Matthew 8:26a. And he saith unto them, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?
Ah friends, these Sundays seem to come around ever so quickly, but we don’t really mind, because it gives us an opportunity to fellowship with other believers in the Lord’s house. And what greater time is to be had than there eh? None! For the singing and praising, the exalting and glorifying of our great God is ever so joyful, and that’s as it should be, for the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh. 8:10) Consequently, we have our souls and spirits renewed and refreshed, brimming with confidence, joy and strength to go out and face the upcoming week mano-a-man, strong and steadfast in the Lord’s name!
And to help us get the ball rolling, today we’ll open with a wonderful fairly modern hymn, (smile) written in 1912 by the Irish immigrant to the U.S, James Rowe. And the title is ever so appropriate to the fallen state of man: ‘LOVE Lifted Me.’ One commentary tells us that: ‘The Lyrics draw from the stories of Jesus and his disciples at sea from the book of Matthew, Rowe plays upon the idea of sinking in water to sinking in sin, and that Jesus can lift us out of despair to salvation.’ And that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers! Jesus is the ONLY One that has the awesome power to do such a miraculous work.
So, without further ado, let’s offer up sacrificial praise to heaven, in a soulful, mid tempo version of the song, sincerely exuding the joy that Jesus’ LOVE brings to our fallen human souls, as He lifts us out of the mire of sin and eternal damnation. Singing: ‘I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more; But the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry, From the waters lifted me, now safe am I. (Refrain: LOVE lifted me! LOVE lifted me! When nothing else could help, LOVE lifted me. LOVE lifted me! LOVE lifted me! When nothing else could help, LOVE lifted me.)
All my heart to Him I give, ever to Him I’ll cling, In His blessed presence live, ever His praises sing. LOVE so mighty and so true merits my soul’s best songs; Faithful LOVING service, too, to Him belongs. [Refrain] I was a mess, lost in my sin. Your LOVE has lifted me from the pit. Thank you God, your LOVE lifted has lifted me. Not by my strength but by your grace sins on my master anymore, Hallelujah! Your LOVE has lifted me. (Refrain):
Souls in danger, look above, Jesus completely saves; He will lift you by His LOVE out of the angry waves; He’s the master of the sea, billows His will obey He your Saviour wants to be, be saved today. [Refrain] LOVE lifted me! LOVE lifted me! When nothing else could help, LOVE lifted me. LOVE lifted me! LOVE lifted me. When I thought my sin was too much, when I say I’m not good enough , when I think it will not be restored. Jesus will lift me. When nothing else could help, LOVE lifted me.’
What a glorious situation my people! Jesus lifting us from sinking in the storms of life. No one else has the capacity to do it. Only Him! That’s why we need to make Him our Lord and Saviour as soon as possible, otherwise we’ll end up drowning in the raging storms that are currently threatening to obliterate our world. As per the song, Rowe masterfully incorporates two stories of Jesus on the sea with His disciples in times of storm. The first one comes from Matthew 14, where after feeding the five thousand, Jesus sent the disciples away in a boat to the other side of the sea of Galilee, while He sent the multitude away.
The Good Book then informs us: ‘And when he had sent the multitude away, he went up into a mountain apart (by himself) to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship (with the disciples) was now in the midst (middle) of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night (between 3-6 a.m.) Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit (ghost); and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer (take courage); it is I; be not afraid.’ (Matt. 14:23-27)
Oh friends, can you imagine the fear that must have come over the disciples, already tired and afraid, after rowing for the whole night and not making any headway, to be suddenly approached by this spirit like being walking on the water towards them. But as always, you can count on good ole Peter to pipe up with something impulsive. Matthew writes: ‘And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thee, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous (violent), he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt.’ (Matt. 14:28-31)
And then we all get on Peter’s case. But that is exactly how many of us behave: we talk a big talk, but when the storms of life burst around us, we get scared, lose our faith and cry out for help! So let’s not look askance at Peter. At least he had the manly parts to come out of the boat, and thus earned the sobriquet of the only human being who ever walked on water. The Good Book then continues: ‘And when they (Jesus and Peter) were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him (Jesus), saying, Of a truth, thou art the Son of God.’ (Matt. 14:32-33)
Now, we come to the second story on which our hymn is based; that famous crossing of the sea of Galilee, this time Jesus was in the boat with the disciples. The Bible tells us: ‘And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with water, but he (Jesus) was asleep. And the disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord save us, we perish. And he saith unto them, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!’ (Matt. 8:24-27)
Oh friends, it is a rough life, but I’m still disappointed in the disciples. Why? Because those two stories that we just read about, regardless of which one happened first, it should have been enough for them to take Jesus’ deity seriously and not be afraid as they were. But sadly, its the same with all of us: the Lord does something big in our lives and our faith is boosted, then a short time later another storm arises, but by then we have forgotten about what the Lord did, and run scared again.
It’s just like the Hebrew Exodus. The Lord freed them from slavery in Egypt, and had them cross the Red Sea on dry land, then once on the other side, they began complaining about comparatively lesser things like food and water. If the Lord could part the sea, could He not also provide food and water in the wilderness. Of course! But that’s the kind of people we are. Big on talk, but short on memory. Much LOVE!
…how sad it is…that Jesus so often queried our faith…while He was here on earth…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
SCRIP-BITS 