Peter Walks on Water
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Get Out of the Boat
Get Out of the Boat
Intro
Intro
A little about me...
My name
Student Pastor at the Fellowship
Wife Corinne Son Titus
I grew up in Hawaii
Yes I know how to surf
When I was learning to surf it was very scary to drop in
If anyone skates its a lot like dropping in on a half pipe but with the possibility of drowning
Everything from the size of the wave, the sounds they make when they crash into the ocean, even the foam and white wash they create can often be scary and distracting
But there was a moment for me when I realized that all these fears were just excuses I was using because I was scared to commit.
To fully commit to going for it even if it seemed like I wasn’t going to make it, or I might fail.
Once I fully commited to dropping in I enjoyed surfing even more
And now when I talk about surfing I talk about how fun it is, how relaxing it is, how exciting it is and I don’t think about all those old excuses that kept me back.
Turn in your Bibles to Matt. 14:26 and lets Pray
PRAY
Now let me give you some context before we read this passage.
Content+Context=Meaning
Jesus has sent the disciples out to sea in a boat
The disciples get caught in a storm and it says they were fighting the storm around 3-4am
And then in verse 25 it says Jesus comes to them walking on the sea
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night for like your 3am water chug and looked at the pile of clothes in the corner of your room and thought a ghost is in your room?
DEMON CLOTHES
This is kinda where the disciples are at, they’re tired, they have been working all night fighting this storm and along comes Jesus WALKING ON WATER
so their reaction should not be unfamiliar to us.
But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
They see Him and they are terrified.
Why? Because they don’t expect a human to walk on water.
But notice Jesus response here...
He says take heart it is I Do not be afraid.
In the greek Jesus says this “Take heart, I AM, do not be afraid”
Now this may not necessarily change the meaning for us yet but do you know what the Jews (these disciples) called God?
They called Him the I AM or the Great I AM
It’s the name God uses to describe Himself in a burning bush to Moses, “I AM that I AM”
So Jesus, tells His disciples. “Take heart, I AM, do not be afraid”
In other words, “Don’t worry, the Lord is here, do not be afraid”
When we are in a relationship with Jesus it is evident that God is in our midst even in the storms of life.
So the disciples hear this and Peter says in Matt. 14:28
And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
Peter does something radical, in many ways more radical than walking on water...
Are you ready for this radical thing that Peter did?
He got out of the boat.
When everything around him was telling him stay in the boat where it’s safe, where your brothers are, where you are protected from the wind and the waves Peter heard Jesus say “Come” and he gets out of the boat.
He makes a commitment that he would not only hear the words of Jesus but that we would believe them.
In that moment he wasn’t thinking about all the excuses or the possible risks he simply heard Jesus calling and believed that through Jesus it would be possible.
Peter put His faith in Jesus
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
So Peter begins walking to Jesus but then sees the distractions, the reasons why one might be afraid to get out of a boat in the middle of a storm.
And Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus
Peter fails to trust, he fails to continue to have faith in Jesus to keep him above the waves and he begins to sink.
And many teachers would stop here and say see this is the point you have to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus in order to stay above the waves.
But that’s not the end of the story.
And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
And when they got back in the boat...
How did they get back to the boat?
Did Jesus carry him like a baby?
Did Peter get a piggy back ride?
Or… and there is no biblical evidence for this but it doesn’t seem far fetched… did Jesus and Peter walk back to the boat together?
Did Jesus pick Peter up and walk back to the boat with him arm over arm.
See when Jesus asks us to walk in a relationship with Him, He invites us to walk along side Him. He is there to catch us, and He is walking beside us. It’s not a one way street where Jesus does all the work and we just sit there, but He invites us into a relationship with Him, to walk WITH Him.
Some of us today may be in this room today and you are still in your boat you hear Jesus calling to you but you don’t want to get out because you like it there, maybe because you’re scared.
Jesus is calling out to you
Some of us may be walking on water toward Jesus but we are starting to sink because of all the distractions around us leading us away from Christ.
Jesus is reaching out to you
Some of us may be walking arm over arm with Christ in a deep relationship with Him
Jesus is sending you out to tell others about the life that can be found in Him
Because when they get back to the boat, the disciples turn to Jesus and glorify Him
they don’t tell Peter how cool he is or how awesome it was that he walked in water.
they turn to Jesus and glorify him. As the son of God.
When we commit to Christ, when we obey and follow Him people will naturally see you.
A relationship with a Jesus brings life.
life that this world is thirsting for.
Because this world is broken by sin.
Romans 3 tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God
