--------------
As I prepared this message, I thought of two stories in recent weeks about two high-profile Christians who turned their backs on Jesus. You might remember I posted my comments about them several days ago. Their fall from grace still troubles me.
Joshua Harris, who was a megachurch pastor and author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, proudly proclaimed his freedom from Christianity. He then promptly divorced his wife and shortly thereafter marched in a Gay Pride parade.
A week or so later I read of another big name ‘Christian,’ Marty Sampson. Sampson was a Hillsong megachurch worship leader and songwriter until he also boasted of having escaped from Christ.
It’s nothing short of tragic for them, their families, and for those who looked up to them that Satan can now do a victory dance at their fall.
December of this year will mark 47 years that I have walked with Jesus. And in those nearly five decades I have watched many, many men and women fall away from Christ. To my knowledge, none have ever returned.
Let me first say this. I am certain neither Joshua Harris nor Marty Sampson woke up one morning and suddenly decided they no longer believed what they said they had once believed about the Savior. Their turning from Christ started slowly and continued incrementally until they made their break from the One whom they once called their Lord and Savior.
In the nearly 50 years I have followed Jesus, I have seen too many followers of Christ turn away from their faith. And while their reasons for turning back to the world might be varied, I think there is most often only of two fundamental reasons a person leaves Christ: Either they tire of doing what Jesus wants them to do, or they grow angry, or annoyed, or disillusioned when Jesus doesn’t do what they want Him to do.
In either case, they bristle – perhaps unconsciously at first – they bristle at the idea the He is God – and they are not. They stumble at the realization that God is not a cosmic Santa Claus or Tooth Fairy.
What do we do when we don’t like God’s answer to our prayers?
Don’t think Harris’ and Sampson’s apostasy could not become your own story. The Holy Spirit warns us through St. Paul’s pen: “[L]et him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12) A few chapters later, Paul warns: Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
St. Peter also tells us a truth we dare not gloss over: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)
The shorter the time grows before the Lord Jesus’ return, the more urgent the devil grows in his seduction of humanity – and especially of churchgoers.
Why especially churchgoers? Because if he can seduce them away from Christ, they don’t usually go alone. They bring with them those who looked up to them, those who trusted them, those who thought they had the answers to questions like “How can I live a godly life like you do?”
The scandal Satan causes when those who call themselves Christians fall back into sin is incalculable. That’s why we spent several weeks examining the armor of God that St. Paul wrote of in Ephesians chapter six. We are each in a battle for the eternal destiny of our souls – and for the souls of others. That’s why the Holy Spirit through Paul urges us, “Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10)
I hope you will often read that passage about that armor. Read it often and live by it. Stay alert in your armor. You don’t want your end to be as Harris and Sampson, high-profile deserters who are to be pitied – and prayed for.
“What do you do when you don’t like God’s answers?” That is not an insignificant question. It’s one that you and I will repeatedly face throughout our life journey toward the Kingdom.
Those who preach from pulpits and write books telling God’s people that He wants us happy, healthy, wealthy – and that He will always answer our prayers according to our desires – that message is a lie, totally unsupportable by God’s word.
Let me give you only three examples of high-profile people who heard God say ‘No’ to their requests. The first is Moses. Israel was about the cross into the Promised Land after their 40-year trek through the wilderness. Earlier during that journey, God told Moses he would not enter the Promised land because he had openly disobeyed God and struck the rock to get water for the people instead of only speaking to it (Numbers 20:10-12).
And now, as they were about to cross the Jordan River, Moses once more asked God to let him enter with the people. Here is how the Scripture describes that melancholy scene:
Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ But the Lord was angry with me on your account and would not listen to me; and the Lord said to me, ‘Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter. Go up to the top of [Mount] Pisgah and lift up your eyes to the west and north and south and east, and see it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. (Deuteronomy 3:25-27)
Our second high-profile person to whom God said, “No” is the apostle Paul. In his second letter to the Christians at Corinth, Paul implored God to remove his ‘thorn in the flesh.’ Scripture doesn’t tell us anything about that thorn, but we can easily surmise it was a great affliction for him.
Here is how the man who wrote nearly one half of the New Testament books records it: “Concerning this [thorn] I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:8)
In other words, God told Paul, “No. I will not remove that thorn.”
The third high-profile person to hear God answer “No” to His prayers is none other than the Lord Jesus Himself. Luke records the scene this way: “And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.” (Luke 22:44). You remember what He asked the Father: “If You are willing, remove this cup from Me.” But the Father said, in other words, “No, Son. I will not remove the cup.”
How could Moses accept God’s ‘No’ to his prayer? Because he had spent the better part of 40 years walking every day with God. After all that time, Moses grew to know God, to trust Him, to love Him. And so, though surely disappointed, he remained submissive to God’s decision.
Paul could accept God’s ‘No’ for the same reason. In the more than three decades the apostle walked with Christ, he tells us: “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. (2 Corinthians 11:24-27)
Yet through it all, during his 30+year journey toward the Kingdom, Paul learned to know God, to trust God, to love God. So, when God said, “No” Paul could say: “Thy will be done.”
And how could Jesus – who was not only 100% God, but He was also 100% human just like you and me – how could the Man Jesus, freely submit Himself to the will of the Father, even though He knew it meant His torturous death?
How? The same way Moses and Paul could accept the Father’s will. Jesus knew the Father. He trusted the Father. He loved the Father.
What will we do when we don’t like God’s answers to our prayers? I’ll tell you what Joshua Harris and Marty Sampson had not done during the years they preached God’s word or led congregations in music worship: They had not learned to trust God to always, and in every circumstance, do right. They had never learned God loves them – He still does, even though they have turned away from Him.
What will we do when God says “No” to our prayers? Let me help you find a far better answer than Harris and Sampson gave. When disappointment or disillusionment creeps into our thoughts, ask yourself the following three questions. I offer those questions in part two. Follow the link here:
Joshua Harris, who was a megachurch pastor and author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, proudly proclaimed his freedom from Christianity. He then promptly divorced his wife and shortly thereafter marched in a Gay Pride parade.
A week or so later I read of another big name ‘Christian,’ Marty Sampson. Sampson was a Hillsong megachurch worship leader and songwriter until he also boasted of having escaped from Christ.
It’s nothing short of tragic for them, their families, and for those who looked up to them that Satan can now do a victory dance at their fall.
December of this year will mark 47 years that I have walked with Jesus. And in those nearly five decades I have watched many, many men and women fall away from Christ. To my knowledge, none have ever returned.
Let me first say this. I am certain neither Joshua Harris nor Marty Sampson woke up one morning and suddenly decided they no longer believed what they said they had once believed about the Savior. Their turning from Christ started slowly and continued incrementally until they made their break from the One whom they once called their Lord and Savior.
In the nearly 50 years I have followed Jesus, I have seen too many followers of Christ turn away from their faith. And while their reasons for turning back to the world might be varied, I think there is most often only of two fundamental reasons a person leaves Christ: Either they tire of doing what Jesus wants them to do, or they grow angry, or annoyed, or disillusioned when Jesus doesn’t do what they want Him to do.
In either case, they bristle – perhaps unconsciously at first – they bristle at the idea the He is God – and they are not. They stumble at the realization that God is not a cosmic Santa Claus or Tooth Fairy.
What do we do when we don’t like God’s answer to our prayers?
Don’t think Harris’ and Sampson’s apostasy could not become your own story. The Holy Spirit warns us through St. Paul’s pen: “[L]et him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12) A few chapters later, Paul warns: Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
St. Peter also tells us a truth we dare not gloss over: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)
The shorter the time grows before the Lord Jesus’ return, the more urgent the devil grows in his seduction of humanity – and especially of churchgoers.
Why especially churchgoers? Because if he can seduce them away from Christ, they don’t usually go alone. They bring with them those who looked up to them, those who trusted them, those who thought they had the answers to questions like “How can I live a godly life like you do?”
The scandal Satan causes when those who call themselves Christians fall back into sin is incalculable. That’s why we spent several weeks examining the armor of God that St. Paul wrote of in Ephesians chapter six. We are each in a battle for the eternal destiny of our souls – and for the souls of others. That’s why the Holy Spirit through Paul urges us, “Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10)
I hope you will often read that passage about that armor. Read it often and live by it. Stay alert in your armor. You don’t want your end to be as Harris and Sampson, high-profile deserters who are to be pitied – and prayed for.
“What do you do when you don’t like God’s answers?” That is not an insignificant question. It’s one that you and I will repeatedly face throughout our life journey toward the Kingdom.
Those who preach from pulpits and write books telling God’s people that He wants us happy, healthy, wealthy – and that He will always answer our prayers according to our desires – that message is a lie, totally unsupportable by God’s word.
Let me give you only three examples of high-profile people who heard God say ‘No’ to their requests. The first is Moses. Israel was about the cross into the Promised Land after their 40-year trek through the wilderness. Earlier during that journey, God told Moses he would not enter the Promised land because he had openly disobeyed God and struck the rock to get water for the people instead of only speaking to it (Numbers 20:10-12).
And now, as they were about to cross the Jordan River, Moses once more asked God to let him enter with the people. Here is how the Scripture describes that melancholy scene:
Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ But the Lord was angry with me on your account and would not listen to me; and the Lord said to me, ‘Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter. Go up to the top of [Mount] Pisgah and lift up your eyes to the west and north and south and east, and see it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. (Deuteronomy 3:25-27)
Our second high-profile person to whom God said, “No” is the apostle Paul. In his second letter to the Christians at Corinth, Paul implored God to remove his ‘thorn in the flesh.’ Scripture doesn’t tell us anything about that thorn, but we can easily surmise it was a great affliction for him.
Here is how the man who wrote nearly one half of the New Testament books records it: “Concerning this [thorn] I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:8)
In other words, God told Paul, “No. I will not remove that thorn.”
The third high-profile person to hear God answer “No” to His prayers is none other than the Lord Jesus Himself. Luke records the scene this way: “And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.” (Luke 22:44). You remember what He asked the Father: “If You are willing, remove this cup from Me.” But the Father said, in other words, “No, Son. I will not remove the cup.”
How could Moses accept God’s ‘No’ to his prayer? Because he had spent the better part of 40 years walking every day with God. After all that time, Moses grew to know God, to trust Him, to love Him. And so, though surely disappointed, he remained submissive to God’s decision.
Paul could accept God’s ‘No’ for the same reason. In the more than three decades the apostle walked with Christ, he tells us: “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. (2 Corinthians 11:24-27)
Yet through it all, during his 30+year journey toward the Kingdom, Paul learned to know God, to trust God, to love God. So, when God said, “No” Paul could say: “Thy will be done.”
And how could Jesus – who was not only 100% God, but He was also 100% human just like you and me – how could the Man Jesus, freely submit Himself to the will of the Father, even though He knew it meant His torturous death?
How? The same way Moses and Paul could accept the Father’s will. Jesus knew the Father. He trusted the Father. He loved the Father.
What will we do when we don’t like God’s answers to our prayers? I’ll tell you what Joshua Harris and Marty Sampson had not done during the years they preached God’s word or led congregations in music worship: They had not learned to trust God to always, and in every circumstance, do right. They had never learned God loves them – He still does, even though they have turned away from Him.
What will we do when God says “No” to our prayers? Let me help you find a far better answer than Harris and Sampson gave. When disappointment or disillusionment creeps into our thoughts, ask yourself the following three questions. I offer those questions in part two. Follow the link here:
No comments:
Post a Comment