Righteous faith

Abraham was credited as a man of great faith (Hebrews 11:11-12, 17-19; Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6-9). Yet he was not a man of perfect faith. After God called him to leave his country and go to the place God chose for him to go, at least twice he took matters into his own hands by saying that Sarah was his sister, instead of trusting God to keep him safe (Genesis 12:10-20, 20:1-18). And instead of trusting God to allow Sarah to have a child, Abraham listened to Sarah and had a child with her maidservant, Hagar. Yet God did not hold these misgivings against him. We will never live perfectly and trust perfectly in God. But, like Abraham, we can be sure that our focus is constantly on Him, and we too can be credited as ones of great faith.

Cain's downfall

"If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." - Genesis 4:7

Cain's biggest problem was not that he did not present an offering that pleased God, but that he allowed this rejection of his actions to cause him to become downhearted, instead of using it as a wake up call to change his ways. Cain could have repented, and found favor with God. Instead, he let his anger take over. Yet God did not give up on him. Even though Cain turned his back on God, God promised to grant him protection (Genesis 4:15). This is a great demonstration of God's love for all of us, even those who reject Him and refuse to acknowledge who He is.

Inspired by Steve's sermon

In Matthew 14, Jesus was saddened by the news of John's beheading. he tried to go off into a solitary place to mourn and to be alone. But instead of that happening, the crowds followed Him. Instead of sending them away, He paid no mind to His desires, but only of the desires of those who came to Him.

Matthew 14:29-30 - Peter's focus was solely on Jesus, and because of this, he was able to walk on the water. But then he noticed the winds and the waves - his circumstances. By shifting some of his focus to these things, his sights were taken off of Jesus, and that is when he began to sink. but when he cries out for help, immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him.

Hebrews 12:1-2 - We can overcome trials when our focus is on Jesus (Proverbs 3:5)

Matthew 14:29 - Peter stepped out of the boat. Are we - am I - willing to defy the odds and do what goes against logic?

1. Peter went against popular opinion - Are we more influenced by the world, the church, friends, family, than we are Jesus?

2. Peter defied modern wisdom - Are we too analytical? Do we rely more on logic? (Gideon, Joshua @ Jericho)

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

3. Peter stepped out of the boat, into the storm - He left what was safe, went into the midst of their problems. 

Jesus left the comforts of heaven into the turmoil of this world so that God's will can be done.

Peter asked, received and acted. Often we ask for God to work, and when He shows us His will, we make all sorts of excuses as to why we can't do them. Things didn't work out perfectly for Peter. But the worked out. And he walked on water.