Trust and Obey

All scripture references, unless otherwise noted, are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
I am remembering the old, old song we sang in the church I first attended after my conversion, Trust and Obey. It goes as follows;

1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
   What a glory He sheds on our way!
   While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
   And with all who will trust and obey.
   • Refrain:
     Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
     To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
2. Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
   But His smile quickly drives it away;
   Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
   Can abide while we trust and obey.
3. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
   But our toil He doth richly repay;
   Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
   But is blessed if we trust and obey.
4. But we never can prove the delights of His love
   Until all on the altar we lay;
   For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
   Are for them who will trust and obey.
5. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
   Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
   What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
   Never fear, only trust and obey.
6. By John H Sammis, 1887
7. 
   

I looked in the songbook, "Sing Unto The Lord," published by Word Aflame Press, and unfortunately did not find it listed. As I re-read the words to the song, (from the website, http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Trust_and_Obey/, I was taken back to my first days of being a Christian. What a blessing it was to me then.

I wonder if the Christian world of today is still trusting and obeying God. I have been meeting with some other men early Thursday mornings in which one of the men, a pastor of another group was asked by someone, "what must I do to be saved?" I was somewhat astounded at his answer. He told the questioner, the Bible answer is, one must repent of their sins, be baptized in Jesus name and receive the Holy Spirit. I fully agree with that statement. Not because it is part of the official doctrine of the United Pentecostal Church, Int'l, but because it is the Bible plan of salvation.

Trust and obey? Yes, to be saved one must repent of their sin, (plural) be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus "for the remission of sins," and be filled with the Holy Ghost, as evidenced with speaking with tongues. (See Acts 2:1-4 and Acts 2:38) Someone may ask, does it really make any difference how you are baptized? I can only answer that question by quoting Acts 4:12, which says, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." The name of Jesus is not optional!

Is that all one must do? How about everything else the Word of God says? I well remember the day the Lord Jesus said to me in the most unutterable love, "make Me your choice, I am the only reasonable choice you have." As I have testified in the past, when I said in reply, "Lord Jesus, if you will help me I will serve you from this day to the day I die!" I meant it then and I mean it now. When I said those words, the Lord Jesus immediately cleansed my mind and heart and said "read My word and start in Matthew." He did not say, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." (See Mark. 16:16), or "...Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (See Acts 2:38) When I read His word, I found that these were things I should do.

So is that all? The Word of God includes more than just the Gospels, the Book of Acts, etc., it tells us what God expects of us. It is what God thinks about things. So to really trust and obey, one must find out what God truly thinks about what we do. But there is no way to find out what we must do to please God without His word. It must be read and preached! 

Having said all of the preceding, the question is, have you trusted the Lord Jesus and obeyed His word? If you have not,begin reading His word.  A good place to start is in Matthew. You will find out that God commands all men everywhere to repent. (See Acts 17:30) Take the name of Jesus on you by being baptized in Jesus name, "for the remission of sins," and God has promised to fill you with His Holy Spirit, just like He did with the original church. (See John 7:37-39, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:1-4 and Acts 2:38-40) I am praying for you to, trust and obey.