1Corinthians 2:5 (NIV)
...so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
Transformational knowledge must also move us forward and not keep us stagnant in our walk. When we hear God's call, we need to act. This is why we really need to know our self. If we know our self and we know God, we then can make the critical decisions in life just like Peter had to do.
There was no turning back...
Faith is Zealous
When Christ gave the word to come, Peter didn’t procrastinate. He didn’t stop to reconsider or ask Christ to supply some more details. He didn’t need to be pushed overboard by the other disciples. He didn’t need any further reassurance. In he went. He was obedient. He sought the Lord’s will first, and waited on the Lord for His answer, but when it was all said and done, Peter had a great desire to go. He was eager, and didn’t need to be invited twice. His eagerness is also shown by the initiative he took in asking Jesus to walk out. He was, as the scripture exhorts “eager to do what is good.”
The faith that walks on water is a zealous faith, eager to do what is good.
Now, we all know what happens next in the story. Peter started out with great enthusiasm , but as he went on his way toward Jesus he saw the winds and the waves, and began to sink. As he was sinking, Peter cried out to the Lord, and Jesus extended His hand to Peter and pulled him up. There are times when I stepped out in faith, only to find me sinking, whether due to a lack of faith or an error of the heart. It is not the error of direction I need to fear so much as the error of heart. If my heart is right with God and I sincerely desire to do His will, I can always trust the extended hands of our God to hold me up.
Christ is the Goal
Have you ever seen motivational posters so popular in business. Usually they show a rock climber, a white-water kayaker, or a runner, with some motivational slogan encouraging you to strive for excellence and higher attainments in life, or to reach for your dreams. Many preach Christ as some kind of personal enabler, come from heaven to help us achieve our full potential in life.
I call it the "make a wish God"!
The story of Peter walking on water is a popular passage with preachers who turn it into a motivational message encouraging people to reach for higher goals, to take risks ‘for God’, to dream bigger dreams. They often sound like a religious version of the many motivational speakers popular in business who make a living hyping people to “be all that they can be” and to “reach for your dreams”.
The Bible teaches us otherwise.
“Unless the seed falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone.”
The gospel is not a motivational message from heaven to bring us into greater personal fulfillment. Christ did not come to earth and die on the cross to become our personal enabler so that we can achieve a better life.
The goal of the gospel IS Christ, and to bring us to Him.
Peter’s request was to “come to you on the water.” When he got out of the boat, he “came toward Jesus.” Peter’s desire and request was to go to Christ, not to walk on water. Walking on water is not about miracles; it’s about drawing closer to Christ in our personal lives. It is about coming to Jesus daily in personal communion.
The gospel of Christ invites us to come and die to self, our will, our dreams, our ambitions, our agendas and become servants of the cross. Unless we hate our life, pick up our cross and die to self we cannot be His disciples.
It is no longer our path in life we follow, but His.
The goal of Christian faith is always Christ, to know Him and obey Him. If that is not our overriding desire in all things, then my motivation is wrong, and if my motivation is wrong than nothing I do can be right with God. In my asking, my goal must always be to do His will and not my own.
“Not my will, but yours be done.” The faith that walks on water has the person of Christ and His will as it’s supreme goal in all things as the Adventure in Middle Grove continues to seek Your face..
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