August 15, 2004 9:00 a.m.

Sermon - Tony Yim: The Unsinkable Faith

Mark 4.35-41

Some sights won't fade. In July of 1979, I stood for the first time on a west Maui beach looking across the blue waters of the Pacific at the islands of Molokai and Lanai.
Standing to my left was Scotty Sandercock, a retired naval officer, who'd commanded a U.S. Navy ship off the windward side of the big Island, Hawaii, the morning of December 7, 1941. He said, "Well, Pastor Yim, what's going to be your Maui hobby?" I thought for a second and said, "I've always wanted to take up sailing." He eyed me. He pointed to the island on our right, "Do you see Molokai?" I said, "Yes." "See Lanai?" I answered, "Yes." "Good. Don't miss 'em. It's a thousand miles to the next ones!"
You know, I never took up sailing.
Our morning Bible reading tells about the disciples and Jesus sailing into "troubled waters." Jesus said, "Let's cross to the east side." A violent windstorm hit the lake. The sudden high winds pounded the boat and swamped the ship.
When the disciples looked at Jesus, he was asleep. They woke him. They shouted, "Teacher, don't you care that we're about to drown?" The disciples forgot Jesus had said positively, "Let us go across to the other side."
Well, even in our world, there can be trouble on the sea. A tragic event happened on February 9, 2001. A Captain Scott Waddle commanded the nuclear submarine Greeneville. Since early morning, Captain Waddle and his crew had a contingent of 16 honored dignitaries on board. The Greeneville was running submerged about 9 miles off the coast of Pearl Harbor. Commander Waddle decided to drill the crew and also give the guests a special experience. He ordered an emergency surfacing maneuver.
Captain Waddle took a periscope sweep of 80 seconds, "No visible contacts," were made. Everyone agreed, no sightings: visually or electronically. The Greeneville submerged to a depth of 400 feet.
Captain Waddle asked one of the civilians to pull the emergency blow lever with the help of a crew member. Water was blown out of the ballasts, the sub began surfacing rapidly.
Captain Waddle announced, "The ship is now at four hundred feet, achieving a twenty-degree up angle, proceeding toward the surface." The Captain continued, "The ship is now at two hundred feet, proceeding toward the surface. Steady at the helm." Captain noted the time, it was 1:43 p.m. He started to say, "The ship is now . . ." when a loud bang was heard. It sounded like someone had taken an aluminum baseball bat and struck the inside of a 55 gallon metal drum. A jolt, then a shudder. A severe jarring motion rolled throughout the sub.
Captain commanded, "All stop!" He took the periscope. And to his horror he saw a white trawler in their wake, half the length of a football field. It lay dead in the water. A sign read, "Uwajima High School. It was the Ehimi Maru, a large 400 ton, teaching vessel with mostly young students.
The blue waters around the white trawler began to glisten with diesel fuel pouring out of the damaged trawler. Captain Waddle watched it go vertical for a few seconds and then slide into the ocean. The rescue operation would save 26, but 9 lives would be lost.
In the Greeneville, chaos broke out, until Scott restored order. The civilians were terrorized. Everyone was yelling loudly. Crewmen ran back and forth, automatically running for their battle stations.
As Jesus slept in the stern, when the storm blasted their boat, the disciples began yelling and pushing one another. Pandemonium broke out. Rudely and angrily, they woke Jesus up. They screamed at him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"
The Lord's response? "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!" Then, "The wind died down and it was completely calm." Jesus was alarmed by their reaction. "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?"
The disciples' response to Jesus' miracle of calming the wind and the sea is telling. Mark 4.41 reads, "And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, 'Who is this man, that even the wind and waves obey him?'" Unlike you or me, where our orthodox faith informs us, Jesus is both God and man, the disciples hadn't a clue who he truly was. In the boat with them was the Son of God, God himself. They were sailing with God on board, and though they touched, ate and talked with him, they knew him not.
Scott Waddle came to know Jesus when he was a junior in high school. He became friends with a football teammate named, Bob Wolfkill. Scott sensed that Bob had a true faith in Jesus touching his whole life. He knew faith was required to be a Christian. Bob showed he was willing to trust his life to that faith in Jesus Christ.
Scott recalled how he became a Christian. Bob witnessed to Scott all about Jesus. Bob prayed and led the way. Scott prayed, too, and accepted Jesus Christ into his life. Scott acknowledged his willingness to trust Jesus from then on. Scott's trust in the Lord Jesus Christ deepened through the years. It was a good thing.
The court of inquiry was a difficult ordeal. The court focused on Scott having gone too fast. That he had rushed through preparations. And whether or not he had taken enough time for an adequate periscope search. Furthermore, they tried to get Scott to confess that he and his crew had acted irresponsibly. They were furious when Scott refuted them. Their voices rose. But Scott refused to give ground. Finally, the inquiry ended after 12 days. Scott had told the truth always, even though he faced a court martial and being thrown out of the navy, or worse.
Scott was ordered to report to captain's mast on April 23, 2001, for the decision. The admiral in charge told Scott, "I find you guilty of two of the three charges, dereliction of duty and improper hazarding of a vessel." Scott was relieved. They hadn't found him guilty of negligent homicide. The admiral continued, "You will be fined a half-month's pay for two months, and your pay will be suspended for six months."
Scott Waddle was able to get through the nightmare because he turned to God. A long time before Scott, a successful business man, Horatio G. Spafford, had suffered a horrible financial loss because of the Great Chicago fire. He and his family were still reeling from their loss, when family friend Dwight L. Moody invited them to come to his evangelistic meetings in London. Spafford booked passage for them. At the last minute he couldn't go. But his wife and four daughters sailed to England on board the Ville du Havre.
At high sea, the Ville was struck by an English vessel. The Ville sank in about 12 minutes and 226 lives were lost. Spafford received this telegram message from his wife: "Saved alone."
Spafford sailed to join his wife. When they reached the waters where the Ville sank, it was pointed out to him. That night Spafford set these words to a now famous hymn of the faith: When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea-billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, "It is well, it is well with my soul." (Jim Thomas, Coffeehouse Theology, pp. 125-126)
Possibly, you'll sail into trouble waters, and like all fishermen before, you'll pray this ancient prayer: O God, thy sea is so great, and my boat is so small (Prayer of the Breton Fishermen). If you do so pray to God, he will provide you with The Unsinkable Faith, and your soul with peace.
(The source for this sermon: The Right Thing, by Commander Scott Waddle.)