In this series we have gone from the former things to the latter. I asked for you to get plugged in to the vision, and then challenged you to leave your comfort zone and run to the gift zone, which prepared you for the challenge zone which takes you to the end zone.
I told you that you have a voice and when it becomes unified with the church, we become a voice crying in the wilderness.
Today I want to encourage you in your calling. What calling? You may ask. Each of you has a call on your life to do something for the Kingdom. You have been equipped but you have not answered the call. You are never too young or too old to become a Kingdom minded Leader.
You have purpose and place. All you have to do is find out where. It will start with you having a Kingdom Mind.
Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; (12) For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Many are called into these positions that take them behind a pulpit or a mission field, but there are those that are called to fulfill these offices at home with their families, friends and neighbors. They operate in their position in their daily lives.
All have been called into the streets to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. You are to be a light in the darkness, a candle for others to follow through the valley of the shadow of death.
Ro 13:11-14 (11)And that, knowing the time, that now [it is] high time to awake out of sleep: for now [is] our salvation nearer than when we believed. (12) The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.(13) Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. (14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof].
With that call comes great responsibility. The call to be is God’s; the call to fulfill is yours.
Will you step out of the boat? Will you go into the unknown and do something you have never done before.
Will you leave it behind or will you sit back and watch others step out.
If we in the church are going to step into the place God has for us, we have to be prepared for major transition in our lives. God is speaking to you to step out of boat so that you can fulfill the call on your life.
Ps 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all [my members] were written, [which] in continuance were fashioned, when [as yet there was] none of them.
Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
I believe in divine appointments and Kingdom Connections; I believe that we all have destiny and purpose. Those verses I read to you tells me that our lives have meaning.
Our lives have been recorded in His book. He knows us and has set a destiny for our lives. We all have the choice of free will, but God has a perfect plan for us if we will trust and obey Him.
I saw a bumper sticker that said “God is my co-pilot”, I know whoever came up with that one meant well but come on. That bumper sticker is telling me that they are driving God around, when it needs to be the other way.
They would not need a GPS if they let the author and finisher of the faith get behind the wheel.
When it comes to our lives the best way to enjoy it is take a backseat and let God have the wheel and you just sit back and hang on for the ride of your life.
The only thing you can count on is change. God wants you to go to another level. The way you exit 1 level is the way you enter another.
Jesus has just finished feeding the five thousand, and then tells His disciples to get in a boat and go before Him to the other side. He then departs to the mountains to spend time with His Father. Later that evening the disciples were still toiling against the wind to cross the sea now let me read from Marks Gospel His account and we read, And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. Mark 6:48 (KJV)
Did you notice the words: “would have passed by them”. Yet when they saw Him they cried out, and He responded,” Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid”. He would have kept going had they not said a word, but because they called on the name of Lord He answered them.
Let that encourage you when you are in the storm just cry out and He will stop what He is doing to answer back.
Now Peter being Peter says, “if that is really you let me come to you”, and Jesus Says “COME”. That tells me when you ask to do the impossible be ready to do the impossible.
When you ask get ready for Him to say “COME ON”. Don’t ask unless you are ready to go.
Once you set yourself to fulfill God’s vision, it will require you to get out of your boat and walk on the water.
Now your boat can be your comfort zone or it can be people or things. Whatever keeps you from stepping out that is your “BOAT”.
The boat is a place that keeps you from walking on new ground. It doesn’t matter how big the boat is, you are still confided. You can only go so far in your boat.
When you step out into the water you have unlimited room to move about freely.
In Re 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (16) So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Why is it that a “lukewarmer” makes Jesus sick it is because to be lukewarm means, “not making a difference”.
If you are to ever fulfill God’s vision for your life, you will have to get out of your boat, and step out into the water and make a difference.
When Peter asked Christ if he could step out Jesus didn’t have to think about it He didn’t pray about it, or worry if Peter would drown; He just said to Peter “COME”.
This had to be a sight for the others to have seen, here these two are walking on water, but if the others were so amazed by what they saw think about how Peter must have felt.
The others when they tell this story to their grandchildren, they will get to say a lot and will be able to give a nice account of the walk, but it will be Peter’s that will always top theirs.
It was his feet that walked on the water, a liquid was now a solid for his feet, the water would brush his feet as if he were walking the seashore. The open sea was now open for his feet to tread upon.
The others will speak with words of excitement about seeing this miracle but Peter gets to tell his grandchildren about being a miracle.
After the others finish their story I am sure the question would come up, “why didn’t you step out of the boat on to the water?” A question that probably haunted them all, “why did I never step out?”
Today there are so many in the church that Christ is biding them to “COME” and they never do. They hear the words but don’t step out. For whatever reason the boat is a better place for them, it is not until later that they realize they missed out.
I don’t want any of you to miss out I want you to step out. You took a few steps last week but now I want you to go the distance.
In this story you find three kinds of people: sitters, sinkers, and steppers.
Who do you want to be?
I.Sitters
What does a sitter do actually, well they sit. What they do is not the problem it is why they do it.
They have no revelation of their Divine purpose in life. In Jeremiah 1:4-10 God speaks to a young Jeremiah and tells him that before he was born, he was already sanctified an ordained. The word sanctified means, “to set apart”. The word ordained means, “a specific duty.”
If you are to ever get out of the boat, you must have a revelation to why you are here on this planet. If any of you are alive and breathing, you might need to check your pulse; you have been set apart for a sacred use and given a specific duty.
God has placed you here for such a time as this to promote His Kingdom. Once you see yourself as God sees you, you will begin to move in your boat.
Once you understand whose you are and who you are in Christ; you will begin to have thoughts of doing extraordinary things in Him. You thoughts will move out of the boat and unto the water.
God is calling you off the pew and into the waters. If you want to get to Him and get to where He is you got to move!
Sitters talk of their inabilities. When God spoke to Jeremiah, he quickly made an excuse and told God that he was only a youth. Treating it like a slap in the face, God quickly answered, “Never say to Me that you are but a youth.”
When God calls us, He sees the end result of our lives and the potential that He has placed within us. All He asks us to do is accept the call, then He makes it happen.
He transforms us from glory to glory and from faith to faith preparing and maturing us. As long as we hide in the boat, that transformation cannot happen.
We hurt ourselves and our faith when we begin to tell God about our inabilities and inexperience’s.
Moses had a stutter and told God he could not speak for Him because he was slow of speech.
Gideon felt that he was the least in his house to be a leader.
The problem sitters are they are afraid. When the disciples saw Jesus on the water, the Bible says they were afraid. They saw Christ doing the impossible and I am sure in their mind they thought “man was not meant to walk on water”.
Not only are we meant to walk on water but on serpents and scorpions and all the power of the enemy.
In these last days it is going to take an “unbound faith” to get out the boat and walk in the power of the Holy Ghost. Faith doesn’t see fear; fear is afraid of faith. When fear knocks on the door, Faith will answer and no one will be there!
Stop trying to figure out the next step and just take it. When we stop to think we lose our momentum. The first step is ours, the next is God’s.
I remember as a boy seeing old time Pentecostal services where the Pastor would run the tops of the pews! I mean the very tops of the pew, here this man was that in the natural could not do this but he could. I remember seeing him run the tops of pews that were full and we just all parted not on our own, God cleared a path for him.
That stuck with me and I remember always wanting to do it to me that was like walking on water, and sure enough I did it at my home church I ran the tops of the pews front to back.
If we are to do the impossible we must take authority over our fears in our life, “God has not given you a spirit of fear but one of power, love, and a sound mind”, speak the word of God to yourself and watch faith arise.
The other problem sitters are they have no vision. Jer 1:10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. God said this to Jeremiah while he was still a youth so that he would see as God sees.
Visions and dreams are what keep you going on the water, they are the reason you step out. We need to stop seeing ourselves as others and yourself do and see yourself as God sees you. What you need my friends is a “faith lift.”
When you step out you are stepping out into the vision and you are walking the way God saw you walk. You now see as He sees and feel how He feels. The needs of others and of this world become open to you, and you become equip to minister to those needs.
II.Sinkers
Let me talk to those that may say Pastor I got out of my boat and I sank.
I want to encourage you by saying “Praise God you walked!”, even though you sank you still stepped out, don’t beat yourself up for sinking you still stepped out you did do something, and that’s better than nothing on the boat.
You got to know that you are not sunk. The Bible never said that Peter completely sunk; he started to sink but was never sunk. Jesus was there the whole time and when Peter took his eyes off the Lord and on the storm there was Jesus to pull him up.
Jesus will always be there to pull you up. God is too big to allow you to sink. You will never have to worry about going completely under. He will always be there to stretch forth His hand to you.
Look I know you may want to throw in the towel and say “that’s it I quit”, but don’t settle for the boat when you can have the Ocean. Why ask God for a bite when He wants to give you the whole steak.
When I go to the beach and I watch people on the shore all they do is sit, the ones in the water are having the most fun.
What I am saying to those that want to quit; “DON’T” take God’s hand and step out again. I would rather be a wet water walker than a dry boat sitter.
So many lose focus when they step out they get their eyes off Christ and on the storm. It is in that moment faith could no longer hold you up and fear became your anchor.
What some of you need to do is get your focus back, to set you affections on things above. You need to remember what God has spoken to you and run with it.
Don’t let anything become a hindrance that will keep you from going further. Don’t let anyone or anything to become a stumbling block in your walk.
When Peter started to sink Jesus reach out and pulled him up, Jesus didn’t carry Peter back they both walked back.
When you sink He will pull you up and together you will walk out the plan he has for you.
III.Steppers
When you step out you know that one thing is important. David said in Ps 27:4 One [thing] have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
David knew the best place to be was in God’s House and staying in His presence. He put a priority on worshipping the Lord and being around God’s people. To walk on water you have to stay plugged into the church.
It is here where you will develop relationships that will speak into your life. It is here where you will find leaders and friends to help you walk where Jesus walks.
Now just because you are a stepper does not mean you are free from the storms. When you step out to do the work of the Lord all hell we find you out. Satan will do whatever it takes, he will attack you in 3-D, and that is discourage, deceive, and destroy you.
Know that when the enemy comes at you like a flood; God will raise up a standard against him. He will be your strong tower, and no weapon that is formed against you will prosper.
Even though the storm will rage you got the blood of Jesus acting as your wet suit that will keep and protect you.
God is calling us to a new level and with new levels comes new devils. We are not standing on our own, Heaven has got our back.
It’s time for you to step out of your boat, walk in the power and anointing of the Holy Ghost. Let God’s Glory surround you and step out into the harvest field.
He will equip all that step out.
