Resilient Faith

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I came across an article this week… Probably more than you’ll ever need to know… but it talks about Salmon. And it explains: Pacific salmon spawn in freshwater, where female salmon lay thousands of eggs that are fertilized by male salmon. Spawning can occur in spring, summer, fall, or winter and depends on the salmon species. After spawning, adult salmon die and their bodies provide nutrients for the freshwater ecosystem. Eggs are buried in gravel nests, called “redds,” and salmon can stay in their eggs for several weeks to months until they hatch. Once eggs hatch, the juvenile fish, called “fry,” can stay in the gravel nest to feed for 3-4 months. As juvenile salmon grow, they may remain in the freshwater rivers anywhere from a few hours to several years, depending on the species and other environmental factors. As juvenile salmon swim towards the ocean, they begin the process called smoltification–transitioning from living in freshwater to living in saltwater. The “smolts” may stay in estuaries from a few days to several weeks to feed, adapt, and prepare to enter the ocean.

Species of salmon can spend from 1 up to 6 years in the ocean as they mature and grow into adults. While in the ocean growing, salmon feed on small fish, squid, eels, and shrimp. When salmon are ready to reproduce, they migrate from the ocean back into freshwater rivers and streams to their spawning grounds. On their journey, they may encounter rapids, waterfalls, predators, and hydroelectric dams. Once salmon reach their freshwater spawning grounds, females dig a gravel nest, and the life cycle begins again. As one generation passes away, and another is brought to life.

We hear this story this morning. And you may be wondering, why in the world are we starting off the service by discussing the life-cycle of pacific salmon… and I promise, the point to this story is not to pick up where we left off last week in talking about seafood buffets.

Instead, this process of spawning…. The majestic scene, you’ve probably seen videos or pictures… as these salmons swim upstream, back to their youthful streams to spawn. Assuming they don’t get eaten by a grizzly bear… but It’s an arduous journey, and only the toughest salmon complete it.

As the lord brought this idea to mind this week, I couldn’t help but think of our faith. And how often times, we would love for it to be smooth sailing, problem free… coasting on easy street… and yet, how more often than not, we’re met with adverse times, challenges, and difficulties.

Perhaps it could be a financial difficulty(a bill that wasn’t expected, some sort of expense that was accounted for), maybe a challenge with work, whether that’s with a boss or co-worker, maybe a situation that has arrived that’s been problematic, or maybe a situation with a loved one…

You see the reality is, we would love for life to always be on cloud 9… and yet, what we find, is that more often than not, we face adverse times… and the question is, how do we respond?

If you have you’re bibles, turn with me to the book of Romans 4. And as you’re turning there, we’re going to discuss this idea of Resilient Faith. Resilient meaning: the ability to successfully adapt to stressors, maintaining well-being in the face of adversity. Resilient faith 1. Trusts 2. Hopes 3. Is Strengthened

1. Resilient faith Trusts God

1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[a]

4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

7 “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.

As we look to the scripture this morning, we see that God will use Paul, to write to the Roman church. and the topic this morning, is on faith… Tested, tried, resilient faith. And the entire chapter, chapter 4, not only talks about faith in general… Paul will discuss Abraham, as really the patriarch of faith… kind of the model citizen when it comes to faith.

And there are several reasons why Paul would choose Abraham or Abram. For one, Abraham lived, 2,000 years before Paul. Demonstrating that the principle of salvation by faith, was not a new concept. Abraham also lived roughly 600 years before the law was given by Moses… and therefore Abraham could not have been saved by obedience to the law, or by works, instead he would need to be saved by faith.

Paul would also use Abraham, as an example of faith, because, like us… he’s a human. Up until this point, in the previous 4 chapters, Paul has been uses theological concepts in his letter… but now, as he transitions from theological concepts, onto our response as humanity, he commends Abraham for his faith… a faith that we look to as an example this morning.

Finally, Paul is using Abraham here, in discussing faith, because Abraham was widely revered and looked up to by the early church, this supreme example of the Old Testament of a godly and righteous man.

And Paul addresses this idea of Abraham’s faith, not on the premise of being earned by works… but rather being given by grace, through faith.

I want to stop and hone in on the word believe. We see in verse 3 that “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

By definition this word Believe means: 1. to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in. also carries this idea of having confidence or putting your trust in someone or something. Abraham believed God, Abraham trusted God… and it changed his life...

Mind you, when Abraham was called… He’s 75 years old… He’s not exactly a spring chicken… … Now don’t get me wrong… I know plenty of people right around the age of 75, that will work circles around the young pups… but still, Abraham isn’t exactly in his early 20’s or 30’s… He’s lived a lot of his life already.

The other problem, is there is no mention, that at this point in time… Abraham had any idea who the Lord was… I mean he lived in Ur of the Chaldeans, a pagan city. His family worshiped other gods, as the city or Ur was a polytheistic culture. They worshipped many gods…

And finally, Abrahams friends, and family, his upbringing and income, were all tied to his homeland… and everything he had known at this point in life…

And yet, something drastic happened. For whatever reason, out of the millions of people living at the time. God would call Abraham…

Genesis 12:1-3 1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you. and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

God would call Abraham… and Abraham would listen. Abraham would trust the word of God. Despite perhaps questions, despite uncertainties… Abraham would trust God.

Jacob Smith, is a 15-year-old legally blind freeride skier. Jacob has extreme tunnel vision--and no depth perception on top of that. What he does see is blurry. His visual acuity is rated 20/800, four times the level of legal blindness. Think of the big E on the eye chart. He would need it to be blown up four times in order to see it from 20 feet away.

So how does Jacob ski like this? His family keeps him on course. On competition days, Jacob’s little brother, Preston, patiently helps him hike to the top of the venue. It's so high, the lifts won't take you there. Then his father, Nathan, helps him get down. Jacob has a two-way radio turned up high in his pocket. His dad is on the other end at the base, somehow, calmly, guiding him down.

His father, Nathan, said:

It's on me to make sure I don't let him down. I have to guide him through narrow chutes or to not go off a cliff. Jacob is not reckless. He knows his limitations. I think he has the ability to ski anything on the mountain, but he's not gonna go try to do it by himself. Like, he wants to be with somebody who he trusts. He won't ski with people he doesn't trust.

When Jacob was asked how much he trusted his father, he replied, “I mean, enough to turn right when he tells me to.”

We hear this story, and I don’t know about you… but we can learn a lot from this teenage boy. I mean, the truth is, is he can’t see… but he knows he can trust his fathers voice for direction… What about you? As you’re navigating life, are you looking to the Lord? Are you trusting his voice this morning?

2. Resilient faith hopes in God

18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

As we look at the scripture, I love the way this is worded. 18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed… In other words, in the face of adversity, and trials… against all hope… Abraham had hope. Paul touches on the idea of the hardships faced by Abraham.

But I want to go back and recall exactly what these circumstances were like.

To start, Genesis 17:1-81 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”

3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

So, God promises to Abram, that he will make him the father of many nations… He explains that Abram will be very fruitful, and there will be nations that come from him, and royalty. He also promises him the Land of Canaan. Or Israel as we know it today. And God establishes his Covenant with Abraham in this scripture.

But here’s the problem. Abraham is well past the age of being able to impregnant his wife. I mean he would be 100 by the time Isaac was born and she’s would be 90… Take a miracle... Interestingly enough, His name formerly Abram was “Father of many,” And God would tell him “ 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, (meaning) for I have made you a father of many nations.

But again, At the age of 100, he didn’t have a single child. Fast-forward, Abraham takes matters into his own hands and sleeps with his servant Hagar, and tries to fulfill gods promise through her… only for God to tell him, the blessing will come through Sarah, and their son Isaac. Then, as you know, God would test Abraham and tell him to sacrifice this very son, Isaac.

Abraham also has a severe famine and other tests and setbacks. And here’s the key… Abraham’s faith wasn’t perfect. There’s a lot that Abraham Got wrong… But despite his imperfections, Abraham always came back to the Lord in faith.

18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

What about us in the face of adverse times… do we continue to stand on the word of God? Do we continue to place our hope and our faith in Him? Knowing that He is good?

I’m reminded of a story this morning that explains: As German planes began bombing London in 1939, the British government had no doubts societal breakdown would ensue. Civilians were not ready for the trauma and horrors to come:

How would they cope with a complete change to life as they knew it? How would they respond to the nightly threat of injury or death? Would they riot, loot, experience mass-scale psychotic breaks, go on murderous rampages, or lapse into total inertia as a result of exposure to German bombing campaigns? Some in the government feared three times as many psychiatric casualties as physical ones.

Known as the Blitz (or blitzkrieg) , the bombing campaign killed over 60,000 civilians. But to the surprise of government officials, the expected breakdowns never materialized:

In fact, the Blitz achieved the opposite of what the attackers intended: the British people proved more resilient than anyone predicted. Morale remained high, and there didn’t appear to be an increase in mental health problems. ... Some people with longstanding mental health issues found themselves feeling better.

People in British cities came together like never before to organize themselves at the community level. The sense of collective purpose this created led many to experience better mental health than they’d ever had. One indicator of this is that children who remained with their parents fared better than those evacuated to the safety of the countryside. The attacks on London didn’t crush the people, it empowered them.

We hear this story, and fortunately most of us have know idea the type of tension or stress that these parents and families would have felt in these moments… but here’s the key… against all hope… in the face of adversity… they prevailed.

What about us this morning? What blitzkrieg are you facing, what mountain are you against, that seems too high to climb? What wall is in front of you that seems too difficult to break down?

I’m reminded of the words from Psalm 46: 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Church he is our God this morning… and no matter what circumstance you may be facing… he reminds us… Be still… know that I am God.

And finally, as we face difficult times, we can be sure that these times will actually lead to strengthening.

3. Resilient Faith Is strengthened.

20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

But Paul as he concludes Chapter 4, shows us simply that in the face of adversity, that Abraham never wavered. It’s not to say he didn’t face hardships or trials; he was well acclimated with these things… Yet he didn’t lose hope, instead he was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

He trusted God at his word. He was fully persuaded. Even when the odds were against him…

And ultimately, his adversity that he faced led him to strength.

The truth is… (next week) suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope

It’s like Going to the gym. It’s not easy to go to the gym, or eat healthy… To be sure, there is a level of suffering and difficulty that comes with it… but as person works out, and their bodies are put through the ringer, ultimately, the benefits that come, the strengthening that takes place, will prepare a person for even greater challenges…

In the same way this morning. Some of you are going through the ringer.

and yet, we can be strong in the Lord. Eph 6:10- 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Here's the point… 1. We need to be ready.

2. He is our strength. When I am weak, then I am strong.

I’m grateful this morning, that when I am weak… he is strong… I’m Grateful this morning that we serve an all powerful God… And I’m even grateful for difficult times, because, he gives me strength.

Friend, where you are… would you find your strength in Christ this morning. Would you realize that in the face of adversity… He is with you. He is for you!

1. Where there seems to be no Hope, HE is our hope.

2. He will give you Strength.

3. You can Trusthim

Read Romans 5:6-11

Romans 5:6–11 NIV

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.