Title: Faith overcomes / Matthew 14:22-33
Content Faith wins/Matthew 14:22-33
Key Verse: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (verse 31).
Word: Dr. Elton Trueblood, a prominent American thinker, in his book ‘Signs of Hope’, spoke of the anxiety and crisis of the second half of the 20th century: “The reality we face today is not a garden that has been watered and cleaned. Starvation and concentration camps, famine, anxiety and fear, the three continents? We are living in an era where only fear is endemic instead of stability, with violence instead of peace and pressure from secular power instead of freedom.” This is a confession that diagnoses the reality we live in today.
There are no quiet days in the field of our lives. As an iron man said, “I realized that I had lost my goal even by science, my hero was lost by explosive humanitarianism, and I realized that I was also blocked by logic” seems to be the most honest confession.
One day Jesus was crossing the Sea of Galilee with his disciples. Then suddenly there was a gust of wind, and the waves began to rise violently. Most of the disciples on the boat were from seasoned fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, so they were not afraid of the storm. They knew all too well the Sea of Galilee. So they rowed with their experience, their talents and their skills. But that night was different. It was a great storm and a raging wave. The experiences he had learned and mastered throughout his life and the strength of his tough muscles were to no avail. Then they turned to Jesus, who was sleeping. A transfer of consciousness has taken place. And he cried out, “Teacher, we are about to die.” This is the desperate language that humans can cry out. This is the essential confession of human existence. It is the cry of a human being who has given up all effort and will. At that time, Jesus rebuked why he doubted and commanded the sea, “Be still, be still,” and calmed the storm and the waves. Here we learn the truth that faith must be applied.
Jesus rebuked the disciples for not applying their faith. Faith is to feel God's presence strongly and to apply the power of faith to concrete life situations. Faith is not decoration or abstraction. It is the force that drives our lives, our lives. When faith becomes the foundation of our lives and is practically applied in our lives, living faith and history will be revealed. You must apply that word and that faith in your life.
Jesus asked the disciples, who were trembling with anxiety because of the storm, “Where is your faith?” Having faith means knowing how to apply your faith in real life. The Lord who calmed the Sea of Galilee will also calm the sea of our lives.
I hope that in 2003 too, you will win through the application of faith that awakens Jesus.
Prayer: Give me victory through the faith that lived a year of life. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.
Lord's Prayer