Matthew 14:29-31
Peter was oftentimes outspoken and yes, sometimes his mouth got him into trouble.
On this occasion, though, his mouth opened up the door to an opportunity to reveal the strength of his faith.
Although we like making fun of Peter and some of the things that he said, all of us would have to admit that Peter did something that none of us have been able to do-Peter walked on the water.
What about you today, are you strong enough in your faith that you would attempt to do something that defies explanation and something that would set you apart as truly dedicated to Jesus?
What can we learn as Peter walked upon the water?
1. We learn about the invitation of faith.
While all of the other disciples were too afraid to challenge their faith, Peter said that if truly who they saw was Jesus, He should bid him to come to Him walking on the water.
Without hesitation, Jesus invites him to Come.
Although we would think that like the others Peter would be too afraid, Peter would not chance failure and would be like the others, simply terrified, yet Peter accepted the invitation of Jesus and he proceeded to go to Jesus.
2. We learn about the adventure of faith.
Our faith opens up doors of opportunity, but this opportunity comes with challenges and testing.
Before Peter's faith could be shown, he would have to demonstrate that faith, which means, he would have to get out of the boat.
What about you and your faith? Would you have enough faith in Jesus Christ that you would come to Him?
See, it is easy to criticize the actions of others, but when it is your turn to either prove the strength of your faith or fail trying, what do you do?
As I have already shared, at least one thing can be said about Peter, HE GOT OUT OF THE BOAT! That is, you cannot deny that his heart was in the right place, and he certainly showed courage in coming to Jesus upon the sea.
3. We learn there are adversaries to our faith.
I realize that many of us find it hard giving Peter any type of high five or kudos, but Peter showed remarkable faith in coming to Jesus, but Peter was also a mere mortal man.
Peter showed courage, he showed faith, but he also showed that each and every day we battle adversaries to our faith.
The adversaries to our faith are temptation, grief, and fear.
Temptation means that we are easily distracted to follow after someone or something else other than God.
Grief, we allow our emotions to guide our actions, but we need to learn that emotions are very poor guides and usually lead you to nothing more than failure.
Fear, we all get scared or become afraid of what may be something small, yet it becomes hard to overcome if we lose our nerve.
As Peter comes to Jesus, the adversaries of his faith appear and what happens: 1) Peter is tempted to look at the storm or the outside conditions rather than upon Jesus, 2) Emotionally Peter gave up and gave out when his attention turned from Jesus to the wind and waves, 3) Peter than became afraid, his faith failed him and he began to sink.
4. We learn about the resource of faith.
Peter now begins to sink into the sea, his faith seemingly has failed, but his faith leads him to do a remarkable thing.
The remarkable thing that Peter does is he calls upon Jesus for help.
If there is but one thing you get from this message, it should be that you should never give up on Jesus, call upon Him before you try anything else.
When Peter called upon Jesus, it is Jesus Who reached down into the water and pulled Peter back to the surface and led him to the boat.
Truly the resource of faith is in the person of Jesus Christ, and also we should count on His power to deliver us from all problems and issues.
As Peter is led back to the boat by Jesus, note that Jesus says to Peter, 'why did you doubt? What really happened that day is Peter was defeated by the adversaries to his faith, but when He called upon Jesus, he was able to overcome these adversaries and show that Jesus is the reason for each and every day. Will you trust in Jesus for help?
Remember the next time you speak critically about Peter, he is the only one besides Jesus who walked upon the water. Will you trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Please take time to read and study this episode in the life of Jesus. Only Jesus can give the message of deliverance through his name, won't you place your trust and faith in Jesus Christ?
