공동체와 양육

Desperate Faith (Lk. 5:17~20)

2019.07.21P. McClure

Desperate times call for desperate faith: an urgent, courageous, compassionate faith that leaves the comfort zone and prays and acts for the unsaved people God has placed around us.

Desperate circumstances call for desperate faith

The saying goes that desperate times call for desperate measures, but they really call for desperate faith. Too often our faith does not match the gravity of the situation, and we grow complacent and apathetic. Desperate faith is urgent. It cries out from the depths of the heart, "God, there is nothing I can do," and it appeals to his mercy. It cannot stay in the comfort zone, because it will risk everything for the gospel. When we remember where God found us, we cannot help but weep and rejoice.

Esther: no silence, no hiding in the palace

Esther shows desperate faith. A decree said the Jews would be wiped out, and Mordecai mourned in sackcloth and ashes at the palace gate. He told her not to think her place in the palace would save her, and that she must not keep silent. We too were on death row, with no defense before God, yet he rescued us. The king had not summoned Esther for thirty days, and only his golden scepter could spare her. God likewise held out the scepter of mercy to us.

A spiritual threat needs a spiritual response

Esther did not answer a human threat by rallying fighters. She called for a fast. Ephesians 6:10-12 says our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the powers of darkness, so a spiritual attack requires a spiritual response. When Herod locked Peter up after executing James, the church prayed earnestly, fervently, as if there were no tomorrow. God released Peter miraculously. This was no routine ritual or regular prayer meeting. It was a specific, fervent appeal to God's mercy for one of their own.

Compassionate faith becomes voice, hands, and feet (vv. 18-20)

Esther said, "If I perish, I perish," and stood in the gap for her nation. Believers have the same access to the King. We are a priesthood of believers, and someone once prayed persistently for us. Desperate faith is more than sympathy or empathy. It is compassion that acts and takes the need as its own. The four friends of the paralytic became his hands and feet. They did not count the cost and went through the roof, and Jesus, seeing their faith, said, "Your sins are forgiven."

Raised up for such a time as this

Mordecai asked Esther whether she had come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Perhaps God has brought you to Korea, or into the life of one coworker or family member, for the same reason. Ephesians 2:10 says we are God's masterpiece, created for good works he prepared in advance. You need not be Billy Graham. If you faithfully minister to the one God gave you, he will say, "Well done," because one is valuable to him. In Tokyo, people shrug when a train is delayed by a suicide. When your heart beats with God's, that is not acceptable.

Courageous faith prays persistently and expectantly

Desperate faith is courageous, and it depends on God's power, not on our skill or education. John 3:16 begins, "For God so loved." We brought nothing, yet God is love and loved us first. Since James 4:13-16 says we are a mist, we must not presume on tomorrow. The people in our circle of influence need us to pray. Like Jacob at the Jabbok and the woman who pleaded for her daughter, we pray persistently. 1 John 5:13-14 says a prayer for salvation is according to God's will, so we pray expectantly.

Apply to Life

  • Let us remember where God found us, and respond to the desperate needs around us with urgent faith that steps out of our comfort zone.
  • Let us answer spiritual threats with a spiritual response, fasting and praying earnestly for those in trouble.
  • Let us stand in the gap as a priesthood of believers, becoming the voice, hands, and feet of those who need someone to go before God for them.
  • Let us pray fervently and expectantly, today and in the days ahead, for the one unsaved person God has put on our heart.
  • Let us trust that God has raised us up for such a time as this, and step out courageously in his power, not our own.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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