Matthew 14: 22-33
(22) And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. (23) And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. (24) But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. (25) And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. (26) And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. (27) But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. (28) And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. (29) And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. (30) But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. (31) And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? (32) And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. (33) Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
Today I want to look at a specific set of scriptures. Though there is a lot to learn from this passage I want to focus on just one area. Verse 26 says the disciples were afraid when they saw someone walking on water in the midst of a storm. Peter states if it is you Lord, allow me to come to you. Jesus answered and said Come. One thing to notice, at this moment Peter’s attention is 100 percent on Jesus. He is doing something very supernatural while he is focused on Jesus. He is walking on water. Only when he takes his eyes of Jesus and start paying attention to his surroundings, does the supernatural start to fade and he starts sinking.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Lesson to learn here is unless we keep focused on Jesus, we can not expect great and wonderful things to be manifested in our lives. Someone once asked me why we do not see any miracles like what was in the Bible. I said some people do and some people do not. I assure you unless we have Jesus the main focus in our life, we cannot expect to not see much of anything. I am just as guilty to have so many things that distract me. I have started limiting myself to phone time, tv time, and concentrating more on actually living and taking care of God given responsibilities. It is amazing how much trash I put in my mind that pushes out the things of God. Notice John 14:12 stating that we would do greater things than Jesus. Ponder that statement for a moment. Really let that set in.
Questions to ask ourselves.
What miraculous thing would Christ have me do?
What in my life takes my focus off of Jesus?
What can I do better to help me stay focused on the things of God?
Am I seeing God manifest himself in the supernatural in areas of my life?
Am I seeing miracles in others around me?
COMMENTS
[ posted by Kimberly, 09/18/2022 04:02 PM ]
We should keep our focus on the things of God and not our surroundings. There are so many things to distract us. I am guilty of being tired after work and just want to watch TV. I do my Bible studies before I leave for work, listen to sermons while I am at work. But I have noticed that in the evenings, I don't. I get distracted because I am tired and just want to watch the Smithsonian channel or the old movies on Turner Classic Movie channel. I too have started to limit my TV. Instead of watching football all day on Saturdays, I usually limit now to just my Auburn game. I am trying to now come home and not watch so much TV after work and to do Bible study in the evenings as well. I think my mindset was that since I did it all before work and during work, I am excused from the evenings because I am tired. And I do ask myself have I missed something from God because I am distracted? Is God trying to get something to me but I am not aware because I am not focused?
[ posted by Cindy, 09/18/2022 05:46 PM ]
Our world today (not like during Jesus' time) we have immense distractions and
materialistic ideals. People focus less and less on a relationship with Jesus.
Is this why we don't see miracles? Do we recognize them? God surely works daily on our behalf. Every single day.
When Jesus was sitting with his disciples/apostles before His death, they still asked to see "the Father" whom Jesus says He does His works thru. Were His "works" or miracles not enough for them to believe? He tells them "if you have seen me, "He was in the Father and the Father was in Him". They were given the Holy Spirit. In Acts the apostles did perform works of healing, speaking new tongues, etc. I haven't seen any scripture that said after all the apostles died that the capability of Jesus' miraculous works would cease.
Sin separates us from God/Jesus. Lack of faith separates us. It prevents us from seeing the demonstration of God working in our lives. Do we just not appreciate small things, do we expect a giant flashing sign pointing to a miracle? Define your idea of what a miracle is. What do you think God's definition of it is?
What are our "works"? As a Christian we should be defined by our life which flows from faith in Jesus and points to His glory. Is it pointing people to Jesus? Is it our trustworthiness in Jesus? Do we show that? This is how we bear witness to our belief and trust in Jesus. The message we spread is that Jesus has PAID the bill, Not a promissory note, not an IOU...a fully paid and finished deal of sin forgiveness and redemption and everlasting life with Him..to those who believe... we get ( many more than these)
John 6:35 ... shall never thirst
John 7:38 ... out of our heart will flow river of living water
John 11:28 ... though he dies, yet shall he live
John 12:46 ... will not remain in darkness
We were given the ability to do works in Jesus' name. Other countries still claim of miracles. They have the faith and belief in those "works" because they do not have the distractions hundreds of years have created for us here.
I think if you go to smaller remote villages around the world without power, internet, tv, phones... all the luxuries we enjoy every day...they still have faith and religion and prayer at the top of the list for every day of their life. Their wholly focused faith produces the works we are blinded from.
Sometimes when we quieten the noise around us, and give that extra time to God...not only do we find peace, but we find more understanding of His word, and more time devoted to prayer. God yearns for us to call out to Him, bring our concerns and prayers to Him, show our faith and belief in Him and what he has planned for us. Trust His works in us as much as we need to do trust our works in/for Him.
[ posted by Mike, 09/18/2022 10:33 PM ]
Great Response Cindie. There is so much more God wants to be an influence in our life. I feel and I am guilty that I have "purposely" allowed distractions to slowly creep in my daily routine and push God out.
[ posted by Cindy, 09/19/2022 12:38 PM ]
Mike, we are all guilty of that.