Building an Authentic Faith - Peace

Matthew 14:22-33

The author C.S. Lewis has said that the problem in life isn’t that we want too much, it’s that we settle for too little. Not only is this true in life but it is also true in our faith, the problem isn’t that we want too much from God, it’s that we are willing to settle for too little. Building an authentic faith means that we are able to do & be more than we ever thought or imagined. When we follow Jesus, the possibilities before us our limitless. In Phil. 4:13 the apostle Paul says, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. God gives us the strength and the power to do all things & yet how often do we step out in faith to do those things? The abundant life that Jesus came to bring us and the passion for living that Jesus offers aren’t found when we play it safe & settle for the easy & comfortable road in life. An authentic faith is found when we are willing to step out in a radical response to God’s call & embrace all that God has for us. What are the possibilities that God has for you today? What are those things God is calling us to do that seem impossible & how can we make them a possibility? I want us to look at the story of Peter walking on the water & learn from his example how we can stop settling for too little & start embracing all of God’s possibilities.

The first thing we learn from Peter is that he is the one who asks Jesus to allow him to do the impossible. Look at Matthew 14:28 Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. Jesus hasn’t said anything about the disciples coming to him on the water, in fact it appears as if Jesus is making his way toward them, & my guess is that the disciples are thinking that once Jesus is in the boat, everything is going to be ok. But Peter doesn’t want to settle for Jesus coming to him, Peter doesn’t want to play it safe - he wants the adventure of walking with Jesus. Peter’s desire is to go where Jesus goes & to do what Jesus is doing, & so he takes the initiative and he asks Jesus to fulfill that desire. Are we willing to ask God to help us fulfill our dreams, our goals and our desires? In Psalm 20:4 it says, May God give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed. Last week we talked about passion & our passion in life can become a possibility if we will ask God for his power. Peter asked Jesus to allow him to come to him on the water – his passion was to be with Jesus & to do what Jesus was doing, so he asks for that possibility & Jesus gave him the power. We can do the same thing. We can ask God for his power so that our passions can become a possibility. We don’t have to settle for too little, in fact I believe God is waiting for us to ask him for more – more of his power, more of his love, more of his strength and purpose for plans for our lives.

But most of the time we settle for too little in life & in faith because we will only step out and do those things we know we can do on our own. When we are only drawing upon our own strength & power we are not living life to the fullest & we really aren’t living by faith. The fullness of life & faith only comes when we step out & do those things we know that we can’t do on our own. The fullness of faith comes when we ask God for his help so that we can do the impossible. The same principle is at work in the church. Too often we will only attempt to do those things we know that we can do on our own & yet what we fail to understand is that God is calling us to do and be so much more. Will we as a church make the choice to enter into mission and ministry that we know is impossible without God’s help? That is the first step to an authentic faith.

What keeps us from taking this bold step of faith both personally and as a church is fear. It might be a fear of failure, a fear of looking foolish. We might be afraid that no one will step out with us, or we might be afraid of what people will say around us. Fear can keep us from the possibilities God has for us. It was fear that kept 11 disciples in the boat. The disciples are afraid & they have every right to be, they are clearly in a dangerous situation. Their boat is out in open water where it is being battered by the wind and the waves at night. The last thing they would have expected would be for Jesus to come walking toward them on the water, so when they see a shape approach them they aren’t thinking Jesus –they are thinking ghost. Things have suddenly gone from bad to worse, first they are struggling in the middle of the sea at night in bad weather & now they have to contend with a ghost. So yes they are afraid & they cry out in fear. Even after they know it is Jesus, their fear causes them to settle for the safety of the boat.

Peter, however, is able to rise above his fear. It’s not that he wasn’t afraid, Peter was just as afraid as the rest of them, but instead of allowing his fear to cause him to shrink back & play it safe – he used his fear to help him step up & take a risk. If we are going to be afraid anyway – why not go all the way & step out in faith? Living a life of faith today is scary. It’s not easy to follow Jesus every moment of every day, so the question is what will we do with our fear? Will we allow it to take hold of us & cause us to choose the easy road & seek the safety of a comfortable life or will we take hold of our fear & in the face of it trust God to take us even farther? Gary Haagan, the author of Just Courage and one of the leaders of the International Justice Mission has said, Jesus came not to make us safe & comfortable but brave and courageous. Jesus knows that life can get difficult & even dangerous, he knows the fear we face, which is why he came to give us strength and courage. Are we willing to ask God for this strength? And then are we willing to receive it & use it when God gives?

Peter asked for the opportunity to walk on the water, & when Jesus said come – Peter got out of the boat & went. If we are going to ask God for strength & courage, we better be prepared to use it. One of the biggest problems we face is that when God gives us the go ahead – many times we don’t go. When God invites us to come & walk with him on the water, when he provides us opportunities to do more than we ever thought or imagined we could do, we don’t get out of the boat.

Now I think Peter was willing to get out of the boat and attempt to do the impossible because he was first willing to step out of the boat & walk with Jesus along a beach. This isn’t the first time Jesus has called Peter to come & walk with me. When Jesus first called Peter to follow him it was to leave behind his life as a fisherman, & Peter did. He stepped out of his boat & walked along the shores & the hillsides of Galilee. It was a step of faith. Peter gave up the security he found in his life as a fisherman & followed Jesus in a radically new life and it was that step of faith which gave Peter the courage to take another step of faith & climb out of the boat. Likewise, it was this step of faith & getting out of the boat to do something that was impossible that gave Peter the courage to later reach out and heal the sick.

In Acts 3 Peter & John are going to the temple when a man who had been lame from his birth asked them for money & Peter says, I have no silver and gold, but what I have I give you, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk. And then Peter did what I’m sure to him was the impossible, he reached out & took the man by the hand and raised him up & immediately the man’s legs became strong. Now the reason Peter was able to provide this miracle of healing was because he knew that at another point in time when he placed his faith & trust in Jesus he had also been able to do the impossible and walk on water. Embracing all the plans God has for us is a journey that begins with small steps. The more we walk with God, the more we step out in faith, the more opportunities God will give us to do those things that seem impossible. When we start small & are faithful in the little things, God will then lead us to greater things.

What is it that God is calling you to do today? What is the step of faith he is inviting you to make? Maybe it’s to trust him for the first time. Maybe it’s to step up and really learn what God has for your life. Maybe it’s to go deeper & take some real risks in following Jesus. Maybe God is asking for more of your time & he wants you to realign your schedule & make more room for him. Maybe it’s to commit yourself to spiritual growth through a small group Bible Study. Maybe it’s to explore the possibility of getting involved in mission, there’s a group going to South Dakota next year – is God asking you go with them? What are the possibilities God is laying before us? What are those things that seem impossible to us right now but can become a possibility if we take one step of faith today to help get us there?

What is the step of faith God is asking us as Faith Church to take? I am always challenged by the reality that even as a church we often won’t step up & make the decision to do something that maybe on paper simply looks impossible, but we know in our hearts is God’s purpose & plan for us. Are we willing to lay the desires of our heart before God with the courage to work for them when Jesus says come? Can we overcome our fear, & trust that through Christ all things are possible for Faith Church?

The last thing we all need to remember is that stepping out to do the impossible is really, hear me on this, it is really a no-lose situation because even if we fail, all we have to do is ask God for help & God will save us. Isn’t that what we learn from Peter? He gets out of the boat & starts walking on the water & then after a few steps he get’s distracted, he starts to doubt & then starts to sink, but as soon as he cries out for help – Jesus is there to save him. If we step out in faith & everything falls apart – it’s ok because God will reach down into our lives & lift us up & then God will honor our step of faith. Peter used his experience of walking on the water with Jesus, as feeble as it was, to help him do even greater things. God redeemed his sinking & he gave him a greater victory. God can redeem our failures, what He’s looking for is our faith.

An authentic faith doesn’t settle for what is safe & comfortable & easy, it embraces all the possibilities God has for us & even gives us the strength and the courage to step out and do the impossible. An authentic faith doesn’t just believe that with God all things are possible – it steps out in faith to do those things. So let us step out in faith.