GETTING A NEW FOCUS ON LIFE
Matthew 14:22-33
S: Worship
C: Jesus as Son of God
Th: A Passionate Pursuit of God
Pr: JESUS IS WORTHY OF OUR WORSHIP.
Type: Inductive
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Confess to the truth about yourself.
• Passionately pursue God.
• Worship Jesus as the Son of God.
Version: The Message
RMBC 03 April 05 AM
INTRODUCTION:
Have you ever noticed that…
1. There are certain circumstances that can grip us with fear.
ILL Fear: Dog and veterinarian office
There was a deputy with the sheriff’s department canine division, which, one evening, was dispatched to the scene of a possible burglary, where he discovered the back door of a building ajar. He let the dog out of his patrol car and commanded it to enter and seek.
Jumping from the back seat, the dog headed for the building. After lunging through the doorway, the dog froze and backed out.
The deputy was puzzled until he investigated further. Then he noticed the sign on the building: "Veterinarian’s office."
I am sure many of us can empathize with that experience.
We have taken our dogs to the vet, and they put their brakes on saying, “I’m not going in there.”
This is, by the way, why all entrances to a veterinarian’s offices are not carpeted.
So…
What do you do when you are afraid?
Do you panic, put on your brakes, and look for a way out?
You know, I think that…
2. It is hard to keep our head during the storms of life.
When we are surrounded by unexpected circumstances that are painful and bleak, we don’t always think straight.
When it seems our world is falling apart, we can feel a certain kind of dread that causes us to be anxious and apprehensive.
As Christians, there is a solution to this.
It is this…
3. We must become alert to God’s presence.
This is just one of the many lessons we find in the story of Matthew 14:22-33…
OUR STUDY:
As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people. With the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night.
Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared out of their wits. “A ghost!” they said, crying out in terror.
But Jesus was quick to comfort them. “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come ahead.”
Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”
Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, “Faint-heart, what got into you?”
The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, “This is it! You are God’s Son for sure!”
(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language
© 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
The first lesson we should notice is that…
1. We must get a sense of when it is time to move on.
The story preceding this is the well known miracle called “the feeding of the 5,000.”
With 5 small loaves and two fish, Jesus fed over 10,000 people, when you count the women and children as well.
And the disciples had to be amazed.
Here they were observing the power of Jesus over the material.
He did not divide food, and make it stretch.
He multiplied it.
He took it, and made more.
For the disciples, this was a tremendous victory.
It immediately gave their movement credibility and power.
But if there is one thing we must always keep in mind is that victories are set up for defeats.
When you begin to win, it is then you are the most vulnerable to lose.
ILL Personal
As a soccer coach, I know that the most likely time you will be scored on is right after you have scored.
Jesus knows that this great victory means that they must move on.
I think when Jesus told them it was time to go, and they were to take a boat to the other side, they were reluctant to do so.
Perhaps they even argued.
But Jesus would have it no other way.
In fact, the text tells us that He made them leave.
“No more arguing, just go!”
If I had been a disciple at the time, I would have found this all very confusing.
Finally, people were getting it.
They were recognizing Jesus as the Messiah.
The recognition was long overdue.
No doubt, though, Jesus understood that the disciples were complicating things.
He was not coming to establish a place of earthly power as they were hoping.
So, He sends off the disciples, and He dismisses the crowds.
Why?
It is because…
2. We are vulnerable after great work.
When we have done great work, it is not time to glory in what has been accomplished.
It is time to get perspective.
It is time to rest.
It is time to pray.
For Jesus, it was time for intimate, refreshing communion with the Father.
There had certainly been a temptation to give in to the idea of power that the crowds were clamoring for.
But He will not give in.
It would mean certain disaster for the mission that has been given Him and that He has taken.
By moving away from the crowds, and even the disciples, He is able to turn away from the evil temptation.
He is able to stay on task, and fulfill His mission.
His mission, we must note, was not an easy one.
One thing is for sure, as human beings, we like things to be easier rather than difficult.
ILL Easy: fur vs. leather
Someone has said…
"The reason activists make a bigger fuss over fur than leather is it’s easier to harass rich women than bikers!"
We do like the easy way, don’t we?
But the fact is…
3. Trouble is often allowed to come into our lives.
Jesus sent the disciples away, without Him, onto a lake that was notorious for sudden storms.
And that is exactly what happened.
When they got three to four miles out from shore, these men found themselves in the midst of a violent storm.
They were probably already upset and frustrated with being sent away.
Now they were fighting to stay alive, as the waves washed over the boat, threatening to sink them.
And as they are straining at the oars to get ashore, I can just imagine they were sarcastically saying, “Thanks a lot, Jesus!”
“He’s probably forgotten all about us.”
“Out of sight, out of mind.”
But here is the truth that they were not realizing at the time.
The storm and the disciples were equally in Jesus’ hands.
He had not forgotten them.
They were not out of His control.
You see…
4. We do not face trouble alone.
When the wind of life is contrary, and we are struggling against it, we do not need to fear.
Jesus is there.
As we noted before, the disciples are scared.
They are worried they are going to die right in the middle of the Sea of Galilee.
And now, to make things worse, they see a ghost.
They know it is not the imagination of one, because they all see it.
There he is, on top of the water, and it looks like he is going to walk right past them.
Of course, it is Jesus.
It is a possibility they had not considered.
But, this “ghost” turns toward then.
And as soon as they hear His voice, they know who it is.
“Courage! It’s me!”
Jesus literally says, “Courage! I I am!”
It is actually a much more powerful statement than just, “it’s me.”
It was a statement of being in all its fullness.
It was a claim to Deity.
They had no reason to fear because they were in the presence of the divine.
He was over the earth, not subject to it.
They didn’t have to be afraid.
You know, when we are in the place of obedience, we are in a place of safety, no matter how bad the circumstances seem to be.
We are in a place of security, even if the conditions seem to be unfavorable.
In the presence of God, we are always protected.
For…
5. It is never wrong to be near Jesus.
It is at this point that Peter does the unexpected.
It may have been unexpected, but it was not impetuous.
Realize this…this man is a fisherman.
He knows the danger he is in, for he is no fool when it comes to the Sea of Galilee.
He knows he is in a life or death situation.
But Peter is also overjoyed to see Jesus.
His heart is very right.
He offers to come to Jesus, not to share in the spectacular, but so that he can get to Him.
It was easy to figure this out…
It is safer to be with Jesus on the water than to be without Him in the boat.
Jesus confirms, I believe, the good motive of Peter and tells him to come.
For Jesus does not invite sin, pride or presumption.
So while the storm is still going, Peter responds to Jesus with faith enough to get out of the boat, walking on the water with his eyes on Jesus.
Have you ever tried to walk on water?
It had to be some feeling…
ILL Miracle: Dash in The Incredibles
The movie “The Incredibles” was the Oscar winner for an animated film this past year. It is the story about a family of superheroes. The middle child is a boy named “Dash.” His superhero talent is that he is fast.
When for the first time he is being faced with a life and death situation, he follows the instruction to run as fast as he can. At one point in the film, he runs out of the jungle and is about to enter into some water, and his face demonstrates legitimate concern, until he discovers that he is going so fast that he is running on the water and not sinking at all.
It is at this point, he lets out a sound of glee and laughter.
I wonder if Peter didn’t do the same thing.
He gets out on the water, in the storm, focuses on Jesus, and then takes a few steps and thinks, “Wow, I am walking on water.”
And as soon as he thinks that, failure sets in.
He begins to sink.
As soon as he gets his eyes off Jesus, he no longer has enough faith to carry him all the way to Jesus.
You see…
6. We need to keep our focus.
What I like here is that as soon as failure set in, Peter didn’t hesitate to call for help.
He cries out for Jesus to help him.
And as soon as he does that, he was safe.
Jesus rescues him immediately.
He doesn’t ask if Peter really meant what he said.
Jesus reaches out, and rescues him.
Peter didn’t have to utter some long prayer, demonstrate contrition, or follow some formula.
He just asked for help, and he got it.
And if the miracle of Jesus feeding all the people, and then walking on water was not enough…
Jesus gets in boat, and the storm stops.
Not only that, from one of the other accounts we know that they immediately arrived at their destination.
They reached the other side of the lake.
Do you know how these disciples reacted to all of this?
They did the only thing that made sense.
They worshipped.
That should be our reaction as well…
7. Our appropriate response is worship.
The disciples were more than simply amazed.
They had now been exposed to a side of Jesus they had not seen before.
And so, they adored Jesus.
He was the highly exalted One.
They knew now that He had truly come from the Father.
This was the Son of God.
APPLICATION:
What can we learn from this story today?
First, let me encourage you to…
1. Confess to the truth about yourself.
Let’s admit that we would rather have an easy life instead of a holy life.
But we are not called to ease.
We are called to holiness.
And God’s inefficient way (or so it seems to us) of getting us there is to bring and to allow difficulties to come into our lives.
Sometimes we panic.
Sometimes we lose our head.
But when we get our perspective, we discover that He is using these varied circumstances to bring us to the place of Christlikeness.
For the easy way is not the way to joy.
The difficult way is.
The holy way is.
This means then that we must…
2. Passionately pursue God.
Because when He touches us, we are never the same.
The struggles aren’t going away, but when we go to Him, we find that He is with us.
ILL Peace: bird
There is the story of king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who say this picture though that it was a perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell, and in which lightning flashed. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the king looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest in perfect peace.
Which do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why? “Because,” explained the king, “peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.”
I think this nails it for us.
True peace is found, not in the absence of crisis, but in the presence of Christ.
This being so…
3. JESUS IS WORTHY OF OUR WORSHIP.
It is easy to recognize Jesus as King in the midst of miracles.
But it is a much different thing when the storms come.
Is He your Lord then as well?
COMMUNION:
Right now…it is time to worship Jesus.
Whatever may be attempting to distract you right now, set it aside now.
For Jesus is drawing you right now, asking you to come closer.
He is on the water, calling to us, “Courage. It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
He is asking us to know His love, presence and protection.
He is more than a miracle-worker.
He is the One who made these startling claims…
I am the Bread.
I am the Light of the World.
I am the Door.
I am the Good Shepherd.
I am the Resurrection and the Life.
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Again, He is the One who says, “Courage, I I am.”
And that’s all we need to know.
When Jesus was being executed on a cross, He had ordinary men hanging on each side of him.
But He was not just a man, martyr, prophet or teacher.
He was the extraordinary God-Man, the sinless One—God.
John testifies in his gospel:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
When we come to this table, we recognize that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial to the incarnate life and the sacrificial death of Christ.
He was lifted up to the cross where He draws us.
He draws us to Himself.
So as we come to the table, we recognize that he draws us once again.
He draws us to remember that He victoriously accomplished the salvation of those drawn in faith.
Those of us that know Jesus are invited to share in the elements of the table.
You do not have to be a member of this church to partake, but we do ask that you have a relationship with Jesus.
If you do not know Jesus, that is, you have not received Him as your Savior and Lord, you do not trust Him with your life, that is, you have not been changed by the message, just let the elements pass by.
Please wait until the time comes when you do have that personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
Being led in prayer by ___________________, let us take a moment and thank Him for being our sacrifice.
(Prayer)
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
__________________ will now come and lead us in prayer.
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Confess the truth…recognize that we are always seeking the easy way; instead, though, let us have a change of heart and seek the holy way.
Pursue God passionately…don’t settle, go out to Him…discover what He has for you, for there are marvelous things in store.
Worship Jesus…He is the One that has come to us from the Father, and there is an appropriate response…it is to come before Him with reverence and with awe.
Now may the God of peace equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
RESOURCES:
The Gospel of Matthew, William Barclay
MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 8-15, John MacArthur
SermonCentral
“Finding God’s Presence through the Storms/Trials of Life” Mike Hullah
“God’s in Control!” Dennis Marquardt
“How to Walk on Water” P. G. Mathew
“Get Out of the Boat” Bill Burnett
“Don’t Go Down with the Ship” Steven Dow
