25And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”28Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!” Matthew 14:25-33

No matter what troubles us in this world, we can always find genuine peace by reading and listening to the Bible. Whether stress comes from our own mistakes or is caused by others, reading and listening to the Bible is the only way for us to truly calm our fears. Find a quiet place and read the Bible. When we read, consider, and contemplate on God’s word, our stressed hearts are filled with calm. When we meet God, His greatness dissolves and makes all these little things – our resentment, anger, fear, and disappointment – insignificant. Our fears turn into hope as we are inspired by the Holy Spirit. 

In this passage, the disciples find themselves in the midst of a storm, overcome by fear. When Jesus comes to them, the storm calms. Similarly, in the face of a storm, we can find solace when God comes to us through our study of the Bible. We must understand that God is with us at all times in each moment of our lives, but our heart’s eye cannot see Him because we are blocked by our old self. Our old self is the part of us that is directed by our own desires and disconnected with God. We remove this block when we seek Him out through our study of the Bible. Then our new self, which is connected with God, comes forth. Step by step, as we read the Bible and listen to sermons, we gain understanding and become closer to God. When He comes to us, God resolves all the troubles from this world we face. 

How? When He is with us, we seek to be righteous in our actions because God guides us through our connection with Him. We try not to sin and disappoint God because He is beside us at each moment. We seek to bring joy to God, and, in turn, we find ourselves filled with peace and happiness. As we read the Bible, we understand more clearly where our hearts betray us, where we stray and make mistakes. We see as God sees. We find that we transform in ways we cannot even fathom. We are humbled as we recognize our shortcomings and seek to repent our sins. This is how we cripple the old self and build our new self. Step by step, our vision and wisdom become clearer on what we should do and how we should act. Rather than seeking the affirmation of people, we seek God’s affirmation. 

God changes everything around us to send His blessings to us. We change from complaining and being resentful to being hopeful and confident. When we are about to face a big conflict or address a difficult situation with someone, read the Bible and pray before you go. This changes our approach. We become more open to taking responsibility and resolving the issue, even at our seeming loss. We are ready to apologize and make the situation right. We prepare a righteous mindset. When we actually meet that person, we may find they are even more sorry, want to resolve, and help us. Even people who attacked us want to help us when God is with us. All that surrounds us works to our benefit through God’s power. We will see this happen more and more in our lives. Thank you, Lord! 

It is our obedience through faith that drives all God’s blessing. We cannot live correctly unless we discard our old self. Worldly wisdom will always view what God directs as wrong. Why do children believe so much more clearly than adults? As adults, we have been filled with the wisdom of the world. Our worldly logic blocks our vision. Only when we defeat the enemy within can we see with God’s vision. Yes, we need worldly knowledge, but it cannot be our teacher and guide. We must live according to God’s word and only use that worldly knowledge to carry out the directives of God. Those who discover this truth understand the great gift of believing in and obeying God. We act righteously because God is with us. When God is with us, every issue outside us is resolved. This is what the salvation of the believer looks like, and it all begins when we seek God in the storm.

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1985-2-3-sunday-pm-1