"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. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God."

Matthew 14:24-33

March 29, 2016

Peter tested His faith and Jesus said, "Come." When we walk our faith it is destined to go to God's presence. It will be the opposite if we don't move forward. In order for our faith to grow, one should move forward by the leading of the Holy Spirit, who is our guide and teacher.

This passage give us the kind of faith that takes us into God's presence. Peter's faith is bold enough, he said to Jesus, "...bid me Lord to come unto thee on the water." From all the disciples of Jesus present in that ship Peter gave the bold/courageous statement as he said those words to Jesus. Indeed, only a faith that declares boldly can enter into God's presence. Through the Scripture we all know what Jesus replied, "COME."

How was this so? Why was Peter so bold?
...because his faith is focus on Jesus. As soon as he knew that He was His Lord, the Son of God on the water... he then stated to Jesus to allow him to be near Him. And such faith leads to miracle- Peter did the impossible by walking on the water. We are to have such faith so focus on Jesus and such focus makes our faith bold or courageous. How so?! Because we know the God we are serving... our knowledge of God makes us strong and bold (Daniel 11:32b).

Those kind of faith makes our walk of faith easy, easy to do the impossible through our faith in the God, who does the impossible.

During Peter's conversation with Jesus, their interaction gives us a picture what it truly means to test our faith in the Lord, when we walk our faith...

When we go after the ministry God has placed in our hearts we are actually going to Him, in His presence... As Peter walked on the water towards Jesus. The moment we respond to God's call for us, He is saying, "Come." He is inviting us into His presence. And if we are in doubt, just ask Him surely- Jesus would say to you the same thing He said to Peter, "Come."

Testing our faith, moving forward even if you don't understand, even if it seems impossible... be assured that the One who calls you, God is saying come... don't look at the impossibilities present in the circumstances you are in rather look at God to the one who says, "Nothing is impossible to Me", to the One who parted the red sea, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-- Look unto Him. All is well in His hand. If Peter looked at how impossible the situation was (walking on water) he would have not stepped on the water and walked on it but what happened was he did walked (on the water) because his focus on that very moment was on Jesus, the Son of the living God.

In this passage also we get to learn Jesus' role in our lives.

One. Jesus is our Encourager.

He said to Peter "COME." Jesus didn't stop him. I bet the other disciples were negative of how he would ask such thing to Jesus.

This is also true to us today... in whatever we pursue, which God has placed in our hearts know that God is and will be our encourager, He will be the first to say, "go for it!" Jesus will encourage us to go after His will for us because it will mean we are pursuing Him... gojng after His heartbeat.

Two. Jesus is our Goal.

To be like Jesus is our ultimate goal. God is shaping us to be like His Son, Jesus, as we go on in this life and live for Him and die for Him as well. Peter was able to walk on the water because His focus was on Jesus... He was looking at His goal but the moment his focus shifted on the waves he begun to drown. This is so true with us as well. As we walk in this life's journey their will be waves of struggles and problems that will come in our lives because in the first place Jesus told us that in this world there will be tribulations, and if we focus our attention on these waves that will come our way it will lead us to our downfall remember that our faith should focus on Jesus. Peter walked when his focus was on Jesus but the moment it shifted he begun to sink. The negative things in your life today are are viewed in two ways:
In Satan's view, they are distractions meant to destroy you... but in God's point of view... it is to magnify the worth of Jesus Christ in our lives and to lead us into a life of many victories. The trials of life helps into shaping us in the image of God. To produce patience, self-control or any other fruits of the Spirit, not so good circumstance are necessary for our formation into Christlike one.

If you feel like you are sinking, check where your focus is on. It should be on Jesus.

Three. Jesus is our Saviour.

Jesus is our Saviour, deliverer, redeemer and the most important intercessor of a Christian. When Peter started to sink he called his Saviour... "Lord, save me..." And Jesus did saved him. 

When we move forward in our faith towards God, don't be afraid, He is not only encouraging us to come before Him, God's attention is on you as you walk towards Him. You think Jesus wasn't looking at Peter the moment Peter walked on the water? He was looking... attentively and lovingly. God looks at you in whatever ministry or works you are doing for Him... He is looking at you like how a Father looks at His child, as the child walks for the first time and when you fall down and starts to cry He will be there to pull you up. What did Jesus did to Peter? "...immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him." Just trust God and the call He has given you. Have faith.
There will be times in our lives when we are shaken and we would stumble & fall (even if it's our fault) but we are to call unto God for help because at the end of the day life is not about us but about Him who has called us into His marvelous light... He is gracious.

And so, we are to rely on no one but Jesus. We desperately need Him as we walk in our faith, and as we go after the ministry He has placed in our hearts, for us to fight a good fight of faith.

To God be the glory!