Episode 2122 - Do Not Let Your Faith Slip Because of a Trial

Good morning and welcome to this brand new day. This is Scripture Link's daily dose of inspiration for Friday, May 17, 2024. And today is National Pizza Party Day. It is also National Cherry Cobbler Day. I guess I had my pizza too early as I had pizza for lunch today, so. But today is pizza party day. And cherry cobbler. How can you not like that? So go get yourself a pizza, follow it with some cherry cobbler for dessert, and you got a. Sounds like a perfect day to me if you're following along on our scripture reading. We got, reading through the gospels in the month of May, this weekend, today, Friday's reading is Luke, chapter six, seven, eight. Luke, chapter six, seven, eight. Saturday, going to be in Luke chapter nine and ten, and Sunday, chapter eleven and twelve. so there you have it. The Bible readings for the weekend. I hope you're getting a lot out of that. Like, I am studying the gospels here and learning about Jesus and about what he has done and specifically what he's done for us today. I want us to take a look at the gospel of Luke, chapter number seven. We're going to take a look at verses 18 through 24. And yesterday we were talking a little bit about temptations and about trials. And today we're going to take a look at another aspect of, of that. And, Luke chapter number seven, starting in verse number 18. And the disciples of John showed him all these things. And John calling unto him, two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus, saying, art thou he that should come, or look we for another? And when the men were come unto Jesus, they said, john Baptist hath, sent us unto thee, saying, art thou he that should come, or look we for another? And in the same hour, he cured many of their infirmities and plagues and of evil spirits. And unto, many that were blind, he gave sight. Then Jesus answering, said unto them, go your way and tell John what things ye have seen and heard, how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to the poor, the gospel is preached, and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John. What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? I'm going to stop right there, because here we have John the Baptist. Of course, we know him as the forerunner to Jesus. We know him as the one that was out there baptizing and challenging people to repent, getting things ready for the coming of Jesus. And here he's now in prison. It's, going to be near the end of his life. He would be beheaded shortly. We'll talk about that here in just a minute. but as he was in prison and hearing the things that Jesus is doing, verse 20 says that he sent two of his disciples to Jesus and asked him, art thou, he that should come or look we for another? John sent his disciples and asked that question. And to be quite frank, and to be quite honest with you, when I saw that in our reading, I started questioning. I thought, wait a minute. I thought John knew that Jesus was the messiah. What would make John ask that question? And in Matthew, chapter eleven and verse number two, we see a very important part to this story that scripture says. Now, when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples. You see, being in prison, that makes a difference. That makes a difference. But why he was in prison. We can see that here in Matthew, chapter number 14. And it's going to be verses three and four. Matthew, chapter 14, verses three and four. And then I'm going to jump down to verse ten. Scripture says, for Herod had laid hold on John and bound him and put him in prison for Herodias sake, his brother Philip's wife. For John had said unto him, it is not lawful for thee to have her. And now down to verse ten. And he sent and beheaded John in prison. So here we see John, this once mighty preacher, challenging the religious leaders, challenging the people to repent and be baptized. He now finds himself in prison because he spoke out against the open sin that the king was doing at that particular time. The king was taking his brother's wife as his own. And John spoke up against that. And as a result of that, he finds himself in prison waiting to be beheaded. Let's take a look here. Before we delve into why John would ask this. Let's take a look here a little bit more about John. If we go back here to Matthew, chapter three. Matthew, chapter three. I'm going to read for you verses one and two to start. In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, repent, ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Here is John, who is coming and preaching in the wilderness. He's preaching in the desert, and he's preaching to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He was getting people ready to hear Jesus. He was getting the way ready for Jesus. He was challenging people to come and to repent and to be baptized. If we jump down to verse number eleven, scripture says, and this is the John the Baptist speaking here. He says, I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. But he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I, am not worthy to bear. He he let me find where I'm at. There he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Friends, he was again pointing the way to Jesus. He was talking about Jesus as the.

>> Speaker C: One coming after him who was going to be baptizing them with the Holy.

>> Speaker B: Ghost instead of just with water. And if we jump down again to verses 1417, we see now where Jesus is coming to John to be baptized. Verse 14 says, but John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee and thou comest to me. And Jesus answering said unto him, suffer it to be so now for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus when he was baptized went up straightway out of the water and lo, the heavens were opened unto him. And he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and lightning upon him. And lo, a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in him, in whom I am well pleased. Friends, we see here the opening things we learn about John, about John the.

>> Speaker C: Baptist and how he was pointing the way to Jesus.

>> Speaker B: And how when, Jesus came to be baptized, he said, wait a minute, I should be baptized of you. But ended up fulfilling what Jesus wanted.

>> Speaker C: For him to baptize him.

>> Speaker B: And as Jesus was coming out of the water, he saw the spirit of.

>> Speaker C: God descending like a dove.

>> Speaker B: And he heard the voice of God.

>> Speaker C: Saying, this is my son.

>> Speaker B: That's an important part to the story because if we go over to John chapter number one, John chapter number one, we are going to start in verse 29.

>> Speaker C: And I am going to read down through verse 34.

>> Speaker B: Scripture says, the next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. This is he of whom I said, after me cometh a man, which is preferred before me. For he was before me and I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel. Therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John Bare record saying, I saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove and it abode on him. And I knew him not but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending and remaining on him. The same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and I bear record that this is the son of God. So here we see John revealing to his disciples, revealing to the people there, that Jesus was indeed the lamb of God, that Jesus is the messiah. He told them, revealed to them, that God had told him, that when he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove on somebody, that that is.

>> Speaker C: Going to be the messiah.

>> Speaker B: And John testifies here in verse 34, that this is the son of God, that Jesus is the son of God. He was so sure of that.

>> Speaker C: What would have happened, that he would.

>> Speaker B: Now, in Luke chapter seven, be sending disciples and saying, are you that he that should come or look we for another? Well, one of the things I had thought about is maybe he just wanted a little bit of peace of mind. He knew his end was near. He knew that he was going to be beheaded shortly. And he wanted to make sure that Jesus was the Messiah.

>> Speaker C: That's a possibility right there.

>> Speaker B: Something else I had thought about is maybe because of this trial, because of being put in prison, because of taking a stand and now finding himself in.

>> Speaker C: Prison, that undoubtedly is a trial, a.

>> Speaker B: Testing of his faith. And maybe his faith faltered a bit.

>> Speaker C: Maybe he thought, well, is this really the son of God?

>> Speaker B: Is this really the messiah? I don't know the circumstances as to why John would have sent the messengers like that. But one thing I want to make.

>> Speaker C: Sure that we talk about is that we don't let our faith, faith slip because we're going through a time of trial. Don't let your faith slip because you're.

>> Speaker B: Going through a time of trial. Yes, John was in prison. None of us ever woke up in the morning and say, boy, I hope I get to prison today. But m for John, that's what happened. And for some areas in this world, that is a very good possibility if you're a Christian, that you may end up in prison.

>> Speaker C: But what happens when you go through.

>> Speaker B: That time of trial? What happens in that? We m looked yesterday at what James told us in James chapter one, when he says we should consider it pure joy. We looked at one, Peter, yesterday, where Peter says that we should rejoice at the trying of our faith because excuse me.

>> Speaker C: Because that faith is, more valuable than even gold.

>> Speaker B: So, friends, if you're going through a.

>> Speaker C: Time of trial right now, that's not the time for your faith to falter. That's giving the devil a victory right there. We also looked at job yesterday, and we saw how, despite the trial that he had, even at his wife calling him to say, enough's enough. Curse God and die, job wouldn't do it. Don't let your faith falter, because you're going through a time of trial. Embrace that trial and make sure that that trial strengthens your faith, solidifies your faith, and makes your faith steadfast on the things of God. So that way, you'll be unmovable. That way, you'll be growing and becoming who God wants. Yes, times of trial is difficult. Yes, it's painful. Yes, it hurts. But we can't abandon our faith. That's why Jesus himself said, that broad is the path that leads to destruction, and narrow is the way that leads to heaven. And few find it, because so many times, as soon as we go through a time of trial, so many of us abandon our faith in God. I've shared this story before, and I'll end the broadcast today with it, but there was a missionary that told a story one time of some men from a church that supported his mission. And they wrote to him and said, you know, we really want to come and help you, help you out there in the field, and, you know, if you could just tell us a good road to take, we'll be out there to help you. And he said, you know what? I want you to be here whether there's a good road or not. That's the problem. Too many of us are looking for the good road. Too many of us are looking for the paved road that don't have any speed bumps or potholes in it. But those of us with the strongest faith is ones that have gone through times of trial. One that's going down that road, that small, narrow road.

>> Speaker B: You know, there's a place in the great Smoky mountains I like to go to. Haven't been there in a while because.

>> Speaker C: It'S been closed for quite a while. But it's called the greenbrier recreation area, and it's several miles outside Gatlinburg on your way to Cosby, going back toward interstate 40.

>> Speaker B: But it's a beautiful.

>> Speaker C: It's a little. It's a little basically one lane road that runs next to this river, and then you go through this section where it makes a loop, and that's one of the best areas in the smokies to see wildflowers in the spring and summer. But the road is a narrow road. The road is bumpy. The road is full of potholes. And every time I think about that or go on that road, I start thinking about the parallels to our faith.

>> Speaker B: You know, there are spots as you're.

>> Speaker C: Going along that river that the water is calm, looks like it's barely moving. And then there's other spots in the river where. Where there's a bunch of huge boulders and huge rocks in it. And the water is turbulent as it's going between those rocks. And that is a picture in my.

>> Speaker B: Mind when I stand there looking at.

>> Speaker C: This, as to our life when we're not going through times of trial, and our life when we are going through times of trial.

>> Speaker B: And, friends, let me tell you again.

>> Speaker C: Going through times of trial, that's not the time to abandon your faith. That's the time to hold on. You remember that poem years ago? It was called footprints in the sand, or footprints, something like that. And one of the lines in it says that you look back and only saw one set of footprints, and that's when Jesus was carrying you. Friends, don't let your faith slip. Don't let your faith falter because you're going through a time of trial. Think about that as you go through this day. And remember, get into God's word and allow God's word to get into you. And then share that word with someone today. Have a blessed day. Don't forget today for the Bible reading. Luke, chapter six, seven, eight. Saturday, Luke, chapter nine and ten. Sunday, Luke, chapter eleven and twelve. Have a blessed day.