Spirituality Series

We continue our series of “Escape” by looking at another area that keeps us from experiencing the freedom Jesus’ coming and rising offer us. The last few weeks we have spoken about escaping bad decisions, the shame/guilt that accompanies them and even trading religion for relationships. This week I’d like to explore how to escape the trap of spirituality.

Before I begin, I want to ask a couple of questions.

How many of those in the room know that Jesus' life, death and rising opens an opportunity for everyone to have a special relationship with God, where through our surrender, He will send us to others He longs for a relationship with?

How many of us believe our relationship with God means if He sends you, and you go, He will equip you?

Not that long ago, I heard someone saying religion is for those who are fearful of going to hell and spirituality is for those who have been there. I loved the contemporary idiom because it indirectly speaks to one of the biggest stumbling blocks to a relationship with God - fear.

We have all heard the stories of those who have sold everything and gone to the mission field for God.

What we don't hear are those who choose not to go for some reason - money, time, stage of life etc.

We also don't hear of those who sold everything, convinced themselves it was God but, in reality, were running to the mission field to escape the fear of dealing with life on life’s terms.

Spirituality is a place where fear and faith meet. A place where reaction and response are often confused. A place where rationalization and justification strike to keep people paralyzed or running under their own power.

Thankfully, we have the scriptures to look through to find solutions. This morning I’d like to open to Matt 14: 22 to look for the clues on to escape fear based spirituality for a faith based life. The background to our reading goes like this. Jesus has been enjoying a great response to his ministry. People are coming from all around to meet him. He was dealing with the highs and low of ministry life. A dear relative, friend and cohort in the ministry had been killed and he just fed 5000 performing a miracle with kids lunchable. It was an emotional week so He sent the entourage on a boat to the other side of the lake while he sought some alone time to pray. What should have been a three hour tour, turned into a “weather started getting rough” kind of voyage. Let’s dig in…

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. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

A few more insights:

The sea of Galilee is small, 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. In perspective, Lake Michigan is 321 miles long and 118 miles wide.

Many of the men in the boat were fishermen who knew how to sail and that the sea of galilee could go from glass to whitecaps in a heartbeat.

They also had experience of sailing at night with Jesus before. When the waves were rocking that time, Jesus had to be awakened to calm the storm.

The boys had been on the lake for probably 8 plus hours at this point in the story.

Let’s pick it up at verse 25

25 Shortly before dawn 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.

Scholars have spoken of Peter in all kinds of ways - from faithful to foolish. Personally, I want you to see how much faith he had. He walked on water because His faith in Jesus was greater than human fear. The others were terrified clinging to the sides of the boat or the security of what they knew. Peter walked on water. Everyone had a choice that evening and only Peter knew storms build faith when we were willing to lean on our faith. Let’s continue…

30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”