Faint Yet Pursuing WED 7-31-96

2 Corinthians 4, Deuteronomy chapter 20.

Deuteronomy 20 · chapter mention

Thanks for being here tonight.

We'll go quickly through some scriptures as an introductory.

2 Corinthians chapter 4 and Deuteronomy chapter 20.

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention Deuteronomy 20 · chapter mention

Let me introduce it to you and then give you some causes behind what we're going to talk about tonight.

2 Corinthians chapter 4.

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

Deuteronomy chapter 20.

Deuteronomy 20 · chapter mention

And 2 Corinthians chapter 4.

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

Notice if you would, starting with verse number 8.

Verse number 8.

It says this we are troubled on how many sides?

Every side, yet not distressed.

We are perplexed, but not in despair.

Persecuted, but not forsaken.

Cast down, but not destroyed.

It sounds like there was a certain level of suffering, or there was a certain level of stress going on, yet it wasn't enough to push them over the edge yet.

Amen?

Look if you would then at verse 15.

For all things.

What things?

Trouble on every side, perplexed, persecuted, cast down.

All those things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many re down to the glory of God, for which cause we faint not.

And though our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is renewed what?

Day by day.

Then he says this, for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, this life is just a moment compared to eternity, amen.

Worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal way of glory.

I want you to focus in on verse 16 and look at the little clause here that says this, the phrase, for which cause we do what?

We faint not.

Now back up and say, verse 15, all things are for your sakes, and because all things are for your sakes, we're not going to faint.

And the things that's not going to cause us to faint in verse 8 is the trouble that's on every side.

And even though we're perplexed a little bit and maybe going through a little persecution, cast out a little bit, all those things that are working together for somebody, and we're not going to faint while we're in the middle of them.

Now, you know, I was thinking about it today.

Uh, if there was a day to faint, this might have been the day, amen.

Let me use another word, uh, uh, if there was a day to wilt.

I mean, for us out here, this is hot weather.

For someone else, this would be nice and cool.

But here we are, uh, and the reason for this is here we are coming to the end of July, the first part of August, and uh some maybe have a couple weeks left, and then school and Bible Institute, and we come into the fall and do a little extra push, if you would, in the fall towards the Lord's work.

And if there was ever a time when people have a tendency to faint, it gets towards the end of the summer, and and uh things maybe have been drawn out for a while, and and uh you're worn down maybe a little bit and you're looking and say, oh man, here we come to the fall and everything.

If we're not careful because of trouble and because of perplexance and because of persecution, or because of being cast down, there's something that's called fainting.

Now, let me ask you a question.

I won't go into it if you already know.

Do you understand what spiritually fainting means?

You say, what do you mean why do you say spiritually?

Because it says this though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day to day.

The idea is our spirit, our inward man, is attached to the outward man, and sometimes it seems like the outward man can begin to drag us down.

The fainting part of this can come, for example, uh, you say, I don't know if I'm fainting or not.

All you gotta do is check your prayer life.

That'll tell you where you're at.

Our men ought always to pray and not to faint.

And the idea is if we begin to check ourselves out a little bit, it's good every once in a while to say, okay, am I fainting?

Am I feigning in my devotions on a personal basis, on a daily basis?

Am I feigning in my in my prayer life?

Am I feigning a little bit maybe in my in my outreach ministry, in my in my in my witnessing?

Am I beginning to feign in my in my uh amount of time that I spend in a day talking to God?

Seems like I used to have him on my mind more, but man, I'm so involved in this and so involved in that and so wrapped up with this and trouble here and persecuted here and cast down there and this going on there.

You know what?

It seems like I am fainting a little bit.

Do you know what fainting talks about?

Esau came back in from the field, and the Bible says he was what?

Say it, faint.

And the first thing he did when offered to have a little stew, sodtage, he made a bad decision.

He traded his birthright for a little food.

Now you say, what's the big deal about that?

Brethren, please look up here.

When we begin to faint spiritually, it's a good time to make a bad decision.

When we start getting down just a little bit in our spiritual walk, and when we start letting other things get involved in our lives that take us away from our devotions and our and our prayer life and our and our Bible study, or we just start going through the motions, and it seems like, you know, our work with God is just duty, and we get to the place where our communications with Him becomes more minimal and more minimal.

If we're not careful, that fainting gets to the place where we can make some bad decisions.

Look at Deuteronomy chapter 20, an exhortation.

Deuteronomy 20 · chapter mention

Deuteronomy chapter 20.

Deuteronomy 20 · chapter mention

And maybe tonight there's some of us in here, or some of you, that feel just a little bit faint.

And let me show you just a couple things about him.

In Deuteronomy chapter 20, uh, there's an exhortation about going to war, and who should be going, and who should be careful about going.

Deuteronomy 20 · chapter mention

Look at Deuteronomy chapter 20, and notice uh verse uh 2, verse 2.

Deuteronomy 20 · chapter mention

And it shall be when you are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people.

And he's going to say, listen, uh, those of you who have a few things going on, maybe you better not go out to battle.

In verse 5, he says, uh, hey, if you've got a new house and you've not dedicated it yet, maybe you ought to not go out to battle because you might not be focused on the battle.

And if you got a vineyard and you you know you've just planted it and you've not eaten of it, maybe you ought to not.

And verse 7, if you've got a wife and you're it's it's a new situation there, maybe you ought to just return.

And then verse 8, and the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and what?

Faint-hearted.

Let him go and return into his house, lest his brethren's heart faint as well as his heart.

Statement.

If someone around us is beginning to faint, it's possible for them to affect us.

Amen?

If a husband and a wife faint together, it's a problem.

If your best friend and the Lord in some way, shape, or form begins to faint, doesn't it have an effect on you?

If you're in a ministry and it begins to faint a little bit and begins to lose its zeal just a little bit, doesn't it have an impact on us?

If we're in a church and the whole church begins to faint just a little bit, doesn't it have an impact on those in that church?

If a pastor begins to faint, it has an impact on those that he's trying to preach to.

Amen.

Because look what he says there.

Hey, if you're fearful and faint-hearted, hey, be careful about going out into battle, lest you cause your brother's heart to faint also.

Uh, for example, the ten spies came back and said, we can't go up.

You know what they did?

They discouraged the hearts of the people and they caused their hearts to be faint-hearted.

They took away their strength and their courage, is that right?

Hey, read about battles and find out.

I tell you what, uh, you get a bunch of guys start charging the battle, and a couple of guys start stopping and turn around and going the other way, and everybody starts retreating and everything like that.

I mean, somebody may back there trying to rally them up, but if enough of them turn, they're going back the other way.

Faint-heartedness is something that we should take very, very seriously as Christians.

And again, we ought to be able to look at ourselves and be able to analyze ourselves just a little bit.

David went out one day and he was faint.

And the Bible says that Ishbo Benim was getting ready to wax him.

Amen.

The Bible says David faint, and Ishbabinim came along to conquer him, if you would.

If you remember the situation, David decided that he would leave 200 men back at the stuff because they were faint.

The idea is this.

We all faint once in a while.

We all back away once in a while, we all lose our zeal once in a while.

But it's not something that we should take lightly and just stay in that mode.

Now, let me show you just a couple things tonight, brethren.

Stay with me.

Let me show you a couple causes and a couple reasons why how it's possible for us to faint.

Look at Ephesians chapter 3.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

Stay with me.

It's not going to be a long message tonight, lest ye faint.

Amen.

Ephesians 3, it's middle of the summer, and I know what your attention span is tonight.

About 12 minutes.

Ephesians 3.

Stay with me.

You're doing well.

And there was somebody honest back there.

Said amen.

Ephesians 3.

And some of these things you know, but you know what?

The Bible is our teacher.

We don't go on feelings.

Well, you know, I just feel faint, and the when I feel.

Well, let's let's let's study the book.

Ephesians 3, look at verse 13.

Wherefore I desire that ye what?

Faint not at whose tribulations?

My tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Just make a statement.

Trouble can cause us to faint.

You get enough trouble long enough, and it'll cause you to kind of, man, I just don't know.

I lost my motivation.

You mean that's what feigning is?

That can be a part of fainting.

I just, I don't know, I just lost my motivation.

I just, I don't know, I'm just losing my zeal about this thing.

I don't know.

And it can be other people's trouble.

Uh, trouble that's over a long period of time, stay with me, or big trouble all of a sudden.

Hmm.

We will, amen.

Look if you want a little bit further and stay with me.

Now look at Joshua chapter 2.

Joshua 2 · chapter mention

Joshua chapter 2.

Joshua 2 · chapter mention

Come on.

Don't faint on me.

Flip your scriptures open.

Joshua chapter 2.

Joshua 2 · chapter mention

And also pick up Psalms 27.

Psalms 27.

Now, some of these you'll know, but maybe a couple of them you're going to go, you know what?

I didn't know that.

Joshua chapter 2 and Psalms 27.

Joshua 2 · chapter mention

Now remember, the reason we don't want to faint is just like Esau made a bad decision, we can make bad decisions.

We can cause others to be faint-hearted.

David almost died when he was faint.

It can kill us off as far as our walk and our work for the Lord.

Look at Joshua chapter 2.

Joshua 2 · chapter mention

And notice if you would verse 9.

Verse 9.

And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land.

And that your what?

Say it.

Terror.

Would you agree that terror and fear go hand in hand?

Terror has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land, what?

Talk to me.

They faint because of you.

Why?

Because they were afraid.

And they says, We heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea and what you did to the Amorites and on down Og and Zion.

Verse 11.

And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did what?

Melt.

Did you ever have something comb along that melted your heart?

And I'm not talking about love.

I mean it just hits you and you just, huh, like uh a bill.

It cost us what?

Or like this.

You're opening the letter and you go, come on, do you know what I'm talking about?

Or this breaks, and then that breaks, and then this breaks.

Now the first one was okay, no problem, we can candle it.

The second one, well, man.

Then the refrigerator goes out.

I'm just using it as an example.

So I says, What's the big deal about that?

Go price them, amen.

And after a series of things begin to break around us, it's like, oh no, not another one.

What do you mean the car's not running?

What'd you do to it?

Oh, oh, oh, oh, honey, all I did is I turned the key.

You did what?

Well, I turned the key.

Well, how'd you turn the key?

Well, you put the car in there, huh?

Well, you must have done it wrong or something.

I can't believe it.

You just drank everything.

Yeah.

Well, I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to break it.

Well, you should just know better.

Hey, it just broke.

Things break.

You say, why would something like that happen?

There's a few reasons sometimes.

Look at uh Leviticus 26.

I know you got Psalms 27, but this is a great lead-in.

Leviticus 26.

And uh hold your place in Psalms 27.

Put one finger in there, pick up Leviticus 26 and also Hebrews 12.

Say, how in the world am I going to do that?

You can figure it out.

Leviticus 26 and Hebrews 12.

Look at this real quick.

Hebrews 12 and Leviticus 26.

Look at Leviticus 26.

And by the way, you say, why do you study the Old Testament?

It's our ensemble.

Why do you study the law?

You know, we're under grace.

Yeah, but the law reveals the mind of God often.

Amen?

If there is a law that's holy, this one's it.

Leviticus 26, and look at this mindset here.

Look at verse 14.

But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments, and if ye shall despise my statutes, or if you're so abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that you break my covenant, and just mark it down beside verse 14 and 15, disobedience.

Because that's what it's talking about.

Then he starts saying what he's going to do.

Brethren, look up here now.

Disobedience does sooner or later bring chastisement.

Amen?

We practice it with our children, and he practices with us.

As his children.

And look if you would at verse 35.

Verse 35.

As long as it lieth desolate, it shall rest, but it did not rest in your Sabbath, when ye dwelt upon it.

And upon them that are left alive, because he's pronouncing chastisements of you, I will send a what?

A faintness into their hearts, in the lands of their enemies.

And the sound of the shaken leaf shall chase them, and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword, a running.

And they shall fall when none pursueth.

The idea here is God is our strength, a very present help in the time of what?

Trouble.

But if there is a time when God wants to chasten us a little bit, I can guarantee you I've experienced it.

God can withdraw his strength from us a little bit, at whatever portion he wants to, and it will cause us to have that faintness in our hearts, and things that used to not bother us, a shaken leaf will chase us.

Begin to run.

What I'm saying to you tonight, sometimes the way the Lord chastens us is uh, you know what, I think I'll allow him to go through a little feigning spell down there.

Try it a lot of different other ways.

So uh let's just take back our strength just a little bit.

Strength.

I went through a couple months where it seemed like God just withdrew his strength.

I would never, ever, ever want to go through that again.

But I'll guarantee you there was a faintness to it.

And little things in the church that normally just okay, well we'll deal with that.

Boy, I just felt like running from it.

Ever feel that way?

I mean, little things that I used to just, okay, we'll deal with that, no problem.

We can take care of that.

Confidence.

Boy, just like a leaf fell.

What am I gonna do about that?

Man, what am I gonna do about that?

Well, how am I gonna handle that?

Ooh, three o'clock in the morning.

Man, ooh, what am I gonna do about that?

Oh, God, I don't know what I'm gonna do about that.

You ever do that?

You ever think that maybe God saying, you know, uh I'm dealing with you in another area?

And I want to get that corrected.

So I'm letting you faint just a little bit.

Because uh that'll get you back humble again.

You say, alright, that's the Old Testament.

What about New Testament?

Hebrews 12.

Come on.

We don't like to be thinking that God might be chastening us, but remember to whom the Lord loveth, he what?

Chasteneth.

It's a form of love.

Look at verse 5 of Hebrews 12.

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, stay with me.

My son, despise not the what?

Say it, chastening of the Lord, nor what?

Faint.

When thou art, say it, rebuked of him.

When God rebukes us, you know what it causes us to do?

Well, you say, how do you know that?

Have you ever had a friend rebuke you?

A friend?

Yes or no?

When they rebuked you, did it kind of cause you to faint a bit?

Wives, you ever have your husband rebuke you?

No, probably not.

But if it happens, you do one or two things.

Or guys, if you keep Han Reman, she just kind of keeps on fainting.

And you're causing your encourager to get more faint.

Amen?

Wait a minute.

Are you thinking or are you fainting?

Let me ask you again, are you thinking or are you fainting?

Talk to me.

How many are thinking?

How many are fainting?

How many don't know what's going on?

Shame on you.

The idea is when we have someone that we really respect rebuke us, it can cause us to faint.

Maybe it's for our own good, but still, the more we respect them, and the harder they are on us, the more we faint.

Amen?

Come on, shake your head or something, or whatever.

Alright, let's start over.

Because we know it's true.

And if I love the Lord when he rebukes me, it's going to cause me to faint a little bit.

It's for my good.

It's for my correction.

Look at Psalms 27 now, just so you can get your finger out of there.

Psalms 27.

Psalms 27, brethren.

Look at verse 13.

I had what?

Fainted.

Unless I had what?

Believed.

Now mark this down.

And I had fainted unless I had believed.

Belief speaks about faith.

When our faith begins to grow weak, we do begin to faint.

Amen?

Faith cometh by what?

Hearing.

And hearing by the So mark it down.

And I'm going to lift up my voice a little bit so you listen.

If I get out of God's word long enough and get away from my personal devotions, and get away from the preaching, and get away from things of this book, then the word of God that causes that faith, faith is going to begin to weaken, and when faith begins to weaken, I'm going to faint.

I just don't know why I'm not motivated.

Check out your devotions.

Well, I've been busy.

Well, I'm not criticizing you for being busy.

I'm just saying when we get away from the Word of God, which causes faith to grow, when belief or faith begins to weaken, we are going to start feeling faint.

Well, what happens when you start feeling faint?

Motivation, desire, determination, confidence.

All those things are affected.

Faith and fainting inversely proportional.

Now, there's other things that you could talk about fainting, like sorrow and grief.

I mean, tragedy comes and it can cause us to faint.

Look if you would in uh the book of Jonah.

Did you turn there?

Jonah.

You know Jonah, right?

Jonah, Micah, Nahem.

Book of Jonah.

Tribulation can cause us to faint.

Fear and trouble, adversity.

Bible talks about fainting in the day of adversity.

When our faith weakens.

And with the book of Jonah, now that you're there, would you also then pick up lamentations?

What?

Lamentations.

You say, where would I find that?

Go to the book of Jeremiah.

Isaiah, Jeremiah.

And it's a little book, just probably a couple pages in your Bible.

Stuck in there just after Jeremiah, the book of Lamentations, chapter 5.

Lamentations 5 · chapter mention

Jonah, chapter 2, and Lamentations, chapter 5.

Jonah 2 · chapter mention Lamentations 5 · chapter mention

Isn't it good to be able to study our Bible?

Jonah 2, Lamentations 5.

Now watch Jonah, the last verse of chapter 1, verse 17.

Now the Lord had what?

Come on, everybody, so you're not fainting.

I prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah.

Why?

Jonah was disobedient.

Jonah's going to be chastened.

And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Type of what Christ was going to do later.

Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord and his God out of the fish's belly.

And said, I cried by reason of mine what?

Affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me.

Out of the belly of hell cried I.

And thou heardest my voice, for thou hast cast me into the deep in the midst of the seas, the floods compassed me about, all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight.

Yet I will look again towards thy holy temple.

The waters compassed me about, even to the soul, the depth closed round about me.

You talk about a bad hair day, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

He's in a bad way.

You ever been down by the ocean, the seaweed down there?

Do I have to explain it?

I mean, it's being broken down by the stomach.

Well, we won't go into that.

Verse 6.

I went down to the bottoms of the mountains.

The earth were therapy, bars was about me forever.

Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O my God, when my soul, what?

Talk to me, fainted within me.

So I mean, he's in a bad way under that burden, seaweed wrapped up in that whale's belly, because of disobedience.

I remember the Lord.

Now, look at the book of Lamentations.

And we just need to call it for what it is.

Lamentations chapter 5.

Lamentations 5 · chapter mention

Come on, look there.

You're doing well.

Look at verse 16.

The crown is fallen from our head.

Woe unto us that we have what.

And by the way, you know what?

Sin is not just something to talk about on Sunday morning.

Let me say it again.

Sin is just not something to talk about on Sunday morning.

Every once in a while, we Christians have to look at our life and say, Yeah, I know I'm under grace.

I know it's not imputed, but am I sinning that's hindering my fellowship?

We have sinned, verse 17, for this?

For what?

For sinning.

For the fact that we have sinned, our heart is faint.

See, brother, if we get into a habitual sin, we might as well mark it down.

It's going to cause us to faint.

For these things our eyes are dim.

Jonah disobeyed God.

He sinned, and God chastened him.

Because he loved him.

But it caused him to faint.

Now, I just gave you a few causes.

There may be more trouble, trials, tribulations cause us to faint.

What we just read, sin and God's chastisement can cause us to faint.

Fear can cause us to faint.

Getting out of God's word and having our faith weakened can cause us to faint.

Obviously, sorrow and grief, all those things.

But look if you would back now at Hebrews 12 and Isaiah 40, please.

Hebrews 12 and Isaiah 40.

Hebrews 12 and Isaiah 40.

You're doing well.

We're moving right through.

About another 10 minutes, just so you can bear up under it.

We'll be done.

After a long, hot day, the body says, oh.

You know, let me suggest something to you tonight while you're turning to Hebrews chapter 12.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

Tonight would be a wonderful night for an in-and-out chocolate shake.

Just thought I'd throw that out.

Is that good preaching or what?

I just.

I don't work there.

I don't get any commissions.

I just.

But if he did right.

The idea behind this is this.

Now follow the thinking.

Fainting is something that can cause us to make bad decisions.

Fainting is something that's very dangerous.

It puts us in a position where we can literally lose our motivation.

Fainting is something that can cause others around us to do the same, our determination, our desire.

I'll guarantee you when you're faint, it's hard to get God's will.

Feinting some of the causes are trials and troubles and tribulations and the fear.

When faith begins to fade, or when sin enters in, habitual sin, God has to chasten us, and his rebuke causes us to faint a little bit.

Now look if you would at Hebrews chapter 12, brethren, because there's a way back out of this faint.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

Hebrews chapter 12, and you're holding your place in Isaiah 40.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

Verse 3.

For consider him that endureth such contradiction of sinners against himself.

Lest ye be what say it, wearied and faint in your minds.

Wait a minute.

Then part of the answers in verse three is the first three words.

What are the first three words?

Say them with me.

Say 'em.

For consider him.

What do you say?

He says, consider him lest ye be wearied and faint.

The more we think on him, the more we focus on him, the more we consider Jesus and what he's gone through and what he's gone through, which is about verse 2, looking under Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross.

If he can endure his, I can endure mine.

Despising the shame and is sitting down at the right hand of God, the hand of the throne of God, for consider him that endured such contradiction.

Hey, he was tempted at all points like we are, and he can give us the strength to carry us on through, and we need to keep focused on him lest we be wearied and faint.

Statement.

We get too focused on this life and on the trouble and on the problems and on the tribulation and on people and not consider him, we can begin to faint.

What happens when I consider him?

What happens when I think on him?

What happens when I meditated on him?

Isaiah 40.

You know it?

We sang it.

Verse 29.

He giveth what?

Power.

To who?

The faint.

And to them that have no might, he increases strength.

Even you shall be shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.

But they that wait upon the Lord, that's considering him, shall renew their strength.

He said, How do I get this strength back if I feel faint?

Get your eyes back on him.

How do I get my eyes back on him if I can't sleep?

Get your eyes back on his book.

Get your head back into the preaching.

Get your head out of the television.

Get your head out of the models.

Get your head out of the magazines and the newspapers and the TV if you're fainting.

And get back to a spiritual diet.

I mean, if you're fainting, you say, well, you got something against this and you got something against that.

If you're fainting, it's not a good time to spend four hours in the radio.

It's a good time to spend four hours listening to preaching.

I don't feel like it.

That's the whole point.

When you're fainting, you don't feel like you're listening to preaching.

But it's the best therapy going.

Why?

Because it's a way to wait upon the Lord and renew your strength, mounting up with wings as eagles.

Run and not be weary.

They shall walk and not what?

Faint.

Because God gives them power.

We don't realize sometimes how important our prayer life is until we faint.

And then try to pray.

You know, we give altar calls sometimes and say, listen, uh, are you filled with the Spirit?

And you know, I've got nothing against people that don't make altar calls here.

I've got nothing against people that, you know, want to pray or something out there.

You know, if you come to church and week after week after week after week after week after week after month after month after month after year after year after year after year after year, stand at the end of the message and go, I hope he dismisses soon.

And I'm not talking about one time, we all do it once.

Twice, three times, eight times.

I'm talking about time after time after time after time after month after month after month after year after year after year.

And there's no response.

And there's not a willing heart.

Well I did my thing, I put in my tie.

I was here.

That chocolate malt sounded pretty good.

The preaching of the cross is the power of God.

So if the preaching of this book is the power of God, then we get power out of preaching if we do something with it.

Hey, but if it's not mixed with faith, we don't do anything with it.

So concerning him and focusing on him brings back that power.

And even though we were a little bit faint, he renews it.

You say, well, well, man, let me ask you something, preacher.

What if you're what if your life was kind of like this?

I mean, you know, I faint, and then I get back up again, and I and I faint, and then I get back up again, and then I'm rebuked, and I faint, and I get back up, and I get troubled, and I faint, and I get back up.

Welcome to Christianity.

Don't we all have that?

Please look up here.

What it starts out with when we get first get saved is like this.

And as we get older in the Lord, okay, a little bit better.

I'm not dancing.

This is not gymnastics, amen.

You can tell.

And yeah, and this, come on, stay with me.

But then the minute it's it's a little bit, but it's a ripple.

But may I say this?

Unless you got something I don't have yet, there's always going to be a little ripple.

Amen?

But it's not like it was way back over there ten years ago.

Five years ago.

Now, every once in a while you say, well, man, I've been at this thing 15 years, and I just hit a big one.

That's okay.

It's alright.

Because you'll find out this.

Once you hit that big wave, you get stable much quicker as you know the word.

As you stay around Christians that are stable, you should stay around preaching, as you stay faithful to your prayer and your devotion.

Amen?

Somebody says, no, I want that Christian wife life, I want that Christian life where it's like this.

9.3, thank you, Art.

Tell where your head's been, amen.

We all want that, don't we?

Just soaring off into victory.

And sometimes we have that.

But prepare, be prepared for the crash again.

You say, well, what would it take for this to happen where we just your old man would have to be eradicated?

Totally.

Well, that's what I want then.

I want complete sanctification to where my old man is completely eradicated and never comes up again.

It'll happen in heaven.

But we don't believe in that doctrine of entire perfect sanctification to where the old man is eradicated.

I've looked, I've studied, I've wanted to see it.

I've read the whole New Testament looking for just that.

I mean that.

It's not in there.

I mean, Paul said the things that I do, the things I don't want to do, the things I wouldn't do.

There's a law.

When it would do good, evil is present with me.

And I've heard people say that was before he was entirely sanctified.

It's like to me, he had trouble throughout.

Now I believe this.

I believe our new man can get stronger and stronger and stronger, and the old man can die.

But please look up here.

Every once in a while there's a little ripple.

Like for me, every day, a little ripple.

I can't believe that.

What am I listening to you for if you got a, you know, if you're not.

Well, let me know the secret.

And make sure it's biblical.

Don't come to me with some of this, well, I got a vision.

Back it up with a book, amen?

Because I may not get the same vision.

And I can't rely on yours.

Amen?

I'd like to tell you that we're never going to faint, but brethren, that's not true.

What we need to do is find out when we faint.

First of all, why am I growing faint right now?

What's the cause?

Because if I know the cause, then I know where to shore it up.

Trouble, fear, broken relationship, rebuke, rebuke to the Lord, out of my Bible devotions, faith feinting, great grief and sorrow that has caused me to faint.

What's the cause?

Disobedience?

Sin?

What's the solution?

Consider him.

Get our eyes back on him.

Two more scriptures.

Lest you faint.

Judges 8.

Stay with me.

Come on.

And you gotta see these last two, please.

Judges 8 and Psalms 137, please.

Judges 8 and Psalms 137.

Well, I'm kind of getting used to this now.

I think if I work on that, I can get better scores, Brother R.

Judges 8, Psalms 137.

Now, just before I finish.

Judges 8 and Psalms 137.

How many, how many, at whatever level of understanding, how many understand why I'm talking about fainting?

How many of you face it?

Don't you?

How many understand that your friends are going to face it too?

Spouse?

Someone in your ministry?

Someone that's a prayer partner.

Someone that's across the country that's that you're ministering to.

Uh if you're a parent, as you get a little older, the children get to become adults, they're gonna faint.

Somebody's gotta try to lift them up.

The people around us that are Christians.

But look at two.

Scriptures, because there's two ways that we can deal with this faintness.

Look at Psalms 137.

Verse 1.

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down.

Yea, we what?

We wept.

When we remembered Zion, what's going on here is they've been taken away of captivity.

We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

You say, what's verse 2 talking about?

Fainting.

Where they used to play their harps and sing the songs of Zion.

They say, you know what we did with our harps?

We hung them on the willows.

For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song.

And they that wasted us required of us mirth, sing, sing on the song of the songs of mine.

And they said, How shall we sing the Lord's song and the strange?

What the heck fainted?

Let me get to them.

And they hung them host from the on the windows.

Hey, if you got to the place where we're used to sing the once in a while, once in a something something that was a song of Zion during the dead, and there was a gospel song, and I'm not talking about this contemporary stuff.

I'm talking about something talking about the words, and then what's not the Holy Spirit came in the day in the middle of the day, and just bless Jim, hung Jim, and you're singing him so you've hung your hearts on the world.

It's time to pick them off again.

Time to get that joy back in your heart.

Because fainting does take away our song.

You say, now why do you even say that?

Because we're supposed to sing to ourselves in songs and hymn and spiritual psalms?

Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs?

Make a melody in our heart?

Is that right?

Come on, yes or no?

And when we're filled with the Holy Spirit and we're walking and abiding with God, it just supernaturally comes.

Now, if you're just first saved, you may say, you know, I'm not singing the songs of Zion.

It's because you don't know any yet.

I mean, I remember when I first got saved, I'd be singing something like Jesus Loved Me, all of a sudden Emerson Lake and Palmer would pop in.

You say, Who?

Back in my days, amen.

I mean, I'd learn one of these new songs, you know, I'd be singing it.

And uh, you know, up came Dark Side of the Moon.

Now, if you don't know anything about that, praise the Lord.

Stay simple concerning that which is evil.

You don't even want to know if there is a pink floyd.

I say, man, are you ancient?

What are you doing listening to the modern stuff?

Just kidding, just kidding.

We want to get our book and get our eyes back on considering Him and focused on Him, it sings that song comes.

Some of y'all, you know what we need to do tonight?

We just need to go over and pick up our willows or pick up our harps off the willow.

You say, Well, you know, I'm just so faint.

All right.

Look at Judges 8.

One way is to hang your harp up.

Give up.

Let it get to you.

Find a reason.

Justify it.

Be a victim.

And live in it.

That's one way to deal with it.

Amen?

Not my fault, somebody else's fault.

Wasn't fair.

I'm a victim.

Hang my harp in the will, and I've got justifiable right, and go sit down under a gourd.

And pow.

Like Jonah.

Other way.

A little phrase.

This is the message.

Judges 8, verse 4.

Judges 8:4

And Gideon came to Jordan and passed over.

Boy, they were tired.

He and 300 men that were with him.

Just three words.

Faint yet pursuing.

Being faint doesn't mean you're giving up.

You might feel a little faint, yet you're still pursuing.

You might feel a little faint, like I don't feel like going door knocking.

Yet I'm going to go.

Somebody says, well, if you don't really feel like you shouldn't go, faint.

Come on, preacher.

Yet pursue it.

I mean, it's time to get ready for your Sunday school lesson.

I don't feel like doing this.

My heart's not right.

I shouldn't be teaching tomorrow.

Faint, yet pursue it.

And I don't feel like being in my Bible when it's not right.

It's sacrilegious.

You know, my heart's not right.

I'm just not going to be in there until I get my heart right.

Oh, that's good logic.

Faint, like I don't really feel like reading it, yet pursue it.

Hey, you go to work when you don't feel like it.

Why?

I need the money.

Hey, you need the Bible more than you need money.

Now you say, well, wait a minute now.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God.

We need this more than we need.

This word is more important than our physical food.

I think Job said something about that, didn't he?

Faint yet pursuing.

So two ways to do it.

Well, I'm just going to go hang my harp up.

You know, how am I expected to sing?

Don't you know what happened to us?

Here we are down in a strange land.

Don't you know what I've been through?

Hey, come on.

You don't know what it's like.

I'm justified.

Just gonna hang my harp up.

Wait a minute.

Consider him.

He had every reason to hang his harp up.

They lied about him.

They cheated him.

They beat him.

They put him on a cross unjustifiably.

Consider him.

You know what'd be good tonight?

If you're a little faint?

Go take your harp off the willow.

Oh, I can't play it.

Doesn't matter.

Make a joyful noise.

And get back at it faint, yet pursue it.

You know, I'm having a terrible time down at my job.

Work is just is it still God's will?

If God gave you that job and God wants you in that job, every once in a while you're going to get tested in that job to whether you're going to stick it out or not.

Now, if God moves you, okay, fine.

If he's leading you and he's changing the direction of where you're supposed to be working, but if he's put you in that job and giving you that job, maybe it's not time to quit.

Faint.

Yet I'm going to work tomorrow.

But Lord, before I go in, um, I'm going to get my devotional life back together because that's probably why I'm having a problem at the job.

You know, thinking back on it, Lord, it's when I was in my Bible before I went to work.

I had my prayer time and sang a little bit to you.

Didn't take 15, 20, 25 minutes, but I was consistent with it.

That's when I went to work, and little things weren't bothering me.

Now, if a leaf falls at work, I'm I I want to run, I want to leave.

Well, I just don't know if I can stay in this marriage.

How's your devotional life?

Because you know what?

Get that devotional life strong, and you'd be amazed on how he or she will not affect you.

What do you mean?

You know, they say something.

When you're faint, you're not in the word of God, not abiding.

What do you mean by that?

What about that body language?

I saw the way you looked at me and said that.

When you're abiding and in pretty good shape.

Well, okay.

I'll I'll work with you on that.

Well, what do you mean?

Okay, okay, oh you're right, you're right.

All right, I'll change.

All right.

It's okay.

You're right.

Let's go get that chocolate shake.

Isn't that true?

It affects our relationships.

Well, I think I'm just about ready to, you know, leave my ministry.

I'm about done teaching that Sunday school class.

I'm about done working that bus route.

I'm about done working that nursery.

Now wait a minute.

How's your devotions?

Don't walk out of God's will when you're just faint.

Stay pursuing.

Pastor, let me ask you something.

You ever feel like, you know, resigning?

One time I thought about resigning when I lost my confidence.

But I've thought about quitting a few times.

Uh-huh.

Yeah, resigning is dignity.

Quitting is running.

I'm looking around like, oh, you feel like quitting?

Yeah, I've been out at this thing a while.

Is that what the message is about tonight?

You feel like quitting?

No, I don't feel like quitting.

Oh, you faint?

I guess everybody faints once in a while.

No, I'm I in fact I had my harp out today playing.

But probably uh about a month and a half ago I went through a little three, four-day faint.

That's where this message came from.

You see, I don't usually preach it when it's just absolutely current.

Because what you're supposed to do is get the message and chew on it for a while, and then be able to come up and say, look what the Lord taught me.

But I'd say about a month and a half ago, there's about three or four days in there, I was faint.

Something leading up to it.

And that's when this little scripture came up that I underlined it, put a little date beside the Bible.

Faint yet pursuing.

And I hung on those three words for about two weeks.

You say, what happened?

Came back up out of it.

You mean three words?

Yeah, three words.

You say, what'd you hung on?

Lord, I'm faint, yet help me to pursue.

Lord, I'm faint, but help me to keep going.

You mean three words?

Yeah, three words! And then three other words.

Considering him.

Is that three?

That's two.

I didn't quote the scripture on.

Looking in him.

That helps.

I'm not talking about looking at a picture of Jesus with his long hair and all that stuff.

I'm talking about looking in him through the eyes of this book.

And throwing other things out the window for a while.

And just saying, I need to saturate myself in this and wait upon him because he said he'd renew my strength.

So two ways to go tonight.

Hang your harp.

Get mad at yourself.

Blame someone else.

Or faint.

Yet pursue it.

Maybe tonight, some of y'all growing faint.

And be good tonight to say, you know what?

I'm going to hang on those three words there.

And I'm going to consider him.

Hang on.

Get me on through it.

He said in the book of Revelation, for my name's sake thou hast labored and hast not what?

Fainted.

Now, maybe tonight, brother, and I finish with this.

Maybe tonight you say, well, no, I'm in pretty good shape.

Do you know anybody that's fainting?

Then it would be good to intercede for them.

Let's all stand.

Don't stand up too quickly.

You might faint.

Let's all stand.

Why is this fainting important?

Please look up here.

Don't leave yet, please.

Well, if I'm not careful, I might make some bad decisions.

If I'm not careful, I may be one step away from Ishma Bedam show up.

If I'm not careful, I may cause some others around me to grow faint.

If I'm faint-hearted.

Causes, trials, tribulations, trouble, sin, disobedience, getting out of the word of God and the preaching of God's word and away from Christians.

Chastisement.

Not meant to destroy us, meant for our reproof.

But it's causing me to faint.

Solution?

Consider him.

Wait on him.

Get power from him.

Get strength from him.

Two roads?

Hang the harp on the wheel and go on.

Or faint.

Yet.

What?

Pursuing.

With your heads bowed.

Your eyes closed.

Please, absolutely do not be embarrassed tonight.

We all faint.

If you know someone that you'd like to pray for, maybe a husband and wife need to come together.

You say, well, someone will see me.

Come on, get off that.

We're not here to look at you.

We're here to look at ourselves.

If you need to use an old-fashioned altar night, you come.

You come.

And don't be like the one that just you, week after week, month after month, just stands there.

Maybe you want to sit down and have some prayer.

Maybe you want to stand and have some prayer.

Maybe for yourself, maybe for someone you know.

Oh God, put that song back into my heart.

God, fill me again with thy spirit.

Lord, help me to get back in that devotion.

I'll start tonight.

I won't consider church the devotion.

I'll go home and read my Bible as a devotion like I should have done today.

I'll systematically get back in it.

I'll start my day like I used to with five, ten minutes worth of prayer and fifteen, twenty minutes worth of Bible reading and a song going out the door.

Because it seems like a leaf shakes now and it irritates me.

Frustrates me.

Causes me to run.

With your heads bowed and eyes closed, if you've never received Christ as your Savior, one day the strength of your flesh won't be enough.

The outward man is perishing.

And if you're not saved, the inward man is perishing too.

We could show you from the Bible how you could be saved, how you could be forgiven, and how that inward man can be strengthened by God if you'd allow us.

With your heads bowed and eyes closed, preacher, you know what?

I I think I know what you're talking a little bit about, that inward man.

I don't know if I've ever been strengthened by God.

I don't know if I'm saved.

Would you pray for me?

Would you hold up your hand and say that's me, and we'll help you?

Okay.

We all grow faint once in a while.