Sunday August 9th: Sinking Well

On Sunday August 9th Pastor Tommy preached a message on what it means to get out of the boat and to truly walk in faith. 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:02

Thank you for joining us for another life-giving message at Generations United Church.

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For a friend, you've been thinking about inviting a friend. Next Sunday is a great day to do that. August 16th, same story, new chapter, one church. Matthew, chapter 14, this morning. This sermon is entitled Sinking Well, How Faith and Failure Form Us as Disciples. Matthew 14, beginning in verse 22. Now immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. But the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. You ever been in a storm on the water when the wind was against you? I want to tell you a story right now of how me and my dad, my grandfather, almost capsized going through the East Pass in about a 13-foot bay boat on a rough day, and that was a terrible idea, but I won't tell you that story. And in the fourth watch of the night, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., that is, Jesus came to him walking on the sea. But 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 him, saying, Take heart, it's I, don't be afraid. And Peter answered him, Lord, if it's you, command me to come to you on the water. Jesus said, Come on. So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when Peter saw the wind, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me. And Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying, Oh, you of little faith, why'd you doubt? And they got in the boat and the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, Truly, you are the son of God. Well, put your hand on your heart and pray this prayer with me. Dear Lord Jesus, truly you are the Son of God. Speak to my heart and change my life. In your precious name. Amen. These boys are just coming off of a spiritual high. Can you imagine what it was like being one of Jesus' disciples? They had just seen Jesus take five loaves of bread and two fish, and they multiply those so that Jesus, through what they offered, was able to feed five thousand men, including women and children, on top of that. I've been at a lot of fish fries, and there ain't no five cheddar biscuits and two mullet gonna feed five thousand people. That wouldn't even have fed my grandmother. And so these boys are amped. That moment, though, hadn't started off so great. They found themselves swarmed by a mass of humanity, and they come to Jesus and they say, Jesus, these people are getting hungry, and Jesus looks at them and he says, Well, why don't you give them something to eat? And they look around, and there's just one kid who's got a couple of biscuits and some fish. And then they take that and they give it to Jesus. And as the story goes, and as I preached a couple weeks ago, Jesus takes it, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it and feeds everybody. Can you imagine the high that these brothers are riding on? So Jesus tells them, He says, I'm gonna wrap up here. Y'all have done a good job. Why don't you get in the boat? I'll meet you on the other side. And so Jesus tidies up with the people, he talks to some people, he prays with some people, and then he goes up on the mountainside to pray. And I'm sure that when they told, when Jesus told them, you get in the boat and go to the other side, I'm sure they just wanted to chill for a minute and just high-five one another. It's just a victory. They just won the conference championship. They're at an all-time high. And Jesus says, You got to go to the other side, and he says it immediately. There's no time to bask in the afterglow of the miracle. And then Jesus does what Jesus does. Jesus does a great thing, and then what does Jesus do? He disappears. Jesus could have started a really great movement if he had just had a better PR guy. Like Jesus, you just fed 5,000 people. We need a billboard. Jesus, have you, has anybody updated Instagram right now? We need a reel, we need a story right now. Somebody put that out there. We need more, more, more, more. Stay here right now. We're gonna go into the village. We're gonna get more people. And what does Jesus do instead? He says, why don't you guys get in a boat now and leave this moment? And then Jesus goes and he goes up on a mountainside and he prays all by himself. And then a storm blows in. One minute they're on the high of the mountain. The next minute they're in a boat on the sea, and a storm blows in and they're getting their brains beat out on the water. The wind is against them, they're striving through the dead of night, trying to stay upright. The elation of yesterday's miracle becomes the dismay of today's trouble. How quickly, when you're following Jesus, do high tides become lows? You ever been on the mountaintop one minute and in the valley the next minute so fast it gives you a whiplash? It's the darkest point of the night, and they are so stressed, and that's when they see a ghostly figure approaching them on the waves. Imagine how tired they are. Imagine they're weary and they freak out. Are they hallucinating? They don't know what type of manifestation this is. And then they hear the voice. The voice of the one that commanded them to get into the boat, the voice of the one that says, Bring me what you have, the loaves and the fish. The voice of the one who had called each of them individually by name. They hear that voice saying to them, Take heart. It's me, guys. Don't be afraid. And Peter, maybe he can't see him clearly, but he recognizes the voice. He remains a little bit unsure as the wind starts to blow and the water starts to splash over him and he gets the sea salt in his eyes, and he's looking, he recognizes the voice, but he can't quite make it out. It kind of looks like Jesus. And he says, Jesus, if it's you, Lord, command me to come to you on the water. I never would have had that thought if I was him. Why in the world, in the middle of a storm, do you want to walk on the water? Not me. I want to be anchored in the bottom of the boat. I want a carabiner attached to the fattest guy in the boat. Why does Peter say this? Perhaps because in his world, the disciple was expected to be able to do what the rabbi could do. Because Peter knew that to be a disciple of a rabbi meant that you could do what the rabbi did, you could teach what the rabbi taught, you could act like the rabbi. And if Peter sees his rabbi walking on water, it doesn't make sense to me, but it made sense to him in his world that if the rabbi could do it, then I could do it too. But what if there's more? What if Peter had actually begun to believe based on the feeding of the masses? What if he had actually thought, with God, even if I just give him a little bit of faith, five loaves, two fish, whatever it is, what if I just gave him a best that I've got? What if I could walk on? What if what if Peter in this moment decides, I want to take Jesus at his word? What if he really, what if Jesus really can do incredible things through me if I just give him the best I've got? What if Peter was actually finally becoming the man of faith that Jesus wanted him to be? He didn't have to do this. Don't be afraid, it's me. That does not require anybody getting out of the boat. You could be quiet and have faith perfectly well and not be afraid securely sitting on the ice chest. Taking hard and not being afraid requires zero physical movement, and yet something inside of Peter starts to get antsy. Lord, if it's you, command me to come to you on the water. And Jesus says, All right. And Peter does. He steps out of the boat and he walks on the water to Jesus and he succeeds, and then he sees the strong winds. I've never seen the wind. I've seen the effects of the wind. I've never seen the wind. But my Bible tells me that Peter sees the wind. Is his imagination running wild? Is he seeing the sea salt spray blowing through the wind? It's getting crazy. What is going on in this moment? And when Peter sees the wind, the Bible says he sinks. He fails. He fails in front of Jesus. He fails in front of the other brothers, sitting competently and perfectly secure in the boat. How humiliating. I've been there. I felt like God wanted me to do something only to fall flat on my face. Have you? Have you ever stepped out in faith and fallen flat on your face in front of God and everybody? How humiliating to try something great for God and then the wheels fall off. Have you ever done precisely what you know God was calling you to do, and it was a historic, extravagant, massive failure? But I mean, look at Peter's words. He doesn't just jump out of the boat. I mean, you could blame Peter for sinking if he had just jumped out of the boat. But he asked Jesus, if it's you, command me, the God who commands loaves and fish to multiply, the God who commands blind eyes to be open, the Jesus who can say anything and it happens. They just saw him do it. And he said, Come on. And in the midst of his failure, and in the midst of his sinking, he sees the wind, he feels the waves, he's descending into abyss, all at the command of Jesus. And he says, Jesus, save me. And immediately Jesus reaches out to him, he takes his hand and he takes hold of him and he says to him, Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt? And then they're pulled into the boat and the wind stops. Peter has failed. And the moment he fails, things become easier. Maybe he should just not try hard things anymore. If the reward of failure is a life of normalcy and ease, it's safer in the boat. Jesus says, Come, I step out onto the water. I start walking to Jesus. I get my eyes off of Jesus, my eyes get on in the wind. And then I start to fail. And then they grab me after Jesus grabs me and they lug me into the boat. And now I'm in the boat. And what happens? The winds stop. If I am Simon Peter, I've got questions. Questions like this. Why did you wait until I had failed to make the winds stop? How many of us? When we finally muster up the faith to take a risk for Jesus? When we finally step out onto the water and take a risk for Jesus, how many of us, when we fail, does everything get calm at that point in time? And then we think to ourselves, I'll never take that risk again. Does it ever feel like even God is working against you sometimes? Let's be honest. Let's be honest. Have you ever felt like even God was working against you? Just me? Fine. It's just me and Odysseus trying to row my way home. I've been there. Like, God, could you just help a little bit, God? Like the harder I try, the stronger the wind becomes. In fact, it says that in the Greek. It says when he stepped out, then it was a strong wind. It says it in the Greek. And he says to him, Oh, little faith man, why did you doubt? Now this can read to our ears like Jesus is belittling him. That's how I've heard it preached. Oh, you have little faith. Why did you doubt? Like Jesus is rebuking him, like Jesus is rubbing sea salt in the wound. But what if how we see this moment is more so a projection of our deep anxieties and fears about God than how Jesus actually responded to Peter? The text has no tone. It does not say whether Jesus yelled it or whispered, it doesn't say if he said it sarcastically or just, oh you of little faith, why did you doubt? You can hear Jesus' words to Peter in a variety of tones and volumes. You can see his face angry and disappointed.

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You little faith man. After all we've been through, why did you doubt? Did you not see the loaves and the fish? Jesus is your middle school baseball coach.

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Or you can see it differently. Here's what I see: the boys had had a long day of ministry, and they're satisfied. They're happy. They're on an all-time high. They had just had a major breakthrough and they played a huge role in Jesus feeding 5,000 men plus their families. Jesus says, launch the boat, and then he goes and wraps up. They go out to sea immediately. And then a storm comes and the waters foam and their anxiety levels heighten. And then they see a ghost walking toward them. And Jesus identifies himself. Jesus who can multiply food. Jesus who has power over the elements. And so Peter is full of hope. And he says to him, Lord, if it's you, just say the command. I want to come out with you. You can do anything. You can multiply loaves of fish, and you can make me walk on water just like you. If I just give you the little bit, because little is much. When God is in it, I'm all in. I want to walk on the water. Jesus commands Peter to step out of the boat. And Peter does this for a moment. Peter walks on water. As far as I know, unless my memory fails me, he's the only man other than Jesus in the scripture that actually walked on the water. Maybe there's another one. If there's another man or woman in there, kudos to them as well. It was crazy. I can't believe it worked. And it worked for Peter for a moment, but then he sees the wind. He begins to sink and he cries out, Lord, save me. And without a moment passing, the Bible says, immediately, immediately, Jesus reaches out his hand and he takes hold of him because Jesus' intention toward Peter is not to watch him fail long or finally. He reaches out with his hand and he grabs him. Now I wonder, where does Jesus grab Peter? Does he grab him by the knack of the neck? Does he grab him hand to hand? Does he grab him around the arm like that? You know, if I'm Jesus, Charles, come here for just a second. I need a sermon illustration. If I'm up on the water and I got some joker that's down in the water, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna grab him under the armpit. I'm gonna grab him right here and I'm gonna pull him up. Now don't worry, I'm not gonna pull you up. You can go be seated. Now, I'm gonna grab him, I'm gonna grab him close. Maybe I grab him right there by the hand at first, but then I'm getting under him and I'm gonna pull him up. And now there I am, chest to chest, eye to eye, face to face, Jesus and Simon Peter, Peter's eyes full of fear, Jesus' eyes full of pride. Like a coach, like a mentor, like a parent, who even when the player or the child or the student fails, the mentor, the coach, the parent is so proud that they at least took a crack at it. Because maybe to Jesus, even Peter's failure was progress. Peter stepped out, he's the only one who did it, he's the only one who took the risk. Everybody else stayed in the boat. So maybe Jesus doesn't berate him. Maybe, like a good coach, like a proud parent, like a mentor, watching your child attempt something difficult, you look them in the eyes the moment that they try and fail. They full of doubt, you full of pride, beaming. Why did you doubt? You had it. You had it, man. Bro, you were so close. I'm so proud of you. I remember whenever our son Seth, I've got a video of it. I didn't ask his permission, so I won't show it to you. I remember watching him for the first time learn to ride his bike. And I would go behind him with my hand on the little bar behind his seat, and I would hold him up. And when I would let go, he would go for a little bit, and then he started looking, and when he started looking, it's gone. And I remember coming up to him and going, Bro, you had it, man. And I'm lifting him up and I'm dusting him off. Like, why'd you doubt, bro? You had it, man. You were right there. I'm so proud of you. Let's do it again. You sure that? Absolutely, bro.

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You got it this time.

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Keep your eyes straight ahead. In fact, just watch me. I'm gonna be right here. I'm gonna take my hands off this time. Your mom is going to hold the back of the seat. Mom? Yes. Now, Liz, try and keep up. Okay. Here we go. Now watch me. And the next thing you know, they're riding with no hands. And the next thing you know, they're popping wheelies. And the next thing you know, all the friends are like, bro, Seth, learn how to ride a bike. What if Jesus isn't berating him or belittling him? What if Jesus is saying, You have little faith? You had it! Why'd you doubt? Well, the question that I might ask is, not why did you doubt, but who did you doubt? After all, who doubted whom? Whom did Peter doubt? He doubted himself. Because Jesus isn't the one sinking. Jesus is standing on the water. Jesus is fine, 100% terra firma on the waves. Jesus, my brother, knows how to do it. Peter was not doubting Jesus. Peter was doubting that he could actually do what Jesus told him to do. The kid who's on the bike isn't doubting the parent. The parent knows how to ride a bike. The kid that's fumbling around on the bicycle is doubting themselves. So what if Jesus' great invitation, whenever he says, Why did you doubt? It's not why did you doubt me? Why didn't you have faith in me? It's why didn't you just believe that you could do the thing that I told you to do? You had it. So Jesus grabs Peter under his arm and they fall recklessly into the boat, and the wind dies down, and then Jesus says, Why'd you doubt? And maybe he says it to him, not why'd you doubt, but why'd you doubt, man? You had it. And if I'm Simon Peter, I say, Well, maybe if you would have caused the wind to die down five minutes ago, I would have made it. And Jesus is like, It takes rough wind to reveal the character of the man walking on the water, son. Do you think that I want to make everything easy for you boys? Do you think it's gonna be easy when I'm not here with you? Do you think that it's gonna be easy when you go and preach in my name and cast out devils and raise the sick and do all manner of miracles? Do you think that's gonna be easy? What if I create the conditions to where you learn not only to have faith in me, but to have faith of the God that's inside of you? I'm with you. I'm with you, I'm with you when you're on the mountaintop in multiplying moments, I'm with you in the valleys when you're sinking, I'm with you always. Believe in me and believe in yourself because the power of God in you is enough. What if Christians believe that they were who God said they were? What if we actually believed the book of Acts and we believed that we were who God says we are? We would walk with our chin up and our shoulders back, and we would say, let's do a water walking thing right now. I'm gonna share my faith with that person. I'm gonna pray with faith with that person. I'm gonna show up and believe God is going to show out because my God is the one who walks on water, and if he says I can walk with him through even the most stormy seas, then I'm gonna believe him. Maybe. You know, my Bible just reads different. Maybe they're in the bottom of the boat, and Jesus still has Peter just like he's got Simon Peter just wrapped up. He's looking him in the eyes, he's like, bro, that was crazy. Simon Peter's like, yeah, that was sick. Can't believe we did that. Jesus' like, I know you really had it. Simon Peter's like, for a minute I had it. He's like, I saw it, the whole thing, you sank. All the disciples, all the disciples are like, and Simon Peter's like, well, you stayed in the boat. Where's your faith, boys? At least I tried and failed. And what if the whole time is there laughing in the bottom of the boat in my Bible? Because it doesn't say otherwise. Your Bible says Jesus is angry, my Bible says Jesus is happy. Your Bible says Jesus is disappointed, my Bible says Jesus is so proud. And what if they're in the bottom of the boat, soppy wet? And what if Simon Peter realizes that the whole time it was never about performance, it was never about perfection, it's always been about growth. It's about not focusing on your limitation. Just a few loaves and fish will do. It's about learning that the life of faith isn't about getting it just right. It's about trying a bunch of stuff and learning to fail well. It's easy to focus on results, but maybe Jesus is focused on effort, on desire, on intention, on feeling that nudge to praise someone and then nothing happens, to pray for them and nothing happens, on feeling the nudge to invite them to church and they reject your offer on risking giving your heart away, to have it broken, on applying for the job, and then you don't get the call back. What if stepping out in faith isn't only about learning to walk on water? It's about learning that even when you sink, Jesus has still got you right there in his arms. And they got in the boat. This is my favorite part, and it says that they worshiped him, and they said, Truly, you are the Son of God. What if it was never about loaves and fish and walking on water? What if it was always about the thing beyond the thing, the thing behind the thing? As the band joins me, what if it was always about getting to the place where you could worship Jesus? What if that was the point the whole time? What if the loaves and the fish and the storm and the water walking and the doubt and the being gripped up by Jesus? What if the whole point of the whole thing was to get the boys to the realization of who Jesus really was in their life? To where they would bow their knee in the bottom of that boat, dripping wet, bone-tired, and just silly with happiness, and say, Jesus, surely you are the son of God. My friends, the life of the disciple is not about perfection and faith and figuring it all out. But at the end of the day, if you will only come back to the place to where you bow your knee to Jesus and say, Surely you are the Son of God and worship Him, then all of those failures mean nothing. And quite frankly, all of your successes mean nothing as well. The only thing that matters is that you're in the boat with Jesus.

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Join us on Sundays this summer for Summer in the Spirit. Services at 9 and 10 30 a.m.