Mat 14:24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea,
tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
The setting: the disciples had just buried John the
Baptist. He had cried out against what
was wrong and in the process of time was killed. Jesus went into a desert place after that to
pray.
There will be times in each of our lives when as our
example, (Jesus found a place without interruption to get alone with God), we
need to get alone with God.
He had prayed and a great multitude followed Him. When Jesus saw the people, He was moved with
compassion. It is wonderful to know a
heavenly father that is ready to meet the needs of all mankind: spiritual,
emotional, mental, and physical. God has
a wonderful plan.
Jesus was moved with compassion and healed the sick.
Jesus felt that it was necessary then to send the multitude
away. Before He did this He asked the
disciples what food they had so they could feed them. They were far from town and there were 5000
men plus women and children.
There was a small lunch there so Jesus took it and gave
thanks and blessed it. God multiplied it
so not only did it feed everyone but there was food left over to be picked up.
Jesus met the needs there.
After He met the needs, the disciple went to a ship, then into the sea
and Jesus stayed apart and prayed a while.
After He prayed He went down and saw the ship being tossed with many
waves.
The wind was contrary.
That is how life is sometimes.
The boat can be really rocking because of spiritual battles. Sometimes there are winds of doctrine blowing
all sorts of ways. Sometimes the wind of
worldliness would beat upon our boat.
When Jesus saw the conditions He decided that there would be
a miracle. He began to walk upon the
water.
Perhaps you have thought that the day of miracles is
over. Maybe you have never seen a
miracle or never seen an angel. I am
convinced that the day or miracles is not over.
Jesus decided a miracle was needed. Jesus began to go to them, walking on the
water. The disciples saw Jesus and were
troubled.
Until we know who Jesus is sometimes his appearing causes
people to be troubled, “Is this a spirit?
What is happening here?”
Mat 14:27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them,
saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
Peter than asked if he could come to Him.
Mat 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it
be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
Mat 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.
Mat 14:30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was
afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Mat 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?
As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus and was answering
the call of Jesus, he walked upon the water.
When he lost his focus and began to look at the storm about him then he
began to sink. He cried out, “Lord save
me.”
Immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand: He is able to stretch forth His hand however
far it needs to go to reach to a soul that is crying out to Him.
In our minds sometimes we feel, “Could God reach to
me?” Yes He could.
You might be concerned for someone that is in a difficult
situation: in the miry clay of sin,
confused in their mind. If they will get
a cry out to God, this scripture tells us that immediately Jesus stretched out
His hand.
Jesus said, “Oh thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou
doubt.”
Mat 14:32 And when they were come into the ship, the
wind ceased.
Mat 14:33 Then they that were in the ship came and
worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
God knows everything that is happening in 2016. We may look at conditions around us and there
are things to be concerned about. God
knows and is personally interested in each and every one of us.
God knows where you are and knows what is happening. God is never too busy for a child or a young
person. It doesn’t matter whether you
are old or you are young. God has time
for you. Right now Jesus is seated at
the right hand of the Father making intercession for His children.
God knows the storms.
Times can be stormy, but God knows your storm. Maybe you are facing a new school, a new job,
maybe the storm is totally overwhelming, “What is going to happen here or
there?” God knows your storm.
He is a God that visits every individual and every family in
the storm.
In a storm, whether of affliction, disappointment,
rejection, or being hurt; when an individual gets hurt if they don’t get it
taken care of, it works toward bitterness.
When we are in a spiritual storm, the enemy presents unbelief. That is what happened to Peter.
Unbelief is an old topic.
It wars against the saved and the unsaved. “God wouldn’t save me. God wouldn’t help me. I wouldn’t be able to live that way.”
Maybe you are battling affliction: “Will I be healed or will
this take me?” Jesus suffered the
stripes so that we could be healed.
Another thing that accompanies the storm is becoming
unfocused, “Keep your eyes upon Jesus.” When
the storms of life are raging: There will be times when we realize, “We need
God so bad.”
My family is from West Virginia, I was not born there. I read of an account of a terrible flood in
that state. Two brothers were playing
and a creek turned into a river and swept a four year old away. There is terrible heartache when a child is
lost that doesn’t just go away after the service.
We serve a God that reaches forth His hand. You widows may wish that you could lean upon
someone as you would have your husband.
You get a cry out to God. Sometimes
we feel, “There is no one to help me.” When
you cry out to God He will stretch forth His hand.
When a situation exists in a family, “God if we don’t have a
miracle we will have a tragedy.” You get
a heart cry out to God and have your eyes upon Him and refuse to lose your
focus with what is happening around you.
Time and time again He has reached forth His hand. We serve a God that has never failed.
There is fear. It is
a fear that brings torment: a cold sweat and a heartbeat that says, “I am so
fearful.”
Jesus knew about the storm.
He knew about the disciples. He
chose to be alone praying not only for the multitudes but also for those that
were in the ship.
Sometimes you wonder, “Will this destroy me?” There is nothing sadder than when a storm
causes a soul to lose their focus.
Storms are not designed to destroy but to increase faith. David said, “The lord brought me to a large
place.”
Humanity has a tendency to close themselves in and become a
sealed house trying to protect themselves when the storm comes. Jesus know all about the storm. He had been
praying. He came and looked at the storm
and realized, “They need a miracle.”
He could have done many things but He chose to walk upon
water. He began to walk toward the
ship. Jesus is still ready to do the
miracle that is needed. With the ship,
the storm, and the disciples that were troubled, Jesus didn’t have the thought,
“Let the storm destroy them.” He spoke,
“Be of good cheer.”
When you are in the noisy storm. Sometimes the storm is in your mind, it is
not uncommon for your mind to create a storm for you. As long as you let your mind think about the
storm then it will be troubled. Think,
“Jesus is going to tell me something in the storm.” “Be of good cheer; it is I.”
The reason that I believe that He chose these words: I is a
pronoun. The Old Testament teaching that
went through the old and into the New Testament, “I am everything that you
need.”
If you need a storm calmed this morning then be of good
cheer.
I made a prayer request recently that I really needed
wisdom. Every one responded that they
did too. We prayed as a congregation
that God would give us the wisdom that we needed.
When you feel that you are walking a tight rope in the storm,
the winds are blowing every which direction and everything around you is moving
around, when you cry out to God he says, “It is I. I am here to supply whatever your need is.”
He will say, “Be not afraid.” The voice of Jesus was heard in the storm and
Peter said, “Can I come?” Jesus
answered, “Come.”
In our storm Jesus comes to speak to us. We know the account that Peter walked upon
the water until he saw the storm and then he began to sink. If we focus upon the storm then we will begin
to sink. When we cry, “Save me
Lord.” Jesus stretches forth His
hand.
His hand is not shortened.
It can reach right to where you and I are this morning. He reached forth His hand and saved him.
We have had the thought come to our mind, “Am I going to be
able to stay true to God in this storm?
My strength is ebbing away, Will I drown in the storm?” Get a cry out to Jesus.
Jesus asked the question, “Why did you doubt?”
The storms will come to all.
The lessons are valuable to our souls.
You say, “I had so hoped…”
We all understand that. Most of
us would rather use all our energies in working for God: taking care of each
other, supplying the needs of one another, meeting new people, and doing the
best to help the neighbors in our community.
Sometimes in the middle of that a terrible storm comes.
Sometimes it is the result of one phone call. We are in the valley of decision and there
the storm moves in and our mind doesn’t stop just because the storm has moved
in. We wonder, “What will be the result
of this?” The only thing to do is to get
our eyes upon Jesus.
The storm is not designed to destroy but to give faith in
God.
Jesus was right there with them in the ship. We enjoy the times when we come to the house
of God and it seems as the song says, “It is Jesus and me.”
We sit to have our devotions, and as we look to God and begin
to read the scripture, we feel that Jesus is right there in our presence.
The ship moved on.
Wherever your storm is God has not designed that you be
there forever. It is designed that the
storm will come to an end. Jesus went
with them to the other side of the sea.
Jesus continued his earthly ministry.
You might be in a storm.
This message is not to find fault.
The thought is, “God is going to bring the storm to an end.” He has a way of moving and bringing it to an
end, the lesson learned, faith increased, and you go forward for Him.
Jesus had sent his disciples to the sea. He had fed the multitude and they had helped. Jesus wanted to send the multitude away
himself. He wanted to be right there
with them. We appreciate all our
helpers. But there is something about
the shepherd wanting to check on the sheep.
Jesus sent the disciples and was getting ready to send the multitude
away. The disciples went and got into a
storm.
In the midst of the storm look for a miracle. In the middle of the storm Jesus said, “Be of
good cheer.”
Have you felt, “We need divine intervention from God?” He will be there. He will say, “Be of good cheer. It is I.
I am able to supply every need. I
will travel with you for a while; I will increase your faith.”
They said, “Truly this is the Son of God. They went to the other side of the sea and
Jesus continued on.
If you have been in the storm and God has spoken to you, “Be
of good cheer it is I.” Pray.
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