FAITH'S REFERENCE POINT - Tanya

Scripture: Matthew 14:22-33, NIV

Have you ever noticed while getting your car washed in the older style auto washes that at times it feels as if your car is going to be totaled before it arrives at the exit door? First your car is jerked onto a track, your sight is blinded by all the soap that hits the windshield, and when those thick belts start banging away it feels like your car is in the middle of a twister. For a brief moment you forget you are in a car wash

and you get a little panicky. However, if you take your eyes off the front windshield and turn your head just to the left and down, focusing on some stationary object or reference point, the vehicle immediately stabilizes and your whole perspective has changed. Things aren't so bad after all.

Reference points are a large part of our daily life. Our temperature has a reference of zero, it is either above or below. In electronic trouble shooting most dc voltages are referenced to ground. Our monitory system is referenced to the gold deposit. Even our precious time we spend is referenced to a very accurate atomic clock at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Bolder, Colorado. It does not lose or gain as much as one millionth of a second in one year. Our faith has various reference points as well.

It's scary to feel uncertain about your faith but everybody wonders at times. Can I really believe in the Bible? Am I truly saved? Is salvation for real? Am I fooling myself when I say I believe? Doubt is scary, but the story of Peter helps. Peter believed in Jesus enough to get out of the boat and walk on water, but once out there, even Peter began to doubt, and to sink! What's important is that Jesus immediately caught him. Peter doubted, but Jesus was there anyway. Doubts don't drive Jesus away. He is there even when doubts come, and you are much too important for Jesus to let you sink.

I imagine that Jesus had similar feelings as Peter on that dark night in the garden so long ago. He could have called the whole thing off reasoning that it was just a dumb idea of His Father's, and history would have been changed for all time. But he didn't because he knew that there were generations and generations to follow who would need that very moment in history as a reference point. It would be a standard for others to follow and live by. Jesus' faith was perfect. We need to keep our eyes on him and remember that he is our reference point!

 Is faith asleep? Let's wake it.

What a challenge that is! It's time to stand up and make a difference. If we don't, who will?

This is a true story of something that happened just a few years ago at USC. There was a professor of philosophy there who was a deeply committed atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester attempting to prove that God couldn't exist. His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic. For twenty years, he had taught this class and no one had ever had the courage to go against him. Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever really gone against him. Nobody would go against him because he had a reputation. At the end of every semester, on the last day, he would say to his class of 300 students, "If there is anyone here who still believes in Jesus, stand up!" In twenty years, no one had ever stood up. They knew what he was going to do next. He would say, "because anyone who does believe in God is a fool. If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking.

Such a simple task to prove that he is God, and yet he can't do it. "And every year, he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor on the classroom and it would shatter into a hundred pieces. All of the students could do nothing but stop and stare. Most of the students were convinced that God couldn't exist. Certainly, a number of Christians had slipped through, but for 20 years, they had been too afraid to stand up.

Well, a few years ago, there was a freshman who happened to get enrolled in the class. He was a Christian, and had heard the stories about the professor. He had to take the class because it was one of the required classes for his major, and he was afraid. But for 3 months that semester, he prayed every morning that he would have the courage to stand up no matter what the professor said or what the class thought.

Nothing they said or did could ever shatter his faith, he hoped. Finally the day came. The professor said, "If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!" The professor and the class of 300 people looked at him, shocked, as he stood up at the back of the classroom. The professor shouted, "You FOOL!! If God existed, he could keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!"

He proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleats of his pants, down his leg, and off his shoe. As it hit the ground, it simply rolled away, unbroken.

The professor's jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He looked up at the young man and then ran out of the lecture hall. The young man who had stood up proceeded to walk to the front of the room and shared his faith in Jesus for the next half hour. Three hundred students stayed and listened as he told of God's love for them and of his power through Jesus

Do you ever wonder why God doesn't do miracles everyday? Does it seem like more people would believe in Him if he did?...probably not! Miracles don't bring faith; faith brings miracles. Faith is the evidence of things hoped for and the substance of things not seen. Faith comes when you hear what God says to you in the Bible and believe it. Faith isn't just going forward at a revival meeting; it's committing yourself to Jesus and trusting him enough to follow him.

Some people think that faith is wishful thinking, but it isn't. Wishful thinking says, "Maybe we'll win a sweepstakes so I can go to college." Faith says, "If I don't get a scholarship, I'll work to put myself through." Wishful thinking is unrealistic. Faith looks and things honestly and squarely, and believes. The wishful thinker is kidding himself. The person with faith sees the difficulties but also clearly sees God.

Another story is told of a college professor who was, again, a strong atheist. The first day of the semester, he would always ask if anyone believed in God, he asked that they would stand up. I think back in the beginning, a few would stand up, but they never knew what to say. One semester, a freshmen enrolled in the class, because it was required credit. On the first day of class, the professor asked that anyone who believed in God would stand up. The freshmen looked around. no one stood up, finally, he stood. The professor looked coldly at him. He asked if the student was willing to let him prove that God didn't exist. The young man said he could try. Then the professor said,

"Have you ever seen God?"

"No"

"Have you ever heard God aloud?"

"No"

"Have you ever touched God?"

"No"

"I just proved that He doesn't exist".

The student then replied, "May I ask you some questions sir?" The professor obliged and the freshmen asked,

"Have you ever seen your brain?"

"...No"

"Have you ever heard your brain aloud?"

"No"

"Have you ever touched your brain?"

"No"

"I just proved that your brain doesn't exist"

It is very important that we build our faith in God and are able to stand up for him. After all, faith can move mountains, and never underestimate the power of prayer. I truly believe that time spent with God just talking to him as a best friend builds faith more than almost anything else. Being a Christian is not a religion; it's a relationship. You can't expect to grow closer to God unless you spend time with him. We can do that by praying, reading the Bible, and trying our best each day to serve God. No, we are not always perfect. We stumble and fall everyday. However, God will bless our efforts as we trust in him. Keep on being faithful to the Lord and having courage. Let Jesus be your reference point and your example. Keep your eyes on him, and remember that he is here for you just as he was there for Peter. The odds may seem stacked against you, but one plus God is a majority!