Crisis Of Faith by Apostle Femi Lazarus: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Fighting in the Dark

The church has been enlisted to fight at a time that is night. Most of the people believers have historical reference to still fought during the day — relatively speaking. Some believers will have to fight even with the highest level of discouragement and still keep wielding the sword. If a person is introduced to Christianity without being introduced to this dimension, they will eventually reach a point where their faith may fail.

The closer Jesus got to Calvary, the fewer the men that followed him. Discouragement was the cause. By the time he was apprehended, Peter's trust was in his sword — he expected heads to roll. When Jesus put the sword back, Peter ran so fast that a servant girl later recognized and confronted him.

As believers approach the coming of Jesus, offense at him becomes a real danger.

The Crisis Knowledge Will Bring

One of the realities of the last days is that knowledge will increase — Daniel 12:4. This sounds like good news, but the nature of this knowledge is deconstructive. People will begin to take apart everything they heard in Sunday school. They will start finding out the truth, and some of what they find will raise serious questions.

A 12-year-old girl was observed online asking why the Bible seems to support the slave trade. Genesis 1:26 gives dominion over fish, birds, and every creeping thing — not over men. Yet the same Bible instructs slaves to obey their masters. Something does not appear to add up.

Women's emancipation becomes a question. Marriage vows that include obedience become a question. And from there, people arrive at the concept of "my truth" — a personalized version of reality that replaces the one objective truth the Bible points to.

Questions That Must Be Faced

These are questions the church must be prepared to answer honestly:

• Only Christians go to heaven — but what about the billions who lived in centuries before technology spread the gospel? What about those in unreached tribes even now?
• What if a person was born in Qatar into a wealthy Muslim family? Most people became Christian because their parents were. What does that say about the exclusivity of salvation?
• What is hellfire actually like? Is it perpetual, conscious burning? Is it proportional? Why does someone who died in the 1500s burn alongside someone who dies today for the same sin?
• What happens to babies who die? To lost pregnancies?
• When are believers going to heaven? Is the rapture real? What is the proof Jesus is coming back after 2,000 years of expectation?
• Heaven with mansions — but some theologians argue there are no physical mansions; Jesus is the building. What exactly awaits?
person
Apostle Femi Lazarus
Enjoying this sermon? Browse more messages by Apostle Femi Lazarus on Faith at ReadSermons.
library_books More Sermons

Questions are not the enemy of faith. The problem is when knowledge is false — it destroys theology and distorts orientation.

God Is Not Threatened by Questions

Thomas, one of the twelve, said he would not believe Jesus had risen unless he personally touched the nail marks and put his hand into the wound in his side. John 20:24-29

Jesus did not react with rage. He did not threaten Thomas. He appeared, addressed him directly, and invited him to do exactly what he had demanded. Thomas responded: "My Lord and my God."

God is not threatened by questions. Your faith does not make him more. Your unbelief does not make him less. He is the I Am that I Am.

Then Jesus added something that speaks directly to every generation that follows: blessed are those who have not seen yet believe. That is the generation of the church that must carry faith without physical proof.

What Is the Proof?

The challenge lands here: a person is putting their entire life — their choices, their values, their future — on the testimony of men who lived 2,000 years ago, about a man who died at 33 and supposedly rose from the dead. How does that hold up under scrutiny?

The answer begins with the distinction between subjective and objective truth.

Subjective truth is personal — "I feel this color is gray." A person may define their gender according to their own perception. That is their truth.

Objective truth operates independently of what anyone feels. When a ball is thrown upward, it returns to earth at 9.8 m/s². That does not change based on how anyone feels about it. Objective truth can be brought into argument. Subjective truth cannot.

The question then is whether the resurrection of Jesus is a matter of subjective preference or objective historical fact — and the answer is that it is one of the most well-attested events in ancient history.

Faith as Substance, Not Escape

Hebrews 11:1

Faith is not a way of escaping reality. Faith is the substance of things hoped for — it has weight. It is the evidence of things not seen — evidence is a legal and rational term, not a mystical one.

The last days began from the day of Pentecost. Joel 2:28, quoted by Peter in Acts 2, was declared fulfilled on that day. The church has been in the last days for 2,000 years. How many years did Noah cry about the flood before water came?

The length of the wait does not invalidate the promise.