This week we see another story about dealing with our fears. We'll learn that "everything is about faith," and we'll see how the disciples dealt with being terrified. This passage is based on Matthew 14:22-33.
In the story of creation found in the Book of Genesis, we read where Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit, something they were specifically told not to do. Knowing that God is looking for them, they try to hide. Maybe you’ve tried this, maybe back when you were a kid, and you did something you knew you weren’t supposed to do and you were going to be in trouble, maybe you hid from your parents? If they can’t find you, they can’t punish you, right? Maybe you’ve tried to avoid a boss when you thought you were in trouble. Same principal, I guess. In Genesis, God find them, and we knew that He would, after all, where can we go to hide from God? So God asks them why they are hiding. Do you remember their reason. “Because, I was afraid?” I think that this story reminds us that fear is basic to who we are as humans, it goes all the way back to the beginning of time. The very first people on earth were afraid at times. To be human is to experience that fear sometimes. And there seems to be no limit to our fears. In a peanuts cartoon strip Linus goes to Lucy for psychiatric help. She talks with him, trying to diagnose his particular ‘fear’. Perhaps, she says, you have hypengyophobia, which is the fear of responsibility. Linus says no. Well, perhaps you have ailurophobia, which is the fear of cats. No. Well, maybe you have climacophobia, which is the fear of staircases. No. Exasperated, Lucy says well, maybe you have pantophobia, which is the fear of everything. Yes, screams Linus, that is the one! Ever feel like you’re afraid of everything. Afraid of ourselves. Afraid of other people. Afraid of the future. Afraid of the past. Afraid of life. Afraid of death. Afraid of almost everything. Each one of us has our own fears, and we must battle these fears ourselves. Even in the Bible we see people with fears. Paul, one of the pillars of the early church, wrote in 2 Corinthians about returning to Macedonia and the persecution he faced. He said, “For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn--conflicts on the outside, fears within.” He feared as he did God’s work. And he had to work to overcome these fears. Over and over again the message of the Bible is fear not. In fact, when I was putting together the PowerPoint for the message, I found this graphic, I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it’s something to think about... I know it says don’t fear a lot. Let me give you a few examples. When Abram took his family to the Promised Land he feared that he was turning his back on everything he knew, for the unknown. God spoke to him: Fear not Abram, I am your shield and your reward will be great. When the Jews stood at the Red Sea and could see Pharaoh’s chariots coming on the horizon, they cried out that they would all be slaughtered. Moses said to them: Stand still, fear not, and see the salvation of the Lord. When the angel of the Lord came to Mary and said that she would bear a child, she trembled with fear. What would happen to her? She wasn’t married, and in those days that wasn’t looked to highly upon. But the angel said: “Fear not Mary, for you have found favor with God.” An angel even appeared to Joseph so that he would know, too. We even saw it our reading this morning. They thought Jesus was a ghost, and I imagine they were panicking at the sight of this ghost coming at them, so Jesus calls out, “It’s okay, it’s just me don’t be afraid.” That’s easy to say, but it’s much harder to live a life free from fear. In our reading, Peter hears Jesus, and he wants to believe, but he’s still not quite sure. After the feeding of the five thousand men still fresh in his mind, he’s beginning to think that maybe anything is possible, so he has a test for Jesus. “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on the water.” And for Peter, His response must have been pretty incredible. Jesus said, “All right, come.” So Peter came. And he did it! He climbed over the edge of the boat, and he walked on water! Peter. He was looking at Jesus, walking toward him on the top of the waves. He was walking on water. But what happened? He looked around, didn’t he? He noticed how high the waves were and he became afraid. He took his eyes off Jesus, and fear came in, and he began to sink. You see, all things are possible through Christ who strengthens us, but without Christ, our fears quickly take over, and sometimes it seems that nothing is possible. We become afraid to try anything. Peter was performing a miracle. With his eyes fixed on Christ he was performing an incredible miracle. Each of us has the opportunity to do the same thing. Each of us can do great things, impossible things, miracles, if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and, if we can control our fears and let God do what God does. And that is, incidentally, how we control our fears. We keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Don’t get me wrong; there are times when medical intervention might be required. There are times when medication might be necessary, and counseling might be necessary to get through particularly dramatic times in our past, but we can’t do it without Christ, either. And for the vast majority us, keeping our eyes on Christ keeps the fears at bay. When we keep our eyes fixed on Christ, the fears evaporate. When we look away and see the height of the waves, and see all the problems around us, the fears overcome us. If you’re feeling fear, look to Jesus, and don’t ever take your eyes off Him. If we let him, and if we look to him, God will do great things through us. I mean great things will happen to us and to those around us if we make ourselves available, and we keep our focus on Christ. Why don’t we. Why do we settle for what’s always been, when God promises us so much more? Why are we so content with what we have, when God has infinitely more in store for us? Why are we so comfortable with where we are? Maybe again it’s our fears – our fear of the unknown, our fear of stepping out into unfamiliar territory. So the question I want to look at for the rest of our time this morning is, “How do we replace our fears with faith?” How do we look to Jesus, to keep our eyes on Jesus, when we’re feeling fear? It boils down to faith. We need to strengthen our faith. I’ve identified three ways to do this… I. Faith is strengthened by Prayer. When we feel that fear is creeping in and perhaps robbing us of our joy, or keeping us from stepping out in obedience, we can pray for more faith. In our reading, Peter asked Jesus to help him with his fear. They saw Jesus coming and thought it was a ghost, they were terrified. And we just saw verse 28, “‘Lord, if it is you,” Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’” It would be pretty neat to be able to walk on the water, wouldn’t it? But I don’t think Peter is just trying to do something pretty neat. I think he’s trying to verify Jesus’ identity, so he can calm his fears. So he gives Jesus a test, Jesus, if it’s really you, prove it. Do something that can’t be done, then we’ll know. Let me walk on water, then we’ll know. Talking to Jesus is something we can all do. I wouldn’t ask Him to let you walk on water. But maybe you can find something a little more pertinent to your particular fear. And then ask Him. Pray. Better yet, you can just pray for more faith. In Luke 17:5, the disciples pray for more faith. It says, “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!’” If you want more faith, just ask for it. Besides, anytime we pray, I think it strengthens our faith, because it shows that God is able to do whatever it is that we need. II. Faith is strengthened by Encouragement. When the disciples were so terrified, and Peter asked to walk on water, Jesus encouraged him, and Peter walked on water. Never underestimate the power of encouragement. A kind word of encouragement goes so far. And encouragement is one of our biggest roles in the Body of Christ. We should always be looking for opportunities to offer encouragement. In 2 Chronicles, the Assyrians were threatening Israel, and they heavily outnumbered them. Hezekiah sprang into action taking steps that would cut off water to the Assyrians, then he repaired the wall, then he even built another wall around the outside of the first wall. He also made a bunch of weapons and shields. But the Israelites were still very afraid of the Assyrians. Hezekiah encourages them by saying, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh [some translations say, “He has only human strength], but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” Then it says, “And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said” (32:7-8). When the battle finally came, it says in verse 21, “And the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king.” Hezekiah’s encouragement went a long way in helping the people get the confidence they needed to go into battle. In the end, the battle belongs to the Lord, and it was the same for them to, but we’ve got to have the confidence to begin, to step out. And encouraging someone, or receiving a word of encouragement, goes a long way to help build that confidence. Let me share a couple other passages on encouragement here, in Luke 22:32, Jesus is talking to Simon Peter, and He says, “I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Jesus is encouraging Peter, then He sends Peter out to build up the others, to help them stand strong, too. In Paul’s first missionary journey, it says in Acts 14:21-22, “They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.” We can do the same as Paul and Barnabas. We can help encourage people to stand in their faith. III. Faith is strengthened through testing. Some of the hardships we face in life are intended to strengthen our faith. Or at least, to test our faith. And if we can stand strong during those trials, our faith will be strengthened. James opened his letter with the words, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4). We also see this in the opening of Peter’s first letter, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. They have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7). We all struggle with life. If you’re not yet a believer, those struggles are intended to show your need for a Savior. If you are a believer, those struggles are intended to strengthen your faith, to refine you and purify you, so you can better stand up next time, and so you’ll be found pure when you stand before Jesus. So this morning, we saw the lack of belief of the disciples when they saw Jesus on the water, and they terrified, they thought He must be a ghost or something. They quickly became full of fear. And we all face fears, and we know that we reduce our fears by increasing our faith. We strengthen our faith by prayer, by encouragement from others, and through those struggles we face each day. Faith is the key to fighting our fears. If you need prayer this morning to help you move from fear to faith, I invite you to come forward during our last song. I would like to pray for you.
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