Matthew 14:22-33

 Studies show that babies are born with only two fears, fear of loud noises and fear of being dropped. Since we are expecting a birth in the congregation, I thought it would be good to bring an illustration of playing with a baby. In the one case, the baby is delighted. But if you play the wrong way, as you can see, the fear of being dropped takes over in the baby’s mind.

 Life introduces all of our other fears. Some of those fears help you survive. We learn about irons and stoves, strangers and subway platforms. We need some fear. The name of one of the local firetrucks is ‘Some Fear’ and that seems like a wise name. How long would a fire fighter live if they just ran off the truck, made no plan, and just started a one person fight against a fire? I wondered what happened to Evil Knievel. You remember that guy from 20 years ago who tried to jump over things. He tried to jump over a canyon and considered jumping between two skyscrapers in New York.

 Knievel broke 433 bones in his many jumps, and contracted hepatitis C in one of the surgeries that repaired his fractures. He declined painfully in health over twenty years and died last November. While he made a very good living, he also had to declare bankruptcy during one of his recuperations. Most of us would feel that he did not have enough fear.

Because of sin, we also learn a lot of false fears. Fear is a paralyzing force. Fear is when you don’t think you have the power to change a bad future. Some of us fear snakes or spiders. The fear is that we expect them to attack and we are afraid that we won’t win. The fear of the dentist, the fear of the exam, the fear of illness – all these fears are about things where you lose control. You become a victim.

The scriptures speak over 100 times about the problem of fear. We are going to hear words of grace from Matthew’s gospel today that help us calm our winners and convert from victim to victor. I want to give you just a hint by reading from Moravian Church website for the day. 

Fear is an irrational motivator. False fear causes you to do crazy things. When I first started flying, I would take out flight insurance. This is a crazy reaction. You can take out regular insurance that would also pay for an airplane crash. But fear tells us that it is more comforting to take out a lesser policy for more money just before you get on the plane. It makes you feel like you’ve done something.

Fear tends to build irrationally. We get a note from our doctor, ‘please see me’. You start to worry. You suddenly think of that suspicious pain in the side that you noticed last month. It is a slow introduction of appendicitis. But that wouldn’t explain the your tiredness lately. No, it must be worse than that. Its probably bad, maybe fatal. You better clean your house before you go to the doctor in case you go right to the hospital. You get to the doctor who reminds you that its time for the annual physical and the doctor is going on vacation soon.

Uncontrolled fears lead to destruction and death. How do we stay in control of our fears? We have examples in the Bible. David was afraid of Goliath. The Bible says that all of Israel feared the giant who made speeches for 40 days telling them how he was going to chase them down and pull them apart. This is not part of the message, but fascinating from the Bible. David asks twice what the victor will get if he kills Goliath. The king promises each time that the king’s daughter will marry David and David will be exempt from all income tax for his entire life. I believe that this is the Bible’s first record of a Republican!

The Bible always presents life as two choices – fear or faith. David may have gotten other rewards, but the active belief that God would guide and protect him was the power that moved him from being one more victim to victor.

There are three common fears in life – loneliness, death, and failure. You cannot control these fears without divine help. You need faith in your life.

1. Ask God every day for reassurance that the Lord loves you. Think of the calm that would come into your life if you faced these fears with 100% conviction that God loves you, knows what is happening today, and is actively working with you to make sure you win.
2. Take one step out of the boat. Often Jesus calls us on the side we would least choose. Remember the disciples who were unwilling to let down the nets on the other side of the boat after fishing all night? What did Peter get by climbing out of the boat? He left his fears of the sinking ship and he had the hand of the Christ. Why do we stay on board the boat, stuffing Kleenex in the cracks, hoping that the winds will die down and paralyzed with fear?
3. Recall answers to prayer. In the Bible, prayers of need are frequently started with statements of thanksgiving for past victories.
4. Accept the Christian community. This church has what so many churches lack – the ability to give you Christian friends. I am boasting about all of you who are comfortably connected in small groups. I’m asking you to make these statements true. And for the people here who are drifting in fear, get involved and get friends who will help you conquer fear.

You can choose fear or faith. These four responses took Peter from storm’s victim to life victor. You can do it too,