This morning, we continue our series, “The Miracles of Jesus.”
Before we get into the miracle, let’s look at the foundational scripture I will share be sharing with you all year.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. I pray you get refreshed and restored as we study each miracle.
This miracle is covered by Matthew, Mark, and John ((Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52, John 6:15-21).
We will look at Matthew 14.
(Matthew 14:22-32 NIV)
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.
23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,
24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.
26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.
33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. The setting of Jesus and Peter walking on water.
Jesus fed the 5,000 with two fish and five loaves after a long day of ministry. When the crowd was gone, Jesus directed His disciples to go ahead of Him to the other side of the lake. After He said goodbye to the people and His team, Jesus went up into the mountainside by Himself to pray. His cousin, John the Baptist, had recently been killed. Jesus was so busy performing ministry that He had not taken the time to process John’s death. Jesus needed some ‘alone time’ with the Father. We all need that from time to time.
After many hours alone with the Father, Jesus decided to catch up with His team. By this time, the boat was already a long way from shore. John’s account (John 6:19) tells us they were about 3-4 miles away. So there Jesus was. He was at the seashore, His disciples were gone, the crowds were gone, and the boat was gone. The miracle we are covering today did not occur because Jesus was trying to “show off”. Jesus walked on water because He did not have a boat. A miracle is a supersession of natural laws; or laws natural to this world. Here, Jesus superseded gravity. He walked on water in order to catch up to His disciples.
By the time Jesus caught up with His team, they were exhausted from the day and from dealing with the wind and waves. They had dealt with a storm and it was the fourth watch of the night (between 3am and 6am). I don’t care who you are and what you have done the previous day. Most humans shut down between 3am and 6am, and the disciples were in the middle of a body of water, because Jesus told them to be there. They were doing the Lord’s will, and they still faced a storm. And to make a bad situation worse, Jesus was not with them.
It was at this point that Jesus approached the boat, walking on water. Their initial thought was that Jesus was a ghost, and they were scared. Jesus sensed their fear and said, “Don’t worry! It’s me! Don’t be afraid.” Peter replied, “Lord, if that is really you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus responded with just one word, “Come!” This was Peter’s authorization to actually take part in what Jesus was doing. Jesus was inviting Peter into the supernatural. With that, Peter did what no human (other than Jesus) had ever, or has since ever, done. Peter superseded the limits of this world. He bypassed natural laws. Peter used his faith to tap into God’s grace and he was no longer limited to his humanity. Jesus released a Word, the work contained God’s grace, and Peter provided the faith. As a result, while we say Peter walked on water, the truth is he walked on the WORD Jesus spoke.
Now let’s get into things we can learn from this miracle.
2. We all need alone time with God.
Jesus maintained a ministry schedule. So when He received word of John’s death, He needed some alone time with the Father to process it. While one of our goals as believers is to allow God’s divinity to flow through our humanity, we are still human.
— While it is true that every Born-Again believer can be a human conduit of the divine (because we are walking around with God on the inside of us), it is also true that we must deal with the realities of our humanity.
— Jesus was all God, but He was also all man. Jesus put His human pain on hold so He could perform ministry. But once the crowds were gone, He needed alone time with the Father, in prayer, to process the pain of John’s death.
— No matter who you are, and no matter how much you allow God to use you, you still have a human side, and your humanity has to process things in a way that ministers to you. This is why your alone time with the Father is so critical.
— Jesus prayed for hours. I am not saying that you need to pray for hours, but you do need to prioritize alone time with God so that you can be healthy (inside and out), and so you can make the most of 2023.
3. Being in a storm is not an immediate indication that you are outside of God’s will.
— Bad things happen to good people, and sometimes believers think that if something bad happened that you must have done something wrong. That’s what Job’s friends thought. The truth is, you don’t have to do anything wrong to deal with difficult situations. Jesus made it plain. He said, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). The Bible also says, “All live godly shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim 3:12).
— The disciples were doing exactly what Jesus told them to do, and they still faced a storm.
— Sometimes, you face a storm in the center of God’s will. But like the disciples, don’t stop; keep pressing through the storm. This, too, shall pass.
4. Sometimes, you don’t know why you are facing what you are facing.
— The disciples were without Jesus. But not because they did something wrong. The disciples were without Jesus because Jesus was going through something.
— Jesus was dealing with the death of His cousin. Jesus needed alone time with the Father. This is why Jesus sent them away and it is why they were out there, by themselves, without Him.
— My point is that WE are not the center of the universe. When something happens, and we ask God questions like, “Why God?”, “Why is this taking so long?”, “Why are You not moving for me?”, “Why have you allowed this to happen to me”, etc., we must remember that the world does not revolve around us. The disciples were not the center of attention that night. Jesus’s cousin had just been killed. Jesus needed time with the Father, and He needed them to go on ahead of Him. If, while they were battling the storm, they thought, “Why is this happening to us?”, the answer would have been, “It’s not about you.”
— Sometimes, we just need to be reminded that there is a God, and WE are not Him. Things will happen in the fullness of God’s timing, but He does not need to give us an explanation as to why things happened the way they happened.
— God will reveal Himself, but He does not need to explain Himself.
— Sometimes, when you think nothing is happening, things are happening that you have no clue about, and God does not have to explain it to you. You must learn to be comfortable with a certain level of discomfort because there is a level of mystery required to walk with God. Please remember that the next time you are facing something and don’t know WHY!
5. Natural limits are not limits to God.
a) Jesus did not walk on water as some sort of ‘parlor trick’ or ‘circus show’. Jesus walked on water simply because He did not have a boat and He needed to catch up to His team.
b) A miracle is a supersession of the laws that are natural to this world. It is an event or occurrence that goes beyond human understanding or explanation and is often attributed to supernatural or divine power.
c) Jesus demonstrated power over gravity by walking on water. This is a reminder that the limits or laws of this world do not confine our God. God cannot be limited by something He created.
d) There is nothing God cannot do. When you finally get this clear in your mind, you will open your heart to a God of no limits.
6. Be ready to move (in faith) when God invites you into the supernatural (by grace).
a) As soon as Jesus said, “Come,” Peter got out of the boat. Do you have the faith to get out of the boat like Peter?
b) If you don’t get out of the boat, you will never walk on water.
c) God is not against YOU doing what He does. God doesn’t feel threatened when you want to operate like Him. He does not count it “robbery” for you to function like He functions in this present world. God actually welcomes it. He will invite you to be JUST LIKE HIM in this world. The question is: when the invitation comes, will you be ready? When God releases the grace, will you be ready to respond in faith (like Peter did)?
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for Your love and grace! I believe this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
As I study the miracles of Jesus, my faith is reignited and increased!
This year I will experience the supernatural like never before because my heart is open to it.
I know You are a God of no limits. I am IN You, and You are IN me. I am a human conduit of the divine.
You invite me into Your realm. You empower me to operate on Your level. As Jesus is, so am I, in this world.
The impossible is possible for You. Therefore, the impossible is possible for me!
I am excited about 2023 because I know Your grace is ON me, IN me, WITH me, and FOR me. Therefore, GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
