Sermon Tone Analysis

Matthew 14:22-33

Introduction

The bible says that Peter walked on the water.

Contrary

In the Old Testament, contrary has the sense of antagonistic, as one person opposed or hostile to the other, especially in ,,,,,,, where Yahweh declares His attitude toward the people in such phrases as: "If ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; then I will walk contrary unto you in wrath."

So the sea being contrary means it was hostile.

Unpredictable

Also in the Old Testament, the unpredictable sea is a common symbol of cosmic disorder—conditions contrary to God’s design for an ordered world.

This symbol for cosmic anarchy is also personified as a sea monster, known as Leviathan.

The image of chaos as an untamed monster in a churning, erratic sea was common throughout the ancient world.

People accustomed to dry land would naturally view the vast, raging ocean as uncontrollable and potentially deadly, filled with terrifying unknown creatures.

The 4th Watch

25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

What is the fourth watch?

The Romans divided the night into four three-hour segments and the Jews had adopted these divisions.

3am to 6am.

Scared

3am to 6am

26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.[1]

But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid”.

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

And he said, Come.

And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

Let me say it again.

He walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

I don’t know about you, but if I walked on the sea, I would have been dancing and shouting Jesus is Lord!

And this came right after they saw Jesus feed the 5000.

Not to mention the women and children.

Saw The Wind

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid;

now wait a minute, you can’t see the wind.

You can see the effects of it but you can’t actually see it.

You can see the effects of your circumstances and be afraid.

and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt”?

As Peter was walking on the see, he was looking at Jesus.

His focus was on Christ.

When he shifted his focus to the tempest, he got scared.

Jackie Chan said this in the movie “The Karate Kid” with Jaden Smith, “Your focus needs more focus”.

says He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.[1]

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.[2]

I remember in school while running track, we had to run a relay race.

In a relay race as you know, you have a baton that you pass off to the next runner.

There is a specific technique that you had to use to maximize the speed of the runners.

One of these was to make sure the next runner got the baton in a fashion that he/she could start running and not have to worry about if he/she had it or not.

They were supposed to start running when they saw their team mate coming up to them but not look back at them while their hand was behind them waiting for the baton to contact their hand.

If done properly, they could run and not break the stride of the previous runner and build up speed at the same time.

This makes for a smooth transition or handoff.

Occasionally, you get a runner who always looks back as the other runner approaches them in turn slows down their take-off.

In essence, shifting their focus from down the track to behind them.

Just like the track lane that you are in when running this race,

King James Version (KJV) says,

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

you must stay focused.

Peter lost his focus.

Just as so many of us do, when things get rough and our storms become contrary, we shift our focus on the storm instead of keeping it on the Lord.

We always seem to tell our Lord how big or huge our storms are instead of telling our storms how incredibly huge our God is.

God’s ultimate victory at the end of the age is also depicted as God dominating the forces of the sea: “In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the twisting serpent, Leviathan the crooked serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea” ().

This is why the description of the final paradise of the new heaven and new earth contains the phrase, “the sea was no more” ().

strong sword will punish Leviathan the twisting serpent, Leviathan the crooked serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea” ().

This is why the description of the final paradise of the new heaven and new earth contains the phrase, “the sea was no more” ().

The prophet Daniel’s vision of the end of days and the kingdom of God includes four beasts that emerge out of a storm-tossed sea ().

These beasts are not aquatic creatures by nature.

They come from the sea because they represent chaos.

God’s heavenly court sentences the beasts to death (), after which the “son of man” arrives immediately to receive the kingdom of God ().

All of this imagery informs John’s account of Jesus walking on the sea during the storm.

How many of us right now, have some storms in our lives, right now that we need for Jesus to walk on?

If you need Jesus to change your circumstances, you have to give yourself to him.

He will not force you to come.

He is waiting.

Play song “Welcome Holy Spirit”

If you want to walk on the water, you have to get out of the boat!

Invitation To Discipleship

Benediction

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