The Highway of Faith

Let's listen to the Word of God being read before Janet comes along and helps us in further songs for our boys and girls and adults too. Boys and girls, it's not always easy to sail on a ship because sometimes the sea gets very rough and if you're anything like me, your breakfast soon comes right up there and there along you're feeding the fish. And there are a couple of occasions in the Bible, in fact more than a couple of occasions, where the most exciting reference is made to a storm at sea.

And the Lord Jesus, well, he was present on two of the occasions I'm thinking of, but listen to this one. And if you've got a Bible, men and women, you might like to follow it. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 14 and verse 22.

Incidentally, I'm moving away from the published intimation of our reading and subject matter from my address this morning. Matthew 14 and verse 22, the exciting story of Peter as well as the Lord Jesus walking on the water. Anyone thinks that they can walk on water themselves? Well, later today we're going to have this baptistry opened at the back of me and you could try and show us how good you are at doing just that.

But I doubt whether you'd be successful. Well, once when I was preaching a place called Rotherham, which is near the delightful city of Sheffield, at a Pentecostal church, there was an open baptistry and unfortunately the man who didn't quite know the layout of the church, he came in from the back and didn't see the baptistry with the net result that he got baptized without being prepared for it. Often wondered what happened to him.

Matthew 14 verse 22, immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd. After he dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came he was there alone, but the boat, that's the boat where the disciples were, was already a considerable distance from land, actually about six miles, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

During the fourth watch of the night, that's about three in the morning, 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, don't be afraid.

Lord, if it's you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water. Come, the Lord Jesus said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards 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 have little faith, he said. Why did you doubt? And when they, Peter and the Lord Jesus, climbed into the boat, the wind died down, then those, the disciples were there in the boat, worshipped him saying, truly you are the Son of God.

When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. I'm going to sing a song to you now. Come up here and see a bit better up here.

Okay, it's called My God, How Wonderful Thou Art. How beautiful thy mercy seat, in depths of burning light. How dread of thine eternal years, O everlasting Lord.

By prostrate spirits day and night, incessantly adored, incessantly adored. My God, how wonderful thou art, thy majesty how bright. How beautiful thy mercy seat, in depths of burning light.

How beautiful, how beautiful, the sight of thee must be. Endless wisdom, boundless power, an awesome purity, an awesome purity. My God, how wonderful thou art, thy majesty how bright.

How beautiful thy mercy seat, in depths of burning light. O how I fear thee, living God, with deepest, tenderest fear. And worship thee with trembling hope, and penitential tears, and penitential tears.

My God, how wonderful thou art, thy majesty how bright. How beautiful thy mercy seat, in depths of burning light. Yet may I love thee too, O Lord, almighty as thou art.

For thou hast stooped to ask of me, the love of my pure heart, the love of my pure heart. My God, how wonderful thou art, thy majesty how bright. How beautiful thy mercy seat, in depths of burning light.

No earthly father loves like thee. No mother e'er bears and forbears as thou hast done with me, thy sinful child, with me, thy sinful child. My God, how wonderful thou art, thy majesty how bright.

How beautiful thy mercy seat, in depths of burning light. Father of Jesus, love's reward, what rapture will it be? Prostrate before thy throne to lie, and gaze, and gaze on thee, and gaze, and gaze on thee. My God, how wonderful thou art, thy majesty how bright.

How beautiful thy mercy seat, in depths of burning light. My God, how wonderful thou art. When I was ill, I had a phone call from tribes to ask how I was.

I think they were offering a special discount in August. Would have just been my luck to have died on the first of September. Matthew 15, 21.

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, Lord, son of David, have mercy on me. My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession.

Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, send her away, for she keeps crying out after us. He answered, I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.

The woman came and knelt before him, Lord, help me, she said. He replied, it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs. Yes, Lord, she said, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.

Then Jesus answered, woman, you have great faith. Your request is granted. And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Turn back to Matthew 14, the previous chapter, verse 31. Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught Peter. You of little faith.

Why did you doubt? Woman, you have great faith. Brother, you have little faith. When I was a student at London Bible College, we had our main lecture room.

Entitled, strangely enough, The Life of Faith. The reason for that title, for that description, was simply that there was a magazine by that description. And the readers had contributed to the founding of this lecture hall.

The Life of Faith is a term that describes the way that Christians live. All our lives, really, if we belong to the Lord, are lived in total dependence upon Him. Perhaps not well known is the fact that when the Israelites were crisscrossing Sinai, there happened to be a road.

It wouldn't, of course, be anything like modern roads. Which you could probably have seen if you had an airplane in those days from the sky. Maybe not much more than a track like the ones I saw crisscrossing Maasai land.

When in a small plane a few months ago in East Africa. And this particular road was known as the King's Way. When the Israelites wanted to get to the Promised Land, it was necessary for them to ask for permission to go down this road.

And you read in Numbers 21, Numbers 20, their request. Now we are here at Kadesh, your town on the edge of your territory. Please, they asked the Edomites, the King of Edom, please let us pass through your country.

We'll not go through any field or vineyard or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King's Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory. Unfortunately, the King wouldn't allow it.

But that concept of the King's Highway, it so affected the thinking of Israel that later on when you start to read the preaching prophets and what they had to say, men like Isaiah, they make a back reference to that road. But not literally speaking, they do so symbolically. They speak about that thoroughfare that goes through life.

And in Isaiah 35 and verse 8, the point is secured. A highway will be there. It will be called the way of holiness.

The unclean will not journey on it. It will be for those who walk in that way. Wicked fools will not go about on it.

No lion will be there. Nor will there be any ferocious beast get up on it. They will not be found there.

Only the redeemed of the Lord will walk there. The King's Highway. The walk of faith to which you and I as followers of our Lord Jesus are called.

And it's that walk of faith, the King's Highway that commands my attention as I address you on, for me, this very significant occasion. You see, the road of faith down which you and I travel is a road that admits to no unbeliever. There are only those who trust God and the salvation through Jesus Christ that traverse this particular highway.

And no access for the unbeliever, for the unbeliever is dead in trespasses and in sins. But as for those who go on the King's Highway, there are common denominators and also dissimilarities. Common denominator is this, they all have faith.

The dissimilarity is this, that faith is variegated. That means to say there are those with a little faith and those with a moderate faith and those with a strong faith. Such is the quality of saving faith that if you have just a teeny weeny little bit, it is sufficient for you to travel on the King's Highway.

It's enough to secure your redemption through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The King's Highway is peopled by those who have expressed saving faith in the Lord Jesus. But whether that faith be likened to a grain of mustard seed or is a mighty faith that can reduce mountains and see off evil forces and bring visions into reality, whatever category you find yourself in as far as the quality of your faith is concerned, every bit is valuable.

If I'm asked, what do I wish for Worthingtap? The answer is that we might go on from a little faith to a moderate faith, to a strong faith. You see, faith can grow. A little bit can become a lot.

The lot can become an abundance. For God is generous in the dispensing of faith. He giveth more grace as the burdens grow greater.

He giveth more strength as the labors increase. To added affliction He addeth His mercy. To multiplied sorrow He multiplies peace.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure. His power has no boundaries known unto men. And out of His infinite riches by Jesus He giveth and giveth and giveth again.

You're on the king's highway. Your faith may be tiny, but at least it got you to that highway. And as you go down the road that leads to the celestial city, hear it from me, your faith can grow.

Remarkably, in two consecutive chapters in the Word of God, you get an illustration of the variegated nature of this faith. You are brought face to face with two people who possibly had not met until this point. One is told by the Lord Jesus Christ, none other, that his is a little faith.

I remind you of our Savior's words to Peter after his attempt at walking on the water. Oh, you of little faith. Why did you doubt? And then, when you move over to that Canaanite woman, you discover the Lord Jesus Christ saying to her that she has a faith which is great.

And He cannot understand why it should be that this woman should have so great faith, the like of which He has not seen amongst His disciples. Thus, the little faith is evidenced by a famous disciple and the great faith by an anonymous woman. The little faith by one who kept company with Jesus, the great faith by one who hardly had come into contact with Him earlier.

The little faith was shown by a son of Abraham. The great faith was shown by a woman who was a Gentile. Both were traveling down the King's Highway and both had an evaluation of their spiritual condition by the King Himself.

God in His sovereignty sometimes allows situations to fall upon us which are not always easily explained. They can be unpalatable or delightful. They can be anticipated or unexpected.

They come by design or seemingly by chance. And the challenge to us today is the same challenge as that little boy who had the wonderful experience of falling into a huge bowl of treacle and was recorded at the point of entry as praying the prayer, Lord give me a capacity equal to my opportunity. A capacity for faith equal to my opportunity to exercise it.

Now here is Peter and here is that Canaanite lady and they both are confronted with the challenge of exercising faith in two very different circumstances. And you grasp that one does very well and the other not so well. So let's just for a moment or two have a look at Peter in this 14th chapter of Matthew's Gospel.

The story is familiar to you. I hardly need to sketch in the detail. Peter is with the disciples in the boat and our Lord Jesus Christ is moving towards that company of his followers who find themselves in this precarious situation because the Sea of Galilee, far from being as calm as it often is, is now a sea that is heaped up with big waves that threatens their security.

And walking towards them comes none other but our Lord Jesus. And here is Peter and he exercises a microscopic piece of faith. You might have thought of Peter that something a little bit better would have been expected.

After all, he had been with the Lord Jesus for a long time whereas the woman in the next chapter had not had the opportunity to sit at the feet of the Savior. Peter was a disciple, the spokesman of the Twelve whereas this woman, perhaps the first time she ever addressed our Lord Jesus was because circumstances forced her to be a spokeswoman for her daughter. This faith that we might have expected in better quality from Peter also seems to smuggle into it this little bit of faith some degree of self-confidence.

When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water Peter says, Lord, if it's you tell me to come to you. So Peter is special. Why not Thomas to come to you? Why not John to come to you? Lord, if it's you, let me come to you.

So Peter perhaps had a feeling of well, it was right for him to take this leap. There was a degree of confidence, I suggest that he has in himself. Little faith is not affected or rather little faith is affected by what happens.

Great faith is not so affected. Peter, when he gets out from the boat starts to walk towards the Lord Jesus and his immediate response is somewhat dulled by the fact that he sees the waves so high and he sees something of the effects of the wind and his little faith starts to buckle. Little faith, I suggest to you exaggerates problems Peter, who's within touching distance of the Lord Jesus goes on to say to the Saviour save me or I perish as though he could be near the anchorage of the Lord Jesus the rock of ages and be allowed to drown such is the nature of little faith little faith gets you a ducking for had Peter continued as he first commenced that walk of faith he would have reached the Lord Jesus standing on his feet on the water his feet wet but his clothing dry little faith sometimes causes you to get a drenching I remember once at baptismal service here when I was filled with utter embarrassment I was in the vestry downstairs behind the organ and I told Rowena clearly that I would put a shirt in my bag and I forgot and I had two minutes before I preached with no dry shirt fortunately one of our brothers who shall be nameless found that he had to visit a little room at the back of the church and I apprehended him and suggested that in the interest of the kingdom the shirt he was wearing would be more appropriate on my shoulders unfortunately my chest size is considerably wider than his so with my tie precariously perched between the gap I made my way up to the pulpit and having had the opportunity of conducting a baptism went on to preach I jest but back to Peter he'd no need to have been so drenched there did seem to be in his little faith a self confidence Lord bid me come to you he did get put off by the happenings by the circumstances and ere long he is in difficulty that's how I would examine the little faith that Peter had but just in case you find yourself identifying with Peter and therefore you're depressed at my analysis let me spin it round a little and give you a more kindly assessment you see be your faith like Peter's ever so fragmentary ever so tiny like a grain of mustard seed it is faith it is valuable and Peter demonstrates this he has a precious faith and later on makes reference to a like precious faith shared by every man and woman who walks on the king's highway even if it is just a small faith that you have thank God it is a valid faith able to keep you in the day when you stand before our Saviour what's more it was a faith of obedience Peter did get out of the boat he did ask for the permission of our Lord Jesus so even with you there is the desire prompted by your small faith to move towards Him as Peter so moved to see Jesus a little more clearly to express your love a little more dearly to approach Him a little more nearly it was faith that stimulated Peter's action as it's faith that brings you onto the king's highway it was faith that promotes Peter in his time of crisis to pray and that itself validates the faith that he has Lord he says I perish but he does say Lord he does name the name of Jesus Christ and what's more that faith was recognized by Jesus he smiles because he has faith he scolds Him because it's a little faith you see my point Peter's walking on the king's highway you'd think that he'd have a great faith but he doesn't it's just a little one there are reasons why it's little but that faith was still valid and that faith can grow and here is this woman of whom you read in the next chapter strange isn't it that this anonymous lady receives from the Lord Jesus his congratulations after all when you look at her faith which is a much better option as far as faith is concerned you discover this quality of faith where you least expect it with Peter yes three years with Jesus he's theologically educated he's tutored he is the man who will lead the rest of the disciples you can bet your money on Peter how often friends our spiritual evaluation needs to be checked sometimes the greatest most effective people in the service of God have come from the most unlikely quarter without theological education without erudition without even a gift of words God has singled them out and on the king's highway there travels a man there travels a woman head and shoulders above his or her companions great faith my prayer that God will give such to the leadership of this church and that you will identify them as they present themselves this faith was denoted by a persistent by a praiseworthy persistency this woman came to the Lord Jesus who is taking a bit of a sabbatical the parallel in Mark's gospel says that Jesus withdrew he wanted some time to himself but this Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord, Son of David have mercy on me she came and she came and she came the persistency of her faith against prejudice she came says Campbell Morgan against silence she persevered against exclusion she proceeded against rebuffs she won and when the Lord Jesus says I've come for the tribes of Israel not for the Gentiles I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel it's not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their pets this lady uses what the Puritans called the wit of faith the wisdom of faith and she says aye, but Jesus even those pet dogs they benefit from the scraps that fall from the master's table and Lord that's how I see myself and the Savior coaxing her faith from a private expression to a public expression with the disciples looking on brings her to that point where he is able to acknowledge surprise, surprise that here is a woman whose grasp of essential things the dynamic of the faith is equal to and indeed surpasses the disciples woman, you have great faith your request is granted be it unto you as you desire I think is the translation valid translation of the authorized version to how many people did Jesus say those things to how many folk did he direct those words here I say is the most surprising of incidents two narratives following one another in consecutive chapters a little faith and a great faith and the great faith comes from the person you least expect to be in that category and that great faith conferred conferred tremendous benefits her daughter was healed I sometimes wonder my friends if we were submissive to the grace of God and our faith grew more how many more people would be benefited by us moving up from a little faith to a more moderate faith to a strong faith where did Peter go wrong? where might this church go wrong? where was this woman right? how can this church be right? the capacity for faith equal to your opportunity to seize it when my eyes were fixed on Jesus I lost sight of all beside Peter sees the winds at least the effects he sees the waves he starts to sink you need a fix on Jesus to keep yourself right to keep the church right that's why days of prayer are so important that's why ministering to one another in the love of Christ is so important to keep a fix on Jesus and this lady seems to have done that this Canaanite woman more than Peter did and therefore she teaches you she teaches me she walks down the king's highway I repeat I hope that despite the disturbances you've got the drift of what I'm trying to say there is a road down which we're all traveling because we are Christian the highway of faith and there's a variety in the faiths that we represent in terms of quality but the little faith can become a bigger faith as you fix your eyes on the Lord Jesus you're not to live on your initial faith you need him on your deathbed as you needed him at the moment of conversion you will need him as you return to the boat for the interesting thing is as far as Peter is concerned that when Jesus has lifted him from the water the both of them walk back presumably still on the surface of the water to the boat when Jesus and Peter are together when Peter has his fix on Jesus then he's okay he's well poised for the ministry that lies ahead I finish with this Our Lord Jesus was on the mountain top before the incident of the storm on the sea taking a well-earned rest he found it very hard every time he tried to get a sabbatical every time he tried to get a rest something broke in on him and on this occasion he sees the disciples they're in difficulty so he walks down the course of their difficulty he follows the track that they have taken he doesn't come from the other side of the lake he comes from their side of the lake I will never leave you I will never forsake you he always comes to you where your difficulty is and together you work it through though he's back in glory physically so to speak spiritually he's still with us and it is his concern to nourish the faith of this church and in surprising places in this membership there is a strong, strong faith and in surprising places there's a mediocre and a little faith that you have faith whatever degree brings pleasure to the Savior but he wants you as you walk down the king's highway to have an even greater faith a like precious faith as your brothers and sisters and as a result individually and corporately the ministry of this church shall be enhanced walk in faith down the king's highway until your walking days are done and you're in his presence Yes, with a tearful tear He makes his iron ship And ever now Our hope and hope is free Zion's life's happy place Adorned with wondrous grace And all those men Can praise thee now Give thee our joyful hymn To pray and praise and give The sacred love To Zion's son Let Israel's son Have peace in royal Rome Be spared for grace And judgment day Be praised and praise thee now Be praised the Savior's son And all those souls Rejoice with me Chains of men are laid And joy with me reigns To bless the souls Of every race Thou havest peace thy peace And richest thine increase A thousand blessings All in vain I come with Israel out To meet with his sacred house And to my glorious son Praise him in dreadful My soul shall ever Proud of thee