How God Builds Your Faith

9 Pentec= ost, Proper 13

August 2= , 2009

Rev. Ken= Wratten at St. Stephen’s, San Jose

Six Phases of Faith

Part 6: From Dead-end to Deliveranc= e

God takes us through a school of faith that we've looked at for six weeks. Abraham's life shows us the phases that God led him through:

= Phase 1 Dream. First God gives you a dream. At 75 years of age God= gave Abraham the dream of becoming the father of a great nation. A lesson from Abraham’s life= is that it is never too late to start dreaming.

= Phase 2 Decision. You have to decide to act on the dream. There's always a risk involved in every dream. Abra= ham had to leave his home and his relatives, and go to a foreign land.

= Phase 3 Delay. In the delay of life we're vulnera= ble to paralyzing fear, to losing patience, to giving up, and to forgetting our dr= eam. Eleven years after Abraham got his= dream he still didn't have a child, even though he was promised to be the father = of a great nation. He was still childless. The Bible says to = keep on going, and not lose our dream, when we're in delay.

= Phase 4 Difficulty. Problems come while you're waiting= for God to work in your life. The difficulty can lead to impossibility. Abraham was 99 years old, Sarah was 90, and they still had no child.= They knew they were past child bea= ring years. Abraham kept faith in = God.

= Phase 5 Dead-end. Finally the miracle child, Isaac, = was born, but Abraham was instructed by God to sacrifice his son. You know you're in a dead-end in l= ife when your dream turns to dust. Whe= n nothing makes sense. When you ask &qu= ot;Why is this happening to me?" When you begin to doubt God's love and wisdom.&= nbsp;

= Phase 6 Deliverance. God prepares you not just for an e= scape from what feels like a dead-end. God prepares you to fulfill the plan He ha= s for you. God prepares you to receive His promises.

When you reach a dead-end, there are four th= ings Abraham did which you can do, while you wait for your deliverance.

I. REMEMBER WHAT GOD CAN DO

The situation may be out of your control but it's not out of God's control. When you face a dead-end, focus not on what you can't do, but on what God can d= o. v. 17 "Abraham believed in Go= d who gives life to the dead and who creates something out of nothing." Paul reminds us that our God broug= ht human life out of dust. So He can certainly bring life back into a dead car= eer, or a dead marriage, or a dead financial plan, or a dead dream for your life= .

And Paul reminds us that our God created everything that exists out of nothing. Everything we see and hear and smell= and touch is the result of our God bringing order out of chaos. And so He can b= ring order into the chaos that comes into our lives, too.

This is NOT the same thing as positive think= ing. Positive thinking works in situations you have control over; if you just ne= ed an attitude change. But in situations that are out of your control, positive thinking is worthless. You need faith in God because He c= an control the situation when you can't. Most of life is beyond your control. So you need faith far more than yo= u need positive thinking.

II. RELY ON WHAT GOD HAS SAID

Romans 4:18, “Against all hope, Abraha= m in hope believed… He did n= ot waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power t= o do what he had promised.” = Even though Abraham had been promised by God that he would be the father of many nations, and even though many years had passed and he still had no child, a= nd even though he reached 100 years of age and knew he was past the age of hav= ing children, he had faith that God had the power to somehow do what God had promised.

You and I know that hope has died in our life when we start using the word "never". I'm never going to get married. I'm never going to graduate from scho= ol. I'm never going to get well. I'm never going to get out of debt. I'm never going to be able to change. I= 'm never going to see this situation = turn around. That's when hope has reached a dead-end.

Scripture says that when your hope is dead, = keep on hoping. When hope was dead= for Abraham, he went on “hoping in faith”, (hope based in faith), remembering what God had promised. (Mt 11= :30) Jesus promised, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will = give you rest… I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” When you r= ely on the word of God you don't panic when you hit a dead-end because you know it= 's out of your control but it's not out of God's control.

A dead-end is a test of faithfulness. Heb. 11:17 "While God was tes= ting him, Abraham still trusted in God and his promises, so he offered his son Isaac..." God was co= unting on Abraham to be the one to carry God’s covenant to Israel, and to hu= mankind. God had to test Abraham’s faithfulness and trust. And so God told Abr= aham to sacrifice his Son on an altar. Abraham would not only have to give up the son he loved; the son he = had waited so very long for. Abraham would also have to give up the child who w= as meant to fulfill the future he had been promised. Abraham didn’t hesi= tate to do what God asked because he trusted that God would somehow still fulfill every promise.

When they were walking up the hill to make t= he sacrifice, Abraham said to the servants, "We'll be back." = His son asked him "Where's the sacrifice?" Abraham said, "The Lord will provide." <= /span>Abraham didn’t have a clue how, but he KNEW God would provide.

What happens when God puts your most precious dream on the line? Can you gi= ve it up; in faith that God will fulfill His plans for you?

III. FACE THE FACTS WITH FAITH

Romans 4:19-20 "Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead... and Sarah's womb was also dead. Y= et he didn't waver with unbelief... At his age it was a medical impossibility. Abraham faced = that fact, but didn't waver in his belief.

Faith is not about denying reality.   Faith is not saying "I'= m not in pain" when you are. I= t's not saying "I'm happy" when you're really grieving inside. Faith is facing the facts without = being discouraged by them -- being able to look at the problem and saying, "= Yes that's a problem in my life but I'm not discouraged by it, because I know G= od is greater than the problem." <= /span>

The key is to look beyond your circumstances= . 2 Cor. 4:18, "We fix our e= yes on what is unseen. For what i= s seen is temporary [the problem], but what is unseen [God's power] is eternal." If you look to= the world you're going to be distressed. There are serious problems in the world. If you look within yourself, you're going to be depressed, because there are things that need changing in your life. But if you look at Jesus Christ you'll find rest.

IV. EXPECT GOD TO DELIVER YOU

In the situation you're in right now, what a= re you expecting God to do? You = might honestly say that you aren't expecting God to do anything. God works in your life to the leve= l of your expectation. If you don’= ;t expect God to act, He probably won’t.

"But Abraham never doubted... he pra= ised God for this blessing even before it happened. He was completely sure that God wa= s able to do anything He promised." vs 20-21. The ultimate= show of faith is thanking God in advance for what you're asking. If you wait until after it = has happened to thank God, you are showing gratitude, not faith.

When you're at a dead-end, thank God that the answer is already on its way. You may not see it yet, but thank Him that it's already on its way.

The purpose of the Dead-end is to teach us to trust in God, instead of trusting in our own ingenuity. God prepares you to fulfill His pl= an for you. God prepares you to receive His promise. The promise is that He will deliver you. When God delivers you, He uses three different kinds of deliverance.

  =           1. God uses circumstantial deliveranc= e. Sometimes God miraculously changes= the circumstance and the Red Sea splits. That will happen many times in your life. But it's not going to happen all t= he time. That's just one of the = ways God delivers.

EXAMPLE: Ruth had a surgery in her late 20’s that led to severe depression. We kept asking for medical help, = but the doctor said it was in her mind and she could control it. She couldn’t. She cried a lot, didn’t leave the house, didn’t want to talk to me or anyone. She finally fell to her knees one day and sai= d, ‘God, I can’t do this anymore’. The phone rang. It was a close friend= in Rochester, an hour away, to say she had been thinking a lot about Ruth, and wanted to give the name of a doctor in Rochester who was the head gyn. He m= ight help. He changed everything.

  =           2. God uses personal deliverance. He changes you from the inside. You get a new dream, a new attitud= e, or a new perspective. God helps yo= u handle the situation, by changing you.&nbs= p; EXAMPLE: Harvey, engineering manager, an irritating man. We always argued in meetings. God helped me reach out in friendship, not because I wa= nted to. Then we learned we were both Christians. That changed how we looked at = each other. We worked very well together.

  =           3. The ultimate deliverance is heaven= . God has not promised to remove all= of your pain in this world. God = has not promised to solve all of your problems in the way you want them to be solved. God has not promised = to keep all of your loved ones alive for the rest of your life. Pain and sorrow are still here. This is not Heaven; it's earth. The ultimate deliverance will be in heaven where there will be no pain, no sorrow, no suffering, and no heartac= he. That is a promise from God. <= /o:p>

Rev 21:3,4, “"See, the hom= e of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God;

they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from th= eir eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, = for the first things have passed away."

<= /span>

I watched my mothe= r fight a three year all-out battle against cancer. And at every surgery, every treatment, the cancer just kept advancing, attacking her. It would not stop, despite everything doctors did, and despite many prayers. After three years= my mom’s body couldn’t take the attack anymore. I know, absolutely, beyond any doubt, that she is in heaven with a new, healthy, immortal body.= I know because Jesus promised that to be true. My mom’s deliverance is = in heaven.

Are you at a dead-end? Take the problem, the situation, a= nd your very life, and give them to Jesus Christ. He may not deliver you in the way = you think, but He will deliver you. It is a matter of faith.