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Always Trust Christ Matt. 8:1-3,23-27; 9:1-8 Sept. 23, 2007

Introduction
Christians need to give the example of consistency in all the areas of the Christian life but especially in the area of trusting Christ. Few people regularly see Christians trusting the Lord as Lord, and magnifying His Lordship in their lives. Not enough would be given the title, "sold out to Jesus." If Christians need to see more of this, how about the person who is spiritually lost? Let us seek to demonstrate a life that will Always Trust Christ.

1. Trust Jesus When Your . . Sick. 8:1-3

A. Trust Jesus Through . . Seeking Him. 8:1
1 When He came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.

B. Trust Jesus Through . . Submission to him. 8:2
2 Right away a man with a serious skin disease came up and knelt before Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."

C. Trust Jesus Through . . Strength From Him. 8:3
3 Reaching out His hand He touched him, saying, "I am willing; be made clean." Immediately his disease was healed. Matt 8:1-3 (HCSB)

In my opinion too many people place too much attention on health. Some people seem obsessed with what they consider proper concern for their bodies. These same people will neglect their soul and the proper spiritual emphasis from a biblical view point. We will show we trust the Lord as we seek Him, submit to Him, and trust Him for strength. The people in the text sought Jesus as they followed Him. The man with the obvious skin problem submitted to the Lord as he knelt before Him and requested healing. Trust in the Lord is honored when Jesus displays His strength, and heals the man. It is interesting to note the man expressed his faith by saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus said, "I am willing."

2. Trust Jesus When Your . . Scared. . 8:23-27

A. Trust Jesus For . . Storms To Obey Him. 8:24
23 As He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 Suddenly, a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves. But He was sleeping. 25 So the disciples came and woke Him up, saying, "Lord, save [us]! We're going to die!"

B. Trust Jesus For . . Strength To Obey Him. 8:26
26 But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, you of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm.

C. Trust Jesus For . . Seas To Obey Him. 8:27
27 The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this?--even the winds and the sea obey Him!"

Many express fear at the storms of life. My wife and I have lived through three different hurricanes, so we know a little about fear from storms. Some today show very little confidence in the Lord at anytime, much less during a storm. We face other kinds of storms where we must apply the principals of trusting the Lord. Some of our storms are self-made, and that also leads us to call for forgiveness. The strength for properly facing storms comes from the Lord as we grow in our ability to trust. He calmed the storm and the sea for the disciples, and He may do the same for us as we submissively trust Him.

3. Trust Jesus When Your . . Sin-Sick. . 9:1-8

A. Trust Jesus By . . Taking Sin-Sick People To Him. 9:1-2
1 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town. 2 Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, "Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven."

B. Trust Jesus By . . Thinking Correctly About Sin-Sick People. 9:3-6
3 At this, some of the • scribes said among themselves, "He's blaspheming!"4 But perceiving their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why are you thinking evil things in your hearts? 5 For which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6 But so you may know that the • Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--then He told the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home."

C. Trust Jesus By . . Trumpeting His Power To Heal Sin-Sick People. 9:7-8
7 And he got up and went home. 8 When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck and gave glory to God who had given such authority to men. Matt 9:1-8 (HCSB)

Jesus is the answer for the sin-sick soul. The four men carried their friend to Jesus, and we can also take others to Jesus. How long has it been since you went out of your way to take someone to church, and through that ultimately to Jesus? How will the man in the text get well without help? Is his sickness caused by his sin? It seems to me that is true. We must think correctly as we trust the Lord. The scribes questioned the Lord, and this man's need because they did not think correctly about the Lord's power. It is obvious they did not place their trust in Him. We will illustrate we Always Trust The Lord as we take others to Him, think correctly about His power, and never neglect to trumpet our praise of Him. The man in the text went home forgiven, healed, and praising the Lord. Amen? Amen!