October 20, 2019 The Book of James: Faith That Is Visible

This morning we continue a series of messages from the book of James. This morning we come to chapter two. I hope you have taken the time to read through the book of James in recent days. It does not take a long time to read, and it is time that will be well invested.

      

We live in a world that seems to be increasingly either/or.  Rich or poor.  Liberal or conservative.  City or country.  Republican or Democrat.  Northern or southern.  East coast or west coast.  UK or UofL. The polarization of everything these days weighs upon all of us, especially as the level of polarization has increased.  

      

Reading through the book of James, we find a sense of either/or, which reminds us that our world has been polarized from the beginning of time.  As we read through James, we see that he writes about the either/or polarization of his time.  There were the haves and the have nots.  There were those of lofty social stature and those who were not.  And we sense that either/or as James writes about faith and works, as he alludes to the polarization in his time that some saw between those two parts of faith – is it faith, or is it works?  Reading through chapter 2, especially, one can sense an undercurrent of disagreement in the early church about the way faith and works coexisted.

      

So, let’s look at a portion of that chapter, and follow along with me as I read James 2:14-26 – 

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 

¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 

¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?

¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?

²¹ Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 

²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 

²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 

²⁴ You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 

²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

The title of the message today is A Faith That Is Visible.  It is a message about how our faith becomes visible by the works that we do.  As we study this passage today, I want to offer you three words to remember when it comes to how our works makes our faith visible – testimony, service, and love.

1.  Testimony.

     

The book of James is one that has an interesting background, in terms of the history of the Bible.  I don’t know what you might know about the history of the Bible, but it came together over many centuries, and not without some measure of disagreement and even controversy.  Martin Luther, the renowned reformer who was responsible for the Protestant Reformation, was not a fan of the book of James, saying that St James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has nothing of the nature of the Gospel about it.  That’s kind of harsh, isn’t it?  Luther believed the book of James didn’t necessarily belong in the Bible, but as it was already included he thought it should remain, even if he did not much like it.  Luther’s primary disagreement with the book of James is its emphasis on works, which seemed in opposition to his own emphasis on faith alone.  To Luther, Paul’s words in Romans 4:1-3 – what then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?  If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about – but not before God.  What does the Scripture say?  “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”– were testimony that faith alone (what became known as sola fide, Latin for faith alone) brought about a person’s salvation.  To Luther, the words of James veered perilously close to implying that a person could earn their salvation through good works.

     

While I can understand Luther’s sense that the book of James seems to imply a salvation by works, I think he misunderstand what James was saying.  I don’t believe that James is at all implying that a person can earn their salvation through good works of any kind.  Instead, I believe James was writing about the impossibility of giving testimony to our faith without works.  A healthy, living, vibrant faith is going to be seen; a faith that is not evident by any good works is one that is most likely stale, inconsequential, and barely alive.  As James says, very bluntly, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead(2:17).  Faith and works are like our two hands, working in concert to bring about a wholeness to our faith.  Faith without any actions is a faith that is of little consequence in terms of its benefit, especially to others.  Actions without faith, on the other hand, can devolve into little more than a sense of duty and obligation, lacking in the love that serves as both the foundation and motivation for faith and works.  Good works are not something we do in an effort to earn our salvation; they are, instead, what we do as a natural expression of faith.  We do good works because that is what faith moves us to do. 

      

What is important to us becomes evident.  Generally speaking, you don’t have to talk with someone very long or know someone for very long before you discover what is important to them.  If they are a grandparent, it’s not long before they take out pictures of their grandkids.  If they have a hobby they really enjoy, it’s not long before they begin talking about it.  Give me a minute or two and I’ll be happy to talk to you about guitars.  In fact, if you have a few minutes after church, I’d be happy to tell you why I think PRS guitars marry together the best of Gibson and Fender, the way in which they improve on those two brands, and why I think this is among the many reasons PRS builds the best guitars.  Or would you like to hear about that right now?  Yes?  Okay…

2.  Service.

      

James, being the practically-oriented person that he was, gives plenty of examples of how we ought to serve others.  Last week, for instance, we read his words religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world(1:27).  This morning, we read some further examples.  In verses 15 and 16 he says, suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  Earlier in the chapter, in verses 1-9, James says, ¹My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. ² Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. ³ If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” ⁴ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? ⁵ Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor.  Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? ⁷ Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?⁸ If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. ⁹ But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 

      

Here is what I think James was reacting to – groups such as the Pharisees created and emphasized rules that separated them from others and the needs of others rather than leading them to engage with others.  The Pharisees put everything in the head, and little to nothing in the hands and the heart. What they didn’t seem to understand is this – any expression of faith that separates one from the needs of people is a false expression of faith.  How often did Jesus separate himself from the needs of others?  He didn’t, did he?  In fact, Jesus was often overwhelmed with crowds of people because of his compassion and his willingness to serve.

      

We have a fascinating dynamic in our society.  For all of our problems – and they are many – we live in a society that has places a great emphasis on service, and where does that come from? I believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that emphasis on service comes from the influence of faith on our culture. Whatever one might say about the place of faith today in our culture, it is very much true that faith’s impact has permeated our culture with a sense of serving others.  When we were on our mission trip back in the summer, for example, it was interesting to see the list of groups that have been with the Christian Appalachian Project this year.  It wasn’t just churches and individuals; it was also business such as UPS, engineering firms, and airlines.  You can also go over to the Open Door of Hope Men’s Shelter here in Shelbyville and find that businesses and corporations send teams of their employees to help them, or to the Serenity Center and other ministries and hear the same.  This sense of service, born of the Christian faith, has so permeated our culture that it is not just churches who desire to serve, it is also businesses and corporations.

      

Faith that is alive and vibrant and meaningful is never hidden; it is always seen!  It is seen in the what we do for others and in the way that we treat others.  As James says, we don’t treat those who have a great deal as though they matter more than those who do not have much at all.  As James says, we will care for the orphans and the widows in their times of distress.  As James says, we will care for those without adequate food or clothing.  May our works to bear testimony of the service we do in the name of Jesus!

3.  Love.

      

We are happy to do something kind and good for those we love, such as our spouse, right? If Tanya says to me, as she does from time to time, let’s take a week off, I will say, sounds great to me!  And she will go on to say, let’s spend the week together, and I will say, sounds really great to me!  And then I discover that she has been setting me up, because she will next say, let’s spend our time together cleaning the garage.  And you know what I will say?  Absolutely!  I was just now thinking that exact thing!  I can’t think of anything I would rather be doing! And do you know why I will agree to that task?  Because while I might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, it doesn’t mean I’m the butter knife either.  I do have some sense, after all.  But it’s really because I love her, and I am happy to do what she wants to do.    

      

Love is what ties both faith and works together.  You can’t have just faith or just works; it’s not an either/or.  Faith is, in my opinion, the easy part.  I don’t find it difficult to believe or to have faith, but translating that belief into action is something I find to not always be so easy.  Love, however, not only makes it easier, it makes it possible.  Love is what enabled the Samaritan to stop and help the one who considered him an enemy.  Love is what enabled Isaiah to say, here am I, send me(Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!”– Isaiah 6:8).  Love is what has motivated countless others to go where they have been led, to forgive when wronged, to reach out a hand filled with bounty to those who are without; love is what has led those who reach across the boundaries set by society to care for others, love is what will lead people to give of the last of their resources, love is what will lead people to give of time they believe they do not have, love is what will lead people to places they did not think they could go, love is what will lead people to do what they believed they could not do, love is what will lead people to speak truth to the powers of this world and to challenge those powers when they abuse people, love is what leads people to lend their voices for equality and justice, love changes our nature and by changing our nature it changes our actions; love changes the way we conduct business, love changes the way we treat people, love changes how we respond to the inequities in society, and on and on we can go.

      

Without love, faith can become nothing more than a mental equation.  Without love, faith can become little more than an intellectual exercise.  Without love, faith can become little more than words.  Without love, works can devolve into legalism or obligation. Without love, works can become burdensome.  Without love, works can become, as Paul says,a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal(I Corinthians 13:1).

      

It always comes back to love, because it is love that brings our faith alive, and moves us to make our faith visible through our good works.  Let us always make our faith visible, by offering the good works that come from love!

October 13, 2019 The Book of James: A Faith That Is Pure

This morning we begin a series of messages from the book of James.  There are five chapters in the book of James, and we will do one chapter per week.  I hope you will take some time and read through the book of James in the next few days.  James is one of the shorter letters – or in proper theological language, epistles – in the New Testament.  There are three letters that I especially love – Philippians, I John, and James.  All three of them have the commonality of using very basic and simple language.  Even Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, writes in a very down-to-earth way, which is certainly different from his letter to the Romans.  

      

Sometimes, we need what is simple, practical, and to the point, and James is such a letter.  It is one of the most practical books in the Bible, I think, and in his very practical way of writing, James has some very pointed things to say to us. Whenever I read the book of James, in fact, I often find myself wincing somewhat from the pointed truths contained there.

      

This morning we begin in chapter one, with a message I have titled A Faith That Is Pure.  In our Scripture text for this morning, there is a relatively small phrase offered by James, and the importance of the phrase is much larger than its grammatical size might indicate.  Follow along as I read that passage, and perhaps the phrase will jump out at you.

James 1:22-27 – 

²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 

²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 

²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

²⁶ Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 

²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Here is the phrase I hope you noticed – it’s verse 27, which says, religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  Pure and faultless.  Hmmm.  Here is a question I have – is it really that simple, that our faith can be pure and faultlessby looking after orphans and widows in their distress and keeping ourselves from being polluted by the world (which James doesn’t really define in his letter).  Aren’t there other requirements we need to think about?

      

In his simplistic approach to theology, I believe James likes to keep it simple and basic.  There is a purity to this approach to faith, I believe, as James does not get weighed down by complicated, ivory-tower questions of theology. Sometimes, I wonder if we get off on theological tangents as a way of distracting ourselves from some of the more basic – but challenging – commands of faith, such as caring for orphans and widows. Isn’t it easier, after all, to argue about matters such as predestination or one’s view of the millennium than to get involved in the lives of people who have important needs, such as orphans and widows?

      

When I was in the 3^rdgrade, my father went to work in a steel mill.  He worked his way up the vocational ladder in the mill, arriving at a position in the lab in the final years of his life.  He liked to talk about the tests they ran on the steel and would sometimes bring home samples that were used for testing.  Unfortunately, I was not always interested as he talked about his work (I was too interested in getting outside to play basketball or whatever else I wanted to do.  I wish now that I had listened more).  I do remember, however, how important it was that the purity of the steel be tested, in order to guarantee its strength.  There were very particular measurements that had to be met in order for the steel to be used, lest it put the safety of others at risk by not being sufficiently strong enough for its use.  We think of steel as a generally strong substance, but when it is under great pressure and the strain of much weight, it must meet very specific tolerances for safety, and when it does not meet them, it cannot be used.  Purity is the key to quality steel.  

      

Faith has its own need for purity.  As James writes about the need for purity of faith, it is a reminder that we must not complicate matters to the point that we fail to meet the most basic requirements of what faith asks of us.  

      

This morning, I want to speak to several important truths that I find in this passage – 

1.  God is our judge, not any person.

      

Everyone knows the verse from Matthew 7:1 – Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  Even people who have never read the Bible know that verse.  It’s a great verse, with a great truth, but we still judge, don’t we?  Judgment, in fact, is such a common trait that it’s almost as though judgment is our default position as humanity.  Here is why I bring up judgment in relation to this passage.

    

James is not a major figure in the New Testament, at least not on the level of Peter and Paul.  He was, however, an apostle and a leader in the early church, and the importance of his leadership is revealed in what is known as The Council at Jerusalem.  We read about this gathering of the church in Acts chapter 15, when the leaders of the church came together to deal with a question that had immense consequences for the future of the church.  At that time, there was a debate in the church about what would be required of the Gentiles who were flocking to the church.  Would they be required to observe the dietary laws of Judaism?  Would they be required to observe the practice of circumcision?  The bottom line was the church was confronted with the question of whether or not they would impose requirements upon newcomers before they would be accepted either as a follower of Jesus or as a part of the church.  There were two factions within the church on this question, one represented by what Luke refers to as the party of the Pharisees(Acts 15:5) and the other those who were in agreement with Paul, Barnabas, Peter, James, and others who did not want to place requirements on other believers.  The view of Paul and his associates won out, thankfully, but there remained a group of individuals within the church who believed it was necessary to have a list of requirements for people to adhere to before they could be part of the church or even to be considered a follower of Jesus.  

     

This is a view that has never really disappeared, and it is one that remains with us to this day, and it is a view that I find troubling.  I find it troubling for one primary reason – if we place required parameters upon those who want to be part of the church, where do we stop?  Once we begin our journey down the road of requirements, won’t there always be something else that someone will want to impose?  I understand the desire to have some expectations and limitations of behavior, and I understand the helpfulness of having some kind of theological parameters, but once we start down that road, where does it end?  I think this difficulty is what James has in mind when he writes in verse 27 that religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  In some ways that almost seems too simple, and yet there is a purity to such a faith that I find very attractive.

      

Religion that God our Father accepts.  That God accepts, not someone else.  Let me tell you something that I want you to take to heart and keep it there – there is no shortage of people who will want to judge you, or me, because we do not meet theirstandard of righteousness and theirtests of faith. Notice that I said their, not God’s.  Plenty of people take it upon themselves to take the place of God and pass judgment upon others, but that is neither their place nor their right; it is God’s place and God’s right.

      

In the Disciples of Christ churches, we are fond of the saying in essentials unity, opinions liberty, and in all things love.  The leaders of the movement that birthed churches like ours often referenced that statement because they believed that, in too many cases, people were treating their own opinions as though they were God’s eternal truth and were requiring that others hold to those opinions as a test of fellowship.  This is why, as Disciples churches, we do not have a creed, a statement of faith, or anything other theological document that can possibly be used as a test of faith.  We have one statement that unites us, and it is the confession of faith of Peter, from Matthew 16:13-17 – ¹³ Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still othersJeremiah, or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 

  

2.  Use our words to bless others.

      

Verse 26 says, those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.  Do I need to add anything to that sentence?  It’s very self-explanatory, isn’t it?  As we move further into the book of James, we will find that he has much more to say about the words we speak, so I’m not going to devote too much time to it here, but I will say a few things.

      

As if it weren’t easy enough to say the wrong things, and if it weren’t already easy enough to say things that hurt others, we now have social media and all manner of electronic communication to make it easier to do so.  I text a good deal, because that’s how many people communicate, but I can’t say that I really like that form of communication.  I find texting to be a very imperfect manner of communication, to be honest, and that is because it’s so easy to misunderstand what people write in texts.  Sometimes, we are not always careful about our language when communicating electronically, as we cut linguistic corners, which makes it easy to create misunderstanding.  I might, for example, get a text that says, how are you doing?  I can read that and wonder,why are they asking that?  Do they think something’s wrong with me?  Does anyone else think something is wrong with me? What are people saying about me? What do they think is wrong with me? Even worse, we can be careless with our words, which causes hurt.  How many of you have done this – you are working on more than one text string, and you reply to the wrong one, and in doing so say something you did not mean for another person to read?  I remember doing that one time, and about a second after I hit “send,” my phone rang. The caller was a person who read what I had sent by mistake.  The truth, however, is that what I sent was something I should not have sent at all, to anyone.  At the leadership retreat yesterday, we did an exercise to help us understand that what we say isn’t always what is heard.  But sometimes we are heard very plainly; too plainly, in fact, because we say things that should not have been spoken.

      

Remember this – first, the words we speak, speak of what is in our hearts, and what is in our hearts is not always good, and second, the words we speak can cause much pain or much encouragement.  Let us use our words to encourage.

  

3. Living out our faith can be complicated enough, so don’t create unnecessary complications.

      

I find a very strong parallel between verse 27 of today’s text and that of Micah 6:8, which says He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  In that passage it is a very simple declaration of what God asks of us.  Another parallel would be Matthew 22:37-40, in which Jesus says,“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”.  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  

      

To say that we ought to love God is not a complicated statement, at least in terms of understanding.  It is, however, a complicated statement to live and put into practice, because it means that when we take seriously our love of God, we will rearrange the priorities of our lives and many other parts of our lives. To say that we should love our neighbor is not a complicated statement, at least in terms of understanding, but depending on what your neighbor is like, it might be a very difficult statement to live.  Following God without always knowing where he is leading is not a difficult statement in terms of understanding, but it is a difficult statement to live, in terms of putting into practice.  Loving your enemy; okay, that is a complicated statement.  And maybe the complications of putting those kinds of spiritual principles into action are why some people simply say, you know what? I think I’ll just go fishing and forget about all that faith stuff.  It’s just too difficult.  Yes, it can be difficult, but sometimes it is made unnecessarily difficult when people load so many things upon us in terms of what they believe we ought to do. 

      

And that is why James keeps faith simple and pure. To him, the kind of faith that God declares to be pure and faultless, is defined in two very simple phrases –to look after orphans and widows in their distress, which is phrase one,and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world, which is phrase two. I like that simplicity, because sometimes I make faith more complicated than it needs to be.  When I was young, faith was simple to me – I wanted to love God and follow Jesus, and that was about the extent of it.  As I grew older, and when I arrived at seminary, I made faith more complicated, as I began to add more qualifications and requirements to faith.  As I grow even older, I’m back to simplifying faith.  In some ways, I have arrived back to where I was when I was a young boy – I want to love God and follow Jesus.  I don’t want to add a long list of qualifying beliefs and doctrines that I must believe, and I don’t want anyone else to add them for me either.  Remember this – you don’t need to worry about those who want to judge your faith.  You don’t need to worry about pleasing people who want to place all manner of requirements upon you.  Worry about what God asks of you, and according to James, that’s not as complicated as some people want to make it out to be.

October 6, 2019 The Miracles of Jesus: Two and A Half Miracles

How many of you love being around or in water?  How many of you do not?  I do not understand how it is possible to dislike the water.  I know that some people do not like being around or in water, but I love it.  I grew up in water.  Almost every day in the summer I was at our local swimming pool.  If I was not, I was swimming in a pond or a creek or a lake. Some of my friends and I would even swim in the ponds that formed in old strip mines, which was not a good idea as they were full of chemicals, snapping turtles, and leeches.  There’s nothing like climbing out of a strip mine pond and having to take a lighter to burn the leeches off of your body.  Don’t ask me what we were thinking in swimming in that nasty water, because obviously we weren’t thinking.  Although I love being in water, I will admit that turbulent water is a far different matter.  I have been out on a lake more than once, far from the shore, in a very small watercraft, when a storm rolls in and the waves get high, the wind blows very hard, and the shore is a scary distance away.  I’m a pretty decent swimmer, but it is scary to be on the water in a moment like that.  Whenever I read the passage that we are studying this morning, I think about some scary moments I have had on water and can understand the fear that overcomes Peter.

      

Today we conclude the series of messages titled The Miracles of Jesus.  Even though I did not get very far into my message of two weeks ago, in the 11:00 service, I decided not to return to that one, and I hope you don’t mind.  When I started reading through my manuscript for that message, there was an uncomfortable association with two Sundays ago, so I decided I was going to set that message aside.

      

Beginning next week we will begin a five-week series of messages from the book of James.  There are five chapters in the book of James, so we will do one chapter each week.  I hope you will take some time and read through that book in the next few weeks.  It is one of the most practical books in the Bible, I think, and has some very important – and very pointed – things to say to us.  Whenever I read the book of James, I always find myself wincing somewhat from the pointed truths contained there, but I also learn a great deal. 

     

This week we turn to Matthew’s gospel, to chapter 14, where we find a story that contains what I call two and a half miracles. The two miracles are Jesus walking on the water and his calming of the wind and the waves.  The half miracle is a reference to Peter, and I refer to his experience as half of a miracle because after stepping out of the boat, Peter manages to take only a few steps on the water before his faith falters and fear overtakes him and he begins to sink.  I don’t say that to be critical of Peter, as he deserves credit for having the faith and the courage to step out of the boat and into the stormy water – a feat I’m not sure I could manage – but as his faith falters, and so does the miracle of his walking on the water. 

      

Follow along as I read Matthew 14:22-33 – 

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 

23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 

24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 

26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 

30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 

33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

1. When you are uncertain about the present and/or the future, look to the past.

      

The disciples were not always very good at learning the lessons they should have learned from their experiences with Jesus. Experience is a great teacher, but the disciples weren’t always very good students.  Just before this story, for instance, is the feeding of the 5,000. It seems to me that when you experience a miracle such as the feeding of that great multitude, you might find it easier to have more confidence about God’s provision for the future.  If Jesus was able to feed a crowd that was much larger than the 5,000 – remember the 5,000 was only the number of the men who were present – then perhaps it should have been obvious to the disciples that they would be safe on those wind-swept waves.  And we can also go back through the Scriptures and find many examples of how God’s provision and care in the past served as a promise of provision and care in both the present and the future.  When Moses led the Hebrew people out of captivity in Egypt, and as they wandered through the wilderness, he would remind them of the way God had freed them from bondage and how that deliverance was both a reminder and a promise that God would continue to provide and care for them.  All throughout the Scriptures we find example after example of the way in which the uncertainty of the present and future could be overcome by looking to the past.  In fact, Jesus asked his disciples in Mark 8:18-19, don’t you remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?

      

I should add, however, that I’m not always a good example of doing what I recommend, and I’m going to hazard a guess and say I’m probably not the only one that falls into that category.  You don’t have to raise your hand, but is there anyone here that understands what I am talking about, because you also struggle to look to the past to find hope and promise for the future?  

2.  Sometimes it’s hard to see Jesus through the wind, the waves, and the darkness.

      

When Jesus comes walking on the water, towards the disciples in the boat, he calls out take courage!  It is I.  Don’t be afraid(verse 27).  And Peter, in a very interesting reply, calls out, Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water (verse 28).  Here’s my question – who else was Peter expecting to come walking across the water? Lord, if it’s you?  What kind of question is that?  What in Peter’s experience could possibly have made him think that anyone but Jesus would be taking a stroll across the water to come to them in the boat, in the midst of the darkness, the wind, and the waves?  Is that James or John?  No, they’re in the boat with us.  Could it be Mary or Martha?  No. So, who in the world can that be walking across the water in our direction?  But let’s give Peter the benefit of the doubt, as it was nighttime, the wind was blowing hard, the waves were crashing about them, and the water was blowing in their faces (but still, I’d like to know who else he thought it might possibly have been). 

      

But not only is it that Peter asks an odd question; he also makes an odd request.  Why, I wonder, would Peter ask Jesus to invite him out of the boat and to walk to him on the water?  Personally, I would take a lower standard of confirmation than asking to be invited out of the boat, into the wind and the waves, and to walk to Jesus on the water. If it were me, I would probably just ask Jesus, could you produce a little light so I can see for sure that it is you?  That’s all I need.  Or could I hear your voice one more time, just so I can confirm it is you? That would be plenty, in my opinion. I can tell you this with the greatest of certainty – when I am far out in the middle of a lake, at night, with the waves crashing around me and the wind blowing, my preferred method of confirming the presence of Jesus would notbe to say, hey Lord, if it is really you, can you ask me to step out of the security of this boat and into the darkness and the wind, and into the churning water?  I don’t mean to sound as though I am second-guessing Peter, but it seems to me he could have come up with a better plan for confirming it was Jesus. I mean, why did Peter create such a difficult situation for himself?  

      

Sometimes it’s hard to see Jesus through the wind, the waves, and the darkness.  It’s understandable, then, in times of difficulty, that we would say, with Peter, Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.”  Peter made such a request because he wanted a sign in a moment of uncertainty, and he wanted assurance when it was hard to see through eyes of faith.  We too want some kind of confirmation in times of difficulty, a sign that will remove any doubts we might have that Jesus is there.  Indeed, sometimes, it’s hard to see Jesus through the wind, the waves, and the darkness.  Peter wanted confirmation that Jesus was there, and to be honest, who wouldn’t?  Peter wanted to know that Jesus, who was the person in whom he could place his hope and his trust was there for him.  Peter didn’t, however, ask for it to be easy sign, interestingly.  Peter didn’t ask Jesus to come into the boat with him so he could see Jesus.  No, Peter asked Jesus to call him to come to him on the water, and I admire that.  Peter wanted to walk through the wind, the waves, and the darkness.  Peter wanted to be called through all the difficulties and to be called to go through those things that struck fear into his heart and all he wanted and all he needed was something to guide him through. To Peter, Jesus became a lighthouse, a lighthouse that would shine through the darkness, a lighthouse that would show the way through the wind, and a lighthouse that would show him the way through the waves.  Even though Jesus calmed the waves and the wind, he did not do it right away – not when Peter stepped out of the boat – and Peter did not ask him to bring calm and stillness.  All Peter wanted, remarkably, was a way through.  

      

What we can learn from Peter’s example is to say, Lord, I’m not asking for an easy way through the difficulties; I’m just looking for a guiding light to get me through.  Lord, I’m not looking for an easy journey; I’m looking for the strength to help me to complete the journey.  Yes, sometimes it’s hard to see Jesus through the wind, the waves, and the darkness, but rest assured he is there, and he will help us to see him.

3.  So, keep your eyes on Jesus.

      

Years ago, Tanya was leading the Bible story segment in a week of Vacation Bible School.  In teaching the story she wanted to find out what the kids already knew about it, so Tanya asked, who do we know that can walk on water?  One of the girls in the class raised her hand and started waving it with a lot of enthusiasm – I know, I know!  Tanya, of course, asked her, who do we know that walks on water?  To this day, her answer still just completely tears Tanya up, because when Tanya asked who do we know who walks on water, the girl answered very proudly, Dave does!  At that moment I promised to pay for her college education!  

      

If I have ever been deluded enough to believe I could walk on water, that illusion was shattered two weeks ago.  At first, I thought that I had been acting as though I believed I could walk on water, but I realized that to a great extent my problem was that I had taken my focus off of Jesus and begun to pay too much attention to the wind, the waves, and the darkness.  It’s going to be a process for me to figure out what happened in my mind and my heart to get to that point, but I was in a situation that was much like that of Peter.  I knew I was sinking, like Peter, and I thought I had cried out like Peter did – Lord, save me! – but I guess I didn’t really mean it, because I was still trying to walk on the water myself.  One of the dangerous mindsets of ministry is that it is easy to believe that everything rests and turns upon me.  If I don’t do this, things are going to fall apart.  If I don’t keep going and pushing, things are going to fall apart.  And what then drives you is not a focus upon Jesus and seeking to be like him as much as the focus is on insecurity, and anxiety, and fear, and a collection of thought patterns and behaviors that become harmful and destructive.  You begin to worry more about whether the technology we use in worship will work than about the moving of the Spirit.  You begin to worry more about who is here or not here than whether the presence of God is among us.  You begin to worry about the ebb and flow of the offerings – and fret over the weeks when there is more ebb than flow – and wonder how the bills will get paid.  And eventually, you sink.

      

Verses 29 and 30 say, “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”  Peter was doing fine as long as he was focusing on Jesus, but his difficulties began when he focused instead on the wind and the waves. Now, I have to be honest and say it would be hard not to concentrate on the wind and the waves, as that was a scary situation in which Peter found himself.  The reality is, however, that we often turn our focus away from Jesus and turn it to that which frightens us.  It is hard not to do so, as many of the fears we face in life are very real, but allowing them to overcome us is not the answer.

      

I very much enjoyed sitting in the back row of the sanctuary at Middletown Christian Church last Sunday morning with Tanya. It was nice to not worry about the many things that occupy my mind on a typical Sunday morning, and which so often get in the way of my own ability to worship God.  Sitting there I realized that, just as Peter’s problem was not really the wind or the waves – as problematic as they certainly were – neither was my problem a case of exhaustion.  My problem was allowing the metaphorical darkness, and wind, and waves, to envelope me and pull me under.  I have realized that Jesus did not say to Peter, I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have called you out into these waves or into this wind.  No, that is not what Jesus identified as Peter’s problem; Peter’s problem, according to Jesus, was his lack of faith.  It has been my lack of faith as well.  I have worked, and worked, and worked, as though everything has depended upon me, rather than having faith that God is in control and will take care of everything.  I know that is easier said than done, for a variety of reasons, but I understand how important it is for me to get to that point, as I cannot continue on the path I have been on.  I know that Jesus has called me out of the boat and to come to him on the water, but I know that I do not have to make my way through the darkness, the wind, and the waves on my own, and that I can trust him.

      

The title slide you see for this message is not the one I wanted to use.  I found one I really liked, but when I downloaded it the image quality was too poor to use.  The picture was from the perspective of being underwater and looking up to the surface. On the surface, the image of Jesus can be seen, with his arm and hand outstretched, reaching down toward the water. I loved that image, because for some time now I have felt as though I were underwater, and the image of looking up and seeing the outstretched arm and hand of Jesus was very comforting to me. 

      

I am trying very hard not to be afraid to cry out Lord, save me!  I believe I’m not the only one who needs to stop being afraid to cry out those words. Look to Jesus.  Do not fear the darkness.  Do not fear the wind.  Do not fear the waves.  Do not let yourself sink.  Reach up, and take the hand of Jesus.