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Amen. All right, well, we're there in Matthew chapter number 14. I realize we spent a little bit of time on the whole prison ministry thing tonight, so I'll try to move quickly tonight and not spend too much time. We've been going through a series on Sunday nights on the life of Peter. And we've been kind of looking at the major stories and the major events in the life of Peter. And we talked about the call of Peter, and we talked about Peter's mother-in-law. And last week we looked at that story where Peter launched out into the deep. Tonight we're looking at probably, I would imagine, one of, if not the most famous story of Peter, and that's Peter walking on water. And like I said, I need to move quickly, because we spent some time on some other things tonight. But I want to just give you some lessons from the different sides of the story or different people in the story, different things in the story. And if you've got a course of the week, maybe even write down some notes on the back of it. But the first thing I'd like you to notice, just the lesson from the storm itself, the lesson from the storm. You're there in Matthew 14, look at verse 22. The Bible says this. A straight way Jesus constrains his disciples to get into a ship. We'll come back to that here in a second. And the Bible says, and to go before him unto the other side while he sent the multitudes away. This story comes on the heels of the great miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. And the disciples have been working hard. They've been feeding the people. And Jesus basically constrains them and says, hey, I want you to go on the other side. I want you to get some rest. While he sent the multitudes away, notice verse 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. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. And I'd like you to keep your place there in Matthew 14. That is our text for tonight. Go with me to the book of 1 Peter, 1 Peter, chapter 4. Towards the end of the New Testament, if you start Revelation and head back, you've got Jude, 3 and 1 John, 2 and 1 Peter, 1 Peter, chapter 4. And here's a couple of lessons from the storm itself. And the first lesson is this. Inevitably, we will find ourselves in the midst of these storms of life. And I don't know if you've noticed, but in the Bible, particularly in the New Testament, there are many stories about storms. There's lots of stories of people being in the midst of a storm. And these stories all picture and represent the fact that you and I are going to go through difficult times in our lives. We're going to have situations come into our lives. We're going to have these storms of life. And here's what you can count on. You can count on the fact that your life, as you journey in the life of Christianity, of following Christ, of being a disciple of Lord Jesus Christ, you will inevitably find yourself in the midst of the storm. In fact, here's what I know about you. I know that you are either in the midst of a storm right now, you are coming out of a storm, or you are getting ready to go into a storm, because the Christian life is a life of storms. And here we find the disciples in the midst of the storm. And the reason that I say that, the reason that I say that is not to discourage you, it's just to prepare you, because sometimes Christians will get into a storm, and they'll be surprised by it. And they'll say, well, I thought once I got saved, I thought once I started going to church, I thought once I started living for God, everything was going to be great, and everything was going to be perfect, and I was going to be healthy and wealthy, and everything was going to work out fine. But please understand this. You don't find that concept in the Bible. In the Bible, you find the people of God going through difficulties, going through trials, going through storms. Are you there in 1 Peter chapter 4? Look at verse 12. 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 12, notice what Peter writes in his epistle. He says, beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. And just realize this. In life, when you find yourself in the midst of a storm, think it not strange concerning some fiery trial, as though some strange thing happened unto you. Because here's what we learn from a lesson from the storm, is that inevitably, inevitably, we will find ourselves in the midst of a storm in life. Now, I want you to keep your place there in 1 Peter, because we're going to come right back to it. But I want you to go back to Matthew 14, and I want you to notice something in the story. Not only will you and I find ourselves in the midst of a storm, in the midst of a trial, in the midst of tribulation, in the midst of difficult times in our lives, but sometimes, sometimes it seems as though we are put in the midst of the storm by Jesus himself. Sometimes it seems like it's God who has actually placed us in the midst of a trial, or in the midst of tribulation. Notice Matthew 14 and verse 22. And straightway, and straightway, Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship. Jesus takes the disciples, and he kind of rounds them up, and he kind of pushes them on. And he says, I want you to get onto this ship and go before him onto the other side while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he did not get on the ship. He went up into a mountain apart to pray. Now, realize and understand the context. The disciples just saw Jesus feed 5,000 men, not including women and children, with just a few fishes and a few loaves, a couple of loaves of bread. They've seen him do some miraculous things already. They understand that he is not a man like you and I. And I can only imagine when they were in the midst of that storm that they were thinking to themselves, we're in this because of Jesus. Jesus is the one who sent us. He's the one who constrained us. He's the one that put us on this ship. And then he went over to a mountain to pray. He's over there safe in the ground while we're in the midst of a storm. And just realize this, just understand this. In life, you may find yourself inevitably in the midst of a storm. And you will sometimes feel like you're in that storm because of Jesus. He put you there. When I started reading the Bible and following the Bible and actually applying biblical truth to my life, now I've got all these problems I've got to deal with. I used to be cool, right? Not me, but some of you. I used to be popular. I used to have friends in my family. They thought I was nice. And now they think I'm an occult. Now they think I'm weird. Now they think I'm odd. Now they think, now I've got all these problems and all these trials and all these people fighting me. And it seems like Jesus, kind of seems like Jesus constrained me and put me on this ship. And I just want you to know this. And I want you to understand this. You're right. God is the one that puts us in the midst of the trials. Because there's a purpose for these trials. And I want you to remember this. There's really two reasons for a trial if you can make your way back to 1 Peter. You say, why would God put us in the midst of a storm? Because when you read the gospels, you find the apostles. You find them often in the midst of a storm. I mean, how many stories are there of the disciples in the midst of a storm? And every time they're in the storm, it's not just a coincidence. It is Jesus trying to teach them something, Jesus trying to help them comprehend something. And look, the reason that they're in the midst of the storm, in this story, is to learn something. The reason you find yourself in the midst of the storm is to learn something. And every time a trial comes, every time a heartache comes, every time a tribulation comes, what we want to do is whine and complain. What we want to do is ask the question, how long, and when will God hear, and when will this be done? What we should be asking is, what is God trying to help me learn through this? What is it that God wants me to learn through this time, this season, this storm in my life? Because here's the truth. Trials refine us. Say, why does God put us through trials? Here's why. Because they make you better. Because when you get put, whatever analogy you want to use, whether it's a storm, whether it's a trial, whether it's being put through the fire, it refines you. Are you there in 1 Peter 1? Look at verse 7. Notice what Peter writes about trials. He says that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, he says, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. He says, why does God put us through trials? Why does God put us through heartache? Why does God put us through storms? What is the purpose? Well, one purpose is to refine us. Go to Job 23. Job 23. You open up your Bible just right in the center, you'll more than likely fall in the book of Psalms. Right before Psalms, you have the book of Job. And Job is the perfect story to consider when we consider the fact that God puts us, sometimes God puts us, in the midst of a trial, in the midst of a storm. It is Jesus who constrains us and puts us on the ship and sends us away into a storm. Wasn't that Job? Wasn't it Job who God allowed Satan to take all of his wealth? And God allowed Satan to take the lives of his children? And God allowed Satan to take his health? And through that, he had issues with his wife telling him to forsake God. And he had all these things. And what was the purpose of that? What was the reason for that? Well, there was many reasons that went into that. But if you ask Job, here's what Job would say. Job 23 and verse 10, Job would say this, but he knoweth the way that I take. He knows where my ship is in the seas of life. And he knows that the storm was something that was waiting for me, something that was destined for me, something that he actually put me in. He says, but he knoweth the way that I take. When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. And Job understood this. Job understood this, that the storms in life and the trials in life and the times of difficulty in life, they can help you. But please get this, they can hurt you. And they can make you better, or they can make you bitter. And you will have to decide. You will have to decide what you do in the midst of a storm. And they're called trials. They're called tests for a reason, because they're meant to test you and see how you do with the trial of your faith. So when it comes to trials, when it comes to storms, when it comes to difficulty, understand this. Trials refine you, but that's not it. Trials also reveal you. Go to Luke chapter 6. Luke chapter 6 of the New Testament, you've got Matthew, Mark, Luke. Luke chapter 6. We looked at this story recently in Matthew, so I don't want to spend too much time on it. But you've got that famous story of the wise man who built his house upon the rock versus the foolish man who built his house upon the sand. Luke chapter 6 and verse 46. Luke 6, 46, the Bible says this. And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say? Whosoever cometh to me and hears my sayings and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like. He is like a man which built an house and dig deep and laid the foundation on a rock. And when the flood arose and the streams beat vehemently upon the house, so what happens after the house gets built upon the rock? A storm comes. And when the floods arose and the stream beat vehemently upon that house and could not shake it, why? For it was founded upon a rock. But notice the contrast. Verse 49. But he that hearth and doeth not is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth, built the house upon the dirt, upon the sand, against which the streams did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell. And the ruin of the house was great. And I want you to understand this, and I want you to get this. The storms do not destroy your life. The storms simply reveal. The storms, they don't affect the foundation. Sometimes people, they go through a trial and say, oh, why did you quit on God? Well, I quit on God because God allowed this into my life, and God allowed that into my life. And I lost my job, or I lost my spouse, or I lost whatever it might be. And it might be something difficult to be difficult and hard. I went through this trial, and I got this sickness, and I got this. And here's what I'm telling you. If you quit on God during the trial, just realize, all the trial did was it revealed the foundation that was already there. It was already weak. It was already built upon the sand, and here's all done. And you say, why does God send us through trials? Why does God send us through storms? Why did Jesus constrain them and put them on a ship, knowing they were going to hit a storm? Why? Because a storm will refine you, and because a storm will reveal you. And because in the midst of the storm, we will find where your foundation actually lays. So understand that in the Christian life, you're either in a storm, you're coming out of a storm, or you're going into a storm. But that storm and how you respond in the midst of the storm will reveal what has been refined. Go back to Matthew chapter 14. We learned these lessons of the storm. What are they? They're this, that inevitably, you find yourself in the midst of a storm. And there is a purpose for the storm. In fact, God puts you there. Jesus constrains you and puts you on that ship and sends you on your way in the midst of that storm to see how you will respond, not because the storm caused you to fail and not because the storm, Job, caused you to succeed. All the storm did was reveal what was already there. The storm reveals, and the storm refines. But I want you to notice, secondly tonight, there's not only lessons that we can learn from the storm, but there's lessons we can learn from Jesus. Notice Matthew 14, verse 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. I want you to get this picture. You've got the disciples out on the sea, and you've got Jesus up on the mountain praying, and he's there alone. Notice verse 24. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. And here's a lesson that we can learn from Jesus. And it's this, that at times, we may feel far from the presence of Christ. In fact, sometimes in the midst of the storm, we may feel like Jesus is far away. Isn't that true? Sometimes when we're going through something, sometimes when we're going through struggles, sometimes when we're in the midst of the attack or in the midst of the tribulation or in the midst of things falling apart all around us, we might feel like, where's God? Where's Jesus? We're out here in the midst of the sea, tossed with the waves, and he's all the way over there on a mountain by himself. And at times, and in the midst of trials and tribulation, it may feel like we're far from the presence of God. But what you need to know and what I need to know is this. We must know that Jesus is always watching and that Jesus is always near. In Matthew 14 and verse 25, notice what the Bible says. And in the fourth watch, and there's some end times prophecy analogies here that we could make. And I'm not going to take too much time to do that. That's not what I'm preaching about tonight. But I want you to notice that Jesus did not immediately go forth to them, but he waited a while. In the fourth watch, and just understand this, that God moves at his time. God knows best. And sometimes we get upset with God because we think he should do things at a certain time. And just know this, God knows best. And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them. And of course, we have this great miracle walking on the sea, walking on water, Jesus. I hope they have this on video when we get to heaven. I'd like to see this. I hope this, I mean, this would be an amazing thing to see. Here, the disciples are out. They've been constrained and put on the ship. Now, it's in the midst of a storm, and it's tossed with the waves. And the wind is contrary, the Bible says it. Here comes Jesus in the fourth watch. In the water, he's walking on the water, walking on the sea. Notice verse 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. They're thinking, it's a ghost. They're thinking, it's a spirit. They're thinking, what is this? It's not something walking on the water, verse 27. But straightway, Jesus spake unto them, saying, be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. It is I. Be not afraid. And you often find Jesus telling his disciples, in the midst of a storm, be not afraid. Be of good cheer. It is I. Why? Because here's what we learn, is that though we may feel far from the presence of God, we must realize that he is always watching. And he's always near. Go to Acts, chapter 27. I'd like to show you something in a different story, also a storm. There's lots of storm stories in the Bible. Acts 27, you're there in Luke, John, Acts, Acts 27. Do me a favor and keep your place there in Acts, because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it. In Acts 27, we have the apostle Paul, in the midst of a storm. And we're not really going to read the verses in regarding to the storm, all the details, but we'll just jump in at verse 18. It says, and we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lighted the ship. And the third day we cast out with our hands the tackling of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. And isn't that what the storm often does in our lives, is it takes away all hope? When you can't look up and you can't even see the stars or the moon, you can't see. And this is what they would use to navigate. This is not what they would use to find where they were. And here Paul's telling, he's literally in a physical storm and dealing with these things. He says that it was no small tempest lay on us. And he said after long, and it says that all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. Verse 21, but after long abstinence, Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, and I wish I had the time to develop this. I don't have the time to develop this. But if you read the context, Paul actually warns them that they should not go on this journey, and that they should not take this journey, and that it was not going to be a good thing. And he told them that they shouldn't do it. And they decided to do it anyway. And here's how you know that Paul really had the spirit of a preacher. I can identify with Paul, because there's been many a time when I've told people, and I've preached to people, and I've taught people, you shouldn't do this. And then they go and do it anyway. And so I can really identify with Paul here. Because in verse 21, the Bible says that after long abstinence, Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me. He says, I told you so. And anyway, I thought that was funny. Maybe you've got to be a preacher to think that. Ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And here's how you know Paul is a preacher, because he gives them the bad news. And he says, well, I kind of told you this was going to happen. And you should have listened to what I had to say. But then in verse 22, he encourages them. He says, and now I exhort you to be of good cheer. For there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar. And lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer. For I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. And here's all I'm telling you. Paul understood this. And he literally understood it. He actually had an angel of God that sat there and said, hey, Paul, you're going to be OK. I've got more things for you to do. And I'm going to give you all those that are with you. It's going to be fine. But here's what you need to understand. As much of an assurance as Paul had on that ship, that he belonged to God, and that God was in control. In the midst of the storm, you and I can take that same promise from God that he will never leave us nor forsake us. And that just as much as Paul belonged to God, you and I belong to God. And if God has a plan, and if God has a purpose, and if God knows everything, and if God understands and has foreknowledge, then God knows where I am. And like Paul, we can all say, I believe God. And I believe that God is in control. And I believe that God has a purpose, and he has a plan. And he knew that we'd be in the storm, and he knew that we'd be in it for a reason. And I'm sure that he probably wants to refine me, or he wants to reveal me. So instead of complaining, I'll just ask this question. God, what would you like me to learn from this storm? This is how Paul lived his life. Go to 2 Timothy chapter 4. 2 Timothy chapter 4. If you find the T books, they're all clustered together. 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Titus. 2 Timothy chapter 4. Sirs, be of good cheer, for I believe God. I believe God. I love those words. 2 Timothy chapter 4, look at verse 16. Here we have the apostle Paul writing what's believed to be one of his last epistles. He is appearing before different magistrates and judges, kind of a court-type setting. In 2 Timothy 4, 16, he says this, that my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge, notwithstanding. Notice the consistency with Paul. He said, my first answer, no man stood with me. All men forsook me. Everybody left me. Nobody was there with me along this trial, along this storm in my life. But in verse 17, he says, notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. And by me, the preaching might be fully known, that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the light. And here's what I'm telling you, is that it's not just Paul. It's you, and it's me. And we need to understand that though God may feel far, and it may seem like he's gone, and he doesn't care, like Paul, we can say, the Lord stood with me. The Lord strengthened me. And I believe God. Go back to Matthew chapter 14. Let me give you the third area we can learn from the story. The first lesson was from the storm itself. And it is this, that storms are inevitable. You're either in a storm, you're coming out of a storm, or you're going into a storm. And in fact, it is God himself, it is God himself who places you in the midst of the storm. It is Jesus who constrains you, puts you on a ship, and sends you into a storm, because he has a plan for you in that storm. That storm will reveal you, and that storm will refine you. And then we have the lesson from Jesus up on the mountain, coming down, walking on the sea. And it is this, that in the midst of a storm, God may feel far, and Jesus may feel far, but he's always near, and he's always watching. And though we might, like Paul say, all men forsook me, we can all, like Paul say, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. The third area we can learn from the story is lessons from Peter himself. And it's interesting, if you read there Matthew 14 and verse 28, of course, we had Jesus come to them, and he says, be not afraid, be of good cheer. It is I. And then in Matthew 14 and verse 28, the Bible says this, and Peter answered him and said, Lord. I want you to notice the request that comes from Peter. He says, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. I want you to notice that's quite a request that Peter makes. They're on this boat, and they see Jesus walking on the water. They think it's a spirit. Go to Ephesians chapter 3, if you wouldn't mind. They're in Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians. They see Jesus walking on water, and this has to be amazing. I mean, no one's ever seen anyone walk on water. And they're in the midst of the storm. And I'm sure they're all, I mean, we know they're afraid. We know they're scared. We know they're wondering. And then Peter makes this request that changes the whole story. Because the story is not just about Jesus walking on water. The story is about Peter walking on water, too. And it begins. How does it begin? It begins simply with a request. He says, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee. And I would submit to you tonight that the reason that we accomplish so little in our Christian life is because we often fail to make requests. And we learned about it in James recently. The Bible says, ye have not because ye ask not. In this story, Peter goes down in history as the only man who is not deity to walk on water. And it all came as a result of a request that he made. He said, if it be thou, bid me come. He asked. He made a request. And he did something. He did something amazing. And here's the truth. You say, well, I'm not going to walk on water. You're not going to walk on water. And you can try it. I wouldn't recommend it, not without Jesus at least, physically there. But Jesus walking on water just represents a couple of things. And maybe you've thought about this, maybe you haven't. Jesus walking on water represents two things. Or Peter walking on water represents two things. It represents the ability to do something that you've never done before. Peter was literally walking on ground, if you can call it that, that he'd never walked on before. And sometimes people, they get saved. And they start coming to church like this. And they start hearing all these radical things that we're teaching from the Bible. And they start hearing about homeschooling. And what do they say? Well, I've never done that before. And they start hearing about soul. And they say, I've never done that before. And they learn about tithing. They say, well, I've never done that before. And maybe a wife learns that she is to submit herself to the authority of her husband. And she might think, well, I've never done that before. And in the Christian life, we're asked to do a lot of things that maybe you've never really done before to walk in areas that you've never really walked before. And this walking on water represents doing something that you've never done before. But it also represents doing something that you were unable to do before. Peter had never walked on water and did not have the ability to walk on water. And here's what I know. In the Christian life, if you're growing, if you're learning, if you're being a disciple and a follower, you will be asked from time to time to do something that you've never done and to do something that you were unable to do. And it all happens. And it all comes at a request. So here's a question I have for you. What requests are you making? What are the requests that you're asking God for? Great missionary William Carey made the famous statement that we should attempt great things for God. And we should expect great things from God. And I think the problem that we have in our Christian lives is that we just really don't attempt much. And we really don't expect much. Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 20, are you there? Notice what the Bible says. Ephesians 3, 20 says this. Now unto him that is able, now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us. The Bible teaches that there is a power that works in you. And that power is the Holy Spirit and is God. And that power can do. And God can do exceedingly abundantly above all that you can even ask or think. And Peter makes this big request. He says, God, he says, Jesus, if it's really you walking on water, which is not even possible, which we've never seen in heaven, if it's you, can I come? And then you have the response. And let me just let you in on a little secret. Whenever you ask God, can I get close to you, the response is always, come. Matthew 14, 29, and he said, come. And once Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. You say, how is that possible? Well, Philippians tells us that I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. He walked on water because he was doing it with Jesus. He walked on water because he was focused on Jesus. And we know that it was that because as soon as his focus came off Jesus, he could not do it anymore. Notice verse 30. But when he, talking about Peter, saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And I want you to understand this. And I want you to get this. The Bible teaches that you and I, it's not just meant to be a verse that you put on a Hallmark card, it's a promise. I can do all things through Christ. There is nothing that God asks of me. There is nothing that God asks of you. And there is no request that I can make to God, that God does not have the ability to give me the power to do. But in the same idea, and I'd like you to go to John just real quickly. And I want you to see this, John chapter 15. With the same idea that I can do everything as a believer in Jesus Christ, and as a follower of Jesus Christ, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. That doesn't mean that I can do all things. It just means that I can do all things if Christ is strengthening me, if Christ is empowering me. If I'm connected to the Lord Jesus Christ, I can do all things. But the flip side is also true. Are you there in John 15? Look at verse 5. Notice what Jesus said. He said, I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. And then Jesus says this, for without me ye can do nothing. And here's what I'm telling you. Sometimes we find ourselves in the midst of a storm. And like Peter, we find ourselves sinking. People get connected into a church like this one. They get sold out. They start soul winning. They get so crazy, they show up on a Sunday night, show up on a Wednesday night. They give their Saturday morning to go knock on doors of strangers they've never met to preach the gospel to them because they care of their souls. Or they go on a Sunday afternoon or a Thursday afternoon. They actually begin to give their money to the church, which is when the family finally puts their foot down and says, OK, you're going crazy. Maybe they pull their kids out of public school and begin to homeschool. And maybe they begin to start having children. And that scares the family too. And they begin to live this crazy life. And while they're focused on Jesus, while they're focused on Jesus, they find that they can begin to do that, which they never did before and they never had the ability to do before. They can, in some ways, walk on water and do things that they've never done before. And though they make statements like, I never would have thought we could live on a single income. I never would have thought that my wife would have been able to quit her job and stay home with the children. I never would have thought. And while we were focused on Jesus, it works. But when we take our focus off Jesus, because it says when he saw the wind boisterous, when he saw the wind boisterous, when he stopped looking at Jesus and he realized, I'm walking on water. This is crazy. And he begins to see the waves, and he begins to hear the wind, and he begins to see the chaos. When he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid, and that's what will always get you, is that fear. Because God has not given us the spirit of fear. And beginning to think, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. Here's what I'm telling you. You cannot live the Christian life while you have your eyes on the winds and the waves. You cannot live the Christian life. You cannot walk on water. You cannot do that which you haven't done before, and which you were unable to do before, and that there are people on a boat saying, I can't believe you're doing that. What in the world do you think that you're doing, Peter? You cannot do it. You cannot do it while you're focused on anything other than Jesus. And while you're focused on Jesus and while you're focused on Christ, it seems like he just kind of takes care of it. But when your eyes get off of Jesus, and when your eyes go to Hebrews chapter 12, if you wouldn't mind, Hebrews chapter 12, when your eyes get off of Christ, we begin to think. And here's what's interesting. Here's what's interesting about the story with Peter, is that he started looking at the winds and the waves, and he got afraid. But here's what's funny about that. What's funny about that is that when he got out of the ship, there were winds and waves. It's not like it was a clear blue day, and the water was calm, and Jesus said, let me show you a trick. And he begins to walk on water, and Peter says, oh, let me try that. And then Peter gets on the water, and all of a sudden a storm comes. They were in the storm already. They were in the storm already. So what changed, Peter? What changed? And the only thing that changed was one thing. You're focused on Christ. And people sometimes say, I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can do this whole thing. I don't know if I can do this church thing. I don't know if I can do this Bible reading. I don't know if I can do this separated life thing. I don't know. The preaching is too long. It's too loud. It's too much Bible. I don't know if I can do it. I always tell people the same thing. Well, it was loud and long and Bible when you got here. It was soul winning when you got here. It was separated living when you got here. Nothing changed except one thing. You got your eyes on the winds and the waves. Are you there in Hebrews chapter 12? That was verse 2. Here's the key to the Christian life. If you're going to walk on water, if you're going to do that which you have not done before and do that which you were unable to do before, it'll happen if you can figure how to do this one thing. Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2, looking unto Jesus. Looking unto Jesus. Keep your focus on Jesus. And when you do that, notice what's emphasized, the author and finisher of our faith. See, when we keep our eyes on Jesus, you know what we get? Faith. You know why Paul was able to say we're going to be all right? Because he kept his eyes on God and he said, I believe God. When you keep your focus on Christ, when you keep your focus on God, when you keep your focus on the things of God, you will be filled with faith. What was the problem with Peter? Is that he kept his focus, he took his focus off of Christ and put it on his circumstances. And he began to think. And notice what Jesus says about it. Matthew 14, verse 31. We'll finish right here. Matthew 14 and verse 31. Matthew 14 and verse 31. Immediately, Jesus stretched forth his hand. Aren't you thankful that God is the God of the second chance and the third chance and the fourth chance? He doesn't look at Peter and say, well, Peter, you got yourself into this mess. You know how to swim, right? Peter says, I'm sinking. And Jesus stretched forth his hand. And by the way, we begin the Christian life by calling upon Jesus for salvation. But that's not the only time that you call upon Jesus for salvation. I'm not talking about spiritual salvation. You get born again. It's eternal security. You've got the Holy Spirit. We understand that. But we spend the rest of our lives calling upon Jesus to save us. And immediately, Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him, here's the problem. O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Because when you're looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith, you can, like Paul, say, I believe God. I know it looks bad, but I believe God. I know it doesn't look good. I know we haven't ate for seven days, guys. I know I was trying not to say, I told you so. I just had to put that out there. That's what Paul said. That's what I say, by the way, too. I'm just saying I told you, but I believe God. And when you have your faith in God and when you have your sight on God, you can do that, which you've never done before, and in fact, you can do that, which you were unable to do. Before, notice verse 32. And when they were coming to the ship, the wind ceased. The lesson was over. And Peter, I don't know that you could say he failed. He got off the boat. But here's what I'm telling you. For those of you going through a storm, it'll end. Your storm won't last forever. Now, understand this, that when you come out of the storm, enjoy, enjoy the peace and quiet for a while, but there's another storm on the horizon. It's just the way life goes. But the storms have an end. And when they were coming to the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying, of a truth, thou art the Son of God. And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret. And the point is this, the idea is this, that with Christ, I can do anything. And without Christ, I can do nothing. So if you find yourself sinking, get your eyes off the wind. Get your eyes off the waves. Because here's the thing, they were there. They were there when you got there. But with Christ, we can do it all. So there's storms. There's storms in our lives. We come in and out of them. They're hard sometimes. They seem like they're never going to end. But there's a lesson to be learned. And the best thing to do is to just say, OK, God, you want to teach me something. What is it? What am I missing? What should I learn? What is it that you want me to get? And if you're not in the storm, you say, man, things are sailing. Sometimes, you know, things are going good. Church is doing great. The attendance is up. The offerings are up. The soul winning is up. Everything's peaceful. My wife and I are just looking at each other, saying something's going to happen. Things are just a little too quiet. There's always a storm. There's always a storm to learn from it. That's why I had to have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for this story of Peter. And Lord, I just pray you'd help us to learn these lessons and apply them to our lives. And Lord, help us to just remember that whenever we get our eyes off of Christ, we're going to doubt. We're going to have a lack of faith. But when we put our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, we'll be filled with faith. We'll be able to say, like the apostle Paul, I believe God. And Lord, I pray you'd help us. Because we're either in a storm or about to go through a storm. And Lord, help us to just realize that these storms, they refine us. They reveal us. You put us in them for a reason. Help us to learn what we need to learn and to move on. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.