|
Steppingstones of Faith Last summer, some folks who were new to boating were having trouble with their new 22 "footer" on Lake Isabella near Bakersfield, California. No matter how hard they tried, their boat was sluggish in every maneuver. Finally, they pulled into the marina to have it checked out. After examining everything on board, one marina worker slipped into the water to check underneath. He came up choking on water, he was laughing so hard. Under the boat, still strapped securely in place, was the trailer. Hard to believe! OK, it sounds absolutely impossible, but I remember once I had my boat opened up full-throttle on the river, and it, too, was sluggish. Problem? We were dragging the anchor! Hey, it happens! But it is far more tragic when it happens spiritually. Many today try to make their way through the waters of life dragging behind them all kinds of "baggage"—false concepts of themselves and God, and grossly cock-eyed understandings of what true faith really is. Is your faith-walk sluggish or at a stand-still? Read on! Praise God! A.W. Tozer tells the truth when he writes, "There is this nebulous idea accepted by many in our day that faith is an almighty power flowing through the universe which anyone may plug into at will. When it comes in, supposedly out goes pessimism, fear, defeat and failure; in comes optimism, confidence, personal mastery and unfailing success in war, love, sports, business, and politics. What is overlooked in all this is that true faith engages God's word, and without His Word—eternal tragedy." Remember—faith isn't a matter of getting what we want; it is a matter of God getting what He wants. Let's take a few moments to plant our feet firmly on the steppingstones of faith and go across the river before we try to go speeding down the river. One very good place to see and experience these steppingstones of faith is in the life of Abraham, who was first known as Abram. In Genesis 12:1, we find these words: "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee." And that he did—he took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and a few servants, and took off right away—in total obedience. This is true faith! Everyone who will be a true Christian is called to step into this kind of faith—away from the world and it's philosophies, even though it doesn't seem very loving. It is true that much of the world will not understand when God says that we are to be in the world but not of the world (John 17:15,16)—or when He says to come out from among them, to be separate, and to not touch the unclean thing (2 Cor. 6:17)—or not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (vs. 14). The big push today in both the world and its dead churches is for unity, even if God's truth needs to be thrown away. Actually, the most loving thing the true church can do in such a society is to stand for God and His Word, for it will then be a beacon in a very sin-darkened world. When He says to take the first step towards Him, true faith does it—leaving the consequences up to Him. Having reached this steppingstone with a sure step, certainly all of the others will be just as stable, right? Wrong! Soon after Abram arrived where God called him to go, there developed a devastating famine. Instead of continuing to put his faith in the Lord, he ran off to Egypt, and, to save his own life, he even lied about his wife. That would be OK, wouldn’t it?—It was just a little one, and he only did it twice! No problem today, at least in many people's estimations, but God will have an honest heart! The bigger picture is that he ran off to another source in the midst of adversity—Egypt, a representation in the Scriptures of the world and its self-centered ways. Obviously, he slipped on this steppingstone, only to get soaked and covered in mud. But, Praise God, He did not throw Abram away. He told him in a vision, "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." (15:1) God had promised that generations would flow forth from him, but when that first child of promise did not come, Sarai suggested he have a child through her Egyptian servant, Hagar. Ishmael, the progenitor of the Arab people, was the result of that "miss-step," and Israel has paid dearly ever since. When Abram was ninety years old, God called him deeper in his faith—"I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect." (17:1b) In so doing, God called him into a covenant that would be marked by circumcision. Spiritually speaking, the "flesh" needed to be cut way. Abram's ancestor Noah found this to be true after all of the faith-steps he had taken; when the flood was over and it was time to start a new life, he made wine and got drunk—obviously, not a part of God's planned faith-walk. What was needed in both Noah and Abram?—a cutting away of the human will and desires, symbolized by a literal circumcision. Paul would later call it a circumcision of the heart (Romans 2:28). It would be a powerful picture, both then and now, of the need for the blood of Jesus and the fullness of the Holy Spirit. In this, both Abram and Sarai found themselves with new names—Abraham and Sarah. They were not just "Father" and "Princess," but now the Father and Mother of all nations—a prophetic announcement of just how far reaching God's plan really was! Abraham's call to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh would now be tested. When three visitors arrived at the tents of Abraham, he called one of them, "My Lord,"—a pre-incarnate appearance of the Christ Himself (see also 18:1). When they announced God's plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their abominable sin, namely homosexuality, Abraham pleaded for their lives. When no righteous people could be found there, other than Lot, the cities were condemned. Many today would say, "Where is the love in that?" Answer?—All through it! The most merciful thing God can do is to warn of the deadliness of sin before the judgment comes. Sin must be destroyed and punished, but how many today see "alternative lifestyles" as sin? Recently, a well-known "conservative" radio personality said that he didn’t see anything wrong with it—after all, Jesus didn't personally address the topic. Oh really?—Maybe he should read Matthew 10 and 11, and Luke 17, as well. He also ignores several references in Paul's letters, as well as 2 Peter 2. Sure, you can believe just about anything, if you choose to ignore God's Word! Please don't miss the broader picture, though. It is clearly part of the push today to cast away the restrictions (Psalm 2:3), and to insist on "doing what I'm going to do." It is rebellion, and it can come in every facet of life—nobody is going to tell me what I can and cannot do. Abraham agreed with God then, but what about the next steppingstone—the call to sacrifice the son of promise, Isaac. It doesn’t make sense that God would call for such a thing—make a promise for future generations and then take away all possibility of it! Absurd! No, not for God, it isn't—Remember, His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). And Abraham, by faith, knew that—"Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead…"(Hebrews 11:19a) In other words, if the son of promise was killed, God would have to raise him up in order to fulfill His promise. But don't miss the real point—it wasn't all about Isaac; it was pointing to Jesus, who would be crucified for our sin and raised to new life. Yes, even the "good" things are to be given back to His control. Many think that faith is just getting rid of the bad things—No, He wants everything given over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Don't miss that steppingstone, or down you will go! If you haven't noticed a theme in all of this, I believe you will now! When Abraham was very old, he sent his servant out away from Canaan to find a godly wife for his son, Isaac (24:1-4). Do you see it?—the call to be separated from worldliness, and clinging only unto God and His ways—no matter how ridiculous or rude that may seem to the world. Just before he died, Abraham gave gifts to his other offspring and sent them away, but he gave Isaac everything he had (25:5,6). The children of the flesh were sent away in order that the child of promise would not be tempted to fall into the ways of the flesh. And please don't forget this—Abraham had been promised a lot of real estate, but by the time of his death, the only land he actually owned was the cave he and his beloved wife were buried in. Prosperity preachers today would cry out, "Shame on him!" But Hebrews 11 declares, "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country…For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." (vss. 9,10) Hard to believe? No! Remember—faith isn't a matter of us getting everything we want; it is a matter of God getting what He wants! Forget the baggage and the anchors that weigh us down—step by faith out onto the Rock, who is Jesus Christ, and go from there into the blessed and necessary fullness of His Holy Spirit! Copyright (c)
2005 Christ Our Rock Bible Church. |
