Are You Ready For A Leap of Faith?

Are You Ready For A Leap of Faith?

 

Good Morning Friends,

 
 

Growing up in Florida along the beach as teenagers we used to fish the pilings for mangrove snapper, sheepshead, snook and mackerel. These groins have fallen out of fashion as ways of stabilizing the beach erosion during storms but they were fun for fishing. Gradually nature, through storms and barnacles, took most of them away. The first timbers to go were the center beams that allowed for an easy walk out into the Gulf of Mexico.
After they were gone, to get to the best fishing, we had to jump from piling to piling. And at really high tides it was almost like walking on water. We risked it for the excitement and the thrill of doing it. Gradually we got pretty good at it, but first we had to experience a few missed steps and barnacle scrapes. Finally it became second nature but at first it started out as an act of abandonment. Are You Ready For A Leap of Faith?

 
 

Scripture: “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

 
 

Matthew 13:18-23 (NRSV)

 
 

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

 

Matthew 6:25 (NRSV)

 

Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.

 

Luke 6:38 (NRSV)

 

And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”

 

Matthew 4:19 (NRSV)

 

Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.”

 

Deuteronomy 31:6 (NRSV)

 

But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.

 

Matthew 19:26 (NRSV)

 

Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

 

Matthew 14:28 (NRSV)

 

Message: Before we teach a man to fish or learn ourselves, we need to trust enough to act. You see living truly productive spiritual lives takes not only a leap of faith but some preparation of our minds and hearts to receive the word of God as an offer to follow a different path. Sometimes we need a plan but then there are those times when one needs to just let go and see what happens as we move from doing what we want to do for God, to doing what God wants us to do. Things can look impossible or risky or even pointless but there are those times when our heart says why not try and see what happens when we trust and obey. Such is the journey with Jesus. Here the journey can be compared to farming, as in today’s scripture, or even fishing for men. In both we need practice and patience. In both we need understanding of how things work. In both we have to have courage, joy and faith. We have to have courage to let go of our security of earthly things as if our life depended on it. We need a conversion of not just the head and heart but also the pocketbook. So this morning we give consideration to the relationship between courage and earthly security and I have to come to the conclusion that we need to give more than we think we can spare. We need to risk. The act of giving needs to be continuous and smooth just like we eventually learned to jump from piling to piling. We need to raise our standard of faith. We need to risk enough and love enough to be generous in giving and thereby release the energy and joy that is trapped. Friends, let’s be alive in our living. Let us realize that risking to give brings more joy than hoarding. What we keep, we lose. What we give, we keep. A seeds given and grown in good soil produce a harvest of abundance. Bait given to the best fishing hole returns fish. We are to trust not just what we see but also what the Spirit allows us to believe in the harvest. We are to forsake the cares of the world because Jesus has promised never to forsake us. We are to risk the love of God in a leap of faith and be blessed in the doing.

 

Pray we are focused not on our own importance, or the importance of others but on the revelation of God’s importance. Pray we take the cure of obedience to the Spirit when our belief falters. Pray we risk enough to live. Pray we keep focused on the goal and take a leap of faith. Pray we realize that money is a pretty lousy security when it comes to things spiritual. Pray we believe that loving is the sower of dreams waiting to come true. Pray we are not too cautious. Pray we realize that creativity is always a leap of faith. Pray we remember today’s scripture when we want to take a risk so big it seems impossible. Pray we remember that we serve a mighty God, through whom all things are possible. Pray we step out in faith, and trust, not in this world, but in the One who made it. Pray that when we decide to take a chance we do so in the Spirit, knowing the Father is for us and Jesus is with us. Pray we trust God to supply our every need as we take the next step. Pray we take a leap of faith when we hear the call to go fishing.

 

Blessings,

 
 

John Lawson