One act of faith
One act of faith
How do you step into your God given purpose?
How do you see the promises of God fulfilled in your life?
It only takes one act of faith – to activate your future
Matthew 14: 22 – 28 Peter steps out of the boat and walks on water
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.
Jesus made the disciples go to the other side – even though they were heading right into the storm – storms are part of the ingredients for a great act of faith
If you feel like you are in a storm – maybe God is leading you to toward a fresh step of faith
It’s only faith when the conditions are contrary – don’t wait for the conditions to be right
Peter was in the middle of a storm – and yet he takes this great step of faith
After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
Jesus leaves them in the storm – Jesus is not going to turn up every 5 minutes to save the day – He wants his disciples to grow in faith –he wanted them to overcome the storm –Peter did
Don’t be discouraged in your situation – maybe you feel that the wind is against you
You could be just about to walk on water if you would be prepared to step out in faith
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
He left them out all night – he is trying to expand their faith – maybe God is wanting to bring growth in your situation
Peter did what no one else would do – he got out of the boat – he activated his faith – he walked on water
That act of faith – getting out of the boat changed his life forever
What has happened to us as Christians – we have become boat dwellers
Christians have become a bunch of critics sitting comfortably in the boat - telling all those who are trying to walk on water how they should do it
We are called to the water –yet we settle for the boat – & that settling kills the Christian spirit
We started with such a radical tradition of men & women giving their lives for the cause
We need to take that step out of the comfort of the boat and onto the water
For each of us there is a step of faith that God needs from us to activate our future
Great steps of faith
Abraham leaves his home to follow God and becomes a father of nations
Peter and Andrew leave their nets and become apostles for Christ
Yongghi Cho bought a tent in faith and becomes the pastor of the world’s largest church
Phil Pringle moves to Sydney with a dream and becomes the apostle of a movement of 250 churches
What is your act of faith?
Passion for the cause
In the dictionary one of the definitions for the word passion is the suffering of
Jesus Christ.
The early Christians lost their lives for the sake of the cause.
Polycarp was the Bishop of Smyrna and one of the heroes of the early church.
He was the student of the Apostle John and was taught by the Apostles.
He was martyred for his faith in Christ. When he was led before the Roman proconsul who pleaded with him to renounce Christ Polycarp replied;
Eighty six years I have served him, he never did me any injury. How then could I blaspheme my King who has saved me?
This is the prayer of Polycarp as he was led to his death;
I give You thanks that You have counted me, worthy of this day and this hour, that I should have a part in the number of Your martyrs, in the cup of your Christ, to the resurrection of eternal life, both of soul and body, through the incorruption [imparted] by the Holy Ghost.
In recent times others have shown greater passion for their cause than Christians
Greenpeace is one group that has taken our place
Recently colliding with a huge whaling boat to try and stop the Japanese whalers.
They lost a 2 million dollar boat the Ady Gil but they said it was price they were willing to pay
Greenpeace said “The loss of the Ady Gil, that cost us about 2 million dollars, but that’s not worth as much to us as the whales are – we’re quite willing to take those risks – we’re not giving up!”
Muslims pray 5 times a day – they are willing and prepared to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their cause – and they are demonstrating that on a regular basis
It’s time for us to get a fresh passion for our cause!
We need to hear the voice of Christ calling us to join his cause and make a stand in our lives.
We should remember the lives of those who went before us making a stand for the cause of Christ.
William Booth another hero of the faith said;
“Your days at the most cannot be very long, so use them to the best of your ability for the glory of God and the benefit of your generation.”
It’s time to get passionate for our cause!
