FAITH—True Faith—Requires Our Action
- If God tells us to fish, will we become obedient & go fishing?
- If God tells us to trust Him in His provision for our lives, will we keep going to work & trust Him at His word?
- If God tells us to believe He can do what we think surely must be an impossible task, will we believe God to accomplish what ONLY HE CAN DO?!!!
So much of the believer’s life is Spiritual Discipline.
We must ‘work-out’ our faith (not that we work FOR our faith) but because as we ‘work-out’ our faith, God increases our faith & the Lord reveals to those watching how—THEY TOO CAN TRUST GOD.
Walk with me into the Bible to the Gospel of Matthew to read a narrative detailing how Jesus provided Peter the money he needed in order to pay his taxes and get this: Matthew was a man who just happened to be a (you guessed it) a tax collector, one who understood the how & why of collecting taxes BEFORE JESUS CALLED HIM TO BECOME A DISCIPLE.
Not only that, in speaking with Simon Peter, the Lord Jesus led Peter to return to the trade he knew so well (you guessed it) a fisherman, one who understood the how & where of collecting fish BEFORE JESUS CALLED HIM TO BECOME A DISCIPLE.
I find it rather amazing how God utilizes our natural skill-set to teach us miraculous God-sized lessons, using these lessons to lead us to His Spiritual truth.
“When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?
(The Gospel According to Matthew 17: 24-27 NASB)
He said, “Yes.”
And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying,
“What do you think, Simon?
From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?”
When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt.
However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up;
and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel.
Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”
As we study this Scripture passage, there are so many truths we can absorb—
- The people of Capernaum thought Peter followed a ‘teacher.’
- The world does not readily recognize God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Peter was a good citizen who readily believed each man should pay his taxes.
- The Lord took time to reveal a biblical truth to Simon, found within a day-to-day situation like paying one’s required taxes.
- Christians are set apart, unique, different, and unlike the lost person; Christians are sons and daughters & citizens of heaven.
- Nevertheless, Christians are to obey the laws of the land in which we live, being good citizens of the place God has left us to live out our earthly lives.
- Peter knew how to fish for fish because he was a fisherman; however, Simon Peter had never fished for a fish in order to receive the coin needed to pay a poll-tax.
- Peter had to decide if he would BELIEVE JESUS AT HIS WORD.
- Peter had to WALK BY FAITH (or in this case, ‘fish’ by faith).
- The tax collector of Capernaum required Peter pay “two drachma,” which was equivalent to the wages of two days’ work.
- The Lord Jesus Christ placed a “shekel” into the mouth of the fish, which was the standard coin of the land, exactly the amount Peter needed.
Did Peter fish all morning, trying to catch the right fish?
NO!
Did Peter throw out his net, knowing with the presence of deep faith within him that God would direct the fish into his net?
YES!
- Peter had experienced Jesus commanding the magnitude of a large catch of fish on a day not so long ago.
- Peter knew Jesus Christ was a man of His word.
- Peter’s faith provides us with tangible evidence to see the importance of Spiritual Discipline.
FAITH—True Faith—Requires Our Action.
As we walk by faith, fish by faith, live by faith, & trust God—those who know us, who are secretly watching us to see if our faith really is true—MAY TRUST GOD AT HIS WORD & BELIEVE!
- Let us walk through life, living as people of Faith.
- Let us believe God at His word, even when we do not fully understand the ‘how.’
Let us ‘work out’ our faith—WATCHING GOD DO ONLY WHAT HE CAN DO!