‘But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” ‘ Matthew 14:30
This week, Pastor Rurel of Crosspoint Church in Niceville, FL, continued in the sermon series, Loudmouth, a study of Jesus’ chosen leader of the church, Peter. Here are the links to the notes from the previous weeks.
‘Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. ‘ Matthew 14:22-24
Jesus just got done feeding the five thousand. One of the things that you will notice with Jesus is that He went and spent time alone with God. When was the last time that you did that?
We all need to spend time alone with our maker, prayer, Bible reading, and study. It’s easy for us to keep the pedal to the metal until we break from exhaustion. We should schedule time with God the way that we schedule appointments with our doctors.
But as being a Christian, we should have this on our schedule daily.
We find Jesus in prayer and see the disciples on the sea buffeted by waves and the winds.
‘Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. ‘ Matthew 14:25-26
Did Jesus sense that they were in trouble? Could you imagine what they felt when they saw Him walking to them on the sea?
Some of these guys were seasoned fishermen, they knew that no one could walk on water, and they saw Jesus walking towards the boat.
Their response during the storm was one of fear. They were watching something they could not understand.
The question that we should ask ourselves is, how do we respond when we are in the storm?
Do we respond with fear? Or do we respond in faith?
‘But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” ‘ Matthew 14:27-30
“Do not be afraid.”
We see this statement repeated over and over again. It usually follows an event that people do not understand, the appearance of angels, in this case, it is Jesus walking towards them on the water.
‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” ‘ Joshua 1:9
The great news with being a Christian is that when we accept Jesus into our hearts, the Holy Spirit comes to reside in our hearts. That is equal to God living in us.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord you God will be with you wherever you go.”
Here we find Jesus saying to them, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” I can’t imagine any more encouraging words than those.
“Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” Peter wasn’t just going to step out of the boat with Jesus telling him to. And Jesus’ response is “Come.”
Think about this for a second because this is important. Jesus was walking on water. Peter had never seen this before; it violates the laws of this earth. But here is Peter seeing Jesus walking on water, and He asks Jesus to permit him to do the same.
And he steps out of the boat and starts to walk on water.
“But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
As Peter made His way towards Jesus, he took eyes off Jesus and focused on the wind instead of Jesus.
What we focus on expands. Peter was overtaken by the winds and the waves instead of Jesus. And he started to sink. But he knew who to call for help, he said: “Lord, save me!”
‘Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” ‘ Matthew 14:31-33
And Jesus does what He always does when asked to save.
“Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him.”
‘O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. ‘ Psalms 86:5
The fantastic news is that even though Peter had a lapse in faith, those who witnessed what happened worshipped Jesus.
He is always near to us. The problem that we have is that we turn away from Him. But I love His response time when Peter called out to Him. “Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him.”
‘Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ‘ James 4:8
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your response to a humbled heart. You know that we will fall, but You are there when we seek You.
Your love is unconditional for those who accept Jesus. You know our hearts better than we know ourselves.
Please give us the faith to continue to seek You out for every part of our lives.
Please help us be strong and courageous in the storms we face.
Thank You for the faithful preachers that faithfully preach Your Word.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
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