Matthew 14:22-33 (NIVUK)
Where: Trinity Sunday 13 August
Minister: Brent
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’
28 ‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’
29 ‘Come,’ he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’
8 But what does it say? ‘The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’[d] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.’[e] 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’[f]
Testimony:
I came to the United States to attend a small state college.
I planned to go on to medical school. My first year of college was perfect. I was getting great grades, and I had a girlfriend and lots of friends. And I was quick to point out to people that I had all of this without relying on anyone but me.
I knew plenty of Christians. In fact, I read the Bible often, just so I could argue with Christians. I wanted to know what they believed so I could break down their reasons for believing. For example, my biophysics professor was a Christian. He would tell me about the miracles in his life, the ways he supposedly saw God’s work in the world. But I thought he was way off. I’d argue with him, and try to convince him he was foolish to believe in Jesus. His faith was a joke to me.
It didn’t take long for God to change my mind. During my junior year of college, everything in my world started to fall apart. My girlfriend broke up with me, I ran out of money and I had to drop out of school. So much for having it made. I thought about going back to my family in Sri Lanka, but I didn’t want to face them when I’d failed so miserably.
One night, I sat in the college library, trying to come up with ways to get out of my situation. The only solution that seemed “reasonable” was suicide. But as I sat there thinking of the best way to kill myself, I heard a voice say, “Have you ever asked me for help?” I looked around and couldn’t see anyone. I thought I was going crazy. Then I heard the voice say, “I’m Jesus, and I’m right here next to you.”
I know this sounds strange. Believe me, I was pretty freaked out by it, too. But I honestly heard Jesus talking to me. As I listened, I felt something I’d never experienced before.
I felt filled up, not hollow and empty. I knew that what was happening to me was real.
I wanted to talk to someone, but I didn’t know who. Suddenly I felt God urging me to go see my biophysics professor. That’s right, the same guy I’d been arguing with all year.
I walked across campus to the science building and found him working in his office. As I walked in, he said, “I’m so glad you’re here. God has put you on my heart and I’ve been hoping you’d come and talk to me.” We talked a long time. I told him how empty my life had become.
I told him what I’d experienced in the library. As he talked to me about Jesus’ power to change lives, I knew I was ready to follow Jesus. He prayed with me. That was the day I became a Christian.
After that, things started to change. God provided just what I needed, like a rent-free place to stay. But it wasn’t just my situation, it was my heart that was really changing.
I wasn’t worried about the future because I knew the Lord was in control, not me.
The people around me saw the changes too. Before I became a Christian, I was arrogant, selfish and manipulative. I had done things to intentionally turn people away from their Christian faith. But after my conversion, I felt humbled by God’s power to change me. I wanted people to see Jesus in my life, not me or my accomplishments. I was almost grateful for my struggles, because I knew God was using them to keep me humble and focused on him. I wanted people to think, “Hey, if God can change the life of someone like Sam, I wonder what he can do in my life.”
Even when things in my life are hard, I know God is with me. I feel his presence through the people at my church who pray for me and support me. I see him in the Christian friends he’s given me. I try to serve him by counseling at a Bible camp in the summers. And I still hear his voice through his Word and through his answers to my prayers.
So why do I believe in Jesus? Because he’s real. That night in the library, when I hit the bottom, my New Age thinking didn’t help me. Buddha wasn’t there for me.
It was Jesus who saved me.
Sam Yapa, posted in Christianity Today online
Jesus saves! The key ingredient for salvation is faith. Our Romans reading boldly declares it and our gospel reading vividly illustrates it. Sam Yapa’s testimony is just one contemporary example of the life changing power of faith when that faith is directed to the person of Jesus Christ.
Last week we looked at the feeding of the 5000 which is really a story that illustrates our vocation as Christians. Remember Jesus said to the disciples “You give them something to eat”, then he showed them how from something very small (5 loaves and 2 fish) great things can happen when they are in Jesus’ hands.
Our vocation is to feed the hungry- physically and spiritually. This is why so many aid agencies have Christian origins. We are called to love our neighbour, heal the sick, help the poor. This has been the core business of the church since its beginning and it remains our vocation today. The key is to place our meagre resources into his hands.
(P)Today’s story is about faith. And faith makes the impossible happen.
Jesus finally gets his much-needed time alone to be with his Father and to grieve the execution of his cousin. He sends the disciples on ahead in their boat while he dismisses the crowd. After spending the night in prayer, he comes to the disciples walking on the water, just before the dawn.
And this account also calls for faith. Did this really happen? Or was it made up later for some reason? We know it’s impossible to walk on water. The ancients also struggled with this although they had a more flexible understanding of the laws of physics and were open to the possibilities of deities manipulating these laws for their own ends. We see this often in the Bible; God demonstrating his sovereignty over the creation by making water do things water cannot naturally do:
Moses parts the Red sea;
Joshua stops the Jordan River flowing;
Elisha causes an iron axe head to float;
Water is turned into wine.
If the testimony of the disciples is to believed then yes, this happened. Their reaction is to proclaim that ‘truly Jesus is the Son of God’. There would be little reason for the disciples to make up a story like this because of all the things Jesus did publicly were enough to mark him out as the Son of God.
What’s truly remarkable though is not that Jesus walked on water- we’ve come to expect this sort of thing from him. What’s truly remarkable is that Peter walked on water! Picture the scene: Its dark and stormy out on the lake. The disciples have been battling the wind and waves all night and they’re exhausted from a long day of ministry. When Jesus suddenly appears through the gloom they are terrified, thinking it’s a ghost. I read somewhere (but can’t verify) that fishermen in those days believed that if they saw a ghost on the water it was an omen of death.
So when Jesus says “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid”, Peter’s looking for proof. “Lord if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water”. Does Peter ever think before he speaks! Why not just wait for Jesus to get to the boat- that will be proof enough surely!
Right here we have a master class in faith.
What does it take to get out of the boat?
A willingness to take a risk– “Lord if it’s you…” Faith rarely knows the outcome of the action it takes. If the outcome was guaranteed it wouldn’t require faith and there would be no risk.
Courage: If you’ve ever stepped off a bridge with a bungee cord attached to your ankles or jumped out of a plan you will know that takes courage. But Peter steps off the boat, into dark and deep water, without a life jacket. All he has to hold him up is the word from Jesus; ‘Come’.
Impulsiveness: Peter doesn’t over think this. He just acts quickly before reason has a chance to catch up and stop him. And the result? He walks on water.
Of course it doesn’t take long for reason to catch up and remind Peter that he should be afraid, that what he is doing is impossible, look at the wind and waves (as if this would be any easier on a calm lake!).
Fear takes over and he begins to sink. Fear is the direct enemy of faith which is why Jesus is always telling them to fear not. How often do we start off on a path or project full of faith but soon turn back when obstacles or opposition come and fear rises to replace faith?
What Peter does is a remarkable feat of faith but ironically, he is chided by Jesus for having little faith! This little faith enabled him to walk on water, even if only briefly. So imagine what could be achieved if he had great faith. Nothing would be impossible!
But we’re not talking about faith in faith here. Faith that does the impossible has an object- it is faith in Jesus alone. We hear it often that to achieve anything you have to believe in yourself. Fair enough. But self-belief is also self-limiting. Faith in Jesus exchanges our limited resources for his unlimited possibilities.
And that is the real challenge of this passage; are you prepared to follow the voice of Jesus even if it means getting out of the boat and risking all? What circumstances are you facing that require faith to overcome? Have you given up having faith adventures that require you to fully trust Jesus?
Perhaps you have never really walked in faith with Jesus. Hear again the words from Romans: ‘The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved
As we sing the creed this morning I invite you to make this a faith declaration.
Amen
This I Believe (The Creed)
Verse 1
Our Father everlasting
The all creating One
God Almighty
Through Your Holy Spirit
Conceiving Christ the Son
Jesus our Saviour
Chorus 1
I believe in God our Father
I believe in Christ the Son
I believe in the Holy Spirit
Our God is three in One
I believe in the resurrection
That we will rise again
For I believe in the Name of Jesus
Verse 2
Our judge and our defender
Suffered and crucified
Forgiveness is in You
Descended into darkness
You rose in glorious life
Forever seated high
Bridge
I believe in You
I believe You rose again
I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord
Chorus 2
I believe in life eternal
I believe in the virgin birth
I believe in the saints’ communion
And in Your holy Church
I believe in the resurrection
When Jesus comes again
For I believe in the Name of Jesus
CCLI Song # 7018338
Ben Fielding | Matt Crocker
- © 2014 Hillsong Music Publishing
