"(5) Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
(6) For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh. but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
(7) Blessed is the man that TRUSTETH IN THE LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
(8) For 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." -(Jer. 17:5-8)
"Kiss (pay homage to) the Son (Jesus), lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that PUT THEIR TRUST IN HIM." -(Psa. 2:12)
"(3) And in the process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
(4) And ABEL, HE ALSO BROUGHT OF THE FIRSTLINGS OF HIS FLOCK AND OF THE FAT THEREOF. AND THE LORD HAD RESPECT UNTO ABEL AND TO HIS OFFERING:
(5) But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
(6) And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
(7) If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted (if you bring the correct sacrifice, and thereby place your faith)? and if thou doest not well, sin (a Sin Offering) lieth at the door (a lamb was at the door of the Tabernacle). And unto you shall be his desire, and you shall rule over him (the Lord promised Cain dominion over the Earth of that day, if he would only offer up, and place his trust in, the right sacrifice; He promises the same presently to all who trust in Christ.)." -(Gen. 4:3-7)
"And be found IN HIM, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through THE FAITH OF CHRIST, the Righteousness which is of God by faith:"
-(Phil. 3:9)
"(3) For they, being ignorant of God's Righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the Righteousness of God.
(4) For CHRIST IS THE END OF THE LAW FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS TO EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVETH."
-(Rom. 10:3-4)
In each of the preceding scripture passages, we see a striking CONTRAST, between what is NOT acceptable to the Lord, and what IS acceptable, and the deciding factor? "TRUST IN HIM AND HIS SACRIFICE". Whether we do NOT... or whether we DO. In God's Eyes, mankind is divided right down the middle between the two, and right smack dab in the center... is THE CROSS OF CHRIST: a "Dividing Line" between heaven and hell for the sinner (Salvation), and between defeat and victory for the saint (Sanctification).
"Trust" is indeed the key issue: Do we trust in "ourSELF (and OUR sacrifices)"? or do we trust in "the LORD" (and HIS Sacrifice)? Where do YOU stand? This, my friend, will indeed decide your eternal destiny, as it does for all of us!
The term "TRUST", from the Webster's Dictionary, has this definition:
1) To have confidence or FAITH in
2) The trait of BELIEVING in the honesty and reliability of a person or plan.
3) Certainty about someone or something.
4) To extend credit to.
5) To allow without fear.
Okay, let's hone in on that FIRST definition, shall we? Because it links us to ANOTHER term frequently used in the Bible: "To have confidence or "FAITH" in." "FAITH" is the key word here. I believe it is then accurate to say that "TRUST" and "FAITH" are synonymous terms, and can be used interchangeably in the Bible when each of these words are used. For example, in the Psalms, when David says "I will put my "trust" in Thee", another way to say that would be... "I will put my"faith" in Thee." Amen? Another example would be in Heb. 11:6, which says... "But without 'faith' it is impossible to please Him (God)." "But without 'TRUST' it is impossible to please Him." See that? "Trust -> Faith", "Faith -> Trust" (interchangeable). I believe though, that the word "FAITH" is more intense, and it's definition magnifies even FURTHER the attribute which God wants us to have toward Him.
In Webster's Dictionary, "FAITH" has these three definitions:
1) Loyalty or allegiance to a cause or a person.
2) Complete confidence in a person or plan, etc.
3) A strong BELIEF in that a supernatural Power that controls human destiny.
Notice the word "BELIEF" in that last definition. We know from many scriptures that God hates... "UNbelief", Amen?
Finally, "FAITH" has THIS definition, from the Bible Itself, in Hebrews 11:1: It is "The substance of things HOPED for, the EVIDENCE of things NOT SEEN."
"Not seen". Jesus said this to doubting Thomas, after Thomas had reached his finger into Jesus' nail-pierced side... "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have 'BELIEVED': Blessed are they that have NOT seen, and yet have BELIEVED." -(Jhn. 20:29)
This ultimately, is the kind of "TRUST", the kind of "BELIEF", the kind of... "FAITH" that God.. is... looking for! Jesus said in Luke 18:8... "When the Son of man cometh, shall He find FAITH on the earth?" This tells us that FAITH is VERY IMPORTANT to God: that people BELIEVE Him, TRUST Him, have FAITH in Him. And... a person's "free will" is involved; Otherwise, Jesus would not have said this, Amen?
But this concept of trust, faith, and belief in God goes even DEEPER than this. God expects faith in a specific PERSON, and a specific THING (or "means") to justify us from our sins (to be "saved"), and sanctify us from the sin NATURE (to "live for God"). That Person, of course, is JESUS. He said in Jhn. 14:6, "I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man cometh unto the Father but by ME." And the thing (or means)... is the BLOOD of Jesus, which speaks of His sacrificial Death on "The Cross".
"Much more then, being now JUSTIFIED BY HIS BLOOD, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." -(Rom. 5:9)
"Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through FAITH IN HIS BLOOD, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." -(Rom. 3:24-25)
"For if he blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall THE BLOOD OF CHRIST, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? -(Heb. 9:13-14)
"But if we walk in the Light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST HIS SON cleanseth us from all sin." -(1 Jhn. 1:7) [This speaks of on-going daily living of sanctification of "walking in the Light")
How does one "walk in the Light"? By living his life DAILY the same Way that he got saved: Through repentance of sin and... 'FAITH', 'TRUST', 'BELIEF' in "Jesus Christ and Him Crucified". O HALELLUJAH!!!!
"(20) And having made peace through THE BLOOD OF HIS CROSS, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
(21) And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hat He reconciled
(22) In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight:
(23) IF YE CONTINUE IN THE FAITH grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel..." -(Col. 1:20-23)
"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him:" -(Col. 2:6)
Trust in CHRIST AND HIS BLOOD SACRIFICE must be the "foundation", and must "supersede" any other general trust in God. This is the ULTIMATE trust that God is looking for, and much of the Church world is missing this! Many say, "Yes, I trust in God, I trust in God." But then they turn right around and INSULT God by committing "spiritual adultery" by trusting in THEMSELVES to perform some aspect of... "law": Some RULE, some REGIMEN, some METHOD, or TRADITION, or PHILOSOPHY devised by man. And then they wonder... "Where ARE You, God? Why is my life such a MESS?!"
Col. 2:8 says .... "Beware lest any man SPOIL you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of MAN, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." You see, trust in THESE things is really no trust in God at ALL! At the root of it is PRIDE, and independence of God through "self". And once a person is locked into this prison, this mind-set of "religion", it is very hard for him to get out; for demon spirits come in to DECEIVE and to blind that person's spiritual understanding of Truth.
And yet, once that person realizes his dry spiritual state (for the Holy Spirit cannot function in that environment), and his dire need for God, IF HE HUMBLES HIMSELF, he will cry out to God for the Answer, Who will lead that person to... "the Cross"! Then a trust IN CHRIST AND THE BLOOD for all righteousness, a continual listening to that Message, will be like salve to his "eyes"; And things that he had not SEEN before, which had been "blurry", will begin to be made clear to him. It will be like... living daily in a very dimly lit, almost DARK room, and not being able to distinguish the details of the things he is looking at. BUT THEN being led to the OUTSIDE on a bright, sunny day, where he can now see everything with crystal-clear clarity AS HIS EYES GROW "ACCUSTOMED TO THE LIGHT". It will be a gradual process, one of HEALING as the "Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus: THE HOLY SPIRIT, enlightens his understanding and heals him of the corruption of Satan which had him bound.... into "abundant Life" (Jhn. 10:10b). HALLELUJAH!!!
"But if we walk... in the LIGHT... as HE is in the Light, we have fellowship one with another, and the BLOOD OF JESUS cleanses us from all sin."
Jesus Himself is CALLED "the Light of the world" (Jhn. 8:12); As we are "in Him", through faith in Him and His Sacrificial Work on the Cross, we ALSO are IN this "Light", and are called the "CHILDREN" of Light (Jhn. 12:36; Lk. 16:8; Eph. 5:8; 1 Thes. 5:5). And why SHOULD we walk in this Light? Because God is TRUSTworthy. He is WORTHY to be trusted, WORTHY to be believed. You see... this has always been the central issue to God. This is why He thinks so highly of our FAITH in His Word, and why He DETESTS "unbelief" in His Word. Unbelief is a slam against His very CHARACTER.
I believe the Holy Spirit gave me a good analogy of what this would be like for US. It is not a perfect analogy, not a perfect "type"; But it will give you some type of idea of the HURT God feels when His very own created beings do not BELIEVE Him:
Suppose you had a teen-ager (say... 19), and he gets into CRIME. He is told by the judge, "You need to pay this huge fine and to make restitution for your crimes, or I will send you to jail." So you, as his dad, find out about this, and you tell your son: "Hey listen, if you are truly sorry for what you have done, fess up to your crimes, and agree to receive help to turn your life around, I will agree to pay your fine AND make restitution for you, because I LOVE you." Now suppose your son says the following.... ""No, you DON'T really love me. I would sooner go to jail and ROT there, rather than do what you say and have YOU pay that money for me, because that will mean that I OWE you then, which is what you WANT!" Now wouldn't you be extremely hurt and angry if your son replied that way to you, in unbelief of your love and intentions toward him? Sure you would. And it's the SAME WITH GOD.
We are ALL guilty, not just to go to jail and pay a fine, but guilty of DEATH, eternal SEPARATION from our Creator. And God says, "Listen, I have so LOVED you, that I gave my only begotten Son to die on a Cross and shed His spotless Blood to become a CURSE for you, to pay your sin debt IN-FULL. All you gotta do is repent of your sins AND BELIEVE Me, put your TRUST in Me and that Sacrifice. And then CONTINUE to do so; Continue in that.... FAITH. If you endure unto the end in that Faith, you shall be SAVED." And you know something? People, by their actions, SPURN that offer, just like that son did to the father in that analogy! Most would rather languish their own personal "prison", rather than give up their pride along with their sinful ways, and believe GOD! Incredible! And to top it off, many of these people pretend to have accepted God's terms and His offer and call themselves God's children! Yet, they don't believe a thing that His Word SAYS, including the most IMPORTANT thing: "Faith in Christ and the Cross as the sole means of righteousness for daily living."
Behind a lot of it... PEOPLE-pleasing. Jesus Himself, during His ministry, said to these type of people, "How can ye BELIEVE, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?" (Jhn. 5:44). The plain and simple fact of the matter, is that they care more about what their RELATIVES AND FRIENDS think about them, than what GOD thinks about them! What an insult to God! Now don't get me wrong... We have ALL done this at some point in our lives. But it is abominable, and we must not STAY there. We must... "REPENT AND BELIEVE GOD"!
Do you KNOW that God is of sufficient Power to perform all that His Word PROMISES to us? Ahhh we serve a BIG God! When we pray, we must ask BIG, asking in.... F-A-I-T-H, believing and trusting in our infinitely capable God! The following are a compilation of some very good scriptures on the awesomeness and faithfulness of God. Enjoy!
Awesomeness of God:
-Isa. 40:12-15,28-29
-Isa 42:8-9
-Isa 43:10-13,25
-Psa. 46:10 (Are you "still" before the LORD? In other words... Are you TRUSTING in Him?)
Faithfulness of God:
-Deut. 7:9
-1 Cor. 1:9
-1 Cor. 10:13
-1 Thes. 5:23-24
-2 Thes. 3:3
-2 Tim. 2:13
-Heb. 11:11
-Rev. 19:11
See that? Faithful and True. THAT'S the kind of God that we serve!!!
Now for some scriptures from the "PSALMS" on "Trusting in the LORD":
-Psa. 4:5; 5:11; 7:1; 9:10; 11:1; 13:5; 16:1; 17:7; 18:2; 18:30; 20:7-8; 25:2; 26:1; 28:7; 31:1,6; 32:10; 33:21; 34:8; 34:22; 36:7; 37:3,5,40; 40:4; 52:8; 55:23; 56:3-4,11; 57:1; 61:4; 62:8; 64:10; 71:1,5; 73:28; 84:12; 86:2; 91:2,4; 112:6-7; 115:11; 118:8-9; 125:1; 141:8; 143:8; 144:2.
Friend, are you placing YOUR trust exclusively in Jesus and in His Sacrifice? Or are you placing your trust in YOU and YOUR sacrifices? If you are doing the latter, things will not come out to a good conclusion. You will one day stand ALONE before the Judge of the whole earth; Your relatives will not be there; Your spouse or girlfriend or boyfriend will not be there; Your friends will not be there. Won't you this moment give your whole life over to Him, while you still have the chance? TODAY is the day of Salvation. Put this decision off not a moment longer! He loves you, and He died for you as God's Sacrifice for you, but there is nothing He can do for you- to save you from yourself and from an angry devil- if you hold on to your stubbornness and foolish pride. If you would like to be saved, or to re-commit your life to Jesus, say this prayer after me, and believe it in your heart:
God, I am so sorry for the things I have said, the things I have done. Please forgive me of all my sins; Wash me and cleanse me in the Blood of Your Son Jesus. I place my trust in Jesus and His Sacrifice for me on the Cross. Right now, I confess with my mouth that Jesus is my LORD; With my heart, I believe that You raised Jesus from the dead. And now, according to Romans 10:9-10, which cannot lie... I-AM-SAVED. Lord, I now give my whole life over to you, no matter what; Do with it as You please. Help me to DAILY keep my faith in Jesus and His Sacrifice for ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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