Could You Give Me a Hand?(Matthew 14:22-33)

Intro

Jesus’ Sending (vs.22) - we listen to the Savior. He constrains (compels) us. He doesn’t command us (like robots or puppets).

Jesus’ Supplication (vs.23) - Christ prayed. We should pray!

Jesus’ Seclusion (vs.23b) - We all need time alone with the Father!

Disciples’ Ship (vs.24) - Harassing Waves and Hostile Winds

Jesus’ Strolling (vs.25)

The Hour (fourth watch 3am-6am) Darkest Time

The How (walking on the sea) In the midst of darkness and far from shore, Jesus went to them.

The Horror (vs.26) - sometimes our disturbances lead to delusions, our anxieties to assumptions, and fear to little or no faith.

Jesus’ Speaking (vs.27)

Immediate (Straightway)

Informative (Be of good cheer)

Identifying (It Is I)

Indisputable (Since it’s Christ, we have no reason to fear!)

Peter’s Skepticism (vs.28) - When the Lord is wanting to help us, sometimes we wonder if it’s really Him.

Jesus’ Summoning (vs.29)

The Call (come)

The Complying (Peter obeyed in faith the words of Christ)

The Closeness (to go to Jesus) - When things get crazy, we’ll do whatever it takes to get close to Christ.

Peter’s Scare (vs.30)

His Seeing - something invisible that had an effect on other things.

His Sinking - Scares can cause us to sink. Fear can cause us to fall. Panic can lead to our plummet.

His Shouting - When everything around Peter was more than he could handle, all he could do was shout for Christ to help him.

Jesus’ Stretching (vs.31) - Peter didn’t need the ship, an oar, a life jacket, another boat, or any of the disciples. He knew his only hope was in Christ. Peter needed a hand from Jesus.

A Hand in Salvation

Deuteronomy 6:20–23 “And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.”

Isaiah 59:1 “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; Neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:”

The hand of the Lord isn’t too short for some people. He’s able to reach down to the very bottom to save the lowest sinner!

A Hand in Security

John 10:27–30 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.”

A Hand in Sorrows

Psalm 109:21–27 “But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy name’s sake: Because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me. For I am poor and needy, And my heart is wounded within me. I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust. My knees are weak through fasting; And my flesh faileth of fatness. I became also a reproach unto them: When they looked upon me they shaked their heads. Help me, O Lord my God: O save me according to thy mercy: That they may know that this is thy hand; That thou, Lord, hast done it.”

A Hand in Surety

John 20:24–28 “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”

- We can always be sure that God is true to His word by looking at the scars in the hands of His Son.

- Behold - to perceive by any of the senses, to pay attention to.

Peter beheld the wind and the waves. We need to behold the Savior.