Jesus Is Greater: Part 2

Good morning. Go ahead and stand with me while I finish getting ready here.

Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for this day that you provided for us. God, I thank you for the opportunity to be here, to sit in your presence for a little while. Lord, we just ask that you prepare our hearts to receive from you this morning, Lord. God, we just want to lift a joyful noise to you this morning. So, God, I just pray that you would come. Lord, I just pray that you would, that we would rightly position our hearts to you.

We love you and we praise you and you're precious. We worship the God who is in the house of the Lord today. We won't be quiet. Shout out and sing to the God who saves. We sing to the God who's always in this place. We won't be quiet. We shout out. Amen, amen. You guys can go and have a seat if you like and we'll continue on.

Gathered at the highest throne. Welcomed by a man. A song that's always been. All glory and honor. Dominion and power to you.

A million written in eternity. Every lifted voice apart.

At the end of time. There before the throne of grace. Just see before my breath. What a great day that will be. If you stand in your presence, Lord. A million angels, Lord, and just sing. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.

The angels fall, face down on the. All to where I can't help but sing. With all of.

I hear your invitation.

To let it all go. I see you knit down. And I know that I need you.

Virgin, my soul needs a friend. So I'll run to the Father again. Your son for redemption. Virgin, my soul needs. A friend, so I'll run to the. My soul needs a friend, so I'll run to the Father again. Virgin, my soul found a friend. So I'll run to the Father again. You guys want to stand with me for this last song? Alone in my sorrow and dead in my sin. Lost without hope with no place to begin.

Your love made a way to let mercy come in. Your love made a way to let mercy come in. Your love made a way to let mercy come in. When death was arrested, my life began. Ash was redeemed, only beauty remains. My orphan heart was given a name. Through choir, my feet rose to dance. When death was arrested, my life began. For your grace washes over and made me new.

It's your endless news. It's your endless news. It's your endless news. It's your endless news. Released from my chains, I'm a prisoner. No one's arresting me. He faithfully puts on my debt, and he called me arrested. And my life he washes over. Savior displayed on a criminal's cross. Darkness rejoiced as though heaven had lost. But then Jesus rested, and my life washes over.

Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested.

Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. Rested, arrested. ground that new life in you. I pray that today would be that day. God, I believe that you are a mighty God and you do mighty things. God, if you can take somebody

as sinful and wretched and just awful as me, Lord, and just give me new life and turn me into something new, Lord, then I believe that you can do it with any one of us here. So Lord, I just pray that you mighty God would do something mighty this morning.

Sing that chorus with me one more time. Oh, your grace so washes over You have made me new It's your endless love Oh, you have made us new It begins with you One more time. Your grace so washes over You have made me It begins with you It's your endless love You have made us new Heavenly Father, God, I just pray that as Pastor Ryan comes this morning, God, God, that you do your thing. God, that you would speak mightily through him.

Speak mightily to our hearts. Lord, I pray that when we leave here today, God, that we would not be, that we would not be the same, that we would be different. God, that we would be changed, that we would leave here on fire for you, Lord. God, I pray that chains would be broken this morning. Lives would be changed. New life would be found in you, God. Lord, just be glorified this morning.

We love you, Lord, and we praise you. We thank you. And all of God's people said, Amen. You guys go ahead and take some time in fellowship with one another.

Good morning. If you could begin locating your seat. Grab a bulletin. We'll go over a few announcements. As always, over on the left-hand side of your bulletin, the things are happening as usual. The events and times are listed over there. Over the middle section of your bulletin, a few things to pay attention to. We've got a couple of conferences now coming up in June.

June 9th through the 11th is the Prophecy Conference at Calvary Chapel of Emporia. I'll have a little bit more detail on times and things next week, but mark your calendars for that. And that conference is free. And then, of course, we have the upcoming Servant Conference on June the 4th at Calvary Fellowship in Wellington, Kansas. That one's from 8 to 5. Lunch is provided.

You can come for as little or as much as you want to. Again, that one is free. And then, hey, kids, VBS is coming up. So save the date. Mark your calendars July 6th through the 8th. I know that the planning is vigorously happening right now. And so they're working on getting details for that together. I will have a little bit more detail over the next couple of weeks

about things like getting kids signed up, things that we need, helpers that we need. I'll be getting some stuff out about that soon. But go ahead and take note of that. Also, if you are interested in getting your kids involved in Kids Camp, Kids Church Camp, it's June 22nd through the 25th. You can sign up at prairieviewcamp.org. If you have questions, you can see Nick Rizzio

after the session. He's going to be here for the service. So it ought to be a great time. So check that out. And then the only thing that's not in here is that the Prophecy Update is this coming Thursday. This is what Rick Hawkins used to do before we changed the format. It'll be Prophecy in the News. Not that anything's really going on in the world right now,

but things to be paying attention to. So that'll be going on this coming Thursday at 7 o'clock. So those are the things that are going on. If you're interested in that, if you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced. For our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 75. Psalm 75. As always, looking at the New American Standard,

just so we all say the same thing at the same time. If you need one, it should be one in a row. So locate that. And as you're turning to Psalm 75, if you would stand in the honor of the reading of God's Word.

I will read the odd verses, if you will follow along with Pastor Allen and the even verses. Psalm 75. For the choir director, set to Al-Tasheth, a psalm of Asaph, a song. We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your name is near. Men declare your wondrous works. When I select an appointed time, it is I who judge with equity. The earth and all who dwell in it melt.

It is I who have firmly set its pillars, Selah. I said to the boastful, do not boast. And to the wicked, do not lift up the horn. Do not lift up your horn on high. Do not speak with insolent pride. For not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert, come exultation. But God is the judge. He puts down one and exalts another. For a cup is in the hand of the Lord,

and the wine foams. It is well mixed, and he pours out of this. Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs. But as the Lord, as for me, I will declare it forever. I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. And all the horns of the wicked he will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up. Father, we do give you praise

that your name is near to us and that you are near to us. And Lord, we just thank you and praise you for who you are. And just ask now that as we spend time in your word that your Holy Spirit would fall on this place and that you would minister to our hearts what you see fit. Lord, bless, draw us near to you. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated.

And if you would, open up in your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 14. Matthew, chapter 14. Last week, we started into a two-part series called Jesus is Greater. Jesus is Greater. So this will be part two. So, yeah, part two. So what we're looking at today is that Jesus is greater than the storms in our life. Or, Jesus walks on the water. All depending on how you want to put it.

And so as we come into John, chapter 14, we look at verse 22. This is what it says. Immediately, he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side while he sent the crowds away. After he had sent the crowds away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. And when it was evening, he was there alone. But the boat was already a long distance from the land,

battered by the waves for the wind, and the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, it is a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But immediately, Jesus spoke to them, saying, take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid. Peter said to him,

Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. And he said, come. And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me. And immediately, Jesus stretched out his hand and took hold of him, said to him, you of little faith, why did you doubt?

When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, you are certainly God's son. And when they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent word into all the surrounding district and brought to him all who were sick. And they implored him that he may just touch,

the fringe of his cloak. And as many as touched it were cured. Now, as we approach this last section of Matthew chapter 14, we should be reminded of exactly what took place to get us here. We said that when we moved into Matthew 14, we really kind of moved into a little bit of a different section of the gospel of Matthew in general. As a matter of fact, Warren Wiersbe said

he would title this section of Matthew, the retirement of Jesus, because Jesus was constantly going to a place where he could seek some sort of physical rest, seek some sort of time with his disciples, some sort of time with his father. That's really what a lot of the stories surround. And that's exactly how this story starts out. Herod had heard about the things that Jesus was doing and desired to see Jesus, but also was a little bit concerned that this Jesus was actually John the Baptist raised from the dead.

And then Matthew recounts for us, gives us a little historical background on that story of John the Baptist being put to death by Herod, because John the Baptist had continually called out sin in Herod's life. And it ultimately ended with him losing his head. And so Jesus, having been John the Baptist's cousin, heard about what had happened, whether that was hearing about Herod wanting to see Jesus and the pressure from Herod getting greater, or simply hearing of the grief that was in his heart because of having lost a good friend and a family member. He departed with his disciples to be alone.

And as he went off to be alone, he didn't last very long because lots of people followed him on foot. And as the people followed him, the crowd began to grow and Jesus had compassion for the people. And as he had this compassion for the people, he took time to minister to them. Even though there was a need for Jesus to rest, he still took time to minister to the people that showed up.

And so he ministered to them all and it got to be late in the afternoon. Scripture here calls it evening because there were two different times of day that were referred to as evening. But this evening that would have been mentioned was probably somewhere in the 3 o'clock p.m. sort of time frame. And they said, hey, it's getting kind of late. Everybody needs something

to eat. Why don't we send them into some villages because the crowd is large? And he said, why don't you give them something to eat? And they said, oh, we've got some fish and chips and not even that much of that. And so he said, well, bring me what you've got. And of course, he took their little, he took their nothing and he turned it into more than enough

for the people. And we saw that Jesus is not only greater than our grief, but he's also greater than our inability. Well, Jesus still needed this time by himself and had not been able to have it yet. And so that's what brings us to this last section is that Jesus is going to take some time by himself with the Father and he's going to send the disciples off to do it.

And in this process, the disciples are going to face a great storm. And so the first thing that we see is Jesus on the mountain to pray. It says, immediately the disciples got into the boat or he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side. Now, it's important for us to take note of this because the disciples had been given an order to go to the other side.

As a matter of fact, I believe it's the gospel of John's account that says, I will see you on the other side. He tells them to go to the other side and that's where he would meet them. Now, it's important that Jesus told them that because once they get into the boat, as I mentioned before, there's going to be a great storm. And in the midst of that storm, it's going to be important for them to know that Jesus had already told them what their destination was.

Jesus did not tell them that their destination was to stop in the middle of the ocean or to stop in the middle of the sea. If Jesus says, I want you to go to the middle of the sea and stay there, you get a little concerned about that, right? That's my destination. But he didn't say that. He said, I want you to go to the other side and I'll meet you over there.

And so he'd already given them the destination. Ryan, why do I care about that? Because sometimes in the middle of the storm of our life, we can forget that Jesus has already promised us the destination and we need to rest in the promise of the destination that he's already told us about. Because when you're in the middle of the sea, when you're in the middle of the storm, sometimes we forget he's already promised the victory in the end.

And so Jesus had told them to go to the other side and of course, he sends all of the crowds away. I think it's interesting that it references the fact that he sent the crowds away. I think it's an important point that's to be made here because you think to yourself, why was Jesus so specific? Why was Matthew so specific in this account that Jesus sent the crowds away?

Well, because remember, what had Jesus just done for all of these crowds? He had just fed them a meal that they were satisfied with. Remember? He said it was a miracle because every day everybody had enough to eat. They were filled to the point where they were no longer hungry, where they wanted nothing else. And Jesus sends the crowds away. Why? Well, I think the first reason

why he sent the crowds away is because he did not want to become their free meal ticket. You see, I think sometimes when the world looks at Jesus, when the world looks at the church, they think, look, it's Jesus. He's my free meal ticket. And that's not what Jesus is for us. He is our Savior and our Lord, not just our free meal ticket. And so he sent them away

because he didn't want that to be how the crowds viewed him. The second reason he sent them away is because he could see that look in their eye. You see, they were all looking for a political Messiah, someone who would set them free from the bondage of Rome, someone who would establish the kingdom on earth and give them all of the things that they needed as it talks about in the millennial kingdom. And he knew that that was not why he came the first time unless he risked them trying to force him to become their king, to become the wrong kind of Messiah.

He sends them away. But do you know, I think there's one more reason why Jesus sent the crowds away. And that's because Jesus needed rest. Jesus needed this rest and this time to spend alone with his Father. And that brings us to this next verse. Because I want you to notice what it says Jesus does in verse 23. It says, after he sent the crowds away, he went up on the mountain

by himself to pray. And when it was evening, he was there alone. Why did Jesus send everybody away from himself? Why did he get to a place where he was all by himself? Because the prayer life of Jesus was of vast importance to him. As a matter of fact, if you ever take some time just to read through the four gospel accounts, I think one of the best things that you can do

is take a pen and underline every single time that it says, and Jesus went off by himself to pray. Or Jesus went up to the mountain to pray. Or Jesus arose early to pray. Or Jesus spent all night in prayer. I think it's important to take note because of just how many times it says it. That tells us that the prayer life of Jesus was one of the most important things to him

because while he was fully God, he was also fully man. And as fully man, he faced temptations like you and I face. And he faced the difficulties that you and I face. Jesus' job, Jesus' ministry was incredibly demanding on his time and his energy. And so he knew that the potential was there for him to get overwhelmed by the ministry that awaited him because everywhere that Jesus went,

an entire crowd of people showed up. And when the entire crowd of people showed up, they didn't show up to ask him what he needed. They showed up to ask what they could receive from him, which is totally fine because he's Jesus. That's what he's there for. But if he doesn't allow himself to get lined back up with the Father and receive from the Father, then he's got nothing to give out to the people

and the temptation to be overwhelmed is there. I think the temptation was there for Jesus to allow himself to get spiritually burnt out because again, fully God, fully man. That means that he deals with all of the things that you and I deal with. When he walked this earth, he dealt with all of the potential for burnout that you deal with. Jesus also dealt with the temptation

to get outside of the Father's will, to begin to work out his own plan and not the plan of the Father because he was still tempted in every way as we are. So how did Jesus deal with the overwhelming nature of his ministry, with the potential burnout that he dealt with, with the possibility, to get outside of the will of the Father and the things that he did? He spent a lot of time in prayer. Why?

Because when he was in prayer, he could pour out his heart to the Father. He could pour out all of the stress that he had going on in his life to the Father and say, this is too much for me and I need your help. I need more strength of the Spirit in my humanity to deal with the things that I'm dealing with. It's overwhelming to me. I'm feeling a little bit burnt out

and if I don't receive from you, I've got nothing to give out to the people. It's easy for me to want to give in to what they're saying, that I could be the person of the political Messiah now and not have to face the death on the cross that I know awaits for me. Keep me in line with what the will of the Father actually is. Keep me in line with what your will is.

And so he spent time in prayer to the Father so that his heart would not become overwhelmed, so that his spirit would not become burnt out, so that his will would never get outside of that of the Father. See, the prayer life of Jesus was very important. You know, I think in the world that we live in, we forget that sometimes the most spiritual thing that we can do is rest. Rest is such an incredibly spiritual thing for us to do.

As a matter of fact, it's such a spiritual thing for us to do that in the Old Testament, God commanded that they take one day of the week, one year every seven years, two years every 50 years to do nothing but rest. That's how spiritual rest is. And yet I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that in the world we live in, you deal with the same pressure that I deal with, and that's that when I decide to sit down and rest, I feel guilty about the fact that other people are doing things. I feel guilty about the fact that other people aren't resting right now.

When I decide I'm just gonna take today and do nothing, I go, man, but other people are doing things, and if other people are working, I should probably be working too. You know why? Because my flesh says that's where my sufficiency lies and my ability to keep doing things. But you know what I have found? If I don't stop and take time to rest, what I will not do,

in obedience, God will do in my life through judgment, because if I don't stop and take time to rest, eventually God will do something in my life that will force me to rest. Friends, that rest is so important for us. And while Jesus at times knew he needed to put off rest to deal with the need that was right in front of him, when that time came, he took full advantage of it. And if Jesus knew it was so important for him to not only spend time with the flesh, but to take time to rest, then how much more important is it for you and I to do those two things as well?

And so Jesus gets off with himself by the Father. But while Jesus is spending this time with the Father, spending time allowing himself to be poured into, his disciples are in the midst of a storm. And so this next section that we cover, I entitled Jesus, the Disciples, and the Storm. Notice what it says. Verse 24, I wonder if you picked up on those three things

that I picked up on. Because as I was reading this, the Lord sort of slowed me down at this verse and I thought, what an interesting way that he describes for us the conditions that the disciples were going through while they were out there on this boat. Now I want you to remember something about the disciples. The disciples are fishermen. They are not new at what they're doing right now.

This is not their first rodeo being in a boat going across the Sea of Galilee. And yet they find themselves in a rather, shall we say, precarious position. Because the conditions are very much difficult that they're dealing with. They are dealing with a storm of great proportions. I want you to notice the three things that it describes about the conditions that they were in.

The first thing it says is that the boat was far from land. As a matter of fact, the account in Mark says that the boat was in the middle of the sea. Now it's interesting. It's an interesting place to be in in the middle of the sea, right? Because you have as much of the sea in front of you as you have behind you. In other words, either way you go, you've got a long row to hoe, right?

You've got a long ways ahead of you. A lot of rowing left to do. And so the boat is in the middle of the sea. The second thing that I take note of is that the boat was battered by the waves. Now I thought to myself, I wonder what it means if there's a great meaning behind the word battered. This time there was. It didn't just say, to be battered. It actually gave a really great definition for it.

The word battered means to be tortured or to be tossed, to be in a great struggle. Now that's descriptive, is it not? Because that's the place that the boat was in right now. In the middle of the sea, the boat was being tossed about, almost being tortured by the waves, and they were in a great struggle. And then the third way it describes the conditions that they're in,

did you take note it said, and the wind was contrary. The word contrary means to be in a great struggle. To be opposite, to be antagonistic, or to be against. Some of the translations say the wind was against them. It's an interesting place, isn't it? A difficult storm that they're in. And as I told first service, usually at this point in time, I would now list a whole bunch of storms

that we can end up in in life. But what happens when I do that is that sometimes I miss your storm and he's like, oh, he's not talking about me. So what I decided to do instead is list now the four identifiers of the storms that we go through in life, okay? Because from this, I've identified four things that identify most of the storms that we go through in life.

Number one, when we're in the midst of a storm, we feel very far from a solution. We feel very far from a solution. You see, the boat with the disciples was in the middle of the sea. And any solution, i.e. the land, seemed really, really far away. Because the place where they came from was just as far as the place where they're going. The solution seems really far.

They're stuck in the middle of the storm. Perhaps you feel that way in some areas of your life. Life is a little bit difficult and whatever the storm is, give it the name that you want it to, you feel really far from a solution. Because quite frankly, you feel stuck in the middle and it's as far going home as it is going to and you don't know what to do. That is a great identifier of the fact

that man is my life and a great storm right now. Number two, storms can be identified by being tossed around and struggling. Have you ever been in a point in time in your life, and maybe this is you today, where it feels like everything in the world that you live in is a storm? What you do is a struggle. Getting out of bed is a struggle. The coffee pot doesn't work.

You don't even have any coffee left in the house. Listen, that's a struggle, right? Even the dog doesn't like you. Everything in the world is just a struggle right now, right? And maybe that describes your life. Maybe you're like, yes, I look and I'm like, everything in the world is a struggle. Even things that should be really easy, they're just really hard.

Why? Because you're in the midst of a storm in your life. Don't worry, there's gonna be a solution. But that's what's wrong. You're in the midst of a great storm. The third way that we can describe the storms in our life is it feels like everything is against us. I like to identify that with more words, but I think that's a pretty self-identifying statement.

Everything's against us. I've been there. I know that feeling of just going, is there anything in life that is not against me right now? Because it feels like I don't have a single friend, and it doesn't feel like anything is going the way that I want it to go. Do you know, I identify the fourth thing that the disciples were going through right now, and I think identifies the storms that we go through.

Sometimes it feels like Jesus is nowhere to be found. Where was Jesus right now while they were in the middle of this storm? Jesus was up on the mountain praying. But as far as the disciples were concerned, Jesus was nowhere to be found. I could be wrong, but I haven't read anywhere where Jesus, when he put them in the boat and sent them to the other side, told them what he was gonna do.

He didn't tell them where he was going. And so as far as they were concerned, Jesus was nowhere to be found. And I don't know about you, but sometimes you can find yourself going, Jesus, what is going on right now? Because you don't feel like you're anywhere. I feel like my prayers are all hitting the ceiling and falling back down to the floor. I feel like your word doesn't speak to me any longer.

I feel like you're nowhere to be found. Like I'm struggling. I'm fighting, and you're nowhere. I want you to know something. Jesus is exactly the same place in your life, in the middle of these storms, that he was in the disciples' lives in the middle of these storms. He's with his Father, making intercession for you. You see, there's a really cool parallel

that can be made here. And that's that while the disciples are living life in the stormy seas of what we would call the world that we live in, Jesus is with his Father, making intercession for us, working out exactly how he's going to come and pull us out of this storm that we're in right now. But this storm actually plays a really important part in our lives. It plays a really important part in our lives.

It plays a really important part in our lives. It plays a really important part in our lives. And I'll get to that at the very end. I don't know if that describes you right now, but I know there's been some times recently where it's described to me, where it just feels like everything is harder than it should be. And there's the disciples in the middle of the sea

being tossed about with the wind constantly against them. Notice what it says in verse 25. And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them. He came to them walking on the sea. It describes a time frame in which Jesus comes walking to them. It says in the fourth watch of the night. Now you and I don't know what that means, so let me tell you what that means.

It means it was somewhere between 3 and 6 a.m. Now I want you to think about how long the disciples have been in the boat right now. They got into the boat in evening time. This is the second portion of the evening. We would probably identify this as anywhere from 5 to 8 p.m. That's probably about the time that these disciples got into the boat. That's probably about the time that these disciples got into the boat.

That's probably about the time that these disciples got into the boat. It's now anywhere from 3 to 6 a.m. I don't do math very well, but that's a long time, right? That's a long time to be stuck in the boat in the middle of this storm. And Jesus waits until the fourth watch of the night. You know Jesus could have stopped the storm any time that he wanted to.

You know that Jesus could have done anything that he wanted to or come to them as early as he wanted to and yet he waited. Why did he wait? Because he needed them to be completely at the end of themselves. Completely at a point where they could not and the only thing that they could do is just hope that Jesus would come save them. That's exactly where they were.

And so it says, it was the fourth watch of the night and what does Jesus do? I bet you've read through this a hundred times and never really stopped to think about it. He came to them walking on the sea. Of course he did, it's Jesus. Jesus can walk on the water like that, right? It's just a normal everyday occurrence. This is one of the craziest things I can imagine watching.

Jesus comes walking to them on the sea. How can you imagine this? It started, right? Jesus is up on the mountain and he's praying and he's like, Lord, be with the disciples because they're not that bright and I know they're struggling right now. There's a storm and I know you're gonna do good things but Lord, just hang on to them right now. Keep them close.

I'm gonna go save them. And so Jesus comes walking off of the sand and then he steps onto the water, right? He just walked off of the beach and onto the water and he's just walking. There's probably waves at this point in time. Why? How do we know that? Because they're being battered about. What are they being battered about by? Waves. So he's walking on the waves.

Right? Like, did he see some fish? A couple of them come up. He's like, right? High fin with the fish. I don't know. I hope so. That would be amazing. But Jesus comes walking to them on the sea. I think we just brush by this sometimes and go, that's not humanly possible. You're right. It's not humanly possible because he's greater than nature. He's greater than the power of nature.

Jesus can do anything he wants to do. He's the only one. All-powerful creator of the heavens and the earth. And if he wants to walk on the water, he's going to walk on the water. But of course, the disciples respond in faith just like you and I would have responded to see him walking on the water. It says, and when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified.

And they said, it's a ghost. You ever notice how many times ghosts are referenced by the disciples? They're referenced in the gospel accounts. It's referenced in the book of Acts. These were some superstitious people. All of the stupid stuff people believe today, they believed it back then. It's almost like there's nothing new under the sun. They're like, great, it's a ghost.

We're in the middle of the water, in the middle of a storm. How can things get worse? There's a ghost. That's how it can get worse. Now, before we're too hard on the disciples, we need to remember that there probably wasn't a lot of light at this point in time because it's, well, 3 to 6 a.m. And there were no lights because, well, those haven't been invented yet.

And there probably wasn't a great deal of moonlight because it's storming, right? So it was probably pretty dark. They can just somehow see some sort of a figure coming to them. Right? That's me going up and down on the waves. I don't know if you caught that or not. Coming to them on the waves. And they're like, oh, great, it's a ghost. I'm not going to lie.

Not an overly superstitious human being. I might have thought the same thing. Like, that's weird. And so they totally freak out. It says they're terrified. What do they do? They cried out in fear. You know Peter was the first one crying. Like, he's... But immediately, Jesus spoke to them, saying, take courage. It's I. Do not be afraid. You know, I read this in the Amplified translation.

I was fascinated by it. And I've tried to make sure that it's a correct rendering of it. But several other commentators have said the exact same thing. The Amplified translation puts it like this. It says, but immediately, Jesus spoke to them, saying, take courage. I am. Do not be afraid. Isn't that a great translation of that? That is just... That's an amazing thought, isn't it?

Because remember, when did we first... When did we first see this phrase, I am? When we saw this phrase when Moses was at the burning bush, and God says, you need to go tell the children of Israel, I'm taking them home. They need to follow you. And he says, who do I say sent me? Because once I say burning bush, they stop listening. Who do I say sent me? He says, tell them,

I am sent you. I am that I am. And then what phrases did Jesus use over and over again in the Gospel of John? He said, I am. And a whole bunch of other phrases that went along with that. When Jesus sees these guys, and they're totally freaking out, and says, take courage, I am. What does he mean when he says that? He means, I am the ever-present, unchanging God.

Brothers and sisters, if you're in a storm right now, I bet you, whether you want to admit it or not, there's a little bit of you that feels like God has changed, and not for the positive. You may not ever say it out loud. I would never say it out loud. But you might live it in your life. You might live it in your prayers, and you might feel it, but in your heart,

that God has changed. God is so good at showing up in the middle of our storm and saying, I am. I haven't changed. I'm still the same God. I'm still in the same place. I'm still the one who's right beside you. I'm still the one that's holding you. I'm still the one that's sustaining you. I'm still everything that I ever have been. I am the ever-present, unchanging God.

And then he says, do not be afraid. I love this, because though the problem was very real, and though the danger was very much unexaggerated, Jesus was still close by. And that's true of you as well. Because as I mentioned, sometimes in that process, we can feel like Jesus is really far away, nowhere to be found. But what we don't realize is, is that he's actually very close by.

Because in the storm that you're going through, the storm is very real, and I don't believe you're exaggerating the danger, but Jesus is still close by. Therefore, we can live a life of not being afraid. And so Jesus shows up in the middle of the storm, because that's what he does in the middle of storms. And of course, as Jesus shows up, Peter does what Peter does.

Verse 28, Peter said to him, Lord, if it's you, command me to come to you on the water. And he said, come. I love Peter at this point in time. We give him a hard time. Don't we? This guy had a lot of faith, right? I can imagine what some of the other disciples were doing at this point in time. Matthew was probably going, I've done the math, and it feels like a bad idea.

I thought this one through, and it seems like the wrong thing to do for you to get out of the boat and walk to him on the water. And John's going, Jesus loves us. He's on his way. I love you too, Jesus. Right? Because John's the apostle of love. That's what some of the other disciples were doing, and Peter's like, nope, I'm ready to walk on some water. Jesus, if that's you,

command me to come to you on the water. Poor translation. How it should be worded is, Jesus, since that's you, that's actually literally what he says, since that's you, command me to come to you on the water. Dude, this is one of the greatest statements of faith Peter could make, I think. Because Jesus is doing something impossible, and he says, since it's you,

have me do something impossible. And so what does Jesus say? One word. I love it. If you have the Bible in red, there's one red word in the middle of verse 29. It just says, come. And so Peter does. Can you imagine that moment where he's like, shoot, I have to put my money where my mouth is now. Because we all know that guy, right? I don't know how you picture this,

this is how I picture it. You know, Peter just, he made a really bold statement. If that's you, call me out there. And Jesus goes, okay, bring it. Okay. They're all watching. The water! He had to have been as shocked as anybody at that point in time. And all the other guys are like, what a show off. That guy. Right? Like just a little annoyed at Peter because he's Peter.

Right? And so Peter comes walking to him on the water. I think this had to have been what we would call a high point for Peter in his faith. Just imagine what's going on right now. Imagine the impossible nature of what he's doing, what Jesus is allowing him to do. And you know what's giving him the ability to do all of it? It has nothing to do with who he is,

or how good he is, or how much faith he has. It has everything to do with who his faith is in and who his eyes are focused on. Because at this point in time, his eyes are focused on his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the creator of the heavens and the earth. And because that's where all of his focus is, and that's where all of his faith is, he is able to go out and he's able to start walking on the water.

But it's short-lived. Just like sometimes our great steps of faith can sometimes be short-lived, it's a little bit short-lived for him. Because notice what happens. Verse 30. But seeing the wind, he became frightened. And beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, Lord, save me. This translation says, but seeing the wind, literally it means he perceived the wind.

In other words, it wasn't like he didn't know the wind was blowing before, but all of a sudden he realized the wind is really blowing. You can imagine it, right? He's walking on the water, doing one of these things, because you know, you gotta balance. Doing one of these things while he's walking on the water, wind comes up, probably blows a little bit of water in his face, and he goes,

and instead of looking at Jesus, he's all of a sudden looking at all of the things around him. And all of a sudden he's going, I can't walk on water. And it's really stormy. So he became frightened. He began to sink. What happened to Peter? What happened to this great step of faith? The same thing that sometimes happens to us. I actually think there's three issues

that Peter has right now in this problem of sinking down in the water while he was walking on it. Number one, he took his eyes off Jesus. He took his eyes off of Jesus. You see, when Peter had his eyes focused on his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the only one who could give him that ability to do what he needed to do, to give him that ability to walk on water, he was able to do the impossible, because his eyes were focused on the only one who can give him that ability.

But the minute that he started looking at all of the wind and the waves around him, and he took his eyes off of Jesus, he started to sink, he started to sink. Why? Is it because Jesus didn't have any power? No, it's because he stopped trusting in that power and started seeing everything around him. You see, he took his eyes off Jesus. Friends, there's a lot of things

that can take our eyes off Jesus today, are there not? There's a lot of things that want to pull our focus away from God today. In the moment that we do so, we will begin to sink, maybe not down into the water, but down into all of the cares of the world that want to drown us. Peter took his eyes off of Jesus. Number two, he forgot the truth of his inability.

Because whether the wind was blowing or whether there was a storm or not, could Peter walk on water? No. Under the best of conditions, Peter couldn't do what he was doing right now. So why, in the worst of conditions, is it a big deal that he's walking on the water? Because he forgot that no matter what, he couldn't do what he's doing. No matter how great things were,

he wouldn't be able to do what he's doing right now. And I think sometimes we forget that. When everything is going great in our life, we forget that. We forget that. We forget that what I'm doing now is completely impossible apart from the work of Jesus Christ. And so when things get really difficult and we go, oh, life is hard, we forget that in the best of conditions,

me walking with Jesus is impossible. Me obeying Jesus is impossible. All of those things are completely impossible in and of myself. Best of conditions, worst of conditions, I have no strength in me. Which brings me to the third point. He forgot the truth of Jesus and his ability. Do you know who didn't begin to sink in the water when Peter started looking at all of the wind and the waves?

Jesus. Why? Because Jesus is greater. He's greater than all the storms. He's greater than all the waves. He's greater than all the wind. He's greater than all of those things because if you can create them, you can tell them what to do. And Jesus was greater than all of those things. But you know what? In the midst of it all, he forgot. Because you know what happens

when we take our eyes off? When we take our eyes off of Jesus, we forget. We forget just how amazing he is. We forget just how powerful he is. We forget that there is nothing impossible for him. We forget that he is able. There's a song that we used to sing when I was a kid. It goes, He is able, more than able, to accomplish what concerns me today. He is able, more than able,

to handle anything that comes my way. You know how oftentimes we kind of sing that song? He is able, more than able, to accomplish most of the things that come at me today. He is able, more than able, to handle some of the things that come my way. But sometimes, believe it or not, we think that there's those one or two things that are a little bit too hard for God.

Again, you'd probably never say it out loud. I wouldn't say it out loud because I'm a pastor and that's not the right thing to say. But I might pray that way. I might feel that way. I might lose sleep because of it. I might live my life a little bit stressed out because of it. And in the process of it all, we have to remember that He is able. We can't forget that truth.

And that's what Peter does. And so Peter begins to sink. And he cries out, Lord, save me. He said it much louder and more boisterous than that, but I don't want to freak you out. He said, Lord, save me. And so immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him and said to him, you of little faith, why did you doubt? That little phrase right there

has given me a lot of hope in life. What Jesus does for Peter gives me an incredible amount of hope in my own life. You see, this is why I'm not God. Because if I was Jesus at this point in time, I would go, this is a teachable moment, okay? Now, do you understand? You failed, okay? That's why you're, why are you in that water right now? You're in that water right now

because you wouldn't believe in me, right? Now, no, you need to sit down there and think about it for a little bit. Struggle a little longer. Guys, this is an object lesson. Peter doesn't have faith. What happens when you don't have faith? You drown in the water. He'll be fine. Stop worrying about it, right? Like, that's what I would do if I'm Jesus. But I'm not Jesus, thank God, right?

And all of you probably feel the same way. Because when Peter begins to sink in the water, he simply cries out to the Lord. I want you to think about something. What does Peter's name mean? Anybody know? Peter's name means rock, right? What do rocks do in water? They sink, right? It's as if Dwayne Johnson just went right down into the water, right? Just a big, burly guy sinking in the water

at that point in time. He cries out, Lord, save me. But what does Jesus do? Jesus doesn't try to teach him the lesson. Peter had learned a lesson he needed to already. What does Jesus do? It says, immediately, Jesus stretched out his hand and took hold of him and pulled him out of the water. Why is that such an encouragement to me? Because I can act a lot like Peter.

There are moments where I feel like, man, my faith is so on fleek right now, and I am walking on water. This is amazing. But I can get my eyes off of Jesus so easy. I can end up getting my focus off of him so easy. And when I do, I immediately begin to sink. But you know what I've learned? Every time I begin to sink is that once I cry out, Lord, save me, there's always a hand there to pull me out.

There's always a hand there to get me up out of that water and carry me safely to the boat. Because God is so patient with me. God is so patient with you. I kind of wonder how it happened. He pulls him out, and the next thing we know, they're in the boat together. Did they both walk together to the boat on the water? Or did Jesus carry Peter? I like to think that Jesus carried Peter

because that's a better scene. Come here, big boy. We got this thing. He just carries him in the boat. Jesus, I don't know how it happened, but they go to the boat, and everything's going to be calm. But before they do, Jesus has a couple of words for Peter. Notice what he says. He says, you of little faith. Why'd you doubt? Why did you doubt? Really, this name, the of in here shouldn't be there.

Really, what Jesus says is, you little faith. It's almost like it's a name that Jesus called him. Like, that's his name, Peter, little faith. But it's kind of cool. Isn't it? Because that little bit of faith that Peter had, what did it allow him to do? It allowed him to get out of the boat and walk on the water. We think, oh, I don't have enough faith. A little bit of faith, and Peter got out of the boat

and walked on the water. Not a little bit of faith caused him to sink, but a little bit of faith is really all that we need, right? Just a little faith to do what we need to do. But Jesus says, you of little faith, why'd you doubt? The word doubt's kind of interesting. The word doubt there means to be divided. We could also use the word waver. He could have said, why did you waver?

Why were you divided in your belief? It's kind of a cool thought, isn't it? That what happens when we doubt is that we end up wavering in what we believe. We become double-minded. I believe, oh, but I can't. Oh, but I guess, oh. And we become a little bit distracted by all the things around us. You see, what Jesus really desires of us is that singularity of focus.

As a matter of fact, I want you to go to me. Go with me to a place in Scripture. I want you to go over to Hebrews chapter 12.

I'm sure you know the verses because we've talked about them before, and you've probably read them lots of times before. They may be hanging on your refrigerator. Hebrews chapter 12, and I want you to look at verses 1 and 2.

Hebrews 12, 1 and 2 says this. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing, our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. That word fixing there literally means to take your eyes off of everything else and put them singularly on Jesus Christ. You see, the word sincerity, which is what Scripture tells us our faith should be, we should have a sincere faith.

That word sincerity literally means singularity of focus. I should only focus on one thing at a time, and the one thing I should always have my focus on is Jesus. That's where my focus should always be. When I begin to doubt, it means I waver in my focus, and I start looking at all of the things around me. Now, I don't know about y'all, but I've been struggling with that here lately.

Because here lately, what I've been looking at is all of the wind and the waves around me that exist in the world, right? Because there's a lot of that going on. I keep hearing reports from people that are going to some of the public schools, and while I know that this goes on, I'm oftentimes completely taken aback at just how much of it goes on. They're like, yeah, we have all kinds of friends that have decided that if they're a girl, they've decided they're a boy, or if they're a boy, they've decided they're a girl, and it hurts my heart.

It hurts my heart because I look and I go, man, these people are lost, and they need Jesus because they're living a life that is a complete lie, and it hurts my heart to see that. And sometimes I can get a little bit overwhelmed at the lost nature of the culture that we live in right now that continues to tell them, this is okay because this is your identity. And I want to just take them and say, no, your identity's in Christ, not your sexuality. And I can't reach every single human being, and so sometimes I get a little distracted by that.

And I get distracted by all of the things going on around me, and it hurts my heart, and I lose my focus on Jesus, and I can feel like it's just hopeless. Or sometimes when I see the things that are happening in the world, I feel like, man, we're never going to be able to get back on track with things financially or culturally, and what are we going to do? And I can get distracted by that, and I can feel kind of hopeless. And I just continue to think, if I can feel this hopeless knowing the truth, how much more does the rest of the world just feel hopeless?

And every time I remember how hopeless I feel, I just feel hopeless. And every time I feel I'm reminded that it's because I just took my eyes off of Jesus. Because even if some of those things weren't happening, the world is still going to hell, and they still need the truth of Jesus Christ, and the only one that can do that work is the Holy Spirit. Jesus working through the Holy Spirit through us.

And so I have to keep my eyes focused on Jesus. As I see all of the things in the world falling apart, I go, but Lord, look at what's happening. And he goes, don't you remember that I'm still a sovereign God who's working out a sovereign plan and all these things? Put your eyes back on me. I say, okay, you're right. I'll focus on you. Because when I don't, I waver.

And when I waver, I sink. Back over to Matthew chapter 14,

verse 32. It says, when they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, you are certainly God's son. This is a great way that we see exactly what God intends with not only the storms of our lives, but also the miracles that he does. It's because how does this end? It ends with them having a greater knowledge of who their savior is.

And it ends in them praising him for it. You can ask yourself, why am I going through this storm that I'm going through in my life right now? Why do I have to face this hardship? Why do I have to face this difficulty? Because God wants to use it to reveal to you something about himself that you've never known before. Something about life that you've never learned before.

Something about, who he is that you've never learned before. And he will use this storm to do that in your life. And you will see him in a clearer way than you ever have before. I'm reminded of the end of the book of Job, which by the way, are some of the more powerful verses in all of the Bible. Because if you remember the story of Job, Job went through what we would call a storm.

He went through several great tests in his life. The loss of his property, the loss of his family, the loss of his health, and then false accusations from his friends. And as he went through all of that, he continued to maintain his innocence. But towards the end of the book of Job, he started making some demands of God. He started saying, I want to know why this is happening

because I haven't done anything wrong. And finally, when you get to the last handful of chapters of the book of Job, God tells Job something. He says, I want you to gird up your loins like a man and answer some questions for me. And he gives him a whole litany of questions that caused Job to sit back and say, I'm sorry, you're God and I'm not. Then when you get to the very end of the book of Job,

in the very end of all of that, there's this great verse. The, what I call, the point of the book of Job and everything that he went through. Because at the end, Job says, I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. Why did Job go through everything that he went through in his life? So that in the end, he can say, I know you in a way that I never knew you before.

I don't know what storm you're going through in your life. I don't know what's happening in your life, but I do know this. Jesus is greater because he is able to overcome all of these things and it will always be for the purpose of bringing you into a deeper knowledge of who he is. So that when that storm is done, you'll say something along the lines of, it's something I would have never chosen and probably would never choose again, but I'm thankful I went through it because otherwise, I wouldn't know what I know now.

People with great faith have that. Because they've gone through great pain. A.W. Tozer put it best when he said, those whom God would use greatly, he must hurt deeply. Friends, that road of suffering is not always fun. That road of storms is not always easy, but we have a faithful God who loves us and brings us through them all. And in the end, not only does it produce a greater knowledge

of who he is, but it produces praise in our hearts. I'm convinced that sometimes the reason why we don't praise God wholeheartedly like we should is because we haven't been through storms like we could. Well, let's wrap up chapter 14, shall we? It says, when they'd crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. When the men of that place recognized him,

they sent word into all the surrounding district and brought to him all who were sick. And they implored him that they might just touch the fringe of his cloak and as many as touched it were cured. Isn't it amazing how in this land of Gennesaret, everything that had happened prepared them for the next step of what they were going to do? Why did Jesus have to be up on the mountain alone to pray?

Because there was great ministry to be done in the land of Gennesaret, a healing ministry that would be one of the greatest of his entire ministry on earth. Why did the disciples have to see Jesus' ability, both in the feeding of the 5,000 and in the going through the storm? Because the ministry was not done, because the work needed to continue. And for them to see the work continue, they had to have big faiths, a faith in a big God.

All of those things prepared them for it. And all of these things remind us that Jesus is greater. Amen? Let's all stand.

Would you bow with me?

Father, I come before you and I just want to thank you for the time that we've had here in your word this morning. And I want to thank you for how faithful you are to us. Lord, that your word always speaks to us exactly what we need. And Lord, I want to lift up the people that are here this morning. Lord, the folks that are here with us in person and the ones that are watching online.

And Lord, I just want to ask that you would do the work that only your Holy Spirit can do in their lives.

Lord, I want to lift up those that are battling with storms in their lives right now. Father, the ones that feel like you are far away, like they're stuck in the middle. Everything is against them. Everything is a struggle. And Lord, I just want to, I pray that you'd be with them.

Matter of fact, with your eyes still closed, if that's you, if you feel like I just identified what's going on with you, I just want you to put your hand up because I want to pray for you specifically this morning. If you're battling with a storm going on in your life, if you feel a little overwhelmed, if you feel like the struggle is just continuing and everything is against you, I just want you to put your hand up because I want to pray for you.

So many hands up. Lord, I want to lift up these folks with their hands up right now. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. You see them and your Holy Spirit wants to minister to them. And so, Lord, as they've taken a humble step of faith to say, I need the work that only Jesus can do in my life,

I just want to pray that your Holy Spirit would be at work in each of those storms individually. Lord, I thank you that I don't have to know what they are. You do. And you know how to minister. You know how to come walking to them on the water when I don't know how to. And so, Lord, I pray that you would come to them. Come to them in your good time and in your good way.

In the meantime, Lord, I pray that you would help them to rest in the fact that you are still present. But, Lord, make yourself real to them. And, Lord, show up where they need you the most. Bring that calm that they need. And may they find their rest in you. We just thank you, Father, for who you are. In Jesus' name, amen. Be blessed. Peace like a river, wash over me.

Burst me in water as deep as the sea.

Hide me in love, your healing embrace. Peace like a river, Lord, have your way. I worship your majesty. I worship your holy name. Jesus, my everything, all that I am, please you. Holy Spirit, rain down on me. Break open the heavens and drench the unseen.

Your presence as I pour out your praise.

Revival, Lord, send it now.

Revival, Lord, send it now.

Heavenly Father, God, I just pray that, God, that you would just bring revival to us, Lord. Bring revival in our lives. Bring revival, God, to this community. To this church, Lord, to all the churches. Lord, to our nation, God. You are a mighty God, and you do mighty things. God, I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Lord, because it's true.

God, I believe that if you can take an entire nation, Lord, that's been disobedient and walked away from you, Lord, time and time again, Lord, and still restore them, still bring revival to them, Lord, that you can do it with ours, too. Lord, I believe that if you can take an entire nation, Lord, that you can take somebody as sinful and disobedient and just somebody like myself, Lord, and just use them for your glory, Lord, that I believe that you can do the same thing with any one of us here, Lord.

Just do a mighty work in our lives, Lord. I pray that as we leave here today, that we would leave changed, God, that we would be different and not the same, God, that we would leave on fire for you, Lord, and that you would do a mighty work in our lives and in our community. In our communities and in our nation, Lord. Lord, we love you, God. We thank you. We praise you.

We pray all these things in your precious and holy name. And all of God's people said? Amen. Amen. You guys have a wonderful week. Be blessed.