Peter’s walk on the water with Jesus is a wonderful illustration of the walk of faith. Last time, we said that walking by faith means, first of all, getting out of the boat. As the old Chinese proverb puts it, “The journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a single step.”
So it is with the walk of faith. If we are going to walk by faith, and thus, live as Jesus did in this world, we must be willing to stand up and step out when and where He calls us to. But there is yet another truth for us to consider - to walk by faith means resisting my fears.
If there is one thing which seems to characterize this world in which we find ourselves, it’s fear. In his book, “Crazy English,” Richard Lederer lists 20 kinds of phobias, ranging from
anuptaphobta (fear of staying single), to chronophobia (fear of time), to dromophobia (fear of crossing the street), to verbaphobia (fear of words), pantophobia (fear of everything), to even
phophobia (fear of fear). One survey asked, “What is the basic feeling you have about life?” and 60% said, "Fear!”
Many are overwhelmed with fear. But God desires that we overcome our fears. That’s why He calls us to walk with Him by faith. Faith is the opposite of fear. To be fearful is to be faithless, and to be faithful is to be fearless! To walk by faith, we must resist our fears!
From this story of Peter’s walk on the water with Jesus, we can identify three types of fear which can prevent us from walking by faith, and thus, keep us from living life as Jesus did in this world.
1. We Must Resist Unfounded Fear Of The Lord - vs. 26-27
Many do not respond to the Lord’s call to walk by faith because they are afraid of the Lord Himself. They are afraid of what He might ask of them or that He might somehow let them down. The problem is that they are evaluating the Lord’s trustworthiness by their past experience with others. Maybe they’ve had this kind of experience:
A soldier was learning to parachute. His instructions were: (A) Jump when you are told; (B) Count to ten and pull the ripcord; (C) In the very unlikely event that your chute doesn’t open, pull the second chute open; (D) When you land, a truck will be waiting to take you back to the base. The plane got up to the proper height, the men started peeling out and he jumped when told. He counted to ten, pulled the ripcord, but the chute failed to open. He proceeded to the back-up plan, and pulled the cord for the second chute. It, too, failed to open. “Great,” he complained to himself, “I’ll bet the truck won’t be there when I land either.”
Have no fear, Jesus will be there for you, just as He promised.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9 (NIV)
The answer to unfounded fear of the Lord is knowledge of the love Christ has for us. The Bible says that as we grow in our knowledge of the Lord and His love for us, fear will subside.
“There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror!” - 1 John 4:18 (Amplified)
NO Jesus - NO Peace; KNOW Jesus - KNOW Peace.
2. We Must Resist Unfounded Fear Of The World - v. 30
Peter had an unfounded fear of the circumstances surrounding him. The same can be true of us. We can have an unfounded fear of the world. The answer to unfounded fear of the world is knowledge of the victory Christ won for us.
“I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” - John 16:33 (HCSB)
On April 10, 1863, Colonel Abel D. Straight was ordered to destroy the Confederate lines of communication in North Georgia. The colonel left fort Henry on the 15th of April with 2,000 cavalry. After a month of hard fighting, he surrendered to General Nathan Bedford Forrest outside Rome, Georgia. Forrest had pressed Straight constantly, never letting him rest. Straight was convinced that Forrest’s forces far outnumbered his. But when he surrendered, Straight realized he had been “had.” Forrest had only 400 men, compared to Straight’s 2,000. When Straight angerly protested, he was told, “Cheer up, Colonel. This isn’t the first time a bluff has beat a straight.”
Don’t let the world get its bluff in on you!
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” - 1 John 4:4 (NIV)
3. We Must Resist Unfounded Fear Of Failure - vs. 30-33
How we need more Peters today! Peter didn’t allow a fear of failure to keep him from responding to the call of the Lord. Many today fail to respond to the call of Christ to seek to live in this world like He did because they are afraid of making a mistake. But to do nothing for fear of making a mistake is the greatest mistake you could ever make. There are two things we all need to understand about failure:
A. Everybody experiences failure.
“Last season we couldn’t win at home and were losing on the road. My failure as a coach was that I couldn’t think of any place else to play.” - Harry Neale, professional hockey coach
This world is the only place we have to play the game of life, and in the game of life, we will experience failure. In fact, failure is the one thing in life that can be achieved without effort. But there is a difference between failing and being a failure.
Max Lucado was rejected by 15 different publishers before he found one who would publish his first book. When they agreed to publish it, however, they did so on the condition that he not ask them to publish anything else for him.
B. Failure can move us forward.
The question is not “Will I fail?,” but “When I fail, will it move me backward or forward?” We can be sure failure will move us forward, if we are seeking to walk by faith. You see, faith enables us to redefine failure. Failure isn’t falling down, failure is staying down after you’ve fallen. But faith enables us to get back up and continue on, because in response to our faith, Jesus will lift us up by His power.
The answer to unfounded fear of failure is knowledge of the power Christ has available to us.
Notice, from the example of Peter, how Jesus can use our failure to move us forward as we respond to His call to walk by faith. When, in the process of walking by faith, we experience failure, our faith will cause us to . . .
1) Look to the Lord - v. 30
“Failure is the kiss of Jesus. Failure always drives me to Christ, who kisses me with His love.” - Mother Theresa
Such will be the response to failure of one who has answered Christ’s call to walk by faith, because His power will be released in his life to move beyond his failures!
2) Learn from the Lord - v. 31
No failure is final unless you refuse to learn from it.
“Son, I worried about your being at the bottom of the class.” Don’t worry Dad, they teach you the same stuff at both ends.”
“It doesn’t matter if you get knocked down as long as you pick something up while you’re down there.” - Anonymous
“What is important about a mistake is what you discover from it. You can’t learn from mistakes you don’t make. Jesus honored Peter’s decision to walk on the water - knowing that he would
sink. But He allowed Peter to fail because it was the key to learning and grow.” - John Maxwell
3) Live for the Lord - v. 32
How did Peter get back into the boat? Did he swim? No. Did Jesus carry him back? No. He walked back! Though Peter had experienced a failure, he wasn’t a failure! Why? Because, as a result of his faith in the Lord who called him to walk on the water, he was able to get back on top of the water after he had sank beneath it!
Conclusion: Where are you today?
Are you still in the boat, afraid that the Lord who calls you to stand up and step out by faith, might let you down? Let me encourage you to “fear not!” Rest in His love, and respond to His call to walk by faith.
Are you in the midst of a storm, afraid that you are about to go under? Let me encourage you to “fear not!” Rejoice in His victory, and respond to His call to walk by faith.
Are you sinking in the ocean of failure? Let me encourage you to “fear not!” Rely on His power, and respond to His call to walk by faith.
