Want To Walk On Water?

The other day a mild mannered young man went to see a counselor ready for a divorce. He complained that his bride was so bossy that she was driving him up the wall. He wanted things to change, immediately.

The counselor told him that he needed to build his self-esteem and that this would take time. Then gave him a book on assertiveness. He was so desperate to change things that he pulled off the side of the road on his way home and read the whole book.

Determined to be a victim no more, he stormed into the house and walked up to his wife. Pointing a finger in her face, he said, "From now on, I want you to know that “I am the man of this house, and my word is law! I want you to prepare me a gourmet meal tonight, and to finish the meal you will bake for me a fabulous dessert. Then, after dinner, you’re going to draw me my bath so I can relax. And when I’m finished with my bath, guess who’s going to dress me and comb my hair ...."

His wife said…“The funeral director.”

Ever deal with any “storms” in your life? Ever go through any “storms” in your life? Stormy times?

In Matthew 14:22-33 the disciples found themselves in a storm experience, but boy they learned some valuable lessons…read…

Matthew 14:22–33 NASB95

Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 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 courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”

I want you to notice 3 things…1st notice…

1. The Command that came.

- The disciples and the multitude had just seen an unbelievable miracle and demonstration of Jesus’ power. He fed over 5000 men (10-12,000 when you factor in women and children) with 5 loaves and 2 fish. And 12 baskets full were gathered up at the end!

- John 6 tells us that the Jews wanted to make Jesus king at this point. You understand why!

- And the disciples no doubt probably thought this was a good idea at the moment. Remember, Jesus had taught them to pray for “Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

- And no doubt the devil used this as another occasion to tempt Jesus to step forward now and become king and Messiah in a different way than the Father intended.

- But Jesus knew this wasn’t the plan of the Father and He needed to dismiss this gathering - and needed to get His disciples away from their influence. Also, we learn that Jesus needed to spend some isolated time in prayer - no doubt for Himself but also praying for His disciples.

- So He immediately made (commanded) His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (the western side), dismissed the crowd and withdrew to the mountain to spend some needed time in prayer.

TS – Next notice…

2. The Crisis that arose.

- It was during the 1st watch of the night (the time between 6-9 p.m.) that Jesus put His disciples in the boat while He withdrew to the mountain to pray.

- We learn that at some point in their journey the wind became contrary to them and they found themselves in the midst of a storm. In fact, the journey across the northern tip of the Sea was only 1-2 miles in length. However, according to John 6 the disciples found themselves rowing hard and battling the strong wind that had arisen and knocked them 3-4 miles from land!

- They were in the midst of a strong storm with huge waves and swells bobbing them upon the sea.

- And where was Jesus? When Jesus was present things were always so much better! When they could physically see Him and be near Him!

- But now for hours they had been fighting the storm and it was winning! They were afraid, fatigued and exhausted.

- And then suddenly in the 4th watch of the night (3-6 a.m.) they saw a ghost walking on the water toward them and immediately filled them with FEAR and FRIGHT!

TS – Which leads to the next thing I want you to see…

3. The Calming that took place.

- The ghost was Jesus.

- Immediately Jesus spoke to them saying “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

- And Peter, in his usual brash and impetuous way, said “Lord if it is You (since it is You) command me to come to You on the water!”

- Peter knew that in Jesus’ presence there was a wonderful safety and comfort and he wanted to be with Him! It was safer to be WITH Jesus on the water IN THE STORM than to be safe in the boat WITHOUT Jesus in the storm!

- And Peter knew that what the Lord commanded always happened!

- And Jesus said to Him, “Come.”

- And Peter stepped out of the boat, and with his eyes on Jesus he walked on the water!

- That was an amazing experience! How far Peter got we don’t know…

- But Peter got his eyes off of Jesus and onto the swelling waves around him and he began to sink!

- And instantly he cried out to the Lord – while sinking rather than waiting until he was drowning - because he knew Jesus was the One who could save him!

- And Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him! And raised him up. Couldn’t Jesus just have commanded Peter to rise up out of the water? Sure…but Jesus reaching out was so reassuring to Peter as he felt the hand/touch of his Lord!

- And even though Peter in faith stepped out of the boat heading to Jesus, Jesus I believe with a feeling of disappointment, chided him for his lack of faith and doubt!

- But there were some powerful lessons for these men to learn that night!

There are 3 lessons I want to draw out from this experience in the disciples lives: One…

1. Storms will come in your life. You will experience events, things, and circumstances that will batter you and knock you off course. They will fatigue you as you battle them and many times frightenyou. By the way: the disciples were right in the center of God’s willfor their lives! And they still had to experience a storm! Storms aren’t always because of sin in your life. In fact, many storms come for 2 reasons:

1) To demonstrate that God has power over everything in your life.

2) To reveal to you in a greater way who God is. In the midst of them, you learn some deeper lessons about who God truly is. At the end of this one, the disciples exclaimed: “You are certainly God’s Son!”

2. Jesus comes to help you in the storms of your life. He loves and cares for you. He loved and cared for His disciples. We’re told in Mark 6:48 “And seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night, He came to them…” How many times has the Lord come to you and made the difference? It is better to be with Him on the rolling water than in the boat without Him!

3. You can walk on water. No, not physically but spiritually…Peter got out of the boat…and walked on water when his eyes were fixed on the Lord.

· But when Peter got his eyes off Jesus and started looking around at his circumstances…the storm…the situation…he began to sink!

· What was Peter’s problem? What caused him to sink? Jesus told him: He had little faith…he began to doubt!

· The same is true in your life! When you get your eyes fixed on Jesus you can walk on water – even in the storms BUT when you get your eyes off of Him and fixed on the circumstances going on around you, you will begin to sink!

· Thankfully though – when you cry out to Him, He will reach out His hand and take hold of you and rescue you – and help you to get back in the boat!

Conclusion

Do you want to walk on water in your life? Conquer the storms that come your way…in your life? Then develop strong faith and don’t doubt the Lord!