When Faith Seems To Fail

INTRO: Why is it that there are times in our lives that our faith seems to fail? The job we prayed for, or the broken marriage that we prayed for, or on a more serious note, the healing of someone that we love dearly yet; they slowly keep spiraling downward to death...We tried to believe, we tried to trust and yet, faith seems to fail..

Credit goes to Pastor Adrian Rogers who preached a wonderful message on this subject.

PLEASE STAND FOR THE READING OF GOD’S WORD

The New King James Version Chapter 11

32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again.

Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

PRAY!

Remember, Hebrews 11 was written because these Christians were about to throw in the towel.

I want you to notice according to verses in Hebrews we just read there are: There are 2 possible outcomes for people of faith: those who will escape and those who shall endure

Two categories for faith:

1. Those who escape=ones who receive the supernatural intervention

2. Those who shall endure= “The others”

**This is where we struggle, because we get discouraged when we don’t receive the miraculous, but instead, have to endure

Your belief system will determine how your going to handle things when you have to walk through the fire

**If you have a superficial faith, your gonna want to quit

**If you have a mature faith, you know God’s going to sustain you and you know His grace is sufficient

It’s gonna take mature faith to not quit when the bottom falls out

Our faith is not really tested until God asks us to bear what seems unbearable, do what seems unreasonable, and expect what seems impossible. Whether you look at Joseph in prison, Moses and Israel at the Red Sea, David in the cave, or Jesus at Calvary, the lesson is the same: We live by promises, not by explanations. (Warren Wiersbe)

Mature faith believes in supernatural power of God

Mature faith bows to sovereign purposes of God

Mature faith is based steadfast promises of God

 It seems we need an occasional blast of storm or fiery trial, if our faith is to mature. (Joni Eareckson Tada)

INTRODUCTION:

1. You cannot live the Christian life apart from faith.

The Bible says we live by faith.

Matthew 9:29 “Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Not only do we need to possess faith, we need a faith that possesses us.

What happens when faith seems to fail? d) Sometimes we pray for specific things, and just the opposite happens. i) We try to believe. ii) We try to trust. iii) And yet, faith seems to fail. iv) Times come when the answer does not come exactly as we think that it ought. v) Sometimes trials, temptations, tribulations, heartaches, tears and fears come and having faith does not seem to remove them.

Hebrews 11 was written because there were some who were ready to throw in the towel. i) They had been serving the Lord through great persecution. ii) Hebrews 10:36 (1) We need to learn to endure. f) Some escaped by faith. ii) Some endured by faith.

Verse 39 lets us know “that all these, the ones who escape and the ones who endure have aced it!

Hebrews 11:39 “And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith”

Some Christians have faith in the good times, but let some crisis come and they quit. i) They have an immature faith

2. MATURE FAITH BELIEVES IN THE SUPERNATURAL POWER OF GOD

If God does not do it, it is not because He cannot.

Listen friends, there is nothing God cant do, except fail! He is omnipotent=All powerful

There are stories of supernatural deliverance all through the Bible

Daniel in the lion’s den (1) They told Daniel not to pray or they would throw him in the lion’s den. (2) He prayed anyway and they threw him in the lion’s den and God shut the mouths of the lions. iii)

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (1) They were told to bow to a pagan idol or they would be tossed into a fiery furnace. (2) When they refused to bow down, they were tossed into the fiery furnace. (a) They would not bow, they would not budge but they would not burn. (3) When the king looked in, he saw four men standing in the fire and said, “The fourth is like the Son of God.”

David (1) David slew Goliath (2) Everyone was afraid of Goliath, except for David. (3) 1 Samuel 16:12 (4) When others thought Goliath was too big to hit; David thought he was too big to miss. (a) Others thought, “Look how much bigger Goliath is than we are.” (b) David thought, “Look how much smaller Goliath is than God is.” (c) God gave David the victory over the giant.

Simon Peter (1) He was cast into prison by wicked king Herod. (2) An angel comes and breaks him out of the jail. (3) Peter has more trouble getting into a prayer meeting than he did getting out of jail.

Anyone who has walked with Jesus for a time, has a story where God miraculously, supernaturally, inexplicably worked in your heart and life in a way that cannot be explained apart from God. i) Mature faith believes in the supernatural power of God. ii) Do not ever say that there is something that God cannot do. (1) God can do anything!

3. MATURE FAITH BOWS TO THE SOVEREIGN PURPOSES OF GOD

a) Sometimes God’s ways are mysterious, but that does not mean they are weak. b) We love exciting victories, but sometimes they don’t come.

Zechariah the prophet was stoned to death. ii)

Stephen was stoned to death.

Isaiah was sawn in two; placed in a hollow tree by king Manasseh and cut in half. iv) Early Christians were often made fun of and tortured for sport. (1) Some were dressed in animal skins and sent out to be hunted by dogs. (2) Some were fed to lions in the Coliseum or the Circus Maximus. (3) These early Christians sealed their faith with their lives. v) The Book of Martyr’s (1) Christians were sown in bags with poisonous snakes. (2) Christians would be bound on beaches at low tide and would slowly drown as the tide came in.

“You had better not try to get your theology from circumstances. If you do, you will come to the conclusion that God does not love you.”(Warren Weirsby)

We’re told in the book of John:

John 11:5 “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.”

Jesus loves Martha, her sister and Lazarus. (2) Lazarus gets sick and dies

John 11:15 “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

Sometimes there is a bigger picture that we don’t see

God had a greater plan for Lazarus. God has not promised that we will not know difficulty; He has promised that He would walk with us and that we will know ultimate victory.

God does not say that we will never have: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or the sword. Look at:

Romans 8:35–37 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

These are not things that only happen to those who do not love the Lord. These are things that happen to the victorious. God has promised never to leave us, nor forsake us, but He has not promised that we will never have difficulty.

Look at these heavyweights of the bible who suffered greatly:

John the Baptist Jesus said:

Matthew 11:11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist

Yet, even John the Baptist went through a time of doubt.

(3) He was thrown in jail and would soon be killed. (4) John wonders, “If Jesus can heal the sick and raise the dead, why can’t he get me out of prison?” (5) He sent messengers to Jesus to ask Him if He is truly the Christ. (a) Matthew 11:2-3

Never mistake the moment for the man. (7) Matthew 11:4-6 (a) Jesus tells the messengers to tell John, “I can open blind eyes, unstop deaf ears, cleanse lepers and raise the dead.

Jesus said in:

Matthew 11:6 “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.””

Matthew 11:6 “If I have not taken you out of prison, it is not because I cannot. Do not get offended at Me.”

*If you have prayed and asked God to do a miracle and He has not done it, it is not because He cannot or does not love you. (1) “Faith is not receiving from God what we want, it’s the acceptance of what God’s will is.”

You need to have an “if not” clause in your faith.

(1) Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego:

Daniel 3:17–18 “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Daniel 3:16-18 (i) They said, “Our God is able, and we believe He will, but if He does not it is not because He is not able. We will not bow before your filthy idol.”

They had a subtle faith

they didn’t have to huddle about it because their minds were already made up.

They had a sure faith

they knew their God was able.

They had a steadfast faith

even if He does not, we will not bow to your pagan idol.

Are you struggling because God did not do the thing that you ask Him to do? (1) You need to have an “if not” clause in your faith. (2) It does not mean that your faith is weak, it means that it is stronger than ever.

Think about this:

James and Simon Peter (1) King Herod put James in prison and then killed him. (2) King Herod then put Simon Peter in prison and intended to kill him. (3) But God miraculously delivered Simon Peter. (a) The jail gates swung open and Peter walked out. (4) Was James wrong and Peter right? No! (5) Did God love Peter more than He loved James? No!

(a) God has sovereign purposes in life. c) Are you willing to let God be God? d) Are you willing to have an “if not” clause in your faith? e) Are you willing to dwell among the “and others?”

**This does not diminish the supernatural power of God. f) We ask for faith to escape, but do we have the faith to endure? g) We ask for faith to be healed, but do we have faith not to be healed and still serve and praise God?

I think of Job who said:

Job 13:15 “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.”

Or the prophet Habakkuk who said:

Habakkuk 3:17–18 “Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

4. MATURE FAITH IS BASED ON THE SETTLED PROMISES OF GOD

God has a wonderful plan and He is working on that plan. God is sovereign c) One day, God will bring it all together and will fulfill His promises to us. i) God cannot lie. ii) God cannot fail. d) These early Christians had faith, and if they did not have the answer in their hand, they had it in their heart. i) They based their faith on the steadfast promises of God. ii) They had an eye to the future.

Think about this:

God gave the land of Israel to Abraham and all his descendants.

(1) They don’t have it now, but they will. In fact, unless you’ve had your head buried in the sand, you’ve noticed there still fighting this very minute over in Gaza

were told the meek will inherit the Earth but that’s not the reality in 2025 right now, but it will be!

Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.”

Sometimes we expect too much of life and not enough of God.

i) We measure life by pleasure and money; but when something happens, we lose our faith. ii) Even the good things of life are going to ultimately fail you. (1) Life is fickle. (2) We will not find everything we look for in this life. (3) We need to rest on the great, eternal promises of God. (a) If you lose all of your money and possessions, remember, that is not your greatest treasure. (b) If you never become famous, it is what God thinks of you that matters. (c) If you have a loved one who dies in Jesus, there is a homecoming in Heaven. f) God has not forgotten His promises. i)

So here’s a question:

When we pray for our loves ones and they die, was that prayer lost?

No! , it was heard. (1) Those in Heaven are whole, we are sick.

Tonight we’re having a prayer meeting at 6pm. So remember this:

I heard a Pastor say once “In the average prayer meeting, we pray more for sick saints than we do for lost sinners”.

Don’t forget this: Heaven is our reward! but you can’t go to Heaven without leaving this Earth!

Remember Paul said this about death:

Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

CALL UP WORSHIP TEAM!

IN CLOSING:

I think about the losses we’ve had over the few weeks and how I prayed for healing, we anointed with oil, we did everything by the book and yet; whe6n they didn’t get well, for a moment it felt like failure, but that’s ridiculous! They are perfect, made whole and standing in the very presence of God! Do you think they would want to trade that for a few more years of a body that’s failing and struggle just to make it through the day? of course not!

PRAY!