositing.
And may we be transformed by the truth of your word.
We love you, Jesus.
And we ask this all in your name.
Amen.
So let go and let God.
I am also a little bit of a nerd for play on words.
So you'll see that.
I know I do.
I feel like such a nerd.
But throughout even my points that I make, I tried to do a little bit of a play on words
with some of them too.
But because I want you to remember this and also how many of you know it can be fun.
The gospel should be fun.
You know, it's something that's very important and something that we should take seriously.
But we can have fun while we do that too.
So as we get started this morning, how many of you in this room would say that you sometimes
struggle with letting anyone else control a situation?
Anyone?
Yeah.
Okay.
A couple of you are being honest.
I'm sure that there's more of you in here.
I'm definitely not going to use the term control freak because, you know, it's a little bit
derogatory.
And also because I definitely fall in that camp and I don't know that I would love to
admit that.
But even if you don't consider yourself to be controlling in general, or maybe you consider
yourself to be just a little bit more go with the flow.
I think if we were all really honest with ourselves, I'm sure we could each find an
area or some areas where we need to relinquish a little bit more control to God.
And that's what we're going to be talking about today.
So that scripture and Proverbs three, five and six, it's brief, but it's powerful and
it's full of a lot of wisdom.
Following what that verse instructs is the only way to live a life that is truly fulfilled.
We can do all kinds of things in this life, but if we are not truly trusting in the Lord,
if we're not relying on his wisdom, then we are going to miss it in this life.
We can have amazing things going on.
We can be achieving all the things that we think are our dreams.
But if we're not depending on the Lord to be the one to get us there and to work it
all out, then there is no way that we're going to get everything that this life has to offer.
So let's dive in and discuss a few ways that we can really begin, or maybe for some of
you to continue to let go and let God.
So whenever you make the decision to make Jesus Savior and Lord of your life, that's
the beginning of the Lego or the letting go process, but it continues for the rest of
your life.
I'm sure there are many of you who have been following the Lord for a number of years that
would admit that it's still a continual thing, that you have to continue to surrender things
into the hands of the Lord.
You don't just do it once at salvation, but it's every single day.
You have to get up and say, God, I'm going to trust you with this.
I'm going to trust you with my finances.
I'm going to trust you with my family.
I'm going to trust you with my future.
It's a continual thing.
So for point number one, for those of you taking notes, if you want to Lego and let
God, don't block what God is doing or trying to do in your life.
I appreciate they go over there.
Yes, there's one.
So don't block what God is doing.
Don't block what he's trying to do.
So what does the first part of the verse say?
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on what your own understanding.
Yeah.
Do you know that sometimes we can get in the way when we can't make sense of what we see
or when we lean on our own understanding, but letting go and letting God takes you beyond
what makes sense in the natural.
And so this morning, I really hope that through the scriptures that we continue to dive into
and what I share, it just it it prompts you to just trust a little bit deeper in what
it is that God can do when you really rely on him.
Letting go and letting God requires us to be obedient to the Lord's prompt in our lives.
How many of you have ever felt a prompt from the Lord and ignored it?
Anyone?
You know, the Lord was, you know, you're maybe with a friend and the Lord encouraged you
to just say a quick prayer with them.
You're like, oh, I don't want to make them feel uncomfortable.
I don't think I'm going to do that.
And you know, so you just don't do it.
I think, you know, most of us, again, if we're being honest, we would admit that we found
ourselves there.
But do you know that disobeying what God calls you to could potentially cause you to miss
out on what he's trying to use to bless you?
You know, sometimes we think it's just all about what God is trying to get us to do for
other people.
And we should do for other people.
But a lot of the time what the Lord is trying to get us to do, he's actually doing it for
our benefit.
There's actually something that he's trying to do in us or something that he's trying
to teach us.
And we have to be obedient in order to get to that place.
So to paint this picture, we're going to take a look at the story of Naaman in Second Kings
Chapter five.
I'm sure there are many of you here and that are watching online that have heard this story.
But we're going to dive into it a little bit deeper this morning to really break down this
principle.
So I'll give you guys a few minutes to turn there.
Like I said, it's Second Kings Chapter five.
We're going to be starting at verse one.
And again, they should have the scripture for you on the screens if you don't have your
Bibles with you this morning.
All right.
Second Kings Chapter five, starting at verse one says this.
Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram.
He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded because through him, the
Lord had given victory to Aram.
He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.
Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and taken captive a young girl from Israel
and she served Naaman's wife.
She said to her mistress, if only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria, he
would cure him of his leprosy.
Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said.
By all means, go, the king of Aram replied.
I will send a letter to the king of Israel.
So Naaman left, taking with him 10 talents of silver, 6,000 shekels of gold and 10 sets
of clothing.
The letter that he took to the king of Israel read, with this letter, I am sending my servant
Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.
So we see right here that Naaman, he's prepared for something.
I mean, he's taken all of this stuff along with him.
It sounds like he's pretty on board for whatever it's going to take for him to get cured of
this thing.
So picking back up, in verse 7, it says, as soon as the king of Israel read the letter,
he tore his robes and said, and my God, can I kill and bring back to life?
Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy?
See how he was trying to pick a quarrel with me?
When Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent
him this message.
Why have you torn your robes?
Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.
So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house.
Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan and
your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.
But Naaman went away angry and said, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand
and call on the name of the Lord of his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of
my leprosy.
Are not Abana and far, far the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel?
Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?
So he turned and went off in a rage.
So we're going to pause right here.
Now again, I'm going to ask you guys to be really honest.
How many times is this us in our lives?
So we might not look exactly like Naaman, but I think that there are probably times
that the Lord calls us to a thing or to a place or maybe even to a people group.
And we're like, I don't know.
That's not what I had planned.
Or I had something better in mind.
Sometimes we can get a little arrogant to think that we know better than the Lord, but
it's so silly when we really think about it that way.
Or even I had something bigger in mind.
We have to be so careful that our expectations of things don't cause us to miss out on what
God is doing, because that's exactly what almost happened to Naaman here.
He had an expectation of the way that this was going to look.
He was prepared for this.
He packed.
He was ready for this journey.
He went where he needed to go.
He got there.
But when he got there and was presented with this thing that was going to bring his healing,
he almost rejected it because it didn't look like what he wanted.
And I pray this morning that we would start to really examine our own lives and see if
there might be some areas that we're doing the exact same thing to God.
And again, it might not be on quite as big a scale as this, but I think I know for myself
that there have been times that I had prayed for something and then it was like the Lord
presented me with the solution.
But I was like, I don't know.
He was like, what do you mean?
You don't know.
This is exactly what you've been praying for.
But I didn't think it was going to be me that had to do it, or I didn't think I was going
to have to go there to have to do it.
Sometimes we're praying for something to happen.
And then, like I said, the next thing you know, God is calling you to be the one to
start working towards the solution.
Right?
Me?
No, Lord, I meant send someone else to bless those people.
Or can't you just supernaturally provide them with those resources?
I know I've been so guilty of that one.
You want me to volunteer?
You want me to donate my resources?
You want me to be the one to tell them about Jesus?
How many of you in here are praying for someone you know to come to know Jesus?
I know some of us have friends or family members that we care about that are not walking right
with the Lord.
Have you ever felt the Lord prompt you to witness to them and you were uneasy or maybe
didn't do it?
Like, oh, Lord, I didn't mean that.
Couldn't you just drop an inspirational quote on their Facebook news feed or something?
Couldn't you just have them watch the exact right sermon that really prompts their heart?
Or sometimes we can get a little crazy, like I said, asking for supernatural things and
be like, Lord, you did this thing in the book of Daniel where you just wrote on the wall
and made it really clear for them.
Could you do something like that?
Anything but us having to be in a position where we feel uncomfortable, right?
It's not an easy thing to do, but sometimes when we take that mindset, we can get in the
way of what it is that God is trying to do.
So let's pick back up with the story of Naaman in verse number 13 to see how this all plays
out for him.
So starting back at verse 13, it says, Naaman's servants went to him and said, my father,
if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it?
How much more than when he tells you wash and be cleansed?
So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times as a man of God had told
him and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
Naaman almost blocked his blessing because it didn't seem great in the natural.
He wanted things to look the way he wanted and God to do things the way that he wanted
him to do them.
And he almost missed his healing because of it.
You might be like, Naaman, don't block your blessing.
Why did God choose to heal Naaman this way?
Honestly, I don't know and scripture doesn't elaborate on that much further.
But what I do know is that God is sovereign and there is a purpose to everything he commands
us to do.
Maybe he was developing a necessary heart posture in Naaman.
The story doesn't say, but we can trust that God knows and sees things that we can't even
begin to think about.
We have no idea why it is that God calls us to do the things that he does, but we can
trust that there's good reason for it.
Like I already said, I can relate to Naaman a lot in this area.
And so I told you a little bit about my story that this was my home church for six years.
And I'm not going to go into all the details of how I ended up at this church, but whenever
I found this church and I really felt the Lord was drawing me here, I didn't want to
come.
I did not want to come to this church.
And I know the first time I told Pastor Kip the story, he was like, we were your third
choice.
And I was like, yeah, I'm sorry.
It was nothing personal.
But yeah.
But at the time in my life, you know, I came to the church by myself.
My first two years of college, I had been traveling home often on the weekends.
So I was still going to the church that I grew up in.
It's about an hour and a half away from here.
So it wasn't too terrible of a drive to make if I was staying the whole weekend.
So I was doing that.
Or sometimes if I'd stay here, I was going to just churches that my friends were going
to.
But my junior year of college, when I came back, I really felt the Lord was telling me
that I needed to get established.
I had to get plugged in somewhere because there was a lot that he was trying to do.
And you know, that was the way that I needed to partner with him.
And so I was really just dragging my feet.
And I came here and I didn't want to go in.
And I was like arguing with the Lord in the parking lot because it was kind of scary,
you know, to be stepping out by yourself for the first time here.
I was I was I was only 20 and I was going to be going to church all by myself with these
people that I didn't know at all.
And so I come in and I had gone through a very difficult time in my life, just about
a year before I started attending here.
And I'm still carrying the weight of some of that.
And so we have worship.
And then right after worship is over, Pastor Kip comes up and he says, I don't often do
this.
And I can attest to this because I went to the church for six years and I don't know
if I ever saw him do this again after this.
But he he completely stopped the worship.
And he said, there is someone here who basically is just carrying a weight that's really heavy
and like the Lord, he wants to meet with you this morning.
He wants to heal you of that.
And I immediately knew that it was me.
But I was not going up for prayer.
I was like, I didn't want to come to this church in the first place.
I felt like I just did it just to appease the Lord.
Now you're asking me to get up in front of all these people, come to the altar and get
prayer.
There's no way like I'm not crying in front of these people.
It's not happening.
And so I did the worst thing I could have done.
And I white knuckled in my seat and I did not move.
And Pastor Kip stayed up here.
There were a couple of people that came up for prayer.
And I was like, OK, I was like, you know, he's just going to like it was one of them.
And like, that's fine.
Like it's we're going to move on.
Absolutely not.
Pastor Kip said, I'm really glad that those people came up here for prayer.
But I really feel like there's still just one person in here that needs prayer.
And I just was I was I was just committed.
I was like, I'm not I'm not going up there.
And it was just my stubbornness.
I had no real good reason to not do it, but I didn't.
And so, you know, he preached the message.
It was spot on service ended and I was out the door as fast as I could.
I was like, I'm not talking to anyone.
I'm not connecting with anybody.
Like I am leaving.
And so I left.
But the whole rest of the week, the Lord was like, you have to go back to that church.
And I was like, oh, I felt so I think the thing was I felt exposed.
I was like, you know, these people don't know me, but it wasn't a bad thing.
It was that the Lord was trying to bring healing to me.
This was such a safe space, but I didn't know that I had no clue.
And so I came back the next week and we go through worship and the same thing happens
again.
The bishop completely stopped the worship and he's like, there is a person here who
is really dealing with something heavy.
And at that point, I was like, he has to know that it's me.
Like there is there's no way that he doesn't.
And so that time I didn't I didn't fight it at all.
I just went out and I, you know, he prayed for me and we just connected to that point.
And then after that, I mean, honestly, I really got connected pretty quickly.
And then, you know, I just the Lord did all kinds of amazing things.
But had I continued to just resist what the Lord was trying to do in that moment, I would
have missed out on so many things.
I've always served in ministry in some capacity, even since I was a child, like I was always
volunteering and doing things at the church that I grew up in.
But as far as a call to ministry, that was developed in me right here.
The fact that I'm standing up on the stage that I went through camps that I went through
M.I.P. that I'm now ordained that I serve in leadership roles, that is because of what
happened here at this church and not only what I'm able to do in ministry, but the friends
that I have, the community that I gained from this place.
And I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I almost didn't allow it to happen because
of my stubbornness.
And so I want to encourage you this morning, whatever it is that God is trying to do in
your life, do not block it because you can.
He's not ever going to force you to do something.
He knew the beauty that was on the other side of me coming and getting connected in this
church.
He could see this.
He could see all of this back in that moment, you know, eight years ago, whenever I was
arguing with him.
But I couldn't see that.
But I thought I knew, you know, we try to tell God, we try to tell him all the reasons
that we shouldn't.
But he can see the million reasons why we should on the other side.
So we just need to trust him.
And that really has just continued to be the story of my life.
You think I would have learned my lesson the first time, but I think I'm a little bit of
a slow learner whenever it comes to certain things.
So then, you know, two years ago, God called me to move back home and then I didn't want
to I didn't want to go back home.
So it took it took all that work for me to finally go here.
And then I didn't want to leave.
But I drug my feet for a little bit.
Honestly, I did.
But whenever I finally made the decision to move home, that was when I got to go through
the KAMS program.
That's when I got to go through ministry classes.
And then I got to serve in my church and just connect with my family in such a beautiful
way as an adult that I would not have had the opportunity had I not moved home.
And so I'll share a little bit without going into too much detail.
My family went through a lot of very, very traumatic things the last two years that I
have been at home, which was it was difficult.
You know, God was faithful to us through it all.
But I can't imagine what that would have been like for me to experience those things had
I been living here and not been with my family.
So the fact that I was able to be home with them was such a blessing.
I was able to minister to some of my family members who don't know the Lord through tragic
times, which was incredible.
The way that I was able to just watch the Lord show up, I was able to minister and pray
at funerals.
I was able to minister at hospital bedsides for people that were in the ICU.
It was it was hard, but it was amazing the way that I kept watching the Lord show up.
And that's what He promises to do.
But again, I could have gotten away of that.
I could have said, no, I'm going to stay here.
Things are going well enough here.
God, I see the ways that you're using me at LifeHouse.
I see the community I have.
I see the ministry opportunity.
But had I stayed here, I would have missed all of those things.
I would have missed being able to serve in the church that I grew up in and to see the
way that God's blessing it and growing it right now.
And again, I wouldn't trade what I get to do right now for the world.
So I'm thankful that the Lord was continually prompting me to that.
So I just want to encourage you this morning, if the Lord is calling you to do something,
if He's put a passion or a burden or a stirring in your heart, do it.
Don't hesitate.
Don't wait for what it is that God is calling you to do, because you have no idea what could
be on the other side of that.
Does letting go and letting God mean that all the things that you let go are going to
work out good?
By human estimation, maybe not.
Sometimes you let go and the exact thing that you've been praying for not to happen happens
anyway.
In a carnal or a fleshly mindset, we have expectations and desires and that's okay.
But they're not always a perspective that allows us to experience the fullness that
God pours out.
There are some ways absolutely that you can experience God from a human point of view.
There are good things that happen.
People get married, babies are born, you get a promotion or a new house.
There are some ways that you can experience the blessings of the Lord, but there are some
good blessings that require you to lift your eyes and see beyond what the natural is displaying.
Romans 8.28 says that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who
love God and are called according to His purpose for them.
So we can trust that if we surrender something to God, even if it doesn't look perfect,
that if we truly trust Him, that He is working that thing out for good.
So maybe you're saying to me, Hannah, I let go of a situation and it seemingly fell apart.
I don't know if I can trust God again.
I hear you.
I've been there.
I had two specific instances where I was praying for God to come through in situations that
just did not turn out the way I thought they should.
But what I have learned is if you are holding so tightly to your situation that God can't
work in it, then you can't be mad at Him for not making it good.
And so I say that because we have a tendency to surrender something to the Lord and to
let it stay there as long as it keeps looking okay.
But the second the things start to get a little shaky, I'm going to put my hands back on it.
I think I might be able to or God, like what if you did this?
Can I make a suggestion?
And that is not what it's supposed to look like.
He really does not need our advice.
And like I said, I know that it's hard.
I know that it is so hard to surrender to the Lord, especially when things don't look
good.
But I promise you, and we're reminded in this verse that if you trust in the Lord and lean
not on your own understanding that He is going to take care of it.
God is all powerful, but He's not a bully.
He's not going to force you to let Him in.
Sometimes we can box God out.
You can box Him out of your life totally and not accept Him as Lord, but you can also box
Him out in specific situations.
We can get so caught up on an expectation that we completely miss what God is doing
or try to do.
We have to do what the scripture instructs.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Don't block what God is doing.
Point number two, when you Lego and let God, there is some assembly required.
So again, thank you.
I appreciate that.
But for this one, so how many of you know the beauty of Lego is that it's pretty much
all assembly required.
I mean, it's a given.
But even when I said those are some assembly required, I'm sure there were probably some
parents in this room that just like immediately just cringed a little bit at the thought of
a Christmas that you had when you were up until like three o'clock in the morning putting
something together that you thought was already assembled when you opened the box.
I know I was talking to my parents about that and they said they had many an argument on
a holiday because they waited till the last minute to try to put something together and
they thought that it was already taken care of just to find out that it was in 64 pieces
that they had to go buy like a special screwdriver for it, right?
You had to get like a special watch battery that they only sell at like one specific store
on the other side of town that's already closed.
But how many times again with that whenever you have this expectation, can that be really
frustrating?
It's almost like you don't even want it anymore.
And I wonder how many times we treat our lives like that.
You know, when we have an expectation and then God presents us with the opportunity
for it to come to pass, but we realize there's a little bit of work that we have to put in
to get there.
And it's like, oh, I don't know that that's what I wanted.
Lord, couldn't you just hand it to me completely assembled?
Couldn't you just give it to me already put together?
But that's not what this life looks like.
But there's so much beauty in the fact that it requires work from us.
When we say yes to the Lord, we can sometimes run the risk of thinking that it just means
that things are going to be perfect or smooth sailing.
But when we surrender a situation to the Lord, we can sometimes, like I said, we expect it
to come completely assembled and taken care of.
But most of the time, that's not the case.
Coming back to the story of Naaman, we see so clearly that there was something required
of him, right, in order to receive what God was pouring out.
He had to be willing to dip himself in the river over and over again until he saw the
promise of God fulfilled.
Naaman isn't the only story in the Bible that we see that there was something required
of a person in order to access the blessing of God.
Now, it wasn't that these people had to do something to earn it because God had already
promised them the blessing.
It was already there, but they just had to walk out in obedience to be able to access
what it was that God had.
We see this in the story of Abraham with Isaac.
I mean, man, come on, how many of you know sometimes it can be really challenging to
trust God with your kids, with your children, with your family?
And it's not because God's not trustworthy, but it's just because of how much you love
them.
This can be a really hard thing to surrender, but we see in the story with Abraham and Isaac,
you know, Abraham had been praying for the son.
In his old age, he's finally blessed with one, and then God says, okay, now I want you
to take him and to sacrifice him.
I cannot imagine what was going through Abraham's mind whenever the Lord asked him to do that
because not only did he give him that son, he told him he was going to be the father
of many nations and that it was going to come through Isaac.
So he's like, what in the world, God?
Why is this what you're calling me to do?
But I think there are a lot of times that what the Lord is calling us to do, it might
look bizarre, but we just need to trust that what he's calling us to do is for a purpose.
Another time that someone had to move, there was some assembly required in their story
was Joshua, you know, with the walls of Jericho.
They were promised, the Israelites were promised the land of Canaan.
It was already theirs.
There wasn't anything that they had to do to be able to attain it.
God gave it to them.
He blessed them with it.
But he told them, you know, that they had to go and they had to march around these walls.
And then, you know, the last time they had to lift up a shout and a song.
And they're probably like, are you joking?
Like this is the most fortified city that we're up against.
And you're telling us to march around it in silence and then to just shout like that's
so bizarre.
But I think that one of the reasons that these stories are put in scripture is to remind
us again that we can trust God, even when it doesn't make sense, even when it doesn't
look like what we think it should look like, even when we can't work it out in our brains
in the natural.
If God is calling us to do it, there is something good on the other side of that thing.
In both of the stories of Abraham and Joshua that I just shared, like I said, the blessing
was already there.
It was already promised to both of them.
But there was an active participation that was necessary in order to get them to the
place of blessing.
Letting go and letting God requires an active work on your part.
In Proverbs three, going back to our focus verse, it says, in all your ways, acknowledge
him or submit to him or yield to him.
Some translations say this means all your thoughts, all your feelings, all your actions,
all your desires, everything in all your ways.
I know I said you have to leave your situation in God's hands, but it's not just a passive
thing of you just throwing up your hands and never doing anything ever again.
It does mean that you're not trying to control everything, but it also means that you're
continuing to do the things that God has instructed you to do, even when it doesn't seem to make
sense.
Surrender is not just quitting.
Surrender is active.
I think the best way I can explain it is to take a look at the way that Jesus lived his
life.
You know, how many sometimes, how many of you know that sometimes Jesus was asked to
do things that he probably didn't want to do, right?
We see this exemplified perfectly in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Whenever Jesus is praying, you know, he knows he's about to go to the cross and he's praying
to the point of, you know, he's crying and he's sweating.
He's literally sweating blood because he is crying and he's praying at that point.
And he says, nonetheless, not my will, but your will be done.
He is coming to the place of perfect submission, the place that I believe that this scripture,
Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 is trying to lead all of us to get to this place of constant broken
surrender to the will of the Lord.
Letting go and letting God is allowing the Lord to take and move your hands and feet
where they should go.
Like I said, this is work.
It requires assembly.
And our life is the same way.
It requires work, but it's all worth it in the end.
Maybe you're saying that you hate being patient and you don't like to wait or for things to
have to be put together.
I can agree with you there.
Patience is hard.
But like I said, I can promise you, as I've seen in my own life, that the work is worth
it.
Every single part of it is so worth it.
And the work that you have to do, the beauty of it is you never have to do it alone.
You get to partner with Jesus.
You're not just stumbling through and trying to figure out what steps to take.
You have someone that promises to walk every single step out with you.
And then you also have the Holy Spirit that empowers you to be able to do it.
So it's not like, like I said, that you're just trying to figure out how to do it or
muster up the strength.
You're given everything you need to be able to do it.
All of the assembling that's done in this life leads to a place of knowing Jesus deeper.
It leads you to a place of looking more like him.
And it leads you to a place of knowing the master builder.
And that is my last point that we're going to be moving on to point number three, in
order to let go and let God, you must trust the master builder.
So that is what the kiddos are going to be learning about this week as they dive into
VBS, the importance of trusting the master builder.
And it's a super simple concept, but it's something that's so important for the oldest
to the youngest of us to really know and to understand in this life.
The focus verse Proverbs three, five and six ends by saying, when you submit to the Lord
that he will make your path straight or he will direct your path or he will show you
which way to go.
Letting go and letting God shows that you truly trust the Lord to be the one to work
it all out.
It's you coming to the end of yourself and saying, God, I might have good plans, but
you are Lord and I'm going to trust you.
Nothing I could come up with on my own in my own mind comes close to the things that
you can do if I just surrender to you.
Proverbs 19 and 21 says, many are the plans in a person's heart, but the Lord, it's
the Lord's purpose that prevails.
Now I know you're probably saying, Hannah, you just finished saying that we have to have
an active part in God's will for our lives.
Absolutely.
I will say there are occasions when it seems the things of the Lord kind of just fall into
your lap, but that's not typical.
And even those instances occur because you were doing something at the right place at
the right time because you were trusting where the Lord led you.
So going back again to the story of Naaman, he had to trust that God was going to be the
one to work it out because I mean, if anyone else would have told him to go dip in the
river, nothing would have happened if it wasn't for the fact that God was doing something
miraculous in those waters.
So it was an active thing.
It was him getting out of his own head.
It was him moving and what he knew that God called him to do.
And then it was him trusting that God was going to be the one to work it out.
And that's what it's supposed to look like in our lives and our every day.
Following the Lord's path requires something on your part, but ultimately you're allowing
him to shape it and to take the lead.
You're trusting that he knows what he's doing and that he's going to get you to all of the
right places at the right time.
Even those of us who know God and know these things sometimes still have a tendency to
make God so small in our minds.
I know I'm guilty of that, but he has been reminding me so much recently just how good
he is and it's better than I can even begin to think.
Just one more scripture to just remind us that we can trust God because he is he's sovereign.
There is no one like him.
There is no one that thinks the way that he does.
There's no one that can even come close to thinking the way that he does.
And we should be able to take some rest in that.
In Romans chapter 11 verses 34 to 36 it says,
Who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor?
Who has ever given to God that God should repay them?
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever.
Amen.
God is the one who ultimately causes all things to work, so we should trust him anyway.
It really is God.
He is the one that will work it all out.
He is the one that's in control.
It's his purposes, his plans, his desires that supersede anything that we could possibly
plan.
So in closing I want to share just a little bit of a story that helped me to kind of deepen
my understanding of what it looks like to trust the Lord.
I was at the beach I think it was last summer and I was looking out just on the ocean.
It was early in the morning.
There wasn't too many people out there and I was kind of just praying and having conversation
with the Lord and when I was looking I felt that he was telling me to look at everything
it was that I could see.
I said okay, I see this vast expanse.
I see this thing that exists where there are no borders and I could see that and I was
like Lord I know that you're God of all of that.
But he's like what about the things that you can't even imagine past the ocean?
What about the things that you can't even see?
When there is this place beyond even what you can imagine that you start to trust God
and that is when you can really start to surrender to the Lord.
And I realized in my own life I trusted that God could do amazing things with me.
I trusted that he maybe could take me to another country to minister to people.
I trusted that he could just do incredible things in my life but I still had a reference
for what it looked like and I didn't realize in doing that that I was kind of trying to
start to box God in a little bit.
Even in those big expectations that were bigger than what I could do myself I still started
to put hindrances and limitations on him.
Zach if you want to come up to start to close.
So at this time we're kind of just going to take some time to just look inward to just
reflect a little bit on some of what it is that I've been saying and Pastor Eric will
be coming at this time at East Shore.
So I'm asking those of you that are in the room if you would stand with me as we begin
to close.
If you're listening online this might be a good time for you to find a spot that you
can just begin to pray for reflection.
I know a lot of what I've said might sound simple and that's because it is.
It's the simplicity of the gospel that changes people.
You have a father that loves you and he wants you to walk this life hand in hand with him.
And since there is sin in the world he sent his son to be an example for us of how to
walk in the light and in communion with the father.
And he died so that there would be no distance between us and God and he rose again so we
would have authority over sin.
He ascended so we could have a constant companion in the Holy Spirit to walk this life out.
God doesn't want that message to get so complicated that people miss it.
And that's why I love the simplicity of this message and what the Lord laid on my heart.
This really isn't typical for me.
I really love to dive deep into theology and to discuss some pretty intense things but
I love that God can use anything to illustrate his deep love for us and show us the beautiful
life that he has in knowing him.
So today we're just going to pray that the Lord would show us if there are anything,
any areas of our life that maybe we just need to let go and trust him a little bit deeper.
I believe that there are some people here that really need to just stop being like I
was when I first came to Lifehouse and white-knuckling your life.
It's like you've been gripping on with all you've got and all you have done is made yourself
tired.
Listen, hard work, planning and diligence are important.
Don't get me wrong.
But at the end of the day, God is the only one who is actually in control.
There can't be two people leading this thing.
You've got to submit to him.
So maybe you're here today and you're saying Hannah that's me.
I've confessed Jesus as Lord but I haven't really allowed him to be Lord in my life.
Would you pray for me to submit to him?
Absolutely.
Maybe some of you are here today and you're saying I've made him Lord of my life.
But as you were speaking, there are some specific areas of my life I've realized I haven't surrendered
to him.
I pray that this morning you would just take that time to really just lay it at the feet
of the Lord.
And like I said, I know there are some areas that can be really, really difficult for us
to trust the Lord with.
But can I encourage you this morning that those might be the areas that the Lord wants
to bless you the biggest in.
There's usually a little bit of a fight and a struggle that goes on when there's a big
blessing on the other side of something.
And that's because the devil doesn't want you to get to the good things of the Lord.
So I encourage you this morning.
If you've been up against something, if you've been facing something with your family or
your personal situation that you've been struggling to trust the Lord, give it to him this morning.
You can lay it at his feet and trust that he's going to work it out in a way that you
could have never imagined.
So I just ask you this time that you would pray with me.
Father God, we thank you so much for this day.
I thank you so much for your word, Lord.
I thank you so much for just the truth and the beauty that's found in knowing you, Jesus.
And I just pray right now over every person, Lord, that's listening to me, God, every person
that's listening here, every person that's listening online, Lord, that you would just
start to really search our hearts and reveal to us, God, if there's any ways that we're
not trusting you, Father.
I pray that if there's anything that we are holding on to too tightly, Lord, that you
would just start to nudge us this morning, God, and you would help us to lay it at your
feet.
There is nothing that we can do in our own power that even comes close to what you can
do when we surrender to you, God.
So I am praying this morning, God, that every single person in this place would come to
a deeper place of surrender with you, with their individual situations, with their entire
lives, Father.
I pray that you would just draw us to you this morning and help us to know that we can
trust you, God, we can trust you.
It doesn't matter what it is that we're facing.
You are good and you're going to come through for us every single time, Lord.
So this morning I pray that you would help us to just rest in that this morning.
Lord, I pray that you would just bring peace to any minds that are troubled or anxious
about situations that maybe they've been struggling to trust.
This morning I pray that they would be able to surrender and leave this place knowing
that they've put it in the hands of an Almighty God who is going to work it out.
God, we thank you for this word.
I just pray that it would continue to transform us even as we leave this place.
May we be continually transformed by the truth of the gospel and may we dare every single
day, Lord God, to just trust you a little deeper in every way that we can.
We love you and we praise you and we ask this all in the name of Jesus.
Amen.