Faith And The Enemy
gtcotr/ss020903
Turn to Matthew 14
Tell the story of Peter getting out of the boat & walking on water:
* John the Baptist had been imprisoned beheaded by Herod.
* Jesus, when he heard of this, departed into a desert place to pray.
* The multitudes found where Jesus was and came to Him.
* Jesus had compassion on them and healed their sick.
* It got very late and the great multitude needed food.
* All that was available was 5 barley loaves and 2 small fishes.
* Jesus took them, blessed them, broke them and gave them to His disciples and the disciples did the same and gave them to the people.
* More than 5000 men, besides women and children ate their fill.
* Twelve baskets full of left-overs remained.
* Jesus instructed His disciples to get into the boat and row to the other side of the lake while He sent the multitudes away.
* Jesus sent the people away and went up into a mountain to pray.
* When evening came Jesus was on the land alone and the ship was in the midst of the sea, tossed by the boisterous winds which blew contrary to its desired course.
* Verse 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
* The Fourth Watch - During Jesus Time Was A Roman Watch
> The 1st Watch 6 til 9 p.m. Evening
> The 2nd Watch 9 til 12 midnight Midnight
> The 3rd Watch 12 til 3 a.m. Cock-Crowing
> The 4th Watch 3 til 6 a.m. Morning
* Jesus had spent most of the night in prayer
* The disciples had spent most of the night rowing hard against the winds, only making about 3 to 4 miles in the over 9 hours.
* Jesus came to the tossed and troubled boat, walking on the water.
* The weary disciples saw Him, thought He was a ghost and cried out for fear.
* Jesus spoke to them, “Be of good cheer; It is I, be not afraid.”
* Peter spoke up and said, Lord, if it really is you, ask me to come to you on the water.
* Jesus said Come
* Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water to go to Jesus.
* But when Peter saw how strong the wind was, he got afraid and began to sink.
* Peter cried out to Jesus, Lord, save me.
* Jesus stretched out His hand immediately and caught Peter and rebuked him.
* When both Jesus and Peter returned to the boat and got inside, immediately the wind ceased.
* All the disciples in the little boat worshipped Jesus and said, “Truly, You are the Son of God.”
Remember I told you that Jesus kept Peter from completely sinking and when He caught Peter and lifted him up, Jesus rebuked Peter: Let’s see what Jesus said to Peter.
Key Scripture: Matthew 14
v.31: And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
little faith = one Greek word
GK: oligopistos = two words
oligos -- little; small &
pistis -- trust or assurance
No Faith Mark 4:40
Little Faith Luke 12:28
Great Faith Matthew 8:10
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 Thessalonians 3:2 “… All men have not faith.”
Matthew 9:29 Jesus told two blind men: “According to your faith …”
Mark 5:34 Daughter, your faith has made you whole.
Hebrews 11:6 Without faith it is impossible to please God …
Four Ways Faith Comes
#1. Romans 12:3 Every man is given a measure
* Salvation Faith
#2. Galatians 5:22 Faith is a fruit of the spirit
* John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches … much fruit!
#3. Romans 10:17 Faith comes by hearing the word
#4. 1 Corinthians 12:7-9 Faith is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit
Jesus to Peter, Matthew 14:31
“O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
Peter had the faith to get out of the boat and walk on water, but somewhere, somehow, doubt entered in and caused his faith to diminish and become too little to sustain his miracle.
Doubt Is The Enemy Of Your Faith
Doubt will cause you to fear
Fear Stops Faith
Doubt Is The Enemy Of Your Faith
3 Basic Forms Of Doubt
#1. Not Enough Information
Acts 2 On the day of Pentecost when men from every nation heard others who were not naturally acquainted with their country, culture or language, nonetheless speak and glorify God in their native tongue.
Acts 2:12 And they were all amazed and were in doubt saying one to another, What meaneth this?
Doubt - Greek: Diaporeo
“to be perplexed due to a lack of information”
“I have no idea what in the world is going on!” = Doubt
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge …”
One cannot have faith for or in something they do not know about.
Romans 10:13-14 (Whosoever - How - Not Heard)
#2. Hesitation Caused By Indecision (or wrong decision - already decided it cannot happen - pre-judged the matter - unbelievable)
Mark 11:23 A well known, much quoted faith scripture which contains a warning that doubt can stop your miracle:
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be removed and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Doubt - Greek: Diakrino (For those who care about correct translation of GK)
This form of usage is:
Aorist - Tense
Passive - Voice
Subjunctive - Mood (conditional, depending, potential, possible)
We find the same Greek word ’diakrino’ in a different voice & mood, translated into a different English word in:
Romans 4:20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.
Stagger - Greek: Diakrino
Aorist Tense
Passive Voice
Indicative Mood (A simple statement of fact that the action actually did occur, is occurring or will occur)
We find the same Greek word again, used slightly different and translated into another English word in:
James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. (7) For let not that man think he shall receive anything of the Lord. (8) A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Wavering & Wavereth - Greek: Diakrino
Present Tense
Middle Voice (Subject performing action upon himself)
Participle Mood (’ing’ ’ed’)
Diakrino = Stagger - Waver - Hesitate by Pre-Judging
#3. Second Thoughts
Matthew 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Doubt - distazo
it’s root - ‘dece’ comes from duo
meaning = twice or duplicate
Aorist Tense here is equal to Past Tense
Active Voice - The subject is the doer of the action
Indicative Mood - A statement of fact that the action did occur.
If we were to scholarly investigate this scripture (like Sherlock Holmes) we would find 4 things irrefutable:
* Something was done
* Peter did it
* That’s a fact
* It caused him to begin sinking
What did Peter do that caused him to begin to sink?
Peter duplicated!
He did something twice --
Peter did not ‘Diaporeo’ - he was not pereplexed!
Peter did not ‘Diakrino’ - he did not hesitate to get out of the boat!
(Peter did not pre-judge that it could not be done)
Peter ‘Distazo’ - he thought twice - duplicated the decision making process and thought twice about it!
Peter had second thoughts about Jesus’ word being enough to sustain him in the middle of the miracle!
What caused Peter to have second thoughts?
Matthew 14
24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But (verse 30 “… when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid“); and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Peter got his eyes off Jesus, looked at the circumstances, got afraid and fear caused him to have second thoughts which in turn caused his faith to deteriorate and he began to sink.
Doubt will turn great faith into little faith!
Good News
Peter cried to his Lord, “Save me!”
And He did.
Jesus will still save those who call upon Him today.
Romans 10:13 Whosoever shall call upon the Name of The Lord, shall be saved.
