Daring To Trust Series

DARING TO TRUST

In 1855, an acrobat & tightrope walker named Charles Blondin claimed that he could walk from one side of Niagara Falls to the other on a rope. Some people thought it was impossible. Without a net, the crossing would be treacherous at best. Crowds came and paid to watch him make the attempt. Before crossing he asked the crowd “Do you believe I can walk across to the other side” the crowd yelled “we believe you can do it!” He then said “do you believe I can cross the falls with a man on my back?” The crowd yelled “we believe you can do it!” Then Bondin said, “Who will volunteer to take the trip on my back?” You could have heard a pin drop, if Niagara weren’t so loud. Finally, one man raised his hand and said “I Believe!” and he climbed on Blondin’s back and the two of them crossed Niagara Falls together. The man was Harry Colcord, Blondin’s manager. He not only believed that Blondin could do it, he stepped out in faith and showed his belief through his actions.

We are starting a new series today called Daring Faith. Today I want to start by talking about the difference between belief and trust.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

A lot of people think they believe in God, but they really don’t. Many are going to miss heaven by about eighteen inches because they believe with their head but not in their heart. They have come to an intellectual assent (head knowledge) about God but they don’t have a true heart commitment. They have never fully committed their lives to Him. What does it mean to TRUST (acrostic) in Jesus?

1. TURN Everything Over to Jesus

This verse starts by saying “Trust in the LORD with all your heart.” You trust God when things are going great AND when things are really awful. You hand over to Jesus the good, the bad and the ugly. I turn over my past, my present and my future. I give him the reigns of my finances and of my relationships. I turn everything over to Jesus. What does the bible say is the way that we know if we are saved? How can you know whether you are going to heaven or not?

Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

The word used here for ‘believe’ is the Greek word PISTEUO which means to have faith in or to trust.

This is a promise of God. It doesn’t say you might be saved if you really want to or you really wish you can be saved. It says you can count on the fact that you’re going to heaven. You can know for certain. You are saved if you do these two things. Confess with your mouth “Jesus is my Lord.” And believe in your heart God raised him from the dead.

Most of us here I am sure have already done the second thing – you believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. That is an established fact. In a few months we will celebrate Easter. You believe in your heart Jesus rose from the dead, that he was who he claimed to be.

The question is whether you have truly done the first part. Have you confessed with your mouth that Jesus is my Lord? By that, I do not mean you have just said it. That is not intellectual assent. Confession means to agree with. Are you living a life that demonstrates that Jesus is your Lord?

Do you even know what the word Lord means? It is a word that we do not often use these days living in a nation as a democracy. In a monarchy you have kings and queens and lords and ladies and knights and squires. What does saying ‘Jesus is my Lord’ really mean? It means that He is my master. He is calling the shots in my life, not me. He is in control. Jesus is not just resident in my life; he is president.

I would recommend you either believe God up to the hilt, or else not believe at all. Believe this book of God, every letter of it, or else reject it. There is no logical standing place between the two. Be satisfied with nothing less than a faith that swims in the deeps of divine revelation; a faith that paddles about the edge of the water is poor faith at best. It is little better than a dry-land faith, and is not good for much. - C. H. Spurgeon