IN.FIN.8
part 6
“Peter
and Jesus walking on water”
Sunday,
August 11th, 2013-MRWC
Show Video
We
are well over half way through our look at 8 of the greatest Bible stories
forever told.
I’ve
heard from several of you remarking at how you’ve enjoyed hearing some of the
most famous stories taken from the Bible; stories from the lives of Joseph,
Moses, David, Esther and Daniel.
Each
of these stories is leading up to the greatest story forever told… have you
noticed that in the sermon video?
All
of the stories that Pastor Mike and I have been, and will share with you this
summer, lead up to the Main Event of the Bible: the death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ.
This
by all accounts, is the Greatest Story forever told, and we will begin our
journey down that path starting next Sunday.
This
morning, we will be looking at another one of the all-time favorite Bible
stories as chosen by many of you, and actually this has to be one of my
favorite Bible stories as well.
ILLUSTRATION- I remember reading this story
in the winter of 2010.
I
had read this particular passage several times before, but it was during the
winter of 2010 that it became a part of my faith experience with the Lord.
As
I read the passage that day, I wept openly. I sensed in my spirit that I was to
take a step of faith and get out of the boat…
Now
that I have some of you hooked, I would like to unpack the 6th
greatest story forever told, and it can be found in Matthew chapter 14.
Just
to give you a little context, Jesus had just preformed a miracle at Bethsaida
by feeding 5000 men—plus woman and children—with only 5 loaves of bread and two
fish.
After
everyone had enough to eat, Jesus instructed His disciples to gather up all of
the leftovers, and there was “…twelve basketfuls of broken pieces…left over.” (Matthew 14:20, NLT2)
After
Jesus had fed the crowd, He told His disciples to get into the boat and cross
to the other side of the lake, so He could send the people away.
We’ll
pick up our story in Matthew 14:23: “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.”
(Matthew 14:23-33, NLT2)
After Jesus had
dismissed the crowd, He went off by Himself to pray.
He wanted to
spend time alone with the Father after a busy day of ministry, and possibly
spend some time mourning the beheading of John the Baptist.
The disciples
were alone in the middle of the Sea of Galilee fighting the wind and the waves.
As a result of
where it is located, cool winds frequently rush down the steep cliffs and
mountainous peaks surrounding
the sea of Galilee and
unexpectedly stir up violent storms on the warm surface of the lake,
making it very susceptible for the perfect storm, such as the one described for
us in this passage. (with help
from NNIBD)
So you have some
seasoned fisherman, along with a tax collector, and the rest of Jesus’ disciples
in a boat, that’s being blown and tossed by the wind and the waves, and all of
a sudden they look off in the distance and saw something that terrified them:
“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!”” (Matthew
14:25-26, NLT2)
ILLUSTRATION- More than once, I have woken
up at 3 AM and thought I’ve seen- or at the very least heard—something in the
house.
Because
I’m the man of the house, I have the responsibility to do the mainly thing, so
I wake up my wife and ask her to go and check it out, telling her that I’ve
seen something.
Most
of the time, she will tell me that I need to stop watching action movies before
going to bed and she’ll reassure me that nothing is there, and I can—and
should—go back to sleep.
I
understand how the disciples felt. They’ve been up all night fighting against
the wind and the waves and now they think they’ve seen a ghost, and they do
what any self-respecting man would do: “I want my mommy!”
Hearing
their cry of fear, “Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid...Take
courage. I am here.” (Matthew 14:27,
NLT2)
Some
scholars have said that the verse could also be translated: “Take courage. The I
AM is here…”
You
may know that the Name I AM was only reserved for God Himself, so what Jesus was
saying to His disciples that night on the Sea of Galilee was “Don’t be afraid; God is here!”
After
hearing Jesus confirm His identity, Peter springs into action: “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?” (Matthew 14:28-31, NLT2)
My initial
response after reading these words is “really Peter?”
Jesus had just
shown up at the exact location where you and the other disciples were in the
middle of the night, not in a boat, but walking on the water, and you have the audacity
to say “Lord, if
it’s really you…” (Matthew 14:28, NLT2)
But then I have
to look within and ask myself how many times I’ve said the very same thing to
Jesus: “Lord,
if it’s really
you…” (Matthew 14:28, NLT2)
ILLUSTRATION- A few moments ago, I told you
about this passage being pivotal in my life in 2010 and how I felt God asking
me to take a step of faith.
What
I didn’t tell you was at that time; I was the pastor of the Havelock Wesleyan
Church and had been for 7 years.
I
had enjoyed a fruitful ministry, I had seen lives changed for Jesus, and had
taken the church to a better place, but after reading this particular passage,
I felt the Lord asking me to get out of the boat and resign as pastor of HWC.
I
wrestled with this decision for a few weeks, and I literally remember myself
asking: Lord: are you sure?
After
talking with my wife and the DS at the time, David LeRoy, I had made the
decision to step out of the boat and resigned as the pastor.
For
several weeks after that decision, I wrestled with doubt.
I wondered if I had made the right decision, after all, my kids were
born in Havelock, I developed some of the deepest friendships in Havelock, I
had seen God at work in Havelock.
I
was, like Peter, scared of taking that next step, the step that comes with
getting out of the boat.
Is
there something the Lord has been asking you to do, but up until this point
you’ve neglected to do it either because you were scared or you didn't really
know if it was the Lord speaking to you?
Look
with me for a moment at John chapter 10. This is Jesus speaking: “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.”
7…“I
tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.” (John 10:1-5, 7,
NLT2)
Jesus
is reminding us that He is
the One who leads His sheep, and the sheep know the Master’s voice because they
spend time with the Shepherd.
In
reality, most of us are good hearers; we generally don’t have any trouble
hearing the Voice of the Shepherd.
The problem
arises in being a doer. Remember what James, the bother of Jesus teaches us? “Application
makes all the difference”
What we should be doing instead
of asking: “Lord, is it really you?” is saying “Lord, help me do…”
ILLUSTRATION- I learned in 2010 that God
can be trusted and because I stepped out of the boat, I am able to serve God here,
as the pastor of MRWC.
What
is it that God is asking you to do?
Tithe?
Serve?
Pray?
Whatever
He is asking you to do, I want you to know that God can be trusted to help you do whatever it is He is
asking to you do.
The
question is will you do what God wants? Remember, and this is the key thought
of this sermon: “If
you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat.”
David
wrote in Psalm 37: “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will
help you.” (NLT2)
The
message of the 6th greatest story forever told is not that Peter
walked on the water—as awesome and as cool as that would have been; or even
when Jesus calmed the storm.
The message of
this passage is what the disciples did when Jesus and Peter got back into the
boat.
Look
again at verses 32&33: “When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33
Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” (Matthew 14:32-33, NLT2)
After
all the evidence had been given to them: the miracle of the feeding of the
5,000, the miracle of the leftovers, the miracle of Jesus walking on the water,
the miracle of Peter walking on the water and the miracle of Jesus calming the
storm, the disciples came to the conclusion that Jesus was God’s Son and they
worshipped Him as such.
Have
you arrived at this conclusion? Can you, like the disciples say to and of
Jesus: “You
really are the Son of God!” (Matthew
14:33, NLT2)
Several
of you have! You have made this declaration and you are living into this truth,
while other people still have yet to make this declarationà
you have heard about Jesus, but you’ve yet to make Him your own.
So
here’s what I am praying will happen today, first of all, if you have not made
a decision for Jesus as of today, I’m not going to pressure you, or guilt you
into making a decision.
What
I am going to ask is for you to ask Jesus to show up in your life.
I want to give you a prayer you can
pray this week—or when you’re ready: “Lord: if it’s really you, show up in my life….”
And then I want
you to watch what Jesus does in your life, and then I want you to tell someone
what happened when Jesus showed up in your life.
That’s the first
thing I’m praying will happen, is for someone who doesn’t know Jesus personally,
to pray Lord:
if it’s really you, show up in my life...”
The second thing
I’m asking is for those of us who follow Jesus, those of us who claim Jesus as
our Lord and Saviour to say: “Lord: help me do…”
When you’re
praying this, you’re asking Jesus to help you take that step of faith that He
has been asking you to take.
You’re asking
Jesus to help you get out of the boat and do what He wants you to do.
So there it is,
my friends, the message and the challenge. Some of us are going to say: “Lord; if it’s
really you” and others of us are going to say: “Lord: help me do”
The band is
going to come back and lead us in our closing song, and we’re going to take
just a few moments and follow the example of the disciples and worship Jesus.
As we do, I want
you to be free to begin praying one or both of these prayers: “Lord; if it’s
really you” and “Lord: help me do”
If you would
like to come to the front and pray, please feel free, you won’t be alone,
someone will pray with you.
No comments:
Post a Comment