Faith Amidst Storms: Lessons from Peter's Experience

Here are the 12 selected quotes:

"We see him himself walking upon the waves though they were stormy and turbulent and we see him likewise even enabling his servant the Apostle to do the same we likewise see him commanding the elements we're bound to start with this because we can't begin to consider the question of faith and the true understanding of Faith unless we are clear about him we are not talking about any sort of faith we are talking about Christian faith and the preliminary the essential preliminary to any consideration of that is of course to be clear about the person of our blessed law there is no Christian message apart from that which starts by saying that Jesus of Nazareth was the only begotten Son of God that he is the Lord of glory the lord Jesus Christ and there you see him standing out in the effulgence of his glory the master of the universe the lord of the elements he manifests it he demonstrates it." [00:04:38]

"Peter starts off so well so magnificently and yet he gets into trouble and ends off so badly now that's it the Peter who at first seems to be full of Faith ends off by being miserable and unhappy and cries out in desperation and how quickly it all happens we are told about this particular sea that one of its great characteristics was and is that storms came down upon it suddenly because of its peculiar characters in a purely geological sense it's one of those Seas it can become at one moment the next moment there's a terrible raging storm that happened to the Sea it also happened to Peter there's this Sudden Change in his whole position." [00:06:57]

"Now this particular incident has a great deal in common with the incident that we were considering together last Sunday morning because that likewise was uh an account of something that happened on the sea in that case you remember it was that our Lord had gone into the boat with his disciples but because he was very tired he had gone into the stern of the vessel and there he was lying soundly asleep and a storm AR Rose suddenly and they got into difficulties and were quite convinced that they were on the point of drowning so in their Terror and alarm they wake up the Lord and say master carest thou not that we perish and you remember he arose and rebuked the wind and the Raging of the waves and all was well and then he rebuked them saying where is your faith now obviously this incident has many features which are common with the that previous incident that we considered last week in the eth chapter of The Gospel According to St Luke the main point being that this incident exactly like that concentrates its attention on faith on the nature the character of faith and the importance of our having a right view of Faith but of course it does it in a slightly different manner." [00:02:01]

"Now this morning as we shall see while in general we are still considering the question of faith and the true character of faith it is a somewhat different aspect of the question and of the problem however we can't come to consider that important as it is without noticing one preliminary matter which is absolutely vital and essential again it's the same point as we had last week the first thing we notice here again is the person the personality if you like of our blessed Lord here once more he stands out in all the fullness of his godhead and of his unique deity." [00:03:49]

"Now then here it seems to me that there are a number of great lessons which we can learn and if we but learn them and grass them it will save us from many an attack of spiritual depression what are they well first and foremost I must call your attention to what I am constrained to describe as the Peter mentality or if you prefer it the Peter temperament now many times we've had occasion to emphasize the fact that when we are converted and saved and become Christians our temperaments do not change then remain exactly what they were you don't become somebody else you're still yourself oh yes we all say I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and yet we go onto head and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God and that I is always the same you're always yourself and though you become a Christian you're still yourself you've got their own your own peculiar temp and your own peculiar characteristics and the result of this is that we all have our special problems there are certain problems of course that are fundamental and common to us all and even this particular problem goes into the general category of sin and the results of the fall but it comes to us in different ways in several ways we're all perfectly familiar with that all members of a church are not the same all members of any group however small are not the same we all have certain things about which we have to be particularly and exceptionally careful other people are not troubled by those things at all oh yes but they've got other things about which they have to be careful you're kind of Mercurial person you're hot tempered person has to watch that very carefully yes but you know you are fmatic and your lethargic person also has to be very careful his trouble is that he doesn't get roused when he should be he never knows any righteous indignation he'll pass anything he so flabby in his whole mentality that he doesn't stand when he should stand in other words we've all got our particular difficulties and they generally arise from our own peculiar temperament which God has given us and I can go further and say this that probably the thing we've all got to watch most of all is our strength our strong point we tend to fail ultimately at our strongest points now I believe that's very true of Peter the Great characteristic of Peter of course was his energy his uh quick decisions his energetic personality Keen enthusiastic impulsive yet that was the thing that was constantly leading Peter into trouble because that was his characteristic and it's a very good thing to have an energetic nature some of the greatest men the world has ever known if I understand them rightly as I read their biographies are to be explained mainly by their energy not by their intellectual capacity not by their wisdom and understanding but their sure energy as you read the lives and biographies of the so-called great Heroes of mankind keep your eye on that and there is a contemporary illustration of it energy is a great quality and there generally goes with it this capacity for decision but I say this was the thing that was constantly bringing Peter into trouble It generally leads to an unsteady Christian Life an uneven Christian Life a Christian Life that lacks inbalance now what a perfect illustration of it we have here look at Peter at the beginning of the story it really is amazing there he is in a boat in the midst of a storm and he's got sufficient Faith to say to our Lord if it be thou did me walk to thee on the sea and out he stepped and walked how magnificent yes but then look into the next few moments there he is crying out miserably now that was always the case with Peter when our Lord was talking about his death and how he was going to be forsaken Peter doesn't hesitate to blurt out at once though all forsake the I will follow the wherever it may go the next moment he's denying him with Earths and cursing now I call that the Peter mentality how common it is this unsteadiness this unevenness this kind of person who's either right on top of the mountain or down in the deepest depths either full of enthusiasm and excitement and makes us all feel that we've never done anything or utterly despondent and feeling hopeless and even threatening to go out of the Christian Life altogether you know them don't you there is this type of person what is it due to what is the cause of this alternation between ecstasy and miserable failure the answer is I say that it's due to this impulsive temperament but analyzing it we can put it like this the trouble with this kind of person is that he tends to act without thinking the trou with this person's faith is that it hasn't been based upon thorough thought the difficulty is that this kind of individual doesn't think things right through doesn't work them right out now that was always it seems to me the trouble with Peter you get him always in these gospels as the first men to volunteer take that incident in the 21st chapter of The Gospel According to St John again they' been out fishing all night and were miserable and had caught nothing and then our Lord appears on the seashore and when Peter recognizing him he strips himself and jumps into the sea he's the first always always the first in everything yet I say that was his trouble and you have a perfect illustration of that even after Pentecost lest somebody may say oh yes but all these incidents of yours were before Pentecost Pentecost came and Peter was an entirely different men was he I deliberately read that portion of to the second chapter of the epistle to the Galatians to you in order to show you that Peter's temperament was not changed even by Pentecost he still was the same essential man and Paul had to rebuke him to the face over what well over this that he hadn't worked out this question of justification by faith only as he should have done and he had no excuse because he was the first men to admit the Gentiles into the Christian church you remember the great Cornelius incident he'd even had a vision from heaven and I must say as you read the account of him in the 10th of X you feel that Peter Rises to a magnificent height it was a tremendous thing for a Jew to bring in the Gentiles into the Christian church but you see he went back on it at Antioch when these Messengers came down from James from Jerusalem Peter dissimulated we are told and Paul has to withstand him to the face what why what was the matter with Peter well it was this old trouble he accepted positions without really understanding them without really working them out now that's the trouble with this type olers this energy this capacity for decision this impulsiveness tends them to make them do things intuitively and they rest on the intuitive action instead of then proceeding to work it right out to understand it and to grasp it and the result is that there are these violent alternations in their spiritual life that's the sort of graph of their spiritual life isn't it instead of being that now this is a very common cause of spiritual depression and that is why we are dealing with it now that brings me to a second point which I'd like to emphasize and that is the teaching of this incident concerning doubts or there of little faith wherefore D thou doubt this is important teaching thank God for it now there are a number of things here the first is that we ourselves sometimes produce our own doubts there was no doubt that that was the trouble with Peter at this point he produced his own own doubts by looking at the waves he led himself into difficulties he shouldn't have done it wasn't I say that somebody shouted out of the boat to him and said look here Peter do you realize what you're doing what a risky thing it is not a word was said by anybody there was nothing new at all Peter himself by looking at the waves produced the doubts I could keep you for the rest of the morning on that but I mustn't do so because there are still more important matters but my friends let us be careful we often lead ourselves into temptation we lead ourselves into doubts if you intermingle with certain things you mustn't be surprised if you'll be filled with doubts I'm referring to certain types of literature for instance or venturing into certain arguments which are which will take you beyond your depth how important this is Christian people sometimes in a very good uh uh desire to be the means under god of converting certain people will enter into scientific arguments now the man they're arguing with happens to be a scientist then they know nothing about science but they're foolish enough to enter into arguments about science instead of refusing that because they don't know and often I found people who've been shaken themselves because they've done that in other words what they should do at that point is stand on the truth as they know it and not attempt to deal with scientific questions with which they're not competent to deal incidentally these scientific questions cannot in any way shake the Christian faith but they are not in a position to show that others can therefore they must reject that and say I know nothing about science but what I do know is this and then they keep to that we sometimes lead ourselves into doubts and we must always be careful not to do that the second thing and this is the thing for which I thank God is this doubts are not incompatible with faith I I found many people many times in my pastoral experience very unhappy because they haven't grasped that principle some people seem to think that once you become a Christian you should never again be assailed by doubts but that isn't so Peter here still has Faith what our Lord says to him is this oh thou of little faith wherefore D thou doubt he doesn't say to him Peter because you've doubted you've got no faith at all that's what many people say ignorantly it's very wrong though you have faith you may still be troubled by doubts there are innumerable examples of this not only in the scripture but in the subsequent history of the Christian Church indeed I would go so far as to say this at the risk of being misunderstood that if anybody short of being a very unusual saint has never been troubled by doubts in his or her Christian Life such a person would do well to examine the very foundations again and make certain that it isn't a false piece or what I would call a presumptive believism you read the lives of some of the greatest saints that have ever TR this Earth and you will find that they've been assailed by doubts and our our Lord here surely gives the final word on this doubts are not incompatible with faith you may have doubts and still have faith a weak faith in other words that would be my next principle that if doubts gain control of us it is an indication of weak Faith me to be the essential teaching here with respect to doubts and we should never allow this to happen will attack us and besiege US yes but that doesn't mean that we allow them to master us we must never allow that how do we avoid it the answer is that the antidote and this is my third principle the an antidote to all this is great faith it's little faith that causes the men to be Mastered by doubts the antidote therefore must be a great faith a big faith and that as I see it is the thing that is emphasized here above everything else what are the characteristics of a great faith a big Faith well the first characteristic is this it is a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and his power and a trust and a confidence in that now Peter as I've said several times already starts off so well doesn't he now this is you see the essence of true faith here is a man I say with the other disciples in a boat and there's a storm on the sea the where the wind was contrary and the boat was being tossed by the waves and it really was becoming rather desperate but suddenly our Lord appears and they say what's this A man walking on the water it's impossible they say this must be some kind of a ghost it's a spirit and they cried out for fear but straightway Jesus spake unto them saying be of good cheer it is I be not Afra pray and then this magnificent exhibition of the essence of true Faith by Peter Peter answered him and said Lord if it be thou bid me come unto thee on the water now that's the essence of true Faith you see what it means it means that Peter says to says to our Lord if you really are the lord well then I know there's nothing impossible with you give proof of it by commanding me to step out on out of this boat onto this Raging Sea and enable me to walk you he believes in the Lord in his power in his person in his ability yes but he doesn't only believe in it theoretically he trusts it so we are told here and notice the details how important they are Peter went down out of the ship and walked on the water now that's the essence of Faith Lord if if it be thou that's what faith always says if it is indeed you well then I know you can do this command me to do it and I'll do it and he did it here again is the great principle that we must always take hold of very firmly the Christian faith begins and ends with a knowledge of the Lord that's it must I say it again it begins with a knowledge of the Lord not a feeling not an act of will but a knowledge of this blessed person there's no value in any feeling there's no value in any action unless it's based upon this Christianity is Christ and Christian faith means believing certain things about him and knowing him or I've already mentioned the most important one who he is the Lord Of Glory come down amongst us knowing something about the Incarnation and the Virgin birth knowing why he came knowing what he did when he came knowing something about his atoning work knowing that he came as he said himself not to call the righteous but Sinners to repentance knowing that he said they that are whole have no need of a phys position but they that are sick knowing that he bore our sins in his own body on the tree that we being dead into sins should live unto righteousness do you know my friends I find almost invariably when people come to me in a state of spiritual depression that they're depressed just because they don't know those things I've just been saying as they ought to but they say I'm such a miserable sinner you don't know what I've been you don't know what I've done why do they say that to me they say that to me because they've never understood what he means when he says I came not to call the righteous but Sinners to repentance the very thing they're saying in self- condemnation is the very thing that gives them a right to go to him and to be certain that he receives them but you see it's failure to know that and to believe that that's where faith is weak strong faith means to know these things I'm constant L having to say these things I'm constantly having to write them I had to write a long letter yesterday on this very point to a man I've never seen poor man miserable held captive in bondage why well because he doesn't see that Christ is the friend of publicans and sinners that he came to die for such people he isn't clear about the person he isn't clear about the work of this blessed person you see his faith is weak the doubts are there and there are many I say who go through life miserably and unhappy because they're not clear about this if only they did understand these things I say they would find that the very cause of condemnation becomes the way of release in and of itself in other words my dear friends the great antidote to spiritual depression is biblical doctrines Christian doctrine not being worked up in meetings not singing knowing the principles of the faith knowing the doctrines understanding them that's the way that's the biblical way that's Christ's own way it's the way of the Epistles the antidote to depression is knowledge of him and you get that in this word and it takes trouble you must take trouble to learn it it's hard work it's difficult work yes but you've got to study it and pray over it and give yourself to it the tragedy of the hour it seems to me is that people are far too dependent for their happiness upon meetings this has been the trouble for many years in the Christian church and that is why so many are miserable they don't know the truth well there it is our lord said it didn't he to the people who suddenly believed on him he said if he continue in my word then are he my disciples indeed and he shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free free from doubts and fears free from depression free from the things that get you down it's the truth that frees and it's the truth about him in his person in his work in his offices Christ as he is very well that's the first thing let me hurry to the second the second thing is having started with that as Peter so rightly started with it don't forget the second Peter did the second thing is refuse afterthoughts refuse afterthoughts oh but you say it's good always to think again not in this Christian faith it's Folly doubts you know are really very foolish and very ridiculous aren't they I feel there's something very ridiculous about the action of Peter it's an easy thing to say from the pulpit when I've done the same thing myself many times and we all have but nevertheless it's good for us to see how foolish and ridiculous it is so that the next time we attempted we might remember this picture look at this man Peter he should never have looked at those waves at all why not well for this reason he' really settled that question before he went out of the boat now do you see why I emphasized at the beginning this important detail that the storm was raging before the Lord ever came to the boat it would have been entirely different if Peter had stepped out onto a calm sea and then the storm had come then there'd be a good excuse for him but it wasn't that I'm putting it like this Peter when he said to our Lord if it be thou bid me come to thee had really dealt with the question of the Waves he'd been struggling with them for some time already he knew that the boat was tossing and rocking and that the sea was all of a turmoil in this way but he says this which means that he has said to him I don't care what the sea is doing he is above it all he'd solved that problem and he' stepped out and proved that he was quite clear about it he'd got out of the boat and he was walking on the sea there was nothing new at all there was no new Factor he was not confronted by any sort of new problem and the Lord Jesus Christ was actually enabling him to walk on the turbulent waves then why look at them again I ask what reason is he for doing so what argument is there for his doing so why consider them again not at all it's Madness it's Folly it's ridiculous and that's always the trouble with this kind of weak faith it goes back again over a question it's already solved my dear friend if you've ever believed on the Lord Jesus Christ you must in some shape or form have dealt with all the objections and the difficulties of you wouldn't have done it well then why go back over them it's just Che fly not only the matter of your belief if it's a question of conduct and action and behavior the work you're doing something the Lord has called you to something he's enabled you to do why sit down and again face problems that you've already put behind you before You' stepped out of the boat I say again that this negative aspect of faith is very important having believed on him I say shut the door on certain things refuse to look at them if you have dealt with them already don't go back over them how often have I to say that in this series how often is our trouble due to the fact that we will go back and back and back shut the door Peter should have done that now I say there was no excuse for him there was no argument at all there was nothing new to consider well therefore why consider it that's it leave it it is of the essence of Faith to refuse things to reject things to have nothing to do with them to say I've already dealt with you you're already defeated you're already out of sight I go on it's a vital part of Faith which brings me to my next principle which is this the next characteristic of this great faith is that it persists steadily in looking to him and looking at him oh let me divide that up in this way just two or three simple principles faith says this what he has begun to do he can continue to do what he started doing was a miracle so if he can do a miracle he can go on doing it what he has already initiated he can keep going being confident of this very thing says Paul to the Philippians that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ yes say top lady the work which his goodness began the arm of his strength will complete it's unanswerable secondly you and I can only conquer doubt while we look at him and are clear about him without him we are absolutely hopeless I don't care how long you've been in the Christian Life you depend upon him every step without him we can't do anything say we can only conquer all our darks and all these things that are there ever hammering at that back door by looking steadily at him not looking at them the way to answer them is to look at him the more you know him and his glory the more insignificant and ridiculous they'll become so you keep steadily looking at him now let me put it like this you cannot live on an initial Faith that's what Peter seems to be in trying to do he started off with a great faith and then you see instead of going on with the same Faith he as it were tries to live upon it you can't do it you can't live on an initial Faith you can't live on a preliminary experience don't live on your conversion my dear friend you'll be down before you know where you are if you try to you can't live on one event one great climactic dramatic experience no no it's a constant life of Faith you keep on looking to him every day we walk by faith and you'll need faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as much on your death bed as you did the night you were converted you need him all the time so you keep looking to him Peter began looking at the wav you know the Bible's full of that I see that always perfectly Illustrated in the way that the children of Israel had to go and collect the manner every day every day except Sunday you remember that's the Lord's method always he doesn't give us give us enough for a month no no you need him day by day meet him every morning start your day with him never move until you've got into contact with him keep in touch with him that was the fatal error of Peter he looked away from him it is the fight of Faith you're walking on turbulent waves and the only way to keep walking is to keep steadily looking at him may I say a final word of comfort and consolation it's all here in this wonderful incident isn't it the first is my dear friend he will never let you sink Peter cries out in Terror and alarm Lord he says save me and immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him oh thou of little faith wherefore did thou doubt and when they were coming to the ship the wind ceased thank God for this consolation he'll never let you sink you belong to him you may fail him you may feel you're on the point of going down once and forever finally never no man shall pluck them out of my hand the end of eth of Romans again neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers no things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us never just when you think you've gone the hand will be there and he'll clutch hold of you just cry out to him yay in the night my soul my daughter cry clinging Heaven by the hyms and L Christ walking on the waters not of ganzar but TS that's it yay when so said thou can no said cry and upon thy s sore loss shall Shine the traffic of Jacob's Ladder pitched betwix heaven and Ching cross Francis Thompson had experienced it as Peter did and it's always the same cry out unto him in your desperation don't trade on that but if you ever are desperate cry out and he'll clutch you he'll steady you he'll pick you up and there'll be peace oh but I don't end with that I must end with this the great lesson of the whole incident in a sense is this isn't it that he can keep us from falling we never need be desperate like that we never need to cry out like that if we only keep on looking at him and believing in him we shall never fall we just keep straight on if Peter had only looked at him you'd have gone on walking until he'd come to him he would never have become desperate he would never have had to cry out he is so great he is the lord of the universe he can not only walk on the sea himself he can enable Peter to walk on the sea nothing shall be impossible with him all things are possible with God and he is God so Faith looking at him says with Charles Wesley Faith Mighty Faith the promise sees and looks to that alone laughs at impossibilities and cries it shall be done that's faith faith Mighty Faith the promise sees in him and looks to that alone to nothing else it laughs at impossibilities these bous waves and cries it shall be done unto him therefore who is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding Joy unto him the only wise God be glory and Majesty dominion and power both now and ever amen." [00:10:36]