Matthew 14:22-33

22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. 23 After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” 27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” 28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

It’s here as we look again at Matthew 14:22-33, that we see Peter’s response to Jesus Faithfulness. Where does Peter get the courage to climb out of the boat? Faith, in light of the Lords faithfulness, faith is the only right response. God calls us to follow by faith but so often our fears get in the way. That is why Jesus not only came but He also called out and told the disciples not to cower but to be courageous because the great I Am is here. Their courage did not come because of a change in circumstances, the storm was still raging, no their courageous came because Christ was in control of the storm. Today we want to base our courage not on Christ but on Him calming our circumstances. But courage doesn’t not come because of a change in circumstances it comes because Christ is in control of your circumstances. Instead of focusing on the junk that creates fear we need to focus on Jesus who cultivates faith. It’s here that Peter responds to the call of Christ and climbs out of the boat, leaving his man made worldly security to walk with the Savior. When it comes to living a life of faith it’s important to note that this is not only the second boat trip but also the second storm that the disciples have gone through as a result of obeying Jesus. In the first Jesus was with them in the boat while in the second He was interceding. Jesus cultivates our courage by stretching our faith in incremental steps. The first time he got into the boat with them, but the second time he sent them on ahead. Its one thing to trust Jesus when he is right there, but are you going to trust Him even when you can’t see Him? Sometimes Jesus uses the same boat to help us take baby steps in our faith as well as the bigger steps. As we look at Peter’s response of faith in light of Jesus Faithfulness it is sad to note that this part of the story, Peter walking on the water, has become the most familiar. Why, because most of us forget to first focus on the faithfulness of Jesus. As we focus on the faith of Peter we will see three faith-building things that cultivated Peters courage. First Peter:

1.         Called out. 

After being profoundly moved by this appearance of Jesus, Peter calls out in Matthew 14:28, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Peter asked Jesus to command him to come, this reveals 2 very important things, first: 

A. Unless it is Jesus who is calling you stay where you are. Why did Peter ask Jesus to command him to come, why didn’t he just get out of the boat when Jesus had revealed himself to the disciples? Because it was Jesus who had commanded him to get into the boat 9 hours before and getting out without Christ’s clear command is called disobedience. Jesus had commanded Peter to get into the boat so only Jesus could call him out. Peter was asking for permission , He wanted to know God’s Will. Right now there are some of you that desperately want out of the boat you are in. There are Pastors reading this who are weary of the wind and the waves, your tired of being in the battered boat and so you are tempted to bail and walk away from the ministry or change churches. But before you get out of the boat you need to hear the clear call of Christ. As people we have a tendency to doubt in the dark what the Lord has revealed in the light. Just because it’s difficult don’t desert. Unless the Lord calls you stay put and stay the course. It’s easy to spiritualize your disobedience and claim to be following by faith but if Christ hasn’t called then whose voice are you really listening to, self not the Savior. That means your decision to climb out of the boat is based on your wants not His will and that’s not faith its foolishness. Look don’t get out of the boat Jesus has commanded you to get into unless He calls you out. If you want to know God’s Will ask, Christs call will be clear, just as it was for Peter. This leads us to the second important observation: 

B. You better know the Lords voice – In John 10:1-5 Jesus said “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! 2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.” How do you know if it’s the voice of the Shepherd, or self or even Satan? Does the call line up with God’s Word. Is it based on your wants or His word? Today many of us are following the voice of our feelings not the voice of the Shepherd, because we are more in tune to our feelings than we are to the Father. Peter knew the Lords voice, do you recognize the voice of Jesus and are you submitting to what He says by carrying out His call? So why did Peter want to be with Jesus? Because sheep look for their shepherd, they long for their shepherd because they love their shepherd. His desire to be with Jesus was based on relationship not rules. When you really start to understand the care of Christ you will want to cling to Christ. In order to grow in our faithfulness, this is the first place to start. What Peter was actually saying was I want to join Jesus where He is at. Joining Jesus in what He’s doing is an act of faith. Many of us want Jesus to come to us and climb into our boat, but sheep follow the shepherd not the other way around. As believers we should not be asking Jesus to get in the boat with us, but to join Him where He is at work. We’re not to just dream up something big and ask Jesus to bless it. Instead, we’re to see what Jesus is blessing and join Jesus by “fasten ourselves together” with Him. So many times I have heard preachers proclaim that this passage is about getting out of the boat and taking risks for Jesus. But this is not a story about risk taking it’s a story about relying and trusting. Rather than seeing it as a story about risk-taking, we need to recognize that it is primarily a story about obedience. That means we have to discern between an authentic call from God and what may simply be a foolish impulse on my part based on feelings. Courage is not me carelessly doing what I want but carefully following God’s Will. Ask God to let you know what it is that He wants you to do, His Will. Immerse yourself in God’s Word and He will reveal His Will. Jeremiah 29:13 says “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Are you calling out to Christ with your whole hearted or are you being half hearted? 

Matthew 14:22-33

22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. 23 After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” 27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” 28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

As we continue to look at how Christ comes to our rescue in our times of deepest despair, we need to look at how He handles our hardships. I mean have you ever wondered why Jesus was walking on the water at 3:00 a.m? Why didn’t He just calm the storm like He did the time before? Why didn’t he just show up in the boat with them? Why the water-walking gig? I think there is radical reason and we need to pay close attention because it is the most important point in the passage. Jesus is far more interested in displaying His deity than He is in making life comfortable for His followers. He wants to grow our faith not our feelings. Because the goal is giving glory to God, it’s about His holiness not our happiness. Today the way many Christians are living their lives would lead you to believe that they don’t really want Jesus they want a genie who will meet their every wish and wipe away all their problems. We have made it all about a problem free life instead of a praise filled life. But Jesus knew that His disciples would not fully understand Him until they were faced with some stormy waters. The same is true for us. You see you will never really know Christ until He is all you are clinging onto. The beautiful blessings of storms is that they strip us of self-strength, oh you might be able to row for a while but its only when you come to the end of yourself that you will come to the beginning of God. Some of you don’t know because you are still struggling to row, and you don’t see Jesus on the water because He is waiting, waiting for you to grow weary of trying to save yourself. Waiting for you to grow weary of trying so that you will want to start trusting. We see Him as He really is when we’re faced with fear and wiped out by the waves of pain and problems. But, we have to look for Him in order to see Him. And Jesus reveals who He is in three very powerful ways:

· By walking on the water. 

Moses, Joshua, Elijah and Elisha were all involved in water miracles, but no human had ever walked on water before. When Jesus went for a strolled on the stormy sea, He was showing that He was more than a mere man, He was God. There is only one person who can control and command creation and that is the Creator. Job 9:8 reminds us that only God can take a stroll on the sea: “He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.” The One who made the water now calls that water as His witness, to show His position and speak His power. What about us are we like the water, witnessing about His wonders and proclaiming His power in the problems or are we more like the disciples trading our witness for whining? 

· By showing Himself.

In Mark 6:48 we read, “He was about to pass by them.” This phrase “to pass by” is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to refer to a theophany, which are those defining moments when God shows up and reveals His glory in a vivid and profound way to a select group of people. He did it with Moses in Exodus 33:19: “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name in your presence.” Jesus gave them a glimpse of His glory. The problem is that many of us are allowing the problems to eclipse God’s glory. We are so focused on the groaning that we can’t see the glory. Just like the Israelite army in 1 Samuel 17 who let Goliath eclipse the glory of God. In verse 10 when Goliath said, “I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!” Verse 11 tells us that, “When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.” What voice are you listening to today, the voice of God or the voice of garbage? The voice you listen to will either cause you to live as a victim or a victor. Stop focusing on the giants and start focusing on the greatness of God? Last but not lease: 

· By revealing His name. 

This is striking and should have created a sense of awe and wonder among the disciples. While the waves are battering their little boat and they’re huddled in fear, Matthew 14:27 tells us that Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid, Take courage. I am here!” “I AM” alludes back to God’s self-revelation in Exodus 3:14 when Moses asked God who shall I say is sending me and God replied: “I AM WHO I AM.” Jesus knows that fear can fillet our faith and so He tells us to be courageous by reminding us who He is. He is the great I AM. Our courage is not based on our competency but on God’s character. That is why He can call us to courage in the midst of the chaos. Courage is cultivated by God’s character it’s not tied to your circumstances. So take your eyes of the challenges and start putting them back on the cross. Because the cross reminds your current circumstances they are not the final voice. The cross calls us to stop whining and start worshipping because we win. So what about you are you focused on your fears or focused on God’s faithfulness?