November 6, 2011 WALKING BY FAITH

MATTHEW 14:22-36 NOVEMBER 6, 2011


“WALKING BY FAITH”

During World War II, the king of England ordered an evacuation of children from the bomb torn areas of London. Since many of the children had never been away from home before they were quite nervous and upset. A mother and father had just put their young son and daughter aboard the crowded train and said goodbye. No sooner had the train left the station than the little girl began to cry. She told her brother she was scared because she didn’t know where they were going. Brushing his own tears away, he put his arm around his sister to comfort her. “I don’t know where we are going either, but the King knows, so don’t worry.” Circumstances in life often present us with concerns about the future and often we fret and worry about what my happen. Yet, deep down we are aware that God, our Father, is in control and that we need to trust Him and walk this life by faith. The King of kings knows where we are headed, so don’t worry.

It had been a long day for Jesus and his disciples. Jesus had received notice of King Herod beheading John the Baptist and that Herod was fearful about Jesus. Then when Jesus sought to go off to talk with his Father in prayer, whole crowds of people arrived with their many needs clamoring for Jesus to heal them. It took all day. Then God multiplied the five loaves of bread and two fish so that the multitude of over 5,000 people was fed. This is where we pick up the story. Matthew 14:22-23 (NIV) “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.”

Jesus took the time to be alone with the Father. The busier we get, greater is the need for us to recharge our batteries by spending time with our Father. Jesus sent the disciples on ahead so that he could have some quiet time. We know what that is like, don’t we? Jesus spent a long time, eight or more hours, on the mountain.

Matthew records that in the mean time the disciples were having a difficult time trying to cross the Sea of Galilee. Jesus on an earlier occasion had stilled a raging storm when the disciples had been afraid of drowning. On that previous occasion Jesus had been sleeping in the boat. This time, however Jesus was not with them, he was on shore. “When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.

This time was different as Jesus was now walking on the Sea as if it was dry land. It is not surprising that the disciples were startled by the sudden appearance of Jesus. 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." Jesus identifies himself in much the same way that God gave his name to Moses so he could tell the Israelites who God was. Exodus 3:14 (NIV) 14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" Jesus is identifying himself as “I AM”, it is I. In effect Jesus told the disciples: Take courage, it is God, Don’t be afraid.”

Peter responded to Jesus with a question. 28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." Peter knew that if Jesus was God then he could grant Peter the ability to also walk on the water. Jesus said, 29 "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Peter responded in faith and overcame his fear and asked permission to come to Jesus. We are not told how far or how long he walked on the water before taking his focus off of Jesus. Peter’s walk on the water is analogous to our walk of faith. Often when we first come to faith in Christ we make great strides in beginning to live out the faith. Yet troubles and circumstances will often distract us and we begin to sink.

Peter got distracted and looked away from his Lord and things literally went south. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Peter was smart enough to cry out to God for help. “31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught
him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" Notice Jesus did not criticize Peter for having no faith like the towns in Galilee who did not acknowledge or recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus told Peter he had little faith, not that he had no faith. The importance of keeping our focus on Jesus can not be over emphasized. This is why it is imperative that we stay in the Scriptures daily. We need to be constantly reminded to look at all of life through the lenses of faith in Jesus Christ. Keeping in the word builds our faith and our trust.

The rest of the disciples in the boat observed all that occurred and as a result they worshiped Jesus as God. “32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." This was the first time the disciples addressed Jesus as the Son of God. The disciples were beginning to understand more and more about Jesus. All the pieces of the puzzle did not come together until the resurrection and the ascension. Yet in much the same way our walk of faith deepens as we begin to understand more and more how God is active in every area and aspect of our lives.

Years ago in eastern Missouri a 12 car passenger train was filled with children taking them on a Sunday School picnic. The sky was clear when they started out but the weather changed and the train ran into a severe thunderstorm. The heavy downpour of rain caused the engineer of the train to slow the train down to about 35 miles an hour. As the train rounded a curve, the man saw that a switch just ahead had been left wide open. He jammed on the brakes, but he was sure they were facing disaster. He shouted to the fireman, “Stick with it! We have hundreds of children on board. The fireman replied: “I intent to!” The fireman, who was a Christian, cried out, “O God, help us!” His words were drowned out by a thunderclap as a bolt of lightning struck right in front of the engine. The next thing they knew, they were safely past the danger point. After stopping the train, the men ran back to find out what had happened. To their amazement they discovered that the lightning had struck the rails and closed the switch. This in turn kept them from being shunted off onto a spur which would have caused the train to derail.

The key to succeeding in the Christian life is keeping our focus on Jesus and he will see us through the trials and hardships of our lives. And just as important is to know that even when we take our eyes of faith off of Jesus, all we have to do is to cry out "Lord, save me!"


Let us pray.