Jesus is Faithful

Opening Prayer

Introduction

Today I would like to ask you three questions:

Question 1: Do you know that God is faithful?

Let’s look at what the Bible says.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 NKJV

He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 NKJV

But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

2 Timothy 2:13 NKJV

If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

Hebrews 10:23 NKJV

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

1 Peter 4:19 NKJV

Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

1 John 1:9 NKJV

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Revelation 19:11 NKJV

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.

God himself declares in His Word that He is faithful. DO YOU BELIEVE HIM?

Question 2: Do you believe that God has been faithful in the past, is faithful presently, and will be faithful in the future?

Question 3: Do you know that God is faithful?

It’s one thing believe that God is faithful, its an entirely different thing to know his faithfulness.

We come to a place of knowing God’s faithful once we’ve experienced it.

It’s no longer words on a page but a practical reality in your life.

Maybe you’ve believed God’s faithfulness in the past but life’s got hard and you’re struggling to believe it today.

Are you worried? Are you anxious?

Are you in the middle of a storm and you’re reaching out to Jesus but it feels like you can’t see Him.

Maybe the fierceness of the storm has made you question and doubt Jesus’ faithfulness.

Well, take courage, because the exact same happened to the disciples. And in God’s sovereignty - it all had a purpose.

In Mark 4 Jesus had been teaching the multitude from a boat resting in the ocean He had been instructing the people in parables, and once he was done teaching he instucted the disciples to cross over the ocean to their next destination.

Let’s read:

Mark 4:35–38 (NKJV)

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

While crossing over to the other side a great storm arose.

The disciples were facing dangerous and their hearts were filled with fear and anxiety.

They had left everything they had behind to follow Jesus and now they are faced with a scary situation where their trust in Him is being tested.

They had been obedient to His call, they had obeyed His instructions and now when they need Him most, guess what Jesus is doing? Catching a snooze in the back of the boat.

They were in a state of absolute panic and they cried out to Jesus, “Don’t you care? Can’t you see we are perishing? Help us!”

The storm had made them doubt Jesus and His faithfulness.

But had Jesus left his disciples in the middle of the storm? No. Where was He? In the boat, right there with them.

Jesus hadn’t left them. In fact - Jesus, had guided the disciples to this very place - right into the belly of the storm. Why? Because He had to teach them something. He is faithful, but they had to learn that through practical experience.

Let’s read: Mark 4:39

Mark 4:39 NKJV

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

Wow.

Jesus had power over the storm. He had the power to change their circumstances in an instant. He had the power to bring order into their choas in the blink of an eye.

But why would Jesus allow such a difficult situation into their lives? Because He loved them. And he wanted to reveal more of Himself to them.

He had to teach the disciples a lesson. He is faithful, He loves you and he’s got your back!

Personal application:

Aren’t we the same? Often times God allows difficult circumstances and challenges into our life.

And what is our first response? Worry, anxiety and fear. We completely forget about His past faithfulness and we doubt that He will come to our rescue.

However, Jesus is right there with you. He hasn’t left you, even though sometimes it might feel like it. He knows exactly what you are going through. He loves you and sees you!

His waiting for you to cry out to Him and at just the right time He will step in to deliver you.

But why is He taking His time? Because you have a lesson to learn through - He is faithful!

Let me encourage you with one of my life verses today, its a promise that God makes to both you and me in his word:

Joshua 1:9 NKJV

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Amen!

Jesus’ faithfulness in the life of Peter:

Today we want we be will looking at four aspects of the life of Peter where Jesus showed Himself to be faithful through practical experience.

Peter learned through practical experience what 2 Timothy 2:13 tells us:

2 Timothy 2:13 NKJV

If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

Today we will be reminding ourselves of the faithfulness of Jesus.

Turn with me to Matthew 4:18-20, and mark it in your Bibles. Its our key scripture for today, although we will be looking at a number of different verses.

Aspect 1: The calling and the promise of Jesus:

Matthew 4:18–20 NKJV

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

Here we see Jesus walking besides the sea of Galilee.

Jesus comes to Peter and Andrew, meeting them exactly where they are, and calling out to them - inviting them to follow Him.

And today Jesus is calling out to us to follow Him.

Jesus is not in the business of creating Christian converts, His in the business of making disciples.

He is inviting people to lay down their lives, their desires, plans - to count the cost of being a disciple and to follow Him.

Listen to what Luke 14:25-34

Luke 14:25–27 NKJV

Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

Mark 10:28–30 NKJV

Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.” So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.

That is a pretty high cost to count, but why can Jesus make such a high demand? Because the reward is so much greater, than that which we give up. We get to spend eternity with Him!

And Jesus, led by example, listen to all that he gave up in order to save us.

Jesus humbled himself, as the God of the universe, and came down from His Heavenly throne - suffered and bled, died on a cross, was buried in a grave for three days, rose from the dead - and defeated sin and death. Appearing to the mulitudes alive.

Today - Jesus is still appearing to people.

Today - Jesus is still calling out to people

Today- Jesus is meeting people where they are.

Today - Jesus is asking you “To follow Him”.

Today - Jesus is inviting you to turn from your sin, and to put your trust in Him - that you might have eternal life.

The question is: how will you your response? The disciples obeyed Him and it changed their lives forever. The choice is yours. Are you willing to become a disciple of Jesus?

Listen to what Philippians 2:5-11 and Romans 5:6-11 says:

Philippians 2:5–11 NKJV

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Romans 5:6–11 (NKJV)

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

With this in mind, it move on to the second aspect of Jesus faithfulness in Peter’s life:

Aspect 2: Jesus is faithful to “make” Peter a fisher of men

Lets read Matthew 4:19 again:

Matthew 4:19 (NKJV)

Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Here we see that Jesus called Peter to be His disciple, but with that calling he made Him a promise “I will make you - a fisher of men”.

Peter did not need to rely own strength and resources to fulfill the calling that Jesus had placed on His life - Jesus was the one who would mold and shape Peter’s character, and fully equip Him for that calling.

All that Peter had to do, was to keep His eyes on Jesus and follow Him.

Peter made some pretty big mistakes in His life:

For example:

Peter denied Jesus three times right before Jesus was to be crucified.

Peter cut off the high priests officals ear.

Peter even tried to prevent Jesus from dying on the cross.

From when we look at his life, we as fallen human beings are naturally critical and we can’t understand why God would call someone like Peter to be the leader of His disciples. I’m sure even Peter doubted His call in those moments.

However, God’s saw things differently.

Jesus knows Peter intimately because He made Peter.

He knew Peter’s heart, and even the mistakes that Peter is going to make. And guess what He still chose Him for his work. Why would Jesus do that?

Listen to what 1 Corinthians 1:27 says:

1 Corinthians 1:27 NKJV

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

Peter was the perfect candidate for God’s work, why? Because when we see the transformation that took place in Peter’s life and how God “made him” into that fisher of men - guess who gets the glory? God!

It was impossible for Peter to change by himself - Peter knew it and the people around Him knew it.

Peter needed to learn complete dependence on Jesus.

Jesus was the one who transform Peter’s heart and character.

All that Peter had to do was keep his eyes on Jesus, follow him and little bit by little bit he would become more like Jesus.

The same applies to us today, Jesus is asking the same of you. Let’s read:

John 15:4–5 NKJV

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Jesus wants to come live inside of you by His Holy Spirit. He wants to come live His life in and through you.

He is calling you today - He is inviting you today to be conformed to His image.

Let Jesus “make you” into the guy and girl He has called you to be as His disciple.

Listen to the promise of Philippians 1:6.

Philippians 1:6 NKJV

being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Moving on.

Aspect 3: Knowing Jesus and the value of the storm

In Matthew 4:19 we learned that is Jesus one who makes us, and all that we need to do is follow Him.

However, when we begin walking with Jesus, we embark on a life long journey where get to know Jesus.

We speak to Him, He speaks to us and he guides us on the path that He has for us.

The Bible tells us that we are His workmanship and that we each have a very spesific work to do for him. Listen to this:

Ephesians 2:10 NKJV

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

However as Jesus guides us on that journey - He wants us to know Him more intimately. He wants to mature us, and equip us for the work that Has has prepared us for.

But in order for us to mature and to become equipped, He needs to guide us through rough terrain that challenges us and that brings about growth in our life.

Let’s look at another second example where Peter faced a storm with Jesus, however this time Peter responded a bit differently:

In Matthew 14, we arrive at a scene where Jesus had just finished teaching the multitudes,

He had instructed the disciples to move on their new destination by boat ahead of him, while he stayed and sent away the multitudes.

Once the multitudes had gone away, Jesus needed some time by alone with the Father and we went away to pray privately.

Once He had finished praying, evening had come and he wanted to join the diciples, however, the diciples were in the middle of the sea.

Again a huge storm had arisen, and Jesus had guided them right into the middle of it.

However, this time Jesus went out to meet them in their storm.

Out in the distance, Peter saw Jesus walking on water - and the disciples were deeply troubled. They thought they were seeing a Ghost.

And listen to what Jesus says to them, and how Peter responds:

Matthew 14:27–28 NKJV

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

Peter knew recognized the voice of His Sheperd, He had previously seen Jesus calm storms.

However, this time Jesus wanted Peter to know the power He had to work in and through Peter.

So He called him out on to the water, in the middle of a raging storm.

Listen to Matthew 14:29-33

Matthew 14:29–33 (NKJV)

So He (Jesus) said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

Here we see Jesus bringing Peter into another difficult situation, where all the odds were stacked against Him. However, Jesus did it with the purpose of teaching Peter a lesson.

Peter had to learn through practical experience, that Jesus and only Jesus, had the power to accomplish the impossible through Him.

Jesus had the power to mold and shape Him into the man he had to be for the ministry - and Jesus had the power to do the impossible through Him.

As long as Peter kept His eyes on Jesus and followed Him, everything was going to be okay. But they moment that Peter took His eyes off Jesus, and got distracted by the chaos around Him - disaster followed. He began to sink.

Peter had to learn that Jesus had the power. Not him.

Peter had to learn to be completely dependent on Jesus, and to trust Him in the middle of impossible situations.

And just like Peter, Jesus might put challenges on your path.

Sometimes it might feel like Jesus is calling you to do the impossible. But take heart, you’re not going to be doing it by yourself.

Jesus has the power, and He is the one who is going to be working through you.

All you need to do is keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, trust Him and obeying his every Word.

Let’s look at what

Matthew 19:26 NKJV

But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Aspect 4: The outworking of Jesus promise to Peter

Now we will look at how Jesus ultimately fulfilled the promise that He made Peter when he called Him.

When Jesus called Peter to become His disciple, He also made Him the promise that He would be the one “making Him” into the fisher of men.

Up until now, we have seen how Jesus had been taking Peter through difficult situations.

But every one of these difficult situations served a purpose.

Jesus had been molding and shaping Peter into the man He needed to be, for the ministry he was going to entrust to Him.

Jesus had to ensure that Peter’s character matched His calling.

Jesus knew that before Peter could be used effectively in the lives of other believers, Jesus first work had to work in Peter, before He could through him.

And in Acts 2, we see a Peter so transformed by the power of God - that He is almost unrecognizable.

He went from an being an aggressive, impulsive and deeply flawed man - to being a man the very man that God would appoint as the leader of the early church.

He become a bold preacher, a leader, a husband and a man that the Jesus would work through to accomplish miracles - even writing two letters of the Bible.

Those around Peter - saw the change that had took place in Him. The people around Him could see that He had been walking with Jesus and that He had seen the risen Jesus.

He was no longer the Peter He use, but by the grace of God, Peter had become the fisher of men Jesus had promised He would become.

And in Acts 2:37-41, we read of how Jesus worked through Peter to preach a sermon that lead over three thousand people to Christ.

That is almost two to three public schools. Incredible!

Jesus had called Peter, Jesus had worked in Him, Jesus empowered Peter to do the work of the ministry, and Jesus was working through Him - Jesus as He said He would.

And just like Peter, Jesus wants to do the same in every one of us.

Jesus was faithful.

I would like to close with this verse:

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 NKJV

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.