When You're Sinking, Reach Up and Step Up
“When You’re Sinking, Reach Up” E-100 #62 Matthew 14:22-33
February 14, 2010
by Clancy Nixon
Church of the Holy Spirit
Ashburn and Purcellville, Virginia
I don’t know about you, but I missed our corporate worship last week. How about those two huge snowstorms we just endured? These storms, and the traffic delays, school closings, wrenched backs, and general hardship they have caused, have been dubbed “Snow-mageddon.” To some people, I guess it seems like the end of the world as they knew it. That moniker for the snowstorm is a secular acknowledgement that God is in control of nature, since God will bring the end for real at the plain of Armageddon. A thousand people are without power in Washington DC area. One wag quipped, it’s a thousand and one, if you count Barack Obama!…. Mr. President, welcome to the first of the twelve steps, where we acknowledge that our lives are unmanageable and we are powerless without God.
In our E-100 series of Bible readings, we’ve been considering the miracles of our Lord Jesus Christ, miracles which demonstrate his Lordship over all things. Last time, we marveled at the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, and we saw how Jesus provides for us - not only does he provide our needs, but also the needs of others, as we give him what we have. This week, we consider Christ’s power over all created things, including nature, as Jesus walks on water in the storm to come to his disciples. Our best response to him is to come towards him in faith.
As we consider this familiar story, I’d like to ask you to stop a moment and consider if there may be a storm you are going through in your own life right now. It could be the aftermath of Snow-mageddon. By “storm,” I mean a circumstance in your own life where the sailing is far from smooth. It could be a financial storm, a time where resources are tight because the money just isn’t coming in; it could be a relational storm, in your marriage, in your family, or with a friend; it might be a storm brought on by impaired health, in you or a family member. As we talk about storms, how the Lord Jesus walks on them, and how we are to respond, I’d like you to keep the storm in your own life in mind.
Here are some points to remember that we learn from Matthew 14-
- 1. JESUS COMES TO US IN OUR STORMS, AND WALKS ON OUR FEARS.
Think about the storm in you own life again for a moment. Is Jesus coming toward you in your storm? Like the disciples on the lake, sometimes we’re not sure if it’s really Jesus who is coming toward us. Even if you think, it might be him, you might think it’s only your imagination, some kind of specter. Without faith, you can’t see Jesus at all. When you’re in a storm, you tend to have poor visibility, like the disciples did. Often, we need other disciples around us to help us to see the Lord in our storms. Of course, if they are in the same storm as you are, you can all be deceived, as the twelve apostles all fed off each other’s fears. It helps to get some godly, outside counsel. It can be difficult not to focus on the waves, on the danger, on the fear. Beloved, it’s so important that we catch hold of this truth: The spirit of Jesus is always with you in the middle of your storms, even when you can’t see him.
Jesus is always praying for you. Notice in Matthew 14:23, Jesus is praying all night long. He is on the mountaintop, and he can see the storm they were in, and he prayed for them. Romans 8:34 assures us that Jesus is even now interceding for us. Whether we can see him or not, Jesus is always present, always praying for us. Think about your own storm again. If you could see and hear the Lord Jesus right here in this room today, praying for you, would that give you courage to do His will in the midst of your storm? Of course it would. The truth about God is that he is omnipresent – he is with you always by his Holy Spirit. Let’s recite Isaiah 43:2 together: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.”
Jesus wasn’t in a hurry to rescue them – he waited until the fourth watch of the night – between 3 and 6 AM – to come to them. If you’re like me, it sure can feel like he’s late showing up; it can feel like he does not hear your prayer, maybe even like he does not care. If you are in that situation, don’t complain to everyone around you! God wants you to pour out your complaint to him. Before he became king, David ben-Jesse wrote many psalms of lament, waiting for God’s rescue, including the long period in the cave of Adullam, where he had fled for his life from King Saul. Pour out your heart and your complaint to the Lord! And then trust in his timing.
Beloved, God sends storms into your life that are perfectly designed by him to help you to grow into the character of Christ. Do you believe that? That is the purpose of storms and trials – they are opportunities for you to grow and learn. I have a question for you: Why do you think Jesus sent the disciples out into this storm? Any thoughts? Speak them aloud…. Jesus wanted the disciples to grow in faith. He wanted them to learn that what they feared – the stormy sea – was only a platform for him to call them into a deeper place of faith.
Sometimes the trial or the storm lasts far longer than you think is necessary for you to learn whatever it is God wants you to learn! By 4 am, that storm must have gotten pretty old? By the second week of snow covered sidewalks, Snowmageddon has gotten pretty old! In my early twenties, I was a professional tennis and squash player, arrogant and self-centered. God gave me a trial: 17 years of chronic pain in my right foot. Why? To teach me humility and compassion for the disabled and the weak. It took that long for me to allow God to change my character. I was not a quick study in compassion! It sure felt like God was late showing up to deliver me, but when he did deliver me from that pain and limitation, I had finally learned compassion. I have learned to believe by faith that Jesus is never early and never late; he’s always right on time. Take heart; the Lord is coming to you.
- 2. STEP OUT IN FAITH: GET YOUR FEET WET
The African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance when it leaps of more than 30 feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be safely kept in any yard with a 4-foot wall. How is that? The impala will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall. Why? They lack faith. Faith is the ability to trust what you cannot see. Faith is relying on God to do what you could never do without Him. Faith breaks us free of the bondages of fear. When God calls, fear is often present. It’s why God says so often, don’t be afraid! God has this annoying habit of asking people to do things that are scary to them. God may be calling you to something that seems humanly impossible. It wouldn’t require faith to do something easy. The Bible is full of calls to do things that seem impossible: Peter walking on water; Moses freeing his people from bondage in Egypt; Gideon, with an army of only two hundred men, defeating the Midianites with their army of thousands.
If you want to meet Jesus on the water, you are going to have to get your feet wet! You will have to leave your boat, or whatever place that you consider safe and secure – to join Jesus in what he is doing. Look at what Peter did. He got out of the boat when it was windy, rainy, and dark, and there was no dock or sand bar near! He did what many consider impossible.
What is your boat, the place where you feel safe? Think about that. For some of you - I’m thinking of some males I know - your cave of television or web-surfing or gaming or reading is where you go to escape having to deal with people, even your wife and children. For some others, I’m thinking of some females I know, your boat may be your patterns that bring you security: your women’s group, your shopping trips, your telephone friends. It may be your current job, even though some of you barely tolerate it. Your boat is anything that makes you feel secure. The world says, “you worked hard to get in that boat – don’t leave now!” The world says, “relax and enjoy the ride.” If you never leave your boat, you’ll miss the blessings out on the water with Jesus!
- 3. WHEN YOU’RE SINKING, REACH UP!
We could say that Peter failed. But there were eleven bigger failures still sitting in the boat. John Ortberg says that failure is not an event, but rather a judgment about an event. It’s a way we think about outcomes. Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the British Isles, was asked what prepared him to stand up to Adolph Hitler in World War II. Churchill said that it was probably the time he had to repeat a grade in elementary school. He was asked, “”You failed in grade school?” He replied, “I never failed in my life. I was given a second opportunity to get it right.” Was Churchill a failure? No.
Jesus is our lifeline. He’s the one who rescues us. Peter lost his faith for a moment, because he took his eyes off of the Lord, and put his eyes on the waves. Peter took his eyes off Jesus, but Jesus never took his eyes off of Peter! So when you’re sinking, reach up! Christ is there to catch you.
The question is, what is Christ calling you to do? What is your next step of faith? A wise man once said, “Faith does not mean believing in spite of the evidence; faith is obeying in spite of the consequences.” We’ve just experienced as a community the multiplication of the loaves and fishes as we obediently gave the Lord what we had for our 24/7 space. Beloved, I thank God for your stepping out in faith to give $200,000! You may notice that we are behind in our regular giving for the year. Please don’t divert your giving from your tithe to any offering, not to any missionary venture no matter how worthy, or to the capital campaign – your first gifts should always be unrestricted to the local church. That is your tithe to the Lord, and it is sacred to Him. Don't rob Peter to pay Paul.
Only you can know in prayer what your next step in faith is, but I want to suggest a couple of possibilities for you to pray about. For many of you, it will be as simple as inviting an unchurched neighbor over to your home for dinner, so you can build a relationship with them. It might mean inviting someone to church or to Financial Peace University this Friday night. We’re hearing great stories of how God is using this course to change lives, and you are all invited to come this Friday at 6:30 PM as Dave Ramsey shows you how to get out of debt. Just let Paul or Lisa Tobias know you are coming. Getting out of the boat might mean helping someone else with the storm in their life – that’s what the disciples did after this storm. They sailed to land, and once they landed, Jesus healed the sick. No one else except the Lord himself can tell you what the next step of faith is for you personally.
Whatever it is, keep your eyes on Jesus. Don’t focus on the crisis; focus on the Christ. What was Peter’s method of refocusing? Prayer. You cannot pray to God without focusing on God, and there is no better way to get your focus back on him than to pray to him. Peter’s prayer was nothing fancy, but it was effective. When his faith flagged, and he began to sink, Peter cried out, “Lord, save me!” At least Peter reached out and reached up to the Lord.
Trust in the Lord; he sees you, he is praying for you, he is there to save you. Like Peter, you may take your eyes off of him, but he will never take his eyes off of you. When you’re sinking, reach up! Amen.
