Walking on Water – 5

Walking on Water – 5

Subject – Courage

by Rick Welborne

Matthew 14:22‑33 (NKJV) 

22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 

23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 

24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 

25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 

26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 

27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." 

28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 

29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 

30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" 

31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 

32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 

33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." 

–Hopefully you have noticed that I am very much drawn to John Ortberg’s books.

–He tells the story of his grand-mother passing away...grandfather says to John’s mother come and see if you want any of her junk out of the attic...especially this old set of dishes.

Ortberg: When she opened the box she found some of the most exquisite china she had ever seen. Each plate had been individually painted with a pattern of forget-me-nots. The cups were inlaid mother of pearl. The dishes and cups were rimmed with gold. The plates had been handcrafted in a Bavarian factory that was destroyed during the Second World War. So they were literally irreplaceable.

–Ortberg’s mother had been in the family 20 years and had never seen these dishes. Her grandmother was given these dishes over a period of years such as confirmation or b-days

–Why had no one seen these dishes? Because these dishes were so valuable every time when one would be received it would be carefully wrapped in tissue, put in a box and stored away for a special occasion.

--No occasion that special ever happened. Ortberg’s grandmother went to her grave with one of the greatest gifts she had ever received unopened.

–Ortberg’s mom was so proud of them she used them every chance she had.  The dishes finally made it out of the box, stay with me, we are still talking about getting out of the boat.

1. There are two ways a recipient can respond to getting a gift or being given an opportunity to get out of the boat.  

–First, the gift or opportunity is so valuable or risky that we cannot chance taking it out of the box or getting out of the boat.

–These people realize that if the gift is taken out of the box or if the person gets out of the boat that things may not go well.

–Second, the gift or the opportunity is of such value that it must be risked...Do we believe God or His challenge to us are valuable enough for us to take a chance?

–These people understand that if the gift is not taken out of the box or if we do not get out of the boat...the gift or opportunity may never accomplish what it was intended.

–To leave the gift in the box is to thwart the desire of the giver.  There is no tragedy like the tragedy of the unopened gift. Of course I think about the baptism of Holy Spirit power.

--How sad is it to receive such a wonderfully divine gift and be given supernatural power that is never used for God and for His Kingdom. 

Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
⁸  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 

--How many of us have watched movies with make believe super heroes and wished we had some kind of power that could be used for the good of all mankind.

--Tragically we have been the opportunity to be filled with God Himself through the power of Holy Spirit and yet, we say…no thanks or just ignore His presence in our lives. 

–For us to stay in the boat thwarts the desire of the One on the water...there is no tragedy like a missed encounter with Jesus on the water.

2. Along with the gift you have been given or the opportunity you have to get out of the boat there will always be a choice.

–The choice you will have is whether or not you will open the gift and use what was given to you or will you stay in the boat or walk on water.

–Does your life follow the pattern of the risks are too great to take or I have to take this risk because this opportunity may not come my way again? This may be a set up by Jesus.

–Obviously in our text...Peter choose the second way.

Dale Brunner: It is important to see that Peter did not ask Jesus for a promise... ‘Lord, promise me I won’t sink’—But specifically for a command... ‘Lord, if it is You, command me.’ Peter didn’t ask for a guarantee, just an opportunity.

–The disciples who stayed in the boat were like grandmother...followers of the safe way. They did not want to risk brokenness or failure. They treasured safety over growth.

–You see the Lord was passing them by not trying to bypass them...In reality He was inviting all of them to have the courage to get out of the boat.

–We have come to believe that the only followers of Christ who would have this kind of courage were extreme believers...Missionaries and evangelist. 

–We believe our mandate is to not come out of the boat, but to manage the boat, and send out the extremist with our love and support...the sidelines are ok with us.

–The eleven did not want Jesus to pass them by but to pass them up...Lord, give me a safe, comfortable life with you...not a mission, a mandate, or a command but a promise.

–At a risk of sounding controversial let me throw a couple of names at you...some athletes. Orlando Cruz and Megan Rapinoe.

–Either of these sound familiar to you?  Both of them are known for their courage and athleticism...courage to do what?  Get out of a boat of sorts:

Orlando Cruz, The first openly gay professional boxer:

"I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man. I don'’t want to hide any of my identities." 

Megan Rapinoe, U.S. soccer player and Olympic Gold Medalist:

"I'm a pretty open book, so not being out publicly felt inauthentic. It's less about people having to know about your sexuality than standing up for what's right and fighting for equality. There are not many athletes who are out. And I think it's something that's important. It felt important to me."

–I guess we can say that these two had courage...both of them got out of their boats I suppose...by Megan’s quote I suppose they did what they thought was right.

–How many of you know that it is not what we think...it is thus says the Lord:

Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV) 

25 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. 

–Here in lies the problem: To respond to Megan’s comment (Quote)...It is not how we feel, it is not standing up for what we feel is right, it is about equality before God.

–You see...sin can feel good, sex out of wedlock can feel good, drugs and alcohol can feel good...It can actually feel so good we can convince ourselves it is right but:

Proverbs 21:2 (NKJV) 

2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts. 

–Let me give these athletes credit...they were brave enough to get out of their boats and to make a bold stand...that does not make it right!  So what is the point?

3. We have been given an opportunity to receive at gift from God and to get out of the boat and walk on water.

--Will we have the courage to do it? Will we receive all God has for us or just sit quietly in the boat?

–If people can stand up so strongly for something that is totally contrary to the Word of God why can’t we stand up and walk out of the boat for something righteous.

James 4:17 (NKJV)
¹⁷  Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

–Every day we are bombarded with so many who are coming out...not just homosexuals but adulterers and every vile sin you can think of. The flaunt it in our faces. 

–We even entertain ourselves with the garbage that is contrary to God’s precepts and justify it as though we need time to unwind.

–Listen to your pastor, sin is anything that separates us from God and the soul who sins will surely die.  Eze.18:20

–Jesus is coming soon...He is...and He is not coming back for a hunkered down church hiding in the boat, riding the waves, and enduring the storm.

Ephesians 5:25‑27 (NKJV) 

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 

26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 

27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 

–Can I cry out to you from the bottom of my heart...get out of your boat...get out of your mess...get out of your sin...step out into the water and walk to Jesus.

–So many are coming out these days and are so proud of it...It is time for Christians to have a coming out party...coming out of the boat. Come out of their fear and timidity. 

–God, give us courage to stand...courage to get out of the boat...courage to walk on water. David said to Solomon...Get out of the boat:

1 Chronicles 28:20 (NKJV) 

20 And David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God‑‑my God‑‑will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. 

–If we are not living the life God intended us to live we have what Gregg Levoy calls the common cold of the soul.

Gregg Levoy: The Common Cold of the Soul

To sinful patterns of behavior that never get confronted and changed,

Abilities and gifts that never get cultivated and deployed—

Until weeks become months and months become years,

and one day you are looking back on a life of deep gut-wrenching honest conversations you never had;

Great bold prayers you never prayed...exhilarating risk you never took,

Sacrificial gifts you never offered...Lives you never touched.

And you are sitting in a recliner with a shriveled soul and forgotten dreams,

And you realize there was a world of desperate need,

And a great God calling you to be part of something bigger than yourself—

You see the person you could have become but did not;

You never followed your calling...You never got out of the boat