When Will You Worship Jesus?
Matthew 14:22-33
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - May 24, 2009
*Last Sunday, Peter helped us see what happens when we really follow Jesus.
-Today we turn our focus to worship, so please open your Bibles to Matt 14:22-33. -- In these verses Peter and the other disciples worshipped the Lord out on the Sea of Galilee.
22. Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.
23. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on a mountain by Himself to pray. And when evening had come, He was alone there.
24. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
25. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.
26. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!’’ And they cried out for fear.
27. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’’
28. And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’’
29. So He said, "Come.’’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
30. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!’’
31. And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’’
32. And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God.’’
*Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Jesus. Here again God used His favorite New Testament word for worship. Most of you know that the word picture is a dog licking his master’s hand. And as a dog-lover, I am glad God used that word picture for worship.
*I can really relate to it because whenever I come home, our dog Freckles is so glad to see me! -- She jumps up and licks my hand.
-Sometimes she lays down in submission, just wanting her belly scratched.
*Whenever I’m home, she almost always wants to be close to me.
-When I go to another room, she usually goes with me.
-And when I pick up my keys to leave, she desperately wants to go with me.
*Now you may not care a thing about dogs, but you need to get this: The way my dog treats me gives us a big clue about what God wants from us in worship.
*How long then has it been since you really worshiped God? And when will you worship Jesus? Let’s look into the Word of God and find the answers.
1. First: You will worship Jesus when you recognize the Lord’s divinity.
*Nobody is like Jesus! He truly is the one-of-a-kind, only begotten Son of God!
-Jesus is everything we are not. In the beginning He already was. And all things are possible with Jesus because He is God the Son.
*By this time in the Lord’s ministry His disciples had been with Him maybe 18 months to two years. They had seen many, many demonstrations of His amazing power. Up to this point in Matthew’s Gospel, we see at least 13 reports of miracles, involving thousands of people:
-In Matt 8 Jesus healed a leper. -Then with just a word He healed a Roman soldier’s servant who had some kind of paralyzing disease.
-Jesus also healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever by touching her hand.
-He cast out demons with His word, calmed the wind and the raging sea, then cast out a whole legion of demons from two men.
*In Matt 9, Jesus healed another paralyzed man and forgave his sins.
(Wow! Jesus forgave his sins. That is the greatest miracle of all, because that forgiveness will last forever!)
*Next in Matt 9, Jesus healed a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years, and He raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead!
-Jesus also healed two blind men by touching their eyes. And He cast out a dumb demon, enabling the possessed man to begin speaking.
*In Matt 12 Jesus healed a man who was both blind and mute.
*In Matt 14 Jesus fed 5,000 men plus thousands more women and children with five loaves and two fish. And now in vs. 22-27, we see another amazing miracle:
22. Immediately (after feeding the 5,000) Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.
23. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on a mountain by Himself to pray. And when evening had come, He was alone there.
24. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
25. Now in the fourth watch of the night (That was in the dark of the night, probably some time between 3 and 6 o’clock in the morning.)
25. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.
26. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!’’ And they cried out for fear.
27. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’’
*Those disciples were 3 or 4 miles from shore, when Jesus came to them walking on the water!
*Do you remember learning how to swim? Most of us would say it was hard at first. Maybe we could just swim across the pool. Then after a while we could go the whole length. But it was hard at first.
*Do you think it was hard for Jesus to walk on the water? Do you think He worried about it? Do you think He had to practice? -- Of course not.
*Nobody is like Jesus! He truly is the one-of-a-kind, only begotten Son of God!
-That means Jesus is God Almighty, one with the Father and Holy Spirit.
-Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords! -- And the more we realize this, the more we will worship Him.
2. When will you worship Jesus? -- When you recognize the Lord’s divinity.
-And when you appreciate the Lord’s humanity.
*Vs. 26 tells us that “when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear.”
*Why did they do that?
-Because although they were beginning to realize that Jesus is divine, they also knew that He was a man. And men don’t walk on water (not usually anyway).
*But Jesus was a man. God became a man.
-Just like you, He learned to walk and talk.
-Just like you, He laughed and He cried.
-Just like you, He got thirsty, hungry and tired.
*Jesus got headaches and toothaches. He bled when He was cut.
-As a man, Jesus was just like us in every way -- except He had no sin.
*And we must appreciate His humanity, because Jesus took on this robe of flesh for a reason: He came to die for our sins. Here is part of God’s explanation to us in Hebrews 2:
9. We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
10. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
14. Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15. and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
*Jesus Christ was born as a man to die for our sins.
-Divinity took on humanity. God became a man.
-Then He died on the cross and rose again so that we could live forever!
-God wants us to appreciate this with all of our hearts.
*Good and noble sacrifice should always be appreciated.
-That’s why we observe Memorial Day every year in the United States.
-It’s not just the end of school or the beginning of vacation season or a day off from work.
*Steve Malone reminds us that Memorial Day has a much deeper meaning.
-It is a time set aside every year to remember and honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in battle for our country.
*Memorial Day originated during the Civil War when some Southern women chose May 30th to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers.
-And these women honored the dead of both the Union and Confederate armies.
*That war that took over 600,000 lives. That number is hard for us to wrap our minds around. -- But remember that the population was much less back then. There were only 31 million people in the whole country. If we were to lose the same proportion of soldiers today, 6 million would be killed. So just about everyone in the country was touched in one way or another with the death of a loved one. We must remember and appreciate that sacrifice. -- Especially as this same kind of courage and sacrifice is going on right now in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. (1)
*But as believers we know that an even higher price has been paid for us -- the highest price of all. The one who never had to die died on the cross for us.
-The One who never sinned once -- took the punishment for all the sins that have ever been committed.
*May God help us to appreciate the price that was paid for us! Would you die for an ant or a worm or a germ? Yet the God of the whole universe died for us.
-Jesus Christ became a man to die on the cross for us. And the more we appreciate that, the more we will worship Him.
3. When will you worship Jesus? -- When you appreciate the Lord’s humanity.
-And when you discover your own frailty.
*The disciples were terrified when they saw Jesus walking on the water.
-Who wouldn’t be? The wind was howling, the waves were pounding, the boat was tossed around and could have easily gone down. Then out of no where comes this figure coming to them across the angry sea. They could probably only see the ghostly figure when the lightening flashed. And each time it flashed, the ghostly figure got closer.
*They were terrified. But Jesus tried to calm their fears in vs. 27 when He said,
-"Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’’ So Peter decided that he would walk on the water too. Look at it again in vs. 28-30:
28. Peter answered Jesus and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’’
29. So He said, "Come.’’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
30. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!’’
*Peter very quickly discovered his own frailty. Yes, he stepped out of the boat, but could Peter have taken a single step on the water without Jesus? -- Of course not.
*And before you knew it, Peter got distracted. Just like we often do, Peter got distracted by his situation. He took his eyes off of Jesus. Peter started looking at the storm instead of the Savior, and he began to sink.
*Peter didn’t have a chance without Jesus. -- And neither would we.
-Could you save yourself in a raging sea several miles from shore?
-Most of us would have to say, “No way.” How much less could we save ourselves from the everlasting death we deserve for our sins?
*Pastor James Kennedy explained: Suppose you were trying to cross from one cliff to another about 100 feet away. It is 5,000 feet down to the rocks below.
-The good news is that you have a one-inch thick piece of rope, capable of holding several tons. The bad news is that you only have 50 feet of rope.
*I say, “Do not worry! I have 50 feet of thread. We can tie my thread to your rope and then tie that to the trees on either cliff and then you can go across.”
*You decline my offer and I respond, “What is the matter? Don’t you trust the rope?”
-“Yes!” you say, “I trust the rope but I do not trust the thread.”
*Then let’s change the story and make it 90 feet of rope and only 10 feet of thread. -- You’re still not comfortable. Then suppose we make it 99 feet of rope and only 1 foot of thread. -- One inch of thread?
*You see, if you have one inch of thread, you will be just as dead on the rocks below as if you tried to cross on a hundred feet of thread.
-The rope obviously represents what Christ has done and the thread represents what we have done. -- We must trust in Christ alone.” (2)
*We must recognize our own frailty.
-And the more we do, the more we will worship the Lord.
4. When will you worship Jesus? -- When you discover your own frailty.
-And when you trust in the Lord’s ability.
*Peter’s faith may have been too weak to walk on the water. -- But he never gave up on Jesus! In vs. 30, as soon as Peter began to sink, he cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!”
31. And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
32. And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. (Another miracle)
33. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God.’’
*Let me tell you this morning that Jesus is able.
-He is able to help you walk where you could never walk alone.
-He is able to calm the storm.
-He is able to calm the storm in you.
-He is able to save you when you are sinking in sin.
-He is able to hold you up.
*Jesus is fully able to save you! -- In Hebrews 7:25-27:
25. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them.
26. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;
27. who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.
*You can fully trust in the Lord.
-Pastor James McCullen once gave this testimony about trusting in the Lord:
*This week we have been in Vacation Bible School, and each night the children have been exposed to the A B C s of salvation.
A = Admit you’re a sinner, and need to repent.
B = Believe Jesus saves and will save you.
C = Confess Jesus is Lord, and make a commitment to him.
*In explaining confession, and commitment I asked the children if an empty pew would hold them up if they sat on it.
-They all agreed they could sit on the empty pew.
*I asked “Why isn’t the pew holding you up right now?”
-They responded “because we are not sitting on it.”
*I said, “Correct, and you must make that kind of commitment to Christ if He is going to be your Savior.” -- On decision night 3 of the boys went over and sat on the empty pews indicating their commitment to Christ. (3)
*Jesus is able to hold you up. -- You can fully trust in the Lord, and if you have never trusted in Jesus, you can do that in just a moment when we go to God in prayer.
*Jesus is able to hold you up. -- You can fully trust in the Lord, and the more you do, the more you will worship Him.
-Let’s worship the Lord right now. Would you bow for prayer.
1. Adapted from SermonCentral sermon “In Remembrance Of Me” by Steve Malone - Luke 22:17-23
2. Adapted from “Evangelism Explosion” by Dr. D James Kennedy - p. 101 - copyright 1977
3. Cross & Crown Sermons - “Just Go To Heaven” by James McCullen - Rev 4:1-2
