Walking on Water in a Stormy World

Nichole Bache: All right.

Nichole Bache: This morning's message is titled

Nichole Bache: walking on Water in a Stormy

Nichole Bache: World.

Nichole Bache: Our main scripture is going to be Matthew fourteen twenty two

Nichole Bache: through thirty three.

Nichole Bache: If you'd like to get that ready,

Nichole Bache: we'll get to that in just a

Nichole Bache: moment.

Nichole Bache: But I'd like to begin by asking

Nichole Bache: you to take a moment and think

Nichole Bache: about your favorite miracle that

Nichole Bache: Jesus performed.

Nichole Bache: For some, it might be the feeding of the five thousand.

Nichole Bache: Imagine watching a little boy's lunch become enough food to feed

Nichole Bache: an entire crowd.

Nichole Bache: For others, it may be the raising of Lazarus from the dead

Nichole Bache: where Jesus demonstrates his power over the grave itself.

Nichole Bache: Or maybe it was turning water into wine, opening the blind

Nichole Bache: eyes, or calming a raging sea with a single command.

Nichole Bache: All of those miracles were incredible.

Nichole Bache: But today I want to talk about my favorite miracle.

Nichole Bache: Not because it's the most spectacular.

Nichole Bache: Not because it's the most

Nichole Bache: famous, but because it is one of

Nichole Bache: the more personal miracles that

Nichole Bache: were performed.

Nichole Bache: It is the moment that Jesus walked on water.

Nichole Bache: I love this story because it is not merely about what Jesus did.

Nichole Bache: It is about what Peter did in response to Jesus.

Nichole Bache: The other people on the boat, the other disciples, they stayed

Nichole Bache: in the boat.

Nichole Bache: Peter stepped out.

Nichole Bache: The others watched the miracle while Peter participated in it.

Nichole Bache: The others observed God's power while Peter experienced it, and

Nichole Bache: I believe that is the difference between many Christians today.

Nichole Bache: Many believers admire Jesus from the safety of the boat.

Nichole Bache: They sing about him.

Nichole Bache: They attend church.

Nichole Bache: They listen to the sermons, but

Nichole Bache: they never truly step out in

Nichole Bache: faith.

Nichole Bache: Yet Jesus is still calling people out of the boat today.

Nichole Bache: He is still calling people beyond their comfort zone.

Nichole Bache: He is still calling people beyond what seems reasonable.

Nichole Bache: He's still calling people to trust him enough to attempt what

Nichole Bache: would be impossible without him.

Nichole Bache: The truth is that we live in a stormy world.

Nichole Bache: Some of you are facing financial storms.

Nichole Bache: Some are facing health storms,

Nichole Bache: some are carrying burdens in

Nichole Bache: your marriage, or watching

Nichole Bache: children or grandchildren make

Nichole Bache: destructive decisions in their

Nichole Bache: lives.

Nichole Bache: Some may be struggling with

Nichole Bache: anxiety, fear, or depression, or

Nichole Bache: possibly uncertainty about the

Nichole Bache: future.

Nichole Bache: The wind is blowing.

Nichole Bache: The waves are crashing.

Nichole Bache: The storm is real in your life today.

Nichole Bache: But the good news is that Jesus is still Lord over that storm.

Nichole Bache: The same Jesus who walked on water then is still walking over

Nichole Bache: every storm you face today.

Nichole Bache: And perhaps this morning he's speaking the same word that he

Nichole Bache: spoke to Peter.

Nichole Bache: Come.

Nichole Bache: So if you'd like to turn with me to Matthew fourteen twenty two.

Nichole Bache: We're going to begin there and read this morning.

Nichole Bache: Immediately he made the

Nichole Bache: disciples get into the boat and

Nichole Bache: go ahead of him to the other

Nichole Bache: side, while he dismissed the

Nichole Bache: crowds.

Nichole Bache: After dismissing the crowds, he went up on the mountain by

Nichole Bache: himself to pray.

Nichole Bache: Well into the night he was there alone.

Nichole Bache: Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance from land,

Nichole Bache: battered by the waves because the wind was against them.

Nichole Bache: Jesus came toward them, walking on the sea.

Nichole Bache: Very early in the morning, when the disciples saw him walking on

Nichole Bache: the sea, they were terrified.

Nichole Bache: It's a ghost, they said, and they cried out in fear.

Nichole Bache: Immediately Jesus spoke to them.

Nichole Bache: Have courage, it is I. Don't be afraid.

Nichole Bache: Lord, if it is you.

Nichole Bache: Peter answered him, command me to come to you on the water.

Nichole Bache: He said, come.

Nichole Bache: And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the

Nichole Bache: water and came toward Jesus.

Nichole Bache: But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid.

Nichole Bache: And beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me!

Nichole Bache: Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him,

Nichole Bache: and said to him, you of little faith, why did you doubt?

Nichole Bache: When they got to the boat the wind ceased.

Nichole Bache: Then wrote.

Nichole Bache: Then those in the boat worshiped him and said, truly you are the

Nichole Bache: Son of God.

Nichole Bache: The passage begins with a surprising statement.

Nichole Bache: Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat.

Nichole Bache: Notice something important.

Nichole Bache: The disciples are not in this

Nichole Bache: storm because they disobeyed

Nichole Bache: Jesus.

Nichole Bache: They are in the storm because they obeyed him.

Nichole Bache: That changes everything.

Nichole Bache: Many people assume that if they

Nichole Bache: are following God, life should

Nichole Bache: become easier.

Nichole Bache: But Scripture teaches something very different.

Nichole Bache: Sometimes obedience leads to difficulty.

Nichole Bache: Jesus knew exactly what was waiting on the Sea of Galilee

Nichole Bache: for those disciples.

Nichole Bache: He knew that the wind would rise.

Nichole Bache: He knew that the waves would crash.

Nichole Bache: He knew that the disciples would

Nichole Bache: struggle and he sent them out

Nichole Bache: there anyway.

Nichole Bache: Why would he do that?

Nichole Bache: Because storms often become classrooms for faith.

Nichole Bache: God does some of his deepest work in our difficult seasons.

Nichole Bache: We would all prefer mountaintop experiences, but spiritual

Nichole Bache: maturity is usually forged in those valleys of life.

Nichole Bache: Gold is refined in fire.

Nichole Bache: Faith grows through testing.

Nichole Bache: James one two through four tells

Nichole Bache: us, consider it pure joy

Nichole Bache: whenever you face trials of many

Nichole Bache: kinds, not because trials are

Nichole Bache: enjoyable, but because God uses

Nichole Bache: them, the disciples are learning

Nichole Bache: something in that storm that

Nichole Bache: they could never have learned on

Nichole Bache: shore.

Nichole Bache: Perhaps someone here today needs to hear this.

Nichole Bache: The presence of a storm does not mean the absence of God.

Nichole Bache: The storm is not evidence that God has abandoned you.

Nichole Bache: In fact, sometimes the storm is evidence that God is preparing

Nichole Bache: you for something greater.

Nichole Bache: Amen.

Nichole Bache: After sending the disciples away, Jesus goes up to the

Nichole Bache: mountain to pray.

Nichole Bache: The disciples are struggling in

Nichole Bache: the dark while Jesus is on the

Nichole Bache: mountain.

Nichole Bache: At first glance, it appears that

Nichole Bache: they are separated, but in

Nichole Bache: Mark's Gospel, it gives us a

Nichole Bache: remarkable detail.

Nichole Bache: Mark six forty eight, says he saw the disciples straining

Nichole Bache: against the oars.

Nichole Bache: Think about that.

Nichole Bache: The disciples could not see Jesus, but Jesus could see them.

Nichole Bache: They felt alone, but they were not alone.

Nichole Bache: They felt forgotten, but they were not forgotten.

Nichole Bache: They felt abandoned, but they were not.

Nichole Bache: Jesus had his eye on them the entire time.

Nichole Bache: What a powerful truth.

Nichole Bache: There are seasons when God feels distant.

Nichole Bache: Prayers seem unanswered.

Nichole Bache: Heaven feels silent.

Nichole Bache: We wonder if God knows what we are facing.

Nichole Bache: Yet the reality is that Jesus sees every struggle.

Nichole Bache: He sees every tear.

Nichole Bache: He sees every sleepless night.

Nichole Bache: He sees every burden that nobody

Nichole Bache: else knows about that you are

Nichole Bache: carrying.

Nichole Bache: You may not see him, but he sees you.

Nichole Bache: Psalm one twenty one reminds us.

Nichole Bache: He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

Nichole Bache: Your Savior never loses sight of you.

Nichole Bache: Now, if we look back at our main scripture, verse twenty five, it

Nichole Bache: says, shortly before, just before dawn, Jesus went to them.

Nichole Bache: That means the disciples had

Nichole Bache: been fighting the storm for

Nichole Bache: hours.

Nichole Bache: Imagine their exhaustion hour after hour, pulling on those

Nichole Bache: oars, fighting that storm.

Nichole Bache: Getting nowhere.

Nichole Bache: Growing weary.

Nichole Bache: Growing discouraged, growing fearful.

Nichole Bache: Then Jesus appears.

Nichole Bache: Not early, not late, but right on time.

Nichole Bache: Can I tell you something?

Nichole Bache: God's timing often feels slow to us.

Nichole Bache: We want immediate answers in our life.

Nichole Bache: We want immediate healing,

Nichole Bache: immediate solutions to our

Nichole Bache: problems, immediate

Nichole Bache: breakthroughs.

Nichole Bache: However, our human side is often

Nichole Bache: impatient, but God often waits

Nichole Bache: until we reach the end of

Nichole Bache: ourselves so that we discover he

Nichole Bache: is enough.

Nichole Bache: If Jesus had stopped that storm immediately, they would have

Nichole Bache: missed the lesson that night.

Nichole Bache: If he had arrived too soon, they would have never learned to.

Nichole Bache: Depend on him.

Nichole Bache: If he had arrived too late, they may have drowned.

Nichole Bache: He arrived exactly when they

Nichole Bache: needed him, and he still does

Nichole Bache: that today.

Nichole Bache: When the disciples see Jesus, they do not recognize him.

Nichole Bache: They cry out, it's a ghost!

Nichole Bache: Fear has distorted their perspective.

Nichole Bache: Isn't that what fear does?

Nichole Bache: Fear makes us imagine the worst.

Nichole Bache: Fear exaggerates our problems.

Nichole Bache: Fear shrinks our faith.

Nichole Bache: Fear causes us to misinterpret what God is doing in our lives.

Nichole Bache: Sometimes the very thing we have

Nichole Bache: been praying for arrives, and

Nichole Bache: fear prevents us from

Nichole Bache: recognizing it.

Nichole Bache: The disciples saw Jesus and thought he was the problem.

Nichole Bache: In reality, he was their answer.

Nichole Bache: Many believers do the same thing.

Nichole Bache: We pray for growth and then we resist the change.

Nichole Bache: We pray for courage, and then we avoid the challenges that are

Nichole Bache: placed in front of us.

Nichole Bache: We pray for purpose and then we fear stepping into it.

Nichole Bache: Fear often disguises God's blessings.

Nichole Bache: That is why Jesus immediately speaks.

Nichole Bache: Take courage.

Nichole Bache: It is I. Don't be afraid.

Nichole Bache: The phrase it is I literally echoes God's divine name.

Nichole Bache: He is reminding them, I am God,

Nichole Bache: the one who controls the waves,

Nichole Bache: the one who controls the wind,

Nichole Bache: the one who controls every

Nichole Bache: circumstance.

Nichole Bache: Then Peter speaks, Lord, if it

Nichole Bache: is you, tell me to come out on

Nichole Bache: the water.

Nichole Bache: And Jesus answers with one word, come.

Nichole Bache: That word changed everything.

Nichole Bache: Peter now has a choice.

Nichole Bache: Stay where it is safe or trust Jesus.

Nichole Bache: The miracle did not happen in the boat that night.

Nichole Bache: The miracle happened outside of

Nichole Bache: the boat when Jesus or when

Nichole Bache: Peter had to climb over the

Nichole Bache: edge.

Nichole Bache: Can you imagine the other disciples watching?

Nichole Bache: Perhaps Andrew thought Peter has lost his mind.

Nichole Bache: Or maybe James had the thought

Nichole Bache: that this is not going to end

Nichole Bache: well for him, and Matthew might

Nichole Bache: possibly have been thinking, I'm

Nichole Bache: just going to stay here where

Nichole Bache: it's safe.

Nichole Bache: But Peter stepped out.

Nichole Bache: Faith always involves risk, not reckless risk.

Nichole Bache: Not foolish risk, but obedient risk.

Nichole Bache: Faith means trusting God's voice

Nichole Bache: more than your own

Nichole Bache: circumstances.

Nichole Bache: The boat represents everything

Nichole Bache: familiar, everything

Nichole Bache: comfortable, everything

Nichole Bache: predictable.

Nichole Bache: Yet growth happens outside of our comfort zones.

Nichole Bache: Many of us are praying for miracles while refusing to step

Nichole Bache: out of our boat.

Nichole Bache: For a moment, Peter does the impossible.

Nichole Bache: He walked on water.

Nichole Bache: But then Scripture says, when he saw the wind, he was afraid.

Nichole Bache: Notice something there?

Nichole Bache: Though the wind was already

Nichole Bache: there, the waves were already

Nichole Bache: there before he stepped out of

Nichole Bache: that boat.

Nichole Bache: Nothing changed.

Nichole Bache: The storm did not suddenly get worse.

Nichole Bache: What changed was Peter's focus.

Nichole Bache: His eyes shifted as long as his

Nichole Bache: attention remained on Jesus, he

Nichole Bache: walked.

Nichole Bache: When his attention shifted to the storm, he sank.

Nichole Bache: This is one of the greatest lessons in Christian life.

Nichole Bache: You move towards whatever occupies your focus.

Nichole Bache: Focus on Jesus and faith grows.

Nichole Bache: Focus on fear and anxiety grows.

Nichole Bache: Focus on problems and discouragement grows.

Nichole Bache: But if you focus on Christ, your courage grows.

Nichole Bache: It's very easy in life to fall into that trap.

Nichole Bache: When things are going well, to start taking our focus and

Nichole Bache: shifting it off of Jesus and looking at ourselves and get

Nichole Bache: very full of ourselves.

Nichole Bache: Look at what I'm doing.

Nichole Bache: But then we start to sink.

Nichole Bache: The enemy's goal is often distraction.

Nichole Bache: If Satan cannot destroy your faith, he will try to divert it.

Nichole Bache: If he cannot stop you from stepping out of the boat.

Nichole Bache: Out of the boat?

Nichole Bache: He will try to get your eyes off of Jesus.

Nichole Bache: Because distraction precedes sinking.

Nichole Bache: And what happened then?

Nichole Bache: When Peter took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink.

Nichole Bache: And he prays.

Nichole Bache: One of the shortest prayers in the Bible.

Nichole Bache: Lord, save me.

Nichole Bache: Three words.

Nichole Bache: No fancy language, no eloquent theology, just desperation.

Nichole Bache: Immediately, Jesus reaches out his hand.

Nichole Bache: And I love that immediately.

Nichole Bache: Not eventually.

Nichole Bache: Not after Peter learned his lesson.

Nichole Bache: not after Peter proved himself,

Nichole Bache: but immediately Jesus reached

Nichole Bache: down.

Nichole Bache: That is grace.

Nichole Bache: Notice Jesus does not stand at a distance and say, Peter, this is

Nichole Bache: your own fault.

Nichole Bache: He rescues him fast and then he teaches him.

Nichole Bache: That's how Jesus works.

Nichole Bache: Grace comes before correction.

Nichole Bache: Rescue comes before rebuke.

Nichole Bache: Love comes before instruction.

Nichole Bache: And perhaps someone sitting here

Nichole Bache: today feels like they're sinking

Nichole Bache: right now.

Nichole Bache: Maybe spiritually, maybe

Nichole Bache: emotionally, maybe financially

Nichole Bache: or relationally.

Nichole Bache: But hear me clearly this morning if you cry out to Jesus, he will

Nichole Bache: reach for you.

Nichole Bache: He's still in the business of saving sinking people.

Nichole Bache: As we bring this all together

Nichole Bache: this morning and we come to a

Nichole Bache: close, I want you to think of

Nichole Bache: these three questions to ask

Nichole Bache: yourself.

Nichole Bache: Number one, what is your boat?

Nichole Bache: What comfort zone is keeping you from full obedience?

Nichole Bache: What fear is holding you back?

Nichole Bache: What area of self-reliance needs to be surrendered today?

Nichole Bache: You need to identify that.

Nichole Bache: Number two, where are your eyes?

Nichole Bache: Have you become more focused on the storm than the Savior?

Nichole Bache: More focused on problems than promises.

Nichole Bache: More focused on fear than faith.

Nichole Bache: Refocus your gaze on Jesus as soon as possible.

Nichole Bache: And finally, number three, what

Nichole Bache: step is Jesus calling you to

Nichole Bache: take?

Nichole Bache: Maybe it's forgiveness.

Nichole Bache: Maybe it's generosity.

Nichole Bache: Maybe it's ministry.

Nichole Bache: Maybe it's sharing your faith.

Nichole Bache: Or maybe it's simply surrendering your life

Nichole Bache: completely to Christ.

Nichole Bache: Whatever it is, hear his voice this morning.

Nichole Bache: Come.

Nichole Bache: Amen.