Grace, mercy and peace be to each of you from our expectant Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
Last week we began this sermon series as we prepared ourselves to go and see the movie, “I Still Believe”, by addressing how one should deal with seemingly UNANSWERED PRAYERS.
We discussed three practical ways we can respond when we are confused, frustrated, or angry about the way God is responds, or is not responding to our prayers.
When we find ourselves in those situations, we can choose to wait, to continue walking with God, and continue worshipping God.
Today we are going to take it a step further, and talk about the essential ingredient needed in these, and any of the other ways we choose to respond to God, as His people.
The essential ingredient we need in these situations is in fact FAITH. It takes faith to wait, faith to keep walking, and faith to worship. The author of Hebrews reminds us that…
“…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
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
Jesus says in the Gospel of John:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!” John 16:33
TAKE HEART … simply another way of saying “HAVE FAITH”.
Today we are going to look at 3 powerful examples of FAITH. Two of them come from the New Testament and one from the life of a courageous missionary named Brother Andrew. But before we jump into those stories, I want to share with you again the chorus from Jeremy Camp’s song, “Walk by Faith”…
Well I will walk by faith,
Even when I cannot see.
Because this broken road,
Prepares your will for me.
Here is the key … there are some of you here today who will hear these next stories, and I pray you’ll be encouraged by them.
The broken road you are currently traveling may be difficult, but God has a plan and purpose for it. Even if you cannot see or understand what is happening, I want you to know that God is faithful.
There are others who will hear these stories today, and be reminded of difficult seasons God has faithfully delivered you from.
And finally, there are those of you here today who will sooner or later enter a season that tests your faith. I can only hope that the stories I share today, will help you through any frustration, confusion, and anger with God so you will CHOOSE to walk by faith.
But before we get into our 3 stories for the day, I’d like to take a moment to pray that we would all be open to receive the hope and encouragement the Lord has for us today and everyday….
Prayer “0 Lord, speak in this place, in our minds, in our hearts, by the words of my mouth, and in the thoughts we form. Speak, 0 Lord, we, your servants, are listening. Amen
in last week’s Gospel lesson, we looked at the story of Jairus, the synagogue leader, and his interaction with Jesus. We learned Jairus was in a unique situation where he had to KEEP WALKING with Christ for quite some time before receiving an answer to his request for help.
So today, we are going to look at the woman who interrupted Jesus as he walked with Jairus, and the faith she had to exercise just to get to Christ.
Let pick up last week’s Gospel lesson at verse 25…
“…a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.” Mark 5:25-26
This is, in and of itself, an incredibly difficult position to be in. She’s sick, she’s seeing doctors, and she’s getting nowhere.
To add insult to injury, she has spent all her money in the process, and after twelve long years, she truly has no options left.
What we don’t learn from the passage in Mark 5 is that her issue of bleeding would have made her “ceremonially unclean” according to the Levitical law (Leviticus 15:25-27).
Being unclean would have excluded her from all forms of Jewish worship, both in the synagogue and at the temple.
Every chair and bed she sat on, or slept in, would also be unclean during the time of her bleeding, and anyone who touched them would become unclean. So, she had absolutely no social life … no friends … no close family.
This situation may sound gross and even confusing, but it is very important information as we try to comprehend the pain and loneliness this woman was living in.
For twelve years she was unable to worship with her community.
For twelve years she was unable to share her home with others.
And for twelve years she was unable to find relief from her pain.
It is from this desperate place that an unbelievable act of faith and correspondingly tremendous miracle occurred.
“When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.” Mark 5:27-29
The woman experienced an immediate miracle as the healing power of Christ flowed into her body. She was instantaneously restored to fellowship, she was restored to community, and she was restored to physical health because of her bold act of faith to get to Jesus.
And BOLD FAITH is exactly how I would describe the subject of our next story as well.
Now Andrew is a Christian missionary, who is known for smuggling Bibles into communist countries during the height of the Cold War. One of the most popular stories of him recounts a risky incident from early in his ministry, and I want to share it with you today as our second story of faith.
On this particular occasion, Andrew approached the Romanian border in his car … which was packed with illegal Bibles.
He could only hope the border guards were moving swiftly and not paying much attention, which might allow him to pass through undetected, but he was willing to take the chance.
But just as he was hoping this, Andrew saw the guards stop the car at the front of the line. He watched, in anticipation, as the vehicle’s owners were forced to take out all the car’s contents and spread them on the ground for inspection.
Each car that followed received the same treatment, with the fourth car’s inspection lasting the longest. The guard took a full hour to sift through it, including removing hubcaps, taking some of the engine apart, and even removing the seats.
“Dear Lord,” Andrew remembers praying, “What am I going to do?”
As he prayed, a bold idea came to him. “I know that no amount of cleverness on my part can get me through this border search. Dare I ask for a miracle? Let me take some of the Bibles out and leave them in the open where they will be seen.”
Putting the Bibles out in the open would truly be depending on God, rather than his own intelligence, he thought. So, when Andrew’s turn came, he did just that. “I handed him my papers and started to get out. But his knee was against the door to hold it closed.”
And then, the unbelievable happened.
The guard looked at Andrew’s passport and abruptly waved him on. Andrew remembers that “Thirty seconds had not passed from the time he stopped at the checkpoint.
Andrew started the engine and began pulling away, all the while wondering if he was supposed to pull over so the car could be taken apart and examined.
He said “as I coasted forward, my foot poised above the brake, nothing happened. I looked out the rear mirror. The guard was waving the next car to a stop, indicating to the driver that he had to get out.”
God cleared the way for Andrew to smuggle the Bibles to Christians who had no access to God’s Word.
By all measures this was a gigantic act of faith in the face of near certain disaster. It is the striking boldness of these first two stories that should remind all of us that faith often precipitates a step into the unknown.
Our last story highlights the persistence of one who has NOTHING TO LOSE and EVERYTHING TO GAIN.
In our Gospel lesson for today, Luke 18:1-8, we find the parable of the persistent widow. The story is familiar so let’s jump right in…
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.
3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8)
Now, let me ask you, “Isn’t that the very question we still have to wrestle with today?”
“When Jesus comes again, will He find faith on earth?”
Will He find faith in our city?
Will He find faith in our church?
Will He find faith in you and me?
I think you will agree with me when I say that life is quite a journey. A journey that takes strength, encouragement, and faith.
I think that’s at least in part why the writer of Hebrews says in our lesson this morning:
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25
I hope that the stories I shared with you here today are an encouragement to you. Whether you are in the middle of a difficult season, on the other side of one, or possibly heading towards one – it is our collective testimonies of God’s faithfulness that helps spur each other on.
I suspect most of us actually thought about more stories yesterday when we witnessed the story of Jeremy Camp in the movie “I Still Believe”.
I encourage you always to remember just one line from the song he wrote, “I Still Believe”. In the midst of his own frustration, confusion, and sadness, Camp wrote this as the last line of the chorus …
Even when I don’t see, I still believe.
And that’s what I want to leave you with today.
In the midst of life’s storms, when things aren’t making sense, and you don’t know how to respond to the ways God is responding to you, remember … “even when I don’t see, I still believe.”
So, will you wait on Him?
Will you keep walking with Him?
Will you give him your worship?
Will you step out in faith and say, “Yes Lord … even when I don’t see, I still believe.” I truly pray so. AMEN.