Matthew 14:22-33 (NKJV)

22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 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. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the

Matthew 14:22-33 (NKJV)

disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw

Matthew 14:22-33 (NKJV)

that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

Five Anchors Of The Soul

Matthew 14:22-33

Our Text

• Sea of Galilee is 10 miles wide

• Halfway across when the Lord appears to them

• When Peter jumps out of the boat – they are 5 miles from land!

• Parallel passage in Mark 6:45-52

Our Text

• Story that contains so many lessons

• There are 5 in particular that we will discuss today

• Consider with me 5 anchors of the soul within this text…

His Providence Placed Me Here• Passage tells us that Jesus sent

them into the storm

• v. 22 – “Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side”

• That word means strongly urged

His Providence Placed Me Here• II Tim. 3:12 – “…all who desire to

live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution”

• Jn. 16:33 – “…in the world you will have tribulation…”

• Js. 1:2 – “count it all joy when you fall into various trials…”

His Providence Placed Me Here• Lord allows us to be subjected to

storms of life, not to cripple us but to empower us!

• In the gym – “No pain, no gain”

• “That which does not kill us makes us stronger”

Two kinds of storms• Correcting storm

– Jonah was part of a correcting storm

– Sometimes we need a wake-up call– Ps. 119:67 – “Before I was afflicted I

went astray…but now I keep your Word”

– v. 71 – “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes”

Two kinds of storms• Perfecting storm

– Already doing God’s will, but we need the spiritual conditioning to keep us on track

– Ps. 148:8 – “Fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word…”

– Sometimes they can assist & equip us

His Prayers Protect Me Here• Where’s the Lord while they are

in the storm?

• On the mountain praying

• Mk. 6:48 – “Then He saw them straining at the rowing, for the wind was against them”

His Prayers Protect Me Here• When was the last time you had

to strain at the oars of life?

• Have you ever…

• Preacher in a difficult place once said, “I know God placed me here, I just wonder if He remembers where He put me!”

His Prayers Protect Me Here• Heb. 13:5 – “I will never leave

you nor forsake you.”

• Heb. 7:25 – “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Heb. 4:15)

His Prayers Protect Me Here• Sometimes for our prayers to be

effective, they must be selective

• Effect of prayer can be diluted if we pray in vague generalities

• We need to get specific and selective in our praying

• I can picture the Lord calling them by name

His Presence Comes To Me Here• Many times our troubles bring

the Lord to us

• If my parents were in trouble and needed me…

• If my children were in trouble and needed me…

His Presence Comes To Me Here• God will be with us in the midst

of our turmoil

• Shadrach, Meshach, & Abed-Nego in Dan. 3:25

• Ps. 23:1-3 – In the green pastures David is talking about God

• Ps. 23:4 – In the valley he starts talking to God

His Presence Comes To Me Here• Is. 43:1-3

• Why did Jesus wait until the 4th hour to come to the disciples?

• Is. 30:18

• He had a purpose, but it took some time straining at the oars to realize what it was!

His Presence Comes To Me Here• When God waits…we wait• Ex. 14:13 – Do not be afraid.

Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord…”

• Jesus was walking on the water, not running.

• The Lord is never in a hurry, but He’s never late!

His Power Sustains Me Here• Why walk on the water and then

bid Peter to get out and come to Him?

• He was showing them He had power adequate for their problems

• He’d just fed as many as 20,000 people with 5 loaves & 2 fish

• Nothing was a problem for Him

His Power Sustains Me Here• What was threatening to be over

their heads, was already under His feet

• Jn. 16:33 – “I have overcome the world”

• Peace is not the subtraction of problems, but the addition of power

His Promises Assure Me Here• He was the one that told them to

go to the other side

• Every command of His is a promise

• He gives us the strength to keep every command

• Look at Jn. 6:21…

His Promises Assure Me Here• Some have actually said that

there were 4 miracles that took place here:

– Jesus walked on water– Peter walked on water– The storm stopped instantly– They were immediately on land

His Promises Assure Me Here• That’s how quickly the storms of

life can be over

• Peter called for Jesus – not an oar, lifeboat, or life preserver

• We’re much safer in the water with Jesus, than in the boat without Him!