In the sermon 'Be of Good Cheer! It Is I,' Jason Dohm explores the passage from Matthew 14, where Jesus walks on water and calms a storm. The sermon highlights the importance of Jesus seeking solitude for prayer, showing that even amidst His busy ministry, He prioritized time with the Father. The narrative of Jesus walking on water is used to demonstrate His divine authority over nature, emphasizing that what are perceived as 'laws of nature' are actually governed by God's will. The experience of Peter walking on water illustrates the power of faith when focused on Christ and the consequences of doubt when distracted by circumstances. The sermon underscores the role of trials and hardships in spiritual growth, noting that Jesus often creates such circumstances to mature His disciples and build their trust in Him. Believers are encouraged to follow Jesus' example by seeking solitude in prayer and enlisting God’s help in their endeavors. The sermon concludes with the call for an increased knowledge of God to lead to deeper worship and a stronger faith in His nature and character.

Join with me as we read our text, Matthew 14, starting at verse 22, going to the end of the chapter. Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Now when the evening came, he was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

Now in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost! And they cried out for fear but immediately Jesus spoke to them saying be of good cheer it is I do not be afraid and Peter answered him and said Lord if it is you command me to come to you on the water. So he said, come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out saying, Lord save me. And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and said to him oh you of little faith why did you doubt and when they got into the boat the wind ceased Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, truly you are the son of God. When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Geneseret. And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent out all, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to him all who were sick, and begged him that they might only touch the hem of his garment.

And as many as touched it were made perfectly well. The title for the sermon this week is, Be of Good Cheer, It is I. It's a statement that comes right out of our text this morning. Jesus is going to say these words right in the middle of the sermon. Be of good cheer, it is I.

The happiness of God's people has always been wrapped up in the person of Jesus Christ. The courage of God's people always depends on the person of Jesus Christ. What a blessing it is to have this text that brings us right to this point. Life is going to have trouble. And Jesus is going to be with his people in the middle of the trouble that life brings.

And so that his people don't need to be afraid, that his people can actually be of good cheer. They can be happy and courageous right in the middle of the troubles that God will inevitably bring to us. In last week's text, Jesus was in search of solitude. This starts in verse 13. He's trying to get away with his disciples and to be by themselves.

They're looking for solitude, but they're looking for it very unsuccessfully. The crowds have anticipated them and have figured out where they are going and actually beat Jesus and his disciples to the spot. Jesus and his disciples are in the boat and the crowds go on foot and they beat Jesus there. So when Jesus is disembarking from the boat, he's looking out over multitudes of people. And when he looks out over these multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick.

That's what the text said last week. He was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick. That's what the text said last week. He was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick. So Jesus spends the afternoon healing the sick, teaching them.

We learned that in a parallel text. And then Jesus, as it's becoming meal time, Jesus commands his disciples to do something they can't possibly do. He says, you give them something to eat. And then in the parallel text, we see that Philip understands that for all these people, it's 5, 000 men plus the women and children, so maybe it's 10, 000 people. For all these people, just to have a little bit would cost eight months' wages for a day laborer.

And so Jesus is asking his disciples to do something they just don't have the capability to do. But Jesus does have the capability to do and he wants to put that on display and he does put that on display. And the text says, so they all ate and were filled. They didn't get the little that the eight months wages would have bought them. They ate to the full and then there are 12 baskets full of fragments that are picked up afterwards.

So that brings us to this week's text. Let's pray. Oh God, teach us, teach us, use your word to bring us along, to bring us to maturity, to conform us into the image of Christ, how we need to be taught by you, oh God. God we know these things are for us. We know that you've caused these things to be written down, all the things that you did to be recorded, so that we would be built up in our most holy faith, so that we would learn to trust you, so we would learn to be cheerful in you, to not be afraid.

God, I'm so happy over this text. It is a cause for rejoicing of your people that you have given these things to us as a mighty deposit. Now help us to be faithful stewards with these things in Jesus' name. So this is a text that has two parallel texts in other gospels. It's in Mark 6 verses 45 through 56.

So, Mark gives it a lot of space. And it's in the Gospel of John, also chapter 6, verses 15 through 21. So Mark and John also are recording at least parts of what we have in Matthew 14. As I said, the multitudes have been taught. The multitudes have been healed, those who were sick.

And the multitudes have been fed. Now I'd like for you to turn to John 6, one of these parallel texts. Turn to John 6. In John 6, we get something that Matthew doesn't even allude to, but it's a blessing to understand that this was something else that was also happening at the same time. Matthew doesn't even hint at this, but it's amazing what we see in John 6, beginning in verse 14.

This is right at the end of the meal that has been miraculously served to the multitudes. John 6, 14. Then those men, those 5, 000 men who have just been fed by Jesus, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, This is truly the prophet who is to come into the world. Therefore, when Jesus perceived that they were about to take him by force to make him king. He departed again to the mountain by himself alone.

So the People have seen that something miraculous happened. They probably can't explain it either. We'll get to his disciples not really understanding it to the depth that they would come to understand it. But the people have understood something miraculous happened here and they're ready to lay hands on him to make him king. And in John 6 it says that they are saying this is the prophet who is to come.

Now what they are talking about is Deuteronomy 18 verse 15 where Moses says, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear. So Moses was a prophet And Moses prophesied about another prophet that would be like him. So when the people say, Jesus is the prophet who is to come, that's what they are pointing back to. That Moses had prophesied that there would be another prophet to come in time that would be like him.

Now a prophet like Moses is a prophet who is a ruler. Most prophets are just delivering the mail. They're just saying what God has told them to say, but Moses was distinct from most prophets in that he was also the leader of the people. So the Israelites and oppressed people and occupied people are looking to this prophet who is to come who would also be a ruler, who would bring the words of God, but would also be a delivering ruler of the people. So they see Jesus, they see him feeding 10, 000 people from five loaves and two fishes, and they say, this is that prophet who is to come.

He's going to be a ruler of the people. We want to lay our hands on him and make him our king. Now Jesus is aware of all those undercurrents. He knows that it's going on. He knows exactly what's happening.

And he's here for solitude. He's not here for a coronation. He's not interested in what these people are interested in. So he acts decisively to head this off. He's doing two things.

One, he's making his disciples get into a boat and go before him to the other side and then he's sending the multitudes away. Now when it says that Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, it is a really strong word. He made them. The King James Version renders this. He constrained them to get into the boat and to go before Him to the other side.

Here's what Strong's, how Strong's defines that word. To necessitate, to compel, to drive to, to constrain. So it's a really strong word. Jesus is the suggestion. Get into the boat and go before Him.

He is constraining them. He's driving them to do it. He's compelling them to do it. He's necessitating them to do it. Here are the facts of the circumstances.

They are in a deserted place by design. They are looking for solitude. They are in this deserted place and the sun is going down. The sense of it is that the disciples are reluctant just to leave Jesus here in this place. Yet, in spite of their reluctance, Jesus is insistent.

He is making them do this, and so they obey him. Then Jesus sends the multitudes away. He dismisses them. They had had thoughts of a very different kind of event, but Jesus will have none of it, and he dismisses the crowd. He sends them away.

It's been a while in coming, but Jesus has his solitude. At last Jesus has his solitude. It says that he goes up on the mountain to pray. This ought to make us think immediately back to the Sermon on the Mount and what he taught his disciples in Matthew 6 verse 6. But you, when you pray, go into your room And when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place.

And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that you go and you shut the door and you pray to your Father who is in the secret place. So you go by yourself but you're not alone. That's what he taught in the Sermon on the Mount. So Jesus is looking for solitude but he's not looking to be alone at all.

He's looking to be with his Father. He goes to be with his Father. Listen to Luke 5.16. So he himself, so Jesus himself, often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. He often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

This is the pattern of Jesus' life. To steal away, imagine all the demands on a man who can raise the dead, heal the sick, can preach perfect sermons. What were the demands on Jesus' time like? And yet, Jesus isn't interested in spending every minute on that kind of work. He has a pattern of life that sees him stealing away to be alone with his father.

To be in solitude but not to be alone. To go be with God. Jesus practiced what he preached. It was important to Jesus to go and be with God. To go get alone, but not be alone.

To go and spend time with his father. This should be a red flag to us if this is not important to us. This was important to Jesus. If you find that this is not important to you, that it's not a priority, Just acknowledge that there's a disconnect between what was important to Jesus, between His pattern of life and what's important to you, what your pattern of life is. This is a red flag that This is an area of your life, a very important area of your life, where you have not been conformed to the image of your Lord.

It was important to Jesus. He often withdrew to the wilderness and prayed. One of the things that's striking in the Gospel accounts is the closeness that you see between Jesus and His Father when He talks about His Father, when He prays, when He addresses his father. You get the sense that there is so much closeness and intimacy there. This is not a surprise.

You see Jesus who has power in his preaching and his ministry. This is not a surprise. Jesus is cultivating this closeness and this power for his preaching and for his ministry by going away to be with God in prayer. This is the fountain of his closeness with God and of the power in His preaching and in His ministry. Listen, I can labor away like a little ant, and that's how much I can get done.

I'm just an ant, And I can move the little bit of leaf from one spot to the other. And you're just an ant too. You're not a whole lot better than me. The limitations to what you can do are great. We're just one person.

We are just one person. And yet, we can go and we can enlist the God of the universe to come to our aid, to work in us and through us. This is what Jesus did. He's setting a pattern for His people. He wants us to observe the pattern that He's putting before us in this text, so that we'll learn that we ought to go away, we ought to close the door, and pray to Him who is in the secret place.

You're not alone in that room. He is there in the secret place. That's what Jesus taught in Matthew 6. So instead of busying ourselves like a little ant, we ought to dedicate large periods of time where we enlist the Maker of heaven and earth. That's where the leverage is.

Not in extra busyness, but in actually seeking the face of the Lord, so that the things that are done are done in the power of God. Verses 24, Back to our text, Matthew 14, verses 24 through 27. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost.

And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer. It is I. Do not be afraid. In the Roman army, the night is broken into four watches.

They're three hours each. It starts at 6 p.m. And it ends at 6 a.m. So you have the night broken into four equal parts, or each three hours. So it's 6 p.m.

To 9 p.m. Then 9 p.m. Till midnight and midnight till 3 a.m. Then 3 a.m. Till 6 a.m.

And this is how the Romans would split up guard duty. It's a watch of the night. And so this all started at evening. This all started as the sun was going down. So now Jesus has been praying for nine hours.

He's been laboring in prayer. We don't know what he was praying for, but we know how long he's been praying. He's been there praying, seeking the Lord for nine hours. And the disciples have been struggling for nine hours. They were made to get in the boat and go ahead of Jesus, around 6pm or sometime around sundown, sometime in the first watch of the night.

And now it's the fourth watch of the night, and they've been doing a whole lot of rowing, and they're only out to the middle of the lake. In Mark 6, our parallel text in Mark, it says, Jesus saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. In John 6, our other parallel text, it says, a great wind was blowing. They had rowed about three or four miles. So Matthew says they're out in the middle, and John says they've rowed for about three or four miles.

So nine hours of rowing, three or four miles. This is just pathetic progress. This is terrible progress. The wind is against them. And here in our text it says that they were tossed by the waves.

The NASB and the ESB render it. They're being battered. Instead of tossed, they're being battered. And when you look at the Greek word battered is a pretty good rendering. They're being roughed up by the seas.

Everything is coming in the other direction. So while they should have made it way, way, way beyond three or four miles, You can comfortably walk four miles in an hour. And now it's been nine hours and they've only rode three or four miles out into the middle of the lake. Now turn to Matthew 8 because we've seen something that's really similar to this in Matthew 8. So turn to Matthew 8.

Here's Matthew 8, starting in verse 23. Now when he got into a boat, his disciples followed him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves, but Jesus was asleep. Then his disciples came to him and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us, we are perishing. But he said to them, why are you fearful, O you of little faith?

Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, Who can this be that even the winds and the sea obey him? So storms on the sea are not a surprise to these fishermen disciples of his. In fact, back in chapter 8, they've already been there seeing that. They've already been in the boat with Jesus when the seas are probably much worse than what's being described in chapter 14.

And yet, at that time, them being saved was very easy. All Jesus had to do was just rebuke the wind and the waves and the sea went calm. So that begs the question. Jesus knows his disciples have been out there laboring, rowing against this wind, being battered by the sea for nine hours. Why didn't he just make it stop?

Rebuke the wind and the waves again. Give them some relief. Here's the answer to the question. Jesus is making disciples. Jesus is making disciples.

He's creating circumstances to bring these men to maturity, to teach them things about themselves they're subject to the elements, to teach them things about himself, that the elements are subject to him. Jesus isn't reacting to circumstances. He's creating circumstances. The reason that the wind is against them is because Jesus sent a wind against them. The reason that they are being tossed and battered is because Jesus sent those waves.

And He is doing all this to disciple them. Here is what Matthew Henry says. The disciples were now where Christ sent them and yet met with this storm. Had they been flying from their master and their work as Jonah was when he was arrested by the storm. It had been a dreadful one indeed.

But they had a special command from their master to go to sea at this time and were going about their work. Note, it is no new thing for Christ's disciples to meet with storms in the way of their duty, and to be sent to see when their Master foresees a storm. But let them not take it unkindly. What he does they know not now, but they shall know hereafter, that Christ designs hereby to manifest himself with the more wonderful grace to them and for them." Jesus is manifesting Himself with the more wonderful grace to them or for them. He's doing this for their good and for His glory.

Their good And that we'll see by the end of this that they've been taught to trust Him in a whole new way. And for His glory that He can show Himself to be someone that no one else can ever be. God is making disciples So he's not reacting to the weather. He's creating the weather so that he can teach his people. Now here's the best part of this history to me.

Jesus walks to them on the sea. Just walking, like it's a dirt road, just comes walking by the boat. And he suspends the law of nature. Only that's completely the wrong way to say it. They're not the laws of nature.

They're the laws of God. We think, well, gravity pulls things down. That's why people can't walk on water. We think, water's liquid. That's why we can't walk on water.

Nope. These things are only so because they serve the counsels of God. That's the only reason things fall down when you drop them, is because that's the good pleasure of God. Water is only liquid and lets things slide right through because it serves his purposes. He thinks that's good.

It's not a law of nature. It's a law of God. He sustains all things by the counsel of his own will. Listen to Job 9 verse 8. This is actually Job saying this.

Job 9 verse 8. God alone spreads out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. God alone spreads out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. In other words, dome translation, if you make it you can walk on it. If you can spread out the heavens then you can tread on the waves of the sea.

If you make it you can walk on it. If you make it, you rule over it. So the disciples are finding themselves very subject to the elements. But Jesus is proving that the elements are completely subject to him. Not surprisingly, the disciples find this very alarming.

They see Jesus walking by and they say, It is a ghost. The Greek word means it's an apparition. Phantasma. It's a phantasm. It's an apparition.

And they cry out in fear. You have a hard time blaming them, don't you? There's not a frame of reference to what they're seeing. There is someone out there walking on the waves of the sea. So they're afraid.

So Jesus immediately says, be of good cheer. Cheer up. Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.

In other words, disciples, you're in the wrong frame of mind about this. This is not something to fear. This is your deliverance. Your salvation is at hand. It makes me wonder, how many of them as they're struggling against, as they're being battered by the sea, as they're struggling against the wind, or thinking back to chapter 8 and thinking, wow, I wish Jesus was in the boat with us so he could just say stop and we would have calm seas.

In the middle of toil and hardship, Jesus comes with a message to his people. And it's always the same message. Be of good cheer. It is I. Do not be afraid.

And this didn't start with Jesus. You can heap this up. I'm going to heap it up a little. But if you wanted to go crazy and bring in all the references, you could make a mountain of them. God's been saying this to His people for thousands of years, These same words.

Jesus will say this again in John 16-33. In John 16-33, Jesus has just said that they are going to be scattered. And he promises them that there will be tribulation. He says, these things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but Be of good cheer.

I have overcome the world. In Acts 23, 11, Paul has almost just been torn to pieces by the Jews. And the Roman garrison sees that he's getting pulled, and he's going to be torn to bits, and they come and they rescue him. Here is Acts 23, 11. But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul, for as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome." There are times in the lives of the people of God where it looks like things are spiraling out of control.

That's not true. They are not spiraling out of control, and so Jesus will come and stand beside you and say, Be of good cheer. It is I. Isaiah 41, 13, For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, fear not, I will help you. Isaiah 43, 1 and 2, but now thus says the Lord who created you oh Jacob, and he who formed you oh Israel, Fear not, for I have redeemed you.

I have called you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you." We should be comforted because Jesus said this to his disciples.

But we should be more comforted that he said it a hundred times and not just to his disciples. God has been saying this to his people over and over and over and over again. Be of good cheer. Fear not. The people of God ought to be full of confidence.

The people of God ought to be completely unafraid, because Jesus Christ is the sovereign King of the universe. And He is always with His people. It's the first watch of the night. You encounter hardship. It's the second watch of the night and you're straining at the oars.

It's the third watch of the night and you're being battered, Jesus will come in the fourth watch of the night. He'll come. And when He comes, He's not late. He's right on time. And He's allowed you to go through First watch, second watch, third watch.

Not because he's not paying attention, not because he doesn't care, but because he doesn't want you to be a baby forever. Because he wants to bring you along. He wants to bring you to maturity. He wants to conform you to the image of his son and create in you such a trust of God that in the future you'll stop worrying in the first watch of the night. And you'll stop thinking that he doesn't care in the second watch of the night.

And you'll stop despairing in the third watch of the night, because every time you've been taught through time that he'll come. And he won't be late. And so in the fourth watch, when he comes, you won't be surprised. But you will have known all along that he would come. J.C.

Ryle says this, He may allow his people to be tried for a season and tossed to and fro by storms of trouble. He may be later than they wish in coming to their aid, and not draw near till the fourth watch of the night, but never let them forget that winds and waves and storms are all Christ's servants. The wind and the waves, the battering of the boat are just servants of Christ to do what he intended to do all along. Verses 28 through 33. Matthew 14, 28 through 33.

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. So He said, come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out saying, Lord, save me.

And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and said to him, Oh, you of little faith, Why did you doubt? And when they had got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, truly you are the Son of God. I always like it when Peter comes into the narrative. The pace always quickens.

Peter answers Jesus after he said, Be of good cheer, it is I, do not be afraid. Peter immediately answers them and says, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. Now back in chapter 12 verse 38, the scribes and the Pharisees have said, teacher we want to see a sign from you. And not only does Jesus not give them a sign, He calls them all the worst things in the book. He compares them to pagans, famously sinful cities.

And yet now, when Peter says, if it's you, command me to come to you on the waters, not only does he not rebuke Peter, not only does he not compare Peter to the infamously sinful, he actually says, come! Come to me on the water. And it's because Peter was resolved to trust in Christ. He's not saying this so that Christ will prove him wrong. He has resolved to trust in Christ and he stands there ready to put his money where his mouth is.

That's a million miles away from what the scribes and the Pharisees were. That's not why the scribes and Pharisees were asking for a sign. So Peter gets a very different response. Peter wants to believe. Peter has a predisposition to believe and to trust, and he is willing to act.

He is hungry to experience the power of God. As we see all throughout the gospels, Peter is not a guy who likes to hear about things. He is not a guy who likes to hear about things. He's not a guy who likes to watch things. He's a guy who wants to be right in the middle of things.

Here's Peter. He is hungry to experience the power of God. He has heard it. He has seen it. But Peter wants to be right in the middle of it.

So Jesus says, come, and Peter crawls out of the boat. And verse 29 says, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. So now there's two men out of the boat, both of them standing on water. Gravity is not working, the liquid nature of water is not working, and Jesus is on the water and Peter is on the water. And we get to verse 30, but, but, oh no, that disastrous word inserted into the text.

When he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. So while Peter is literally walking in the obedience of faith, he's fine. He's walking on water. Gravity is not working. The liquid nature of water is not working.

But when he begins to look at the external circumstances, his faith begins to fail. He begins to sink and he cries out, Lord, save me. Now Peter is not always the sharpest hack in the drawer, but Peter does exactly what we should do when our faith begins to fail. We should cry out to God that He would save us. Verse 31, immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him.

And then He says to Peter, oh you of little faith, why did you doubt? It was the doubt. It was the doubt that did Peter in. When he was acting in faith, in obedience, remember command me to come out on the water. Jesus says come.

That's the response to Peter, so it's a command. Come. When he's acting in the obedience of faith, the water is as firm as a rock. James 1, 6-8. But Let him ask in faith with no doubting.

For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. When Peter crawls out of the boat, he is a single-minded man. He has his eyes fixed on Jesus, and the water is firm beneath his feet.

But he doubted. Sounds like James has heard this story, doesn't he? Like a wave tossed by the sea. Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 5, 7, for we walk by faith, not by sight. That's the perfect verse for this, isn't it?

When Peter's walking by faith, the water's firm beneath him. And yet, when he starts to walk by sight, When he sees that the winds are boisterous, and he looks around at these rough seas, then it's then that he begins to sink. Here are two observations about this. First, Jesus acts immediately on Peter's behalf. The law of sowing and reaping would have put Peter at the bottom of the ocean.

Peter's faith has failed. It's been shown to be a little faith. But Jesus isn't despising Peter, and when Peter cries out for help, there's not a whisker of delay. Jesus stretches out his hand and catches him. Psalm 103 verse 14, for he knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust.

This is Not to say that Jesus is happy that Peter's faith failed. He's not happy and he rebukes Peter for it. And yet, Jesus remembers that Peter is dust. He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust.

So the first thing is that Jesus acts immediately in mercy and compassion to help Peter who is called for help. The second thing to observe is that Jesus expects Peter to remain firm in his faith. He expects him to. Which is why he rebukes him and says, Oh, you of little faith. Jesus expects to be trusted by his people.

That's what he expects. And it's not good when the faith of his people fails. That Jesus would expect to be trusted is a reasonable expectation. Even in this circumstance, even in walking on water, it is a reasonable expectation for Jesus to expect to be trusted. Because He is the object of faith.

The disappointment is not so much that Peter succumbs to something. It's that Faith is rooted in the nature and character of God. In other words, you have faith in all sorts of things. And have that just be the power of positive thinking. So this is not a failure of positive thinking here.

This is a failure to continue in trust in the nature and character of God. And so the nature and character of gravity ceases to matter. The nature and character of water ceases to matter. The nature and character of winds and waves ceases to matter. And the nature and character of God matters.

The reason why God expects His people to trust Him is because He is the most trustworthy entity in all the universe. Not just because He never lies, but because He can do anything. And so His people ought to trust Him. And we need to look at this passage and know that God expects to be trusted. No matter how hard the winds blow or no matter how high the waves get, God expects you to trust Him because He is trustworthy and because He has shown Himself faithful.

So if you have a saving faith, even if it is a small faith, if it begins to fail, You ought to call out to Him. You ought to say, Lord, save me! Because if and when you do, He will immediately stretch out His hand and catch you. And secondly, we should know that our God expects us to trust Him. Though He knows we are frail, it is not okay with Him that our faith fails because our faith is rooted and grounded in His own nature and character.

A final comment on this part. Peter had a perception about the condition of his faith. He thought it would be adequate. But the circumstances proved that it was not adequate, that it was a little faith. If you had asked Peter, Peter you have a little faith?

He would say no, I have a big faith. That's why I crawled out of the boat. But it wasn't true. And this will happen to Peter again. There will come a day when Peter will say, if everyone else forsakes you, I will not forsake you.

If I have to die, I will not deny you. Not true. Not true. You'll deny me three times by the time the rooster crows and This should be a check for us. This should be a warning for us when we look at Peter To know that this is not an uncommon thing that people think have a perception about their faith and sometimes circumstances come and show that our perception was not reality.

And so Jesus teaches us to pray that we would not be led into temptation. Do you pray that? I was thinking about that. I don't pray that hardly ever. That's the part of the Lord's Prayer that I rarely utter.

It's because my perception of my faith doesn't match reality. I'm just like Peter. And probably you don't pray that either and it's probably for the same reason the perception of your faith is one thing and Circumstances are Going to rebuke you for that perception. We should pray we should think rightly about our faith. It's a small faith.

And we should be praying that God would not lead us into temptation. We should not be proud or haughty about our faith. Because until you've been out there on the water and seen the boisterous winds, you don't know what your faith will be like. They get into the boat and the wind ceases immediately. So Peter and Jesus back in the boat.

Now after nine hours of battering, after being contrary to the wind, it's calm. Why is it calm? Because The wind has finished its work for Jesus. The wind was doing Jesus' bidding, and now, mission accomplished, so there's no more need for the wind. So the wind ceases, and it's calm.

Jesus has shown His disciples who they are. They're subject to the elements. Jesus has shown his disciples who he is, the elements are subject to him. So the wind ceases, the waves become calm, and there is nothing left to do but to gather and worship Jesus and to declare, you are truly, truly, you are the son of God. Now 12 hours earlier, Jesus has probably fed 10, 000 people with five loaves and two fish.

He's been raising the dead, he's been preaching perfect sermons, he's been healing the sick. And yet we've not seen this. And maybe it happened, but it's not recorded that it happened. But when the disciples have seen this, they have a different level of understanding than they've ever had about who Jesus is. And there's nothing left to do but to gather around Him and to worship Him as God.

Listen to Mark 6, 52. Again, this is our parallel passage in Mark. For they, the disciples, had not understood about the loaves because their heart was hardened. They had not understood about the loaves because their heart was hardened. They had not understood about the loaves because their heart was hardened.

Now does that mean that they didn't know a miracle had happened there? They had to have known that there was a miracle that had happened there. Even these five thousand men knew that a miracle had happened there, and they want to make Jesus king. So they knew it was a miracle, so they knew it, but they didn't know it. They had a certain level of understanding, but not the right level of understanding.

And so, when there's this additional miracle of Jesus walking on the water, there's new depth to the understanding of who Jesus really is. They had not understood about the loaves. They should have known that truly Jesus was the Son of God from the loaves, but it didn't sink that far in. And yet when Jesus comes out to this boat, walking on the water, they have an additional depth of understanding. And the result is that they gather and they worship Him.

Haven't you found this to be so true of the Christian walk? When you think back of all the things you did not know when you were baptized. You didn't know anything. You were so ignorant. And so was I.

And even the things you knew you didn't know. You know what I mean by that? I sort of had an inkling. I had read the words in the Gospel, but I didn't really know that. And the longer you live, the more you see by experience, and the more of the Word of God you know, the just more depth.

And you start to see, Hey, there's a thousand layers here. It's not just two layers. There's a thousand layers here. And I'm on layer seven and there's so much more to know. What we should take from this is that the more we learn, when God gives us another layer down, there should be a deepening of our worship.

There should be more worship. Knowledge of the Scriptures is not for head knowledge that puffs up. It's that we would worship. It's that we would love Him. That's why He's teaching us, is to increase our worship of Him.

John 20, verses 30 and 31. And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. Jesus is doing all these things before His disciples. The things that were recorded, but John 20 says there were many other things that were never recorded, signs that Jesus did.

It's so that they might know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And then they were recorded so that you might know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And it's so that we might have life in His name and we might worship at His feet. Why do you think we are here in this Gospel? Why is it?

Do we just have to have the next thing to study? We just finished one book so we had to have another book. No, God has us here so that we can hear the things that He said, we can see the things that He did, and that we can know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that we might have life in His name, and that we might worship Him like we've never worshiped Him before. I can tell you, my faith is increasing because we're in the Gospel of Matthew. We're studying these texts and my faith is growing.

And my worship is growing. Is your worship growing as we go through this Gospel? As we hear what our Lord says? As we see what our Lord does? Is your worship deepening?

It ought to be. God isn't teaching us these things so we'd be smart. He's teaching us these things so we will know Him and we will fall down at His feet and worship Him. Verses 34-36. When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.

And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent out into all the surrounding region, brought to him all who were sick, and begged him that they might only touch the hem of his garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well. In John 6, 21, again this parallel text in John, It says, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going. Immediately the boat was at land where they were going. In other words, it took them three watches of the night to get halfway.

Then when Jesus is in the boat, they're immediately there. This is how it goes sometimes. And Jesus disembarks in Gennesaret and he's immediately recognized. And here's what Mark 6 says. That the men who recognized him, Mark 6.55, ran through that whole surrounding region and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard he was.

So they see Jesus, they recognize Him, and then they run out to find people who are sick, and then they bring them on beds to wherever Jesus is. Our text in Matthew says that three things happened. They recognized him. They sent out. They brought to him four things happened.

And they begged him. They begged him to heal these people. Now, we're not even two chapters removed from the end of 13, well one chapter removed from the end of 13, where he's in his hometown, people dismiss him because he's too familiar. And it says at the end of chapter 13, he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Now here is a completely different kind of people who recognize him, who honor him, and it says, as many as touched the hem of his garment were made perfectly well.

These people honor Jesus and he pours out his grace on them. Not only do they not despise him, when they recognize him, they send runners out. They send runners out to find people who are sick, because they know he'll heal them. We ought to be like this. Knowing Jesus, having recognized Jesus, we ought to be running to find people who need to be healed and bring them to Jesus.

If they just touch the hem of his garment, they'll be healed. A few concluding remarks. First, we're disciples. We're learners. We're being trained by Jesus.

We are learners. We are being trained by Jesus. And that means he is likely to create circumstances that batter us. It's not because he doesn't love us, it's because he does love us. And he's conforming us into his image.

And it can't always be done through pleasantries or book learning. Sometimes he needs to send wind and waves so that we'll be so aware that we're subject to the elements and we'll be humbled by it. So when he comes in the fourth watch of the night, we'll become so aware that the elements are subject to him and we'll trust him like we never trusted him before. This is how Jesus makes disciples. This is how he trains them.

Isn't it time that we stop being surprised by trials? But that we learn to count them all joy because this is what Jesus is doing. Jesus creates storms to conform His people into His image, to teach them, to bring them to maturity. Secondly, God expects his disciples to trust him implicitly. He doesn't want to rebuke us for small faith.

He wants us to be built up in our most holy faith. J.C. Ryle says this, how much there is in all this to encourage men to serve Christ. Where is the man that ought to be afraid to begin running the Christian race? With such a Savior as Jesus.

If we fall, He will raise us again. If we err, He will bring us back. But his mercy shall never be altogether taken from us. He has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, and he will keep his word. May we only remember that While we do not despise little faith, we must not sit down content with it.

Our prayer must ever be, Lord increase our faith. This is such a helpful summary by J.C. Ryle. God does not despise little faith. He was willing to immediately stretch out his hand and catch Peter.

He did not despise. But neither ought we be content. As J.C. Ryle says, we shouldn't sit down content with little faith. We should always be praying, Lord increase our faith.

Finally, increased knowledge must result in increased worship. That's why God gives us increased knowledge so we'll know Him better and that we will worship Him. Here is how we know if the things we are learning are really sinking in. That's how you know. Are all these things I'm learning, are they just puffing up my head, or is something real being developed here?

Here's how you tell. Am I growing in worship? If not, you're like the disciples. You've seen the feeding of the 5, 000 and yet their hearts are hardened. It just didn't go very deep.

They saw it, they knew it, but they didn't know it. But when the understanding goes another level down, another layer deeper, there's nothing they can do but to gather around Jesus and worship Him and say truly you are the Son of God. Let's pray. Father we thank you for this text. Make us a people humble, knowing who we are, and trustful, knowing who you are.

Increase our faith, Lord. Help us not to be content with small faith. In Jesus' name, Amen.