Now, I understand that as human beings, standing before Almighty God, we don’t stand on any of our own virtue. We have no place thinking that we can do or be anything or than objects of His grace and mercy. Any virtue we have comes through faith in what Christ has done for us.
As we grow in our Christian lives, we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us and change us. We have a responsibility to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. We have a responsibility to obey the Word of God and the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We do all of these things because of our love for Jesus and from the outflow of our relationship with Him; nevertheless, we do have some responsibilities.
And these responsibilities are what I would like to focus on just a little, today. When Jesus died and rose again, He entrusted the early Church with a great responsibility – the spread of the gospel. The gospel is not something we should treat lightly, it is a priceless treasure that we have been entrusted with to share with others!
Really, in some respects, with choosing to do things this way, God made Himself vulnerable to us, the Church. He works in cooperation with us, by His Spirit, to fulfill the Great Commission, however, when it all boils down, it comes to God trusting us to respond; to act.
Jesus did everything on the Cross for us; when He said ‘It is finished’ he meant it! He is looking to us to appropriate, by faith, all He has provided for us. He has also entrusted the Church with His ongoing ministry. He has given us His authority on the earth. He said in Luke 10:19, “Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to destroy all the enemy’s power, and nothing will ever hurt you.”
God has put much into our hands and He is looking for people who are faithful with what He has provided. Jesus spoke of the issue of God trusting us. He said in Luke 16:10-11 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. Therefore, if you can’t be trusted with wealth that is often used dishonestly, who will trust you with wealth that is real?”
Here, with the respect to money, Jesus is talking about the issue of the heart. He is saying, if you’re not showing yourself to be trustworthy with money, how can you be trusted with spiritual wealth? Jesus spoke of money many times to demonstrate spiritual principles. Our attitude to money reveals the attitude of our heart. If we are faithful to use our earthly resources to extend the kingdom of God, God can trust us with greater and greater things. God releases more to us when we demonstrate our faithfulness. We see this principle at work in the life of Abraham.
Abraham had been promised a child and told that he would become the father of many nations. When the promise was fulfilled God challenged Him to sacrifice his son. Now this child was not only a precious son, but also the fulfillment of years of trusting a believing God. Abraham obeyed God and was about to slay his son as God requested and God said in Genesis 22:12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” He said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
Now of course God is omniscient, He is all knowing, He knew what Abraham would do. There are times that God looks to see whether we will obey Him unreservedly, while knowing every decision we will make. If God can trust us with the little things, He will release more to us and through us.
Because of Abraham’s act of obedience, God said “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” Genesis 22:15-18
Abraham’s act of unreserved obedience to God earned God’s trust and God renewed His covenant with Abraham. God knew He had the unconditional obedience of His servant and friend Abraham and that he had held nothing back from Him.
God is looking for us to be the kind of people He can trust. He is looking for ways to bless us and trust us with more. There are times, as believers, that we go through some incredible tests and trials of our faith. I believe some, not all, of the things we go through are things that God trusts us with. God trusted Job with a severe test.
God spoke concerning Job and said to the devil, ‘Have you seen my servant Job?’ (Job 1:8) God knew Job was someone who was perfect; blameless. He allowed Job to be severely tested, because He knew that Job would pass the test! Job was someone God trusted. At the end of his test, Job was restored double all he had lost and had a tremendous encounter with God. (Job 42:10)
Friend, life can be very cruel at times, we can go through so many things, but if we remain faithful to God; obey His Word and the promptings of His Spirit, no matter what happens, God is looking to bless you and bring you to greater places. God is looking for people that He can trust with the small things, so He can entrust them with greater things!
Today I want to challenge you, as a believer. God has placed His trust in you to fulfill the great Commission; to receive all He has paid for at the Cross, to use the authority He has given you and to follow Him unreservedly. As you do these things, you will become a person God can trust. God wants to bless you and entrust you with so much, I want to encourage you to stay faithful to Him today.
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