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Let's turn in your Bibles to Matthew's Gospel, Matthew chapter 14. For our supper, our meditation before the Lord's Supper, Matthew chapter 14, our focus will be verses 22 and 33. It's thematically connected to what we saw this morning in Psalm 3, specifically the divine Savior comforting and strengthening His afflicted church in the midst of trial.

So I'll read Matthew 14 beginning in verse 22. 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 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. Literally, he says, I am. 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 worshipped Him, saying, Truly, You are the Son of God." Amen.

Well, let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for the written Word of the living and true God. We pray that the Spirit of truth would guide our thoughts now, that you would encourage us again with reference to the trials and the afflictions that we face in this present evil age to know that you are our shield, you are our glory, you are the one who lifts our heads up. And we praise you for that. We thank you for the Lord of glory himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. And for his mission in terms of the gospel of our salvation, for his life, his death, his resurrection, we praise you for his session now at the right hand of God Almighty. And we do look with great anticipation to his return again in glory to judge the living and the dead. May we all be fit and ready and prepared, clothed in his righteousness for that great day. Again, forgive us for all sin and unrighteousness, and we ask this now in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, in this particular section of Matthew's Gospel, it records miracles around the Lake of Galilee when Jesus feeds the multitudes, according to verses 13 to 21. He walks on the water here in verses 22 to 33, and continues his ministry of healing in verses 34 to 36. The Christological import comes to full expression in the confession by the disciples, specifically in verse 33. It says, then those who were in the boat came and worshiped him saying, excuse me, truly you are the son of God. And that's one of the take home lessons that we wanna bring out tonight.

So the feeding of the 5,000, the walking on the water and the calming of the wind demonstrate his supremacy and sovereignty over nature itself. These miracles confirm or affirm with reference to who he is, the one sent by the father to save his people from their sins. As well as I mentioned in the outset, the passage underscores the comfort that a divine savior affords to his afflicted church. There's a similar passage in Matthew chapter 8, not the walking on the water per se with reference to Peter, but the calming of the sea and the wind.

So I want to look first at the storm on the sea in verses 22 to 27, secondly the salvation at sea in verses 28 to 32, and then the significance of the event on the sea in verse 33.

But if you look specifically at verses 22 and 23, we've got instructions given to the disciples and to the multitudes on the heels of his having fed the 5,000. "In John's Gospel, a parallel passage, after the feeding of the 5,000, the people want to seize Jesus by force and make Him a king. Not because they recognize that He is the Messiah sent by God, but because He had fed their bellies. So Jesus wants to tame that messianic uproar. So he tells the disciples to get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he sent the multitudes away. And then Jesus, as was his custom, seeks solace, solitude by himself to go and pray and to commune with his father.

If you notice specifically in verse 23, when he had sent the multitude away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Now when evening came, he was alone there. It's probably dusk. There's a reference to the fourth watch in verse 25, which would have been about three in the morning to six in the morning. So where we're at specifically now in verse 23, it's about dusk. And then that brings us to the storm on the sea in verse 24.

Notice, but the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. So it's a difficult situation for these men, these fishermen, and as Osborne points out, this occurred regularly on that lake, since it was 600 feet below sea level and ringed with mountains to the east, so that the air would surge through the mountains and kick up huge waves, sometimes eight to nine feet high. And again, Matthew 8 records a similar occurrence with reference to the Sea of Galilee. So this is something that was somewhat commonplace. It wasn't outlandish. It was something that occurred.

But we see that even seasoned fishermen, men experienced with this part of the world, were nevertheless afraid at the tumult of the sea at this particular time. And not only do we have the Lord doing miracles, but the association of our Lord Jesus Christ with Yahweh in the Old Covenant is another thing that comes out very clearly or conspicuously in this particular passage. So notice again in verse 24, but the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

As we learned this morning in our study in Psalm 3, the people of God are not immune to the trials, the afflictions, and the difficulties that affect all men everywhere. In other words, just because you're a believer doesn't mean there'll never be a trial. Just because you're a believer doesn't mean there'll always ever be calm seas. In fact, in Matthew 8, the parallel, or rather in another account of a similar situation, Jesus is in the boat with them when this storm breaks out. So the presence of Christ in the life of God's people does not mean the absence of affliction. As we saw this morning in Psalm 3, David understands that God has not deserted him even in the midst of his flight from Absalom. David, contrary to his accusers, nevertheless understood that God was his shield, God was his glory, God was the lifter up of the head, even in the midst of the valleys, even in the midst of the hardships and trials. The disciples will learn this fact as well, and this is one of the reasons why we have it here in Holy Scripture. 

Also, we need to observe, if it's dusk, according to verse 23, and then Jesus passes by them in the fourth watch, there's a few hours that happened in between. And so what that indicates to us is something, again, that none of us should be surprised by, is that the Lord doesn't always immediately deliver his people from their difficulties and hardships. 

You probably have something in your life that has tested you, or tried you, or afflicted you, and you have prayed for God to remove it, because that's typically the way that we go. And that's not wrong. The Apostle Paul, when he had that thorn in the flesh, he prayed to God to remove that thorn in the flesh. It's not wrong to ask for God to remove your affliction. It's not wrong to ask God to remove the thorn from the flesh. but it's wrong to demand that he immediately perform. 

And when we look at scripture, we see that there is oftentimes long distances between promises made and promises executed, or the execution of those things. We've got the instance of the children of Israel, 400 years in bondage in Egypt prior to the conquest and the entrance into the promised land. And so these disciples were at their wit's end for a period of time, according to the passage. 

So the disciples of Christ are not immune from trial and difficulty, and the Lord Jesus doesn't always immediately grant us specifically what we ask in prayer. We need grace. We need perseverance. We need to pray that if you don't remove the thorn, grant me the grace to live with the thorn. If you don't remove the storm, give me the grace to deal with the storm. If you don't remove the burden, give me the shoulders that are necessary to carry that burden. 

See, we conclude that if the burden isn't lifted, then God for some reason hasn't heard us and He hasn't answered us. But again, Psalm 3, 4. The psalmist prays to the Lord, who's on His holy hill of Zion, and the Lord hears, and the Lord answers. And as Spurgeon says, when we have a prayer-hearing God, we do not need to be afraid of a frowning world. 

And then notice in verses 25 and 26, we see what Ryle calls Jesus as the ruler of the waves. Notice in verses 25 and 26, now in the fourth watch of the night, again, 0300 to 0600, 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. 

So he left his solitude to go to the disciples. But notice again, there's probably a couple hours in there. He didn't leave his solitude immediately. Demonstrates by that his solitude and communion with the Lord God Most High takes precedence, takes priority. Sometimes we can do the best for other people by spending more time with God first. 

John G. Peyton records the life growing up under a godly father, and they had a room in the house that the father would use for his devotions. And basically, Peyton says, you didn't go near that room when father was in there. Not because you would get yelled at, or you'd get struck down, or you would spontaneously combust, but dad was having holy dealings with God Most High, and everybody understood that. Again, the priority structure in the kingdom is seek him first and his righteousness, and then these things will be added to us. Sometimes we can do better for our wives, better for our husbands, better for our children, when we put God first. That's the pecking order, that's the structure, that's the priority.

Now, brethren, if your wife's about to fall off a bridge, you don't say, I'm spending time with God. Grab her, pull her back in, and then spend time with God. Obviously, wisdom must prevail in all of these circumstances.

So he left his solitude to go to his disciples, and then he walked on the sea in order to reach them. And again, that's something that, you know, we are, it's kind of old hat with us. We read the gospel narratives, we hear them preach, and we know, yeah, Jesus walked on the water. Jesus walked on the water. That's an impossibility. It's miraculous.

Those who deny the supernatural say that Jesus walked on the shore, or Jesus walked on a hidden reef or sandbar, or there was a sudden freeze on the lake. But consider that Simon Peter sunk into what? Not the sand, not ice. He sank into the water. The Lord Jesus walked on the water.

And I believe that this miracle confirms that He is truly the Son of God, but is unity with the Father in the divine essence. Consider the Old Testament, Job 9.8, he alone spreads out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. Psalm 77.19, your way was in the sea, your path is in the great waters and your footsteps were not known. Or Isaiah 43.16, thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea and a path through the mighty waters.

I think that's probably The preeminent lesson communicated by Jesus to the disciples that evokes this confession truly are the Son of God. The walking on the water, the calming of the wind in the sea. All of these things, evidence manifest and demonstrate this unity of nature with the Father.

But they would have an Old Testament mindset. They would know that it's Yahweh that treads the waves. It's Yahweh that walks on the water. It's Yahweh that has supremacy and power. Gil says, Job 9.8 This is why they say, truly, you are the Son of God.

So then notice, again, verse 26 specifically. There's something intriguing here. Not that the whole account isn't intriguing. But verse 26, and when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a ghost, and they cried out for fear. The fear is consistent. I mean, all the accounts, or several of the accounts in the gospel records, when Jesus exercises supremacy and sovereignty over nature, the typical response on the part of the disciples is fear.

In fact, in Mark, what kind of man is this? What manner of man is this? He can speak to wind? He can speak to waves, and they calm, and they cease and desist? That would provoke fear. But notice, their fear is connected to this ghost. Gil, among others, points out beliefs among the Jews concerning nocturnal apparitions, demons in human forms.

The Jews, especially the sect of the Pharisees, had a notion, from whom the disciples might have theirs, of spirits, apparitions, and demons being to be seen in the night. In other words, superstition. But the thing that is intriguing is that in their mind, it was easier to believe that this was a ghost walking on the sea than Jesus. It was easier to connect with that Pharisaic notion of these nocturnal apparitions, demons perhaps, appearing as ghosts. They saw that as more likely and more realistic than their friend, than their master, than their Lord whom they had been with. Again, brethren, I kind of don't blame them because usually your friends don't walk on the sea. Usually your friends don't talk to the wind. I mean, if they do, you probably don't want to be their friends for a whole lot longer. You know what I mean? He talks to the wind and it stops. He talks to the waves and they stop. It was easier to believe an apparition or a ghost than it was that God was with us.

Now John starts off his gospel presentation with the divinity of Jesus. You know the text, in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. But so does Matthew. Matthew in the birth narrative of our Lord tells us the name given to our Lord Jesus Christ. You shall call His name Jesus, which means Yahweh is salvation, for He will save His people from their sins. But also in Matthew 1.23, you shall call His name Emmanuel, which is translated God with us. So again, it was easier to believe that there was a ghost walking to them on this sea than it was to believe that God was in fact with us.

So the disciples are troubled, the disciples are fearful, and then notice how the Savior deals with them according to verse 27. This is, again, a principle we should take with us into any future afflictions or trials. I'm always hesitant to say this, because then somebody's gonna fall into something tomorrow and say I, you know, cursed you or vexed you or something. Trials are inevitable. I just do not see the validity of trying to pretend that Christianity is only ever about good things. I mean, it is on the one hand, but there's trials and difficulties.

A brother this morning in prayer meeting quoted from Hebrews chapter 11 in the context of praying for the persecuted church, in the context of praying for the people of God throughout this world that presently right now are suffering for the cause of God and truth. What's the end of Hebrews chapter 11? The people of God get good cars. They get big houses. They get summer homes. They get big accounts. No, they're sawn in two. They wander destitute. They're clothed in rags. They're the scorn of the world. They're looked down upon. They're mistreated. That's the reality. Jesus says, if the world hated me, it's going to hate you. So this concept of a Christianity that has no affliction, that has no trial, that has no difficulty, that has no suffering, has no basis in Holy Scripture. In other words, the so-called health, wealth, and prosperity gospel is a lie, through and through.

This idea that it's only ever going to be a bed of roses for the people of God because we're children of the King. Well, the Son of God himself learned obedience through suffering. David had to flee Absalom when Absalom usurped and took over his kingdom. David had to know what it was to fight Philistines. David knew what it was to escape from Saul who wanted to kill him. The Apostle Paul, many places, in many instances, rehearses for us and to us the things that he suffered for the cause of Jesus Christ.

I would go so far as to say that if you know nothing of trial, if you know nothing of affliction, if you know nothing of hardship or difficulty, that's when I would suspect the validity of a confession of faith. Now, if you're a sensitive soul out there, don't take that too strongly. You're going to go out and say, everything's going pretty good, I must not be a believer. That's not my point. The point is, Revelation 3, as many as I love, I reprove and chasten, Jesus says in Revelation 3. To the church, by the way, at Laodicea, whom just a few verses previously, he had said, I'm going to spit you out of my mouth. As many as I love, I reprove and chasten.

The Lord God Most High brings us through these things to further conform us unto the image of His beloved Son. And if the Son learned obedience through suffering, the sons by adoption are going to learn obedience through suffering as well. It's going to be hardship. There's going to be trial. But this is Jesus' instruction in the midst of it. Be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. In other words, be encouraged. John 16, 33, in this world you will have tribulation, but be of good courage, be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. And then he goes on to say, it is I. But again, it is I am. The use of I am is common in John's gospel. Jesus says, before Abraham was I am. The Jews understood all too well what he was asserting, so they picked up stones to throw at him because he, being a man, made himself to be God. This goes back to Exodus 3.14. It goes back to places in the prophet Isaiah. It is God. When Jesus says, I am, we shouldn't miss that.

While not as common in Matthew's gospel as it is in John's gospel, the fact that He's walking on the water, the fact that there's an obvious connection between Him and the Yahweh that Job spoke of and the psalmist spoke of and the prophet spoke of, The fact that he says I am in this context ought to grip our minds and hearts in the way it does with reference to John's gospel when Jesus likewise refers to himself as I am. The Lord Jesus is God with us and tells this to his disciples to encourage and cheer them. So again, it's not be of good cheer, pull up your bootstraps, be strong, don't be sissies. That's not the rationale. Be of good cheer. Why? Because I am. It's like the psalmist this morning in Psalm 3. How is it that he can sleep well? How is it that he can have courage? It's based on who God is. It's based on the fact that he's a shield, that he's our glory, that he is the lifter up of the head. It's tethered into who God is in terms of His nature, and that's precisely what Jesus says here. Be of good cheer, I am.

So in our afflictions, in our hardships, in our difficulties, what's the balm of Gilead? What's the tonic? What's the antidote? What's the help? What's the remedy? It's the divinity of our blessed Savior. It's the fact that truly He is the Son of God, and He is for us. Osborne said, this is the I am of Psalm 77, 19. The I am who provides a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, leaving footprints unseen. As Yahweh treads the waters, so does Jesus. That's the emphasis in the passage. Bruner says, this is no ordinary hello on water. This be of good cheer. could be just an ordinary greeting. We say hello to one another. We might sometimes say, if we're feeling specifically NKJ-only-ish, be of good cheer, brethren, when I see you. But as he says, this is no ordinary hello on the water. It is the divine Lord addressing his storm-tossed church. That's what we need to see. It's the God of Psalm 3, walking on the water, seeing these troubled disciples. They're fearful, thinking they've seen a ghost. And Jesus' response? Be of good cheer. I am.

And then note the prohibition. Do not be afraid. This comes out in spades in this passage, but all throughout scripture, how many times does scripture repeat to fear not? Why do you think it's repeated so many times? Because it seems to be our default position. We fear men. We fear everything. We fear a lot. We fear being looked at as weird. We fear being the odd man out. Sometimes young people succumb to peer pressure. I don't want to identify with Jesus because people will think I'm weird.

It's better that people think you're weird. These again are people that arguably are much weirder in a whole host of ways. Why do we care if the nation of Canada thinks we're weird? A nation that celebrates abortion. A nation that teaches you can become a man if you're a woman or you can become a woman if you're a man. Why should we fear being called weird by people who programmed iPhones to have pregnant man emoji? I'm sorry, but we're not the weird ones in this present age.

There's a fearfulness that attaches itself to us, and the Lord Jesus grounds this prohibition in his identity, I am. Why shouldn't we fear? Because Jesus is the son of God. Why shouldn't we fear? Because Jesus is the ruler of the waves. Why shouldn't we fear? Because Jesus sees us through the valley of the shadow of death. Why shouldn't we fear? Because He's our shield, He's our glory, He's the lifter up of our heads. This Jesus calms the people of God by virtue of the fact that He is the Son of God. That's the lesson in the passage.

Now notice then, the salvation at sea. Peter makes a request, not in the parallel accounts, but Peter answers him and says, If it is you, command me to come to you on the water. The if it is you could be also rendered since it is you, a condition of fact. I think that's a better rendering. Since it is you, command me to come to you on the water. So the Lord then, with divine power, not only has the ability to walk on the water, but to enable Peter to walk on the water as well. So Jesus answers in response in verse 29. So he said, come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. Again, an incredible thing. It's easy to read it because we've read it so many times. We've heard it preached so many times. But think about this. Peter is now walking on the water.

Peter, Peter the man that, you know, in a couple of chapters is gonna, you know, get in Jesus' face and say, I don't want you to go to Jerusalem. And Jesus is gonna say, get behind me, Satan. Peter, the impetuous one, the ready, fire, aim guy. the swinger of sword at the servant of Malchus and lopped off his ear. This Peter is now walking on the water, not from any intrinsic power in Peter, but from the power of the Son of God who bids him come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. He steps out in faith.

But then notice in verse 30, but when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me. Again, I think that really depicts the human condition for people in Christ. There's times where, yeah, we act in great faith and courage. And then the moment the heat is turned up, oh. I'm not picking on Peter, brethren. I'm identifying with Peter. This is a self-outing. I get this. It's easy to jump out into the fray, isn't it? And then realize, hey, I'm in the fray. It's safer out of the fray. It's safer back on the boat. So Simon Peter listens to the Lord, gets off the boat, walks on the water, sees the boisterousness around him, and then fear takes over again. 

I want to just point out by way of a blessed observation, Jesus doesn't cast him off. Jesus doesn't say, how dare you wretched unbeliever depart from me, I never knew you. Jesus deals patiently. He's got long-suffering and kindness and compassion and mercy in his dealings with the disciples. 

So he comes out of the water. Faith brings him out. He walks 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. 

So he sinks because of little faith. Matthew Henry says, Christ bid him come, not only that he might walk upon the water and so know Christ's power, but that he might sink and so know his own weakness. For as he would encourage his faith, so he would check his confidence and make him ashamed of it. It's a good observation. 

Simon Peter not only needed that faith to walk to the Lord Jesus Christ, but he also needed to learn that he wasn't eight foot tall and bulletproof. And Jesus does that for him in this particular instance, and he does that for us along the way as well. 

If we beat afflictions, we beat trials, what's the potential problem? I beat these trials, I beat these afflictions, I beat these hardships. No, no, no, no, no. God in His grace and mercy delivered you through that. 

He cries out to the Lord and when He says, Lord, save me, we then see the salvation of the Lord. Psalm 144, 7, stretch out your hand from above, rescue me and deliver me out of great waters from the hand of foreigners. 

So the Lord saves him, according to verse 31, immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, caught him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why do you doubt? Notice, he doesn't say, why, you wretched unbeliever, have you rejected and despised me? No, you of little faith. It's faith that brought him out of that boat, it's little faith that sinks him under that water, and it's the hand of mercy, Psalm 144, 7, that delivers him from the enemy. 

As Ryle says with reference to this, he knows their feebleness and bears long with them. He would have us know that doubting does not prove that a man has no faith, but only that his faith is small. Again, the antidote for small faith is bigger faith. How do we make bigger faith? Well, you read your Bible, you pray, you take the Lord's Supper, you come to church, you listen to preaching, you study your word or study the Bible. 

But Jesus doesn't upbraid him in the sense of casting him off. Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt? Let me just repeat that from Ryle. He knows their feebleness and bears long with them. He would have us know that doubting does not prove that a man has no faith, but only that his faith is small. 

Doubts don't immediately, or should not immediately make you conclude you're an unbeliever. No, unbelief is unbelief. Doubt is somewhat common to pretty much everybody that's ever lived. You know, there's few people that never had a doubt, not at all. I'm eight foot tall and bulletproof. 

Again, I'm not justifying doubt. I think there's every reason for us to constantly believe every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. But in hardship, when you're sinking under the water, When you lose sight of those things that are most crucial and most important, Jesus upbraids him for little faith, but not for no faith. And again, the antidote to little faith is to grow it. And the means that God has given for growing it are very simple. They're very obvious in scripture. We pray the word, we sing the word, we preach the word, we see the word in the sacraments. It's all having to do with the word.

And then note the power of Jesus at verse 32. And when they had got, or when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. It doesn't say that Jesus, as he was stepping into the boat, spoke to the wind. But I think that's the implication, not whether he spoke or not, but the connection is that the wind stopped blowing because of the presence of the One who is truly the Son of God.

And again, Old Testament, He calms the storm so that its waves are still. He calms the storm so that its waves are still. So what we have here is the wind that ceases is a manifestation of His divinity.

Gil, again, says, He walked upon the sea whilst the wind was blowing hard and the waves were tumultuous. He comes into the ship and all is calm. Both winds and sea obey Him who is Lord of both. Amen. That's exactly the significance.

And then finally, Notice in verse 33, we see the divinity of Christ and then the worship of Christ. So the miracle itself was his walking on the water, his enabling Peter to walk on the water, his calming the wind and the sea. All of that evidence to these men, very clearly, it wasn't an apparition, it wasn't a ghost, it was truly God with us, according to Matthew 1.23. This is Emmanuel, and they make this good confession.

So when they confess that truly you are the Son of God, this isn't the first time in Matthew's Gospel, and it won't be the last time. The demons confess Him in 8.19. The disciples confess him along the way, and as well, what we have is the approbation of the Father to our Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration, and at his baptism, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. So the Gospel of Matthew is conspicuous in terms of the identification of the Son of Man as the Son of God, as the only begotten Son, full of grace and truth.

So when these men worship Him, this is consistent with the Old Testament. I've already read Psalm 107, 29. He calms the storm so that its waves are still. Listen to what it says, continuing. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men. Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, and praise him in the company of the elders. That's Psalm 107, 31 to 32.

You see it when Jonah's on the boat in the sea calms. What do they do? They worship. This is consistent, brethren. When you're in the presence of the God who has authority and rule and power and sovereignty over nature, it's a good time to bow and worship. And that is precisely what these men do.

Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, truly, you are the Son of God.

One final quote from Gill with reference to this statement, you are the Son of God, not by creation as angels and men, nor by office as magistrates, but by nature, being of the same essence, perfections, and power, with God his Father. That's Matthew's point. Not just a, wow, isn't that cool, Jesus can walk on the water. Yeah, that's cool. But the significance of it far exceeds just its surface level coolness. It is the manifestation of the Son of God who has the divine essence as the Father does. And as we see those statements in the Old Testament concerning Yahweh walking on the waves of the sea, all of that is predicated the Son of God. He is the Great I Am.

Well, in conclusion, as far as discipleship, learn from this morning and from this evening the reality of persistent and ongoing trials and difficulties. I think that's helpful, you know, to not expect it. because you can expect it and not ever get out of bed. That's not what I mean. But realize that if you're really going to live the way God calls you in a world like ours, there's going to be some opposition. There has to be. It's inevitable. The darkness hates the light. That's the lesson in John chapter 3. The darkness doesn't want to come to the light lest its evil deeds are exposed. If you truly want to follow the Son of Man in a world like ours, yeah, you've got to expect a degree of opposition. You've got to expect a degree of hostility. But as well, you've got to expect that there is just affliction and hardship and difficulty given to us by a good God in the same way that we as parents don't always pave the way for our children.

Brethren, to fawn over your child in such a way there's never any challenge to the immune system, never any challenge to their psyche. That's not ultimately doing them any favors. I'm not saying you gotta throw them off the bed. I'm not saying you chuck them down the stairs. But I am suggesting that an over-protectiveness is ultimately not the best thing for them. And we messed up as we are as parents have figured that out. If we only ever give them what they want, do they become righteous, virtuous, glorious people? No. They become obnoxious and insufferable and intolerable. And it doesn't take long for us to learn that. So what do we do? We restrain things. We help them. That's how God parents us. If he just always gave us exactly what we wanted, who knows how messed up we would be.

Secondly, we've got the reminder in this passage concerning Christology, the power of the Lord Jesus, the protection of the Lord Jesus, the provision of our Lord Jesus. Notice again, Peter's sinking under the water. So for whatever afflictions or whatever trials there are, there is the scoop, there is the save, there is the deliverance that God affords to His elect. Shall not God avenge His own elect who cry to Him day and night? Yes, obviously, most certainly.

And thirdly, get the lesson that is specifically calculated for our good. In the words of our Lord Jesus in verse 27, be of good cheer, I am, do not be afraid. Recognize that fear does remain, but an understanding of who God is is a helpful antidote to hopefully vacate some of that fear. The recognition of the person of Christ, that He is the glorious person, the two natures, divine and human man. And when we know these things, hopefully it will help us to be of good cheer and not to be afraid. And that is ultimately a responsibility or a command that we are given several times in scripture, do not be afraid. Do not be afraid.

May God indeed bless this church, please, that's my first prayer, and all churches if we enter into a new phase of governmental attempts to silence or to curtail what is appropriate for a Christian pulpit. May the men of God in every church fear God more than men. And may they hold fast the word of truth. That's what we need to be about.

Listen to Ryle with reference to this prohibition. Do not be afraid. There is encouragement here for all true Christians. Let them know that there is nothing created which is not under Christ's control. 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 to the fourth watch of the night.

But never let them forget that winds and waves and storms are all Christ's servants. They cannot move without Christ's permission. The Lord on high is mightier than the mighty waves of the sea, Psalm 93, 4.

Are we ever tempted to cry with Jonah? The floods compassed me about. All thy billows and thy waves passed over me, Jonah 2, 3. Let us remember they are his billows. Let us wait patiently. We may yet see Jesus coming to us, walking on the sea. Amen. Amen.

Great lesson on discipleship for the people of God. May the Lord bless and strengthen and help us to persevere in this present evil age.

Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for Christ's Supremacy over nature itself. We thank you for this wonderful account of His graciousness and mercy to Simon Peter. And Lord, help us not to be afraid. Help us to be of good cheer. Not because we're better or smarter or wiser than other people, but because we know that Jesus is the great I Am. We ask this in His most blessed name. Amen.