PowerPoint

Jack Graham: God does not always give us the faith to escape, but he always gives us the faith and the strength to endure when we call upon him. So you keep running the race.

Guest (Female): On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how God can renew and restore your broken dreams. Now here's Dr. Graham with his message, Enduring Faith.

Jack Graham: Now what we have learned is certain. According to Hebrews 11 and verse six, without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently seek him. God has promised a great reward to all who risk and live by faith.

And we have discovered triumphant, expectant faith stories of men and women, stalwarts of faith who identified with their God openly and publicly and lived by faith. And as a result, God gave them many victories. And God still uses faith today in our lives to give us victory in our Lord Jesus Christ. Our God has not changed. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

God is able, and he is always able to meet us when, at the point of our need, we cry out in faith to him. I love the way the writer of Hebrews, and I believe it was the Apostle Paul, writes in verse 32, "And what more shall I say? For time will fail to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets." He says, "I don't have enough time to tell you about all the rest." And then, just like a preacher, he goes on to tell us about some of the rest.

Verses 33 and 34, "who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight." That's awesome, isn't it? That's the kind of faith we want, the faith to move mountains, to be mighty in war, to be strong, to put armies to flight.

But then he says, "and others." Women, in verse 35, received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated.

Oh no. This can't be. I thought faith would move every mountain. I thought faith would heal every disease. I thought faith would enable us in every circumstance to overcome. Well, others who suffered in faith, who died in faith, never on this side seeing the reward, but only accepting the risk.

What happened here? Did their faith fail? Was their faith too small? Did God fail? It's a big question, isn't it? It's the question that many skeptics and unbelievers ask regarding our God and our faith. If God is so good, why is there death? Why is there disease? Why is there war? Why is there injustice? Why is there so much suffering? Why do people pray and seemingly their prayers are unanswered?

Maybe you've asked that question yourself. Why, God, when you received that doctor's report that you weren't expecting and that you didn't want to hear? Why you didn't get the promotion that you believed and trusted God to give you? Why your marriage is still in big trouble, even though you have prayed and prayed and worked hard in faith, believing?

Why your children have made wrong choices in their lives, even though you claimed them for Christ and you prayed their names to God so many times? Did God not answer your prayer? What about those prayers when you asked God to heal you and, or a friend or a loved one, and God didn't heal?

Was it because your faith was so small that you didn't have enough faith to believe? You believed that your circumstances would be changed, but instead they got worse. That's why we're calling this message Enduring Faith. Because God does not always give us the faith to escape, but he always gives us the faith and the strength to endure when we call upon him.

You see, we are to live, we are to die in faith, and we are at times called to suffer and to experience trials. There are times when God seemingly on this side doesn't come through, and that's when faith must endure. And I want to remind you that the faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted. Therefore, enduring faith advances through every trial.

What we read here is a summary of what the martyrs experienced as they endured in their faith. They were tortured, they were beaten, they were stretched, their skin stretched like drums. They experienced emotional and physical anguish, mockings and mistreatment. They were sawn in two. The Hebrew history would tell us, traditional history would tell us that it was Isaiah the prophet who was cut in half for his faith.

So whether you are defeating or conquering or suffering or dying, it is still by faith that we please God. The faith of a Moses or an Abraham or a Gideon or a David was not any greater than the faith of these others, these no-names, who were tortured and died destitute in faith. These also please God.

Did you know that there are Christians around the world that are still suffering today for the cause of Christ, the kingdom of God, segments of our world dying for their faith in Jesus Christ? But it is in life and death, in endurance and obedience to God, that we advance through every trial. Why? Because we know of the reward.

What these dear people knew that we need to know is that their faith sustained them and strengthened them even in the deepest, darkest times of their lives. Can you say that? Paul said it in Romans 8 and verse 18, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us." The risk, but oh, the reward.

That's the kind of faith we need today. We see it all the time in the scriptures. Some who escape and are delivered from death, others who endure and die in faith. For example, in Acts chapter 12, we read that Herod by the sword took the life of James, a disciple of Jesus. He was the first martyr among the disciples. And in the same breath of scripture, in that same paragraph, it tells us that the church prayed for Peter and Peter was delivered by an angel from prison.

Why did James die and Peter live, though Peter ultimately gave the greatest sacrifice of martyrdom for Christ? But at that point, James is martyred and murdered and Peter is set free. I'll tell you why. It's the same reason we experience in our own lives when we pray and we wonder why or what happened that our prayers seemingly weren't answered or that we didn't get our way with God. It is because God is sovereign over all the circumstances of our lives.

That king that we worship is on the throne of our lives. There are many pictures of pain in the scripture and suffering. For example, these are described as storms that roll into our lives with thunder and lightning and darkness. Or battles. Sometimes our experiences in life are like battles. They are burdens that we carry, they are battles that we fight, often spiritual warfare.

Sometimes pain is described as travail in birth, like birth pains and the struggle of birth. And then pain is described and the endurance that is necessary in the Bible as a race. Paul spoke of finishing the course and winning the race of life. And that's exactly what we see here in Hebrews chapter 11, that therefore in chapter 12, verse one, "therefore since we are encompassed by so great a cloud of witnesses."

Who are these witnesses? These are the examples of faith that have gone before us, and we listen to them as they have been cheering us on with their own faith. And in their endurance and steadfastness, we are encouraged. "You can make it," they say. "You can live through this, even though your heart is breaking, even though you wonder if you can make it through another day." God will see you through. God will get you through. So you keep running the race. Keep running the race.

Guest (Male): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message Enduring Faith. Be sure to sign up to receive Dr. Graham's daily video devotional on the seven words from the cross. This powerful study will remind you of the sacrifice Jesus made so that we can be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to God. Dr. Graham will share a short devotional about the final words that Jesus spoke from the cross and what they mean to us today. To sign up, text CROSS to 59789. It's absolutely free to join, so text CROSS to 59789.

Right now you have an incredible opportunity to help someone experience the hope and truth of Jesus Christ. And thanks to an exciting $150,000 matching grant, your gifts this month will be doubled to help proclaim God's word even farther through PowerPoint Ministries. And as our way of saying thank you, we'd love to send you Dr. Graham's book, Help, a powerful resource showing you how Jesus meets you in your struggles with strength, comfort, and hope. Text MAR to 59789 to give today. Again, that's MAR to 59789. Now, let's get back to today's message, Enduring Faith.

Jack Graham: The purpose in life, if you're a follower of Jesus, if you're trekking with Jesus, is to be conformed to the image of God's son, to be made more and more like Jesus and to be prepared for eternity with Jesus. That's what life is about. And so that's why we read down in chapter 12, verse 6, and the verses that follow there in the chapter regarding the discipline of the Lord.

The writer says something like this: don't despise, don't think lightly of the discipline of the Lord, because if you're under harsh discipline, demanding trials, if the race is difficult right now, know that God loves you and you may be chastened or corrected because he is simply making you more like Jesus, more conformable to him. But this is true: "I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans for your welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

And that is why we should focus not on why when we're in the trials, but to focus on God and what we need to be learning and how we should be listening in times like these. Don't allow suffering and pain and difficulty in your life to define your life. Let Jesus and your love of God and your love for people that he loves define your life. No matter what.

And this is why we say enduring faith not only advances through every trial, but it anticipates a heavenly reward. This race requires exertion. This race requires perseverance. Look at Hebrews chapter 12 and verse one, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with," what's that word, "endurance the race that is set before us." The endurance to go the distance.

And this race not only requires this endurance and obedience and sacrifice to win, we must be willing to lay aside every weight, anything that holds us back or slows us down, anything in our lives that keeps us from progressing. Paul said, "Everything in life, all things are lawful for me," 1 Corinthians 6:12, "but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything."

If there's anything in my life that is enslaving me or not helpful or expedient to get me going forward, I need to remove it from my life in order that Christ may be glorified. And if I don't remove it, God will move in and cut it away, just like he prunes a vine. And it's very hurtful when the vinedresser comes and prunes a vine, but it always brings more fruit and a new season of growth.

And that may be what God is doing in your life as you are enduring some things. And you don't know when it will end. It's one of the worst things, isn't it? You just don't know when it's going to be over, if it's ever going to be over. And yet you keep enduring. Why? Because enduring faith accepts a glorious savior. Looking unto Jesus, who is the author and the finisher, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Now listen to me. The perfect example of faith is not Moses or Gideon or father Abraham or Abel or Enoch, any of the greats and near-greats that we've talked about, even these no-names who suffered so much for the cause of Christ, for the cause of our God. But the most perfect example of faith, there's no perfect example of faith except one, and his name is Jesus.

He is the perfecter and the completer of our faith. And what that means, are you listening? What that means is that this one who endured the cross and despised the shame, since he also suffered, Simon Peter said, we also should follow in his steps. We should follow in his steps.

Several years ago, the WWJD craze went through the church. What would Jesus do? Well, I tell you what Jesus would do. There are many times we don't know what Jesus would do, but there's one time for sure we know what Jesus did, and that is he carried the cross all the way to Golgotha, and he endured the cross for the joy that was set before him, and the humiliation and the death and the horror and the torture of the cross. Jesus endured it, and therefore we also should follow in his steps.

That's why Jesus said, "If you're going to follow me, take up your cross and follow me." Now, when Jesus began talking like this on several occasions, Jesus brought this hard message, this hard message of sacrifice and endurance. And when it happened, many people went away and said, "We don't want any of that. Give me the conquering army side. Give me the delivered from the mouths of lions."

But not the torture, not the mistreatment, not the death, not the suffering, not the pain. But if you want to be like Jesus, you must be willing to endure even as Jesus has endured. And you say, "Well, I'm not that strong." Certainly you're not. That's why you need Jesus. And faith believes in a God who is able to get you through when you can't get through on your own. It's not faith in faith. It's not faith in yourself. It's not faith in your church, but faith in Christ and Christ alone.

He perfectly trusted the Father to do God's will. And we see that throughout his life as he lived under the shadow of the cross and persevered. Hebrews 5:8 says, "Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered." Jesus set his face towards the cross, and thus when he rode into the city of Jerusalem on the back of a donkey that Palm Sunday, it was for the joy set before him, knowing fully what he would face, praying in the garden, sweating blood, travailing with his disciples in that last supper, beaten and scourged, crowned with thorns, punished beyond measure, flogged, nailed to a cross, crying out to God, "My God, my God, why would you forsake me?" because there's something about pain that seems to isolate us from God, and we wonder if God is even there.

Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 16:21. "From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised." So yes, Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame. It was a shameful way to die, to die as a common criminal. He died among thieves. He died in nakedness and shamefulness, bearing the sin of the world.

But the God-man in faith, the man Christ Jesus, is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Only Jesus could take a cross and turn it into a throne. The risk, but oh, the reward. For the joy set before him. He's King of kings and Lord of lords, and though he endured the cross, he is now exalted. Hebrews 2:9, "But we see him for a little while he was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone." This is why he died, to experience death and the wages of sin and the breakage of death and the pain of suffering for you and for me.

So the key to faith that unlocks the door of life is to look to Jesus and him only. So the answer to the big question, why? If God is so good, why do all these bad things happen to good people and God's people? The answer to the why question is a who: Jesus. The why is Jesus. If you know Jesus, you can endure any what in your life. If you know Jesus, you can deal with any how in your life. "How am I going to do this?" Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of your faith.

Guest (Male): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message Enduring Faith. I want you to know that right now your support goes even farther to help share the hope of Jesus with people around the world. Thanks to a generous $150,000 matching grant, every gift this month will be doubled to help proclaim God's word through PowerPoint Ministries. That means you'll help reach even more people who desperately need truth, encouragement, and the gospel. And as a heartfelt thank you for your generous gift this month, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Help, to remind you that you are not alone. Your pain is not unseen and God's peace is real. Text MAR to 59789 to have your gift doubled and request your copy today. Again, text MAR to 59789.

Be sure to sign up to receive Dr. Graham's daily video devotional on the seven words from the cross. This powerful study will remind you of the sacrifice Jesus made so that we can be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to God. Dr. Graham will share a short devotional about the final words that Jesus spoke from the cross and what they mean to us today. To sign up, just text CROSS to 59789. It's absolutely free to join, so text CROSS to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: It's absolutely essential that you have the right perspective on your faith. Some people mistakenly believe that when they begin walking in faith, they're no longer going to have problems, they're no longer going to suffer. And yet the writer of Hebrews tells us that there are heroes of faith who God commends for having such great faith that they endured through very painful, difficult, life-threatening, torturous experiences.

Now, some people look at the people in Hebrews 11 who were tortured and imprisoned and cut in half and wonder, what's going on here? Did God fail? Or did these men and women's faith fail? And maybe for you, things have gone from bad to worse in your life in spite of your prayers, in spite of your faith, and you're wondering, why is this happening? Is there something wrong with my faith? Is my faith not good enough? Is it too small?

Well, I want you to listen very closely because this is very important in your walk of faith. Sometimes the faith that God gives us is to help us through the trial and to endure life's tribulations, not to escape them. Again, to endure them by faith, not to escape them by faith. So if God hasn't released you from hardship, you may mistakenly think that he isn't coming through on your behalf. But in reality, God is working. He is stretching. He's wanting you to endure by faith every difficulty because there is the ultimate hope of a reward that is beyond anything that you could expect in this life.

The sufferings, Paul said, of the present world, the tribulations that we face are not worthy of the glory that is coming our way. It's exactly what that great pastor and Bible teacher Warren Wiersbe says: God's purpose isn't to make you comfortable but to make you conformable. That is so very true. God's ultimate purpose is to transform you into the image of Jesus and prepare you for eternity.

So what should you do when you experience agonizing difficulties? I want you to remember the people in Hebrews 11, those heroes of faith who pleased God through enduring faith. Faith that suffered and stretched its way forward, trusting God to strengthen you and to walk with you through life's darkest days and nights. And regardless of the outcome, whether you live or die, whether you see victory in this life or not, whether the situation changes or stays the same, keep trusting in God and he will honor you as an enduring soldier of the cross.

Guest (Male): And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Help. Just text MAR to 59789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about the incredible dreams God has for your life. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.