We are in our Lessons in Faith series
and today we'll be in Faith in Action.
In Matthew's Gospel we read, But the ship
was now in the midst of the sea,
tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary.
And in the fourth watch of the night,
Jesus went unto them walking on the sea.
And when the disciples saw him walking on
the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is
a spirit, and they cried out for fear.
But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be
of good cheer, it is I, be not
afraid.
And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if
it be thou, bid me come unto thee
on the water.
And he said, Come.
And when Peter was come down out of
the ship, he walked on the water to
go to Jesus.
I will stop there.
We know the end of this familiar story.
Peter sees the wind on the waves and
loses his nerve and begins to sink and
cries out, Lord, save me.
And Jesus reaches out his hand and rescues
him, but then asks him, O thou of
little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Most preachers place the emphasis on this text,
on the fact that Peter sank, because he
took his eyes off of Jesus.
But there's more to it than that.
Peter stood out from his fellow disciples because
while they were content to remain in the
safety and security of the boat, Peter was
not.
Because Peter stepped out on faith.
He was willing to put his faith into
action and go out on a limb for
God.
And that's where faith begins.
Faith is being so desperate and dependent upon
God that you go out on a limb
for God, believing God will do what man
cannot.
In Hebrews 11, we read, Now faith is
a substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen.
For by it the elders obtained a good
report.
This kind of faith spoken of here is
activated in the action of prayer, entering into
the very presence of God to obtain a
report from him.
And you believe that promise is so, and
God will make it so in your life.
When that report becomes real to you, then
you will experience a deeper reality of God
that will increase your spiritual maturity.
Men whom I've known who've had a close
walk with God were men who had spiritual
maturity.
They knew themselves and they knew their God.
And this came about through a life of
faith.