Questions Every Christian Who Believe In Jesus Christ Must Answer..

I KNOW YOU LOVE GOD. BUT DO YOU TRUST HIM??
This simple question requires a categorical answer. 
But, please, don’t be too quick to respond to the question. Don’t infer you comprehend the explanation. Only the Spirit of God can reveal YOUR HEART to you in this area. So, please, just open your heart to Him as you read.

As we follow Jesus, there’s no doubt that many of us indeed love God. Many love Him very dearly. But the problem is that they simply do NOT trust Him. And that is a HUGE PROBLEM! A problem that is much more deadly than most of us realize.
In His teachings, Jesus drew our attention to this problem again and again, and to its disastrous consequences.

Here are some of such teachings.
We are familiar with Jesus’ encounter with the rich, young ruler in Mark 10:17-23.
The man loved and respected God so much that he kept all God’s commandments from his youth! In a sense, this is in line with John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commandments”.
Yes, the man passed that test with flying colors. At that point in the story, the Bible even records that Jesus LOVED HIM TOO (verse 21). So far, so good.

But, when it came to the issue of the rich man SELLING ALL that He had to follow Jesus, the story changed immediately! And changed completely! It ended with the man walking away from Jesus sorrowfully. A man who loved God.
Please note that Jesus did not call him back to re-negotiate, or to lower the standard of fans.
This is because a man who does not TRULY TRUST GOD can never, ever have an enduring relationship with Him.

The justification for this is straightforward.
To trust God is to have FAITH IN HIM. When we do not trust God, it means, in effect, that we have NO FAITH in Him! And the Bible is clear that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Please note the word ‘IMPOSSIBLE’.
This is a deep, non-negotiable spiritual truth.

It is for this reason that Jesus made it abundantly clear that a man who does not FORSAKE ALL that he has CAN NOT be His disciple (Luke 14:33). Again, please note the operative word ‘CANNOT’.
This issue is so important to God that Jesus told us to think about it very carefully BEFORE committing to follow Him. This is why He encouraged us to ‘FIRST, SIT DOWN’ and ‘COUNT THE COST’ of fans BEFORE setting out on the journey with Him (Luke 14:27-33).
‘SIT DOWN’ in that passage means ‘don’t rush’, ‘don’t be emotional’, ‘think carefully’, ‘weigh the pros and cons’, and so on. Also, please note that Jesus said we should do this FIRST.
Friend, as you follow Christ today, have you EVER really sat down to gently settle that question in your heart?

There was a second way that Jesus taught about the subject. We’ll find that in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:24-34, He made it clear that NO MAN can serve two masters.
In that context, Jesus was simply saying no man can put his confidence, allegiance, and trust in two masters.  That is, every man *MUST* choose a single master. And, surprisingly, the options are not God OR Satan. Rather, it is God OR mammon!
Jesus did not stop there.

He also made it clear that to LOVE one is to HATE the other. And, to CLING to one is to DESPISE the other. Please think about that. For it means that if we choose mammon (even if inadvertently), we DESPISE GOD!!! Let that truth sink in….

In the rest of the Matthew 6:24-34 passage, Jesus went on to explain the meaning (and implication) of serving either God or mammon.
To serve God is to recognize and acknowledge Him as a Father who is both able and willing to PROVIDE for His children. Just as He does for the birds that neither sow nor reap nor gather (verse 26). And just as He clothes the grass that neither spins nor toils (verse 28).

The other option is to SERVE MAMMON – so that, through mammon, we can have access to what to eat, what to drink, and what to wear. Just like unbelievers do. That is what Jesus said in verse 32.
He went on to counsel believers to simply FACE THE KINGDOM SQUARELY (the meaning of ‘seek the Kingdom’) and God Himself will ADD all that they need to live in this world for Him. (Yes, we live FOR HIM in this world, not for ourselves).

God wants believers to TRUST HIM as their SOLE PROVIDER. This is why Jesus made it a condition that ALL His followers should FORSAKE ALL that they have to follow Him (Luke 14:33). This is extremely important to God.

If we do not FORSAKE ALL, and we want to follow Jesus, the meaning is clear. We are EXACTLY like the rich, young ruler that LOVED GOD, and even obeyed Him, but did NOT trust Him to be his Provider. No difference. None at all! And we know how it ended for the rich, young, ruler….
Sadly, this is the same ugly fate that awaits ‘over 99%’ of believers in this end-time!
Jesus is returning soon. And He is not returning to get married to A BRIDE who loves Him - but does NOT TRUST HIM.

When we TRULY know God, we will not find it difficult to TRUST Him FULLY with every single aspect of our lives – including our DAILY provision. This is why Jesus taught us to pray for our DAILY bread – not WEEKLY bread, not MONTHLY bread, not ANNUAL bread. Just DAILY bread.

A day-to-day trust in the faithfulness and kindness of God as a Father. In a way, this is also the meaning/outcome of carrying our cross DAILY to follow Jesus. All these ‘DAILY’ concepts are related. And they show how God wants us to live closely to Him on a moment-by-moment basis as we follow Christ.

But, here’s the bad news.
As believers, the church system of today did not train us to trust God as explicitly as He wants. Yes, we indeed pay lip service to trust GOD; but, in reality, this trust is hollow and highly superficial.

The day that God challenges us to FORSAKE ALL that we have and depend on Him for our daily provision is the day we’ll realize that we are barely different from the rich, young ruler. We LOVE GOD. But, we do not TRUST Him in that REAL SENSE. And that’s a tragedy. An awful, awful tragedy.

As God intensifies our preparation for the imminent return of Jesus, His priority will be to bring us to an end of our SELF-life. For this reason, God will wield THE CROSS more manifestly among His people. And one of the implications of this is that God will challenge our deeply-held allegiance to Master Mammon.

He will do this by insisting that we FORSAKE ALL to follow Jesus in this end-time.
In this work of preparation for the return of the Lord, God will strip the waiting Bride of the barest essentials that we need in the world. He’ll surgically TRIM OFF all the fat that has kept us attracted and attached to the world. As scriptures warn, he that is a friend of THE WORLD is an enemy of God (1 John 2:15-17, James 4:4, etc.).

Unknown to us, the world has used our silent attachment to MATERIALISM to trap us in smug Lukewarmness and bondage to mammon! In the story of the Church in Laodicea, the Bible prophetically warned us about this end-time scenario of materialism attempting to drown the people of God in lukewarmness. (For those that know, the church in Laodicea is a prophetic pointer to the end-time church).

It is for this reason that Jesus is today COMPLETELY LOCKED OUT of mainstream Christianity. And He stands OUTSIDE knocking (Rev 3:20). Please imagine the Owner of the church standing outside and knocking like a stranger.

For the few that will hear His knock, and open to Him, the challenge is simple. They will be challenged by God to FORSAKE ALL and BUY from Jesus the “… gold that is tried in fire….” (Rev 3:18)
This is a non-negotiable imperative for all that will GENUINELY walk with Jesus in this end-time, and stand ready as a FAITHFUL, WAITING Bride.

All their carefully laid out plan for FINANCIAL SECURITY, FINANCIAL STABILITY, FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE, etc., will be completely knocked over by God, as He teaches them to have no confidence in the arm of the flesh. No confidence in the evil master called Mammon. A master that THE WORLD (aided by the church of today) has taught us to serve diligently.

MOST believers will not listen to God on this. MOST will be left at the mercy of the coming Antichrist who will, in any case, seize their possessions as he forbids them from buying and selling – unless they take the mark of the beast (Rev 13:17).

Please write down this next sentence somewhere safe, and meditate on it periodically. In this end-time, it is impossible to follow Christ with the YOKE OF MATERIALISM tied firmly around our necks!” Simply impossible.

If we diligently set our hearts on listening to the Spirit of God, the days ahead will teach us this solemn, challenging lesson. Before those difficult days come, the wise will SIT DOWN and settle this pertinent question in their hearts: “Do I TRUST GOD? Or, do I just LOVE Him?”

Now, the good news!
The Spirit of God is available today to answer that question and to help every TRULY willing heart. To deliver us from the influence and power of mammon. And to teach us, in the words of the Psalmist, that “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”. (Psalm 23:1)

This is where God is leading the TRUE Bride of Christ in this end-time. May you and I be counted among the faithful. Amen.
"In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." (Luke 14:33)

"Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. (Luke 12:33)
"All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to ANYONE WHO HAD NEED." (Acts 2:44-45)

This is LOVE IN ACTION! The heart of God for His people – particularly in our days. This is the model of life He’s calling you to take very, very seriously. What do you say to Him in response?
Thanks for reading, God bless you. If you were touched by this article, please share it with your loved ones to benefit as well.