Faith in the Storm

Thank you, Eric. It's always a pleasure to be here. When I see people swaying back and forth during the hymns, and I think, wow, these people, some of them have rhythm, and I realize it's because all these young fathers have to keep babies quiet, and it's sweet. And I remember, you know what John says to the different kinds of people in the church? He says, I'm writing to you young men because... Do you know? You've overcome the evil one. I'm writing to you fathers because you know him who's been from the beginning. And he repeats that a couple of times because John repeats things. He's a good teacher. And I think of that when I think of you and I think of what I want to give to the fathers and to the young men. And it's the word of the Lord. And particularly today, we want to know him who has been from the beginning.

And so that's what we're going to do. We're going to look at something that he who was from the beginning did in his earthly ministry. So would you open your Bibles if you have them or trust the screen if the screen has those words. Matthew chapter 14. Matthew chapter 14. We're going to begin reading in verse 22. Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side while he sent the crowds away. After he had sent the crowds away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. And when it was evening, he was there alone. But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves, for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, It's a ghost! And they cried out in fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid. Peter said to him, Lord, if it's you, command me to come to you on the water. And he said, Come. And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened. And beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me. Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and took hold of him and said to him, You of little faith, why did you doubt? When they got into the boat, the wind stopped, and those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, You are certainly God's Son. This is the word of the Lord. Father, would you help us understand your word, help us apply your word, form us according to your truth so that we will be made more like our Lord and Master Jesus, our elder brother. We pray it in his name. Amen. This is a challenge for the disciples. It's a challenge for Peter, for sure. And it comes at a specific moment in time, and there's a context to this. This passage, this account, is told to us in Matthew, in Mark.

And in John, three gospel writers tell us about Jesus walking on water. And all three of them have it in this particular context where right previous to this, Jesus is fed the 5,000. And just before that, John has been imprisoned and beheaded. It's a time of unrest. for Jesus' disciples, because they've always known about John. Some of Jesus' disciples are John's disciples, and they've just begun to follow Jesus. And John has had to say to his disciples, well, Jesus must become greater, I must become less. But something has happened, and it's very sad, and it's very discouraging, and it's very frightening, and it's unsettling. The established order, if you could call it that, has been overthrown because there's no more John. And if you get to be a certain age, you'll have seen eras come and go. I remember Ronald Reagan. I heard that. Some of you remember. That was either he's old or I remember Ronald Reagan too. I remember Ronald Reagan because until I was 10 years old or 12 years old, he was it.

You know, when you talked about a president, that was him. And when he wasn't president anymore, it was kind of a big deal. But then, you know, his protege took over, and it was okay for no length of time. And in the Reformed world, some of us, having been born again, began to grow by listening to R.C. Sproul. reading the books by Jim Packer, J.I. Packer, or hearing from John MacArthur. I don't mention Tim because he's still with us, but I've learned from Tim. But many of these have passed on, and when that happens, there's always this little holding your breath. What's going to happen now? What's going to happen now? And so it's such a relief.

to open the pages of Scripture and read about the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who still is and rules and reigns forever and ever. And this is what happened to his disciples. This is what he did for his disciples in that time where they just heard about John and said, oh. And then while he was teaching them in different stages in his program, He was teaching, he was teaching, the crowds were eating up his words, they were hanging on his every word, they loved Jesus. In fact, they had chased Jesus and his disciples to this particular place. They had tried to, he had sent them out to teach and to preach in all the villages and cities, and they'd come back and report it, and he said, okay, let's take a break. They tried to get away, the crowds see them, and the crowds...

Rush at them. And so Jesus keeps teaching and his disciples keep teaching and keep ministering. And finally, the disciples notice, you know, night's coming. Lord, they need food. Why don't we dismiss them so they can go eat? And Jesus helpfully says, you give them something to eat. And they say, well, all we've got is, you know, five loaves and two fishes. And he said, all right, bring them. And he blesses them and he. He makes the people sit down. He distributes them. And after everybody is full, they pick up, you know, 12 baskets full, and he does dismiss the crowds. Why does he dismiss the crowds? Well, if you read John's gospel, he senses that having filled them up, they want to make him king. And, of course, we find out they chase him around the sea and meet him on the other side, and he has to say, the only reason you're looking for me is because I fed you bread.

but you're supposed to work for the bread that comes from heaven. I am the bread of life. So they've tried to get away. They can't get away. But now he dismisses the crowds and he tells the disciples to get into the boat and leave. And he's going to go pray to his father. Jesus has communion with his father in heaven. He knows what's going to happen. He knows what needs to happen. Everybody's unsettled. They're still not learning anything, even from the bread. And so he's going to put them in a crisis. He puts them in a boat, and all night long, the wind blows against them. And they're on choppy seas. Now, these are fishermen. If fishermen are disturbed at sea, it's a storm, something to be worried about. These men are rowing all night. It comes to be the fourth watch of the night, and they're having trouble. And so Jesus goes to them. He comes to them on the water.

Now, as he's coming to them, he knows what effect he's gonna have on them. He looks like he's gonna pass them by, but he's not gonna pass them by. He knows what's gonna happen. They're crying out because they think it's a ghost. Now, these are men who are seasoned fishermen. They've been on the sea for a long time. They've learned how to deal with normal trouble on the water. There has been that storm that... wouldn't quiet down and jesus is sleeping through it and they say jesus you know help lord we're perishing and he comes and he speaks to the wind and the waves and it immediately quiets down they still haven't learned from that but this is something different they see him walking on the water all our lives long we come in and out of times of trial and oftentimes we learn from our times of trial. We start to grow up and we realize that what we have suffered and the anxiety and the fear, that was nothing to be worried about. Don't you wish those of you who are adults could go back to the teenage years knowing what you know now, right? I wouldn't want to go back to the teenage years not knowing anything more than I knew then. But now that I know God is faithful, now that I know he provides, now that I know

All of those opinions don't matter anymore. I think I could be a faithful teenager. But it doesn't work that way. We learn so that we have to follow during the next trial. In the next trial. And Jesus keeps surprising his disciples. You give them something to eat. That didn't happen when we were preaching in the villages. He walks on water. What is that? Why is that? Why did he do that? That's the strangest miracle. Nobody's healed. It's just, it seems like a flex, right? He's just showing them who's boss. And you know what I think is going on? He's showing them who's boss. He's going to come to them in such a way that they say, that could only be one person. You know, they say it's a ghost, but he says to them, Don't be afraid. Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid. Now, when Jesus speaks to his disciples, they should go, oh, well, Lord, would you like to get in with us if you're going where we're going? None of them say anything to him except Peter. None of the other gospel accounts talk about Peter's interaction. And I have a theory about that with John because John seems to have a...

A funny relationship with Peter in his gospel. They run to the tomb, you know, and John makes sure to tell us that he runs faster. But only Peter goes in. So I don't know why he doesn't talk to us about Peter. But Matthew wants to tell us about Peter. Peter says, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. This is the part of the passage that I don't quite understand, but I think I get it. I want you to think about it with me for a second. If you're looking for a sign to calm you down, to convince you it is Jesus and not a ghost, you want to be reassured. You're in a boat on choppy waters in the middle of the sea. Do you call out to the, maybe it's a ghost, tell me to come out there. Do you get it? Lord, if it's you, command me and I'll do what you're doing. Now we know he can swim, but this is choppy water.

And it's the middle of the night. He's all bundled up in his day clothes. That's insane. But it isn't for a believer. And I'll tell you what I mean. There's only a handful of other examples in Scripture where this happens. The first one is when God is speaking to Moses. And remember, Moses does not want to go. and obey God. He doesn't want to obey the Lord. He doesn't want to go back and talk to Pharaoh and tell him, let my people go. And so God starts to give him signs. But do you remember what the first sign that God gives to Moses? It's before the conversation really even kicks off and starts to go south. He says, this will be the sign that it is I who will be with you. When you accomplish the exodus, You'll worship me. He says, when you have brought Israel out of Egypt, you will worship God at this mountain. So go. This is how you'll know that I've sent you. It'll all be okay, and you'll worship here when you've done it. So God says, if you want to know that I have sent you, do what I've commanded you, and you will know. And isn't that what Jesus says to the disciples in another place?

If you do my commands, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. This is just how it works. Ahaz is another one. He's a king that needs a lot of help in the Old Testament. Isaiah the prophet tells him, wait a minute, that's a different example. But it's not. He says, Isaiah says, look, be delivered. And he says, Isaiah tells Ahaz, ask for a sign. You remember what Ahaz says? He says what I would have said. You don't need to do that, Lord. I'll just wait for your deliverance. I'm not going to put the Lord to the test. And Isaiah says, shame on you. So when God gives us a sign, when God gives us a command, we're to do it. Peter, having learned from the Lord Jesus, knows how this works, and he says to the Lord Jesus, let's do it.

Peter wants that to be Jesus out there. Peter wants that to be the Lord of glory walking on the waters. Peter has read Job who says that the Lord tramples the waves. I don't know if this is in Peter's mind, but it's in my cross references. So I read this and I'm going, yes, I want Jesus to be that awesome. And I'm his apprentice. Jesus has just sent all of his disciples out to preach and to heal and cast out demons, and it happened. The disciples are becoming like the master. And Peter, you know, he's in the boat. He's afraid, just like all the disciples. But when he sees Jesus and his wheels start to turn, he starts to think, okay, this is the next thing. Now, what I want from me and what I want from you, is to have that understanding. We are Christians on a mission to be like our Savior. That's who we are. That's our identity. You don't have to do cross-sectional, intersectional, whatever. You're at the intersection of, I'm a man following Christ and being made like him, being conformed to his image.

I'm gonna love like he loves. I'm gonna be joyful like he's joyful. I'm gonna persevere like he perseveres. I'm gonna trust in this Lord with all my heart because he's worthy of it. And I will trust God. I will trust the Lord Jesus the way Jesus trusts his heavenly father. I want us to have that kind of attitude. And the excitement, and sometimes it's just, you know, reading J.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The only thing I remember about the last book, because it really drags on. I mean, it's awesome. But he keeps repeating the line about the faces of the soldiers, grim-faced. And they know the odds are against them, but they know they're on the mission and they have to do this.

And they're going to do it. And they're throwing their whole body and soul into the mission so that if it fails, that's the end of them. But they are going to do it. And so they set their faces. Jeremiah says, like Flint. And they just, with hard heads, they carry on the mission. So a little bit of steely-eyed, faithful excitement that God has commanded me and God has promised to be with me. And so I will do the mission. I will continue on. I will step out on the water. Now, the other thing I want you to notice about Peter, and put yourself in his shoes for a second, if you're like me, the reason that we are not as faithful as Peter and as hopeful as Peter is that we have in our minds, looming large, what happens when it fails. And we think, If Peter was thinking, I'm going to get a dunking and I'm going to be embarrassed and humiliated. I'm going to be the sucker of the world. You really thought that was Jesus out there? Or as I think even John Calvin says, or Charles Spurgeon, you really think Jesus wants you to walk on water? What's the point of that, Peter? But Peter is not interested in that. Peter is not interested in, you know, that Matthew guy on the boat.

He's writing some of this down. I might make it into his book. Later on, after the resurrection, Peter does this again, sort of. The difference is he doesn't ask Jesus to command him. He sees Jesus. Remember this? Jesus has the fish on the shore and he's cooking up the breakfast for the guys. And they see him and he says, children, have you caught anything? It's been a rough day. Well, come on in. And somebody said, and John tells us, John, John says to Peter, it's the Lord. And Peter is off the boat, not walking on water, but swimming for it. Peter is not worried about his image. What Peter is worried about is that's Jesus. I'm going to get to him. He loves Jesus. There is not a sense when we read about Peter that Peter is.

puffing himself up. He's bold, but he's bold because he loves Jesus. He is on board with whatever Jesus says, you know, until Jesus starts talking all defeatist, you know, I'm going to be crucified and going to be abandoned. And Lord, that'll never happen to you. All of Peter's errors are for love of Jesus. And wouldn't that be sweet for people to remember of us? For love of Jesus, we went for it. We went on mission. We were content to be his disciples and to do what he said. And we just said, Lord, command it. I want you to command me. John Bunyan wrote the Pilgrim's Progress in the 1600s. And he wrote it from prison. And it's the best-selling piece of English literature.

Ever. How many of you read Pilgrim's Progress? Okay, so I don't have to explain it. If you haven't read it, you should read it. It's an allegory of the Christian life, and it's fantastic. And it talks about all the struggles of being a believer. And so when I started to read it, I was just going to read it. We're going to teach a class on it, Tim and I and Daniel Coughlin. So I decided I'd go back and read his autobiography. And one of the most interesting and sad things about his autobiography is he goes so long wrestling with, am I a believer? Am I a believer? Am I a believer? And at one point, he just talks about how jealous he is of the disciples. Why is he jealous of the disciples? He says, the disciples saw Jesus and heard him say to them, you come follow me and be my disciples. I will make you fishers of men.

And Bunyan was wrestling with, am I a believer? Have I committed the unpardonable sin? I would give anything that I possess to hear Jesus say, John, come on, you're mine. You and I have that in the scriptures, in the Holy Spirit. He's speaking to us and telling us to cry out to our Father, Abba, Father, every time you pray. You get some of that experience, whether you are sensible of it or not. God is calling you to him. And so our life ought to be characterized by an eager desire to keep our ears up for the command of the Lord. When we read the scriptures, we keep our eyes peeled to the command of the Lord. And we want him to say to us, Lay aside your malice. Lay aside your anger. If your brother comes to you seven times, forgive him. And remember, it was Peter that said, Lord, how often do I have to forgive my... Lord, don't you want me to just walk on water? Wouldn't it be, you know? A lot of the commands that we read about Jesus giving us are just, they're not the commands we get excited about.

Because they don't feel like we get any credit. I don't feel like I get any credit for loving my wife. Because she's beautiful. And there's nothing wrong with her. I don't think she doesn't get any credit for obeying me. Because who wouldn't do what I say? But there's a level of living that we think, well, that's just expected. And so there's no glory to that. And so we're not excited about the mission that Jesus calls us to. Like Daniel was talking about. Ephesians 5 passage or Ephesians 6. No kid is going to be excited. Jesus tells me to obey my parents, but we ought to. We ought to want Jesus to introduce us to heavenly culture and to learn the culture of heaven, right? I get emails about, you know, Babel and...

Rosetta Stone, and you can learn this language and this language, and it's fun for a little while until you have to start paying for it. But I'm not that motivated to learn those other languages. I need to learn the language of heaven. I need to learn the culture of the kingdom of God. This is an example to us of the culture of the kingdom of God. Perfect reaction time. Peter just, Lord, if that's you, do what you do. Command me. And I will come to you. And he does. That's what we need to be. Now, Peter does it. He walks on the water until he becomes afraid and he begins to sink. Lord, save me. And Jesus does rescue him. But he says to him, you of little faith, why did you doubt? Peter did what he did because he was motivated by the love of God, the love of Christ.

He did what he did because he was motivated to trust the Lord. He loved following the Lord and doing what the Lord told him and being like his Lord. And when he got out and started to do it, then he started to think of other things. And it began to sink. And Jesus doesn't say, you'll get him next time, Peter. Don't worry about it. That was good, buddy. Three steps. Let's go for five next time. Jesus says, you have little faith. Why did you doubt? And the guys on the boat and me standing here, I think, give me a little, I mean, A minus, okay. But now that, that's my sin in me. Wanting Jesus to just, you know, do a curve or something. But then we remember, this is the Lord our God.

He has a program. He's working with you. He wants us to grow in faith. Think about the level of faith that we're all oftentimes just comfortable with. What does it mean to be a Christian? Really nice guy. I'm kind. And for many people, that's the definition of Christian. He's a nice Christian man. And we have gotten imprisoned by, what is it? tyranny of low expectations. Think through scripture. Remember Moses? What did Moses do wrong? He did a bunch of things right. Moses was great. Moses was faithful as a servant over all God's house. And Moses put up with those grumbling Israelites. And they would grumble against him. And remember at one time God opened the ground and swallowed a bunch of them because they were against Moses. God and Moses Pulling together. God was telling Moses, commanding Moses, and Moses would go and command the Israelites. And what Moses said was what God said. The closest thing to unity with God that you have with a mere mortal in Scripture. And yet, he doesn't get into the promised land. And why?

You can say it was a bad day. They pushed him over the edge. He did one thing, and Lord, why can't you overlook that? But what one thing did he do? He became infected with a sense of his own holiness. He started to look in the mirror. He started to see himself as against the Israelites and for God. And remember what he said? He brought Aaron up there by the rock. He's supposed to speak to the rock and bring water. You rebels, shall we bring water out from this rock? And the Lord has to say, what do you mean, Moses, we? Now, it was probably awfully good for Peter that he sank. Spurgeon said he was never nearer his Lord than when he was.

Peter was nearer his Lord when he was sinking than when he was walking. Well, Peter knew himself then for sure. But think about it. They get back in the boat and the disciples aren't patting Peter on the back. Wow, Peter, they're going to name basilicas after you. What they do is they worship Jesus. Jesus alone is Lord over those waters. Peter's a disciple. He's a faithful disciple. He did more than anybody else in the boat, but he's a disciple. He's a man. Jesus is God the Son. Moses learned that the Lord is God, and he shares his glory with no one. There are other examples in Scripture, but you of little faith, why did you doubt? Now you of little faith.

Do you have little faith? Nobody's willing to admit it. Okay, I see one hand. Jesus has promised his disciples, these same disciples, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed. And Jesus tells Peter, don't ever be satisfied with your little mustard seed. Don't be discouraged. Don't lose heart. But you expect to grow. Expect to grow. in holiness. Expect to grow in boldness. Expect to grow in perseverance. Expect to grow in hope. Walking on water, casting out demons, these are the hard things that the disciples did, but there are other hard things to do. And when scripture tells us who we ought to be, it tells us some pretty impossible things to be. Love, joy, Peace. Just spot me, okay? If I miss one, all right? Love, joy, peace. You're supposed to wait for that one. Patience. What do you need patience for? You need patience for somebody to be kind to you, maybe. You need kindness. You need patience because you're afflicted. And when you're afflicted, you want relief. And you want relief now. And the Lord...

sends his disciples on choppy waters. The Lord leads his disciples through wildernesses. The Lord sends vipers to discipline them and then says, have faith, look at the snake on the pole. But you said no idol. I said, look at the snake on the pole. Okay. Kindness, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, goodness. Okay. Now, I got ones that stand out to me, and when they stand out to me, it's because I have a lot of growing to go through, okay? Young men, John says, I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. Young men overcoming the evil one are also urged in other parts of Scripture to be self-controlled, to be sober, to be sensible.

That's what Paul says to the young men. Sensible, being self-controlled. Do you know how hard it is to control a young man? All you young men know. It takes God's spirit, but God has given you his spirit. Do you know how hard it is for some wives to be kind? You guys are fun to preach to. But look, think about what it means. I've been to Niagara Falls. The water's going over the cliff. People have gone over that in barrels. I don't recommend it. You have not been commanded to do it. But when you go and see that, you see the power of water. You see something of why. And hurricanes, I've lived through a hurricane. You see something of why. One of the promises of Scripture is that in the New Jerusalem, there is no sea. You know, danger. It's danger.

When you see those things and realize that, you realize what it was that Peter trusted Jesus with. And you see what it means that God is not impressed by our faith, which he gave to us, which is the instrument of our salvation, but it's a gift from him. And he's not impressed by it. He just says, it grows. Expect it to grow. Don't make excuses. Don't give up. Don't crack under pressure. Remember, Peter is going to fail again. The young girl at the high priest's courtyard. Remember, a teenage slave girl. Hey, you look like you're a disciple of Jesus. Never heard of him. I don't know what you're talking about. He does that three times. Remember that. How does Peter get restored? What does Jesus say to Peter? Three times. Denied him three times, so Jesus asks Peter three times.

Peter, do you love me? Now, can you read any of the gospels up to that moment and think Peter didn't love Jesus? Peter loved Jesus. Peter wanted to be with Jesus. Jesus asked him that three times so that Peter could confess it, so that Jesus could send him to take care of his lambs. You know that I love you. You know all things. You know that I love you. And Jesus said, never said. Well, Peter, I don't know. He said, if you love me, feed my lambs. And Peter did. Peter grew. Peter's faith grew. Now you grow. Trust the Lord. Wait on the Lord if you're waiting. Pray to the Lord. Remember, be the persistent widow banging on the door. Expect that you will grow.

In your joy. In your love. In your patience. In your peace. And stop making excuses. You have joy before you. Eternal joy. So walk on some water. You know. Forgive. Discipline. Accept discipline. With patience. Peter did. He kept being a disciple. You keep being a disciple. Okay. Let's pray together.