Today’s New Covenant nugget is from Acts 4:13
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
HOW CAN WE WALK IN BOLD FAITH IS SUCH UNSTABLE TIMES?
The world is in a crisis like never before – social unrest, economic recession and C-19 effecting millions across the globe… people are walking the streets wearing masks or staying shut in at home as C-19 seems to be making another surge globally – leaders are saying that nothing will ever be the same again, and to get used to a ‘new normal’. A new normal of sky high unemployment… no mass gatherings (unless you are rioting or protesting), a new normal of government control in every aspect of your life, a new normal of global fear that will eventually lead to a new world order and a one world government led by the antichrist.
Sadly, even much of the church is being sucked into this global paralysis… churches are shut down and only meeting online, many are afraid to gather in many states and nations where churches are now allowed to gather again – even Christians are in great fear - many Christians have lost jobs, many have contracted C-19 and some have lost their lives due to it. In Hawaii, on our island a pastor got sick with C-19 and the virus spread to many of his congregants.
As a pastor and Christian leader I have faced many questions… do we continue to gather? How do we respond to this global crises? Does the bible need to be taken literally, or should we take a more ‘balanced approach?’ What if we step out in faith and fail, get sick, or even die?
All of these questions need to be clearly answered as we move forward. This teaching is limited… I encourage all of you to watch, or to listen to this message as I believe that the Lord helped me to give very clear answers to very tough questions in the live message.
SPENDING TIME WITH JESUS IN HIS WORD BRINGS BOLDNESS…
When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled and they realized that they had been with Jesus… As we spend time with Jesus, in His Word, in prayer and in worship, He infuses great BOLDNESS and great FAITH and great CERTAINTY and great CLARITY and great STABILITY in shaky times of great crises!
WHY DO SOME BOLD CHRISTIANS ENCOUNTER FAITH CHALLENGES?
Some believe that if we do everything according to the Word, if we are led by the Spirit in everything and we do everything right that we will not face trouble, hardship or trials… this belief is not only unscriptural, it is unrealistic.
Isaiah 54:17 - No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me, says the Lord.
Notice that Isaiah the prophet does not say that the Lord’s righteous ones will not ever have any weapons formed against them, the scripture says, “no weapon formed against you shall prosper!”
WEAPONS ARE GOING TO BE FORMED AGAINST YOU AND YOU ARE GOING TO ENCOUNTER FAITH CHALLENGES AS YOU WALK IN BOLD FAITH – WEAPONS WILL BE FORMED AGAINST YOU, BUT THEY WILL NOT PROSPER!
LET’S LOOK AT THE STORY OF PETER WALKING ON WATER… (Matthew 14:22-33)
In this true story we are going to see three groups of people…
Those who stayed on the land – the safety-first group.
Those who got into the boat – those who want to follow Jesus, but only within reason.
Those who walked on water – the bold faith, radical group.
WHICH GROUP ARE YOU IN? – JESUS LOVES ALL OF YOU!
Matthew 14:22-33 (TPT)
22 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.
Jesus had just supernaturally fed thousands on people with a little boy’s lunch, He had just spent hours teaching, training and inspiring the faith of thousands. Jesus had twelve apostles that He was mentoring and several hundred, if not thousands of disciples that He was also training. The apostles, the disciples, and many other followers and their families would follow Jesus wherever He went.
Before Jesus took some time to pray, He commanded the apostles and the disciples to get in their boats and to meet Him on the other side. Part of the group… (I call them the land-dwellers) would not get in their boats, because they probably knew that getting into the boat would potentially endanger them, so they put safety first and stayed on land in spite of the Word.
Jesus has commanded us in His word that as we see the day of His return approaching to not forsake the gathering and assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some. (Hebrews 10:25) but in spite of the Word, some ‘land-dwellers’ will not step out of their safety zone for fear that they may encounter something unpleasant. If you are a ‘land-dweller’ Christian, Jesus loves you the same as everybody else, but your experience will not be the experience of the ‘boat-dwellers’ and the ‘water- walkers’.
While the land-dwellers went to the safety of their homes, the boat-dwellers stepped out in faith on the Word of Jesus and got into their boats and began to cross over to the other side.
Matthew 14:23-24 - 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 heavy seas.
The disciples obeyed the Word, and then as a result of stepping out on the Word, they were now in trouble. I am sure if the ‘land-dwellers’ could see them, they would have probably said, “look at those unwise believers! They take the Word so literally! They should have put safety first and stayed on the land like we did!”
THOSE WHO STEP OUT IN FAITH WILL ENCOUNTER TROUBLE, CHALLENGES AND WEAPONS THAT ARE FORMED AGAINST THEM… BUT NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST THEM WILL PROSPER!
Now the question arises… do those who step out in faith encounter trouble, tests and challenges because they were not Spirt led, because they were not standing on the Word, or is it just the devil attacking them? Why do Christians who are in faith get sick? Why do some suffer lack?
The answer is, firstly, God did not lead them into trouble and He is not trying to teach them something through it. Maybe they did not use their authority, maybe it was a lack of knowledge, maybe it had nothing to do with them… the bottom line is that all three groups of believers will encounter weapons formed against them whether they decide to be ‘land-dwellers’, boat-dwellers’, or ‘water-walkers’. It is not a question of why we encounter things, the question is… what are you going to do ‘when’ you encounter things.
Paul the apostle got bitten by a snake while being led by the Spirit – what did he do? He shook it off by faith and boldly continued to be led by the Spirit! When you encounter things, sickness, lack, or other weapons formed against you, shake them off in faith, speak the Word and then continue to walk in bold faith!
Matthew 14:25-29 - 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 screamed, “A ghost!” Then Jesus said, “Be brave and don’t be afraid. I am here!” Peter shouted out, “Lord, if it’s really you, then have me join you on the water!” “Come and join me,” Jesus replied. So, Peter stepped out onto the water and began to walk toward Jesus.
PETER STEPPED OUT ON THE WORD AND WALKED ON WATER IN BOLD FAITH
Matthew 14:30-31 - But when he realized how high the waves were, he became frightened and started to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he cried out. Jesus immediately stretched out his hand and lifted him up and said, “What little faith you have! Why would you let doubt win?”
PETER SANK, BUT HE DID NOT DROWN - THE WEAPONS FORMED AGAINST PETER WERE FEAR AND DOUBT – THOSE WEAPONS DID NOT SUCCEED!
If you step out in bold faith, you may suffer a setback, but with Jesus there will be a comeback!
Matthew 14:32 - And the very moment they both stepped into the boat, the raging wind ceased. Then all the disciples crouched down before Him and worshiped Jesus. They said in adoration, “You are truly the Son of God!”
IF YOU ARE A SAFETY FOCUSED LAND DWELLER, A FAITH FILLED BOAT DWELLER, OR A BOLD FAITH WATER WALKER, JESUS LOVES YOU ALL THE SAME!
ALL THREE GROUPS ARE GOING TO HAVE WEAPONS FORMED AGAINST THEM, BUT IN JESUS NAME, THOSE WEAPONS WILL NOT PROSPER!
Which group are you in? Jesus loves us all the same, but as a land-dweller, or a boat-dweller, you will never experience walking on water. Like Peter, the water-walkers see Jesus doing something, and immediately want to live like Jesus did and do what He did, no matter the risk. They take His Word literally and run with it, regardless of what they may encounter as a result.
They suffer hardship, they encounter trials, they face stormy seas… some go to prison, other get beaten, but still they continue in bold faith! They see miracles, they lay hands on the sick and see them recover, their tests become testimonies, their trials become triumphs and they overcome the weapons formed against them, in Jesus Name! these are the bold, faith forward, radical water-walkers who live out their faith in a fear-filled world!
“I DWELL IN JESUS, THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH! JESUS IS MY REFUGE AND MY FORTRESS. A THOUSAND MAY FALL AT MY SIDE, AND TEN THOUSAND AT MY RIGHT HAND, BUT NO PLAGUE SHALL COME NEAR ME! JESUS DELIVERS ME FROM ALL TROUBLE AND SATISFIES ME WITH A LONG PRODUCTIVE LIFE! NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST ME SHALL PROSPER, IN JESUS NAME!
Blessings on you, Nick
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