Pastor David B. Curtis

HOME | STUDY INDEX


Media #1008 MP3 Audio File Video File

Trust the Plan

(Psalm 9:10)

Delivered 04/19/20

If you are a follower of Q, you are familiar with the statement, "Trust the plan" (often used posted by Q). For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, let me give you a brief introduction to Q. Q is a group of high-level military intelligence officers overseeing a subversive operation whose agenda is to thwart the planned destruction of our constitutional republic. Claiming to be an insider within the US government working with President Trump and the Patriots to take down the Deep State, Q posts cryptic messages to anonymous internet forums. The Deep State is a body of people (typically influential members of government agencies, the military, and Hollywood) involved in the secret manipulation or control of government policy.

At irregular times since 28 October 2017, Q has been posting messages on message boards. His messages started on 4Chan. After about a month, it moved to 8Chan, and since November 2019, Q posts on 8Kun. Most people posting on these boards are doing so anonymously, hence they are known as ‘anons’. Q is also anonymous.

President Trump makes frequent references to Q, as if to confirm Q’s authenticity. Sometimes President Trump tweets within a few minutes after Q has posted a message. That seems to occur far more than one would expect if both posters were not cooperating with each other. The time difference between such pairs of postings is called a "delta." A zero delta is said to occur when Trump posts within 1 minute after Q.

These deltas are strong evidence that makes me believe that Q is the real deal. There are over 100 separate coincidences of these ‘deltas’ where Q and President Trump will often post things (8Chan or 8Kun for Q, Twitter for Potus – or in his speeches and movements) that coincide in timing.

If you get your news from the Lame Stream Media (LMS), you will be told that Q is a far-right conspiracy. And just so you know, Fox News is owned by Disney-ABC Television Group which is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Disney is the largest traditional media company in the world. If you have not yet watched the movie, "Out of the Shadows," please watch it. It is very informative. The link is below.

Here’s my take on recent events. I think this coronavirus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China and was purposely released to the public. General Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is looking into this. It is a plan of the Deep State to take down President Trump by ruining the economy, by blaming him for all the deaths that happen, and by stopping Trump rallies. The hope is that by keeping people locked up in their homes until after the election in November, they can use mail-in ballots to steal the election. Their plan is failing. When President Trump mentioned hydroxychloroquine the LSM lost their minds. Why? Because if we have a cure for coronavirus, the pandemic ends and we don’t need their vaccinations.

I believe that President Trump and the Patriots are in complete control and are about to take down the Deep State and restore the country to the people. Trust the plan.

Whether all of this or any of this is true, I don’t know. I sure hope it’s true.  But here is what I know for sure—our God has a sovereign plan and we are to trust it and Him.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, Ephesians 1:11 ESV
this Yeshua, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. Acts 2:23 ESV

"Plan" means "will or design." "Definite" is from the Greek word horizo which means: "decreed, determined, appointed." It comes from a word that means "to mark out with a boundary." God set it down in order, marked it out, and declared it to be His will. Yeshua would die on the Passover by crucifixion.

Yahweh’s plan is not just about the death and resurrection of His Son. His plan involves everything that happens. He is working His plan, and we must trust His plan. Trusting in Yahweh’s sovereign plan is easy when life is good and your world is happy and secure. But when Covid-19 hit and the media threw us into panic, the country shut down, and our state and local government became a Gestapo, we realized that we live in a very insecure world. But this shouldn't be cause for fear if we realize that God created us insecure and placed us in an insecure world so that we would find security only in Him.

What peace and joy it brings to trust in God in the midst of our insecurity. Trusting God is the very essence of what Christianity is all about. In one of the truly great statements of the Bible, the writer of Hebrews tells us that

without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 ESV

There is no way our relationship to God can be pleasing to Him unless we trust Him. He wants our trust. Apart from faith, we cannot please God. So, apart from faith, it doesn't much matter what we do.

A very basic and simple fact of life is this: All of our valuable relationships in life are built on trust. When a husband and wife stop trusting each other, they may continue to be married, but they can no longer have a happy marriage. When two friends stop trusting each other, they may continue to see each other, but they no longer have a true friendship. If that is true in our human relationships, how much truer is it in our relationship to God?

"And without faith it is impossible to please Him"—here the writer lays down an axiomatic truth. He uses the aorist tense in the infinitive "to please." The statement is universal in its application and timeless in its duration. The idea is that without faith, it is impossible to please Him at all.

The author of Hebrews is writing to Hebrew Christians who are suffering great persecution from the hand of their Jewish brothers. They are discouraged and on the verge of turning away from Christianity and going back to Judaism. He is exhorting them to endurance in their Christian lives.

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. Hebrews 10:35-36 ESV

In the midst of trials and persecution people’s faith may waver, or they may even turn from their faith.

If we understand that this letter of Hebrews is a call to go on believing in the truths of Christianity, then chapter 11 makes a lot of sense. It's not an explanation of how to be saved; it is rather a call to perseverance in faith, whatever the odds.

Hebrews 11 gives us many examples of men and women who had grown strong in their faith and who because of that faith lived victorious lives. In verses 32-35a of chapter 11, we see the victories of faith. These believers overcame every imaginable type of adversity through faith. Samson defeated 1,000 men, and David killed Goliath—all because they trusted God.

The dominant thought in all of these examples is triumph over adversity and victory and accomplishment in spite of trials. This is one great side to the experience of faith. But there is another.

who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Hebrews 11:33-35 ESV

The rapid transition to the thought of unrelieved suffering is very effective. Faith is not always rewarded in this life. In my opinion, this is an even greater manifestation of the power of faith. Faith's power enables those to suffer what otherwise they could not have suffered. Here is a group of people that didn't gain great victories out on the battlefield. They didn't perform great feats for God. But in my opinion, these are the real heroes. They trusted God when the day was dark, when the night was long, when the suffering was great, and when there was no deliverance for them at all.

We should be people who live by faith. Every day and in every way we should be trusting God in our daily lives. But are we? Do we really trust God? Trusting God is of major importance in the Christian life. God was angry with and judged the Israelites because they would not trust Him.

He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap. In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light. He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers. Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness? He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?" Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath; a fire was kindled against Jacob; his anger rose against Israel, because they did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power. Psalms 78:13-22 ESV

We need to learn to trust in God, because faith pleases Him. And we need to trust Him because life is uncertain. Who knows what tomorrow holds? You might feel good about your financial security, but how secure are you if you're only trusting in your money? The stock market could crash. You could lose your job. You could lose your health. Tomorrow your wife or husband could leave you. Tomorrow you or a loved one could be diagnosed with cancer. Tomorrow you could be robbed and killed. Tomorrow a hurricane could destroy your house and kill your family. Who has any guarantee of tomorrow?

We do much to protect against uncertainties by purchasing insurance, but there are some things you can’t insure against. What if meat you bought at the store is contaminated? The food you eat could kill you, and most of it will. But even if you eat only salads, you could get e-coli from the salad. With all the uncertainty in life, how do you keep from living in fear? David gives us the answer.

And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you. Psalms 9:10 ESV

"Those who know Your name"— i.e., those who know God's character. In Hebrew thought name means "character." To know God's character is to be able to trust Him. Do you know God well enough to trust Him? There are some men that I trust completely because I know their character. Do you know Yahweh well enough to have such confidence in Him that you believe He is with you in your adversity even though you do not see any evidence of His presence and His power? Do you trust Him? God wants our trust. In order to trust God, we must always view our adverse circumstances through the eyes of faith. Faith pleases God. Without faith, it is impossible to please Him.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. Psalms 20:7 ESV

What the psalmist is saying is that we are not to trust in our own strength but in God. We are able to trust in Him when we know His name (i.e. His character).

Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. Isaiah 50:10 ESV

Isaiah exhorted the servants to walk by faith, trusting in Yahweh and trusting His character. The names of God reveal His character. This is why God is known by so many names in the Tanakh. Each name revealed an aspect of His character and the benefit of that to us as believers.

Let me share with you just some of the compound names of Yahweh that reveal something of His character and His work on our behalf:

Yahweh-Raah (Psalm 23:1) means "Yahweh, my shepherd." Like a shepherd, the Lord gently leads and cares for His people, the sheep of His pasture. This name is also used in Genesis 22:14 where it is translated "Yahweh will provide." As He provided for Abraham at his point of need, so the Lord will provide for us at our point of need.

Yahweh-Nissi (Exodus 17:15) means "Yahweh, my banner." He is the standard under which we rally as the people of God. He is our rallying-point.

Yahweh-Rapha (Exodus 15:26) means "Yahweh heals." He heals in every way, not just physically, but emotionally, and spiritually.

Yahweh-Sham (Ezekiel 48:35) means "Yahweh is there." God is there when you need Him. There is no place where He is not.

Yahweh-Shalom (Judges 6:22-24) means "Yahweh is peace." Through Him we find the true inner peace that is there even in the midst of the storm.

Yahweh-Tsidkenu (Jeremiah 23:6) means "Yahweh our righteousness." He is our righteousness. Through Christ He imparts His righteousness to us.

As you can easily see from the meanings of the names of God given in the Tanakh, each name not only reveals something of the nature and the character of God, it also reveals something of the provision of God promised through His name. If we are going to trust God, we must first know His name. We can only come to know His name as we spend time in Scripture.

As we study the Word of God and learn of God's character, we will grow in our trust of Him. If we really know God's character, we will trust Him even when he chooses to send poverty, sickness, family problems, and tyranny. We will trust even while our heart is aching with each beat and will say, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

Most Christians don't trust God because they don't know Him! How can we trust Him and believe His promises if we don't know Him or His promises? And how can we know Him or his promises if we don't spend time reading and studying the Word of God?

If we are going to walk by faith and thus please God, we must have our thoughts formed and our actions regulated by the Scriptures. We won't believe His promises if we don't trust Him.

and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me." Psalms 50:15 ESV
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 ESV

Who is the one making these promises? It is the Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe! And every promise of God is backed up by His perfect character, His name. Our thinking about His promises can be related to His divine attributes. For example:

Sovereignty.  God is in total control of every event that happens in time.

Righteousness. God is perfect goodness, so anything that happens to us will be good for us.

Justice. This includes the guarantee that His plan for us is fair and that we will always be treated justly.

Love. We know that every situation in life is governed by God's love for us.

Omniscience. God knows all my needs and pains, and He has already planned what to do about them.

Omnipresence. God is always present and available to help.

Omnipotence. God is all-powerful so He always has the capability to carry out his promises, and to provide help in time of need.

Immutability. God never changes in His attitude toward us, and all of His characteristics remain the same, forever.

Truth. God never lies, therefore, what He has promised, He will perform.

The more we know God, the more we can trust Him; and the more we trust Him, the more He is pleased. Can you trust God in the uncertainties of life? Knowing God is not just a matter of theology; it is crucially important for the living of our lives. All conscious behavior is preceded by and arises out of our thoughts. Can you trust Him in the calamities of life? You can if you know Him. I believe that the first and foremost thing we must know about God is that He is sovereign. But most of the church today denies the absolute sovereignty of God. Christians speak of accidents or of things just happening by chance. We will have a very hard time trusting God in the midst of trials and adversities if we don't understand His sovereignty.

Whatever it is that we are going through or will go through, we may be sure that our Father has a loving purpose in it. We need to learn to trust God even when we don't understand. Faith pleases God. Do you know Him well enough to trust Him no matter how painful or catastrophic a situation may be?

Our faith in God is a very practical commodity. Believer, if we understand God's sovereignty, we can trust in Him in the midst of the worst possible circumstances. Could our country suffer from a nuclear holocaust or a chemical or biological warfare attack? It is my opinion that we are suffering a biological attack right now. But whatever we go through, it is under the sovereign control of a loving and gracious God and not the whim of a madman. Those evil men and women in the Deep State may plan terrorist attacks against the United States, but apart from the sovereign will of God, they can do nothing.

God is sovereign over everything, and we can trust Him. Our trust in Him will strengthen us in all the circumstances that we face.

A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. Psalms 125:1 ESV

God, in his goodness and love, always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom, He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty, He has the power to bring it about.

Trusting God is a matter of the will.  We must choose to trust Him. But if we are going to choose to trust Him, we must first have a knowledge of who He is. We must know that God is sovereign, wise, good, and loving. Once we have the knowledge of God, we must then choose whether to believe it and trust Him or to follow our feelings. In the midst of adversity, we must make a choice—trust God or allow our feelings to cause us anxiety and grief.

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Of David. Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah Psalms 61:1-4 ESV

David found comfort in the character of the Lord, and so will you. Get to know your God by spending time with Him in the Word. As you grow to know Him, you will grow to trust Him.

Look at what happened to David, the giant killer, the one who knew that God was on his side. We see here a different David.

And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said to him, "Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?" And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, "Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?" 1 Samuel 21:10-15 ESV

This is David the giant killer. What happened to him? Fear is controlling David, and he's filled with anxiety. Does he call out to God? No, he handles it himself, and acts like he's lost his mind so that the King will let him go. David's ploy worked, and the King sent him away. But he was still afraid of and running from Saul.

David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. 1 Samuel 22:1 ESV

Here David sits in a cave and starts to think about what a jerk he's been. Do you think that God could have delivered him from Achish? Did he think so? Theologically, yes, but he was focusing on the problem and not on his God. In Psalm 57, which was written from this cave, David begins to put his theology back together.

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave. Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness! My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts— the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! Psalms 57:1-11 ESV

David begins to focus on God, and his strength and stability return. He had forgotten that God was on his side. Have you ever done that? Your theology works on Sunday, but during the week when you hit the wall of trials, trouble, or persecution, you start to panic and you end up scribbling on the walls and drooling on yourself. If you have the awareness that God is Sovereign and that he is on your side, you will have stability. Why should I worry or fear when I know that the Sovereign God who loves me is here?

In Habakkuk, we see this fear turned to faith when focus is placed on God. The thing we can learn from Habakkuk is that a mind fixed on God can turn doubts into devotion and all confusion into confidence.

The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. Habakkuk 1:1-4 ESV

Habakkuk says, "Yahweh, why don't you do something? Why are you allowing this to happen? Why do you allow all the evil to go on?" Have you ever felt like this? I have! In verses 5-11, we have God's disclosure. The change of speakers is apparent from the verbs.  "Look" and "watch" in Hebrew include the plural "you." God speaks!

"Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour. They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!" Habakkuk 1:5-11 ESV

Verse 10 says, "They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it."  The Babylonians were known for piling up dirt by the city wall until they had a ramp to go up into the city. They were a fierce people with no mercy. Now Habakkuk has a worse problem. How can God use such an evil nation to punish Judah? He was traumatized by God's revelation.

I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. Habakkuk 3:16 ESV

He was so upset that he could have been hospitalized. What is he going to do? Here stands a shaken prophet whose problems are real, not imaginary. This is like so many of our problems. He is talking about the wiping out of his nation. This is serious stuff. In verse 12 of chapter 1, he starts to remind himself about God.

Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. Habakkuk 1:12 ESV

He develops his own catechism—to teach orally by repetition. He uses a question and answer format. "Are you not from everlasting?" This requires an affirmative reply: "God you are eternal—you're bigger than history and your plan is always good." "Oh LORD my God"— Yahweh, the eternal "I AM." The self-existent God who is uninfluenced, "My Holy One"—God makes no mistakes.

You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he? Habakkuk 1:13 ESV

You are holy and you must deal with sin—we deserve this. God, you are eternal, self-existent, holy—we shall not die because God made a covenant with us and he can't lie. He won't destroy us, but he is disciplining us.

God is sovereign and He is in control. Do you see what Habakkuk is doing? He is saying, "Everything I know about you, God, tells me to stop worrying because you're in control."

"Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:4 ESV

Here is the principle. We are to live by faith, trusting God. In chapter 3, he outlines the worse possible situation.

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17-18 ESV

Habakkuk is saying, "No matter how bad my circumstances get, I will rejoice in my God. God is faithful and I trust Him. In Him I find my joy and contentment." This is a stable man and his stability is related to his view of God. "I will rejoice in the God of my salvation/deliverance."

So, the key to a stable life is resting on a confident faith in the Lord, which comes from meditating on His Word. As I do this, I become very familiar with who He is and how He acts. Since I know that He is sovereign and that he loves me, I'm not going to worry about anything. The great weakness of the Church today is a lack of understanding about who God is and how he acts. The Church's instability is caused by its weak view of God. The solution to our instability is not a psychologist, counselor, or self-help book. Our solution is Theology Proper—a study of God. We must come to know the God of the Bible. Martin Luther said to Erasmus: "Your thoughts of God are too human." I think that most of us fall into this same category. Our thoughts of God are too human. A.W. Pink said that "the God of modern religious thought no more resembles the supreme sovereign of the Bible than does the dim flickering of a candle resemble the glory of the noonday sun."

If we are going to stand fast in the midst of conflict and adversity, we must have faith. Remember, to worry betrays a lack of trust in God's care and is unconscious blasphemy. When we know God in an intimate way, we will trust Him in every situation in which we find ourselves. As we trust Him, we will have stability in our lives.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock. Isaiah 26:3-4 ESV

Berean Bible Church provides this material free of charge for the edification of the Body of Christ. You can help further this work by your prayer and by contributing online or by mailing to:

Berean Bible Church
1000 Chattanooga Street
Chesapeake, VA 23322