I Am Isaiah

Text: Isaiah 58
Focus: Justice for others
Function: To Help People see what God says about how we treat the poor
Form:  Dramatic Narrative

Intro: 

Today, I am going to do a drama in order to help us visualize God's Word.

Today, I am the prophet Isaiah and I am trying to recreate the events and thoughts on the Prophet Isaiah's mind when God gives to him the prophecy recorded in Chapter 58. So bear with me.

A little background:
Isaiah the prophet actually had two roles. He was prophet to Judah during a time of prosperity that was close to the prosperity of Solomon. And, he was also pastor to 4 kings. The most famous of which was Hezekiah. Hezekiah was faithful. Maybe even more faithful than David in the way that he did away with idolatry in the land. Because of his faith, God did some pretty big miracles.

So today, I am taking on three roles, over here, I will be the pastor, praying for the King and asking God to help me lead him

And over here, I will be the PROPHET speaking the Word of God.

And at a few times, I will be the voice of God speaking to Isaiah.

Now remember, when the prophets spoke, they don't prepare a sermon, they just wait until the Holy Spirit fills him up then blurt out what God is saying through Him.

And one other thing, almost all of what I am saying, when I am over here on the Prophet side is taken directly from the Bible, Isaiah 58.

(Isaiah in in prayer and he feels like God isn't really connecting with him. Pray on knees)
Isaiah as a pastor: God, are you there? God, it seems like it has been a long time since you have spoken to me! Have I offended you?

I don't know if you are listening, but last night, King Hezekiah came to me with three of his officials. The King is afraid also. He wonders why you haven't given him a message for quite a while. He asked me to remind you that he has been very faithful.

He is thankful that you have blessed him just like you blessed his Grandfather, King David.

He reminded me that in one night, you made us very wealthy. In one night, we were very weak. And when the enemy was camped around Jerusalem, and we didn't have enough soldiers to seat 100 horses and the enemy had an army of 185,000 people, in that same night, you fought on our behalf. The entire force that was encamped against Jerusalem died suddenly in the night.

The next day we carried away the loot that they took from many nations. And now, we are a great, and powerful people. You alone have made us prosper.

God we know that you helped us because we refused to trust in idols.

But now, these last few years, the King is concerned.

It seems as if a revival started and then fizzled out. The revival that should be happening has stopped. We want to know why.

Even though you did such a great miracle, and the people remember it, some of them mock you. No one comes to Church faithfully. Everyone is more concerned about themselves.

People are becoming more and more sinful. The King believes in you. But we need a revival.

God. I am concerned as well. Where is the revival?

God. Are you there?

(the prophet slips into a fitful rest)

Voice of God: “Isaiah. Wake UP!”

Go to the king and tell him that this is what is wrong.

Tell him that for right now, his prayers won't get off the ground.

(ISAIAH walks to the King.)

King. God spoke to me last night and this is what God said. Isaiah 58: 1-3"Shout! A full-throated shout! Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout!

Tell my people what's wrong with their lives,
    face my family Jacob with their sins!

So King: Listen to what God has to say:
You people are busy, busy, busy at worship,
    and love studying all about me.

To all appearances you are a nation of right-living people—
    You appear to be law-abiding, God-honoring..
And you are asking me “What's the right thing to do?”

Listen my people:
You love having me on your side, and I am.
But my people, you also complain,
You say:
God, 'Why do we fast and you don't look our way? God,
    `Why do we humble ourselves and you don't even notice?' God.
Don't you notice how religious we are? God, when we praise you, we feel close to you. We are inspired. You know we love you.
My people: Thank you for your prayers and humility, but let me explain something. I am always honored by your praises. But love for me, without love for others means little to me.
3-5Here's why is why your prayers are not reaching me as they should. Your religious practices are more for a show than they are for the things that make me happy. For example:
"The bottom line on your 'fast days' is profit!
    You drive your employees much too hard.
    You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight.
    You fast, but you swing a mean fist.
The kind of fasting you do
    won't get your prayers off the ground.
Do you think this is the kind of fast day I'm after:     a day to show off humility?
To put on a pious long face
    and parade around solemnly in black?
Do you call that fasting,
    a fast day that I, God, would like?

(The prophet goes back to his room to study and pray.)

Okay, God. I think they understood that there is something missing. But I am not sure they have a handle on what it is.
Can you help me help them figure it out?
Wouldn't it be easier if you just made it very clear. You have made it clear what is wrong, can you make it clear what is right?

(VOICE OF GOD) Isaiah, go back tomorrow to the King and tell him this. Shout it out again.

King Hezekiah: This is what God says to you:
I told you that your fast was merely a show. I told you what was wrong with it. Now I will tell you the kind of fast that pleases me:
6-9"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
    to break the chains of injustice,
    get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
    free the oppressed,
    cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
    sharing your food with the hungry,
    inviting the homeless poor into your homes,     putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
    being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
    and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
    The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
    You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'

(Isaiah as pastor)
Oh God. Thank you for that promise that when we cry out for help, immediately, your answer will be “here I AM”
But God. We have about the best worship of you since the time of King David. Asaph, the leader of our music department at temple is writing Psalms just like King David did. God, look into his heart. He is a man who loves you. And when he sings, we get caught up.
Why isn't that enough?
If we forgive debts won't we encourage laziness? IF we invite the homeless into our homes, won't they stink up the place?
Why isn't our great Sabbath celebrations enough?
King Hezekiah is frustrated. He believes that his willingness to go beyond even David's faithfulness in getting rid of idolatry would be proof.

THE VOICE OF GOD ANSWERS. “Isaiah, go back to the King and explain a little bit more. I can't give it to him all at once. He has to think about it.

(Isaiah as Prophet) King Hezekiah. Yes, God is pleased with your faithfulness. But God wants to remind you that He loves everyone.
Don't you remember your ancestor Abraham, when he spoke to me right before I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah? Abraham knew me. Abraham knew that I am completely fair and I care for everyone. I did not destroy those two cites until I removed Lot and his daughters from the place.
Since I am fair, Hezekiah, I want you to know just how I feel about everyone, not just the prosperous and powerful.
Listen, take a step in faith and trust me to meet your needs when you give yourself to others.
I promise you: When you follow me, you will have: A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places. Listen to me says the Lord. Hezekiah, you are the king and justice belongs to you. So:
9-12"If you get rid of unfair practices,
    if you quit blaming victims, and the poor for the troubles
    If you quit gossiping about other people's sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
    and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
    your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
    I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
    firm muscles, strong bones.
You'll be like a well-watered garden,
    a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
    rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You'll be known as those who can fix anything,
    restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
    make the community livable again.
The revival that you long for will come when you live by faith and give yourselves to others.

(Isaiah goes back to prayer)
God, help me out here. I am not only a prophet, but I am a friend of King Hezekiah. I am his pastor as well. When I am in his presence, and your Holy Spirit takes over, I don't know what I am going to say. It is you speaking through me. But then I remember what you say through these lips, and sometimes I have a hard time figuring it out myself.
Are you actually saying that revival is not about worship practices as much as it is about the way we care for the least of these in our land?
Hezekiah is afraid that you are displeased with his worship. Is that true? Does it count for anything? What should I tell him?
I am going back to rest. And I am waiting on you for an answer. (Isaiah rests)

VOICE OF GOD: Isaiah, wake up! Keep reminding them that love for me is important. And then tell them that I want them to love everyone else as well. Love for me includes sacrificial love for others.
Isaiah, you remember what I told you back in chapter 6 when I said that I will love among them and be called Immanuel, God with people.
You remember what I said in chapter53 when I explain to them that I am Jesus, the Savior and I will wipe away all of their sins.

You remember again in chapter 55 when I promise them mercy and grace without limit, mercy and grace that is free to them, just like it was in the wilderness.

Remember the Manna? The energetic gathered lots of manna, but ended up with only one quart, and those who were not as energetic gathered less manna and still ended up with just a quart. I give to everyone.
Isaiah, keep reminding them of my mercy. And warn them of their pride. People, when they do well, stop thanking God for blessing. They start trusting in themselves. They always blame me for problems, and praise themselves for prosperity. But I am the one who gives strength and luck to the prosperous. Sometimes, they become stingy. That is why I told you to tell Hezekiah to stop accusing the poor of being lazy. Sometimes, that is just a smokescreen used to justify greed. The man or woman who loves me will not turn their heads away when they see a homeless person. So go back to the King. And I will be your voice again.

(Isaiah as prophet) King Hezekiah, Listen to the word of the Lord. God indeed loves the love you show for Him. He is glad that you stand for His Word and that you Stand against idols, but listen to what God says about Worship:
13-14"If you watch your step on the Sabbath
    and don't use my holy day for personal advantage,
If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy,
    God's holy day as a celebration,
If you honor it by refusing 'business as usual,'
    making money, running here and there—
Then you'll be free to enjoy God!
    Oh, I'll make you ride high and soar above it all.
I'll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob."
    Yes! God says so!
Hezekiah, I am God and I give to my beloved even in their sleep. Don't worry about what it costs to be generous. I promise you, when I come to earth as Jesus the Nazarene, I will again preach this message. I will proclaim that the more we give, the more I will give back to you. So trust me. Ensure that everyone prospers, and I will bless you without ever stopping. Hezekiah, you are king, this is your job.

CONCL:

Prayer (Lord, help us love the least of these)

Who do you say Jesus is?

Text: Matthew 16: 13-20

Focus: The authority of the church.

Function: To help people see the power of forgiveness.

Form:

Intro:

Show video

A few days ago, I encountered a couple of Mormon young men on their “mission year.” Although I disagree with many parts of their theology, I am impressed by the love and dedication that they have for the Lord during this year.

I am not railing on the Mormon Church in this message. But they believe that Joseph Smith found the book of Mormon buried somewhere here in the US and in the book, it established a new line of succession about apostolic authority.

Today's scripture lists the reasoning behind the Roman Catholic Church's belief in the Pope.

RC's believe that Peter was the first pope and that Jesus gave him specific authority to establish whatever doctrine he believed necessary when He said to Peter, whatsoever you bind on earth and whatsoever you loose on earth.

What authority does the Church have?

What authority does the Pope have?

Is the Church just some man-made institution?

Can the Church proclaim that someone is either in the kingdom of God or not?

The big division between Protestants and RC's has to do with the authority of the Pope and the priests.

Different Protestant religions have varying degree. Some reject the pope all together, but do believe that the Priests or Pastors, the ordained clergy, have specific powers and authority.

We believe that everyone who confesses Christ is a Priest to God and that these words that Jesus spoke to Peter are true for us as well.

Jesus says, “what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

What does this actually mean? Is Jesus speaking about faith, claiming promises and or Spiritual warfare?

I know at times I have felt the presence of something particularly evil, and when I silently pray “spirit of fear, I bind you in the name of Jesus” or “spirit of fear, I plead the blood of Jesus over you,” I have sensed a block to that particular sense of evil.

Is that all Jesus is speaking about?

Let me submit three things to you about this statement, or authority that Jesus gives to Peter:

The church that Jesus tells Peter he is about to build, is the universal eternal community of believers. Jesus' words to Peter tell us something of this church.

1. Membership is gained by confessing Christ. Christ's eternal community is made up of those who trust him for their eternal security. There are no other entrance requirements. When we trust Jesus, "the Son of the living God", we are securely brought into his family forever. Even the gates of hell cannot get in the way of this faith.
2. Christ's community is eternal. It is not a religious fad which will fade out with the passing of time. Nor can spiritual powers of evil overcome Christ's eternal community.
   
3. Christ's community is functional. Each individual member of Christ's fellowship has both the authority and responsibility to offer God's forgiveness and total acceptance to all who seek his mercy in Christ.
   

Jesus gives a big-picture view of the church we need no longer feel alone, vulnerable or afraid, even if it is only two or three who meet together.

Now let me refer you to John 20, right after Jesus reappears to the disciples. He enters their room and after they get over their fright, the scripture says that Jesus breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit. And He said one thing about what this power of the Holy Spirit means: “Those whose sins you forgive will be forgiven, those whose sins you do not forgive will not be forgiven.”

That is real authority.

You all know the ending to the Lord's prayer: the one thing that Jesus chooses to explain about that prayer is this: “If you forgive, you will be forgiven, of you refuse to forgive, you yourself will not be forgiven.

This is the authority that we have. It works 2 ways. It works for our good and also for the welfare of others.

Consider the video we saw. It wasn't as much about forgiveness as it was the power of the gospel.

I saw the image that the people in Loveland were protesting and it is particularly offensive. I will not go into it. I can understand why believers were so upset.

But I love the way the pastor addressed the issue. Instead of taking up an offense, he took up the love of the Jesus and the gospel message.

Instead of cursing the darkness, he light a candle to show the way.

And the result of his action was repentance and a deepening of the faith of the artist. And a great impression upon the owners of the art gallery. They saw Christians responding in the same way that Jesus responded to their enemies.

About Forgiveness. I have someone who is telling me that they are going to hell because of me.

That was shocking to hear!

That is a powerful statement. I asked the person why and they said it was because they refused to forgive me.

When I first heard that, I prayed over them with this scripture. Lord, I prayed, forgive their unforgiveness toward me. I know you understand their anger and wounds. In your patience, let your love for them overcome their hatred of me. God, if it is a case of either them being in heaven or me, then have mercy on them and let them go. But more than anything, let your love give them the power to forgive even though they believe that I have wronged them. Forgive their unforgiveness. I loose your forgiveness toward them.

Listen, this is real authority that Jesus has given us. We have been given the power to forgive others. It is real.

Let me give you two more examples of how this works power actually works.

Jesus was on the cross witnessing the men who were murdering him. They were so callous to His suffering that they made a mockery of Him by gambling for his clothes. It appears that they were gambling for the clothes in full sight of Jesus.

That kind of indifference and violence is heinous.

And it would typically cause the victim to be steeled in utter hatred. The typical reaction would be a desire for revenge.

But you know what Jesus did. He prayed, “Father forgive them for they do not understand...”

He loosed forgiveness on them. And it worked. When Jesus died, their commander, the man the most directly responsible for this cruel additions to Jesus' humiliation by his soldiers declares the same thing that Peter has just declared. He says: “truly this is the Son of God.”

We have been given the keys to the kingdom of heaven. We have the power to forgive.

I am serving on another Kairos weekend in November. This time, my son JR is serving with me. Yesterday he was asking me if it was a safe place to be.

And I told him that on both occasions that I served, the men sitting directly to my right bragged about the number of people that they had killed.

It is kind of shocking.

He asked if anything had ever happened in the room. I told him the story of the young skin-head who had 2.5 tears tattooed on his left cheek. I guess that means he had murdered 2 men and attempted to murder a 3^rd.

He went for another tattoo and the prison tattoo artist, as a joke to humiliate him, tattooed a gang symbol on the back of his neck. It was the gang symbol of either the crypts, or the bloods. Both are black gangs. The artist thought it was funny, the prisoner was less than amused.

You know the cookies that you have generously made for the weekend? We distribute 60,000 cookies among the men in the room and across the entire prison.

On Saturday, we spend the day preaching about the power of forgiveness. And the men in the room are given 2 dozen cookies to give to a fellow prisoner that they need to forgive.

On that day, this Aryan nation prisoner had stuffed a shank in his boot. A shank is a homemade prison knife used to murder another prisoner. He fully intended on killing this other prisoner right in front of all of us.

Instead, the Holy Spirit got through to him and instead of killing the man, he gave him his two dozen cookies.

The prisoner disposed of his weapon, and then confessed his repentance to the men at his table.

Listen, when we forgive, God's power works on our behalf.

Do you have someone you need to forgive? And at the same time, does it feel like the blessing of God is somehow blocked in your life?

Consider that authority that you have. If and when you forgive, you loose the power of grace to work on your behalf.

Faith Revisited

Text: Matthew 15:21-28

Focus: Faith

Function: To Help people see the nature of consistent prayer. And to help people who believe that they are not good enough to find grace.

Form: Story telling with exegesis

Intro:

In Bible College, I was lucky. They had an entrance exam when I first started. It consisted of 150 really tough and precise questions about the Bible. They gave the same test when I was a senior. In order to graduate, one had to get at least 75 questions right. But they administered the test at the beginning to see how well they taught us the bible.

As I mentioned, I was lucky. When I started, I got 136 right. And since I scored so well, I was able to clep out of OT Survey and NT Survey. That was 6 hours of classes for which I didn't have to pay any tuition!

I remember those people taking those classes. They were hard! It was a lot of memorization of a lot of facts. I can still hear people saying: “Matthew 14, feeding 5,000. Matthew 15, feeding 4,000. 14 is 5,000, 15 is 4,000. Wouldn't it be easier if 14 was the 4,000 and 15, the 5,000?”

That was all they had to know about Matthew 14 and 15. But last week, we saw that the story of Jesus walking on the water is Chapter 14 as well. It seemed like they left something out in what they had to memorize.

And Chapter 15, starts out with Jesus and the disciples on a mini-vacation.

If you remember right before Jesus fed the 5,000, He got the news that John the Baptist was beheaded. He was sad. So He escaped to the wilderness to take some time to pray.

And the crowd followed Him. So, He cared for them. He healed them, preached all day and eventually, with miraculous power, He gave them the meal that fed 5,000 men and their families.

He finally gets His chance to be alone by sending the disciples on ahead in the boat to the vacation spot and takes His personal time to pray.

Prayer is important. Even for Jesus. Prayer isn't necessarily spending time on our knees repeating phrases that sound spiritual.

No. Prayer is honest communication with God. Sometimes it is rejoicing and gratitude. Sometimes it is bitter crying and complaining. Sometimes it is meditating and pondering truths and doubts.

People ask me: “How can you spend a day, or hours on end in prayer?” Don't try to be spiritual. Don't try to be spiritual. Don't try to be religious. Remember, Jesus left heaven where for eternity in the past He has been with God the Father every single day. I love it when I talk with my kids. We are family. And you are part of God's family as well. Just have a conversation with God about what matters to you.

Jesus finds refreshment in this prayer time. And during this time, He is made aware of the disciples struggle in the storm, so He leaves His time, walks across the water and delivers them.

In Chapter 14. He is away from the crowds. There are rumors about Jesus everywhere, so He cannot completely escape. But during this time, Jesus is taking time to relax, enjoy time with His disciples and focus on the day to day things that can get neglected when we start getting too busy.

So, it is no surprise when this woman, a gentile, when she requests a miracle, that Jesus ignores her. Did Jesus not love her? Does He love her less? Are the Jewish people more special? Was this some kind of test? Was Jesus just on vacation and doing the 1^st Century equivalent of allowing all of His calls to go to voice mail?

When Jesus ignores the woman, the disciples get frustrated. Not that they cared so much for the woman, but because she wasn't letting them alone.

They asked Jesus to either make her be quiet, or answer her prayer request.

Was answering the woman an hard thing for Jesus to do?

Who knows? In this exchange, we get a big lesson in faith.

Throughout the Old Testament, God reminds the Jewish people that He has blessed them for one reason: “So that they can bless the rest of the world.”

In all the prophecies about Jesus, we read that Jesus will come to save the entire world, not just one race.

Throughout the New Testament, racism is condemned. God makes it clear that not only does He love the Jewish people, He also love Gentiles as well. Brother Paul repeatedly says that Male, female, Jewish, Greek, slave or free, every single person is loved by God.

Does God love some more than others?

Does God love us more than others?

Does God love US Citizens more than others?

Does God love white people, black people, Asian people, Native Americans, Hispanics, Arabs or Jews more than others?

Of course not.

So what is Jesus doing when He ignores one group of people just because they are not born as direct descendants of Abraham?

Let's unpack it by looking at the history of Israel, Palestine and the symbolism in the miracles of feeding 5,000 and 4,000.

Listen, there is a lot to this story. How many baskets were left over when the 5,000 were fed? Right. 12

And how many baskets were left over with the 4,000? Right 7.

There are twelve tribes in Israel. And this woman was a descendant of the Canaanites who were displaced by the Jewish people when they escaped Egypt. 7 Canaanite nations were displaced.

People ask why God allowed such warfare and destruction to the local indigenous population. Well God made it clear. He tried and tried to get them to repent. But they refused and in their idolatry, they did terrible things to one another. They local religions forced people into prostitution. They regularly practiced human sacrifice. There was nothing wrong with not caring for the poor. It was a survival of the fittest mentality that justified all sorts of greed and violence.

And God sent prophets to get them to love their neighbors as much as they loved themselves. And they refused, so the OT indicates that God made an example out of them with the hope that others would listen and be kind.

It wasn't that God didn't love the natives in the land. It was that He gave up trying to get them to be kind, so in order to help other people be kind. He made an example out of them.

But that was OT law and retribution. This woman was a descendant of one of the people groups that God told the Jewish people to annihilate.

And Jesus tells this woman that He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

But it is funny. Or it is symbolic what happens next.

He answers the woman's prayer and heals her daughter. He does this while He is traveling abroad with gentile people.

And then He returns to the outskirts of Jewish territory and feeds 4,000. Remember again how many baskets are left over? 7. And there were 7 nations displaced when the Jewish people came into Canaan.

God loves Palestinians as much as God loves Jews.

And this woman is sort of the key, the turning point in the story of God's mercy widening its boundaries farther and farther.

This is God opening the door to our own salvation. This is the end of the Old Covenant, a covenant of law and retribution. And it is the beginning of the New Covenant, the New Testament, the covenant of Mercy and forgiveness.

Let us look some more at this woman.

Jesus tells her that it isn't right to give the children's bread to dogs. Several commentaries are quick to point out something here. The word for dogs is the word for Pet dogs. It specifically refers to puppies. Everyone, even the people reading this story in the 1^st century would catch the subtle meaning of that word. That opening to God's grace.

Jesus says, parents don't give the puppies the food they have set aside for the children.

But everyone would realize that He was speaking of pet dogs, not mongrels, or wild dogs.

The term is a term of endearment toward the pet.

And it is almost as if the woman latches on to that phrase, quickly states, “But even the puppies get the table scraps!”

And Jesus, just as He is with the Roman Centurion is impressed with her faith.

There are only two people whose faith impressed Jesus and both of them were not Jewish.

That isn't saying that gentiles have better faith than Jews.

What it speaks to is Jesus' love for all humanity.

Think again about the woman.

Jesus is ignoring her. The disciples don't care, all that bothers them is that she is bugging them to get Jesus to notice her.

This age old tape, this message sometimes that we have in the back of our heads starts playing. We have this doubt: “we are not worthy of God's grace. God loves the world, but does He love me? What about all the hidden wrongs that I have done, or gotten away with?

Have you ever wondered if you are not worthy of God's love? Have you ever felt judged by the people of God?

Don't despair. It seems as if those are the times that Jesus becomes the most compassionate.

Immediately, He heals the daughter.

What about you?

Do you ever think that maybe you do not deserve a blessing, or the love of God in your life?

I know at times, I have preached, and many more times I have heard sermon after sermon reminding me of how much more I have to do in order to gain the favor of God.

But here is the thing. God's love comes without condition. We cannot earn it. Grace is a gift. Her response is proof. (ALTAR CALL FOR HEALING)

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.