How many times has the Lord asked you the question: “Wherefore didst thou doubt”? For me it has probably been in the thousands of times. Now, as far as I know there haven’t been any recent water-walking events in my life. There have been no major tests, where the Lord has said… “Take now thy son, thine only son, the son whom thou lovest… “Take thy only begotten son and offer him for a burnt offering unto me.” As far as I know there have not been any water-walking events in my life. But Jesus’ question applies to me as much as it did to Peter and the rest of the disciples.
Maybe there haven’t been any such tests of my faith because I haven’t volunteered to tested. I remind you that it was Peter who initiated the events of our scripture here. Certainly, the sovereign God put it into the heart of his Apostle, but it was Peter who said, “If it’s really you out there on the sea, bid me come and join you.” I think that it was an act of faith on Peter’s part to even ask Lord for the opportunity to jump over the side of the boat that night.
Think about what Peter was asking: The Book of Matthew is filled with the miracles of the Lord Jesus. Beginning in chapter 8, after the Sermon on Mount, the flood of miracles really begins. A leper, the centurion’s servant, Peter’s mother-in-/law were all healed. Matthew 8:16 says that everyone who came to the Lord was healed or cleansed. Also in that chapter there was another Galilean storm silenced by the power of Christ. There were the demoniacs of Gadara delivered. In chapter 9, everything starts all over again – Jairus’ daughter, the palsied man, the woman with the issue of blood. Then in chapter 10, the disciples themselves were instrumental in the healing of others. Then the Lord Jesus healed even more blind folk and crippled people. And then finally there was the occasion when the Lord miraculously fed five thousand people and more.
In the midst of all of Jesus’ earlier miracles there had never been anything like this. Peter merely came to understand something else that God can do. And he said to himself, “If the Son of God can walk on water, then He can enable me do the same.” “Lord if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” What do you suppose it was that Peter expected to find when he hopped over the side of that boat? Years ago the Oldfields had been loaned the key to a cabin on Loon Lake, Saskatchewan. Now that must be between 400 and 500 miles north of here – and at least that far to the east. The weather was warm enough for swimming, and it was just our family, so we decided to take a dip, jumping off the Yeoman’s private dock. You have been in the same position at some time in your life, haven’t you? You want to go in, but you know that the water is not 98.6, it’s more like 65. Or in that case in northern Saskatchewan more like 45 degrees – at least that what it seemed like. You know that it’s going to be a shock to the heart. You debate which is the best way to enter the water – toe first, slide in, jump? Then you decide the only way is to take the 100% dive-off-the-dock.
I don’t think that Peter believed that he was going to get wet – so he decided to jump. What did Peter expect when he got outside of that ship? Would the water be rock hard, or like a nice grassy lawn? Would it be like pavement? Would it be squishy and spongy? “Lord is it all right if I join you?” I expected to live through my dive into the icy waters of Loon Lake, but there was a little fear and trepidation. Was Peter like that? I rather doubt it.
Of course we are told that Peter actually walked on the water. How many steps did he take? There must have been at least 3 or 4, and perhaps a whole lot more. Likely at first, he was walking in a valley between the waves. “But when he saw the wind boisterous….” That says to me that he saw the effect of the boisterous wind. There may have been a huge wave approaching that would make walking difficult if not impossible. In English “boisterous” merely refers to noise – a clamorous, raucous, noisy wind. But the Greek word refers simply to the strength of the wind; and strong winds are usually noisy. When Peter saw the effect of the wind, he became afraid, and that is when he began to sink. Notice the difference between “he was afraid” and “he began to sink.” It appears that his fear was immediate, but his sinking came just a bit later – and was perhaps kind of slow.
Anyway, into the water Peter sank. We know that he was a swimmer, because a few months later, after the resurrections, we see him swimming from his boat to his Saviour standing on the shore. He could swim, but the wind and waves were so bad here that in this case Peter was in immediate peril. “Lord save me.”
What are the reasons that we as Christians doubt the promise and invitation of the Lord? I wish that I had time to consult the sermons and studies of other men. Likely there could be many more answers than the few that I offer here this evening. But these are some of the wicked answers that belch up out of my own heart.
The most obvious is that Peter looked at his IMMEDIATE CIRCUMSTANCES.
Probably at the very moment of his fear, there was a nice big wave ready to crash down on him. Or maybe it was only a cubit high, but that would have been enough to push him off his feet. It didn’t have to be towering over his head. Peter was a fisherman, and he had seen these storms and waves many times. He knew what they could do to little boats, and he could see what it could do to little people. So coupled to the boisterous wind and waves, a corollary factor in his doubt was his own understanding of the situation.
There is not a lot that can be done about this – But from the days of our infancy we are being taught self-reliance. We are taught to read circumstances, to take precautions, to make wise decisions. One chapter in my high school drivers training course was entitled – “Defensive Driving.” We are supposed to be aware of our surroundings and to be ready to respond to potential problems. Throughout our lives we learn defensive living skills. So here we are being trained in self-reliance, and along comes the Lord telling us to forget about our perilous circumstances and to trust Him. “Lord, now you are asking me why I doubted you? These events are contrary to everything that I have ever experienced.”
Again, what is Biblical faith? “Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.” Yes, but, we are not expected or asked to have faith apart from the will of God. Peter, if the Lord has indeed bidden you to walk to him out there on the water, then the sea will be like ceramic tile to you. Your boots are made for walking.
Earlier in the Book of Matthew, the Lord Jesus healed Peter’s Mother-in-law. Do you know what I don’t read about that healing? Unlike Jairus, or the Centurion, Peter didn’t ask the Lord to heal her. Of course, there may have been the fact, that Peter didn’t like his mother-in-law. But then, it might have been that like most of us, it didn’t even occur to Peter to ask. His wife probably had called for a physician. Maybe someone was thinking, “A fever like this is usually fatal, and she is old; she’s had a good life. It is not logical to expect this old lady to be healed. Why bother the Master about this one?” But the Lord took the initiative in this case, and healed the woman. Do you remember Joshua? That man had seen the sun rise and set 15,000 times without fail. But through faith in God he commanded the sun and moon to stand still in the sky. That was contrary to nature – but nature is commanded by the Lord. And so were Peter’s waves.
Wherefore do we doubt? Because circumstances – and our own logic – suggest to our hearts that we should doubt.
Wherefore do we doubt? BECAUSE OF SIN.
I’m not talking about the old nature – the natural, sinful weakness of the heart. This time I’m talking about the presence of deliberate sin, which destroys our relationship with God. Ultimately, what, or Who, is the source of faith? It is the Lord. “Not of yourselves, it is the gift of God…” When we wilfully sin, we put up a wall between ourselves and the Lord. A few months ago, Judy and I lost electrical power to our back porch light and the light over our kitchen table. I tried everything within the extent of my experience to figure out where the electricity had gone. I asked questions; I had people as experienced as I was to look at the problem. I replaced most of the parts. I did what I could to get my lights to come back on, but I failed. Finally I had an electrician take a look, and even he was stumped for a while. Eventually he discovered a wall socket which had a short. The electricity ran around the room, feeding all the outlets and lamps in its path. But when it hit this short-circuited – sinful – socket, there was no power beyond it. When we sin, everything about our faith takes a beating at that point. The Power source is broken; The One Who should be glorified in our faith is profaned. And usually even the desire to display faith is sucked right out of us. Sin kills faith more quickly than a rattlesnake bite.
Are you a second-guesser? This is the person who makes decisions and then five minutes later questions himself about his choice. Are you a second-guesser? We know that we should expect great things from God and that we should attempt great things for God. So we step over the side of the boat, believing that we have the Lord’s invitation to walk on water. And in truth we really do. But then once we’re over the side, we begin to second-guess our estimation of things. “Yea, hath the Lord said thou shalt surely prosper?’ Satan comes along and whispers, “What makes you think that you’re good enough walk on water? You’re just more pond scum. You ought to be at the bottom of this lake.” We listen to him, and we know that he is right, so down we go, despite the invitation of the Lord to walk. Our doubts blossom and our faith fails. And it’s because we know that we have sinned against the Lord time and again.
This is a problem that we must deal with on a constant basis. Yes, I am a sinner, but I may live in constant fellowship with the Lord. I yearn to practice Ps. 119, applying the Word of God to my heart. “My heart is fixed, O Lord, my heart is fixed upon thee. Satan is not going to force me to doubt your promise, despite my past sins and failures. My faith is in you, not in my ability or my faith.”
Sin is a problem when it comes to faith, but the Lord has dealt with our sin. But the question remains, have we?
When the Lord referred to Peter’s little faith, there is reference to another cause of his doubt.
As I said this morning, Peter still had faith to believe that the Lord would save him. He didn’t become some sort of unbeliever, or a non-believer. He said, “Lord, save me,” believing that the Lord could do exactly that. He simply reverted to his “little faith,” rather than the big faith which asked the Saviour to bid him come out on the water.
And what was the cause of his doubt? It was a lack of exercise – faith exercise. He hadn’t spent time studying Hebrews 11, and the examples found there. He had neglected Abraham’s faith, Joshua’s faith, Moses’, Jeremiah’s and Ruth’s faith. After the healing of his mother-in-law, he should have been looking for areas in which to test and strengthen his trust in the Lord. He might have missed that opportunity, but he should have vowed not miss another. Pretty soon there is going to be another four thousand hungry people. “Here we have seven loaves and a few little fishes, but what are they among so many?” Peter should have jumped up and said, “Lord you fed the five thousand. I believe that you can feed these with even less than seven loaves.”
Why do we doubt? Isn’t it because we are not trained to have faith? Isn’t it because we are so often tainted by sin? Isn’t it because we think that we are smarter than God? The laws of physics say that I shouldn’t be able to walk on water.
Cast aside the sin of your lack of faith. And pray for me, that I will be more full of faith. We’ve got a long way to go before we get to heaven. And you know what – a lot of the trip to heaven is over water.