Our focus at the Rock has been on believing the words of God. These words are found in scripture. Closely related to the word believe is trust. We do not trust someone we do not believe in. Also connected to both these words is faith. You do not have faith in someone you do not believe in or trust in; it is that simple. Jesus said in Luke 18:8 “when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Proverbs 20:6 “Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?” In reality since there is a faith problem there is a belief / trust problem. Our ladies bible study has been studying the book of John. In this book belief or a form of it is used 84 times in John, 118 in the Gospels and 263 in New Testament. In the whole bible (NIV) there are 458 verses talking about belief and trust. Here is an easy study for you. In Bible Gateway type the words belief and trust in the search (set the search to match “any word”) and then read the verses. You will be amazed at what you read. Then ask yourself which verses apply to you. Do you believe / trust or not? For example Psalm 78:22 “for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance.” Psalm 106 “Then they believed his promises and sang his praise. 13 But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold.” Mark 16:11 “When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.” John 14:12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” James 2:23 “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.”
In Deuteronomy 30:11 “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
Belief and trust in the word of God is the key to eternal life. These two words are always followed by obedience. Disbelief and a lack of trust (always followed by disobedience) will lead to death and eternal damnation. We must believe in the word of God, the very words of Jesus. Hebrews 8:10 “This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” When the two disciples turned away from the empty tomb they did not believe and went in the wrong direction. When Jesus came he opened their minds. Lord help us. Please open our minds. Will Jesus call us an unbelieving nation? Jesus said. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”(Mark 9 read story).
