WALK ON WATER 3
Dearly Beloved, what a great pleasure it is to come your way once again this beautiful Sunday morning, with a sure word from God’s throne room of Grace. We thank God for seeing us through the past week, for the victories and testimonies He granted us; we give Him all the praise. Today, I’ll be concluding the “Walk on Water” series. I trust that you have been incredibly blessed by the message so far and more importantly, have started to apply the lessons in your life.
“And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.” – Matthew 14:28-29 (KJV)
I started this series establishing the truth that it is possible to walk upon your challenges. Always remember that as a believer, you are not subject to your circumstances, rather, your circumstances are subject to you. If only you can believe, nothing shall be impossible to you. Last week, I shared on the importance of intimacy in our walk with God, and especially, the boldness, authority and power that intimacy with the Lord produces in the life of a believer.
Re-examining the text, we saw that the level of intimacy and quality of relationship Peter had with Jesus, was the premise upon which he was able to make such a demand as “walking on water to meet Jesus”, not minding the raging storms and tossing billows. Therefore, because of Peter’s intimacy with Jesus, he had the boldness to make demands that others wouldn’t dare make – intimacy with Jesus produces boldness.
The area of emphasis for the final installment in this series, is on the efficacy of the Word of God. In today’s text (Matthew 14:28), Peter said unto Jesus, “…Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee…” Before we move ahead, I want to point an important part of Peter’s demand to Jesus; Peter’s request was not primarily to walk on water, even though that was the context wherein Jesus was at the time. His primary objective was that Jesus would call him to Himself; walking on water was secondary, and the consequence of being drawn to Jesus. Jesus first calls us to Himself, before anything else.
Beloved, every pursuit, desire for growth and advancement in life, must be such that draws us closer to Jesus. This is why I cannot understand it when believers willfully engage in activities, whether in life, career or business, that strains our relationship with the Lord, instead of enhancing it. What we fail to understand is that your intimacy with Jesus is what empowers you to do things that men term as impossible! Peter understood the power of being intimate with the Lord, reason why he was not bothered about the conditions, he knew that as long as his desire was to get closer to Jesus, no challenge was insurmountable. Hallelujah!
Child of God, you will also notice the final part of Peter’s statement, “…come to thee, ON THE WATER…”. From this statement, it is evident that Jesus was already on the water ahead of Peter. So despite his request presenting some uncertainties in the face of the raging storms, tossing billows and instability of the waters, Peter had comfort knowing that Jesus was there.
Beloved, this is very important; it is important to constantly remind yourself of the truth that ever before you stepped out on the scene, Jesus has already gone ahead of you to make the crooked places straight (Isaiah 45:1-2). Yes, it might seem like that business opportunity is high-risk, and you’re not sure of how things will pan out, take confidence in the truth that you have a Father that will neither leave you nor forsake you. Your God does not jump ship; He is with you always. Peter’s request to Jesus was very specific, it wasn’t ambiguous, and Jesus granted his desire, and said, “Come”.
The word “Come” in our text carried all the power needed for Peter to walk on his situation. The bible says in Hebrews 1:3 that the word of God upholds all things. It says in Hebrews 11:3 that the universe which we live in, was framed by the word of God. Child of God, the Word of God is powerful enough to accomplish its purpose (Isaiah 55:11). Therefore, if you receive an instruction from the Word, you can step out on that instruction, and there’ll be manifestation. In Exodus 14:15, God said unto Moses, tell the children of Israel to go forward, and He made a way in the ocean for them to go through.
Beloved, you can trust His Word, you can trust His promise. Like Peter, you can step out based on His instruction, and the Word will take you to your destination. I declare that this week, you will experience the supernatural in that particular challenge you have been praying about. All things are possible unto you in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Maranatha!
In His Royal Service,
Dr. Mike Okonkwo
The Presiding Bishop
