WEBVTT 00:00:00.758 --> 00:00:09.237 Matthew 14:21 00:00:09.237 --> 00:00:13.562 "And those who ate were about 5,000 men 00:00:13.562 --> 00:00:17.086 besides women and children. 00:00:17.086 --> 00:00:20.664 Immediately..." 00:00:20.664 --> 00:00:22.250 You're going to find that word 00:00:22.250 --> 00:00:23.961 three times in this section. 00:00:23.961 --> 00:00:27.215 Immediately. 00:00:27.215 --> 00:00:30.610 Matthew and Mark love to use that word. 00:00:30.610 --> 00:00:32.527 "Immediately, He made the disciples 00:00:32.527 --> 00:00:34.739 get into the boat and go before Him 00:00:34.739 --> 00:00:36.112 to the other side 00:00:36.112 --> 00:00:39.796 while He dismissed the crowds. 00:00:39.796 --> 00:00:41.639 And after He had dismissed the crowds, 00:00:41.639 --> 00:00:42.896 He went up on the mountain 00:00:42.896 --> 00:00:45.893 by Himself to pray. 00:00:45.893 --> 00:00:47.041 When evening came, 00:00:47.041 --> 00:00:49.386 He was there alone, 00:00:49.386 --> 00:00:51.314 but the boat by this time 00:00:51.314 --> 00:00:53.425 was a long way from the land, 00:00:53.425 --> 00:00:56.381 beaten by the waves, 00:00:56.381 --> 00:00:59.173 for the wind was against them. 00:00:59.173 --> 00:01:04.712 And in the fourth watch of the night, 00:01:04.712 --> 00:01:07.882 He came to them walking on the sea. 00:01:07.882 --> 00:01:10.401 But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, 00:01:10.401 --> 00:01:13.673 they were terrified and said, 'It is a ghost!' 00:01:13.673 --> 00:01:16.306 They cried out in fear. 00:01:16.306 --> 00:01:20.252 Immediately, Jesus spoke to them, saying, 00:01:20.252 --> 00:01:24.333 'Take heart. It is I. Do not be afraid.' 00:01:24.333 --> 00:01:26.655 Peter answered Him, 'Lord, if it is You, 00:01:26.655 --> 00:01:30.867 command me to come to You on the water.' 00:01:30.867 --> 00:01:33.531 He said, 'Come.' 00:01:33.531 --> 00:01:36.106 So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water 00:01:36.106 --> 00:01:38.245 and came to Jesus. 00:01:38.245 --> 00:01:40.513 But when he saw the wind, 00:01:40.513 --> 00:01:44.140 he was afraid, and beginning to sink, 00:01:44.140 --> 00:01:47.853 he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' 00:01:47.853 --> 00:01:51.289 Jesus immediately reached out His hand 00:01:51.289 --> 00:01:53.889 and took hold of him, saying to him, 00:01:53.889 --> 00:01:57.131 'O you of little faith, 00:01:57.131 --> 00:01:59.736 why did you doubt?' 00:01:59.736 --> 00:02:01.399 And when they got into the boat, 00:02:01.399 --> 00:02:04.506 the wind ceased, 00:02:04.506 --> 00:02:06.480 and those in the boat worshiped Him, 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:12.049 saying, 'Truly, You are the Son of God.'" NOTE Paragraph 00:02:12.049 --> 00:02:18.406 Let's pray. 00:02:18.406 --> 00:02:22.658 Father, I would just ask You 00:02:22.658 --> 00:02:27.542 to give us that power to comprehend 00:02:27.542 --> 00:02:30.117 the love of Christ, and the glory of Christ, 00:02:30.117 --> 00:02:31.656 and the beauty of Christ 00:02:31.656 --> 00:02:33.531 that's to be found in this passage. 00:02:33.531 --> 00:02:36.545 Help us, Lord. 00:02:36.545 --> 00:02:37.652 Help us. 00:02:37.652 --> 00:02:39.637 I pray in Christ's name, 00:02:39.637 --> 00:02:42.961 Amen. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:42.961 --> 00:02:49.607 The question I want to pose to you this morning is this: 00:02:49.607 --> 00:02:54.450 Why is this here? 00:02:54.450 --> 00:02:56.605 Not why is it right here? 00:02:56.605 --> 00:03:00.282 Not why is this account in Matthew 14 instead of somewhere else? 00:03:00.282 --> 00:03:04.846 But why would God record this for us at all? 00:03:04.846 --> 00:03:07.161 Is this here just so we can say, 00:03:07.161 --> 00:03:10.651 yep, there's Peter again, 00:03:10.651 --> 00:03:12.975 bumbling; 00:03:12.975 --> 00:03:14.275 impetuous as ever, 00:03:14.275 --> 00:03:15.884 acting without thinking, 00:03:15.884 --> 00:03:19.199 sinking without believing. 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:22.584 Listen, if that's all you get, 00:03:22.584 --> 00:03:24.540 may God help you to think again. 00:03:24.540 --> 00:03:26.723 Think, Christian! Think! 00:03:26.723 --> 00:03:28.343 Think! 00:03:28.343 --> 00:03:31.638 Why? Why does God preserve for us 00:03:31.638 --> 00:03:33.549 what He preserves for us? 00:03:33.549 --> 00:03:36.741 Why does God freeze events 00:03:36.741 --> 00:03:38.816 that happened 2,000 years ago - 00:03:38.816 --> 00:03:42.510 He freezes them in time. 00:03:42.510 --> 00:03:46.734 And He saved them for us. Why? 00:03:46.734 --> 00:03:49.034 Well, all you have to do is start thinking. 00:03:49.034 --> 00:03:51.578 What does Scripture say? 00:03:51.578 --> 00:03:53.999 Like you might go to 1 Corinthians 10 00:03:53.999 --> 00:03:57.487 and say, ah, Exodus, 00:03:57.487 --> 00:03:59.933 Leviticus, Numbers... remember? 00:03:59.933 --> 00:04:02.246 The Hebrew children out there in the wilderness? 00:04:02.246 --> 00:04:05.532 The Apostle Paul says guess what that is? 00:04:05.532 --> 00:04:08.560 That is an example. 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:10.660 That is for us. 00:04:10.660 --> 00:04:13.918 Those were written down for our instruction. 00:04:13.918 --> 00:04:16.933 Those people - they came out through the sea. 00:04:16.933 --> 00:04:18.046 They were with Moses. 00:04:18.046 --> 00:04:20.093 They went out into that wilderness. 00:04:20.093 --> 00:04:22.103 And they mumbled, they complained, 00:04:22.103 --> 00:04:23.971 they grumbled, there were serpents, 00:04:23.971 --> 00:04:25.422 there was judgment. 00:04:25.422 --> 00:04:27.324 Why all of that? 00:04:27.324 --> 00:04:30.876 For our instruction upon whom the ends 00:04:30.876 --> 00:04:32.197 of the world have come; 00:04:32.197 --> 00:04:34.834 or the end of this age, 00:04:34.834 --> 00:04:36.275 the end of this time. 00:04:36.275 --> 00:04:39.693 We are the people that the end of the ages has come upon. 00:04:39.693 --> 00:04:41.602 Whatever was written in former times, 00:04:41.602 --> 00:04:43.065 Paul says in another place, 00:04:43.065 --> 00:04:44.630 what is it there for? 00:04:44.630 --> 00:04:46.530 Whatever was written in former times 00:04:46.530 --> 00:04:48.503 is for us; it's for our instruction. 00:04:48.503 --> 00:04:51.126 That what? Through the Scriptures, 00:04:51.126 --> 00:04:53.933 there would be endurance, encouragement, 00:04:53.933 --> 00:04:56.694 in the Scriptures that we might have hope. 00:04:56.694 --> 00:04:58.021 Or you think about Luke. 00:04:58.021 --> 00:05:00.346 What did he say? "O excellent Theophilus..." 00:05:00.346 --> 00:05:02.875 I am going to record some things for you 00:05:02.875 --> 00:05:05.716 so that you might know with a certainty. 00:05:05.716 --> 00:05:08.240 That's why these things have been recorded for us. 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:10.284 Certainty. Hope. 00:05:10.284 --> 00:05:12.028 Or you think of the Apostle John. 00:05:12.028 --> 00:05:12.975 What did he say? 00:05:12.975 --> 00:05:14.491 He said, well, you know what? 00:05:14.491 --> 00:05:16.842 There's a whole lot that Jesus Christ did, 00:05:16.842 --> 00:05:18.742 but there are some very specific things 00:05:18.742 --> 00:05:22.132 that I have recorded for you, why? 00:05:22.132 --> 00:05:27.372 So that you might know that Jesus is the Christ. 00:05:27.372 --> 00:05:29.907 That you might know who He is, 00:05:29.907 --> 00:05:32.855 and knowing, you might have eternal life. 00:05:32.855 --> 00:05:34.285 That's what we find. 00:05:34.285 --> 00:05:35.350 Scripture. 00:05:35.350 --> 00:05:37.035 This is Scripture. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:37.035 --> 00:05:38.545 And why is it here? 00:05:38.545 --> 00:05:40.834 Well, it's inspired. It's breathed of God. 00:05:40.834 --> 00:05:43.097 It's profitable. 00:05:43.097 --> 00:05:44.802 And you know what it's here for? 00:05:44.802 --> 00:05:49.913 It's to make the man of God complete or perfect. 00:05:49.913 --> 00:05:52.209 That's why these things are recorded for us. 00:05:52.209 --> 00:05:53.949 So we can't just say, 00:05:53.949 --> 00:05:56.958 well, you know, Jesus walking on water; 00:05:56.958 --> 00:05:58.087 Peter walking on water, 00:05:58.087 --> 00:05:59.931 that's a neat story, 00:05:59.931 --> 00:06:02.393 but it really doesn't have much implication 00:06:02.393 --> 00:06:05.587 in my own life. 00:06:05.587 --> 00:06:07.174 That's not true. 00:06:07.174 --> 00:06:09.184 It's an example. 00:06:09.184 --> 00:06:11.387 It is to give us certainty. 00:06:11.387 --> 00:06:13.163 It is to give us hope. 00:06:13.163 --> 00:06:14.710 It is to give us an idea 00:06:14.710 --> 00:06:16.595 about who this Christ is 00:06:16.595 --> 00:06:18.181 that we're dealing with. 00:06:18.181 --> 00:06:20.107 Certainty about Christ. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:20.107 --> 00:06:23.583 So, let's get a feel, 00:06:23.583 --> 00:06:25.632 just walk through the account, 00:06:25.632 --> 00:06:29.645 and get a feel. 00:06:29.645 --> 00:06:31.119 You might have noticed 00:06:31.119 --> 00:06:36.827 that I started reading in verse 21. 00:06:36.827 --> 00:06:40.190 Now, here's what I want you to do. 00:06:40.190 --> 00:06:43.102 Not just go through the account again, 00:06:43.102 --> 00:06:46.035 but I want you to put yourself 00:06:46.035 --> 00:06:49.900 in the disciples' place. 00:06:49.900 --> 00:06:51.239 Think with me here. 00:06:51.239 --> 00:06:53.355 What are these guys thinking? 00:06:53.355 --> 00:06:55.454 What have they seen? 00:06:55.454 --> 00:06:59.149 What's going through their minds? 00:06:59.149 --> 00:07:01.794 They just witnessed 00:07:01.794 --> 00:07:05.067 one of our Lord's greatest miracles - 00:07:05.067 --> 00:07:07.107 thousands and thousands of people - 00:07:07.107 --> 00:07:10.566 He fed them all. 00:07:10.566 --> 00:07:13.331 And then you read it, 00:07:13.331 --> 00:07:15.208 "Immediately, He made the disciples..." 00:07:15.208 --> 00:07:16.292 - He made - 00:07:16.292 --> 00:07:20.006 "...the disciples go down into the boat." 00:07:20.006 --> 00:07:22.267 Now, think what's going on in their mind. 00:07:22.267 --> 00:07:25.643 They're walking down to the boat. 00:07:25.643 --> 00:07:27.908 They've just been witness to this miracle. 00:07:27.908 --> 00:07:29.730 There was a power. 00:07:29.730 --> 00:07:32.394 There was a glory in all of that. 00:07:32.394 --> 00:07:33.660 But you know what? 00:07:33.660 --> 00:07:36.107 It ended so strangely. 00:07:36.107 --> 00:07:38.725 And Matthew doesn't really pick up on this. 00:07:38.725 --> 00:07:40.915 John picks up on it. 00:07:40.915 --> 00:07:43.314 And so if you've got your finger there in John 6, 00:07:43.314 --> 00:07:45.641 I want you to see something. 00:07:45.641 --> 00:07:52.466 John 6:14, 00:07:52.466 --> 00:07:56.790 "When the people saw the sign 00:07:56.790 --> 00:08:00.724 that Jesus had done..." - 00:08:00.724 --> 00:08:04.031 the feeding 5,000 men plus women and children. 00:08:04.031 --> 00:08:06.323 That's the miracle that's being talked about. 00:08:06.323 --> 00:08:09.303 That's the sign. 00:08:09.303 --> 00:08:12.572 "...They said, 00:08:12.572 --> 00:08:14.904 'This is indeed the Prophet.'" 00:08:14.904 --> 00:08:16.542 Now do you see what happened? 00:08:16.542 --> 00:08:19.021 All these thousands and thousands, they've been fed. 00:08:19.021 --> 00:08:21.297 And the crowd, they're saying, 00:08:21.297 --> 00:08:26.495 "Hey, this is the One!" 00:08:26.495 --> 00:08:28.412 "This is the Prophet!" 00:08:28.412 --> 00:08:31.859 "This is the One Moses spoke about!" 00:08:31.859 --> 00:08:35.989 Now, you know, doesn't it seem like that would be a good thing? 00:08:35.989 --> 00:08:37.775 The crowd began to recognize that? 00:08:37.775 --> 00:08:38.926 Isn't it amazing? 00:08:38.926 --> 00:08:41.996 It's mystifying how many times 00:08:41.996 --> 00:08:43.836 Jesus would say to people, 00:08:43.836 --> 00:08:45.733 "Don't tell anybody about Me." 00:08:45.733 --> 00:08:47.963 "Don't tell people what I've done." 00:08:47.963 --> 00:08:49.630 I mean, this is kind of similar. 00:08:49.630 --> 00:08:51.869 The people are recognizing something, 00:08:51.869 --> 00:08:53.279 and we look at it and we say, 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:56.973 well, certainly that seems like it's a good thing. 00:08:56.973 --> 00:08:58.281 "This is indeed the Prophet 00:08:58.281 --> 00:09:01.075 who is to come into the world." 00:09:01.075 --> 00:09:02.535 But here's Jesus, 00:09:02.535 --> 00:09:04.946 "perceiving then that they were about 00:09:04.946 --> 00:09:08.144 to come and take Him by force 00:09:08.144 --> 00:09:09.503 to make Him King, 00:09:09.503 --> 00:09:13.736 Jesus withdrew again to the mountain 00:09:13.736 --> 00:09:15.201 by Himself." NOTE Paragraph 00:09:15.201 --> 00:09:17.184 Now, here's the thing, 00:09:17.184 --> 00:09:20.928 I want us to imagine being those disciples. 00:09:20.928 --> 00:09:24.558 They're watching all this. 00:09:24.558 --> 00:09:26.375 They knew. 00:09:26.375 --> 00:09:29.574 They knew - you know, those disciples were asked: 00:09:29.574 --> 00:09:31.416 "Who do men say that I am?" 00:09:31.416 --> 00:09:34.487 But, "Who do you say that I am?" 00:09:34.487 --> 00:09:36.567 They say, "You're the Christ." 00:09:36.567 --> 00:09:37.891 You see, they knew this. 00:09:37.891 --> 00:09:39.655 And you can imagine them looking. 00:09:39.655 --> 00:09:42.814 Yes! The crowd is jumping on board. 00:09:42.814 --> 00:09:44.380 The crowd sees who He is. 00:09:44.380 --> 00:09:46.062 The people are finally getting it. 00:09:46.062 --> 00:09:51.303 They're beginning to understand what we already understood. 00:09:51.303 --> 00:09:52.665 You can imagine them, 00:09:52.665 --> 00:09:56.005 they're getting in the boat, 00:09:56.005 --> 00:10:01.785 and there's such a mystery about Christ. 00:10:01.785 --> 00:10:03.344 There's a power. 00:10:03.344 --> 00:10:04.764 There's a beauty. 00:10:04.764 --> 00:10:06.505 There's a glory. 00:10:06.505 --> 00:10:13.241 But something just so perplexing. 00:10:13.241 --> 00:10:14.696 The people are saying, 00:10:14.696 --> 00:10:18.028 "It's time to make Jesus King!" 00:10:18.028 --> 00:10:19.975 And that's what they were waiting for. 00:10:19.975 --> 00:10:22.116 That's what the disciples were waiting for. 00:10:22.116 --> 00:10:24.525 They kept asking Him, "When? "When's the Kingdom?" 00:10:24.525 --> 00:10:26.255 "Is it now, Lord? It's now, right?" 00:10:26.255 --> 00:10:28.038 "You're going to take the throne now 00:10:28.038 --> 00:10:30.325 and we're going to sit on these thrones with you 00:10:30.325 --> 00:10:31.854 and that's all going to happen." 00:10:31.854 --> 00:10:34.308 So they're seeing that. You can imagine them. 00:10:34.308 --> 00:10:36.575 This is the moment we've been waiting for. 00:10:36.575 --> 00:10:38.647 It's all coming together. 00:10:38.647 --> 00:10:39.990 And Israel's lining up. 00:10:39.990 --> 00:10:41.979 The people are lining up. 00:10:41.979 --> 00:10:44.106 But the problem is 00:10:44.106 --> 00:10:45.959 Jesus doesn't cooperate. 00:10:45.959 --> 00:10:48.110 He doesn't take His throne. 00:10:48.110 --> 00:10:50.227 He shuts the whole thing down. 00:10:50.227 --> 00:10:52.106 Immediately, 00:10:52.106 --> 00:10:54.502 He dismisses the disciples. 00:10:54.502 --> 00:10:57.220 He dismissed the crowds. 00:10:57.220 --> 00:11:02.638 And He goes up on a mountain to pray. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:02.638 --> 00:11:06.531 You know, they're getting in the boat, 00:11:06.531 --> 00:11:08.408 and they begin to head out. 00:11:08.408 --> 00:11:09.782 And they're thinking... 00:11:09.782 --> 00:11:11.460 I mean, how would you be thinking 00:11:11.460 --> 00:11:15.861 if you saw this sort of miracle happen? 00:11:15.861 --> 00:11:18.290 But then everything you thought about the Messiah 00:11:18.290 --> 00:11:19.853 and His coming and being King - 00:11:19.853 --> 00:11:23.165 and Jesus shut it down. 00:11:23.165 --> 00:11:24.697 He's so supernatural. 00:11:24.697 --> 00:11:27.106 He's so powerful and pure. 00:11:27.106 --> 00:11:32.560 But He just doesn't do what He's supposed to do. 00:11:32.560 --> 00:11:35.547 If He's the King of Israel, then why? 00:11:35.547 --> 00:11:38.758 Why this? 00:11:38.758 --> 00:11:41.895 And so they're going out there. 00:11:41.895 --> 00:11:45.202 And what we see from the account, 00:11:45.202 --> 00:11:50.694 darkness settles around them. 00:11:50.694 --> 00:11:58.683 Of course, there's got to be this wind. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:58.683 --> 00:12:07.071 A buddy and I rowed out in a row boat 00:12:07.071 --> 00:12:09.778 out onto Three Mile Lake 00:12:09.778 --> 00:12:13.138 up there in Paw Paw, Michigan. 00:12:13.138 --> 00:12:14.329 It was beautiful. 00:12:14.329 --> 00:12:16.107 We had our fishing poles. 00:12:16.107 --> 00:12:19.264 We rowed out on this lake pretty far 00:12:19.264 --> 00:12:20.783 and while we were out there, 00:12:20.783 --> 00:12:23.467 a cold front blew in. 00:12:23.467 --> 00:12:26.890 Wind - and it was not so nice going back. 00:12:26.890 --> 00:12:28.983 It was cold. It was windy. 00:12:28.983 --> 00:12:30.605 Not waves like we find here, 00:12:30.605 --> 00:12:33.088 but that was difficult, rowing against that. 00:12:33.088 --> 00:12:34.577 I remember what that was like. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:34.577 --> 00:12:35.799 Here are these guys. 00:12:35.799 --> 00:12:38.093 Darkness settles in, 00:12:38.093 --> 00:12:40.212 and this wind whips up. 00:12:40.212 --> 00:12:42.646 And my understanding is their boats had a sail. 00:12:42.646 --> 00:12:45.677 But what's happening is that wind is blowing directly at them. 00:12:45.677 --> 00:12:46.872 That sail does no good. 00:12:46.872 --> 00:12:49.351 They have to grab the oars. 00:12:49.351 --> 00:12:52.994 We're told it's the fourth watch of the night. 00:12:52.994 --> 00:12:54.972 That's between 3 and 4 a.m. 00:12:54.972 --> 00:12:57.433 They started in evening. 00:12:57.433 --> 00:13:02.249 They've been rowing 3 to 4 miles is what we're told. 00:13:02.249 --> 00:13:07.848 Wind, storm. 00:13:07.848 --> 00:13:10.650 Can you imagine that? NOTE Paragraph 00:13:10.650 --> 00:13:15.787 And you hear one of them. 00:13:15.787 --> 00:13:22.478 Maybe it was Thomas back there. 00:13:22.478 --> 00:13:25.145 "What is that?" 00:13:25.145 --> 00:13:32.557 I don't know if it was like that. 00:13:32.557 --> 00:13:36.727 This unearthly fear grabs them. 00:13:36.727 --> 00:13:40.185 Someone or something is moving 00:13:40.185 --> 00:13:42.658 across the top of the water. 00:13:42.658 --> 00:13:44.320 It's dark. It's stormy. 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:46.181 This is not good. 00:13:46.181 --> 00:13:49.553 I mean they literally cry out, "It's a phantasm!" 00:13:49.553 --> 00:13:51.778 It says they screamed with terror! 00:13:51.778 --> 00:13:53.844 These are men's men. 00:13:53.844 --> 00:13:56.614 These are sailors, fisherman. 00:13:56.614 --> 00:13:59.722 These guys are gripped with fear. 00:13:59.722 --> 00:14:02.960 The thing I love about this 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:07.051 is one of those immediately's comes in right here. 00:14:07.051 --> 00:14:12.819 "Immediately..." 00:14:12.819 --> 00:14:15.407 Everything changes. 00:14:15.407 --> 00:14:22.496 Immediately, this sweet, familiar voice. 00:14:22.496 --> 00:14:23.967 Steady voice. 00:14:23.967 --> 00:14:25.526 It comes to their ears 00:14:25.526 --> 00:14:27.759 over the howl of the wind. 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:32.613 "Take heart; it is I. Don't be afraid." 00:14:32.613 --> 00:14:33.930 And there's Peter. 00:14:33.930 --> 00:14:35.429 I mean, put yourself in there, 00:14:35.429 --> 00:14:36.797 among these 12 guys. 00:14:36.797 --> 00:14:37.824 And there's Peter. 00:14:37.824 --> 00:14:38.955 And I'll tell you what, 00:14:38.955 --> 00:14:40.963 it all registers with him right away. 00:14:40.963 --> 00:14:42.641 Bang bang! 00:14:42.641 --> 00:14:44.303 It's the Lord! 00:14:44.303 --> 00:14:46.963 I know that voice. 00:14:46.963 --> 00:14:49.239 "Lord, if it's You, 00:14:49.239 --> 00:14:51.729 command me to come to You." 00:14:51.729 --> 00:14:53.451 And that answer that comes back 00:14:53.451 --> 00:14:56.921 across those waters, 00:14:56.921 --> 00:15:01.166 above the howl of that wind, 00:15:01.166 --> 00:15:07.986 it's not: "That's silly, Peter." 00:15:07.986 --> 00:15:10.798 "Come." NOTE Paragraph 00:15:10.798 --> 00:15:14.045 And the thing about it is, 00:15:14.045 --> 00:15:15.936 Matthew tells us what happens next. 00:15:15.936 --> 00:15:21.599 Look at Matthew 14:29. 00:15:21.599 --> 00:15:26.674 What happens next? 00:15:26.674 --> 00:15:30.094 "So Peter got out of the boat." 00:15:30.094 --> 00:15:34.197 Now just stop right there. 00:15:34.197 --> 00:15:43.073 Peter expected to walk, not swim. 00:15:43.073 --> 00:15:45.196 You know what? John 21? 00:15:45.196 --> 00:15:48.268 There's another time Peter's in the boat. 00:15:48.268 --> 00:15:51.758 And the Lord comes to the shore. 00:15:51.758 --> 00:15:53.245 And you remember John says, 00:15:53.245 --> 00:15:54.934 "Hey Peter, that's the Lord." 00:15:54.934 --> 00:15:56.611 Do you remember what he did? 00:15:56.611 --> 00:16:03.200 He threw himself into the water. 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:05.369 You throw yourself into the sea 00:16:05.369 --> 00:16:09.165 when you plan to swim. 00:16:09.165 --> 00:16:12.149 But you know, that's not what it says here in Matthew 14. 00:16:12.149 --> 00:16:13.076 It's different. 00:16:13.076 --> 00:16:16.577 Peter got out of the boat and walked. 00:16:16.577 --> 00:16:18.571 He didn't throw himself into the sea. 00:16:18.571 --> 00:16:19.623 He wasn't thinking, 00:16:19.623 --> 00:16:21.270 "Lord, command me to come to You 00:16:21.270 --> 00:16:23.573 and I'll swim to You." 00:16:23.573 --> 00:16:28.172 That's not what he was thinking. 00:16:28.172 --> 00:16:32.149 Peter walked on water. 00:16:32.149 --> 00:16:35.531 The truth is we half expect Jesus to walk on water. 00:16:35.531 --> 00:16:39.253 Why? Because He can take loaves and fish... 00:16:39.253 --> 00:16:41.433 He did stuff like this. We expect it. 00:16:41.433 --> 00:16:44.039 We expect it, not if we were there, 00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:46.271 and we were beholding it first hand. 00:16:46.271 --> 00:16:48.386 I'm just saying 2,000 years removed, 00:16:48.386 --> 00:16:50.745 we expect Jesus to be able to do this. 00:16:50.745 --> 00:16:54.691 But the thing is Peter is doing it. 00:16:54.691 --> 00:16:56.444 And if you were actually there, 00:16:56.444 --> 00:16:58.126 imagine you're one of the other 11. 00:16:58.126 --> 00:17:00.640 This thing is getting more surreal by the moment. 00:17:00.640 --> 00:17:01.602 And the thing is, 00:17:01.602 --> 00:17:03.938 we're so used to the story, 00:17:03.938 --> 00:17:07.211 that we miss the ridiculousness of it all. 00:17:07.211 --> 00:17:11.446 The fact is the supernatural is mounting up here. 00:17:11.446 --> 00:17:14.169 Jesus walks across the water. 00:17:14.169 --> 00:17:15.756 Peter gets out of the boat. 00:17:15.756 --> 00:17:17.389 He walks across the water. 00:17:17.389 --> 00:17:19.354 He sinks. 00:17:19.354 --> 00:17:20.703 He comes back up. 00:17:20.703 --> 00:17:23.054 He and Jesus walk on the water again 00:17:23.054 --> 00:17:24.024 back to the boat. 00:17:24.024 --> 00:17:25.225 They get in the boat. 00:17:25.225 --> 00:17:27.141 The wind stops. 00:17:27.141 --> 00:17:29.408 And then the thing that Matthew doesn't tell us 00:17:29.408 --> 00:17:31.180 that John tells us 00:17:31.180 --> 00:17:35.058 is that then they were immediately at the shore. 00:17:35.058 --> 00:17:38.049 I mean, the miracles are stacking up here. 00:17:38.049 --> 00:17:40.344 They're coming at us in a hurry. NOTE Paragraph 00:17:40.344 --> 00:17:42.943 And here's the thing, 00:17:42.943 --> 00:17:53.218 you know when you go to John's account, 00:17:53.218 --> 00:17:55.163 you know what happened. 00:17:55.163 --> 00:17:58.570 They're back at the land. 00:17:58.570 --> 00:18:00.797 And those people that were on the other side 00:18:00.797 --> 00:18:05.596 that ate of the fish and the bread, 00:18:05.596 --> 00:18:07.516 they were trying to figure all this out. 00:18:07.516 --> 00:18:08.518 Now, wait a second, 00:18:08.518 --> 00:18:11.348 the disciples went in the last boat. 00:18:11.348 --> 00:18:15.300 Jesus didn't get in the boat with them. 00:18:15.300 --> 00:18:18.809 How did He get here? 00:18:18.809 --> 00:18:20.198 These aren't the disciples. 00:18:20.198 --> 00:18:21.755 These aren't the ones that know. 00:18:21.755 --> 00:18:24.390 This is the crowd that ate the bread 00:18:24.390 --> 00:18:26.264 and the fish the day before. 00:18:26.264 --> 00:18:28.611 And specifically in John's Gospel, 00:18:28.611 --> 00:18:30.351 they ask Him. 00:18:30.351 --> 00:18:37.489 They say, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 00:18:37.489 --> 00:18:39.523 "When did You come here?" 00:18:39.523 --> 00:18:42.063 What they're really looking for is an explanation. 00:18:42.063 --> 00:18:43.978 How did you get here? 00:18:43.978 --> 00:18:46.490 When? 00:18:46.490 --> 00:18:47.747 This doesn't make sense 00:18:47.747 --> 00:18:49.432 that You could be here already. NOTE Paragraph 00:18:49.432 --> 00:18:52.554 Now, again, put yourself in the disciples' spot. 00:18:52.554 --> 00:18:55.621 Imagine if you're Peter. 00:18:55.621 --> 00:18:58.470 You know what's happened the night before. 00:18:58.470 --> 00:19:00.440 And the crowd's asking. 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:03.291 And you're like, "Yeah, yeah! Tell them! 00:19:03.291 --> 00:19:06.688 That was exciting! Jesus, tell them!" 00:19:06.688 --> 00:19:08.240 You could imagine they're ready 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:10.246 to jump out of their shoes to say, 00:19:10.246 --> 00:19:12.402 "Let me tell you how He got here! 00:19:12.402 --> 00:19:14.485 And when He got here!" 00:19:14.485 --> 00:19:18.206 But, silence. 00:19:18.206 --> 00:19:19.718 Not a word of explanation. 00:19:19.718 --> 00:19:22.164 "Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, 00:19:22.164 --> 00:19:24.372 you're seeking Me not because you saw signs, 00:19:24.372 --> 00:19:27.423 but because you ate your fill of the loaves.'" 00:19:27.423 --> 00:19:29.059 And you know what's interesting, 00:19:29.059 --> 00:19:33.451 He freely then speaks about the feeding 00:19:33.451 --> 00:19:35.006 of the 5,000. 00:19:35.006 --> 00:19:36.544 He speaks about the feeding. 00:19:36.544 --> 00:19:39.836 He speaks about the spiritual implications of this 00:19:39.836 --> 00:19:41.288 and how all this works out. 00:19:41.288 --> 00:19:44.693 He's the Bread of Life. 00:19:44.693 --> 00:19:46.336 John 6 is full of that. 00:19:46.336 --> 00:19:48.747 He has no problem talking about the miracle 00:19:48.747 --> 00:19:50.226 that happened the day before. 00:19:50.226 --> 00:19:53.101 But you know, all that happened on the sea that night, 00:19:53.101 --> 00:19:56.928 He's absolutely silent. 00:19:56.928 --> 00:20:00.593 And we might just say, why? 00:20:00.593 --> 00:20:04.150 Well, the obvious reason is that the miracles at sea 00:20:04.150 --> 00:20:07.274 were not for the crowd. 00:20:07.274 --> 00:20:08.415 Who were they for? 00:20:08.415 --> 00:20:10.799 They were for the disciples. 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:13.504 And for us. NOTE Paragraph 00:20:13.504 --> 00:20:22.053 For all of this, what is the lesson? 00:20:22.053 --> 00:20:26.158 What's the lesson in all of this? 00:20:26.158 --> 00:20:29.917 I'm going to use this word "impetuous." 00:20:29.917 --> 00:20:31.817 Impetuous. 00:20:31.817 --> 00:20:35.856 Oftentimes, we hear Peter - impetuous. 00:20:35.856 --> 00:20:39.564 What does that mean? 00:20:39.564 --> 00:20:42.994 Acting without thinking. 00:20:42.994 --> 00:20:46.653 But you see, here's the thing, 00:20:46.653 --> 00:20:50.043 is this teaching us that we should not be impetuous like Peter, 00:20:50.043 --> 00:20:52.040 and that we ought to be much slower 00:20:52.040 --> 00:20:54.472 to jump out of the safety of our boats? 00:20:54.472 --> 00:20:58.753 Is that what this is teaching? 00:20:58.753 --> 00:21:02.393 I doubt it. 00:21:02.393 --> 00:21:07.086 The emphasis is not on Peter sinking. 00:21:07.086 --> 00:21:10.510 The emphasis is to be found in these words: 00:21:10.510 --> 00:21:15.960 "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:17.373 Now see, here's the thing. 00:21:17.373 --> 00:21:24.413 This account is found in Matthew's Gospel, 00:21:24.413 --> 00:21:27.778 Mark's Gospel, and John's Gospel. 00:21:27.778 --> 00:21:30.619 And you know what's interesting? 00:21:30.619 --> 00:21:35.053 The Peter incident is only preserved once. 00:21:35.053 --> 00:21:38.499 But in all three of them, 00:21:38.499 --> 00:21:41.793 God wants us to know; 00:21:41.793 --> 00:21:45.147 He wants us to hear what Jesus said to them. 00:21:45.147 --> 00:21:50.230 "It is I. Be of good cheer." 00:21:50.230 --> 00:21:53.719 "Take courage. I have come." 00:21:53.719 --> 00:21:56.592 That's the heart of this. 00:21:56.592 --> 00:22:01.085 It's not: Lose heart when it comes to getting out of the boat 00:22:01.085 --> 00:22:03.053 or you'll end up sinking like Peter. 00:22:03.053 --> 00:22:04.213 That's not the issue. 00:22:04.213 --> 00:22:06.310 It isn't primarily about Peter's failure 00:22:06.310 --> 00:22:07.467 or Peter's faith. 00:22:07.467 --> 00:22:11.505 It's primarily about Jesus' presence. 00:22:11.505 --> 00:22:12.971 Jesus has come. 00:22:12.971 --> 00:22:14.597 He is on the scene. 00:22:14.597 --> 00:22:15.844 That's the issue. 00:22:15.844 --> 00:22:17.678 Take heart. Take courage. 00:22:17.678 --> 00:22:20.034 You can be of good courage if you've got the Lord 00:22:20.034 --> 00:22:22.171 and the Lord has come and the Lord is there. 00:22:22.171 --> 00:22:23.483 And didn't He say, 00:22:23.483 --> 00:22:25.849 "Lo, I am with you always..." 00:22:25.849 --> 00:22:28.659 "I'll never leave you or forsake you." 00:22:28.659 --> 00:22:30.674 This is what this is all about. 00:22:30.674 --> 00:22:31.748 His presence. 00:22:31.748 --> 00:22:33.907 These three accounts hit us all 00:22:33.907 --> 00:22:35.610 with this reality. 00:22:35.610 --> 00:22:38.026 The emphasis is that when Jesus shows up 00:22:38.026 --> 00:22:39.463 things happen. What happens? 00:22:39.463 --> 00:22:40.870 A believer walks on water. 00:22:40.870 --> 00:22:43.726 Not just any place, any time, 00:22:43.726 --> 00:22:47.723 but at that place and time where Jesus comes; 00:22:47.723 --> 00:22:49.826 where Jesus is. 00:22:49.826 --> 00:22:51.552 That's what this is all about. 00:22:51.552 --> 00:22:52.840 And if anybody says, 00:22:52.840 --> 00:22:55.423 "No, no... it's not that. 00:22:55.423 --> 00:22:58.001 This can't be teaching that when Jesus is with me, 00:22:58.001 --> 00:23:00.468 I can do impossible things like walk on the water." 00:23:00.468 --> 00:23:02.025 If that's what you're thinking, 00:23:02.025 --> 00:23:05.631 you're missing the whole point. 00:23:05.631 --> 00:23:08.962 When Jesus came on the scene, 00:23:08.962 --> 00:23:10.908 the water obeyed Him. 00:23:10.908 --> 00:23:13.596 It held Him up. It held Peter up. 00:23:13.596 --> 00:23:15.333 The wind obeyed Him. 00:23:15.333 --> 00:23:17.919 The boat obeyed Him. 00:23:17.919 --> 00:23:19.892 That's what happens when Jesus comes. 00:23:19.892 --> 00:23:22.751 Take heart. Take courage. 00:23:22.751 --> 00:23:23.877 Be of good cheer. 00:23:23.877 --> 00:23:27.076 It is I. Do not be afraid. 00:23:27.076 --> 00:23:29.292 Jesus is saying that when I've arrived, 00:23:29.292 --> 00:23:32.191 when I'm with you, you're good. NOTE Paragraph 00:23:32.191 --> 00:23:35.319 What we don't want to do is attack Peter. 00:23:35.319 --> 00:23:38.975 I mean, look, this whole account 00:23:38.975 --> 00:23:42.314 was not lost on Peter. 00:23:42.314 --> 00:23:45.055 Peter saw the Lord. It's the Lord! 00:23:45.055 --> 00:23:46.498 "Command me to come to You." 00:23:46.498 --> 00:23:48.809 He got out of that boat and he walked. 00:23:48.809 --> 00:23:50.284 It was not lost on him. 00:23:50.284 --> 00:23:52.365 Look, we can attack Peter, 00:23:52.365 --> 00:23:54.858 and that's oftentimes what happens when we read this. 00:23:54.858 --> 00:23:56.105 Oh, there's Peter again... 00:23:56.105 --> 00:23:57.815 he's sinking over there. 00:23:57.815 --> 00:23:59.213 No, Peter walked on water. 00:23:59.213 --> 00:24:00.222 Yes, he sank. 00:24:00.222 --> 00:24:02.112 Yes, we can say, well, 00:24:02.112 --> 00:24:05.174 he tried to keep Jesus from going to the cross. 00:24:05.174 --> 00:24:07.320 That's true. Yes, he denied him three times. 00:24:07.320 --> 00:24:09.737 That's true. Yes, he fell asleep in the garden. 00:24:09.737 --> 00:24:10.853 But I'll tell you this, 00:24:10.853 --> 00:24:12.734 he's the only one that trusted the Lord 00:24:12.734 --> 00:24:15.717 enough to get out of that boat and walk on water. 00:24:15.717 --> 00:24:17.356 That's a reality. 00:24:17.356 --> 00:24:18.603 He wasn't showing off. 00:24:18.603 --> 00:24:21.560 He wasn't being presumptuous. 00:24:21.560 --> 00:24:24.831 Why? Because Peter heard the Lord's voice. 00:24:24.831 --> 00:24:27.577 Some kind of confidence grabbed hold of him 00:24:27.577 --> 00:24:29.119 and he got out and he walked. 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:30.236 And I'll tell you this, 00:24:30.236 --> 00:24:32.764 Jesus never faulted him for getting out of the boat. 00:24:32.764 --> 00:24:34.509 Jesus never faulted him for saying, 00:24:34.509 --> 00:24:36.031 "Lord, command me to come." 00:24:36.031 --> 00:24:37.310 He never faulted him 00:24:37.310 --> 00:24:38.776 for getting out of the boat. 00:24:38.776 --> 00:24:40.035 He never faulted him 00:24:40.035 --> 00:24:41.892 for walking on the water. 00:24:41.892 --> 00:24:43.541 He only faulted him for one thing. 00:24:43.541 --> 00:24:45.614 Only one thing - 00:24:45.614 --> 00:24:47.657 for doubting Christ 00:24:47.657 --> 00:24:51.914 once he was out of the boat. NOTE Paragraph 00:24:51.914 --> 00:24:53.412 Listen. 00:24:53.412 --> 00:24:58.988 Presumption was never the problem here. 00:24:58.988 --> 00:25:06.496 I get the feeling sometimes, especially among those 00:25:06.496 --> 00:25:11.152 who bear this name "reformed" or "Calvinistic." 00:25:11.152 --> 00:25:14.364 It's almost like I get this feel 00:25:14.364 --> 00:25:18.394 that caution is the word of the day. 00:25:18.394 --> 00:25:21.655 That was not the case in Scripture. 00:25:21.655 --> 00:25:24.067 That is not the case. 00:25:24.067 --> 00:25:26.139 You cannot show me 00:25:26.139 --> 00:25:28.419 verse after verse after verse 00:25:28.419 --> 00:25:29.937 where Jesus was saying, 00:25:29.937 --> 00:25:35.098 "Guys, be very careful, lest you trust Me too much." 00:25:35.098 --> 00:25:36.686 Never did that come across. 00:25:36.686 --> 00:25:39.462 Nothing like that. NOTE Paragraph 00:25:39.462 --> 00:25:41.678 You know what you find? 00:25:41.678 --> 00:25:44.341 You find that there in the Sermon on the Mount, 00:25:44.341 --> 00:25:45.789 we heard about it last night. 00:25:45.789 --> 00:25:48.034 God so clothes this 00:25:48.034 --> 00:25:50.488 and He takes care of that, 00:25:50.488 --> 00:25:52.314 and what does He say? 00:25:52.314 --> 00:25:55.489 "O you of little faith.... trust Me." 00:25:55.489 --> 00:25:58.971 You remember they were out there one day and they were in a boat again. 00:25:58.971 --> 00:26:00.055 They were with Jesus. 00:26:00.055 --> 00:26:03.344 And He said, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees." 00:26:03.344 --> 00:26:06.731 And they say, "Oh! We forgot to bring bread!" 00:26:06.731 --> 00:26:08.247 And He said, 00:26:08.247 --> 00:26:10.151 "O you of little faith." 00:26:10.151 --> 00:26:11.630 Or you remember another day. 00:26:11.630 --> 00:26:13.836 "Lord, why could we not cast that demon 00:26:13.836 --> 00:26:16.287 out of that young man?" 00:26:16.287 --> 00:26:19.613 "Because you didn't have faith." 00:26:19.613 --> 00:26:21.256 Isn't this what we get hit with 00:26:21.256 --> 00:26:22.378 over and over again? 00:26:22.378 --> 00:26:23.827 Or you remember another time 00:26:23.827 --> 00:26:26.339 that there was wind out there on the Sea of Galilee. 00:26:26.339 --> 00:26:28.038 And Jesus fell asleep in the boat. 00:26:28.038 --> 00:26:30.239 He didn't come walking on the water that time. 00:26:30.239 --> 00:26:32.425 But He woke up and same thing. 00:26:32.425 --> 00:26:36.319 "Why do you not trust Me?" NOTE Paragraph 00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:38.651 You know, the thing is, 00:26:38.651 --> 00:26:43.053 we typically tend to fear presumption. 00:26:43.053 --> 00:26:45.755 Oh, I find that so often! 00:26:45.755 --> 00:26:47.503 We want to be so careful 00:26:47.503 --> 00:26:49.537 lest we be presumptuous, 00:26:49.537 --> 00:26:51.721 when in fact, Scripture seems to suggest 00:26:51.721 --> 00:26:54.021 that just the opposite is the issue. 00:26:54.021 --> 00:26:57.675 "Peter, why didn't you trust Me?" 00:26:57.675 --> 00:27:00.462 Not: "Peter, you idiot!" 00:27:00.462 --> 00:27:01.912 "Why were you so overconfident 00:27:01.912 --> 00:27:04.516 to step out of that boat?" 00:27:04.516 --> 00:27:05.669 It's not that. 00:27:05.669 --> 00:27:07.901 That's not what you find in Scripture. 00:27:07.901 --> 00:27:10.467 Constantly, Jesus is saying, 00:27:10.467 --> 00:27:13.708 "Do you not yet perceive?" 00:27:13.708 --> 00:27:15.853 "I fed the 5,000. I fed the 4,000. 00:27:15.853 --> 00:27:19.530 Is that not resonating in your head? 00:27:19.530 --> 00:27:21.469 That when I'm with you, you're good? 00:27:21.469 --> 00:27:24.627 When I'm with you, I supply your needs. 00:27:24.627 --> 00:27:27.780 When I'm with you, impossible things happen. 00:27:27.780 --> 00:27:29.604 So trust Me! 00:27:29.604 --> 00:27:32.405 And get out of the boat! 00:27:32.405 --> 00:27:35.024 Don't stay in the boat!" 00:27:35.024 --> 00:27:38.585 Oh, I am so convinced, 00:27:38.585 --> 00:27:41.219 we've got all these reformed people. 00:27:41.219 --> 00:27:45.612 You'll carry your Jonathan Edwards out of here, 00:27:45.612 --> 00:27:49.465 but all the time, you're in the boat. 00:27:49.465 --> 00:27:56.998 And Jesus has no hesitation to call us out. NOTE Paragraph 00:27:56.998 --> 00:27:59.153 Let me ask you this, 00:27:59.153 --> 00:28:02.476 as you and I sit in our little boats 00:28:02.476 --> 00:28:06.157 looking over the side. 00:28:06.157 --> 00:28:07.447 Based on verses like this, 00:28:07.447 --> 00:28:09.805 do you get the feeling that God's more concerned 00:28:09.805 --> 00:28:12.424 that we're going to just rashly spring out of the boat 00:28:12.424 --> 00:28:14.103 and foolishly trust Him to help us 00:28:14.103 --> 00:28:17.226 and protect us in some crazy endeavor 00:28:17.226 --> 00:28:18.948 done in His name? 00:28:18.948 --> 00:28:30.403 Or is God more concerned (incomplete thought) 00:28:30.403 --> 00:28:35.929 He wants us to step out. 00:28:35.929 --> 00:28:40.505 He wants us to do crazy endeavors 00:28:40.505 --> 00:28:42.761 in His names' sake. 00:28:42.761 --> 00:28:44.916 Those 120 came down from that upper room. 00:28:44.916 --> 00:28:49.798 That was a totally crazy endeavor they were about totally. 00:28:49.798 --> 00:28:52.089 Is God more concerned 00:28:52.089 --> 00:28:53.744 that lacking faith, 00:28:53.744 --> 00:28:56.208 we be too timid to ever get out of that boat? 00:28:56.208 --> 00:28:57.707 That's what it seems like here. NOTE Paragraph 00:28:57.707 --> 00:28:59.967 Do you know what the boat is? 00:28:59.967 --> 00:29:02.842 Do you know what a boat is? 00:29:02.842 --> 00:29:09.623 The boat is where you don't walk on water. 00:29:09.623 --> 00:29:15.442 It's the place of safety, of security. 00:29:15.442 --> 00:29:17.688 In fact, do you know what it is? 00:29:17.688 --> 00:29:22.936 I'm going to show you something here. 00:29:22.936 --> 00:29:30.189 Look with me at how Matthew's account ended. 00:29:30.189 --> 00:29:31.405 What does it say? 00:29:31.405 --> 00:29:33.849 They worshiped. 00:29:33.849 --> 00:29:35.917 Do you see that? 00:29:35.917 --> 00:29:42.985 If you look there, Matthew 14. 00:29:42.985 --> 00:29:44.673 Verse 33, 00:29:44.673 --> 00:29:51.303 "Those in the boat worshiped Him saying, 00:29:51.303 --> 00:29:57.308 'Truly, You are the Son of God.'" 00:29:57.308 --> 00:30:00.192 You know what John 6:21 says? 00:30:00.192 --> 00:30:05.103 John 6:21 says they were glad 00:30:05.103 --> 00:30:08.332 to take Him into the boat. 00:30:08.332 --> 00:30:09.631 Now think with me. 00:30:09.631 --> 00:30:15.652 Gladness. Worship. 00:30:15.652 --> 00:30:18.042 Do you know what Mark says? 00:30:18.042 --> 00:30:19.097 Listen to this. 00:30:19.097 --> 00:30:21.898 We haven't looked at Mark's text yet. 00:30:21.898 --> 00:30:26.825 Mark 6:51-52 - same account. 00:30:26.825 --> 00:30:28.074 Let me read it to you. 00:30:28.074 --> 00:30:30.032 You don't have to turn there. 00:30:30.032 --> 00:30:36.072 "He got into the boat with them, 00:30:36.072 --> 00:30:39.209 and the wind ceased, 00:30:39.209 --> 00:30:44.527 and they were utterly astounded." 00:30:44.527 --> 00:30:46.123 They worshiped. 00:30:46.123 --> 00:30:47.892 They were glad. 00:30:47.892 --> 00:30:50.517 They were astounded. 00:30:50.517 --> 00:30:52.714 Listen to this. 00:30:52.714 --> 00:30:54.350 "They were utterly astounded, 00:30:54.350 --> 00:30:56.045 for they did not understand 00:30:56.045 --> 00:30:59.059 about the loaves, 00:30:59.059 --> 00:31:05.581 but their hearts were hardened." NOTE Paragraph 00:31:05.581 --> 00:31:08.423 Do you know that that is a reality? 00:31:08.423 --> 00:31:12.373 You can be glad in the Lord. 00:31:12.373 --> 00:31:14.205 You can sing the hymns 00:31:14.205 --> 00:31:16.748 and you can worship Him, 00:31:16.748 --> 00:31:24.008 and yet, there is a hardness to trust Him 00:31:24.008 --> 00:31:27.814 how He would be trusted. 00:31:27.814 --> 00:31:32.017 Because all three - same account. 00:31:32.017 --> 00:31:34.422 And under inspiration they tell us 00:31:34.422 --> 00:31:37.783 that despite the worship and the gladness, 00:31:37.783 --> 00:31:43.039 there was yet a hardness in these people of God. 00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:44.481 They weren't perceiving. 00:31:44.481 --> 00:31:50.764 They weren't getting what these things really meant. 00:31:50.764 --> 00:31:53.104 There's probably somebody ready to say, 00:31:53.104 --> 00:31:56.236 "Hey, look. What do you want us to believe? 00:31:56.236 --> 00:31:57.998 Do you want us to believe that we can 00:31:57.998 --> 00:31:59.427 go down to the water here 00:31:59.427 --> 00:32:02.363 and walk on the water?" 00:32:02.363 --> 00:32:05.675 "Listen, preacher, you and I can walk down there afterwards 00:32:05.675 --> 00:32:07.680 and you're not going to walk on it 00:32:07.680 --> 00:32:09.423 and I'm not going to walk on it. 00:32:09.423 --> 00:32:11.395 So what do you have to say to that?" 00:32:11.395 --> 00:32:12.316 I would say this. 00:32:12.316 --> 00:32:14.945 Now, I don't know if out there on the horizon somewhere 00:32:14.945 --> 00:32:17.587 you can see a mountain 00:32:17.587 --> 00:32:20.576 like the folks that come from Denver. 00:32:20.576 --> 00:32:26.936 You can see those great big mountains on that range. 00:32:26.936 --> 00:32:30.759 But what are you going to say? You can't move that mountain? 00:32:30.759 --> 00:32:33.899 Our Lord says you can move that mountain. 00:32:33.899 --> 00:32:36.683 The reality is we can move mountains 00:32:36.683 --> 00:32:38.140 looking to Christ in faith; 00:32:38.140 --> 00:32:40.108 looking to God in faith. 00:32:40.108 --> 00:32:42.370 Water can hold us up just as certainly 00:32:42.370 --> 00:32:44.470 as mountains can be moved. 00:32:44.470 --> 00:32:47.129 That is the reality. 00:32:47.129 --> 00:32:48.864 When Jesus is with me, 00:32:48.864 --> 00:32:51.212 I can just as confidently expect that water 00:32:51.212 --> 00:32:52.722 to do miraculous things 00:32:52.722 --> 00:32:54.717 as I can expect a mountain to move. 00:32:54.717 --> 00:32:57.079 We need to have faith to look at these things 00:32:57.079 --> 00:32:59.774 the way the Lord meant for us to look at these things. 00:32:59.774 --> 00:33:00.997 Listen, what did He say? 00:33:00.997 --> 00:33:02.780 What did He say when He walked here? 00:33:02.780 --> 00:33:04.460 He looked at some people one day 00:33:04.460 --> 00:33:07.093 and He said, "Which is easier for Me to say? 00:33:07.093 --> 00:33:11.359 Your sins be forgiven or rise up and walk?" 00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:14.444 What's easier to say? 00:33:14.444 --> 00:33:15.634 Walk on water? 00:33:15.634 --> 00:33:16.861 Peter, come to Me? 00:33:16.861 --> 00:33:19.649 Or walk on scorpions and serpents 00:33:19.649 --> 00:33:22.976 and crush Satan shortly under your heel? 00:33:22.976 --> 00:33:24.248 Or to walk on your sins - 00:33:24.248 --> 00:33:27.041 to walk above your sins, your problems, 00:33:27.041 --> 00:33:30.580 your doubts, your fears, your unbeliefs? 00:33:30.580 --> 00:33:32.878 Which is easier to say? 00:33:32.878 --> 00:33:37.392 To step out in faith. 00:33:37.392 --> 00:33:40.481 Presumption is not the problem. 00:33:40.481 --> 00:33:46.101 The point is that we worship. NOTE Paragraph 00:33:46.101 --> 00:33:47.478 I know we worship. 00:33:47.478 --> 00:33:50.100 We're interested in the character of God. 00:33:50.100 --> 00:33:53.944 We want to see God big. 00:33:53.944 --> 00:33:55.785 But let us not be the kind of people 00:33:55.785 --> 00:33:59.466 that worship and even are glad, 00:33:59.466 --> 00:34:02.714 but there is this hardness of unbelief. 00:34:02.714 --> 00:34:03.945 We worship, but... 00:34:03.945 --> 00:34:05.770 You don't want that "but" there. 00:34:05.770 --> 00:34:07.852 And the thing is, isn't it amazing? 00:34:07.852 --> 00:34:11.968 Jesus is willing. 00:34:11.968 --> 00:34:13.711 "Lord, command me to come to You." 00:34:13.711 --> 00:34:15.976 "Come." 00:34:15.976 --> 00:34:17.873 And you know what? 00:34:17.873 --> 00:34:20.766 Something that I find remarkable 00:34:20.766 --> 00:34:23.819 in Mark's Gospel account of this is this: 00:34:23.819 --> 00:34:25.347 Mark 6:48 says, 00:34:25.347 --> 00:34:27.326 "About the fourth watch of the night, 00:34:27.326 --> 00:34:28.258 He came to them..." 00:34:28.258 --> 00:34:29.885 Now listen to this. 00:34:29.885 --> 00:34:34.362 "...He came to them walking on the sea. 00:34:34.362 --> 00:34:38.018 He meant to pass them by." 00:34:38.018 --> 00:34:39.837 Do you ever read things like that 00:34:39.837 --> 00:34:41.559 and it's like what? 00:34:41.559 --> 00:34:46.507 "He meant to pass them by." 00:34:46.507 --> 00:34:50.098 What does that sound like? 00:34:50.098 --> 00:34:52.063 Luke's Gospel - you remember the two 00:34:52.063 --> 00:34:53.767 on the road to Emmaus? 00:34:53.767 --> 00:34:57.030 It sounds remotely similar to that. 00:34:57.030 --> 00:34:59.627 That He acted as if He was going to go further. 00:34:59.627 --> 00:35:02.735 He intended to pass them by. NOTE Paragraph 00:35:02.735 --> 00:35:08.285 Does anybody ever get tired of those doubtful prayers? 00:35:08.285 --> 00:35:11.269 "Thy will be done..." 00:35:11.269 --> 00:35:13.145 Now, I know that's a biblical prayer, 00:35:13.145 --> 00:35:15.842 and I know it's got a right place, 00:35:15.842 --> 00:35:19.223 but Christians who hesitatingly look at life 00:35:19.223 --> 00:35:20.826 and are always in doubt 00:35:20.826 --> 00:35:23.040 about whether they should ever do anything - 00:35:23.040 --> 00:35:25.862 oh yes, they admit that God is able to do things 00:35:25.862 --> 00:35:27.981 at least in theory. 00:35:27.981 --> 00:35:32.597 But the feeling I get is that Jesus 00:35:32.597 --> 00:35:34.675 might intend to pass by, 00:35:34.675 --> 00:35:37.620 and He will pass by 00:35:37.620 --> 00:35:39.611 if we don't need Him. 00:35:39.611 --> 00:35:41.215 But you notice He always stops 00:35:41.215 --> 00:35:42.709 for those who need Him. 00:35:42.709 --> 00:35:44.712 You find that all through the Scriptures. 00:35:44.712 --> 00:35:46.779 Always stopping for those who need Him. NOTE Paragraph 00:35:46.779 --> 00:35:48.607 Oh, there are ten thousand reasons 00:35:48.607 --> 00:35:50.869 why we don't get out of the boat. 00:35:50.869 --> 00:35:52.299 Why? 00:35:52.299 --> 00:35:54.707 It's dark out there. 00:35:54.707 --> 00:35:56.830 The waves are big. 00:35:56.830 --> 00:35:58.598 There's likely an undertow 00:35:58.598 --> 00:36:01.333 and I'll be pulled under. 00:36:01.333 --> 00:36:03.509 We don't have enough money 00:36:03.509 --> 00:36:06.375 to get out of this boat. 00:36:06.375 --> 00:36:08.692 So we just sit there. 00:36:08.692 --> 00:36:12.389 "Well, the Lord's will be done." 00:36:12.389 --> 00:36:14.992 "If He wants me to get out of the boat 00:36:14.992 --> 00:36:18.211 then He'll take me out of the boat." 00:36:18.211 --> 00:36:20.212 But it's all so doubtful. 00:36:20.212 --> 00:36:22.093 I mean, after all, liquid molecules - 00:36:22.093 --> 00:36:25.388 they cannot support the weight 00:36:25.388 --> 00:36:27.249 of a human being. 00:36:27.249 --> 00:36:28.338 That doesn't work. 00:36:28.338 --> 00:36:29.420 It just can't work. 00:36:29.420 --> 00:36:30.616 The lake is deep 00:36:30.616 --> 00:36:32.630 and the side of the boat is high. 00:36:32.630 --> 00:36:36.028 This whole endeavor is doubtful. 00:36:36.028 --> 00:36:39.159 Let us hear Peter. 00:36:39.159 --> 00:36:44.876 "Lord, command me to come." NOTE Paragraph 00:36:44.876 --> 00:36:46.546 Here's a question. 00:36:46.546 --> 00:36:50.076 If you had been in the boat that night, 00:36:50.076 --> 00:36:53.578 would it have occurred to you 00:36:53.578 --> 00:37:00.692 to ask the Lord to command you to come? 00:37:00.692 --> 00:37:02.105 Think about it. 00:37:02.105 --> 00:37:07.752 Seemingly, it did not occur to eleven. 00:37:07.752 --> 00:37:12.158 But would it have occurred to you? 00:37:12.158 --> 00:37:16.747 And if you say I hope it would have, 00:37:16.747 --> 00:37:17.966 well then, I would say, 00:37:17.966 --> 00:37:20.296 let it occur to you now. NOTE Paragraph 00:37:20.296 --> 00:37:22.520 I want to point something out. 00:37:22.520 --> 00:37:26.931 Difficulties do not mean 00:37:26.931 --> 00:37:32.153 that something is not God's will. 00:37:32.153 --> 00:37:35.965 I find Christians who want to interpret 00:37:35.965 --> 00:37:37.960 God's dealings with us that way. 00:37:37.960 --> 00:37:39.629 Oh, there's a problem. 00:37:39.629 --> 00:37:41.399 There's a roadblock. There's a bump. 00:37:41.399 --> 00:37:43.315 There's difficulty there. 00:37:43.315 --> 00:37:47.727 (Incomplete thought) 00:37:47.727 --> 00:37:49.486 Think of Abraham. 00:37:49.486 --> 00:37:51.908 Was there difficulty set in the way of his faith? 00:37:51.908 --> 00:37:54.415 Like, maybe he's old, and his wife is old. 00:37:54.415 --> 00:37:55.547 That's a difficulty. 00:37:55.547 --> 00:37:58.239 Joseph - there were some difficulties there. 00:37:58.239 --> 00:38:01.128 He's finding himself in the prison. 00:38:01.128 --> 00:38:03.675 That is a difficulty. 00:38:03.675 --> 00:38:05.950 Lazarus - that was a difficulty. 00:38:05.950 --> 00:38:09.660 He was four days dead in the grave. 00:38:09.660 --> 00:38:12.815 Peter - dark, stormy, water. 00:38:12.815 --> 00:38:14.125 Have you ever noticed? 00:38:14.125 --> 00:38:16.482 God likes to put obstacles in our way. 00:38:16.482 --> 00:38:18.474 Why? That tests our faith. 00:38:18.474 --> 00:38:21.551 That tests what we think of Him. 00:38:21.551 --> 00:38:23.806 Bunyan had it, right? Did he not? 00:38:23.806 --> 00:38:26.804 Pilgrim came to the Hill of Difficulty 00:38:26.804 --> 00:38:28.447 and he went up that hill. 00:38:28.447 --> 00:38:29.526 He didn't go around. 00:38:29.526 --> 00:38:31.185 In fact, going around was exactly 00:38:31.185 --> 00:38:34.187 the thing that he shouldn't do. NOTE Paragraph 00:38:34.187 --> 00:38:37.318 And if we get out of the boat, 00:38:37.318 --> 00:38:39.480 are we ever going to sink like Peter? 00:38:39.480 --> 00:38:41.705 Yes, that's going to happen. 00:38:41.705 --> 00:38:43.317 But you know the thing is, 00:38:43.317 --> 00:38:45.696 we're still okay. Why? 00:38:45.696 --> 00:38:48.647 Because the Lord is there and He cares for His people. 00:38:48.647 --> 00:38:49.696 Look at something. 00:38:49.696 --> 00:38:54.380 Look at Matthew 14:30. 00:38:54.380 --> 00:38:57.575 "When Peter saw the wind, 00:38:57.575 --> 00:39:01.366 he was afraid." 00:39:01.366 --> 00:39:03.107 Now notice these words: 00:39:03.107 --> 00:39:05.955 "...beginning to sink, 00:39:05.955 --> 00:39:07.250 he cried out, 00:39:07.250 --> 00:39:09.522 'Lord, save me!'" 00:39:09.522 --> 00:39:11.851 Don't you love that? NOTE Paragraph 00:39:11.851 --> 00:39:15.930 Just several weeks back, 00:39:15.930 --> 00:39:21.306 one of my daughters brought up some show, 00:39:21.306 --> 00:39:23.541 and I hope there's not something about it 00:39:23.541 --> 00:39:25.751 where you all want to crucify me if I say it, 00:39:25.751 --> 00:39:27.461 but there's some outdoorsman thing. 00:39:27.461 --> 00:39:29.557 Some guy name Bear Grylls. 00:39:29.557 --> 00:39:31.071 Some Englishman. 00:39:31.071 --> 00:39:33.379 Some outdoorsman. 00:39:33.379 --> 00:39:34.866 He's a nut. 00:39:34.866 --> 00:39:39.390 And he went to Scotland in a blizzard 00:39:39.390 --> 00:39:41.706 and he wants to show you how to survive. 00:39:41.706 --> 00:39:43.697 And of all things, he wants to show you 00:39:43.697 --> 00:39:45.023 how to really survive. 00:39:45.023 --> 00:39:49.551 So he comes up to a peat bog, 00:39:49.551 --> 00:39:51.757 and he's saying I'm going to go in here 00:39:51.757 --> 00:39:53.723 and it's blizzard and the snow's coming, 00:39:53.723 --> 00:39:55.313 and he says I'm going to show you 00:39:55.313 --> 00:39:58.170 how if you fall into a peat bog in a blizzard, 00:39:58.170 --> 00:40:00.595 how you survive. 00:40:00.595 --> 00:40:03.852 And so he builds this whole story 00:40:03.852 --> 00:40:05.164 and you're ready for him 00:40:05.164 --> 00:40:06.720 to jump in this peat bog 00:40:06.720 --> 00:40:08.735 and go up to his waist or something. 00:40:08.735 --> 00:40:12.104 He says, look, now that I've told you all about this, 00:40:12.104 --> 00:40:13.850 I'm probably going to step in here 00:40:13.850 --> 00:40:15.242 and find this thing shallow, 00:40:15.242 --> 00:40:17.293 and I'm just going to walk right across to the other side. 00:40:17.293 --> 00:40:20.225 So now you've kind of got the picture in mind that maybe it's not that deep. 00:40:20.225 --> 00:40:21.616 He's going to take a step in there 00:40:21.616 --> 00:40:24.345 and he may actually be able to walk across. 00:40:24.345 --> 00:40:25.794 He takes a step in there 00:40:25.794 --> 00:40:29.287 and he disappeared, like that. 00:40:29.287 --> 00:40:31.150 He was gone. 00:40:31.150 --> 00:40:33.200 Like (gasp!) 00:40:33.200 --> 00:40:35.954 And I was thinking that image, 00:40:35.954 --> 00:40:37.505 if Peter - bang! 00:40:37.505 --> 00:40:39.626 It would have just come out from under him. 00:40:39.626 --> 00:40:41.803 Boom! He's gone. 00:40:41.803 --> 00:40:43.435 Isn't that amazing? 00:40:43.435 --> 00:40:45.842 "Beginning to sink..." 00:40:45.842 --> 00:40:48.593 I thought, look, if the same thing 00:40:48.593 --> 00:40:51.071 happened to Peter that happened to Bear Grylls, 00:40:51.071 --> 00:40:57.394 he wouldn't have got three words out of his mouth. NOTE Paragraph 00:40:57.394 --> 00:41:00.174 What I see in that 00:41:00.174 --> 00:41:02.346 is even in Peter's unbelief, 00:41:02.346 --> 00:41:04.462 the Lord is with him. 00:41:04.462 --> 00:41:09.419 And he is not allowed to just go "woosh." 00:41:09.419 --> 00:41:12.406 "Beginning to sink..." 00:41:12.406 --> 00:41:19.361 That is encouraging. 00:41:19.361 --> 00:41:24.026 Because what the Lord was doing 00:41:24.026 --> 00:41:30.984 was He's allowing Peter to sink gradually enough 00:41:30.984 --> 00:41:33.326 so that he can cry out, 00:41:33.326 --> 00:41:37.067 "Lord, save me!" 00:41:37.067 --> 00:41:39.791 Peter began to sink. 00:41:39.791 --> 00:41:42.989 Every time you read that from now on, 00:41:42.989 --> 00:41:44.865 but notice the next thing. 00:41:44.865 --> 00:41:47.399 "Jesus immediately," - I love that! 00:41:47.399 --> 00:41:50.023 It doesn't say that Peter immediately sank 00:41:50.023 --> 00:41:54.749 and Jesus began to put out His hand. 00:41:54.749 --> 00:41:56.849 It's the opposite. 00:41:56.849 --> 00:42:03.105 Beginning... Jesus immediate. 00:42:03.105 --> 00:42:04.293 Guess what? 00:42:04.293 --> 00:42:05.764 You get out of the boat, 00:42:05.764 --> 00:42:07.405 we're like Peter. 00:42:07.405 --> 00:42:11.231 Don't look at Peter like he's some ridiculous case. 00:42:11.231 --> 00:42:12.910 Go look at yourself in the mirror 00:42:12.910 --> 00:42:14.621 and say I'm just like him. 00:42:14.621 --> 00:42:16.535 Because if you get out of the boat, 00:42:16.535 --> 00:42:19.525 you're going to have times you sink too. 00:42:19.525 --> 00:42:23.205 Like all those biographies I was showing you yesterday that I've read? 00:42:23.205 --> 00:42:26.995 Those guys - they sink too. NOTE Paragraph 00:42:26.995 --> 00:42:28.761 And here's the thing. 00:42:28.761 --> 00:42:33.656 I love this too. 00:42:33.656 --> 00:42:38.798 Because I remember 28 years ago, 00:42:38.798 --> 00:42:41.261 at the depth in the bog, 00:42:41.261 --> 00:42:44.234 in that peat bog of my own sin, 00:42:44.234 --> 00:42:46.431 the miry clay... 00:42:46.431 --> 00:42:48.718 Do you know that night the Lord saved me 00:42:48.718 --> 00:42:52.015 just three words and I don't think they came out of my mouth. 00:42:52.015 --> 00:42:54.591 I think I just thought them. 00:42:54.591 --> 00:42:57.947 "Lord, help me." 00:42:57.947 --> 00:43:00.446 I've heard sister Connie say the same thing. 00:43:00.446 --> 00:43:02.646 Three words. 00:43:02.646 --> 00:43:04.119 Lord, help me. 00:43:04.119 --> 00:43:08.837 Lord, save me. 00:43:08.837 --> 00:43:13.331 I've heard of people under demonic attack 00:43:13.331 --> 00:43:15.026 waking up in the night - 00:43:15.026 --> 00:43:18.705 something has them by the neck: 00:43:18.705 --> 00:43:20.340 "Lord, help me." 00:43:20.340 --> 00:43:22.323 And it's gone. 00:43:22.323 --> 00:43:24.488 And the thing is, 00:43:24.488 --> 00:43:26.299 Jesus did not say, 00:43:26.299 --> 00:43:30.397 "Peter, I wish you would get more sophisticated, 00:43:30.397 --> 00:43:32.784 more intellectual, more professional, 00:43:32.784 --> 00:43:34.180 more polished, if you think 00:43:34.180 --> 00:43:37.190 you are going to get My attention." 00:43:37.190 --> 00:43:39.967 What a prayer! 00:43:39.967 --> 00:43:42.465 "Peter, you insult Me with your simplicity." 00:43:42.465 --> 00:43:43.927 None of that. 00:43:43.927 --> 00:43:45.549 What a prayer for God's people 00:43:45.549 --> 00:43:48.398 who venture out of the boat. 00:43:48.398 --> 00:43:51.873 You can imagine our brother serving overseas, 00:43:51.873 --> 00:43:53.758 "God, help me." 00:43:53.758 --> 00:43:56.239 He stepped out of the boat. NOTE Paragraph 00:43:56.239 --> 00:44:02.024 What keeps us from daring to trust Christ more? 00:44:02.024 --> 00:44:04.096 You think about your own life. 00:44:04.096 --> 00:44:06.354 We've got our boats. 00:44:06.354 --> 00:44:07.470 Every one of us do. 00:44:07.470 --> 00:44:11.662 These places that if we trusted the Lord more 00:44:11.662 --> 00:44:14.745 we would get out of them. 00:44:14.745 --> 00:44:17.174 And the Lord's out there. 00:44:17.174 --> 00:44:20.171 "Come." 00:44:20.171 --> 00:44:23.618 It's like He was going to walk by them, 00:44:23.618 --> 00:44:25.645 but what? 00:44:25.645 --> 00:44:27.415 They needed Him. They cried out. 00:44:27.415 --> 00:44:29.484 He saw they were in terror. 00:44:29.484 --> 00:44:32.414 He came to them. NOTE Paragraph 00:44:32.414 --> 00:44:35.144 What keeps us from daring to trust Christ more? 00:44:35.144 --> 00:44:37.205 Is it hardness? 00:44:37.205 --> 00:44:38.849 This hardness. 00:44:38.849 --> 00:44:42.383 We don't perceive really what 00:44:42.383 --> 00:44:45.596 those 4,000 and those 5,000 that were fed 00:44:45.596 --> 00:44:49.603 were meant to show us. 00:44:49.603 --> 00:44:51.169 Have you ever found 00:44:51.169 --> 00:44:55.442 that when you've stepped out of the boat, 00:44:55.442 --> 00:44:58.263 that Jesus let you sink 00:44:58.263 --> 00:45:02.596 right to the bottom of the sea? 00:45:02.596 --> 00:45:04.880 It doesn't happen. NOTE Paragraph 00:45:04.880 --> 00:45:06.854 You answer this question. 00:45:06.854 --> 00:45:09.969 I want to answer this question. 00:45:09.969 --> 00:45:14.017 Where do you want to live your life? 00:45:14.017 --> 00:45:17.412 Do you want to dwell in that calculated safety of the boat? 00:45:17.412 --> 00:45:19.813 If we're to significantly advance, 00:45:19.813 --> 00:45:21.526 we need to step out. 00:45:21.526 --> 00:45:24.707 Out where? 00:45:24.707 --> 00:45:27.452 Out there. 00:45:27.452 --> 00:45:28.930 Beyond the side of the boat. 00:45:28.930 --> 00:45:30.383 Beyond. 00:45:30.383 --> 00:45:32.674 Beyond the boat. 00:45:32.674 --> 00:45:34.617 God calls us to a life 00:45:34.617 --> 00:45:37.038 where we can't walk 00:45:37.038 --> 00:45:39.054 where He wants us to walk, 00:45:39.054 --> 00:45:43.234 unless He holds us up. 00:45:43.234 --> 00:45:44.654 Tozer said this: 00:45:44.654 --> 00:45:48.988 One of the greatest proofs of our weakness 00:45:48.988 --> 00:45:50.818 is when there's no longer anything 00:45:50.818 --> 00:45:54.686 terrible or mysterious about us. 00:45:54.686 --> 00:45:56.132 When it can all be explained. 00:45:56.132 --> 00:45:57.654 Stepping out of the boat 00:45:57.654 --> 00:45:59.245 is stepping out into that realm 00:45:59.245 --> 00:46:01.135 of the supernatural. 00:46:01.135 --> 00:46:04.023 It's stepping out into the realm of God 00:46:04.023 --> 00:46:06.643 where you don't survive unless God is for you 00:46:06.643 --> 00:46:07.873 and undergirds you; 00:46:07.873 --> 00:46:10.424 unless God holds you up. 00:46:10.424 --> 00:46:15.279 I think we need more crazy Christianity. 00:46:15.279 --> 00:46:17.493 We need more people like Peter. 00:46:17.493 --> 00:46:18.787 They step out of the boat. 00:46:18.787 --> 00:46:21.353 And they step out with that confidence. 00:46:21.353 --> 00:46:24.352 Because not a confidence in self - 00:46:24.352 --> 00:46:28.471 it's a confidence in what Christ is going to do for us. 00:46:28.471 --> 00:46:30.876 Should we not intentionally take our churches 00:46:30.876 --> 00:46:33.248 and our families and ourselves down paths 00:46:33.248 --> 00:46:36.524 that demand more than our spiritual gifts? 00:46:36.524 --> 00:46:37.970 More than our logic? 00:46:37.970 --> 00:46:39.634 More than the current funds 00:46:39.634 --> 00:46:43.282 in the checking account? NOTE Paragraph 00:46:43.282 --> 00:46:45.235 Why? 00:46:45.235 --> 00:46:47.009 Because Christ is with us 00:46:47.009 --> 00:46:49.334 and He says, "Take courage." 00:46:49.334 --> 00:46:51.740 Why? Because by nature, we're timid. 00:46:51.740 --> 00:46:53.580 We're faint. 00:46:53.580 --> 00:46:55.261 "Take courage." 00:46:55.261 --> 00:46:57.041 Why? "I am with you." 00:46:57.041 --> 00:46:58.767 Don't ever be quick to say, 00:46:58.767 --> 00:47:01.842 "Oh, we can't do that. 00:47:01.842 --> 00:47:04.957 It's too big. It's too expensive. 00:47:04.957 --> 00:47:06.814 It's too far. 00:47:06.814 --> 00:47:08.788 It's too outrageous. 00:47:08.788 --> 00:47:11.036 It's just overall too impossible." 00:47:11.036 --> 00:47:13.051 We should fear that talk. 00:47:13.051 --> 00:47:14.899 We should fear staying in the boat 00:47:14.899 --> 00:47:17.929 and not putting our great God to the test. 00:47:17.929 --> 00:47:20.131 And I don't know what this means for all of our lives. 00:47:20.131 --> 00:47:22.611 I've been thinking about this message for weeks, 00:47:22.611 --> 00:47:23.698 and I've been thinking 00:47:23.698 --> 00:47:25.589 what does this mean for me? 00:47:25.589 --> 00:47:28.100 I want to get out of the boat. I don't want to live in the boat. 00:47:28.100 --> 00:47:30.371 I don't want to get to the end and just find 00:47:30.371 --> 00:47:34.537 I lived in the boat all the time. 00:47:34.537 --> 00:47:36.091 I should have been saying, 00:47:36.091 --> 00:47:37.652 "Lord, command me to come." 00:47:37.652 --> 00:47:41.377 "Command me to come." 00:47:41.377 --> 00:47:43.318 Because I find that He says, "Come." NOTE Paragraph 00:47:43.318 --> 00:47:46.326 Can you imagine Peter 00:47:46.326 --> 00:47:48.416 reminiscing in the years that followed? 00:47:48.416 --> 00:47:52.341 I imagine him sitting there, 00:47:52.341 --> 00:47:55.629 looking into the fire, 00:47:55.629 --> 00:47:57.515 thinking... 00:47:57.515 --> 00:48:03.758 thinking back to that night. 00:48:03.758 --> 00:48:06.316 Remembering. 00:48:06.316 --> 00:48:08.318 Reminiscing. 00:48:08.318 --> 00:48:12.300 Those words. 00:48:12.300 --> 00:48:13.578 He can hear them. 00:48:13.578 --> 00:48:16.564 He can hear that voice. 00:48:16.564 --> 00:48:21.513 "O you of little faith, 00:48:21.513 --> 00:48:25.986 why did you doubt?" 00:48:25.986 --> 00:48:29.275 And you know Peter didn't answer. 00:48:29.275 --> 00:48:30.805 Why? 00:48:30.805 --> 00:48:33.613 Because he never had a good answer 00:48:33.613 --> 00:48:35.341 to that question. 00:48:35.341 --> 00:48:37.817 He never did. 00:48:37.817 --> 00:48:40.708 It's really difficult to have an answer 00:48:40.708 --> 00:48:45.746 when you've just been walking on water 00:48:45.746 --> 00:48:52.702 to have the Lord say, "Why did you doubt?" 00:48:52.702 --> 00:48:55.515 What are you going to say? 00:48:55.515 --> 00:48:57.285 Think about this. 00:48:57.285 --> 00:48:59.603 Peter - seasoned fisherman. 00:48:59.603 --> 00:49:02.142 Sailor. 00:49:02.142 --> 00:49:05.633 Something happened in that wind right there. 00:49:05.633 --> 00:49:08.491 And it says it caused him to fear. 00:49:08.491 --> 00:49:10.171 What would it have taken to cause 00:49:10.171 --> 00:49:13.264 a man like Peter to suddenly fear? 00:49:13.264 --> 00:49:14.873 A great big gust 00:49:14.873 --> 00:49:16.982 that took him off his feat? 00:49:16.982 --> 00:49:19.092 But still, why? 00:49:19.092 --> 00:49:21.758 He'd been walking on water. 00:49:21.758 --> 00:49:23.643 "Why did you doubt?" 00:49:23.643 --> 00:49:28.279 In other words, you never need to. 00:49:28.279 --> 00:49:31.426 Peter thought about water. 00:49:31.426 --> 00:49:33.185 You can imagine. 00:49:33.185 --> 00:49:39.397 "I felt a firmness under my feet. 00:49:39.397 --> 00:49:40.976 It was like walking on land, 00:49:40.976 --> 00:49:43.419 and yet it wasn't like walking on dry land 00:49:43.419 --> 00:49:45.360 because there was no ground there. 00:49:45.360 --> 00:49:49.567 There was some unseen reality 00:49:49.567 --> 00:49:52.394 that held me up. 00:49:52.394 --> 00:49:53.735 And I felt it. 00:49:53.735 --> 00:49:57.279 I felt it give way 00:49:57.279 --> 00:50:00.423 when my eyes came off of Christ. 00:50:00.423 --> 00:50:02.502 I felt it. 00:50:02.502 --> 00:50:04.162 I felt it. 00:50:04.162 --> 00:50:11.135 It caused that knee-jerk prayer: 00:50:11.135 --> 00:50:13.114 'Lord, save me!' 00:50:13.114 --> 00:50:17.575 I felt it give way. 00:50:17.575 --> 00:50:21.868 And I know it was not faith that held me up. 00:50:21.868 --> 00:50:24.328 It was God that held me up. 00:50:24.328 --> 00:50:25.402 And He held me up 00:50:25.402 --> 00:50:27.455 and there was a firmness 00:50:27.455 --> 00:50:31.854 as long as I was looking to Christ." 00:50:31.854 --> 00:50:34.019 And he could remember. 00:50:34.019 --> 00:50:35.537 There was a confidence. 00:50:35.537 --> 00:50:37.938 Peter had a confidence. 00:50:37.938 --> 00:50:41.467 A tremendous sense of safety, 00:50:41.467 --> 00:50:43.177 of security. 00:50:43.177 --> 00:50:46.923 A tremendous freedom. 00:50:46.923 --> 00:50:53.999 "Peter, why did you fear?" 00:50:53.999 --> 00:50:57.419 Him just thinking, you know, 00:50:57.419 --> 00:51:08.740 I never did have a good answer to that question. NOTE Paragraph 00:51:08.740 --> 00:51:12.294 Father, I pray 00:51:12.294 --> 00:51:22.962 that some boats would be stepped out of. 00:51:22.962 --> 00:51:25.956 Father, please, 00:51:25.956 --> 00:51:30.400 help us to trust Your Son. 00:51:30.400 --> 00:51:33.079 Help us to bring You more glory. 00:51:33.079 --> 00:51:34.676 We see that it is a glory; 00:51:34.676 --> 00:51:36.108 it's a worship issue, 00:51:36.108 --> 00:51:40.295 as we see Abraham there in Romans 4, 00:51:40.295 --> 00:51:44.946 and we know that trusting You 00:51:44.946 --> 00:51:48.518 brings You glory. 00:51:48.518 --> 00:51:51.444 And I pray Lord, I want this. 00:51:51.444 --> 00:51:52.629 I want this. 00:51:52.629 --> 00:51:58.145 I want to trust You more. 00:51:58.145 --> 00:52:01.652 Help us. 00:52:01.652 --> 00:52:06.236 Help us to go forth from this place 00:52:06.236 --> 00:52:09.353 resting, trusting. 00:52:09.353 --> 00:52:11.235 I pray that this account may help us 00:52:11.235 --> 00:52:15.366 to be more certain, more confident, 00:52:15.366 --> 00:52:18.412 more established on this Person of Christ 00:52:18.412 --> 00:52:20.060 willing to help; 00:52:20.060 --> 00:52:22.231 would have walked past, 00:52:22.231 --> 00:52:25.188 but He came immediately. 00:52:25.188 --> 00:52:27.496 "It is I." 00:52:27.496 --> 00:52:29.208 "It is I." 00:52:29.208 --> 00:52:30.397 "Be of courage." 00:52:30.397 --> 00:52:36.021 Lord, we want that courage. 00:52:36.021 --> 00:52:40.829 I pray in Christ's name, Amen.