If this is your first time to tune in for our Monday series, let me catch you up to speed. "Shameless Audacity" is a project my friend Cory has been working on for a while, and he was gracious enough to let me share it with you here. It's good stuff. We're more than halfway through, be sure to catch up on the beginning chapters:
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In Texas, we have a saying. When we need to get through the words
being said and to get to the heart of the matter, we call that, “cutting
through the fat.” It doesn’t matter what words are being used, it matters what
is being said. Words are just window dressing to the actual message.
In the last chapter, you will find these words:
Yes,
theoretically God can heal any ailment, but, more pragmatically so, He allows
things like Alzheimer’s to run their course to “teach us a lesson” or because
it is “just their time.” God can heal families, but that alcoholic father of
that child in the youth group sure seems
to be beyond help.
I wrote those words. In a sense, I really meant those words. Those
words seem harsh, but they still sound spiritual enough. But, if one takes
those words and cuts away the extra, one would find one sad message: God is
limited. No self respecting Christian would ever utter those words about his
God, at least not so succinctly.
When it comes to faith, there seem to be three very distinct
levels. The first level is the most basic faith. This level of faith brings the
sinner to salvation with the belief that Jesus is God, but little beyond that.
The second level is a faith based on intellect. This is the level that houses
most of Christianity. This faith seeks God’s intervention in our lives, but
only as much as we can understand. The third and final level is a faith based
on the limits of God. C.H. Spurgeon describes the faith levels in these terms.
There are those like the aged Simeon, who hold the baby Jesus in their arms and
see the Consolation of Israel. There are others like the disciples who call
Jesus the Rabbi of their faith. Finally, there are a choice few like John the
Apostle, the Beloved of God, who see the Jesus of Revelation, standing with
flaming eyes and the voice of many waters.
Remember our discussion on Hebrews 11? I said that all faith is
based on experiences. This is not the same as a faith based on intellect. Faith
has a backside and a front side. Think of it this way. The people in the Hall
of Faith of Hebrews 11 had confidence in God based on their past experiences.
Instead of standing comfortably in that confidence, they used it as motivation
to press God to show Himself in even more amazing ways. The person on the
second level of faith trusts God because of past experiences, but chooses to
lean back on their confidence instead of leaning forward on the hope of greater
things.
This calls another story from the Gospels to mind. In Mark 9, a
man breaks through the excited crowd pressed against Jesus. He brought his son
to the man from Galilee. The man’s son, being possessed by an evil spirit,
threw himself to the ground, gnashed his teeth, and foamed at the mouth. The
evil spirit had tormented the son since childhood. This poor father needed
help. Jesus explained, “If you can believe, all things are possible to them
that believe.” To this, the man owned his disgrace and cried out in tears
saying, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” The Greek word for unbelief was apisitis (no faith), from the word pistis which means faith, trust, or
confidence. The preceding word used for believe is pisteuo, meaning believe or trust. The man said, “Lord, I trust
you, but help my lack of trust!”
This man found himself on the second level of faith with a third
level of need. He trusted Jesus as far as he could understand, but struggled to
see beyond the limitations of intellect. The typical choice in this type of
situation would be to ask much and expect little. However, this man watched his
son, his very flesh and bone, fall to the ground with painful, demon-induced seizures
and refused accept it. He prayed a very unique prayer. He said, “Help my
unbelief.” The word for help also means, “come to the rescue for.” In essence,
he said to Jesus, “I am at the very edge of hope. I need help more than I need
pride. Come to my rescue and save me from this lonely island of unbelief.”
It may take some serious effort to accept God as Father, learn to
keep His name hallowed, understand disgrace, own disgrace, seek a need, and act
on those needs. It may take serious effort, but all these things can be done
without stretching the mind beyond its limits. Learning to live shamelessly
takes a few personal changes, but can be done with very little impact on one’s
life. Moving from the first level of faith requires about the same effort
needed to step up one rung on a ladder. But, seeking God audaciously, moving to
the third level of faith means climbing to the top of the ladder and jumping
off!
Take an inventory of your faith along with me. Do your prayer
requests go beyond your own limits? Do you seek God outside your own abilities?
Do you pray that the Spirit of God will move in your church services or do you
pray that the Spirit will move in your community instead? Do you pray for God
to save one or for God to save some or for God to save all? One seems doable.
One seems unlikely. One seems impossible. Do you pray for God to supply enough
to pay your bills or for God to supply enough to fund a charity? Jesus said
clearly, “You have not because you ask not.”
What if our churches truly sought God with audacious requests? It
is said that five college students went to visit the church of Charles
Spurgeon. During their tour of the church before Sunday services, they were
surprised to find 700 people assembled in the boiler room, praying for the
services. Even today, the exploits of C.H. Spurgeon and his church in England
are still recounted. They received because they asked.
Revelation 3 has always broken my heart a little. In the message
to the church at Laodicea, Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and eat
with him, and he with Me.” I imagine the sight John described in Revelation 1.
Jesus stands with eyes like fire, feet like brass, hair as white as wool, and a
voice like the sound of many waters. This awe inspiring Savior holds the
authority to stand anywhere He chooses, yet He stands outside the door, waiting
for someone to turn the knob. As the members of Laodicea praise the power of
God inside their church, He stands in the cold.
What does it take to move to the third level of faith? I’m not
sure. I propose an experiment. Rather than foolishly test God with some
outlandish fleece, I vow to pray for an audacious need. When God shows me for
what strange, unexpected, “outside my intellect” need I should seek Him, I will
seek it with the same passion with which I sought Him for the more basic needs
in previous chapters.
Care to try it with me?
Lord, I
want to seek You beyond my own understanding. I trust Your power because of the
past, but I want to see Your future. Show me my need.
*To read more from Cory check back next Monday, or hop over to MinistryMall.org!*
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