Daily Devotions
March 15th, 2012 by Pastor SolleyMatt 14:22-33
22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25 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? 32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
The different types of faith that are found in this passage is our theme for this week. We have taken note of the faith of the multitude. A curious faith. They wanted to see what they could get from Jesus and when they had all that they thought they could receive they went quietly away. Then the faith of the disciples. It was an obedient faith. Jesus constrained them to get into a ship and go to the other side and they went. They may not have understood why they needed to go but they went, they obeyed. Now today, the faith of Peter. Peter had an acting faith in the face of a storm. Much is made of Peter taking his eyes off of Jesus but I want to point out that Peter had his eyes on Jesus and that is why he stepped out of that boat and began to walk to Jesus. The disciples, even though they were in a storm were somewhat safe in the boat. Some of them including Peter were fishermen by trade. They had been in storms on the sea before, they knew what to do and one thing you would not do is get out of the boat. Yet Peter had a faith that moved him to step out of the boat, step into danger, and walk to Jesus. There are many today who have an obedient faith, they have called on the name of the Lord for salvation, they go to church, read the Bible, pray, they have an obedient faith. But they do not have an acting faith. At least not to the point that they are willing to step out of the boat, willing to sacrifice, willing to step into danger, willing to walk to where Jesus is and where Jesus wants them to be. May I say this is the vast majority of Christian people today. Willing to be saved and that is all. Or willing to be saved and do what they are comfortable doing, but nothing more. We are having wonderful meetings at our church this week with good attendance and good results. But I can also say that those who need to be there the most are not. Those with the most troubles in their lives, those who call the most needed help from the pastor or his wife, they are the ones not at the services. And not because they are sick or away, but simply because they will not take the time and make the effort to be there. I will hear from them next week and they will wonder why others seem to be more blessed, more secure, have more joy in their Christian life than they do. And the answer can be found in a lack of faith. They sit in the boat while others step out and walk to Jesus.