CU: Walking on Water with the Living Water

I want to start this by sharing a story. In Island of Adventures, Universal Studios Orlando, Florida there is a water ride called Ripsaw falls. It has a ridiculously vertical drop. I looked it up and it starts at 45 degrees but then moves to 55 degrees, whereas most are 45-50 degree drops. Also in Ripsaw Falls the log things you sit in are horribly designed. It has no seatbelts and the only thing you can grip onto is the back of the chair in front of you. It has a small indent that fits to the first joint on your finger.

Ripsaw Falls tells a Rocky and Bullwinkle story with little robots moving and sound recordings but do not ask me what they story was because I was so petrified that I honestly have no idea. Now I am not a person who gets scared on rides, I don’t I love them, I love the thrill of them and being spun and upside down and whatever else is all great craic. But that’s when I feel safe.

This ride did not feel safe, no safety equipment was provided, no seatbelts, nothing decent to hold onto, no bar covering you and holding you in place, nada. Fear sets in and you panic, I panicked and I didn’t pay any attention to all the story that probably cost Universal Studios so much money to put together and which I had paid, or well mum and dad had paid, a lot of money for me to experience.

It’s at this point that you try and calm yourself down thinking that many many people use this ride daily and survive and that you have to just trust the operators of the ride to know what they’re doing and to think of my safety as something of paramount importance while on their ride.

Of course the ride turned a corner, just as I thought that, and I see one of them. He has bleached hair, is standing there looking like he normally doesn’t have a job and possibly doesn’t own a shower (or shirts).

It was at this point that my uncle also lost it. He said to me “You’re a Christian, do something religious”. So I took up an offering!

No really I prayed that we would survive the drop, which, obviously, we did; soaked but alive.

Ok so for this I want to look at two Bible passages. The first is found in John 4:1-30: “Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

     A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

     Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

     Just then his disciples came back. They marvelled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.”

This passage is a really cool one when you are thinking about water and it tells us a lot about Jesus too. Going back to my other story about the water ride and the operator. That operator inspired no confidence in my life, which I was sure was nearly over. The fact that I looked to the operator tells me something about fear and that is that when we are afraid we look to someone else that we hope is in control. At least that’s what I think. This in our lives more generally is true too. When we are afraid we look to something to take that fear away, that ‘operator’ should be Jesus.

Why water though? Why talk about water? Well first of all my name is Wavey, which has a lot to do with water, second I love water (not being in it but listening to it and being near it), third water is beautiful, necessary but also deadly and lastly Jesus calls Himself the source of Living Water and the Holy Spirit living water.

What does that mean? Just like the body needs water to survive so does the spirit. Jesus is the source of that water. He is all sufficient. We see that when He says ‘never be thirsty again’. What Jesus gives is enough. God revealed this to Paul as well when He said, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9a). From just that little passage Jesus uses water as a metaphor for how God gives life, for how God’s grace is enough and for how God is our great provider.

There was once a time when God reminded me of some of this stuff using water. It had been a really bad year, my life felt as if it was falling apart. I was visiting a friend who had an apartment facing the river. When the Sun set I was out watching the reflection of the lights from City Hall I think, on the river Lee. The way the lights were shining and the wind was blowing it looked as if the river was flowing towards UCC as opposed to away from it. I was thinking about how chaotic that was and then, floating down the river, the correct direction, came some local election poster. At that point God said to me, “just because everything looks like it’s chaotic doesn’t mean that it is. I am still in control, both of the direction of the river and all the circumstances in your life and though you feel overwhelmed remember that I am enough. Trust me.”

From that passage another thing that strikes me is the second part of verse 14: “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

It is such a beautiful picture of the abundance God gives us but, as well as that, the idea that the Holy Spirit in us becomes a spring of water which leads us to eternal life but it also suggests the spilling over of the Holy Spirit to touching the lives of others.

I could spend ages more on that passage but I want to talk about another passage. It is found in Matthew 14:22-33: “Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

     And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Firstly here we have the storm that causes the waves to toss the boat about the place. In the Bible the sea is often shown as this uncontrollable thing. If you think classical period and the amount of appeasing the gods of the sea sailors would do. Think of Jonah and throwing him overboard; that was commonplace. The sea was the uncontrollable thing in creation. There was nothing people could do but appease the gods before they went and pray if they got caught in a storm.

The Bible talks about the One who can control the sea and that is God.

Psalm 29:10 says “The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.”

Psalm 89:9 says “You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.”

Psalm 107:28-30 says “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.”

Jesus, walking on the water was showing that God is in control, even over the water and the waves and that He is, in fact, God.

The disciples are terrified of course, they think it is a ghost. I think it is easy for us, in our position 2000 years in the future, to judge the disciples harshly. Even I as I was writing this I said ‘they think it’s a ghost’ and my head sarcastically added, ‘logically’. But we should not do this. Imagine you are in a storm, water is pouring in over the sides of your boat. You remember Jesus calmed the storm last time you were on a boat in a storm like this; and that saved your lives. This time though Jesus isn’t there. He stayed behind and sent you ahead so He could pray. You feel like you are going to die. Then, in the middle of all of this, walking across the water and the waves comes a figure. People don’t walk on water! What does walk on water? Ghosts… The only thing I can think of is a ghost, you say to Peter. That starts a panic.

Jesus’ words are fantastic here. He tells the disciples don’t be afraid. Many scholars think that the word translated ‘it is I’ in the ESV could have been Jesus saying Yahweh, as in the name God called Himself (translated as ‘I am’). So Jesus comes walking across the water, showing He is in control of it and says I am. The disciples got a glimpse of our all-powerful God in human form.

The next thing is my favourite bit of this story. Peter says ‘tell me to come to you’. The walking on water is very cool but even more cool is the fact that Peter trusts Jesus enough to want to join Him on the water.

I think we are often very hard on Peter. We see that he saw the wind and the waves and took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink and we think Peter failed. Peter did fail but at least he tried. How much more of a failure were each of the other eleven disciples. They are, what John Ortberg calls ‘Boat Potatoes.’ Peter took two steps in his walk to the water, the first was submission to Jesus. He submitted himself to Christ’s power. He didn’t think he could do it himself but knew that he would only be able to walk on water if Jesus commanded him to. The second step Peter took was strength. He walked out of that boat in God’s strength.

I want us to apply this story to our lives. The boat is where you are generally. I don’t want to use this word because I think it is so much more than this, but the boat is like your comfort zone. I like to think of it more as ‘where you are now’ perhaps you are out of your comfort zone by even being here; but perhaps you are never out of your comfort zone. Perhaps your comfort zone on your boat looks like this. Lovely linen, bright room, sea view. Perhaps this is your ship.

Whatever your present place is like you need to open to hearing the call of God in your life, and when you hear that call, coming from the stormy water (something that looks difficult/will be difficult). You have to respond to that call. Your response can be one of two. You can walk on the water or you can be a boat potato.

Perhaps God is calling you right now, maybe into a ministry in Church, like helping with youth group for example.

“I’m too busy Lord!”

That’s boat potato talk.

Maybe it’s to join a summer mission team.

“But I have to work to fund college Lord!”

That’s boat potato talk.

Maybe it is to talk to that non Christian friend or join the CU outreach group.

“My friend/friends will judge me and laugh at me.”

Boat Potato talk.

Maybe it’s to leave college and go to Bible college.

“I want a degree Lord.”

You guessed it, boat potato talk.

Perhaps it’s to get your head down and study to do well in your degree.

“But my friends are doing fun things and I want to go too.”

Okay this is the last time, I promise, that’s boat potato talk!

You get the picture. He calls and we answer. If we make excuses and say no we are being boat potatoes. Now let’s look at the other response.

Peter is called and he submits himself to Jesus. What I mean by this is that he recognises who Jesus is and puts his whole trust in him. He realises he cannot do what Jesus has called him to do in his own strength but only by allowing Jesus to be in control. He fixes his eyes on Christ and he takes his first step towards those outstretched arms. He ignores the problems in his way (the wind and the waves) and keeps his eyes fixed on Jesus, taking step after step forward. This is the first step for us when we respond to God’s call in our lives. We need to submit to Jesus, to turn over all our cares and our worries to him and to focus on him and not on those worries and problems. We need to fix our eyes on him with each and every step we take. We need to trust Jesus to look after us even with all this water (here meaning trouble) around us. We also need to realise we cannot do these things in our own strength but only in Christ’s strength.

It is then that Peter steps out in strength. He moves step by step in the confidence and strength not of himself but of Jesus. When Jesus calls us out of our boats towards a new situation we first submit to Him, then we step out in strength. This strength only lasts while we submit and it is not our own strength but the Lord’s. Yet, He gives it to us to wield. He allows us to step out in that strength and walk on the water. In fact it is Jesus’ desire that we would all be metaphorical water walkers. Of course it is unlikely you will ever physically walk on water, unless you do what Andy is doing here, but even he isn’t succeeding in walking on water with help. Jesus wants us all to answer his call, not be boat potatoes and submit to Him, humble ourselves, realise that He is enough for us as we walk in His strength and accomplish works for His Kingdom. Jesus Himself said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12 ESV). Do we believe Jesus’ words? Do you believe that you will do greater works? Jesus said it, and we know that Jesus cannot lie. Jesus wants us to submit to Him and then go out in His strength and powerfully advance the Kingdom of God in our lives, our communities, our college, our relationships, the places He sends us and the people He sends us to.

Please note that when Peter stops submitting and starts worrying it is then that he sinks. This is the same for us. If, when we are walking on water, we try doing in it in our strength and take our eyes off Jesus, then we will begin to sink under the pressure of everything we have to do. Note though that in the passage that Jesus ‘immediately’ reaches out to rescue Peter. He does that with us too. He is not far off and when we cry out to Him He will be there and will stop us sinking completely. Peter may have been carried back to the boat, he may not have walked on the water again but Jesus rescued him. This might be similar in our experience. We might call on Jesus when we start sinking and we will be rescued but we might still be looking at the waves and problems and perhaps Jesus will not let us walk on the water again for awhile, maybe He will carry us and so we might feel like nothing is getting better because we are not walking, but Jesus has not let us sink and when we are ready to walk again  (when we focus on Him and not the waves) He will allow us, when we submit again then He will give us the ability to go forward in His power again. Then we move the Kingdom of God forward in His power again.

We can only do these powerful works if the Living Water lives in us. The Living Water is the Holy Spirit who flows from Jesus to us, filling us up and giving us life then pouring from us into the lives and situations of the people we find ourselves coming into contact with. Jesus said of the Living Water, which we talked about earlier from John 4: “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-39 ESV).

So, in effect we are walking on water with the Living Water when we respond to the call of God in our lives.

As I close I want you to think is Jesus calling you in any particular direction tonight? How are you going to respond? Are you going to be a boat potato? I beg you not to be so. I beg you to submit to Him, recognise your weakness and His strength, recognise you have nothing but that He has given you everything and will provide everything for you. Fix your eyes on Him and take that step in His strength. Be a child of God that wields the power of God and moves His Kingdom forward everywhere you go. Trust Him, Follow Him, Bring Him. Get out of your boat and walk on the water with the Living Water.