Okay folks get ready for one of those 30min posts. What’s that you say? Well if you plan to read this to the end expect to spend the next 30 minutes…
You have been forewarned.
Just thought I’d write a little Bible study. So you all go ahead and take out your Bibles now. You don’t have one? Well read on anyway.
And so we begin, set that timer for thirty minutes…and….GO!
Matthew
14:22-32
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22
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And
straightway he constrained the disciples to enter into the boat,
and to go before him unto the other side, till he should send the
multitudes away.
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23
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And
after he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the
mountain apart to pray: and when even was come, he was there
alone.
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24
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But
the boat was now in the midst of the sea, distressed by the waves;
for the wind was contrary.
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25
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And
in the fourth watch of the night he came unto them,
walking upon
the sea.
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26
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And
when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled,
saying, It is a ghost; and they cried out for fear.
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27
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But
straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying Be of good cheer; it is
I;
be not afraid.
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28
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And
Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come
unto thee upon the waters.
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29
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And
he said, Come. And Peter went down from the boat, and walked
upon the waters to come to Jesus.
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30
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But
when he saw the wind, he was afraid; and beginning to sink,
he
cried out, saying, Lord, save me.
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31
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And
immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and took hold of him,
and saith unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou
doubt?
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32
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And
when they were gone up into the boat, the wind ceased.
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********************************
Right
after Jesus healed the sick among the multitudes, (v.14) and fed 5000
men not counting the women and children who were also fed (vv.
15-21). He commanded the disciples to go on a boat and cross the Sea
of Galilee while he dismissed the multitude and eventually went up
the mountain to pray. (vv. 22-23).
Why
would he tell the disciples to go ahead of Him?
Literally
he was sending the disciples out alone in a boat, giving them the
task to row it to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. A sea that later on becomes
difficult to cross due to the winds and waves growing in strength. (v. 24)
(v.24
– the boat was buffeted by waves going against it. {NIV})
(Mark
6:48 – the disciples were straining at the oars because the wind
was against them)
They
were working really hard to cross the stormy Sea of Galilee. They
were probably rowing for their lives.
Plainly
reading the text, it is Jesus sending his people to cross a stormy
sea alone. I’d like to propose it as being analogous to the church
being sent into a world full of opposition to what the Lord commands
and teaches – like temptation to sin, the general disbelief in
Christ’s teachings, and the work of the enemy – to struggle, to face it
seemingly alone and apart from His protection.
Many
times, especially in the midst of trouble and worry, that’s how we in
our small faith perceive it…”Where is God. Has he left us to
fend for ourselves?”. With our tiny faith we sometimes fall
temporarily into the trap of thinking that things are happening
around us apart from God’s will. (This would also depend on how much
a person trusts in God. The lesser a person trusts in God the lesser
a person would consider the significance of the impact of God’s will
in his/her life.)
I
feel that a Christian struggling in this day and age should be the
norm. It is better to be struggling against things that prevent us
from following the Lord’s will rather than just surrendering to the
tide and going with the flow. Catch my drift? “Living a Christian
life is tough. All my friends are enjoying themselves with all the
nightclubbing and binge-drinking till the wee hours…”
Here
the disciples were struggling against the stormy sea to do as their
Lord bid them, and that was to cross the sea to the other side.
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25
|
And
in the fourth watch of the night he came unto them,
walking upon
the sea.
|
-
25
– the fourth watch of the night, very early morning (3am-6am). A few
hours after the disciples had set off, we find them somewhere in the
middle of the sea. A mere 3 to 3 1/2 miles, based on Jn. 6:19, from
where they had started. You can just imagine how bad the storm was.
Here we also have Jesus walking out to them.
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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.
|
-
26
– They were terrified and cried out in fear because they thought
they were seeing a ghost. To put that into perspective, the Jews had
a superstitious belief that the appearance of spirits at night
brought disaster. They thought they saw a sea spirit… “Oh my,
what a night!” Probably with resignation that’s what some of the
disciples were thinking. They were in the middle of the sea, still
halfway to go, were tired and sleepy from all the effort, and now
here comes a sign of impending disaster! Most of all, Jesus wasn’t
with them. They were probably recalling the time when Jesus calmed
the sea in a similar situation (Matt. 8:23-27) only a few months
before. But this time he wasn’t with them. “Are we going to sink?”
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27
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But
straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying Be of good cheer; it is
I;
be not afraid.
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-
27
– Immediately Jesus, understanding why they were in that state,
calms their fears and reassures them that he is not some ghost
bringing with it even more danger.
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28
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And
Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come
unto thee upon the waters.
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-
28
– Here we see the headstrong, impulsive Peter, forsaking all
logic, being a man moved by emotion and known for making spur of the
moment decisions, ask Jesus to allow him to do the impossible. I
would characterize Peter as both childish and childlike. Childish in
his impulsiveness, yet childlike in his trust in Jesus. He was so
certain in his heart at that very moment that if it indeed was
Jesus, he can do anything. There was a condition, Peter wasn’t just
going to jump into the water. He said, “Lord, if it is you…”
There was a childlike dependence on the Lord for his safety and that
his God was capable of anything.
Whenever
it comes to matters of the spirit and God asking us to do His will,
that’s the kind of trust He wants from us. We have to lay aside our
learnedness, our college, masteral, or doctorate degrees (yep sometimes even our high school diplomas), all logic
and with utter dependence upon God take that leap into the sea, into
uncertainty.
Peter
wanted confirmation:
-
First,
that it was indeed the Lord
-
Second,
if it was His will that he leave the boat (the “comfort zone” he
was in along with the others)
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29
|
And
he said, Come. And Peter went down from the boat, and walked
upon
the waters to come to Jesus.
|
-
29
– The Lord answers Peter. And commands him to come and do the
impossible.
|
30
|
But
when he saw the wind, he was afraid; and beginning to sink,
he
cried out, saying, Lord, save me.
|
-
30
– Here we see a problem. When Peter left that boat behind, he was
using his spiritual eyes focused entirely on Christ and doing what
he knew the Lord wanted him to do. But the moment he started using
his physical eyes was when things started to fall apart. He doubted.
He started to doubt because he started to see the big waves and the
strong wind. His eyes left the Lord Jesus. He allowed his unbelief
(in how it should be physically impossible for him to do what he was
doing) to divert his attention from the task at hand and allow
uncertainty and doubt to enter his mind. At that moment he started
to doubt the Lord’s ability to safely bring him to His side and
finish what what he had set out to do. He allowed human tendencies
to get the better of him. And another thing to take note of was he
was almost there. He was just about to reach Jesus when he started
to sink.
Sometimes
we come to a point in church life when we start being complacent
about how things are going. We get so used to doing “church” that
we start relying on our own abilities. We start to relax and say,
“We’ve accomplished so much…” This is right about when our
childlike faith becomes a supposedly mature faith, where we assume we
know everything there is to know about God, and stop hungering and
thirsting for more of Him. It is also at this point that doubts start
to creep in and we slowly lose our focus on Christ and start focusing
on human nature, no longer concentrating on our perfect God but
allowing ourselves to consider our fellowmen’s imperfections.
I
believe that when Jesus’ followers started meeting regularly millenia
ago, they were faced with a God-sized task. To regularly fellowship
and eventually grow and be a light in their community. A light that
would draw people to God. A fellowship that would – with total
dependence upon God – go into the world and preach the Good news of
Christ’s love. Those who became the early church were only following
God’s command. And I’m sure they had a childlike faith that if it was
indeed His will, then it was as good as done. As the years went on,
Christ’s disciples faced trials and strong opposing currents making
it difficult to move in the direction it was supposed to go. Newer
generations of members and leaders set out to do the task that was
passed down to them. And Satan has been stalking them every step of
the way.
I’m
sure many of us know that God allows storms to arise once in a while
in our Christian walk to test our faith. We go through a refining
process that is only for our own good (Rom. 8:28 - “And we know
that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who
have been called according to His purpose.”) We just need to be
reminded and to remind others in the midst of all this to do
what Peter did in the last part of verse 30…
He
cried out… Three simple words… Basically, he uttered a prayer; in a
moment of desperation, I might add. Peter, being who he is, didn’t
fully prepare himself for what he eventually found himself in. It
would probably have been better if he’d asked Christ to protect him
before he’d set out. But he didn’t. Even so, though Peter was late in
praying, he wasn’t TOO late. Many times we only go to God as a last
resort. Being full of ourselves we set out to do things "for His glory". Yes it may
clearly be God’s will, but we do it without fervency in prayer. We
eventually find ourselves in a place where we become uncomfortable
and even fearful. Many aspects of our lives are lived with God
playing a limited, second-string role. And it is only when we get
ourselves into a difficult situation that we go and ask help from
God.
|
31
|
And
immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and took hold of him,
and saith unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou
doubt?
|
-
31
– But even then, God will respond. As He immediately did to
Peter’s call. Without delay he gave his hand to Peter. This speaks
of God’s mercy, patience, understanding, and promptness in
responding to a desperate plea.
Paul
writes in I Timothy 1:15,16 - “Here is a trustworthy saying that
deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was
shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might
display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would
believe on him and receive eternal life.”
In
that moment of desperation, Peter was being completely honest about
his condition:
We
should also take note of how simple and short Peter’s prayer was.
Three simple words, yet words spoken with conviction and without
doubt. What I mean is our prayers don’t have to be uttered with
perfect diction, or impeccable grammar. Neither is God concerned
about the length of our prayers. What gets His attention is the
strength by which they were uttered. I don’t mean you have to scream
till you choke from exasperation… A prayer is strong if it is said
with total belief that God will grant it according to His will. A
prayer becomes weak if it is riddled with doubt, and/or spoken in
pride not in a state of need, helplessness and abject humility.
When
asked to pray in public, many of us shy away, “Not me, I wouldn’t
know what to say…” That doesn’t have to be the case when all the
Lord wants to hear is a prayer that is simple, straight to the point,
and sincere. Of course a problem arises if we can’t find the
sincerity within us…
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32
|
And
when they were gone up into the boat, the wind ceased.
|
-
32
– Eventually Jesus and Peter join the others on the boat and the
storm ceases. Most probably Jesus once again uses His power over the
elements to calm the storm. Which at the same time calms the
disciples and relieves them of their fear and weariness. Now that
Jesus is with them, it is smooth sailing all the way. In John 6:21
it even says they immediately reached the shore where they were
headed, a major constrast to the hours the disciples struggled to
get barely half-way.
In
summary:
-
Just
like the disciples sent to cross the sea and finding themselves in a
storm, God will send us into trials every now and then, as we do His
will to:
- test
our faith
- keep
us from complacency
- for
our own good to prepare us for our future not only on this earth
but also
for our future in eternity with Him.
-
Just
as Peter left the safety of the boat, we need to be in a state of
utter dependence upon Christ, without any doubt that what we are
about to do is in accordance with His will. And be ready to take
that leap of faith and do things we wouldn’t believe possible when
He calls on us to come and do what He reveals as His will. We need
to learn to trust Him in the midst of uncertainty. Or we may fail to
accomplish the goals we set out to do as individuals and
as part of His body of believers.
-
Unlike
Peter who started to sink, we must learn to keep our focus on
Christ, trusting that He will see us through. 2 Cor. 5:7 - “For we
live by faith, not by sight.” When we start to lose our focus on
Christ, and start looking at circumstances through our physical eyes
(i.e. with our limited perception), our attention will start going
elsewhere. We will start focusing on people’s imperfections,
nitpicking on non-essentials, and slowing any progress in God’s
ministry.
-
Just
as Peter called upon Christ as his faith failed him and he almost
drowned, as long as we live in this earth, it is never too late to
call upon God for help. He will not delay in extending His helping
hand. He is only a simple, earnest prayer away. A prayer spoken in
utter dependence and without doubt in God’s ability to answer it.
.
.
Okay stop the clock!!!
Have a nice day folks!
