Gooding, David: 2 - Keeping Your Head Above Water

Let us hear now the word of God this week as we find it in the Gospel by Matthew and chapter fourteen. The Gospel by Matthew and chapter fourteen. And we shall begin to read there from verse twenty two. Gospel of Matthew, chapter fourteen and verse twenty two. And straightway he, that is the Lord Jesus, constrained the disciples to enter into the boat and to go before him unto the other side, till he should send the multitudes away. And after he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain apart to pray. And when even was come, he was there alone. But the boat was now in the midst of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night, he came unto them, walking upon the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is an apparition. And they cried out for fear. Straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee upon the waters. And he said, Come. Peter went down from the boat and walked upon the waters to come to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and took hold of him and saith unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? When they were gone up into the boat, the wind ceased. They that were in the boat worshipped him, saying, Ava true, thou art the Son of God. God give us that same assurance in our hearts, in the storms of life. Tonight we are to continue the general topic that we began last Sunday evening, namely the witness of the early church, the early Christians, to Jesus Christ our Lord. For here in this central part of the Gospel of Matthew, as of course in many other parts of the New Testament, we have the record of the witness of the early Christians, how that they came to discover exactly who Jesus was and is. Why, in chapter sixteen of this very Gospel according to Matthew, we have recorded the glorious confession of the Apostle Peter as he turned in response to the Lord Jesus and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And the interesting thing about these records is that they tell us about the Lord Jesus, that he is the Christ, the Son of God, not as mere hard theoretical theology, but as the living experience of men who discovered this glorious fact, and the tremendous effect it has upon the lives of those who discover it. Now, of course, another interesting thing about these gospels is this, that in their present form, they were written down after the death of our Lord Jesus, after his resurrection indeed, and after his ascension to heaven. So that it becomes obvious as we read these stories of the life of our Lord Jesus, they are being written by men who have discovered this further great thing about him, that he not only died at Calvary and was buried, he died for our sins according to the scriptures and was buried, but that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures and has ascended to the right hand of God on high. And as they pondered that glorious fact, it is evident that they look back to the deeds and the miracles of our Lord Jesus that he performed when he was still here on earth, and began to see in them a significance that they hadn't even seen at the time, and discovered that they were not only wonderful exhibitions of the power of God, they were at the same time eloquent parables, vivid object lessons of what the deity of the Lord Jesus means, and what his salvation means, and how, because he is indeed the Son of the living God, he is available to men and women to save them and to keep them. Vivid illustrations, moreover, of how anybody can come to this Christ, how we can approach him and discover him as our living savior too. And so I am persuaded it is with this story that we have read together from Matthew chapter fourteen, A story that at its literal level tells us that on one stormy night, when the apostles were rowing for their lives across the Sea of Galilee, Jesus Christ came walking towards them, walking on and over the water. Of course, that very fact, if it be true, tells us at once that our Lord Jesus possessed more than human power. For normally it is not given to ordinary men, is it, to walk upon the water? But when we have learned that, we might well turn to question, mightn't we? But then, what's the point of it? Suppose Jesus Christ could walk on water. What good does that do me? The story indeed tells us that he not only walked on water himself, but was able to make his disciples, Peter, Simon Peter, walk on the water even as he walked. But then that merely increases the problem, doesn't it, to thoughtful folks? So what? What good would that be to anybody, suppose, uh, that he could make me walk on water nowadays? Not much good, I suppose. We might find it an entertainment for a summer evening to be able to walk on water, a kind of water skiing without a motorboat to pull us. The interest would soon wane, wouldn't it? What practical use would it be? For while we welcome all entertainments that help us forget life's troubles a little while, yet life is full of sterner stuff, isn't it? Life is full of deeper problems than the mere ability to walk on physical water could help. When we begin to think like that, it becomes evident, of course, that not only was he true, it was the fact that he did literally and physically walk on water and enable his apostle to do the same. But it soon becomes evident that, like others of his miracles, it was a parable too. When Jesus Christ our Lord, for instance, as we saw last week, multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed people's stomach. It was not only an exhibition of his miraculous power over creation, it was a vivid parable to the effect that he himself had the spiritual level is the bread of life to satisfy our hearts. So assuredly that night when through the storm they saw him walking on the water and learned how they too could walk on the water. He was giving them a parable of how we may learn to walk, whether life's passage be calm or whether our life be tempestuous with storm and wind and wave, so that we too may learn to walk triumphantly and to walk even as he walked. And I suspect the moment that we ob- observe that it is meant to be a parable, we find it easy to follow it, do we not? We use the same kind of language ourselves. How often have you heard somebody confess to you in a difficult moment, you know, these days I'm finding it difficult to keep my head above water. Here's one poor woman. Her elder son is grievously sick. Her husband's just lost his job. The other son has gone on drugs. And as the woman would tell you, what with all her troubles, you're finding very difficult to keep her head above water. And you, sir, in your business, with the tide of economics gone against you, and some of your competitors not playing fair, and you want to go straight, don't you? You want to walk straight in your business life. Now the blast of the opposition is so big that it's blowing you off course a bit, isn't it? And you're tempted to cheat like the other fellow. And there's the young fellow and the young girl, and they wanted to walk straight in life. Ah, but they got out into the real world and the blast of temptation. The pressure of a world has overwhelmed them. They've gone under. We know all too well the kind of situations that we use ourselves this very metaphor for. Trying to walk straight and keep afloat in the difficult testings of real life. And here comes a parable written by men and women of like passions as ourselves. A parable that is so interesting because it is a real story that actually happened. How that they discovered that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Son of the living God, and discovered it not merely as an item in the creed of the church, but discovered it in a personal and practical way that gave them the very secret of their salvation. They tell us how they too learned to walk, even as the Savior walked. Of course, to come to the straightforward language of the Christian epistles, they do lay it down, don't they, that it is the bounden duty of every believer to walk, that is to behave, that is to conduct ourselves through life, to walk even as he walked. He that says he abides in him, he who professes to be a Christian, has it as his bounden duty to walk even as the Savior walked. And then you say that's to make life even more difficult, isn't it? Life's storms are bad enough. The winds and waves and tempests of suffering, of temptation, of opposition, they're bad enough. But if in it all I'm supposed to behave with an unfailing Christian standard and to behave like Christ behaved, to walk as he walked, how should I ever do it? And therefore, it's more than interesting, isn't it, to hear the story of one early Christian, how he learned to walk even as the Savior walked, and I confess to you a little secret of my own. I'm delighted with this story. You see, if it had been the story of a great apostle who, having started out on the Christian pathway to walk, had walked with unvarying, undeviating success, I should have said, how marvelous, but that's not the story for me. Oh, how many times I have sunk till the water has come gurgling round my mouth. Oh, how many times I have known what it means to say I don't know whether I can keep my head above water. And here's a man like that, telling us of a savior whom he discovered could not only bid him come walk on the water like I do, but was able to give him the strength to walk as the savior walked. And they tell us the story so that we might learn the secret too. How did the Savior teach that man to walk as he walked? Three things amongst others I want to call your attention to briefly. The first is that he did it by praying for them. Did you notice how the story began? After the feeding of the 5,000, our Lord Jesus sent the disciples away into the bo- in the boat across the lake to the other side, while he himself sent the crowd away. So the disciples left and started their journey across the lake, and the Lord Jesus, when he had finished sending the crowd away, so we are told, he went up into the mountain to pray. He prayed for them. And in the second place, we are told that in the middle of the night, in the fourth watch, when the going had become almost impossibly tough, then he came to them. Came to them. He supported. And he saved them. Ah, what a lovely save. Let's think of that today still, with this story as an illustration in our minds of what Jesus Christ waits to do for every one of us. How can I lead a Christian life? How can I walk through this tempestuous world as the Savior walked? How can I walk above the storms and not go under? Secret number one, we have a Savior who prays for us. That night, so we are told, he went up the mountain and prayed. And suppose you, as he prayed about this and that, he forgot those twelve men who were struggling against the storm across the lake. No, surely he prayed for them. What a vivid illustration it is of what has happened now on an exceedingly greater scale. For the Bible tells us that not only did the Lord Jesus die for us at Calvary and was buried, and he rose again, but he ever lives and has gone back to the very throne of God. There now, even at this moment, even as I stand at this desk and you sit on those seats. Our blessed Lord, so the Bible says, he intercedes for us. He ever lives to make intercession for us. And says the Bible, because he ever liveth to make intercession for us, he is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by him. What a glorious fact it is. Why, already I begin to see the daylight through the storm, don't you? How could I ever begin to walk like the Savior walked? Learn this, because there is a Savior in glory, gone up to the very mountain of God, who ever lives to make intercession for me, because he thus ever lives to intercede, able to save to the uttermost. You say, but pray, what indeed and in particular does our Lord's intercession do for us? Well, in the first place, it guarantees salvation, doesn't it? How I do love those words. It, the Apostle Paul wrote in the epistle to the Romans in chapter eight, as he urges upon all believers the utter, unshakable security that we have in the salvation that God has provided for us. How can I be sure? Ah, this is an important thing, isn't it? Life is difficult enough, friend. With the ordinary storms of economic difficulties, the trials of family life, pain and suffering and sorrow, the difficulties of walking straight, of being successful. Ah, but underneath it all, there's a bigger struggle, isn't there? A bigger insecurity. What if I fail? Ultimately. In the ultimate sense. What if in the end, when God weighs up my life, I am found to have failed. My whole life a disaster before God. Pray, how deep is that ocean underneath my feet? Pray, how deep is the abyss? Over which daily I attempt to walk. What if... ultimately I fail? How deep is an eternity without God, without salvation? It is this basic insecurity that makes many of us nervous, isn't it? Fancy trying to walk through life with a steady nerve and being unsure of ultimate salvation, with eternity itself at risk. Oh friend, that's a nightmare. To anyone that has the sense to see the reality. Ah, but pray listen. Christ can remove that nightmare. And his intercession is one of the things he does, that he might guarantee to all who trust him the utter certainty that they shall never perish. Listen to it. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? When it is God who justifies. Who is he that shall condemn? When it is Christ Jesus that died, yea, rather that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. In answer to his own questions, Paul says, I'm persuaded that neither life nor death, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, nor things present nor future, shall ever be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Christ died for me. Shall the very Savior who died for me, in the end condemn me? Christ not only died for me, but was buried for me. He rose again for me, and at the very moment intercedes for me. Shall the Savior who intercedes for me turn round and criticize, and in the end condemn me? Or it shall not be. Friends, see here that glorious, basic, ultimate security as we walk the choppy sea of life, the ultimate security of the certainty of salvation through Jesus who died for us and now lives to intercede for us. And by his intercession not only guarantees those who trust him eternal salvation and security, but present strength against temptation. You see, we have an high priest, says the New Testament. He's entered into the very presence of God. Not one who is unable to sympathize with our frailties. He was in all points tempted, like as we are. He too has felt the blast of the wind and the pressure of the wave. But he's a merciful and a faithful high priest, and because he has suffered being tempted, he is able also to succor them that are tempted. In time of temptation, by his intercession putting out spiritual power to support us in temptation struggle. Ah, yes, you say so he might. But your own story tells us that, uh, Peter, when he tried it, came unstuck and began to sink. Yes, I have to admit that. I shall have to admit to something worse. He not only sank when he tried to walk across the sea, there came another terrible night when he sank in another sense. It was the night in which the Lord Jesus stood on trial for his life. Peter, brave man, went in to see the end. That night, though he had been warned, he was all unsuspecting of the storm that was about to break around him. It was a sudden, as if the very tornadoes of hell began to beat around him. The flood tides of fear came up in his heart. So much so that when a mere maid said, uh, you're a Christian too? He lost his nerve and denied the Lord Jesus. You afraid something like that happened to you? Maybe not persecution, maybe some other kind of suffering. I do remember a friend of mine, when I went to live at one stage in the northeast of England, I discovered this good man, he lived across the road from where I lodged, and he had recently found the Savior and had been converted from atheism to Christ. Said he to me, you know, David, yes, I'm sure of my salvation at the moment, he said, but one thing troubles me. He said, you see, suppose one of these days a lorry knocks over one of my daughters in the street and kills her. He said, you know, I don't know if I could still go on believing God, in God after that. You say, what would happen to me if the storm got so much that I couldn't stick in it, and my faith was destroyed? Ah, let me tell you of this Savior who lives to intercede. Let me tell you not ma- merely what he did for Peter on that dark night, but what he did for Peter on the night he betrayed him, he denied him. Just before Peter went out to that disaster, said our Lord Jesus, Peter, Satan is going to attack you. I have prayed for you, man. That your faith shouldn't fail. Peter, when you come back again. Oh, what lovely music that was. Not Peter, if you ever come back again. Peter, when you come back again. You say, how could Christ be so confident even before it happened that Peter was going to come back? Why, for this reason. For he had prayed for Peter. That his faith fail not. And Peter came back. And he learned the reality of what this parable had already begun to teach him. But when a man commits himself to Christ, to come to Christ, to begin to walk on the water even as Christ walked, let a man in all honesty commit himself to the invitation of Christ and come to the Savior, then though all hell whistle about his ears, and he fall and fail and begin to go under. Christ will save him. Christ will intercede for him. And Christ will maintain his faith, though all else go. And Christ will bring him through. All the glory of it. You see he prays for those who trust him, and because he ever lives to make intercession for them, he is able to save them to the uttermost, who come unto God by him. He taught them to walk on the water that night, not merely empowering them by interceding for them, but we are told that at the fourth watch, when the going was tough, he came to them. It was not a something that the world at large saw or ever knew of. How would you explain such a thing to your ordinary cynical men of the world. Christians didn't try anyway. Neither did Christ. Here is a secret for those in the family of God, but what a blessed secret it is. It reminds me of what our Lord Jesus said, John's Gospel chapter fourteen, it is. Just before he left his disciples, he said like this, I will not leave you all. I come to you. Mark carefully what he meant. Not merely that one day he would come again with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God at the second coming and take his people home. That he will do. But in the course of life, and from time to time, I will not leave you orphans. I come to you. And I shall manifest myself to you, he says. Which phrase Judas didn't quite understand and inquired further. Lord, he said, how is it you'll manifest yourself to us and not to the world? Ah, said Christ, you see, if any man loves me, he'll keep my commandments, and I shall love him, and my Father will love him, and we will come make our abode with him. Christ comes to his people. I am not saying that he'll give you visions or spectacular sights, though I can't promise you he never will. But at that deeper level that is far more important than sight, the level of our spirits, it still is blessedly true that from time to time Christ comes to his people. We get literal examples of it, don't we? After the resurrection, there were those two people, for instance, on the road to Emmaus, journeying with their heart in their boots, utterly disconsolate. They couldn't make sense out of anything, and all their hopes were shattered when an apparent stranger drew near and began to recall to their memory certain passages of scripture. And as they listened, they scarce knew what it was, but their very hearts were warm. And And they they bad. bared this stranger in, for it seemed to them as though the very truth of God, as though the reality of eternity were filling their hearts and dispelling their sorrows. They asked him in for a meal, and as he broke the bread, they realized who it was, and he vanished. Or Mary in her grief in the garden. But the Savior came to her and dried her tears, making real to her the personal relationship between her and his father. Or those disconsolate fishermen on the Lake of Galilee, having toiled all night and caught no fish. When the Savior came and stood on the shore, unbeknown to them, and directed their operations, and presently in the success that attended their labours, they realized who it was. John nudged Peter and says, Peter, that's the Lord, you know. And without excitement, without voices from the blue, but in the profoundest level of reality, believers will tell you again and again how in their times of need, the Savior has come to them. They have, so to speak, heard the rustling of the shepherd's robes, and they've said, it is the Lord. Friend, do you know what it is to walk with the Savior like that? For it has an effect, you know, though the storm raged still. If the Savior but come, then somehow all seems well. And finally, when he taught Peter to walk, even as he saved him. I don't know what John thought when he heard Peter make that extraordinary suggestion. In fact, I don't know what you think either. But you could have argued, couldn't you, that it was rather out of place for Peter to make any such suggestion. They saw the Lord Jesus coming, walking on the water, but then he was the son of God. At first, of course, they thought it was a ghost. I don't know why they should think it was a ghost, as they argued that the ghosts are so much nothing kind of thing, rather light, suffering less from avadru poise than we do, and therefore able to walk on water, not subject to the gravities, the forces that pull us down. But they saw it was the real Jesus. It is I, he said. And in that moment, Peter's mind was lit up with a flash of surely God-given enlightenment. If Jesus can do it, he said, I can do it. Lord, he said, if it's really you, Jesus, then bid me come to thee on the water. As I say, I don't know whether John said, tut, tut, Peter, dear, dear me man, get back in the boat, do. You can't do like Jesus does. But Jesus told him otherwise. Jesus was a man, Peter knew that. And if he could walk, Peter sensed he could make him walk. That was true. Our Lord didn't say, don't be so absurd, Peter, don't. Said he, Peter, that's right, my man. Come, come to me. That is the wonder of the incarnation, isn't it? God has not sent his son to mock us. To leave us an example that we should follow his steps. Ah, we shall never have omnipotence as he held it. I repeat, he's not come to mock us, but to show us how we can begin to learn to walk even as he walked. Come, he said. So it wasn't any reckless act on Peter's part, was it? Foolish religious excitability. A kind of religious enthusiasm, much disliked in certain quarters, and heroics. No. It was calm, sober, faith. What is faith? Faith is our response to a word from God. Faith is our responding and laying hold on the word of Christ. That's what faith is. Not saying I feel I could do it. No, but if God says something, then I respond by believing it and acting on it. And if Christ speaks, then I believe. All this is the secret of salvation, isn't it? Verily, verily, said the Savior, he who hears my word and believes on him that sent me has everlasting life. This is where the walk of the spirit begins, isn't it? In hearing the word of Jesus to my heart and daring to step out in faith upon the word of Christ. You've done it yet, friend. Whoever Whoever personally. personally heard the word of the Savior to you, and by an act of faith stepped out to come to Jesus. Come to me, he says. All the blessed invitation, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, come, says the Savior. Tonight his voice comes through the storm and the wind and the spray of your life. What are these storms but to remind us that our little world is transient and soon will be gone. We must begin the great journey to the eternal world, or be lost forever. Soon all our little boats will be done. My house, your bungalow, your job, my profession. Soon we stand on the very edge of life. Great vast eternity lies before us. Oh, how shall I reach the many mansions of the Father's home above? There stands one tonight before us, friend. It's our Savior himself, and with arms outstretched, he says to you, man, woman, leave your boat. Come! Leave all else you trust in. Come to me! Come to me. Never done it, friend? Ever come to the Savior? Difficult, isn't it? You say, but if I were to try, I shouldn't could, I, I know you say, that's no good my pretending, I couldn't keep it up. No, you couldn't, could you? And to let go... and just come to Christ. Well, it seems even more difficult than walking on water. Ah, and I think I see Peter. I hope I don't do his memory any wrong, but if I'd been he, I shouldn't have let go of the boat too soon. I should have kept hold like grim death, and I should have put one foot down and say, now, will it work? Will it work? I don't know. Well, I'm going to take this too far or not. And some of you are still hanging on to things, aren't you? For salvation, I mean. Your own merit. Your church may be. And Christ will demand that you let go of everything. And just trust him. Will not do it right now. But I can't keep it up. That's taken for granted, sir. Listen to the story. When Peter decided to respond to the word of the Savior, and he let go of the boat, and he walked. One step, two. To his amazement, it worked. He said, this will now, I shall never be able to keep this up. And he began to look, well, with these waves. Presently, he was sinking. Of course he was. Or has he been the last person to commit themselves to Christ, to salvation, and to begun the Christian life, and then find it too much for them and begun to sink? Of course, it was his fault. Our Lord eventually had to chide him, saying, oh, thou of little faith, why did you doubt? But pray notice, in your compassion, pray notice it, the order of events. Peter had responded to the word of Christ. Now, in his weakness and his faith all jittery, he was beginning to sink. Say, would the Savior let him sink and be lost? Why, the music of heaven would stop and heaven itself grow black. If the Savior would encourage anybody to put their faith in him and then let them down. Let them perish. Christ has given his word, him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out, and of all that the Father has given me, I shall lose not one. That night, as the storm raged and the water began to come up around Peter's waist and up across his breast and shoulders and neck, what heaven was interested in was what the Savior would do. Would he be faithful to the man? What do you think he said? Stand there and lecture him, Peter, you know you're a foolish man. You've lost your faith, haven't you, old chap? Well, yes, I will save you, but first of all, old fellow, obviously can't save you until your faith is perfected. Now try to believe a little bit better, man. Do! When you've learned to believe perfectly, then I can save you. By which time the waterer would have been gurgling down his throat. I suppose once or twice a year, like any other Christian servant, I get folks coming to me, very often Christian people, sometimes senior Christian people. Long since they started out on the road to Christ, but recently illness has been at them. Depression may be, psychological difficulties, and their faith is jittery. Now becoming aware how weak their faith is, then suddenly they have it suggested to them that perhaps they're not a believer at all, because if they were a believer, they wouldn't be fearful. And they say, well, perhaps I'm not a believer then. And immediately comes that awful sinking feeling, and they start going down. And they desperately struggle to try and believe. Earnestly try to believe the right way round, and believe one hundred percent and believe without any doubt. And the more they try to believe, the worse it gets, the worse they got, and the more they sink. And I am always delighted to be able to sit by the side of such folks in their psychological distress and ask them about this story. And I say, do you remember what Christ did when Peter, having started out on the path to Christ, his faith became small and jittery, and he began to sink? And I say, you know, isn't it a vivid story in Christ as he looked at him and said, you terrible man, Peter, fancy doubting my word. Now get under du. Oh no, they say he didn't do that. No, of course he didn't. No, he just stood there and said, all right, Peter, give you another chance. Try and believe it a little bit stronger, man. Oh no, he didn't do that. I said, what did he do then? He said he grabbed him. Ah yes. As Peter went down, he simply cried, Lord, save me. It is written, and whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. You won't be able to keep it up, friend, but the Savior who invites you to come promises you now that in the day when you fall, when you call upon him, he will save you. And Christ lifted up Peter, and there he did lecture him, as Peter deserved to be lectured, all dripping wet and with the wind blowing around his trousers, and he was screamingly cold, I need to be taught a lesson. There he lectured him, but held him up as he lectured him. And oh Christ of God, I don't mind how you lecture me, if only first you save me. And then he made him walk. With his strong divine hand, he made him walk. Oh, you've room enough to cru- to criticize the preacher that stands before you, and some weak other Christians you've met. I'll tell you what the apostle says about them all, they're weak, very weak, but God is able to make them stand. That is the Savior. And I present him to you. Fellow Christian, you feel as if you can't stick it. You don't know whether you can keep it up, whether you can maintain your faith. You feel you're going down, then cry, Lord, save me. It is written, whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. He shall save you to the uttermost. And you, friend, you've not yet started. You have to start someday, won't you, to launch out into eternity, when the solid things of earth have gone. It'll be a bad job if you are launched out onto eternity when the Savior is gone. Wouldn't it be better now, as you hear his word, come to me, that you let all else go? And though it seemed like walking on water, and all insubstantial, and nothing to get hold of, you say, right, oh Lord, just as I am, I come.