Little Faith, Big Savior

What's up, Summit family?

It's so good to see you here this morning. I have to admit that I really, really, really love this time of the year. If you're a sports junkie, you're a sports fan, you know why? It's like unlimited basketball, football. I mean, we can't even keep up with everything that's going on right now. And I love to keep up with talented players.

I really do. But I must admit that my favorite NBA player of all time, he missed 9,000 shots in his career. He lost almost 300 games during his career. But what's even crazy that on 26 different occasions, he was given the ball to make the game-winning shot and he missed.

Guess who I'm talking about? Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan.

He said that I failed over and over and over again, and that's why I succeed. Let me do a quick survey. Raise your hand if you believe that Michael Jordan was one of the greatest NBA players in our lifetime. Raise your hand. All right. There's a few of y'all that didn't raise your hand. You can leave right now and go find me a Patty Labelle sweet potato pie.

I heard those were hard to find and you can come back and join our worship team. They said if you eat it, it'll make you sing like Patty. I don't know. I don't know. But how could you not believe that Michael Jordan was one of the greatest players? This guy won three back-to-back NBA championships, retired, made Space Jam, came back, won three more NBA titles.

Like, what in the world? What kind of dude is this? Now, listen, he had several other achievements. Hall of Fame basketball player, but let's not forget that Michael Jordan spent actually probably almost 10 years before he got a chance to see any of that.

Yes, he was a Hall of Fame player, but not without several failed attempts. Now, listen, I'm not sure where Mr. Jordan stands spiritually in this walk. What we want to do today is we want to talk about a few Michael Jordans in the faith, if you will, the disciples. These are men who failed over and over and over again, but they're in heaven's Hall of Fame because they left a legacy. They believed in someone bigger than themselves. They believed in someone that was bigger than their failures and even their successes. They trusted in someone that was bigger, most importantly, than their trials and their hardships, and his name is Jesus. We're going to see this clearly in the Gospel of Matthew. If you don't mind, turn to Matthew chapter 14. As you turn to Matthew chapter 14, what we're going to witness in this narrative is a problem actually that all of us here face.

It's this problem of little faith, but we'll see that this problem of little faith can easily be solved when we trust an even bigger savior. Look at verse 22. It says, immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he dismissed the crowds.

And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking on the sea.

Wow. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, it's a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, take heart, it is I, do not be afraid. And Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, and a better translation is Lord, since it is you, command me to come to you on the water.

He said, come. So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?

And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased and those in the boat worshiped him saying, truly, you are the son of God. Every time I read this story, every time I read one of these miracle narratives, it completely blows my mind. But I hope today that we can see even beyond the surface of the miracle and see what this miracle is trying to reveal to us. These miracle narratives, they often reveal two things. It reveals something about us and what we believe, but it also reveals something about Jesus. So what I want to do today is I want to highlight a few of these observations in the text, some of the things that we learned about us, and then I actually want to lay them beside and compare them to what we learned about Jesus. Now, it's my prayer today that you will be encouraged, that you will be equipped and empowered for the ministry that God has called you to. So let's look at the first comparison. You can write this down.

Hope this encourages you. See, we measure our faith by our situation, but Jesus measures our faith by his sovereignty, by his sovereignty. You say, what is sovereignty?

Sovereignty is simply God's complete rule over everything. Look at this. In verse 22, it says that he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side. Even later that evening when they were a long way from the land, a storm came up. It actually says that the wind was against them. So Jesus made them get in a boat, go to the other side knowing that this storm was coming up.

Why did Jesus do that? Can I tell you something right now? As unnecessary as a storm may seem in your life, don't assume that you're outside of the will of God. As unnecessary as that storm may seem, don't assume that you're outside of the will of God.

Can I press pause here for a minute? See, some of you here today, you feel just like the disciples. You're in a boat in the middle of a sea in obedience to Jesus. See, this is personal for me. This year, if I could just give you a glance into all that has happened to me and my family this year and all that we've been through in storm after storm after storm, I wonder the same thing.

Lord, I'm trying to be obedient to you, but why do you have me out here? Listen, I talk to many of you. We pray for many of you all the time, and I know some of your stories, and I know some of your struggles, and I know that you're in a storm right now. But let me tell you, you're not alone. You're not alone. Did you know that actually that there are over 16 million thunderstorms every year? And at any given time, like right now, they say there's 2,000 that are taking place.

So whether you say it or not, I know exactly what you're going through. Literally and metaphorically, storms are scary. Why? If you've ever been in the middle of a thunderstorm, you know the thunderstorms are very loud. They're extremely loud.

They tend to drown out all the normal sounds that we can normally hear. For some of you, the storm in your life has drowned out you hearing from God. They're very unpredictable. They're very uncertain.

It causes all these ambiguities to take place in our life. We don't know what's going to happen next. We don't know what's going to happen with this job. We don't know what's happening right now in our marriage. We don't know what's happening with our finances.

We don't know what's happening with our children. Then it becomes very frustrating because you're like, God, I'm being obedient to you. And then you start to take your anger out on those that are around you because you're trying to figure out what in the world is going on. And also, you become exhausted. You become exhausted because, listen, just like the disciples, they're being obedient to Jesus.

And can you see it? The wind is against them. That means they're rowing in this direction, but they're getting nowhere as they row. They're growing weary in well doing. And I want to encourage you today.

But there's somebody that's here. You trusted God at one point and all it took was one storm. And you walked away from his promises.

You yelled at God storm. And he looks back at you and says, look at my sovereignty. Stop measuring your faith by your situation and begin to rely on his sovereignty.

Trust me, it has never been out of his control. He loves you. But I know that pain, I know that suffering, I know that despair, it makes us question. Where are you, God?

Where are you? And why in the world am I in this storm again? So where is God? Look at verse twenty three. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to do what? To pray.

When evening came, he was there alone, away from the disciples. So where is Jesus after he sends his disciples into a storm? Where is he? He's doing what's best for you. Even when you don't know what's best for you, he knows what's best for you.

What is he doing? He's praying for you. Here is an image right here of what Jesus is currently doing in our lives. My Bible teaches me that Jesus currently is interceding for you on your behalf. Jesus is at the right hand of the Father, praying and interceding for you while you're in your storm right now. And that's what Jesus is doing. He's pleading with God. Help him. Help her. Be with them.

Help them to have faith in me. This is what our great priest is doing. Listen, we don't have the kind of priest that is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, for he's been tempted in every way that we have been tempted, yet he's without sin. That's the kind of priest that you serve. See, Jesus is working this out for our good. He's working this out for our good.

We read Romans 8, 28 all the time. We say, we know that God is working all things out together for the good of them who love him, but why? He's doing it according to his purpose, because he's trying to do something special in you.

Write this down. God is not just doing something to you. He's doing something in you and through you. Now, in the middle of a difficult time, the last thing you're thinking about is, Lord, how are you doing something in me and through me right now? He's saying, listen, what I need you to do is, I need you to trust me right now.

Listen, when you trust me in the middle of this storm, what's going to take place is, not only am I going to bless you, but I'm going to bless all those people that are around you because they get to witness how faithful I am. Do we have any parents? Raise your hand if you're a parent in here today. Any parents? All right, so let me ask you parents a question. Do you talk to your children about every decision that you make with them? No, they probably would not be wise, right? Now, listen, my wife and I, the decisions that we make towards our children, they're not in on every decision, and they don't understand every decision that we make, but what we're doing is for the good. Of course, they don't understand.

I have four of them. Of course, they don't understand when I tell them, yes, you need to pick up behind that person that is your sibling, and I know you didn't put that down, but you need to pick that up, but I didn't put that down. Listen, Jesus did not come to be served but to serve and get in his life as a ransom for many, but I ain't Jesus, but you're picking that up today. That's what's going to happen.

That's what's going to happen. We try to teach them certain disciplines. I'm trying to teach, listen, that's why I'm telling you, yeah, you need to pray right now. Yes, you need to read your word right now. Yes, you're going on this business trip that'll be good for you because you need to understand that God is trying to do something in you and through you that's going to be unmatched, but even though you can't see it right now. See, even though my kids can't see it and they can't comprehend it, what we're doing for our children is for their good. That's why in the middle of the storm, you need to focus on God's goodness. Focus on the cross.

Remember how much he loves you. Remember his mercy. Remember his grace. Don't forget that you have a savior that has an undying commitment to continue to pray for you always. That's the kind of savior that you serve.

Let's look at the second comparison. I want to equip you with this. When our faith struggles, Jesus is faithful. See, when we struggle with our faith, Jesus is faithful. Now, don't forget, so these disciples, they're in the middle of a storm, and then to be honest, if this was us in this situation, it actually gets worse. They've been in a storm before, they're fishing, but it really gets really crazy because all of a sudden they see something they've never seen with the human eye. They see somebody walking across the water, all right?

At this point, I would have been like, man, I guess we should have retired and made Space Jam 2 because I don't know what's going on right now. There is a ghost walking on the water. We have to be dead. I see dead people.

This is what they're thinking. But Jesus immediately addresses their fear. What does he address their fear with? He addresses their fear with his presence and with his word, just as God did to the Israelites, just as he does us right now. Will you feel him? Will you understand his presence?

And will you listen to his word for you right now? He actually told them, don't be afraid. Instead, he said, take heart. In other words, he said, be confident. Let me tell you why you can be confident because it is I. A better way of even looking at this is he's basically saying, I am. I am.

I'm here. Then Peter says, Lord, since it's you, ask me to come. And Jesus says, come. Here, Peter does something that's remarkable.

Peter is afraid, just like all the other disciples. But here, he takes advantage of the measure of faith that Jesus gave him. Jesus gave him his presence and gave him his word. He said, Jesus, I'm going to take your presence and I'm going to take your word. And now I'm going to begin to walk on water out towards Jesus. So here's a huge takeaway that we can learn even from Peter write this down.

The most comfortable place is not always the safest place. See, Pastor Chris Gaynor, one of our pastors here, one of my mentors, this is how he put it. He said, God doesn't communicate his love by giving us pleasant circumstances. He communicates his love by giving us his presence.

Make no mistake. The safest place for you to be is in the will of God. See, what Peter was doing, what he was doing, he was like, I'm just going to simply obey and follow Jesus. But sometimes when we follow and obey Jesus, it doesn't mean it is going to be all that comfortable. See, for some of you here today, you're single.

You're single and you're extremely uncomfortable because you live in a world right now that if you're trying to be single and you're trying to have godly standards, you're in a world that mocks you and they laugh at you for even trying to have those kind of standards in this world. But I'm trying to tell you, you heard from Jesus, keep walking on water because you're actually in the safest place. Some of you work for a company that highly appreciates your skills and what you bring and what you offer, but could care less about your faith.

And that makes you very uncomfortable. But let me tell you, you're in the safest place. You're in the will of God.

Keep walking on water. There's some of you here, some of you students may be here today and you shared your faith with your friends. And now that they know it, some of them actually become hostile towards you because of what they believe. And I want to tell you, even though you might not be comfortable right now, you're actually in the will of God. You're exactly where he wants you, where you can reach them. You're in the safest place. Let us not confuse safety and comfort for being the same thing. Listen, it was much safer for Peter to be out in a raising sea with Jesus than for Peter to be out in a raising sea in a safe boat without Jesus. That's one of the greatest misconceptions of the story. The safest place is actually out on the water with Jesus.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to get everybody up here and we go to Jordan Lake and let's try to start walking on water. This boat was a blessing from God.

It really was. But Jesus clearly demonstrated he didn't need the buoyancy of a boat to stay on top of water. See, Peter realized in the presence, he realized that I'm in the presence of the one that actually made the water, that made the wood in the boat, that actually made the wind, that made the weather. I'm in the presence of the strong tower, the one that I can run into and find safety because he's my shelter.

This is who I'm in the presence of. I'm in the presence of a mighty God and he's ready to save and I'm going to walk towards him. That's the kind of faith that we have as believers.

But then something happens. Look at verse 30. Peter, though he trusted Jesus, in the midst of Jesus, in the midst of his miracle, deals with this human problem that we've been talking about. He begins to doubt.

Verse 30 says, when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? See, listen, here's something we have to understand, especially in the middle of our difficulties.

Fear and doubt are our default buttons as humans. See, we see the disciples struggle with this, but what's beautiful about this is that when we struggle with our faithlessness, Jesus is right there with immediate faithfulness. We have a savior that loves to save, but he also will rebuke you quickly if you have little faith. See, what is little faith? Little faith is not faith at all. Little faith is actually not faith at all.

If you don't believe me, I'll prove it. When you came in here today and you sat down in that seat, you did not have little faith in that chair. You had a lot of faith in that chair. You don't want to go to your dentist if you have little faith. You don't want to be up for a serious surgery and have little faith in your doctor.

Some of y'all are probably going to get something to eat after you leave here. You don't want to have little faith in the people that are preparing your food. I can tell you where my big hang up is. I don't want to have a little bit of faith in my barber.

A lot of brothers don't. Don't mess my line up. Don't have my fade looking like it's all crazy. We will suggest to you in a heartbeat, maybe you should have been a scientist because you like to experiment. Maybe a meteorologist, that might have worked for you because you like to make predictions that you really don't know.

You get paid for it even though you don't know what's going to happen. But not my barber. Listen, if you have little faith, it really means you don't have faith at all, that you don't have faith at all. When we look at little faith, Jesus equates little faith to doubt. This word doubt right here, it actually means this is what happens when you try to follow two masters.

One is tugging you this way, one is tugging you the other way. Who will you trust? This term little faith, we see Jesus use it over and over again in the book of Matthew.

I think it's amazing. Every time he's talking to his disciples, he rebukes them for having little faith because they lack confidence in him. They lack confidence in his character.

That's why he's so quick to rebuke them. You don't have to turn there, but in Matthew chapter six, Jesus is preaching, but he knew that they would come when his disciples would worry about where their next meal was going to come from, where they were going to stay, what is going to happen because they left everything and they decided to follow Jesus. And he says, O you of little faith, have you not seen what I do for the birds? Have you not seen how I clove the grass and the flowers in the field? How dare you be anxious? Do you actually think that you being my image bearers, you being the ones that I love, you being the ones that I know the numbers of hairs on your head and I would care more about them than I care about you?

I'm bigger than your needs. I keep my promises. I'm faithful. Listen, anything that Jesus calls you to, he's more than equipped enough to keep you in that calling. See in Matthew eight, Jesus has taken a nap on a boat during the storm and the disciples say, Lord, save us. Jesus is taking a nap.

He gets up and what does he do first? He rebukes them and says, O you of little faith, do you not know I'm the son of God? You're worried about a storm destroying you. I created the storm. The storm can't destroy you. And even if it might try to destroy you or destroy you, I am the resurrection and the life. I got you.

There's nothing that can stop you. Matthew 17, the disciples are there and they can't figure out why they can't heal this demon possessed boy. Now you need to understand why they're upset. They're upset because they've healed people of demon possession before.

Why? Because Jesus has the power to heal people of demon possession. And he says, I'm giving you the same authority that I have. So they're very frustrated because they can't seem to heal this demon possessed boy. And Jesus said, and they said, Jesus, we don't know why we can't do it. And he says, I'll tell you why you can't do it. O you of little faith, you're looking at the surface.

You have maximized this situation and you have minimized me. And what I'm trying to tell you that you need to do is that he says, this kind only comes out through prayer and fasting. Now you're saying, well, is that what we need to do Chris? We just need to pray and fast more than we can, we can heal demon possessed boys.

You're missing it. What is Jesus getting at? See when you pray and when you fast, it's a demonstration of desperation. See, when you pray, when you pray, you're saying, Lord, I can't do this. Lord, I don't know, Lord, I don't have enough.

I believe you can do it, but I can't. That's why I pray. See people that don't pray, they're not desperate enough about God. And when you fast, you're saying, Lord, there's something more to what's going on in what's in my belly right now. You're bigger. You sustain me. You're the reason why I can do what I do. You are my strength.

That's what that suggests. Jesus said, if you just had the faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains. See, that's why we don't need giant faith. We need genuine faith. You don't need mat truck faith. You just need faith itself, a faith that forces you to be small and allows Jesus to be big. See, listen, the reason why he gave us faith, especially in the middle of our difficulty, is because he wants to be glorified.

He wants to show the world who he really is. But listen, I'm a C.S. Lewis fan, and some people might say that's a prerequisite to be a pastor on this staff. But in the Chronicles of Narnia series, Lewis helps us understand this through one of his characters named Lucy.

And if you've never seen or read the C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia, this is actually in the Prince Caspian Return of Narnia. Lucy has went to Narnia, and there's been years, and she's gotten older, and then she's returning to Narnia, and she talks to Aslan, who's this ginormous, giant lion that kind of represents God.

And they have this conversation. Aslan says, welcome, child. And then Lucy says, Aslan, you're bigger. And then he says, that's because you're older, little one. Then she said, not because you are. And he says this, I am not.

But every year you grow, you will find me bigger. See, church, the deeper we dig into the gospel, the more we grow and have a deeper sense that God is big in our lives, then we understand how big and how important and how sovereign and how faithful he is in our lives. Listen, I'm trying to tell you this. You're not going to overcome your storms and your trials and your troubles about thinking about them less, but you will overcome them about thinking about him more. Here's our final comparison. Here's how, here's how this text empowers you. Experiencing miracles are great, and they truly are.

And I thank God every time I experience one. But Jesus is greater. The most important point about miracles in the Bible is that they point beyond the miracles themselves. They point to Jesus. See, I think Paul actually breaks this down very candidly to our Corinthian family and the Corinthian church. He actually warns us. He says, listen, there are several people that experience miracles. There's many of you here today that might have even experienced a miracle, but there's a warning that comes along with it. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, listen to what Paul says. He says, for I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, a miraculous cloud that followed them along their way in the wilderness and all passed through the sea.

Everybody knows about that story. That's amazing how God did, miracle them through the sea and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud in the sea and all ate the same spiritual food. They were miracle food from heaven and all drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from the spiritual rock that followed them. And what's amazing is, and that rock was Christ.

But here's the warning. Nevertheless, with most of them, God was not pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness. There's three warnings that we learned about miracles right here. Miracles, while they point to Jesus, don't guarantee our worship of Jesus. It's very easy to appreciate the miracle, but not worship the miracle maker. It's very easy for us to appreciate and love and worship the created things that we have without worshiping the creator.

It's a problem that we have as humans. And God says, I'm not pleased. I'm not pleased when you just don't trust me.

Can you trust me for who I am? In John chapter 20, a resurrected Jesus from the grave has to talk to one of his disciples by the name of Thomas. And Thomas doesn't believe.

And he says, Thomas, put your hand in my hand, put your hand in my side. And Thomas then believes. And then Jesus says, Thomas, you believe because you've seen me, but blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed. This is the kind of faith that pleases God. The other thing that's amazing about this passage is that even in the Old Testament, that spiritual rock that they drank from was called Christ.

Even these miracles in the Old Testament point to something even greater, which is Jesus. Listen, if the goal of the Bible was for Peter to walk on water the rest of his life, for us to go out and walk on water the rest of our life, all that got messed up when Jesus and Peter decided to get back into the boat. Because if that was the goal, that means that they should have just walked all the way to the land on water instead of getting back on the boat.

See, what we want to see is we want to see beyond the surface here. See, it's not that Peter was just walking on water. It's that Peter was walking on the word.

It wasn't that Peter was just walking on top of the waves. He was trusting in Jesus' character and who he was. That is one of the most distinguishing characteristics for us as Christians. See, a lot of other people, a lot of other faiths, they believe that their faith itself can save them and sustain them. But we don't believe that. Instead, we believe that the object of our faith, Jesus, is the only person that can save us and the only person that can sustain us and keep us.

Read the last two verses in this passage, verse 32. It says, and when they got into the boat, the wind ceased and those in the boat worshiped him saying, truly, truly, you are the son of God. This word truly suggests that we had a good idea of who you were, Jesus, but it seems like the longer we're on this faith walk with you, the more you continue to blow our mind, the more you give us more than what we can ask, think, and imagine. It just seems like every time we're in a relationship, every time you speak to me, you begin to blow my mind. Your sovereignty, your control over the wind and the waves blows my mind. The way that you've been praying for us, it blows my mind. Your kindness towards me, it blows my mind.

This teaching that you keep giving us, it blows my mind. And your faithfulness to save our brother Peter, when he began to sing, it blows my mind. And now we're going to worship you because truly, you are the son of God. How arrogant can we be not to worship the son of God?

How do you show appreciation to the son of God? You worship, you worship. You say, what is worship, Chris? Worship is both adoration and action.

See, the disciples didn't just adore Jesus. They said, we're going to give our entire lives to you, Jesus. Yes, we're going to worship you with our lips, but with our lives, we're going to give our entire lives to you.

And no matter what happens, we love you and we will submit to you and your authority and we'll do what you tell us to do. That's what we ask people when they get baptized. Do you believe that Jesus has done everything in his power to save you and are you willing to go wherever he tells you to go and do whatever he tells you to do? Does your adoration reflect a devotion to Jesus? Is he truly the center of your life? Is he truly the center of your home, the center of your friendships and your finances and your marriage, your parenting?

Is he at the center? Now, Summit Church, here's something we have to understand. What we saw happen in this boat, one day, the entire universe will do. We will all bow down in worship the king.

So write this final observation down. Salvation is the means, but worship is the goal. See, some people, they just want to be saved out of their situation. But Jesus, he wants to give us something greater than just salvation, just being saved. He wants to give us what he always intended when he created us. That's worship, a relationship with him. But before you can worship God, he has to save you.

And how does he do that? He does that through Jesus. Jesus' name literally means God saves.

See, only when you taste and see of the grace that Jesus has given you, then you'll start to worship him. Jesus did not just come into our storm to rescue us. He took the storm of God's wrath into himself to save us. That's why we say Jesus in my place. And if Jesus was walking on top of the waves and he soared above our worst enemies, sin and death, through the power of his resurrection, how much more will he save you, believer, when your faith begins to falter and fail?

If Jesus was willing to reach down from hell to grab Chris and to save Chris from his sin and from his anger and from his bitterness and his lust and his anger and his unforgiveness, how much more now that I'm his son will he be there in my time of need? If you're here today, you've trusted Jesus, believer. It's time for you to take heart. It's time for you to be confident because the I am is here. And if you're standing here today and you've never placed your trust in Jesus, now is the time that I invite you into his presence.

You might need to spend some time looking back at this text, but I'm going to ask you, how could you not worship this kind of savior? He loves you. He'll not forsake you.

He's mighty to save. I encourage you to take advantage of the faith that he gives from his presence and his word, just like Peter. And I promise you can ask him, since it's you, Lord, ask me to come.

And I promise every time he will tell you to come. And you can place all your hope. You can place all your trust.

You can place all your doubt, all your hurt, all your pain, all your suffering, every storm that you've ever faced in your life. You can put it in his hands. Make him the object of your faith.

Would you trust him today? Pray with me. Lord, we ask you right now to forgive us for making our situations bigger than you, for not believing in what you said in your word, for not trusting your promises. Lord, as I desire, Lord, as I desire to be more like you, help us to trust your faithfulness, to trust your sovereignty, to trust who you are, Lord. Great is your faithfulness, God. Morning by morning new mercies we sing. We worship you, Lord, and we trust you. In your name we pray. Amen.