The Art of Acceleration

Matthew 14:22–31 KJV 1900

And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Matthew

Sprinter runs as fast as he/she can for a short distance. A long distance runner has to pace themselves for the duration of the race. A good long distance runner doesn't try to lead out the gate. Their goal is not to lead early in the race but to stay close to to the front of the pack and on the last lap, make their move to win the race. Those watching may yell things like "Run faster" or "You're falling behind" because they don't see you leading the race. They don't realize you have a strategy. In their minds, when you are not winning, you are losing.

Staying close to the leader until the last lap of the race is what runners call "striking distance." See in order to win, you don't have to win the whole race, you just have to win at the right time. It's your time!

Runners who use the strategy, know the Art of Acceleration. This principle that works on the track also works in life. There are times when you feel like you are losing. I believe God is trying to expose us to The Art of Acceleration. He is saying to us that you my feel behind but if you are still on the track then the race is not over. We want to announce to the enemy today that we are not nervous. God has arranged for you to have something left in your tank to help you catch up.

The text in Matthew chapter 14 teaches us the Art of Acceleration. Jesus has just performed one of the most famous miracles in the feeding of the 5,000. The motive of this miracle was compassion. Jesus cared about the people who were hungry. The means for the miracle was generosity. Because one small child gave his lunch to Jesus so that everybody could eat.

Then there is the message of the miracle because the message of the miracle is always more important than the miracle itself. See after the miracle was over for a period of time, they would get hungry again because miracles are temporary but the message is eternal. The message will keep you when the miracle has left you. Whenever God does something, He says something. In the miracle of the 5,000, He's saying, "I'm Able." Even if he has to provide for you from an unexpected source, He's able. He can meet your needs in ways you never would expect.

When water comes out of a rock, that's God's way of saying, "I will send you what you need from sources you didn't expect. When He made ravens fees the prophet, ravens aren't generous birds, but when God is determine to provide for His people, He will make something act inconsistent with its nature.

John 6:19

John 6:19 KJV 1900

So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.

Jesus sent the disciples ahead and went into the mountains to pray. tells us that they rowed three or four miles into the lake. What took them all night to get to, Jesus came walking to. There are times when it feels like he's nowhere around, that you have been sent into something by yourself but just because it appears that he's not there doesn't mean that he's not. Jesus knows the Art of Acceleration. He knows the right time to make his move. The journey can be exhausting at times especially when it feels that you aren't making any progress. You have to keep rowing even when you feel he's not there. You have to keep running even when it seems that you are behind in the race. You have to know that he is faithful to his Word. If he said he would meet you then you can rest assured that when you get there, he will be there. Just because it feels like he's not doing anything, doesn't mean that he's not doing anything. While they were rowing, he was praying. When he gets done praying, he walks to what they rowed to. They had a head start, but Jesus caught up. He's teaching us The Art of Acceleration. He's teaching us that when we feel like we are behind and need to catch up, what he did in the mountain all night while they were rowing is exactly what it takes for us to catch up in our lives. Jesus was praying and the best accelerate for a stagnated life is a fervent prayer.

The text says that when Peter sees the wind, he begins to sink. Jesus is walking on the same water as Peter but Peter starts to drown so the problem is not the water. Jesus identifies that the problem is Peter's faith. How is it that we can have faith in one area of our life but not another? We can believe that God can save us but not heal us. We can believe He rose from the dead but can't resurrect our marriages? We can know he walked on water but can't deliver our families? We have to get our faith right. If we fix our faith, it will fix our feet. God is calling us into greater and the problem is we limit our faith into believing that we are so far behind that we can't catch up.

Ephesians 3:20 KJV 1900

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

There are times when the enemy will try to hold you back from fulfilling God’s purposes. Even when it seems that the enemy has succeeded, it is never too late for God. He can supernaturally replenish you, overturn the battle and launch you, victorious, into His purposes. ‘Divine acceleration’ is a reminder that you can trust the timing of God. He is faithful, He is sovereign, He is powerful. And, He is the God of the resurrection.