Try Not

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” As we continue our study, Life on the Edge, we take a look at faith.

Faith is a word that is often misunderstood, overlooked, simplified, and even purposefully misconstrued. Faith is required to be a follower of Jesus. The first step in following Jesus is to have faith that Jesus can forgive us of our sins. We must have faith that what He says is the best thing to do—that He will be a good boss.

Faith leads us to trust and obey Jesus. Trusting and obeying Jesus helps our faith grow. It is a cyclical thing. The more we experience Jesus, the more we learn that we can trust Him. That trust leads us to obey Him. Our obedience to Jesus leads to an increase in our faith in Jesus.

Faith does not mean that we will never have problems or face difficulties in life. But when we are standing on the edge, we will find that faith helps us overcome our doubts, our worries, and or own inadequacies. The more our faith grows, the more we can face our giant, just like David, with boldness and certainty that God will do exactly what He has promised.

We should not live life as if nothing bad will ever happen to us just because we have faith in God, or that if something bad happens it is only because it was supposed to happen. That fatalistic view of life could lead us to do reckless, stupid, and dangerous things only because we believe that God will get us out of any trouble we get ourselves into. Yes, there have been those that God has promised to protect while they did incredibly dangerous things, but they were specific circumstances that do not usually apply to all.

No amount of faith is going to help me walk a tightrope across the Niagara Falls. No amount of faith is going to keep me from dying if I jumped from the Empire State Building. No amount of faith will keep me safe if I walk into a pit filled with rattlesnakes.

Some people think of faith as a tool to help them do great things. They think if they have enough faith they can defeat sickness and death. If they have enough faith they can be wealthy. If they have enough faith they can be successful in their job.

Faith does not mean that God will always protect us and keep us from harm. That is not what God has promised. Jesus told His followers that they would experience persecution. His disciples all suffered for their willingness to follow Jesus.

In the book of Acts we see many times that the apostles suffered because of their faith.

So they arrested the apostles and put them in the city jail. But an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail during the night, brought them out, and said, “Go and stand in the temple complex, and tell the people all about this life.” In obedience to this, they entered the temple complex at daybreak and began to teach. (Acts 5:18-21, HCSB)

The apostles were teaching things that embarrassed and angered the religious leaders of the day. So in this passage we see that they had them arrested and thrown in prison. During the night, an angel came in and released them from the prison giving them instructions from God to go stand in the temple and tell people about their life of faith in Jesus. And they did.

But when the temple police got there, they did not find them in the jail, so they returned and reported, “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing in front of the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside!” (Acts 5:22-23)

The police reported that something strange had taken place. The apostles escaped the prison even though all of the doors were still locked and the guards had never left their posts. The apostles already had a lot of faith after living with Jesus for three years, seeing miracles firsthand, and seeing Jesus alive after he had been put to death. But when you experience a miracle like this, and angel taking you out of prison without unlocking any gates and walking right past security, it can definitely boost your faith.

Someone came and reported to them, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple complex and teaching the people.”
“Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to bring this man’s blood on us!”
But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.
When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. (selected verses from Acts 5:25-33)

This entire thing started because the apostles were going around town talking about Jesus. Especially because they were claiming that the religious leaders killed the Son of God. Now they learn that the apostles are inside the temple, their holy place of worship, and telling people the same stuff.

The police brought them once again to the religious leaders. They remind the apostles that they had ordered them not to teach about Jesus. Peter basically told them that they have a responsibility to God that supersedes any law of man. He went on to tell them all about Jesus and how, even though they tried to kill Him, He had risen from the dead and was reigning in heaven.

The religious leaders were filled with hate for the apostles and wanted to kill them. But one of the religious leaders, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, suggested that they tread carefully around these men. He reminded them how in the past when they had killed the leader of various groups that the followers soon vanished. He believed the same would happen to the followers of Jesus in time. Gamaliel concluded by saying:

And now, I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God.” So they were persuaded by him. (Acts 5:38, 39)

But the religious leaders could not just leave it at that. They were driven by their desire for power, so they had the apostles brought back before them once again.

After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. Then they [the apostles] went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be dishonored on behalf of the Name. Every day in the temple complex, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. (Acts 5:40-42)

The apostles understood that they had been given a command by Jesus. That command can be found in Matthew 28 and it is what we call the Great Commission. We have all been given this same command: as we go into the world, we are to tell others about the love and grace of Jesus, to baptize those that believe, and to teach them everything that God has commanded.

Society today has made it clear that they do not want Christians to talk about Jesus in public, in the workplace, at school, basically anywhere outside of the church. They think that your faith is something that should be personal and kept to yourself. They are in effect telling you not to speak in the name of Jesus.

Because of this, many Christians stand on the edge considering this command by God and refuse to step out in faith. They tell God, “I tried to tell my neighbor about You, but she doesn’t want me to talk about You.” “I tried to tell my friend about You, but the school doesn’t want me to talk about You.” “I tried to tell my family about You, but if I do that they won’t have anything to do with me.”

God did not tell the apostles to try and teach about Him. He told them to go teach about me. He wanted them to do what He commanded. Just as God calls us to do the same thing.

We are standing on the edge of life and we are faced with a decision. Do or Do not. There is no try. We cannot please God by standing on the line and making the excuse that we tried. We either do as He has instructed or we don’t do it.

Faith requires action. We cannot show God that we trust Him unless we obey Him. When God says to go, teach, and baptize, our faith compels us to obey. The question today is: do you have faith to do? If you don’t, then start by asking God to give you the faith you need.

Don’t leave it up to the pastors to tell others about Jesus. Most people in Annapolis will never go to a church unless they have first heard about Jesus. How will they hear unless we tell them? Leave your prison of doubt and go tell the people all about this life.