A Crisis
Of Faith
.
Our Lord
knew many would lose their faith in the last days. Faith is about more than
trusting God to bless and keep us. Faith also means believing that God
faithfully judges all willful disobedience. Any Christian who won’t forsake a
besetting sin will eventually develop his own doctrine to excuse himself. Like
Solomon, they end up calling evil good and good evil and making up doctrines to
justify their sin. They end up turning his grace into lasciviousness. Many
great servants of God throughout history passed the test and became giants of
faith. During their most dangerous, frightful times, these saints stood
believing. Their lives have been an enduring testimony to God’s faithfulness,
and Hebrews 11 lists many of them: Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob and
others. Amid all the chaos, these servants stand steady in their faith. Their
continued obedience erects a powerful testimony to the Lord’s faithfulness.
David Wilkerson
Jesus
foresaw a crisis of belief when he asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will
He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8, NKJV).
Our Lord
knew many would lose their faith in the last days.
Paul
spoke of this as well, writing, “The Spirit expressly says that in latter
times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and
doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1).
In fact,
Paul warned Timothy to hold fast to his faith because so many believers “concerning
the faith have suffered shipwreck” (1 Timothy
1:19).
Peter
also warned that a crisis of faith would take place in the last days.
He
reassures us, however, that those who cling to belief “are kept by the power
of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter
1:5).
He adds, “In
this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have
been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith… is tested
by fire” (1 Peter 1:6-7).
Peter was
addressing people who had been through trial after trial.
He told
them, in essence, “Only the Lord knows what it takes to produce in us a
faith more precious than gold. Right now, he’s using our trials to do that.”
Many
great servants of God throughout history passed the test and became giants of
faith.
During
their most dangerous, frightful times, these saints stood believing.
Their
lives have been an enduring testimony to God’s faithfulness, and Hebrews 11
lists many of them: Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob and others.
However,
there are other, sad cases of believers who failed in their times of crisis.
God’s
plan for them was the same as it was for those who endured their trials
faithfully.
Instead,
these servants crumbled in their trials, disobeying God and turning away from
faith.
King Solomon and the apostle Paul both
endured crises of faith, one failing the test while the other passed to encourage
generations.
Solomon
was blessed with everything a life of serving God had to offer: a godly
heritage, a supernatural calling and a personal encounter with the Lord.
Moreover,
God blessed him with wisdom that surpassed all of the world’s wisdom. His
anointing was clear to all, and he was renowned and admired throughout the
world.
The
temple he built in Jerusalem was known as the grandest religious structure of
its day.
In
addition, Solomon wrote thousands of proverbs and songs. He was successful in
everything he put his hand to.
Because
of these great blessings, “men of all nations, from all the kings of the
earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon” (1 Kings
4:34).
One of
these awestruck visitors was the Queen of Sheba.
She was
left breathless by Solomon’s devotion to God’s house, and she was astounded by
the widespread happiness of the people in his kingdom.
In her
eyes, Solomon’s kingdom was paradise, heaven on earth.
Thousands
of people served Solomon to bring his brilliant plans to life. He boasted that
his every desire, want and pleasure was fulfilled.
So, why
did this godly man end up saying it was all futile and in vain?
Why did
he say man was no better than a beast, dying the same way a dog dies?
“I looked
on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled;
and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes
2:11).
Some
modern scholars don’t believe these were Solomon’s words.
They say
a rich man wrote Ecclesiastes using Solomon’s name
to validate it.
Others
say there were two authors, one taking a negative view of life, the other
positive.
I believe
with most church fathers that Solomon was “the Preacher, the son of David,
king in Jerusalem” (Ecclesiastes 1:1) who concluded, “‘Vanity
of vanities,’ says the Preacher; ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity’” (Ecclesiastes
1:2).
How did
he arrive at such a negative outlook?
Solomon
was a servant of God who started out right.
He rid
the temple ministry of Abiathar, the unfaithful priest, and replaced him with
the righteous Zadok priesthood.
Solomon
walked in God’s statutes, praying humbly, “I am a little child; I do not
know how to go out or come in” (1 Kings 3:7).
When he
finished building the temple, he prayed it would be a house of repentance and
forgiveness, of prayer and supplication.
After
these godly moves, things changed. We read, “It was so, when Solomon was
old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not
loyal to the Lord his God… Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did
not fully follow the Lord… So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his
heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel” (1 Kings
11:4, 6, 9).
Simply put, Solomon had a crisis of faith,
but what was his crisis?
“King
Solomon loved many foreign women… from the nations of whom the Lord had said to
the children of Israel, ‘You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you.
Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.’ Solomon clung to
these in love” (1 Kings 11:1-2).
God gave
Solomon a direct command not to marry women from heathen nations, yet Solomon
did just that, ending up with 700 wives and a harem of 300 concubines. He
refused to reign in his sexual lust.
I wonder:
How many times did the Spirit of the Lord warn Solomon, “You know God’s Word
to you. Stop now”?
This must
have happened every time Solomon acquired a new wife.
Over
time, the king grew deaf to the Lord’s warnings. Soon he disobeyed God’s
command at will, feeling no conviction or sorrow.
He
eventually allowed his wives’ idols and gods: “(God) had commanded him
concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not
keep what the Lord had commanded” (1 Kings 11:10).
Any
Christian who won’t forsake a besetting sin will eventually develop his own
doctrine to excuse himself.
That’s
how such a wise, brilliant yet humble king fell so far.
Faith is about
more than trusting God to bless and keep us.
Faith
also means believing that God faithfully judges all willful disobedience.
I often hear it said, “There goes a man of incredible faith. He
believes God for great things.”
Yet such
a man doesn’t have true faith unless he also believes God metes out righteous
judgment for disobedience.
In the
end, God judged Solomon’s lack of faith: “The Lord said to Solomon, ‘Because
you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have
commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your
servant’” (1 Kings 11:11).
The same
judgment comes to everyone today who is deceived by a “Solomon state of mind.”
They
don’t believe God will judge their sin, so they willfully indulge in pleasures
and lusts of every description.
Like
Solomon, they end up calling evil good and good evil and making up doctrines to
justify their sin.
They end
up turning his grace into lasciviousness.
Unlike Solomon, Paul passed the test in his
crisis of faith.
Paul was
one of the most tested servants who ever lived.
Everywhere
he went, he faced trials and suffering. He wrote, “The Holy Spirit testifies
in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me” (Acts
20:23).
Paul
declared, in effect, “I don’t know what’s coming tomorrow, but I do know the
Holy Spirit is leading me. He is faithful to prepare me, warning, ‘Suffering
awaits you in every city.’”
Through
it all, Paul maintained this powerful testimony: “But none of these things
move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race
with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to
the gospel of the grace of God” ( Acts 20:24).
Satan
kept up the attacks, but Paul never quit the ministry that Christ gave him.
The devil
couldn’t scare him away.
Paul
encourages us to have the same attitude: “Endure afflictions, do the work of
an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2
Timothy 4:5).
Dear
saint, God is looking for this kind of testimony. He wants a company of Pauls
who will testify of his faithfulness when the world is spinning out of control.
Amid all
the chaos, these servants stand steady in their faith, ready to answer when
people ask, “What shall we do? Where shall we turn?”
Their
continued obedience erects a powerful testimony to the Lord’s faithfulness.
Paul’s
example shouts to an unbelieving world, “You are faithful, Jesus!”
Like him,
every faithful servant has this blessing awaiting them: “I have fought the
good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is
laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved
His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
May this be our testimony as well, to hold fast to faith in these latter days. Amen
David
Wilkerson
was called to New York City in 1958 to minister to gang members and drug
addicts, as told in the best-selling book The Cross and the Switchblade. He
went on to create Teen Challenge and World Challenge, Inc. to minister to
people’s spiritual and physical needs.
In
1987, he established Times Square Church. As its founding pastor, he faithfully
led this congregation, delivering powerful biblical messages that encourage
righteous living and complete reliance on God.
David
Wilkerson also had a strong burden to encourage his fellow pastors. He founded
the Summit International School of Ministry; and from 1999 to 2008, he held
international conferences to strengthen church leaders.
His passion to support believers, build up leaders and care for the poor is still at the heart of World Challenge’s ministries to this day.
World
Challenge,
Inc. was founded by Reverend David Wilkerson in 1971 and served as a corporate
umbrella for his worldwide crusades, ministers' conferences, book and tract
publication, video production, street evangelism, literature distribution,
church planting, drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers and many charitable
outreaches. Today, World Challenge Inc. shares the message of the gospel
through mission outreaches and literature distribution. Sermons from David
Wilkerson and his son Gary are shared monthly through the Pulpit Series
newsletter to hundreds of thousands of people. The numerous mission outreaches
of World Challenge to the poor include orphanages, overseas widows’ fund,
emergency/disaster relief, healthcare/clinics, community development and
feeding centers. Gary Wilkerson became president of World Challenge in 2010 and
moves forward with the same heart and vision as his father.
https://worldchallenge.org/newsletter/2019/crisis-faith
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