Stretch Toward Jesus

Stretch Toward Jesus

Matthew 14:25-33

Stretching in the storm is the theme of the latest sermon series. Maybe you noticed, but each week I acknowledged the challenge of living out your faith in the midst of a difficult time for all of us. As we finish today, I want to encourage you to stretch toward Jesus. When the storm is brewing and you don’t know what the end looks like, stretch toward Jesus. When you want to go forward but the storm has you paralyzed, stretch toward Jesus.

Yes, believe it is Jesus (25-27).

When you are in the storm, the storm gets all your attention. You must remember, Jesus is in the storm with you. Because of the tendency to focus on the storm, we must be prepared to recognize Jesus. In the storm you may have a hard time recognizing Him. You can be sure it is Jesus because…

Because of His promise.

Jesus will always come to you. He promised Hebrews 13:5 “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”.

What does that mean? He will always be present, if it feels like it or not. He will never turn His back on you. Jesus will never turn you away. Sin won’t make Him turn you away. Your stubbornness won’t make Him turn you away. Your waywardness won’t make Him turn you away. Some of you feel like you have been running too long and maybe Jesus has given up on you. You can know that yes, it is Jesus walking with you in the storm, even if you caused the storm yourself.

Because of His peace.

There is nothing like peace in the midst of the storm. Jesus assures them that it is Him and tells them because it is Him, they do not need to be afraid. Jesus always brings peace to the storm. Now notice, they are still in the storm. The storm hasn’t stopped yet, but Jesus tells them don’t be afraid. You don’t have to fear the storm because Jesus walks on top of it. Jesus is showing He is greater than the storm.

For the child of God you can be sure that when the waves are crashing and the winds are plowing in your life, Jesus is right there. Don’t let the storm trick you. Jesus has not forgotten about you. He is right there with you, let that assurance bring you peace.

Turn in faith toward Jesus (28-31).

Peter is that dude, right? He is a character that is hard to get a good handle on. He goes from excessive boldness to shriveled up fear. I believe Peter is a lot like each of us. Don’t you experience that in your life? Some days you feel like you can conquer the world and some days like giving up? We can follow Peter’s example here and turn in faith toward Jesus.

Make your move.

Great faith requires great obedience. When Jesus says “come” to him, Peter doesn’t debate with Jesus, he doesn’t reason with Jesus, he gets out of the boat and steps on the water. Now here is the thing about faith; Peter knew Jesus could do it, but he didn’t know if Jesus would, until Jesus said, “come”. Some of us have been sitting in the boat for years after Jesus has told us to come. Some of us has heard him, but don’t want to step out the boat. The boat represents a number of things I think, one of them is earthly security. Peter was in a comfortable place in the boat. The boat was providing a shelter from the storm. Look here, Jesus told him to get out of the boat and step into the storm. How about that? Step into the storm. Stop running from it, stop hiding from it, step into it. And when he does, Peter walks on top of it like Jesus did.

Make your moan.

Peter goes from great faith to great failure. All in a moment, Peter goes from hero to zero. He looks like a man of great faith in one moment and looks like a loser the next. I will say this about Peter in this moment, He knew where his help was. He didn’t try to go back to the boat, he didn’t try to swim to shore, He yelled out to Jesus. That is another sign of faith. Calling on Jesus to stop the storm takes faith.

If the storm obeys Jesus… (32-33).

The climax of the story is not the stopping of the storm but the confession and worship by the disciples. You see, if Jesus stops the storm and you keep treating him like a common religious figure, you haven’t gained the lesson. Jesus’ aim in stopping the storm is that you will come to greater faith, not so you will be comfortable again.

Jesus calms the storm.

This is one of the most remarkable miracles recorded of Jesus, because there is no mention of His saying a single word, the storm just ceases. This is important that your storm is little in the grand scheme of things. Jesus can stop your storm without even a single word. It’s not that your storm is so small, but that Jesus is so big. Jesus isn’t just the grand theme of Scripture, but the grand theme of all things. He isn’t just available for your difficulties, but for all of your life. Colossians tells us

Colossians 1:16-17 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 stands as Lord before you, not just Savior. He deserves your complete attention and obedience. He deserves your all, not just pieces of your life.

Jesus welcomes your worship.

There are two things necessary for true worship John 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”.

The spirit is implied in the statement of their act of worship. The way this generally looks like in the Bible is people fall on the knees and prostrate themselves before God. This act of worship displayed their recognition of who He is. It was stamped with the truth of who He is, the Son of God. They recognized collectively that Jesus was exactly who He claimed to be. That should be the result of the miracle. For the one it affected directly to the ones who see it from a distance. Jesus is the one and only Son of God.

This story reminds us that

Jesus is more concerned with your holiness than your happiness. He is more concerned about your character than your comfort.

I believe that is the point of the story. My friends, Jesus’ coming to you and calming the storms of your life are fuel for faith in Him. Jesus is calling you to be a disciple of His. He is calling you to follow Him; to go where He went, to say what He said, to do what He did. Jesus doesn’t just want to fix your life disturbances, but to draw you to righteousness.

Jesus is not a genie in a bottle to make your wishes come true, He is God.

He demands to be Lord and Master, not merely a ticket out of hell. Now I want you to know, I am not here to sell you on a Savior who just wants to fix your problems. I am here to declare to you a beautiful Lord and Savior who loves you enough to give you what you need. He is waiting for you to turn your life over to Him, saved or unsaved. Will you do that today? Will you stretch out your hand to Him? Will you bow before His majesty and say, “Jesus I will follow you today”?

Jesus is calling you to stretch toward Him today. Are you in the boat, step out toward Him? Are you sinking in the storm, stretch toward Him? But when Jesus lifts your life and stops the storm, don’t go back to where you were, declare Him to the world. Become an evangelist. Tell everyone about the storm tamer you serve.