Don't Be Afraid To Step Out Of The Ship!
Notes
Transcript
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?
Don’t be afraid to step out of the ship!
Our text this morning deals with a very familiar passage that we have preached from within this past year. We should know the story:
Jesus had just finished feeding 5,000 with only 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. Now Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake and sent the people home.
Jesus sends them on their way but He himself goes up into the mountain to pray. Night falls, the bible tells us and a storm arises while the disciples are attempting to get to the other side. The bible declares the the disciples were fighting against strong winds and heavy waves and then at about 3 o’clock in the morning Jesus begins to make his way to the disciples while they are out on the sea. They are in trouble and Jesus begins to walk on the water to see about his beloved disciples.
When the disciples see a shadowy figure walking on the sea they come to the conclusion that it was a ghost....because no human being has that kind of ability to defy gravity and walk on water. But Jesus knowing what was on their mind, knowing what they were struggling and fighting against hollers out and says “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid”.
Don’t worry, don’t be afraid, take courage.......I AM HERE! I want to place that right there for you to think about. Jesus said......don’t worry, don’t be afraid, take courage......I AM HERE!
So now Peter, kinda recognizes the voice......but he’s still kinda unsure and says “Lord if it’s really you (NLT) tell me to come to you, walking on the water” and Jesus says “Yes, come”.
Now this next part is where we want to take root at. Notice here in the text that the Lord never asked Peter to come out of the ship persay. Peter wanted to go out to him on the sea.....it was a place where he wanted to be because Jesus was there.
Fear, uncertainty, doubt, will cause us to miss out on the blessings that God has for us.
I’m actually almost done......this is one of those simple messages that the Lord gave me. I actually had something else......at least I thought and the Lord started dealing with me concerning this text and in my mind....I was thinking.....”Lord....I’ve already preached this recently”. But then the Lord replied “I want you to preach this because there is somewhere I want this church to go......and they won’t get there until they step out of the ship.”
God has something special for this church and we’ve been seeing prophecy fulfilled, we’ve seen miracles performed, we’ve been seeing souls come in, we are seeing family members returning back to God, but in order for us to get to this next stage, this new season, God told me to tell the saints of God “Don’t Be Afraid To Step Out Of The Ship”. I hope you don’t forget this message......I hope this one hits you like a ton of bricks.
When I left prayer I was in the car driving and I wasn’t saying much (which is actually normal) but what my wife and daughter didn’t know was that me and God was having a conversation. God reminded me of something that I said during prayer yesterday:
I reminded the saints yesterday at prayer of what Jesus said:
Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Sometimes there could be many reasons why the blessings of God are not flowing in our life. But I believe that for some of us the reason why we are still having problems in our life, the reason why we haven’t seen any changes take place, the reason why we are not seeing healing go forth may be because we are not speaking to the mountains.
Yes, I know that everything is subject to God’s will and yes I know that we can speak to the mountain and if it’s not God’s will for the mountain to be removed it may not happen. But there isn’t a scripture for that type of logic. The bible says that:
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
But you need to consider the context of this scripture. James is talking about people being jealous and scheming and killing to get what they desire. Then James says “You don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it, and then he says “even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong and you want only what will give you pleasure.
Okay, so now......notice here according to the KJV one of the key words is “lust”. The other word “amiss” or “kakos” means wrong motives. Now here it is we use the word “amiss” but we really don’t know what it means. James says your asking and the reason why you haven’t received it yet is because you have the wrong motives, your motivation is all about pleasing yourself, your motivation is all about what benefits you. You ask....but you don’t receive.
Now when we look at what Jesus says in his address to the disciples.....he tells his disciples on several occasions:
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
So yes we must ask, first we have to abide in Him, and let his words abide in us. Then whatsoever we ask, we have to ask in his name, and when you ask in prayer.....you have to believe that ye shall receive (Don’t Be Afraid To Get Out Of The Ship). Sometimes if that won’t work.....you might need to grab a prayer partner......come on here.....and touch and agree that what you’re asking God for your going to receive. Sometimes you might need to combine your faith with someone else's faith.
There was another conversation to consider.
And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
Jesus is talking to his disciples as they are coming back to Bethany from Jerusalem, they saw a fig tree wither and die in a days time (Matt 21:19-21. It was mind boggling to them......cause Jesus just said something to the tree....and literally the next day they came back and it died. Jesus told them “If you have faith, and doubt not”.......see that’s where a lot of us get tripped up. Because you can have faith.....but doubt. You doubt sometimes because of fear......you are afraid and you say “God what if I speak to the mountain and nothing happens.......I’ll be made a fool.....or people won’t believe you anymore.....or it will make me look like a liar.....or it will make me look like my faith is week.” But first you need to know that it isn’t about you anyway! Jesus has armed the disciples with what they needed to know to tap into the miraculous power of God. Abide, Ask, Believe, and now Jesus says......SPEAK! Speak to what? The mountain, the obstacle, the hinderance, the issues, the sickness.......HAVE FAITH AND DON’T DOUBT........THEN SPEAK TO THE MOUNTAIN......and say “Be thou removed, and be cast into the sea; it shall be done.” Then Jesus says “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
I need to tell you something, it’s good to ask your Pastor to pray for you.....but the Pastor has got to get you to a place where your faith is increased that you confidence in the fact that if I get down on my knees......SOMETHING GOOD IS GOING TO HAPPEN! Maybe you can’t get on your knees.....BUT IF I TALK TO GOD ABOUT IT......SOMETHING GOOD IS GOING TO COME OUT OF TALK WITH GOD!!!! You ought to ask like the disciples asked Jesus and say “LORD INCREASE MY FAITH!”
In order for you to speak to the mountain, it’s going to take you getting out of the boat, it’s going to take you getting out of a place of comfortability. In order for you to get out the boat it’s going to take some serious faith!
When you step out of the boat, when you step out of your comfort zone, that’s when God can really bless you.
We won’t start seeing spiritual gifts birthed in the church until we step out of the boat in faith! The root of all spiritual gifts in the church is faith, when faith is in its proper place the Holy Ghost.....will place in the body as needed!
DON’T BE AFRAID TO STEP OUT OF THE SHIP!
This is another reason why there are some who been in church all their life and has never won anybody to Christ. It’s because you are still in the boat, you are afraid of what someone is going to say, you are afraid of the looks and the replies that you might get.
And listen, I know some of us aren’t witnessing at all......you know how I know? Because some of you come in Sunday after Sunday.....and you have a hard time worshipping and praising God......so I won’t expect you to open you mouth to testify to someone about the goodness of the LORD, I don’t expect you to witness to someone and let them know the Jesus Christ can save them from their sins.
But if you really want to be blessed you got to step out in faith! If you want God to really enlarge your territory, if you want to experience a true move of God......YOU GOTTA COME OUT THE SHIP.......DON’T BE AFRAID TO STEP OUT OF THE SHIP!!!
THIS IS STEPPING OUT SEASON! I’M GOING TO STEP OUT ON FAITH, I’M GOING TO PUT MY TRUST IN GOD, AND GOD IS GOING TO MOVE! I come to tell you this morning that when you step out on faith, there are going to be some forces that will try to bring you down, there will be some winds of discouragement that will blow you way.....but as long as you keep your eyes on Jesus......The Lord is going to make everything alright!
Conclusion:
Peter stepped out of the boat and kept his eyes on Jesus. But as soon as he started seeing what was going on, as soon as he started hearing what was going on, as soon as he started feeling what was going on, he took his eyes off Jesus and he began to sink.
Peter hollers out “Save me Lord”......and the text suggests that Peter’s cry was so intense that Peter said “Save me Lord....and do it now.” Salvation is just not limited to the saving of the soul.....there some other things that we need the Lord to save us from. Sometimes we may even need to be saved from ourselves.
Listen I want you to take this home with you. Don’t ever be afraid to step out of the boat, don’t ever be afraid to stretch out on your faith, don’t ever be afraid to speak to the mountains in your life, don’t ever be afraid to prophesy to your situation, don’t ever be afraid to speak life to your problems and know this one thing:
If you step out of the boat, even if you stumble, even if you waver, trust and believe that God is going to come to your rescue! Turn to your neighbor and encourage your neighbor and say “Neighbor......hey neighbor......God is going to come to your rescue!” Come on lets praise God! I said God is going to come to your rescue.......God is not going to let you sink too low, God is not going to leave you stranded, God is not going sit back and watch you struggle helplessly and drown......tell your neighbor again say “neighbor......Hey neighbor......God is going to come to our rescue!”
Peter was saved.......but the greater scope of this testimony is that Jesus just didn’t come to save one person.....he came to save everybody in that ship. When Jesus stepped into that shipped.....the winds and the waves ceased immediately. Now I know that about 98% of you have never been on water in boat while in the midst of a storm. There’s only two of us in here that have experienced been on a boat in the midst of a storm. So to be in the midst of the storm, with strong winds blowing, and storm surges hitting anywhere from 7-20 feet high and then to have someone step in the ship and everything cease immediately is mind blowing to me! But the God that I serve can do anything! Jesus not only saved Peter, he saved everyone.......Jesus came to save everyone! Now when the Lord saves you, when the Lord delivers you, when the Lord makes a way out of no way.......there should be a response! The disciples response was that they “worshiped him”. Worship always entails having to give up something (Old Testament Etymology).
When we worship, we bow down.....not so much physically, but we bow spiritually, we honor God, we bow our will to God, we give our life to God, we give our praise to God, we give our worship with God. But listen, I’m not going to wait until God saves me to worship Him......I’m going to worship Him now......I’m going to give it to Him......I’m going to praise Him on credit! When I praise Him on credit....it’s just like buying a house.....I’ve been approved for the house, the offer has been accepted, and the house is mine. I may not have my furniture in that house.....but the house belongs to me. When I praise God on credit.....I’m saying what ever it is I asked God for.....don’t have it in my possession.....but it’s already mine!
Come on testify to your neighbor again and tell your neighbor.......neighbor.....don’t be afraid to step out of the ship.....come on let’s claim that blessing........let’s claim that healing.......let’s claim that turn around! For those doubters out there that don’t believe.....I got news for you....within the last couple of weeks.....God has been working miracles for the saints.....prayers have been answered......healing has been going forth......and I want you to know that GOD IS ON THE MOVE!
Altar Call:
When you have your eyes on everything else but Jesus, when you exert more of your attention on other things than Jesus, you will find yourself sinking. You will find yourself sinking in sin, sinking in bad habits, sinking in addictions, seeking in guilt, seeking in shame, seeking in despair. But this morning I want to present to someone today that is seeking a way out......and that way out is Jesus. Jesus Christ, the savior, the one who came to save us is here. How is Jesus here? He is here by his Spirit.....by the power of the Holy Ghost. Jesus is here with his arm and his hand stretched out.....reaching out to you to save you. If you want to be saved today, if you want the Lord to pull you out of sin, if you want the Lord to pull you out of despair, if you want to be saved and come into the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ if you would just simply raise your hand today.