A Life Built on Faith: “Walking in My Faith”
Matthew 14:22-33
A Scotsman, was taking a trip to the Holy Land, and when he got to the Sea of Galilee he was shocked when he found it would cost fifty dollars an hour to rent a boat to go out on the water.
"Hoot mon," he said, "in Scotland I could ha got a boat for about $20."
"That might be true," said the boat man, "but you have to take into account that the Sea of Galilee is water on which our Lord Himself walked."
"Well, at $50 an hour," said the Scotsman, "it’s little wonder He walked."
How much would you pay to walk where Jesus walked?
In 1999 the Israeli government authorized someone to build a transparent bridge just below the surface of the Sea of Galilee so that visitors - for a nominal cost - could walk on the water…kinda-sorta like Jesus did
The 13ft-wide, 328ft long crescent-shaped floating bridge will be positioned just below the surface, and will be able to accommodate up to 50 people and should be opened for use by August of 2000 (based on a report from the BBC news Feb. 3, 99)
What would you do if you had the chance to walk where Jesus walked?
Today we’ll look at a man who got that opportunity.
He didn’t have to pay $50 for a boat ride.
He didn’t have to buy a ticket to walk out on a transparent bridge.
He was there because Jesus sent Him there, and he got to walk on the water because Jesus called for him to do so.
Earlier, in Matthew 4:19- Jesus challenged him (and the others) with this statement: “Follow me, and I will MAKE you fishers of men.”
This was the price that Peter (and the other disciples) had to pay for their experiences. They had to allow Jesus to MAKE them into the kind of men He wanted them to be.
Now, generally – when people think about being fishermen
* they think lures and bait and fishing line and what kind of pole you need
* they think about technique
* and they think location - what part of the lake or river has the most fish
But good fishermen actually need something more.
They need the right attitude
All the technique and knowledge and gadgets will do no good if the person doesn’t have the right attitude.
Now my bride, Suzanne, has the right attitude to be good fisherman. She has what it takes to patiently sit in a boat or stand on the shore, for hours on end waiting for a fish to take the bait. We’ve been out in the rain and she would put her rain gear on and sit right there. I’m under the canopy saying, “Baby you just let me know when you get ready.”
I read what one man said about his idea of fishing, “If I want to catch a fish I’ll take my wife down to grocery store, stand in the frozen food section and have her throw me a package of fish.”
Some don’t have what it takes to be a fisherman.
They don’t have the patience… the desire… the need to go fishing.
They just don’t have the right attitude to be a good fisherman.
Peter, James and John – were real fisherman. They had worked hard at their trade on the very sea where they saw Jesus walking on the water. The problem was that they were not yet the kind of fishermen Jesus wanted them to be.
They didn’t yet have the attitude necessary to become the “fishermen” that Jesus wanted them to be.
The missing ingredient was the faith that Jesus wanted to build into their lives.
Right here on the sea of Galilee Jesus is about to teach them a lesson that will create that kind of faith in their lives.
Jesus’ intention in feed the 5000 was to stretch their faith in what He could do.
BUT now, comes an even bigger lesson.
Matthew 14:22 says that “Jesus MADE the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side...”
The disciples were on the sea of Galilee because that’s where Jesus wanted them. They faced the storm on the water because that’s where Jesus sent them.
They didn’t just HAPPEN to be there when Jesus walked out to them. They were there because Jesus intended to teach them an important lesson in faith.
According to verse 23...where did Jesus go and what did He do after He sent everyone away?
“He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.”
When Jesus spent a considerable amount of time in prayer, it was usually in preparation for a God-sized event.
For example, the night before Jesus selected His 12 apostles He had spent all night in prayer.
Here in Matthew 14 we’re told that Jesus had begun praying as soon as He sent His disciples out in the boat.
That was in the early evening – perhaps slightly before dark. By the time Jesus walks out on the water, it’s the 4th watch of the night. That’s somewhere after 3am.
From this we can see that His disciples had been out on the sea for over 6 hours, and all that time Jesus had been praying… preparing for this very moment.
The Gospel of Mark tell us Jesus “saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to PASS BY THEM.” Mark 6:48
Why would Jesus give them the impression that He was simply going to walk on past them?
He had a specific goal in mind: He wanted them to be shocked. He wanted to shake them up. And He wanted them feel everyone of these sensations before He spoke a word.
Notice, when the disciples see Him, they cry out in fear. But Jesus was quiet as He approached.
Look again at Matthew 14:26-27
“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.’"
It’s only after they’ve seen Him and they cry out in fear and shock - that He speaks.
He did this for one reason. He wanted to make them look at Him in a new way.
For weeks, they’ve watched Jesus heal large numbers of people, and even raise a little girl from the dead. Then, they partnered in the miracle where Jesus fed 1000s with only 5 loaves and 2 fish.
To you and me these were miraculous events.
But to the Jewish mind, any old prophet could have done those things.
God told the prophet Elijah to go to the home of a widow from Zarephath and when he arrived he was to ask for some food. She explained that she only had a little oil and a little food in her jars… and she was going home to make a small cake of bread for herself and her son… and then they were going to die. Elijah told her to go ahead as she planned – but first make a small cake of food for his needs.
Because of her sacrifice, God supplied food and oil for her for the rest of Elijah’s stay there.
Some time later, the son of that widow died. Elijah prayed heavily for that boy and even threw himself over the boy’s body three times. And that boy was raised from the dead.
See, any old prophet could supply food as the need arose. And any old prophet could even raise someone from the dead.
But this walking on the water thing…NOW that’s a little different.
Only ghosts were supposed to be able to do those things. Mere Mortals weren’t supposed to be able to do things like that.
Here’s what’s so important about all this:
Jesus has been gradually intensifying the level of His disciples’ education.
He started out simple and quiet, and kept turning up the volume with each new lesson.
You might say that He was building one experience upon another. And that makes sense.
What would have happened if Jesus had walked out on the water when He first recruited His disciples? They would have scattered like a covey of quail and never come back.
It was only after they’d seen and experienced everything else that they were ready for this challenge.
It was only after He had built up a relationship with them and given them an opportunity to see His power in a non-threatening way.
And that’s how God works with us. He gently draws us into deeper and deeper walks of faith.
Jesus spent an entire night in prayer before He gave this object lesson to these men. He cared about them so much that He prayed for hours before He tried to move them further along on their spiritual journey.
Watch what happens next… Jesus comes up to the disciples’ boat - walking on the water, no less.
They see His unearthly behavior and respond in fear.
Jesus then tells them not to fear and assures them that it is He.
(pause…)
And guess who speaks up!? Good ole Peter
What did Peter want? ("Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water." Matthew 14:28)
I do not believe that Peter said this all on his own. We all know that Peter had a short fuse and like me the mouth flies open way before the brain is engaged.
Remember Jesus has been praying about this all night long, and Peter’s response fits right into what Jesus is wanting to teach them.
I believe God caused Peter to say what he said.
And it wouldn’t have been that hard for Peter.
So Peter wants to come out to Jesus, and Jesus tells him to come on out.
And Peter steps out of the boat, and I if he shouted on the inside…“THIS IS COOL!”
Peter has never experienced anything like this!
He’s walking by faith… He’s stepped out of the boat and he’s walking on water.
I remember the 1st time I got on a roller coaster.
It was a thrilling experience… and then it started to move. WHY did they have to put that 100 foot drop right out of the gate!? At first it was exciting and suddenly it became a frightening experience.
There is a lesson here:
You cannot grow in your faith, sitting in your seat and watching.
Sooner or later, you’ve got out of the boat. [pew]
James says it this way: “… faith without works is dead” James 2:20
You’re not going to go anywhere in your faith until you do something that gets you out of on the water.
If all you do is come to church and sit in a pew… if you’re simply satisfied with being a spectator and not a doer for God… you’ll never know the thrill of what God can do in your life.
You simply have to get out of the boat and get your feet wet.
Yes, Peter got distracted by the wind and the waves and lost sight of Jesus.
He and he began to sink in his doubt and Jesus rebuked him for faltering in his faith…
But NOT ONE of the other disciples even got out of the boat.
The other disciples ever knew what it was like to feel this power of Jesus in their lives.
They would never know what it was like for Jesus to reach down into the raging storm of their lives and take them by the hand and pull them up. Why? Because they never got out of the boat!!!
Some would say “But Peter might have drowned!”
Peter was NEVER in danger. WHY Because Jesus was always right there with him.
Jesus never left his side. And Jesus wasn’t about to let him drown.
But because he was willing to step out on faith Peter, as well as the other disciples, learned a most valuable lesson about Jesus, that day.
Look at Matthew 14:32-33
“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.’"
Two chapters later, in Matthew 16:15-16 , we find Jesus asking His disciples who men said that He was. “They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’
‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’
Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, (catch this) THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.’”
The truth is: You cannot become a Christian until you intellectually understand that Jesus is the Son of God.
But even after we’re saved… even after we’ve been to church for years… there comes that moment when we suddenly realize the impact of those words.
A time when we begin to fully understand that Jesus IS the Christ. That He IS the Son of the Living God. And those times seem to only come after we’ve been willing to step out of the boat and put our faith into action.
This sermon was adapted from a sermon by Jeff Strite
