TEXT:   Matthew 14:22-33                       Confirmation                      5/4/08

            There is the story of a wealthy man who died, and later his attorney gathered the entire family together for the reading of the will.  Relatives came from near and far to see if they were included in the will.  The attorney opened the will and began to read: “To my cousin, Ed, I leave my ranch.”  “To my brother, Jim, I leave all my money market accounts.”  “To my neighbor and good friend, Fred, I leave my stocks.”  “And finally, to my cousin, George, who always sat around and never did anything, but wanted to be remembered in my will, I want to say, ‘Hi, George!’”  Now we all know someone like George, who just sits around and doesn’t do much of anything.  But that’s not only true of some people physically but also spiritually.  Some have a great knowledge of the Lord but they keep it in their hip pocket and sit on it like the disciples sitting in the boat.  But what the Lord wants is for us to be like Peter and get out of the boat and walk on the water.  He wants us to use our God-given faith.  Why else does he tell us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world?  He wants us to make a difference.  While these disciples were in the boat, they were still being called and trained and instructed by the Lord.  You confirmands have also received a great deal of training and instruction in the Lord’s Word.  You are also instructed to put it to use.  Just as the Lord said: “Be doers of the Word and not hearers only.”  So the admonition to you today is: Step out in faith!  As you step out in faith, you will do two things.  You will want to admit your fears, and you will want to look to Jesus.

            Admit your fears.  That’s what Peter did.  He wanted to be bold and courageous.  He was a man of action.  He was not one to sit around.  He wanted to be up and doing things for the Lord.  But in the process of doing that he also made some big mistakes.  We think of the time in the Garden of Gethsemane when he cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant to prevent Jesus from being captured.  As if he could hold off the entire legion of soldiers all by himself.  And then he denied the Lord three times when he thought that would be the last thing he would ever do in his life.  But he also confessed those sins.  He realized that he was looking to himself instead of to the Lord.  Our text today speaks of a similar incident.  Jesus had gone up to the mountain to pray.  He had instructed his disciples to take the boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  While he was praying, suddenly, without warning, a fierce storm came up and the waves began to beat against the boat.  All this was happening during the fourth watch of the night, or between 3 and 6 o’clock in the morning.  Most likely it was dark and, with these strong winds, the situation was frightening.  The disciples had reached a point where they began to fear for their lives.  Then suddenly Jesus appeared.  He wanted to be with them so he was out walking on the water.  When they saw him coming, they first imagined that he was a ghost.  But Jesus calmed their fears by saying, “Take courage, it is I; Do not be afraid.”  No longer were the disciples troubled.  They were excited and relieved because the Lord was there.  So excited was Peter that he said, “Lord, if it is you, then tell me to come to you on the water.’  ‘Come,’ he said.”  And you know what?  Peter actually walked on the water.  It’s something that we might only dream about or make jokes about, but Peter was out there.  The Lord had enabled him to do just that.  He stepped out in faith in the Lord’s power to hold him up.  But as he walked toward the Lord, he saw these huge waves rushing toward him and he began to panic.  Fear took over his life and he began to doubt and with those doubts he began to sink.  There he was out in the middle of the Sea of Galilee and he could feel the water coming up over his ankles, then his knees and waist.  What could he do but cry out for the Lord’s help.  “Lord, Save me!”  The Lord reached out his hand and pulled him up.  But then came the words: “You of little faith.  Why did you doubt?”  Then all the disciples worshiped Jesus and said, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

       When you and I read about the disciples getting caught in the middle of the storm in the middle of the lake, and when we read about Peter sinking in the water because of his fear of the storm, when we see his little faith and his doubts, we might be tempted to say, “How foolish Peter was to doubt.  When he was in trouble, why didn’t he just keep his eyes on the Lord?  Then everything would have been OK.”  But let the truth be known, you and I do exactly the same thing.  We say we believe in the Lord.  We may even boast that we are his followers.  But when the storms of life come upon us, when the difficulties cause havoc in our lives, we often become just like Peter.  Doubts begin to creep into our minds and we begin to sink into the sea of frustration.  Our eyes shift from our Savior to ourselves and down we go deeper and deeper into the waters of despair.  No matter what we face in life, is our first reaction to turn to the Lord or turn to ourselves?  Do we really depend upon the Lord or do we try to resolve things ourselves?  Fear is a terrible thing.  We have fears of losing our job, our marriage, our health, our life.  Fear is contagious. It spreads quickly.  In the children’s story, Chicken Little was walking in the woods when an acorn fell on her head.  She immediately concluded that the sky was falling and ran to tell Henny Penny.  Henny Penny runs to tell Cocky Locky the sky is falling.  Cocky Locky runs to tell Goosey Poosey.  Soon you have all the fowls in the barnyard running in fear and panic.  They finally run into Foxy Woxy.  Being the sly fox that he is, he invites them to run to safety in his den.  There you have it – Foxy Woxy licking his chops knowing that he has just managed to bag the easiest and biggest catch of his life.  All this happened out of fear.  When fear reigns in our lives, the Lord says, “Oh, you of little faith!” 

       Now, I want you confirmands to picture yourselves in that boat.  Would you have done what Peter did, to ask the Lord to tell you to come out on the water?  Would you step out in faith?  The Lord wants you to.  Like these disciples you have also been instructed in the Lord’s Word.  You have memorized passages on the Lord’s promises, learned his miracles, studied his sacraments, followed him on his path through his passion, death and resurrection, and have heard of the wonderful truths of his preparations for you in heaven.  It is also time for you to venture out of the boat, to step out on the waters of life, to let your faith guide you.  Believe these wonderful truths and promises of God’s Word.  Do not be overcome by the waves of the devil, the world, and your sinful flesh that try to fill you with fears and doubts, that try to make you question your faith and beliefs.  You will hear the choir sing, “Be Strong In The Lord!”  The Apostle Paul also said, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil.  Take up the shield of faith to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one and take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”

       Yes, there are going to be many times when you will fall.  You will find yourself sinking, but like Peter you will want to cry out, “Lord, save me!”  The Lord’s strong arm is always there to reach out and pull you up.  As long as your eyes of faith are focused on the Lord instead of yourself, you will be richly blessed.  When Peter focused on the waves instead of the Lord, he began to sink.  Keep your eyes on the Lord.  He is your Savior.  He is your Shepherd.  He is your Provider.  He is your Comforter.  He is your ticket to salvation.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to keep you focused on the Lord.  A woman once spoke of how as a child she had gone to Sunday School, confirmation class, and church.  But when she became a teenager and at the age of 15, the world began to look more and more attractive to her and her love for the Lord grew weaker and weaker.  Instead of listening to her parents, this young lady ran with the wrong crowd and eventually married the wrong person.  She became discouraged and disappointed.  This lady, who had such a great start in life, whose parents had prayed for her every day, finally ended up in total despair.  She believed she was no longer worth anything and that even the Lord had given up on her.  But she was totally wrong.  The Lord had not given up on her.  One day she could not take it any longer and cried out to the Lord for help.  He heard her pleas and, just as Jesus rescued the sinking Peter on the Sea of Galilee, he rescued this woman.  There is a song today that says, “Sit down, stop rocking the boat.”  But the Lord says, “Step out, step out in faith upon the waters.  Use your faith.”  The Lord even says, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.”  Remember also the words of the previous hymn:

“Oh, for a faith that will not shrink tho pressed by many a foe;

That will not tremble on the brink of poverty or woe.

Lord, give us such a faith as this; and then, whatever may come,

We’ll taste even now the hallowed bliss of an eternal home.”  Amen.