You've all heard the story about the boy who was walking along and
happened to see a $5.00 bill on the sidewalk. He picked it up, put it in
his pocket and kept walking with his eyes fastened even more closely to
the sidewalk. He developed a habit of looking down and in the next few
months found about $3.50 in change, a few dozen cigarette butts, a ton
of trash paper, and even managed to ram his forehead into a couple of lamp-posts
which cured him of looking down. In the text, we encounter Peter who, like
the boy, needed to be reminded to "Look up!" Joni Eareckson Tada learned
that lesson and passed it along in an article she wrote. I share that with
you this morning. She wrote, "When I was little and went horseback riding
with my sisters, I had a hard time keeping up. My problem was that I was
riding a little pony only half the size of their mounts. I had to gallop
twice as fast just to keep up. I didn't mind. I took it as a challenge
until we came to the edge of a river. My sisters on their big horses thought
it was fun and exciting to cross the river at the deepest part. They never
seemed to notice that my little pony sank quite a bit deeper into the swirling
waters. It was scary, but I wasn't about to let them know." Joni was something
like Peter who, whether he was afraid or not, wanted to step right out
onto the water. Well, let's turn to the text. what's the first thing we
notice?
PETER
SUBDUED FEAR AND STEPPED OUT IN FAITH: VV28, 29:
Now, some fear is appropriate.
We ought to fear foolhardy,
reckless, needless courting of useless danger just for the thrill of it.
We ought to fear getting familiar
and comfortable with sin. 1
Timothy 5:20
"Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the
rest also may be fearful of sinning."
We ought to fear spiritual apathy
and malaise.
Groundless fear, or cowardly
fear in the face of life's challenges is simply is deadly:
It paralyzes us and renders
us unable to function; we can't eat, sleep, work, think. We are immobile,
inactive, inert and ineffective.
It demoralizes us and makes
us want to run and hide.
It prevents us stepping out
into new ventures of living, attempting new things for the Lord, and trying
new services for our fellow men.
There are things of which we
ought to never be afraid: We should not be afraid
To stand up and stand out, speak
up and speak out for Christ even if we are the lone ranger and the only
voice!
To take a step of faith we are
convinced He is calling us to take even if it is to do something we've
never done before.
To do the Biblically correct,
though perhaps unpopular, thing.
Of enemies who vaunt themselves
arrogantly against the Lord and His Church. Matthew
10:28 "And
do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but
rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
That God will forget to recognize
and care for our real needs. Matthew
6:31, 32
"Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' Or 'What shall we
drink?' Or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' For all these things
the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need
all these things."
Remember Paul's words, subdue
fear and step out in faith:
Romans
8:14, 15
"For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but
you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba!
Father!'"
2
Timothy 1:7
"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and
discipline."
Peter was likely afraid but he stepped out in faith, left the boat and
hit the water. So, though she was really afraid, Joni rode her mount into
the river; she continues, "One crossing in particular sticks in my memory:
the Gorsuch Switch Crossing on the Patapsco River. It had rained earlier
that week and the river was brown and swollen. As our horses waded out
toward midstream, I became transfixed staring at the swirling waters rushing
around the legs of my pony. it made me scared and dizzy. I began to lose
my balance in the saddle." That's where Peter made his mistake, too.
PETER
LOOKED DOWN AND BEGAN TO PANIC: V30:
Human logic began to work against
his faith. "People don't walk on water! My feet aren't flippers! What was
I thinking of to step out of that boat? I'm siiiiiiiiinking!" Human logic
led him to look down and looking down led to sinking and sinking led to
panic.
Human logic is not the litmus
test of truth and right. Human understanding has led to some pretty goofy
ideas.
Tomatoes were feared and considered
poisonous. They figured out they weren't when a disgruntled wife fed some
to her hubby and he lived! (Not really! I made up that part!)
Bicycles were once thought to
be an invention of the devil.
Bathing in a bathtub was once
considered to be a sure way to lunacy.
Clams and oysters were once
thought fit for human consumption -- oops, I guess that one is true. I'll
give you that one if your taste buds are numb.
But anytime we follow human
logic, human rationale and human opinion and take our eyes off Jesus and
put them onto anything else, we will begin to sink and then to panic!
Circumstances may deceive, overwhelm
and frighten us. Don't look down and panic!
Opposition by hostile people
can intimidate and frighten us. Don't look down and panic!
Our own emotions can lie to
us and make us feel like we're about to drown. Don't look down and panic!
When you hear about more cases
of anthrax or threats of further terrorism, don't look down and panic!
When Peter lapsed into fear,
looked down and panicked, he was a lot like
Joshua, who said, in Joshua
7:7 "Alas,
O Lord God, why didst Thou ever bring this people over the Jordan, only
to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we
had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan!" He looked down and panicked.
Elijah who fled to hide in a
cave when Jezebel the queen put out a contract on his life. He looked down
and panicked.
The attendant of Elisha when
he saw the army of the king of Aram with horses and chariots was circling
the city. He cried out in 2
Kings 6:15,
"Alas, my master! What shall we do?" He looked down and panicked.
Simply stated, Peter panicked. So did Joni as she looked down at the swirling
water and began to lose balance. She wrote, "The voice of my sister Jay
finally broke through my panic. 'Look up, Joni! Keep looking up!' Sure
enough, as soon as I focused on my sister on the other side, I was able
to regain my balance and finish the crossing." Peter needed to do the same
thing to keep from sinking.
PETER LOOKED UP AND MADE IT BACK TO THE BOAT: VV31, 32:
Once again fixing his eyes on
Jesus put things back into perspective. Jesus wasn't sinking! Jesus was
in no dither or panic! Jesus wasn't in trouble. Jesus was still there!
He will never desert us in the
midst of the storm! He will never leave us to sink into the circumstances!
He will never abandon us to our own resources as long as we look to Him
in faith.
Notice some key thoughts in
this text:
Peter looked up, saw Jesus and
cried out to Him. It was a
Simple prayer, only 3 words
in the English. He had no time to say, "O Thou Who sitteth on the periphery
of the universe ... Glub, glub!"
Fervent, passionate, eager prayer.
Peter needed help and he needed it now!
Immediately Jesus acted!
Now, sometimes He says, "No!"
flat out; and sometimes He determines that we simply need to wait!
But when the need is immediate,
He is immediate in His reply and action.
Jesus reached out His hand and
took hold of Peter!
He didn't wait for Peter to
dog-paddle to where He was!
He didn't just allow Peter to
cling tenaciously to Him, He held on to Peter! Like the little boy who
walked along holding hands with Daddy on an icy sidewalk. He slipped and
his feet shot straight out, but he never hit ground. He said, "Boy, Daddy!
I holded on real good!" So did Daddy!
Jesus escorted Peter back to
the boat and safety. He doesn't just point out the way, He is the way!
Sometime, maybe soon, maybe
late, maybe in this life, maybe not until we are home with Him in heaven,
Jesus will take us out of the storm; He will take us to where the waves
cannot engulf us; He will walk with us to where we are out of harm's way.
There was a moment, however brief, that Jesus and Peter walked on the water
side by side, hand in hand; but then they were in the boat and all was
calm.
Joni's article concludes with reference to this event, "That little story
came to mind recently when I was reading about Peter in Matthew 14. It
seems he had a similar problem as he walked on the water toward the Lord
Jesus. He looked down at the raging waters, got dizzy, and lost his balance.
Because he took his eyes off the Lord and put them on the swirling waves
around him, he began to sink. How much we are like him! Instead of resting
on the Word of God, we let our circumstances almost transfix us, absorbing
us to the point where we begin to lose our spiritual equilibrium. We become
dizzy with fear and anxiety And before you know it, we've lost all balance.
It's easy to panic, isn't it? And admittedly, it's hard to look up especially
when you feel like you're sinking. But my pony and I made it across the
Patapsco and Peter made it back to his boat. Thousands before you, enduring
the gale force winds of circumstance, have made it through keeping their
eyes on the Lord Jesus. How about you? If you can't find a way out, try
looking up!" Don't look all around you and panic at the world's terrors.
Look up! Don't look within you and find confusion, and anxiety. Look up!
Look up this morning to Jesus. Look up from your failure, it isn't the
last word. Look up from your sins, they cannot bind you. Look up from your
miserable situation, Jesus has life in all its abundance to give you. Look
up from your fears, Jesus has peace for your troubled heart. Look up into
the compassionate face of Jesus Christ and you will see His hand extended
to take yours -- and to walk with you through life and into eternity. His
hand can lift you, His love can embrace you, His grace can save you, if
you look up to him in faith. Look up! You'll find a Savior waiting to lift
you out of the raging waves.
Joni Eareckson Tada, "Stories
For The Family's Heart," compiled by Alice Gray, Multnomah Publishers,
Sisters, Oregon