Jesse Duplantis
Sep 25, 2024
To walk on water without, you must have water within.
Jesus overruled gravity and caused the density of water to hold a man’s weight.
Were the disciples exited to see Jesus walking toward the boat? Well, you might say so. They screamed, “If the storm don’t kill us, that ghost will get us for sure!”
“Cheer up and chill out,” Jesus said, “It’s Me!”
Fear had them climbing the poles of the ship. Yet as scared as Peter had to be, he thought, If that’s not a ghost, and it is Jesus, then it must be possible for me to walk on water with Him.
“Okay, Jesus,” he shouted against the storm, “if that’s You, let me walk on water with You!”
Jesus liked Peter’s attitude. “Come on down!” He called.
Peter stood up in that rocking ship and stepped over the side. Keeping his eyes on Jesus, he took one tentative step… then another… and another.
Peter walked on water!
Eleven men in the boat saw Peter walk on water. They may have mistaken Jesus for a ghost, but there was no mistake about Peter. This wasn’t John, the beloved. He was in the boat. IT wasn’t Luke, the physician. He was in the boat. It wasn’t Matthew or Mark either. They were in the boat.
It was Peter.
Peter wasn’t a faith giant.
At least he hadn’t been until he stepped over the edge of that boat in the middle of a howling storm spawned by the devil.
Faith got him out of the boat.
Faith allowed him to walk on water.
Fear sank him.
What happened? Peter stopped watching Jesus and watched the waves instead.
Those waves were big.
He sank like a rock.
Look what happened in verse thirty-one: “And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him…”
How close do you supposed Peter was to Jesus when he sank? The Bible says that Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him. Not His arm; His hand. He must have only been inches away from Jesus.
Sure, Peter was a mess-up at times, but I wouldn’t laugh. How close were you to Jesus when you screamed and sank? Do you suppose you were inches from His outstretched hand?
You’ve got to have something in you if you’re going to get out of the boat. That’s the reason some people fail. They try to walk on water without, but they don’t have water within.
It’s no small thing to get water-walking faith inside you. First, you have to find a place where the Word of God is taught and preached. Then you’ve got to get that Word inside of you. If you want to be a water-walking disciple, it’s crucial. You have to have water within. That means you go to church, and not just on Sundays. You go anytime the doors are open. You listen to message at every opportunity.
You learn to eat, sleep, breathe, and live the Word of God.
Why? Because out of your belly springs the river of life.
People often say, “Brother Jesse, you always seem refreshed."
Bless God, I should be refreshed. I’ve been drinking the water of life.
I drank a lot of whiskey in my life- a fifth of whiskey a day. I was five years old, drinking beer in the back of a boat, the first time I got drunk. I got so drunk I fell into the water. I would have drowned if I’d let go of the rope. They had to drag me in, then Mama beat me until I was sober.
Whiskey is not refreshing. It’ll kill you. But when you have water within, you’ll never run dry.
Sign-up for Voice of the Covenant here: https://jdm.org/magazine