From Faith to Faith
#faithseries
(This Weekly Prayer Summary was written by Irene Sentosa, from the CBC English Prayer Ministry Core Team, and edited by Brigitta Tedja)
In the Bible, it is mentioned only two times that Jesus “marveled”:
The centurion’s faith (Matthew 8:10)
The unbelief of people in Nazareth (Mark 6:6)
In Matthew 8:5-13, a centurion came to Jesus for healing on behalf of his sick servant and Jesus said to him that He will come to heal the servant, yet the centurion believed that Jesus is able to heal the servant from a distance with only a word. When Jesus heard it, He marveled to see his great faith. Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour! Can you see that God marvels at you because of your faith in Him?
In Mark 6:1-6, Jesus came to His hometown of Nazareth to teach and many of those who heard Him were astounded by His wisdom and the mighty works He performed, yet they saw Him just as the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, Joses, Judas, Simon, and His sisters who lived there among them, so they were offended by Him. Jesus marveled because of their unbelief and because of their unbelief, He could not do any miracles there.
Pastor Paul shared that he has been training four young preachers since last year and one of them is preaching with him today, Shannon Djie. She is one of City Blessing Church of Walnut’s youth group (O2) and worship leader. Shannon continued the “Faith” series for the month of September with a sermon entitled, “Going from Faith to Faith”.
Matthew 14:22-33, NJKV:
22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
This story comes from three different perspectives. It is recounted in Matthew, Mark, and John. The stories overlap for the most part, but this one verse is only mentioned in Mark:
Mark 6:51-52, NIV: “Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.”
What loaves are being referred to in this verse? They are loaves from the miracle Jesus performed when He fed the five thousand people with the five loaves and two fish before they went out at sea. (Mark 6:30-44)
What does it mean that they did not understand the loaves and that their hearts were hardened?
Hardened = To lose the power of understanding. To be blind.
Sometimes we are so caught up in trying to live a life Going from Faith to Faith and we become blind to what matters the most.
The disciples saw what Jesus did but they did not understand who He was. They recognized the miracle but not the miracle-worker.
Jesus said this about the loaves because when He came to them on the water, they mistook him for a ghost. Do not become blind to who He is. When you know who He is, you will not mistake Him for a ghost.
Talking about being blind, in Isaiah 35:5 it says: “The eyes of the blind shall be opened.” This is talking about Vision.
Proverbs 29:18 KJV: “Where there is no vision, the people perish”
Vision: Dreams, Revelations, Oracles
These are things that cannot be seen with the human eye. It is not for us to have natural sight; it is for us to have supernatural insight.
Without dreams, oracles, or revelation, people will perish.
We need to get a deep revelation of who He is, so that we do not miss Him in the storm.
Do we not believe in a God who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow? He is constant. He provided yesterday, He will provide today, and He will continue to provide for tomorrow.
Every single time, God’s heart is for you—that is who He is. It is in His likeness, in His nature to take care of you, always.
Mark 6:47-48, NJKV: “Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.”
Jesus came to the disciples. He met them where they were at.
The same applies to all of us; God sees you in the storm. He is going to take care of you in the storm and meet you where you are at because His heart is for you. He was taking care of you before the storm, He is going to take care of you after the storm, and surely, He will take care of you in the midst of storm.
What would happen if we looked at the storms differently?
Remember, it is all about our vision. How do we see the storm?
Some of us are in the storm and pray: “Lord, take me out of here.”
We need to understand that if God does not take us out of the storm, it is because He wants to lead us through it.
God never said “You will fear no evil because I will take you out of the valley of the shadow of death”, but He said that “Even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil for I am with you. My rod and staff, they comfort you.” (Psalm 23:4)
Pastor Paul always said something along the lines of: “In life, we will either be going through a storm, coming out of a storm, or going into a storm.”
Do not dread the storm. See the storm as something that enables you to grow.
Faith is a journey. It is going to be something that you will constantly exercise.
Have you ever wondered why Jesus brought the disciples through the storm? What happened in the storm? When Jesus was walking on the water, Peter said, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come out into the water.” So, Jesus told him to come, but as Peter was walking towards Jesus, he diverted his focus and saw the wind and began to sink. And Jesus picked him back up.
The storm was not meant to break you, it was meant to build you. The storm is where you will learn to fix your eyes on Jesus.
Are you more eager to get out of the storm than to get to know the Lord in the storm?
He wants to build your faith. If God does not bring you through the storm, you will not get to know God.
If you are never sick, how can you say that He is the Healer? If you have never been through financial hardships, how can you say He is the Provider?
It becomes personal—a personal revelation of who He is.
If it was not for the storm, the disciples would have overlooked who Jesus really was.
If it was not for the storm, they would not have been able to fully grasp the power of Jesus.
John 14:12, NKJV: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”
We can only do greater works when we fully grasp the power and authority that lives inside of us, the Holy Spirit.
God wants to help our unbelief; He wants to prove our doubts wrong. He wants to teach us to continue to fix our eyes on Him.
Pastor Dion once said to Shannon that if you want a life without problems and challenges, then you will live a life without the miracles, blessings, signs, and wonders of God because you will not need God to move in your life when you have everything.
Understand that if you want to live a life Going from Faith to Faith, you have to be willing to go through the storm. If in the past God was taking care of you before the storm and after the storm too, what makes you think He will not take care of you in the storm that you will go through or you are going through right now? At the end of the day, the storm was not meant to break you, it was meant to build you and when you are in the storm, know that He sees you, He cares for you, and He will meet you where you are.
Pastor Paul shared the importance of God’s “NOW” word.
When Jesus walked on water and all the disciples were terrified, Peter said “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus said, “Come.” Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
The same as the centurion when he said to Jesus, “...only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.”
You need God’s “NOW” word so that it will become alive in you and increase your faith. What does God say to you right now?
We can hear God’s “NOW” word by spending time with Him in prayer, worship, meditation, and act on His words. Do not depend on your feelings.
“Faith begins where logic and reason end.” (Kathryn Kuhlman)
Prayer Points:
Pray that we will have a new set of spiritual lenses or eyes that will enable us to see the unseen, what God wants us to see or show to us, and to have revelation on who He is so that we do not miss Him in the storm.
Pray to break any unbelief; ask the Lord to help us with our unbelief so that we will experience breakthrough, healing, miracles, blessings, signs, and wonders of God.
Pray that we will learn to hear what the Spirit is saying, know His voice by spending more time with Him in prayer, worship, meditation, and act on His words. Do not depend on your feelings. "My own sheep will hear my voice and I know each one, and they will follow me." John 10:27
Pray for you to be able to catch God’s “NOW” word, a quickening Rhema Word, the word that is alive and increases our faith.
Pray for perseverance, endurance, for us to learn to fix your eyes on Jesus, and follow His “NOW” word and direction as we go through the storm.
Declare that we will live a life Going from Faith to Faith, be willing to go through storms, and to have faith that the storm will not break us, but it will build us. God will lead us through it and we will learn to know more of Him, who He really is; we will be able to fully grasp and experience the power of Jesus. Know that He sees you, He cares for you, and He will meet you where you are.
We thank God for saving our nation 22 years ago on 9/11/2001 and we pray that we will be preserved from another attack on our beloved land. We ask for God’s mercy and divine protection on America and pray for our nation daily. Lord God, send a sweeping revival we have never seen and heal our land. Strengthen Your church and help us to steward the revival well.
Pray for the advancement and building progress of the Training Center; no delays, obstacles, accidents, pushback, or interruptions. Pray for divine favors, connections, and provision. Also pray for wisdom, a hedge of protection, and unity upon the Strategic Planning Team.