Sermon: Big Faith Starts with Small Steps

Well, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son.

It is a joy and a privilege to be with you this morning and to see all of the variety of ways that people worship in this place.

I've had the joy of the various musicians across three services and just the ways in which God is honored as people share their gifts.

Quite a blessing.

I want to invite you to hear our scripture this morning from the gospel, which Krista has told in a beautiful way.

I'm going to share with you how Matthew tells the story.

Reading from Matthew chapter 14, beginning with verse 22.

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

Immediately he, meaning Jesus, made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side.

And while he dismissed the crowds, and after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray.

When evening came he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.

And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea.

But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, It is a ghost.

And they cried out in fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, Take heart, it is I.

Do not be afraid.

Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.

He said, Come.

So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.

But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me.

Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, You of little faith, why did you doubt?

When they got into the boat, the wind ceased, and those in the boat worshiped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God.

This is the word of God for us, the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

Would you pray with me?

Gracious God, we do thank you for your word.

Ancient words, holy words, relevant words to us this day.

By the power of your Holy Spirit, may we receive with joy what it is that you have to say to us this day.

For we ask it in the name of Christ our Lord.

Amen.

What do you do when you don't know what to do?

Well, the four of us huddled together in the only space that we could find in our home that didn't have windows.

It was my husband, my teenage son, our beloved Beagle, and I.

We were in close quarters in a small hallway that didn't have windows.

We were there bracing ourselves as Hurricane Florence came inland to Wilmington, where we were living at the time.

The howling wind and the pounding rain were unmatched to anything we had previously experienced.

We were used to living inland.

There had been many adjustments coming to a new town, like learning about island time.

You know island time?

It's slow and easy, and people show up late.

We had learned about the accepted attire of our new community.

Flip-flops all year long were fine, and some even wore shorts well into winter.

But we were not prepared for living in Hurricane Alley.

No, this large, slow-moving storm had come in, left us without power for several days, and delivered a large pine tree on the top of our home, piercing the roof and allowing us to juggle trash cans and pots and pans and anything we could get to capture the water.

And there was a lot of water.

Wilmington was surrounded by water due to record-breaking flooding and severe storm surges.

People couldn't leave, and supplies couldn't come in.

I was terrified.

I mean, what do you do when you don't know what to do?

We all find ourselves wrestling with the question at some point in time in our lives.

The disciples in our gospel lesson for the morning are there.

They're between a rock and a hard place, between a boat being battered and a sea that is tumultuous.

Now, I'm no expert, but I would call this storm a doozy.

It must have been most unusual because think about it, there were five out of twelve of the disciples who were fishermen.

Surely they were acquainted with rough waters and how to manage a boat.

But here they were.

The description in the scriptures tells us that they were afraid, frightened, grown men crying in the night.

I'm glad this story is included in the Bible because it reminds us that fear is a universal experience.

Whether you are six or ninety-six or somewhere in between, chances are you have had moments like these.

Moments when your heart beats fast, perhaps your body shakes, you begin to sweat, you're compelled to either fight or flight.

Fear.

This young man runs directly into the dangerous surf to rescue a young child who repeatedly was disappearing underneath the battering waves.

This teenager seems to be oblivious almost to the dangers ahead, except the danger of this boy dying.

He runs in the water full speed ahead, plunging into the angry waves.

Now, this story could have ended very differently.

What if the lifeguard had allowed his fear to keep him on the shore?

You see, fear can paralyze us or propel us forward.

Paralyzed by fear, the disciples were holding on to each other, maybe grabbing on the edge of the boat, remaining there, seeming to wait for their demise.

It can happen to the best of us.

Being paralyzed by fear.

When overwhelmed with that emotion, we are vulnerable.

We're vulnerable to remaining in harmful relationships.

We may be tempted to continue in jobs that drain us of joy.

We may even refrain from joining congregations or small groups because past rejections have left deep wounds.

The winds blow, the waves crash, we're tossed to and fro as fear appears in life-threatening situations as well as well as everyday kind of occasions.

Fear is sneaky.

It can creep in when we enter a new school or a new job.

It can all of a sudden show up when we are experiencing a crisis of health or faith.

And we're tempted too to hold on for dear life while asking, what do we do when we don't know what to do?

Well, according to our gospel lesson this morning, you take one small step towards Jesus.

Come, Jesus says.

That's his invitation.

He doesn't scold the disciples for being fearful because he knows it's a human tendency, human nature to be afraid.

He doesn't hold it against them, nor does he hold it against us.

Instead, he extends an invitation.

Now, just in all of transparency, it's very clear that Jesus doesn't provide a detailed safety plan.

Nor does he guarantee that the storm will instantly stop, though I imagine the disciples would have gladly received that kind of information.

Because wouldn't we?

Wouldn't we prefer to have a more detailed map of this journey that we call life?

Wouldn't we like to know the secret to escaping the proverbial storm, the key to walking on water and smooth sailing?

Oh, how appealing that is.

But God rarely shows us the whole map, but he shows us something very significant.

God shows God's self.

Jesus is there, close by, within reach, and he reminds all who are overwhelmed that they are not alone.

Did you notice that Jesus doesn't say, Don't fear, you've got this.

Instead, he says, Take heart.

It is I.

Do not be afraid.

Otherwise interpreted, I've got your back.

I'm here for you.

You are not alone, left to your own devices, your own strengths and failures.

I'm here.

And I've got everything we need.

Don't be consumed or paralyzed by your fear.

Just come.

Well, friends, that's the same invitation extended to you.

Jesus is well acquainted with your fears.

The big ones and the small ones.

He sees the fears you name and the ones that you have buried deep inside yourself.

The fear you hide from others is not hidden from him.

You want a big faith, but don't know how to get there?

Come, Jesus says, take one small step.

So you're intimidated by the Bible.

Big words, hard words, lots of pages.

Well, what if you read one single verse every morning before you pick up your phone?

One verse each day accumulates.

You're scared of praying out loud with others.

What about praying out loud by yourself in a quiet place?

Get used to speaking and hearing your own voice that you might hear the most important voice of all.

You might be one that's terrified at the thought of giving 10% of your income to the church.

Try giving 1% more than what you're giving now.

You may be one who's apprehensive about leading a church committee or group.

What if you inquired about being a co-chair or ask someone to indeed be your support system as you step into unfamiliar territory?

Peter takes one small step and he begins to walk on the water towards Jesus.

Everything goes smoothly, we're told, until Peter notices the strong wind and he becomes distracted.

He's lost sight of the one who has promised to be with him, and Peter begins to sink.

Well, here's the good news.

Sinking was not the end of Peter's story.

We know that he goes on to be a faithful disciple of Jesus with his ups and downs on his journey of faith, like any human being.

But he continued to impact the world, to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, to help others know of the love of God.

Sinking was not the end of Peter's story, nor does it have to be the end of ours.

Keenly aware of his need, Peter cries out.

And I've speculated that admitting that he needed help may have been the scariest part of Peter's encounter.

And yet he musters the courage to speak three small words.

Lord save me.

Not long, not complex, not particularly eloquent.

Three sincere small words.

The one who invited Peter to come to him is now the one invited by Peter to come to his rescue.

And Jesus comes.

He reaches out his hand and he catches him.

You see, Peter's so-called little faith doesn't negate Jesus' love and care for him.

And he doesn't negate his care for you.

So you've stumbled.

Maybe you didn't live a particular day or season like you had hoped or intended.

Jesus' care and attention for us is still there.

He's present providing peace in the midst of the storm, a haven in the midst of a hazard, hope in the midst of our despair.

And not only does Peter grow in faith in this moment, but the people around him grow in their faith as well.

We're told that Jesus and Peter got into the boat, the wind ceased, and a funny thing happened.

People began to worship.

You see, the trust and the risk of one follower of Jesus has an effect on the whole community of believers.

Individuals who will risk boldly and move towards the call of Jesus multiply the impact of the faith of others.

When the worst of the storm had passed in Wilmington, my family and I had a decision to make.

Or would we step out?

Out to a place of great need, but also a place we experienced the hands and feet of Jesus.

Well, of course, we left that corner of our home to find a lot of devastation, not only to the house we were in, but to the neighborhood and to the community and to many parts of eastern North Carolina.

But you know what?

The months that followed were some of the most meaningful and impactful ministry our church experienced.

People shared tarps and gave bottled water and provided what they had to their neighbor.

People eventually came in from faraway places when we were tired and weary.

So what do you do when you don't know what to do?

You take one small step towards Jesus.

And your faith and the faith of those around you will grow bigger.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.