A Taste of the Divine — E.A. Johnston

The Christian Life and the Call to Risk Faith

I have a message on the Christian life, friends, that hopefully will challenge some of you to go all out for God and the sake of the gospel, playing it safe as a Christian goes against the grain of biblical Christianity.

The Gospel of Matthew and the Storm at Sea

The early church didn't play it safe, but stuck their necks on the line for the sake of souls and Christ Jesus. The title of my message today, friends, is A Taste of the Divine, and my text can be found in the Gospel of Matthew, in chapter 14.

You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. We will be in verses 24 through 28, and may God's Spirit attend the reading of His Holy Word. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary.

Let me pause here, friends, to say the disciples are pressed into a tumultuous sea by a sovereign God who has His eye upon them as they struggle with all their know-how and all their might to survive the tempest that has suddenly dropped upon them.

God knows the outcome of this adventure and the lessons learned for His men. But I want to focus on one particular aspect today, friends, in the life of Peter. Peter was a boastful, big man who wore his feelings on his sleeve.

He was continually putting his foot in his mouth to the chagrin of the other disciples. But Jesus saw something in Peter that his companions could not see. When Jesus looked at Peter, He didn't see a bumbling, rash fisherman, but He saw the Peter of Pentecost.

Because God can look at our lives as a work in progress with all our faults and miscarries and see the end result, the finished work that He will complete with each of us. I believe personally that of the twelve disciples, Jesus got a bigger kick out of Peter than the rest.

He was always included in the privileged three of Peter, James, and John. These three saw more of the divine side of Christ than the rest, and with that came a great accountability. But here in our story today, friends, we find the disciples struggling in the boisterous sea, while their master sits on a mountainside.

And as Jesus watched them struggle, He was in no hurry to rescue them, for He waited until the hours between three a .m. and six to go out to them, verse twenty-five states. And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit. And they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid.

Peter Steps Out of the Boat

Now I want us to notice something that transpires here in the heart of Peter. As Peter realizes it is his Lord, something inside is activated in him. Something takes place in him that does not occur in the rest of the disciples.

The other disciples were undone emotionally from the physical fatigue of fighting the storm. And on top of all this, the haunting sight of a figure floating upon the waves was too much for them. Jesus understood this, and He comforts them, encourages them, Be of good cheer, be not afraid.

But Peter is looking beyond his circumstances, and he is willing to gamble his life away for Christ. We see in verse 28,. And Peter answered Him, and said, Lord, if it be Thou bid me come unto Thee on the water.

And He said, Come. Let me add here, friends, when Jesus saw Peter's faith activated to come out to join Him on the rolling waves, I can almost hear Jesus answering the challenge with a good humor of Come on, come on.

Well what does Peter do? Look at the rest of verse 29. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. I will stop there. There's no need to continue with the passage, which so many preachers put the emphasis in the wrong place in this text.

A Taste of the Divine Rather Than Safe Christianity

If you hear a message on this text, you will more than likely hear a minister highlight the fact that Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, and that's why he sank. And we need to keep our eyes all the time on Jesus as well, so we won't sink into sin or unbelief.

I believe that misses the entire thrust of this passage, which is the fact that a mortal man got a taste of the divine, if I may so speak, by stepping out on faith and going out on a limb for Jesus. And by doing that, Peter got a taste of the supernatural while the others were content to stay in the ship.

Yes, of course, Peter eventually sunk, for he's not divine, but human, but for a brief moment in his life, he got a taste of the divine life, the supernatural life. And once a man gets that, he can go a long way for God just on that alone.

And once Peter got a taste of the supernatural, he never wanted to go back and stay in the natural of the boat again, playing it safe, never occurred to him again. Like I said earlier, when Jesus looked at Peter, he didn't see the brash, bumbling fisherman, but he saw the bold preacher of Pentecost, because that is where Jesus was building Peter.

God Builds Believers Beyond Their Failures

And let me say this, friends, when Jesus looks at you, he doesn't see the disappointments, the fallings, the failings, but he sees what you eventually will become, as he is building you for a greater work, a deeper usefulness to him.

The Call to Live Boldly for Christ

But I believe the key thought of this striking passage of scripture is that Christ does not want his followers to play it safe. That goes against the grain of all his teaching. Jesus is looking for a man to go out on a limb for him, come hell or high water, no matter the cost or consequences, Jesus is on the lookout for a man who wants a taste of the divine.

How about you, friend? Are you content to play it safe and stay in the boat? Is that where you've been sitting? Or are you willing to live on the out and out for Christ and the sake of the gospel of what's holding you back?