The Invitations of Jesus
Come Out on the Water
Matthew 14:22-32
As I was preparing sermons for this Easter Season, an old thought came to mind. Jesus was perfect and holy in every way, and yet, he was crucified for being that way. He fulfilled every prophecy of the Old Testament and yet, He was branded a heretic and a blasphemer. My thought was this: How could they be so upset at Him. Why could they not see that He was the Messiah?
Then, it hit me. You can never please all of the people, and it’s likely that if Jesus were still living among us today, He would not be liked either. In fact, He would probably be considered a criminal. Everyone would be mad at Him. For example:
• The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) would be mad at Him for turning water into wine without a license
• The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) would be angered at Him for killing fig trees
• The American Medical Association would be upset at Him for practicing medicine without a license
• The Department of Health would be up in arms for asking people to open graves, for raising the dead and for feeding 5,000 people in unsanitary conditions
• The NEA (National Educators Association) would be after Him for teaching without a certificate
• SPCA (The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) would be adamant about His driving hogs into the sea
• The National Board of Psychiatrists would be irate for Him giving advice on how to live a guilt free life
• The NOW (National Organization of Women) would surely be outraged at Him for not choosing a female apostle
• Finally, OSHA (The Occupational Safety and Health Administration) would be after Him for walking on water without a lifejacket and other unsafe boating practices
I guess you can just never win even if you are perfect no matter at what time you are alive! Anyhow, even if OSHA would get upset, I do want to take a look at the boating practices of Jesus this morning. I have always been fascinated with the story of Jesus walking on the water, so I was excited to be given this as my topic this morning. If you would, please turn with me in your Bible to Matthew 14:22-32.
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. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night 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. 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!" 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."
This morning in our brief time together, I want to take a look at two lessons we can take from this Scripture. There is so much we can learn from this passage, but I believe that it would be appropriate to ask the Lord to bless our time first. Let’s go to Him.
Lesson #1: Jesus shows up in ways we do not expect.
You think, with all that Jesus has done in His short time here on earth, we would stopped being surprised by the fact that He does ministry and shows up in ways we do not expect. In John 4, He talks to a woman at the well. How could he do this? It was unacceptable to speak to a woman at the time let alone speak to a hated Samaritan woman. If you look at the passage, you will find a word that told about the disciple’s reaction to this. In one word, it was surprise. Yet, the Word tells us that many in the town were saved because this woman testified to the entire town about her meeting with Jesus.
I could go on and on about these things. Jesus went to the house of a dead child, and He tried to convince everyone that the child was just sick. They mocked Him, but the child lived because of His power. He ate with the dreaded tax collector, Zacchaeus, and the religious people could not understand why. How could he pollute himself by eating with these sinners? Yet, Jesus brought salvation to the entire household that day. He healed on the Sabbath and people wondered why. Could it be because they needed His touch and it just happened to be a Sabbath day? Jesus had just taken 5 loaves and 2 fishes and told the disciples to feed the crowd. How could this be done? They placed it in the hands of Jesus and they had food left over. He did so many great things even on the day He walked on the water.
The disciples had seen Jesus do all of these miraculous deeds, and they had seen Him work in unconventional ways; yet, when they saw a being walking on the water, they did not know who it was. It must be a ghost! Even though they knew Jesus promised to return to them on the other side, they still didn’t think this could be Jesus. They just figured He would walk around the lake or something and they would see Him in the morning. Instead, Jesus did what He always did. He surprised them. He worked in a way more powerful and more unconventional than they could have imagined. Finally, by an act of faith by Peter, they find out that it is the Lord. Jesus tells them it is Him, but they are still doubters. Finally, Peter has enough faith and courage to take Him at His word and go down onto the water, and Peter finds out that it was God working in a way that they did not expect.
Why am I telling you all of this? Well, for one thing, I am tired of people trying to convince me that God does not do great things like He once did. I am here to tell you today that God is still in the miracle business, and He is still doing great things here on earth. The reason we do not see them is because God is still working in ways outside of the box we try and put Him in. He is still showing up in ways we do not expect. We look for Him to show all of His power inside the walls of the church and inside the walls of our Christian circles, but He refuses to be limited to these areas. God loves the sinner as much as the saint, but He knows that it is the sick that need a doctor and not the healthy. Therefore, He is seeking for ways to show His love in a mighty way to the drug addict, the bar goers, the prostitute, and the like. And guess what. Unless we make ourselves available to go among these types of people, we will not see the power of God in its fullness. Since God does not change, we must continue to look for God to work in ways outside of the predicable and usual, and we must make ourselves available to be His hands and feet where He wants to work.
Lesson #2: We have to have the courage to get out of the boat.
So, God still wants to work in mighty ways, but we are not seeing it. This morning, I give you the same invitation that Jesus gave Peter on that night. Come. Come out on the water. And, in order to make that a reality, we must take the first step. Church, it is time that we get out of the boat. If Jesus were here today, he would be calling out to us. Come. Come out and join me. Come out here where I am and join me in what I am doing. And church, in order to do this, we must get out of our boat. How do we do this? We get outside of our church walls. We get out of our pews. We get out of our comfort zones and go to where Jesus is working.
Of the twelve disciples, only Peter had the courage to take this step. He knew this was going to be tough. He knew something supernatural was going to have to happen in order for him to be successful. But, he saw Jesus doing it, so he knew there was hope. He took that step out of the boat trusting that Jesus would not let him down, and guess what? Peter accomplished something greater than any other human. He walked upon the water. Church, I am telling you this morning, if you dare to step out of the boat, step out of the church, step out of the pew, and you trust Jesus to supply the power, you will accomplish great things and see great things happen.
Now, you may be thinking – But, Peter started to sink. What happens if I get out there and start to sink? All you need to do is once again reach out your hand, and the Lord will pick you up. He is there to pick us up when we fail and fall, just like He was there to get Peter before he drowned. There will be waves and wind that the devil will send our way when we step out of the boat, but isn’t it a great relief to know that our God has control over them as well. He can make them die down, and He can save us when we start to fear and doubt.
When you were a child and got a new toy, what did you do with it? You couldn’t wait to take it out of the box and use it. Today, I tell you that you have something far greater than a toy in your midst. You have the love and power of an almighty God. I give you this charge. Take God out of the box you have put Him in, look for where He is working, and go to that place so that you can use His power and love to impact the world. Let’s make a splash and get out of the boat. Are you with me? Let’s pray.
