“THE CROSSROADS OF CRISIS”

(2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

There are many things that separate one church from others. Christians should   understand that all church folk who have placed their faith in the person and finished work    of Jesus Christ, have an incredible diversity. Yet, there are basic truths that are not open for debate. One of the most important facts  which Christians hold on to (with unswerving loyalty) is that the Bible is the infallible, inerrant written Word of God. Simply put, the Bible is accepted by Christians as God’s authoritative truth which is accurate and correct!

We, here at FBC, hold to the reliability of this very book as God’s revelation. It   explains what life is all about and how it is to be viewed and then lived. We will take       time to spend two weeks exploring a clear teaching in the Bible. It is a truth Christians must be aware of when learning about God’s involvement in their lives. It is found   from cover to cover in the Bible: from Genesis to Revelation. It is the idea that God will place in His children’s lives  times of crisis, of personal stretch, of facing an     obstacle that appears to them to be insurmountable.

If we are going to use the analogy of being on a spiritual journey, while in this earthly life, we must understand that at any or all of the stages of growth, God can and often will place “a wall” right in a Christian’s way. The Bible does teach that, on occasion, adversity issues from the enemy known as   Lucifer, Satan or the Devil. But, in the life       of Christians, God is overtly identified (in the Bible) as being the person who inserts difficulty into the lives of      His children. In several passages such difficulty is     presented as an outward expression of His love. To make this teaching as clear as possible we must  make four observations.

OBSERVATION #1: A WALL EXPERIENCE IN OUR LIVES IS PAINFUL! IT IS TORMENT AND IS DIFFICULT TO ENDURE!

Next week we will observe the Bible describing God as chastening or disciplining His children to show His love. We will go to Hebrews 12 to see that.  In those verses        it will even identify for us that “no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful”. (Hebrews 12:11) We will see more of that     next week.  For today, we       enter into the life of one of God’s most faithful servants: the Apostle Paul. In the verses we just read; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul refers to this difficulty as “a thorn in the flesh”. You find him mention it in verse 7. Along with this reality the Apostle says God gave it to him “to     torment him”. Notice that this is a part of God’s written revelation of Himself to people. God tells His children to be aware He will, from time to time,  put such an experience into the lives of His children.

No one likes limits placed on them by someone in authority. Such restrictive invasion into personal privacy bugs Americans intensely. Yet, such activity is part of the fiber     of progress as one works in another’s life to bring about growth. A parent, for example, will require a son or daughter to finish their homework (emphasizing quality)      before having time to do their own thing. A supervisor will place certain time restrictions or even specific processes for employees to follow in order to get the work done. Such things go with the job.

In the spiritual realm, when such instructions are not followed, Godly discipline is to be inserted in the situation. Such discipline is uncomfortable, at least! 

OBSERVATION #2: A WALL EXPERIENCE IN OUR LIVES IS A GOD ACTIVITY!

Throughout Scripture, we continuously find examples of God’s people going through such painful experiences. And such recorded accounts identify that it is God’s doing. Elijah went through this in 1 Kings 19:1-9 (pouting while being hunted by Jezebel after the victorious face-off with the prophets of Baal). Jacob went through this in    Genesis 32:22-32 (wrestling with the Lord all through the night and ending up lame for the rest of his life). Ruth goes through this in Ruth 1:1-22 (losing her husband        and country so God could bring Boaz into her life and insert her into the lineage of the Messiah). Jonah goes through this in Jonah 2 & 4 (living in the stomach of a large    fish and then pouting because his God was gracious to the Assyrians). David goes through this in 2 Samuel 15:1-23 (escaping from his own son’s treason and       overthrow). Peter goes through this in Mark 14:66-72 (denying knowledge of his Lord and weeping bitterly. Moses goes through this in Exodus 7:1-5 (performing     miracles in front of Pharoah only to see God harden this despot’s heart: over and over again). I could take the next few hours running through the list of Bible characters    God presents to us. They were recipients of His discipline in their lives. In each of these cases either the Bible tells us God allowed a “wall experience” to occur, OR He actually placed it in His servant’s life, Himself.

OBSERVATION #3: A WALL EXPERIENCE IN OUR LIVES ALWAYS HAS A STATED REASON!

Paul clearly identifies the reason God had in bringing a “thorn in the flesh” into his life. He tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:7 that God personally brought this ordeal into the Apostle’s life “To keep me from being conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations.” God knew His messenger would let things go to his head if He did not keep Paul humble through the experience of physical pain and suffering.

In James 1:2-4 the author tells his readers Christians are to “consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” James then states the reason or motive behind the “trials” or “wall experience”. The passage goes on to state, “because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” There is God’s stated reason for a “wall experience”. It is a “testing of our faith”. As we’ve seen so far, FAITH TESTING is most often uncomfortable or even painful. It is initiated or inaugurated by God, Himself. And God always has a purpose intended for the one going through such an ordeal. AND, we haven’t even considered the example (in the gospels) of God determining to have a man blind from birth. We find this incident in John 9:1-3. There the disciples asked the Lord “[Teacher], who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” He was an adult at this time in his life. From birth to adulthood he endured blindness. God had that happen in his life. Listen to Jesus’ response. “Neither this man nor his parents sinned... but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”  

Let’s face it folks! In our Christian life God will either allow (under His authority) or actually bring difficulty into a believer’s life. You might not like such truth. I don’t! But     it is recorded as fact throughout the course of God’s written Word. We must discover one more observation before we’re done.

OBSERVATION #4: A WALL EXPERIENCE IN OUR LIVES BRINGS US TO A CROSSROADS. IT CAN VALIDATE OUR FAITH OR IT CAN CAUSE US TO QUIT!

Down through church history (and from scripture), this event has been called “THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL”, “THE TRYING OF ONE’S FAITH”,    “THE TIMES OF STRETCH”, “THE TESTING OF OUR HEARTS”, “THE BEARING OF ONE’S CROSS”, “THE REFINER’S FIRE”, just to name      a few. It is an essential part of life. It is a time of searching, disappointment, confession, vulnerability, pain and uncertainty. This situation in a Christian’s life can occur       more than once and at any spot of the journey of spiritual life. Christian scholars tell us that the majority of Christians have no knowledge of the certainty of such events in   their lives, and therefore most often come to a standstill in their walk with the Lord. Usually these “wall experiences” happen when it’s time to move to a new, deeper    level of commitment with the lord. We see that often in the Bible characters’ lives we listed earlier.

When we face such a wall, do you know what we Christians do? Usually we try everything in our own inventory of activity to get around the wall, over it, through it, etc.   Only when we’ve exhausted our efforts do we do one of two things. We either drop out of an active attempt to live a life of faith, or we come to God depleted of self      effort and ask for help. This second option is precisely what God desires. He delights in responding with a “WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG? I HAVE BEEN      WAITING FOR YOU TO QUIT RELYING ON YOURSELF AND COME HUMBLY TO ME SO I CAN ACCOMPLISH WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE!”

Now you have the clearest explanation of Matthew 6:33. Many of us have it memorized, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these    things will be added unto you”. My personal understanding of this verse in my own words would go like this: “Make it your top priority to surrender your life to   the Lord. When you submit and give it unconditionally to Him, He will take care of every single part of your life, in His way and in His time!” In other       words give Him the leadership to take you through the walls of the journey!

Walls force us to admit it’s time to face the truth beneath the surface of our lives. Walls uncover our deepest secrets, wounds, fears and insecurities. Walls bring us to a position of humility. AND walls can move us to another of those occasions when we allow God’s will to be our will. No wonder James tells us to “Count it pure joy whenever you face trials (walls) of many kinds!” come back next week and we’ll continue the study of this dimension in our Christian lives!