Get Out Of The Boat

Get out of the Boat.

Peter Matt. 14:22

MT 14:22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

MT 14:25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It’s a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.

MT 14:27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid."

MT 14:28 "Lord, if it’s you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."

MT 14:29 "Come," he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

MT 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

MT 14:32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

What is the most boring thing you ever did? Was it fishing?

I don’t like fish. Getting an old slimy worm and put it on a hook, and then watch and wait for the fish to bite. And if you get it at the right time, and the fish are biting, then you have to get that live fish off the hook. If you get a bass you have to watch the fins that are bony and sharp don’t stick you. If you get a catfish you have to watch the points out the side and top don’t stick you. If you get anything else you have to watch that the teeth in the gills or the mouth don’t get you. If not the fish then you have to watch that the hook when you cast don’t catch you. Or for that matter the hook of the person next to you don’t catch you. I like hunting better, I make sure its dead before I get to it.

Some of the most boring people are in the church. Some of them looking like they had been sucking on sour pickles, or baptized in vinegar. Remember what I once said about baptizing you and you don’t come up smiling? Yet some in the church come to worship with sourpusses. They look like they just lost their best friend. They look like everything is wrong, in other words they look and act like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. Yet watch some of these same people go to a Paw Paw basketball game scream holler clap get excited dance and carry on, they can sit through double overtime at a ball game without thinking about it, carrying on like a fanatic and come out with a smile or other joyous expression. Yet these people come to worship with sourpusses. They come and say tell me what I need to know but don’t take more than a hour. If you take more than an hour I will not be back. The kingdom will only go on with a Revival. The only way the church will have the life and have it more abundantly is with a Revival. We come together, we sing, we take up the offering, we share in the Lord’s Supper, we have specials with music, testimony, or poetry, then we have someone preach, we give the invitation and no one comes forward, AND WE CALL THAT NORMAL? I don’t call that normal, I call it dead. Why is it dead? Because we are still in the boat.

Jesus told them to get in the boat and sail. It was about 3 a.m. and they saw a man walking on the water. What would you do if you saw a man walking on water at 3 a.m. You would scream like your 7 year old sister. They were scared to death and so would you be. Yet Jesus said “It is I, Don’t be afraid” When you face the storms in your life, look for the one who walked on water and listen for the one who said “It is I don’t be afraid”. We would say “Lord calm the storm in my life” yet what we should do, instead of telling God how great the storm is in your life, tell your storm how Great your God is! Ask God to help you find peace in the face of that storm.