Walking On Water.
Matthew 14: 22-33 (Mark 6: 45-56)
Introduction.
- The event before this passage is the feeding of 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish, a great miracle; they could have stayed there for a long time, receiving fame, praise, good treatment and very comfortable.
- But Jesus wanted to show them his glory. God wants the Church to see the Glory of God in these times, Jesus tells them to go to the other side, He knew that in the middle of that lake His disciples were going to experience the Glory of God, not in the shore comfortable, but in the middle of the storm.
I want to tell you that there is no Glory if we do not first pass through the Cross, There is no victory if there are no battles first, there is no revival without trials. Many times we will have storms in life, both physical and spiritual, where the presence of God will not be apparent. It seems that we can not find God in the storm.
- Sometimes many people in trouble get angry if you mention God, for the same reason, that we think He is not present or not interested in their problem. However, the Lord is preparing the precise moment where He will show us His Glory.
In the midst of the bloodiest trials, we can be sure of four things.
1- - Jesus allows storms.
a. Verse 22, Jesus "caused" His disciples to enter into the boat.
b. Who would not have wanted to stay on the shore with the people after such a miracle?
c. They had fed more than five thousand people with five loaves and two fish.
d. They would be recognized, famous and even powerful, humanly speaking. But Jesus makes them go to the other side.
F. Jesus would need help sending the crowd back home, but he knew what was coming.
g. Jesus knows perfectly what comes into your life.
Note: Many times God is going to send us into a storm of trials, to free us from a storm of temptations.
Jesus is more interested in our spiritual growth than in our personal comfort.
In the first storm in Matthew 8, Jesus was in the boat, now he was not in it, but he was with them. I wanted to show them that when the storms come, he would be there, even if it did not seem like it. Jesus knew that Peter would be crucified upside down, that John would be burned in a cauldron with boiling oil, that Luke would be hanged, that Mark would be dragged to die in the streets of Alexandria.
• There is suffering in the midst of the revival. John the Baptist was locked up and ready to be beheaded, he commands his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the Christ, Jesus' response was not to get him out of jail or to avoid death, tell him about the miracles that were happening through the hand of Jesus. Luke 7: 18-23. (Mt 11: 2)
II. Jesus intercedes for us.
to. Verse 23, Jesus was praying, they could not see Jesus but Jesus was seeing them. Mark 6: 45-48
b. The Bible says that Jesus is our intercessor, and He is always interceding for us.
c. He was not taken by surprise; he was looking at them and praying for them. The Lord is known in the Bible as our intercessor. (example of Peter, Luke 22:32)
F. He is watching us in every storm of life and intercedes for us.
III - Jesus will come to us in His time: (he shows us His Glory)
a.. Vs 25-27, on the fourth watch of the night, from 3:00 am onwards. The darkest hour of the night.
b. Why would it come to them walking on water?
c. To show them that what they most feared at that moment was under His control, under His feet.
d. What are you most afraid of ?? Financial problems ... family problems ... Physical problems ... emotional problems ... Whatever it is, believe that it is under Jesus' feet. He is in control, he is above all that.
That hectic sea was but a corridor, an avenue, a bridge for Jesus to approach.
F. They thought it was a ghost. Because they did not believe that it was Jesus, after such a great miracle they had seen, why could not they see him now? Jesus wanted to teach them the true Faith, which does not depend on what we see, but on His Word.
g. If there is someone who wants us to live in fear, it is Satan, but Jesus tells us: Do not fear !!! Do not live in fear, live by faith.
IV - The storms make us grow in Faith. (Jesus makes us participate in His glory)
a. Vs. 28-32, The great Pedro, always impulsive, comes out. Jump from the vote and the waters were like concrete.
b. If you are ... Peter stated. Faith in Christ is the goal.
c. Someone dared to do such a thing. God is looking for you to get out of the boat and walk in the storm, looking at Christ.
d. Leave the temporary and human refuge that the boat represents and walk in faith on the waters.
Peter learned several lessons that day. Faith makes the impossible. He learned to keep his eyes on Jesus and not on the circumstances. Our eyes must always be on Him, not on circumstances (neither bad nor good). But in Christ.
F. The goal of a revival is not the revival in itself; it is not miracles, it is not seeing the glory of God, nor numerical growth, nor the greatness of the church. The goal of revival is the glorification of the Son, the Holy Spirit always point to the Christ of Glory, rather than to the Glory of Christ.
g. That is the goal of the Gospel writers, (John 20: 30-31).
Conclusion:
Whatever storm you are going through, you can be sure that Jesus knows about it, and while you are in the place of perishing, He is in the place of intercession and will come to you on His time, not yours. He will use that storm to make you grow in faith, and you may see the glory of God in your life but most important the Christ of Glory. Amen.
