Live By Faith

Live By Faith

Matthew 11:2-11 T Advent 3

INI

Nothing challenges faith more than when you think you’re doing the right thing,

but then God doesn’t act how you’d expect Him to.

And when God doesn’t meet your expectations, doubt creeps in.

At best, one is left unsatisfied with God’s will.

At worst, one is left questioning and in doubt of faith.

 

Enter in John the Baptist.

He’s somewhere between being unsatisfied with God’s will,

And in doubt of his faith.

Regardless, his faith was challenged by His experiences.

 

The Gospel starts with John in prison.

He sent His people to ask Jesus –

“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

John’s doubt about Jesus came less in the form of knowledge,

but his doubt came in the form of trust.

 

John knew Jesus well.

He had baptized Jesus.

He saw the Spirit descend upon Jesus as a dove.

He heard the voice of the Father boom from heaven.

He even said as he pointed to Jesus,

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

 

No doubt, John had the knowledge.

He knew what Jesus was coming to do –

that He came to be the sacrificial offering for man’s sin.

He knew who He was –

that He was the Son of God.

He knew His power and glory were unmatched by man.

But John also knew the prophecy of Isaiah 61,

That Jesus as the Messiah came to set the captives free.

 

But if this were the promise of God, why was John in prison?

John’s faith knew who Jesus was, that wasn’t His doubt.

If John’s faith didn’t know who Jesus was, or doubted that part of Jesus,

Do you think that John would have sent His disciples to ask Jesus this question?

 

Rather, John’s faith doubted because it lacked trust in what God was doing.

He knew God’s promises,

but didn’t know if the execution of those promises was truly “good”.

He doubted a vital aspect of faith, such is taught in Romans 8:28,

“All things work together for good to them that love God.”

Faith trusts God’s work.

Unbelief doubts that God’s work is good.

 

John was imprisoned for doing the right thing –

He was a prophet who was prophesying of the coming Christ,

Calling all sinners to repentance, including King Herod.

Prison didn’t scare John the Baptist.

But what scared John was Christ not delivering on what He thought He promised.

 

So, the fact that He was a prisoner puzzled John’s faith.

Was this the guy from Isaiah 61? Or should I hope in another?

Seeking clarity, John sent messengers to Jesus,

To ask if Jesus was the Christ, or if they should look for another.

 

Jesus responded with the prophetic facts of His ministry –

“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Jesus’ response to John was one that encourages patience.

John’s knowledge about Jesus being the chosen one sent by the Father is correct.

But Jesus is telling John “Keep living by faith – not sight.

Don’t be discouraged because of your current situation,

But trust that I am working all things for the good of all mankind.”

The promises of God will come to fruition,

Despite the despairing circumstances of the present.

 

That was John’s lesson from God to live by faith.

And you won’t get through this life without going through this lesson yourself.

Learning to live by faith is a hard task,

Because it demands patience amid pain and suffering.

 

Living by faith means submitting to the notion that God knows what’s good for you.

It means He’s right, and you’re wrong.

So, even when things don’t match your expectation of what God does,

Just hold on. Trust Him. Live by faith.

He will deliver on His promises.

 

Living by faith means that you believe He knows what’s good.

And that ultimately, His Word will be fulfilled.

His promises will come to fruition.

His promises may not come in the time frame we want.

It would have been super convenient for John if Jesus would hurry up and fulfill that promise about setting the captives free.

But then the trusting side of faith would’ve been shorted and unchallenged.

Because the question is, will we still trust God even when we we’re waiting?

Even when we’re waiting, we struggle, become frustrated, or doubt?

Will we question or doubt God when our experiences seem unaligned with His promises?

 

If we’re being honest, yes. We will. Just like John the Baptist.

No one born of woman is greater than John, says Jesus.

Yet, even he is a sinner in need of forgiveness.

And most definitely, so are we.

 

We’re sinners.

We’ll have briefs moments where we want God to fulfill His promises in our timing,

not his, to benefit us.

But that’s being selfish.

It’s living by sight and selfishness,

Not generosity and in faith.

Faith recognizes that God may be working through my pain and suffering for someone else.

Or this trial and tribulation through which I struggle now may strengthen me,

So that I may help a brother or sister in Christ when they’re in a similar situation.

 

 

But prayerfully, you’ll also be like John the Baptist and address your complaints, doubts, and questions to Christ your Lord.

And that’s also what it means to live by faith –

that when you struggle, you seek your Savior for help.

And when the Lord answers, faith finds contentment with His Word.

Faith is content with what He gives.

Even if that means remaining in prison until one’s own death.

 

John the Baptist died before he could see the fullness of Christ’s reign of Messiah.

John’s faith never saw the sight of the promise fulfilled,

And in some sense, neither will we.

 

If we look at the third article of the Creed,

Within our lifetime, we won’t see the fruition of the promise of the resurrection of the dead.

We won’t see the final judgement of evil people in this world.

We won’t see the establishment of the new heavens and the new earth.

In the eternal life, we will.

Faith trusts that.

But faith also recognizes we won’t necessarily receive those things now.

 

As much as we hate to see loved ones die,

We’d want those promises of resurrection to be true now.

For as much as we hate seeing wickedness run rampant in the world,

we’d like to see God do something about it.

Certainly, He does! But not in the way we’d want.

He deals with it by sending Christians to proclaim the truth of God’s boundless love and healing through the cross,

and offering repentance to their wickedness and unbelief.

But we cannot change the hardness of their hearts, only the Holy Spirit can.

We simply must trust that He’s working where He wills,

and that wickedness and unbelief will be dealt with on the last day.

 

Living by faith means that we trust that God will bring His promises to fruition.

However and whenever the execution of God’s promises,

we’ll be content and satisfied with what He gives,

for what He gives is good.

Faith trusts that God works good despite evil.

To see His handiwork, all we have to do is look to His cross.

It’s a horrific scene, but God’s best work is given to you there.

Jesus is the Savior of the world.

Blessed is the one not offended by Him.

INI