TOPIC:"The Man Who Triumphed Over Fear"
"But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me' " (Matthew 14:30, NIV).
Peter the fisherman played a very prominent part in the history of the early church. As we come to the book of Acts we find that he was a man of undaunted Christian courage. With the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, this magnificent trait characterized Peter right up to the end of his life. He was a profile in courage. But it wasn't always that way. As an earlier follower of Jesus Peter was constantly being overcome by many different kinds of fear.
We might as well admit it, fear is a factor in the lives of all of us. Each one of us has been a prisoner of fear at one time or another. We happen to be living at a time when fear has many of us in its grasp. We have family fears, health fears, personal fears, business fears and international fears. Go to any public library in this country and you will find long shelves of books on the subject of fear.
Now not all fears are bad. There are some God-given fears that are conducive to our general well-being. Take for example, the instinctive fear of danger. I certainly would be afraid to walk through some swamp in southern Florida. Here is a God-given fear that is wholesome. It generates caution and good-sense. It tells us to watch out.
On the other hand, there are some fears that are unhealthy. When carried too far we may develop all sorts of phobias. They imprison us. We become slaves to them. And with such fears we must do what Peter eventually did - give them over to the liberating Lordship of Jesus Christ. Only He can release us from them. Only He can give us victory over them. I say to you, you don't have to live a fearful life.
In this message I want us to look at Peter early in life when he was CONTROLLED by fear. And then later in life when he CONQUERED his fears through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Recovered and released is the way we find Peter after Pentecost. Let us now take a careful look at the verses before us as Matthew alone is the only one who records this incident about Peter.