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February 5, 2006
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Discipleship
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Pastor Brian Shimer
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"Faith as Precious as Ours"
(residual: A faith equal in value to Peter's)
2 Peter 1: 1-2
- When we read of the man healed through Jesus' power by Peter in the book of Acts we can forget that this is the same Peter we have met through the gospel accounts who just never quite seemed to "get it". We forget that the power displayed through him is the same power available to all disciples. We lose hold of the fact that faith is not qualitatively different one person to another, and faith in Jesus does bring forth amazing things.
But likewise we can wonder about the disciples when we read the Gospels. I have thought, "Come on, guys, catch on already," completely forgetting that as I read with the lens of faith, it is as if I have a box seat at a theatre and cannot miss a thing, in fact I know the whole story from beginning to end. I look back knowing about the crucifixion, the resurrection, the ascension, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and think, "Ah, it would have been great to be them."
How great would it have been?
Think with me for a moment only about Peter...
It was boisterous, honest Peter who told Jesus to call to him to walk on the water, and tried it, only to suddenly sink when he got his eyes off of Jesus and onto the storm.
It was Peter who correctly identified Jesus as the Christ, and then tried to dictate how Jesus ought to fulfill that role! As you may remember, that conversation did not go too well for Peter.
It was Peter who refused to let Jesus serve him by washing his feet and then a second later when advised against such a choice, says, "not just my feet, then, my whole body!"
It was Peter who said, "Lord, I am willing to die with you," only to be told he would actually deny that he even knew Jesus, that very night, not one time but three!
- Yes, even Peter, who would become a rock of the early church, a leader of the faithful, an evangelist to the Jews, whom we see in Acts raising up the lame man and raising the dead, had a tough time believing.
Peter's mountaintop experience occurred when Jesus took him, and James and John on a camping trip up the Mount of Transfiguration and there Jesus was transformed before his very eyes. There was Jesus, the man, whom they had known as a man, suddenly shining with the splendor of God. All the light of God's glory shone through his mortal frame. The fullness of deity with the veil of flesh somehow penetrated.
It was a true mountaintop experience in Peter's development of faith in Jesus. Here was the one promised speaking with Moses and Elijah about his departure. This was an experience. Dazzled by the splendor, filled with the joy and fear, and not knowing what else to say, Peter decides building a booth for each of them would be good, a way to give them equal honor...
But while this great idea is unfolding a cloud settles over the mountain, nothing is visible but the terror of the holiness of God almighty descends upon the speaker and James and John. Bowed in fear the disciples hear the audible voice of God from the cloud. "this is my beloved son, whom I love, listen to him."
Need God be any more clear? They still stumble a fair bit with faith after that, but it was still a watershed moment and from there all the streams of their lives began to flow in the direction of faith.
- So was it easy for them to believe walking around with Jesus day by day? Easy to move for seeing a person before you to believing that One is God in the flesh? Hardly. It was just as difficult for them as it is for us, and we get the whole story.
Actually, it may have been even more difficult for them than for us. For literally generations people had awaited the Messiah and most expected him to come conquer the Romans and be an earthly king. Not many were expecting the inauguration of a new kind of kingdom. to believe that Jesus was the expected Messiah meant to swim against the stream of popular belief in society. This is why Jesus throughout much of his ministry does not broadcast that he is the One.
It took a divine nudge in the form of faith for people to believe. It was not seeing but that inner knowing that "yes, Jesus is the Messiah" that had to happen.
In fact Peter tells us as he begins the book of 2nd Peter with the theme of faith, that faith is something that has come to us through our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Faith is something that Peter and the first apostles and other disciples of Jesus had to receive from God. And Faith is something we too receive from God.
But the quality of faith is not dissimilar from one person to another. Peter says his faith is equal in value to those to whom he writes which like us were people far removed from the events of the life of Jesus, who heard about Jesus through witnesses, and who had placed their faith in Jesus based upon the word of these witnesses.
Think about that: Peter's faith, their faith back when this letter was written, our faith today is the same precious faith. There is no difference. It is that faith that brings grace and peace into our lives through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
- So as we come to this book of 2 Peter where we will be abiding for a few months here during our theme of discipleship, it is faith we begin with. Peter tells us certainly that faith, confident trust in God, comes from God our Savior Jesus, but is faith based upon something.
We do not believe the truth of the gospel on a whim. It is not some burning in the bosom that convinces us that this is truth. No, that precious faith, Peter's and ours is based upon something rock solid.
Peter says it is faith based upon what God has done. This certainly begins with what God has done through Jesus. Peter says this himself in this chapter at the 16th verse saying, "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ..."
The stories of Jesus are not just tales someone made up on a lark. They are truth. The things told really happened. They are not fabricated, skillfully woven together by the ingenuity of people.
What is his basis of disproving the idea that they were just "invented" that he himself was an eyewitness: "For we are eyewitnesses of his majesty..."
In this place in chapter one it is back to this experience on the Mt of Transfiguration that he turns. Peter says that Jesus "received Honor and glory from God the Father when he heard the voice from the majestic glory saying to him, "This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased." And then he adds that "we ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain."
Our faith rests upon the actions of Almighty God in history -- the history of Jesus upon the earth, a very historically proven reality and the history of His actions among the Jewish people over salvation history.
Peter says also, Our faith also rests upon what God has said -- we don't have faith that is unsubstantiated by Truth, but faith that rests upon the truth of what God has said.
To acquaint ourselves with what God has said is part of what opening the Bible and reading is all about. This is where what God has said is recorded and what He has said brings joy, depth, longevity to our following of Him.
Peter says that what God has said is foundational to our faith. Not only are we hearing the voice of eyewitness when we read of their experiences, but we can read the Scriptures which are trustworthy witness to what God has said to us.
Peter says his experiences have confirmed what the prophets had said, so there is more confidence in what God has said through the prophets.
So he writes, "For we have the word of the prophets made more certain and you would do well to pay attention to it as to a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Above all you must understand that no prophesy of Scripture ever came about by the prophet's own interpretation, for prophesy never had its origin in the will of men, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
Faith -- your faith, my faith, Peter's faith, all of equal value for it is all faith based upon what God has done and what God has said. I have witnessed so many people who claim faith in Jesus but continue to "search" for truth. They wander the corridors of various world religions seeking something more tangible or real. But to them and us I would like to say, there is nothing as substantial as the Gospel. and if you have a sense that you need to search further, you have never really met Jesus Christ. There is nothing more certain as trust in Him
- I was given an example of what it means to walk out this faith this week.
Shannon and Joe Jones who used to be involved in the congregation hit a hardship. She was in ICU with a headache they could not diagnose and had almost died because of an allergic reaction to drugs. Shannon had asked Joe to call me in.
I had been at an out of town meeting, got the call, told the group to join me in prayer for her and one of the group members threw me her keys saying, "Brian, take my car. Go see her tonight."
Grateful, I arrived at the hospital.
Shannon said, "Brian, Iknew if you came you could tell me if I am going to die." Now, although I am not the one who can give that judgment the Spirit within me gave me such a nudge to say, "Of course you are not going to die, you are still alive aren't you."
"Thank you."
It gave her hope. I stayed for a time, prayed and asked for discernment.
En route back to the retreat center the Spirit gave me a picture and a phrase. The picture was of a demon, something heavy on top of Shannon's whole body. Like when the prophet in the OT lays on top of the boy to breathe life into him, so this thing was on top of Shannon. The Scripture was of a healing where Jesus said, "This kind only comes out by prayer".
The next night I returned to the hospital and told Shannon and her mom, who was then there, what I had seen.
"Shannon this is a spiritual battle," I told her.
The headache had come the morning after a very successful meeting with a women's Bible Study Shannon leads, so she was with me on that one.
I said, "You have to fight with me."
"I am too tired to fight" she said.
"Then I will fight," I told her, "but can you say one line of Scripture?"
I gave her Psalm 35:1, "Contend with those who contend with me O Lord" and she whispered this over and over.
We prayed, then Shannon began to sing very softly, "I love you Lord," so her mom and I joined in as we sang several choruses, prayed, worshiped, prayed.
Suddenly Shannon jerked up in bed and began to violently try to throw up. She had only dry heaves for there was nothing in her, but the action was as if she was throwing off something spiritual. We kept praying, she received medication for the nausea and lay back down.
Another request Shannon had for me that night was for her to be able to see something other than dark with black and grey splotches when she closed her eyes. "I cannot see any color, Brian. I can't even imagine my boys," she said with tears.
I left as Shannon slipped into slumber. Later she told me she dreamed in color for the first time in 5 days and could see her boys. She was so thankful.
The next night when I returned, we prayed more for the breaking of the hold on her head. I could see a talon in her head (in my mind's eye) and so began to pray for it to be removed. It was amazing to me to be praying in this manner but seemed totally appropriate at this point. As we prayed something began to change.
The next morning at 4 am Shannon awoke suddenly and knew she was well, something "physically had lifted off of me" she told me. She was free.
I was so astounded and blessed.
Another testimony alongside of this was how God put the Banks' congregation into that room through our prayers and through the woman who brought Shannon her meals all week long.
This woman had a burden to pray for Shannon each day as she brought the food. And on Friday they chatted and realized that Shannon had lived in Banks and had attended the church where this woman's brother in law and sister in law attend. They were folk Shannon knew well. What a small world.
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