In Whom Do You Trust?

Albert Jones—April 22, 2023

 - Video |  - PDF | Audio | [Up]

One of the questions that is important to each and every one of us: Who are we putting our trust in? so the question is In whom do you trust!

This is not just for day-to-day, but this is for eternal life. Our walk with God from the very beginning and God's purpose for mankind from the very beginning depended upon two major things.

• God's Plan
• our choices in that plan

God lays out some very important instructions for us. He says to us:

Deuteronomy 30:10—Moses speaking: "If you shall obey the voice of the LORD your God to keep His commandments and His statutes, which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul; for this commandment, which I command you today is not hidden from you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven that you should say, 'Who shall go up to heaven for us, and bring it to us, so that we may hear it and do it?' Neither is it beyond the sea that you should say, 'Who shall go over the sea for us to bring it to us, so that we may hear it and do it?'" (vs 10-13).

Verse 14: But the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may do it. Behold, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil, in that I command you this day to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments so that you may live and multiply. And the LORD your God shall bless you in the land where you go to possess it" (vs 14-16).

Verse 17: "But if your heart turn away so that you will not hear, but shall be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I denounce to you this day that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days on the land where you pass over Jordan to go to possess it" (vs 17-18).

He proclaims a very important thing for us to think about!

Verse 19: "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life, so that both you and your seed may live, that you may love the LORD your God, and may obey His voice, and may cleave to Him; for He is your life and the length of your days, so that you may dwell in the land, which the LORD swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob—to give it to them" (vs 19-20).

God's promise and work in the father's lives—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—in His nations has proven His faithfulness and love for which He loves us!

This very important thing that God is laying before us, that if we should choose to trust Him, to love and obey Him we will dwell in the 'promised land.' Our 'promised land' is the Kingdom of God!

The work in the Father's lives—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—the work in the Prophets, all those faithful men that are described in the faith chapter (Heb. 11) are there for us to gain from as an example for those who put their trust in God.

Who is it that we are putting our trust in?

We have the responsibility to walk in this covenant relationship with God, and in doing so, we must have a heart inclined to do God's will by trusting, loving and obeying Him! It's not just a matter of calling on the name of God, calling on the name of the Lord, it's about doing His will!

Matthew 7:21: "Not everyone who says to Me 'Lord, Lord' shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but the one who is doing the will of My Father, Who is in heaven."

What is the will of the Father? It's a very important question for us to comprehend and to be able to realized what it is that we're engaged in, in this relationship! That we are walking in a way that is pleasing to God and doing that which is important to Him, fulfilling His purpose in us and doing His will.

So, what is the will of the Father? Christ answers this question:

John 6:37: "All whom the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out."

Jesus Christ is very conscious of the charge that the Father has given unto Him, and that He leads us to Christ and Christ will deliver us and present us to the Father as completed offering! Standing in the perfect righteousness that is His!

Verse 38: "For I did not come down from heaven to do My own will… [Christ here is fulfilling a charge given to Him by the Father] …but the will of Him Who sent Me. And this is the will of the Father Who sent Me: that of all whom He has given Me, I should not lose any, but should raise them up in the last day" (vs 38-39).

So, we see the end goal, the end expectation that we are placed with Christ in the hope of eternal life. We're placed with Christ and He will see us through to the finished product and present us to the glory of the Father!

Verse 40: "And this is the will of Him Who sent Me: that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.'

So, this is the hope that we have: the resurrection to eternal life!Truly this flesh and weakened state that we are in is being perfected through Christ. Christ is working in us so that we can be delivered to the Father as a finished product.

This is why observing the Passover is very important every year, one of the reasons why it's very important.

We affirm to the Father at Passover that we are sill committed in faith to this relationship. His life, death and resurrection we are holding fast to in hope. Paul makes the Gospel clear:

1-Corinthians 15:1: "Now, I am declaring to you, brethren, the same Gospel that I proclaimed to you, which you also received, and in which you are now standing; by which you are also being saved, if you are holding fast the words that I proclaimed to you; otherwise you have believed in vain" (vs 1-2).

God is very clearly instructing us here to hold fast to the faith delivered to us. We were baptized into that faith, into that hope and one spirit! Are we holding fast to it? We have to continue to trust in Christ in Whom we pledged that covenant relationship at baptism!

Verse 3: "For in the first place, I delivered to you what I also had received… [this message was given to Paul by Christ] …that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures and that He was buried; and that He was raised the third day, according to the Scriptures" (vs 3-4).

We know that we base everything on the Word of God. We look into His Holy Word and we prove all things! But there were some in Paul's day that there was no resurrection. Paul's response to that:

Verse 12: "But if Christ is being preached, that He rose from the dead, how is it that some among you are saying that there is no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection from the dead…" (vs 12-13).

This is on which everything is hinging, that Christ was to be in the grave and that He was raised from the dead.

Verse 13: "For if there is no resurrection from the dead neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain" (vs 13-14)—based on nothing!

There is no hope for us if Christ isn't raised from the dead! But our faith and trust in God, His Word and promises, and what God has given us to be able to understand in His Word. Through the Holy Spirit that's dwelling within us, we know that He is!

Verse 20: "But now Christ has been raised from the dead; He has become the Firstfruit of those who have fallen asleep."

Paul wasn't the only witness of this particular Truth.

1-John 5:4: "Now then, everyone who is begotten by God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world—our faith."

Our faith is very important in terms in who we believe in and who we trust, confidence and hope in. not only do we believe, but w act on that belief!

There is a physical manifestation in our lives in that:

• we do according to God's Word
• we respond in such a way according to God's instructions
• we work to overcome sin through the power of God's Word according to the power of God's Spirit working within us

It is not a work that we do alone, it is a work that we do in partnership with our elder Brother and High Priest Jesus Christ working in us, and the power of God that is the Father giving us wherewithal to get it done! So yes, our trust and faith is in Him!

Verse 5: "Who is the one who overcomes the world? Even the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. This is He Who came by water and blood—Jesus the Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood" (vs 5-6).

Verse 10: "The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar because he has not believed in the witness that God has witnessed concerning His Son."

This confirmation of Christ as the Messiah, the Son of God, was also witnessed by the Father Himself!

Verse 11: "And this is the witness: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has eternal life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have eternal life" (vs 11-12).

That's very important because IF you're not putting your trust in God and His Son, you're putting your trust in something that cannot deliver eternal life. Our life and wherewithal and future is in Christ and God the Father. They have given us assurances. The Plan of God is very important; it has laid before us a very important understanding.

We have some Scriptures in the Bible that we use as our anchors. One of them is:

Verse 11: "And this is the witness: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son."

1-John 1:9: "If we confess our own sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

That ability to stand before God clean, perfect and acceptable is only through the blood of Christ. Only in that relationship with Him. God has told us to trust Him!

Proverbs 3:5: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart… [that's where our trust needs to be] …and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths" (vs 5-6).

Our relationship with God is one that is based on a trusting personal relationship. That is what God has called us to, so that we can trust in Him and put our faith in Him.

Times will get hard in our lives sometimes. Sometimes we hit those difficult periods and the trials do come. But God has told us to 'hang in there' and to be strong in Him!

1-Corinthians 10:13: "No temptation has come upon you except what is common to mankind. For God, Who is faithful, will not permit you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear; but with the temptation, He will make a way of escape, so that you may be able to bear it.

God is strengthening us, even through temptations and trials. I would rather have to go through trials with God, than to stand alone without Him! There is no comparison.

Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

That purpose had been established from the foundation of the world. God is doing something uniquely special in His people and in His Church! We must stick to the Plan of God, stay close to God and recognize that our strength, protection and salvation and success is a result of that relationship. If we think that we can achieve it through some other means, we're deceiving ourselves.

Verse 1: "Consequently, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

We have God's Spirit dwelling within us, because we have the promise—that power from on high that the Father sent to be with us—and Christ dwelling in us through the Spirit. We are able to walk in newness of life in Him. God has called us this so that we can have that relationship with Him.

Christ goes on to say, and it  is very important for us to never forget that it is only in Him that we can achiever what God has set before us.

Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ, Who empowers me."

God has given us precious promises. He offers us encouragement every day, and He continues to lead us in His Son. Let's understand that God never gives up on us. He shows us His love and had expressed it in the greatest and most profound way.

Romans 5:8: "But God commends His own love to us because, when we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Our God has brought us through some very difficult times. He has called us out of this world so that we can walk with Him. He has promised us great promises as we go through this journey. But the journey is with Him. He tells us to mindful of what we do everyday. He tells us to repent and always be repentant from sin toward Him, and to come out of this world and to avail ourselves to the propitiation for sin that is Him at the right hand of the Father.

Acts 2:38: "Then Peter said to them, 'Repent… [we heard the call and we responded] …and be baptized each one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you yourselves shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"

As we have the Spirit dwelling in us and we're walking in this relationship with God, He tells us how to overcome. He tells us that we need to be:

• praying
• fasting
• studying the Word of God

so that we can grow!

2-Peter 3:18: "Rather, be growing in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…."

We are indeed the workmanship of God. God has called us to Him! Paul describes in Eph. 2 that the work being done in us is being done through God the Father and Jesus Christ working in us!

Ephesians 2:10: "For we are His workmanship, being created in Christ Jesus unto the good works that God ordained beforehand in order that we might walk in them."

When we were baptized, the old self and way of thinking ended. We were raised from that watery grave to a newness in life with Christ to live a new life in Him. That newness of life is:

• away from sin
• away from darkness
• away from the leaven of this world

We have put that away! We are now on a journey to eternal life with God.

So, Paul is very clear: "For we are His workmanship, being created in Christ Jesus unto the good works that God ordained beforehand in order that we might walk in them."

This is the plan, for us to walk in righteousness and to reject sin. The righteousness that we walk in, that we are able to accomplish in our life is:

• through faith in Christ
• through a walk with God
• through the power of God's Spirit working within us

All of these things are a part of our life through the wonderful grace that God rains down upon us. This is our calling. So, we're always very thankful to God for all that He does, and His work in our lives.

Once again, as He describes this for us, He tells us to be mindful of our relationship with Him every day. We are to also to be close to one another in loving each other within the Body of Christ.

God told His servants that Jesus Christ was revealed as His Son, and He says, 'The one who has the Son has eternal life. The one who does not have the Son do not have eternal life!

Our life, our wherewithal and our future is in Christ and God the Father. They dwell in us through the Spirit of God, our Hope, the hope that we have within us that we all stand on is based on the work of God in us.

If we hold fast until the end; remember that the if is on us! I don't know what the future will bring in the way of trials and tribulations within the Body of Christ. The Bible is clear and it says that in our day difficult times will be upon us. We see those fermenting in the world today.

We see all the pieces coming together, which are going to come against God's Family in a most powerful way. You are being distinguished in every shape, form and fashion apart from this world. That day of testing is upon us, or will be upon us, and we need to be prepared for it.

As we are approaching it, where will our faith, trust and confidence be? If we're holding onto Christ and God the Father until the end, that is our hope! We have to hold onto Them"

• in faith
• in love
• in obedience

God can and will lead us, and grant us entrance to His Kingdom as spirit sons and daughters of God! This is the hope that we have, and that hope is in Christ, in the world that He and the Father are doing in our lives!

I would tell you that as we continue our walk faithful with God the Father and Jesus Christ hoping and trusting in Them, let us lift up prayers, praise, honor and strive to overcome and do that work that They have called us to so.

Scriptural References:

• Deuteronomy 30:10-20
• Matthew 7:21
• John 6:37-40
• 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 12-14, 20
• 1 Corinthians
• 1 John 5:4-6, 10-12, 11
• 1 John 1:9
• Proverbs 3:5-6
• 1 Corinthians 10:13
• Romans 8:28, 1
• Philippians 4:13
• Acts 2:38
• 2 Peter 3:18
• Ephesians 2:10

Scriptures referenced, not quoted: Hebrews 11

AJ:bo
Transcribed: 4/26/23

Copyright 2023—All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner. This includes electronic and mechanical photocopying or recording, as well as the use of information storage and retrieval systems.