These are the speaker’s notes. This is almost a word for word transcript. For the exact wording, please consult the audio recording.

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Intro: In November of 1861 during one of the most difficult times for this nation, the beginning of the Civil War, M.R. Watkinson wrote the Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase the following letter: Dear Sir: You are about to submit your annual report to the Congress respecting the affairs of the national finances. One fact touching our currency has hitherto been seriously overlooked. I mean the recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins. You are probably a Christian. What if our Republic were shattered beyond reconstruction? Would not the antiquaries of succeeding centuries rightly reason from our past that we were a heathen nation? What I propose is that instead of the goddess of liberty we shall have next inside the 13 stars a ring inscribed with the words PERPETUAL UNION; within the ring the all-seeing eye, crowned with a halo; beneath this eye the American flag, bearing in its field stars equal to the number of the States united; in the folds of the bars the words GOD, LIBERTY, LAW. This would make a beautiful coin, to which no possible citizen could object. This would relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism. This would place us openly under the Divine protection we have personally claimed. From my heart I have felt our national shame in disowning God as not the least of our present national disasters. As a result, Secretary Chase instructed James Pollock, Director of the Mint at Philadelphia, to prepare a motto, in a letter dated November 20, 1861: Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition.

The Director of the Mint submitted designs for new one-cent coin, two-cent coin, and three-cent coin to Secretary Chase for approval. He proposed two designs either OUR COUNTRY; OUR GOD or GOD, OUR TRUST should appear as a motto on the coins. In a letter to the Mint Director on December 9, 1863, Secretary Chase stated: I approve your mottoes, only suggesting that the motto should begin with the word OUR, so as to read OUR GOD AND OUR COUNTRY and the shield should be changed so as to read: IN GOD WE TRUST. Since changes to U.S. coins could not be made unless approved by Congress, it wasn’t until April 22, 1864 that legislation changed the composition of the one-cent coin and authorized the minting of the two-cent coin was approved. Later that year, “In God We Trust” started appearing on the 2 cent coin. Over the years more legislation was passed to add “In God We Trust” to the gold and silver coins minted in this country. In 1956 the 84th Congress and the President approved that “In God We Trust” be the national motto of the United States. If you look up the word “motto” in the dictionary, you might be surprised at the definition you find: 1 : a sentence, phrase, or word inscribed on something as appropriate to or indicative of its character or use 2 : a short expression of a guiding principle As a nation most people today have no idea that “In God We Trust” is our national motto, let alone a guiding principle in their lives. How about us here today? Could we say that “In God We Trust” is our guiding principle every day in our lives? The Bible is very clear that as Christians we should put our trust in God. In fact God requires us as true Christians to put our faith and trust in Him. Although faith and trust have slightly different meanings, I’m not sure you can have one without the other as we live this way of life God has called us to.

Heb:11:1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Gives us the definition of faith: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. If you look up the word Faith it can have several definitions and meanings; the definitions I want to bring out today are: 1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust, 1 belief and trust in and loyalty to God Trust can have several definitions and meaning also, but the ones I want us to focus today are: 1 a : assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something b : one in which confidence is placed If you read chapter 11 of Hebrews you will find that these men and women mentioned had not only faith in God, but also a trust. They trusted in God’s truth, they placed their confidence in God, they relied on His strength and ability to see them through whatever came their way in this physical life. Do we put our faith and trust in God in everything we do? SPS: Today let’s look at several areas of our lives that will show us whether we are truly trusting God as we should. 1. Do we trust what God has taught us?

Gen:2:16-17[16]And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:[17]But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. God gives Adam a command. Gen:2:16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; Gen:2:17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Gen:3:1-5[1]Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?[2]And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:[3]But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.[4]And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:[5]For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Gen:3:1Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"

Gen:3:2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; Gen:3:3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " Gen:3:4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. Gen:3:5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Adam and Eve did not completely trust what God had instructed them to do. Satan of course put that doubt in Eve’s mind. Do we trust what God has instructed us from the Bible to do? There are many examples of the Israelites and others who did not trust what God instructed them to do. Do we find ourselves not fully trusting God? Do we sometimes do the same thing? Prov:3:5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Pro:3:5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; Do we sometimes put our own interpretation or spin on God’s commands? Well I know that the Bible tells me I should be doing this, but I think it’s ok to do something slightly different. Where we compromise with what we have been taught from the Bible. Satan may not be talking to us directly like he did Eve, but each of us must realize he is still working against us through this world to entice us to put our trust in ourselves rather than in God. Prov:28:26He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. Pro:28:26He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered. Why is it so important not to trust our own reasoning?

Jer:17:9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah tells about our hearts. Jer:17:9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? God’s Bible is full of instruction on how to live our lives. This world around us does not trust God to tell them how to live. We need to be care that we trust what God has taught us. This world and Satan will try to influence us to compromise with God’s truth and God’s laws. We need to make sure that we don’t and trust what God’s truth he has taught us. 2. Do we trust God’s calling and promises? That may seem like an easy question to answer since we are all here sitting in church on God’s Sabbath. But most of us here know someone who has given up living God’s way. Either through discouragement or just because they’re tired out. Satan would like nothing better than for us to give up.

Phil:1:6Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Php 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; Satan wants us to give up and walk away from God’s truth. He wants us to doubt God’s commitment to us. He wants us to think God will give up on us when we sin or fall short in living God’s way. Nothing could be further from the truth. God will not give up on us unless we turn and walk away from Him, whether through discouragement, or bitterness, or anger. Living God’s way of life is not an easy way of life. It goes against our human nature and against the way most of this world lives. Satan would like us to believe this life is just too hard to live, that we will never be “good enough” to make it into God’s kingdom. Satan is right that we will never be good enough to be in God’s kingdom, but that is not what God requires of us. God does require us to put Him first, to keep His commandments, to overcome and the best part is will don’t have to do this by our own strength He will help us by giving us His Holy Spirit. God has also given us His grace nothing we can earn but freely given to us. Christ tells us this life is not burdensome and that we can put our cares on Him. Mat:11:28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Mat:11:29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Mat:11:30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." God has given us the greatest opportunity we will ever be given. He tells us He will deliver us to be a part of His kingdom and family if we continue to persevere and commit our lives to Him. Let’s be sure we trust His promises and calling He has given to each of us and never give up or turn our backs on it. 3. Is stress and worry crowding out trust in our lives? We all have stress in our lives. We live in a stress-filled world. These are very trying times we are living in, and from the prophecies, they will only get worse. I could recite a whole list of things that add stress to me, but each of us is affected differently by different things going on in our lives. Stress can be good if we are motivated to draw closer to God. But stress can sometimes produce worry, anxiety, and fear. Those things attack our trust in God they cause us to doubt, to start to lose our faith and trust in God.

Matt:6:25-31[25]Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?[26]Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?[27]Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?[28]And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:[29]And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.[30]Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?[31]Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? Mat:6:25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Mat:6:26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Mat:6:27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? Mat:6:28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; Mat:6:29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Mat:6:30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Mat:6:31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' Mat:6:32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. Mat:6:33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Mat:6:34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. I think before Christ’s return we will probably have these verses memorized. I’m not saying that our lives should be like the Bob Marley song Don’t Worry be Happy. There will be times when we have stress and concerns but we should not be consumed with worry and anxiety in this life. That stress and worry should move us closer to God. Let’s be sure that the stress and worry of this life do not erode or destroy our trust in God. 4. Do we trust God when we don’t understand His answer? It’s hard sometimes to trust God when going through a trial that never seems to end. Or God’s intervention wasn’t there when we thought He would intervene. There are many times we might say I don’t understand why God is allowing this to happen. It could be in your life or someone else’s or in His church. It’s during those times that our trust and faith in God may be tested.

Isaiah:55:8-9[8]For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.[9]For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Tells us about man’s way verses God’s way Isa:55:8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. Isa:55:9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. God’s ways, not our ways, are where we need to put our trust. We need to examine and study so we can fully know and trust what God is teaching us. God’s way of thinking is much different than our way of thinking. He has a totally different perspective than we do. It’s much like a parent-child relationship. There are many things we understand that a child at his or her age cannot understand. We may sometimes try to explain, but many times we know it’s impossible for them to understand. How do you explain to a four- or five-year-old that some stranger who is an adult might do them harm? There is no way for them to understand that if they come from a loving family. Or maybe they want a pocket knife, which would be fine for them to have when they get older, but they don’t understand why they can’t have one right now. You may try to explain why they need to wait, but there usually comes a time, after many attempts to explain, that you tell them it’s that way because you said so! We need to trust God even when we don’t understand. Trust that he knows what is best for us. We may not understand it now, but in the future we will. When we pray to God, most of us would like an immediate and positive answer. So if God does not respond to our prayer like that, we conclude He doesn’t hear our prayers. Psalm:34:15The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. Psa:34:15The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.

Psalm:34:17The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. Psa:34:17The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. If this is so, why do my prayers seem to go unanswered? There could be many reasons why. The Bible tells us that our sins can keep God from answering, or we ask for things contrary to what God knows that we need. I’m not talking about those items, but rather when we ask for help or intervention and receive none. Let’s look at two examples in the Bible that might help us understand. John 11 tells us about Lazarus, a friend of Jesus Christ, and a situation that didn’t make sense to any of those around Jesus Christ. Joh 11:1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. Joh 11:2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Joh 11:3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." Joh 11:4 When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Joh 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Joh 11:6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Joh 11:7 Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." What do you think was going through the disciples minds? Here’s a friend of Jesus who is sick and instead of going right then to anoint him, Christ spends two more days where he was.

Joh 11:17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Joh 11:18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. Joh 11:19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Joh 11:20 Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Joh 11:21 Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Joh 11:22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." Joh 11:23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Joh 11:24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Joh 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. Joh 11:26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" Joh 11:27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." Joh 11:28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you." Joh 11:29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. Joh 11:30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. Joh 11:31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there." Joh 11:32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."

Joh 11:33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. Joh 11:34 And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Joh 11:35 Jesus wept. Why did Jesus cry at this? I’m sure that part of this was out of compassion see so many who were upset, but also because they did not understand the real reason of why this had happen. Joh 11:36 Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" Joh 11:37 And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?" Joh 11:38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Joh 11:39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days." Joh 11:40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" Joh 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. Joh 11:42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." Joh 11:43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" Joh 11:44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

Joh 11:45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. Lazarus' death was part of a greater plan by God. The family and friends of Lazarus did not understand why Christ did not come and why Lazarus died. God’s plan was much bigger than the immediate trial they were going through. Here is where we must trust in God in our lives. There are going to be times when we do not understand why God has allowed certain things to happen in our lives but we must trust that God our father knows what is best for each of us. Another example is the Apostle Paul. II Corinthians 12:7-10 2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 2Co 12:8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 2Co 12:9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Could God have healed Paul? Sure! Could it be argued that Paul could have served God more effectively with his affliction taken away? Maybe. We don’t know for sure what God’s purpose for not healing Paul in this physical life was. Maybe it was for our learning, to help us learn there will be times that we will not understand why God has allowed a trial. As we go through this life there are going to be times we don’t understand God’s answer to our prayers or why God is allowing certain. We need to be sure that those times draw us closer to God, not further away, and trust God that He will do what is best for each us and His church. Conclusion Today we have looked at four areas where we can examine our lives to see if we are truly trusting God. In God we trust should be in our hearts and minds in how we live each day. Let’s be sure we trust what God has taught us not compromising or allowing anyone to deceive. Let’s thank God for His calling and promises, trusting God that He will finish the work He has started in us. As stress and worry start to way us down, let’s trust God the one who is our true provider that He takes care of us. And when God’s answer’s to our prayers don’t make sense to us let’s continue to trust He knows what is truly best for us even if we don’t understand in the physical life. I wanted to conclude with a final scripture. There are so many scriptures and talk about trust.

Jer:17:7Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. Jer:17:8For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. Let’s be sure to walk in faith trusting God in all that we do.