weekly sermon

5-18-08

Do You Have The Faith?

We as a people do one thing, I am sure of many, that the Bible tells us not to do. Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." We judge. We judge folks by what they do, how they dress, what they look like, their skin color, their views, and even how they act. Not only do we judge other folks, we also judge ourselves. I want to talk about this type of judging just for a minute. Judging others is usually done in our heads where the other person can not hear it so they are not affect by what we think. I am not saying this makes it right to judge them, because it does not, but it does not affect them. Now when we judge ourselves, we normally do that in our head as well, but the difference is, we can still hear our minds judging us. When we judge ourselves it tends to diminish the way we act and the way we feel about ourselves. This is only a tactic performed by satan to make us feel bad about ourselves. I have to give satan credit, it is a very good tactic, because it really works well. Our minds think terrible thoughts about how we act, live, look, think, or speak. This really makes us think bad about us and takes a bit of time to keep us from thinking this way.

All we really need to do is make sure we are keeping our eyes on God and we will not be tempted by satan to think these terrible things about ourselves. There are many ways we can think terrible thoughts about ourselves, and there are many ways we can think good things about ourselves. If we keep our minds on Christ then we will see the new creature that He has made us and know that even through all our faults we are the child that God made us and are seen in His eyes just as that.

If you think that this happens to the common folks and not to the folks that are grounded strongly in the will of God, then think again. The best of the best in the army of God had the same problems. Let us take a look at one of the best disciples for Christ and what happened to him, and maybe a little humor along the way.

Turn with me if you will to Matthew 14:25-31, "And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. (26)And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. (27)But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. (28)And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. (29)And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. (30)But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. (31) And immediately Jesus stretched forth [his] hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

Let me set the scene a little for this particular story. If you go back up earlier in this chapter you will see that Jesus had just performed miracles of healing the multitude of sick folks that had followed Him into the desert. He had just fed this multitude of about five thousand men, plus women and children, with a two piece fish dinner and some hush puppies and they had food left over. That in itself was also a miracle. Jesus had just told His disciples to get on a ship and go before Him to the other side while He dispersed the multitude and He would meet up with them.

Now the first part of the passage we have just read to me is the funny part, and then we will continue with the message. The disciples are on the ship just as Jesus had instructed them. They KNEW Jesus was going to meet them. Now the fourth watch is in the middle of the night and I can understand that the disciples were tired. What happens next is the funny part to me. When the disciples see Jesus walking on the sea, they think they see a ghost (spirit) and they cry out in fear. They were just sitting with Jesus earlier in the day watching Him perform all these miracles and yet when they see Him walking on the sea they are scared to death. I would think if I was just sitting with Jesus then I would not be scared of anything much less a figure walking on water.

Anyway to the part of the message that we are here to discuss. After the disciples realize that it is Jesus walking on the water, they still did not believe it was really Him. Peter is the disciple that I was referring to earlier as being one of the best of the best of the disciples. The reason I called Peter one of the best is because of the way Jesus thought of Peter. Matthew 16:18, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Jesus refers to Peter as the rock on which He will build His church. This passage says that Peter is such a strong believer in Christ that He has that much belief in Peter to build His whole church on Peter's faith.

Well the disciple, with the faith that it takes to have Jesus' church built on him, is the one doubting that Jesus is really out there walking on the sea. Peter states that if it was really Jesus, then He would have him walk out on the sea and walk on water with Him. The response Jesus gives should show us how simple things really should be with Him. Peter says, 'if its really you Lord, then tell me to walk on the water out there with you'. Jesus said, "come". Can you really see how simple it is to understand? Jesus simply said, come. It really is that simple. You can see what happens next, Peter walked on the water. Ok, now we have to look at the last part to fully understand the meaning behind this message. Even after Peter had the faith to go out on the water with Jesus, he lost it briefly and started to sink. Jesus then touched his hand and he stopped sinking.

This story is much like our faith in life today. Jesus called us to Him, and we came. Our faith was very strong when we first came to Christ. As time went on our faith seemed to diminish little by little and then for one reason or another, through something that has happened to us, we renew our faith once again. The very minute Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, he started to sink. The very minute we take our minds off Christ, then we lose our faith. As soon as our heart, or hand, is touch by Jesus, we again gain the faith to stop sinking.

If Peter, one of the greatest disciples, had his faith falter, then I can understand why one of us would have ours do the same. But if we really stop to think about it, we have a much greater faith than even Peter. We have to believe there really is a God, where Peter got to walk with Him and talk with Him. Our faith should be much stronger just for that reason. When Peter's eyes stayed on Jesus, he could do anything Jesus could do, but as soon as he took his eyes off, then he could do nothing. Without Jesus we are nothing, but with Him, we are everything.

The sad part of this message to me is still how simple it really is and many still miss it because of it's simplicity. Jesus said "come". You want to walk on the water with Jesus?, come, you want to raise the dead?, come, you want to heal the sick?, come, you want to make the blind see?, come, you want to make the deaf hear?, come. The most important, do you want to know where you will spend eternity?, come. Jesus said "come" follow Me and I will make you fishers of men. All you have to do to find the Father is "come".

If you are not sure where you will spend your eternity then come. All you have to do is say a simple prayer with me and you will know beyond a shadow of a doubt where your soul will be once you leave this life.

Dear Lord, take over my life and forgive me of my sins, and give me the gift of everlasting life. Amen.

If you have said this simple prayer, then we believe that you have received salvation. We would love to rejoice with you, so please drop us a note, in our link, to let us know and confess Jesus before man, so that we may send you a few things that we hope will help you in your new Christian walk.

 

With Love in Christ,

Pastor Stone