Automatic Transcript Generated:
Speaker 1
So Dylan is asking, my faith is not going very well. There’s been these atheists telling me how God is imaginary and all sorts of stuff. Could someone help me?
Speaker 2
Dylan, I absolutely appreciate this question. This is so important and such a revealing test to me that God is working in your life. Because if everything was going smooth and nobody was saying giving you a hard time, then that would be a bad thing. If you’re getting flock, if you’re getting criticism, that’s probably a sign that the enemy is threatened and that we’re not wrestling against flesh and blood here. We’re wrestling against those principalities, those powers of darkness. And so I just want to give you some encouragement from two of my favorite books in the Bible. The whole Bible is my favorite. But first and Second Peter really has some beautiful encouragement. So I want to start with first Peter, chapter four, if that’s okay with you. Just so you because this is the heart of the message, which is first Peter, chapter four and verse twelve, it says, beloved, my brother, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you. This is not strange. This is very, very typical of somebody who is genuinely following after Christ. And it says in verse 13, really quick but rejoice inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s suffering, that when his glory shall be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
Speaker 2
So just know this is not some strange thing. God has a plan through all of this that you are going through. He knows what you can handle and he’s preparing you for something greater, which is of course, eternal life as well as by God’s grace, a ministry on this earth. Now, the first book of Peter, excuse me. First Peter, chapter one begins with something really cool. So basically we’ll go there really quick. It says first Peter, chapter one, verses three through nine. It’s talking about the trial of your faith. It says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So basically he’s saying, praise God, we are saved by Christ, by his grace in verse four to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that does not fade away, reserved for you in heaven. And so God, he’s speaking of the promise of eternal life. And verse five, he says, who are kept us, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Speaker 2
And so he’s saying, you have eternal life. Don’t forget that. This is so important for you to remember. You have the gift of eternal life as long as you hold on to it through faith. Now in verses six through nine, this says something really important here. And it says 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 being much more precious than gold, that, perishes though it be tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ whom, having not seen you, love even though we’ve not seen God yet we love him, though now you do not see him, yet believing you rejoice with joy and inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your soul. So he’s saying that even now you have the gift of salvation and all you have to do is hold on to it through faith in Christ. And yes, it might seem like you’re being tried in a fiery furnace. And that’s really the point, is that our faith has to be something genuine.
Speaker 2
Like it’s saying in verse seven that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold, which will basically perish though be tested with fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory to God’s. Glory, basically. And so, I mean, what good is it if we say, oh yeah, I have faith in Christ, I love God, and my faith is in God. It’s like, okay, that’s nice words, but when kush comes to shove and people are saying, hey, they’re challenging your faith and you’re sticking to it and you’re not backing down, that’s a different type of faith. That’s something that people can’t argue with. And it’s a faith that endures. Because just like when you’re in a relationship with somebody, like, I’m married to my husband and I can say I love my husband and that’s great. But if things come along and hard times come and I still choose no matter what. Even though things might be difficult to stay faithful and loving to him, that shows the genuineness of my love to my spouse. And the same thing it is with God in that we demonstrate faith to God, even when it’s difficult, even when people are criticizing you, even when you can’t see everything.
Speaker 2
You can’t see the end result right now, but God sees it and you trust Him by faith. And so that’s really what God is trying to build in your Christian character at this point in time is what it sounds like. And it’s so important because there are going to be trials that happen in your life, but those are not just for your suffering, but it’s to work out something good. God doesn’t waste our pain. He says, all our tears are held in a bottle. God cares about the suffering we’re going through and the hard times we’re going through. But just like the gold that needs to be refined through fire, so do we in our faith need to be refined and have all those imperfections in our character start to go away. Because I know when I was especially a first Christian and people started criticizing me, my response was to get defensive and upset, and God had to show me, hey, those are not good characteristics in your character. Not to say I’m perfect, I’m definitely still a work in progress, but I can see how God has been leading and trying to help me grow in my faith and also that it’s made me understand that, hey, do I really believe this?
Speaker 2
I know I say I believe this, but do I really believe in God for myself? Is my faith genuine? And I’ve had to come to a closer walk with God and see the realness of Him in my life in order to know Him better and to say with full conviction, yes, I know that God is real and he’s real to me, and there’s nothing that can make me back down. Nothing in this world would I trade for my God and the love I have for Him. Now, when it comes to people who are saying these things like that, God’s not real, he’s just a figment of your imagination, all these things, I’ve heard it all too. I’ve had atheists who are atheists who just hate God. There’s that one camp and then there’s atheists that are like, well, no, I believe in science, and science shows otherwise than religion. There’s a lot of different types of people who choose to not follow God, and I don’t mean to criticize them because they’re on their own journey. And my purpose is not to be like, I’m right and you’re wrong to them. My purpose is to win them to the side of Christ through love to them, because it’s God who loved us first and his love.
Speaker 2
We love God because he first loved us. And so we have to demonstrate that love to them first in order to draw them to the love of God. And it takes a lot of patience, as I’m sure you know already, or you will continue to know in your walk with God. But should this surprise us? No. In two, Peter, chapter three, he said something really interesting. And so I’m almost done. I just want to share this really cool passage just because this helped me a lot when I was first a Christian and I was like, man, why are these people so angry at me? I mean, I had literally people physically harming me who did not want anything to do with religion and didn’t want me to demonstrate my faith in my life. And so I get it. It’s hard when you feel like you’re being persecuted. But second, Peter, chapter three, verses three through six and eight through nine says something really cool. Second, Peter, chapter three, three through six says, knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days walking according to their own lusts. So God already knows that in the last days, especially the days we live in right before Christ’s coming.
Speaker 2
There are going to be people that scoff and mock at the Bible. God already knows that they’re going to walk according to their own lust. They want to do whatever they want to do. They don’t feel that they need a God to answer to in verse four and saying, where is the promise of his coming? Oh yeah. For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. For this they willingly are ignorant. Or they forget that by the word of God, the heavens were of old, the earth standing out of the water, in the water by which the world that then existed perished being flooded with water. So they don’t want to know anything about creation, about the flood. They’re like, we don’t care. And so they willingly just don’t put it in their mind. And verses six through eight says something interesting. So it says, by which the world that then existed perished being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with one day the Lord is as a thousand years and thousand years as one day.
Speaker 2
And the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness. So God is extending the time. It’s taking a while because he wants to make sure his judgment is righteous judgment, and he will punish those who are worthy of punishment at the last time. But verse nine is really key here. It says, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some count slackness, the end of our faith, that eternal life. God is not slack concerning it. He will give you eternal life if you hold on to Him through faith. But God is long suffering toward us, not just you and I, but to those atheists too, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And so, while you’re going through this hard time and you’re hearing the criticism of these people, understand that this is a trial that is good for you, in that it is testing your genuine faith and helping you to grow and have stronger faith. Just like a muscle you need to exercise it. But it’s also a beautiful opportunity that even in the face of criticism and ridicule, you can demonstrate to these people the love of God and the patience of Christ.
Speaker 2
And you see know the most clear picture of Christ on the cross when they were crucifying Him. And Jesus says, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Jesus never uttered an angry word. Jesus never made an attack. He was always loving, he was always gentle, he was always kind. And it was that love and that kindness that converted so many souls to his kingdom. Even the thief on the cross couldn’t help but recognize divinity in Christ, in his love. And even on the cross, Jesus was working to save others. And so that’s the love of God and that’s the faith in Christ that God wants to put in you. And I just pray that you don’t see this as this persecution that you might be going through as a bad thing. In the sense that, oh, why is God letting this happen to me? But rather that God is allowing this for a greater purpose in your life. Because God has a beautiful plan for you and he wants to see your faith grow and he wants to see you being used for his glory, for the good of others and to expand his kingdom.
Speaker 2
So I hope that answers your question and I hope that you are blessed and that you continue to walk with Christ and don’t give up on your faith because it’s definitely something worth fighting for. So, Jay or Wendy, anything else on that one?
Speaker 1
That was beautifully put and I could not agree more with it. I mean, I’ve been through that experience as well. That some very formative years of my life I spent with a lot of people who are atheists and agnostic and God prevailed in my life and I went and searched everything and really dug into the science and everything and I realized they were wrong, they were deceived, confused, they just didn’t know the truth. And God will prevail.
Speaker 3
As I said in other videos, as the Bible says, fool in his heart says there’s no God. And I believe they’re saying these people have a heart problem and as long as we try to attack it as an intellectual issue, we will always fail. And we must really connect with these people heart to heart and hopefully by really seeing the love of God through us, they will be changed.
Speaker 2
Amen. Amen. And it’s funny actually the last verse I was going to share, but that goes along with this verse, is in the Book of Revelation. It talks about people that overcome and revelation twelve, verses ten through twelve. And I’ll just summarize it saying basically that Satan is trying to accuse God’s people and attack them. And in verse eleven it says, and they overcame Him, God’s people. We can overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. Basically what God wants us to do is hold on to Him by faith. And don’t forget that we can overcome these things by the blood of the Lamb. It’s only through Christ and his strength and his salvation, his gift of salvation, and by the word of our testimony, us speaking, what has God done for us in our lives? Because nobody can negate that. I can tell you miracles that God has done. And it’s like you can’t speak to that because this is a supernatural thing and you can dismiss it all you want or say, oh, the science, blah, blah, blah. But this is above science. This is above these things because it’s my personal experience, and there’s nothing you can do to take that.
Speaker 1
Yeah, we have a comment from Olivia that is very fitting here. Olivia says God is very real because he answers prayer in very specific ways. I could not agree more. That was one of the key ways that God showed me that he was real, was showing up in ways that were meaningful to me, very specific. And nobody else would know, just between God and I. So sometimes you just know.
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In His Service
BibleAsk Team
