Wednesday, October 21, 2009
NEWS
Pastor Robin Almeida will be leaving for Israel early morning 24th October, to minister once again at the INTERNATIONAL CHURCH HERZLIYA, invited by Rev. Elizabeth Bodonal who pastors this Church. We are sure that this time the members of this Church will be even more blessed, not only with mighty miracles, but also with a far deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ and the way to experience Him and His Kingdom here on earth in all its fulness! This is the prayer of each and every member of The Master's Touch Healing Center, India, who are all very excited about their Pastor going to Israel once again. Glory to God!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Pastor Robin's Teaching
At The Wednesday Bible teaching, Pastor Robin spoke on the passage from Matthew 14: 24- 33. Jesus’ disciples were in the boat in the middle of the sea being tossed by winds and high waves. In the darkness of night, Jesus came towards them walking on the water. Seeing Him, they were understandably afraid because of the abnormal (in their experience of life) manner in which He came. They had never seen anyone walk on water and so it seemed weird and ghostly! As He drew nearer, the fear in them increased. There is always a fear within each person when faced with the unknown. Pastor Robin observed that apart from a few, many of us prefer to remain in the security of what we are familiar with and shrink from anything different. We are born and brought up in a particular system of living and thinking, while in Jesus’ “system” walking on water was normal! When the disciples finally recognized Jesus whom they were so familiar with, they were excited! Impetuous Peter immediately wanted to go to Jesus walking on the water and asked Jesus to call him. Jesus responded with a ready “come.” When we ask Jesus to call us to Himself, He will always respond positively. So Peter stepped out of the security of the boat and even though on unfamiliar ground, began to walk confidently and delightedly because he was moving towards someone he loved and trusted. But the Gospel passage tells us that when Peter was halfway towards Jesus, he “saw” the wind and the waves! His focus suddenly moved from Jesus to an imaginary threat! We get the idea that it was imaginary because no one “sees” wind. We either hear it or feel it. It caused him to become so fearful that all his former confidence was literally thrown to the winds and he began to sink.
This often happens to us when we confidently embark on a lonely path led by a powerful vision of something good. At first, other people may be shocked, disturbed, perplexed or even admire our courage. But very soon their reservations and fears reach our ears and become so loud that they grab our complete attention and we lose sight of the vision. That’s when we begin to doubt and the hope with which we started out begins to sink. Pastor Robin compared the winds that frightened Peter to the voices of the people around us. Well meaning though they may be for our safety, their own fears of the unknown are projected onto us and we begin, like them, to see imaginary threats. As Peter kept sinking, he must have been voicing all the doubts and fears that had assailed him, hoping that Jesus would give him some reasonable answers. But Jesus waited until the water came just below Peter’s nose, covering his mouth, so that he had to forcibly stop blabbering. It was only then that Jesus took over, extended his hand and lifted him up saying, “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt.”
When we begin walking towards Jesus and the new life that He offers us, even though at times we may be overcome with doubts and fears and start sinking, He will not abandon us. He just waits for our fearful minds to stop indulging in its shortsighted self-talk. When we acknowledge the limitedness of our mind and once again turn our gaze on the Creator of all creation, He lifts us up at the right moment and now, wiser than before, we can continue walking on the water of faith. Walking towards Jesus means moving from the world’s system to Jesus’ system. It means completely trusting in His word and not on our limited understanding. Only those who have stepped out of their security to walk towards Jesus and are halfway on the water will understand how it feels to keep on walking despite the insecurity and seeming darkness all around. If you feel yourself sinking and the water has come up to your ankles don’t wait to sink lower. Make the necessary change in the direction of your life. If you have sunk even lower, stop the talking and depend on Jesus to lift you up. Don’t wait for the water to come up to your nose! A swimmer is first always taught how to float on water to let you know that water doesn’t pull you down but throws you up. Difficulties are not meant to pull you down but to push you up!
Peter was a skilled fisherman but academically unqualified. Jesus does not call the “qualified” but qualifies the called! Out of all the disciples in the boat, only Peter asked to be called to walk on water and it was only to him that Jesus said, “come.” When Peter stepped out of the boat onto the water, the Christ in Jesus spoke to the water, commanding it to remain firm under Peter’s feet. Not all are called to walk on water. Peter had a special calling and you too may have this special calling. The woman, who came up behind Jesus, touched His garment and was healed, came to Jesus on firm ground. The secret or key to walking on water is found in Matthew 14: 23 that says: “And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on a mountain by Himself to pray. And when evening had come, He was alone there.”
This often happens to us when we confidently embark on a lonely path led by a powerful vision of something good. At first, other people may be shocked, disturbed, perplexed or even admire our courage. But very soon their reservations and fears reach our ears and become so loud that they grab our complete attention and we lose sight of the vision. That’s when we begin to doubt and the hope with which we started out begins to sink. Pastor Robin compared the winds that frightened Peter to the voices of the people around us. Well meaning though they may be for our safety, their own fears of the unknown are projected onto us and we begin, like them, to see imaginary threats. As Peter kept sinking, he must have been voicing all the doubts and fears that had assailed him, hoping that Jesus would give him some reasonable answers. But Jesus waited until the water came just below Peter’s nose, covering his mouth, so that he had to forcibly stop blabbering. It was only then that Jesus took over, extended his hand and lifted him up saying, “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt.”
When we begin walking towards Jesus and the new life that He offers us, even though at times we may be overcome with doubts and fears and start sinking, He will not abandon us. He just waits for our fearful minds to stop indulging in its shortsighted self-talk. When we acknowledge the limitedness of our mind and once again turn our gaze on the Creator of all creation, He lifts us up at the right moment and now, wiser than before, we can continue walking on the water of faith. Walking towards Jesus means moving from the world’s system to Jesus’ system. It means completely trusting in His word and not on our limited understanding. Only those who have stepped out of their security to walk towards Jesus and are halfway on the water will understand how it feels to keep on walking despite the insecurity and seeming darkness all around. If you feel yourself sinking and the water has come up to your ankles don’t wait to sink lower. Make the necessary change in the direction of your life. If you have sunk even lower, stop the talking and depend on Jesus to lift you up. Don’t wait for the water to come up to your nose! A swimmer is first always taught how to float on water to let you know that water doesn’t pull you down but throws you up. Difficulties are not meant to pull you down but to push you up!
Peter was a skilled fisherman but academically unqualified. Jesus does not call the “qualified” but qualifies the called! Out of all the disciples in the boat, only Peter asked to be called to walk on water and it was only to him that Jesus said, “come.” When Peter stepped out of the boat onto the water, the Christ in Jesus spoke to the water, commanding it to remain firm under Peter’s feet. Not all are called to walk on water. Peter had a special calling and you too may have this special calling. The woman, who came up behind Jesus, touched His garment and was healed, came to Jesus on firm ground. The secret or key to walking on water is found in Matthew 14: 23 that says: “And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on a mountain by Himself to pray. And when evening had come, He was alone there.”
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