What does 'trust' mean? 'Trust' means 'firm belief in the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing.' This trust is not built unilaterally, but it can be said to be perfect only when both parties trust each other. John 15:5 reads, "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." As said, if we are united in the Lord, we can bear abundant fruits both in spirit and body.
Let's check if we are united as one in the Lord in three aspects.
First! "To what extent do you obey the Word of God written in the Bible?"
How much we trust God the Creator depends on the extent to which we obey the Word of God. The Bible is a gift given by God for His beloved children that contains His heart and Word.
The Word of God is categorized into four types of commands, "Do, don't do, keep, and throw away". The extent to which we obey His Word, our trust in God will be different. Those who completely trust God live by the Word even when there is no one to see them.
They unchangingly obey the Word although it means that they suffer from loss and their lives are put in danger. It is because they believe that God is alive, watches them, watches over all things, and that His Word contains His good will.
Daniel and his three friends turned down the king's choice food to keep from eating food sacrificed to idols even though they were captives. Daniel also did not cease to pray to God even when he knew that he would be thrown into the lions' den. They were willing to give up their lives.
They only obeyed the will of God regardless of problems before them, and God also trusted them and protected them in the blazing fire of the furnace and in the lions' den. Moreover, He blessed them to enjoy greater honor than before.
We also should build trust with God by showing deeds of faith and thereby dwell in His love receiving His recognition and trust.
Second! "Do you really believe in the Lord who will come to take you?"
The extent that we trust Jesus Christ who is our Savior depends on how much we are sure about the Lord's coming to take us. If you really trust the Lord who will come again, you may naturally follow His way. That is, you may endeavor to resemble the Lord who is holy and perfect and sacrifice your life for souls like the Lord did.
As written in Acts of Apostles, the disciples were assured that the resurrected Lord is the Christ and preached the gospel boldly in the danger of life. The Lord's disciples, Apostle Paul, Deacons Philip and Stephen preached about the living God, Jesus Christ, and the existence of Heaven and Hell by showing signs.
The Lord also trusts believers who believe that the Lord was crucified, resurrected, and ascended into heaven and that He will come again to take them. And He leads them to the way of life and gives authority and strength so that they can fulfill the duty given by God. By doing so, He shows He is with them.
Therefore, as John 15:7 says, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you", in order to be united with the Lord in trust, we should obey the Word of the Lord and cultivate our hearts into the truth completely. When we are united with the Lord, we can receive whatever we ask for.
Third! "Don't you use your fleshly thoughts when you listen to the sermons?"
There are many church denominations and many kinds of pastors. The extent that we trust the pastor in the church depends on whether we have fleshly thoughts about the Word preached.
If you think, 'Does he have to preach like that? It is different from what I have known. Where did he hear such a thing?' This is having fleshly thoughts that are hostile toward God. Thinking like this you cannot say you worship in spirit and truth during the service (Romans 8:7).
If you believe you are right while listening to the message in services, you cannot say 'Amen' to the messages. Or you may feel bad or offended because the message is different from what you think it ought to be. On the contrary, if you do not have any fleshly thoughts toward any kind of messages, it means that you believe the pastor as the shepherd whom God set and you believe he has followed the good will of God.
Above all, if the shepherd manifests the power that belongs to God (Psalm 62:11) in manifestation of signs, and wonders, we have to believe that God is with him. If we completely trust the shepherd, we may naturally think of him in goodness. Even if what he says is different from our thoughts, we may think there must be some reason he said what he did. We may think he said what he did to teach many people and lead them to the truth and goodness.
When we think in goodness this way, the Holy Spirit may teach us why he said so in prayer even if we do not realize the reasons immediately. As we keep having such experiences, the trust in the shepherd becomes perfect. And the shepherd also can trust workers. No matter what kinds of words he said, they won't misunderstand him. So he can have them drawn more closely and entrust important tasks to them with trust.
Those who trust God the Creator and the Lord who will come again, will be able to accomplish the providence of God and lead many souls to salvation in this end time with the shepherd. Let's have a perfect relationship of trust and share love with God forever in the most glorious heavenly dwelling place, New Jerusalem!
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