Perspective Matters

Matthew chapter 14, beginning at verse 22. Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd.

! After he had dismissed them, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from the land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified.

It's a ghost, they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them, Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.

Lord, if it's you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water. Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water to Jesus.

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me. Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.

You of little faith, he said. Why did you doubt? And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, Truly, you are the Son of God. Please turn again in your Bibles this morning to the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 14.

I think we'll stay there. In Sunday school, I had you turning all over the place, but we'll try to stay put here in Matthew 14 this morning. Again, it's a joy to be back here and to have the opportunity to minister the Word of God to you all, to see your faces, and to worship together.

Your view of something can make all the difference in how you feel about it. Your perspective is very important.

Let me illustrate. You might see smoke billowing from down the street. And all of a sudden, you're afraid for your neighbor that lives down that direction. You think that perhaps his house is on fire, his life is in danger, all his worldly possessions are about to go up in smoke.

But your neighbor down the street, he's standing in the backyard, and he's burning leaves. Probably illegally, but he's burning leaves. And he looks at the very same smoke that you look at that causes you fear, and he's not concerned about it at all.

He knows the source of it. You don't. Your perspective on that matters. It makes all the difference in how you view it. In life, the way that we look at various situations is crucial.

The distance that you are from an object affects how you view it. A huge mountain off in the distance might look to you like a small hill. Your emotional attachment to the people involved in a situation might make a difference in how you feel about it.

Say they're involved in a conflict. You don't give a lot of thought to scathing criticism leveled against politicians, against coaches, or against players.

But if that politician, player, or coach happens to be your husband or your child, the criticism doesn't sound quite the same, does it?

It depends on your perspective. Your knowledge affects your perspective. When the car breaks down and the bill comes for $500 for the repair, let's say you're a husband.

Husband or wife could do this, but let's say you're a husband. You manage the money in your house. You keep track of incoming and outgoing, and you've got the envelopes maybe or the account in the bank for car repairs, and you've been stocking money away in that envelope every month for car repairs.

And so you get the bill for $500 and you say, no big deal because you know what's in the envelope. And your wife sees the same bill, and she hasn't seen that envelope in a few months. She doesn't know what's in there. And she goes, what are we going to do?

There's a car repair bill for $500. And your knowledge makes all the difference in your perspective in that situation. The bill causes one person to fear and one person to say, no big deal.

I know that we've got it in the bank or in the envelope. And today we want to see that our perspective matters. It certainly mattered to Peter in the passage that Stan read for us earlier from Matthew 14.

And we're going to focus in this morning on verses 28 through 33. And from those verses, I want us to consider three things. Looking to Jesus, then looking at the wind, and then looking back to Jesus.

So we'll start with looking to Jesus. Jesus has come to his disciples walking on the sea. They've been fighting against the waves, against a contrary wind, rowing hard.

And Jesus comes out to them in the night walking on the water. And that was a frightening thought to them. And they said something rather foolish.

But what would you have thought? It's a ghost. You've never seen somebody walk on the water. And so here you are, tired, exhausted, rowing, perhaps afraid.

And you see somebody walking on the water. What are you supposed to think? But Jesus speaks to them. He says, take heart. It is I. Do not be afraid. The wind is still whipping and the waves are crashing at this point.

But now the disciples at least know that their master is with them. And perhaps they remember that he had calmed a storm before. You can read about that back in Matthew chapter 8.

But Peter, ever the bold, impetuous one, he goes for something more than just being content with the presence of the Savior there.

He says, Lord, if it's you, command me to come to you on the water. However, I don't know exactly what to make of that request. I think there's something here of Peter's sort of foolish, bold, headstrong, speak first, think later sort of confidence.

We see that elsewhere in the Gospels. Lord, though all others fall away, I won't. And even if I have to die with you, I won't deny you. And he rebukes Jesus in the Gospels.

Peter, let's build three tabernacles here and there on the Mount of Transfiguration. He's often blurting things out, it seems, without entirely thinking them through. And so I think there's probably something of that here.

But I think also that there is a measure of faith. He's not so headstrong that he just jumps out of the boat. And he asks first, says, Lord, if it's you, command me to come to you on the water.

And saying that, he shows that he believes that Jesus is able to hold him up on the water. Wouldn't have said it if he didn't think Jesus could sustain him there. Could keep him walking on the water just as he himself was walking on the water.

He's saying that if Jesus wants to, he has not only the power to walk on water, but to enable his disciples to do the same. And Peter has enjoyed a front row seat for some amazing demonstrations of Jesus' power.

Now, just before this, Jesus has fed 5,000 people from a paltry amount of food. Five loaves and two fish. Peter saw that firsthand.

And so, when Jesus bids him come, he comes. He gets down out of the boat in the midst of the windstorm and walks to do that.

And walks to Jesus. I believe to do that, that he must have to believe that Jesus was going to and was able to hold him up. So, at least if there's some foolishness in that speak first, think later-ness of Peter there, there's also some real genuine faith.

Now, if you think Jesus walking on the sea is amazing, this probably or possibly is even more so. Peter, exhausted from that lack of sleep, rowing against the waves, hard.

Heart probably still thumping from the fright of thinking that he saw a ghost. He actually gets out of the boat. We're going to run ahead here in a few minutes and talk about Peter.

And we're going to condemn him for looking at the waves and sinking. But before you get there, he got out of the boat. And he walked on water. As much trouble as they were having in the boat, at least they were afloat there.

And Peter, like any good fisherman, knew that in a storm like this, if you separate the fisherman from his boat, the fisherman is going to drown. Peter knew that, but still he gets out of the boat.

What would it have taken to get you out of the boat? Remember, only one of the 12 got out. But Peter gets out and he walks on the water to Jesus.

It's amazing. Faith and a demonstration of Christ's power to holding his disciple up. So don't forget that part. It's more than the other disciples could say and more than we can say many times.

Peter had faith. But before we go on to think about looking at the wind, I want you to notice something about Peter. He must have taken with him out of the boat what he knew to be true about Jesus.

The only way he gets out of the boat is if he believes Christ can hold him up. Faith includes knowledge. So what did Peter know about Jesus that he took with him when he got out of the boat?

Well, Peter is seen firsthand his master's compassion, his power, and his wisdom. Peter knows all of those things about Jesus, even in feeding the 5,000.

He knew Jesus cared for physical and the spiritual condition of needy people. He knew that he could miraculously meet those needs. He also knew that sometimes Jesus didn't immediately help those who were in need.

But there might be a delay. He knew that Jesus had calmed a storm before. We mentioned Matthew 8. Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

And the men marveled, saying, What sort of man is this that even winds and sea obey him? He knows that the wind and the sea obey Jesus. That's good knowledge to have if you want to get out of the boat and walk on the water.

These things, probably others, Peter took with him out of the boat. He was looking to Christ, trusting in him. And as long as that was his perspective, he was walking on water.

Can you imagine being there that night? Maybe another disciple in the boat. First of all, seeing Jesus walk on the water, and then seeing Peter walk on the water. I wonder if you, though, have knowledge of Christ stored up.

Something to daily draw upon. Especially in times of trouble. How deep is your knowledge of Christ? How well do you know him? Do you know what Peter knew about Jesus?

You see, we need to be looking to Jesus for strength for each day. We're to center our lives around him and his gospel. We talk about that, right? We want to live a Christ-centered life.

A gospel-centered life. Well, to do that, we have to know something about Christ. And we need to remember it on a daily basis. We must know who he is, what he has done, what he is capable of doing.

And then find comfort in knowing that he is those things. And knowing that he is those things for us. In other words, trusting him. We know from Scripture truth about Christ.

We know increasingly by our own experience truth about Christ. Let's think about some of the things that we ought to know about Jesus and remember him. So that when various trials come, we can take this truth that we know about Christ and apply it to this situation so that we don't sink.

When the difficulty comes. What do we know about Christ? Well, he is the God-man. Incredibly, in one person, we have two natures.

The divine and the human. Now that right there should cause your mind to explode. We hear it often. It's sort of commonplace to us.

But Jesus is both God and man. Fully God and fully man. So, think about with me for a minute that he is God. That means that he has divine power.

We speak of God as omnipotent. Having all power. Nothing too difficult or impossible with him. Power. All power. We just sang it. Surely is thine.

That's what Jesus has. And you see demonstrations of that power as you read through the Gospels. Multiplying food. Walking on water. Healing the sick. Raising the dead.

Making the deaf to hear. And the blind to see. But he's also a man. His incarnation is mind-boggling.

The God who made man became a man. To save the very men that he had made. Who had rebelled against him. And as a man.

He experienced what we experience. That means he is sympathetic. To our suffering. I'm going to read some verses from Hebrews. You just listen.

They're from Hebrews 2. And from Hebrews 4. For familiar words to you. But hear them afresh. Remembering that this is the Jesus that is yours. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers.

In every respect. So that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest. In the service of God. To make propitiation for the sins of his people. Remember that word propitiation.

We'll come back to it. Because he himself has suffered when tempted. He is able to help those who are tempted. Who are being tempted. And then this is Hebrews 4.

For we do not have a high priest. Who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. But one who in every respect. Has been tempted as we are. Yet without sin. And here's the conclusion.

Let us then with confidence. Draw near to the throne of grace. That we may receive mercy. And find grace to help in time of need. Do you know this?

Do you meditate on that truth? And knowing it. Do you act on it? Do you actually go to the throne of grace. To find that mercy. And that grace. In your hour of need.

From our Savior. Who knows and understands our struggles. Jesus is both God and man. He's also the Savior. He died to save his people from their sins.

As you look to Christ daily. Is that part of your thought process? The substitutionary atonement. Don't be afraid of big words. We're going to use a few this morning.

They're important words. The wonderful truth. That Christ lived the perfect life. That we could not live. And then took our place under God's wrath. He was a substitute.

Sacrificing himself. He atoned for our sins. Our sins were placed on him. And he was punished in us. So our sins are taken away.

If you are a child of God. A believer in Christ. Your sins have already been punished. Is that part of your thought process? Day by day. His righteousness is given to us.

And we are rewarded. That's truth that you and I need. His propitiation. Propitiation. There's another big word. Refers to the satisfaction of God's wrath. The turning aside of God's wrath. God is a holy God.

He must punish sin. He can't not punish sin. He can't overlook it. And he punishes it with his wrath.

But as 1 John 4.10 reminds us. God himself provides the answer in Christ. It says. And this is love. Not that we have loved God. But that he loved us. And sent his son.

To be the propitiation for our sins. We sang that earlier too. How deep the Father's love for us. That's truth that we need to remember.

When we're attacked with guilt and fear. We need to remember the threefold office of Christ. Here's some more truth about Christ. This is just a real. What we're doing here is a quick Christology.

A quick doctrine of Christ. Okay. Just an overview. But we need to remember the three offices of Christ. And pretend with me for a minute. Like this is Sunday school. And somebody tell me. What are the three offices of Christ?

Prophet, priest, and king. Remember those three things. As the prophet of God. He has all wisdom and guidance to lead us.

Look to him as the revelation and wisdom of God. When you don't know what to think or what to do. As our priest. He's made atonement as we've spoken. For our sins.

And he intercedes for us before God. He's taken away our guilt. And in him we have forgiveness of sins. And access to God. We can come into the presence of a holy God.

Because Christ is our priest. Our mediator. And as our king. He rules over and defends us. That's Children's Catechism 101.

He rules over and defends us. He shows us how to live as citizens of his kingdom. Living yet in this world. And he watches over. And he keeps us. And he protects us.

As we pass through this world. On our way to the next. He provides protection for his subjects. Study Jesus. Don't be satisfied.

And rest there with the knowledge that you already have. Read the gospels again. Where you read about Jesus. Read the epistles. That talk about Jesus. Get our confession of faith. If you haven't read it in a long time.

And chapter 8 is about Jesus. It's one of the longer chapters in the confession. And don't read it because it's a confession of faith. Read it because it's an accurate summary. Of the scriptures. And it is packed.

Tightly full of truth about Jesus. So you want to do a study of truth about Jesus. Get that document out. Read it. Read the references that it refers to. The scripture references. Saturate your mind with Christ.

Read a book about Christ from a trusted author. And then when trouble comes. Like Peter. You will be able to look to Jesus. No. Not physically. Not bodily. Like Peter was able to do.

Look. There's Jesus on the water. But you will be able to look to him with the eyes of faith. Calling to mind what you know to be true about Jesus. It applies in that situation.

And you will have a treasure store of knowledge to draw on. And to meditate on. When your problems are screaming at you. For you to focus on them. Knowledge of Christ.

That's the perspective that we must live with. So. Looking to Jesus. That's number one. But secondly. I want us to think about looking at the wind. Sadly.

Peter didn't keep his eyes fixed on Jesus. He sees the wind. And he begins to sink. Now. The situation hasn't changed.

The facts were still the same. Jesus was still powerful and compassionate. God doesn't change. The wind was still whipping and blowing. And the waves crashing.

That hadn't changed. It was Peter whose perspective changed. Remember at the beginning. We talked about how important. Our perspective is. The way that we look at it.

Peter looking at the wind and waves. Through the lens of Christ. His compassionate Savior. Sitting there. And. And knowing that he was able to hold him up. That Peter is walking on the water.

Peter from a different perspective. Looking at the waves. Forgetting about who Christ is. His. Begins to sink. He started looking at the wind. Of course. You know.

You can't see the wind. But when you're watching the wind. You're watching its effects. For Peter. Those effects were primarily the waves. Perhaps his clothing and hair were being blown about.

You know what it's like to be outside in the wind. Cuts through your clothing. It makes you cold. I've never seen. I probably said this before. I've never seen wind. Like I've seen in northern Indiana.

The other places I've lived. Flat. Northern Indiana. I don't know. The wind just howls here. At least compared to where I have lived. And I don't like it so much. Some days. Well.

Peter is in wind. Probably worse than what we're experienced to. But if you look around. You can see the effects of the wind. You can feel it. In your bones. You can see the trees. Swaying.

The leaves blowing. You go out to Lake of the Woods. On a windy day. Instead of a nice. Smooth surface. Like on a calm day. You'll see the. The surface is rough. You might even see some white caps. Some little waves.

Out on the lake. We see the effects of the wind. And Peter is seeing the waves. That he'd been. He had been battling against that night. In the boat. But now he's removed.

From the safety of the boat. And the sight of that wind. Makes him afraid. And when that happened. He began to drown. He began to sink. He stopped thinking. About what he. Hear me closely.

He stopped thinking. About what he knew. To be true. About Jesus. And he started thinking. About his circumstances. His perspective. Changed.

From walking by faith. To walking by sight. He sacrificed. What he knew. For what he felt. In that moment. Which was fear. And when we stop.

Looking to Jesus. We forget. Or doubt. Who he is. And what he's done. And maybe Jesus forgot. How Jesus had calmed a storm before. Doubted that he could do it now. Apparently. He wasn't thinking.

About those things. As he looked at the waves. Wasn't remembering. Jesus compassion. For those who were in need. Wasn't remembering. His mighty power. All he could see.

That for all he could tell. He was in a life. Or death situation. And he was dying. He was dying. So what is that like. For us non-fisherman types.

Who aren't very often out on a lake. During a storm. And for all of us. Who have never walked on the water. Have you ever been on a lake. During a storm. Tell me if you've been on a lake. During a storm before. It is terrifying.

If the storm is bad enough. I was once. In college. We had a sailing program. A professor. Who was an experienced. Sailboat captain. And he would take groups of students. Out on Kentucky Lake.

And now Kentucky Lake. Isn't like Lake of the Woods. It's a. I mean you could sail on it. All day. And not get to the end of the lake. Okay. So we would take groups out. On overnight trips. And we spent the day. Learning how to sail.

Sailing down the lake. It was great. And we had noticed. Off behind us. In the distance. Some dark sky. But it was a long way away. And we turned around. And we're going to come back. To an inlet. To anchor for the night. And we turned around.

And the sky was black. And the wind was picking up. And before we knew it. It was. It was a vicious. Or at least it felt like. To me. A vicious storm. And we had to get back.

To this inlet. Well we changed our plans. We decided to go to an inlet. That was closer. And under his. Calm experienced hand. And us students. Who were half freaking out. But pretending like we thought.

We were really tough. We managed to get to the inlet. But it is terrifying. Don't make fun of the disciples. For being afraid. Of being on the water. In a storm. But if you've never had that.

Or if you've never walked on water. It's all of us. What are your wind. And your waves like. You've been in places like this.

And so have I. For some. It's your financial situation. As long as you're remembering. Matthew 6. Jesus provides. For the birds. Of the air. And the flowers.

Of the field. I know that. I know that it's true. As long as your focus is there. You're okay. But then you start to look at your checkbook. Balance.

And the stack of bills. And your most recent bank statement. And all of a sudden. You forget about Matthew 6. things. And you're very afraid.

You find out your paycheck is going to be cut. Or you're going to be cut. And there's going to be no paycheck. And it takes your mind away from Christ's love for. And his provision for his people.

And you're afraid. And you begin to doubt. And here we tend to forget again. What we know to be true about Jesus. And his promises to provide for his people.

And his provision that we have experienced in the past. You've been in financial trouble before. And you know that God has brought you through it. Here in this moment. We forget what we know.

And we give in to fear. Because of what we feel is an impossible situation. Exchanging for what we know about Jesus. For what we feel in that moment. Is not a good trade.

Don't make that trade. For others it's suffering. It's physical sickness. It's pain. It's weakness. Illness. The prospect of it perhaps. You're facing surgery.

You're actually living in pain. And weakness causes you fear and doubt. Maybe you fear for your life. The life of your loved ones. You fear for your family.

How will I provide for them in this condition? Maybe you begin to doubt the goodness of God. In those moments we're forgetting Jesus. We're forgetting Jesus and his suffering.

We're forgetting that Jesus was a man. And that he suffered like we do. Physical pain. And exhaustion. And weakness.

And we're forgetting that he suffered for us. Focusing on the pain. And not on Jesus. And his power. His compassion. And wisdom. We begin to sink.

Forgetting that he's wise. And he knows when it will be best. To deliver us from out. From under that affliction. We forget his wisdom. Maybe it's your overwhelming workload. You begin to see the impossible list of things to be done.

Whether it's on the job. Or for a mom at home. The list of things to be conquered there. Or in our situation. In planting a church. You look at all of that. And you think there's no way.

I can't do it. It's just. It's hopeless. I'm overwhelmed with the prospect. Of how much work there is to do. And you get afraid.

What will happen if I don't get it all done? Will my boss replace me? Will the kids go hungry and naked? If I can't get supper on the table. Or get the laundry done. Will I get sick? If I keep up this torrid pace of work.

And not enough sleep. Will the church plant flounder? If I can't accomplish great things there. We forget the truth of Christ. And focus on our circumstances. And our own weakness.

Instead of his sovereign power. And his sympathetic humanity. Remember he's God. And man. Remember he walked in this world.

And he had a busy schedule. And he got tired. To the point where he could sleep through a storm like this. And he has power.

To sustain you in it. To keep Peter walking on the water. Don't be afraid. Look to Jesus. Others are crippled by guilt. Burdened by some perhaps.

Guilt over a great sin. What we would call a big sin in the past. Something for which they have sought. And received forgiveness.

They've dealt with it at the cross. And as long as they're resting in Christ. They are at peace. But somehow. Sometimes they go back to that sin. And they think about how awful it was.

And the shame of it. And perhaps they're still living with the practical consequences with it on a daily basis. And thinking about it sets them to sinking down into despair and fear and guilt. You know of Jesus' guilt bearing work.

That you are no longer guilty before the holy God. But in those times you're forgetting his work as high priest. The focus comes off of Christ. And we begin to sink.

For others it's uncertain to be about the future. That causes us to take our eyes off the one who holds the future in his hands. We begin to wonder where we should go.

What we should do. What job to take. Whether or not we'll have a job at all. Which house to buy. Who we should marry. If we should marry. What church we should attend. There's an unclear medical diagnosis. A difficult decision.

Should we move to a new place? We don't know what's coming. And being the control freaks that we are. We don't like that so much. And we've looked away from our absolutely sovereign king.

Who holds the future in his hands. There's a few suggestions of our wind and our waves. Typically you can come up with those on your own. That's not usually the problem.

And so if I haven't mentioned the thing that causes you the most fear. You think of it. You plug it in. And see which truth about Christ answers it. But do you see what looking at the wind and waves produces?

It's fear and doubt. Peter was afraid. And Jesus asks him. Why do you doubt? Peter's focus on his circumstances.

That's where it landed him. Fear and doubt. Fear we know. We've been afraid. We fail to remember Jesus' power and his protection as our king.

Doubt a little bit different. We've talked about forgetting Christ and what he's done. Doubt is wondering if Jesus really is those things. Is he really powerful enough and wise enough to deliver me from this trouble?

Is he really sympathetic? And this dear people, if you've been there, if you've doubted. It is not a pleasant place to be. If you've ever been sinking into the water, you know that.

And I preach today not as one who is above you, but one who is beside you. I've been afraid. I've been afraid today.

I've doubted. And I know that it is a painful, dark thing to go through. It feels like you're drowning. And like there's no way out.

If you are fearful and doubting today, don't give up. Because this is not the end of the story. There's more. And so looking to Jesus.

Looking at the wind. But lastly, looking back to Jesus. As Peter's sinking in fear and doubt, he goes to the right place for help. He looks back to Jesus.

Lord, save me. A desperate cry. A fearful cry. But in spite of all his fear and doubt, he cried to the one that he knew could save him.

You notice he doesn't ask for the men in the boat to row over and help him. He doesn't say, hey guys, I'm drowning. Come here, bring the boat. Give me a life. No. Could have.

Where does he turn? He turns to his Lord. He turns to his Savior. Lord, save me. And if that's where you are today, call on him.

You can use Peter's words. It's short and simple. Lord, save me. He knows. He knows your situation. He knows the depths that you need to be pulled up from. Go to the Psalms.

Plead the prayers of the Psalms. The psalmist was in a dark place a lot of times. Plead with him. Psalm 144.7 Stretch out your hand from on high.

Sounds like Jesus reaching out his hand, doesn't it? To grab Peter. Stretch out your hand from on high. Rescue me and deliver me from the many waters. From the hand of foreigners.

The psalm used that picture of water for danger. Water is overcoming us. Coming over our head. And here Peter is a real, physical, tangible expression of it. Doesn't it feel that way?

You're drowning. There's a place to go. Lord, save me. Rescue me. Deliver me. Psalm 69. Save me, O God. For the waters have come up to my neck.

I sink in deep mire where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters. And the flood sweeps over me. I'm weary with my crying out. And my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for God.

And having given everything that we've seen about Jesus this morning. Do you think he let Peter drown? Of course not. Of course not.

You heard Stan read it earlier. He stretched out his hand. He grabbed a hold of it. And he pulled him up. We know that.

But we lose sight of it. Now he's got a rebuke for Peter. And may we feel the sting of it as well today. If we find ourselves sinking instead of standing.

Doubting instead of trusting. And before I give you the rebuke, Do you think he's going to let you drown? No.

Just as surely as he didn't let Peter drown. But a rebuke. Oh you of little faith. Why did you doubt? Jesus has said this before.

Has he had to say it to you? That doubt is a fearful place to be. If you've been there or are there now. Wondering about things that we know. And things that should be settled for us.

That is not a pleasant place to be. It can be caused by different things. But one common cause. Is looking at our circumstances. Instead of our Savior. Having the wrong perspective.

John MacArthur is helpful in making that point about doubt. We're looking at the wrong place when we're doubting. But there's comfort in the rebuke I think.

You of little faith. Why did you doubt? Doubt. Dear people of God. Does not indicate a lack of faith. Doubting does not mean that you have ceased to be a child of God.

Okay. And so if that's where you are today. Doubting. It doesn't mean that you've abandoned the faith. It's not a place to stay.

It may be an indicator of the smallness or the weakness of your faith. And it will show where you or I need to be looking to Jesus. And where our faith needs to be strengthened. But it does not mean that we have no faith.

So be encouraged today if you're doubting. Now don't stay there. Get back to Jesus with all haste. Peter doubted.

John the Baptist doubted. John the Baptist is in prison. Okay. And he's going. Jesus was supposed to be the Messiah. Supposed to establish a glorious new kingdom of heaven.

So why am I still in prison? If Jesus is here. And he sends his disciples to Jesus. And he says. Are you the one? Or should we look for somebody else? That's doubt. And it was caused.

I believe by John's circumstances. He's in prison. It's not what he expected. John doubted too. But you notice where John goes. He sends his disciples. Back to Jesus.

And Jesus says. Tell them what you see. The sick are healed. The lame walk. The blind see. I mean this is John the Baptist who said. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

That John. He doubted. Go back to Jesus though. Don't forget Hebrews 4.16 that we saw earlier. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace.

That we may receive mercy. And find grace to help in time of need. The conclusion of knowing about Jesus our sympathetic Savior. Is to go to him. Go to that throne of grace.

Don't sit and know. I know there's a throne of grace. Go to it. Get on your knees and beg and pray. Cry out. And if all you can muster is Lord save me. He knows.

He'll hear and answer. Go to the one place you know. That you can find grace and help. D. Martin Lloyd-Jones. Had some helpful thoughts on this passage.

That were useful in preparing this message. One of them. Is don't go back and revisit old settled doubts. Peter when he got out of that boat. It apparently settled in his mind.

That Jesus would hold him up. But he went. He went back on that. And as he looked at the waves and the wind. He. He rethought it. And if you have settled some truth about Christ.

Through study of God's word. You've seen it in your life. Put it to rest. Don't go back and raise that doubt again. So we've seen looking to Jesus.

Looking at the wind. And looking back to Jesus. You know you can skip step two. You don't have to look at the wind. You don't have to take your eyes off of Christ.

It's not good when you do. Now I don't mean a blind sticking your head in the sand. And ignoring the wind and the waves. You have to get out your checkbook. And pay the bills. And you have to face the reality of your pain.

And go to the doctor. And follow the course of treatment. And you have to work. You've got to go to work. And you've got to tackle that load. That insurmountable load. That's sitting on your desk waiting for you tomorrow. You've got to start on the pile of laundry.

At some point. You can't just pretend like it doesn't exist. But what's your perspective while doing that? It must be fixing our eyes on Jesus.

Who does not change. It's a matter of perspective. You see. What is yours? The same pile of work looks totally different.

To one who knows and is remembering. That their sufficiency comes from Christ. Christ. And the one over here who has forgotten Christ promises to be enough for his people.

Totally different. If you've forgotten that. It's impossible. You begin to despair. You begin to doubt. If you remember. Who Christ is. What he has done for you in the past.

What he promises to be in this word. That pile of work looks very different. That decision that you have to make. And you don't know what to do. That decision looks very different.

When your eyes are fixed on the Savior Jesus. And you notice the response is worship. Peter and Jesus get into the boat.

And the contrary wind that they had been rowing against. Had ceased. Supernatural power of Christ at work again. And that prompts worship from his disciples.

Truly you are the son of God. There's no ordinary man that they're in the presence of. And they may not have yet fully understood. What it meant for him to be the son of God. But they were right to recognize it. And to worship him for it.

Does Jesus get that kind of response from you? I know that you've never walked on water. Or seen a stormy sea. Turn calm in an instant. Or have you?

Your wind and waves. That we spoke of. Are just as real. As the ones in this story. And the power of Christ in delivering Peter.

Is just as real. For you. As the power we see here. And so our amazement and our worship. Should be just as real. We should be daily praising God.

For what he's doing for us in Christ. Coming here each week. Ready to sing. His glory. I love hearing more voices. Sing his praise. We have a handful of voices.

A nice handful down in Warsaw. But it's nice to come and hear a room full of people. Praising God. That tells me that you're experiencing something. Of the power of Christ.

That your eyes. At least to one degree or another. Are fixed on him. Praise God. And continue to praise him. Come here and worship him. The more we know of Christ.

And experience his work on our behalf. The greater should be our worship. Now I'm not a big fan of church sign. Or bumper sticker Christianity. Short little sayings. Some folks are.

I'm not one of them. Occasionally. You find a good one though. One that captures some truth. And you've no doubt seen this one before. Know Jesus.

K-N-O-W. Know peace. K-N-O-W. If you know Jesus. Then you'll know peace. Know Jesus. N-O. If there's no Jesus. Then know peace.

N-O. You have no peace. Know Jesus. Know peace. Know Jesus. Know peace. I hope you can bring to that statement. Everything that we've spoken of this morning. If you know Jesus.

You know all about him. And what he's done. You can know peace. By focusing your thoughts on him. As you face the wind and the waves. But if you don't know Jesus.

You can't ever know true peace. And that's true on two levels. Our words today have been for believers. That know Jesus in a saving way. But they're forgetting something about him.

If you forget what you know about Jesus. You'll lose your sense of peace. But let me say something for unbelievers today as well. If you don't know Jesus as your Savior and Lord.

In other words. If you have not trusted in him. To deliver you from the penalty and power of your sin. Then you cannot have peace with God. You're still facing his just wrath.

There is no propitiation for you. If you've not trusted in Christ. No turning aside of God's wrath for you. It will be directed at you. Only Jesus can provide that kind of peace.

Of knowing that the wrath of God is no longer upon you. So come to him today. And start this wonderful journey. Of learning more and more about Christ. Christ who is our Savior.

And finding him to be sufficient for everything. That you will face in this life. You see Jesus not only saved Peter from drowning. Jesus saved Peter from eternal punishment.

He saved him from his sin. Even his sin of fear and doubt. In this situation. And so in Jesus' own death. Was the forgiveness for Peter's sinful behavior.

And for yours and for mine. Child of God. And if you know that kind of peace today. Knowing that you're headed to heaven. Praise God for it. Worship him for it. And if not.

Come to Christ. And it will be yours. You can have it. Today. And if you're at peace with God in that way. Know you're headed for heaven. Yet you're still in turmoil. There's fear.

There's doubt. Then look to Jesus. As you face the wind and the waves of your life. And find your comfort. And your help there. Let's pray together. Father we thank you.

We thank you that we have a Savior to look to. We thank you for Jesus. We thank you for his love for us. We thank you for his compassion.

And power. And wisdom. And we thank you that he is all of these things for us. His people. We pray that we would keep our eyes fixed upon him. Our perspective on him.

As we face the challenges. The difficulties. In our lives. We pray that you would keep us clinging to Christ. Our Savior. We thank you for him.

We pray that lost sinners would come to know. And love. And trust him. Even today. Send us from here. Ready to face. The week. And the months. And the years ahead.

Always keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. The author and perfecter of our faith. We thank you for him. We pray in his name. Amen. A word of blessing to you from God's word.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the love of God. And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Be with you all. Amen.