Lord, He Sinketh!

Text: Matthew 14:22-23

Focus: Faith

Function: To help people see the difference between testing the Lord and Trust.

Form: Story Telling

Intro:

This is a great passage and a wonderful story about faith.

I suppose the biggest lesson that we learn is about doubt. Peter was already walking on the water when instead of looking at Jesus, he looked at the size of the storm.

And when he saw the size of the storm, he lost his confidence in what Jesus could and would do through him and for him.

Those of us who are raised in Church and have heard 100's if not 1,000's of sermons have heard many of the great lessons from this story.

We have heard the importance of keeping our eyes focused on Jesus instead of our problems.

We have heard that we need to see how big our God is, and not how big the storm, or trial that we are facing is.

We have heard that Peter's problem was letting fear get in the way of faith. Fear is the opposite of faith. God has not given us a Spirit of fear, but a Spirit of sound mind and faith.

When we allow fear to rule our heart, then it displaces faith.

I find that concept amazing. Without going into the reason for all the battles and wars in the Old Testament, I find the faith of men like David, Jonathan and Gideon to be amazing.

With David, apparently, every night before a big battle, David slept well. I wouldn't. If I thought that the chance was that tomorrow might be the last time I get to kiss my wife goodbye in the morning, I would lose sleep in anxiousness and fear.

David, however, had no problem fighting an army that was much bigger, much better equipped than his own. He knew that God would protect him. Jonathan, with just his armor bearer faced a garrison of 25 enemy troops and beat them all.

And most of you know Gideon's story from the book of Judges. The Israelites had sinned by worshiping idols. God allowed a foreign nation to occupy their land and enslave the people.

They repented and prayed for God to set them free. When God answered their prayer, He also decided to prove to them just how powerful He really is.

So He told Gideon to attack this huge army. Gideon called together 30,000 troops. 30,000 is not a small army, but it was nothing compared to what they were facing.

God told Gideon that his army was too large and the people might think that their war-craft saved them, not God.

So Gideon told everyone who was afraid to go home. Remember, fear is the opposite of faith. Then 20,000 left and only 10,000 remained. It seems odd to cut the strength of your army by two thirds. All 10,000 of those men must have had a lot of faith.

But God said the army was still too large and Gideon sent home all but 300 men. And those three hundred men won a complete victory.

It is a great story of faith. But initially, Gideon's faith was pretty weak, so he kept on testing to God to make sure.

When God first told him to fight the battle, he said to God: “Prove it by making the ground around this fleece of wool wet, but keeping the fleece dry.”

And God did. He still wasn't sure, so he said: “So I can be sure it isn't a coincidence, tomorrow, make the fleece wet and the ground dry.” And God did it.

And I wonder about his test of God. We have a name for it in Christianity when we aren't sure of our direction, sometimes you will hear believers say: “I put a fleece out.”

I wonder about that test. I mean it this way: An angel, in dazzling white, obviously not a creature of this earth appears before you and gives you specific instructions. Or you hear an audible voice from God speaking to you. Why wouldn't that be enough? I don't know why at times it seems okay to test God, and at other times it isn't okay.

Of course, I don't know what I would do if I had to face an huge army with just a few warriors.

Faith is a gift from God.

And all of these men, David, Jonathan, Gideon and in today's story, Peter, teach us that fear is the opposite of faith.

So let us look at both Peter's faith, and His fear.

I wonder how often we have considered another part of this story:

Peter didn't sink immediately. You know what happens when you step off the side of the pool, or fall out the side of the boat, you immediately go under. Most bodies are buoyant, so you float back up, but initially, you sink all the way in.

Peter didn't do that. The text says that he began to sink.

He was gradually going under.

He took his eyes off of Jesus, looked at the storm, got afraid and his fear got in the way of his faith.

Now think about it. Fear is creeping in, and Peter starts sinking farther. Apparently, if we piece the story together, he sank to his ankles, then his knees, then his hips, then his chest and perhaps finally, his shoulders and his head started going under.

Did you ever wonder why, when he was sinking slowly, he still didn't remind himself that a miracle was still happening. He didn't quickly slide into the water, his descent was gradual.

Maybe the more afraid he was, the farther he sunk. Who knows?

But why did God allow Peter to test Him?

I am not saying I would have reacted any better. It happens in all our lives, we sense God's presence, we step out in faith and when a storm comes, we quickly want to shrink back.

Is it wrong to take a step out in faith? Why did God allow Gideon to use the fleece to determine God's will?

Other people were punished for questioning the word of the angels, or the voice of God.

When Zacharias questioned the angel who announced the birth of John the Baptist, wasn't he muted for 9 months as a form of punishment? (Luke 1:19-20)

Should Peter have put the Lord to the test?

I mean it. Let us think about testing God. One of the three temptations of Jesus in the wilderness was similar. Throw yourself off the top of the temple and trust the angels to catch you.

How is that any different that Peter saying to Jesus “Prove faith to me by letting me walk on water as well?”

Well, many would argue it is different. Jesus obviously had faith. The Devil was trying to get Jesus to show off. Jesus didn't need to grow in faith. But Peter on the other hand, has to learn what he can and cannot do as both an apostle and the head of the Church.

So perhaps God, just like He did with Gideon indulged Peter.

And again, we could criticize Peter for not having enough faith. We can criticize him for not realizing that although he was going down, he was going down slowly, so he was still being held up.

But if we criticize him, we will soon discover that we too have allowed fear to overcome our faith.

What is this lesson?

The lesson is still very clear. Don't look at the circumstances and the size of the problem, look into the face of the God who promises to keep us safe.

I had an evangelist friend one time tell me about his experience that absolutely changed his life and his ministry into a better perspective of humility. It happened right after a particularly successful evening of preaching and ministering. He said: “I felt so close to God. I saw God work in the hearts of some pretty broken up people. I saw God change lives and families forever and I was so blessed to be in partnership with God that I felt like I could walk on water.”

“So, my friend and I went down to the beach, we had taken off our shoes and socks, rolled up our pants and we were getting ready to walk on water. We were sure it would happen. We felt like we had so much faith inside us that anything was possible.”

And then he questioned himself if that was what God wanted him to do.

Who was he trying to prove? Did he want to walk on water so that at the next meeting, when he was preaching he could brag about walking on the water?

The Lord stopped my friend from the attempt. Because miracles, when they happen, happen only for the purpose of bringing glory to God, not us.

Jesus had nothing to prove to the Devil. But Jesus did have lessons about faith for Peter to learn.

So what about faith?

Believe in it. I do.

Jesus said, “If we have faith the size of a mustard seed we can command mountains to move into the sea.”

I was born in Colorado Springs. My dad built a church there, and since the land was perfectly located, instead of a beautiful picture, or a cross, or a picture of Jesus behind the pulpit, they put in a plate glass window because Pike's Peak was framed perfectly inside that window.

Dad said he used to look at that mountain, ponder that scripture and ask God if God really wanted him to change the geography of the face of the earth.

Of course not. My friend didn't doubt that if it was needed, God would let him walk on water, IF IT WAS NEEDED. But he didn't put God to the test either by trying to walk on water.

My friend realized something. He was trying to prove himself to be a better, more faith filled preacher than the apostle Peter.

And then my friend realized something else. Where did Peter get his faith?

Did Peter manufacture faith inside himself by telling himself over and over that he was going to be able to walk on water? Can we manufacture faith by telling ourselves over and over something impossible can happen? Does it work by us continually repeating it? Or is faith itself something miraculous?

Peter's faith come by looking into the face of Jesus. When he looks into Jesus face, he knows that Jesus cares for him. He believes that Jesus is the Son of God and then he acts out of his trust in Jesus!

Of course. Peter was acting out of trust. Look at the beginning of the story. The waves were bad. The ship was in trouble. When they first saw Jesus walking on the water toward them, they didn't recognize Him. Instead they thought it was the angel of death coming to get them and they were frightened.

Right at that moment, the moment they recognized it was Jesus their hope was restored. They were no longer afraid. And even though the storm was raging around them, when they trusted Jesus, they were okay. (repeat: when they trusted Jesus, they were okay).

So they trusted Him and then Peter, maybe in a form of a test in which Jesus indulged him, takes it a step further. As long as he was looking into Jesus face, he was safe. Even when he began to sink, his eyes were back off of the storm and onto Jesus.

He was doing fine until he let fear get the best of him.

And now he was beginning to sink.

Listen: Jesus has a much, much bigger lesson to tell Peter. “Success isn't up to you, Peter. It is up to God.” “Faith isn't up to you, Peter, it is up to God.”

The only thing Peter had any control over was whether or not he was looking at the storm and allowing fear to come in, or looking at the Jesus and allowing faith to calm keep him safe.

The only thing we have any control over is what we choose to focus on. Do we focus on Jesus, or do we focus on the problem?

When Peter and Jesus climbed into the boat, the storm calmed.

When they first saw Jesus, they knew they were going to be safe. He had already calmed the sea on another occasion when they were crossing the same lake. They knew Jesus was in control. Jesus wasn't going to let Peter drown. Jesus sent them ahead because He wanted to take the time to pray. Perhaps during His prayer time, He became aware of their predicament, so he walked on water to meet them. They had visual proof of God's care for them in the midst of this crisis.

But God gave them an extra lesson. God's lesson was in what possibilities could happen when they trust in God, no matter how large the storm sees.

Listen, when the storms in life rage, stand by the Lord. Trust Him.