March 24, 2019 - Walk On Water
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How many of you long to have the FAITH of the Abraham?
How about the faith of David?
How about - the Apostle Paul?
How about ANY of the apostles?
How about Jim Elliot?
I think if we’re honest, we’ll read about all these men in scripture or in history...
…and we find ourselves - LONGING - just wishing - that we could have FAITH like them...
We see in Scripture many stories of what seems to be - MIRACULOUS faith...
And we LONG for that...
Who wants to GROW in faith (in here)?
One of the most memorable stories in all of Scripture is the story of Jesus Christ walking on water...
Now in the Gospel of John, some details about this event are left out of the text...
So we’ll end up pulling from Matthew’s account as well...
And what we’ll see in the text is a couple of things...
Some different aspects of FAITH...
We’ll end by looking at a POTENTIAL connection between this story and the OT story of the Israelites...
15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,
17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.
19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.
20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
Now, again, the story here as John portrays it is missing some important aspects of the whole story.
OF COURSE, he has his reasons for only stating the portions that he states, but we’re going to actually pull from Matthew as well...
…to give us a more complete view of the whole...
Let’s read through Matthew’s account of this story as well...
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.
23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
So, i think the first thing that stands out between the 2 accounts is...
… John’s account doesn’t even mention that Peter walks on water...
…while Matthew’s account does.
And so with that said - the first thing i want us to know is this...
SLIDE: Worldly Faith: Makes Ourselves Our God
Worldly Faith
Worldly Faith
Before we get through this section - i HOPE - i PRAY that we will feel the WEIGHT of how SAD this truly is...
What does this mean?
Look at our text - FOCUS in on our passage today - PRE-Jesus
…BEFORE Christ shows up on the scene...
24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.
OK, set the stage...
it’s DARK...
And NOT ONLY is it dark - but these guys are OUT at SEA...
And not only are they OUT at SEA - but it’s VERY WINDY...
And not only is it VERY WINDY…but the wind is causing the WAVES to - RISE…and BEAT against the boat!
They’re TRYING to make it across to the other side…about a 6 mile trek...
Using ALL their effort...
These guys are in a 1st century - wooden boat...
trying to ROW at LEAST 6 miles...
out at sea...
WIND in their face...
WAVES CRASHING against their boat...
NO lighthouses to guide them in...
NO life preservers...
And so in the CONTEXT of FAITH -
Which is a main theme of this section of Scripture...
let’s explain how Worldly Faith makes OURSELVES our god...
When we’re IN THE BOAT - that’s OUT TO SEA...
WAVES crashing against us...
Without SAVING FAITH - we’re left with Worldly Faith...
and Worldly Faith ALWAYS - ALWAYS - ALWAYS - springs forth from “Ourselves as God”...
With PHYSICAL LIFE itself - our King!
We WORSHIP OURSELVES!
And if we - worship Ourselves - THEN - We BOW DOWN to physical life…!
Physical life becomes - ULTIMATE!
We see this in Romans 1
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
You see?
The righteous live by - SAVING FAITH...
BUT
EVERYONE else...
is a FOOL - why?
They’ve EXCHANGED the glory of the immortal God...
for - IMAGES (physical representations) RESEMBLING mortal man and birds....
The UNBELIEVER is a fool - for he has exchanged the CREATOR for - creation...
Instead of worshipping the Creator - the FOOL worships himself...
And so THINK THRU IT!...
If I am my OWN GOD...
THEN - Physical Preservation becomes - my MISSION!
And if Physical Preservation IS my MISSION - Then my faith will REST in that which is - SEEN!
And so - BACK to the boat!
IN the BOAT - before Christ shows up...
We can equate that situation with - the UNBELIEVER!
The Unbeliever is his own god!
Physical preservation is his mission!
YET - he’s out at SEA - the WIND - IN HIS FACE...
the WAVES CRASHING all AROUND…!
All of his EFFORT - focused on STAYING ALIVE...
ALL of his effort - not working...
AND SO - LISTEN -
SLIDE:
The unbeliever’s hope of faith rests in a 1st century, wooden boat, and ultimately, is at the mercy of the wind.
In the boat of life - the unbeliever - is at the mercy of the wind
His faith RESTS - THERE! In that WHICH IS SEEN!
and what a SAD state that is!
BECAUSE...
of what the Bible says SAVING FAITH is!!!
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
An UNBELIEVER cannot live like this!
For an UNBELIEVER - they are their own god...
Which means - their faith rests in that which IS SEEN...
that’s ALL they have...
And so - Worldly Faith makes ourselves our god...
BUT...
SLIDE: Saving Faith: Comes From the One True God
Saving Faith
Saving Faith
Let’s go to Matthew to see this...
24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
So Jesus comes walking out on the sea...
And the disciples see him…yet they think He’s a ghost...
And there’s SOMETHING TO THAT - Why would they assume it HAD TO BE a ghost?
Because - from what they knew of REALITY - a MAN CANNOT physically walk on water...
And so - it’s INTERESTING to see here - that Christ’s response to their FEAR is to say to them -
“I AM”…Do not be afraid.
It’s been rendered here - “It is I”...
BUT - the greek is Ego Eimi… the same Greek we find in John 8:58 where Christ says - Before Abraham was....I AM.
So what happens?
28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
WOW - Peter was your typical hot-head right?...
He didn’t always put his best foot forward…and he was often putting his FOOT IN HIS MOUTH...
But he got it RIGHT - HERE!
We read these words and give them a casual nod - BUT these guys LIVED this...
They see this Man-Ghost walking on water - 3 miles out to sea...
AND PETER - says - Ok, If it IS You Lord, COMMAND ME to come to you!
Peter knew what he was doing here...
Everyone KNEW who Peter was...
Everyone KNEW Peter was a MERE mortal… they knew his limitations...
And they KNEW his strengths...
And WALKING ON WATER wasn’t one of them!
And so what a great way to call Christ’s BLUFF - if He was bluffing - If this wasn’t Christ!
But look what happens!
29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
What’s going on here?
Did Peter have FAITH to walk on the water before Christ came walking to them??
NO -
But Peter knew that if Christ COMMANDED him to come to Him...
Peter KNEW that it would be so...
And what we see here is that:
SLIDE:
Christ’s word creates what it commands
Prior to Christ showing up on the scene…Peter DID NOT have faith to walk on water...
But like when Christ stood outside the tomb of Lazarus…and commanded him (a DEAD person) to COME FORTH...
And he CAME FORTH...
We see Christ here command Peter to - COME!
And HE CAME!! Walking on water!
HOW?
FAITH!
How do we know it was faith?
29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
EVERY step that Peter took on the water - was HELD up by - FAITH!
And we KNOW this because when he started to SINK into the water...
Jesus looks at him and says - O you of LITTLE - faith…why do you doubt?
See - DOUBT - wars against - FAITH....
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
Sound familiar??
But let’s LOOK at this now~~
Here’s what we CANNOT conclude from this situation...
SLIDE:
We cannot conclude that all things SEEN can only war against faith.
Do you see how that MIGHT be the conclusion?
The conclusion might be - That the Wave-Rising Wind of this world (what is seen) can only do harm to faith.
That if Peter would have just IGNORED the wind, he would have been fine and stayed above the water...
That CANNOT be our conclusion...
Here’s why...
19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
It’s the things that we SEE - that SHOULD cause us to WORSHIP God!
And so BACK to Peter on the water - the PROBLEM with Peter wasn’t the WIND...
the WIND should have caused Peter to EXALT Christ - that Peter was - THROUGH Christ powered faith, conquering the WIND...
BUT - It was how Peter VIEWED the WIND at that moment… that was the problem
In that moment - Peter saw the WIND & the WAVES (that which is seen) - and he ATTRIBUTED MORE POWER to the wind than he did to Christ!
THAT was his problem!
His problem was - INSIDE himself!
His heart!
And if you remember our sermon from last week - it ties into this week!
In that moment that Peter was IN THE BOAT - wanting to know if that “ghost” was Jesus Himself...
The question came to Peter - by Christ - WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM!?
And Peter - Answered that question - And he hit it out of the park!
Peter Answered that Question this way - I KNOW that Christ is able to give me the FAITH to walk on water - THEREFORE -
…if that IS YOU Jesus - command me to come!
BECAUSE - You WORD will create what it COMMANDS!
*Have you EVER prayed THAT prayer to God???!!!
It’s probably the LEAST prayed prayer in all of HISTORY...
LORD - command me to:
Love my wife when ALL I want to do is ignore her
Prioritize advancing YOUR kingdom OVER advancing MY kingdom
Engage the people in my church instead of living life apart from them
BE a neighbor to those around me
Speak Your truth boldly, in love, to my unbelieving family
Proclaim Your Worth to my neighbors
shine Your light through me in my place of employment
Stop doubting you
LOVE You more today than I did yesterday
STOP allowing my circumstances to dictate my level of JOY...
Do we want THESE things?
Do we DARE pray THESE prayers?
And we NEED to pray - why?
Because - as we saw with Peter on the water -
SLIDE:
the FAITHFUL in this world - will battle sin in this world - till we DEPART FROM this world.
Peter got out of that boat - Empowered by faith...
Each step he took - UPHELD by faith...
BUT THEN...
FEAR - - Doubt - - And where there is DOUBT - there is less FAITH...
Result? (down into water)
And so - what do we see regarding SAVING faith?
Saving Faith - yes comes from God
But it also -
Taps into that which is BEYOND the physical
When ALL we have is the physical, and we are our own god…our faith will mimic the world around us.
If I am my own god...
when the seas of life are - calm
my faith in myself will be - steady
but when the seas of life begin to RAGE...
my faith in myself will - RAGE
WHY?
Because I’ll need to WORK to STAY AFLOAT!
LOOK at what happens when we have - SAVING Faith!
back to John
19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.
20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
Let me read that again...
When Jesus got in the boat, Immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going!
What had the disciples been doing before Jesus got there?
ROWING...
STRUGGLING…to get to where they wanted to go
BUT THEN - Jesus is welcomed in - and what?
They’re immediately at there destination...
NO MORE WORK needed to SAVE
NO MORE effort needed to SAVE
Think of it - When Peter was on top of the waves, it was as if there were NO WAVES at all...
It was as if there was no WATER at all...
Saving Faith taps into that which is beyond the physical...
Saving Faith empowers us to do the impossible...
Think of Paul’s life..
Went from persecuting the church…to NOW defending and dying FOR the church. (impossible)
And what does the Bible tell us...
26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Before we summarize where we’ve been today...
I want to throw out this observation I had in studying this week...
It’s nothing I can prove, but just something I wanted to share...
When we look at the OT and the story of the Israelites, we see a few major events...
Started with...
SLIDE:
The First Passover
the blood of the lamb was spread over the doors of the Israelites in Egypt...
And that blood lead to - physical freedom
Then came...
SLIDE:
The First Passover — Crossing of the Red Sea
God SHOWED His power - His authority OVER the water
Then came...
SLIDE:
The First Passover — Crossing of the Red Sea — Manna From Heaven
God satisfied their hunger by sending Bread from heaven...
OK - now, as I was studying this week - I started thinking about this sermon today, and last weeks sermon...
This week - Jesus displayed authority over the water...
Last week - Jesus satisfied the people’s hunger by creating bread...
And I thought - it’s as if...
SLIDE: The OT story of (the First Passover — Crossing of the Red Sea — Manna From heaven)
…the story of the OT of the Passover, the Crossing of the Red Sea, and the Manna from Heaven...
…got flipped over, and is now being played out...
…in the manifestation of Christ...
Where in the OT - the Passover Lamb lead to God’s provision...
NOW...
In the NT...
SLIDE:
SLIDE: explain
Where in the OT - the Passover Lamb being slain leads to physical freedom and God’s provision...
In the NT - God’s provision leads to The Lamb of God being slain and Spiritual Freedom
Something to ponder...
What have we seen today?
SUMMARY:
Worldly Faith
Makes Ourselves Our God
Saving Faith
Comes From the One True God
Worldly faith is a faith that is only GRAVE deep...
Saving Faith is grounded in the One true God - and it comes FROM the One true God...
And it manifests itself - Outside the boat...
Get out of the boat!
COMMAND God to - get you out of the boat!
Let’s pray...