THE TRENTON BULLETIN

THE TRENTON BULLETIN

Trenton Church of Christ, Trenton, Florida

The disciples entered the boat and began sailing to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 14:22). As common in this part of the world, a strong storm suddenly came upon the boat and began lashing the crew with waves of water. It was early morning and the wind was quite contrary and the disciples struggled to keep their course. They had traveled about three or four miles (John 6:19) when through the wind whipped sea of foam the men saw an apparition that terrified them. “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus” (Matthew 14:27-29).

Much is said about Peter’s lack of faith in the next few verses when he became afraid and beginning to sink, crying out for the Lord to save him. An equal amount of purpose should be given to the incredible focus he had to even attempt to step out of the boat. The first reaction of the disciples was pure terror at the image of the Lord coming (Matthew 14:26). They could not imagine what spirit would be walking on the water toward them. Peter’s first response was like the other disciples.

Something amazing happened in the mind of Peter upon the Lord’s assurance to be of good cheer and fear not. Peter immediately recognized the situation for what it was. He was witnessing the awesome power of God and he wanted to be a part of it. "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water" (Matthew 14:28). Peter possessed something none of the other disciples had – wonder working faith. No other disciple offered to step out of the boat. Peter did and he meant to follow through. This was not idle request.

Peter had focus. He could see through the impossible and believe in the impossible. Gabriel told Mary, “With God nothing will be impossible" (Luke 1:37). Mary believed in the impossible because she had a single focus upon the power and will of God. When the disciple of the Lord sought permission to walk on water he asked for the power of God. Jesus said, “Come” (Matthew 14:29). What was Peter to do now? Was it only a hesitant plea of courage that caused him to ask? Would he dare move to the side of the boat and put his leg over? Could he believe to do the impossible and walk on water? Peter had focus.

He moved to the side of the boat. The other disciples watched in shock and dismay and disbelief as Peter made his way over the side. To their wondering eyes Peter did not sink. To the courageous faith of Peter he was walking on water. The fisherman was now walking on water. He had focus. He had purpose. He had the power of God doing the impossible in his life. Jesus called Peter by the name Simon Bar-Jonah in Matthew 16:17. How fitting one surnamed the son of Jonah was now walking on water.

Peter had focus. Imagine what you and I can do with the focus that took Peter out of the boat and on to the water. Would we be among the disciples who remained in the boat with little faith and little courage to expect the impossible? Can we have the focus that Peter had in the Lord to do the impossible? “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). It takes focus. It takes courage. It takes stepping out of the boat of doubt and laziness and walking on water. Keep your eyes on Jesus!

“And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the king said to me, ‘Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.’ So I became dreadfully afraid, and said to the king, ‘May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?’ Then the king said to me, ‘What do you request?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, ‘If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it.’ (Nehemiah 2:1-5)

The Condition - If we go back to Nehemiah 1 we will see that Hanani, the brother of Nehemiah, had come to see Nehemiah at Susa, the capitol city. Hanani and some other men from Judah apprised Nehemiah of the situation in Jerusalem. They told him, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire” (1:3). The report prompted Nehemiah to weep and mourn for days followed by fasting and prayer to the God of heaven. Nehemiah served as the cupbearer to Artaxerxes I, Esther’s stepson. It was his responsibility to taste the king’s wine before the king drank of it. If it had been poisoned, Nehemiah would have died instead of the king. As Nehemiah went about his duties in the palace, his mind was preoccupied with the condition of the utter ruin heaped upon Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. Though Nehemiah was a servant in the king’s palace, his primary concern was that of serving Jehovah.

After the king observed the disposition of Nehemiah and willingly entertained any requests of Nehemiah, did you notice what Nehemiah did? Nehemiah said, “So I prayed to the God of heaven” (1:4). Though a servant to a foreign king, Nehemiah had not abandoned his God. Nehemiah had not decided that since he was in the condition of servitude that God was no longer interested in him. Nay, instead, Nehemiah still trusted Jehovah. Nehemiah could surely identify with Psalm 46:1 as his thoughts wandered back to his native Jerusalem: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Even though Nehemiah was very much afraid (2:2), he still made an unusual request of the king: “Send me to Judah that I may rebuild it.” Let us look at what Nehemiah was asking of the king.

Though Nehemiah could fall victim to adversaries of the king by being his cupbearer, he may well live a long life, unharmed, and in the luxury of the king’s palace. His only responsibility would have been to serve Artaxerxes and not be saddled with other tasks. Nehemiah’s needs would have been met by the king. The context of this passage shows us that Artaxerxes was interested in Nehemiah’s welfare because he observed the countenance of his cupbearer and, it seems, wanted to help. Nehemiah was asking to be uprooted from his comforts to go to work for God.

The Compassion - Nehemiah had already given himself to weeping, mourning, fasting, and praying on behalf of those who remained in Jerusalem and for the city itself. But now, he was willing to give up the security and comfort of his position in order to become a leader in the reconstruction of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was not a politician with an interest in making a name for himself. No, he was a man who, out of compassion for his compatriots, was willing to commit himself to such a mammoth project as rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem. Imagine the ridicule he would have suffered at the hands of the unstable, weak, and wavering! “Nehemiah, where will you get the manpower to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem? Where will you get the materials for that project? If you can find materials, Nehemiah, how will you get them to Jerusalem?” Let me suggest that such badgering would not have affected the man with a vision.

The Connection - What can we learn from this man whose earnest desire was to rebuild Jerusalem and give comfort to his Jewish brethren? First of all, a great attribute of Nehemiah was his selflessness. He was in servitude himself, but even so, he placed the welfare of his countrymen and the city of Jerusalem ahead of his own interests. Secondly, he was a man of prayer. He prayed fervently on behalf of those Jews living in broken Jerusalem. He appealed to God in Nehemiah 1:10-11, “Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

We need to get outside of our own wants and wishes and have a vision for relieving the distress and reproach (2:17) of those held captive by Satan (2 Timothy 2:26). The focus of our work needs to be in their behalf. We need compassion for the lost as Nehemiah had compassion for the survivors of the Babylonian captivity. We need mourning, weeping, fasting, and praying on behalf of the lost rather than, “God, gimme, gimme.” It seems we’re unwilling to give up our comfort and our ease in order to serve someone else who needs what we can give.

Do you suppose that Nehemiah was more concerned about his days off or being recreated or entertained than he was in accomplishing God’s work upon the earth? I seriously doubt it! Read the rest of the book of Nehemiah and see that when a man surrenders himself to God, much good can be accomplished. Many folk can know relief from affliction if a man with a dream will yield to God with whom all things are possible. Nehemiah is remembered for the monumental feats which he accomplished in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

The credit for affecting the return of proper worship and instruction of the Jews in Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity goes to Nehemiah and Ezra as they were blessed by God. The aspirations of both men to have their people reconciled to God caused them to work extremely hard and with much diligence in returning Judah to favor with God. They are remembered for the work they did. Men are not remembered for their indifference and apathy but for accomplishing work. Concerning Christians, Paul wrote to Titus saying that Jesus Christ ...gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds (Titus 2:4).

Christians must see work to be done. We must pray about it fervently. Then we need to get out of our seats of ease and commit ourselves to do the work of God. Then I heard a voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I, Send me!’ Now, what will we do?

(Or, "What the preacher asked when he called on me about my poor attendance")

"What a question to ask me, preacher! Why, of course I'm interested in heaven; anybody that believes the Bible is interested in Heaven. That's the reason I was baptized by old Brother Faithful over at Piney Slab Holler back in... Well, I just don't remember the date I was baptized."

"What's that? Where am I going to worship? Why, I go once in a while over to Laodicea where brother Smoothit preaches. You say he's been gone from there about three years or more? Well, I didn't know it had been that long since I had been to church. 'Course now, I've been busy. And then, I haven't been feeling very well, and the weather hasn't been what it should have been. But brother, I'm interested in heaven."

"Where does my family go to worship? Why they don't go anywhere! You know how my wife is. Oh, you ain't never met my wife? Well, that woman just won't hear anything about the church, and wouldn't get the kids ready and take 'em to Bible study, and you know it's not a man's place to do that. I tell you, I just don't see how I've stayed interested in heaven and lived with that woman. I've put up with more from her than Dan ever put up with his wife, Beersheba."

"Do I take a gospel paper? Naw sir, I don't. I took one once, and it just laid around the house, and I never had time to read it. Time I get all the newspapers and magazines read, it was time to go to bed, so I just don't send them anymore money."

"How much have I given to the church? Now, just a minute preacher! You can ask all the questions you want to, but when you ask me about my money, you've gone a mite too far! It's none of your business how much I give to the Lord, and it's nobody else's business either. That's one thing I never do, go around bragging about how much I give. And when people ask me like you did, I ain't going to tell them. The very idea, askin' me if I was interested in heaven and then trying to find out how much I've been givin' to the Lord."

"I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). "Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon" (Isa. 55:6-7).

Carl Michalson once told about playing with his young son one afternoon. They were tussling playfully on their front lawn, when Michalson accidentally hit the young boy in the face with his elbow. It was a sharp blow full to his son's face. The little boy was stunned by the impact of the elbow. It hurt, and he was just about to burst into tears. But then he looked into his father's eyes. Instead of anger and hostility, he saw there his father's sympathy and concern; he saw there his father's love and compassion. Instead of exploding into tears, the little boy suddenly burst into laughter. What he saw in his father's eyes made all the difference! (From Some Things are too Good not to Be True, by James W. Moore, p. 43)

The sharp blow of God's Word is "repent or perish." However, look into the Father's eyes. What He offers is forgiveness. He will abundantly pardon those who repent and turn from their sins.