{"id":3595,"date":"2023-09-22T21:49:06","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T21:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/?p=3595"},"modified":"2023-09-23T01:32:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-23T01:32:56","slug":"words-for-those-waiting-for-his-rescue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/2023\/09\/22\/words-for-those-waiting-for-his-rescue\/","title":{"rendered":"Words for Those Waiting for His Rescue"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Greatest Threat to our Life<\/strong><\/p>\n

We just heard a rousing sermon Sunday from Pastor Jacob titled, \u201cThe Cry of Faith: Help my Unbelief\u201d from Mark 9:14-29. One of the early takeaways from the sermon was this, \u201cUnbelief is the greatest threat of your life!\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you believe that?<\/p>\n

In our heart of hearts, I suspect many of us think of that statement with the same sort of perplexity the crowd likely had hearing Jesus\u2019 first words to the paralyzed man, \u201cMy son, your sins are forgiven,\u201d<\/em> (Mark 2:5).<\/p>\n

Perhaps they thought, “Forgiven sins? Jesus, this man needs miraculous healing \u2013 a rescue from paralysis.” In this case, the obvious rescue came quickly. As we know, Jesus said a few moments later, \u201cI say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home,\u201d<\/em> (Mark 2:11). We see the instantaneous results, \u201cAnd he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were amazed and glorified God, saying, \u2018We never saw anything like this!\u201d<\/em> (Mark 2:12). Don\u2019t miss though the purpose statement of why Jesus said, \u201cyour sins are forgiven\u201d and then spoke the healing. Just a verse before Jesus uttered those powerful words of healing, He stated the purpose behind it all, \u201c\u2026that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

That was the crux of everything at that moment. The paralyzed man, his friends, the questioning scribes, and the larger crowd needed to know and believe in Jesus\u2019 identity and purpose. They needed to know and believe Jesus was the Son of Man who had authority to forgive sins. This was more crucial than the physical need for rescue from paralysis. There was ignorance and unbelief in Jesus at work, and therefore an eternal need for rescue.<\/p>\n

We may admittedly think, \u201cYeah, I have issues with unbelief in my life, but it pales in comparison to the life-altering trials I\u2019m currently enduring.\u201d However, unbelief is a root buried under all of our sins, it robs us of our joy in Christ, it can quench the Spirit\u2019s power and work in our lives, and it blunts our maturity in the faith. For those who are not born-again believers, unbelief in Jesus is the urgent and eternal barrier that must be overcome by the grace of God. Whether we\u2019ve believed in Christ or not, unbelief is the crucial, foundational point from which we all need rescue. We must come to the point of knowing that God through Christ and by His Spirit is both powerful enough and that it\u2019s His gracious will to ultimately rescue us.<\/p>\n

Fighting Against Unbelief as we Wait on His Rescue<\/strong><\/p>\n

But how do we fight against unbelief and seasons of doubt in our lives as we endure trials, especially when His rescue seems to delay?<\/p>\n

Again, Pastor Jacob gave some great points of application I want to highlight and expand on a bit.<\/p>\n

1) Realize we\u2019re in a spiritual battle, so we desperately need God.<\/strong> When we realize that for non-believers there is a war going on for their souls, then we realize how much we need Jesus to intervene. As believers, when we recognize that a war\u2019s being waged to distract and tempt us to mar the name of Christ and His bride, and to divide and neutralize our effectiveness through depression, demoralization, moral failure, and false teaching- then we understand we desperately need God.<\/p>\n

2) Recognize that as we\u2019re needy for Jesus\u2019 help we can be His instrument to help others. <\/strong>God works mightily through those who know they need Him and rely on Him. This makes sense since we\u2019re made to glorify Him and help others find their greatest joy is found in Him. Sometimes our moment of realizing our greatest need for God can be a moment of fruitful work. That\u2019s because in that moment, we\u2019ll be less likely to bring any credit or glory to ourselves. As believers, we all have an opportunity to point others to the ways we\u2019ve seen God\u2019s faithfulness in our own difficult seasons and to comfort them with His comfort we\u2019ve received directly and through others. This stepping out in faith to bless others is a way to fight against doubts and despair when our own trials are raging and our rescue is delayed.<\/p>\n

3) Recognize God is working in our waiting. <\/strong>Sometimes with delays, it\u2019s easy to feel God has forgotten us, or isn\u2019t willing or able to rescue us. Biblically though, this we see lots of delays in God\u2019s timing.<\/p>\n