7. The Perseverance And Power Of Faith (Hebrews 11:32-12:3)

We live in a culture that is focused on success. Failure is not readily tolerated. Positive thinking, they say, is the way to a fulfilled life. Success is measured often in terms of “he who dies with the most toys wins.” This worldview dominates the thinking of some Christians. Like prosperity gospel preachers, one of whom states repeatedly, “This is your day! Something good is going to happen to you.” Like a pastor who once told me: “I said to my wife the other day: ‘Honey, I think God wants to bless us. So,’ he said, ‘we went out and bought a new house.’” Or, like the title of Joel Osteen’s book, “Your best life now,” as though the Christian life is full of sunshine and roses. But the Christian life isn’t usually like that, is it? John the Baptist found that out when his circumstances didn’t match his understanding of being a follower of Jesus, so much so that it caused him to doubt his faith in Jesus: Was Jesus really the Messiah? Life can do that to us when we face difficult, seemingly insurmountable circumstances, like family problems, employment issues, poor health, financial difficulties, broken marriage relationships, and other significant challenges. What we’re going to fi...