Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / Keep Your Eyes Upon Jesus ( Matthew 14:22-33 )- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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Keep Your Eyes Upon Jesus ( Matthew 14:22-33 )- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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  Amen and if you would please take your Bibles
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  and open up to Matthew chapter 14. Matthew 14
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  looking this morning at verses 22 through 33
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  as we continue in our sermon series through some
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  of the miracles of Jesus. Now, I'll be up front
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  with you. We're looking at Jesus walking on the
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  water, which is an incredible miracle. We could
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  have stayed in John six to see this from last
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  Sunday, but I want us to look in Matthew 14.
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  Because there, not only do we see Jesus walking
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  on the water, but we see Peter on the water.
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  This shows us something about Peter. This shows
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  us something about the disciples. And honestly,
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  this shows us something about ourselves. So would
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  you give attention to the reading of God's holy
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  word from Matthew 14 beginning in verse 22? Immediately
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  he made the disciples get into the boat and go
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  before him to the other side While he dismissed
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  the crowns and after he had dismissed the crowns
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  He went up on the mountain by himself to pray
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  when evening came He was there alone But the
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  boat by this time was a long way from the land
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  beaten by the waves for the wind was against
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  them and in the fourth watch of the night He
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  came to them walking on the sea But when the
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  disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were
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  terrified and they said it is a ghost And they
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  cried out in fear But immediately Jesus spoke
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  to them saying take heart it is I Do not be afraid.
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  And Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command
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  me to come to you on the water. He said, come.
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  So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the
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  water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the
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  wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink. He
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  cried out, Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reached
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  out his hand. and took hold of him saying to
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  him, oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt?
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  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
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  And those in the boat worshiped him saying, truly,
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  you are the son of God. This is God's word. Let's
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  pray. Father, we do thank you for this word.
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  We thank you that once again we get to see Jesus
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  do the amazing Do the thing that others would
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  say is impossible Lord help us to look upon this
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  story is truth And would you build up our faith
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  as we study it this we ask in Christ's name amen
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  It was a sunny day on Long Island sounds just
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  off of New York when a woman named Louisa Stead,
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  along with her husband and their daughter Lily,
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  decided to go for a picnic. Beautiful day. What's
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  better than a picnic on a beautiful day by the
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  water? But as they were eating, they heard a
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  scream, the scream of a young boy. And Mr. Stead
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  hopped to his feet, and he ran to the water.
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  He ran to where he heard the boy screaming. and
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  he jumped into the water to save the boy. But
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  sadly, Mrs. Stead and Lily watched as not just
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  the boy, but Mr. Stead drowned in the water.
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  Understandably, they were heartbroken. They were
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  devastated. Additionally, as they dealt with
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  their heartache over losing husband or father,
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  they didn't have any money. their source of income
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  was gone, and so they thought, what shall we
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  do? They were left poor. But they continued to
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  look to Jesus for help. They continued to trust
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  God for help. And trusting in Jesus, Mrs. Stead
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  wrote a hymn that I think that you all know.
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  "'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus." That's the
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  story behind the hymn. And shortly after this
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  incident, Louisa and her daughter Lily moved
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  to South Africa, where continuing to rely upon
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  Christ, they became missionaries. Friends, I
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  don't need to tell you this, but we live in a
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  world of tragedy. We live in a world of pain.
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  We live in a world of suffering and challenges
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  and affliction. And as Christians, we invite
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  even more of that upon ourselves. In a way, as
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  Christians, we sign up for suffering, that's
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  actually the story of Scripture, isn't it, of
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  redemption, but having to go through the storm
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  first in order to be saved. That's the story
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  of Noah. That's the story of Abraham. That's
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  the story of Moses. That's the story of Ruth.
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  That's the story of David. That's the story of
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  these disciples even. It's the story of believers,
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  and while it's unpopular to think, yes, I'll
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  sign up for struggle, God helps us through those
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  things, doesn't he? As he increases our faith
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  in Christ. Look in verse 22. Why are the disciples
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  in the boat, on the water in the first place?
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  I'll read it again. Immediately. He made the
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  disciples get into the boat and go before him
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  to the other side. You may be using a different
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  translation, but all the translations I looked
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  at said something to that effect. Jesus made
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  them get into the boat. Jesus told them to get
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  in the boat and go to the other side. Last Sunday,
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  we looked at the disciples along with Jesus as
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  Jesus feeds the multitudes, right? And then shortly
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  thereafter, the people are trying to make Jesus
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  king by force. And so what does Jesus do? He
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  sends the disciples. He wants no part of that.
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  He sends the disciples out to go to the other
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  side, to cross the Sea of Galilee. What does
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  Jesus do? Well, Jesus goes up on the mountain
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  to pray. Look in verse 24 They're out on the
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  water the boat is a long way from the land and
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  the storm is brewing and then in verse 25 it
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  says in the fourth watch of the night the timing
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  of this thing is very important because if you
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  again if you look in verse 23 you see that it
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  was evening when the disciples got into the boat,
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  but when Jesus comes to them It's in the wee
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  hours of the morning. The fourth watch of the
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  night, the way that the night was arranged to
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  be understood was in four watches of three hours
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  apiece. And if it's the fourth watch, or since
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  it's the fourth watch, it's between 3 and 6 a
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  .m. when Jesus walks on the water. The reason
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  that is important is because Jesus sent the disciples
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  out when it was early evening. Do you understand
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  what this means? It means that the disciples
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  are on the water all night long. They are rowing
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  hard against the waves and the wind all night
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  long, making little progress. The Sea of Galilee,
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  depending on where you depart from and where
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  you're going to, it's about four to five miles
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  across, going... two, three, four miles in about
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  nine hours is not good progress. They are getting
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  nowhere fast, but they're doing all they can.
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  Mark 6 says that they were straining their oars.
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  They're rowing as hard as they possibly can.
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  Years ago, I was out on Lake Joe Cassie, lovely
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  place, love being there with some friends, rented
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  some paddle boards, beautiful day out paddling.
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  But as you know, if you've been on Lake Jocasse,
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  sometimes the conditions can change rather quickly.
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  So out in the middle of the water, the sky turned
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  dark, and the wind picked up, and we thought,
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  we got to get back to shore. And so we turned
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  around. But paddling into the wind, it felt like
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  it took hours to get back to shore. That's literally
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  what is happening here. The disciples are paddling,
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  rowing for hours. Maybe even nine of them, ten
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  of them. And they are frightened, they are exhausted,
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  and surely they're asking, where in the world
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  is Jesus? Well, we know where he was and we know
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  what he was doing. The text says that he was
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  on the mountain and he was praying. There's really
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  two responses to this miracle. It's either disbelief
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  or belief. Some people think this is ridiculous.
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  How could Jesus actually walk on the water? But
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  Christians believe this to be true, that this
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  is factual, right? It's in three of the four
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  gospels. So you can either love it and believe
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  it or not. But would you like to hear my favorite
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  part of this story? My favorite part is the extremely
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  ordinary and extraordinary prayer life. Jesus.
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  Jesus shows us time and time again how he just
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  desired to be with his Heavenly Father in prayer.
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  I imagine that as the disciples rode as hard
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  as they possibly could, Jesus prayed as hard
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  as he possibly could, probably praying for them
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  as well, and it makes you wonder, were they praying
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  while they were rowing? Again, Mark 6 says that
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  they are making painful progress, slow progress,
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  and yet the text tells us that Jesus saw them.
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  And so if their prayer was for him to come and
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  help, that's exactly what he does. Look in verse
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  25. In the fourth watch of the night he came
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  to them, and now you see it, walking on the sea.
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  Job chapter 9 verse 8 says that God tramples
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  the waves of the sea and that's exactly what
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  Jesus does here. But please remember Jesus is
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  not walking on a calm water. Jesus is walking
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  on a water that is crashing with the wind howling
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  all around him and so the disciples they see
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  him from afar. They see something coming towards
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  them and they're terrified. And so you see their
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  reaction. They exclaim, there in 26, it is a
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  ghost. Now, a ghost is a fine translation, but
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  we could probably just use the transliteration
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  from the Greek, a phantasma, from which we get
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  our word phantasm. They are seeing a spirit coming
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  towards them. And here I'm wondering, you know,
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  Jesus has been casting out spirits. Are they
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  thinking this is a spirit, one of those spirits
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  coming towards us? But it's not. It's Jesus down
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  from the mountain. Jesus, who sent them out onto
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  the water, now comes to save them. But why? Have
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  you ever thought about that? Why would Jesus
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  send them out on the water just to come save
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  them? thinking three thoughts about this this
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  week. One, in doing this, Jesus demonstrates
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  his power over the laws of creation. John chapter
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  one tells us that Jesus was in the beginning
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  and that he created all things and so he shows
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  that these things, the laws of creation, are
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  in subjection to him. Just like when Jesus calmed
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  the storm in Matthew chapter eight, an entirely
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  different story. Here Jesus does something like
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  this again, the waves respond to Jesus. But second
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  thought, and it relates to the first, that as
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  Jesus treads the water underfoot, he shows his
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  deity. Look in verse 27. Immediately Jesus spoke
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  to them saying, take heart, it is I. Do not be
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  afraid. When he says, it is I, this is very important.
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  If you read it in the Greek, it would say, ego,
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  a me, which means I am. Do you remember the I
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  am statements of Jesus in the book of John? I
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  am the door. I am the good shepherd. I am the
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  resurrection of life and the life, right? And
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  so what is Jesus doing but saying that he is
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  from the great I am? We looked last. Sunday in
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  John 6 and we said that it's essentially a retelling
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  of the Exodus story. What happens before the
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  Exodus? Moses meets with God and God reveals
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  his covenant name. I am who I am. Yahweh. Jesus
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  in saying this, I am, ensures that the disciples
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  know that he is the promised son of God. Third
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  thought for the reason for all of this is Jesus
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  is testing their faith Jesus is strengthening
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  their faith again. He says take heart Jesus comes
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  to save but first they have to go through the
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  storm We're gonna talk about Peter in just a
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  minute in this text, but it's worth studying
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  the life of Peter To see this testing of faith
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  because Peter went through so much Peter persevered
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  through so much suffering. You can see it in
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  his time with Jesus. You see it in Peter's time
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  in the book of Acts, that Peter encounters opposition
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  and challenges and afflictions. Consider these
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  words from Peter. First Peter chapter one, six
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  and seven, it says this. In this you rejoice,
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  though now for a little while, if necessary.
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  You have been grieved by various trials so that
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  the tested genuineness of your faith more precious
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  than gold that perishes though it's tested by
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  fire may be found to result in praise and glory
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  and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
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  Why do we go through challenges? Why do we go
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  through suffering and afflictions to strengthen
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  our faith? and so that we will rightly know who
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  Jesus is and sing his praises. I like how J .C.
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  Ryle puts it when he says, by affliction, God
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  teaches us many precious lessons, which without
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  it we should never learn. He says, by affliction,
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  he shows us our emptiness and weakness, draws
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  us to the throne of grace, purifies our affections,
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  weans us from the world and makes us long for
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  heaven. In the resurrected morning, we shall
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  all say, it was good for me that I was afflicted.
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  We shall thank God for every storm. That's a
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  very mature thought, isn't it? To thank God for
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  the storms of life. That's very opposite of the
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  mindset of people today. We don't want anything
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  to do with it. But Jesus showed us what it's
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  like to follow him, to take up our cross and
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  follow him. The Christian life is difficult.
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  It's challenging. We go through so much, but
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  God sees us through these things according to
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  his purposes. I was talking with one of you this
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  week, one of you going through severe affliction,
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  and you said that you hoped that your struggles
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  would help other people who might go through
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  a similar thing. Again, a very mature thought.
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  A thought of somebody who's being sanctified
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  to be more and more like Christ who suffered
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  in our place. Now, these are mature thoughts.
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  Sometimes when I arrive at Peter within the text,
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  I wonder, what is he thinking? Is he thinking
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  maturely? Is he thinking with wisdom? Look in
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  verse... 28, to be honest with you, I'm not sure,
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  but he does exhibit faith. Peter answered him,
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  Lord, if it's you, command me to come to you
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  on the water. And so that's what Jesus does.
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  He says, come. And so Peter steps out of the
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  boat, steps onto the water. And remember, the
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  storm is still happening. It's not calm. The
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  wind is howling. If I'm in the boat, And I'm
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  watching Peter take steps on the water. I might
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  be saying to Jesus, me next. But then Peter makes
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  a mistake. Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus.
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  Peter focuses on the dangerous situation at hand.
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  When he's focused on Jesus, he's successful.
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  He's okay. But then doubt overcomes him. And
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  we can be like that too, can't we? When we trust
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  Jesus, we're okay, we're good. Everything's gonna
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  be fine, but when we focus on the problem, that's
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  where the trouble lies. And so now, as I see
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  Peter start to sink, if I'm one of the disciples
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  in the boat, I'm saying, no, Jesus, I'm good.
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  And so Peter cries out, Lord, save me. And as
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  he does, we might be thinking that we have heard
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  this before, if you know the Psalms well. You've
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  heard this before. Psalm 69 begins in this way.
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  Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to
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  my neck. I sink in deep mire where there is no
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  foothold. I've come in the deep waters and the
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  flood sweeps over me. Save me. So Peter cries
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  out and Jesus reaches out his hand. And here's
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  the beauty of the passage, that as Peter takes
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  his eyes off of Jesus, Jesus never takes his
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  eyes off of Peter, right? Friends, I read a commentator
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  who said this week, God does not wait for you
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  to have perfect faith to save you. He does not
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  wait for you to have perfect faith to save you,
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  no. He is the one who works faith into your heart.
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  He is the one who regenerates you. Jesus is the
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  one who saves you. And upon being saved, upon
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  having that saving faith, then the sanctification
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  kicks off, where Jesus grows us more and more
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  to trust Him and to be like Him as we have the
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  indwelling Spirit. Friends, this text shows us
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  that we may struggle with doubt. But for the
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  times that we do doubt Jesus is here to catch
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  us Isn't it true God designs troubles for the
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  purpose of our growing our trust in him remember
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  Jesus is the one who sent his disciples out onto
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  the water and then he rescues them and So you
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  see Jesus and Peter they climb back in the boat
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  and the wind ceases yet again Jesus calms a storm
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  And as the disciples see all of this, they do
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  the only thing that I think they can possibly
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  do. They worship Him. And they say, truly, this
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  is the Son of God. I believe, if I'm correct
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  on this, this is the first time that disciples
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  ever say, this is the Son of God. God the Father
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  says it at Jesus's baptism. This is my beloved
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  Son in whom I'm well pleased. The demons say
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  this is the Son of God, but this is the first
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  time the disciples say, Jesus, we know this to
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  be true. You are the Son of God. And so friends,
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  you see the purpose behind the miracle. Jesus
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  is not showing off. He is doing this so he would
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  be trusted and worshiped. Friends, God uses every
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  trial that we go through. So that we might be
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  like the disciples To better trust him to better
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  worship him to better prepare for the storms
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  ahead Is there a storm that you could possibly
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  face that God does not control? Think about that.
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  Is there a storm you could face that God does
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  not control? Is there a storm he cannot handle?
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  Of course not Jesus treads over these problems
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  with ease and he comes to you, and he comforts
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  you, and he saves you, and Jesus says to you,
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  Christian, trust me. Trust me no matter what
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  comes your way. Trust me, and I will take care
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  of you. Let's pray.