NURTURING FAITH
Heb 12:1-13
I am sure we have come across many definitions of a Christian:
Let me share one interesting definition:
A Christian:is one who is completely fearless, continually cheerful, and constantly in trouble and always having problems with his faith!
Faith is taking God at His Word – believing in Him and in His Promises.
More often than not; when things don’t work out the way you expect; you may continue to believe in God but could have doubts about the second part of God keeping His promises!!.
We have several analogies to explain faith – one very appealing one is to equate faith to a journey.
Abraham left his home town, family, possesions, all his ties and went out into a land which he knew nothing of or about into a new way of life in obedience to the Word of God.
All he knew was that he had now entered into a unique and amazing relationship with El Shaddai, the Almighty God – he had received a wonderful promise that he would be blessed and in him all families on earth would be blessed – based on one requirement – he would need to move out – to embark on a journey, to take up an unknown trail, to go into a strange land in search of a city whose foundations were laid by God.
Abraham did not know which path; but he knew the one who is the Way
Abraham did not possess any facts; but he knew Him who is the Truth
Abraham did not know about how he was going to live; but he knew Him who is the Life
Abraham’s vital and vibrant relationship with Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life – was good enough for him to leave everything behind, stake his future life on a promise and walk into the unknown with the expectation that all that had been promised would come to pass.
Faith, then is to start walking in an unknown direction into an unknown territory towards a destination without even a map – except for one singular truth: Knowing the one who has drawn the map.
Many times we do go on ‘faith trips’ – maybe a marriage, a house, a job, a project, a sickness or a surgery – once we see the promise fulfilled, the barometer of faith goes up; but when things don’t work out the way we expect, there is a drop in the barometer of faith.
If you want to know the true measure of a man’s faith – look at his lifestyle – and you find a cue; look at his works – and you get a clue; but it is only when you look at his worship – you will know how much of his faith is true!
The rich young ruler in Luke 18 had an exemplary lifestyle – all the commandments, I have followed since a child - Our Lord tells him …one thing you lack! Do you have the faith to give up all and follow me? To embark on your journey of faith, you need to Walk With Me My Way. To walk with me, you need to abandon your trust in your resources – simply taking me at my word.
Will you?
In Luke 10:39 we see Jesus visiting the home of Martha and Mary. We find Martha caught up with preparation for dinner whilst Mary sits at the feet of Jesus. One is involved in Work; the other in the Word; Both are serving, but in different ways. Jesus gently chides Martha when she complains that Mary is not helping her with the chores. Martha, you are preoccupied with Doing; Mary is occupied with Being. You want to feed me Bread; But Mary has discovered the Bread of Life.
Jonah in the belly of a fish was as good as dead – like being buried alive. And from these murky depths we hear his wonderful voice of worship: I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with its bars was about me forever, yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.
And yet when God sends him a second time to preach repentance to Nineveh – his word is received and Nineveh repents much to his dismay. He goes into a sulk and when a shade plant over his head perishes, he is angry with God.
God reprimands him – You had pity on the gourd for which you had neither laboured nor made to grow, but what came up on its own – How much more should you care for a city with over six score thousand persons living in darkness apart from a large number of cattle?
Our life on earth is a walk of faith; our pursuits and priorities constitute the work of faith; but our intimate and ultimate relationship with God which we manifest when we worship Him– is the worship in faith.
Faith is nurtured when you walk with God, work for God and worship God.
When we worship God – we affirm His character;
When we worship God – we begin to live our lives in the assurance that His promises are being fulfilled day in and day out; every day of our life.
We read in Heb 11:6 …..’but without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’
We live in desperate times.
And faith is for desperate days.
The Bible is full of such days. Children of God, going through frustrating, despairing and devastating experiences sometimes have their faith challenged and check-mated. Sometimes apart from the body, the heart is broken and the spirit crushed.
When Jeremiah began to complain to the Lord about his problems, the Lord said to him, "If you have been running with the footmen and you find it difficult, what are you going to do when you compete with horses? And if you fall down when you are in a safe land, what will you do in the day of the swelling of Jordan?" Jeremiah 12:5). So God reminds us that even though trials come, they could be worse.
Trials and tribulations are disciplining tools from the hand of a loving Father.
Hardship proves our sonship
Which brings us to our passage for this evening:
Heb 12:12 – Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
Remember, there is no such thing as weak-kneed Christianity. Christ builds strong knees -- through prayer. You say you have had to take one setback after another; that at times it seems hidden forces are ranged against you; that life has treated you badly.
The question is why should any of these things keep you from bouncing back? Look who is in front of you! "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him" (Isaiah 59:19).
Here Isaiah would like us to examine the practical results of trials in our life: They make possible the demonstration of a new kind of living, which is what the world is looking for. The world is not at all impressed with Christians who stop doing something the world is doing. But they are tremendously impressed with Christians who have started living the kind of a life the worldling cannot live. That stops them! And that is the life he is setting before us here.
First it starts with correction. "Lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet." That is, if you keep on going the way you are going it will only get worse -- that which is lame will be put out of joint. But stop it, he says, strengthen these things. Stop being so weak, stop being so anxious, so worried. How will the world get the impression that Christ is victor if they look at you and you are always in defeat? Strengthen these things, he says,
Drooping hands are a sign of weakness; despair; a sign of having given up. There is no strength because there is no will. The hands are no longer willing because the mind is no longer willing.
The sure hand that reached out to Jesus to be rescued from drowning in the Sea of Galilee,
the powerful hand that drew a sword to strike off Malchus’ ear is now drooping behind a blanket – as he silently witnesses Jesus being led to His end. I will follow you , even unto death, Peter had remonstrated. Now his faith, completely shaken; he not only deserts his Master but disowns Him. I know nothing of this Man, he cries, with feeling and fervour.
Elijah raises a hand of judgement against Ahab in the strength of the Lord. For 3 years Ahab had been seeking Elijah’s life – now Elijah appears on the scene and tells Obadiah – Go and tell Ahab that I am here! I swear by the Lord Almighty in whose presence I stand, that I will present myself to Ahab today. He raises a hand of defiance against the prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth, 850 in all. And in the climax on Mount Carmel, he raises his hand of faith crying: O Lord of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me!
And the fire of the Lord flashes down from heaven and burns up the sacrifice.
But when Elijah receives the message from Jezebel – by this time tomorrow I will take your life even as you have taken the lives of my prophets – Elijah flees for his life. He travels all day across the desert finally reaching a solitary juniper tree with a prayer: I have had enough, Lord – Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors!
While the children of Israel were at Rephidim, the Amalekites come to fight against them. Moses calls the Israelites to battle, and he himself along with Aaron and Hur go up to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up the staff with his hands, the Israelites prevailed over the Amalekites; but when his arm drooped, the Amalekites would seize advantage and gained the upper hand.
As the day progresses, Moses’ hands become too weary and he is no longer able to hold the staff aloft. At this juncture, Aaron and Hur stand on each side, and hold his hands up until sunset. As a result, the Israelites led by Joshua win a decisive victory over the Amalekites.
The staff of Moses is later on referred to as the staff of God. It is the same staff which in the Moses of hand stretched over the Red Sea parts the waters to make a way to the Promised Land. It is the same staff which brings water out of the Rock.
Weary hands cannot win life’s battles..
Similarly weak faith cannot achieve God purposes in your life.
When you are down and under; turn to Jesus. This is what Isaiah in Ch 35 prophetically tells the people of God. Israel had gone through turbulent times in the days of Isaiah. The people of God had suffered under the reign of several evil kings, powerful enemies and their own fellowmen who were indifferent to God. They were on the verge of giving up. It is at this juncture that Isaiah is inspired by God to break out: Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts – ‘ Be strong, do not fear, for your God will come. A better day is coming – don’t give up now! Hold on! Help is on its way!
The high point of Abraham’s faith life is when he is called to offer Isaac as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah. His is a 3 day journey. God had promised him that through the seed of Isaac he would bless Abraham and his generations – in him and through Isaac would all families on earth be blessed and they would be innumerable like the stars in the heaven and the sand in the desert.
Abraham must have been in deep contemplation. He would have been talking to himself – deep within him he knew that this was no ordinary matter. The God who promised to bless him through his seed had also asked him to sacrifice this seed. There should be a deeper, more significant, unsearchable and unknowable truth beyond the grasp of human reason. His walk to Mount Moriah must have been with a heavy heart and a leaden step, Isaac in one hand and his dagger in the other. This is the walk of faith. Going about to fulfil the work of faith. And the end purpose – to worship God!!
Having laid Isaac on the altar as the sacrificial lamb; Abraham is still able to believe that God will provide himself a lamb.
Isaac was a child born of promise. His dead body had been brought to life to bring forth seed by a power beyond human comprehension – the dead womb of Sarah, his wife had been brought to life to bear its promised fruit.
This was the power of raising the dead to life.
Now even as Isaac is being offered up as a sacrifice; when the live is going to die in a few moments; Abraham must have grasped that amazing vision.
He is faithful that has promised.
The same power that brought him and Sarah from the dead would bring back Isaac to life.
The power of resurrection!
I would like to stop here……………I believe there is a profound spiritual truth which applied to our lives can truly build and nurture our faith.
Paul writes in 2 Cor1:8,9 I was crushed….so much that I despaired even of life, but that was to make me rely not on myself, but on the God who raises the dead.’
Paul is drawing our attention to something which we could easily miss if we do not dwell on this verse – Paul was crushed, given up for dead, absolutely nothing ahead, everything over…………….when his spiritual eyes are opened………I cannot even depend on anything I have or anything I have done – at the edge of the cliff; at the end of the road; as I come to the last straw on my back – I can rely only on God who RAISES the DEAD.
In other words: Paul says God the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus; the Resurrection Power that brought Jesus back to life is what is available to me. Nothing else.
The question is: Do you need anything more to lift you up? Can there by any greater power on heaven or earth than the power of resurrection?
The Word of God exhorts us: Make level paths for your feet so that the lame may not be disabled; but rather healed.
To make level paths for our feet is to walk in the ways of God. Turning neither left nor to the right. In the paths of righteousness. God does not want us to be lame; spiritually crippled. God has created us to grow strong in our faith and daily walk.
The trials that we face in life are only to strengthen us and equip us to finish the race. We may be knocked about and even knocked down by life. All for a purpose, to ultimately bless us beyond what we may dare to dream or ask.
Rom 8:18 – ‘ For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
Our model is our Lord Jesus: Heb 12:2 – looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith.
The psalmist in Psalm 138:8 says: The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.
The secret of nurturing faith is then to walk with God; do the work of God and to worship God in all things in all circumstances.
