Made New in Faith

Message Transcription

Well, we are in the midst of our Lenten series called Made New. What does it mean to be made new? We we began by following Jesus out into the wilderness and looking at his journey of 40 days, facing temptations and challenges that would would help give some shape to the direction of his ministry. Last week, if you were with us, you heard from Barry Stevens, a former preaching minister over at the Monterey church, as he talked about what it means to be made new and worship. Looking at Psalm 95 and learning to join our hearts and our praise with that of of those who have come before us, and those who will come after us to worship our great God of hope and trust. Today I want us to look at a story that's maybe a familiar one to many of you. Maybe it's not. Maybe it's it's new. And so either way, my hope is that as we look at this story of one of Jesus first disciples, a guy named Peter, that we could look at his faith and ask, what does it mean to be made new in faith? What does that look like? How does that happen? We're going to look and watch and follow him around. And I think it's a really important time for us to do that, not only given Bowen's commitment to following Jesus today, being made new in life, but also thinking about the challenge and the opportunity that Terry just shared with us about that.

God's inviting us to go out into the world in some new and some different ways, perhaps. And so we're excited about what will this look like? How are how is God going to help us be made new? Let's look, if you have your Bible invite you to turn over to Matthew chapter 14 as you're making your way there. Uh, remind us of of where we've been so far, or where at least Matthew has us in chapter 14. It begins with this crazy, incredible, nutso story about John the Baptist being beheaded, right? Involves an old man, a party, some alcohol, some weird kind of dancing, some cowardice. It's just kind of an odd story. Don't read it. Now. I can see some of you are reading it now. Stop reading it now. Read it later. Right. But it's this crazy story. And so Jesus is told what's happened, and he responds by getting in a boat and going off, we're told to a solitary place. He wants to mourn. I would imagine he wants to mourn his cousin and his wife that has been taken away. But the people watch him and so they follow him. Now you think, how do they follow him? He's in a boat. They just walked around the lake and they kept following him. And Jesus found them, saw them. And when he landed on shore, we're told that when he landed, he saw a large crowd. And he had compassion on them, and he healed their sick.

That Jesus, in the midst of his own grief over what's just happened in a in a personal relationship that was very important to him, has compassion on those who themselves are lost and who are wondering and wandering, who are who are broken and need healing. Jesus heals them. It's a powerful thing. In fact, he stays with them the rest of the day, meeting with and blessing them so much so that his disciples will come to him. Matthew tells us, his disciples come to him and they say, this is a remote place. It's already late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy something to eat and Jesus replied, they don't need to go anywhere. You give them something to eat and they respond incredulously. We only have five loaves of bread and two fish. Bring them here to me, Jesus says. Jesus takes what they have. He. He blesses it. He breaks it. He distributes it to his disciples, who distribute it to all those who are there. And everyone, we're told, eats until they're satisfied. This amazing miracle. 5000 men, probably at least that many more women and children were with him. This unbelievable story. That's where we find ourselves in the passage that Clayton read for us just a moment ago. An amazing story of God's abundant provision coming out of scarce supplies. What might he have to say about being made new? Well, let's look again at this passage, verse 22.

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side. Now, if you have your Bible with you today, I'm going to invite you to circle a couple things. If you have that kind of Bible where you can mark on it or you can circle. Just circle that word immediately. It's going to come up a couple more times. We'll come back to that here in just a minute. But immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat, go on ahead of him while he dismissed the crowd. After he dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Now, a couple of things I think Matthew wants us to notice here. The first one is Jesus made the disciples get in the boat. I don't know what your translation says, but that word for made them is is more than just, hey, come on guys, do it. It's compelled. It's to insist. In some places that word is used to say force, right? Jesus says, get in the boat. And they don't want to go. They don't want to go because they know they're going to have to go without him. Now, why didn't they want that? Well, perhaps like you, the disciples remembered what happened the last time they got in the boat on this very lake, and Jesus went out with them, right? In Luke chapter eight, we're told, another little boat excursion where Jesus gets in the boat this time, and he promptly takes a nap.

And as he's sleeping, this storm hits and waves are crashing over the boat. And so the disciples, who are terrified, they come to Jesus and they exclaim, Lord, save us! We're going to drown! And he replies, you of little faith, why are you so afraid? Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves and it was completely calm. Now, just a quick word of note here. I don't know what your translation says. The Nrsv says it was dead calm, right? The adjective there, the word is mega, right? So it was mega calm, right? That's what you guys think of me when you interact with me, right? There's a guy who's mega calm, right? Big time. Bigly. Whatever word you want to use to to say it was extremely calm. Mega calm. The men were amazed. They ask what kind of what kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him. And Matthew shows us this picture of a little bit of faith on the disciples, and is matched by this mega calm that Jesus brings into the situation. Perhaps that's what they were hoping for here in Matthew 14 when Jesus says, guys, get in the boat and go on ahead.

I'll be with you later. Right? They don't want to go by themselves. They don't want to be alone. In fact, it's the first time in Matthew's gospel that the disciples will be sent out without Jesus. Guys getting the boat. Go on ahead. They don't want to go. They don't want to be without Jesus. Where is Jesus going to be? Well, I think it's the second thing that Matthew's pointing out. He says Jesus is himself alone and he's alone on a mountain. Twice in two verses he reminds them Jesus is alone. He's by himself. A little bit later, after he's praying, it says, and he was there alone, and the disciples were out on the sea. There's this distance between them, between where Jesus is and where they are. They're on the sea alone, and they don't like it. Right? Because in the ancient world, the sea represented chaos and darkness, the powers of darkness at work, trying to come against God's creation of the world and the sea and the water. It was a gamble because you were going out into dangerous places. You didn't know what was going to happen, what might be around the corner. In fact, some said that being on the water felt like it invoked this image of death. It feels like I'm going out to just nothingness. At the disciples don't want to be alone. For the disciples, this place on the water is this separation between them and Jesus where they could encounter some trouble.

And if Jesus isn't there to calm the waters again, what might happen? It's interesting. In my reading this week, I came across the note that that many scholars believe this story Matthew tells it is kind of an allegory to the church, right? The church is sent out into this dangerous world of of unknown, and there are dark powers at work in the world, and they're facing all kinds of of winds and waves and struggles. In fact, here in Matthew 14, when it says there's some distance between Jesus was on the mountain and the and the disciples are are crossing the sea, that they're being buffeted by the waves because it's against that word. Buffeted means torment. They were being tortured and tormented by the waves. And maybe an opportunity for them, those early readers, to read. Yeah, the they're not the only ones who are out in the world trying to do God's kingdom work and meeting this torturing and tormenting forces of evil in the world, going against them. Let me ask you. Church. Where the dark waters in your life these days. Where's the chaos happening? Maybe it's in a work situation, right? You have a boss and you're not really sure what he or she is going to do. Maybe you have some coworkers in and you're not sure how this project is going to go. Maybe, you know, this evaluation is coming up and you're a little nervous about how will this be? Maybe for some of our students at the school.

Right. You're in a class, and it's challenging everything you have ever known and studied and learned. Or maybe you have a friend group, a friend circle, and there are some dark waters churning there because, you know, to enter in, to get involved in this conversation, it's going to get complicated real quick. Maybe some of us know that at home, right? We're facing some dark chaos at home. There's some there's some things happening, some troubles brewing. And you, since Jesus has said, get in the boat, go out in that water. Right? And we're going. I'm not sure I want to go without you, Lord. I don't know what's going to happen, but we sense that that call out into the open waters. But we also recognize there's danger there. Because I can't control and I don't know what's going to happen. We have these professional, some fishermen out in a boat and they can do nothing. Like that's your job, Peter, to, like, handle these situations. And they don't know what's going on. They're terrified and then they see it. Or rather, they see him. At this glimmering, shimmering character outline of some being walking toward them. Shortly before dawn, we're told Jesus went out to them walking on the lake. And when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. It's a ghost, they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus, immediately there's that word again said to them, take courage. It is I. Don't be afraid. How many of you who have a friend in a situation that you would rather them just respond, just do something, even if it's not the right thing, you just need them to do something versus that friend who's just going to sit there and be like, mm mm mm. I don't know what to do. You know, Peter's that guy who's just going to do it right? Lord, if it's you. Right. Language we've heard early on, right in the wilderness story, the devil comes to Jesus and says, if you are, then do this right here. Peter does his best impersonation. Lord, if it's you, tell me to come out to you on the water. What do you think the other disciples were thinking at this moment? Are you insane? What is wrong with you, Peter? You're the one who's supposed to know what's going on, and you have no idea. You're nuts. What are you doing? Jesus says come. Come on out, Peter. And Peter got down out of the boat and he walked on the water toward Jesus. Think about that for a minute, imagining what's going on inside the boat. He's walking toward Jesus, but he saw the wind. He was afraid and beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me! Immediately there's that word again. Jesus reached out his hand and he caught him.

Oh, ye of little faith. Why did you doubt? And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, truly you are the Son of God. N.t. Wright, in his commentary says this story could be a picture of or read as the story of faith, or rather faith mixed in with doubt, which is often the state of so many of us followers of Jesus. Right? We have some faith, but we've also got a little doubt, a little fear. And here we see played out in Matthew's gospel faith and doubt. Now we can stop and ask the question, what did Peter doubt? What was his doubt about? No pun intended or no rhyme intended. You know, for a long time I thought it was Jesus. He doubted Jesus. But if you look back at the passage, who's the one standing on the water? It ain't Peter, it's Jesus. Jesus does not have a problem with the wind and the rain or the waves. Rather, he's able to walk on the water. Who's sinking? That's Peter. Peter. When he sees the wind. When he realizes the waves that are churning around him, he gets afraid and he starts sinking. You see the elements that he and Jesus faced. It was the same, but their responses to them were very different. Peter loses faith in himself, he loses faith in his calling and what God has called him, what Jesus literally called him to do.

Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus, and he starts focusing on the elements and the challenges and the uncertainty and the fear. And he starts to sink. But immediately Jesus rescues him. Peter said. Is that all the faith he got? Is that all the faith you have in yourself? Is that all the faith you have in the mission again? Wright argues that it's the moment that we're most strongly tempted to give up. He says that's often the moment when when help is just a step away. Wright Jesus immediately is there to help him up. Now, I don't know about you, but that that feels. That rings. It sounds really familiar to me. This life of faith and doubt. Or I can I can sense God's calling me out into some chaotic waters. Right? I can see those waters. I can see there's danger there. But I can also see this figure of Jesus saying, come on out, get in the boat. Come on. I recognize that it feels very familiar, but then I also sense that call of hey, now get out of the boat. It's time to take a step. And I go, yeah, but have you seen the waves? Do you know the uncertainty, the the wind seems to be whipping up every time I get my little toes out of the boat, it's like, maybe, maybe. Give me a minute. Right? Like on that high dive where we were like, yeah, I know.

Right. It's I believe it. I'm just not sure I believe it. They start to lose faith to sink. You know, for the longest time I thought this faith thing was a one way street, right? Jesus is the Son of God, raised from the dead, sits enthroned at the right hand of the father, the healer, the the physician, the one who can do for me what I could never do for myself. And I think that's right. I think that is a huge part of faith. What I'm learning is that's not the only part. That faith is actually a two way street. That one of the most amazing things about Jesus is not that he walks on water. That actually makes a lot of sense to me, right? The amazing thing is that Peter did. Now. It's not because Peter was this incredible person, right? If we have seen he's a professional fisherman who has no idea how to handle this storm in his life, and yet, by the power of Jesus, he's able to walk. Let's see. What this reminded me of is that faith isn't just that I have faith in Jesus, it's Jesus has faith in me. Jesus has faith in you. He has faith in you to do the work that he's called you to do, to go out into the chaotic, dark waters where there's a lot of uncertainty and face them with faith. Not that you will somehow figure it out, but no, Jesus immediately will be there with you.

You see walking on water. I mean, there's logically, there's no reason Peter should have ever gotten out of that boat, right? Can we just agree with that? I mean, if you read through the New Testament, there's never a time when the early church is like, all right, everyone, let's pray. Hold hands, and we're going to go walk on water. You know, Paul, how many times did Paul travel across the seas taking the gospel to new places? He was involved in a few shipwrecks. We never read him go, hey, no problem. I'm just going to hop out of the boat and walk my way over to the shore. Right? That's not an expectation that the early church had, that somehow they would just walk on water. See, I don't know that Matthew's trying to to show us, hey, Jesus can make you walk on water. No, no, no, I think what he's trying to give us is this sense of how do we respond with our faith and doubt. Are we willing to trust that Jesus, who has no problem walking on water? That he would never lead us in the wrong direction. That even though the wind and the waves may whip up and beat and crash against our boat. That Jesus still invites us to take a step in faith, to believe not only in him, but in his faith in us. You see, Jesus has called each and every one of us out into the chaos.

He's called us to to be a light in the world. And you heard even our elders have been praying about God. How are you calling us to be a light in our world today? And in seasons past, he's called us to be lights in some pretty specific ways, and we're trusting and believing that that God still has some light for us to shine in our community. Will we believe? Will we keep our eyes on Jesus? Well. We grow and be made new in our faith. See, I think one of the challenges that Peter faces here and that you and I, I know I do have to face, is there's a difference between faith and certainty. You know, there's a lot of doubters in the Bible. In fact, one of Jesus first disciples, that was how he was known. I sometimes wonder if that would be me too. Right. So we go Thomas the Doubting Thomas. We kind of give him a hard time over that. I'm like, there's there's a lot of us and could be painted with that same brush. And Jesus never holds it against him. God doesn't hold it against his people. In fact, he just keeps saying, would you just be faithful to what you already know to be true? When you're not certain? Would you be faithful to what you already know to be true? And we see glimpses of that in this story, right? Peter sees Jesus on the water and Jesus says, come.

And he's like, okay, well, I can trust. He's faithful to what he already knew. Now he impacted and countered some things. He started to lose some faith in his self and God's calling on him. But Jesus asks us, would we be faithful to what we already know to be true? Like, for example. Jesus taught that people who have a lot of money should share with those who don't have much. I mean, that sounds like something Jesus would say. I'm pretty confident if you read your gospels, you'll you'll see that in their. The question is how faithful are we to it? Do we live like that's true? Or are we losing sight of Jesus standing on the water, calling us out into the chaos to say, yeah, but if I give here, that means I don't have money for that. Mhm. That's what that means. Hmm. Will we be faithful to what we already know to be true? See, Jesus longs to make us new in our faith. And I'm wondering, for some of us this morning, that may be the realm of can I really trust Jesus? And I hope if that's you, I'm so glad you're here today, and I hope that you'll keep coming back. And I hope that you'll dive into the word with us, that you'll get connected. Like Terry said to one of our small groups or one of our Bible classes, where we can jump in the word together and wrestle with and watch Jesus and listen to him and follow him, and then listen to his earliest followers talk about what it's like to to learn how to put our faith in Jesus.

And and God will make you new in that kind of faith. I wonder how many of us this morning me need to be made new in in faith. And us like made new in Jesus faith in us. Like he really he doesn't just like you and love you. He thinks you can do some things. And he puts you in a family. And he placed you in a school, in a neighborhood, in some situations right where he trusts you. He has faith in you. And he's saying, would you? Come out. I'd say the only way to walk on the water is to get out of the boat. And Peter, silly old Peter. He had enough sense, at least to get out of the boat. Church, will we get out of the boat? Maybe our faith needs to be made new in us and Jesus in us. Maybe in the calling that he has given to us. Church. However, you need to be made new and faith. I'm praying and believing and hoping and trusting. That, you'll respond. God, would you give us eyes to see that shadowy, shimmering figure out on the lake somewhere, kind of walking toward us? As we who have heard Jesus call to get in the boat.

We're doing our best to cross a lake. And God we are. We are meeting all kinds of wind and waves. You got. Some of us are facing it. Just real deep personally. We got some faith questions. We got some some questions about God and God, about you and about your relationship to us and what you think of us and what you want us to do. God, for some of us, we're facing some health challenges, some diagnoses, and that water is churning. Lord, it feels like these waves are crashing over the boat. And sometimes, God, it feels like you've gone to sleep and we're like, crying out to wake you up. Yeah. Some of us are facing challenges wind and waves in our work, some in our families, in school. God, wherever it may be. Would you remind us, Lord, immediately that you are with us? That promise you gave to your disciples is that promise for all disciples that never will you leave us and never will you forsake us. And in those moments when we're on the water and we look back and it feels like Jesus is on a mountain somewhere praying by himself, God, actually, you're right there with us by your Holy Spirit. One of the gifts that Bowen received this morning, a gift of your presence in his life, every single moment of the day. That's a promise true for us. May he give us courage. May it remind us of.

Of your faith in us. To be the man, the woman, the young man, the young woman that you've called us to be. Oh, God. Would you help us to hear it? Would you give us the courage to be faithful to what we already know to be true? When certainty isn't possible, God, would you help us to obey? Obey what we already know to be true? You give us the strength and the courage to keep taking one step after the other. God, I know sometimes it just feels overwhelming. Like it could never it could never possibly happen for us. But God. I pray that you would show us. We don't have to do this alone. You don't call us to be disciples on our own, but you get to do it together here at the Broadway Church. This family. Yeah. Thank you for their faith in you. Thank you for their faith in me and in one another. Thank you for the ways that you are at work, in and through each one of us, to encourage and challenge and exhort each other on trusting and believing that you will do God, that you can walk on water, you can do anything that God would you use us? God, would you continue to transform Lubbock? And the surrounding communities. And God, would you use us as your hands and your feet? Father, thank you for the gift of faith. Would you increase it in us this day? We pray in Jesus name. Amen.