IN STORMS: WHO HAS THE WHEEL?

I wanted to follow up to my Sunday sermon “Walking on Water,” by breaking down the Word of God from Matthew 14:22 with a little more detail. 

1. The Word of God from Matthew 14:22-26

“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.”

💜In many regards, I believe like the disciples this season of life has put the entire planet on a boat in a storm. It seems like you can’t open a Newspaper or log into the internet anymore without reading about a new storm forming or brewing.  Yet, we need to continue to replace our fear with faith and know the Lord is in control and in the boat with us.  

Question: Where can you replace fear with faith in an area of your life? 

2. The Word of God from Matthew 14:28

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

💜There are people who want to focus on Peter's lack of faith, but in my humble opinion, he modeled incredible faith in just wanting to walk on water. Yes, he sank as he took his eyes off Jesus, but he went for it.  You can expect great things of God when we step out in faith in the name of Jesus, certainly Peter did that! As Moses did when he stepped off the bluff in faith to have God part the sea. 

Question: Where can you take that leap of faith in your own walk? 

3. The Word of God from Matthew 14:29

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

💜It's no wonder that God used Peter in such mighty ways even after his bouts of doubt. God knew Peter might have his moments of struggle, as we would, but at the end of the day Peter's faith and ours would persevere.  

Question: What set back in your own life turned into a comeback and major steppingstone of your faith?  Remember if He did it before He’ll do it again. The more we trust God, even in our moments of doubt, the more assignments He’ll give us to enlarge the Kingdom as did with Peter.  

4. The Word of God from Matthew 14:30

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

💜Remember, it’s not how long or perfect your prayers are, it’s the heart and trust of how you ask those matters. When Peter began to sink, he prayed the shortest prayer in the Bible, “Lord, save me!” If Peter had prayed longer that night to show off how knowledgeable and spiritually enlightened he was, he would have sunk before Jesus saved him. When we feel ourselves sinking, all you have to say is “Lord, save me. “ 

Question:  What do you want to ask the Lord for help with today?  Be direct and keep it simple.  He just wants you to ask! He’s not looking to be wowed by your words.  

5. The Word of God from Matthew 14:31

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

💜Peter’s problem was that he took his eyes off Jesus when his fear led him to focus on the big rolling waves come in. As I highlighted in the introduction, it’s so easy to take our eyes off Jesus and get caught up in the waves of the fear-provoking news cycles and the spreading of fear that gives us that sinking feeling. So, let’s change the channel and start filling our minds with God’s Word and less of man's words. 

Question:  Is there any room in your life to reduce your screen time and replace it with quiet time with God? 

6. The Word of God from Matthew 14:32-33 

“And when they came into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped Him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. “

💜Let us all take stock that our Lord and Savior has rescued all of us at one time in our life or, like me, many times.  He’s always been there, yet we need to relinquish the wheel to Him and allow Him to charter our boat.  The big question that is often asked is whether we need to hold or let go of the wheel of life? Let me answer that spiritual riddle by saying when I’ve held on to the wheel to tightly out of fear or not wanting to relinquish control to Jesus, I was often shipwrecked, marooned, and led to isolation and depression.  Thus, for me, I’ll gladly give the wheel to Jesus.  I like the saying “let go, let God. “

Question: Is there an area of your life that you could relinquish the wheel to God, perhaps in your marriage, work life, or how about a friendship with a friend or child? 

Have a blessed week and don’t forget Jesus is in the boat with all of us - give Him the wheel!

Pastor Rick