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Matthew 14:22-33 - Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³ After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴ but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. ²⁵ During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. ²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." ²⁸ "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." ²⁹ "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" ³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" ³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

When was the last time you walked on water? When was the last time you did something that could not be explained apart from the power of God? When was the last time you took a step of faith into the terrifying unknown and needed God to hold you up? When was the last time you experienced God, saw Him do something so amazing, so miraculous, that it showed you how real and how awe-inspiring God really is? When was the last time you walked on water?

This story, from Matthew 14, at its most basic is a story about a man named Peter who walked on water. I can imagine that the disciples each told this story many times to people because of how incredible it was. But there was only one man who could tell it from firsthand experience. There was only man courageous enough to get out of the boat and respond to the call of Jesus by walking on the water. There was only one man who came away with an unmistakable knowledge of the power of God.

This morning is the beginning of a series that will go all summer that I’m calling Meeting Jesus. Each week we will look at another interaction with Jesus as recorded in the gospels, and my goal is that through this summer you would also meet Jesus, and that by doing so you would be forever changed for the better. My goal for you is what Peter experienced – firsthand faith, real life experience of Jesus. At the heart of the Christian faith, it is a relationship with Jesus. It is not religion, or philosophy, or a way of life, or something to do on a Sunday morning, but a relationship that you either have or you don’t. Remember how Jesus put it in John 14:5-6 - Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" ⁶ Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus does not point to a way, but to Himself as the way. And this relationship is not a stroll in the park; it’s more like a roller coaster ride.

I don’t want to come to the end of my life and not know that God was real. I don’t want to finish my life and know that I lived a comfortable life, that all I really did was put my kids through college and saved enough money for retirement. And I don’t want to be a part of a church that is more concerned about staying comfortable, playing it safe, then it is about seeing God move. I want to be a part of a church that has a passion to see the reality of God’s power, the courage to walk on water. So again, my prayer this morning for all of us is that God would increase our passion to see His power and His reality, and increase our courage to walk on water.