WALKING ON WATER

Matthew 14:22-32 (KJV)

And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.

And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 

And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

Jesus calmed the storms on the Sea of Gennesaret not once but twice.

• One time he was asleep in the boat, the other time he walked up to the boat
• One time as soon as the storm had ceased they were safe on the land, the other time as soon as he entered the ship the wind ceased
• One time Peter walked on the water, the other time he did not

Tonight’s message is called How to Walk on Water.

There are a number of different ways to view this event.

• Some people laud Peter’s faith in walking on water
• Others claim he should have stayed in the boat

I want to remind you that, whatever else you might think of Peter, he is the only man other than Jesus to have ever walked on water.

• I do not want to imply that you can literally walk on water and
• I for sure want the children in here to understand I do not want them to try to walk on water

However, there is a “how to” message in the text.

I see first of all,

I. A STEP OF OBEDIENCE

Matthew 14:28-29b

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship…

I see three “steps” in this portion of the Scripture: 

• Peter asked and 
• Jesus answered
• Peter obeyed

In my mind I see the first steps of the Christian experience

A. Peter asked

Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

It looks similar to me to asking to be saved.

Romans 10:13 (KJV)

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

As we will see in a bit, the picture of salvation isn’t really when Peter was sinking and cried “Lord, save me.”

The picture of salvation was when he asked Jesus to let him come unto Him.

Trusting Jesus Christ as Saviour is the most 

• Wonderful, 
• Exciting and 
• Easy 

thing a person can do in this life.

• It’s wonderful because our sins are forgiven
• It’s exciting because we begin a brand new life
• It’s easy because it is ours just for the asking

But that is not the end of the story – is it?

B. Jesus answered

And he said, Come

We ask to be saved and Jesus answers yes.

Romans 10:13 (KJV)

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

We don’t hope to be saved or wish we are saved or think we are saved.

We ask and He promises “Yes”.

Romans 10:13 (KJV)

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Then the Bible says,

C. Peter obeyed

And when Peter was come down out of the ship…

This reminds me of baptism – the first step of Christian obedience.

It’s pretty easy to ask to be saved.

Obeying the Lord and taking that first step of obedience after salvation can be another story.

It isn’t that tough to be baptized right now.

• The water will be warm
• The tank is controlled
• The audience is sympathetic

But there was a time when submitting to baptism might mean your life.

It was a tough step.

About the only thing tough about it today is that there are so many groups claiming the authority to baptize.

If you have gotten the wrong baptism, it can be tough to admit the mistake and obey a biblical baptism.

Of course you know that the Christian life doesn’t end with baptism does it?

Peter didn’t just:

• Step out
• Touch his toes in the water and
• Climb back in the boat.

He’s got to keep walking.

And so he takes,

II. A STEP OF FAITH

Vs 29

…he walked on the water to go to Jesus

And the closer he got to Jesus, the farther he got from the security of the boat and his friends.

That’s your Christian life.

The Lord never intended for you to spend your whole Christian life so near to the world that you could feel comfortable in it.

You are going to find that, if you want to live for the Lord, you will be in pretty slim company.

• Most of the people you know
• Most of the Christians you know

Aren’t even going to ask the Lord to let them come out of the boat.

• Most of them won’t accept Baptist baptism
• Most of those who are scripturally baptized won’t let go of the gunwales of the boat.

As you step closer to the Lord, the world and those who are in it will seem farther and farther away.

You will be less and less like them.

And the storms of the world will seem worse than they ever did on the boat.

Of course that boat was in a bad way too wasn’t it?

If Jesus didn’t calm the storm it was going to sink.

But nobody on the boat was jumping out. They saw it as their only hope of survival.

When I was an ironworker I worked on some very small steel in some very high places. 

• I would walk on steel six inches wide 140 feet in the air.
• I would walk on 1 ½ inches of steel 40 feet in the air

There is a weird thing that happens on the steel.

The fact is, anyone can balance on a six-inch piece of steel when it is on the ground. We did it in apprenticeship school to build confidence.

But then when you get that same six inches 10-20 feet up, it gets pretty small and scary.

However, once you have it more than 50 feet up, it looks bigger than anything below you and it is easier again.

Nobody inside that boat was jumping out because to them it looked safer than any other option.

We know that’s not true.

Jesus was their only hope of survival.

So Peter steps away from the boat, it can’t help him any more. Those inside it can’t help him any more.

And the waves of the sea began to look really bad.

Isn’t that what it’s like right now Christian?

The closer you get to the Lord, the worse shape this world looks like it is in!

I have told you when I was in college I had a teacher who said that it had gotten harder to pastor in the thirty years of his ministry and I questioned it.

How could the world have changed so much between 1950-1980 that it was harder to be a preacher in 1980 than 1950?

But now I have been in the ministry more than thirty years. It is a lot harder to pastor in 2016 than it was in 1984.

But as I wrote this message it occurred to me that maybe the world has gotten any worse.

Maybe I am just farther away from the boat than I used to be.

It got so bad for Peter out there that he was afraid and began to sink.

That brings us to Peter and

III. A STEP OF DEPENDENCE

Vs 30

…and beginning to sink, he cried saying, Lord, save me.

I already mentioned that his prayer of salvation, at least as far as I can see it, is more appropriately pictured when he asked to come to Jesus.

Peter did not need to be saved from his sin right here either 

• In the picture I am trying to paint or
• In his real life – he was already a believer

But he still needed protection from his surroundings, didn’t he?

• He still needed saving from the storm
• He still needed saving from his troubles
• He still needed to grow in faith
• He still needed to learn more of God’s Word
• He still needed to minister to other souls and
• He would one day need strength to endure his very own crucifixion

In John 13:5-10 (KJV) we have a passage I think is appropriate here,

After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. 

Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. 

Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. 

It was the custom in those days that, whenever you entered a home, you took off your shoes in the house.

• Because your shoes were like sandals so your feet were dirty and 
• Because they reclined in a way that they would be close to each other’s feet

It was also the custom of the day that you would wash your feet whenever you came inside.

Jesus began to do the unthinkable and wash, not only His own feet but everyone else’s.

When He came to Peter, Peter refused.

Then Jesus used a phrase that Peter knew should be taken in a spiritual sense, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me…”  

Peter’s loved the Lord and wanted his life to be completely surrendered to Jesus so he said, “Not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.”

Peter’s heart was right.

• He didn’t want to be a half-hearted Christian.
• He wanted to love the Lord with all his heart and all his soul and all his might.

Then Jesus taught the lesson I want to teach right now”

Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit…. 

“Peter, you are already clean. You are already saved. All you need is to deal with the daily dirt of life.”

Conclusion

Do you want to walk on water today?

It’s just three steps

Take a step of obedience

• It will be a different step for each of us:
• It might be the step of getting saved
• It might be the step baptism
• It might be the step of church membership

For some

• It might be a step of faithfulness
• It might be a step of daily Bible reading
• It might be a step of personal witnessing

I am not sure what your step of obedience might be. You just know that right now you are safely seated in the boat. In the world, in a place where Jesus doesn’t want you.

Then take a step of faith

And keep walking toward the Lord.

He doesn’t hang around close to the world.

Jesus endured the full force of the storm in order to save you.

He tasted death to get you out of the world.

He isn’t hanging around next to the world so you can feel close to Him while you enjoy your seat on the boat.

Take the step of dependence

Get so near to the Lord, live so much by faith, that only Christ can keep you safe where you are at.