Matthew 14:22-31
22And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 31And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
VERY BRIEFLY I WANT TO REASON WITH YOU ON THE THOUGHT
WHEN JESUS SHOWS UP HE ALWAYS
SHOWS OUT
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS
Our scriptural text before us says that Jesus constrained His disciples to get into a ship and go before Him to the other side of the lake.
IN OTHER WORDS
They knew their destination was the other side.
AND JUST LIKE THEY KNEW WHERE THEY WHERE GOING
It is important for us to know where we are going.
THE Old people used to sing songs about going to the other side.
You would hear them singing, "I'm on my journey and I can't turn around."
AND IF THE TRUTH BE TOLD
We should take a lesson from those old folks.
They knew where they were going and they were determined to not let anything hinder them from getting there.
After sending the disciples away, we read that Jesus sent the multitudes away.
This shows us that if we are going somewhere, there are some folks we may have to leave behind.
BECAUSE If we stay with certain crowds, they won't go and neither will we.
If you are going somewhere and a person does not want to go with you, then you need to let them stay where they are.
The right thing to do is Invite them to come, but don't let them or nothing stop you from making it to the other side.
The text goes on to say that Jesus went up on a mountain apart to pray.
AND If the Son of God prayed, then how about you?
I mean, if God who has all power, knows everything and is everywhere at the same time prayed, then we ought to pray.
BECAUSE Prayer is an unusual weapon.
The greatest weapon that any saint can have is prayer.
When you cannot be victorious any other way, just pray.
BECAUSE
Prayer will change things.
Prayer will change people.
Prayer will change conditions,
and prayer will change the one who is doing the praying.
In other words, if we have a heart to prayer Heaven has an ear to hear
That is why you need to pray for your enemies.
If a person mistreats you, it is hard to get on your knees, pray for him and then go shoot him.
Because it hard for a Child Of God to stumble down on his knees Because Something happens while you are down on your knees sending up knee mail.
You see my brothers and sisters
The average person who messes up did not pray first.
You know We like to do stuff and then pray.
But you ought Pray first.
Because If you pray in the calm, you can handle the storm of life. Look at what Jesus did. First, He sent the disciples away and then He sent the multitudes away.
Then, He went up into the mountain where He could be alone.
The Bible says
The evening was calm, and He was there alone.
WHAT YOU TRYING TO TELL US
MATTHEW
What i`m telling you White is Take some time to be by yourself.
Turn off the television.
Unplug the phone.
Get in a room by yourself and spend some time with the Lord.
Because if you spend sometime with God in private he will spend time with you in public.
You see
Jesus knew that it was good to be alone sometimes.
He knew that when you get ready to talk to
God, you don`t need any interference or interruptions.
BECAUSE Storms of life comes at some unusual times.
THE TEXT says that when the disciples' ship was in the midst of the sea,
the waves began to toss and the wind became contrary
THAT WORD . Midst means "somewhere in between" their point of departure and their destination.
The Lake of Galilee was eight miles wide and thirteen miles long
They started off in the evening just before sundown
and by midnight they were somewhere in the midst of the lake.
Now What does that mean?
It means that they had gone too far to turn around.
It was just as far to go back as it was to get to the other side.
And Ain`t it amazing
The Lord will allow us to get in the midst of our situations, and then Here comes a storm.
Now, I better tell you, all storms are not sent by God. Some storms are sent by the devil,
BUT HE CAN`T SEND THEM WITHOUT GOD`S PERMISSION
And then there are some storms that we bring on ourselves.
AND Doesn't it seem that storms always shows up at the wrong time?
You think you have it all together and suddenly a storm shows up.
The thing about storms is that they come without warning.
They don`t give you a chance to prepare.
Things may be going well when storms just show up out of the middle of nowhere. Here you are enjoying life
, too young to retire and too old to find another job.
You go to work one morning thinking all is well and at three o'clock, they give you a pink slip and say they can't use you anymore………. You are in a storm.
You have been married thirty years. You thought you and your spouse were getting along fine.
One evening you come home with a smile on your face, open the door and find everything is gone but the cat………… You are in a storm.
You go to the doctor for a general physical.
The doctor looks at you and rushes you to the hospital to do emergency surgery.
You left home healthy, but when you got to the hospital you were in the midst of a storm.
Never underestimate storms of life.
It looks like everything is alright now, but you don't know what tomorrow is going to bring.
You don't know how you are going to make it after today.
That is why you have to get close to the Lord while you can.
Hear me when I tell you, storms will come.
The ship in our text was in the midst of the lake being tossed by waves.
In other words, it wasn't just sitting there.
The storm was rocking the ship.
Storms will rock you.
Storms will have you sitting at your table and can't eat.
Storms will have you lying in bed and can't sleep.
Storms Will have you sitting at a traffic light that is green.
I tell you, storms will take you out of who you are
These are the trials of the storm.
BUT not only do we see the trials of the storm,
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BUT the text also reveals the trying in the storm.
It says it was in the fourth watch of the night.
They got in the boat that evening.
The storm came around midnight and now it is about three or four o'clock in the morning.
Can you imagine how they had toiled from midnight to three o'clock in the morning?
You have to see the disciples drenched with water
—hair soaked, clothes wet, eyes red, eyelids heavy and muscles sore. Fear and panic were all over them.
It was the fourth watch in the night, the darkest hour before day. the hour just before daylight.
It is just a few feet from the other side where folks decide to give up before going through.
It is a critical hour in the life of any person.
Sometimes when it comes to getting out of situations, we give up a little too soon.
But you have to keep fighting.
You have to keep going forward.
Yes, the disciples went through a trying time in the storm,
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BUT NOT ONLY DID THEY FACE THE
TRIALS OF THE STORM AND TRYING IN THE STORM
But the text also reveals the tranquility in the storm. The Bible says,
"In the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea."
And Whenever a storm shows up in your life,
YOU DO KNOW THAT Jesus will show up too.
AND YOU DO KNOW WHEN JESUS
SHOWS UP HE ALWAYS SHOWS OUT
AND IF THE TRUTH BE TOLD HE IS
ALREADY THERE BEFORE THE STORM GETS THERE
The Bible says that Jesus Showed up
And when he showed up
HE USED THE SEA OF GALLIEE AS A SIDEWALK
And went unto them walking on the sea THE BIBLE SAYS He walked.
AND He didn't hurry as if He were trying to get out of the storm.
He didn't come on tiptoes like He was afraid of the storm.
He walked
That is what I love about God.
He never has to be in a hurry because He is always in control
THE TEXT SAYS
"When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear"
In other words
They were troubled.
They had no comprehension of His help.
And I have discovered in life that sometimes we can be so drenched in our troubles that we cannot see our triumph.
We can be so caught up in our circumstances that we cannot see our Savior.
We can be so bogged down in our doubt that we cannot focus on our deliverance. Jesus knew the disciples were afraid
. "Straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid
And I always wondered why Jesus had to tell them who He was. Here again, we can get so caught up in our crisis that we forget who Jesus is.
Don't you know if you know who Jesus is, you will stop crying over problems in your life?
If you really know who Jesus really is you won't panic when your bank account is low.
If you really really know who Jesus is, you will count it all joy when people scandalize your name.
If you really ,really ,really know who Jesus is,
when the doctor gives you bad news, you can say,
I got another doctor who is the doctor of all doctors."
A Doctor who has never lost a patient
Peter said, Lord if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water
IN OTHER WORDS PETER ASK LIVING
WATER FOR PERMISSION TO WALK ON PHYSICAL WATER
AND PETER TEACHES US ALL A VALUEABLE LESSON
AND THAT IS IF WE GOING TO
OVERCOME THE STORMS OF LIFE
YOU HAVE TO keep your eyes focused on Jesus;
not on your husband, your wife or your job, but on Jesus.
Not on your boyfriend, not on your girlfriend, but on Jesus. Not on your money, but on Jesus.
BECAUSE Jesus is the author and finisher of your faith.
THE BIBLE SAYS THAT
Peter was not only willing to walk on water but to walk on water during the storm AND When Peter started sinking, he had enough sense to turn to Jesus and say, "Lord, save me"
NOTICE—NOTICE—NOTICE
He didn't say but three words in his prayer.
When you get in trouble,
it is not necessary to pray a long PRAYER; just have strong a prayer. Lord, save me!
Jesus took Peter by the hand and they walked across the water together.
AND I NEED TO TELL YOU
There is something about the hand of Jesus. If you can just get your hand in His hand, you will find that there is miracle-working power in His hands
. You cannot walk on water by yourself, but if you take hold of Jesus' hand, The Lord and you can do it.
The storm you are going through is nothing but a test.
That is all it is.
It is just a test.
You see, God already knows what you can handle.
He just wants to showcase you. He wants to put you on display so somebody else can see that He can bring them through whatever you are going through.
He wants them to know that it wasn't your mama or your daddy who brought you through; but it was grace—God's grace.
AND I NEED TO TELL YOU AS I PREPARE TO GO TO MY SEAT
WHEN JESUS SHOWS UP HE ALWAYS SHOWS OUT
YOU SEE HE SHOWED UP ON A HILL
CALL CALVARY
ONE FRIDAY EVENING
DIED ON THAT HILL
PLACE IN A BORROWED TOMB
BUT EARLY.....EARLY SUNDAY MORNING
HE GOT UP
AND SHOWED OUT
I`M TALKING ABOUT JESUS
THE ONE THAT HAS MORE BOOKS IN HIS
NAME THAN ANY library CAN CONTIAN
I`M TALKING ABOUT THE ONE
HEROD COULD`NT KILL
SIN COULD`NT SEDUCE HIM
DEATH COULD`NT KEEP HIM
AND THE GRAVE COULD`NT HOLD HIM
AIN`T GOD ALRIGHT
IF YOU KNOW HE`S ALRIGHT
GIVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AN HIGH FIVE
AND TELL THEM
NEIGHBOR OH NEIGHBOR
WHEN GOD SHOWS UP HE ALWAYS
SHOWS OUT
