About 17 years ago I shared a message to a group of Filipino-American Christians who prayed and had a vision of starting a new church! God answered their prayers and Fil-Am Bible Church which became All Nations Bible Church became a reality! Although today is the last Public Worship Service for ANBC, PTL, this church has led many to Jesus Christ and the messages on the Internet have had over 2.1 million views from all over the world!! Thank you to all of you who made a commitment to call ANBC as your home church!
I would like to revisit with you that initial message I shared over 17 years ago… open your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke Chapter 8…. the story is also in Matthew 8 and Mark 4, but let us read Luke 8:22-26…
It is a simple story of riding in a boat with Jesus Christ! But when things got rough in that boat, the disciples, the followers of Jesus Christ, feared for their lives! Let us note that most of the disciples were fishermen who were always in a boat and comfortable in the sea! But the storm with Jesus Christ got so great that the boat was filling up with water about to capsize and the disciples sensed they were going to drown! Rule #1 for fishermen - “learn how to swim!”
What was Jesus doing during that horrendous storm in the sea? In the middle of a storm with the boat ready to capsize, Jesus was sleeping like a baby! A quick application here: although Jesus was sleeping physically, was He really not aware of the situation? Jesus Christ is God and knows everything even when He is sleeping and things for us are storming! Jesus knows all our situations! Jesus knows every decision and action we make! Jesus knows every thought and every cell in our bodies!
And so we note the disciples woke up Jesus and actually reprimanded Him; we can read in the Gospel of Mark the disciples telling Jesus “Don’t you care if we die??”
The most important verse in this passage is verse 25 - “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
Why could Jesus ask that question “Where is your faith?” to His disciples and what is faith?
Jesus questioned their faith because “Even though they had God personally present, they thought they were all going to die!” This was the main issue about the disciples’ questionable faith. The disciples followed Jesus Christ because they believed He was the Messiah God, but when a simple test came, they lived with their fears rather than faith.
Now, does this mean we should never be afraid of anything? If we start hearing thunder and we’re seeing white flashes nearby in our sky, how will you respond? What do you do when you hear a tornado siren? When you take shelter from these things, does it mean I am living in fear and not trusting God? God gave us a brain to make common sense decisions! Yes, we are to always pray, but do the common sense thing to protect yourself and your loved ones from harm!
Now, let’s take a note of the significance of v22 and v26. Jesus said they were going to the other side of the lake and we note in v26 that it happened! Here’s the point… Whatever Jesus says, it will happen, no matter what happens in between!
This was a major lesson for the first disciples and for all who truly believe in Jesus Christ and, this passage gives us a clue of what godly faith is!
Let us also note that even after Jesus calmed the storm and questioned their faith, the disciples still questioned who Jesus was till He rose from the dead! Perhaps the first disciples had an excuse because Jesus didn’t die and rose from the dead yet. Do we have any excuses for not having faith in Jesus Christ?
God’s Word, through Jesus Himself, states that the disciples had a lack of faith!! Many can find excuses for the first disciples but the fact is Jesus said they lacked faith! May you and I seriously consider this: The story here with Jesus calming the storm is not just a historical fact but a major lesson for those who believe in Jesus Christ after His death and resurrection and answers the question “how does one live by faith?”
Can Jesus tell you or me right now, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
But remember that the type of faith Jesus is looking for is not blind faith. In other words, we cannot just say, “just trust”.
Faith is trusting what Jesus said and obeying it; and let us note that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Godly faith is not blind faith! Godly faith is based on what God states!
1. If you have not yet believed that Jesus Christ is God, today is the day to believe! For Gopd states that if you do not believe in Jesus Christ, you will perish forever!
And for those of us who already have believed,
2. Let us always remember that Jesus already died for all our sins, we have God the Holy Spirit within us, and we have God’s Word! We can live by faith because God has given us everything we need to live by faith!
And let us note the reason for testing the faith of those first disciples was to grow their faith even more. And so, our passage this morning also relates to the rest of Luke 8 in this,
3. Jesus will test our faith to continue to grow our faith!
The theme for Luke 8 is “God desires each Believer of Christ to mature and produce godly fruit!” Testing of our faith will continue till we’re perfected and perfection will not happen till we go to heaven!
And so, one final thought, God will test us,
4. How will we respond to God testing our faith? First of all, let us again note that faith is knowing and trusting what God said and respond by doing it! Study the cloud of witnesses we have in Hebrews 11 in how to live by faith!
We must not be like those disciples in that boat who added more questions about Christ rather than just accepting what He is teaching (What did Jesus say?).
You’ve heard the popular saying “Jesus said it; I believe it, that settles it!” Sounds good right?
But if you really think about this saying, it is meaningless! If Jesus said something, it really doesn’t matter what we believe. Whatever Jesus says, is it; Jesus’ words are the words of God! Our motto should always be, “Jesus said it, I’m doing it!”
Be careful of yourself saying “I think this is what God said”! We have God’s Word! Know directly and specifically what God says!
Be careful of listening to the devil who will always question “Did God really say that?”
Study and know your Bible! Faith comes by hearing the Word of God! How can we truly live by faith when we don’t look into the source of faith, the Word of God?
Jesus said it, “I’m doing it!”
Can Jesus ask you and me, “where is your faith in certain areas of your life?”
Do you have fears in trusting & obeying Jesus Christ?
Are you still questioning Jesus Christ? Can I really find a new church to belong to?
Here’s my final message to you: God is always faithful! Jesus Christ is always faithful! The Triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) will accomplish everything they have promised! What has God promised you through Jesus Christ?
Stay faithful to Jesus Christ as He is faithful to you and me forever and we will be friends forever because of Christ!
Take a moment now to quietly pray right where you are with your faith in Christ, now and forever….
Benediction Find – “Us Faithful” song….
We're pilgrims on the journey Of the narrow road
And those who've gone before us Line the way
Cheering on the faithful Encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace
Surrounded by so great A cloud of witnesses Let us run the race Not only for the prize
But as those who've gone before us Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness Passed on through godly lives
Chorus…. Oh may all who come behind us Find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion Light their way May the footprints that we leave Lead them to believe And the lives we live Inspire them to obey Oh may all who come behind us Find us faithful
After all our hopes and dreams Have come and gone And our children sift thru all We've left behind May the clues that they discover And the mem'ries they uncover
Become the light that leads them To the road we each must find Chorus….
Oh may all who come behind us Find us faithful.
