What Does Faith Look Like?

Matt. 14:22-33 (ESV)

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way[a] from the land,[b] beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night[c] he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind,[d]he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

When Hudson Taylor went to China, he made the voyage on a sailing vessel. As it neared the channel between the southern Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra, the missionary heard an urgent knock on his stateroom door. He opened it, and there stood the captain of the ship. "Mr. Taylor," he said, "we have no wind. We are drifting toward an island where the people are heathen, and I fear they are cannibals." "What can I do?" asked Taylor. "I understand that you believe in God. I want you to pray for wind." "All right, Captain, I will, but you must set the sail." "Why that's ridiculous! There's not even the slightest breeze. Besides, the sailors will think I'm crazy." But finally, because of Taylor's insistence, he agreed. Forty- five minutes later he returned and found the missionary still on his knees. "You can stop praying now," said the captain. "We've got more wind than we know what to do with!"

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As we look into the scripture this morning, there are two opposing forces at play in this narrative. First, I want to draw your attention to:

1. A Fear that is realized-

Here we have the disciples who must have been on a Holy Ghost high. They had just witnessed Jesus feeding over 5,000 people with only two fish and five loaves of bread. Not only did everyone eat their fill, they also collected twelve baskets of leftovers. They were amazed and in awe, wondering who this man truly was. Jesus tells them to take a boat and go on over to Gennesaret while He sent the crowds away. In obedience, they start to the other side. Jesus sends everyone home and then goes to pray alone. He later returned to the shore; but, the boat was a long way from shore. The wind was against them which slowed their progress. The waves were giving them a beating. And then, around 4:00 in the morning, Jesus came out to the boat walking on the water. I need to drive a tent peg cause we need to camp here for a minute. Do you see what has happened? They obeyed Jesus, got into a boat and sailed right into rough seas. The miracle that took place hours before was long forgotten as these men fought against the ocean. Have you ever found yourself in a similar circumstance? You’ve watched God do the impossible only to be attacked almost immediately. As they battled the wind and waves, someone looks back toward shore and can’t believe his eyes. A man is out on the water coming for the boat. Can this night get any worse? Scripture tells us they were terrified, thinking it to be a ghost. Jesus belays their fears and reassures them that it is He who approaches the boat.

The world around us can be terribly frightening. The disciples were like you and I. In the first half of our narrative, these men were afraid of both natural and supernatural phenomena. Instead of focusing on their fear, I want to focus on the fact that in the middle of their fear Jesus simply spoke to them, He reassured them and told them to not be afraid. Jesus doesn’t admonish or criticize them for being afraid; but, He tells them to not be afraid. This is an imperative, the command is literally “Do not let your fear control you.” It is natural to experience fear, not for that fear to control us. If we allow fear to control us, we would never share our faith with anyone, we would never invite a friend to church, we would never allow God to use us for His kingdom. Are you allowing fear to call the shots in your life? How can we apply the words of Christ to our lives? Now let’s look at-

2. A Faith that is Found:

Upon realizing it is in fact Jesus, Peter goes from fearful to fearless. He climbs overboard and begins to walk to Jesus. Much has been said and written about Peter walking on the water with Jesus. Some have commended him while others condemned him. Here is what I know. Peter got out of the boat, walked toward Jesus, saw the waves around him and became afraid. I also know that Jesus was there, took hold of him and walked him back to the boat. I want you to notice that the sea calms only after they get into the boat. Jesus didn’t calm the sea, He calmed Peter. When storms come into our lives, we have to remember that Jesus is greater than anything that life can throw at us. One bad report from the doctor, one poor financial decision and fear can creep in. We can begin to feel as though we are suffocating. Fear is like a python, first it gets ahold of you, wraps you up and begins to squeeze. Every time you exhale, it squeezes a little more so that the next breath is smaller until there is no room for your lungs to expand at all. That’s how a python kills it’s prey and that’s how fear kills you, slowly. But faith allows us to get out of the boat. Faith allows us believe what is unbelievable. From this point on, there is a lasting change in who Peter is. This is the same man who preached on the Day of Pentecost and 3,000 souls were added to the kingdom. What happened to change him from fearful and questioning to preaching with authority? Jesus took hold of him. He experienced Jesus, knew Jesus in a way that the others in the boat didn’t. When he became distracted by his surroundings and started to sink, Jesus saved him. Peter saw Him differently. He was no longer just an amazing man, He was the Messiah.

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So, what does faith look like? Faith looks like you getting out of the boat, faith looks like me getting out of the boat. Faith looks like a Christ-follower who is willing to be stretched to the point that it is uncomfortable. It is not comfortable to sit with a family in an ICU waiting room. It isn’t comfortable to try to offer words of condolence to the grieving parents of a toddler. We don’t want to be in those situations; but, faith makes us say “I will intentionally be uncomfortable so that I can offer you the comfort that Christ can give.” Faith looks like the person who believes in a miraculous resolution to a problem and says “even if you don’t, you are still my God and my Saviour.”