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.
Peter calls out “Lord if it is you, tell me to come.” Be careful what you ask for you may get it. But here is what we should follow; The Lord says to Peter come, and Peter gets out of the boat. Church we need to get out of the boat, we need to follow Jesus, and we can’t do that sitting in the boat. Jesus is not in the boat, he is walking on water, we need to get out of the boat and walk with Jesus daily where He is walking. We need to come alive today, to get out of the boat and come to Jesus.
Imagine what the conversation between the disciples that night. Peter? Yeah? Where you going? I am going to the Lord walking on the water. What? Are you crazy? Are you fanatical? Are you gonna rock the boat? YEAH!!! WE need to get fanatical!!!! We got to go where Jesus is, that is the only place to find peace in the storm, it is the only place to find comfort in our pain, it is the only place Christians need to be. We need to get out of the boat and go overboard! In a musical called Guys and Dolls, Nicely Johnson sings a song “Sit down your rockin the boat.” To many times in the church, people who are getting ready to go overboard are told sit down your rocking the boat. We need boat rockers, we need fanatics, we need people who are willing to get out of the boat and go where Jesus is. We have to get out of our comfort zones and get out of the boat.
Some of the meanest people are in the church, they get mad when the preacher steps on toes. They get uncomfortable, the feel like they are losing control, and they fire the preacher. Or, when someone new comes in, and this person get turned on to Jesus they look to pour cold water on the fire. WE NEED TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT, DON’T LISTEN TO PEOPLE AND LISTEN TO JESUS. Have people ever let you down? Has God’s people ever let you down? Now has Jesus ever let you down? Why listen to people instead of God? Why are you still in the boat? Jesus, God in the Flesh, tells us COME!
When you get out of the boat keep your eyes on Jesus. When we take our eyes off Jesus, we are going to go down. When we got our eyes on anything else but Jesus, we have our eyes on things that are going to pull us down. Hebrews 12:2-3 says 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
When we fix our eyes on people, we are going down, fix your eyes on the preacher, you are going down, fix your eyes on Jesus and you can walk on water.
If you got your eyes on Jesus, we can face our storms, we can find peace and the storm will come and it will pass us by.
But the Hebrews writer also tells us to fix something else on Jesus, in Hebrews 3:1ff
HEB 3:1 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.
So don’t just take your eyes off Jesus, don’t take your mind off Jesus either. I got a good idea what you’re thinking right now. That’s fanatical, DUH! That’s what we need to become, we need to get fanatical. If you got your eyes on Jesus, they can paint the boys bathroom orange, and it won’t matter, they can fix potholes in the parking lot without your permission, and it really won’t matter. They can sing a song you don’t like, play instruments you don’t like, and it really won’t matter because your eyes are on Jesus and that’s all that matters. Look at the song “Turn your Eyes on Jesus” when your eyes are on Jesus things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. When we fix our eyes and our thoughts on Jesus, the world grows strangely dim.
What else is in the boat? Worldly people, they need to get out of the boat and go to Jesus, it is the only place they go to get saved. It is the only place we can go to find all what we need. It is the place we need to go to find salvation.
Today I am not going ask you all to stand. I am going to ask only those who want to get out of the boat to stand. I am going ask only those who want to climb out of the boat to come forward. I am also going to ask if you got out of the boat and took your eyes off Jesus, and you want to fix your eyes on Jesus, I am going to ask you to stand. I am also going ask several of the men to come forward to help and pray for you.
Maybe you got out of the boat, but you took your eyes off Jesus, maybe you never got out of the boat. Today all that can change.
Will you get out off the boat? Will you fix your eyes on Jesus? It is in your court now what will you do?
