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You got to get out of the boat!
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,
We have to remember that the disciples, all Jews for that matter, knew the Old Testament and would easily recognize the reference Christ is making with His actions. The phrase “would have passed by them” finds its roots in Old Testament passages such as Exodus 33:19, 22 and 1 Kings 19:11. In those two sections of scripture God revealed Himself as God to Moses and Elijah by “passing by.” That’s what Christ is doing here.
And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
But He does offer this encouragement:
“It is I, do not be afraid”
Confirming this self-revelation are the words the Lord spoke as He passed by “Be of good cheer; it is I; do not be afraid.”
Admittedly , the words “Be of good cheer” might not do much for you if they have been spoken by a ghost, but “it is I” is another matter. “It is I” is another way of saying “I am.”
They didn’t recognize Jesus when He came to them.
It is not like they haven’t seen Him in a while. They had just spent time with him and a full day has not passed. He comes walking toward them and they are frightened.
But isn’t that just like us. We don’t see Jesus in our storms?
Why?
We are so caught up with what we are going through that we don’t recognize when God shows up.
The disciples couldn’t see Jesus due to the fact that their attention was on the storm that was around them. What storm is raging in your life, right now, to take your attention and focus off Christ?
Jesus comes toward the ship walking on water and says the same words that He wants you to hear:
“It is I, be not afraid”
Matthew 14:28
And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
***Peter sought the will of Christ, “command me to come.”
“God if it’s really you, just tell me what to do.”
“God if it’s really you, just tell me where to go.”
***Peter sought the presence of Christ, “command me to come to you...”
“God, I don’t want to go anywhere you are not working.”
This should be our attitude as Christ followers, Nothing but God!
Notice the next thing that Peter did. He wasn’t going out there alone. He said “Jesus, command me to come to you.” He wanted to make sure Jesus was going to be right there with him. You know, risks are always easier to make when you have someone with you. It somehow helps us to know that we are not alone. This is equally true when we think about church. God created us as communal beings, meaning that we do so much better together than on our own. Together we can lift others up and we can be lifted up also.
If Jesus called yourname, would you recognize His voice?
Do you know the sound of His voice? Or have you convinced yourself that you hear from God all the time.
And the final thing I want you to see here is that Peter knew that reward was worth the risk. Peter might sink, he might drown, yes, but he had the chance to walk on the water with Jesus. Who could pass that up? Peter knew the rewards were great, even if it meant falling to the bottom of the lake.
I have a lot of ministry friends that have left long standing careers with comfortable salaries, because Jesus called them to get out of the boat. They saw Jesus on the waters of their life and decided to take a risk. Each one has been rewarded with the closer walk with Jesus.
III. Peter Conquers his Fears
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
It’s only one word but what a statement Christ makes here.
I found it interesting in other parts of the Bible, when Christ spoke to one individual He would call out their name.
· “Lazarus, come forth” – John 11
· “Zaccheus, come down”- Luke 19
“Come” the same word used in:
Matthew 11:28
“Come to Me all who are weary and I will give you rest…”
This was an open invitation to anyone who was on the boat. Peter asked for the invitation but Christ gave it to all.
But notice only one person responded.
First of all you have to see that the boat was where the fear was settled.
The disciples were in a storm while they were in the boat. Christ was giving them an opportunity to get out of the storm.
He said, “Come” – The same invitation that He is giving to you.
Just like He was telling the disciples:
Come or Stay
Get out of the storm – or remain in the storm
He left the choice to the disciples and only one responded.
And I am sure it wasn’t easy for Peter to get out of the boat. He had to conquer:
1. His fear
He was about to do something that he has never done before.
2. His friends
Can’t you just hear the other 11 disciples?
“Peter, what do you think you are doing?”“Peter, get back here, are you crazy”
“Peter, we have never done that before”
“Peter, are you sure about what you’re doing”
It wasn’t just making the decision to go, Peter had to make the decision to not listen to his fear or his friends.
Go down to the fish market and look into the crab barrel. They never have to put a lid on it because if one crab starts to crawl out, the others will grab onto him and pull him back down.
That’s what negative peer pressure does. And that’s what you must fight against.
—Ben Carson, MD, Johns Hopkins University neurosurgeon who grew up on the streets of Detroit
29 “And he said, Come”
Get out of the Boat!
Isaiah 43: 1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Notice the action in that text: “Through”These storms were not created for you to just sit down and feel sorry for yourself.
If you are ever going to make it, you have got to go “through” your situation.
DON’T STOP!!!
Get out of the boat and start walking toward Jesus.
It’s an open invitation.
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Cor 10:13).
“A way” is formed by the definite article and a singular noun. In other words, there is only one way. The way of escape from every temptation, no matter what it is, is the same; it is through. The 3 Hebrew children didn’t go around the fiery furnace they went through.
We would think God would allow us to avoid the furnace - or provide an escape before. God provides the escape “with.”
Warren Wiersbe noted that when God permits his children to go through the furnace, he keeps his eye on the clock and his hand on the thermostat.
The fire served to burn the cords with which they were bound and set them free. Many times when the fire is so hot for us that we think we are going to be consumed, we come out of it liberated from the things we worried about.
When we avoid the furnace we also often avoid the presence of the Son of God. Whenever His children are in the fire, He is there too. He was with Moses who saw Him in the burning bush, with the disciples in the midst of the storm at sea, and with Stephen as he was being stoned by an angry mob.
In order for Daniel to be delivered from the lions den - he had to be in it. But through the temptation, his testimony was reinforced and his enemies, silenced.
We want deliverance without the experience. Roses without thorns.
God is more interested in changing hearts than circumstances.
“If you want to walk on water you have got to get out of the boat”
IV. Peters Consternation
Mat 14:29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
A. Peter’s Problem
(eye problem, he took his eyes off Christ)
He walked, all he ever gets credit for is sinking, you can’t sink unless your out of the boat.
Benjamin Franklin said one time, “The man who does things makes many mistakes, but he never makes the biggest mistake of all—doing nothing.”
Were like Peter, take a few steps and start thinking now I’ve got it under control. Or start thinking God is reaching his limit, the waves are too big now.
God let him sink a little to shut him up, and let him walk enough to shut them up.
When Peter stepped out onto the water, it was a step of faith which soon turned to fear.
No one in history had ever walked on water. Compounding the problem was Peter’s “eye problem.” He took his eyes off the Lord and began to focus them on the circumstances—a move that will start you sinking every time.
On a balmy October afternoon in 1982, Badger Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, was packed. More than 60,000 die-hard University of Wisconsin supporters were watching their football team take on the Michigan State Spartans.
It soon became obvious that MSU had the better team. What seemed odd, however, as the score became more lopsided, were the bursts of applause and shouts of joy from the Wisconsin fans. How could they cheer when their team was losing?
It turns out that seventy miles away the Milwaukee Brewers were beating the St. Louis Cardinals in game three of the 1982 World Series. Many of the fans in the stands were listening to portable radios—and responding to something other than their immediate circumstances.
Paul encourages us to fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen (2 Cor. 4:18). When we do, we can rejoice even in hardships because we see Christ’s larger victory.
— Greg Asimakoupoulos, Naperville, Illinois
B. Peter’s Prayer
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Notice how quickly he got his faith back, “beginning”
Cried to God the minute he began to sink. Some are sinking won’t even listen to the clear message of God. If we call to God he doesn’t let us dog paddle, he lifts us up.
Teaches us to pray, v. 30
Short- which word would you leave out.
Sincere- meant every word.
The proper way for a man to pray, Says Deacon Lemuel Keys, And the only proper attitude Is down upon his knees.
No, I should say the way to pray, Says Reverend Doctor Wise Is standing straight with outstreched arms And rapt and upturned eyes.
Oh, no, no, no said Elmer Slow. Such posture is too proud. A man should pray with eyes fast closed And head contritely bowed.
It seems to me his hands should be Austerely clasped in front. Both hands pointing toward the ground, Said Reverend Doctor Blunt.
Last year I fell in Hitchkins’ well, Head first, said Cyrus Brown. And both my heels were stickin’ up, And my head was pointing down.
And I made a prayer right then and there, The best prayer I ever said. The prayin’est prayer I ever prayed Was standin’ on my head.
—Sam Walter Foss
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
Peter lost his faith and began to sink, but Jesus still had compassion enough to bring him back into the boat. So what is different this time? Jesus is in the boat as well.
Mat 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Peter had no answer to Christ’s question as to why he doubted. But then, neither do we when we doubt.
V. The Disciples are Convinced of who He is
Mat 14:32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
Mat 14:33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
Mat 14:34 And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret.
When I could not get all the way to Him – HE came to me. Picked me up out of the waves that could possibly drown me and put me back to familiar territory (in the boat)
That’s exactly the response for which Jesus Christ was looking. He wanted to demonstrate to His men that He was God.
When the lesson is learned the storm is over.
Jesus calmed the storm! He didn’t say a thing, He just got into the boat with the disciples and the sea was calmed.
(Ill. One day, he’ll do the same in your life! The storm will rage until it has accomplished His purpose and then He will cause the winds to cease for you. All He is trying to get us to see is that He is in control of the storms of life. It isn’t me and it isn’t you. Jesus is the Master of the Sea and He is the Master of the Storm as well
34 And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret.
v. 34 – this may not mean much to you
But notice after the storm was over, they made it to their destination.
Plenty of opportunities to get turned around
Plenty of opportunities to get lost or confused
Plenty of opportunities to give up…
But they ended up where they set out to go.
Isaiah 25:4“God is our refuge from the storm…”
The storms we go through will cause us to make some decisions about ourselves. Some will be tough.
But sometimes, God is just waiting to see if we are willing to get out of the boat.
Invitation: If you want to walk on water you have to get out of the boat!
