Matthew 14:22 - 33

If you turn to Matthew's Gospel, go to chapter

14. And we'll begin this morning at verse 22.

Immediately, Jesus made his disciples get into

the boat and go before him to the other side

while he sent the multitudes away. And when he

had sent the multitudes away, he went up on the

mountain by himself to pray. Now when evening

came, he was alone there. But the boat was now

in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves,

for the wind was conjuring. Now on the fourth

watch of the night, it's about 3 a .m., Jesus

went to them walking on the sea. And when the

disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were

troubled, saying, It is a ghost. It's a spirit.

And they cried out for fear. But immediately

Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer.

It is I. Do not be afraid. And Peter answered

him and said, Lord, if it is you, command me

to come to you on the water. So he said, come.

And when Peter had come down out of the boat,

he walked on the water to go to Jesus. When he

saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid.

And beginning to sink, he cried out saying, Lord,

save me. And immediately, the third time that

word's used, Jesus stretched out his hand and

caught him. And he said to him, Are you of little

faith? Why did you doubt? And when they got into

the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were

in the boat came and worshipped him, saying,

Truly, you are the Son of God. Let's pray. Father,

this is our confession this morning, that Jesus

Christ is the Son of the living God, and in him

we place our hope. Lord, my prayer this morning

is that you would make much of your Son. Lord,

I'm reminded that in the day of judgment, I will

give an account for every idle word that I speak.

Lord, let me not have idle words this morning.

Would you keep your servant back from speaking

anything? That would be unproductive, unhelpful,

untrue. And God, I'm asking, Lord, for the blessing

of your spirit to bring illumination and insight

from this holy text. God, lift the veil from

our eyes and show us Christ, we pray in his name.

Amen. There are certain moments that simply define

our lives. One moment everything can be fine,

and the very next moment it seems the bottom

has dropped out. A storm comes into our lives

seemingly out of nowhere, and we're caught off

guard. We're caught flat -footed. A storm obviously

is a metaphor, but this storm can take many different

forms, and some of you know exactly what I'm

speaking of this morning. It may be the call

from the doctor's office regarding a test result.

They need to see you and they need to see you

quickly. Maybe, for some of you who have had

this experience, you get a pink slip and you

are alerted that you no longer have a job. And

you wonder, what are you going to do? How are

you going to take care of your family? Perhaps

it's a marriage crisis that you did not see coming.

Or the sudden death of a loved one. The storms,

they may be different. But everyone goes through

them. This is the thing about life here. We're

outside of Eden. The Bible says Adam lived east

of Eden. So today, because we live in this fallen

world, storms are universal. There's not anyone

here, if you've lived long enough, who will not

go through a storm. But they're not meaningless.

And I think that's the good news. There's a purpose

behind them. See, the storms are actually still

under the control of God. They're designed by

God and storms reveal things about ourselves

that we would not otherwise see. Storms are a

diagnostic tool and they're a good diagnostic

tool for they reveal what is in our hearts. I

love this illustration. You've no doubt heard

it many times, but if you're holding a full cup

and someone bumps into you, their bumping into

you was the occasion to reveal what was in the

cup. Their bumping into you did not put the contents

of the cup there, but it revealed what was always

there. And in like man, that's what the storm

does. The storm doesn't put anything into our

hearts, but when difficulty or trial or suffering

or affliction comes, it reveals what is in our

hearts. It serves as a diagnostic. It shows us,

honestly, where our trust lies. What are you

trusting in? Well, when the storm comes, you're

going to find out. And it'll come to try our

faith, and it'll reveal areas that we still need

to grow. For none of us have arrived. There's

no one in here who has reached a place of perfection

and has nowhere to go. We can all grow still.

So when the sudden and the unexpected occurs,

then who you are and what you're trusting in

will be revealed. Even the disciples of our Lord

faced storms. Now theirs was not a metaphorical

storm. It was a literal storm. This still served

as a very vital diagnostic as we will see this

morning. So what's the context? You have the

Lord and his disciples, the 12 men. They're on

the northeast side of Galilee. Now earlier in

the day, the Lord and the 12 men had been trying

to get away from the crowds and they wanted to

go to an isolated place where they could simply

eat. a meal in peace and get some rest, relaxation.

They had been ministering to massive crowds.

They're tired. They're hungry. So they leave,

but the crowds that had been ministered to had

other plans. They followed the Lord and his disciples

to this remote, isolated place. And the Bible

says that when Jesus saw the crowds following

him, he had compassion on them. He wasn't irritated.

He wasn't upset. So he does what Jesus does.

He began to heal the sick who were brought to

him. And we're also told that he taught the crowds

all day, although he was already tired and hungry,

until evening came. But now it's starting to

get dark. The crowds are still present. They

are now hungry. They're in an isolated place.

There's no nearby village where they could go

and buy food. The journey was... probably four

miles by foot. It's too far to send them away

because night's going to fall. You don't want

to send them away empty -handed. So what's going

to happen? So the Lord did what only the Lord

could do. He takes the two pieces of fish and

five loaves of bread, and he gives thanks to

his Father in heaven, and he begins to multiply

fish and bread so much so that he fed around

15 ,000 to 20 ,000 people. Now we call it the

feeding of the 5 ,000, but Matthew is very specific.

He says 5 ,000 men apart from women and children.

So conservatively, 15 ,000 to 20 ,000 people.

But there's something we're told in the Gospel

of John that Matthew doesn't record. In John

John 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6, after that miracle and the crowds

were fed, it says that they, upon seeing the

miracle, they began to try to come and take Jesus

by force to make him king. They were whipped

up into this messianic frenzy. They knew this

must be the king of Israel. They get all excited.

There's 15 ,000 of them at least. They're all

in this frenzy, and it's going to be really,

really bad. A riot could ensue. And so now what

do we need to do? You've got to calm them down.

You've got to settle the crowds down. So the

Lord quickly dismissed his disciples. He tells

them, get into the boat, go to the other side

of the sea, and I will meet you later. And he

stays behind. So what's he going to do? He's

going to disperse the crowds. Look at verse 22.

Immediately, Jesus made his disciples get into

the boat, go before him to the other side, while

he sent the multitude away. So the disciples

leave. Now, we don't know. Some say, well, maybe

they were getting caught up in the frenzy. We

don't know. All we know is Jesus told them, get

in the boat and go. We don't know who all was

in the boat. Were there other mariners or sailors

on board? We don't know. We're not told. But

they got into a boat and they were to leave.

And what does Jesus do? He's left behind in this

remote place. So he dismisses the crowds. They

obey his voice. And then he did what his custom

was. Jesus began to do what he had always done.

He prayed. Look at verse 23. And when he had

sent the multitudes away, he went up on the mountain

by himself to pray. Now when evening came, he

was alone there. The Lord needed time with communion

by himself with his heavenly father. He goes

up on the mountain and just spends some time

in prayer. So instructive for us. Now, it says

he remains in prayer from evening, and we know

he prays, and later on you're going to see this,

until the fourth watch of the night. That's 3

a .m. So he's praying quite a long time. But

now, I want you to notice this dichotomy. Notice

the picture here. The Lord is alone. on a mountainside

praying, how were the disciples faring at that

same time? Verse 24. But the boat was now in

the middle of the sea, tossed by waves, for the

wind was contrary. You got the striking contrast.

Jesus is in a mountain serenely praying. His

disciples are in a boat fighting the wind and

possibly being sunk. Now since they're in the

middle of the sea, this is the Sea of Galilee.

Some of you have been there. I've been there

back in 2011, I believe. The Sea of Galilee is

actually not a sea. It's a lake. It's a big,

big lake. If you look in the scriptures, it's

known by three titles. You've got the Sea of

Galilee, Lake Gennesaret. It's also known as

the Sea of Tiberias. But it's a big lake. And

although it is a lake, storms can be very violent

there because of geography. So the sea itself,

the Sea of Galilee, sits 680 feet below sea level.

Because it sits so low, you have this warm, tropical,

humid air that kind of just hovers over the water

at that point. But if you've been there, you

know that the lake is surrounded by high hills

and mountains all around it. In fact, just to

the east, you got the Golan Heights. The Golan

Heights go to about 2 ,000 feet. So think about

the difference. You have 680 feet below sea level.

You got the Golan Heights to the east about 2

,000 feet high. So you have this heavy... cool,

dense air from the mountains. It'll swiftly drop

down into the ravines. It collides with that

warm tropical air that's hovering over the Sea

of Galilee. What happens when you have very cold

air and very warm air colliding? Violent storms.

So you get these furious storms and furious winds

with little to no warning. These can come out

of nowhere. Now we have to remember, this boat,

they're in the middle of the sea, right? At least

four of the twelve disciples were experienced

fishermen. So that means these sudden violent

storms would not have been anything new to them.

I don't think they're panicking right now. They

certainly would have had experience in this type

of situation because that's how they make their

living. They lived on this big sea. But this

storm must have been particularly difficult for

even they were having trouble. It tells us they're

in the middle of the sea. Now listen, they've

been there for quite some time and we'll see

that in just a moment. So you've got the disciples.

They're in a boat. You've got a strong headwind.

You've got a rising sea. Not a good combination.

Matthew tells us, and I like the words here,

that the boat was being tossed by the waves.

Now listen, I've had boats before. The one thing

you don't want is a boat being tossed in the

middle of water. We've had boats with holes.

I've had boats with accidents. Don't take me

on a boat, I guess would be the lesson this morning.

But anyways, they're in the middle of the sea.

What's that tell you? They're far from land.

They've got a long way to go. Mark tells us in

chapter 6, verse 48, they were straining at rowing.

They're making no progress whatsoever because

the wind is against them. So you've got the disciples.

They're there in this bad storm. They're making

no progress at all. They've been at it for hours.

So now what's that tell you? They're tired. They've

already had a long day. They're exhausted. Mark's

gospel also tells us something very instructive.

He tells us that Jesus, now where is Jesus? On

the mountain. Saw them, and I quote, saw them

straining at rowing. Jesus sees what's going

on in the life of his disciples. Apparently,

this is why he stopped praying when he did, and

he decided as a savior, I'm going to go help

these guys. Look at verse 25. watch of the night,

Jesus went to them. He always goes. Walking on

the sea. Romans divided the night into four watches.

They didn't have clocks like we did. So the fourth

watch will be somewhere between 3 and 6 a .m.

This is the final watch before sun rises. So

it's at least 3 a .m. Could be a little later.

So do the math. If the disciples left at evening

and it's now in the final watch of the night,

That tells you they've been in this storm or

on this boat fighting for about eight to nine

hours now, provided, we don't know, that the

storm began right or soon after they left. We

don't know that. But we don't know they're in

the middle of the sea at 3 a .m. making no progress.

So again, there's a striking contrast here. The

disciples are being overwhelmed by the waves.

Jesus, peacefully, is walking on them. The disciples

were overwhelmed. Jesus is walking on them. The

very storm that is threatening to kill and take

the life of these disciples has no effect on

Jesus Christ whatsoever. Who is this man? Who

is Jesus? In Job chapter 9, we read this. God

Job 9 · chapter mention

alone spreads out the heaven. And he treads on

the waves of the seas. Isn't that beautiful?

Job says only God can walk on water. Let that

sit with you for a moment. Chris Miller in his

commentary says, the one who created the seas

can easily make them his carpet. Verse 26. And

when the disciples saw him, that is Jesus, walking

on the sea, They were troubled. Yeah, no kidding.

They're troubled. Saying, it's a ghost. And they

cried out for fear. Now keep in mind, there's

a storm. The disciples see a figure. And it seems

to be coming toward their boat. They don't assume

this is Jesus. Nor would we. So they're thinking,

what? This is a spirit. This is a ghost. They're

exhausted. They've been rowing all night long.

There's this terrible storm causing very poor

visibility. And now they see a shadow -like figure

coming, but it's not swimming. He's walking on

top of the water. What else are they going to

think? Who could this be? It can't be Jesus because

men don't walk on water. Well, it must be a spirit.

Now, the Bible affirms the reality of spiritual

beings. You have angels, we have demons, but

not ghosts. Not ghosts. Nevertheless, at this

time in history, belief in ghosts is pretty common.

There was also a belief that ghosts showed up

as messengers of impending death. Kind of like

we might say the grim reaper. So now, you also

have an ancient Jewish thought that the sea itself

was a symbol of danger and disorder. Because

in the beginning, remember when the spirit hovered

over the sea and there was no order? There was

just chaos there at the beginning. So now either

way, we don't know, but here's what we do know.

The disciples are now terrified. I believe they

think they're going to die because they see this

ghost or spirit coming toward them. He must be

like a messenger of impending death. Either way,

we don't know what was going through their minds

except this. They were afraid and they screamed

out in fear. And let's not judge them because

all of us would have done the very same thing.

It's terrifying. They're afraid. Verse 27. Immediately,

You keep saying that word, right? But immediately

Jesus spoke to them. And he says, be of good

cheer. Now, it's not like the British cheerio.

I don't think that's what he's saying there at

all. He's simply saying, take courage. It is

I. Don't be afraid. That be of good cheer. We've

seen it before. Be of good cheer for I have overcome

the world. Take courage. Take heart. Man up,

guys. Don't be afraid here. Now, I think it's

almost, now this is not meant to be a funny passage,

but it's almost comical here. He tells them,

hey, have courage and don't be afraid. And I'm

thinking, why? They're in the midst of a storm,

in the middle of the night. They've been rowing

for hours. They are absolutely dog tired. They

thought a ghost was coming toward them to tell

them and to announce their death. Why would you

not be afraid? Because it is I. Ego, I'm me,

in Greek. I am. You see the ego, that ego, in

Greek. I'm me. I am. Now that's a natural way

of saying it is I. It is, in all fairness, we

want to clarify that. But it has a dual meaning

here. Because in the Old Testament, when Yahweh

was revealing himself to Israel, his covenant

name, I am that I am. Now that's Hebrew. But

when it's translated into Greek, I am that I

am, it's translated, ego, I, me. Exactly what

Jesus is saying here. It's a dual purpose. Who

is this man walking to them on water? It's Jesus.

It is I. But it's also the one who revealed himself

to Israel as the great I am. The one walking

to them, friends. This is God. This is God in

the flesh. Now, I don't think at that moment

the disciples understood what Jesus was saying.

But this would prove very meaningful after Jesus

rose again from the dead and they could look

back and remember, ah, egoi me, I am. But I want

you to notice something. The presence of Jesus,

it brings peace. This is why you can stop fearing.

This is why you don't have to be afraid. Why?

Because Jesus is with you. Fear. flees when Jesus

shows up. There may be chaos in our lives, and

I guarantee you at some point, there will be

chaos in our lives, but Jesus stands above the

chaos. Verse 28. Peter. God love him. Peter said,

well, Lord, if it's you, command me to come to

you on the water. Now, if it is you, this is

not Peter wondering or still doubting as though

it might be a ghost. Because what if it were

a ghost and said, yeah, come, now drown. That's

not what Peter's doing at all here. The idea

is, Lord, since it is you, and he knows it is,

let me walk on the water too. He's convinced.

He knows that it's Jesus coming toward them.

Now, why would Peter think he would be empowered

to walk on water too? Because already in this

time in history, already by this point, the disciples

had been empowered by Jesus with the ability

to do many of the same miracles that Jesus did.

In Matthew chapter 10, verse 1. And when Jesus

Matthew 10:1

called the 12 disciples to them, he gave them

power over unclean spirits to cast them out and

to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of

disease. What had Jesus been doing? Casting out

demons, healing the sick. What did he empower

his disciples to do? Cast out demons, heal the

sick. Now, What's Jesus doing? Walking on water.

What's Peter asking to do? Let me walk on water.

It would have been very natural for Peter to

assume that Jesus could allow him that ability.

And he did. Jesus gave him permission. And to

Peter's credit, he does get out of the boat,

and he begins walking on the water toward Jesus,

verse 30. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous,

he was afraid. You know, it's natural. And beginning

to sink, he cried out, saying, The Lord saved

me. And immediately, third time, Jesus stretched

out his hand and caught him. And he said to him,

O you of little faith, why did you doubt? Peter,

do you still not understand? We're not told how

far Peter walked. All we know is he got out of

the boat and he began to walk. But somewhere

during that time, he got afraid. He got scared.

Why? The winds were fierce. The storm was still

raging. Boisterous winds. Peter could feel the

spray of the water on his skin. And he panics.

And when he panicked, he started to sink. Sink

means waves are starting to go over him. And

he cries out to Jesus. Lord, save me. It's a

beautiful prayer, folks. It's not theologically

rich or deep, but powerful. Lord, save me. Peter

knew something. He knew he was helpless. He knew

there was nothing he could do to save himself.

So he cries out to Jesus. And this is the place

that every single person in here must come to.

You must recognize that on your own you are helpless.

You are drowning. You are dead is what Paul tells

us. And you turn to Christ in faith. This is

a desperate cry from a desperate helpless man.

And can I tell you something? Desperate cries

from desperate men captures God's attention.

So Peter knew something. He knew Jesus could

do for him what he could never do for himself,

which is what? Save himself. Get out of that

water. And Jesus reaches out his hand and he

rescues Peter. Now I think that grip, I don't

know, I'm reading in the text, but I imagine

that grip of Jesus' hand on Peter's arm must

have been so very reassuring. As Peter failed,

and he did, Jesus was there for him. The storm's

revealing something. It revealed something about

Peter, and it also revealed something about Jesus.

Let's take Peter first. He was a man of little

faith. What's that mean? There was still much

room for this bold man to grow and mature. Because

he was of little faith, he began to doubt. He

knew that Jesus was able. That's why he stepped

out of the boat. Of course he was able. point

of view changed when he got out of the boat,

when he actually got in the water. Because when

he got out of the boat, man, he's now outside

the boat in a storm with boisterous winds and

swelling waves, and suddenly what seemed like

a good idea now seems like a bad idea. This is

a terrible idea. His faith was strong while in

the boat, and everything changed when he actually

walked on the water, when he got into the storm

himself. So Peter had faith, but his faith was

not mature. How do you know that? The raging

winds and waves revealed that. But friends, this

is what I think about us. This is what I know

about myself. We are like Peter. We perceive

ourselves as men and women of faith, strong faith

even, until the storm comes in our life and it

reveals something. How weak we really are and

how much we have to grow. Sandy and I going through

what we did a few years ago right after her heart

attack and things. It's exactly what I thought

about myself. I remember praying, Lord, I'm so

weak in faith. So weak. Because in the storm,

our confidence in Jesus often wanes. And our

hearts begin to panic. Fear, anxiety starts to

set in. It reveals something. But what did the

storm reveal about Jesus? Now often, when I have

heard this text preached, and I've heard this

text preached many times, the focus has always

been on Peter. We hear about Peter's faith, or

we hear about Peter's willingness to get out

of the boat, or Peter taking his eyes off Jesus.

And by the way, all those are good sermons. They're

all appropriate sermons, but I think they're

misplaced sermons. The point of this text is

not about Peter, folks. It's not about Peter.

It's about Jesus. In fact, Matthew is the only

gospel. Mark, Luke, and John, none of them ever

mention that Peter walked on water. They don't

even mention Peter. They all mention Jesus walked

on water. Why? Where's the focus? The one who

can walk on the water. So we want to see who,

this is what Matthew is pointing toward as well

as Mark, Luke, and John. All four gospels want

you to see who Jesus really is. Well, who is

he? He's the one who can walk on water. He is

Yahweh in the flesh. He is God incarnate. Remember

Job 9? God spreads out the heavens and treads

on the waves of the seas. Matthew, and this is

what I love about how Matthew does his gospel.

He eventually tells us directly who Jesus is,

but first he paints a beautiful picture. In Matthew

28, the very last chapter of Matthew's gospel,

the very last verses of Matthew's gospel, Jesus

comes after the resurrection, and he says, All

power, and it's the word exousia in Greek, all

authority in heaven and earth has been given

to me. And then he gives his disciples a charge.

All authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus.

Now, Matthew doesn't tell that until the end.

But think about all we've seen up until this

point. Jesus has authority over sickness and

disease. By his word, illness is removed. He

has authority over death. By his word, the dead

come back to life. He has authority over demons,

demonic spirits. By His Word, demons are expelled

and they must obey Him. They don't have a choice.

He has authority over nature. By His Word, wind

and waves are calmed. He has authority over nature.

By His Word, He can multiply two fish and five

bread and feed 15 ,000 people. He has authority

to forgive sin. By His Word. Sin is forgiven.

Who is he? This is what Matthew wants his Jewish

readers to know. This is Yahweh in the flesh.

This is no ordinary man. This is God. And we

must trust in him. This man, the one that's walking

on the waters, this is the gift sent from heaven

so that the world might be saved. This is the

Messiah. This is the Christ. This is the son

of the living God. And look at verse 32. And

when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

So the Lord grabs Peter, they get in the boat,

and immediately the wind dies down. Storm's over.

Jesus is in the boat. Something went on here,

right? First of all, the safest place to be is

with Jesus. Whether that be out of the boat on

a raging sea or whether it be in the boat with

a raging sea, wherever Jesus is, there's the

place of safety. But we also need to see this

again. It's not about Peter. It's about Jesus,

the strong one who can always rescue. Pastor

Kyle read it before our final psalm, Psalm 46,

1 and 2. I preached it last week. is our refuge.

God is our strength. A very present, immediate

help in trouble. Therefore, we won't fear. Immediately

when Peter needed him, Jesus was there. He's

the ever -present help in trouble. When the disciples

thought they were seeing a ghost, Jesus told

them, don't fear. Why? I am there. In Psalm 46,

we are told not to fear. Why? God is there. In

Job 9, we're told that God alone can walk on

the water. In Matthew 14, we see Jesus walking

on the water. Friends, what's the message? Let's

not miss the forest because of the trees. What

is the message that Matthew wants us to get?

That man Jesus is God. Jesus is God. And what's

the only appropriate response? Look at verse

33. Then those who were in the boat that came

and worshipped him. Again, there may have been

other sailors. Some commentators think there

were other sailors in the boat. I don't know.

Maybe. But we do know the 12 men were. And they

said, truly, you are the son of God. See, once

you see, once you understand who Jesus truly

is, the only response that makes sense is worship.

I trust that's why you're here this morning.

The only response, the only reason that you would

be here, the only reason it makes sense is because

you recognize Jesus as God. You've come to worship

him. We've come to worship the triune God, one

God eternally existing in three eternal persons,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We're here to worship.

We've seen who he is. See, the disciples saw

Jesus walk on water. They saw him grant Peter

the ability to walk on water. They saw him rescue

Peter when he began to sink. And they saw the

storm end immediately as Jesus got into the boat.

And no doubt, this is making a profound impression

upon them. Think about it. They're eyewitnesses

of this. All this is making this deep impression

upon them. So what do they do? They came while

they're in the boat and they worshipped him.

In other words, worship. It's proskuneo in Greek,

and it literally means to bow down. To bow down.

Literally, to prostrate yourself or to kiss the

hand. This is an act of humility. It's an act

of submission. It's an act of reverence. Now,

here's the thing, because some skeptics will

tell you this, and they're right here. This act

of humility and respect and reverence, it is

given to a superior. Now, that can be to a human

authority like a king. But in the scriptures,

it's given to God himself. The disciples confess,

truly, you are the son of God. That's the confession

we all must make. Now, they didn't truly understand

the significance of their confession until after

Jesus rose from the dead. Their understanding

of Jesus, it would wax and wane. It would grow,

and then you're like, one moment they're making

these great confessions, the next moment they're

dull as can be. You're like, what gives? Well,

I believe their understanding is coming in waves.

It's kind of like peeling back an onion. They

kept peeling back layer by layer. But once Jesus

rose again, ah, they really got it. They understood

who Jesus was. But you and I live on this side

of the resurrection. And we have the gift of

hindsight. We have the gift of looking back.

So you and I can look back with clear eyes. We

can look back with clarity and we can easily

see, yes, that man, Jesus, is the son of God.

He's the second person of the Holy Trinity. He

is God himself. He is Yahweh in the flesh. He

is God incarnate. He is the one who has come

to save his people. And he is the one who is

worthy of all worship. It's inevitable everyone

in here will face a storm in their life. Storms

of adversity, storms of suffering, storms of

temptation, young people, storms of loss. Now,

honestly, most of those storms we'd rather avoid.

No one likes them, but God is doing something

in them. He's maturing us. He's perfecting us

by and through those same storms. Some of us

are still a little naive. We've all been here.

We think, well, if God loves us, then we're going

to avoid storms altogether. It is precisely because

God loves you that he allows the storm to come

by them. He is making us fit for heaven. He is

strengthening our faith and he is growing us

in our understanding of who Jesus Christ really

is and how important he is. So what do we see

in Matthew 14 as we close here? We see a savior

on the mountainside praying for his people. We

also see disciples in a boat struggling. You

know what I see there? Life. It's life. This

life is a struggle. We're like in the boat and

we're rowing against the wind. And what's Jesus?

What's Jesus doing right now? What's Jesus doing

today? He's praying. He's praying for his people.

He saw them struggling in the middle of the sea,

Mark 6. came to them in the storm, and he safely

brought them to shore. Our Lord will not always

keep us from the storm, nor will he immediately

calm the storm, but he promises to be with us

in the storm. And in that, take heart, friends.

Take heart. Be of good cheer. Take courage. Why?

For Jesus Christ is with you. The Son of the

living God has bound himself to you and we are

one with him. And in that, find joy but also

find courage. This is why we're here, to worship

the one who walks on water. Let's pray and prepare

ourselves to commune with this risen Christ at

the table. Father, we thank you so very much

for your word. Lord God, I thank you for the

encouragement that it brings. Lord, I don't want

to be flippant or glib about the storms of life.

Lord, there are some, Lord, who in this particular

church are hurting deeply. I think of my brother

George Fuller, my sister Christy Davis. Lord,

I think about my sisters recently. Lord, we think

of Kim who's still reeling, Nancy, others. And

they hurt. These storms hurt. But God, you're

with us. There's never a moment that we encounter

when you will give up on us. You have your grip

on us and you bring us to heaven, sure. Lord,

I pray for those who are here this morning, Lord,

who some are out of fellowship with you and some,

Lord, don't even know you. God, I beg of you,

in your mercy, Lord, save the lost. Open the

eyes of the blind. Reveal your son to them, Lord.

For those who are out of fellowship with you,

Lord God, I pray that you would bring them to

a place of repentance, Lord. A place of submission.

Because Jesus is worthy, Lord. The one you have

given, Lord, your son, he is worthy. He's worthy

of our lives. He's worthy of our worship. He's

worthy of the walk that we have in life. Lord,

God, help us that he's the center of gravity

in our lives, that everything revolves around

him and his glory. Lord, to seek first your kingdom,

your righteousness. God, forgive us, Lord. Have

mercy upon us. Lord, we are failures at best,

but Lord, even so, you invite us to share a meal

with you this morning. to come to the table of

Christ. Lord, to see the broken body and the

shed blood of Christ. In that, we find our hope.

To commune with the risen Christ, Lord, who is

in heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father

in glory, interceding for his own. Lord, in ways

that we don't know, that's a mystery. Lord, we

believe our faith is strengthened, and we truly

commune with Christ, as the scriptures tell us.

Lord, prepare our hearts for this, Lord. God,

we confess once again our sins. Lord, we're failures.

That, Lord God, you don't chide us. You don't

rebuke us. You don't stiff arm us or push us

off. You invite us in. Take, eat. This is the

body broken for us. Take, come, and drink. This

is the new covenant given in the blood of Christ.

What a glorious truth we find. In Christ's name

we pray. Amen. I'm going to ask the deacons to

come and prepare the table.