Gtcotr/ssv050320
Sometimes
we must sound like a broken record to God.
Almost
without exception, people throughout history have felt inadequate to accomplish
the one thing God has asked of them. I/we/you aren’t able!
·
Gideon
- when asked to lead God’s army
·
Esther
- when she was chosen to stand before the king
·
Moses
- when called to deliver his people from slavery
·
The
10 Spies – “we are grasshoppers in our own sight” before them
·
Isaiah
– self identified as a man of unclean lips – Isaiah 6:5
·
Jeremiah
– felt he too young and immature – Jeremiah 1:5-7
·
Elijah
– who slew 450 prophets of Baal then ran from a woman
·
Ezra
– too embarrassed to ask for help; he began the journey in fear
·
Jonah
– he hated what God wanted him to do - He just wanted to die
·
The
widow of Zarephath in 1 Kings 17 in Elijah’s day – I have nothing
·
The
widow with two sons in 2 Kings 4 in Elisha’s day – I have nothing
·
John
the Baptist at the baptism of Jesus – I am not worthy
·
The
Apostle Peter at the judgment of Jesus – I never knew Him
·
The
Apostle Paul in Romans 7 feeling the wretched man within
·
All
the disciples for that matter … in almost everything Jesus asked
Not
one of these were right and nothing could be farther from the truth. They were
well able … We must sound like a Broken Record to
God.
Our
text for today comes from Matthew 14. Near Bethsaida in Galilee …
·
Feeding
the multitude with 5 poor-man biscuits and 2 dried fish.
o Barley was 1/3 the
cost of wheat and often used as animal feed
o John 6 says the fish
were small … what are they among 5000?
·
The
disciples sent by Jesus on a late evening boat ride to the other side of the
lake … about 3 or 4 miles at that point.
o Jesus sent the
multitudes home their bellies full of fish and bread.
o Jesus wanted to be
left alone so He could go up to the top of the hill to pray.
o A storm comes up on
the lake and the disciples work hard for 9 hours, but are getting nowhere.
·
About
3 o’clock in the morning Jesus finished praying and came towards the disciple’s
boat walking on the water.
·
The
disciples were tired and afraid. They thought He was a ghost.
o Jesus said, “Do not be
afraid … it is Me!”
Matthew 14 NKJV
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.”
I
have stood on that shoreline looking out into the Lake of Gennesaret many
times, and have even taken boats across the lake at that point and pondered
what the disciples saw, felt and learned from their experienced that night.
I’ve wondered if any of them made fun of Peter for being all wet while they
stayed in the boat and kept dry.
My
overwhelming sense of that moment when Peter got back into that boat and the
wind ceased is not on the fact that Peter got wet, but on the fact that he
walked on water. He walked on water going to meet Jesus and he walked on water
coming back.
Peter
just needed a little help with his faith right in the middle of the storm. Thankfully,
he learned, and so can we, that Jesus stands ready to reach out His hand and
save us in our midnight hour.
Here
are a few things I have learned meditating on this passage through the years. I
think these truths will not only help you in these difficult days we are
facing, but also help all those who are watching and listening to you.
1.
God is Good …
2.
Jesus Saves …
3.
Faith Works!
You
see:
·
Time is the envelope into which God has placed all of His promises.
o
Sometimes
it takes time to see and believe that God is good and that He has a plan, even
in times of hunger or storm.
o
Time
is an envelope given to us by God containing all the wonderful things He has
promised.
·
God teaches us that nothing takes the place of being prepared!
o
We
will never catch God unprepared for what we have done, or what we are about to
do.
o
Even
though the storm was raging before Peter ever left the boat, Peter was yet not
mentally prepared to face it with faith.
o Peter got
his eyes off Jesus and focused on the storm …
o
Jesus
asked Peter, “Why did you doubt (have second thoughts)?” Because he was not
prepared … Jesus was.
o
Jesus
prepared Himself for everything in prayer …
·
Every mortal blessing of God is temporary.
o All the people who are
those miracle-made biscuits and fishsticks got hungry again later.
o Eternity has its own
set of rewards.
o Your life on earth is
not the measure of God’s will for mankind. Our experiences are not the measure
of God’s will.
o Without God’s
intervention, life would be hell!
But…
today, and every day, I am going to continually remind myself that:
1.
God is good
2.
Jesus saves
3.
Faith works
And
I am going to keep myself prayed up and my eyes on Jesus!
Let’s
not sound like a broken record to God. Come on, we can do this!!!
