Dare To Trust...

Christ’s call is to feed the hungry, not the full; to save the lost, not the stiff-necked; not to call the scoffers, but sinners to repentance; not to build and furnish comfortable chapels, churches, and cathedrals at home in which to rock Christian professors to sleep by means of clever essays, stereotyped prayers and artistic musical performances, but to raise living churches of souls among the destitute, to capture men from the devil’s clutches and snatch them from the very jaws of hell, to enlist and train them for Jesus, and make them into an Almighty Army of God.

But this can only be accomplished by a red-hot, unconventional, unfettered Holy Ghost religion, where neither Church nor State, neither man nor traditions are worshiped or preached, but only Christ and Him crucified. Not to confess Christ by fancy collars, clothes, silver croziers or gold watch-chain crosses, church steeples or richly embroidered altar-cloths, but by reckless sacrifice and heroism in the foremost trenches… ~C.T. Studd


C.T. Studd was a wealthy English athlete who emphasized a life of faith and who gave away his entire inheritance, a good portion of it to George Muller’s orphan-care ministry! He started his mission work in China, and a wife and two kids later he moved to India to continue reaching the unreached. Finally, nearing retirement, he settled in Africa. His church did not support his decision. They said he was risking too much, and told him to wait (for someone else/younger to go?). This is a portion of the letter he wrote the church:

Too long we have been waiting on one another to begin. The time for waiting has passed. The hour of God has struck. War is declared. In God’s holy name let us arise and build. The God of heaven will fight for us. We will not build on the sand, but on the bedrock of Christ, and the gates and minions of Hell shall not prevail against us. Should men such as us fear?

Before the whole world, before the sleepy, lukewarm, faithless namby-pamby Christian world, we will dare to trust our God. We will venture our all for Him. We will live and we will die for Him, and we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a thousand times sooner die trusting only in our God than live trusting in man, and when we come to our position we realize the battle is already won and the end of the glorious campaign is in sight because we will have the real holiness of God. Not the sickly stuff of talk and dainty words and pretty thoughts, we will have a masculine holiness. One of daring faith and works for Jesus Christ.

~C.T. Studd

David Platt shared these quotes from C.T. Studd’s biography, a biography that’s suddenly at the top of our to-read list! To have your socks knocked off and watch the whole message by David Platt, click HERE. Select the 9/27/09 “Faith Risks” video