But When He Saw
Bro Whitney Belbin

Matthew 14:30
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

But when he saw...
That will be one of the points or topics I would like to go over. I am sure most of us are familiar with this verse but for those who are not I am going to go over Matthew chapter fourteen verses twenty-four through thirty-two for background and go on from there. Forgive me if I side track a bit.

Matthew 14:24
"But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary."

Matthew 14:25
"And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea."

Matthew 14:26
"And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear."

Matthew 14:27
"But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid."

Matthew 14:28
"And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water."

Matthew 14:29
"And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus."

Matthew 14:30
"But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me."

Matthew 14:31
"And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

Matthew 14: 32
"And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased."

But when he saw...

Too many times we go by sight alone. Even those of us who know the Lord are guilty of this, just as was Peter. We look around and see things as we perceive them to be instead of how they actually are.

Too many times we live by past experiences, we live each day being hampered by what happened in the past.

Instead of letting each day be what it is, a gift of God, we live as if we are in bondage. Instead of learning from past experiences we live the day as if ruled by them.

We see or perceive things through our own thoughts using wisdom obtained as natural man and not wisdom as received by God.

Let's go back and look at and reflect upon a verse of scripture for a moment.

Matthew 14:28
"And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water"

"if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water"
Would Peter step out into the raging sea on his own? Could Peter walk on water?

One way to look at that could be why would he?
Why would he leave the relative safety of the ship he was in and at the bidding of Jesus step out and Walk on the raging sea?

If you were to re-read the verse he, Peter, was not even sure if in fact it was indeed Jesus he was speaking to, didn't he ask "if it be thou"?

Should he then step out?
Lets look at it differently.

What if Peter's life experiences and natural knowledge that if he was to step out into the sea he may sink had held him back...?

What if Peter was to wait until Jesus was come to the side of the ship face to face with him before he, Peter, decided to step out?

I believe the chance would have passed. It would have been too late at that time.
Do you think that would show much faith in the one that he, Peter, himself had proclaimed to be the Son of God...?

Many times I have heard that verse in messages or read by one author or another in books that Peter having gotten his eyes of the Lord began to sink.
I have no disagreement with that.

Matthew 14:30 says that very thing "But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink" there is nothing new there, that is not a new train of thought to most of us. But we would be missing another point if we assume that is the end of it, if there is no more truth to be gleaned from that passage.

I would like to dwell a little further then that. I would like to look at it from a different perspective.
Something else took place in this passage that I believe is very significant.

Matthew 14:29
"And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus."

One other thing was certain, Peter was willing to take that step.
Peter was willing to get out of the safety of the ship and Peter was willing to do something that many of those who would fault him for becoming frightened will not do.

'Tis true, Jesus Christ Himself asked why did thou doubt when Peter began to sink but personally I would rather have Jesus ask why did I doubt then have Him ask why did thou not trust me enough to even attempt that which I bid you to do.

Again I will state Peter got out of the ship!

Is there something in your life holding you back?
What is preventing you from getting out of the ship?
Is it something that happened to you in the past that is preventing you from becoming all you can be for the Lord and all you can be as a person?

Perhaps you are, right at this moment, frightened by past life experiences and that is what is holding you back.

Perhaps there is hesitation due to mistrust, or hurts that have not healed.

Remember this my friend Jesus Christ is stretching forth His hand. You will never sink as long as you are by the master's side.

There are many things that all who are reading this have gone through. There are many things some who are reading this will go through and there are others that are going through things right now as you read this.

I think if we were to honestly look within ourselves we would see that we have all had experiences that we were sure would never end. We have all had times or situations when we had figured it would be easier to give up on then face another day.

It's not the experiences in themselves that do the damage. It's the way we handle the situation that will either make us stronger, give us a desire to grow closer to the Lord, or have an effect on our lives that can wreck havoc at the present time and for time to come.

We can't allow the days experience to rule the future. We can't allow past experiences to make us bitter or frightened.

We can't allow things that we see through natural eyes to prevent those things that should be seen through spiritual eyes.

The past can't prevent the future. But it can hinder it if we allow it to.

I am amazed at times as I read the Bible. The people who I would think would be bitter or mistrusting because of life experiences never are.

We have the man who was born blind in John Chapter nine and verse one. He was not blind, we are told in the scriptures, because he had sinned nor his parents as the disciples had suspected but so the works of God could be made manifest in him.

Don't you think he had a cause to be bitter? Had life treated him fairly?

He didn't curse God due to his blindness, He praised God for his sight!

We have the ten lepers in Luke chapter seven-teen. One of these lepers returned and fell down at the master's feet and gave thanks.

No longer did he have to avoid his fellows, no longer did he have to cover his mouth and yell out UNCLEAN, UNCLEAN when being approached.

He was made whole. The past was over.

Why is it then we, as Christians, after being made whole by the blood of the Son of God feel compelled, looking at our past or current circumstances, to yell out either by actions or attitudes...

UNCLEAN, UNCLEAN

Aren't you that one out of the ten whom returned and gave thanks to God?

Then we can see the people who are the least likely, in human understanding or perceptions, to amount to anything due to their past are the ones that are made for us an example of perfect forgiveness and are greatly used of God

We have the woman taken in adultery in John chapter eight and verse two.

No man could put anything to her blame.

Did not Jesus use even her? Did not Jesus through her sin point out to her accusers that there is none that has not sinned?

We have the woman with five husbands or who was married five times in the same book of John. Her past did not prevent her from proclaiming the good news and bringing others to see Christ.

Then we have the Christian killer Paul who became perhaps the greatest witness of Christ.

Who if dwelt in his past after meeting Christ on the road to Damascus or lived under present circumstances in his life I have no doubt he would not have amounted to all he had become or had done such as great work for the cause of Christ.

Life my friend will bring with it experiences, some good, some bad and a definite amount of uncertainty. Time and time again we see that in the Bible the very word of God.

Learn from them but don't live in them.

Don't let the differcult days rule your life. Don't let them consume you like a raging sea or a fiery furnace. Learn by your experiences and those as presented in the Holy word of God.

Don't be like those who belong to the church of the Laodiceans as mentioned in the book of Revelations that are neither cold nor hot.

Don't be a luke warm Christian who is so comfortable in your own ship that you are just waiting to get to the other side and will not step out,

Neither be so consumed with life's experiences that you are to afraid or mistrusting of others to get out of the ship and walk on the water.

There is a wonderful verse in the book of Psalms chapter one hundred eighteen and verse twenty-four. It reads as follows:
"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

Take each new day as the gift that it is. Give praise to God for the very breath you take. Give Him praise for one more day, one more chance to bring someone to Him.

We have a living book, we have the truth and we have the knowledge of God to guide us through each new day.

Look to God and step out to His calling

With each new day the last is over.

Psalms 96:2 says
"Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day."

My friend If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savoir you are as one in a ship being tossed by the waves. You are rowing against the wind fighting to get to your desired destination.

You can toil and row and flounder about in the sea of humanity. You would not be alone.
The world is full of those who believe one way or another they can make it on their own. That if they perform enough good works or work hard and be a good neighbor that some how it will all even out.

You must realize your predicament. You must realize that all the rowing, all the fighting against the wind is for naught.

You see you will reach your destination.

With out Christ as your personal savior that destination will be hell.
Do you want to be saved from such a fate? Then you must take the first step. You see you must ask Jesus into the boat, you must ask Jesus into your heart and life.

Matthew 14: 32
"And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased."

Why don't you cry out now. Realize that there is only one who can save you from such a terrible destination that we all deserve to reach, ask for the forgiveness for your sins, and accept Jesus Christ into your heart.

If you are not sure of your salvation, or have never heard of or accepted the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ and would like to know for sure that your sins can be forgiven please read "Gods Simple Plan Of Salvation" through the link on the home page or e-mail me. I would be glad to help.