Submitted by admin on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 9:16am
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You probably know some people who just seem to get more out of life than other people. They seem more confident, more self-assured. They seem stable, solid, more capable of handling the highs and lows of life.
Other people are like the weather forecast-if a high pressure system moves in, they're bright and sunny. But when the lows come in, they can be like storm clouds-cloudy, dark, rainy. And you better hope they don't bring their lows to your blue skies, because they will surely rain on your parade.
Some of this can be explained by personality types. Some people are just more naturally upbeat, more positive. They have an innate gift-an ability-for finding the silver lining in every cloud.
But there's more to it than just personality! There is a spiritual component to all this. Because when the grace of God in all its power comes into a person's life, there must be a change. There must be a lift!
Life should look different after you've met Jesus than it looked before. When you carry the baggage of your past and the weight of your sins, life can be pretty depressing. There's no hope for the person who doesn't know Jesus.
That's why so many people are trying to find answers in so many different ways. You know people who are trying to LIVE-but they're looking for life in wrong places. They're using pleasure, entertainment, money, friends in an effort to find life. Their appetites fill them with food, drink, or drugs, but they can't fill their lives.
Abundant life comes only through Jesus. When you've experienced God's love and grace, you can expect things to change. But let me be clear: in this world even believers will face troubles and challenges. But with Jesus, you should be able to see things differently. Faith in Christ should help you get more out of life.
Jesus said it: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly...life in all its fullness." So we're continuing our series of messages on "Maximum Living" about living life to the full.
Here's the deal: If the power of the resurrection raised Jesus from the dead, the same resurrection power can work in us to raise us to a whole new life-to a life of power and abundance. IF...
We can have a whole new life IF we believe, IF we open our hearts to Jesus, IF we have faith to receive his promise of new life. So today I want to talk about that faith.
I'm calling it an effervescent faith, because it's a good description of a bubbly personality, someone who sparkles with life. If you look up synonyms for effervescent, you'll find words like: bubbling, sparkling, frothy, carbonated, fizzy, bouncy, buoyant, high-spirited, lively, boiling...
It turns out the word comes from an old Latin word meaning: "to be hot, to glow, to boil." Fervere is the root for our English word fervent-which makes me think immediately of James 5:16 in the KJV: "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much..."
Effervescent faith is faith that does something. It avails much. It's fervent. It's hot. It's boiling. It's alive! NCV: "When a believing person prays, great things happen."
Effervescent faith is the kind of faith that leads to a full, abundant life. If you want to live life to the full, you need faith! Effervescent faith-fervent, high-spirited, bubbling, lively faith.
Some early Christians probably felt that their faith wasn't very fervent. Their lives didn't seem all that abundant. They were facing persecution. Nero was emperor in AD 64 when Rome burned, and he made the Christians scapegoats for the fire. Society turned against them. Many were martyred in horrible, gruesome ways. And it was around this time that Peter wrote these words...
[You] 5
...are protected by the power of God through faith(a) for a
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you
greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have
been distressed by various trials(b), 7 so that
the proof of your faith(c), being more precious than gold
which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result
in praise and glory and honor(d) at the revelation of Jesus
Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though
you do not see Him now, but
believe in Him, you greatly rejoice(e) with joy
inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of
your faith the salvation of your souls(f). (1 Peter 1:5-9, NASB)
a) This kind of faith brings God's power. This faith protects us. Effervescent faith holds us steady and keeps us constant-whether we're facing highs or lows.
In a lower atmospheric pressure, water boils at a lower temperature. It should be the same way with faith-our faith should bubble up even sooner when we're going through a low time. If you don't have this kind of faith, then you're going to have trouble when you hit the lows. Or when the heat is on. Or when you reach your limit. Without this kind of faith, you won't be able to tap into God's power-or live fully and abundantly, risking it all to follow Jesus!
b) This kind of faith confronts troubles. Effervescent faith does not eliminate troubles or trials in our lives; it faces them head-on. It does not make life easier or more comfortable.
We're not transported out of this messed up world! In the natural world when a storm comes, victims are rescued or airlifted out of the danger zone. But believers are not supposed to be victims! They're recruits! We're like the National Guard sent into the danger zone to rescue others! To help those in a flood clinging to their rooftops or on a sunken car. To help those (like in the south a week ago) whose homes, families, and lives were obliterated by tornadoes. Civilians are taken out of harm's way, but Christians are sent into the mess to do battle-to do God's work.
c) This kind of faith must be tested and proven. Effervescent faith was intended to be put to work, not just to be carried around or put on display.
Take the tool out of the tool box! The hammer does you no good if you never use it! So what if you've got a really BIG hammer? So what if you've got the fanciest, most expensive hammer? If you're not using your tool, it's good for nothing! Faith is a tool that must be put to work. Faith must be put to the test-or it's good for nothing.
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4, NASB)
Untested faith is unproven faith. Faith was meant to be tested so we can see whether it's genuine or not. And when faith is tested, it produces something in us: endurance or perseverance.
"Various" trials (KJV: manifold temptations). The original word literally meant "many-colored"-suggesting that the trials that test our faith can come in many different shades, all kinds of hues, different degrees. Some trials will be minor irritations (like the thorn we talked about last week). Other trials will be severe, brutal-so overwhelming that we may wonder how we can get through it. But we have a promise...
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (1 Cor 10:13, NASB)
And notice an important distinction here between trials and temptations! Trials are intended to discipline and strengthen us; temptations are intended to destroy us. The devil tempts us because he wants to destroy us; God never tempts us, but he allows trials to strengthen us.
Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. (James 1:13, NASB)
It's like when I hung up our porch swing. I drilled holes to hang the chains, hoping I'd anchored the hooks well, that I hit the studs-the ceiling joists. But I wasn't just going to plop my full weight down on that swing without testing it first to see if it was strong enough to hold me! I wanted to make sure it wouldn't let loose and come crashing down. ...So I called my wife to come sit.
d) This kind of faith brings honor to Jesus. Effervescent faith bubbles over with praise and glory to God when Jesus comes back again.
When the Navy Seals did their job this past week, the whole country benefited. Stock in the entire nation rose. Regardless of your personal views on war, something good happened for the entire country when special operations Team Six brought justice to the bad guys. There was a resurgence of national pride and honor, dignity and respect. But it didn't just happen overnight-or even a few months. The individuals on that team went through years of excruciating training to prepare for that moment. A Navy Seal, for instance, trains to stay under water for two minutes, swimming the length of a football field under water. They practice fighting and weapons skills. They endure intense discipline and self-sacrifice. And when finally they're fit and strong, they are sent to complete their mission, and we don't even know their names. They're anonymous. The country gets the credit, not the individuals. In the same way, faith that stands the test-faith that goes through the rigors of difficult trials-is not about individual honor. Your faith brings praise, glory, and honor to Jesus when he is finally revealed.
e) This kind of faith brings great joy. Effervescent faith bubbles up with life-joy that cannot be expressed.
Did you know you can have joy even when things are going wrong? Because joy does not depend upon our circumstances. Joy is something far deeper. Joy can remain even when we struggle or when we're sad. Maybe that's why this joy is "inexpressible"-it cannot be explained. It's a joy that makes no sense in the natural. You cannot put it in a formula that adds up-one negative plus another negative plus two or three more negatives-and they all add up to something incredibly positive! It doesn't make sense in the natural.
f) This kind of faith brings a great outcome. Effervescent faith results in the salvation of your souls.
When you encounter distress and trials in your life, that doesn't mean that God has abandoned you! In fact, it means that God is preparing you. God is doing something special through the trials you're going through-to prove your faith is genuine and will result in a great outcome!
Proof (v 7) = dokímion, meaning "approved." Many of the jugs and pots unearthed in ancient Greek or Middle Eastern ruins were marked on the bottom with the word, dókimos, "approved." It was like a seal of approval. It marked the best pottery. In this way, the valuable pieces of pottery were set apart. They had gone through the refiner's fire without cracking. The pieces that were never tested in the heat, however, were not as strong and could not be labeled "approved." [Ron Lee Davis, The Healing Choice, p 177]
Tested (v 7) = dokimázō, was the verb form-the actual process of testing or refining to make faith more pure. The NIV speaks of "faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire..."
To "refine" or "test" pictures of an ancient goldsmith who puts crude gold ore in a crucible, subjects it to intense heat, and melts it to liquid. The impurities (or dross) float to the top of the liquid gold, and the metal worker skims them off. He keeps skimming off the impurities until finally none are left and he can see the reflection of his face shimmering in the liquid gold. What is left is pure gold. In the same way, God allows us to go through the heat of intense trials, purifying our faith in the process, until at last the image of Jesus is reflected in our own lives. When we are tested, our faith is proven, and we become more like Christ. Distress and trials mean God is developing you, producing an authentic faith, building character, forming you in his image. [Wuest II, 1 Peter, p 27]
Chances are if you
have a gold ring on your finger, it will be marked to indicate how many
"karats" worth of gold it is. The higher the karat, the higher the percentage
of gold in your ring. The highest you can get is 24K-100% pure gold with
nothing else mixed in it. My ring says 14K, which means it has 14 parts gold
mixed with 10 parts other metals. That's only 58.3% pure. My gold still has a
way to go.
I'm wondering why my ring is only
14K. Did it complain when it went through the heat? Did it start to whimper and
cry out, "It's too hot! It hurts! Why are you doing this to me? I can't stand
the pain!" You see, my ring is better than 10K or 12K, but it's not 18K or 24K.
It was purified, but not completely.
How about you? Do trials and tribulations purify your faith, making it stronger, proving its authenticity? Or have you been squirming to escape the heat? Trying to avoid the tests and trials? God wants 24K believers-100% Christians who go all the way with him, those who live life to the full no matter what tests they go through, those who learn to trust the Lord no matter how hot the heat or painful the refining process.