Walking on the Water
Our gracious father, how thankful we are that we can come before you. The mighty one, who is above all, you are lying to Our Hope, and our strength and father, how we desperately need to trust in you for our lives. In the things that happened for a father. When you are going before us, and going with us, life is better because we know and trust that you are there to be our wisdom and understanding in all situations bless us as we commune together now and fellowship and praise and give glory to you are living God in Jesus name. Amen.
So if you were in Sunday school this morning, you've already got two practices for song that we're going to sing. We sing God Bless America. I wish you could have heard these kids singing. Wow. Maybe I'll get to hear him now, but it's the words are going to be up there this time, so you'll know him. Okay, so let's think that I love this song. So my favorites. I just feel like it's a unifying song for asking God to bless America. And, you know, it was written by an immigrant from Russia Irving Berlin. Did you know that interesting? Huh, let's and up was everything. God Bless America.
America.
Standing side-by-side night with the light from above.
Baby videos.
America.
America's sweetheart America.
Angry Birds.
Awesome. You may be seated. I hope you guys could hear when I was hearing that. The children's voices were amazing. The wrong person was up here leaving that time. I can tell you that
they were very bright and cheery that's for sure. Our Bible reading is taken from Mark chapter 6.
Versus 47 to 50. Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars because the wind was against them shortly before Dawn, he went out to them walking on the lake, he was about to pass them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost and they cried because they saw him and we're terrified. Imagine that the one who's going to redeem them. We'll be taking a look at that today. The walking on the water and some of the aspects that it has to do with our lives. So we can be excited about that by helping lead in music. We're excited about that. But she also wants some prayer this morning. As you know, she's going through the process of healing and Now, there's a little infection going on in the wrong territory, so I will be in prayer for her as we continue on. So let's pray.
Our precious father. God, we thank you that we have a God who loves and cares for all of our needs that we can come before you and worship you and know that you have the very best interest in our lives and where you want to take us because you're the God who sees the past, who sees the present and also the future. And so father may you lead and guide and each circumstance and we want to bring our requests before you this morning for we desire to lay them at your feet and trust in you to guide and direct. And so, first of all, father we want to bring the lives of the people of our community, who do not know you before you today for our heart, and our desire is to see people changed their lives. Renewed and truly awakened by coming to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And so father we pray that your spirit would be active in a ministering to those hearts and lives and father also ministering to us and allowing us to be a functional aspect in that process Lord, we do pray for the needs before us and we could do think of Tanya and we thank you for your healing upon her life. And we pray for your continued healing that you would touch her and drive away. This infection, that she is a feeling restoring and strengthening her father. We also want to remember that we all have those unspoken requests. And as we come before you today, we want to lay them at your feet and trust that you will. Be the guide and the strength in covering Us in those different aspects. may you restore strength and he'll provide father, we do pray that you would continue to be with us as we worship you for father, you deserve all of our worship, all of our praise. And so whether we are singing praying or being involved in your word, may you bless us richly by the power of your spirit in Jesus, precious name. We ask these things. Hey, man.
These are the days of your time. Hoses righteous and the boys.
Trump today.
Bills are as wide in the world.
I'm an honorable man and I hear my phone ring.
I know that it is.
I will not bow.
Yeah, that should ask first. Well, let's get together and start off with another work of prayer, just asking, God to be with us and to bless us as we open his word gracious, father, how we come before you the Mighty God and that's part of getting together on Sunday that we Proclaim and celebrate you. And the power of prayer, the power of music, The Power of fellowship and father, the power of your words that truly guides and directs our paths, we pray for your spirit to be here in strength to touch each of our hearts that we would all be moved to draw near to you. And father, we pray that you would touch me that I would be humble before you and that you would be the mighty one who would guide every word that precedes from my mouth. For father, you're the one who makes change not me and you're the one who blesses guide us in this. Oh Lord Our God in Jesus name. Amen. Well, we've been working through the, the healings of Jesus. So, are we looked at three different healings and looked at the different aspects that we can see in what happens with those healings last week with the bread in the fish and this is kind of an extension of that one. It's the walking on the water as what we're going to look at today and truly it extends, right out from Jesus feeding that you judge grout. With just five loaves of bread and two fish and then sending that crowd off a look at that. And the disciples often what will look at all those different aspects. One of the great thanks about knowing the Lord is it. We come to that point of Salvation that we just looked at in communion that, our lives are truly changed. And we are new, we are drawn close to the Lord and He is dwelling inside of us and this huge changes didn't taken place. So what happened? What happens do you say? Oh well I hope that's taken care of. Now, I can just go off and live my life in whatever way I want to. You know him that's really not the way Christ was looking at in his time here on this Earth and he was trying to give us the idea that life changes and we ought to be changing with that life that are LA Times are called to be continually renewed. And strengthened in our walk with the Living God, in fact, Jesus wants our love for him to grow more and more with each passing day. We are called to know him. And as a Christian, that's my goal. That's your goal. You have a goal for your life and it's the greatest goal that you could have, and that's the know, Jesus Christ, more and more with each passing day. Will that, take Sanford? Doesn't it? It takes you willing to step out, and we're going to talk about Peter, stepping out of the boat and walking to Jesus, because he needed to be with him. Well, you and I need to be with him too. I'll give you a sample of those struggles though, because it's not all getting out of the boat and just being able to go off and do that all by yourself across that Lake. It's a process and it's a growing process. This sometimes is a bit of a struggle. Now, I stand before you today, and I can preach with pretty much he's but it wasn't always that way. My first opportunity happened when I was about 23. I'm kind of guessing and I was in this little church in Rapid City, South Dakota, and I was in the military and we'd come and there wasn't very many people in the church and so very shortly. I became one of the elders or deacons of the church. And our pastor was going to be gone and so he was asking for volunteers even when there wasn't very many of us to volunteer, in fact, there were two of us and he was going to be gone, two weeks, my friend got one of those weeks and I got the other one. And so here I am for several weeks in advance just sweating tears trying to put together something of a sermon. And, you know, it's pretty much my work. You know, I'm not really looking at the Lord trust in him too often. But I'm trying to take that step to get out of the boat and serve him. You know, and I get up in that pulpit and I am literally shaking, you know, and mumbling through about 15 minutes of a message. And everybody was really happy because they got out the church about a half an hour early that day.
And that was my first experience getting up and preaching the word of God. It's a baby step and you take baby steps and I'm taking a lot of baby steps to get to the point where I am today, where I do feel comfortable and I do enjoy getting up and preaching God's word. It is wonderful and Powerful to me, but I'm doing it. Not and Don pedrick strength, which was kind of the first Stafford. But I'm trying to do it in God's strength day by day and we need to remember that as we go through this message that we're going to take a look at taken from Matthew chapter 14 verses 22 to 23 will just read the the first few. And this is the aspect, not so much of the message, but understand that God is a great juggler of all the things that come his way. And we see that in Christ. Remember, last week we were looking at the bread and the fish and how Jesus had one desire and that it led into other desires and it didn't compromise yd. What he had set out to do. And so let's read about it a little bit. Matthew chapter 14, verses 22 to 24. It says immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side and while he dismissed the crowd after he had dismissed them he went up on the Mountainside to by himself to pray later that night he was there alone and the boat was already a considerable distance from Land. Buffeted by the waves because the wind was against them. Remember, Jesus is juggling a few things in this episode number one. He wanted to get the disciples out alone and well, they're alone on the lake. Not good things. Seem to be happening, though. It actually works out that they are good things that are happening to them. Number to, he wanted to get away, but he had to have some compassion on the crowds that came to him. And so we minister to them with provision of food, he probably ministered in the power of his word and probably even in healing. And so, he was doing all of those things for all of these people. And then he takes care of himself, a little bit by getting apart. Remember that, this just after the death of John, the Baptist and his cousin whom he probably. I had the closest relationship on this Earth with. I had gone off and Herod had chopped his head off, and he had passed away. So there was some thought about that, going through his life and he needed to commune with the Lord. So he's juggling all these things getting it together. We can see that and other episodes of his life looking back in math. And Luke chapter 8, he has this episode where he's coming in, off the lake with the disciples and there's this huge crowd waiting for him, and he gets off the boat and somehow man named Darius comes up to him will read it. Verse 41, of Luke, Luke 8, then a man named Jarius, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus's feet pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter a girl of about 12 was dying. Okay, he's got this great crowd that he has to go through any Walking through the out of the disciples are probably trying to open up a way before him to get to Jerry's his house. And if you remember there was a lady there who had been sick for 12 years and she reaches out and she touches him. Just touches his cloak. Well there's hundreds of people reaching out and touching him but he notices that power is going out of his life and he turned around and he says who touched me and this lady comes forward and identifies herself and he says your faith has healed you you see he's got this need that he's going to but there is other things. He can take care of well that need got a little bit greater because the child he was going to heal died and so he's on the way and and he finally gets there and everybody is morning and, you know, you don't have to bother him anymore. This lady this young daughter, 12 years old, his dad and he says now she's just sleeping. And he goes in any heels are. So he's taking care of, all these issues in Jesus Christ. Had a real Knack of juggling. Those things I don't have that great neck to juggle things as well. I'm sure that some of you guys would say the same thing, ladies are much better at doing that sort of thing then we are usually but that's taking care of those needs and Jesus meets each need that is out there. He continually meets those needs and Matthew 14:13 just before this happened it says when Jesus heard what had happened. He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Okay, that was leading up to this last episode. It says hearing of this the crowds followed him on foot from towns. In other words, he wants to be alone. The town's come but he needs. Each need Is needs his disciples needs. The crowds needs are all met because he mentions it all together by his merciful Grace and compassion. And so he's working through it all, working through it all. It's important to seek order in your life in Jesus sees that and he seeks the order and in life and we have to do that ourselves. There are lots of things that are of importance and we have to find order for those things. And one of those things, like, I said earlier, is our relationship with God. There has to be an order to our lives to find that relationship and to continue to seek after it. Jesus getting ready to depart and go into heaven. After his, resurrection is talking to disciples in the Acts chapter one. We get down two verse four and it says well on one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command. Not leave Jerusalem by wait for the gift. My father promised, which you have heard me speak about and he's talking about the gift of the Holy Spirit, it was going to come up on them and give them power. He didn't want them going out and doing anything before that because they really no power. It's only in God that we truly have power and those of you who know Jesus Christ as your lord and savior, you have that power in you. He doesn't leave you, he doesn't forsake you Conflicts arise as we've seen and he's going to face one of these conflicts in just a little bit as we get to the next section because there are waves and winds happening for did the disciples. And that's a conflict in the way. Jesus approaches those conflicts wisely. If we go ahead and Luke chapter 18, Jesus is on his way to Jericho is just about ready to head up to
Go through the passion of Christ and yet he's going to Jericho because he's got a fella. He's got to meet their. You remember the story of Zacchaeus, the wee little man that he was going to see in Jericho. Well he's on the way there to meet this guy. And all of a sudden something else happens says, and Luke 18:35 is Jesus approached. Jericho blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. Here's this this blind, man, he's sitting by the side. He's not just begging. He's shouting out, and he's shouting for Jesus and wanting to come, and he's in the crowds are saying, hey, calm down. He doesn't come down, he gets worse, you know, and he wants juices attention. And so Jesus stops. Stops, what he's going to do. There's a conflict and he's going to meet that conflict and he heals this blind, man. And this blind the joyces and goes with him. He probably spent the afternoon in Zacchaeus his house with all the other disciples. We don't have that in God's word, but he followed Jesus through this struggle
And when we Face these conflicts in life, we need to remember who to look to God, wants us to solutely, God wants us to look to him as we Face. These conflicts in life, as Jesus always did the faith lesson walking on the water, Matthew 14 verses 25 to 31. Shortly before Dawn. Jesus went out to them walking on the lake and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake where they were terrified. It's a ghost. They said and cried out in fear but Jesus immediately said to them, take courage, it is I don't be afraid. Lord, if it's you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water, he said, then Peter got down out of the boat, walk on the water and kitten toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and began to sink and cried out. Lord, save me. Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, you of little faith. He said, why did you doubt On faith is kind of that way. As I said in the beginning, you know the process of going through the stages of Faith, you know, we have faith to come to know. Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but there's a lot more ahead of us. And if we Remain the baby Christian and just received the faith and stop there, we really, we're not going very far in life. We're not doing what God asks us to do. He wants us to take those steps out of the boat into areas where we don't feel comfortable because it calls us to trust that God is going to be with us and guide us through those moments. And so, Peter, stepping out of the water, you know? He Jesus says to him. Oh, you of little faith afterwards. Yeah, it was a little faith but it was a growing Faith because he did step out of the boat and You did walk on water even for a little bit of time we're done that. No, none of us have done that but we've done other things that God has called us to, we stepped out of the boat a little bit and done some of those things. Jesus saw this in the disciples so many times, but it was each time was a growing experience and we need to remember that that their lives were complete. Just because they walked with Jesus, They needed to have growing experiences. Every time in their lives here, Jesus in another episode, the disciples were trying to throw a demon out of the boy. They done it many times before because remember Jesus sent them out. One of the things that they did was throw demons out of out of people who are possessed. Well, they couldn't have this little boy. And so Jesus comes down and he does. So, and he's, and they said, we, and he said he replied because you have so little faith. Truly, I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain move from here to there and it will move nothing will be impossible for you. In other words, he was leading them on to greater and greater steps. There were other times in the lives of the disciples that they did throw out demons. But it took Steps of Faith to understate that they needed to be walking closer to God each time, and that's what you and I are called to, to be people who truly walk closer to God, it comes with our Focus. Her Focus needs to be on Jesus Christ on the Living God, he calls us to that. In Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2, he tells us exactly why We need to do, he says, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of faith for the joy set, before him, he endured the cross, scorning the shame and sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God, in other words, he trusted God, he was gone. He trusted God to carry him through and we need to do that. We're not Gods, but we're people who can trust God when we step out of the boat, we need to keep her eyes on Jesus noticed that Peter walked on the water. As long as he kept his focus on Jesus Christ. It was when he began to look around and saw the wind and the waves that he sank. You know, and it takes, practice takes practice to keep her up in Jesus Christ because some of those things that we step out of the boat to do or pretty scary experiences. Remember me standing before an audience, that was a really scary experience. American tell you I was shaking when I was up there. You know, those are scary experiences. It's baby steps that we take baby steps that we take each way. Remember, I remember them.
Gideon. Thank you. My dear Gideon and and the baby steps. He took as well as I do.
You know what? He The Lord came to him. I mean, an angel came to him, you know, I'm talked with him and yet he struggled with believing him said, okay, here's what he says, I just 637, look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is do only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you save his real by my hands. As you said, Did that make the difference? Love you remember the story? No, it didn't make a difference, they had to have another test, you know, he then put the the police out and said, keep the fleas.
Weather fleas, but not the ground or the other way around. He he had a desire. There were baby steps that need to be taken. And each of us, makes those baby steps in our lives, just as get and Justice, Peter, making their lives and all the disciples for they were learning their growing experiences. You remember the story of John Mark, he went with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. They went through the island of Cyprus and then they headed to Turkey and they landed on the shore and here's what happens from pathos Paul and his companions sailed to purga in parent in philia where John Mark left them to return to Jerusalem? Okay, well this was a baby step for John Mark. He was stepping out with him. He was doing some things but it got too tough for him and he had to run away. And later on when he wanted to go with Paul and Barnabas, there was, there was a struggle by Paul to take him along. And so there was a division there but later on John Mark wrote, the first gospel. Think about that. And then later on, when Paul is Diet, ready to die in prison and he's writing to Timothy says, send John to me, or to me, because he is an encouragement to my life. Baby steps, the take us to where we need to be. Anyway, that's finish it off real quick, because we're running out of time here. Jesus is Jesus near to us. Matthew, 14, 32 to 33. And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down, then those were in the boat, worshiped him saying truly, you are the son of God.
Remember that Jesus is always with us. You know, sometimes we get into struggles and we get into trials and all that we can think about is that trial in the struggle and not the Jesus is right there with us, walking through that struggle with us all along the way. You know, we all struggle with that member Joshua. Joshua is 80. So he's been the commander of the armies of Israel for 40 years and Moses is handing over the command to him and you would think a general who has 40 years of experience wouldn't have any problems, right? Wrong. Moses says to him and Deuteronomy 31:6, be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or terrified because of them for the Lord, your God goes with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. That is a super verse for each and every one of us to know because he truly is with us and he will never leave or forsake us. Did it hit home to Joshua. Not totally because here he is. Standing ready to go in there and God comes to him and tells him be strong and courageous. I'm with you always. You know, we need that encouragement. We need those baby steps won't long, the way, no matter how old we get. No matter how old ask God for that, he tells us to come to him and ask him. John 15:7, if you remain in me and my words, remain in you ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. In other words, if you're walking with me, if you're really seeking men, wanting my guidance, you can ask anything because you're living the way I want you to live and I will answer your prayers.
He's the God who controls all things. You know, we think about earthquakes and the struggles that we go through and all the dangers that this Earth presents while he's the one that is in control of all those things. Psalm 148 8 says lightning and hail snow and clouds stormy winds that do his bidding. It's all in his bidding. So if you're in one of those struggles,
Just trust it along the way calls us to worship as the disciples worship. Worship The God Who Could Walk on Water. You could feed. 5000 men plus women and children with just five small loaves of bread and two fish. He's the God who controls the sky? That comes the storms of life. They see all this and they can't help but worship him. And that's what we ought to do. Some to 7, I will proclaim the Lord's. Decrees he said to me you are my son today. I become your father and we need to remember that we can trust him if I'm a Believer in Jesus Christ. I have a mission for my life and that mission is to know him more and more. And when I do have that in mind and seek Him day by day, he calls me to jump out there and take steps if maybe I hadn't taken before, maybe I'm a afraid of But I'd be willing to do that, you know, what happens when we do that. The miracle of God's work in our heart changes us. And really, that's the great miracle. Is that we truly can be changed.
We can become more like Jesus Christ. We can see that in the lines of people who have come to know him later later on in life, how it changes a lot, will it happens to us day by day as we trust in him? Let's pray. Grace's Father in heaven. We thank you for these amazing stories of your great Miracles that happened on Earth. But father, the greatest miracle that has ever happened to. Anyone of us is to come to know you as our Lord and savior and then the great miracle of our continuing walk. We're witnessing Miracles every day as we trust in you father and help us to remember that as we go out of this building, in our lives, out in the world that as long as our eyes and our Focus are upon you, great things are going to happen. In our locks. Into the lives of those that are around us because you are alive and active and working. And we are trusting you to do in our lives and the lives of those around us. Thank you father in Jesus precious name. Amen. Latinas we close.