Why do we do what we do on a daily basis?
We do things for many reasons; what we know, how we feel, what seems right, what people would say, etc..
Before we talk about the seriousness of doing what God tells us… Let’s have a quick laugh about the 3 workers on a skyscraper…
Funny story but sadly, many people, including each one of us, do things because of peer pressure. Be careful of peer pressure! Just because everyone is doing it, it does not mean it is the right thing to do; most of the time, it’s what you should not do; because what the world tells us is usually antiGod! What should be the basis of our doings? How are we to live?
We are to live by ..........!
Ever since the beginning of His ministry in Luke 4, Jesus has been talking about living by faith. We are to live by faith, which is what God says! How are we doing and how can we improve our lives for God, for those around us, and for ourselves?
Before we read our passage for this morning, let’s quietly answer this question – “What am I NOT doing which Jesus told me to do?” This is between you and God, but I encourage you to write them down. Take a moment to think about this……
Let us together now pray our commitment to God’s Word….
Open your Bibles to Luke Chapter 8. Jesus defined faith and described true faith in many ways. As we will note this morning, Jesus will test faith to grow more faith.
Read along with me Luke 8:22-26….
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?
Verse 24 is very telling isn’t it? They said “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” Weren’t they saying, “God, wake up, we’re going to die!” We see the same story in Matthew 8:26 where Jesus said “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
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.
Also, what’s significant about v22 and v26??
Jesus said they were going to the other side of the lake and whatever Jesus says will happen! 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 believes in Jesus Christ.
And one more fail for the disciples: Even after Jesus calmed the storm and questioned their faith, the disciples still questioned who Jesus was!
Now, some may say, and I thought about this myself, can we really blame the disciples? What are some reasons why some may say we can’t blame the disciples??
1. Disciples have not been with Jesus that long.
2. Jesus did not die for their sins yet.
3. Disciples did not have the Holy Spirit yet.
There are many good reasons to excuse the disciples, right?
But what is the one major reason why we can question the disciple’s faith??
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!
I find this very interesting: There can be reasons why we can excuse the disciples but Jesus Himself questioned their 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.
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.
1. If you have not yet believed that Jesus Christ is God, today is the day to believe!
And for those of us who already have believed,
2. Let us always remember that Jesus already died for all our sins and we have God the Holy Spirit within us!
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?
We must not be like those disciples in that boat who added more questions about Christ rather than just accepting what He is teaching. 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 really be, “Jesus said it, I’m doing it!”
And lest us remind ourselves that we can come up with all sorts of excuses but what really matters is what Jesus says!
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?
Let us keep the following truths in mind:
Jesus Christ is God and is with us as we believe in Him!
We do not have to fear because Jesus loves us and desires the best for us!
Memorize Luke 8:8 “Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” God desires an abundance of godly fruit through you and me!
Take a moment to ponder about these things. Pray to Jesus and make a commitment to live with His words!
