Jesus Who Walked on Water
Matthew 14:22-33
We, the saints, who enjoy the citizenship in Heaven as the New Creation in Christ after we believe in Him and become His people are the ones who consider the glory of the world as a loss. Moses, at the age of 40 lived where the longing for the riches of the world was at its peak, yet was able to devote himself as a vessel for God’s Will because he had the spiritual eye to see that the reward for upholding the Will of God and enduring the difficult times with the Israelites was much greater reward than all the riches of Egypt. When a person is inflicted with a disease and is bedridden, everything becomes vain and all hopes, self-esteem and will to strive will disappear. What is needed during such times is the Word of God. When the powerful Word of God that calmed the wind, storm and turbulent waves strike our spirit, the sicknesses will be driven away and the peace and serenity will be restored in our hearts. Those who experience such power of the Word can transcend the greed of the world. They can devote and uphold the Church as they promised before the Word.
I. We must deny ourselves first.
Those who acknowledge themselves, but were not able to overcome themselves are always at greater risk to make themselves an idol. Hence, Jesus said only when one denies himself and takes up his cross and follows Jesus, then he can be Jesus’ disciple (Mt 16:24). When you are suffering from the physical illnesses, you cannot expect freedom from them when you are following both the world and the Word. The Bible refers to this world as the waters that the prostitute sits on (Rev 17:15). This water contains the agony, anxiety, despair and wicked illnesses that torture the mankind. Jesus walked on such water. Not only did he he roar at the turbulent waves and storm that was like a mad lion, but Jesus even walked on such water as well. Furthermore, Jesus allowed us to have the power and authority to walk on this water. This faith is entrusting. It is faith when we renounce ourselves but entrust ourselves to God. Such faith will please God so that we will experience the works where even our illnesses will be healed (Heb 11:6).
II. We must hope for something that we cannot hope for.
The purpose and the reason why Jesus came to this earth was to give freedom and liberation to the mankind who were suffering from the illnesses as they are captured by the force of darkness. Jesus who came as a physician for all mankind is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8). Thus, I would like all of you to believe that such powerful work of healing is not to be ended as a historical fact that occurred 2000 years ago. If we show the same faithful image as before, the same authority, the same power and the same strength will surely be exhibited. Thus, we must be the ones that hope for something we cannot hope for. It is because the faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. It is because the Lord will never give up on us no matter how serious our disease was even if the physicians of the world decided to give up on us and turn their backs on us. If there is faith, there is nothing that we cannot hope for. If there is faith, there is nothing that we are not able to see. I would like you to keep in mind that what is changing is our faith and not the power of the Lord.
III. If there is no faith, we are the abandoned ones.
Jesus is the pioneer of our faith (Heb 12:2). Hence, this will certainly be a serious problem if one cannot find the same faith from us who claim to believe and follow Jesus. Therefore, we always need to make sure that Jesus, the Pioneer of Faith, dwells within us. It is because we become the abandoned ones if there is no Jesus. Isn’t it obvious that there is no answer to those who were abandoned? Jesus is looking into our hearts now. We must stand by the faithful side so that we can be saved. With faith, one gets healed; and with faith, one gets saved. The Lord will never abandon those with faith or let them fall. He will surely raise us up at the end. Therefore, we must possess great faith that the Lord is pleased with. If our faith is acknowledged by the Lord, He will proclaim the Word of Life to us, “your request is granted.” Is there any disease that can penetrate in the faith that was acknowledged by the Lord?
Conclusion:
My beloved saints! Is your heart troubled with turbulence from illnesses and other worrisome circumstances even at this moment? Without faith, you are destined to be engulfed by such waves and lose your heart. However, if we only look upon the Lord, we can confidently walk on the water with the Lord. All we need to do is to accept Jesus as our Master. All we need is such faith that accepts the Lord as our Master, the faith that accepts the Lord as our Bridegroom, and the faith that accepts the Lord as our Teacher. Through the strong works of faith, I would like you to walk on the water. The water called a disease, the water called the family problem–I would like all of you to step on them and stand up tall and firm. I would like you to remember that even when we fall into the water due to lack of faith, the Lord is right by us and holds our hands and pulls us up if we ask Him to save us. I sincerely hope that the request for us to walk on the water and the request to save us are accepted in the heart of the Lord so that there will be a work of victory where all of us will walk on the water.