Stepping out of the Boat. Walking on Water.
The Power of Faith - Moving beyond an intellectual Faith, progressing toward to an experiential Faith.

When we trust God and believe in Jesus, we would experience the power of our Faith in Christ.

When Jesus called out to the disciples, "Take courage! It is I", they know and understand Jesus as a kind of intellectual faith.
Peter responded to Jesus' call. He obeyed Jesus and got out of the boat. Peter believed in Jesus that he could walk on water because Jesus has called him to do so. Peter took his first few steps and he remained above the water. This is the power of faith - the ability to walk on water. Peter's intellectual knowledge of Jesus had been transformed into an experiential faith when he took that step of faith out of the boat and onto the water.

In addition, his experiential faith is further enhanced after he met the wind. When Peter feared and his faith wavered with the disturbance of the wind, he began to sink and cried out to Jesus for help. Jesus did not abandon him. He stretched out His hands to save him. Jesus proved to be faithful to Peter and adhere to His promises even when Peter was in the midst of a crisis.
Indeed, Jesus has shown His goodness and faithfulness to Peter. The disciples witnessed His power. "Truly you are the Son of God."

When we first know Jesus, we usually have a simplistic understanding of who Jesus is. He forms in our minds an image of a man of great character who is perfect and righteous. It remains as a kind of intellectual knowledge.

Like Peter, when we take a step further to move nearer to Jesus and know Him as a closer friend, we would experience His reality beyond what we could imagine of him in our minds. Our intellectual faith has now transformed into an experiential faith. Experiential faith convicts our hearts and imprints an indelible memory in our minds. All of a sudden, the words of God become more alive than never before. This is the power of faith - the power of experiencing the reality of our Lord Jesus Christ when one believes and obeys Him.

Hence, Brothers and Sisters in Christ, let us take that step of Faith and proceed beyond our intellectual faith so that we could experience the reality of Jesus. Let our intellectual faith and understanding of Jesus be transformed to an experiential faith of intimacy with Jesus.

What then does stepping out of the boat mean to you? What is that boat which you desire to step out?

How does it feel when you realise that Jesus has called you to walk on the water? Would you trust and believe? Would you take that step of faith and inch yourself nearer to your beloved saviour?

Faith, Shu Yi