Keeping Ourselves In The Love Of God (To Whom Else Shall We Go?)

Matthew 14:22-33.......

Understanding these course of events and understanding the truth and meaning of these of events, comes only if we study them by the time period, the audience, the people involved, and with an eye and a heart for the spiritual not the natural.

Let’s start with Jude 1:20-21............To get an idea of what we are talking about today. Understanding that Jude is talking about staying away from worldly temptations and false teaching we must......keep ourselves in Jesus, in everything about Him!

Now let’s move to Matthew 14:22-33.........

At first glance, (the glance that I had), we see Jesus and Peter walking on water in the midst of a storm.

Amazing miracle and a powerful moment!

If we break this down by using all 3 Gospel accounts and understanding the times and the people, this event becomes heart changing!

Let us set the scene:

Matthew, Mark, and John record Jesus walking on water and the disciples in the ship during a storm.

Only Matthew records Peter walking on water. Why? No one knows.

All the accounts given have this happening right after the feeding of the multitude, which is commonly known as “feeding the 5000”, but if take in account Matthew’s report 5000 men was not including women and children.

So, the number of people fed could of very well been anywhere from 15,000 to 25,000 or more.

We talked Wed. night about the power that it would of took to perform that miracle.....A scientist in a church got with a professor of science and did a study on this using Einstein’s formula E=MC2.......the results of that study was: The formula E=MC squared, energy equals mass times the speed of light squared, you’re turning energy into  mass, how much energy would it take to create this much mass?  The formula works out this way, all the electrical power on earth running at a hundred percent output, a hundred percent of the time for four years.  That’s how much energy it would take to create that meal.

This was an amazing scene and it must of been a powerful moment for the disciples, as well.

The multitude of people started believing that this might be the Prophet that Moses spoke of in Deut. 18. According to John, John 6:14-15 “14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. 15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.”

But Jesus perceived that this crowd wanted Him to be a King! Now wouldn’t that be what you would want folks to believe about Jesus?

I am sure this was on the minds of the disciples! Isn’t that what all followers of Christ want?

If multitudes started coming, we would be saying that this is a move of God! We would start thinking about adding on and doing other things!

This must to been on the mind of the disciples at first!

Jesus knew their hearts and want kind of king they wanted Him to be.........Jesus isn’t willing to be a temporal provider.  He’s not willing to do that.  It’s astonishing to think about it, if He wanted to be Messiah, this would have been His moment if He was just a man with ambition.  But He would not allow them to push Him to become the kind of King that they wanted. And that’s the way it is today.

This was a staggering opportunity for them to affirm that He is the Son of God, that He is the prophet.  And for them to say, “Teach us, teach us, what is the truth from God.”  And He will do that. 

He will do that later in the chapter, He will give that great discourse on Himself as the bread of life, drawing off that experience in the meal.  He will talk about eternal riches, heaven, salvation, and they will reject it. Matter of fact, they left Him.

He comes to no man on that man’s terms.  People can’t manipulate Him for their own selfish ends, He doesn’t promise unregenerate people what unregenerate people want.  Jesus will not be a quick fix for felt needs.  He will not be the one who just gives you temporal satisfaction. And if you market Him that way, you’re on your own because He’s not there.

What does Jesus do with this crowd, He sends them away. Not before, He tells His disciples to leave!

Jesus sends them out on another mission! Go to Capernaum. Matthew and Mark both say that Jesus constrained them, which means He made them go.

Jesus then sends the multitude away. This must of been mind blowing to the disciples, but they went anyway, just as He told them.

Jesus goes up into a mountain, basically a really big hill, but He went up there to be alone with His Father to pray!

Praying for what?? For His disciples, remember in Luke 22:31-32 Jesus speaking to Peter: “31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”

The enemy was after them boys, he is after us, attempting to cause us to get or look away from the Love of God and the Mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ!

It is easy to follow the crowd, it is easy to get caught up in the moment, and begin to look to another Jesus! That is essentially what this crowd does and was doing. If you join us this coming Wed. night and probably the next Wed. you will understand what this multitude was truly looking for. They will leave the true Christ!

Jesus tells in John 4 that the “true worshippers” emphasis on “true” will worship God in Spirit and in Truth! “True worshippers” tells us that there must be some “false” worshippers. They use Jesus’ Name but do not worship Him in Spirit and in Truth!

With this understanding and reading this account, brings it all together! This will take a true faith to deny those fleshly pullings and reasonings!

Now the storm! A storm came when these disciples got in the midst of the sea. Winds blowing greatly and waves were crashing all around them.

Scripture says that the winds was contrary. Meaning that it was making it difficult to go the way Jesus told them to go. Waves tossing them, the wind blowing them away from the destination.

The wind was contrary because the disciples were too! The only way the the wind would of been contrary was for the disciples to be contrary! They were going where Jesus told them to go!

The way was rough, but the way was right! They were keeping themselves in the will of God!

At the 4th watch (3-6 am), Jesus came out to the disciples, walking on the water.

They saw something, but thought it was a ghost, something like that!

No Jesus wasn’t glowing or anything, it was somebody where somebody shouldn’t be!

Jesus said told them to be of good cheer......nothing to worry about I am here!!!

Then Peter posed the question and the request: “Lord if it is you bid me to come?”

Jesus answered Peter, simply: “Come”

I have looking at this for about 2 weeks now, wondering what Peter was doing here.....

Some say that Peter was presumptuous, bold, sticking his neck in it again.....basically overstepping his bounds, overconfident.

That is kind of silly, because Peter had spent his whole life on this sea and he has been through many storms. He had never walked on the water, sometimes he might even had difficulty floating on it. He was not stupid, Peter might have been hasty at times, but he wasn’t a fool.

Another commentator has said that Peter was showing off. That is just about as silly. Show-offs seem to know their limitations, I believe Peter knew about the storms on the sea and the conditions, being dark, that was not his motive!

What was Peter’s motive? First of all, I would like to believe and I do, that Jesus would never invite someone to do anything proud, presumptuous, or sinful. Jesus invited Peter to come, so this wasn’t a pride thing.

The request seems to be one of a child calling out their parents for help. The invitation by Jesus seems to be a compassionate call to the child to come to them.

I believe Jesus knew Peter’s faith was weak, but Jesus was stretching Peter out to the far extreme, testing his faith. The disciples were being stretched as well, but Peter had a little something different going on with him.

Maybe Peter was thinking of what was written in Scripture (OT): Psalm 5:11 “But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: Let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: Let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.”

Or maybe Psalm 9:9 “The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble.”

Psalm 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

I believe the thing that consumed Peter’s heart was that he loved Jesus and Peter sensed tremendous safety in the presence of Jesus. He believed that if Jesus could walk on this stuff, if he could just get to where Jesus was he would be safer with Him than in the boat!

One writer wrote: “I like the fact that Peter had no resources. I like the fact that all he could think about doing was running where Jesus was, even though it wasn’t physically possible. Peter was consumed with the fact that he wanted to get to Jesus.”

It seems that in Peter’s mind and in the truth of the text, it has nothing to do with walking on the water and everything to do with getting to Jesus!

Peter knew that there was no safer place to be than with Jesus! He felt so at peace with Jesus. Another writer wrote that he liked to think of Jesus and Peter walking and when Jesus would stop Peter would run into the back of Him.

I can speak of this all day, but I must move on. Peter’s motive was pure, but when he stepped out and got on the water it was big, actually too big for Peter! I have felt that way many times!

The waves and wind (insert whatever challenged your step of faith) were too big in his human understanding. The way he reacted to the fierceness of the storm, kind of proves that he didn’t act hasty or proudly, he just wanted safety and he was walking to it!

His faith got him out of the boat and his faith in the power of Jesus got on top of the water, but his weakness was that he still thought that the wind and waves had some kind of power in the presence of Jesus the Christ the Son of the living God!!

When we make our steps of faith, when the Lord sends us out to Capernaum or when He sends us anywhere, our faith must not be dictated by the environment! I will say, however, this must not have any thing to do with our advancement or our situation, but everything to do with God’s purpose (will)! John 6:40 “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

This was the will of Christ and is the will for His followers! That is the mission the disciples were sent on and whatever the Lord sends us out to do, it will be done!

Peter got scared and I have gotten scared in the midst of these storms! This phrase comes to my mind: “I was too big”! It was in the eyes and mind of Peter, but not for God! We must keep ourselves in His love, at all times!

Peter began to sink, but he did the same thing when he was in the boat, He called out to his only Refuge: “Lord, Save me!” Peter got his farthermost extreme, Jesus took him there, why?

To show Peter what he didn’t know! Now, he knew and Peter grew a lot there. Still work to be done and as long as we keep ourselves there with Jesus, He will shape us and mold us into His workmanship!

James 1:3 “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience (endurance).”

Jesus immediately stretched out His Hand and pulled Peter out of the sea and they went on to the boat.

Jesus called their faith little and asked why did they doubt!

Faith as a grain of mustard seed, Peter walked on water and was saved from drowning in it by the Master of everything, by just calling out to the Lord! Peter couldn’t understand how or why, he just knew Who to call on!

Might I say this to you today, when you are about the Lord’s will and purpose and it gets rough call on Him, He is the Lord of all!! It doesn’t matter how little your faith looks (people will tell you that) all the matter is when you are about the Lord’s business, where that little faith is directed

As soon as they got in the waters and wind ceased! That tells me something right there! The wind and waters are at the mercy of Jesus and also that this was a test!

Those that were in the ship began to worship Jesus declaring that He was the true Son of God!

This phrase means that Jesus is one with God!

Let’s move quickly to John 6......after this testing in the sea, Peter and the disciples (Peter being the leader) grew some..........Jesus was teaching the multitudes and Jesus spoke about Him being the Bread of Life....this one verse got the people wigged out John 6:56 “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.”....There is more to it and we will study that Wed. night, Lord willing, but the key is that the folks was not getting it.

Jesus told them that He was speaking of spiritual things: John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

Anyway they left Jesus, listen to this conversation with the disciples: John 6:66-68.......

Peter had grown.....this teaching of Jesus was BIG, too big for some, but for Peter and the disciples there was no where else to go! They trusted Jesus beyond their little minds and they continued!

Finally, Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:3-9......listen to where how his faith progressed......