If You Want More Faith in Jesus Christ. . .
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 14:22-33
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared July 13, 2022)
BACKGROUND:
*Would you like to have more faith in Jesus Christ? -- Sure we would! Any right-thinking Christian would say "yes" to that question. And today's Scripture can help us trust in the Lord more than ever, so please open your Bibles to Matthew 14.
*In this chapter, the Holy Spirit led Matthew to report on the brutal murder of John the Baptist. Verses 13-14 tell us that when Jesus heard about John the Baptist's death, "He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick."
*That same evening in vs. 15-21, Jesus fed all of those people, maybe more than 15,000, counting women and children. And He did that with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish!
*Now we will see what happened next. It was another of the Lord's most famous miracles: The miracle Jesus worked when He walked on the water several miles out into the Sea of Galilee. God can use this great miracle to help grow our faith today, especially for when we go through hard times in life.
*Let's get started by reading Matthew 14:22-33.
MESSAGE:
*We all want more faith, but sometimes we doubt God. Why do we do that? Why do we doubt God? Christians, I am not talking about doubting your salvation, though sometimes believers do doubt their salvation. In those seasons, go back to the Bible, and start with 1 John 5:11-13.
*There God's Word says: "This is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."
*The Scripture today is focused on something else. It's focused on us doubting God when unexpected problems hit. But again, Christians: Why do we doubt God? That's an important question, especially when the question comes from Jesus Himself. And the Lord's question in vs. 31 can also apply to us: "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'' Sometimes we don't trust in the Lord as much as we should. But today's Scripture can help us trust God more than ever.
1. SO FIRST, IF YOU WANT MORE FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, DON'T BE SURPRISED BY STORMS IN YOUR LIFE.
*In vs. 22, the Lord's disciples were probably not expecting trouble. That's because "Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side."
*Jesus told them to go, and they went, probably expecting smooth sailing. But as Jesus sent the multitudes away and went up on a mountain to pray, the disciples were running into serious trouble. In vs. 24, "the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary." "Tossed by the waves." That's not talking about some gentle rocking back and forth. The idea behind the original word is "pain, toil, torment, even torture."
*The disciples were in real trouble out on the Sea of Galilee, and not because they did the wrong thing, but because they did the right thing. They were in trouble because they had obeyed the Lord, and that can cause us to doubt God.
*Today, many Christians have been influenced by a false prosperity gospel. There is a feel-good falsehood being taught that Christians should expect nothing but the best from this world, because we are children of the King. And Christians, we are true children of God! But in John 16:33 Jesus told His followers, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
*Job was surely one of the great heroes in the Old Testament. Job 1:1 tells us that he "was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil." But for a while Job lost almost everything that mattered to him in this world.
*The Apostle Paul was a great hero in the New Testament. If anybody should have received only good things in life, it would have been Paul. But listen to his testimony from 2 Corinthians 11:24-28:
24. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.
25. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26. in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27. in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness
28. besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.
*There are countless other examples of God's servants facing terrible difficulties in this world. And though God has blessed us beyond measure, we can't always expect the good life from following the Lord. We need to keep trusting Jesus, both in the good times and the bad. We need to keep trusting in Jesus no matter how bad things may get in our lives.
2. AND IF YOU WANT MORE FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, DON'T BE SURPRISED BY STORMS. ALSO REMEMBER THAT THE LORD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS.
*The Lord doesn't always act according to our expectations. He is the infinite Almighty God, and He is going to do things that we don't expect or understand. This is what happened when the disciples were hammered by that wind. Then they were more terrified when Jesus came to them, walking on the water.
*Verses 25-26 say:
25. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. (John Phillips tells us that the fourth watch of the night was from three o'clock at night until six o'clock in the morning.)
26. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. (1)
*The disciples didn't expect to be blasted by the wind. And the last thing they expected was to see Jesus walking on the water. No wonder they were terrified. But God really does move in mysterious ways.
*The Children of Israel were backed up against the Red Sea, with the Egyptian army bearing down on them. Bloody slaughter seemed inevitable. But God did the unexpected. In Exodus 14:13-22,
13. . . Moses said to the (terrified) people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.
14. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.''
15. And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.
16. But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
17. And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen.
18. Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.''
19. And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.
20. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.
21. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.
22. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
*Church: The Lord parted the waters of the Red Sea with less effort than it takes for us to let the water out of our sinks.
*About 1,400 years later, Israel was under the thumb of the Roman Empire. But God's people still had hope, because God had promised deliverance through a new King -- The Messiah! Then God did the unexpected. The King of Kings was born in a stable for animals. And Jesus did not come to lead an army to victory over Rome. He came to give everlasting victory to all who would trust in Him. Jesus came to give us victory by dying on the cross for our sins, and by rising again from the dead!
*God works in mysterious ways. Some of you may remember a terrible attack that took place in the fall of 1999. It happened at Wedgewood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. A man with a gun entered the church, killed seven people, and injured seven others, before taking his own life.
*God was not responsible for that terrible crime. He has never done anything wrong, and He never will. Every bit of the goodness in our lives is a gracious gift from God, so we should always trust in His goodness. But if God is perfectly good, then why did the attack on Wedgewood happen? Why is there so much evil and corruption in the world?
*The main reason why is because the devil is real, and he is the original source of all evil. Jesus explained in John 10:10 that the devil is a "thief" who "does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy."
*Also remember that we are still living out Jesus' parable of the wheat and weeds called "tares." In this parable, a farmer planted good seed in his field, but an enemy came at night and planted weeds among the wheat. When they both started to grow, the servants asked if they should pull up the weeds. But in Matthew 13:29-30, the farmer said, "No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
*Then, in Matthew 13:37-43 Jesus explained the parable and said:
37. . . "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.
39. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.
40. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
41. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42. and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
*One day our perfect God will rid the world of all evil and injustice, but until that time, Romans 8:28 reminds us that "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." And we can see this truth in the story of Wedgewood Baptist Church.
*About a month after the shooting, word began spreading about God's amazing works before, during and after that horrible crime. To enter the church, the gunman walked past their children's playground, which should have been full of kids. But every single children's and preschool class was running late! Every single one! No one had made it to the playground yet.
*That man fired over 100 bullets into a crowd of over 400 people, but only 14 people were hit. The bottom fell off of the pipe bomb he threw, and the bomb landed without ever exploding.
*Many denominations then pulled together to offer help and support to Wedgewood. One Methodist church sent 15 people the following Sunday to cover childcare. They didn't want any of the Wedgewood members to have to miss the service. Fort Worth police planted flowers in the beds around the sanctuary before the people met again for worship. The church received tens of thousands of emails and cards.
*Their pastor was given many opportunities to present the gospel through the media, including an appearance on Larry King Live. It was estimated that more than 200 million people heard the gospel, because of that attack. CNN broadcast the memorial service live around the world, and because one of the victim's families worked and lived in Saudi Arabia, it was even shown in that closed Islamic kingdom.
*The next day, students at several schools met around their flagpoles. More than a hundred of those students received Jesus. One woman reported that she had been praying for her husband, Scott, for years. She and their 4-year-old daughter were at Wedgewood that night. A short time later, Scott gave his life to Jesus. And there were many other examples of God's Hand at work! (2)
*Bad things will surely happen in this fallen world. But Jesus Christ does all things well, sometimes in the most unexpected ways.
3. AND IF YOU WANT MORE FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, REMEMBER THAT THE LORD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS. ALSO BE WILLING TO RECEIVE THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD.
*In vs. 26, "When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, 'It is a ghost!' And they cried out for fear."
*It's a little surprising that they thought Jesus was a ghost, because by this point the disciples had been following the Lord for over two years. They knew Him very well. They had just seen Jesus miraculously feed thousands with just five loaves and two fish! They had also seen Jesus work countless other miracles. But they underestimated God's miraculous power, -- and so do we.
*Thank God, Jesus wants to increase our faith! In vs. 27 He immediately spoke to them and said, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."
*But notice in vs. 28 that the Lord's word was not quite good enough for Peter. He wanted more proof, so Peter answered Jesus and said, "Lord, if it is You, (IF it is You, Jesus) command me to come to You on the water." In this case, the Lord's word was not good enough for Peter, and sometimes we have the same problem.
*At the extreme, people don't believe that the Bible is the Word of God. They are in the worst possible danger, infinitely worse than being trapped in a storm. They are in danger of spending all eternity in hell, because no one can be saved without trusting in God's Word.
*Everyone who has ever been saved, was saved by the Word of God. 1 Peter 1:22-25 makes this truth clear when it says this to Christians:
22. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
23. having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
24. because "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away,
25. but the word of the Lord endures forever.'' Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
*Rejecting the Bible, rejecting the good news about Jesus means rejecting your only hope of salvation.
*Many other people will pick and choose what to accept in God's Word. They might say, "Oh, I like the part about God's love -- but not so much about His Lordship," or "I have to take up my cross?"
*Also, many Christians will starve themselves from God's Word, and that is a vicious cycle: We doubt God's Word because we have not heard it, and we neglect God's Word because of our doubt.
*The great prayer warrior George Mueller explained that "It is a common temptation of Satan to make us give up the reading of the Word and prayer when our enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to read the Scriptures when we do not enjoy them, and as if it were no use to pray when we have no spirit of prayer.
*The truth is that, in order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer is to continue praying. The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray." (3)
*Thank God, Hebrews 12:2 tells Christians that Jesus Christ is both the author and the finisher of our faith! And Romans 10:17 tells us that "faith comes by hearing the Word of God." This is absolutely true, but it is only true for people who are open to receive the truth of God's Word.
*Everyone needs to be like the Christians in 1 Thessalonians 2:13. There Paul rejoiced and said, "For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe."
*Almost all of us need to pay more attention to God's Word. And the more we prayerfully read what God says, the more our faith will grow.
4. IF YOU WANT MORE FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, RECEIVE THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD. AND FOCUS ON YOUR SAVIOR MORE THAN YOUR STORM.
*We tend to focus more on our problems than on God's power, and that's what Peter did in middle of this storm. In vs. 28-33:
28. . . Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.''
29. So He said, "Come.'' And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
30. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!''
31. And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?''
32. And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God.''
*Peter started sinking when He took His eyes off the Savior and started looking at the storm. Many times, we tend to make the same mistake. That's why author Evangeline Blood said, "It is far more important to pray with a sense of the greatness of God than with a sense of the greatness of the problem." (4)
*Focus on God's power more than your problems! God is greater than any problem we will ever face, and Jesus is able to calm any storm!
*A lady once went to Pastor G. Campbell Morgan and told him, "I only take small things to God, because I don't want to worry him with the big things." Dr. Morgan replied, "Lady, anything you bring to God is small." (5)
*Wonderful truth! -- God is bigger than any problem we will ever face, and He is able to calm any storm! So, we should boldly go to Him for the help we need. Pray for that big breakthrough. And keep filling your prayers with praise.
*I did not know him very well, but in 1993, I had the honor of preaching the funeral for Bro. Moses Lee. He was 93 years old when he went home to Heaven. Bro. Lee served for many years as a pastor in Franklin, Tensas, and Winn Parishes. Later, he also served the Lord around Mobile, Alabama.
*At the graveside, Bro. Lee's son told me something that happened when he was 13 years old. He said they were down on the Boeuf River trying to have a baptismal service. The wind was blowing really hard that afternoon. It was so hard that the water had choppy waves on it, and they were afraid to get people into the water, especially the children.
*But Bro. Moses Lee took the problem to the Lord. He led the people in prayer and asked God to calm those waters so the baptismal service could go on. God answered that prayer! Almost immediately, the wind and the waves died down. And they stayed down until the last person was baptized. Then the wind and the waves came back up again.
CONCLUSION:
*Jesus Christ is able to calm any storm! And he cares. Jesus cared about little children getting baptized in the Boeuf River. And He surely cares about you! And Jesus may not calm the storm we are in. But in those times, He will calm the storm in us. So, keep trusting in Jesus Christ! Like those disciples in vs. 33, we should come to Jesus, worship Him, and say, "Truly You are the Son of God.''
*And if you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, call out to Him the same way Peter cried out when he was going down, "Lord Save Me!" Call on our crucified and risen Savior right now, and He will save you forever!
(1) EXPLORING THE GOSPEL OF MARK by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "He Met the Needs of Helpless People" - Mark 6:45-52 - Downloaded to "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
(2) Sources:
-Online sermon "Mysterious Ways" by Dave Kepple - Genesis 45:3-11, 15 - Union Chapel UMC - 02/18/2001)
-KERUX ILLUSTRATION COLLECTION - ID Number: 5777 - SOURCE: Http://www.shepherds-care.org/ - TITLE: A Good Testimony For The Lord! - Wedgewood Baptist Tragedy
(3) George Muller (Mueller), "A Narrative of Some of the Lord's Dealings with George Muller." Christianity Today, Vol. 32, no. 5. - Source: Cross & Crown sermon "Model Prayer 1 - Spirit" by James McCullen - Matthew 6:9-13
(4) Author Evangeline Blood - "Men of Integrity" - November/December 2006, p.11/16 - Source: "In Other Words" - November 2008 - #2? - produced by Dr. Raymond McHenry - www.iows.net
(5) Quote from "Message on The Urban Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans" - 02/18/1998 - Source: SermonCentral sermon "Our God is Not Small" by Alan Stokes - Luke 9:28-36
