Faith Factory

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture that reject fear and champion faith. It emphasizes the power of God's word and the importance of having faith. The story of Peter and the miraculous catch of fish is used as an example of faith in action. It highlights that we all need faith and that even though we may have doubts, we can still choose to have faith. The message encourages readers to strengthen their faith through meditation on the word of God. It concludes by reminding readers of God's unconditional love for them. Welcome to Fear No Fear. Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embrace you today. This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. We reject fear in any and all forms. Fear is a spiritual force, the currency of darkness and ignorance. It's what we inherited when Adam gave up his faith and Satan uses it to keep people down. His only weapon is words. If he can get you believing or looking at words of fear, he's got you. Instead, we champion faith as an allegiance to God, as a belief and trust and loyalty to the Lord God Almighty. We accept the evidence of his word as unvarnished truth, as is, just as it's written. We get close to his perfect love through the word, and perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4.18 All scripture is taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Visit eBible.org Luke 5.9-10 For he, Peter, was amazed, and all who were with him, at the catch of fish they had caught. And so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Jesus said to Simon, Don't be afraid. From now on you will be catching people alive. Did the amount of fish frighten them? Because it was a lot of fish. Earlier, verses 6-7, it says that it was a multitude. So many that the nets were breaking. And another boat came to help, and the catch filled both boats. That's a lot of fish. Maybe it was that it was daytime. The fish in the lake of Gennesaret, verse 1, went to the depths during the day to stay cool. They only came up, they were only catchable, during the nighttime hours. Jesus had asked them to drop their nets during the day. After they had already spent a night trying. Nothing had been biting. Nothing would be biting now. Nothing in the natural could explain what happened. Many years of experience with fishing had taught them that it was over for the day. They'd been washing their nets in preparation of closing things up. When Jesus had come to borrow a boat to teach from, verses 2-3. There were only two differences between this and all the other times that they had been in the lake. Verse 4. First, they had just finished hearing Jesus teach. Second, Jesus was the one who asked them to row out and let down their nets. They heard the word of God, and Jesus asked them something. And we know that he only did what his father showed him. John 5, 19-20. Here in verse 5, Peter tells Jesus that he doesn't want to, and doesn't see the point. But, because Jesus said to, he would. Peter had been listening to Jesus teach. Peter had been hearing the word of God. What does hearing the word of God do? It strengthens or grows our faith. Romans 10-17. Peter didn't believe Jesus, not really. But he chose to obey, and that took faith. He decided to have faith in the face of no visible evidence that it was anything but a waste of time. Hebrews 11-1. Perhaps he was expecting a handful of fish, getting a meal out of the experience. Once the nets were pulled in, and the fish settled between two boats, Peter dropped to the bottom of the boat in front of Jesus and confessed that he was a sinner. Perhaps because of his attitude when Jesus asked him to drop the nets. And that's when Jesus told him not to be afraid. Peter had just demonstrated that in spite of his physical mind and emotions, he could have faith. Jesus knew that Peter would need faith for what was coming. In fact, the word tells us that we all need faith. Hebrews 11-6 says, In Hebrews, several examples of faith are given. Noah, who had no evidence of a flood. Abraham, who had no evidence the country was going to come into his possession. No evidence his body was suddenly going to start producing children again, or that Jesus was going to raise Isaac from the dead. But he believed in all those things. Sarah, who had no proof that her womb was going to become fertile. Joseph, sold to slavery, had no proof he would rise to be second only to Pharaoh. Moses, who had no evidence or reason to return to Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it. Joshua, who had no proof a city would fall without intervention of humans beyond graze and shadow. Not all these people had perfect faith. Some laughed in wonder, struggled to understand, or questioned God a lot. A couple even really didn't believe, but they all chose to have faith, and God moved. You know who isn't on the list of great people of faith? Any of the disciples, none of the twelve, and none of the apostles of Acts either. We look at Thomas as a great disbeliever because he chose not to believe unless he had seen. But that isn't the lesson of Thomas. None of the disciples, none of the disciples believed without seeing. Not one. But Thomas chose not to believe without physical evidence. He placed the physical over the spiritual. Here on the lake, Peter believed. But did he believe believe? No. And he confessed to it. He did something here that he also did when Jesus died on the cross. It's important that we see ourselves clearly in relation to the Lord. We are sinful before salvation, and we are always broken before his holiness. We are always unworthy. But those things will lead to despair. Look at Judas. He realized that he had betrayed innocent blood, Matthew 27, 3-5. He saw himself sinful. He was broken before the Lord, and he despaired. Peter, however, here and later in his grief at denying Jesus, Mark 4, 66-72. Here, he kneels before Jesus and asks forgiveness. He saw Jesus' graciousness, his forgiveness, and his invitation to follow him. This also took faith, real faith. Believed believing. As believers, we have a better deal than anyone who lived prior to Jesus' resurrection. We all have the Holy Spirit fully dwelling inside us, and us having full access to everything of the Spirit. Because we've been raised to new life in Christ, by whom we have his righteousness. We can have perfect faith. We have been given the measure of faith, Romans 12-3, as we received the measure of grace, Ephesians 4-7. What measure? Jesus' measure. We're all called to be like him. And by grace, through faith, both of them free gifts from the Father, we have his Spirit. So we have access to everything he did. We can do in the Spirit, according to the will of the Lord, anything Jesus did. We have Jesus' faith available to us. Jesus was the Word, the Word is truth, and we strengthen our faith through the Word. So the measure of faith that we operate in is exactly equal to the measure of the Word that we have inside ourselves. Through meditation on it, study of it, reading it with purpose and intent to receive revelation. The more you do, the more you'll like it, Psalm 1, 1-3. And your faith will be able to do more, because the Word strengthens our faith. It grows our capacity of faith, just like a muscle, Romans 10-7. We can make a small cake with the ingredients God has made available to us. Or we can make a feast. Which will you choose to grow? Which will you choose to walk in? Don't wait. Jesus' faith was depthless, because the Word has no finite depth, no end, and no bottom. Ours can be the same way, too. We just need to get that much of the Word inside our hearts. With daily ingestion, it's a process. With daily meditation, it's a process. Not letting it depart from our eyes, Proverbs 4-21. Our hearts, Proverbs 3, 1-6. Or our minds, 1 John 5-3. It is only by conscious thought, by walking in it, will we keep it there. Start today. Let the Word give you the faith you need to succeed. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Psalm 1. The Lord Jesus wants us to thrive, to grow, and strengthen, and weather all things that come against us by barely noticing that they're coming against us at all, because we are in Him, and He sleeps in storms, confident in the spiritual reality and ever-present power of the Lord God Almighty to save and preserve His faithful. He wants us full of all the good things and rejecting all the bad things. He gives us the tools to do that, to walk in it, to be on that journey, to be victorious in Him, to be in that process of sanctification, to be achievers in Him, to be solid among the winds of life. The Lord knows us. The Lord wants us to know Him, and all that He has for us, He loves us so. He wants us to know it. As we close, remember that you have earth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this. Today, God loves that I, now you, fill in the blank. Was it a meal you made? A smile you gave? Did you get out of bed? Read? Put on socks? There's no wrong answers here. There is no end to God's love and no end to the things about you that He loves each and every day. Pick one. And remember, the Lord loves you just because you're you. 1 John 4, 9-10 tells us, By this, God's love was revealed in us, that God has sent His only-born Son into the world that we might live through Him. And this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His perfect love turned away God's wrath because of sin. And it casts out our fear, too. See verses 18 and 19. We love because He first loved us. He just loves us. Can't get enough of us. And that is wonderful. See you next time.