Jesus walked on the water. As He comes towards them, He says something very striking. He says, "Now take courage, don't be afraid." Actually, those are two things that He says, but sandwiched in between is a significant little statement. What actually is said is "take courage, and don't fear."

Now it's pointless saying, "be of good courage," and it's pointless saying, "don't fear," unless He impresses upon them the middle bit - I AM. You remember this is a title that got Jesus into trouble. It was a term that He had used. One day He was discussing His age with some people, and they talked about Abraham, and He said, "Before Abraham was, I was." Is that what He said? "No." What He actually said was "Before Abraham was, I AM!" They were so annoyed at Him saying this, that they took up stones and tried to assassinate Him on the spot. Why? When He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM!" in their minds, that was blasphemy. He was claiming for Himself the title reserved for Deity.

You will remember that when Moses asked God what His Name was, rather enigmatically God answered, "I AM that I AM!" I am totally, completely, entirely in myself. I'm without beginning, and I'm without end. I am eternal, I am not contingent, I am not dependent, I am complete. I just AM! If I was to talk about myself, I would say, "Last week I was, this week I am, next week I will be." When God talks about Himself, He says, "I transcend all things. I AM utterly and totally unique."

Jesus has the audacity to take that Name upon Himself, and His peers recognize it, and they want to assassinate Him for His blasphemy. Now He stands in the power of the seas, and He doesn't leave His footprints, a description of God Himself, and He makes the declaration, "I AM!" Then He interprets it and surprises these people, and He says, on the basis of who I am in your midst, "be of good courage, don't fear."

One of the men there begins to catch a glimmer of the truths that Jesus was proclaiming. It's our friend, Peter. Peter says, "Lord, if it's really You, would You let me come out there with You?" Jesus said, "Come!" So Peter clamors out of the boat, out on the water, and he begins to walk, and he does very, very well. He moves very capably and confidently on the water, and then the thought occurs to him, "How did I get here?" "What in the world am I doing?" "Oh, I wish I was back in the boat." "And there's the Master!" "Oh, look at these waves, and this wind, this is scary, this is overwhelming, I should never have done it, bbubbbblyboom!" And down he goes. He comes up for breath, "Oh, bbbuubbblboom" and the Master reaches down, and pulls him up, puts his arms around him, and they stand on the water. Jesus says, "I need to talk to you Peter!" "Let me ask you a question, "Why did you start doubting?"

"What?"

"Why did you start doubting? You were doing very well! I mean, you got hold of this I AM business, didn't you? You kept your eyes on Me, didn't you? Whilst you were thinking in terms of who I AM, rather than who you are, and whilst you were concentrating on my deity rather than your circumstances, you were doing fine, weren't you, Peter? Why did you start doubting?