Matthew 14:22-33; 2 Timothy 2:1-10

Powerful Words Norman Vincent Peale in his book "The Power of Positive Thinking," shares an experience he had with a man who did not have much self-confidence in him. This man told Norman Vincent Peale that he is in town to handle the most important business deal of his life. If he succeeded, it would mean everything to him. If he failed, he's done for. Norman Vincent Peale thought for a while and told him that nothing was quite that final. If he succeeded, that was fine. If he didn't, well, tomorrow was another day. Then this man talked to Norman Vincent Peale how he was so discouraged and depressed. He had been tormented by inferiority feelings, by lack of confidence, by self-doubt. So after giving him some words of encouragement, Norman Vincent Peale gave him a suggestion. He said, "As you walk down the street tonight, I suggest that you repeat certain words which I shall give you. Say them over several times after you get into bed. When you awaken tomorrow, repeat them three times before arising. On the way to your important appointment, say them three additional times." Do you know where these words were? They were: "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me," from Paul's letter to the Philippians 4:13. Paul's Positive Believing What powerful words! I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. It sounds like these are the words from someone who just achieved a big victory - a touch down, a grand slam, or a championship. But in fact, at that time, Paul was a failure by all secular standards. He was in a prison, arrested by the Roman government for his faith in Christ. He was totally broke, with no house, assets, no retirement funds, no savings. He established churches, but there were many conflicts among people. In addition, he had many enemies - those who did not agree with him, those who thought his mission to non-Jewish people were just preposterous, whose who rejected his beliefs. Yet, what's amazing is that all through his letters, a very prominent common theme is JOY. He said over and over again, Rejoice! He did not say this because he had a comfortable life, or he was among the rich and famous. But he encouraged others to rejoice in Christ, in the midst of imprisonment, rejection, conflict, and failures. In his letter to Timothy, he witnessed he was chained like a criminal. Yet his words were hopeful and promising of the power and strength in Christ. If Paul could proclaim, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me," in prison, we can have the same faith and trust in whatever situation we are in. I don't know if you ever had a chance to be in a prison or visit somebody there, but if you did, you would know the deep, deep sense of helplessness. To be imprisoned means that your time is not fully yours any more. It is almost impossible to feel joyful or to feel powerful in a prison. I know this from my brief experience of imprisonment. I was a university student at that time, and was among the students protesting against the government's corruption. We were protesting peacefully just outside our campus, when the armed police arrested some of us. (Many ran away, but I wasn't a fast runner!) Spending that night in the prison cell, I could not sleep. I was worried about my parents. I did not know how long they were going to keep us there. I remember seeing the night sky through a very tiny window. The sky seemed so, so far away. Being in prison was one of the most humiliating experiences I had in life. I was treated like an object, not a living being. The constant threat of violence was just terrifying. They asked me, are you a communist? I said, No. Then they would say, Don't tell a lie - I know you are a communist. The same meaningless inquiry last all night long. Luckily I was released the next day after signing a document saying that I would not be involved in student protest any more. I was there for only one day and night, but it seemed like eternity. I hope none of you had an experience like that, but you may identify with the sense of helplessness or hopelessness. To feel joyful in a prison-like situation? To say, "I can do anything?" when others treat us as a failure? How could Paul do that? How can we do that? Paul could do that because he was a positive believer. He lost everything, as he said; but he did not lose faith in God. He believed in God's power. As he knew how God valued and trusted him, he believed in his power as well. Do Not Be Afraid In our gospel lesson, we hear that Jesus was up in the mountain for prayer, while the disciples were in the boat. There was a storm, and the waves were high. Jesus decided to join the disciples and simply walked on the water toward the boat. When the disciples saw him, they were frightened! They didn't know what to make of him. They thought he was a ghost. So Jesus comforted them, saying, "Do not be afraid." But Peter wanted to make sure that it was really Jesus and not a ghost. So he started walking on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was, he just got frightened and began to sink. Then Jesus reached out his hand, and caught him, saying, "Why did you doubt?" It was as if he was asking, "Where was your trust? Where was your faith? Where was your confidence?" When overcome by fear, Peter had lost all his trust, faith, and confidence. When the storms of life are raging, perhaps it is natural to lose our faith and confidence; yet Jesus is encouraging us that we can reverse the trend. Jesus calls us not to be afraid. He challenges us to lose fear instead of faith, lose doubt instead of trust, lose worries instead of confidence. Positive believing begins when we can empty ourselves of fear, even in the midst of high waves. Then we can fill ourselves with faith, and know that we can do everything through Christ who strengthens us, who extends his helping hand to us, and even pulls us out when we are sinking into the water. I Believe Going back to Norman Vincent Peale, in his book he shares another story of positive believing. Peale tells of a man who shared the story of his father. His father was a traveling salesman. One time he sold furniture, another time hardware, sometimes it was leather goods. He changed his line every year. He was never quite successful in sales; and was always tense, always afraid of himself. Then one day, a fellow salesman gave him a copy of a little three-sentence prayer. He was told to repeat it just before calling on a customer. He tried it, and the results were almost miraculous. The prayer goes like this: I believe I am always divinely guided. I believe I will always take the right turn of the road. I believe God will always make a way where there is no way. Such is a prayer that we can use in every life's situation. A parent can say this prayer before she/he talks with children about something important; a teacher can use this prayer before teaching; a police officer can use this prayer before calling on a duty; a volunteer can use this prayer before helping others, every one of us can use this prayer as the first thing in the morning when we get up, and repeat it several times during the day. You see, God is always with us. It is our willingness to open up our hearts to God's guidance that makes a difference. It is our commitment to trust God that will bring confidence in us. It is our decision to always choose to follow Christ that will lead us to the right path. What do you believe? If you can compose your own three-sentence "I believe" prayer, what would it be? I had a chance to think through this, and here is my prayer of "I Believe." I believe that God has already given me all that I ever need. I believe that God will always help me to choose life, love, and justice. I believe that I can accomplish more than I can imagine through Christ. What would be your prayer? I invite you to take a moment now, and write your own "I Believe" prayer. The ushers will pass out pencils for you to use. Use this prayer daily and frequently. (Writing time) End with prayer.