A Step Of Faith Series

Steps along Life’s Journey

A Step of Faith – Sermon 2

Matthew 14:22-33

Taking a Step of Faith requires

Courage (14:27)

Desire (14:28)

Obedience (14:29)

Obedience to Jesus’ Commands appears Risky

Dependence on our own wisdom actually is Risky

Succeeding in a Step of Faith requires Perseverance (14:30-31)

Intro

Slide

Good morning,

I am so glad that you returned if you were with us last week.

Last Week’s Message

If you missed last week, I would encourage you to check out last week’s message on our website. We started a new series last week called “Steps along Life’s Journey” and last week we talked about a “Step into Hope.”

We talked about how God loves us and when we put our hope in Him, He does not disappoint us like we have been disappointed by so many others. We saw how Jesus is willing to meet us right where we are at, even in the midst of our hopelessness and sin to lay before us a step of hope that he offers us when He meets us.

When we put our hope in Jesus Christ, by entering into relationship with Him receiving Him as Savior, it is then that our life’s journey takes a turn to truly be able to experience a life that is full and abundant.

Believe and Receive Jesus Christ

I want to recap this morning what it means to receive and believe in Jesus, because this is essential to understand if we want to step into real hope and real living.

To receive Christ, it is imperative that we first recognize our need for Him.

You need to recognize and know that you are a sinner. You have done things that are wrong and because of that, because of sin, you are separated from God.

You, being a sinner, are completely unable to do anything to restore yourself or anyone else back into relationship with God.

But God loved you because He created you. And because of His love for you and desire to restore you into relationship, the Father sent His own Son, of His own free will, to be born into this world and become a man while never ceasing to be God.

Jesus was born of a virgin, by the power of the Holy Spirit, lived a perfect, sinless life, and through the sacrifice of His life, paid for your sins.

Now through this Sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, God has made a way for all of mankind to be restored back into relationship with Him. And He has shown us that this sacrifice is acceptable through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

There is no other way to be in a relationship with God, but through Jesus Christ, believing that He is God, that He paid for your sins through His death, and that He rose again.

When we believe that, believing in who He is and what He has done, we receive Him and step into hope, hope that gives us eternal life and a hope that allows us to live a full and abundant life now!

Do you believe in Jesus Christ?

Have you received Him as your Savior?

The Bible tells us that “if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

If you believe in Him and have never really repented of your sin and turned to Christ receiving Him as Savior and confessing that belief to Him, then I want to take a moment and lead in a prayer of confession so that you can confess your belief to the Lord and step into hope and be saved.

Pray.

Now I am sure that many of you know people who have professed belief in Christ who don’t always seem to be living a life of hope or that truly fulfilling life that I talk about often.

What is up with that? Well, I will tell you.

While our eternal life is guaranteed at the point of receiving Jesus as our Savior, the full and abundant life that we can experience on earth is not. To live that life requires us not only to take a step into hope, but it also requires steps of faith.

Every one of us has a Step of Faith

Everyone in this room today, no matter where you are on your Life’s Journey, has a step of faith to take.

Baptism

Maybe you have just recently received Jesus as Savior, and you need to be baptized.

That would be your next step of faith.

Tithing

Or maybe a step of faith that is before you is in the area of generosity.

Maybe the Lord has placed in front of you a step of faith to be moving toward tithing or more sacrificial giving versus selfish spending.