the struggle with faith: john 12:37-43

22
The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43 Even after the miracles they did not believe!(37) They could not believe (39) – heart were hardened! They would not confess (42) …because they loved praise from men!

Upload: ethel

Post on 22-Feb-2016

48 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

DESCRIPTION

The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43. Even after the miracles they did not believe!(37) They could not believe (39) – heart were hardened! They would not confess (42) …because they loved praise from men!. 7 ways of doubting: (Os Guinness). What is the faith that weakens?. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

Even after the miracles they did not believe!(37) They could not believe (39) – heart were hardened! They would not confess (42) …because they loved

praise from men!

Page 2: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43
Page 3: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

7 ways of doubting: (Os Guinness)Doubt Reason Result Recovery

Forgetting his need for God

Grace has become cheap

Self-sufficiencyNo urgency

Moments of remembrance

Wrong God-concept Wrong pre-suppositions

Blaming God instead of his own concept

Correcting understanding of God

Weak foundations Implementation problems

Cannot figure out faith

Christianity is not true because it works, it works because it is true

From lack of commitment

Too easy to believe Impacted by environment

Total commitment

No sign of life No growth Fails test of life DO! Your faith

Failing emotions Conversion based on emotion

Emotions fluctuate Get new basis for belief

Fearing to believe Old wounds Frustration Healing of wound

Page 4: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

What is the faith that weakens?

1. The faith which was not a Total commitment and sacrifice (12:24)

- E.g. Tennis racket - E.g. Immunization2. The faith that did not grow into a public testimony (42-43) - James 2:17 - Faith if not accompanied by action is dead!3. The faith that is not enlightened by the unique awesome

convincing supremacy of the crucified Christ (44-49)

Page 5: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

What is the faith that holds out?

Seek the Lord, while He may be found;Call on Him, while He is near!Let the wicked forsake his wayAnd the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn to the LordAnd He will have mercy on him

And (turn) to our GodFor He will freely pardon him!

- Isaiah 55:6,7

Page 6: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

Seeking means:

• Seeking His presence(Ps 27:8 - face)!• Ps 105:4 – Always (continually!)• Enjoy continual consciousness of His supreme

greatness and love and worth!• ‘Set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God

(1 Chron 22:19); Set your mind on things that are above’ (Col 3:1-2)

• Make a mental and emotional effort for the presence of God!

Page 7: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

The big obstacles:

Seek implies there is always things around which we have to find Him.

1. Pleasures – (Carnal desires): 1 Thess 4:3 - He is hidden behind the curtain of our carnal desires

2. Pride: Ps 10:4 - In his pride the wicked does not seek Him; In all his thoughts there is no room for God.

3. Popularity: John 12:43 – Loved the praise from men. 4. Preservation: John 12:25 – The man who loves his

life will lose it.

Page 8: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

Because He longs to fill us, He hides His face long enough

for us to discover how fervently and exclusively

we want Him.(Larry Crabb)

Page 9: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

The great promise:

1 Chron 28:9 – If you seek Him he will be found by you!Heb 11:6 – He rewards those that earnestly seek Him!Isaiah 6:13 – The oak leaves stumps when they are cut down!Believe in Me!(44)....Eternal life!(50)

Page 10: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43
Page 11: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

The many kinds of hearts that came to know the limits of reason, the loneliness of the Godless horizon,

The chill of winter with its cry of Absence, Absence!Karl Rahner.

Ps 42

Page 12: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

Seasons in life (Summer and Winter)

Page 13: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

HALF

-TIM

E

Page 14: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

James Fowler: Stages of Faith

1. Intuitive-projective: Fantasy 2. Mythical-literal: Literal

3. Synthetic-conventional: Group-belief 4. Individuative-reflective: Own conviction

5. Conjunctive: Doubting6. Universalizing: Accommodating

Page 15: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43
Page 16: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

Seasons in life (Summer and Winter)

Trau

mati

c ex

perie

nce

Page 17: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

Factors driving us into the winter season

SeasonsTrauma/painFailureSpirit of our timeSatanCircumstancesThe harvest of sinPersecutionGod’s discipline

Page 18: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

7 ways of doubting: (Os Guinness)Doubt Reason Result Recovery

Forgetting his need for God

Grace has become cheap

Self-sufficiencyNo urgency

Moments of remembrance

Wrong God-concept Wrong pre-suppositions

Blaming God instead of his own concept

Correcting understanding of God

Weak foundations Implementation problems

Cannot figure out faith

Christianity is not true because it works, it works because it is true

From lack of commitment

To easy to believe Impacted by environment

Total commitment

No sign of life No growth Fails test of life DO! Your faith

Failing emotions Conversion based on emotion

Emotions fluctuate Get new basis for belief

Fearing to believe Old wounds Frustration Healing of wound

Page 19: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

It is very hard to tolerate the experience of God as a purifying absence…We are tempted to grasp rapid solutions…Our inclination is to put faith in any

suggestion that promises quick healing…In our desperate need for fulfillment and our restless search for the experience

of divine intimacy…In our impatient culture, it has indeed become extremely difficult to see much

salvation in waiting.But still the God who saves is not made by human hands.

(Henri Nouwen)We want relief from pain, we cherish whatever pleasures lift us out of it…and

we are drawn more to the possibility of personal fulfillment than to the opportunity to know God through suffering.

… All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street.

Phil 3 (The message)

Page 20: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

What do you do when you are in the Winter season?

• You face God! (Heb 11:6)• You remember the promise. (Heb 11:13)• You focus on Obedience. (Heb 11:6)• You hold on to the Big Exchange! (Heb 8,9,12:2)• You avoid sin. (Heb 12:1,4)• You look for support. (Heb 10:24;12:1)• You apply the right disciplines. (Heb 10:25)• You understand Kingdom vs World.(Heb 11:9,10) • You remember who God is(Heb11:11,16;12:7,10)• You remember that character is built in winter (Heb 12:11; Rom 5:3-5)

Page 21: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

Because He longs to fill us, He hides His face long enough

for us to discover how fervently and exclusively we want Him.

Shattered dreams subject us to pain that weakens our stubborn grip on life as we want it and stirs our

appetite for …God’s presence.

It isn’t always good to be blessed with the good things of life. Bad times provide such an opportunity to know

God, that blessings can never provide. (Larry Crabb)

Page 22: The struggle with Faith: John 12:37-43

• No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. ~Proverb

• If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity

would not be so welcome. ~Anne Bradstreet

• Where man sees but withered leaves, God sees sweet flowers growing.

~Albert Laighton