Storms, Faith & Chutzpah!
Matthew 14:22-36
Reminder > Jesus was fully God and fully human. > too often, yes, but he was God, as if he wasn’t human
Last week > compassion, and acting on that emotion, doing something, and when you are under stress showing
compassion to someone else is the best medicine.
creating > food out of 5 loaves and 2 fish, don’t miss the miracle just because you’ve heard the story many times.
counting us in on what he’s doing (dream big),
hospitality (leftovers), a theme that runs throughout the bible.
I was taught > or what I heard > was that Jesus was kind of soft > that’s totally wrong. He was deeply compassionate and
patient, but he was no wimp! As we’ll see today.
FOCUS: Storms – and what we can learn about ourselves when we go through storms
Chutzpah – What is it? Is it good? Is it bad? (It’s not in the bible but it’s a Jewish word.)
Big story is Peter’s faith, the faltering, and Jesus “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake,
while he sent the people home. 23 After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while
he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they
were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26
When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” 27 But
Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” 28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if
it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So, Peter went over the side of
the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and
began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little
faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the
disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.
34 After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. 35 When the people recognized Jesus, the news of his
arrival spread quickly throughout the whole area, and soon people were bringing all their sick to be healed. 36 They
begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.
1) V22-23 What did Jesus do at the end of the day? Why was this important to him?
Pray. He needed to reconnect to the Father. He was tired, power drained.
Not the main emphasis tonight but just can’t skip it either.
Issue for us: Even after a long, hard day . . . he did it anyway > Take this as a challenge, not to shame you > A challenge.
STORMS – Blakely and Macey > swing set > Phone storm coming > Look up and see dark clouds > “It’s about to storm
> Like a cartoon > they scream > yell, “It’s gonna storm > jump off of swings > run toward the house > Blakely “My leg
is broke.” > Drama! > A show for me.
The questions arise: What do you do when storms come? Do you listen and respond to storm warnings? Who do you
listen to for storm warnings? Which way do you run? Why do you run in the direction you run? -OR- Do you do nothing
to prepare for the storm, ignore warnings, and “take the beating?”
And, some storms are unavoidable, aren’t they? You’re just living life and here it comes? But the questions are he same.
Where do you get the strength and support to withstand them?
2) V24 “a strong wind” “heavy waves” a storm: What are storms symbolic of for us when we read the bible?
Problems we face.
QUESTION: Where did this storm come from? We don’t know. But it provided for a teaching opportunity.
QUESTION: Were the Jews desert people or ocean people? Desert, ocean was mysterious and evil to them. More
symbolism.
TABLE QUESTIONS: What storm(s) in your life have you learned & grown from? What storms have nearly “drowned”
you?
3) The storm – How did Jesus use storm? did he “get on to” Peter?
He used it as a teaching session.
A couple of things God can work in with us and “storms”, one is correction/discipline. The other is to help us grow –
perfecting us.
QUESTION: How did Jesus use this actual storm? For Peter and the others to grow their faith.
QUESTION: Did it work? Yes Verse 33 – “You really are the Son of God!”
QUESTION: Think back to the lesson on Justice: Was Peter’s “sinking” in the water a setup for retributive (punishment)
justice or restorative justice? Restorative
QUESTION: In what way was it restorative? Peter’s faith grew. All their faith grew. It brought them into a better/ a
deeper relationship with Jesus.
QUESTION: How are ways you can best respond to storms?
In faith, for the duration? That’s the big story > Peter starts out in faith, but…. “You have so little faith, Why did you
doubt me?” How many times could Jesus have said that to you and me?
FACT: Storms will come.
Prepare in advance as much as possible: Be in the right area to avoid storms with the right people to avoid storms.
Already be communicating with God regularly.
1) Pray.
2) Be aware and avoid the ones you can.
3) Seek help in the right direction, spiritually and with people.
4) Keep a perspective, it will one day be just a story that you can tell.
5) Know this: Ultimately even death cannot separate you from God.
4) V25-27 Who is the rescuer in this story? What was unusual about his method of rescue?
Jesus. He was walking on water, stormy water.
A miracle – don’t miss it!
CHUTZPAH!
QUESTION: Who is Bryce Mitchel? UFC fighter from Cabot/Searcy > at one point 15-0 > Talks very normal in
interviews > “You put a microphone in my face I’m gonna say ARKANSAS!”
Is he confident? How confident? Too confident?
DEFINITION: + supreme self-confidence, + Nerve, +- Gall, + Utter nerve, + – shameless audacity, + shameless boldness
courage bordering on arrogance, roughly equivalent to “nerve” (in the slang sense)
QUESTION: Is chutzpah good or bad? Can be a little of either. If you’re being rescuer would you prefer that your
rescuer have a little chutzpah or not?
QUESTION: Who had some chutzpah in this story? Peter.
Anyone else? I say Jesus! He was out at 3 AM in a storm walking to catch up with the disciples on water with big
waves, the same waves Peter was dealing with > after He’d been preaching and healing people and feeding 5,000 people
plus women and children > which just before that he’d found out his cousin had been behead > and on this day he’s healed
more people > finally got to get alone and pray and probably grieve the loss of John.
QUESTION: So, back to our introductory questions: Is chutzpah good or bad? Kind of good at times in the right
quantity. You also need to know when to say ENOUGH. You need to know when to stop.
God did a lot of destroying evil in the Old Testament but He also knew when it was ENOUGH, when to STOP.
John the Baptist – may have had a little too much chutzpah (sermons – God had to remove John so fans would look to
Jesus – I’m not sure about that – John was human – he may not have known when to say ENOUGH.)
FAITH
5) V32-33 What happened to Peter and the other disciples faith after this wild night occurred?
Their faith grew – probably significantly.
Think about your life – How many times grab you and pull you out of the water? We could be here all night telling
stories if our eyes and hearts could truly see! Simple example: Have you driven home from work with a thousand things
on your mind, got home, and thought, I do not remember the drive home? That’s just a start.
6) V34-36 After all that happened that night, what happened the next morning?
He still had the power and summoned up the physical energy to heal more common, everyday people.