Is your faith real?

Is your faith real?
Matthew’s gospel records this incident between Jesus and a rich man,
“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” 
“Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,  honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’’” 
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 
  Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. 
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:16-26.
Let me make something clear here. Having wealth is not wrong. The apostle Paul wrote,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10.
Notice Paul states it is “the the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil”. Money in itself is neither good or bad it can be used for both purposes.
Jesus in the above incident is not telling the rich young man his money is evil. He is asking the young man what is his faith truly in, God, or his wealth. As it turned out it was his wealth because he was unwilling to give it up and put all his trust in God.
Jesus tells us,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21.
Our faith needs to be entirely in God. Not our wealth. The writer of Hebrews tells us,

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, 

because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists 

and 

that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” 

                                                                  Hebrews 11:6.

The writer defines faith as,

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for 

and 

certain of what we do not see.”  

                                          Hebrews 11:1.

That rich man believed there is a God. He’d obeyed the law of Moses.  However he did not have the faith in God to provide for all his needs.
Question one: Do you truly have faith in God to provide for all your needs?
Question two: If God were to ask you to give up all your wealth and ask you to totally depend on Him, could you do it?
Please think about it.

Please excuse us.

Please excuse us
Please excuse we who believe in Christ Jesus when we get a little excited about what we believe and want to tell you about our beliefs. You see we believe we have a message from God. A most important message about the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said of this message,
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  
When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it” Matthew 13:44-46.
You see we who believe in Christ Jesus just want to tell you how we believe you get to heaven.
First of all be believe Jesus is God incarnate, God in the flesh. The writer of Hebrews telling us,
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.  
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:1-3.
Jesus speaking of himself said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16,17.
The apostle Paul wrote,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
We believe you get to heaven by the grace of God. Through belief in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul tells us,
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8.
We believe the words of the apostle John who wrote,
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John 1:12,13.
And yes an honest believer in Christ will tell you that believing these things can seem foolish but they are true. The apostle Paul writes,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18.
C. S Lewis points out,
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” C. S. Lewis
It all comes down to what you personally believe. The writer of Hebrews telling us,

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for 

and certain of what we do not see.”  

                                           Hebrews 11:1

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, 

because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists

 and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” 

                                                                    Hebrews 11:6.

Please think about it.