FAITH – MOTIVATED BY LOVE- TO TRUST ; {Read GAL 2:20}

What is it that motivates a believer to trust Jesus Christ? LOVE- THE LOVE OF CHRIST IS THE MOTIVATION FOR TRUST IN HIM! Even on a human level, you will trust the person who you know loves you! But no one- absolutely no one can love you like the Lord Jesus. His love for you which is everlasting and has been demonstrated on the cross for you- testifies to you- you can TRUST HIM!

•“This is how we KNOW WHAT LOVE IS; Jesus Christ laid down His life for us…”{ 1 John 3:16}

Galatians 2:20 says it best, regarding the motivation of faith in The Lord Jesus; “ the life I now live by faith, I live by faith in the Son of God who LOVED me and gave Himself up for me.” Paul’s great motivation to TRUST the LORD Jesus in unbelievably difficult times and circumstances was the LOVE OF CHRIST for him personally. Christ died for him and this demonstration of love MOTIVATED him to trust him- through the “storms of life;” hardships, beatings, the envy and unkindness of other believers {Phil 1:15}, he had a painful “thorn;” unfair treatment by religious people, beaten, whipped , hungry, sleepless nights, despairing of life at times, even fearful and depressed {see 2 Cor 1:9; 7:6 } and yet he says, “in fact we expected to die. But as a result, WE LEARNED NOT TO RELY ON OURSELVES, BUT ON GOD who can raise the dead.”- 2 Cor 1:10.

THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST IS THE MOTIVATION TO TRUST HIM;
It is personal trust in a Living Savior and is motivated by His love and is lived out by an attitude and action adopted which is learned and ever growing from self reliance to Christ reliance and is summed up in Paul’s words, “not to rely on ourselves, But on God.” Proverbs 3:5-6; we are told to “trust in the LORD with all of our heart and LEAN NOT TO OUR OWN UNDERSTANDING.”- Is not often the trouble we get ourselves into because we do not RELY on Him and RELY on ourselves instead? Like Paul we too must learn- and like Paul troubles and trials are often God’s means to train us! So often if we never had trouble we never would have opportunity to trust Him. So often when things are going well, we sinfully and shamefully fall back into self reliance rather than the realization in the “good times” we must trust Him not to relay on ourselves but on Him who gives us “all things richly to enjoy.” Paul said I have learned to be content in abasing or abounding…I can do all things through Christ who infuses me with strength” or as the word “strength” means in 2 Cor 12-“Sufficiency.” Jesus Christ was his satisfaction, contentment and he learned this through the good and bad times!

TROUBLES AND TRUTH;
CH SPURGEON said, “Do you feel marked for sorrow? Are you the target of the arrows of affliction?…Do not sorrow. The arrows of affliction are sent by covenant LOVE to prepare you for a special work that will yield a GREAT BLESSING from your Heavenly Father.” Troubles are not an absence of God’s love for you- The cross demonstrates the Love of God for you!

•Troubles can be an opportunity to DEVELOP your faith in the Lord Jesus, trusting in Him when all around is falling apart. {James 1:2-5}

•Troubles can also be opportunities to DEVELOP you for future usefulness to the LORD in serving others.{ 2 Cor 1:3-4}

•Troubles cannot separate you from the LOVE OF GOD IN CHRIST- {Rom 8:38-39}

•Troubles are often a mirror to whom we trust in by who we choose to “RELY” on. {John 6:1-6}

The Love of Christ can be experimentally known and indeed we can pray to Know it as Paul did for those who were “losing heart” and needed to be reassured of the “LOVE OF CHRIST”- Eph 3:13-21.

The Love of Christ Motivates Trust in Him- despite and in spite of difficult circumstances. His Love can elevate the heart when all around is breaking apart. Such is the Power of the Love of Christ to cause a soul to TRUST, RELY NOT ON THEMSELVES BUT ON HIM- WHO IS ABLE TO RAISE THE DEAD!

The LOVE OF CHRIST– Paul never got over it and it influenced and motivates him to TRUST- “ the life I live, I live by FAITH IN the Son of God who LOVED ME And gave Himself up for ME.”- Gal 2:20

You can TRUST the One who Loves you!