“THE SIFTING OF OUR FAITH"

6/2/2015: “THE SIFTING OF OUR FAITH"

From: The Official Rebecca Brown Page

Jesus said: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. and when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

But Peter replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death."

Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me." From Luke 22:31-34

My Brothers and Sisters, I believe this is a message you need from God if you feel your faith is slipping away. It seems to say: "You can be a winner, but you will fail." Is this not the message that Jesus spoke to Peter here? Does it not discourage and smother the enthusiasm to make yourself available for God's ministry, if Satan can ask to sift your faith? Towards Peter, Jesus said: "You will deny that you know me." But, does this not also pertain to those who are already serving in the various ministry fields around the world right now? Yes, I have to speak even to myself as the writer of this article! Do we even know what we are letting ourselves in for, if we can be sifted?

We need to look deeper. This Bible message radiates the love and concern Jesus has for His disciples, His followers and for us today. A love that does not hide the truth of the reality of temptation and failure. It radiates a concern that is prepared to intercede before God for a fallen friend. Let us look at two aspects.

THE OVERESTIMATION OF OUR OWN ABILITIES!.

Jesus says: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat." Jesus uses the analogy of wheat harvesting to highlight a very important truth. Wheat was cut with a sickle, bundled in sheaves and then later threshed on a floor. It was then thrown into the air so that the light chaff would be blown away by the wind while the grain would land on the ground. The last stage consisted of throwing the wheat that fell onto the soil into a sieve. This was then shaken vigorously so that the dirty parts would fall through and leave the wheat kernels in the sieve. It was a vigorous process.

Jesus said that Satan has asked, even demanded to have you, to sift you. Satan is a reality, but a reality that is not on the same level as God. He has to ask for permission, he cannot just do what he wants. Satan is the prosecutor in court. He is the one who makes the wrong doings known before the judge. He is the one who accuses us before God" "Look at these people who call themselves Christians and yet they cheat and covet, they gossip, backbite, sell slander as a ministry, and are greedy. If it comes to the crunch, they will try to save their own skin. In essence, they are unreliable. Let go of them. Throw them out, they are not real Christians" is what he accuses the Brethren of.

Jesus says the time will come when you will be severally shaken. You will feel as if everything is out of control, as if you are thrown to and fro, when things will seem upside down. Heart wrenching times of testing where your faith in God is stretched to the limit. Times when you ask yourself whether the message of a God who is supposed to be all loving and in control is real. Times when thing that happen don't seem to make any sense.

Peter was prepared to suffer and even die with Jesus. How many of us are prepared to commit our whole lives, even to the point of suffering and death for the cause of Jesus? I believe Peter was sincere, since he experienced many amazing things with Jesus.

Maybe we have also experienced many things with Jesus. How He has helped us, guided us and blessed us. How he gave us joy and freed us from sin. But maybe along the line we also started to rely on our own gifts and mental abilities, our skills and capabilities, our possessions and health, our power and ability to prevail. And yet, it can happen that you find yourself poor and naked, when you fell into temptation. It can happen when you made wrong moral judgement, through the abuse of power, the temptation of an extramarital relationship, or when you become addicted to something, or start resisting God's call on your life. Faith can also be rattled through suffering. It does not have to be your own suffering, which makes you doubt, but the suffering of others. That was the case with Peter. The suffering of Jesus shook him severely. Does our faith have the strength to persevere in such cases? Do we overestimate our own abilities?

We ask ourselves, even cry out to God WHY, WHY, WHY? My child died, my spouse has cancer. God I have a broken clavicle bone, why won't You touch me and heal it? WHY? My finances are in the pits, my family is not saved, yet I have prayed and prayed to you, WHY? LORD WHY? You have prayed for a job, for healing in yours or a family member's life yet nothing is happening. Now most of your Christian friends blame you for not having enough faith. But we can and always will be asking these questions of WHY to God!

Often these situations make us realize, if we are honest enough with ourselves, that our power over things and the control over life is less than we are ready to admit. We overestimate our own abilities and experience how we are severely shaken, and sometimes even shattered. Then our faith becomes weaker and weaker.

THE UNDERESTIMATION OF THE INTERSESSION POWER OF JESUS!

Our faith is sometimes like the fireworks on New Year's Eve; lovely to see at a celebration, but short lived. It flares up for a short time, but is burnt our quickly. Yet, there is someone who remains faithful to us, even when we are unfaithful to Him. Jesus said: "I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail."

In this intercession and promise of Jesus. The point is not that Peter will not have to face temptation, or the fear of death. He still had to undergo the shattering incident where he denied knowing Jesus; where he had to face the dark side in his life. The point is that Jesus remains faithful to Peter even when he goes astray and even intercedes for him during such turbulent times. Jesus knows the fallibility of Peter and knows that he will deny Him three times. Jesus, in effect is saying: "Not only Satan, the accuser, is presenting your case before God, but I myself am defending you before My Father. My intercession limits the accusations of the devil." Jesus intercedes so that the faith of Peter, the relationship with God will continue and not fail. Therefore Jesus says: "Do not look at your own abilities, or at y our own failures, since I hold onto you in spite of them. The faith you have in yourself you will lose, but I intercede to the Father, that your trust in HIM will remain and continue."

Peter did experience this crisis. He feared for his life and said: "I do not know this Jesus." But when the cock crowed, he was shocked back to reality and had to cry bitterly, since he realized that he deserted his Master.

Even we Christians experience crises in faith; through giving in to temptation, or when we are too scared to admit that we are Christians. And yet, there is someone who does not believe in separation. There is someone who doesn't give up on us but proclaims: "I do not leave you when you take leave from me. I know you even when you say that you do no longer know me. I even intercede for you. You and I belong together." Can you imagine, or even fathom that Jesus intercedes for you and me before His Father? Maybe you have given up on your faith life deep down inside a long time ago, and yet Jesus hasn't given up on you. He prays for you continuously. Can you imagine that Jesus says to you personally: "I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail!" Jesus Himself is the guarantor that this faith will not fail, that the relationship will last forever. The reason why we can repent; and can return to God is this calling, this intercession and this promise of Jesus

Jesus' intercession is like a net, like a sieve that holds us so that we will not fall through. The sieve allows the dirt to fall through -- our sins, but holds onto the kernels -- us. His intercessions shows Satan's limitations. He may shake us, but no-one can snatch us out of Jesus' hands except ourselves through continued living with unconfessed and unforgiven sin. Do you trust Jesus? Do we really trust Jesus? Since we got disillusioned by our own abilities we often underestimate Jesus' abilities and strength. We take on an attitude of: no-one can help me, not even God. Satan wants us to believe that, but that is not true. Jesus, as we have read in God's Word, can sympathize with our weakness, with our temptations because He was human Himself. Yet, He is now our High Priest, the one who intercedes for us and who even gave up Himself on the cross so that the penalty for sin is paid in full. He has reconciled us to God. Ass we need to do is to turn back, hand ourselves over and accept His grace, make it our own, time and again.

Could it be that you first have to experience some sort of doubt before you even know what deep faith really means? Could that experience be an enrichment? Could the faith after the doubt be that much stronger? When and as your faith started returning and maturing again, did you not experience something which can benefit others? We read that Jesus said that Peter must strengthen his brothers when he turned back to God. Isn't it amazing that God can bring about something good from our failures? THE BIGGEST MUCK IN YOUR LIFE, JESUS CAN USE AS FERTILIZER. The grace experienced by Peter should strengthen and encourage others to turn back to God and to entrust themselves to Jesus once again.

Our failures are not to become an excuse or an alibi -- this is just how we as humans are, it is what we use to cover up our failures. And no, this is not what is meant by this message. But it should encourage us not to rely on our own abilities, but on Him who in spite of our failures takes us back into His service. "I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU, THAT YOUR FAITH MAY NOT FAIL," Jesus says to you and me. Let us trust and keep this promise an serve Him where ever He has called us to serve. Through this we may know for sure that the Lord who has called us, will carry us, pick us up when we fall, and see us through.

In the life of a Christian you will experience trials and temptations and even failures. Especially when we overestimate our own abilities. Maybe you are in that crisis right now. Maybe you experience the future as a trial; you do not know what to do anymore. Maybe you have failed God more than once in another area of your life and you try to hide it. How do you deal with such a situation? "THE MORE YOU WRESTLE WITH THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER, THE DIRTIER YOU GET." When we hide it, I find it is another one of the reasons why Satan is allowed to sift us. But Jesus steers our hearts towards Himself and promises us that we will not fall out of the sieve. He Himself intercedes for us before His Father: "I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU, THAT YOUR FAITH MAY NOT FAIL." Let us not underestimate this promise of Jesus. This promise given us security, gives us courage, gives us hope and liberates us to live our lives with and for Him. May we trust these words during time of trials and temptations? Are you going to rely on your own abilities or are you going to entrust yourself fully to Jesus and His promises? Maybe for the first time, maybe for the second time, maybe even for the next 100 times. Are you willing to heed His call?

Are you prepared to proclaim this promise of Jesus, as being a true and reliable word of God to those who are experiencing doubt, loss of faith and are being shaken by events and suffering in their lives as they are being sifted by Satan to destroy what little faith they still might have? Remember what Jesus said, "AND WHEN YOU HAVE TURNED BACK, STRENGTHEN YOUR BROTHERS." It is time to finally strengthen the FAMILY OF GOD!

Again, my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, just like Peter, Satan is petitioning God at this very moment to sift your faith and the faith of every living Christian. Now you can take the same promise of Jesus as He spoke it in Peter's life, "I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU, THAT YOUR FAITH MAY NOT FAIL!" Jesus is not saying it won't fail, He is saying "THAT IT MAY NOT FAIL" or shouldn't fail, but we are human and at times our faith will fail us when we need it the most. Don't let Satan sift your FAITH, or the other Christians in your life, to the place where he has stolen it forever! Start asking Jesus to intercede on your behalf, as He has promised He would do! Also start sharing and teaching other Christians this principle!

A RIGHTEOUS WARRIOR FOR THE MOST HIGH GOD!

Daniel Yoder.