I think things are going well with the services. Attendance is not as high as I would like, but I've seen some faces I haven't seen and some I haven't seen in a while.
Last night I played guitar and The Girl sang "All in All". The church ate it up! They loved it. So did I. I meant to record the audio, but I forgot. I did record the sermon. I used iRecord on my phone with it sitting on the podium next to me. I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, I hope it turned out well.
OK, here is my sermon from Sunday morning. This was sort of a revival prelude....which really the last few weeks have been as well. But, here you go. Enjoy! (I know I say this most weeks, but this sermon is not necessarily as delivered. FYI.)
I really wish I could remember the title of this thing...
Let's call it..... "Just a Little"
Does anyone else like to watch the TV show “The Deadliest Catch”? I love the show. If you’re not familiar with it, I’ll give a synopsis. The show follows 5 or 6 crab boats as they fish for crab in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska. It’s called “The Deadliest Catch” because crab fishing is a really dangerous job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics calls commercial fishing the deadliest occupation in America. There are 142 fatalities per 100,000 workers. The fatality rate for crab fishermen is more than double that. There are 300 deaths for every 100,000 workers. Probably, the main danger is the Bering Sea itself. With frigid water, huge waves, and strong winds, it’s really kind of one of the villains of the show.
On this show we see men working on the boat deck with 30 foot waves crashing all around them. At least once per season the boats have to deal with an arctic hurricane. They deal with huge waves, hurricane strength winds and freezing temperatures. I wonder what they would think if in the middle of all of that chaos, the crew looked out and saw someone walking toward them: Just strolling along on the water, like they are out for an afternoon stroll.
I don’t think that the disciples dealt with that sort of storm in today’s scripture, but we do have a boat, battering waves, and wind. And then we have a man walking on the water.
Jesus finally gets his alone time. Remember last week, Jesus learned of the death of John the Baptist and he climbed in a boat to go to a deserted place, but the crowds followed him. He didn’t get to spend time alone. Now, after feeding the crowd, Jesus sends the disciples off in a boat and he stays behind. He dismisses the crowd, and then he goes up the mountain to pray. Alone time, finally!
But now, Jesus is alone on one side of the Sea of Galilee and the Disciples are headed to the other side, so Jesus does what any of us would do, right? He decides to hike across the lake. The disciples are in the boat in the early morning, battered by the waves, fighting the wind, trying to get across the lake. They look out from the boat and see… a ghost. It must be a ghost. And they are terrified. Then, over the howl of the wind, they hear a familiar voice. “It’s me, don’t worry.”
Apparently, Peter is not entirely convinced. E answers, “If it is you, call me out onto the water.” Jesus does just that. He calls him out of the boat. Peter steps out onto the water and begins walking to Jesus. Then Peter’s senses take over. He sees the waves, he feels the wind and he gets scared and he has second thoughts. He begins to sink and calls out to Jesus again. “Lord, save me!” Jesus reaches out a hand pulls him up and helps him back into the boat. But before they get to the boat he gives Peter a little reprimand, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Or is it a reprimand?
A little later in Matthew we read that a little faith, faith the size of a mustard seed, is enough to move a mountain. So, is Jesus now chiding Peter for having a mustard seed of faith? This passage has often been preached and taught as a lack of faith on the part of Peter. If only he’d had more faith, he would have made it all the way to Jesus.
But Peter had faith. Isn’t a little faith enough to get things done? Isn’t a little faith better than no faith? Maybe Jesus’ question had nothing to do with a lack of faith on Peter’s part, maybe it is just a question about his doubts. You had a little faith! Why did you doubt?
I think it’s interesting that we’re not told how far Jesus was from the boat. He was obviously far enough away that Peter still was not sure it was, in fact, Jesus. Remember, Peter said, “If it is you.” Apparently he couldn’t see him clearly.
Peter is criticized for not having enough faith to walk to Jesus, but he was close enough for Jesus to reach out and grab him. Did any of you or your kids ever watch Inspector Gadget? I’m pretty sure Jesus did not yell, “Go Go Gadget arms!” and have his arm stretch 10 feet to grab Peter.
Peter absolutely had faith. He was scared of what he thought was a ghost. He was distracted by the wind and the waves. He was likely disoriented by his surroundings. But still he had enough faith to step out of the boat when called.
Now, there’s another important point. Peter asks Jesus to call him to come out. And Jesus does. He calls him to action. Here’s the practical application part of this scripture…well one of them anyway. God calls each and everyone if us out of the boat. We are called to serve. We are called to be ministers. We are all called to action. The question becomes, what is your response to that call?
Do you step out? Or stay in the boat?
I’ve told most of you my story. The story of my call to ministry. I first felt like God might be calling me to pastoral ministry several years ago. My initial reaction was… “That’s crazy, I can’t do that.” I couldn’t step out of the boat, which could easily have been Peter’s response. “I can’t walk on water! I’ll stay right here where it’s safe.” That was my response to God’s call for my life. Ministry would be a risk. I have to go to school, I might fail. I might have to deal with difficult people. I might have to move. I might fail. I didn’t have faith enough to face the risks.
Peter had, as Jesus said, “little faith”. But he had enough faith to go when Jesus called him. He had the faith to answer his call. He was willing to answer the call in spite of the risks, so he stepped out of the boat. Then he came to his senses. He realized, I AM WALKING ON WATER! And he panicked. And he sank. He failed.
Stepping out of the boat is no guarantee of success. Just because we have faith and decide to answer God’s call for our lives doesn’t rule out failure. There’s only one thing that guarantees not failing. Not trying.
Stepping out of the boat is no guarantee of success. Just because we have faith and decide to answer God’s call for our lives doesn’t rule out failure. There’s only one thing that guarantees not failing. Not trying.
But this story offers us another promise. Another glimpse of what faith is and what faith can do. Peter walks on the water twice. Peter demonstrates his faith twice. First, he steps out of the boat and walks toward Jesus. Then as he starts to sink, he calls on Jesus to save him. Another act of faith. Then he walks back to the boat with Jesus’ help. Yes, Peter failed. Initially. But his faith in Jesus saved him from sinking and helped him succeed in his call.
When I initially ignored God’s call, I didn’t have faith in me. I had no faith in my abilities. No faith in my preaching. No faith in my ability to get through school. Eventually, I realized I had things backward. I didn’t need faith in me. I needed faith in Jesus. First of all, I needed faith that it was indeed God calling me to pastoral ministry. Peter was unsure that it was Jesus on the water, so he asked him. Then he had faith that it was indeed his master. Second, I needed faith that God would be there to reach out his arm, grab me, and help me to fulfill my call. Especially when I start to sink.
I wonder if we look to the wrong character in this story when we see a lack of faith. Maybe it is the other 11 disciples who show a lack of faith. They sit in the boat, scared to death that there is a ghost walking toward them. Even when Jesus tells them it is him, they don’t respond. They just sit and watch as Peter risks his life to demonstrate his faith.
What about the modern church. What about Mt. Moriah? Who are we more like? Peter, stepping out in faith to take risks and answer God’s call? Or the disciples, sitting in the boat where it’s safe?
Ernest Campbell was the pastor of Riverside Church in New York City. He once said, “The reason that we lack faith is that we are not doing anything that requires it.” It didn’t require any faith on the part of the disciples to sit in that boat. It doesn’t require any faith to sit in these pews, to sing songs, to listen to a sermon.
The question, then, becomes: What is God calling you to do? What is God calling this church to do? The question is not, “Is God calling?” God is calling each of us and all of us. The follow up question is: Are you willing to step out of the boat? Do you have just a little bit of faith?
Tonight, we begin our revival services. That is going to be our focus, our over-riding theme. To what are we called? We are going to focus on reviving our own lives and seeking God’s call for our individual lives. And reviving our church and seeking God’s call for this part of the body of Christ. And then on reviving this community and finding our role in doing that.
This morning we can begin our revival. We can begin by renewing our vow to follow Jesus. We can allow the Spirit to begin God’s transformative work in each of us.
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