Walking by Faith

By Jeff Fry based on the book by John Ortberg, "If you want to walk on water …"

^NIV Matthew 14:22 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. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴ but the boat was already a considerable distance {24 Greek many stadia} from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. ²⁵ During the fourth watch of the night 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."

I.       Intro

A.   What is your philosophy of life?  Or by what are you living your life?

B.   We continue our series of talks about living by faith.  Last week we learned that God has created us to live by faith or in other words to live trusting in Him and His word.

C.   Today we are going to focus on verse 29 in Matthew 14 which is the passage we have been discussing the last few weeks in our series on faith.

1.     Matthew 14:29 says, "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus."

2.     Despite his fear, Peter started walking on the water by faith and trust in Jesus.

D.   Faith is powerful.

E.   Consider the story of one monk from the middle ages who changed the course of the world through faith.  From this monk's own frustration and discontent with the church of his day and its lack of faithfulness to the Bible, he sparked what is today knows as the reformation of Christendom. 

1.     Early on he was filled with doubt about his own relationship with God.  At the instruction of his  mentor, Johanne von Staupitz,  Martin Luther began to memorize, read and study the Scriptures.  Eventaully Staupitz sent him off to Wittenberg to get a degree in Bible.  As Luther got to know God through the Scriptures, God started to fill him with faith and conviction. 

F.    But it all started with Luther's frustration and discontent with a church which had gone off the rails.  His initial frustration could have led him down the wrong road, but  Staupitz was able to constructively steer this frustration into a step of faith.  A step of faith for Luther which took him out of the comfort of his complaining into a new zone of faith to trust God to do something about it; to step out of his comfort zone and trust God to change not only himself, but the world!

II.    We should allow negative emotions, compassion and prayer to move us to step out in faith.

A.   State

1.      In the last few weeks we've talked a lot about the fact that God's mission for us is to regularly take a step of faith and expand our comfort zone. 

a)    Stepping out in faith means that we respond to God's call without being sure of what the outcome will be.

(1)  That's trust.

(2)  The root of the Greek word for faith means "trust".

b)    We also said that it is possible for us to make courageous, high-risk decisions that are stupid and have nothing to do with what God wants for us.  So, we learned that we should be listening for God's call or prompting.  If we are not sure if God is calling us then we should:

(1)  Make sure that the decision is not contrary to God's word (the Bible)

(2)   Consult with other mature Christians who have more experience than us.  This is one of the reasons for the church - so that we do not have to live out our faith alone but have the help of a community of believers.

(3)  and pray with other mature Christians for clear guidance from God.

c)     The verse we examined last week showed that Peter did not step out onto the water blindly.  He asked for confirmation from Jesus and waited until Jesus called to him to "come". 

2.     Today, I'd like to talk about how we actually live by faith and step out in faith regularly and expand our comfort zone. 

3.     Specifically I'd like to talk about some indicators that can show up in our lives which should move us to take a step of faith, expand our comfort zone, and trust God.

4.     The first indicator negative emotions can include such things as:

a)    Fear

b)    Frustration

c)     Depression

d)    Anger

e)     Worry

f)      Anxiety

g)    Suicidal thoughts

h)    jealousy

i)       Etc.

5.     Last week we mentioned how Peter overcame his fear of the waves, his fear of the person standing out on the waves and stepped out of the boat.

6.     Our opening illustration is a good example of how frustration was an indicator that Martin Luther was being called by God to step out in faith and change things.

a)    Please note that faith doesn't mean that we are without doubts.  If you know anything about Martin Luther then you know that he of all people had plenty of doubts about God.

b)    Luther tells the following story …

(1)  "In Torgau a wretched little woman came to me and said, "Ah, dear Doctor, I have the idea that I'm lost and can't be saved because I can't believe."  Then I replied, "Do you believe, dear lady, that what you pray in the Creed is true?"  She answered with clasped hands, "Oh yes, I believe it; it's most certainly true!"  To which I replied, "Then go in God's name, dear lady.  You believe more and better than I."

(2)  It's the devil who puts such ideas into people's heads and says, "Ah you must believe better.  You must believe more.  Your faith is not very strong and is insufficient."  In this way he drives them to despair."

c)     When people wrestle with doubt, they may tell themselves that they will try harder to have more faith.  But faith is not the sort of thing that can be acquired by trying harder. 

d)    If you want to increase your faith, get to know the source of faith - God.  And because God is faithful, the more you hang around with God, the more you will see that God is faithful

e)     Never try to have more faith - instead, just get to know God better.

f)      Reading Plans for the Bible are available after the service and are on the window sill - some for beginners, intermediate and advanced.  Please help yourself.

B.   Illustrate

1.     Nehemiah, a cupbearer to King Artexerxes in Persia, is a great illustration of how God calls one to step out in faith through compassion.  He felt such compassion for his people living in the ruins of Jerusalem that he sensed that God was calling him to rebuild the walls around the city.  He stepped out in faith and asked the king of Persia if he could have leave to rebuild the walls.

Nehemiah 1:3-4 says, "

a)    ^NIV Nehemiah 1:3 They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." ⁴ When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

b)    This information about the dire situation of his people filled him with compassion for them.

c)     It also led him to prayer.

d)    Then all he did after that was complain, cry out and weep about the situation, but did nothing to help!!!

(1)  No! Nehemiah, who was  led by faith, stepped out and trusted God that he could do something about the situation through God's power, not his own.  And God started to work!!!

(a)    God loosened the heart of the king to give him leave to go to Jerusalem

(b)   God also led the pagan king to give Nehemiah supplies to take.

(2)  The principle that we see over and over in Scripture is this: when we take the first step of faith, God is always there to honour it.

C.   Apply

1.     One man said, "If I am going to experience a greater measure of God's power in my life, it will usually involve [taking that first step of faith] … Simply acknowledging information about [God's] power is not enough.  I have to get my feet wet."  

a)    We have to take that risky step of faith even when we don't know where it will take us.

2.     Are you fearful about a conversation you need to have with a person because you don't know how they will react?

3.     When was the last time you told someone about your faith in God?  Has it been a while?  Why?  Are you afraid?  Maybe you need to step out of your comfort zone and not be so afraid.

a)    Historically people have risked their livelihoods and even their lives for their faith.

b)    But for us the worst case scenario is that the person will not want to talk about spiritual matters.  When we ask, "Would you like to talk about spirituality?"  They may respond, "No, I don't think so.  Not today.  Thanks anyway." 

c)     That is about the most pain we face.

4.     Has God put something on your heart to pray about?  What is He saying through that?  Where will your prayer lead you?  Don't be afraid to let it lead you into taking steps of faith like Nehemiah's prayer did.

5.     Maybe God has put compassion in your heart for a people group or a certain ministry.  How can you step out in faith in order to see that ministry come to fruition?

6.     Try this: when you put your head on the pillow each night ask yourself this question:

a)    how have I stepped out in faith today - not knowing what the result will be but trusting God that he was calling me to take that step? 

b)    When during the day did I experience any negative emotions, an urge to pray or a sense of compassion?  Is God calling me to take a step of faith in this area or situation and step out of my comfort zone? 

III.  Conclusion

A.   My Step of Faith

1.     I heard the call (Lord if its you …)

a)    I became a  Christian when I was at University.  And when I finished my engineering degree at the University of Delaware, I wanted to go into full-time ministry.  But my father, who paid for my engineering education, asked me to work as an engineer for at least a year before I went into the ministry.  Out of respect I agreed.

b)    In the meantime I saved up my money to go to seminary and when it came time to finally leave Philadelphia to go to Chicago for my graduate studies all of a sudden my step of faith became real. 

2.     I encountered all sorts of opposition to the idea (the wind):

a)    My family thought I was foolish

(1)  My younger brother and sister couldn't understand why I wanted to leave such a good-paying job to go back to school to become a minister.

(2)  My uncle tried to tell me that it was unwise

(3)  My work colleagues thought I wanted the easy life when they heard I was going to become a minister

(4)  And My mother cried

b)    But I had conviction from God that he could use me even more if I went into fulltime ministry. 

3.     I left my engineering job (The Step out of the boat)

a)    So, I left my engineering job with the second largest computer company in America and enrolled at Trinity University just outside of Chicago. 

b)    I took a step of faith.  I extended my comfort zone not knowing what lay ahead:

4.     I entered my studies and completed them (walking on water)

a)    Difficult Greek and Hebrew classes (the wind)

b)    Financial challenges (the waves)

(1)  Paying for my education (costliest)

(2)  Renting a single room in a house my last year because couldn't afford anything else

c)     Another call to go to Poland as a missionary

5.     I have never regretted that decision to step out in faith .  Through the troubles and difficulties and doubts God met me at every step and provided for my needs.

6.     Hearing the call I took the first step and God honoured it by meeting my needs at every turn.

7.     That is why we were created.  That is our mission.

8.     That's one of the main messages of the Bible -  that God is telling us that we are to live by faith in Him.    

For questions, comments or further information contact:

Rev Jeff Fry

Darwin Park Community Church