Back in 1959 Ford Motor Company admitted they made a big
mistake in making the Edsel. It cost 250 million to bring it to market,
and they lost 200 million during the 2 and 1/2 years they produced it.
It was the number one lemon in the history of the U. S. auto industry.
But smart owners turned their lemons into lemonade. They formed
an Edsel owners club in all 50 states; they published a quality
magazine and had annual conventions, and they made their Edsels
collectors cars worth much more than they were new.
The point is, mistakes can be costly, but they can also be
profitable. The whole idea involved in Rom. 8:28 that God works in
all things for the good of those who love him is this very point. God
will even work with us in our mistakes to make them profitable and
learning experiences. This means we do not need to fear failure so
much that we refuse to take a chance and do what is of some risk.
Our very failure could be the stepping stone to success. This is not
some kind of mystical religious principle, but it is the wisdom of very
practical minded men. Years ago a writer interviewed IBM
president Thomas J. Watson, and this is what he said:
"It's not exactly my line," Watson said, "But would you like me
to give you a formula for writing success? It's quite simple, really.
Double your rate of failure." "You're making a common mistake.
You're thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all.
Failure is a teacher-a harsh one perhaps, but the best. You say you
have a desk full of rejected manuscripts? That's great! Everyone of
those manuscripts was rejected for a reason. Have you pulled them
to pieces looking for that reason? "You can be discouraged by
failure-or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes.
Make all you can. Because, remember that's where you'll find
success. On the far side of failure."
There are numerous illustrations of this in the secular world, and
there are volumes that deal with the subject. But the best illustration
of this in the New Testament is the life of Peter. We have more
recorded mistakes and blunders of Peter than all the rest of the 12
put together. He was the master of mistakes, and yet Jesus chose him
to be the leader of the 12. There is no list of the Apostles where Peter
is not first. Is there any connection between all of his mistakes and
his being the number one man in leadership? Yes there is, and the
mistake we want to examine is a prime example.
Peter was the only man Jesus ever rebuked for lacking the faith
needed to stay on top of water. Why would Jesus make this man he
had to rebuke more than all the others the leader of the others? He
did so because Peter was the only one of the 12 willing to take the
chance. Yes, he sank while all the rest were safely in the boat. But
that is because he was the only one willing to take the chance of
leaping out of the boat. The risk taker fails more because they do
more. You can criticize Peter and be justified in doing so, for Jesus
rebuked him for his little faith that led him to doubt and then sink.
Peter did fail here, and needed to be rescued, but look at the whole
picture.
The only reason Peter failed is because he took a chance, and he
was the only one who did. We focus on his failure and neglect the fact
that Peter was the only man besides Jesus whoever succeeded in
walking on water. His faith weakened in the storm, but the text tells
us clearly in verse 29, "Then Peter got down out of the boat and
walked on the water to Jesus." Peter was the greatest success in the
world at walking on water. That took tremendous faith. But what we
see here is that faith can be very flimsy, and confidence can collapse
very rapidly in a fearful situation.
Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, said at a press
conference in July of 1970, "I particularly remember the elation of
finding out that we indeed weren't going to sink into the surface, and
we could continue with all the other planned activities." These were
among the coolest men on the planet, and yet they had their fears as
they set foot on the moon. How much more so for Peter who set foot
on the lake where there was no mystery about it? He knew that
sinking in water was inevitable. Had the water been as still and calm
as glass it still would have been a fearful step out of that boat. But in
a raging storm it would seem to be an act of folly to even attempt it.
But Peter risked doing the impossible with Jesus, and he did it.
Peter was rebuked, for Jesus wanted him to go all the way and
experience total victory by his faith, but he failed and began to sink.
Jesus was not disgusted with Peter. Yes, he got a F in completion, but
he got an A for effort. He was the only one who took the test. The
rest sat like bumps on a log, and they did not fail, but they also never
had a chance to succeed. Peter did what none of the others ever did,
he walked on water. Jesus chose him to be the leader because he was
willing to take a chance. His very failure was a mark in his favor, for
only those who try can fail.
We don't want to give a false impression that the rest of the 12
were of no value because they did not rise up and leap over the side of
the boat. They are no less chosen of Christ, but they are less exalted.
Peter is made number one because he had a courage that the others
lacked. Not all Christians are risk takers, and it is not sinful that they
are not. Jesus did not need 12 men leaping into the lake. He only
needed one risk taker of that degree, for he only needed one head
man. We are not trying to put anybody down, but only striving to see
what it was about Peter that made him the one Jesus chose to be the
leader of the 12. What we see is that Peter was more willing to fail
and take chances for Christ. His failures were not good, but they
represent a quality of character that Jesus was looking for in a
leader. He was ready to risk losing for the sake of winning.
We can't all be Peter, just as none of the other disciples could be.
They were often chicken compared to him. But all Christians can
learn from Peter's example to move in the direction of boldness and
risk taking. In one sense this whole incident was much ado about
nothing. Who cares about walking on water? It is one of the most
useless miracles in all the Bible. Jesus never did it again, and nobody
else was ever challenged to do it again. It healed nobody and helped
nobody. In terms of benefit, you can place this miracles on the
bottom of the pile. Who could feel the loss if it never would have
happened? Obviously a miracle of so little worth must have great
value in terms of education.
This whole scene was deliberately set up by Jesus to teach a
lesson. He sent them out into the lake in a boat alone. This time he
was not going to be sleeping in the boat when the storm hit. This was
a whole new lesson for them to see how they would cope alone, and
how their faith would respond with him absent. He was not going to
be at their side in the flesh forever, and they needed to develop a faith
that went beyond sight. They had just seen Jesus feed 5000 with 5
loaves and 2 fish. You would think their faith would never fail again
after that, but Jesus sends them off to face contrary winds and put
their faith to the test.
Peter is being tested here especially, and we see him come through
with both and A and a F, but with an overall stamp of approval that
made him the key leader. He got a A for daring and a F for doubting,
but as we shall see, even his failure was an asset that Jesus
appreciated. If we could learn to fail like Peter, we will please our
Lord and be used to build his kingdom. Let's look at his success and
failure, or his daring and doubting.
I. HIS DARING.
Peter dared to do what the others never dreamed of doing. Safety
first was their motto. But Peter was an impulsive risk taker, and his
impulse in this very unusual setting was to step out onto the water.
"Lord if its you tell me to come to you on the water." Peter is saying,
"dare me to come Lord", and Jesus responds, "I dare you to come."
Jesus knew Peter was the kind of man who could not refuse a dare. If
you challenged him to do the unusual and impossible, you better be
prepared to deal with the consequences, for he will be going for it.
Such a personality trait can quickly turn you into a fool, but it can
also make you a hero. It has to be kept under control, and Peter had
his problems doing that. Peter dared to do foolish things also, and
was like a teenager being dared to play chicken in a car, or being
dared to go over 100 miles per hour. People who can't say no to a
dare are often at the mercy of the most foolish and dangerous whims.
It is one of those virtue-vice type traits. If you can be daring,
however, and respond to a dare to do what is good, noble, and heroic,
then you have a very positive virtue.
Studies show that people can be dared into doing what is best for
them. George Warren Kroll was a weakling who was dared to
become the healthiest boy in his class, and the blood flowed through
his body responding to the challenge, and he began to build his body
until it was the strongest in his class. Harry Wonda was about to quit
his job as a salesman when his sales manager challenged him. "I dare
you to go out and sell more today than you ever have."
It was like a call to battle, and he went out with a determination to do
just that, and he did. He needed the dare to bring out the daring
spirit that was in him.
Jesus knew Peter had a daring spirit, and that is why he challenged
him to do the daring act of walking on water. Jesus was doing to
Peter what Ulysses did to Achilles. He provided an opportunity to
reveal his true nature. When the Greeks were besieging Troy the
oracle came saying they would never take the city until Achilles came
to the front. But the mother of Achilles fearing his death had him
hidden away disguised as a girl in the court of Diomedes. Crafty old
Ulysses disguised himself as a peddler and entered the home of
Diomedes where he spread out a glittering array of trinkets before
the eager eyes of the girls. As if by chance there was also a sword laid
among them. Suddenly, a trumpet blast sounded at the gate, which
Ulysses had prearranged to give the impression of an attack. One of
the girls with flushing cheeks and kindly eyes sprang forward and
gripped the sword and flashed it in the air, and stood forth every inch
a warrior. Ulysses presented a challenge and a dare, and he found his
man. Achilles went with him and Troy fell.
Jesus needed a brave leader to defeat the kingdom of darkness,
and by this dare to come to him on the water Jesus also found his man
in Peter the daring disciple. But we have to face the reality that Peter
did not stay on top of the water very long, and so we have to look at-
II. HIS DOUBTING.
We love Peter better because he sank. Paul probably would have
walked all the way to Jesus and made us all feel hopelessly
inadequate. But Peter, the Rock, sank because his daring faith
turned to doubting fear, and we see ourselves in Peter, for he is more
like us. Paul was more of a intellectual, and he probably would not
have tried it after he gave it some thought. He was smart enough to
know it wouldn't work, but Peter was not that smart.
We get our courage up at times and feel determined to take a new
path. We say with Peter, "Lord bid me come to you on the water."
We pray for Jesus to guide us to new heights and bold adventures for
him. "Lord help me take the leap of faith; to get out of the boat of
complacency and non-productive habits. Help me be bold for you."
Then, like Peter, we soon recognize we are not very good at walking
on water. We are out of our element, and are like a fish trying to
walk on the beach. We see the reality of our inadequacy, and the
waves begin to pound our sand castle of faith, and it dissolves before
our eyes. All we see is the impossibility of maintaining our
commitment, and we cry out as Peter did, "Lord save me!" Our
determination leads us into deep water, and we are worse off now
than if we would have just stayed in the boat.
We are just like Peter. Even his best intentions often ended in a
failure because fear and doubt overwhelmed his faith and daring.
Why then did Jesus choose Peter to be the leader of the 12, when he
had the same weaknesses that they had, and that we all have? The
reason is obvious, for Jesus is teaching us all through Peter that it is
better to try and fail then never to try at all. It is better to fail in a
cause that will one day succeed than to succeed in a cause that will
one day fail. That statement comes from another Peter who was
Peter Marshall.
Jesus chose Peter because Peter was willing to take a chance and
do something rather than nothing. You can set in the boat and
succeed at being a setter, or you can leap out of the boat and fail to be
a walker on water, but Jesus says that he chooses the one who fails in
trying, rather than the one who succeeds in not trying. Jesus is saying
to go ahead and fail in trying to do what he calls you to do. Take a
chance, for I prefer a rock that tries to walk on water and sinks, over
a bump in a boat that will take no risks.
Jesus never asked Peter to do this again, or anyone else. He never
again walked on water. It is not anyone's goal in life to walk on
water. It is not in God's plan at all, and so it is obvious this one time
event was to teach us this lesson. Failure in trying is superior to
success in not trying. Don't let your doubts and fears stop you from
trying to do something exciting for Christ. Even the world's greatest
daredevils have to fight with fear and doubt. Steve Brodie at age 23
leaped off the Brooklyn Bridge in 1886. He plunged a 120 feet into
the East River. He was on the front page of the New York Times the
next morning. He was arrested, but the judge didn't know what to do
with him, for nobody had ever done this and lived to tell about it. It
was against the law to kill yourself this way, but there was no law
dealing with someone who jumped and lived. He was released and
became quite famous as a daredevil.
He decided to go over Niagara Falls in a rubber suit. This also
was against the law, so he got up at 5:30 in the morning and paddled
out to the middle of the river above Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian
side. He went over, and again he lived to tell about it. But like Peter,
the power of the water all about him raised his doubt level to near
panic. He reported afterward that he would have given anything to
back out, but once he was in the current there was no return. He
tried hard to get to shore, but when he saw it was impossible he felt he
was going to die, and so cried out in prayer just as Peter did to be
spared. By the time he came to the brink of the falls the fear was so
great he went unconscious. That was his answer to prayer, for he was
spared the experience of the fall, and the next thing he knew he was
on the water's edge.
The point is, the most brave and bold and courageous can be filled
with fear, and his faith can fail. Fear of failure is no excuse, for all
men fear failure at some point. Fear of not trying should be the fear
that motivates us. We are not called to walk on water or go over
Niagara, or a thousand other stunts that have no value for the
kingdom of God. But we are called to get out of the boat which
represents the church, and join Jesus on the stormy sea which
represents the lost world. That is the kind of person Jesus is looking
for, and that is why he used Peter to be the first man to lead a Gentile
into the church. Peter ld Cornelius to Christ before Paul the Apostle
and the Gentiles were involved in ministry. The whole first part of
the book of Acts revolves around Peter. Why? Because he was a
man willing to change.
Stepping out of the boat onto a stormy sea is what we all do if we
take seriously the call to evangelism. It can lead to so much failure.
We risk offending people all the time. We risk losing friendships. We
risk getting a reputation as a fanatic. It is a high risk area to step
into, but it is better to fail in trying than to succeed in staying safe.
Studies show that only about 10 per cent of Christians ever respond
to the challenge of evangelism, the question is, are you one of that 10
per cent? We can't all be like Peter, but we can all move in the
direction of being a more daring disciple. The unknown poet gives the
challenge to us all.
"In this vast universe
There is but one supreme truth,
That God is our friend!
By that truth meaning is given
To the remote stars, the numberless centuries,
The long and heroic struggle of mankind....
O my Soul, dare to trust this truth!
Dare to rest in God's kindly arms,
Dare to look confidently into His face,
Then launch thyself into life unafraid!
Knowing thou art within thy Father's house,
That thou art surrounded by His love,
Thou wilt become master of fear,
Lord of life, conqueror even of death!"
