Faith Born of Love, Not Duty

THEME: Living the life that surpasses all worldly understanding

“Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.” (Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬). Pastor Dan taught from Jesus’ words, as given to the Apostle John for His church in Philadelphia, this past Sunday. In this tenth verse, we see the promise that He “will keep you from the hour of trial that will come on the whole earth.” Pastor Dan used this verse and others to point to an event that is an anchor for the majority of those in Christ, the Rapture. The Rapture, harpazo in Greek, means ‘to snatch up, to seize,’ and many of us believe that we will be ‘caught up’ with Jesus when He appears in the air at the beginning of the tribulation times.‬‬‬

Pastor Dan ended his message to us in the church with the words, “Hold fast!” And the question I have for you and me is, “What does this look like, holding fast?” Does God expect us to earn this escape? Must we worry and fret over falling short, or doing something that would disqualify us from the prize? And, finally, what is it we are to ‘hold fast’ to?

As always, can we do better for the answers than God’s Word? In the book of Hebrews, God tells us what we are holding fast to: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.” (Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬). Faith! It is faith that we are to hold firmly to. The writer of Hebrews tells us that after Christ rose from His unifying and justifying work on the cross, He became our High Priest, now our Savior, Lord, and Advocate to the Father, and we can rest in the faith that He is and will always be. As I once read somewhere, Jesus is our Brother, our Captain, and our King, in whom we can rest with the highest confidence. Jesus also taught us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬). As Jesus walked this earth and shared our flesh, he taught us that we could rest in Him, and that we could share in His purpose and meaning for our lives by ‘sharing His yoke.’ He also taught that this ‘burden’ would be possible for us to bear, because He knew that He would make it so by His unifying work on the cross, and that we can rest in His last words as He hung on the cross, “It is finished”. As Paul wrote, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭38‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬). ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Thanks be to Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith,” who fought the battle, won, and now is our advocate forever. Faith! Faith is what we hold fast to and what we rest in; Faith that is rational, personal, and foundational… and restful.

One more thing, if I may? Faith is not some hope that things will always work out the way we believe they should. We can learn from the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the book of Daniel. As Nebuchadnezzar threatened to throw them into the fiery furnace, it is written, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to him, 'King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve can deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV)‬‬ What does this teach us? Their actions were not anchored in their agenda for God; their faith was in God, simply put. Get that? If our faith rests in our agenda for God, we will not hold fast and will be dashed on the rocks of life. Our faith must rest in God. He alone is who we hold fast to: His Will and His Purpose. This kind of faith does not require worldly success to maintain and grow. This faith is the ultimate success, whether comfortable or suffering, whether living or dying. The faith we hold fast to is an unshakeable confidence that God Himself is better than anything life can give us or that death can take from us.‬‬‬‬

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SCRIPTURE: Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭32‬-‭40 ‭(NIV)

‭‭“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together

with us would they be made perfect.”

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PRAYER:

Oh, my Lord, as I pray to you right now, I'm almost afraid to say the words on my heart. As I think of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Abraham, Daniel, David, Noah, and so many other notable examples of faith in you only - unquestioning faith - I ask for the same in my life. I so long to know you the way they did, to lose all personal agenda and just rest in whatever you have for my life. To leave home only because you say to, or to jump into a furnace because I refuse to bend a knee to an idol. To do something so outrageous in the sight of the world for 100 years without an answer, or walk into battle with a foe so much greater? What must it be like to know that freedom from this world, and the strength of you filling my soul? Yes, Lord, as scary as the words are coming from my mouth, I want to know that faith. I also realize that asking for that will mean losing my comfort, security, safety, peace, and maybe life. Can any of those compare to the freedom and joy of being that close to you? So be it, my Lord!