Fourteen WATER WALKING FAITH. Matt 14:25 - 33

At about three o’Clock one morning, the disciples were crossing the lake when a huge storm struck. That was bad enough but when they saw, what they thought, was a ghost coming towards them on the water, they were beside themselves. Matt 14; 27-29 puts it this way.”Immediately Jesus spoke “Be of good cheer, it is I, do not be afraid.” Peter answered “Lord if it is you, command me to come to you.” So Jesus said “come” and when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to Jesus.” The first thing this story teaches us is... If The Lord isn’t calling us to do something “Don’t”!! There is a story of a man awaiting entry into Heaven, on being asked to name one great deed he had done while on earth, the applicant replied, “A gang of Bikies were threatening a woman, so I smacked one, kicked over their bikes and tore out their nose rings”. Impressed, the gate keeper asked “When did this happen”. The man replied “about thirty seconds ago”!!....To walk on water, you must first learn to discern between God’s voice and your own natural impulses. The second thing here is, Miracles require Faith and to experience them, we have to get out of our comfort zone. Now change places with Peter, a seasoned fisherman, the storm is raging but you know your boat is built to handle these conditions. So being secure and reasonably comfortable, wouldn’t you want to remain in the security of where you are? But you can’t! God has designed you to do more than simply avoid failure. He’s calling you to step out in faith and accomplish His Will. So where or what is your boat? It is anything you put your faith in when life gets stormy, e.g. your job, a relationship, your bank account. Your boat is anything that stops you from getting out of your comfort zone. Leaving it is the scariest but most rewarding step you will ever take. When Peter was sure it was Jesus who was calling him and that’s why he asked the question “If it is You Lord?” only then, did Peter leave the security of the boat, and entrust himself to the power of God. So far so good but when his senses encountered the wind, the rain and the huge waves, he was terrified and began to sink “Lord save me “ he shouted. Matt 14.30. Notice here, Peter hadn’t lost his faith in the identity of Jesus, he had seen him handle this sort of situation before, in fact, just a couple of minutes earlier Jesus had identified Himself, so what was Peter’s problem? Humanity! When we ask for a miracle, we cannot always expect the answer to make sense. In fact it seldom does. Miracles require not only faith but complete submission to God’s will. The miracle will happen, perhaps not the way we expect it to but always the way God wants it to. The miracle occurs in our submission to God’s Will, not in His submission to us. We all know what it’s like to see the approaching storms. We begin a new venture, new job, new relationship or area of spiritual growth, then come the setbacks and we encounter the storms. In John 16.33 Jesus said “Here on earth you will have many trials.” So you have to expect it, it’s part of the journey of Faith. Like Peter, we must feel the fear and act regardless. Growth requires taking on new challenges. Each time you do, you will experience fear, because growth and fear go together. But each time you risk leaving the boat it means you are more likely to do it again and each time you step out on the water without drowning, you realise that fear no longer has power over you. On the other hand, each time you resist God’s voice and choose to stay in the boat, His voice becomes a little softer, until eventually you don’t hear it at all. Wouldn’t it be worth any risk to avoid that. Furthermore staying in the boat doesn’t guarantee your safety, it only guarantees you will continue to live in a world of doubt and fear. In my experience, the answer to fear is to get out of the boat. A little more each day until fear looses its hold over you. In our walk with God we, like Peter, discover on the occasions we do sink, doesn’t mean we are sunk. There are two reasons for this. Failing doesn’t make you a failure, quitting does. In fact it’s just part of learning. Sir Edmund Hillary made several attempts to climb Mt Everest before succeeding. After one such attempt he shook his fist at a photo of the mountain and in front of an audience said “You will not beat me again, you have grown all you are going to, but I am still growing.” He would be the first one to tell you he had learned something from every unsuccessful attempt until he succeeded. Winston Churchill said, “I have never failed at anything in my life, I was simply given another opportunity to get it right.” That’s a winning spirit. Thirdly, The real failures were the ones who stayed in the boat, they failed quietly and privately, unnoticed. They also never experienced the euphoria of walking on water, Peter alone knew how it was to be empowered by God, to do what he could not have done by himself. Once you’ve walked on water you’re never the same. Peter would take this moment to his grave. In that moment he experienced the joy of being lifted up by Jesus, when his faith was at its lowest ebb. In that moment Peter knew in a way the other’s couldn’t have, that if he sank Jesus would be there to save him. He shared a moment, a connection, a trust the others didn’t, how could they when they didn’t get out of the boat? Failure doesn’t come from sinking, it comes from letting your fears stop you. There are many good reasons for stepping out of the boat and trying something new or something which you have been unsuccessful at before, it’s the alternative to being average, it’s the only way to develop your faith and its the way to discover your true calling There are even more important reasons. Jesus isn’t in the boat, He’s on the water. If you want deep water faith, you have to get out of the boat. You only develop that kind of faith when you are willing to give up that kind of security and predictability of where you are at and step out with your eyes on Him. Perhaps you have worked for years creating a manageable and orderly life, now God is shaking everything up and asking you to step out in faith, allowing you to face waves that are over your head. The reason God does this is to increase your dependency on Him. Even though there may have been times in your life, when you risked sharing your faith, even though it meant rejection or personal sacrifice and you felt totally inadequate, sometimes you sank and sometimes you walked but lived on the edge by faith. Now look at you in your comfortable boat, you don’t even get seasick. In fact you don’t even feel the storm when it comes. Any time you leave the security of the boat, two things will happen. First when you fall (and you will) you wont be alone, Jesus wont be more than an arms length away from you. Second, every now and then when you do walk on water, it will strengthen you and enable you to do greater things, just as Jesus said you would. Then don’t forget to worship Him, and acknowledge the Son of God, just as the disciples did I’d like to close with this encouraging Scripture from the book of Joshua Ch1 Vs9. God speaking “I command you be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”. Thank you for taking the time to read about Water walking Faith. God bless us all Phaline.