Jesus and Peter Take ESBC to Vacation Bible School
Jesus and Peter Take ESBC to Vacation Bible School
VBS 2023
Opening Illustration:
Good morning Eastern Shore Baptist Church. What an outstanding week we had participating in and hosting our annual Vacation Bible School. VBS is by far the greatest evangelical mission event that we have each year. Our theme this is was “Twists and Turns”. Life certainly does have a lot of twists and turns, ups and downs, and challenging situations that test our resolve. How many of you faced an unexpected twist, and unseen turn this week?
Surprise…the bill came due and it was more than you thought! Talk about a twist!
Guess what? You acceptance letter from the University finally arrived. Except it wasn’t an acceptance letter, it was a rejection letter. Talk about a turn.
You never saw it coming! You were driving 65 mph but the blue light special in the rear view mirror just informed you that the speed limit was 25 mph. Now you have a ticket and a promise of an insurance adjustment. Talk about a twist.
You and your husband were planning on waiting 5 years before trying to start a family. After all, your honey moon was just a month ago. However, you woke up this morning sick and the pregnancy test reads “positive”! Now that really is a turn.
Life is full of surprises, unexpected obstacles, and opportunities to see God move. Years ago I was working with a lay member. He and I were talking about the difficulties in our church’s finances. I remember putting my head in my hands and saying “boy, these are some really big problems”. I will never forget what he said to me. He said, “Stuart these aren’t problems, they are opportunities”.
Do you look at the twists and turns in life as “opportunities” or “obstacles”?
The verse of the week for Vacation Bible School was Psalm 25:4.
Psalm 25:4 ESV
Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
A psalm of David. David certainly understood the ups and downs of life. He traveled a lot of roads, walked down a lot of paths, some good, some…well…not so good. If there is one lesson that David would try to teach us this morning, it would be this, no matter the road you are walking, no matter the situation you are facing, keep your eyes on God and follow His ways.
The motto for Vacation Bible School was “following Jesus changes everything”. If ever there was an underestimated statement, it would be “following Jesus changes everything”. If you were a child of the 1990’s, you would be tempted to say “no duh” to that comment.
There were two characters that the kids learned about all week long. Naturally Jesus is the main character in every story. Monday through Friday, the students were confronted with the person and deity of Jesus Christ. They also learned about another character. His name was Peter, aka Cepheus, aka “The Rock”! One of the stories that we examined came from Matthew 14:22-33. In this familiar story, Jesus has sent the disciples out on a boat. They were to head to the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee while Jesus stays behind to pray. The disciples comply with Jesus’ request not realizing that they are heading into a furious and sudden storm. Jesus decides to catch up with His disciples in a most unusual way. He decides to take a stroll in the middle of a storm. He decides to take a stroll in the middle of storm while walking on water. Jesus is walking on the water in the midst of a tempest. Peter, seeing Jesus, asks if he might join Him on the waves. Jesus calls him from the boat and Peter comes. Distracted by the wind and the tossing of the water, Peter is distracted and begins to sink. You know the rest of the story. Jesus saves Peter and calls into question the veracity of Peter’s faith.
Chances are you have felt like Peter. You possess faith but your faith is being challenged by the difficulties of your day. Let’s think about “today’s thought”. Fill in these blanks for me this morning. Are you fearful? Are you fatigued? Are you feeling overwhelmed? If the answer is “yes” then keep your focus on Christ.
Peter sure could have used that advice don’t you think?
You know, Peter gets the “knucklehead treatment a lot in the Bible doesn’t he? He seems to always be getting himself in trouble. Why didn’t he just keep his eyes on Jesus? Why did he choose the distractions over remaining devoted to Christ’s call? Why Peter why? Nevertheless, at least Peter got out of the boat!
Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew/Nathanael, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas the Greater, and Judas Iscariot all stayed in the boat. Not Peter! He got out of the boat.
Peter walking on water reminded me of a quote that read from R.C. Sproul the other day. "When Peter walked on the water, he was not walking on the water because he believed in himself. He was walking on the water because he believed in Jesus."
I pray that anything we do good, anything for the Kingdom of God, is not done because we believe in ourselves. Rather I hope that all these things are done because we believe in Jesus. Trust me friend I do not stand here today because I am some great communicator, I’m m here today because anything good I say is motivated by my belief in Christ Jesus.
Background and Context:
As I stated earlier, this morning we are reading from Matthew 14:22-33. Before we jump into Matthew’s Gospel, I want to cover the background and context of the passage. I want to give you the “what’s up”, the “what’s happening” before and after this passage of Scripture.
Jesus is at the very height of His earthly ministry. He will never have more followers than He does at this point of His time on earth. Jesus has spent much of His time teaching and preaching in the hill country of Galilee. He has set up His home base in Bethany, still He ventures far and wide trying to reach the poor, the destitute and the diseased. Jesus’ ministry has not reached the ears of the politicians but it will not be long till He creates a stir in the city centers and in the heart of Jerusalem. You might call Matthew 14 the miracle chapter of the Gospel because it is here that Jesus performs some of His most supernatural feats.
When you dive into Matthew 11, you will first see that Jesus has fed the 5000. That number is misleading in its translation. The 5000 that were fed does not include women and children. Scholars and theologians estimate that there could have been as many as 20,000 people there that day. Speaking of “where” these miracles took place, Jesus and His disciples were near the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. After Jesus performed this amazing miracle, Jesus wanted to devote Himself to a short season of prayer. He sends the 12 across the Sea of Galilee to Gennesaret. You know the rest of the story. The weather on the Sea of Galilee is famously, some might even say freakishly, unpredictable. I say freakishly because a night on the open water can be very spooky. How many of you have been deep sea fishing where you spend the night on the vessel? Maybe you were out 20, 40, even 80 miles. When you get that far out it feels like it’s just you, God and the sea. It can be very unnerving. Remember that not all the disciples were fisherman. In fact, most were not. Many in fact could not even swim.
The disciples shove off and a mighty storm comes upon them. The boat is tossed about, filling with water. Suddenly the disciples realize that they are in the fight of their lives. Lightening flashes. Thunder rolls. Out in the distance, they see something. They see someone. “It’s a ghost” one of the men shouts. That would make sense. Many a man has been lost on the Sea of Galilee. Even today there are ancient vessels on the floor of the Sea of Galilee. Again, you know the story. It was not a ghost…it was Jesus walking on the water and through the wind. This was one of the more popular miracles of Jesus as it is captured in Mark 6 and John 6 along with Matthew 14. Before we read today’s passage…
Statement of Belief:
We believe the Bible to be inspired, God breathed, infallible, and authoritative. We believe the Bible is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training believer’s in righteousness. God’s Word gives life. It provides peace in trouble and protection in tribulation. It is alive, active, and cuts to the core of the human soul. Since there is no other book like it, let us stand to show our reverence and respect.
Today’s Thought:
Are You Fearful? Fatigued? Feeling Overwhelmed? Keep Your Focus On Christ!
Today’s Quote:
"When Peter walked on the water, he was not walking on the water because he believed in himself. He was walking on the water because he believed in Jesus."
-R.C. Sproul
Today’s Scripture:
Matthew 14:22-33 ESV
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. [23] And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, [24] but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. [25] And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. [26] But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. [27] But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." [28] And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." [29] He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. [30] But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." [31] Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" [32] And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. [33] And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
VBS Taught Us That Peter Was…
I. Overactive vs. 26
VBS taught us all a lot of lessons. The life of Peter is often an apt illustration of many of our lives. Filled with ups and downs. Successes and failures. Peter’s life certainly did take a lot of twists and turns. So, what is our first lesson this morning? Vacation Bible School taught us that Peter was OVERACTIVE! That’s right, Peter was overactive. Let me explain:
“But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear.”
This past week in VBS, Laura Allen and I were teaching together. In fact I was teaching this very lesson to a room full of second graders. When talking about the disciples seeing Jesus walking on the water and perceiving Him to be a ghost, I told the class that the disciples had an “overactive” imagination. I told them that the disciples were captured by their fear and deceived by the darkness. Their ability to focus had been flushed by fatigue. By the way, do you know what time it was when this event occurred? Scripture tells us that it was during the 4th watch of the night. In Jewish timekeeping, the night was divided into four watches, each about three hours long. The fourth watch was typically between 3:00-6:00 AM. So, it was likely very early in the morning when Jesus walked on water to the disciples. The men were weak and weary, faint and feeling feeble. They were no doubt remembering tales from their childhood remembering all the men who were lost at sea and their minds started playing tricks on them.
I asked the kids if they were scared of anything. One of the little girls raised her hand and she told me that her little brother tried to scare her the other day. She was walking around the corner and her brother jumped out and screamed at her.
I asked her, “what did you do”?
She told me that she punched him right in the nose and was not scared anymore.
That’s one way to handle fear! Don’t you wish you could just take your fear and just punch it right in the nose?
The disciples thought they were going to die. They were already seeing ghosts. They thought this was the last moment on planet earth. Their lives were coming to an end, their world was quite literally crashing around them. They were all looking at one another, even the experienced fisherman, and saying “well boys, it’s been a good run”.
Have you ever been there? Thinking that your life was coming to an end. I remember a former student of mine. Her name was Madison. She was a freshman at Alabama. She had been there two weeks. She made a poor decision and got pregnant. She called me when she found out and told me that her life was over. I remember a buddy of mine named Ethan. Ethan was a fellow youth pastor and he got sideways with his pastor. The pastor walked into his office, told him to pack his things, that he was fired. He told me that his carrier was over. What about another friend of mine. Alan. His wife comes to him out of the blue and tells him that she does not love him anymore after more than 20 years of marriage. She hands him divorce papers. He tells me that he cannot live without her. What about Patsy. Patsy was married for more than 50 years. Her husband gets a bad cold. That cold was not a cold but it was COVID. Within two weeks he is gone. She tells me that her life is over.
In each case, Madison, Ethan, Alan, Patsy, all turned to Christ. They cried out to Jesus for help. Sometimes we jump to the worst case scenario not realizing that Jesus does His greatest most powerful, most redemptive work when we come to the end of ourselves.
Why were the disciples so scared? What were they worried about? Didn’t Jesus tell them to go? Wasn’t it Jesus that told them to “go across to the other side of the lake”? Friend the safest place in the world for a Christian to exist is in the center of their obedience to Christ. The most dangerous place for a Christian to be is in a state of disobedience.
This story is a great reminder that while we may forget about Jesus’ promises, Jesus remains faithful to us. Jesus is not blind or removed from our struggles.
Remember the Psalmist writes, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
Psalm 56:3 ESV
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
II. Overboard vs. 28-29
So, VBS taught us that Peter was overactive. He and the disciples had an overactive imagination. They thought that they were going to die. They were already seeing ghosts. Next, VBS taught us that Peter was OVERBOARD!
And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
When doing research on this message I discovered something pretty interesting. It should have taken and hour, maybe two for the disciples to get across the Sea of Galilee. Instead of an hour or two, scholars believe the disciples were on the open water for potentially 12 hours. By the time Jesus walked out on the water to them, the disciples had not yet made it half way across the Sea. When you read Mark’s Gospel, we learn that Jesus, walking on foot, could have passed the disciples in their boat. Isn’t that hilarious. Jesus is walking faster than 12 men rowing.
Can you get a sense of the fatigue and the frustration that the disciples must have been experiencing in that moment? They were in the struggle of their lives but going no where fast. You had 4 fisherman in the boat: Peter, Andrew, James and John. The rest of the men were pretty useless on the water. Matthew was a tax collector. Judas was the treasurer of the group so it is safe to assume that he was more experienced in finance than fishing. The only other disciple whose occupation we can assume was Simon the Zealot. He was most likely a political activist of sorts. Naturally the non fisherman turned the experienced fisherman and said, “get us out of this mess”. Sadly, the four fisherman were all out of ideas.
I believe that it was at this point that Peter made a critical decision. The Scripture doesn’t say this but this is what I believed happened. I believe that Peter took stock of the ship. He assessed the situation. Peter knew that the boat was going down. Peter, in a total moment of self perseveration shouted to the ghost on the water, praying that it was indeed Jesus, and said "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." Peter decided he would take his chances with the ghost on top of the water than the dead men at the sea floor. “If this was really Jesus, I’ll take my chances with Him than stay in a sinking ship”.
Brothers and sisters, this is a beautiful picture of salvation. Peter could continue to struggle in a boat of his own making or turn to Jesus for help and relief. For hours Peter had tried to save himself, save his ability to make a living, and all he was doing was rowing to certain death. He could go down with the ship or he could come to Jesus. Peter decided it was better to be in a storm with Jesus than continuing doing the same things without Him. As a reward for Peter’s faith, he didn’t just get to observe a miracle, he got to experience a miracle first hand. Church family, the greatest miracles of life happen when we step out in faith and surrender to God’s power instead of relying on our own strengths, power, knowledge or understanding.
What do you think that the disciples did when Peter put his foot overboard? Remember, his brother Andrew was in the boat with him and we know from Scripture that Andrew loved Peter. I imagine that they tried to stop him. Put you and your family in the boat instead of the disciples. What would you do if your son, your daughter, your wife or husband jumped out of a boat in the middle of a storm? You would probably tackle them. Peter not only had to overcome his fear with faith, but he also had to push through the naysayers. There will always be adversity when following Christ. Always friends. Again Im reminded of the Psalmist’s words, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.”
Psalm 34:4 ESV
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.”
III. Overwhelmed vs. 30
Again, we learned a lot about Peter during Vacation Bible School. We learned that he and the disciples had an overactive imagination, that he went overboard, and that he was overwhelmed.
“But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me."
Isn’t this story beautiful? God speaks through His word to us today in such rich amazing ways. I pray that this message, this story right here encourages you this morning. There are so many lessons that can be learned.
Life is a storm but Jesus calmly walks on the things that scare us the most.
Like Peter, we can follow Jesus even when it looks impossible.
When Christ calls us, when we hear His voice, we are filled with courage.
We can stop out of the metaphorical boat, we can step out of our self made protections, our safe assumptions in order to follow Him.
Our faith fails when we are distracted from keeping our gaze on Jesus Christ. It can feel like we are drowning.
Yet Jesus reaches out and rescues us.
Life can feel so overwhelming can’t it. I remember when my son Jay was a little fella. I can remember one time he climbed up in my lap, he couldn’t have been but two or three years old. He climbed up in my lap one day and I could tell that he was having a hard day. I asked him, “buddy what’s wrong with you”. He told me “Daddy, I’m just feeling whelmed over today”. Have you ever felt that way?
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart for I have overcome the world”. Jesus states these words in John 16:33. Troubles will come. It’s a promise. There will be days where the wind and the waves will sweep into our homes, our boats, and our very lives. Peter took his eyes of Christ and he began to sink.
He cried out “Lord save me”. Peter had run out of options. I was asked recently this question, “Stuart I want to turn over my life to Christ but I just don’t know how to do it”. Giving your life to Christ is not hard, you just have to realize your drowning and He is the only one able to rescue you. When you come to that understanding, giving your life to Christ is easy.
If you are feeling like Peter, feeling overwhelmed, boy do I have some great news for you today. Jesus wants to deliver to you His peace. Listen to what He states in John 14:27…
John 14:27 ESV
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
IV. Overcome vs. 31
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
At VBS we learned that Peter and the disciples possessed and overactive imagination. We learned that Peter went overboard, that he was overwhelmed with doubt. Lastly we learned that Peter was overcome with grace.
“Lord save me”. The Greek word for “save” is sōzō “so-zo”. The word has several meanings. Naturally it means “save” but one of the definitions of the word is “to restore”. Imagine that! “Lord, restore me”. Remember Peter was about to drown. His life was ebbing way. He wanted to be restored. Restored to life. Restored to solid footing. Think about all the mistakes that Peter would make. At one point in Jesus’ ministry, Jesus calls Peter “Satan”. With every mistake that Peter makes Jesus is there ready to overcome his sin with grace.
Do you remember when you gave your life to Christ? Some of you have never made that commitment. You are out on the sea by yourself and you feel like your boat is going to be capsized. Jesus is walking on the water to you this morning. Will you put your faith in Christ this morning?
What about the rest of you? I remember giving my life to Christ. It was a defining moment for me. I remember being excited about this new relationship with Christ. I read my Bible. I prayed. Went to church. I was a dry sponge and I wanted to learn everything I could learn. Sadly, that enthusiasm subsided whenI went through some hardship, some trials, some difficulties. I remember hitting some pretty big storms in college. I turned to myself instead of turning to God. I thought that I could fix everything on my own. I was smart. I was capable. I didn’t need God. The reality was that I was drowning. I took my eyes off of Christ and I was overwhelmed. When I finally got tired of trying to breathe water, I turned my attention back to Christ and He pulled me from the water.
Peter had the strength, the courage, the ability to walk on the water in the middle of the storm. When he took his eyes off of Jesus, the fear set in.
I have no idea what you are going through today but I do know this, God can give you peace in the midst of your storm. He can give you the ability to not only survive your storm, but He can do greater things that you can imagine.
Peter’s life was transformed by Christ and He can transform your life as well…if you let Him.
Psalm 40:2 AMP
“He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footsteps and establishing my path.”
Will you pray with me?
Sinking? Seek The Savior!
Bibliography
Websites:
https://realfaith.com/daily-devotions/peters-walk-on-water/
https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/lessons-from-peter-walking-on-water.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/Peter-walking-on-water.html
Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnvrZJFQyE4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W9veazZC6I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VURsoxIHTKw
Books:
“Peter Got Out of The Boat” by Shirley Stahl
“Walking on Water: Experiencing A Life of Miracles” by Jennifer Miskov
“If You Want To Walk on Water, You’ve Got To Get Out of The Boat” by John Ortberg
“How To Become A Water Walker: Lessons In Faith” by Andrew Wommack
"The Gospel According to Jesus: What Is Authentic Faith?" by John F. MacArthur
"The Jesus I Never Knew" by Philip Yancey
"The Bible Jesus Read" by Philip Yancey
"The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer
Commentaries:
"The Gospel of Matthew" (The New International Commentary on the New Testament) by R.T. France
"Matthew" (The Expositor's Bible Commentary) by D.A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo
"The Gospel According to Matthew" (Pillar New Testament Commentary) by Leon Morris
"Matthew: A Commentary" (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture) edited by Manlio Simonetti
"Matthew" (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries) by R.T. France
Articles:
"Walking on Water: The Meaning of Matthew 14:22-33" by Michael Morrison, published in Grace Communion International's magazine, Christian Odyssey.
"The Theology of Peter Walking on Water" by Joel B. Green, published in the Journal of Biblical Literature.
"Peter Walking on the Water: A Theological Analysis" by J. Carl Laney, published in Bibliotheca Sacra.
"Walking on Water: Did Peter Really Sink?" by John D. Barry, published in Bible Study Magazine.
"Walking on Water: A Study of Faith" by Brian DeCook, published in Christianity Today.
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