Jesus reached out His hand and grabbed Peter, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (14:31)
• This line is a revelation - if Peter had not doubted, he would have been walking still.
• If he had not allowed the wind to distract him, he could have reached Jesus, still afloat.
According to Jesus’ diagnosis, the key to staying afloat is faith.
• Faith in Christ will keep him from sinking.
• Faith in Christ today will keep us from sinking under the weights of life problems.
• Why? Because Christ is the reason he is walking on water.
• It has nothing to do with the storm or waves, nothing human, nothing intellectual. Christ is the only power that kept him up.
• Christ will be the reason we will stay afloat, above the challenges of life.
Peter has a higher calling. He is the ‘rock’ upon which Christ will build His church (Matt 16:18).
• But he must learn to stay focus on Christ, and not allow daunting difficulties to overwhelm him.
• He “will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it.”
• But he needs to stay focused.
Peter needs to know that, and we need to know that today - to fix our eyes on Jesus, and refuse to allow difficult circumstances to unnerve us.
Think for a moment. What do you think Jesus up to, walking on the water?
• Did he want to impress His disciples with a nice trick?
• The miracles that Jesus performed had often been for the benefits of the people.
• He healed the sick, the blind, the lame; He multiplied food for the hungry, gathered fishes for the fishermen, changed water into wine for a wedding couple, and the list goes on.
But this was different. This feat was almost like a show. But it wasn’t.
• When God met Moses, He appeared & spoke to him through a burning bush (Exo 3:2).
• When God had a message for Balaam, He caused a donkey to speak to him (Num 22).
• When God had a word for Elijah to encourage him, He came through in a gentle whisper, after a powerful wind, earthquake and fire tore through the mouth of the cave (1 Kings 19:11-12).
There is a pattern in these encounters.
• In each case, God had to get the person’s attention.
• In each case, God had a task for the person.
Jesus did not just perform a nice trick.
• He was revealing His divine presence and power, in a way that Peter must come to understand. Only God can do such a thing.
• Peter saw both His presence in the midst of the darkness, and His power in the midst of the storm.
• At every threatening encounter, we must see BOTH of these! It’s critical. Whether we sink or stand depends on our ability to see these with eyes of faith.
Peter saw, and wanted to experience His power.
• He said, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” (v.28)
• If He is his Master, then Peter wants to submit to His will and His call.
• Peter wasn’t playing a game, or seeking fun. It can never be fun to step out of the boat in any circumstances.
• Unless you call me to come, I’m not going to move!
Eleven other disciples were probably rooted in the boat out of fear, and speechless.
• Only Peter cried out. He really wanted to do what Jesus was doing.
• Remember WWJD – this was really Peter.
• You see in him a thirst to follow Christ – he is the one who confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; to one who declare that he will follow Him, even to die with Him; the only one who said that he loves Jesus.
That’s why, before he gets out of the boat, Peter wants to make sure Jesus thinks it’s a good idea.
• He asked for a confirmation, and Jesus said, “Come.”
• Peter says, “…tell me to COME TO YOU on the water.” (v.28)
• Verse 29 says Peter walked on the water and CAME toward Jesus.
• It’s very clear here – Jesus is the reason he is stepping out.
• He’s the object of his faith.
So Peter showed faith, he heard His call, and then he stepped out.
• And He got it! No wonder Jesus entrusted to him the responsibility of starting the church.
• That’s radical discipleship. We heard Christ’s call, obey His call and take the step to do it.
• This is not a risk-taking feat, like some bungee-jumping or parachuting thing. Peter was obeying the call of Jesus, to do what Jesus was doing.
• Peter did not step out because he likes to. He steps out because Jesus said, “Come.”
Isn’t that the heart of every true disciple of Christ?
• To obey His call and do what He is doing today?
• To step out in faith knowing that He who calls us is faithful and will surely enables us? Peter says, in a way, “Command me, and I’ll do it!”
True faith obeys. There cannot be faith in God without obedience.
• The fact that we disobey means we have no faith in what God says.
• Belief must follow with action, if not that isn’t a belief at all.
• If we say we believe God, we must do what He says.
• The Bible says that even the demons believe in God.
• Obedience is true faith in action.
Again, obedience does not mean we will be spared adversity.
• The storm rages still. In fact, it did not stop until they got into the boat.
• God wants us to stay focus even in the midst of the storm.
• “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” (14:27)
In the midst of the darkness and the noise of the storm, we must see Jesus and hear His voice.
• Only then can we be assured. Only then can we overcome the odds and tread above the problems.
• We must have a revelation of what Jesus can do for us.
Peter had that, and he stepped out.
• He abandons himself utterly to the power of Jesus.
• And suddenly, for the first time in history, an ordinary human walks on the water.
• God needs no precedent. He can do for you what He has never done before.
Did Peter walk on? He could have. Unfortunately he did not.
• What happened? He “saw the wind”.
• He shifted his focus. He must have, because he SAW the wind, as if it wasn’t there in the first place.
• The storm should not have been a surprise – it has been there all along.
• So what really happened was the SHIFT.
• He took his eyes off of where they should have been.
This is critical.
• We must fight against the temptation to look away from Jesus, to the circumstances, to self, and to every other direction except the Lord.
• Faith diminishes when the object of our faith is move out of focus.
• Who else, then, are we pinning our hope upon?
Faith needs to be sustained or nurtured.
• A once-upon-a-time faith will not do.
• You may have the faith to step out of the boat, but you need to have the faith that will keep you above the water.
• We need to grow in our faith in God.
Did Peter fail? Yes, in a way, you can say he did.
• But that really isn’t important to Jesus. I guess He knew it would come.
• Since Jesus also knows that Peter would deny knowing Him three times.
• John Ortberg says there were 11 bigger failures sitting in the boat.
• They failed quietly. Their failure went unnoticed and uncriticised.
• Just that Peter’s failure was more public and obvious.
But Peter has grown through it.
• Every encounter with the Lord is a faith-inspiring encounter.
• And least he came to experience two things none of his peers had.
(1) Only Peter knew the glory of walking on the water.
• He alone knew how it felt to be able to do what he was not capable of doing on his own, and then feeling the joy of being empowered by God.
• Once you walk on the water, you never forget it, not for the rest of your life.
• I believe Peter carried that memory with him to the grave.
• A life-threatening experience does that to us. It leaves a mark in our memory. We appreciate the one who came to our rescue.
(2) Only Peter knew the joy of being lifted up by Jesus in a moment of desperate need.
• Peter knew, in a way the others could not, that when he sank, Jesus was more than capable of saving him.
• Notice the power of Jesus. He lifted Peter up while He himself was standing on the water. They got into the boat together, in verse 32.
• He was safe in the arms of the Lord until they climbed back into the boat.
• Only then did the wind died down. Peter was in the arms of the Lord in the midst of a raging storm, walking upon the water.
• How safe can you be?
None of the other disciples had a similar experience.
• They couldn’t, because they did not even get out of the boat.
• John Ortberg says, “The worst failure is not to sink in the waves; the worst failure is to never get out of the boat.”
• Because Peter was willing to try, he has learnt and he has grown.
• That sinking did not drown him, instead it brought to him a deeper revelation of Christ and His power.
• And a deeper appreciation and love for His Master.
You’ve got to dare to try, and fail, if you want to learn and grow.
• The Lord is still calling people today, to step out of our comfort zone.
• So that we can come to know Him, and experience His power in a more personal way.
• It will take faith to respond to His call. But He always enables those whom He calls.
The storm may still be out there, and your faith may not be perfect.
But if you get out and join Him, two things will happen.
(1) When you fail (and we will fail sometimes), Jesus will be there to pick you up.
• You will not fail alone. You will find that He is still totally capable of saving you.
(2) you’ll come to understand that, once in a while, you can really ‘walk on water’.
• God will enable us to do great things – feats that we cannot do on our own.
• You’ll come to a deeper appreciation of God’s presence and His power.
• Others will see and be amazed. And hopefully, they too will worship Him.
Those in the boat worshipped Him. Truly, He is the Son of God.
