The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, Classic Version, 2015Sample

Faith and Weakness

John Stott was one of the great Christian leaders of the twentieth century. On one occasion he was speaking at a university mission in Sydney, Australia. On the last night of the mission he was thinking of pulling out of speaking since, as a result of an infection, he had virtually lost his voice.

Eventually, he was persuaded to speak. Waiting in the side room beforehand, he whispered a request that the words of the ‘thorn in the flesh’ verses from 2 Corinthians 12 be read to him. The conversation between Jesus and Paul came alive.

John (Paul): ‘I beg you to take it away from me.’
Jesus: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’
John (Paul): ‘I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me … for when I am weak, then I am strong.’

John Stott records what happened: ‘When the time came for the address, all I can say is that I croaked the gospel through the microphone in a monotone. I was utterly unable to modulate my voice or exert my personality in any way. But all the while I was crying to the Lord to fulfil his promise to perfect his power through my weakness.’

He went back to Australia seven or eight times after that, and on every occasion somebody came up to him and said, ‘Do you remember that final service in the University Great Hall, when you had lost your voice? I came to Christ that night.’

As someone who is very aware of my own weaknesses, I find it encouraging that when we feel weak we are not alone. In each of the passages for today, we see something about the interrelationship between faith and human weakness. 

Psalm 59:1-8

1. Faith and opposition

God is our strength in times of difficulty. Belief in God is not the recipe for an easy life. In fact, the reverse is the case. Those who put their faith in God are likely to face all kinds of opposition.

David’s life was under threat. Saul had sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him. He finds himself surrounded by ‘enemies ... mutineers ... dirty tricks ... hit men ... desperadoes ... ambush ... they’re after me, determined to get me’ (vv.1–4, MSG).

Yet in the midst of this, David prays, ‘Rescue me ...’ (vv.1,2, MSG) and has total confidence that the Lord can and will deliver him (v.8). Later in the psalm, twice David calls on God: ‘O my Strength’ (vv.9,17).

The reason that David was under attack was not because of his own sin. He is able to say, ‘I did nothing to deserve this, God, crossed no one, wronged no one’ (v.4, MSG). Of course, we know from the account of David’s life that there were times when he did wrong, (see, for example, 2 Samuel 11). However, on this occasion, the opposition did not arise from his own sin.

This psalm is a reminder to us that we can cry out to God for help in times of personal difficulties. David prays a personal prayer, ‘Arise to help me; look on my plight’ (Psalm 59:4b). We can also cry out to God for help at times of international crisis. The very next sentence is a prayer for the nation (v.5a). At whatever level the opposition appears, we can ask the Lord for his deliverance, help and intervention.

O my Strength, help us to trust you in times of difficulty and opposition, both personally and as a nation. Deliver us from those who oppose your plans.

John 6:25-59

2. Faith and emptiness

Jesus taught about the centrality of faith. When asked ‘ “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” ’ (vv.28–29).  

When they asked for bread from heaven, Jesus says, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’ (v.35). As Joyce Meyer points out, we are called, primarily, ‘believers’, not ‘achievers’. The way we achieve is by first believing.

When we are physically hungry we crave food. But as well as physical needs we have spiritual needs and a spiritual hunger. Faith in Jesus fills the emptiness we experience and satisfies our spiritual hunger for purpose, permanence and pardon.

• Purpose
  Physical bread is not enough. Material things alone do not satisfy. Money, homes, cars, success and even human relationships do not satisfy our desire for ultimate purpose in life.  

The bread that does satisfy is the ‘bread of life’. This is not a commodity that Jesus supplies. He is the gift and the giver. The words, ‘I’ or ‘me’ appear thirty-five times in this discussion. ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’ (v.35).

It is easy, even once we have put our faith in Jesus, to get caught up either in material things or the trappings of religion. This passage reminds us that it is actually only a relationship with Jesus that satisfies our spiritual hunger.

The expressions, ‘Believe in me’ (v.29), ‘Come to me’ (v.35), ‘Look to the Son’ (v.40), ‘Eat my flesh and drink my blood’ (v.53 onwards) describe living in an intimately close relationship with Jesus.

• Permanence
  We are all going to die. Death is the great unmentionable reality. Jesus says this life is not the end: ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever ... I will raise them up on the last day’ (vv.51,54).

Jesus promises to raise you up at the last day and that you will live forever. You can have absolute assurance that your relationship with Jesus will outlast death.

There is both a present and a future dimension to this eternal life. They said, ‘From now on give us this bread’ (v.34). Jesus says it can be received immediately (v.35 onwards). Yet he also made clear that it will last forever (vv.50–51).

• Pardon
  Forgiveness is actually our greatest need. The atheist philosopher, Marghanita Laski, said, ‘What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness. I have no one to forgive me.’ We all want to know that we are pardoned for all that we have done wrong.

Jesus said, ‘This bread is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world’ (v.51). His blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins. Every time we receive communion, among other things, we are reminded that Jesus gave his life so that we could be forgiven.

How do we receive this bread? Jesus says, ‘I tell you the truth, whoever believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life’ (vv.47–48).  

In John’s Gospel, there is no separate account of the institution of the Eucharist (as there is in the other Gospels). Rather, we see Jesus’ teaching on the Eucharist set in the context of faith. The Eucharist is a visible sign that helps us receive Christ by faith (vv.53–58). For example, it is striking to compare verses 40 and 54.

Lord, thank you that through faith in you I have found a lasting purpose in my life, forgiveness for my sins and the promise of eternal life. Help me today to walk in a close, intimate relationship with you.

John 6:25-59

3. Faith and fallibility

As we read through the ongoing saga of the people of God sinning, crying out to the Lord and being rescued by Judges, we come across one of the most disturbing stories in the entire Bible.

Jephthah is described as a ‘mighty warrior’ (11:1). His mother was a prostitute (v.1). His half-brothers drove him away (v.2). He gathered a group of adventurers around him (v.3). He became a remarkable leader. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him (v.29), and he was used by God to secure victory over the Ammonites – ‘the Lord gave them into his hands’ (v.32).

However, there is an incident in his life that is almost unbearable to read. He made a vow to God that if God gave him victory he would sacrifice whatever came out of the door of his house to meet him upon his return. It was his daughter, his only child. And, it appears, that is what he did (vv.29–40).

It is important to note that God never asked him to make this vow. Nor did he ask him to carry out the sacrifice. Indeed, it went against all the teaching of the Old Testament, which forbade child sacrifice. Jephthah never actually seeks God’s will in this situation. It seems to be his own pride that drives him to put his reputation above the life of his daughter. This shows the fallibility of even great people of faith.

In spite of his weakness, he is listed in the book of Hebrews as one of the heroes of faith whose weakness was turned into strength (Hebrews 11:32–34).

Lord, thank you that you use fallible human beings. Forgive me for the times when I make bad choices. I need your wisdom for everything I do. Thank you for the way you use people of faith and turn their weakness into strength. Help me today to live a life of faith, trusting and believing in Jesus, who is ‘the bread of life’ (John 6:35).

Pippa Adds

Judges 10:1–11:40

We need to be careful about making promises we can’t or shouldn’t keep. It is easy to say, ‘Lord, if you get me out of this situation I’ll do x or y.’ But rash promises are not a good idea.

Notes:

John Stott quoted in, Michael P. Knowles (Ed), The Folly of Preaching (Eerdmans, 2007), pp. 137­–138

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.

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