Because God Worship Series: THE WORD IS NEAR YOU Matthew 14:22-33, Romans 10:5-15

Last week we spoke of Jesus’ feeding of the 5000+. This morning we are picking up right after they picked up – 12 baskets of leftover bread and fish that is! We’ll be looking at the disciples’ trip on the stormy Sea of Galilee and the little walk Peter took off a short boat.

Several years back when Karen’s mom and dad retired, they took on full-time responsibilities as avid Lake Erie Perch fishermen! They had a homey trailer at which to stay and got themselves a nice boat to get them out and about on the lake from Catawba Island

Massey usually spent a week with them during the summer and fished with them. Karen and I did a few times, too. We did our best to catch those delectable yellow perch whenever possible. When they went out, and weather permitting that was pretty much every weekday, their goal was to catch their limit. And they literally caught thousands of perch in their time there!

They were faithful to abide by the rules and regulations of boating and fishing. They were wise enough to know that open water was not a place to be foolish and take chances. They knew that it could be very dangerous if things went wrong while they were out on the water.

The Apostle Peter knew from experience that that was most certainly the case. After all, he was born and raised on the Sea of Galilee and knew its dangers.

When I referred to the story a few moments ago, I’m sure many of you thought, “I’ve heard this one before…” and you’ve heard several sermons based on this text (though I must say that you’ve heard only one from me.) But before your mind goes off in its own direction, consider these questions, adding a bit of a twist: First, did Jesus want Peter to get out of the boat? And was the reprimand about Peter’s lack of faith really because he couldn’t walk on water?

Many times, when we hear sermons on this text, they have the tagline, keep your eyes upon Jesus. And, honestly, it is a familiar theme in the New Testament. Paul in his letter to the church in Philippi tells them,

…press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14 NASB

Keep your eyes on the prize!

The writer of Hebrews tells us that we must be about,

…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith… Hebrews 12:2

Keeping your eyes on Jesus is a smart thing to do!

It’s when Peter looks at the wind and the waves that he begins to sink. It’s when he takes hold of Jesus’ hand that he rises above his struggles and finds his way back to safety. It doesn’t take a lot of study to conclude that keeping focused on Jesus is a better way to walk—whether on dry land or water. Certainly, we should keep our eyes upon Jesus.

That is where Peter found himself, but do you think that Jesus is really asking us to walk on water?

Each year, more than once, we celebrate the impossible that became reality. We all know the verse regarding one of those instances, “For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible.” Do you recall where it is found in the Bible?

It is recorded in the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel and it came from the lips of the angel Gabriel! Does that narrow it down any more in your minds? Well, he was speaking to Mary – a virgin – of her upcoming pregnancy by the Holy Spirit and in particular, he was speaking of Elizabeth – a barren woman in her old age – who had just discovered that she was pregnant! Two things that shouldn’t be happening but definitely were happening! “For…as he said…with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible” Luke 1:37 AMP

So, we realize that the impossible is surely possible for we are told in many places that we can do mighty works in Jesus’ name.

And for those of us who are faithful followers of Jesus, we shouldn’t shy away from difficult tasks because we know that we are given the power of the Spirit. There are many labors that the Lord needs doing, and His plan is that we be the doers.

Many of us have encountered unexplainable things – “impossible” occurrences become reality! – and our honest response should be to simply stand back in awe and give praise to God.

But…back to the “impossible” occurrence in today’s passage! As we were reminded when we began, today’s text follows on the heels of last week’s. Verse 22 tells us,

Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home.

Let me remind you that Jesus, first off, had been trying to get some time alone to pray and rest in the presence of the Father. Instead, He was interrupted by the crowd and ended up having to cater a meal for which no one was planning (except maybe Him).

So, now He sends them off so that He can have His much-needed retreat. He sent His disciples off, but there is a lesson here to be learned.

From another angle, this is the tale of the church that has been sent on ahead without the physical presence of Christ. This was the environment in which Matthew was writing the Gospel—a church adrift on the sea of persecution with storms rising (if not persecution, then perhaps confusion, or apathy, antagonism). But here we are drifting, wondering if we can make it to the other side on our own.

Then in the midst of it all, we see a ghost. That’s all we get, isn’t it? A ghost. A vision. A hope and dream that we fear placing too much trust in. We are, after all, left to our own devices…aren’t we? We’ve got to make this thing work on our own. We’ve got to solve all the problems ourselves…don’t we? We’ve got to conquer the enemy all by ourselves now…don’t we?

Isn’t that the case? We sometimes may feel that way but let me assure you, it is absolutely not the case!

In the story beyond the story, Matthew’s readers knew that the sea represented all that opposed God. In the ancient world, the sea was the source of death and pain. When sailors set out for deep-sea work, their families would perform rituals that were essentially funerals, because they didn’t expect them to come back. And if and when they did return, the reception was as though they had returned from the dead. The sea was the absence of God—at least in popular belief. That was the ancient world’s view, but the biblical witness is that our God is the God of the land and the sea.

And in today’s narrative, Jesus reaffirms that He is Lord of all; He is the one who can calm the storm. And though we may feel it’s us against the world – seas and all – He is forever our Emmanuel, God with us! He is present even when it feels like He is absent.

The Sea of Galilee was notorious for storms blowing up without warning. This one isn’t as bad as others noted in the Gospels, but it was not easy going for sure, as the disciples were battling a strong wind…and…heavy waves! v24 And then in the midst of their struggle they saw something that struck fear in their hearts…a ghost! v26 It was just them against the storm and now this?

But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!”

Interestingly enough, Jesus actually says, “The ‘I am’ is here.” – just as the voice from the burning bush did; just like the force that freed a nation from despair. “I Am,” he says. “Trust me,” he says. “I am with you even when you don’t think so.”
But Peter isn’t sure. He needs proof. He needs to step on the waves, to conquer his fears on his own. He needs to see that which oppresses him beneath his feet. So, Jesus says, “Come!” v29 And Peter does it…for a moment. Then he fails and asks for help. Jesus says to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” v31
Let me throw out a question to ponder. Did Peter fail because he couldn’t walk on water? …or because he got out of the boat?
One of the most difficult things to realize in our lives is to believe – to have the faith that Jesus is with us, to trust in his presence, even when, or perhaps especially when, we can’t feel it.
When there is no external reason to believe that Christ is with us, that’s when we need all the faith within us to get in the boat and sail. It might be exhilarating to walk on water sometime. But in the end, we’d probably be better off getting in the boat with Jesus and riding out the storm all the way to the other side.
Then Paul comes alongside and says in Romans 10:8 NRSV, “The word is near you…” It sounds as if Paul is encouraging us to stay in the boat, too, to claim what is already ours.
As we continue to trek through chapter 10, and Paul’s line of thought, we realize that we don’t need to climb up to heaven (to walk on water?) because Christ has already come down to us. We don’t need to dive down into the depths to raise Christ from the dead, because Christ has already been raised. (vs.6,7) We don’t need to do miraculous things for God; we just need to do faithful things.
That’s what Paul wants us to hear; that’s what living by the law means now— not slavish obedience to the written law, but the day-by-day application of the law of love. We know this one.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself…do this, and you will live.” Luke 10:27-28 NRSV

Actually, in that final line of text, Jesus was echoing the words God gave Moses when dispensing His decrees and regulations. “the person who does these things will live by them.” Romans 5:5 NRSV

Paul doesn’t just let those words lie there; He gives us a way to “live by them”.

Again, God’s words to Moses echo through Paul’s writings. Verse 8 repeats Deuteronomy 30:14 where God says, “…the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.” NRSV

Another translation says, “it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.” NLT

We know that there are all kinds of ways to live out our love for God and our neighbors, but one way is to speak that word aloud. Yes, Jesus is in our hearts, but if Jesus is never on our lips, if we never speak about Jesus, then what is going on in our hearts?

The churches I grew up in used their altars regularly – some call them kneeling or mourner’s benches. Today in many settings they are rarely used. People, at one time, used them as a place to pray. Quite often, but not always, they came forward and knelt before God to confess their sin. Many people were saved at those altars.

Romans 5:9 proclaims, “…if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” NRSV

But…Paul takes it a step further. He says that proclaiming, speaking about Jesus in public, is necessary for our salvation. Verse 10 says, “For one believes with the heart and so is justified…”

That word justified has a theological ring to it but to help you remember its meaning, think, “Just as if I’d” never sinned – that’s what it means to be justified.

Believe with your heart, yes, then you are justified. But when we confess, when we speak, telling about Jesus, openly declaring [our] faith, as another translation puts it, [we] are saved. NLT

So, is there a distinction between justified and saved? In this passage, Paul says “yes”. Justified, being made right with God, is a personal thing, a reorientation of one’s life, becoming a new person. “Believing” is never just intellectual assent; it is a reordering of one’s priorities, a realignment of one’s behaviors; it is a shift in one’s values and actions and convictions. To believe in Jesus is to stake one’s life on Him, which is much more than just thinking that faith in Jesus is a good idea. That is justification.

Salvation then flows from that reorientation. Now we live it outwardly. Now we tell others. Now we proclaim who and what and why we are the new persons that we are. We do this not to brag or draw attention to ourselves, but to lift up the One who caused us to redo everything about our life. We do this to bring glory to the name of Jesus.

And before we think that “confess with your lips” means answering some questions in the safety of the community of faith – within the walls of the church – keep reading. Paul goes on to say that this confession is a part of the process of bringing others to the faith. It is telling others about what we know. Confessing with our lips is understanding that we have been sent. This gift of salvation is not something to keep to ourselves. It is not a secret that we hold in the hidden places in our hearts. No…it is meant to be lived out loud, for all to hear!

Core by DEREK WEBER / PREACHING NOTES

Aug 23rd, 2020, Sun, 9:00