God wants change…change means to make different. But God doesn’t just make it different, God makes it better. He doesn’t make the broken different, He makes them whole. The sick, healed. The bound, free.
It’s not just about walking, it’s about seeing. In order to walk right, I gotta see right.
They didn’t lose to the giants out there, they lost to the grasshopper in them. The victim mentality, the loser mentality.
You walk on what other people drown in. You are managing what other people are overwhelmed by. You’ve been customized, you are crafted by design. You are a water walker!
There are some places only exceptions can go…there is a level for the special. There is an arena for the unique. To get there, you have to be willing to step out of, what everybody else is sitting in. You must be willing to take another route. You cannot live being in love with what you got you where you were. What got you HERE, can’t always get you THERE.
You must be willing to be the OTHER. And you must be willing to be the ONLY. You wanna be special and common at the same time. If you have a problem with my only-ness, take it up with my supervisor.
As he sunk, Jesus IMMEDIATELY reach out his hand. Maybe Jesus wasn’t trying to save Peter’s life, but something else. Maybe Jesus was trying to save Peter’s confidence.
Out of all the things that Jesus could have critiqued, he didn’t critique the water or the wind. Faith was the factor. You can’t control the wind. Win anyway. Jesus did not correct the wind or the waves, he corrected the faith. Don’t misdiagnose your obstacle. Somebody’s walking in what you’re blaming for your stagnation. You didn’t drown because of water, you about to drown because of doubt. If faith had been present, the water wouldn’t have been an issue. Could it be that we’re drowning in water, trying to fix the water, when Jesus is trying to fix the faith? FAITH is foundational.
Faith is believing that, and behaving like, God is telling the truth. James 2:17-19. Faith produces optimism, but optimism is not faith. Peter’s faith was just underdeveloped faith. It was faith to get him out of the boat, but not faith to keep him on top of the water. It’s one thing not to go back when you can’t, it’s another, when you can still see the boat.
You cannot will yourself into faith. You can’t just decide. Faith is a process. The decision you make is to do the things that bring faith. You can’t live today, off yesterday’s faith. Faith is like a float and it will float away if you don’t hang onto it.
3 Things We Have To Know To BUILD FAITH THAT IS KEPT:
Who God is.
Matthew 14:28. Peter called him “Lord”.
When some people say they know God, they just know His name. When you are in need of provision, the word “God” is not enough. Some of us know Jehovah Jireh!! Just knowing that He exists, doesn’t help you in crisis. He is Emmanuel — He is with us.
What God said.
Matthew 14:29. Peter didn’t go until Jesus said come.
You gotta know what truth is, if you’re going to believe that God is telling the truth.
Your faith, your conviction, rests on whether or not God is a truth-teller.
My faith is built on the truth, not the facts! The Word of God is like a car wash!
What God did. Jesus asks him why he doubted.
Faith is not a denial of reality, it believes God to change it. What have you seen God do? Strong faith is tied to a strong memory. Not remembering everything, it’s remembering the right things. Sometimes that requires relabeling things that you mislabeled when you were at a different place in your spiritual journey.
Maybe we should stop acting like faith is illogical, ‘cause maybe DOUBT is. Maybe when you start looking at the evidence of faith in your life, you have more reason to BELIEVE than to doubt!
DISCUSSION:
After hearing this sermon, would you consider yourself a person of little (underdeveloped) faith, or big (developed) faith?
Pastor Dharius said, “You cannot will yourself into faith. You can’t just decide. Faith is a process.” What has that process looked like so far in your life?
STUDY AT HOME:
Verse 13: Why do you think Jesus went to be alone? Put yourself in that moment, really try to think about what emotions he might have been feeling…what that conversation between him and his Father might have been…why he needed to be away, even from the the disciples.
He didn’t get to be alone though, because the people followed Him, and He had compassion on them. In your moments of anguish or grief or anger, do you have compassion?
What does verse 12 mean?
What does verse 15-17 mean?
If you missed Eran Holt’s message at Heart & Soul on September 29th, give it a listen here (starts around minute 28).
What did you find most interesting about this message?
What did you find most helpful about this message? What will it help you to do?