Walking on Water: How Jesus Empowers Your Faith-filled Courage (Matthew 14:22-33)

Doing the Right Thing When Its the Hard Thing

During World War II, many young men faced the dire call to join the fight against tyranny. Some, driven by fear, chose to hide rather than heed the call for bravery. War is a hard thing. No body wants to go to war. War is filled with death and destruction. It was, however, inevitable for the U.S. to go to war because evil was threatening our livelihood.

It’s ok to be afraid. Fear is a good thing when it is healthy. But fear should not keep you from doing the right thing, which is often hard. Those who let fear keep them from doing the hard thing allow cowardliness to keep their eyes fixed on fear itself. Unhealthy fear keeps you from seeing the possibility of God’s glory and his victory.

If people lack courage to do the right thing, which if often the hard thing, churches, communities, and families are not safe, and will suffer at the hands of the wicked.

History, however, remembers those who stood firm, like the soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy. They overcame their fears for a greater cause, teaching us that courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the determination to stand up despite it.

These men and women fixed their eyes on something greater than themselves; victory over the axis powers, freedom for all the nations that were oppressed, and the safety of their own nation. Seeing these greater values helped them overcome fear with courage.

In a similar way, our text this morning shows us how Jesus call us to always do the right thing, which is often the hard thing. He knows doing the right thing, which is often the hard thing, might tempt us to do nothing out of fear. Jesus, however, empowers our faith and courage to do what he asks us to do, we see this in the story of Peter walking on water with Jesus.

What Peter shows us is that,

Courage requires you to fix your eyes on Jesus so you can step out in faith to do the hard things.

In Matthew 14:22-25, Peter is in a boat with eleven other disciples. Jesus had already sent them on their way. In the early hours of morning, while it was still dark out, Jesus comes to the disciples by walking on water. Jesus is showing his disciple that he is the Son of God. He has the authority and power to control creation.

As Jesus appears to his disciples walking on water, they think that Jesus is a ghost or spirit. Jesus assures them that it is he, body and all. Peter sees Jesus and is compelled to go to Him. With his heart set on following Jesus, Peter is about to learn three truths about Christ-honoring faith-field courage.

Fixing your eyes on Jesus empowers you to have the courage to ask Jesus’ to call you to do the hard things

Matthew 14:26–29 ESV

26 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. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.

By the time Peter sees Jesus, the waves and the wind are beating against the boat. A storm has arisen in the Sea of Galilee. Jesus, however, is unmoved and undeterred. He stands calmly on the water. The contrasts is remarkable to Peter. The wind and the waves beating against the boat stir his heart to anxiety and fear, and yet Jesus stands on the tossing waves and in the howling wind with calm and serenity.

How can Jesus be so calm in amidst the storm?

Jesus can stand with serenity on the stormy sea because he is soverign over the sea. He controls all of creation.

A couple of chapters earlier, Jesus and his disciples were in a boat in a similar situation. A massive storm threatened to sink the boat. The disciples were scared out of their mind. Do you know what Jesus was doing? He was sleeping in the bow of the boat. When his disciples woke him up in a panic, Jesus stood up and calmed the raging sea and the howling wind with his words; “Be still.” Notice at end of our story when Jesus gets in the boat. What does the wind do?

Matthew 14:32 ESV

32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

Just like in the previous story, the seas and the winds obeyed his voice, and his disciples asked themselves, “Who is this that even the seas and wind obey him?”

Paul explains who Jesus is in his letter to the Colossians. Paul says,

Colossians 1:15–17 (ESV)

15 [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Jesus is sovereign over all creation. He has the authority and power to start and stop the storms. He can stand on waves as the wind howls around him with out a single worry. He can tell them to be still and they will obey his voice.

If Jesus can bring peace to the storms in the sea or on dry land, do you think he can bring peace to the storms inside of your heart?

Do you remember the words we sing in the song, “Soverign One?”

When I’m all alone and afraid I will trust in You For You watch over my ways When things in my life don’t make sense I will trust in You For You are good, You are good

When I don’t get to have my own way I will trust in You For You know what is best When tears begin to roll down my face I will trust in You For You are good, You are good

Why can we trust Jesus with our fears and tears?

Because, Jesus,

Perfect in power, You control all things Perfect in wisdom, You know everything Perfect in goodness Jesus, You’re so good to me So good to me

When Jesus calls you to do the hard things, you can trust him. He is perfect in power. He controls everything in and around your life, even the hard things he calls you too. He’s perfect in wisdom. He knows every thing that can happen, will happen, and even could potentially happen to you. He is perfect in goodness. Everything he does for you, even allowing hard things to be in your life, is for your good. Paul says,

Romans 8:28 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Fix your eyes on Jesus. Be courageous. Trust his sovereignty and wisdom. Ask Jesus to call to do a hard thing for his kingdom, and be like Peter, with his eyes fixed on Jesus, he stepped out of the boat in faith.

Fixing your eyes on Jesus empowers you to have the courage to step out in faith to do the hard things

Matthew 14:28–29 ESV

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.

Because Peter fixed his eyes on Jesus and trusted his sovereign goodness, Peter asked Jesus to do a hard thing; to step out of a boat in the middle of a storm. From there, Peter’s Christ-honoring courage compelled him to step out of the boat by faith.

Seeing Jesus walk on water strengthened Peter’s faith-field courage to do something amazing. He stepped out of the boat in the middle of a raging storm. This act of faith was not without fear; he faced the wind and waves, yet his desire to be with Christ propelled him forward.

What is remarkable to me is that Peter did not let his fear keep him from following Jesus into a hard thing. Peter’s faith-filled courage to take a kingdom risk for the glory of Jesus, and in turn he experienced something glorious. He walked on water with Jesus, something no other disciple got to experience. He got to experience the glory of Jesus’ power first hand. Had fear kept him from doing the hard thing, he would’ve never seen Jesus in this way, or learned to trust him in the midst of a storm. When Peter fixed his eyes on Jesus, Jesus empowered his courage to take the step out of the boat in faith.

Jesus will call you to do hard things, like stepping out of a boat in the middle of a storm. He may call you to start a ministry with nothing but a vision, or to be a missionary in a far away country. He may call you to stand up for the weak and vulnerable, or to speak truth when no one wants to listen. Like Peter, fix your eyes on Jesus, and Jesus will empower your courage with the faith it needs to step out of the boat and experience his glory.

Peter’s faith-filled courage propelled him to step out of the boat in the midst of a storm to walk on water towards Jesus. Did Peter sink? Did he drown? No! How did Peter not sink?

Fixing your eyes on Jesus empowers you to have the courage to rest in Jesus’ sustaining grace to do the hard things

Matthew 14:30–33 ESV

30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Peter’s courage was not keeping Peter afloat on the water. Jesus was graciously sustaining Peter. As long as Peter fixed his eyes on Jesus, his faith and his courage was strong enough to remain above the water. But something happens to Peter. What does Peter do? He took his eyes off of Jesus.

When he took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink. Peter fixed his eyes on the fear by focusing on the waves and the wind. His fear was not able to save him. His faith needed to save. What did Peter do when he began to sink?

Matthew 14:30 ESV

30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”

Peter cried out to Jesus to save him. What did Jesus do?

Matthew 14:31 ESV

31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

When Peter cried our to the Lord to save Him, Jesus immediately grabbed his hand and took hold of him. That is how Jesus respond to those who cry out to him by faith. He immediately takes hold of them and saves them. Crying out to Jesus might be the first thing you need to do right now. Jesus may be calling you into his kingdom. He may be compelling you to step out of the boat by faith and trust him for the first time. Cry out to him. He will not let you perish if you cry out to him like Peter, “Lord save me!” Jesus will save you and he will bring you with him to the boat.

Notice how the disciple respond to Jesus after Jesus gets in the boat. As soon as Jesus enters the boat, the wind ceases and the storm stops. Jesus was in control the entire time. Jesus brought the storm to them. Jesus sustained them in the storm, and Jesus brought them through the storm. They had never seen Jesus like that before. Now they see Jesus differntly.

Matthew 14:33 ESV

33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Now they see Jesus as the Son of God and they worshiped him. When Jesus brings hard things into your life, he desires to show you that he truly is the Son of God who is perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness. He desire to show you he is worthy of your faith. He will empower your faith with courage to follow him to the storm, through the storm, until you reach the other side of the storm.

Fix your eyes on Jesus so He can empower your faith-filled courage to do the right thing when its the hard thing.