And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus –Matthew 14:28-29.
Men who follow Jesus are men of faith. Discipleship is not for cowards or the faint of heart, nor is it for those who demand a rationale for acts of obedience. The disciples had spent the day with Jesus. After the feeding of the five thousand Matthew writes that …straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away –Matthew 14:22.
If there was anything that the disciples were familiar with and skilled in, it was sailing the waters of Galilee. This was their territory. Peter and John had fished these waters with their father from their earliest remembrance. But tonight, they were making little headway… the wind was contrary.
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid –Matthew 14:25-27.
Peter then made this bold appeal …Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water –Matthew 14:28. What was Peter thinking? He had never walked on water. Jesus was not asking him to walk on water. It was not logical. It defied the laws of nature… yet when Jesus said “come”. Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the water to go to Jesus. That’s right! He was treading on water.
Peter was responding to a clear call from Jesus. Jesus said “come”. It is important that we understand that faith is our response to the clear call of God on our lives. Too often in our ambition to be useful we choose our path and call our ambition “faith” when God may not be in it at all.
If you want to be a man of faith, open your Bible and pray. Ask God to reveal His plan for your life. The Bible contains many commandments that can provide practical direction for our lives. Take God at His Word. Step out in faith and obedience then you will experience the miracle of God’s power in your life.
Peter’s boat was his security. He and his boat had a long relationship. It had served him well for many years. Peter felt right at home in his old bark, although tonight she did not seem to respond well to his masterful seamanship. He had drawn many a draught of fish over her gunwales. Now as he stands on her deck watching Jesus approach, “walking on the water”, he was overcome with a desire to go to Jesus. In reckless abandonment he stepped off her deck …and a miracle happened.
A walk of faith often calls us away from that which is familiar and secure. If we make safety and security our priority—if we limit our actions to carefully calculated risks (limited to that which we can manage and control)—we limit the power of God working in and through us.
Our forefathers in Europe knew that if they embraced the journey of unreserved discipleship, it could be costly. They risked the seizure of their property; many of them lost all that they owned. Since they willingly faced imprisonment and death, we refer to them as heroes of the faith. These were men who were willing to abandon all for the sake of the gospel. Because of their faith we receive the benefits of a godly heritage.
I commend our younger generation of Anabaptist youth for their willingness to make following Jesus a priority. In the past our priority has been to build our security base, be it our farm or business, and then consider mission work as a possibility. That was never Jesus’ model for service. When Jesus sent out his disciples he said. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece –Luke 9:3.
Later, after they had returned, Jesus asked them, And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing –Luke 22:35.
You do not need to go into foreign missions to experience the power of God released in your life. Every act of radical obedience is an act of faith. There are men in our Anabaptist communities who are experiencing moral defeat. If we are going to succumb to a victim mentality (“I can’t help it”), and define moral failure as an addiction, we set ourselves up for ongoing defeat. Men of faith are men of action who take measurable steps of obedience which will lead them to ultimate victory. Moral failure begins with small compromises that end in crushing defeat.
Peter’s actions were not logical. If Peter would have processed his decision using the scientific method, he would not have taken such a risk. Many of the simple commands of Christ have no apparent scientific reasoning. From baptism, to communion, to foot washing, to anointing with oil, these are all acts of faith. The significance and the power of each lies in the doing of it with a heart of obedient faith, not in the thing itself.
So it is with many aspects of the Christian experience. We can analyze a thing endlessly, ultimately resulting in its demise. This happens in many churches. We reason away the woman’s head covering. We reason away the nonconformed lifestyle. We reason away the permanence of marriage. We reason away brotherhood accountability. What we have left has no resemblance to the simple teachings of Jesus. Discipleship calls us to faithful obedience. Jesus and the apostles taught it, so we do it. The blessing and the power lie in the doing of it.
That is what Peter discovered. He walked on water! He did not dip a toe to test the water first. I like to think he leaped from the boat and hit the water with both feet. That would be faith and Peter had faith.
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased –Matthew 14:30-32.
Peter had faith to walk on water until he began to look around and began to process his situation using the scientific method. This is not to invalidate the scientific method. The scientific method proves the order of creation and the evidence of a creator.
In Hebrews 11 we read that …faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen –Hebrews 11:1.
It is our faith that is the substance and our faith that is the evidence of spiritual realities. Just as the scientific method proves the realities of the created world, so our faith proves spiritual realities.
Boisterous wind and crashing waves produced a fearful, sinking Peter. We sometimes criticize Peter for taking his eyes off of Jesus and sinking into the waves; however, Peter walked on water, I know of no one else who walked on water. When we transition from obedient faith to carnal rationalization, we lose power with God.
Are we suggesting that faith is irrational? No, not at all. As a matter of fact, the first act of faith is to believe that Jesus is the logos. John wrote, In the beginning was the Word [Logos], and the Word [Logos], was with God, and the Word [Logos], was God –John 1:1. It is from the Greek word Logos that we get our English word logic.
Just as there are laws in nature that make the scientific method durable and replicable, so there are spiritual laws that give order and cohesion to our inner man. Jesus is the embodiment of these truths. His teachings are the revelation of these truths and through his death and resurrection these truths have become accessible to all. Jesus promised, Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth… –John 16:13.
Men of faith are men who have eyes to see these spiritual realities. Their vision is not limited to the natural world. They understand that there are spiritual realities that have “cause and effect” in our lives that are every bit as powerful as the “cause and effect” that we see about us in the natural world every day.
These realities are only visible to men of faith. Paul wrote, But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned –1 Corinthians 2:14. Men of faith, are men whose lives are governed by spiritual realities that are incomprehensible to the natural man. If you will be a man of faith, expect to be misunderstood. You are embarking on a journey that will run counter to the world view of many.
As Peter began to sink into the waves he cried out, “Lord, save me”. His plaintive cry revealed an absolute trust in his Lord. Jesus reached out His hand and rescued him. Jesus next words continue to challenge us. He said to Peter, …O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Matthew 14:31. Peter had just walked on water—a feat no man had accomplished before or since, yet Jesus called it “little faith” and asked, “why did you doubt?”.
Jesus said at another time, …If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you –Matthew 17:20.
If Peter’s “little faith” empowered him to walk on water, and if faith as tiny as a grain of mustard seed can remove mountains what does that say of your and my faith?
Perhaps it is evidence that our faith is littler than Peter’s “little faith” and tinier than the tiny grain of mustard seed?! It is also evidence that God honors little faith. What he does not honor is no faith. According to your faith be it unto you. Little faith…walk on water! No faith…sink beneath the waves!
Since Jesus is the “Logos”, He is the master of the natural world and the spirit world. He proved himself to be the Master of the wind and the waves—and when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased –Matthew 14:32. And He proved Himself to be the Master of the spirit world—then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God –Matthew 14:33.
We, in our western world, have become so satiated with materialism that we can easily be led to believe that natural realities are the most powerful realities. This materialism assaults us, not just with the abundance of material things, but also with a bombardment of humanistic philosophy. Humanistic philosophy is thinking that is devoid of spiritual reality… that is devoid of faith.
If you, as a man, find yourself sinking in waves of despair… be it financial struggles… be it relational difficulties… moral failure or maybe you find yourself being your own worst critic…may I challenge you to lift your eyes to the one who is Logos. Jesus is the one who is master of your circumstances and the one who would be Lord of your soul. To allow Jesus to be Lord of your soul is to live in faith obedience to the radical teachings of Jesus.
To live in harmony with the natural world we honor the laws of nature. When we are replacing a roof, we respect the law of gravity. When driving a vehicle, we slow down for turns out of respect for the law of inertia. Defy the natural laws and someone gets hurt.
To live in harmony with the spiritual world, we honor the law of Christ. We love our neighbor. We forgive our brother. We keep our marriage vows. We bear …one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ –Galatians 6:2.
Men of faith are men who are attune to these spiritual realities and order their lives accordingly.
