Enduring Faith

Enduring Faith Within the Context of Relationship with God

I want to take some time today to talk to you on a subject that God has really been dealing with me since November of last year. He continues just the Holy Spirit continues to download some things to me. There are a ton of beautiful, beautiful stories and lessons to be learned from the account of Peter walking on the water. And we’re going to look again at Matthew chapter 14 this morning, and we’re going to just pull one great truth from the story. And let’s not presume that we know what it says. We’ll read it together here in just a moment.

But I want to talk to you about enduring faith within the context of relationship with God. I mean, it just makes sense that if a relationship is going to endure, the important aspect of trust between two people has to endure. And so the Holy Spirit is always at work, helping us to build on the inside of us and develop on the inside of us an unending trust toward God. And God never ceases. I think more than we want. He wants life with you on the highest level. And so he is completely committed to presenting himself as someone who is trustworthy, and someone who is faithful, and someone who has incredible, unmatched integrity, someone you can trust every moment of every day.

Not just every day, but every moment, every minute, every breath, every heartbeat, you can trust him. And we’re looking for that. In fact, our heart breaks a lot. You know, in life, it has broken a lot. We found a, you know, many of our experiences in relationship have been, the broken parts have been over losing a relationship or losing trust in a relationship, losing a friendship. You know, with someone that we once thought we were really close with, that we could trust, who would always be there for us only to be disappointed. And it’s a big deal. And there’s only one person that carries the anointing to heal a broken heart, and that’s Jesus.

Jesus’ Commitment to Us

And so it’s important to Jesus that he’s a given, but I want you to think about it with me that he never presents himself to you in a way that would make you think that he is somehow disconnected from you, or not interested in you, or is not there to help you in every situation that you’re walking out right now. So let’s get into this today. I’ve got a few keys for you, and I really do I’ve asked God this morning to make this real to every single one of you who have come to worship today.

Matthew chapter 14, 10 verses of scripture. This is Jesus again walking on the water. As soon as the people were fed, Jesus told his disciples to get into their boat and to go to the other side of the lake while he stayed behind to dismiss the people. After the crowds dispersed, Jesus went up into the hills to pray. And as night fell, he was there praying alone with God. But the disciples, who were now in the middle of the lake, ran into trouble, for their boat was tossed about by the high winds and the heavy seas. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came to them walking on the waves. When the disciples saw him walking on top of the water, they were terrified and they screamed, A ghost. Then Jesus said, Be brave, don’t be afraid, I am here. And Peter shouted out, Lord, if it’s really you, then have me join you on the water. Jesus said in verse 29, come and join me, Jesus replied, Would you say that out loud with me? Come and join me. Come and join me. So Peter stepped out onto the water, he began to walk toward Jesus. But when he realized how high the waves were, he became frightened and started to sink. Save me, Lord, he cried out. And Jesus immediately stretched out his hand, lifted him up, and said, What little faith you have. Why would you let doubt win? And the very moment they both stepped into the boat, the raging wind ceased.

Again, I’ve already said so many impactful stories within this one great story. But the one that I want to bring to you today has to do with building, developing, enduring faith, again within the context of relationship with God. In fact, the phrase little faith, for those of you who are students of the Bible, for the word little faith is actually better translated, almost persuaded. The word in the Greek language or the language of the New Testament here doesn’t have anything to do with the size of Peter’s faith, little faith. But it does have to do with the endurance of his faith.

The Endurance of Faith

There are other words in the same Greek language that do refer to the size or the measure of something. But here, the word little in particular is the word that refers to the endurance of the faith and not the size of the faith. So when Jesus lamented what was happening, I can hear him say with a brokenness within himself. He wasn’t scolding Peter, he wasn’t correcting Peter, he wasn’t taking a man who was sinking to make him feel worse than he already felt. Very little in my view, not enough, certainly, from Jesus’ point of view. Jesus wanted this, I think, even more. And perhaps Peter wanted this.

I know doubt comes. I know Satan tries to confuse you. I know he comes to misrepresent how God feels about you more times than not, but you don’t have to be confused. You don’t have to doubt. You don’t have to double guess in your mind, be double-minded in your thinking. When you’re sinking, he is there immediately. He always stretches out his arm to you. His arm is always stretched out. His hand is not only open, but it is never empty. So outstretched arm when we’re sinking, an open hand when we’re sinking, and a hand that is full of what we need when we’re sinking. Can I have a good amen today?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, I received Jesus in the summer of 1972, a little while ago. And there’s something that I have learned and something that I continue to learn, something that I’m always, I take a step back when I hear it again, or when I’m reminded of it by the Holy Spirit. That Jesus again is willing to do whatever else needs to be done. Now he did enough on the cross to wash away our sin. To take again red blood, making us white as snow, as we sang this morning. I think we need to give the Lord another hand clap or applause or praise or honor him just for that one thing.

Life with Jesus

I mean, if that’s all he did, if that’s all that was provided for us when he said it is finished, great. But we’re not just saved 2,000 years ago, we’re being saved daily. From not only the sin that separated us, separated us from God then, but the sin that still works in our own flesh to keep us at a place where we feel separated. We’re not, but we feel it. And we feel the condemnation that comes with failure. We get that sinking feeling over a ton of things. But I’m thankful for what Jesus did. And if that’s all he did, great, fine, but it’s not.

There’s a provision now on this side of the cross that God has made to meet every single need that you and I have that we continue to experience. And can I say this to you? There’s nothing too small. Come boldly. The Bible says, into God’s presence. When you’re in a time of need, and you can just you can just take this to the bank. The need can be very small, or the need can be very great. The need could be everything in between. It does not matter. Come boldly into God’s presence when you’re experiencing need, and he will grant you both mercy and grace in your time of need.

Mercy will create a new opportunity. If you’ve fallen, if you’ve sunken. Mercy creates a new opportunity, a new sunrise, a new open door, a second chance, a third chance, another chance to get back on top of the water and start experiencing life the way Jesus always intended for you to experience it. And that’s with Him. It’s not just life, but it’s life with Him. And again, one thing that I just love about this relationship I’ve enjoyed with Jesus all these years is that Jesus is committed to continuing to strengthen my trust, build my trust. When I’m weak, he makes me strong.

The Importance of Trust

He doesn’t again point an accusing finger. He is there for me to take me in my weakness and to fill me once again with his strength, his mighty power to live this life and to live it great to his honor and to his glory. And one of the things that I’ve discovered is that it takes enduring faith, just like any good relationship does. We need an enduring faith. The Bible makes a promise. Paul writes it to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 2. He says, Those who endure are going to reign with him as kings.

You know, we have been provided by God keys in this one story about how to develop that lasting faith. Jesus, the Bible says, is both the author and the finisher of our faith. You know, the Bible says Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Would you say that out loud? Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now that provides for us a lot of things. But it provides for us an opportunity again to do life with him that is unending.

Jesus loves being the same yesterday, today, and forever, because it provides for you, provides for us to have the kind of relationship that is never ending. When you receive Jesus as Lord of your life, you received eternal life. But you’ve got some life remaining to finish here. But it won’t stop when you breathe your last breath here, or when your heart beats for the last time here. You’ll step into eternity. That’s what God wanted. He wanted life with you, not just here. That’s how much he loves you.

Peter’s Request

And I hope you really, I hope that really. Uh today, maybe that it’s never had before. Or it goes past just acknowledging that, to rejoicing in it, enjoying it. That you have because of Jesus’ desire, his sacrifice. You now have unending relationship with him. Can I tell you that’s what Peter, Peter’s primary request here was not to walk on the water. And that’s going to blow some religious minds because they they just look at what we what we read a few minutes ago and they go, wow. You know, he wanted to walk on the water. Jesus said yes to the miracle. Too bad he began to sink. We missed the point.

It wasn’t even his primary request was to be, watch this, where Jesus was. His primary request was to experience life in that moment, the way Jesus was experiencing it. It just happened to be in that moment on the water. It could have been on a desert place. It could have been in a green plush forest somewhere. It could have been in a green pasture. It could have been anywhere. But Peter wanted to join Jesus. That was his primary request. And in this instance, it included walking on the water.

If it had been to walk on the water, Peter accomplished that in short order. Check the box off. Give the guy a break. Only two people I know have ever walked on the water. Jesus and Peter. Give him a break. If it was his desire to walk on the water, check off the box. So what he sank. He walked on the water. Get back in the boat. But that wasn’t his primary request. And it’s not what Jesus lamented. Him sinking. Peter wanted to be where Jesus was and to share life’s experiences with him, whatever the circumstances were. I think that’s what pleased Jesus more than anything.

Peter in that moment, listen, was willing to put his own life at risk. Stepping out on the water in the midst of this horrible, horrible, horrible storm. Just to be where Jesus was. The Bible says without faith, it’s impossible to please him. What is that all about? Again, Jesus’ desire for relationship. Faith is a part of that. Trust is a major, major part of that. If you’ve had any children, if you’ve raised any children at all, you know, some of your most exciting moments with your children, some of the most pleasing moments with your children were centered around them trusting you.

Trust and Faith

They weren’t afraid. Hannah would come sometimes, she would come into our bedroom afraid when she was a small girl. And we would take the time. It didn’t matter that she woke us up. We would take the time. Why? Because we loved her. And our love is nowhere near God’s love in so many things. But we loved her and we wanted her to be at peace and we wanted her to get a good night’s sleep. So we took the time to speak into her life, to pray with her, to embrace her so she would not be afraid. Amen. Man, we got excited about that. We felt blessed because she trusted us.

That’s what that scripture is all about. That’s why the writer of Hebrews went on to say, you’ve got to believe that God is who he says he is, and the fact that he used that, you got to believe that he is. What does that mean? He is who he is. He’s someone to trust. He’s someone who can be trusted. He’s someone to love. He loves us first. He’s someone to entrust our entire life to, leaving no area of our life held back. Come on. He loves us that much and he loves. Oh, how he is pleased. When you say, I trust you. I don’t know what’s happening right now. I don’t get it. It’s tough. I’m crying a lot of tears. But God, I trust you. God is pleased.

Peter said, I want to be where you are. That was his primary request. It’s what Jesus wanted to and what he still wants from all of us. Come on, church. Let’s not make trust or faith all about what we can get from God. We do receive. A door is opened when we trust one another. When I trust Pastor David to deliver the word of God to me, then that opens a door for what God has done in him to be released and received by me. So faith has that place. But faith is more than just what we can get from God or what we can receive from God. It’s about building a relationship with him that’s lasting. That’s every day that’s moment by moment.

Even if you hate him today. Those of you who are watching, streaming with us today, or you’re in this room today, God forbid, but even if you hate God, you’re mad at him, you’re angry with him, he still loves you. And he wants to do life with you. He’s already proven he’s he’s perfectly willing to lay down his life for you to be blessed and to receive all that he has for you. He wants all of us to do life together on the highest level again. That’s what we were created for. In the very beginning. Come. Peter said, I want to come be with you where you are. Again, I want to do life with you. Jesus said, Come. Come and join me.

Building Lasting Faith

And again, when that didn’t happen the way it could have happened, okay. It wasn’t the end of the story. Peter sinking in the water that day was not the end of the story. But again, Jesus’ lament wasn’t just toward what was happening with Peter. It was something that he experienced himself. It was very personal. Peter’s success would be success for both of them. Your success in life is something that God rejoices over as well. It is a shared success. And when you’re troubled, and when you’re again you’re sinking, and when you do fail, that lament is shared by Jesus.

Saying, I told you so. You idiot. You fool. You knew better. What he’s doing is reaching out. In that moment, he’s feeling grief. It’s shared. Because from his perspective, you’re in this with him. You’re in it together. And so whatever you’re going through, remember that. He’s not standing back watching you fail or watching you suffer. He wants to do healing with you. He wants to do deliverance with you. He wants to do freedom with you. He wants to do forgiveness with you. He wants to walk away with you from bitterness. He wants to do life with you. He’s helping you this morning. It’s his heart.

Just think about this. What it means to share life. It takes loyalty and commitment. He’s that, even when we’re not that. It takes kindness and compassion. He’s that even when we’re not that. Did you know it takes respect and understanding? He’s that even when we’re not that. It takes resilience and patience. He’s that even when we’re not that. Listen to this, and I’ll give we’ll begin to wind this up. And we should finish by Tuesday or so. Okay. At his heart, at its heart, listen to this. Doing life with someone is about choosing them day by day. In the big and the small moments, because life is simply better, it’s richer and more meaningful together.

Can I say that to you again? At its heart, doing life with someone is about choosing them day after day. Jesus chooses you day after day. He doesn’t take days off with you. His commitment doesn’t pause. He is day to day committed to you in the big and small moments, because life is simply better, it’s richer, and it’s more meaningful together. Wanting to do life with someone means really walking alongside them, not just in moments of joy, but in the everyday realities of life. It means seeking a connection built on more than just affection. It’s about shared purpose, about shared trust, and about shared commitment.

Again, religion has taught us to be all that to God. But what we fail to see, I think, too often, is Jesus is all of those things to us. Because even when we lose sight of it from His perspective, from the right hand of the Father, He’s doing life with us. He’s walking this thing out with us. Amen. So powerful. So let me give you a few points here. We’ll go through them quickly. You can think on them. Meditate on them. It’s the only way that they’re going to become real to you. You do know that. When you hear a message, you need to take what God has spoken to you during the service.

Be Certain of His Presence

You probably took just a minute to write a little something down, or you underlined a verse in your Bible while the message was being taught. But what you need to do after that is take that in your own private time and personal time with God and begin to really think on it. Because the Holy Spirit is working to make that a real part of your life moving forward. Amen. So the first thing, be certain of his presence. When there are we’re talking here about enduring, building an enduring faith or building a lasting faith, okay. All this other is the context that this belongs within. Hope that makes sense to you.

But the first thing we see from this story is Peter had to be certain of his presence. For us to build an enduring faith, we need to be certain of God’s presence in our life. Again, Peter’s request was conditioned on who they saw approaching the ship. Enduring faith demands having someone you know you can trust over time. Does that make sense? You got to have somebody you can trust. Who’s speaking? Are they trustworthy? Are they reliable? What’s their track record? Can you believe what they say? Are their instructions sound? Are they capable of doing their part if a promise is made? Are they going to be available if things go south?

Trust needs these things to be birthed and to then to grow to be enduring. They’re all important to what I call seeding, S-E-E-D-I-N-G. Seeding faith that is lasting or enduring. Hey guys, listen to me in the room. You may want your wife to forgive you and then to trust you, but they’re not the same. She can forgive you as Pastor David spoke to us about just last week, but she doesn’t have to trust you. You have to have some integrity. You have to show some integrity. You have to show that you’re trustworthy. And that does you don’t just do that when you say, I do on the platform.

Ladies, the same is true as of you too. Don’t misunderstand, I’m not picking on the guys, but guys have a bigger issue with the trust thing than ladies do. Okay? But it takes both. And for for that to happen, you can love someone, you can forgive someone, those barriers be taken out of the way, but trust still not exist. Trust might still be in shambles. What happened could have torn down the trust you had? No, it’s not fair. It takes years to build faith and seems to take a moment to destroy it. But I’m telling you the truth. Don’t frustrate yourself thinking that because you’re forgiven, you should also then just be automatically trusted again. Don’t do it.

Now work with each other to do that, to rebuild that. Just like Jesus does with us. Scripture says, even when we’re in unbelief, he abides faithful because he cannot deny himself. Okay, does that make sense to you? So Jesus is all of those things to us. He is always there for us. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and for forever. And the Bible says, faithful to a thousand generations, if you can begin to imagine that.

The Invitation Needs to Be Experienced Personally

Number two, the invitation needs to be experienced personally. Peter wasn’t the only one who heard Jesus say what he said on that early morning. Is he speaking to me directly? When you hear, you know, a sermon, is God speaking to you directly? Do you sense that? Or to someone else in the ship. If he’s speaking to you to the group, does he make certain that you’re included? Even though the other disciples heard Jesus say, Come join me. Peter had a special moment with Jesus that birthed faith in him. Why is that important quickly? It’s because the Bible teaches us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10 17. Said out loud with me, so then faith comes by hearing. And hearing by the word of God. The word there, so then faith comes. The word faith there comes by hearing the word. The word there, there’s again several words in the New Testament from the original language that are translated by the English word faith. But hear the word or word, excuse me, but hear the word, the Greek word is Rhema. Say that with me, Rhema. Come on, let me teach here just for a minute. It’s important because the word rhema is different than say the graphe, which is refers to the written word of God, or the logos, which is the word that comes, spoken word with understanding.

Each one of those words has a special purpose assigned to it. The Rhema word is meant to inspire you, listen to this, and empower you to believe. And practical practically what happens when the word of God is being spoken, as it is again today, here, or whenever you hear it, there’s a moment or can be a moment when it’s just being spoken that it becomes very personal to you. Use this example, Luke 6 38. It’s written to everybody. It’s the graph word. Give and it shall be given to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall men give into your bosom. Okay.

But there’s a day where you’re meditating that, or you hear it preached again one more time, where then your name becomes attached to it. It’s like Marshall, give, and it shall be given to you. It’s like you’re in a service. You’ve heard this preached before, you’ve read it before, but in that moment, it becomes so real to you. It’s as if the Lord Jesus is right there. Just like that day with Peter, he said to Peter, come. It’s like you hear it as if Jesus is saying it specifically to you. It becomes that real to you. It comes off the pages, and it becomes real to your heart.

And then it’s like give Marshall and give $20 and give it right now to so and so in the room. Don’t let them leave church without giving them this money today. It becomes very real to you. And with that word comes trust. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. What happened that day when Jesus said come, all the other disciples heard it. But Peter had a personal connection with it. Does it make sense to you?

Say Yes to the Word

Now, why again is that important? Because that’s brought power. It empowered him. We’re gonna see this in just a minute, because there’s no word that God speaks that is void of the power to fulfill it. Whatever God says comes with power to make it real. Alright? So lasting assurance begins with a personal firsthand experience and interaction with God’s word. The invitation has to be, needs to be personal. Number three, when you hear that word, say yes. Everybody say yes. Look at your neighbor, say yes. Because faith comes again to empower us to believe and then to take the next step.

I’ll say it to you quickly, I’ve taught it before. The Bible says faith comes. We just saw that from Romans 10 17. Well, if faith comes, it can go. Faith comes, and faith goes. What do we need to do when faith comes? We need to grab hold of it. It’s God’s help, it’s God helping us to take the next step, which is to believe. Faith can empower you over and over and over and over and over again. And you can say no to it over and over and over and over again. It’s like coming to the altar but never saying yes. It’s like coming to the threshold, and you’re brought there. You’ve been empowered.

Listen, you’ve been empowered not just to get to the threshold. You’ve been empowered to get over the threshold. To get on the other side of the threshold. Abraham was empowered, listen to this, not just to have a baby. That wasn’t the end of what was going to happen. He was empowered to carry by faith the plan of God to bring redemption into the world. The promise was you’ll be the father of many nations. Not that you’ll just have a baby. Listen, the promise was not to Peter, you’re going to walk on the water. The promise is if you believe this, you’re going to get to where I am. And then we’re going to walk this thing out together.

God, I can see the two of them just taking a long walk on the water. And with every splash in the face, with the wind blowing and blowing and blowing, instead of being afraid, they’re enjoying the walk. You’ll walk through the fire and you shall not be burned. The water will not come and overcome you. Amen. That’s the heart of God toward us.

Proverbs 3, 5 and 6. Trust in the Lord completely. Do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart, rely on him to guide you. He will lead you in every decision you make. Become intimate with him in whatever you do, and he will lead you wherever you go.

Listen to this. Practicing yes, practicing saying yes to the help of the Holy Spirit provides in every situation, enduring faith or the building up of your faith, a lasting faith over time. You got to learn how to be obedient to that word that God is speaking to you. Does that make sense to you? I mean, does it really? God’s Holy Spirit’s going to help you with this. I can’t get it, Pastor. I’m struggling. I have so much doubt. The Holy Spirit doesn’t come again to condemn that. He comes to coach. He comes to lift up. He comes to help you. He comes to build you up. He comes to help you hear what God is saying. He is the Spirit of truth.

Alright, so He’s there to build that up on the inside of you. But He’s not going to take that step across the threshold on His own. The two of you go together. Or you don’t go. That’s not what He does. He’s going to walk over that with you into that beautiful new aspect of life.

Keep Your Gaze Raised

Number four, keep your gaze raised. This is where Peter’s faith began to grow weak and lose strength. His sinking faith led to a sinking experience. So the first thing, sub point under this fourth point, is make his gaze your gaze. Can you say that with me too? Come on, we’re almost done. Can you stay with me? Make his gaze your gaze. Say it. Make his gaze your gaze. In other words, work to see what he sees. Take on his perspective. Whatever he focuses on is what you focus on. Keep your eyes on him.

The distractions were gonna are going to come. They can come hard, but work to watch Jesus and make his reaction yours. Peter had that opportunity. I’m not saying it’s easy. Walking by faith is not easy. It’s not a rose garden. There are a lot of thorns in a rose garden, by the way. All right. It can be really tough to keep our eyes on Jesus. But again, the Holy Spirit is there with every word that Jesus spoke. Power was there. Peter could have empowered by the Holy Spirit, not on his own in his own strength. He could have kept his eyes on Jesus. But I’m telling you today, it takes the power of Jesus to keep our eyes on Jesus. It takes the power of the Holy Ghost to keep our eyes on Jesus. To keep our eyes fixed on him. Amen.

Hebrews, excuse me that. Somebody thinks so, even if you don’t think so, somebody thinks so.

Hebrews again 12, 2, look at this as we look away from the natural realm. Really? Really? Yeah, we do. And we fasten our gaze. Say that fasten our gaze. Onto Jesus who birthed faith within us, who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this because his heart was focused. Jesus, his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his. Wow. He endured the agony of the cross. He conquered its humiliation. And he now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God.

The word looking there in the Hebrew language is aphor. And it means to turn the eyes away from other things and to fix them. Say fix them. And to fix them on something. I got a cute little video clip for you here, if we can play it for you here. You gotta keep your eyes on the ball. You gotta keep your eyes on the ball. Perfect. Perfect. Everybody say keep your eye on the ball. Again, what’s important to him? What’s his focus at any given time, any situation? And here it is. Peter’s starting to walk on the water. Trouble. Fear is everywhere. It was there even before Jesus was identified himself. But in the midst of all of that, Jesus’ eyes were still on Peter.

You get that? Why is that important? Because it’ll get your eyes back on Him. Don’t ever underestimate God’s love for you or His interest in whatever it is you’re up against. The second part of that fourth point is while you’re watching Him, consider how He’s looking at you. I wish the Bible had more to say about His gaze and the effect that it had on people. I have to believe that it did. If eyes really are a window, as some say, to the soul. Can you imagine the beauty? Can you imagine the strength? Can you imagine the encouragement? Can you imagine the mercy, the compassion that would have been seen in his gaze? He’s pulling for you. He wants time with you. He treasures your company. He wants to be where you are. He wants you to be where he is.

Resist the Drift

And finally, number five, resist the drift. Resist the drift. What do I mean by that? Well, here’s an important point to end on when it comes to developing enduring faith. Peter again experienced a word that was accompanied by power. Remember this, Matthew 24, 35 says, heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s word will never pass away. If a word of instruction is spoken by God, it always will be accompanied by the power to perform it. Please, please hear this as we close the message.

Today, Luke 137 says, For no word from God shall be void of power, not a single word.

Isaiah 55, 8 through 11. I don’t think the way you think, God says the way you work isn’t the way I work. For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth, doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry. So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do. They’ll accomplish the assignment I gave them.

Don’t try to finish what God began in his strength, in your own power and in your own ability. Be strong and finish strong in the power of his might.

Philippians 2 13, Amplified Bible. Says, Don’t be strong or do this in your own strength, for it is God who is all the while effectually at work in you, energizing, creating in you the power and the desire both to will and to work for his good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.

I want you to think about this as we’re done. As long as Peter walked on the water again, however brief it was, however long it was, doesn’t matter. He accomplished it in the power of God’s strength and not his own. I don’t want you to go out and try this in your swimming pool in the backyard or the lake. You know, but every step Peter took that day, he took in the power and the ability that came to him accompanied by the spoken word of God. I want you to be encouraged by that today and ask yourself, what is God saying to me? What has God promised me? What does God need from me? What’s the challenge before me? He’s not challenging you to do it or perform it in your ability. If God spoke it, it’s accompanied by his power to bring it to pass.

Not a single step that day was taken on the water, was taken in Peter’s strength. Paul would write this to the church at Galatia. They had received the gospel, got all excited about it, received it. Many of them had a gentile background or a godless background, heathens. But they responded quickly and well to the gospel of Jesus, the forgiving, the forgiveness message, the good news message. And they were born again and they received eternal life. But not long after that happened, there were Judaizers. They were people who came in who they were kind of mixed in their beliefs. Some of them believed that Jesus was Messiah, and their confession was they had received him as their Lord and Savior, but they were still embracing the law and parts of the law.

As odd as it sounds, that kind of garbage is still around. And it has to be resisted today the way that it needed to be resisted way back then. We’re saved by grace through faith. Not of works, lest any man should boast. We live a Christian life not to be saved. We live a Christian life because we are saved. We live a Christian life not to be loved. We live a Christian life because we are loved. Amen. And that’s where it needs to be settled.

But what these people did, Paul, when he wrote this letter was so emotional. He said, I can’t believe you so quickly departed from the good news. And what he said was, he said, How can you begin in the spirit and now try to be made perfect by the flesh? That’s a message for us today. What God began in you was miraculous and wonderful and indescribable. Don’t think that now you can perform it or become it by trusting in yourself. That’s when you’ll sink. That’s when you’ll start to sink. And again, the good news is this that even in the midst of that, Jesus is there immediately for us. And he’s reaching out an outstretched arm, open hand, and a hand that’s not empty to you this morning.