church

INI
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
August 7, 2011
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

HOW TO WEATHERPROOF YOUR FAITH
Matthew 14:22-33

Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus, Amen. This morning we'll consider the Word of God in
Matthew chapter 14, beginning with verse 22, as follows:

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while
He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on a
mountain by Himself to pray. And when evening had come, He was alone there. But the boat was
now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth
watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him
walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But
immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." And Peter
answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." So He
said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to
Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried
out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and
said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind
ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son
of God." So far the Holy Word.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, the One who is strong to save, Ruler of Wind and Wave, Dear Fellow
Redeemed,

How time flies - summer is already drawing to its close and autumn is approaching. And one of the
fall traditions here in the rainy northwest is weatherproofing. Folks will be out there getting ready
for winter, cleaning out the gutters and wrapping up shrubs. Installing weather-stripping along the
bottoms of all their doors to keep out the cold drafts. Putting styrofoam caps over their hose bibs
against the unlikely event of a hard freeze. In short, they’ll be doing everything they can to try and
make their homes weatherproof.

We want to learn something today about "weatherproofing." That old cliché, "Into each life some
rain must fall," is a mild way of saying that every human being is going to encounter some stormy
weather during the course of his or her life - hard times, trials, situations that seem impossible to
cope with. And yet, God wants us to have faith that is weatherproof. He wants us to know that, in
life's stormy weather, we should not doubt, but have courage, and trust in Him for deliverance.
That's why the theme of our message this morning is:

HOW TO WEATHERPROOF YOUR FAITH
I. Expect the storms,
II. Face up to your doubts, and
III. Overcome those doubts with the Word and promises of God.

Oh yes, storms are coming into your life, so you may as well expect them. Some of you may be
right in the middle of some storm in your life right now. Maybe you've recently passed through a
storm. But you know, it's funny how often people make it through some difficult episode in their
life, and then immediately let their guard down, as if they expected their life to be trouble free from
that point onward. As if to say, "Wow, I'm glad that's over! Now I can get on with my life and live
happily ever after." That's why it's often so heartbreaking and confusing for a person when one
thing after another seems to go wrong in his life. Make no mistake, the storms will come, and they
will keep coming!

We know that sin is the root cause of all sorrow and suffering in this world -- and how often don't
we bring our own trouble upon ourselves? Hard words or thoughtlessness can strain a marriage. A
worker who is slack or neglects his duty can find himself out of a job. Abuse of alcohol or drugs will
always wreak damaging consequences. You and I are sinners, and it's inevitable that, sooner or later,
we're going to run into trouble because of our sin. King David went through one of the worst
kinds of storms: the turmoil of a guilty conscience after a particularly blatant sin. In his case, it was
his adultery with Bathsheba, and his murder of her husband, Uriah. It hurt him so badly that he
cried out and pleaded with God, "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my
sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me." -- Psa 51:2-3.

The storms will come. So expect them! Sometimes, if you're following a course in life that doesn't
fit God's plan for your eternal welfare, He'll correct you and show you your error by sending a storm
-- literally, in the case of Jonah. God had told Jonah to go carry a message of repentance to Nineveh,
and he didn't like that idea, so he got on a boat heading in the opposite direction. A huge storm
came up, the sailors tossed Jonah into the ocean where he was swallowed by a great fish, and later he
was spit out onto the shore. Needless to say, the next time the Lord told him to go to Nineveh, he
went.

Sometimes, God sends storms in our life that seem to have no explanation. He often does this in
order to test us, and strengthen our faith. Such was the case with the disciples that night, on the
stormy sea of Galilee. You know, it wasn't an accident that the disciples ended up on the lake that
night. They didn't just happen to take their boat out for a ride, and happen to run into a storm.
Our text tells us, "Immediately Jesus MADE His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to
the other side." He literally compelled them to do it. He sent them out there on purpose, knowing
all the time what was going to happen to them. Further, our text says, "And when He had sent the
multitudes away, He went up on a mountain by Himself to pray. And when evening had come, He
was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind
was contrary." The parallel account in Mark tells us that Jesus could see that the disciples were
struggling, and yet He didn't go out there to help them until the fourth watch of the night, between
three and six a.m.!

Why did Jesus do that? Why did He wait so long? Why do some of the troubles you experience in
life go on for months, or even years? Sometimes you can't see a clear answer - not even in hindsight.
But one thing you can be sure of: God sees your suffering, and He knows exactly what will best
serve your spiritual good. As Paul promises in Romans 8:28: We know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Not just the
good things – all things!

And so in this case. Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the water. Now remember, these men
had been in a storm on this sea once before, and Jesus had miraculously saved them. Just the day
before He had performed all sorts of miracles. You may have noticed that this account immediately
follows the Feeding of the 5000, which was our sermon text for last Sunday. So it was just one day
previously when these very men had witnessed Jesus, with their own eyes, miraculously healing the
sick, and miraculously feeding a huge multitude with five loaves of bread and two small fish. This
was Jesus, the Son of God, coming to them! So you'd expect that when they caught sight of Him at
last, they'd be relieved. They’d say, "Wow! Are we ever glad to see you! Now, at last, we're safe." But
what happened? "...They were troubled, saying, 'It is a ghost!' And they cried out for fear. But
immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.' And Peter
answered Him and said, 'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.' So He said,
'Come.' And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out,
saying, 'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to
him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'" Peter, you've been watching Me perform miracles
for months and months. Why did you doubt that I could perform this one?

We know the answer to that, don't we? -It's because Peter was a human being, like us. And sinful
human beings inevitably have doubts. Doubts about God and His Word. Doubts about His
divine providence, and whether He's really paying as much attention to us as He ought to be. And
now comes step two in the process of weatherproofing our faith: you have to face up to your
doubts. Because it's especially during times of trouble, when waves of anxiety and sadness are
crashing against you, that doubts can arise. Doubts that God really cares for you, or that He knows
what you're going through. And the worst doubt of all, the doubt of a sinner with a guilty
conscience, who doesn't quite believe that God is willing to forgive that certain sin that's been
bothering him. These are the times when you can't just shove your doubts in a corner and hope
they'll go away. You have to face those doubts squarely, take them by the throat and DO something
about them!

Which brings us to step three in weatherproofing your faith: go straight to your Bible and
overcome those doubts with the Word and promises of God. Because one thing you know. You
are dearly loved by Jesus. You were so beloved to Him, in fact, that he poured out his blood to
wash you clean. And after He paid such a high price to redeem you, you know that your Lord could
never forsake you now. I give unto them eternal life; Jesus said, and they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. John 10:28. You know what happened with the
disciples on the Sea of Galilee; it only took one word from Jesus, and the wind stopped. All of a
sudden the sea was calm and the storm was gone. The disciples, amazed and relieved, could only
gasp, "Truly You are the Son of God!"

So many other times in Bible history, God has delivered His people from impossible situations.
Job, for example, who lost his family, his money, and finally his health -- Job learned a lot about
himself and his faith before God finally restored him to health and happiness. Daniel in the lions;
den, the Apostle Peter in prison, Paul in a shipwreck off the coast of Malta, and the list goes on and
on. All delivered by God, in His good time. All strengthened, and the better servants of God for
their experience.

We're all acquainted with these Bible stories, and we all believe that they're true. But we're so slow to
apply God's Word to our own lives, and the storms that we're going through! And that's really too
bad, because God's Word applies as much to us Christians in 2011 as it did to God's people in
Bible times. Jesus said, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Every day,
while you're going about your daily business at home, at the factory, in the office -- God's paying as
much attention to you and your problems as He paid to Daniel while he was in the lions' den. And
He promises in His Word that your problems and the storms in your life are not overlooked. He
knows about the storms. Sometimes He's the One that sends them. And He is the One who will
deliver you from them.

Above everything else, God gives you peace for your stormy conscience. When your sins confront
you in waves, making you feel ashamed and unworthy, when you get to thinking that anybody else
in this world could get to heaven but not you -- that's when our Savior speaks the Word that calms
the storm. "Do not be afraid. I have put away your sin; you shall not die. I bore the punishment for
your sin upon the cross. I have redeemed you and made you My own, and no one will ever be able
to snatch you out of My hand!" This greatest storm our Lord Jesus has conquered for us. The
smaller storms in our lives - the temporary, earthly storms - these also we can and will conquer with
the strength our Lord gives us.

It probably wasn’t wise of Peter to get out of the boat that day. We should remember that Jesus is
the One who walks on water, not us. But at least Peter knew what to do when he was sinking like a
rock – he cried out for help to Jesus. We can’t save ourselves; but Jesus saves! When the Lord Jesus
got into the boat, the wind ceased and the waves were calm. Thus it will be in our lives, as long as
we have Jesus in our boat! God grant us the Holy Spirit, so that each of us may truly have a
WEATHERPROOF FAITH. AMEN.