[PraiseNews] Before or before?

[Ministry]

"Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them
that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in
thee before the sons of men!" Psa 31:19

When Jesus was asked to teach the disciples to pray, He began
with these words:  "Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy
Name."

In the world of money, they have a saying... "follow the money."
What it means is if you follow the track of the money trail all
the way back to its beginning point, you have the whole story and
nothing can escape detection.  In other words the beginning of a
matter is critical to know because it sets the foundation for
what is to follow.

Jesus set the foundation for the perfect model for praying by
FIRST (at the beginning) establishing WHO we are praying to and
WHAT is His character.  If we know Who we are praying to and what
His character is then it follows that we will understand what we
can expect when we pray and ask Him things.

The Psalmist understood this by the unction of the Holy Spirit.
He wrote first... "Oh!!!!  how GREAT is THY GOODNESS..."

We serve a GOOD God and His goodness is GREAT!

His character is selfless, extravagant love.  He is waiting for
those who will respond to His unfathomable gift of love so He may
pour out His blessings up on them...

What is He looking for from us?  In a word - trust.

If someone offers you a gift and you don't trust them will you
receive it?  If someone has offered a bag of money if you show up
for a meeting... do you get the money if you fail to show? You
must ACT UPON what you say you believe before it is truly trust.

You don't get into an elevator on the 120th floor unless you
TRUST that the cables will hold fast till you reach the bottom.

44,760 of the children of Israel went out to war against a host
of enemies greater in number and they had a great victory:

   And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were
   delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for
   they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them;
   BECAUSE THEY PUT THEIR TRUST IN HIM. 1Ch 5:20  (my emphasis)

Look how their trust, in action, resulted in victory..

   And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty
   thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of
   asses two thousand, and of men an hundred thousand. For there
   fell down many slain, because the war was of God. And they
   dwelt in their steads until the captivity. v21-22

It is highly unlikely, apart from God's great mercy and grace,
that one will experience the many benefits of God's love and favor
unless they are ACTING upon their professed trust.  You must put
action to belief.  "Faith without works... is DEAD" (Jam 2:20)
And furthermore, as James says it is VAIN.  Look at the promise
of God for those who trust in vanity:

   Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall
   be his recompence. Job 15:31

Instead we should... "Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and
put your trust in the LORD." Psa 4:5

We can trust God "before the sons of men" meaning that we put
our trust in God in a visible, active way that mankind can see.
This is glorifying to God because it positions Him to do mighty
works on our behalf which are beheld by all who are watching. It
is our part in setting up the Lord for glory... by our response
of trust in impossible looking circumstances.  This is the way
to PLEASE God because apart from this it is IMPOSSIBLE to please
Him.  (Heb 11:6)

Another important principle is we should trust our God "before
the sons of man" meaning that we must trust GOD and not man.

   Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom
   there is no help.  Psa 146:3

Yes, people are quick to always run to "man" for help, for
answers or for encouragement.  We should be so quick to run to
Him "from whence cometh our help."

  It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
  Psa 118:8

Will you trust Him today and from this day forward?  Will you
trust Him in ACTION more than word?  Will you trust Him when it
is nearly impossible?  When things look virtually impossible will
you say "For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from
my youth." Psa 71:5

If you will begin to trust the Living God in such a way, I am
here to tell you today, because He inspired me to tell you....
He will do more than you can ask or even think.

Selah