How to overcome the barriers that hinder our walk with Christ

There are many things in this life that Christians must encounter in their walk with Jesus. All of them are either handholds or hindrances to faith. That is to say, all of them will either cause us to look to Jesus for help, guidance, reassurance, strength, courage, and a host of other needs that come from living in the midst of untenable circumstances or they will cause doubt, fear, frustration, antipathy, anger, resentment and many other excuses why we can’t go forward with Christ. The choice is ours. We have the opportunity to stay faithful or to abandon faith.

There are some roadblocks to faith that are common to every person who strives to follow Christ. From Matthew 14:22-33 we read the story of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. However, in the midst of this story are clear examples of real roadblocks and the means by which we can overcome.

Roadblock #1 – A Faulty View of Jesus

While the disciples fought through the night against the buffeting winds as they tried to cross the sea, they looked and noticed a figure upon the water. “During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear” (Matthew 14:25-26).

Understandably, they were in the midst of a storm and no one, ever, had walked upon water up to this point! What else were they to think? But to use this as the first example, I want to point out that there are many people in the midst of storms who only see Jesus as some apparition – a ghost like companion who has no power to do much more than walk past and observe. With a faulty view of Jesus we descend into a failed faith.

I wonder what would have happened in the boat if there was one person who, before Jesus mentioned anything, would have said, “Oh, wait! That’s Jesus! We’re going to be just fine.” Jesus, Himself, asks the question: “Who do you say that I am?” (from Matthew 16:15). This is critical—and the most important reality—to have a correct view of Jesus, a view built from His own revelation of Himself.

Solution to Roadblock #1 – A Correct View of Jesus

What did Jesus do? He cried out: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (v. 27). It’s not a ghost; it’s not an apparition; it is the Lord Jesus Christ who walks upon the water. It is impossible to have a view of Jesus that lends itself to accurate faith if that view is only built upon the foolish and failed understanding of human reason.

There is only one place to gain a correct view of Jesus Christ and that is the Word of God. Yet, how many Christians place their faith in their own understanding? Do not trust anyone’s thoughts of Jesus Christ who does not draw their understanding from the Word of God—including your own.

Roadblock #2 – A Fearful View of Circumstances

After they understood it was Jesus on the water, and Peter stepped out of the boat at the Lord’s command, Peter looked around at where he was. “Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” (Matthew 14:29-30).

Again, it’s understandable that Peter would be disquieted by the fact that he was walking upon the water. Who wouldn’t be! But, as the nature of all endeavors that require faith in Jesus Christ, the moment he took his eyes off of the Savior and placed them upon the environment around him, he became afraid and began to sink.

Isn’t that the way most of us go? The life that God has called us to live is not measured by our own skills and expertise, but by the requirements of faith—a faith that rests upon the power and person of Christ Jesus. He does not call us because we are already built for such-and-such a task. Peter was a fisherman, aware of the water and knew how to swim. He did not have the means of his own to walk upon the water! What God is looking for are those who are willing to step out of the boat of personal comfort and security and trust Him by faith in obedience to His commands.

Solution to Roadblock #2 – A Confident Reliance on Jesus

As Peter began sinking into the depths of the sea, his only recourse was to cry out to the one who was still walking on the water. It might seem a bit obvious, but there were other options. He could have tried to rely on his own strength and swim back to the boat. He could have begged for help from the others in the boat. He could have just let himself drown in despair, perhaps even blaming Jesus for calling him onto the water in the first place. He didn’t do any of those things – he simply cried out to the only One who could save him.

Even in the midst of the most difficult circumstances, when God calls you to the impossible, you can have absolute confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. All of us have found ourselves called by God to the impossible, and many of us have tried to do what God has given us in our own strength and wisdom. Then, when the way is rough, the storms are strong and the winds are against us, we tend to turn to human ingenuity to stay above the circumstances. For example, God has called us to evangelize the world through the preaching of the gospel and discipling believers. When the way gets rough and people don’t respond – even becoming hostile – we change tactics. We turn to clever schemes and worldly strategies to do God’s work. Instead, we must simply cry out to Jesus and walk with Him as He holds us up above water.

These two roadblocks are common to everyone. You’re not alone. But the solutions are simple if you’re willing to take them to heart. Walking in faith with Christ Jesus means you must know Him as He has revealed Himself and you will have to trust Him and His word, even when the circumstances around you demand that you abandon all hope.

©2015 Michael Duncan

For further reading on learning to walk by faith in Jesus Christ, pick up the workbook: Starting Out: A Study Guide for New Believers available here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1482694328

Oh the agony of defeat!

Israel, in their war against the Philistines, suffered a great loss at the hands of their enemy. What was their solution? Bring out the ARK! Yes, that's it... the Ark of the Covenant of God remained behind in Shiloh and was brought up to the battlefield in order to defeat the Philistines.

However, there was just one problem (okay... there were many problems, but this one in particular), the Ark of God was not a talisman to be used as a means of some "magical" support from God. Here's what it said in 1 Samuel 4:3, "Why did the LORD bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the Ark of the LORD's Covenant from Shiloh, so that it may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies."

So that "IT" may save us? Really? It? Not "So that God may save us?" No, not that, we just need the Ark, we just need the talisman, we just need to look the part and then it all will happen automatically! What comes next is devastating. If they thought the battle had gone bad before, now it goes horrendously wrong.

But, my friends, don't we do the same today? Don't we simply bring out the functions of worship and the perfunctory expressions of devotion to God without any desire to seek the LORD? How many churches are missing the power of God in their great battles? How far down has our society declined in morality and virtue and the church seems powerless to change it? When was the last time someone said they had a great experience in the worship service and what they meant was a deep conviction of sin and a desperate desire to bring their lives into conformity with God and His word?

So, what do we do? We ramp up the volume and sing songs that drive the emotions so that people will have a great experience in church. We hype up the VBS and the children's programs so that it's more exciting for the kiddos and preach sermons that are more agreeable to the masses.  We “bring out the ARK” and hide behind the talisman of religious expressionism, behind the bouncy-houses and baubles, the trinkets and tricks, and never truly seek the face of God. Let's face it - the prayer meeting is dull compared to the great performances happening on many Sunday mornings! But the power of God may just be found waiting for us in the prayer meeting.

While our sermons are preached and music is sung our communities fall prey to the steady encroachment of the enemy. Instead of the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ being the power of God for the salvation of all who believe (Romans 1:16) we now must make sure we are seen as "culturally relevant" despite the fact that the culture is lost and without hope in a wicked and depraved world. Evangelism becomes more about demographic research and market analysis rather than the proclamation and presentation of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Even as Spurgeon said, “That very church which the world likes best is sure to be that which God abhors the most.”

Isn't it time that we begin to ask: "What does GOD want us to do?" Are we prepared to become so completely consecrated to the Lord Jesus that the very steps we take are ordered by the LORD? 

There is an answer - and it took Israel 20 years to get to it.  1 Samuel 7:2-4 speaks to this turn-around. In verse 3 we read, "And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, 'If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.'"

The continual strengthening of the enemies of God in our culture and our communities comes from the willingness of God's people to put aside God's ways for worldly methods. But think about it this way: If imitation is the highest form of flattery, how long will churches across our land continue to flatter the world? We imitate the culture when we need to influence it. We entertain when we must entreat. We participate in programs and plans that have no touch of the direction of God because that's what we always do - we bring out the Ark - and hope that somehow God will be motivated to respond to our expectations.

The solution has already been given above. Return to the LORD with all your hearts and divest ourselves of all worldliness and religiosity that has no mark of the direction of God. I hope and pray it will not take another 20 years for us to get there.

©2015 Michael Duncan