WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.120 Good morning again. 00:00:05.299 --> 00:00:10.720 We, as some of you know, my family, we traveled a lot this summer, so we were away for several 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:11.060 weeks. 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:20.519 And as we traveled, we were on planes and buses and, you know, metros and lots of Ubers. 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:26.800 And I found myself thinking the other day how interesting it is that in all this travel, 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:32.899 how many times we entrusted ourselves to total strangers. 00:00:33.579 --> 00:00:35.340 We entrusted our lives. 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:36.600 We entrusted our safety. 00:00:36.679 --> 00:00:41.100 We entrusted the safety of our children to people we've never met, right? 00:00:41.100 --> 00:00:47.920 Every time you get on a plane, every time you get in an Uber, that person most likely is 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:48.740 a total stranger. 00:00:49.760 --> 00:00:51.700 You have no idea what kind of person they are. 00:00:51.780 --> 00:00:54.480 You have no idea what kind of training or qualifications they have. 00:00:54.479 --> 00:00:59.319 You have no idea what state of mind they might be in at that particular moment. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:03.339 And yet, at least for me, I most of the time don't even think about it. 00:01:03.619 --> 00:01:09.459 I just assume that this person is going to know what they're doing and that they're going 00:01:09.459 --> 00:01:12.599 to get us where we need to go safely and on time. 00:01:12.679 --> 00:01:16.979 I just sort of implicitly trust these people even though we've never met. 00:01:16.980 --> 00:01:21.060 What's interesting about that and what I was thinking about is that while I have that attitude 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:28.280 and posture in that context, when it comes to God, when it comes to God who is in some 00:01:28.280 --> 00:01:32.300 ways the great pilot of history, right? 00:01:32.300 --> 00:01:40.120 If there's someone up there in the cockpit guiding all of this towards somewhere or some 00:01:40.120 --> 00:01:48.540 win, if there is a God, then you would imagine that because that God is all-powerful and all-knowing 00:01:48.540 --> 00:01:52.680 that we would trust that kind of God infinitely more than we would trust a human being to get 00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:54.080 us across town. 00:01:54.760 --> 00:01:57.159 And yet, at least when it comes to me, I have the opposite attitude. 00:01:57.380 --> 00:01:58.580 I continually question. 00:01:59.420 --> 00:02:00.520 I continually doubt. 00:02:00.620 --> 00:02:01.540 I continually wonder. 00:02:01.540 --> 00:02:06.540 I would never dare go up in a cockpit and tell a pilot how to fly the plane better. 00:02:06.580 --> 00:02:08.760 I have no idea what I'm doing, right? 00:02:08.780 --> 00:02:17.020 But I'm constantly wanting to tell God ways that I think he needs to guide my life in ways 00:02:17.020 --> 00:02:18.780 that are better than what he's currently doing. 00:02:19.860 --> 00:02:23.939 And I realize how much I struggle with even a basic level of trust. 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:25.920 It just doesn't come naturally. 00:02:26.659 --> 00:02:31.379 And, you know, every single day of our lives when we wake up, that's the question that we 00:02:31.379 --> 00:02:32.299 have to answer. 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:40.060 If I do believe there is a God in the cockpit of history, do I trust him? 00:02:41.099 --> 00:02:44.400 Do I trust where he's leading me? 00:02:45.159 --> 00:02:51.400 And this is the theme, really, at the heart of this passage from our gospel reading in Matthew 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:52.439 chapter 14. 00:02:53.139 --> 00:02:57.960 It's the story that many people are familiar with of Jesus walking on the water and Peter 00:02:57.960 --> 00:03:01.019 attempting to go out and meet him in the midst of the storm. 00:03:01.379 --> 00:03:04.759 And what this is really, it's a picture of the Christian life. 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:13.180 And it's a picture of the way faith and doubt and fear and failure and grace are all interwoven 00:03:13.180 --> 00:03:13.759 together. 00:03:14.620 --> 00:03:17.840 And so we're going to look at this story this morning and then we're going to look at what 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:23.700 it teaches us about faith and trust in the midst of uncertainty and fear. 00:03:24.379 --> 00:03:25.000 Let's pray. 00:03:27.319 --> 00:03:32.240 Lord, our heavenly Father, we thank you for being a God who's with us and a God who speaks. 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:39.840 I confess my own great hesitation in entrusting anything to you. 00:03:40.700 --> 00:03:43.060 Lord, the constant doubt that plagues my mind. 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:47.240 And so, Lord, I pray that you would speak to us through your word this morning. 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:55.400 I pray that you would do what you have promised to do, that this ink and paper would come alive, 00:03:55.540 --> 00:03:59.860 that it would become flesh, that through your written word we would come to see your living 00:03:59.860 --> 00:04:00.780 word, Jesus Christ. 00:04:01.440 --> 00:04:04.320 And we pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:04:04.600 --> 00:04:04.880 Amen. 00:04:06.720 --> 00:04:12.120 So first of all, just let's get oriented to the story and what's happening here. 00:04:12.180 --> 00:04:14.020 It's been a long day for the disciples. 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:18.939 They've just seen Jesus do something incredibly miraculous. 00:04:19.180 --> 00:04:23.620 He took a few meager loads of bread and fed thousands of people. 00:04:24.400 --> 00:04:26.180 They've now sent those people home. 00:04:26.180 --> 00:04:30.220 Jesus commands his disciples to get in a boat and to head northwest. 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:34.840 We see later in the text that they're headed to a town called Gennesaret. 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:39.819 And he says, go ahead and get in the boat and start heading over there, and I'm going to 00:04:39.819 --> 00:04:41.480 spend some time alone in prayer. 00:04:42.620 --> 00:04:44.920 And Jesus has gotten some hard news. 00:04:45.019 --> 00:04:46.840 He's been rejected at Nazareth, his hometown. 00:04:47.500 --> 00:04:49.199 He's heard about the death of John the Baptist. 00:04:49.340 --> 00:04:50.540 He has things to reflect on. 00:04:50.819 --> 00:04:52.879 And he's looking forward to where they're going. 00:04:53.019 --> 00:04:54.460 There's a change coming. 00:04:54.459 --> 00:04:57.399 And so Jesus is preparing himself. 00:04:57.620 --> 00:04:58.419 We'll come back to that. 00:04:59.060 --> 00:05:02.560 So the disciples set out on the boat, and a storm hits. 00:05:03.219 --> 00:05:08.399 It's not uncommon for storms to come up pretty quickly in the Sea of Galilee, but also in 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:08.839 the Bible. 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:14.099 And for those of you who were here a few weeks ago and heard Jeff preach on Jonah 2, which 00:05:14.099 --> 00:05:18.979 we read again, you know that in the Bible, storms are often a place of spiritual transformation. 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:21.560 And that's exactly what we're going to see here. 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:22.660 A storm comes. 00:05:23.220 --> 00:05:28.639 By evening, they're a long way out, two to three miles at least out in open water. 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:30.319 The wind is howling. 00:05:31.019 --> 00:05:35.840 Matthew uses the word that means tormented to describe the waves. 00:05:35.939 --> 00:05:38.340 They are being tormented by the waves. 00:05:39.500 --> 00:05:44.180 And it says, and it's easy to miss this until you kind of look closely, they end up battling 00:05:44.180 --> 00:05:47.879 this storm from evening until the fourth watch. 00:05:47.879 --> 00:05:51.219 In other words, they battle this storm for over nine hours. 00:05:52.379 --> 00:05:56.639 It's been a long day, and then they get into a boat, a storm hits, and then they spend all 00:05:56.639 --> 00:05:58.779 night battling this storm. 00:06:00.219 --> 00:06:03.319 And then in all of their exhaustion, they're weary. 00:06:03.860 --> 00:06:10.899 They look out into that dark, dark abyss of the open water. 00:06:10.899 --> 00:06:16.699 And they see in the midst of that murky darkness, they see a figure walking toward them. 00:06:17.979 --> 00:06:20.919 You can just imagine what that would have been like. 00:06:21.959 --> 00:06:24.659 Now, up to this point, they have not been afraid. 00:06:24.919 --> 00:06:26.899 It's not said they're afraid of the storm. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:28.819 But now they're terrified. 00:06:29.099 --> 00:06:30.759 But they're not terrified of the storm. 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:34.839 They are terrified of this figure that they see walking toward them. 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:36.839 One of them cries out, it's a ghost. 00:06:38.239 --> 00:06:44.539 It's very common in the ancient world, as it is today, to think that such things could happen. 00:06:44.619 --> 00:06:45.339 It's a ghost. 00:06:46.459 --> 00:06:49.560 But Jesus calls out to them and says, take heart, it is I. 00:06:50.620 --> 00:06:51.659 Do not be afraid. 00:06:53.319 --> 00:06:55.059 Then Peter does something pretty surprising. 00:06:55.219 --> 00:07:00.459 Peter stands up and says, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. 00:07:00.459 --> 00:07:04.839 And you might think that Jesus would say, oh, come on, Peter. 00:07:06.419 --> 00:07:08.099 But Jesus immediately says, come. 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:10.299 Come on out. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:15.439 And we just need to imagine what that must have been like. 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:21.539 Lord, if it's you, let me, command me and I'll come out and meet you on the water. 00:07:21.959 --> 00:07:23.740 And Jesus says, all right, come. 00:07:24.599 --> 00:07:25.399 Get out of the boat. 00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:31.579 And you can imagine all of the stunned looks as everybody turns to Peter to see is he actually going to do it. 00:07:32.239 --> 00:07:39.279 And then you see Peter very slowly lifting one leg out of the boat and then lifting another leg out of the boat. 00:07:39.599 --> 00:07:43.399 And once he's out, he realizes that he can actually stand. 00:07:44.179 --> 00:07:47.079 And you can imagine all of the disciples just freaking out at this point. 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:52.479 And, I mean, it's quite a scene. 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:56.939 I don't know if we have, you know, older kids here every week we're giving you an image to draw or to think about. 00:07:57.520 --> 00:07:59.720 This would be a really fun image to try to draw. 00:07:59.980 --> 00:08:10.300 If you're drawing and you want something to, you want a project or a focus, creative focus, draw Peter trying to go out to meet Jesus walking on the water. 00:08:10.980 --> 00:08:18.180 And you can draw the other disciples looking with incredulity, looking with utter disbelief at what is happening, right? 00:08:18.660 --> 00:08:19.819 Peter gets out of the boat. 00:08:19.819 --> 00:08:24.659 Now, I want to stop right here and I want to kind of make our first point from this text. 00:08:24.980 --> 00:08:25.759 And that is this. 00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:29.399 When it comes to faith, faith demands risk. 00:08:30.939 --> 00:08:34.100 Faith demands that we take risks. 00:08:35.700 --> 00:08:40.899 In our modern age, we've come to think of faith primarily along intellectual lines. 00:08:40.899 --> 00:08:44.120 We think of faith primarily as intellectual ascent. 00:08:44.259 --> 00:08:50.959 So having faith in God or having faith in Jesus means I believe that God exists. 00:08:51.819 --> 00:08:55.480 I believe that Jesus was real, is real. 00:08:56.439 --> 00:09:00.879 But if we understand what faith really means, that's not really faith by itself. 00:09:00.959 --> 00:09:02.340 It's certainly a part of faith. 00:09:02.539 --> 00:09:05.319 But that alone is not sufficient to qualify as faith. 00:09:05.320 --> 00:09:10.780 Faith doesn't really become faith until you act on it. 00:09:11.660 --> 00:09:15.560 So you intellectually ascent, but then you have to actually act on it. 00:09:15.740 --> 00:09:17.280 You have to entrust yourself to it. 00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:18.780 Right? 00:09:18.840 --> 00:09:23.220 So I can look at an airplane and I can believe that it can fly. 00:09:23.220 --> 00:09:31.620 And I can read and try to understand all of the laws of physics and lift and how it's able to hang up there in the air. 00:09:31.740 --> 00:09:34.120 And I can say, I believe that that thing is capable of flight. 00:09:34.379 --> 00:09:38.820 But it doesn't really become faith until I entrust my life to it. 00:09:38.860 --> 00:09:41.600 As long as I'm sitting on the ground, it's not faith. 00:09:43.180 --> 00:09:47.740 When I'm sitting in that plane in the air, then it becomes faith. 00:09:48.259 --> 00:09:49.840 Because I've entrusted myself to it. 00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:56.899 Peter wants to be with Jesus, but in order to do that, he has to entrust his life to Jesus. 00:09:57.040 --> 00:09:58.540 He has to get out of the boat. 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:05.840 He can sit in the boat and think intellectually, I ascent to the possibility that Jesus has the power to make it possible for me to do this. 00:10:07.700 --> 00:10:11.759 But only when he gets out of the boat does it become faith. 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:20.240 And this kind of faith is the only way, this kind of risk-taking is the only way that faith can ever grow. 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:23.299 I read one time about lobsters. 00:10:23.379 --> 00:10:26.340 I don't know much about lobsters, so I just assume this is true. 00:10:26.340 --> 00:10:34.540 I read one time that lobsters from time to time, they actually have to leave their shells in order to grow. 00:10:35.820 --> 00:10:42.620 There's this period of time after they shed their old shell where they're extremely vulnerable. 00:10:43.420 --> 00:10:48.220 It's this time before the new shell is formed, and they're vulnerable to the elements. 00:10:48.220 --> 00:10:50.019 The currents can carry them along. 00:10:50.160 --> 00:10:51.940 They can slam them into corals. 00:10:52.899 --> 00:10:59.240 There are schools of fish that would love to eat a nice, tender, vulnerable lobster with no shell. 00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:04.540 And so they enter this time that, you know, I don't know what lobsters think about or feel, 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:09.240 but I can imagine it would be, if they felt anything during that time, it would be pure terror. 00:11:09.940 --> 00:11:11.600 Because they're completely vulnerable. 00:11:11.680 --> 00:11:12.399 They have no shell. 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:18.659 And I imagine if you're a lobster, and that, you know, it's just like, man, you know, next week I've got to shed my shell. 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:20.299 That's probably all you're thinking about. 00:11:21.079 --> 00:11:26.679 You know, and you're probably staying up all night thinking about shell-shedding day and what that's going to mean for you. 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:32.019 And I can imagine it would be really tempting if you're that lobster, say, you know what, maybe I'll just stay here another week. 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:35.379 You know, it's kind of the water's a little warm. 00:11:35.439 --> 00:11:36.779 Let's stay another couple of weeks. 00:11:37.319 --> 00:11:39.000 And I'll do it tomorrow. 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:42.039 I mean, that's the way I would be if I was a lobster. 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:44.240 I'll do it tomorrow, you know. 00:11:44.899 --> 00:11:49.500 And it would be very tempting to do that because the shell is safe and it's comfortable and it's familiar. 00:11:50.459 --> 00:11:51.679 But here's what happens. 00:11:51.779 --> 00:11:57.139 If a lobster stays too long in its shell, that shell becomes its prison. 00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:03.059 And if it stays longer than that, it eventually becomes its casket. 00:12:03.939 --> 00:12:05.360 It will die in that shell. 00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:10.120 So it has to leave the shell to grow. 00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:12.259 And if it doesn't, it's going to die. 00:12:13.399 --> 00:12:18.659 And in order for our faith to grow, there are times when we need to leave the shell behind. 00:12:18.659 --> 00:12:30.079 We need to, in order to follow Jesus, we have to leave what is comfortable, what is safe, what is familiar, and do something that seems, looks, feels utterly impossible. 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:35.340 This may mean letting go of an old framework. 00:12:35.340 --> 00:12:41.060 This may mean letting go of a set of assumptions that we grew up with. 00:12:41.059 --> 00:12:47.939 It may mean letting go of ways that we thought, things that we thought God always did. 00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:51.139 Ways that we thought the world happened to be. 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:54.219 Maybe we have to change our views about certain issues. 00:12:54.459 --> 00:12:56.619 Maybe we have to change our views about certain people. 00:12:56.620 --> 00:13:02.060 But there come these moments where we have to sort of shed that shell. 00:13:02.059 --> 00:13:05.019 And those experiences can be terrifying. 00:13:05.599 --> 00:13:11.979 And it can be very tempting to go back to the old way, to go back to the old shell because it's safe and comfortable and familiar. 00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:17.339 Or, at the risk of mixing metaphors, it can be very tempting to stay in the boat. 00:13:17.340 --> 00:13:27.920 But if we play it safe, we refuse to ever take risks, we refuse to ever get out of the boat, shed that shell, eventually, that's going to become our casket. 00:13:28.540 --> 00:13:31.639 Our faith is going to wither and it's going to die. 00:13:32.780 --> 00:13:39.540 So, even though it seems like Peter is in danger, Peter's actually the safest person here in the story. 00:13:41.160 --> 00:13:46.440 The ones who are in real danger are the other 11 disciples who are still in the boat. 00:13:47.340 --> 00:13:54.300 They're the ones in real spiritual danger because they don't know what it's like to step out. 00:13:55.780 --> 00:14:01.899 To have that experience of Jesus meeting them on the open water in the midst of the storm and holding them up. 00:14:02.800 --> 00:14:05.899 For them, this at least is still purely theoretical. 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:08.519 It's just intellectual assent. 00:14:09.940 --> 00:14:13.320 And what we need to understand is, you know, we look at this and we're like, well, why the theatrics? 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:14.040 Why the storm? 00:14:14.160 --> 00:14:15.180 Why the walking on water? 00:14:15.259 --> 00:14:16.100 What does this have to do with? 00:14:16.100 --> 00:14:18.700 Well, the implications of this are very practical. 00:14:19.100 --> 00:14:23.580 This whole ordeal, I would say, is preparation for what is to come. 00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:31.200 Peter and the disciples are going to have to shed their shell in all kinds of ways. 00:14:31.800 --> 00:14:34.200 I mentioned in the beginning that they're going to Gennesaret. 00:14:34.680 --> 00:14:40.660 And it's no coincidence that this event in the water happens on the way to Gennesaret. 00:14:40.659 --> 00:14:41.659 What's happening here? 00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:43.980 What's happening here? 00:14:44.079 --> 00:14:48.600 I alluded before to the change that is coming in Jesus' ministry and his focus. 00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:55.939 What he's preparing for and where they're headed is going to be different than what they've done up to this point in Matthew's gospel. 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:01.139 Because up to this point, Jesus has been ministering primarily to the Jews, God's people. 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:03.120 Well, that's what we all would expect. 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:06.240 That's what the old way, the shell, would predict. 00:15:07.179 --> 00:15:07.320 Right? 00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:12.120 But from this point forward, Jesus and the disciples are going to begin to minister to the Gentiles. 00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:20.200 In the very next chapter, chapter 15, Jesus is going to perform another miracle like he's just done, 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:24.539 where he takes a few loaves of bread and he feeds multiple thousands of people. 00:15:25.860 --> 00:15:28.779 And you say, well, is this the same miracle? 00:15:29.060 --> 00:15:31.120 Is Jesus just doing this all over the place? 00:15:31.220 --> 00:15:32.179 Why the repetition? 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:35.000 That's very different in one major way. 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:39.919 The second time he does it, he's not feeding Jews, he's feeding Gentiles. 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:45.899 So the first time he feeds the Jews and everybody's like, well, this is like God feeding his chosen people 00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:48.360 in the middle of the wilderness, sending manna from heaven. 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:51.919 But what do you do with the next time he does it and it's a bunch of Gentiles? 00:15:52.439 --> 00:15:53.759 God's feeding Gentiles? 00:15:54.339 --> 00:15:55.279 What's that all about? 00:15:57.059 --> 00:16:02.639 See, the faith of the disciples has been contained within the shell of their Jewish cultural expectations. 00:16:03.719 --> 00:16:05.279 The Jews are God's chosen favorites. 00:16:05.779 --> 00:16:07.059 The Gentiles are the enemy. 00:16:07.059 --> 00:16:16.919 And Jesus has come to liberate God's people from the wicked, evil Roman Gentiles, the occupiers, and to vindicate them. 00:16:19.079 --> 00:16:24.419 All of a sudden, they're going to have to realize that that is an old shell that they are outgrowing rapidly. 00:16:24.739 --> 00:16:28.779 And they're going to have to leave that shell behind if they want to continue following Jesus. 00:16:29.219 --> 00:16:33.439 Because Jesus has come not just to save the Jews, he's come to save the whole world. 00:16:33.860 --> 00:16:36.720 He's come to bring down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile. 00:16:36.900 --> 00:16:39.840 And he's not come to conquer, he's come to be conquered. 00:16:41.460 --> 00:16:43.920 They're going to have to recognize and accept the reality. 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:48.700 They're going to have to get out of the boat of safety and realize not only is their master going to suffer and die, 00:16:48.900 --> 00:16:50.200 but they're going to have to suffer. 00:16:50.200 --> 00:16:53.980 It's not going to be the road they thought it was going to be. 00:16:55.500 --> 00:16:58.640 And so again and again and again, the disciples are going to have to decide, 00:16:58.720 --> 00:17:00.000 am I going to get out of the boat? 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:04.840 Am I going to trust where Jesus is calling me to go, even though I'm terrified? 00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:07.700 Or am I going to stay in the safety of my old ways of thinking? 00:17:09.420 --> 00:17:10.860 Faith demands risk. 00:17:12.299 --> 00:17:13.700 Faith demands risk. 00:17:13.700 --> 00:17:16.039 And that brings us to the second point. 00:17:16.660 --> 00:17:20.880 In order for us to be willing to take risks like that, that requires trust. 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:23.259 That requires trust. 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:29.000 Notice when Peter first steps out of the boat, he's standing on the water. 00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:30.480 He's actually doing it. 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:33.480 And then it says he starts to come toward Jesus. 00:17:33.620 --> 00:17:34.580 But then verse 30, 00:17:34.579 --> 00:17:47.119 In the Bible, wind and waves often symbolize evil and chaos. 00:17:48.619 --> 00:17:51.679 There is so much evil and suffering in the world. 00:17:53.079 --> 00:17:57.919 The question many of us struggle with most is not whether or not there is a God, 00:17:59.259 --> 00:18:01.439 but whether or not that God is good. 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:05.920 Whether or not that God is good. 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:10.100 Our daughter got really sick one time, 00:18:10.220 --> 00:18:12.799 and she had all these sores in her mouth, 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:14.860 and she was really sick, and she was miserable. 00:18:16.320 --> 00:18:18.620 And she said over the period of several days, 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:21.840 why would God do this to me? 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:27.500 She said, I prayed and I asked God to take this away to heal me, 00:18:27.660 --> 00:18:28.620 and he didn't. 00:18:28.619 --> 00:18:32.559 Is he mad at me? 00:18:33.319 --> 00:18:34.539 Is he punishing me? 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:37.500 Is he just mean? 00:18:39.799 --> 00:18:42.679 You know, she was asking those questions as a five-year-old. 00:18:45.179 --> 00:18:48.819 To be honest, I sometimes ask those questions as a 45-year-old. 00:18:48.819 --> 00:18:53.619 You know, I see kids getting shot in our city. 00:18:53.879 --> 00:18:55.399 I see wars being fought. 00:18:56.679 --> 00:19:00.000 I see wildfires wiping out entire towns in minutes. 00:19:02.200 --> 00:19:04.119 I pray for biopsy results. 00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:06.480 Struggling marriages. 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:10.380 And I ask these questions. 00:19:12.900 --> 00:19:13.839 Same as my daughter. 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:18.440 We read in the book of Genesis that God's original creation was good. 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:21.319 We read that evil somehow entered in. 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:24.920 We read that only after humans rejected God 00:19:24.920 --> 00:19:28.420 did suffering and death become part of the world and part of our lives. 00:19:28.420 --> 00:19:34.640 But how do we make sense of the suffering and evil that we experience? 00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:40.440 What do we do when God seems silent or when God seems absent 00:19:40.440 --> 00:19:42.660 or when God seems capricious? 00:19:42.660 --> 00:19:50.920 How can we possibly trust God in a world like this? 00:19:52.820 --> 00:19:55.840 And the only answer that has ever given me any comfort 00:19:55.840 --> 00:19:59.240 is the answer that we see in passages like this. 00:20:00.300 --> 00:20:02.840 Only by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:09.240 Here we see Jesus commanding the wind and commanding the water. 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:11.820 He has power only God could have. 00:20:13.320 --> 00:20:15.779 And yet he's allowing this storm to happen. 00:20:16.840 --> 00:20:20.019 He commanded the disciples to get into the boat and the storm comes. 00:20:20.180 --> 00:20:21.920 It's not because Jesus dropped the ball. 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:24.759 Jesus knew the storm was going to come. 00:20:24.840 --> 00:20:25.759 He allowed it to come. 00:20:27.080 --> 00:20:29.040 And in a few moments in this story, 00:20:29.120 --> 00:20:31.279 he's going to silence the storm with a word. 00:20:32.580 --> 00:20:35.940 He has absolute authority over the storm and yet he allows it to come. 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:42.019 And yet we also know that Jesus loves Peter and the other disciples 00:20:42.019 --> 00:20:44.960 more than we can possibly imagine. 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:47.960 And we know that because he's eventually going to go 00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:51.339 and be willing to suffer and give his life to save Peter. 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:56.680 And he's going to do that knowing that Peter is going to deny him three times. 00:20:57.139 --> 00:20:58.519 He's going to utterly betray him. 00:20:58.579 --> 00:21:00.039 He's going to be abandoned by his disciples. 00:21:00.039 --> 00:21:02.519 And yet he's going to suffer and die to save them. 00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:03.700 He loves them that much. 00:21:04.899 --> 00:21:07.700 And yet somehow Jesus who loves them that much 00:21:07.700 --> 00:21:10.359 and who has absolute authority over the wind and the waves 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:11.759 allows the storm to come. 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:16.779 And there's this mystery that we have to reckon with. 00:21:17.579 --> 00:21:20.539 Sometimes God loves us so much that he ends the storm. 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:23.819 Sometimes God loves us so much that he sends the storm. 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:29.019 God's love is found in his yeses. 00:21:29.140 --> 00:21:30.960 God's love is found in his noes. 00:21:34.339 --> 00:21:35.559 How do we make sense of that? 00:21:35.579 --> 00:21:36.200 I have no idea. 00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:38.859 That is well above my pay grade. 00:21:38.859 --> 00:21:44.219 When Jesus asks Peter, why did you doubt? 00:21:44.399 --> 00:21:49.000 The word doubt that Matthew uses literally means divided in two. 00:21:50.579 --> 00:21:53.619 Peter, why were you divided in two? 00:21:53.779 --> 00:21:54.759 What does he mean by that? 00:21:55.899 --> 00:22:00.000 Well, Peter's looking at Jesus, but then he looks at the waves and the wind. 00:22:00.159 --> 00:22:03.059 And then he looks at Jesus, and then he looks at the waves and the wind. 00:22:03.259 --> 00:22:04.779 He's literally divided in two. 00:22:04.779 --> 00:22:11.879 And we know what that feels like to be divided in two. 00:22:13.460 --> 00:22:13.799 Right? 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:17.700 All the injustice and all the sickness and all the evil and all the suffering in the world, 00:22:17.960 --> 00:22:20.680 it can easily convince us that there is no God, 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:23.180 or there is a God that he's not worth worshiping. 00:22:24.059 --> 00:22:25.819 And we're looking at the wind and the waves, 00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:28.759 and Jesus says, why are you divided in two? 00:22:28.819 --> 00:22:29.200 I know. 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:30.619 I know you can't understand that. 00:22:30.660 --> 00:22:31.299 You're human. 00:22:31.799 --> 00:22:33.359 Of course you can't understand that. 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:35.779 Look at me. 00:22:36.399 --> 00:22:37.659 Keep your eyes fixed on me. 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:43.519 And you fix your eyes on Jesus, and you see this man who heals the sick 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:48.579 and gives sight to the blind, who welcomes outcasts at his table, 00:22:48.779 --> 00:22:54.279 who suffers and endures humiliation to save people who are sinning against him, 00:22:54.359 --> 00:22:55.519 who have rejected him. 00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:59.059 And you look at that, and you look at the wind and the waves, 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:03.480 and the invitation here is to say, I know this doesn't make sense. 00:23:05.879 --> 00:23:06.859 But look at me. 00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:08.599 All right? 00:23:08.619 --> 00:23:09.279 Look at his heart. 00:23:09.420 --> 00:23:10.139 Look at his character. 00:23:10.539 --> 00:23:11.299 Look at his life. 00:23:13.700 --> 00:23:16.619 And that gives us the strength to trust. 00:23:16.619 --> 00:23:21.419 If that's who God is, if he's the image of the invisible God, 00:23:22.039 --> 00:23:26.899 I can trust a God like that, even if I don't understand. 00:23:28.779 --> 00:23:32.619 So faith demands risk, and then risk requires trust. 00:23:33.899 --> 00:23:35.179 Don't look at the wind and the waves. 00:23:35.339 --> 00:23:36.779 Don't focus on them. 00:23:37.799 --> 00:23:38.859 Focus on Jesus. 00:23:38.859 --> 00:23:45.819 This leads to our final point, which I'll make more briefly. 00:23:48.419 --> 00:23:49.819 Faith requires risk. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:51.779 Risk requires trust. 00:23:51.899 --> 00:23:55.059 But ultimately, it's that trust that glorifies Jesus. 00:23:56.119 --> 00:23:57.539 Trust glorifies Jesus. 00:23:58.500 --> 00:24:02.579 Peter and Jesus get into the boat, and it says the disciples worship Jesus, 00:24:02.740 --> 00:24:06.079 saying, truly, you are the Son of God. 00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:09.939 In Matthew's gospel, this is the first time we really see them get it. 00:24:10.460 --> 00:24:12.000 This is who Jesus really is. 00:24:13.059 --> 00:24:16.279 And, you know, to worship Jesus, to glorify him, 00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:19.960 is to praise and honor him for who he truly is. 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:23.679 It's recognizing this is who Jesus really is. 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:26.279 And that's to recognize, in other words, 00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:30.319 that Jesus is the true hero of the story, not us. 00:24:31.659 --> 00:24:34.339 Jesus is the true hero of the story, not Peter. 00:24:34.339 --> 00:24:34.419 Peter. 00:24:35.379 --> 00:24:40.519 It's easy to miss how presumptuous Peter is for trying to imitate Jesus. 00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:45.559 It's so interesting that his first reaction is to say, 00:24:45.639 --> 00:24:46.319 well, that's amazing. 00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:46.759 I can't believe it. 00:24:46.819 --> 00:24:47.599 I want to do it. 00:24:48.639 --> 00:24:50.740 I can do that like you can. 00:24:50.839 --> 00:24:51.779 Come on, Jesus. 00:24:51.980 --> 00:24:53.079 I want to do it like you are. 00:24:54.419 --> 00:24:56.579 And there's a level of presumption there. 00:24:56.579 --> 00:25:01.539 And this is why it's so important that we see Peter fail. 00:25:03.059 --> 00:25:04.839 It's so important that he fails. 00:25:05.220 --> 00:25:08.699 I would say this is what makes this a distinctly Christian story. 00:25:08.700 --> 00:25:16.380 If Peter had simply gotten out of the boat, had enough faith, walked over, high-fived Jesus, 00:25:17.180 --> 00:25:19.420 end of story, right? 00:25:19.539 --> 00:25:21.840 This story wouldn't really be about Jesus. 00:25:22.580 --> 00:25:24.120 Then it would be a story about Peter. 00:25:25.080 --> 00:25:27.559 And then the sermon would be a very different sermon. 00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:31.680 You know, the takeaway, we would all be saying, hey, look at Peter's faith. 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:35.140 Look how much Peter trusted and believed in Jesus. 00:25:35.140 --> 00:25:38.759 And the moral of the story would be, have more faith like Peter. 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:43.640 Now, you could tell that kind of story in a mosque. 00:25:43.800 --> 00:25:45.500 You could tell that story in a synagogue. 00:25:46.040 --> 00:25:48.759 That kind of story would fit in just about any religion. 00:25:50.080 --> 00:25:56.640 You need to have more faith, have more devotion, get serious, get your life together, 00:25:57.740 --> 00:26:02.660 really show God that you care, really prove by the way you live that you really mean it this time. 00:26:03.060 --> 00:26:03.759 Be like Peter. 00:26:05.140 --> 00:26:08.460 But in this story, because it's a Christian story, Peter fails. 00:26:09.600 --> 00:26:11.980 His doubt overwhelms his faith. 00:26:12.100 --> 00:26:16.740 He starts to sink and he realizes like that, he cannot save himself. 00:26:17.400 --> 00:26:18.960 He does not have enough faith. 00:26:19.560 --> 00:26:22.740 It is insufficient for what he's being called to do. 00:26:23.220 --> 00:26:27.120 All he can do is cry out in panic and desperation, 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:29.440 Lord, save me. 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:33.200 And that's where it becomes a Christian story. 00:26:34.320 --> 00:26:40.180 Because immediately Jesus reaches out his hand and he takes hold of him and he lifts him out of the depths. 00:26:40.180 --> 00:26:45.660 And what we see here is something very important to understand about faith and trust. 00:26:47.500 --> 00:26:54.180 Trust glorifies Jesus because it recognizes that it's not the quality of our faith. 00:26:54.180 --> 00:26:57.500 It's not the quality of our faith. 00:26:57.500 --> 00:27:03.279 It is the object of our faith that saves us. 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:08.160 It is not the quality or the quantity of your faith. 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:14.000 It is the object of your faith that saves you. 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:16.759 You may have a huge amount of faith. 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:21.079 You may be the kind of person who has a spiritual gift of faith you've never doubted in your life. 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:22.579 You think God can do anything. 00:27:22.700 --> 00:27:23.539 You've seen miracles. 00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:53.519 You may be a Christian. 00:27:53.539 --> 00:27:55.099 It's not the quality of your faith. 00:27:55.099 --> 00:27:55.119 It is not the quality of your faith. 00:27:55.500 --> 00:27:57.399 It is not the quality of your faith. 00:27:58.099 --> 00:28:00.700 It is the object of your faith that saves you. 00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:06.799 It's the fact that when our faith fails us, 00:28:08.139 --> 00:28:09.940 when, not if, 00:28:10.720 --> 00:28:12.539 when our faith fails us, 00:28:12.579 --> 00:28:14.299 all we have to do is cry out 00:28:14.299 --> 00:28:17.559 and Jesus will take hold of us. 00:28:20.339 --> 00:28:21.859 Faith demands risk. 00:28:21.859 --> 00:28:24.899 Risk requires trust, 00:28:24.899 --> 00:28:27.099 and trust like that glorifies Jesus 00:28:27.099 --> 00:28:29.240 because it acknowledges it is Jesus. 00:28:29.619 --> 00:28:31.259 He's the hero, not us. 00:28:32.259 --> 00:28:33.839 So if you want to follow Jesus, 00:28:33.979 --> 00:28:35.339 if you want to grow in your faith, 00:28:35.559 --> 00:28:37.500 you have to get out of the boat. 00:28:38.759 --> 00:28:39.779 Get out of the boat. 00:28:40.479 --> 00:28:42.039 And I don't know what that is for you. 00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:46.460 I don't know what in your life is the safety, 00:28:46.619 --> 00:28:48.619 the security, the comfort, the familiarity, 00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:50.740 the thing that you're clinging to. 00:28:52.579 --> 00:28:54.859 If you want to follow Jesus and grow in your faith, 00:28:54.920 --> 00:28:57.079 you have to get out of the boat at some point. 00:28:58.180 --> 00:28:58.839 You know, it's funny. 00:28:58.839 --> 00:29:01.119 I thought about this recently 00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:03.740 as we've been navigating this whole building purchase. 00:29:04.980 --> 00:29:07.399 We felt called for years and years and years 00:29:07.399 --> 00:29:09.519 to secure a permanent home for Advent 00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:11.240 in the heart of the city 00:29:11.240 --> 00:29:12.919 so that we can honor our commitment 00:29:12.919 --> 00:29:14.980 to loving the people of D.C. 00:29:14.980 --> 00:29:18.579 so that we can continue to love and to serve people 00:29:18.579 --> 00:29:21.339 for the sake of the gospel for generations to come. 00:29:21.419 --> 00:29:22.959 This is something that we felt called to, 00:29:23.039 --> 00:29:23.879 we're committed to. 00:29:23.880 --> 00:29:29.060 But this means we have to get out of the boat. 00:29:29.180 --> 00:29:31.340 It means we have to move to a different neighborhood. 00:29:32.700 --> 00:29:34.500 It means moving into a building 00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:35.940 that frankly is not nearly as nice. 00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:38.140 It needs a lot of work. 00:29:38.880 --> 00:29:39.540 It's hot. 00:29:39.880 --> 00:29:40.520 It's dirty. 00:29:41.300 --> 00:29:42.060 It's old. 00:29:43.040 --> 00:29:45.140 All that work's gonna be incredibly expensive. 00:29:46.120 --> 00:29:48.960 It's gonna be lots of work projects on weekends. 00:29:49.760 --> 00:29:51.780 It's gonna be down on our hands and knees, 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:53.480 scrubbing and cleaning and painting. 00:29:54.340 --> 00:29:56.120 It's gonna be figuring out where to park 00:29:56.120 --> 00:29:57.440 and how to navigate. 00:29:58.460 --> 00:29:59.460 It's gonna be really hard. 00:29:59.540 --> 00:30:00.500 It's gonna be really expensive. 00:30:00.840 --> 00:30:02.180 It's gonna take a long time. 00:30:02.400 --> 00:30:03.440 It's gonna take a lot longer 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:05.080 than any of us think it's gonna take. 00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:06.840 It's gonna be extraordinarily hard. 00:30:08.120 --> 00:30:08.680 You excited? 00:30:11.280 --> 00:30:12.680 We have to get out of the boat. 00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:13.100 Why? 00:30:13.260 --> 00:30:14.880 Because that's where we feel called to go. 00:30:15.900 --> 00:30:18.620 This is where we feel called to be as a church. 00:30:19.460 --> 00:30:20.900 We have to get out of the boat. 00:30:20.900 --> 00:30:23.400 You know, when you're committed 00:30:23.400 --> 00:30:25.360 to intentionally seeking out relationships 00:30:25.360 --> 00:30:27.560 with people who are nothing like you, 00:30:28.920 --> 00:30:33.240 whatever Gentiles represent for you in your life, 00:30:33.400 --> 00:30:36.200 kind of whatever that other kind of person might be, 00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:39.400 when you're committed to tightening your budget 00:30:39.400 --> 00:30:41.100 so that you can be more generous, 00:30:41.660 --> 00:30:44.019 when you're committed to forgiving the person 00:30:44.019 --> 00:30:45.220 that hurt you the most 00:30:45.220 --> 00:30:48.819 because you know that Jesus has forgiven you more, 00:30:50.100 --> 00:30:51.039 when you're willing, 00:30:51.319 --> 00:30:53.360 the times that you're willing to have a public 00:30:53.360 --> 00:30:56.380 and open and honest faith in this climate, 00:30:57.059 --> 00:30:59.519 those are all times when you're getting out of the boat. 00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:03.759 And when we get out of the boat, 00:31:04.500 --> 00:31:07.240 we know that we might succeed. 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:10.139 We know that we will probably fail. 00:31:11.299 --> 00:31:13.099 We know that we will have some successes. 00:31:13.319 --> 00:31:14.779 We know that we will have some failures. 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:18.079 But we can always trust that no matter what happens, 00:31:18.119 --> 00:31:20.579 we will always remain firmly in the grip 00:31:20.579 --> 00:31:23.500 of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:31:24.579 --> 00:31:25.180 Let's pray. 00:31:25.180 --> 00:31:28.400 Lord, we thank you for, 00:31:29.360 --> 00:31:31.320 not for the strength 00:31:31.320 --> 00:31:34.440 or the quality of our own faith, 00:31:34.920 --> 00:31:37.840 because we know that even that comes from you, Lord. 00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:40.620 That's something that we rely on you for. 00:31:40.700 --> 00:31:43.180 We thank you that despite ways 00:31:43.180 --> 00:31:44.660 that we may fail or fall short, 00:31:44.759 --> 00:31:45.759 you are always there. 00:31:46.779 --> 00:31:48.940 We thank you for that sure hand, 00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:49.600 that grip, 00:31:50.720 --> 00:31:52.620 that even when we might wanna let go, 00:31:53.340 --> 00:31:54.279 holds us fast. 00:31:55.480 --> 00:31:56.519 Lord, we thank you 00:31:56.519 --> 00:31:58.759 that whatever we might be called to risk, 00:31:58.900 --> 00:32:00.960 whatever we might be called to leave behind 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:01.920 or to sacrifice, 00:32:02.460 --> 00:32:05.299 it is nothing compared to what you left behind. 00:32:06.120 --> 00:32:08.400 It's nothing compared to what you gave up 00:32:08.400 --> 00:32:10.000 in order to be with us. 00:32:11.019 --> 00:32:13.340 So we pray that we would have the courage, 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:15.320 that we would have the kind of faith 00:32:15.320 --> 00:32:17.160 that is willing to take the kind of risks 00:32:17.160 --> 00:32:19.519 so that we can meet you out there 00:32:19.519 --> 00:32:21.500 on the open water in the midst of the storm. 00:32:22.600 --> 00:32:24.039 Because wherever you are, 00:32:24.039 --> 00:32:25.079 there we want to be. 00:32:25.779 --> 00:32:28.619 We pray this in your son's holy name. 00:32:28.980 --> 00:32:29.220 Amen.