BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Sank, but Not Sunk One of the enemy’s tactics is to make us fearful of the fall, so we won’t ever try to soar. Peter knew about falling. In Matthew 14 ("New King James Version"), for instance, the disciples were crossing the sea late at night and there was a storm. Suddenly, they saw Jesus coming toward them—walking on the rough waters! Peter said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water” (verse 28). You just have to love Peter! If Jesus was doing it, Peter wanted to do it too. He saw the supernatural and thought, I’m made for this! The account continues: “So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him” (verses 29-31). It’s amazing to me that Peter got distracted by the wind and the waves. Really, the condition of the sea was irrelevant. It was water. He was walking on water! But the irrelevant things distracted him. How many times do we get distracted by irrelevant things? How many times do we let what really doesn’t matter distract us from what God has told us to do? A lot of irrelevant things get our attention: people’s opinions, past failings, what people think, how our hair looks. But sometimes you have to ignore the irrelevant things. To do that, you have to monitor not only what goes through your mind, but also what you’re doing that makes your mind entertain such thoughts. If all you’re feeding on is the news, or what people are saying about you, your thoughts will be toxic! Peter was flying high, but then, distracted, he fell. Hard! But Peter wasn’t done. He wasn’t over. His actions did not disqualify him from continuing to walk with Jesus and continuing to be effective. There was provision for him. Even though he sank, he was not sunk. Like a trapeze artist, he had a net. A Short-Lived Revelation Another time Peter fell was right after he had the greatest revelation of his life. Matthew 16:13-15 says, “When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ So they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’” So Jesus asked, “But who do you say that I am?” This is a revealing question because Jesus is to us who we say He is to us. To those who say He’s a good teacher from history—that’s all He is to them. To those who say He’s a wonderful leader of religious faith, that’s all He is to them. But to those who declare He is their Lord and Savior, their Healer, Baptizer, Restorer or Provider—that’s who He is to them. He is to us who we declare Him to be. Peter had the right answer. He declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (verse 16). There it was! It never had been said like that before. In verse 17, Jesus responded saying, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Peter had to be flying high! He’d had revelation knowledge and Jesus acknowledged it in front of everyone! A few verses later, in verse 21, Matthew writes, “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” When Peter heard this, he couldn’t believe it. The One He declared was Christ, the Son of the living God, was going to be murdered? The Bible says Peter “took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’” And Jesus responded, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (verses 22-23). Peter may have been flying high with revelation, but he fell fast. I’m sure Jesus’ words hurt him. Even a loving rebuke is hard. But Peter wasn’t out of the discipleship club. He wasn’t excommunicated. He fell…right into the net of God’s grace. 10 : BVOV

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