By TIMOTHY L. MELTON, PASTOR
(Transcribed by Myra Colgate)
Cherokee Pentecostal Holiness Church
Read Matthew 14:22-32.
God has a purpose for you to be here. Like Peter, you, too, can walk on water, even though the Lord, after Peter had taken only a few steps, had also had to reach out, grab his hand, and then help him back into the boat. At least Peter had the desire to get out of the boat to walk on the water’s surface. After Peter did walk for a little way, he then was told he was a man with and of, ‘O ye of little faith,’ after Peter allowed himself to be distracted enough to falter.
If Peter, at that point was a man of only a little faith, do you wonder what would have made him a man of big faith? He would have stayed focused on Jesus, not the storm-tossed waters, and continued to trust in Jesus to remain there with and for him. Even so, Peter still had the presence of mind and courage to reach out and call to Jesus for His help.
God is still God, even with a man of only a little bit of faith, God still knows how to turn things around. At work, He can break us out of our self-containment. Until we walk through something we will never be able to measure what our level of trust and believing would be. In verses 26-27, Jesus actually told them all, ‘Take courage, I am here.’ Jesus came so we can find out that Jesus is ‘greater than he that is in the world,’ and any storm in our lives. The disciples, all wondering if they were going to survive the storm, went from fear, to worshipping Jesus, realizing He is the Son of God.
They had not expected God to step into their world. As Jesus, with Peter, stepped back into the boat, the wind had instantly stopped! Their world totally changed. They didn’t faint at the Name of Jesus. This changed, for all of them, the way they would face death, in that moment. In fact, Peter, soon to be crucified, asked to be placed on his cross upside down, so as not to take any of the same honoring as His Lord Jesus.
The building of faith, raises the question, how does anyone build their faith? Here we are understanding faith doesn’t come just at salvation. There was only a little faith that came from walking on the water. Almost nothing came from the feeding of the loaves and fishes to five-thousand men, (adding in women and children it could have been 15,000) made little difference. It was in verse 33 that we understand that the difference came as they recognized when Jesus commanded the horrifying wind to, “Peace, be still,” and it immediately did, that they exclaimed, “You really are the Son of God”.
God’s Plan is not ever a coincidence. He always knows where we are. He is a Holy God—of order. He’s a God in Whose Hand we are. He knows it all. (We are to Fear (hold in Awe and Reverence) our God rather than our circumstances. They learned that lesson by going from being fearful for their lives to a Reverence for a Holy God. They touched the ‘hem of His Garment.’ They would learn through other testing they would be better off touching Him, the dead raiser. He caused the blind to see and the lame to walk, too.
He is trying to make something out of us. All we seem to want is Heaven right now. The Truth of God is that God loves you. For Kenneth Hagen it was the revelation, ‘God loves me. The bills got paid.’ There is not another time when we will shine like the Glory on His Face. We can be completely healed and made whole when we touch Him! He gives people the ability to heal others who may not have enough faith. It first comes through His Hand. God doesn’t have any sickness, so He can allow us to go through the experience. He can pour riches out on you and have you enjoy them.
I’ve received a revelation to help you. Every prayer is not answered right away. Jeff, my friend for twenty years, died suddenly last Tuesday. His wife called us and immediately, I “spoke life” over the phone, “to live and not die”. He was dead only 35 minutes! Praise God! He is preparing us to be a Powerful Church!
