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Joshua 3:1-4:24 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it.” 5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.” 6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them. 7 And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. 8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’ ” 9 Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD–the Lord of all the earth–set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” 14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
Joshua 4:1-24 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” 4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day. 10 Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the LORD had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, 11 and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the LORD and the priests came to the other side while the people watched. 12 The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. 13 About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho for war. 14 That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses. 15 Then the LORD said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests carrying the ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan.” 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” 18 And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before. 19 On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. 20 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. 21 He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.”
Matthew 14:22-33 22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” 28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Stepping Out of the Boat
I want to tell you a story about trust this morning. I have five children and our township had a public swimming pool complete with a diving board. The children were spread across twelve years so they varied in swimming ability. As soon as the older ones started going off the diving board the younger ones wanted to follow. The only problem was they couldn’t swim yet and the township didn’t allow any floatation devices in the pool so they couldn’t wear those swimming arms or tubes around their waist or anything. I’m talking about two and three year old children because they all learned to swim by the time they were three. Several of them didn’t like to go underwater either but they still wanted to jump off the diving board. What we did was this. I got into the water in front of the diving board and treaded water. I held my arms up and when they leaped off the diving board I caught them. I went under but I held them up so they didn’t go under and then helped them swim to the side. They trusted me as their mother to catch them and keep them safe.
Picture yourself as a two year old. You can’t swim but that diving board looks like soo much fun. You’ve seen your brothers and sisters jump off and they seem to love it. But you know you don’t like your head to go under water. You’re standing on the end of that diving board. It sure seems very high above the water; you didn’t know it was this high. You can see your mom down in the water. Do you trust her enough to jump?
Now we turn to our scripture lesson. We are putting ourselves in Peter’s place this morning and asking ourselves today, do we trust Jesus to support us when we step out of the boat?
Let’s consider the situation. Jesus and the disciples have just fed the 5,000. Jesus has sent the disciples out in the boat while he went to pray. It’s about four in the morning, the disciples are far from land. It’s pitch black on the sea, a storm has come up and the boat is being battered by waves. Along comes Jesus walking across the water. Not exactly what one would expect in the middle of the Sea of Galilee.
Even when Jesus was physically apart from His disciples, He knew where they were. The same is true for us. Sometimes we wonder, “Does God see what I’m going through?” The answer is yes. Before He even moves to calm the storm, He’s aware of it.
Can you blame the disciples for thinking they’re seeing a ghost? They are terrified yet as soon as they cry out, Jesus soothes their fears. “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.” His words cut through the wind. Jesus’ timing is perfect—He comes in the fourth watch of the night (between 3 and 6 a.m.), the darkest hour. When our strength is gone, His presence arrives.
Notice: the disciples’ first reaction to Jesus’ presence is fear. How often does fear blind us to the ways God is moving? Sometimes God comes to us in unexpected forms—through hardship, a closed door, or a challenge—and we mistake His approach for something to be afraid of.
Now we come to Peter, always the impetuous one. Peter says, “if it’s you Lord, command me to come to you on the water.” Peter’s request is remarkable—not “Calm the storm,” but “Let me come to You.” Faith is not the absence of fear; it’s choosing to move toward Jesus despite it.
That’s a pretty bold request although he does ask Jesus to command him first. He doesn’t take any action until Jesus calls him. When Jesus says, “Come” Peter throws his leg over the side of the boat onto the water and amazingly, miraculously is able to walk on the water. He started walking toward Jesus and he was doing fine until… Until he took his eyes off Jesus and noticed the wind. Then he became afraid. Up until that point he was fine but as soon as he looked away from Jesus fear leaped into his heart and he became frightened and started to sink. Our translation says, “became frightened” but the literal Greek says when fear ruled him. Fear became stronger than faith. It takes faith to step out of the boat, but once you are out of the boat when fear comes, and it will, it takes courage to keep walking on the water and not let the fear rule you.
The moment Peter shifts his focus from Jesus to the storm, he starts to sink. How true that is for us! When we focus on our problems instead of God’s power, fear takes over.
You see, the boat represents a safe place. There may be winds and waves here but it’s a lot safer than out on the water. The only problem is that Jesus is out on the water, not here in the boat. What keeps us in the boat is fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of ridicule, fear of pain. If we stay in the boat we will never conquer fear. John wrote in his first letter, “Perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18) Note one thing, as soon as Peter cried out, Jesus rescued him. Our scripture says immediately Jesus reached out his hand. Jesus doesn’t let Peter drown in doubt; He lifts him up. He may rebuke Peter’s “little faith,” but He still honors his courage to step out. The others never left the boat.
If we risk stepping out of the boat our Lord and Savior is right there at our side willing and able to rescue us. I think the faith of all the disciples grew that night. But I bet Peter’s faith grew more than the others. He was the one who risked the most and he was the one who walked on the water.
There’s nothing in Matthew about how Jesus felt about the other disciples but I can’t help thinking that Jesus was proud of Peter for being bold, for being willing to risk stepping out of the boat.
Peter stepped out of the boat. The other disciples stayed in. They saw Jesus walk on water. They saw Peter walk on water. They realized that Jesus was the Son of God. They worshipped Jesus. The storm ends not with fear, but with worship. The purpose of the miracle was not just to rescue—it was revelation. They saw Jesus not just as a teacher or prophet, but as the divine Son of God who commands the wind and waves.
They didn’t miss out on everything and neither will we if we stay in the boat. But if you don’t step out of the boat you will never have the fun, the exhilaration of walking on water with Jesus, of doing the impossible.
Why is it necessary to step out of the boat? Our Old Testament lesson today was from Joshua, it told the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordon, crossing into the Promised Land after forty years of wandering in the desert. I want us to see one similarity today. Before the Jordan River stopped flowing, God required the priests carrying the Ark to step into the water. The miracle didn’t happen until they took the first step. Peter couldn’t walk on water until he stepped out of the boat. Faith isn’t a certainty. Faith involves trust. The priests trusted God, Peter trusted Jesus. We need to do the same when we step out of the boat.
Life often feels like being caught in a storm. The winds of uncertainty, the waves of fear, and the darkness of doubt can surround us. In those moments, this passage from Matthew reminds us that Jesus not only meets us in the storm—He walks on it. When we go through storms and see God’s faithfulness firsthand, our faith deepens. Worship becomes our response.
The storms of life are not meant to destroy your faith, but to direct it—to move your focus from fear to faith, from the waves to the One who walks upon it.
Maybe Jesus is calling you to step out of the boat today—to trust Him in a new way, to take a step in obedience even when the waves seem high.
And when you do, remember: He sees you in the storm. He comes to you in your fear. He catches you when you fall. And He reveals Himself more deeply through it all.
In your bulletin this morning there is a song called, “The Voice of Truth” by Casting Crowns. It was written in 2003. It talks about wanting to have the kind of faith it takes to climb out of the boat onto the crashing waves, to step out of the comfort zone into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is. Then the singer says that the waves are calling his name, reminding him of past failures and telling him he will never win. The singer decides to listen to the Voice of Truth. Jesus is the Voice of Truth. It is only when we listen to Jesus’ voice that we will be able to overcome our fears, whatever they may be, and step out of the boat to where Jesus is. He goes on to sing, “Out of all the voices calling out to me I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth.” It is a choice we make over and over. Do we listen to our fears or do we listen to Jesus?
Our Lord and Savior made the ultimate commitment to us when he went to the cross and died for our sins. We celebrate that commitment every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. He gave his body and blood to redeem us. Jesus has given us the task of going into the world and spreading the good news. We can only accomplish this if we step out of the boat. Trust Jesus and step out of the boat.
Let us pray. Lord, when the storms of life rage around us, help us to hear Your voice above the wind—“Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Give us the faith to step out of the boat and the trust to keep our eyes on You. And when we falter, reach out Your hand and lift us again. In Jesus’ name, Amen.