JESUS IN AND OUT OF THE BOAT
There once was a young man named Jimmy who had heard a family rumor that his father, his grandfather and even his great-grandfather, all "walked on water" on their 21st birthday. When the day of his 21st birthday came, he believed that if they could do it, so could he. So, off he went in a boat with his friend. When he got out in the middle of the lake, he got up and stepped out of the boat, fell in the water and almost drowned. The next day, Jimmy asked his grandmother why he wasn't given the same gift as the others in his family. She told him that his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all been born in February, not in August, as he was.
For the next few weeks leading up to Easter we are going to be looking at events from the life of Jesus. Today we want to talk about two different events from the life of Jesus that talk about faith. The starting point for a relationship with Jesus is faith. How do you begin a relationship with Jesus? You invite Him into your boat.
Luke 5:3-11 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." 5 Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
To start a relationship with Jesus it begins by inviting Him into your life. We see from this story 4 things about starting a relationship with Jesus;
1. Invitation – interest
The first stage is just interest. Peter was a fisherman, so for Peter that meant he let Jesus take him fishing. Jesus came and he connected with Peter where he was. He was a fisherman. So he goes to the lake, the Sea of Galilee. He goes to where the boats are. He connects with him where he is.
That is what Jesus does. He connects with you where you are. This is not the first time Peter had met Jesus. Months before he had met him by the Jordan river.
John 1:38-42 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" 39 Come, he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. 40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).
This is the invitation that Jesus gives everyone, come and see. If you are interested in finding out more about Me then come and see, come and get to know Me. For some this may be just an intellectual interest. For others it is a relational interest. Maybe you have seen the difference that Jesus has made in the life of someone else and that has peaked your curiosity. Whatever the reason, Jesus invites you to come.
Maybe that is why you are here today. You have just come to find out more about Jesus. You are welcome here. Take the time you need. Read the Bible. Pray and ask Jesus to reveal himself to you. Maybe visit a small group and see how Jesus has impacted the lives of others. I have seen so often people who just came to church because a friend brought them or they just wanted to check it out. Feel free to hang around and kick the tires! Come and see.
2. Revelation – huge catch of fish
The second step is revelation. That just means that God makes himself known to you. That is what happened here in the life of Peter. Look at the story again;
Luke 5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." 5 Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
Peter understood who Jesus claimed to be, but it was probably not until this moment that it became real to him. It was this moment when he realized who Jesus really was. This is the epiphany, the revelation, the ah-ha moment. It can happen in a lot of different ways with different people.
For some people it is like Peter. God shows up and you realize that you have to respond to what has happened by either accepting or rejecting. Sometimes this is rather mundane. Other times like with the Apostle Paul it is very dramatic. You might remember the road to Damascus and he actually saw an appearance of Jesus on that road and was blinded by that vision.
For some it is just a parent explaining the truth to us. Naomi and I had a chance to see the movie I Can Only Imagine this week. It is a powerful film. It is the story of Bart Millard, the lead singer of the Christian music group Mercy Me. It tells about his difficult childhood with an abusive father. Bart is saved through the ministry of a local summer camp. When he gets older he has the opportunity to sing Amazing Grace in a local church service that is on the radio. The father will not go to the church, but as he listens to his son sing and then hears the message, his heart is transformed.
For me it was the testimony of a camp councilor. His simple story of faith and restoration moved my heart and was an ah-ha moment in life. Sometimes it may be just a phrase that somebody says or a verse from the Bible or a song or sermon you hear on the radio. Something it’s a sermon. All of a sudden you realize there’s something to this. There’s something that you have been missing.
In Seminary I heard the story of a guy that was saved at a Youth For Christ event. He went forward to receive Jesus. After the speaker asked him what it was in his message that had caused him to finally understand that Jesus was the truth and he said it was nothing about the message. The guy had simply been standing in front of the Youth for Christ banner so that all the guy could read was You for Christ and he started thinking, “Yes, me for Christ” and that was enough.
3. Expectation – fear
The third step is often fear. The reality of what being a Christian and a life of faith begins to sink in.
Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken
Peter had this moment of revelation. He suddenly realized that Jesus was who He claimed to be. When confronted with God’s holiness it often reminds us of our own failings. It is natural to feel that way. If you look through the Bible, it’s the response when people encounter who God really is. It’s the first response that they almost always had.
When Moses met God at the burning bush he hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
Exodus 3:5-6 Do not come any closer, God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
Isaiah saw the vision of God in the temple and his first reaction was fear.
Isaiah 6:5 Woe to me! I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
Maybe you were young when to came to Jesus but it was only after that the reality of your decision struck you. There was a time in my own life when the reality of my own calling became real to me. I fought against it. How does Jesus respond to Peter’s fear? He reassures Him that He is in control.
Luke 5:10 … Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men."
Jesus tells Peter that He has a plan for him. God knows we are broken. He knows we are sinful. It is not where we have come from that God looks at, but where we are going to.
Two Texans were trying to impress each other with the size of their ranches. One asked the other, "What's the name of your ranch?" He replied, "The Rocking R, ABC, Flying Circle, Four Square, Rolling Fields, Rainbow's End, Silver Spur Ranch." The questioner was much impressed and exclaimed, "Whew! That's sure some name! How many head of cattle do you run?" The rancher answered, "Not many. Very few survive the branding." As a believer in Jesus we have been branded in a sense – marked by God and called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Sometimes this calling comes at a heavy price. E.g. coming to faith in Kuwait.
4. Celebration - faith
The last step is faith. Not just faith to believe that Jesus is who He said He is, but faith to live for Jesus and follow Him no matter what. Peter said yes to Jesus and followed Him.
Luke 5:11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
This was the moment where everything in Peter’s life changed. Those crossroad moments. We have those kind of moments in life. When you hear the two words “Marry me,” that is a this-changes-everything moment. You’ve got to say yes or no. It’s the Y in the road. And depending on what you say your life is going to go this way or that way.
The two words “follow me,” are the same. Jesus said follow me. It’s the Y in the road. Am I going to say yes? Or am I going to say no? It’s an even greater Y in the road because it goes all the way into eternity. Follow me. What does that mean, to follow Jesus?
We know from the bible what following Jesus meant for Peter. His life was forever changed. Ultimately he would die for his faith. What does it mean for us? Ultimately it will cost us everything.
In the early 1990s, gang violence erupted in Boyle Heights, a section of East Los Angeles. Several gangs were in conflict in the parish around the Dolores Mission Catholic Church. Killings and injuries happened daily. People were afraid to leave their homes. A group of women met for prayer together. One day they read the story of Jesus walking on water. One of them suggested that it was time that they stepped out in faith and did something about the situation around them. That night, seventy women began a procession from one barrio to another. They brought chips and salsa and drank Cokes with the gang members. They brought guitars and sang traditional songs together. The gangs were disoriented, baffled; the war zones were silent.
Each night the mothers walked. By intruding and intervening, they broke the rules of war. As the relationships between the women and the gang members grew, kids began telling their stories. Trust was built. Hopelessness of poverty were addressed. Together they developed a tortilla factory, a bakery, a child-care center, a job-training program, a class on conflict-resolution, a school for further learning, a neighborhood group to monitor and report police misbehavior, and more. It transformed the entire community. Fear was replaced by faith.
That is what happens when we join Jesus in the boat, but what about when Jesus calls us out of the boat? Once you invite Jesus into your life He can begin to change you. We need faith to begin a relationship with Jesus but we also need faith to live in a relationship with Jesus. That means not only asking Jesus into your boat but getting out of it as well.
Matthew 14:25-33 During the fourth watch of the night 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. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
1. Faith to Step Out
The first thing you have to do if you are going to truly live the life of faith is that you have to get out of the boat. You have to be willing to step out and follow Jesus when He says come, even if you do not understand how.
Think about this with me for a minute. Peter had been a fisherman all of his life. He’d been around water all of his life. He’d been in a lot of storms out on the Sea of Galilee. He probably knew of people that had died. He knows the last thing you do in a storm is get away from the boat. The boat is your salvation in the storm. With all that understanding He sees Jesus and hears Him say come.
Matt 14:29 Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
This is the first step to leading a life of faith. This step of leaving your place of security and trusting God instead. How do you get the faith to do that?
We talked about this last week. I believe that every person has a God given dream for their life. It was interesting after the service as several people shared their dream with me and said how difficult that dream would be. Stepping out of the boat is never easy. We want to dream big dreams and attempt the impossible but so often we feel it is too tough so we settle for second best.
A mother was taking her four-year-old daughter to school. She was a doctor and had left her stethoscope on the car seat. Her little girl picked it up and very excited began to play with it. Excellent, thought the doctor, my daughter wants to follow in my footsteps! Then the child spoke into the instrument, "Hello and welcome to McDonald’s may I take your order?"
How do you do it? You do it by listening to God in prayer and reading His word. You need to hear what God is saying to you and not what the world is saying to you.
You may have heard but a few weeks ago someone on the View said that Vice President Mike Pence had a mental illness because he hears from God. She said “It’s one thing to talk to Jesus, It’s another thing when Jesus talks to you. That’s called mental illness, if I’m not correct.” She is not correct. Mike Pence responded by saying that hearing from Jesus was a normal part of the Christian life. He said, “I can honestly tell you my faith sustains me in all that I do and it's just a regular part of our lives. But I'm not unusual.”
As we read the bible and listen to God in prayer He speaks to us. Listen and be obedient to what He says. You read it, you listen to God, but then you do what he says. You act on it. I could give you so many examples from my own life.
Why did Peter walk on the water? Because Jesus was walking on the water. For Peter walking on the water just meant that he was doing what Jesus was doing. You start doing what Jesus is doing in the world. Jesus is forgiving so you start being forgiving. Jesus is kind; you start being kind. Jesus cares about the poor. Jesus serves so we serve. That’s what it means to have a walk-on-water kind of faith. To get out of the boat. We start doing what Jesus does in this world.
2. Faith to Step On
The second step to living a life of faith is this, once you get out of the boat, keep walking. You don’t stop. You don’t look back. You keep walking forward.
Matt 14:30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink…
As long as Peter focused on Jesus he was able to walk on the water. As long as his focus was God’s power, he was able to do the impossible. The moment he looked away and saw the waves and started depending on his power, that’s when he sank.
We do not have the resources to live the Christian life, anymore than a refrigerator has the resources to keep things cold. It only works when it is plugged in. We cannot live the life of faith apart from God.
There is a kid’s book called The Little Engine that Could. It is a cute book, but bad theology. Peter did not get out of the boat and go, “I think I can… I think I can… I think I can… I think I can…” across the water. It’s not I think I can. It’s I know God can. When you know God can do it and is doing it then you know that you can do it as well. It is not by your power or strength.
3. Faith to Seek Help
One last thing. The third thing you do is remember to cry out when you need to.
Matt 14:30 … beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
When Peter got into trouble he cried out for help and IMMEDIATELY Jesus was there to catch him. There will be times along the race of faith where we stumble and fall. It is important at times like that to remember that God is still with us and is still supporting us.
A lot of us have a kind of faith that can’t face failure. As long as we’re doing great, everybody’s impressed with us, we’re walking on water, we’re growing, good things are happening, then we can think, I’m a person of faith. But when there is a failure in our lives we want to get as far away as we can from everybody else, God included sometimes. And pretend it never happened. We don’t have the kind of faith that can face failure.
But guess what? If you walk on water, if you try to live this kind of life, you’re a human being, you’re going to sink sometimes. You’ve got to have the kind of faith that can face failure. And you face it by crying out. By saying save me even now.
This would not be the only time that Peter failed. Peter would go on to boast that even if everyone else deserted Jesus that he never would, and then he went on to deny Jesus three times. You think a failure like that would have ruined him. It did not. He went on to preach and 3000 people were saved on the day of Pentecost. He was a pillar in the early church.
What do you do when you fail? You cry out to God. And immediately Jesus will do the same thing for you that He did for Peter. He reaches out and brings you back to a place of safety, healing and purpose.
Where are you at today? For some of you it is just the beginning of this faith journey. You are still kicking the tires of Christianity. You are welcome. Come and see God’s goodness and grace. For others today you are far along the road of faith. Maybe you still waiting to get out of the boat. I encourage you to follow Jesus wherever He leads you.
A priest was taking a tour of biblical sites, when he came to a beach and saw a boat and a sign advertising, "TAKE A BOAT RIDE TO THE EXACT PLACE WHERE JESUS WALKED ON WATER!!!" Inquiring about it, he learned that the ride there was free, so he went out to the middle of the lake. After viewing it, he said to the captain of the boat, "Ok, I’m done, let’s go back now." "That’ll be $100 to go back." The priest, shocked by the charge, exclaims "Wow, no wonder Jesus got out and walked!"
Or maybe today you are out of the boat and need to just keep walking. Or maybe you feel you are sinking fast. Jesus is with you.
