1 00:00:00,758 --> 00:00:09,237 Matthew 14:21 2 00:00:09,237 --> 00:00:13,562 "And those who ate were about 5,000 men 3 00:00:13,562 --> 00:00:17,086 besides women and children. 4 00:00:17,086 --> 00:00:20,664 Immediately..." 5 00:00:20,664 --> 00:00:22,250 You're going to find that word 6 00:00:22,250 --> 00:00:23,961 three times in this section. 7 00:00:23,961 --> 00:00:27,215 Immediately. 8 00:00:27,215 --> 00:00:30,610 Matthew and Mark love to use that word. 9 00:00:30,610 --> 00:00:32,527 "Immediately, He made the disciples 10 00:00:32,527 --> 00:00:34,739 get into the boat and go before Him 11 00:00:34,739 --> 00:00:36,112 to the other side 12 00:00:36,112 --> 00:00:39,796 while He dismissed the crowds. 13 00:00:39,796 --> 00:00:41,639 And after He had dismissed the crowds, 14 00:00:41,639 --> 00:00:42,896 He went up on the mountain 15 00:00:42,896 --> 00:00:45,893 by Himself to pray. 16 00:00:45,893 --> 00:00:47,041 When evening came, 17 00:00:47,041 --> 00:00:49,386 He was there alone, 18 00:00:49,386 --> 00:00:51,314 but the boat by this time 19 00:00:51,314 --> 00:00:53,425 was a long way from the land, 20 00:00:53,425 --> 00:00:56,381 beaten by the waves, 21 00:00:56,381 --> 00:00:59,173 for the wind was against them. 22 00:00:59,173 --> 00:01:04,712 And in the fourth watch of the night, 23 00:01:04,712 --> 00:01:07,882 He came to them walking on the sea. 24 00:01:07,882 --> 00:01:10,401 But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, 25 00:01:10,401 --> 00:01:13,673 they were terrified and said, 'It is a ghost!' 26 00:01:13,673 --> 00:01:16,306 They cried out in fear. 27 00:01:16,306 --> 00:01:20,252 Immediately, Jesus spoke to them, saying, 28 00:01:20,252 --> 00:01:24,333 'Take heart. It is I. Do not be afraid.' 29 00:01:24,333 --> 00:01:26,655 Peter answered Him, 'Lord, if it is You, 30 00:01:26,655 --> 00:01:30,867 command me to come to You on the water.' 31 00:01:30,867 --> 00:01:33,531 He said, 'Come.' 32 00:01:33,531 --> 00:01:36,106 So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water 33 00:01:36,106 --> 00:01:38,245 and came to Jesus. 34 00:01:38,245 --> 00:01:40,513 But when he saw the wind, 35 00:01:40,513 --> 00:01:44,140 he was afraid, and beginning to sink, 36 00:01:44,140 --> 00:01:47,853 he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' 37 00:01:47,853 --> 00:01:51,289 Jesus immediately reached out His hand 38 00:01:51,289 --> 00:01:53,889 and took hold of him, saying to him, 39 00:01:53,889 --> 00:01:57,131 'O you of little faith, 40 00:01:57,131 --> 00:01:59,736 why did you doubt?' 41 00:01:59,736 --> 00:02:01,399 And when they got into the boat, 42 00:02:01,399 --> 00:02:04,506 the wind ceased, 43 00:02:04,506 --> 00:02:06,480 and those in the boat worshiped Him, 44 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:12,049 saying, 'Truly, You are the Son of God.'" 45 00:02:12,049 --> 00:02:18,406 Let's pray. 46 00:02:18,406 --> 00:02:22,658 Father, I would just ask You 47 00:02:22,658 --> 00:02:27,542 to give us that power to comprehend 48 00:02:27,542 --> 00:02:30,117 the love of Christ, and the glory of Christ, 49 00:02:30,117 --> 00:02:31,656 and the beauty of Christ 50 00:02:31,656 --> 00:02:33,531 that's to be found in this passage. 51 00:02:33,531 --> 00:02:36,545 Help us, Lord. 52 00:02:36,545 --> 00:02:37,652 Help us. 53 00:02:37,652 --> 00:02:39,637 I pray in Christ's name, 54 00:02:39,637 --> 00:02:42,961 Amen. 55 00:02:42,961 --> 00:02:49,607 The question I want to pose to you this morning is this: 56 00:02:49,607 --> 00:02:54,450 Why is this here? 57 00:02:54,450 --> 00:02:56,605 Not why is it right here? 58 00:02:56,605 --> 00:03:00,282 Not why is this account in Matthew 14 instead of somewhere else? 59 00:03:00,282 --> 00:03:04,846 But why would God record this for us at all? 60 00:03:04,846 --> 00:03:07,161 Is this here just so we can say, 61 00:03:07,161 --> 00:03:10,651 yep, there's Peter again, 62 00:03:10,651 --> 00:03:12,975 bumbling; 63 00:03:12,975 --> 00:03:14,275 impetuous as ever, 64 00:03:14,275 --> 00:03:15,884 acting without thinking, 65 00:03:15,884 --> 00:03:19,199 sinking without believing. 66 00:03:19,199 --> 00:03:22,584 Listen, if that's all you get, 67 00:03:22,584 --> 00:03:24,540 may God help you to think again. 68 00:03:24,540 --> 00:03:26,723 Think, Christian! Think! 69 00:03:26,723 --> 00:03:28,343 Think! 70 00:03:28,343 --> 00:03:31,638 Why? Why does God preserve for us 71 00:03:31,638 --> 00:03:33,549 what He preserves for us? 72 00:03:33,549 --> 00:03:36,741 Why does God freeze events 73 00:03:36,741 --> 00:03:38,816 that happened 2,000 years ago - 74 00:03:38,816 --> 00:03:42,510 He freezes them in time. 75 00:03:42,510 --> 00:03:46,734 And He saved them for us. Why? 76 00:03:46,734 --> 00:03:49,034 Well, all you have to do is start thinking. 77 00:03:49,034 --> 00:03:51,578 What does Scripture say? 78 00:03:51,578 --> 00:03:53,999 Like you might go to 1 Corinthians 10 79 00:03:53,999 --> 00:03:57,487 and say, ah, Exodus, 80 00:03:57,487 --> 00:03:59,933 Leviticus, Numbers... remember? 81 00:03:59,933 --> 00:04:02,246 The Hebrew children out there in the wilderness? 82 00:04:02,246 --> 00:04:05,532 The Apostle Paul says guess what that is? 83 00:04:05,532 --> 00:04:08,560 That is an example. 84 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:10,660 That is for us. 85 00:04:10,660 --> 00:04:13,918 Those were written down for our instruction. 86 00:04:13,918 --> 00:04:16,933 Those people - they came out through the sea. 87 00:04:16,933 --> 00:04:18,046 They were with Moses. 88 00:04:18,046 --> 00:04:20,093 They went out into that wilderness. 89 00:04:20,093 --> 00:04:22,103 And they mumbled, they complained, 90 00:04:22,103 --> 00:04:23,971 they grumbled, there were serpents, 91 00:04:23,971 --> 00:04:25,422 there was judgment. 92 00:04:25,422 --> 00:04:27,324 Why all of that? 93 00:04:27,324 --> 00:04:30,876 For our instruction upon whom the ends 94 00:04:30,876 --> 00:04:32,197 of the world have come; 95 00:04:32,197 --> 00:04:34,834 or the end of this age, 96 00:04:34,834 --> 00:04:36,275 the end of this time. 97 00:04:36,275 --> 00:04:39,693 We are the people that the end of the ages has come upon. 98 00:04:39,693 --> 00:04:41,602 Whatever was written in former times, 99 00:04:41,602 --> 00:04:43,065 Paul says in another place, 100 00:04:43,065 --> 00:04:44,630 what is it there for? 101 00:04:44,630 --> 00:04:46,530 Whatever was written in former times 102 00:04:46,530 --> 00:04:48,503 is for us; it's for our instruction. 103 00:04:48,503 --> 00:04:51,126 That what? Through the Scriptures, 104 00:04:51,126 --> 00:04:53,933 there would be endurance, encouragement, 105 00:04:53,933 --> 00:04:56,694 in the Scriptures that we might have hope. 106 00:04:56,694 --> 00:04:58,021 Or you think about Luke. 107 00:04:58,021 --> 00:05:00,346 What did he say? "O excellent Theophilus..." 108 00:05:00,346 --> 00:05:02,875 I am going to record some things for you 109 00:05:02,875 --> 00:05:05,716 so that you might know with a certainty. 110 00:05:05,716 --> 00:05:08,240 That's why these things have been recorded for us. 111 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:10,284 Certainty. Hope. 112 00:05:10,284 --> 00:05:12,028 Or you think of the Apostle John. 113 00:05:12,028 --> 00:05:12,975 What did he say? 114 00:05:12,975 --> 00:05:14,491 He said, well, you know what? 115 00:05:14,491 --> 00:05:16,842 There's a whole lot that Jesus Christ did, 116 00:05:16,842 --> 00:05:18,742 but there are some very specific things 117 00:05:18,742 --> 00:05:22,132 that I have recorded for you, why? 118 00:05:22,132 --> 00:05:27,372 So that you might know that Jesus is the Christ. 119 00:05:27,372 --> 00:05:29,907 That you might know who He is, 120 00:05:29,907 --> 00:05:32,855 and knowing, you might have eternal life. 121 00:05:32,855 --> 00:05:34,285 That's what we find. 122 00:05:34,285 --> 00:05:35,350 Scripture. 123 00:05:35,350 --> 00:05:37,035 This is Scripture. 124 00:05:37,035 --> 00:05:38,545 And why is it here? 125 00:05:38,545 --> 00:05:40,834 Well, it's inspired. It's breathed of God. 126 00:05:40,834 --> 00:05:43,097 It's profitable. 127 00:05:43,097 --> 00:05:44,802 And you know what it's here for? 128 00:05:44,802 --> 00:05:49,913 It's to make the man of God complete or perfect. 129 00:05:49,913 --> 00:05:52,209 That's why these things are recorded for us. 130 00:05:52,209 --> 00:05:53,949 So we can't just say, 131 00:05:53,949 --> 00:05:56,958 well, you know, Jesus walking on water; 132 00:05:56,958 --> 00:05:58,087 Peter walking on water, 133 00:05:58,087 --> 00:05:59,931 that's a neat story, 134 00:05:59,931 --> 00:06:02,393 but it really doesn't have much implication 135 00:06:02,393 --> 00:06:05,587 in my own life. 136 00:06:05,587 --> 00:06:07,174 That's not true. 137 00:06:07,174 --> 00:06:09,184 It's an example. 138 00:06:09,184 --> 00:06:11,387 It is to give us certainty. 139 00:06:11,387 --> 00:06:13,163 It is to give us hope. 140 00:06:13,163 --> 00:06:14,710 It is to give us an idea 141 00:06:14,710 --> 00:06:16,595 about who this Christ is 142 00:06:16,595 --> 00:06:18,181 that we're dealing with. 143 00:06:18,181 --> 00:06:20,107 Certainty about Christ. 144 00:06:20,107 --> 00:06:23,583 So, let's get a feel, 145 00:06:23,583 --> 00:06:25,632 just walk through the account, 146 00:06:25,632 --> 00:06:29,645 and get a feel. 147 00:06:29,645 --> 00:06:31,119 You might have noticed 148 00:06:31,119 --> 00:06:36,827 that I started reading in verse 21. 149 00:06:36,827 --> 00:06:40,190 Now, here's what I want you to do. 150 00:06:40,190 --> 00:06:43,102 Not just go through the account again, 151 00:06:43,102 --> 00:06:46,035 but I want you to put yourself 152 00:06:46,035 --> 00:06:49,900 in the disciples' place. 153 00:06:49,900 --> 00:06:51,239 Think with me here. 154 00:06:51,239 --> 00:06:53,355 What are these guys thinking? 155 00:06:53,355 --> 00:06:55,454 What have they seen? 156 00:06:55,454 --> 00:06:59,149 What's going through their minds? 157 00:06:59,149 --> 00:07:01,794 They just witnessed 158 00:07:01,794 --> 00:07:05,067 one of our Lord's greatest miracles - 159 00:07:05,067 --> 00:07:07,107 thousands and thousands of people - 160 00:07:07,107 --> 00:07:10,566 He fed them all. 161 00:07:10,566 --> 00:07:13,331 And then you read it, 162 00:07:13,331 --> 00:07:15,208 "Immediately, He made the disciples..." 163 00:07:15,208 --> 00:07:16,292 - He made - 164 00:07:16,292 --> 00:07:20,006 "...the disciples go down into the boat." 165 00:07:20,006 --> 00:07:22,267 Now, think what's going on in their mind. 166 00:07:22,267 --> 00:07:25,643 They're walking down to the boat. 167 00:07:25,643 --> 00:07:27,908 They've just been witness to this miracle. 168 00:07:27,908 --> 00:07:29,730 There was a power. 169 00:07:29,730 --> 00:07:32,394 There was a glory in all of that. 170 00:07:32,394 --> 00:07:33,660 But you know what? 171 00:07:33,660 --> 00:07:36,107 It ended so strangely. 172 00:07:36,107 --> 00:07:38,725 And Matthew doesn't really pick up on this. 173 00:07:38,725 --> 00:07:40,915 John picks up on it. 174 00:07:40,915 --> 00:07:43,314 And so if you've got your finger there in John 6, 175 00:07:43,314 --> 00:07:45,641 I want you to see something. 176 00:07:45,641 --> 00:07:52,466 John 6:14, 177 00:07:52,466 --> 00:07:56,790 "When the people saw the sign 178 00:07:56,790 --> 00:08:00,724 that Jesus had done..." - 179 00:08:00,724 --> 00:08:04,031 the feeding 5,000 men plus women and children. 180 00:08:04,031 --> 00:08:06,323 That's the miracle that's being talked about. 181 00:08:06,323 --> 00:08:09,303 That's the sign. 182 00:08:09,303 --> 00:08:12,572 "...They said, 183 00:08:12,572 --> 00:08:14,904 'This is indeed the Prophet.'" 184 00:08:14,904 --> 00:08:16,542 Now do you see what happened? 185 00:08:16,542 --> 00:08:19,021 All these thousands and thousands, they've been fed. 186 00:08:19,021 --> 00:08:21,297 And the crowd, they're saying, 187 00:08:21,297 --> 00:08:26,495 "Hey, this is the One!" 188 00:08:26,495 --> 00:08:28,412 "This is the Prophet!" 189 00:08:28,412 --> 00:08:31,859 "This is the One Moses spoke about!" 190 00:08:31,859 --> 00:08:35,989 Now, you know, doesn't it seem like that would be a good thing? 191 00:08:35,989 --> 00:08:37,775 The crowd began to recognize that? 192 00:08:37,775 --> 00:08:38,926 Isn't it amazing? 193 00:08:38,926 --> 00:08:41,996 It's mystifying how many times 194 00:08:41,996 --> 00:08:43,836 Jesus would say to people, 195 00:08:43,836 --> 00:08:45,733 "Don't tell anybody about Me." 196 00:08:45,733 --> 00:08:47,963 "Don't tell people what I've done." 197 00:08:47,963 --> 00:08:49,630 I mean, this is kind of similar. 198 00:08:49,630 --> 00:08:51,869 The people are recognizing something, 199 00:08:51,869 --> 00:08:53,279 and we look at it and we say, 200 00:08:53,279 --> 00:08:56,973 well, certainly that seems like it's a good thing. 201 00:08:56,973 --> 00:08:58,281 "This is indeed the Prophet 202 00:08:58,281 --> 00:09:01,075 who is to come into the world." 203 00:09:01,075 --> 00:09:02,535 But here's Jesus, 204 00:09:02,535 --> 00:09:04,946 "perceiving then that they were about 205 00:09:04,946 --> 00:09:08,144 to come and take Him by force 206 00:09:08,144 --> 00:09:09,503 to make Him King, 207 00:09:09,503 --> 00:09:13,736 Jesus withdrew again to the mountain 208 00:09:13,736 --> 00:09:15,201 by Himself." 209 00:09:15,201 --> 00:09:17,184 Now, here's the thing, 210 00:09:17,184 --> 00:09:20,928 I want us to imagine being those disciples. 211 00:09:20,928 --> 00:09:24,558 They're watching all this. 212 00:09:24,558 --> 00:09:26,375 They knew. 213 00:09:26,375 --> 00:09:29,574 They knew - you know, those disciples were asked: 214 00:09:29,574 --> 00:09:31,416 "Who do men say that I am?" 215 00:09:31,416 --> 00:09:34,487 But, "Who do you say that I am?" 216 00:09:34,487 --> 00:09:36,567 They say, "You're the Christ." 217 00:09:36,567 --> 00:09:37,891 You see, they knew this. 218 00:09:37,891 --> 00:09:39,655 And you can imagine them looking. 219 00:09:39,655 --> 00:09:42,814 Yes! The crowd is jumping on board. 220 00:09:42,814 --> 00:09:44,380 The crowd sees who He is. 221 00:09:44,380 --> 00:09:46,062 The people are finally getting it. 222 00:09:46,062 --> 00:09:51,303 They're beginning to understand what we already understood. 223 00:09:51,303 --> 00:09:52,665 You can imagine them, 224 00:09:52,665 --> 00:09:56,005 they're getting in the boat, 225 00:09:56,005 --> 00:10:01,785 and there's such a mystery about Christ. 226 00:10:01,785 --> 00:10:03,344 There's a power. 227 00:10:03,344 --> 00:10:04,764 There's a beauty. 228 00:10:04,764 --> 00:10:06,505 There's a glory. 229 00:10:06,505 --> 00:10:13,241 But something just so perplexing. 230 00:10:13,241 --> 00:10:14,696 The people are saying, 231 00:10:14,696 --> 00:10:18,028 "It's time to make Jesus King!" 232 00:10:18,028 --> 00:10:19,975 And that's what they were waiting for. 233 00:10:19,975 --> 00:10:22,116 That's what the disciples were waiting for. 234 00:10:22,116 --> 00:10:24,525 They kept asking Him, "When? "When's the Kingdom?" 235 00:10:24,525 --> 00:10:26,255 "Is it now, Lord? It's now, right?" 236 00:10:26,255 --> 00:10:28,038 "You're going to take the throne now 237 00:10:28,038 --> 00:10:30,325 and we're going to sit on these thrones with you 238 00:10:30,325 --> 00:10:31,854 and that's all going to happen." 239 00:10:31,854 --> 00:10:34,308 So they're seeing that. You can imagine them. 240 00:10:34,308 --> 00:10:36,575 This is the moment we've been waiting for. 241 00:10:36,575 --> 00:10:38,647 It's all coming together. 242 00:10:38,647 --> 00:10:39,990 And Israel's lining up. 243 00:10:39,990 --> 00:10:41,979 The people are lining up. 244 00:10:41,979 --> 00:10:44,106 But the problem is 245 00:10:44,106 --> 00:10:45,959 Jesus doesn't cooperate. 246 00:10:45,959 --> 00:10:48,110 He doesn't take His throne. 247 00:10:48,110 --> 00:10:50,227 He shuts the whole thing down. 248 00:10:50,227 --> 00:10:52,106 Immediately, 249 00:10:52,106 --> 00:10:54,502 He dismisses the disciples. 250 00:10:54,502 --> 00:10:57,220 He dismissed the crowds. 251 00:10:57,220 --> 00:11:02,638 And He goes up on a mountain to pray. 252 00:11:02,638 --> 00:11:06,531 You know, they're getting in the boat, 253 00:11:06,531 --> 00:11:08,408 and they begin to head out. 254 00:11:08,408 --> 00:11:09,782 And they're thinking... 255 00:11:09,782 --> 00:11:11,460 I mean, how would you be thinking 256 00:11:11,460 --> 00:11:15,861 if you saw this sort of miracle happen? 257 00:11:15,861 --> 00:11:18,290 But then everything you thought about the Messiah 258 00:11:18,290 --> 00:11:19,853 and His coming and being King - 259 00:11:19,853 --> 00:11:23,165 and Jesus shut it down. 260 00:11:23,165 --> 00:11:24,697 He's so supernatural. 261 00:11:24,697 --> 00:11:27,106 He's so powerful and pure. 262 00:11:27,106 --> 00:11:32,560 But He just doesn't do what He's supposed to do. 263 00:11:32,560 --> 00:11:35,547 If He's the King of Israel, then why? 264 00:11:35,547 --> 00:11:38,758 Why this? 265 00:11:38,758 --> 00:11:41,895 And so they're going out there. 266 00:11:41,895 --> 00:11:45,202 And what we see from the account, 267 00:11:45,202 --> 00:11:50,694 darkness settles around them. 268 00:11:50,694 --> 00:11:58,683 Of course, there's got to be this wind. 269 00:11:58,683 --> 00:12:07,071 A buddy and I rowed out in a row boat 270 00:12:07,071 --> 00:12:09,778 out onto Three Mile Lake 271 00:12:09,778 --> 00:12:13,138 up there in Paw Paw, Michigan. 272 00:12:13,138 --> 00:12:14,329 It was beautiful. 273 00:12:14,329 --> 00:12:16,107 We had our fishing poles. 274 00:12:16,107 --> 00:12:19,264 We rowed out on this lake pretty far 275 00:12:19,264 --> 00:12:20,783 and while we were out there, 276 00:12:20,783 --> 00:12:23,467 a cold front blew in. 277 00:12:23,467 --> 00:12:26,890 Wind - and it was not so nice going back. 278 00:12:26,890 --> 00:12:28,983 It was cold. It was windy. 279 00:12:28,983 --> 00:12:30,605 Not waves like we find here, 280 00:12:30,605 --> 00:12:33,088 but that was difficult, rowing against that. 281 00:12:33,088 --> 00:12:34,577 I remember what that was like. 282 00:12:34,577 --> 00:12:35,799 Here are these guys. 283 00:12:35,799 --> 00:12:38,093 Darkness settles in, 284 00:12:38,093 --> 00:12:40,212 and this wind whips up. 285 00:12:40,212 --> 00:12:42,646 And my understanding is their boats had a sail. 286 00:12:42,646 --> 00:12:45,677 But what's happening is that wind is blowing directly at them. 287 00:12:45,677 --> 00:12:46,872 That sail does no good. 288 00:12:46,872 --> 00:12:49,351 They have to grab the oars. 289 00:12:49,351 --> 00:12:52,994 We're told it's the fourth watch of the night. 290 00:12:52,994 --> 00:12:54,972 That's between 3 and 4 a.m. 291 00:12:54,972 --> 00:12:57,433 They started in evening. 292 00:12:57,433 --> 00:13:02,249 They've been rowing 3 to 4 miles is what we're told. 293 00:13:02,249 --> 00:13:07,848 Wind, storm. 294 00:13:07,848 --> 00:13:10,650 Can you imagine that? 295 00:13:10,650 --> 00:13:15,787 And you hear one of them. 296 00:13:15,787 --> 00:13:22,478 Maybe it was Thomas back there. 297 00:13:22,478 --> 00:13:25,145 "What is that?" 298 00:13:25,145 --> 00:13:32,557 I don't know if it was like that. 299 00:13:32,557 --> 00:13:36,727 This unearthly fear grabs them. 300 00:13:36,727 --> 00:13:40,185 Someone or something is moving 301 00:13:40,185 --> 00:13:42,658 across the top of the water. 302 00:13:42,658 --> 00:13:44,320 It's dark. It's stormy. 303 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,181 This is not good. 304 00:13:46,181 --> 00:13:49,553 I mean they literally cry out, "It's a phantasm!" 305 00:13:49,553 --> 00:13:51,778 It says they screamed with terror! 306 00:13:51,778 --> 00:13:53,844 These are men's men. 307 00:13:53,844 --> 00:13:56,614 These are sailors, fisherman. 308 00:13:56,614 --> 00:13:59,722 These guys are gripped with fear. 309 00:13:59,722 --> 00:14:02,960 The thing I love about this 310 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:07,051 is one of those immediately's comes in right here. 311 00:14:07,051 --> 00:14:12,819 "Immediately..." 312 00:14:12,819 --> 00:14:15,407 Everything changes. 313 00:14:15,407 --> 00:14:22,496 Immediately, this sweet, familiar voice. 314 00:14:22,496 --> 00:14:23,967 Steady voice. 315 00:14:23,967 --> 00:14:25,526 It comes to their ears 316 00:14:25,526 --> 00:14:27,759 over the howl of the wind. 317 00:14:27,759 --> 00:14:32,613 "Take heart; it is I. Don't be afraid." 318 00:14:32,613 --> 00:14:33,930 And there's Peter. 319 00:14:33,930 --> 00:14:35,429 I mean, put yourself in there, 320 00:14:35,429 --> 00:14:36,797 among these 12 guys. 321 00:14:36,797 --> 00:14:37,824 And there's Peter. 322 00:14:37,824 --> 00:14:38,955 And I'll tell you what, 323 00:14:38,955 --> 00:14:40,963 it all registers with him right away. 324 00:14:40,963 --> 00:14:42,641 Bang bang! 325 00:14:42,641 --> 00:14:44,303 It's the Lord! 326 00:14:44,303 --> 00:14:46,963 I know that voice. 327 00:14:46,963 --> 00:14:49,239 "Lord, if it's You, 328 00:14:49,239 --> 00:14:51,729 command me to come to You." 329 00:14:51,729 --> 00:14:53,451 And that answer that comes back 330 00:14:53,451 --> 00:14:56,921 across those waters, 331 00:14:56,921 --> 00:15:01,166 above the howl of that wind, 332 00:15:01,166 --> 00:15:07,986 it's not: "That's silly, Peter." 333 00:15:07,986 --> 00:15:10,798 "Come." 334 00:15:10,798 --> 00:15:14,045 And the thing about it is, 335 00:15:14,045 --> 00:15:15,936 Matthew tells us what happens next. 336 00:15:15,936 --> 00:15:21,599 Look at Matthew 14:29. 337 00:15:21,599 --> 00:15:26,674 What happens next? 338 00:15:26,674 --> 00:15:30,094 "So Peter got out of the boat." 339 00:15:30,094 --> 00:15:34,197 Now just stop right there. 340 00:15:34,197 --> 00:15:43,073 Peter expected to walk, not swim. 341 00:15:43,073 --> 00:15:45,196 You know what? John 21? 342 00:15:45,196 --> 00:15:48,268 There's another time Peter's in the boat. 343 00:15:48,268 --> 00:15:51,758 And the Lord comes to the shore. 344 00:15:51,758 --> 00:15:53,245 And you remember John says, 345 00:15:53,245 --> 00:15:54,934 "Hey Peter, that's the Lord." 346 00:15:54,934 --> 00:15:56,611 Do you remember what he did? 347 00:15:56,611 --> 00:16:03,200 He threw himself into the water. 348 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:05,369 You throw yourself into the sea 349 00:16:05,369 --> 00:16:09,165 when you plan to swim. 350 00:16:09,165 --> 00:16:12,149 But you know, that's not what it says here in Matthew 14. 351 00:16:12,149 --> 00:16:13,076 It's different. 352 00:16:13,076 --> 00:16:16,577 Peter got out of the boat and walked. 353 00:16:16,577 --> 00:16:18,571 He didn't throw himself into the sea. 354 00:16:18,571 --> 00:16:19,623 He wasn't thinking, 355 00:16:19,623 --> 00:16:21,270 "Lord, command me to come to You 356 00:16:21,270 --> 00:16:23,573 and I'll swim to You." 357 00:16:23,573 --> 00:16:28,172 That's not what he was thinking. 358 00:16:28,172 --> 00:16:32,149 Peter walked on water. 359 00:16:32,149 --> 00:16:35,531 The truth is we half expect Jesus to walk on water. 360 00:16:35,531 --> 00:16:39,253 Why? Because He can take loaves and fish... 361 00:16:39,253 --> 00:16:41,433 He did stuff like this. We expect it. 362 00:16:41,433 --> 00:16:44,039 We expect it, not if we were there, 363 00:16:44,039 --> 00:16:46,271 and we were beholding it first hand. 364 00:16:46,271 --> 00:16:48,386 I'm just saying 2,000 years removed, 365 00:16:48,386 --> 00:16:50,745 we expect Jesus to be able to do this. 366 00:16:50,745 --> 00:16:54,691 But the thing is Peter is doing it. 367 00:16:54,691 --> 00:16:56,444 And if you were actually there, 368 00:16:56,444 --> 00:16:58,126 imagine you're one of the other 11. 369 00:16:58,126 --> 00:17:00,640 This thing is getting more surreal by the moment. 370 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:01,602 And the thing is, 371 00:17:01,602 --> 00:17:03,938 we're so used to the story, 372 00:17:03,938 --> 00:17:07,211 that we miss the ridiculousness of it all. 373 00:17:07,211 --> 00:17:11,446 The fact is the supernatural is mounting up here. 374 00:17:11,446 --> 00:17:14,169 Jesus walks across the water. 375 00:17:14,169 --> 00:17:15,756 Peter gets out of the boat. 376 00:17:15,756 --> 00:17:17,389 He walks across the water. 377 00:17:17,389 --> 00:17:19,354 He sinks. 378 00:17:19,354 --> 00:17:20,703 He comes back up. 379 00:17:20,703 --> 00:17:23,054 He and Jesus walk on the water again 380 00:17:23,054 --> 00:17:24,024 back to the boat. 381 00:17:24,024 --> 00:17:25,225 They get in the boat. 382 00:17:25,225 --> 00:17:27,141 The wind stops. 383 00:17:27,141 --> 00:17:29,408 And then the thing that Matthew doesn't tell us 384 00:17:29,408 --> 00:17:31,180 that John tells us 385 00:17:31,180 --> 00:17:35,058 is that then they were immediately at the shore. 386 00:17:35,058 --> 00:17:38,049 I mean, the miracles are stacking up here. 387 00:17:38,049 --> 00:17:40,344 They're coming at us in a hurry. 388 00:17:40,344 --> 00:17:42,943 And here's the thing, 389 00:17:42,943 --> 00:17:53,218 you know when you go to John's account, 390 00:17:53,218 --> 00:17:55,163 you know what happened. 391 00:17:55,163 --> 00:17:58,570 They're back at the land. 392 00:17:58,570 --> 00:18:00,797 And those people that were on the other side 393 00:18:00,797 --> 00:18:05,596 that ate of the fish and the bread, 394 00:18:05,596 --> 00:18:07,516 they were trying to figure all this out. 395 00:18:07,516 --> 00:18:08,518 Now, wait a second, 396 00:18:08,518 --> 00:18:11,348 the disciples went in the last boat. 397 00:18:11,348 --> 00:18:15,300 Jesus didn't get in the boat with them. 398 00:18:15,300 --> 00:18:18,809 How did He get here? 399 00:18:18,809 --> 00:18:20,198 These aren't the disciples. 400 00:18:20,198 --> 00:18:21,755 These aren't the ones that know. 401 00:18:21,755 --> 00:18:24,390 This is the crowd that ate the bread 402 00:18:24,390 --> 00:18:26,264 and the fish the day before. 403 00:18:26,264 --> 00:18:28,611 And specifically in John's Gospel, 404 00:18:28,611 --> 00:18:30,351 they ask Him. 405 00:18:30,351 --> 00:18:37,489 They say, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 406 00:18:37,489 --> 00:18:39,523 "When did You come here?" 407 00:18:39,523 --> 00:18:42,063 What they're really looking for is an explanation. 408 00:18:42,063 --> 00:18:43,978 How did you get here? 409 00:18:43,978 --> 00:18:46,490 When? 410 00:18:46,490 --> 00:18:47,747 This doesn't make sense 411 00:18:47,747 --> 00:18:49,432 that You could be here already. 412 00:18:49,432 --> 00:18:52,554 Now, again, put yourself in the disciples' spot. 413 00:18:52,554 --> 00:18:55,621 Imagine if you're Peter. 414 00:18:55,621 --> 00:18:58,470 You know what's happened the night before. 415 00:18:58,470 --> 00:19:00,440 And the crowd's asking. 416 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:03,291 And you're like, "Yeah, yeah! Tell them! 417 00:19:03,291 --> 00:19:06,688 That was exciting! Jesus, tell them!" 418 00:19:06,688 --> 00:19:08,240 You could imagine they're ready 419 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:10,246 to jump out of their shoes to say, 420 00:19:10,246 --> 00:19:12,402 "Let me tell you how He got here! 421 00:19:12,402 --> 00:19:14,485 And when He got here!" 422 00:19:14,485 --> 00:19:18,206 But, silence. 423 00:19:18,206 --> 00:19:19,718 Not a word of explanation. 424 00:19:19,718 --> 00:19:22,164 "Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, 425 00:19:22,164 --> 00:19:24,372 you're seeking Me not because you saw signs, 426 00:19:24,372 --> 00:19:27,423 but because you ate your fill of the loaves.'" 427 00:19:27,423 --> 00:19:29,059 And you know what's interesting, 428 00:19:29,059 --> 00:19:33,451 He freely then speaks about the feeding 429 00:19:33,451 --> 00:19:35,006 of the 5,000. 430 00:19:35,006 --> 00:19:36,544 He speaks about the feeding. 431 00:19:36,544 --> 00:19:39,836 He speaks about the spiritual implications of this 432 00:19:39,836 --> 00:19:41,288 and how all this works out. 433 00:19:41,288 --> 00:19:44,693 He's the Bread of Life. 434 00:19:44,693 --> 00:19:46,336 John 6 is full of that. 435 00:19:46,336 --> 00:19:48,747 He has no problem talking about the miracle 436 00:19:48,747 --> 00:19:50,226 that happened the day before. 437 00:19:50,226 --> 00:19:53,101 But you know, all that happened on the sea that night, 438 00:19:53,101 --> 00:19:56,928 He's absolutely silent. 439 00:19:56,928 --> 00:20:00,593 And we might just say, why? 440 00:20:00,593 --> 00:20:04,150 Well, the obvious reason is that the miracles at sea 441 00:20:04,150 --> 00:20:07,274 were not for the crowd. 442 00:20:07,274 --> 00:20:08,415 Who were they for? 443 00:20:08,415 --> 00:20:10,799 They were for the disciples. 444 00:20:10,799 --> 00:20:13,504 And for us. 445 00:20:13,504 --> 00:20:22,053 For all of this, what is the lesson? 446 00:20:22,053 --> 00:20:26,158 What's the lesson in all of this? 447 00:20:26,158 --> 00:20:29,917 I'm going to use this word "impetuous." 448 00:20:29,917 --> 00:20:31,817 Impetuous. 449 00:20:31,817 --> 00:20:35,856 Oftentimes, we hear Peter - impetuous. 450 00:20:35,856 --> 00:20:39,564 What does that mean? 451 00:20:39,564 --> 00:20:42,994 Acting without thinking. 452 00:20:42,994 --> 00:20:46,653 But you see, here's the thing, 453 00:20:46,653 --> 00:20:50,043 is this teaching us that we should not be impetuous like Peter, 454 00:20:50,043 --> 00:20:52,040 and that we ought to be much slower 455 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,472 to jump out of the safety of our boats? 456 00:20:54,472 --> 00:20:58,753 Is that what this is teaching? 457 00:20:58,753 --> 00:21:02,393 I doubt it. 458 00:21:02,393 --> 00:21:07,086 The emphasis is not on Peter sinking. 459 00:21:07,086 --> 00:21:10,510 The emphasis is to be found in these words: 460 00:21:10,510 --> 00:21:15,960 "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." 461 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:17,373 Now see, here's the thing. 462 00:21:17,373 --> 00:21:24,413 This account is found in Matthew's Gospel, 463 00:21:24,413 --> 00:21:27,778 Mark's Gospel, and John's Gospel. 464 00:21:27,778 --> 00:21:30,619 And you know what's interesting? 465 00:21:30,619 --> 00:21:35,053 The Peter incident is only preserved once. 466 00:21:35,053 --> 00:21:38,499 But in all three of them, 467 00:21:38,499 --> 00:21:41,793 God wants us to know; 468 00:21:41,793 --> 00:21:45,147 He wants us to hear what Jesus said to them. 469 00:21:45,147 --> 00:21:50,230 "It is I. Be of good cheer." 470 00:21:50,230 --> 00:21:53,719 "Take courage. I have come." 471 00:21:53,719 --> 00:21:56,592 That's the heart of this. 472 00:21:56,592 --> 00:22:01,085 It's not: Lose heart when it comes to getting out of the boat 473 00:22:01,085 --> 00:22:03,053 or you'll end up sinking like Peter. 474 00:22:03,053 --> 00:22:04,213 That's not the issue. 475 00:22:04,213 --> 00:22:06,310 It isn't primarily about Peter's failure 476 00:22:06,310 --> 00:22:07,467 or Peter's faith. 477 00:22:07,467 --> 00:22:11,505 It's primarily about Jesus' presence. 478 00:22:11,505 --> 00:22:12,971 Jesus has come. 479 00:22:12,971 --> 00:22:14,597 He is on the scene. 480 00:22:14,597 --> 00:22:15,844 That's the issue. 481 00:22:15,844 --> 00:22:17,678 Take heart. Take courage. 482 00:22:17,678 --> 00:22:20,034 You can be of good courage if you've got the Lord 483 00:22:20,034 --> 00:22:22,171 and the Lord has come and the Lord is there. 484 00:22:22,171 --> 00:22:23,483 And didn't He say, 485 00:22:23,483 --> 00:22:25,849 "Lo, I am with you always..." 486 00:22:25,849 --> 00:22:28,659 "I'll never leave you or forsake you." 487 00:22:28,659 --> 00:22:30,674 This is what this is all about. 488 00:22:30,674 --> 00:22:31,748 His presence. 489 00:22:31,748 --> 00:22:33,907 These three accounts hit us all 490 00:22:33,907 --> 00:22:35,610 with this reality. 491 00:22:35,610 --> 00:22:38,026 The emphasis is that when Jesus shows up 492 00:22:38,026 --> 00:22:39,463 things happen. What happens? 493 00:22:39,463 --> 00:22:40,870 A believer walks on water. 494 00:22:40,870 --> 00:22:43,726 Not just any place, any time, 495 00:22:43,726 --> 00:22:47,723 but at that place and time where Jesus comes; 496 00:22:47,723 --> 00:22:49,826 where Jesus is. 497 00:22:49,826 --> 00:22:51,552 That's what this is all about. 498 00:22:51,552 --> 00:22:52,840 And if anybody says, 499 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,423 "No, no... it's not that. 500 00:22:55,423 --> 00:22:58,001 This can't be teaching that when Jesus is with me, 501 00:22:58,001 --> 00:23:00,468 I can do impossible things like walk on the water." 502 00:23:00,468 --> 00:23:02,025 If that's what you're thinking, 503 00:23:02,025 --> 00:23:05,631 you're missing the whole point. 504 00:23:05,631 --> 00:23:08,962 When Jesus came on the scene, 505 00:23:08,962 --> 00:23:10,908 the water obeyed Him. 506 00:23:10,908 --> 00:23:13,596 It held Him up. It held Peter up. 507 00:23:13,596 --> 00:23:15,333 The wind obeyed Him. 508 00:23:15,333 --> 00:23:17,919 The boat obeyed Him. 509 00:23:17,919 --> 00:23:19,892 That's what happens when Jesus comes. 510 00:23:19,892 --> 00:23:22,751 Take heart. Take courage. 511 00:23:22,751 --> 00:23:23,877 Be of good cheer. 512 00:23:23,877 --> 00:23:27,076 It is I. Do not be afraid. 513 00:23:27,076 --> 00:23:29,292 Jesus is saying that when I've arrived, 514 00:23:29,292 --> 00:23:32,191 when I'm with you, you're good. 515 00:23:32,191 --> 00:23:35,319 What we don't want to do is attack Peter. 516 00:23:35,319 --> 00:23:38,975 I mean, look, this whole account 517 00:23:38,975 --> 00:23:42,314 was not lost on Peter. 518 00:23:42,314 --> 00:23:45,055 Peter saw the Lord. It's the Lord! 519 00:23:45,055 --> 00:23:46,498 "Command me to come to You." 520 00:23:46,498 --> 00:23:48,809 He got out of that boat and he walked. 521 00:23:48,809 --> 00:23:50,284 It was not lost on him. 522 00:23:50,284 --> 00:23:52,365 Look, we can attack Peter, 523 00:23:52,365 --> 00:23:54,858 and that's oftentimes what happens when we read this. 524 00:23:54,858 --> 00:23:56,105 Oh, there's Peter again... 525 00:23:56,105 --> 00:23:57,815 he's sinking over there. 526 00:23:57,815 --> 00:23:59,213 No, Peter walked on water. 527 00:23:59,213 --> 00:24:00,222 Yes, he sank. 528 00:24:00,222 --> 00:24:02,112 Yes, we can say, well, 529 00:24:02,112 --> 00:24:05,174 he tried to keep Jesus from going to the cross. 530 00:24:05,174 --> 00:24:07,320 That's true. Yes, he denied him three times. 531 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:09,737 That's true. Yes, he fell asleep in the garden. 532 00:24:09,737 --> 00:24:10,853 But I'll tell you this, 533 00:24:10,853 --> 00:24:12,734 he's the only one that trusted the Lord 534 00:24:12,734 --> 00:24:15,717 enough to get out of that boat and walk on water. 535 00:24:15,717 --> 00:24:17,356 That's a reality. 536 00:24:17,356 --> 00:24:18,603 He wasn't showing off. 537 00:24:18,603 --> 00:24:21,560 He wasn't being presumptuous. 538 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:24,831 Why? Because Peter heard the Lord's voice. 539 00:24:24,831 --> 00:24:27,577 Some kind of confidence grabbed hold of him 540 00:24:27,577 --> 00:24:29,119 and he got out and he walked. 541 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:30,236 And I'll tell you this, 542 00:24:30,236 --> 00:24:32,764 Jesus never faulted him for getting out of the boat. 543 00:24:32,764 --> 00:24:34,509 Jesus never faulted him for saying, 544 00:24:34,509 --> 00:24:36,031 "Lord, command me to come." 545 00:24:36,031 --> 00:24:37,310 He never faulted him 546 00:24:37,310 --> 00:24:38,776 for getting out of the boat. 547 00:24:38,776 --> 00:24:40,035 He never faulted him 548 00:24:40,035 --> 00:24:41,892 for walking on the water. 549 00:24:41,892 --> 00:24:43,541 He only faulted him for one thing. 550 00:24:43,541 --> 00:24:45,614 Only one thing - 551 00:24:45,614 --> 00:24:47,657 for doubting Christ 552 00:24:47,657 --> 00:24:51,914 once he was out of the boat. 553 00:24:51,914 --> 00:24:53,412 Listen. 554 00:24:53,412 --> 00:24:58,988 Presumption was never the problem here. 555 00:24:58,988 --> 00:25:06,496 I get the feeling sometimes, especially among those 556 00:25:06,496 --> 00:25:11,152 who bear this name "reformed" or "Calvinistic." 557 00:25:11,152 --> 00:25:14,364 It's almost like I get this feel 558 00:25:14,364 --> 00:25:18,394 that caution is the word of the day. 559 00:25:18,394 --> 00:25:21,655 That was not the case in Scripture. 560 00:25:21,655 --> 00:25:24,067 That is not the case. 561 00:25:24,067 --> 00:25:26,139 You cannot show me 562 00:25:26,139 --> 00:25:28,419 verse after verse after verse 563 00:25:28,419 --> 00:25:29,937 where Jesus was saying, 564 00:25:29,937 --> 00:25:35,098 "Guys, be very careful, lest you trust Me too much." 565 00:25:35,098 --> 00:25:36,686 Never did that come across. 566 00:25:36,686 --> 00:25:39,462 Nothing like that. 567 00:25:39,462 --> 00:25:41,678 You know what you find? 568 00:25:41,678 --> 00:25:44,341 You find that there in the Sermon on the Mount, 569 00:25:44,341 --> 00:25:45,789 we heard about it last night. 570 00:25:45,789 --> 00:25:48,034 God so clothes this 571 00:25:48,034 --> 00:25:50,488 and He takes care of that, 572 00:25:50,488 --> 00:25:52,314 and what does He say? 573 00:25:52,314 --> 00:25:55,489 "O you of little faith.... trust Me." 574 00:25:55,489 --> 00:25:58,971 You remember they were out there one day and they were in a boat again. 575 00:25:58,971 --> 00:26:00,055 They were with Jesus. 576 00:26:00,055 --> 00:26:03,344 And He said, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees." 577 00:26:03,344 --> 00:26:06,731 And they say, "Oh! We forgot to bring bread!" 578 00:26:06,731 --> 00:26:08,247 And He said, 579 00:26:08,247 --> 00:26:10,151 "O you of little faith." 580 00:26:10,151 --> 00:26:11,630 Or you remember another day. 581 00:26:11,630 --> 00:26:13,836 "Lord, why could we not cast that demon 582 00:26:13,836 --> 00:26:16,287 out of that young man?" 583 00:26:16,287 --> 00:26:19,613 "Because you didn't have faith." 584 00:26:19,613 --> 00:26:21,256 Isn't this what we get hit with 585 00:26:21,256 --> 00:26:22,378 over and over again? 586 00:26:22,378 --> 00:26:23,827 Or you remember another time 587 00:26:23,827 --> 00:26:26,339 that there was wind out there on the Sea of Galilee. 588 00:26:26,339 --> 00:26:28,038 And Jesus fell asleep in the boat. 589 00:26:28,038 --> 00:26:30,239 He didn't come walking on the water that time. 590 00:26:30,239 --> 00:26:32,425 But He woke up and same thing. 591 00:26:32,425 --> 00:26:36,319 "Why do you not trust Me?" 592 00:26:36,319 --> 00:26:38,651 You know, the thing is, 593 00:26:38,651 --> 00:26:43,053 we typically tend to fear presumption. 594 00:26:43,053 --> 00:26:45,755 Oh, I find that so often! 595 00:26:45,755 --> 00:26:47,503 We want to be so careful 596 00:26:47,503 --> 00:26:49,537 lest we be presumptuous, 597 00:26:49,537 --> 00:26:51,721 when in fact, Scripture seems to suggest 598 00:26:51,721 --> 00:26:54,021 that just the opposite is the issue. 599 00:26:54,021 --> 00:26:57,675 "Peter, why didn't you trust Me?" 600 00:26:57,675 --> 00:27:00,462 Not: "Peter, you idiot!" 601 00:27:00,462 --> 00:27:01,912 "Why were you so overconfident 602 00:27:01,912 --> 00:27:04,516 to step out of that boat?" 603 00:27:04,516 --> 00:27:05,669 It's not that. 604 00:27:05,669 --> 00:27:07,901 That's not what you find in Scripture. 605 00:27:07,901 --> 00:27:10,467 Constantly, Jesus is saying, 606 00:27:10,467 --> 00:27:13,708 "Do you not yet perceive?" 607 00:27:13,708 --> 00:27:15,853 "I fed the 5,000. I fed the 4,000. 608 00:27:15,853 --> 00:27:19,530 Is that not resonating in your head? 609 00:27:19,530 --> 00:27:21,469 That when I'm with you, you're good? 610 00:27:21,469 --> 00:27:24,627 When I'm with you, I supply your needs. 611 00:27:24,627 --> 00:27:27,780 When I'm with you, impossible things happen. 612 00:27:27,780 --> 00:27:29,604 So trust Me! 613 00:27:29,604 --> 00:27:32,405 And get out of the boat! 614 00:27:32,405 --> 00:27:35,024 Don't stay in the boat!" 615 00:27:35,024 --> 00:27:38,585 Oh, I am so convinced, 616 00:27:38,585 --> 00:27:41,219 we've got all these reformed people. 617 00:27:41,219 --> 00:27:45,612 You'll carry your Jonathan Edwards out of here, 618 00:27:45,612 --> 00:27:49,465 but all the time, you're in the boat. 619 00:27:49,465 --> 00:27:56,998 And Jesus has no hesitation to call us out. 620 00:27:56,998 --> 00:27:59,153 Let me ask you this, 621 00:27:59,153 --> 00:28:02,476 as you and I sit in our little boats 622 00:28:02,476 --> 00:28:06,157 looking over the side. 623 00:28:06,157 --> 00:28:07,447 Based on verses like this, 624 00:28:07,447 --> 00:28:09,805 do you get the feeling that God's more concerned 625 00:28:09,805 --> 00:28:12,424 that we're going to just rashly spring out of the boat 626 00:28:12,424 --> 00:28:14,103 and foolishly trust Him to help us 627 00:28:14,103 --> 00:28:17,226 and protect us in some crazy endeavor 628 00:28:17,226 --> 00:28:18,948 done in His name? 629 00:28:18,948 --> 00:28:30,403 Or is God more concerned (incomplete thought) 630 00:28:30,403 --> 00:28:35,929 He wants us to step out. 631 00:28:35,929 --> 00:28:40,505 He wants us to do crazy endeavors 632 00:28:40,505 --> 00:28:42,761 in His names' sake. 633 00:28:42,761 --> 00:28:44,916 Those 120 came down from that upper room. 634 00:28:44,916 --> 00:28:49,798 That was a totally crazy endeavor they were about totally. 635 00:28:49,798 --> 00:28:52,089 Is God more concerned 636 00:28:52,089 --> 00:28:53,744 that lacking faith, 637 00:28:53,744 --> 00:28:56,208 we be too timid to ever get out of that boat? 638 00:28:56,208 --> 00:28:57,707 That's what it seems like here. 639 00:28:57,707 --> 00:28:59,967 Do you know what the boat is? 640 00:28:59,967 --> 00:29:02,842 Do you know what a boat is? 641 00:29:02,842 --> 00:29:09,623 The boat is where you don't walk on water. 642 00:29:09,623 --> 00:29:15,442 It's the place of safety, of security. 643 00:29:15,442 --> 00:29:17,688 In fact, do you know what it is? 644 00:29:17,688 --> 00:29:22,936 I'm going to show you something here. 645 00:29:22,936 --> 00:29:30,189 Look with me at how Matthew's account ended. 646 00:29:30,189 --> 00:29:31,405 What does it say? 647 00:29:31,405 --> 00:29:33,849 They worshiped. 648 00:29:33,849 --> 00:29:35,917 Do you see that? 649 00:29:35,917 --> 00:29:42,985 If you look there, Matthew 14. 650 00:29:42,985 --> 00:29:44,673 Verse 33, 651 00:29:44,673 --> 00:29:51,303 "Those in the boat worshiped Him saying, 652 00:29:51,303 --> 00:29:57,308 'Truly, You are the Son of God.'" 653 00:29:57,308 --> 00:30:00,192 You know what John 6:21 says? 654 00:30:00,192 --> 00:30:05,103 John 6:21 says they were glad 655 00:30:05,103 --> 00:30:08,332 to take Him into the boat. 656 00:30:08,332 --> 00:30:09,631 Now think with me. 657 00:30:09,631 --> 00:30:15,652 Gladness. Worship. 658 00:30:15,652 --> 00:30:18,042 Do you know what Mark says? 659 00:30:18,042 --> 00:30:19,097 Listen to this. 660 00:30:19,097 --> 00:30:21,898 We haven't looked at Mark's text yet. 661 00:30:21,898 --> 00:30:26,825 Mark 6:51-52 - same account. 662 00:30:26,825 --> 00:30:28,074 Let me read it to you. 663 00:30:28,074 --> 00:30:30,032 You don't have to turn there. 664 00:30:30,032 --> 00:30:36,072 "He got into the boat with them, 665 00:30:36,072 --> 00:30:39,209 and the wind ceased, 666 00:30:39,209 --> 00:30:44,527 and they were utterly astounded." 667 00:30:44,527 --> 00:30:46,123 They worshiped. 668 00:30:46,123 --> 00:30:47,892 They were glad. 669 00:30:47,892 --> 00:30:50,517 They were astounded. 670 00:30:50,517 --> 00:30:52,714 Listen to this. 671 00:30:52,714 --> 00:30:54,350 "They were utterly astounded, 672 00:30:54,350 --> 00:30:56,045 for they did not understand 673 00:30:56,045 --> 00:30:59,059 about the loaves, 674 00:30:59,059 --> 00:31:05,581 but their hearts were hardened." 675 00:31:05,581 --> 00:31:08,423 Do you know that that is a reality? 676 00:31:08,423 --> 00:31:12,373 You can be glad in the Lord. 677 00:31:12,373 --> 00:31:14,205 You can sing the hymns 678 00:31:14,205 --> 00:31:16,748 and you can worship Him, 679 00:31:16,748 --> 00:31:24,008 and yet, there is a hardness to trust Him 680 00:31:24,008 --> 00:31:27,814 how He would be trusted. 681 00:31:27,814 --> 00:31:32,017 Because all three - same account. 682 00:31:32,017 --> 00:31:34,422 And under inspiration they tell us 683 00:31:34,422 --> 00:31:37,783 that despite the worship and the gladness, 684 00:31:37,783 --> 00:31:43,039 there was yet a hardness in these people of God. 685 00:31:43,039 --> 00:31:44,481 They weren't perceiving. 686 00:31:44,481 --> 00:31:50,764 They weren't getting what these things really meant. 687 00:31:50,764 --> 00:31:53,104 There's probably somebody ready to say, 688 00:31:53,104 --> 00:31:56,236 "Hey, look. What do you want us to believe? 689 00:31:56,236 --> 00:31:57,998 Do you want us to believe that we can 690 00:31:57,998 --> 00:31:59,427 go down to the water here 691 00:31:59,427 --> 00:32:02,363 and walk on the water?" 692 00:32:02,363 --> 00:32:05,675 "Listen, preacher, you and I can walk down there afterwards 693 00:32:05,675 --> 00:32:07,680 and you're not going to walk on it 694 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:09,423 and I'm not going to walk on it. 695 00:32:09,423 --> 00:32:11,395 So what do you have to say to that?" 696 00:32:11,395 --> 00:32:12,316 I would say this. 697 00:32:12,316 --> 00:32:14,945 Now, I don't know if out there on the horizon somewhere 698 00:32:14,945 --> 00:32:17,587 you can see a mountain 699 00:32:17,587 --> 00:32:20,576 like the folks that come from Denver. 700 00:32:20,576 --> 00:32:26,936 You can see those great big mountains on that range. 701 00:32:26,936 --> 00:32:30,759 But what are you going to say? You can't move that mountain? 702 00:32:30,759 --> 00:32:33,899 Our Lord says you can move that mountain. 703 00:32:33,899 --> 00:32:36,683 The reality is we can move mountains 704 00:32:36,683 --> 00:32:38,140 looking to Christ in faith; 705 00:32:38,140 --> 00:32:40,108 looking to God in faith. 706 00:32:40,108 --> 00:32:42,370 Water can hold us up just as certainly 707 00:32:42,370 --> 00:32:44,470 as mountains can be moved. 708 00:32:44,470 --> 00:32:47,129 That is the reality. 709 00:32:47,129 --> 00:32:48,864 When Jesus is with me, 710 00:32:48,864 --> 00:32:51,212 I can just as confidently expect that water 711 00:32:51,212 --> 00:32:52,722 to do miraculous things 712 00:32:52,722 --> 00:32:54,717 as I can expect a mountain to move. 713 00:32:54,717 --> 00:32:57,079 We need to have faith to look at these things 714 00:32:57,079 --> 00:32:59,774 the way the Lord meant for us to look at these things. 715 00:32:59,774 --> 00:33:00,997 Listen, what did He say? 716 00:33:00,997 --> 00:33:02,780 What did He say when He walked here? 717 00:33:02,780 --> 00:33:04,460 He looked at some people one day 718 00:33:04,460 --> 00:33:07,093 and He said, "Which is easier for Me to say? 719 00:33:07,093 --> 00:33:11,359 Your sins be forgiven or rise up and walk?" 720 00:33:11,359 --> 00:33:14,444 What's easier to say? 721 00:33:14,444 --> 00:33:15,634 Walk on water? 722 00:33:15,634 --> 00:33:16,861 Peter, come to Me? 723 00:33:16,861 --> 00:33:19,649 Or walk on scorpions and serpents 724 00:33:19,649 --> 00:33:22,976 and crush Satan shortly under your heel? 725 00:33:22,976 --> 00:33:24,248 Or to walk on your sins - 726 00:33:24,248 --> 00:33:27,041 to walk above your sins, your problems, 727 00:33:27,041 --> 00:33:30,580 your doubts, your fears, your unbeliefs? 728 00:33:30,580 --> 00:33:32,878 Which is easier to say? 729 00:33:32,878 --> 00:33:37,392 To step out in faith. 730 00:33:37,392 --> 00:33:40,481 Presumption is not the problem. 731 00:33:40,481 --> 00:33:46,101 The point is that we worship. 732 00:33:46,101 --> 00:33:47,478 I know we worship. 733 00:33:47,478 --> 00:33:50,100 We're interested in the character of God. 734 00:33:50,100 --> 00:33:53,944 We want to see God big. 735 00:33:53,944 --> 00:33:55,785 But let us not be the kind of people 736 00:33:55,785 --> 00:33:59,466 that worship and even are glad, 737 00:33:59,466 --> 00:34:02,714 but there is this hardness of unbelief. 738 00:34:02,714 --> 00:34:03,945 We worship, but... 739 00:34:03,945 --> 00:34:05,770 You don't want that "but" there. 740 00:34:05,770 --> 00:34:07,852 And the thing is, isn't it amazing? 741 00:34:07,852 --> 00:34:11,968 Jesus is willing. 742 00:34:11,968 --> 00:34:13,711 "Lord, command me to come to You." 743 00:34:13,711 --> 00:34:15,976 "Come." 744 00:34:15,976 --> 00:34:17,873 And you know what? 745 00:34:17,873 --> 00:34:20,766 Something that I find remarkable 746 00:34:20,766 --> 00:34:23,819 in Mark's Gospel account of this is this: 747 00:34:23,819 --> 00:34:25,347 Mark 6:48 says, 748 00:34:25,347 --> 00:34:27,326 "About the fourth watch of the night, 749 00:34:27,326 --> 00:34:28,258 He came to them..." 750 00:34:28,258 --> 00:34:29,885 Now listen to this. 751 00:34:29,885 --> 00:34:34,362 "...He came to them walking on the sea. 752 00:34:34,362 --> 00:34:38,018 He meant to pass them by." 753 00:34:38,018 --> 00:34:39,837 Do you ever read things like that 754 00:34:39,837 --> 00:34:41,559 and it's like what? 755 00:34:41,559 --> 00:34:46,507 "He meant to pass them by." 756 00:34:46,507 --> 00:34:50,098 What does that sound like? 757 00:34:50,098 --> 00:34:52,063 Luke's Gospel - you remember the two 758 00:34:52,063 --> 00:34:53,767 on the road to Emmaus? 759 00:34:53,767 --> 00:34:57,030 It sounds remotely similar to that. 760 00:34:57,030 --> 00:34:59,627 That He acted as if He was going to go further. 761 00:34:59,627 --> 00:35:02,735 He intended to pass them by. 762 00:35:02,735 --> 00:35:08,285 Does anybody ever get tired of those doubtful prayers? 763 00:35:08,285 --> 00:35:11,269 "Thy will be done..." 764 00:35:11,269 --> 00:35:13,145 Now, I know that's a biblical prayer, 765 00:35:13,145 --> 00:35:15,842 and I know it's got a right place, 766 00:35:15,842 --> 00:35:19,223 but Christians who hesitatingly look at life 767 00:35:19,223 --> 00:35:20,826 and are always in doubt 768 00:35:20,826 --> 00:35:23,040 about whether they should ever do anything - 769 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:25,862 oh yes, they admit that God is able to do things 770 00:35:25,862 --> 00:35:27,981 at least in theory. 771 00:35:27,981 --> 00:35:32,597 But the feeling I get is that Jesus 772 00:35:32,597 --> 00:35:34,675 might intend to pass by, 773 00:35:34,675 --> 00:35:37,620 and He will pass by 774 00:35:37,620 --> 00:35:39,611 if we don't need Him. 775 00:35:39,611 --> 00:35:41,215 But you notice He always stops 776 00:35:41,215 --> 00:35:42,709 for those who need Him. 777 00:35:42,709 --> 00:35:44,712 You find that all through the Scriptures. 778 00:35:44,712 --> 00:35:46,779 Always stopping for those who need Him. 779 00:35:46,779 --> 00:35:48,607 Oh, there are ten thousand reasons 780 00:35:48,607 --> 00:35:50,869 why we don't get out of the boat. 781 00:35:50,869 --> 00:35:52,299 Why? 782 00:35:52,299 --> 00:35:54,707 It's dark out there. 783 00:35:54,707 --> 00:35:56,830 The waves are big. 784 00:35:56,830 --> 00:35:58,598 There's likely an undertow 785 00:35:58,598 --> 00:36:01,333 and I'll be pulled under. 786 00:36:01,333 --> 00:36:03,509 We don't have enough money 787 00:36:03,509 --> 00:36:06,375 to get out of this boat. 788 00:36:06,375 --> 00:36:08,692 So we just sit there. 789 00:36:08,692 --> 00:36:12,389 "Well, the Lord's will be done." 790 00:36:12,389 --> 00:36:14,992 "If He wants me to get out of the boat 791 00:36:14,992 --> 00:36:18,211 then He'll take me out of the boat." 792 00:36:18,211 --> 00:36:20,212 But it's all so doubtful. 793 00:36:20,212 --> 00:36:22,093 I mean, after all, liquid molecules - 794 00:36:22,093 --> 00:36:25,388 they cannot support the weight 795 00:36:25,388 --> 00:36:27,249 of a human being. 796 00:36:27,249 --> 00:36:28,338 That doesn't work. 797 00:36:28,338 --> 00:36:29,420 It just can't work. 798 00:36:29,420 --> 00:36:30,616 The lake is deep 799 00:36:30,616 --> 00:36:32,630 and the side of the boat is high. 800 00:36:32,630 --> 00:36:36,028 This whole endeavor is doubtful. 801 00:36:36,028 --> 00:36:39,159 Let us hear Peter. 802 00:36:39,159 --> 00:36:44,876 "Lord, command me to come." 803 00:36:44,876 --> 00:36:46,546 Here's a question. 804 00:36:46,546 --> 00:36:50,076 If you had been in the boat that night, 805 00:36:50,076 --> 00:36:53,578 would it have occurred to you 806 00:36:53,578 --> 00:37:00,692 to ask the Lord to command you to come? 807 00:37:00,692 --> 00:37:02,105 Think about it. 808 00:37:02,105 --> 00:37:07,752 Seemingly, it did not occur to eleven. 809 00:37:07,752 --> 00:37:12,158 But would it have occurred to you? 810 00:37:12,158 --> 00:37:16,747 And if you say I hope it would have, 811 00:37:16,747 --> 00:37:17,966 well then, I would say, 812 00:37:17,966 --> 00:37:20,296 let it occur to you now. 813 00:37:20,296 --> 00:37:22,520 I want to point something out. 814 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:26,931 Difficulties do not mean 815 00:37:26,931 --> 00:37:32,153 that something is not God's will. 816 00:37:32,153 --> 00:37:35,965 I find Christians who want to interpret 817 00:37:35,965 --> 00:37:37,960 God's dealings with us that way. 818 00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:39,629 Oh, there's a problem. 819 00:37:39,629 --> 00:37:41,399 There's a roadblock. There's a bump. 820 00:37:41,399 --> 00:37:43,315 There's difficulty there. 821 00:37:43,315 --> 00:37:47,727 (Incomplete thought) 822 00:37:47,727 --> 00:37:49,486 Think of Abraham. 823 00:37:49,486 --> 00:37:51,908 Was there difficulty set in the way of his faith? 824 00:37:51,908 --> 00:37:54,415 Like, maybe he's old, and his wife is old. 825 00:37:54,415 --> 00:37:55,547 That's a difficulty. 826 00:37:55,547 --> 00:37:58,239 Joseph - there were some difficulties there. 827 00:37:58,239 --> 00:38:01,128 He's finding himself in the prison. 828 00:38:01,128 --> 00:38:03,675 That is a difficulty. 829 00:38:03,675 --> 00:38:05,950 Lazarus - that was a difficulty. 830 00:38:05,950 --> 00:38:09,660 He was four days dead in the grave. 831 00:38:09,660 --> 00:38:12,815 Peter - dark, stormy, water. 832 00:38:12,815 --> 00:38:14,125 Have you ever noticed? 833 00:38:14,125 --> 00:38:16,482 God likes to put obstacles in our way. 834 00:38:16,482 --> 00:38:18,474 Why? That tests our faith. 835 00:38:18,474 --> 00:38:21,551 That tests what we think of Him. 836 00:38:21,551 --> 00:38:23,806 Bunyan had it, right? Did he not? 837 00:38:23,806 --> 00:38:26,804 Pilgrim came to the Hill of Difficulty 838 00:38:26,804 --> 00:38:28,447 and he went up that hill. 839 00:38:28,447 --> 00:38:29,526 He didn't go around. 840 00:38:29,526 --> 00:38:31,185 In fact, going around was exactly 841 00:38:31,185 --> 00:38:34,187 the thing that he shouldn't do. 842 00:38:34,187 --> 00:38:37,318 And if we get out of the boat, 843 00:38:37,318 --> 00:38:39,480 are we ever going to sink like Peter? 844 00:38:39,480 --> 00:38:41,705 Yes, that's going to happen. 845 00:38:41,705 --> 00:38:43,317 But you know the thing is, 846 00:38:43,317 --> 00:38:45,696 we're still okay. Why? 847 00:38:45,696 --> 00:38:48,647 Because the Lord is there and He cares for His people. 848 00:38:48,647 --> 00:38:49,696 Look at something. 849 00:38:49,696 --> 00:38:54,380 Look at Matthew 14:30. 850 00:38:54,380 --> 00:38:57,575 "When Peter saw the wind, 851 00:38:57,575 --> 00:39:01,366 he was afraid." 852 00:39:01,366 --> 00:39:03,107 Now notice these words: 853 00:39:03,107 --> 00:39:05,955 "...beginning to sink, 854 00:39:05,955 --> 00:39:07,250 he cried out, 855 00:39:07,250 --> 00:39:09,522 'Lord, save me!'" 856 00:39:09,522 --> 00:39:11,851 Don't you love that? 857 00:39:11,851 --> 00:39:15,930 Just several weeks back, 858 00:39:15,930 --> 00:39:21,306 one of my daughters brought up some show, 859 00:39:21,306 --> 00:39:23,541 and I hope there's not something about it 860 00:39:23,541 --> 00:39:25,751 where you all want to crucify me if I say it, 861 00:39:25,751 --> 00:39:27,461 but there's some outdoorsman thing. 862 00:39:27,461 --> 00:39:29,557 Some guy name Bear Grylls. 863 00:39:29,557 --> 00:39:31,071 Some Englishman. 864 00:39:31,071 --> 00:39:33,379 Some outdoorsman. 865 00:39:33,379 --> 00:39:34,866 He's a nut. 866 00:39:34,866 --> 00:39:39,390 And he went to Scotland in a blizzard 867 00:39:39,390 --> 00:39:41,706 and he wants to show you how to survive. 868 00:39:41,706 --> 00:39:43,697 And of all things, he wants to show you 869 00:39:43,697 --> 00:39:45,023 how to really survive. 870 00:39:45,023 --> 00:39:49,551 So he comes up to a peat bog, 871 00:39:49,551 --> 00:39:51,757 and he's saying I'm going to go in here 872 00:39:51,757 --> 00:39:53,723 and it's blizzard and the snow's coming, 873 00:39:53,723 --> 00:39:55,313 and he says I'm going to show you 874 00:39:55,313 --> 00:39:58,170 how if you fall into a peat bog in a blizzard, 875 00:39:58,170 --> 00:40:00,595 how you survive. 876 00:40:00,595 --> 00:40:03,852 And so he builds this whole story 877 00:40:03,852 --> 00:40:05,164 and you're ready for him 878 00:40:05,164 --> 00:40:06,720 to jump in this peat bog 879 00:40:06,720 --> 00:40:08,735 and go up to his waist or something. 880 00:40:08,735 --> 00:40:12,104 He says, look, now that I've told you all about this, 881 00:40:12,104 --> 00:40:13,850 I'm probably going to step in here 882 00:40:13,850 --> 00:40:15,242 and find this thing shallow, 883 00:40:15,242 --> 00:40:17,293 and I'm just going to walk right across to the other side. 884 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. 885 00:40:20,225 --> 00:40:21,616 He's going to take a step in there 886 00:40:21,616 --> 00:40:24,345 and he may actually be able to walk across. 887 00:40:24,345 --> 00:40:25,794 He takes a step in there 888 00:40:25,794 --> 00:40:29,287 and he disappeared, like that. 889 00:40:29,287 --> 00:40:31,150 He was gone. 890 00:40:31,150 --> 00:40:33,200 Like (gasp!) 891 00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:35,954 And I was thinking that image, 892 00:40:35,954 --> 00:40:37,505 if Peter - bang! 893 00:40:37,505 --> 00:40:39,626 It would have just come out from under him. 894 00:40:39,626 --> 00:40:41,803 Boom! He's gone. 895 00:40:41,803 --> 00:40:43,435 Isn't that amazing? 896 00:40:43,435 --> 00:40:45,842 "Beginning to sink..." 897 00:40:45,842 --> 00:40:48,593 I thought, look, if the same thing 898 00:40:48,593 --> 00:40:51,071 happened to Peter that happened to Bear Grylls, 899 00:40:51,071 --> 00:40:57,394 he wouldn't have got three words out of his mouth. 900 00:40:57,394 --> 00:41:00,174 What I see in that 901 00:41:00,174 --> 00:41:02,346 is even in Peter's unbelief, 902 00:41:02,346 --> 00:41:04,462 the Lord is with him. 903 00:41:04,462 --> 00:41:09,419 And he is not allowed to just go "woosh." 904 00:41:09,419 --> 00:41:12,406 "Beginning to sink..." 905 00:41:12,406 --> 00:41:19,361 That is encouraging. 906 00:41:19,361 --> 00:41:24,026 Because what the Lord was doing 907 00:41:24,026 --> 00:41:30,984 was He's allowing Peter to sink gradually enough 908 00:41:30,984 --> 00:41:33,326 so that he can cry out, 909 00:41:33,326 --> 00:41:37,067 "Lord, save me!" 910 00:41:37,067 --> 00:41:39,791 Peter began to sink. 911 00:41:39,791 --> 00:41:42,989 Every time you read that from now on, 912 00:41:42,989 --> 00:41:44,865 but notice the next thing. 913 00:41:44,865 --> 00:41:47,399 "Jesus immediately," - I love that! 914 00:41:47,399 --> 00:41:50,023 It doesn't say that Peter immediately sank 915 00:41:50,023 --> 00:41:54,749 and Jesus began to put out His hand. 916 00:41:54,749 --> 00:41:56,849 It's the opposite. 917 00:41:56,849 --> 00:42:03,105 Beginning... Jesus immediate. 918 00:42:03,105 --> 00:42:04,293 Guess what? 919 00:42:04,293 --> 00:42:05,764 You get out of the boat, 920 00:42:05,764 --> 00:42:07,405 we're like Peter. 921 00:42:07,405 --> 00:42:11,231 Don't look at Peter like he's some ridiculous case. 922 00:42:11,231 --> 00:42:12,910 Go look at yourself in the mirror 923 00:42:12,910 --> 00:42:14,621 and say I'm just like him. 924 00:42:14,621 --> 00:42:16,535 Because if you get out of the boat, 925 00:42:16,535 --> 00:42:19,525 you're going to have times you sink too. 926 00:42:19,525 --> 00:42:23,205 Like all those biographies I was showing you yesterday that I've read? 927 00:42:23,205 --> 00:42:26,995 Those guys - they sink too. 928 00:42:26,995 --> 00:42:28,761 And here's the thing. 929 00:42:28,761 --> 00:42:33,656 I love this too. 930 00:42:33,656 --> 00:42:38,798 Because I remember 28 years ago, 931 00:42:38,798 --> 00:42:41,261 at the depth in the bog, 932 00:42:41,261 --> 00:42:44,234 in that peat bog of my own sin, 933 00:42:44,234 --> 00:42:46,431 the miry clay... 934 00:42:46,431 --> 00:42:48,718 Do you know that night the Lord saved me 935 00:42:48,718 --> 00:42:52,015 just three words and I don't think they came out of my mouth. 936 00:42:52,015 --> 00:42:54,591 I think I just thought them. 937 00:42:54,591 --> 00:42:57,947 "Lord, help me." 938 00:42:57,947 --> 00:43:00,446 I've heard sister Connie say the same thing. 939 00:43:00,446 --> 00:43:02,646 Three words. 940 00:43:02,646 --> 00:43:04,119 Lord, help me. 941 00:43:04,119 --> 00:43:08,837 Lord, save me. 942 00:43:08,837 --> 00:43:13,331 I've heard of people under demonic attack 943 00:43:13,331 --> 00:43:15,026 waking up in the night - 944 00:43:15,026 --> 00:43:18,705 something has them by the neck: 945 00:43:18,705 --> 00:43:20,340 "Lord, help me." 946 00:43:20,340 --> 00:43:22,323 And it's gone. 947 00:43:22,323 --> 00:43:24,488 And the thing is, 948 00:43:24,488 --> 00:43:26,299 Jesus did not say, 949 00:43:26,299 --> 00:43:30,397 "Peter, I wish you would get more sophisticated, 950 00:43:30,397 --> 00:43:32,784 more intellectual, more professional, 951 00:43:32,784 --> 00:43:34,180 more polished, if you think 952 00:43:34,180 --> 00:43:37,190 you are going to get My attention." 953 00:43:37,190 --> 00:43:39,967 What a prayer! 954 00:43:39,967 --> 00:43:42,465 "Peter, you insult Me with your simplicity." 955 00:43:42,465 --> 00:43:43,927 None of that. 956 00:43:43,927 --> 00:43:45,549 What a prayer for God's people 957 00:43:45,549 --> 00:43:48,398 who venture out of the boat. 958 00:43:48,398 --> 00:43:51,873 You can imagine our brother serving overseas, 959 00:43:51,873 --> 00:43:53,758 "God, help me." 960 00:43:53,758 --> 00:43:56,239 He stepped out of the boat. 961 00:43:56,239 --> 00:44:02,024 What keeps us from daring to trust Christ more? 962 00:44:02,024 --> 00:44:04,096 You think about your own life. 963 00:44:04,096 --> 00:44:06,354 We've got our boats. 964 00:44:06,354 --> 00:44:07,470 Every one of us do. 965 00:44:07,470 --> 00:44:11,662 These places that if we trusted the Lord more 966 00:44:11,662 --> 00:44:14,745 we would get out of them. 967 00:44:14,745 --> 00:44:17,174 And the Lord's out there. 968 00:44:17,174 --> 00:44:20,171 "Come." 969 00:44:20,171 --> 00:44:23,618 It's like He was going to walk by them, 970 00:44:23,618 --> 00:44:25,645 but what? 971 00:44:25,645 --> 00:44:27,415 They needed Him. They cried out. 972 00:44:27,415 --> 00:44:29,484 He saw they were in terror. 973 00:44:29,484 --> 00:44:32,414 He came to them. 974 00:44:32,414 --> 00:44:35,144 What keeps us from daring to trust Christ more? 975 00:44:35,144 --> 00:44:37,205 Is it hardness? 976 00:44:37,205 --> 00:44:38,849 This hardness. 977 00:44:38,849 --> 00:44:42,383 We don't perceive really what 978 00:44:42,383 --> 00:44:45,596 those 4,000 and those 5,000 that were fed 979 00:44:45,596 --> 00:44:49,603 were meant to show us. 980 00:44:49,603 --> 00:44:51,169 Have you ever found 981 00:44:51,169 --> 00:44:55,442 that when you've stepped out of the boat, 982 00:44:55,442 --> 00:44:58,263 that Jesus let you sink 983 00:44:58,263 --> 00:45:02,596 right to the bottom of the sea? 984 00:45:02,596 --> 00:45:04,880 It doesn't happen. 985 00:45:04,880 --> 00:45:06,854 You answer this question. 986 00:45:06,854 --> 00:45:09,969 I want to answer this question. 987 00:45:09,969 --> 00:45:14,017 Where do you want to live your life? 988 00:45:14,017 --> 00:45:17,412 Do you want to dwell in that calculated safety of the boat? 989 00:45:17,412 --> 00:45:19,813 If we're to significantly advance, 990 00:45:19,813 --> 00:45:21,526 we need to step out. 991 00:45:21,526 --> 00:45:24,707 Out where? 992 00:45:24,707 --> 00:45:27,452 Out there. 993 00:45:27,452 --> 00:45:28,930 Beyond the side of the boat. 994 00:45:28,930 --> 00:45:30,383 Beyond. 995 00:45:30,383 --> 00:45:32,674 Beyond the boat. 996 00:45:32,674 --> 00:45:34,617 God calls us to a life 997 00:45:34,617 --> 00:45:37,038 where we can't walk 998 00:45:37,038 --> 00:45:39,054 where He wants us to walk, 999 00:45:39,054 --> 00:45:43,234 unless He holds us up. 1000 00:45:43,234 --> 00:45:44,654 Tozer said this: 1001 00:45:44,654 --> 00:45:48,988 One of the greatest proofs of our weakness 1002 00:45:48,988 --> 00:45:50,818 is when there's no longer anything 1003 00:45:50,818 --> 00:45:54,686 terrible or mysterious about us. 1004 00:45:54,686 --> 00:45:56,132 When it can all be explained. 1005 00:45:56,132 --> 00:45:57,654 Stepping out of the boat 1006 00:45:57,654 --> 00:45:59,245 is stepping out into that realm 1007 00:45:59,245 --> 00:46:01,135 of the supernatural. 1008 00:46:01,135 --> 00:46:04,023 It's stepping out into the realm of God 1009 00:46:04,023 --> 00:46:06,643 where you don't survive unless God is for you 1010 00:46:06,643 --> 00:46:07,873 and undergirds you; 1011 00:46:07,873 --> 00:46:10,424 unless God holds you up. 1012 00:46:10,424 --> 00:46:15,279 I think we need more crazy Christianity. 1013 00:46:15,279 --> 00:46:17,493 We need more people like Peter. 1014 00:46:17,493 --> 00:46:18,787 They step out of the boat. 1015 00:46:18,787 --> 00:46:21,353 And they step out with that confidence. 1016 00:46:21,353 --> 00:46:24,352 Because not a confidence in self - 1017 00:46:24,352 --> 00:46:28,471 it's a confidence in what Christ is going to do for us. 1018 00:46:28,471 --> 00:46:30,876 Should we not intentionally take our churches 1019 00:46:30,876 --> 00:46:33,248 and our families and ourselves down paths 1020 00:46:33,248 --> 00:46:36,524 that demand more than our spiritual gifts? 1021 00:46:36,524 --> 00:46:37,970 More than our logic? 1022 00:46:37,970 --> 00:46:39,634 More than the current funds 1023 00:46:39,634 --> 00:46:43,282 in the checking account? 1024 00:46:43,282 --> 00:46:45,235 Why? 1025 00:46:45,235 --> 00:46:47,009 Because Christ is with us 1026 00:46:47,009 --> 00:46:49,334 and He says, "Take courage." 1027 00:46:49,334 --> 00:46:51,740 Why? Because by nature, we're timid. 1028 00:46:51,740 --> 00:46:53,580 We're faint. 1029 00:46:53,580 --> 00:46:55,261 "Take courage." 1030 00:46:55,261 --> 00:46:57,041 Why? "I am with you." 1031 00:46:57,041 --> 00:46:58,767 Don't ever be quick to say, 1032 00:46:58,767 --> 00:47:01,842 "Oh, we can't do that. 1033 00:47:01,842 --> 00:47:04,957 It's too big. It's too expensive. 1034 00:47:04,957 --> 00:47:06,814 It's too far. 1035 00:47:06,814 --> 00:47:08,788 It's too outrageous. 1036 00:47:08,788 --> 00:47:11,036 It's just overall too impossible." 1037 00:47:11,036 --> 00:47:13,051 We should fear that talk. 1038 00:47:13,051 --> 00:47:14,899 We should fear staying in the boat 1039 00:47:14,899 --> 00:47:17,929 and not putting our great God to the test. 1040 00:47:17,929 --> 00:47:20,131 And I don't know what this means for all of our lives. 1041 00:47:20,131 --> 00:47:22,611 I've been thinking about this message for weeks, 1042 00:47:22,611 --> 00:47:23,698 and I've been thinking 1043 00:47:23,698 --> 00:47:25,589 what does this mean for me? 1044 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. 1045 00:47:28,100 --> 00:47:30,371 I don't want to get to the end and just find 1046 00:47:30,371 --> 00:47:34,537 I lived in the boat all the time. 1047 00:47:34,537 --> 00:47:36,091 I should have been saying, 1048 00:47:36,091 --> 00:47:37,652 "Lord, command me to come." 1049 00:47:37,652 --> 00:47:41,377 "Command me to come." 1050 00:47:41,377 --> 00:47:43,318 Because I find that He says, "Come." 1051 00:47:43,318 --> 00:47:46,326 Can you imagine Peter 1052 00:47:46,326 --> 00:47:48,416 reminiscing in the years that followed? 1053 00:47:48,416 --> 00:47:52,341 I imagine him sitting there, 1054 00:47:52,341 --> 00:47:55,629 looking into the fire, 1055 00:47:55,629 --> 00:47:57,515 thinking... 1056 00:47:57,515 --> 00:48:03,758 thinking back to that night. 1057 00:48:03,758 --> 00:48:06,316 Remembering. 1058 00:48:06,316 --> 00:48:08,318 Reminiscing. 1059 00:48:08,318 --> 00:48:12,300 Those words. 1060 00:48:12,300 --> 00:48:13,578 He can hear them. 1061 00:48:13,578 --> 00:48:16,564 He can hear that voice. 1062 00:48:16,564 --> 00:48:21,513 "O you of little faith, 1063 00:48:21,513 --> 00:48:25,986 why did you doubt?" 1064 00:48:25,986 --> 00:48:29,275 And you know Peter didn't answer. 1065 00:48:29,275 --> 00:48:30,805 Why? 1066 00:48:30,805 --> 00:48:33,613 Because he never had a good answer 1067 00:48:33,613 --> 00:48:35,341 to that question. 1068 00:48:35,341 --> 00:48:37,817 He never did. 1069 00:48:37,817 --> 00:48:40,708 It's really difficult to have an answer 1070 00:48:40,708 --> 00:48:45,746 when you've just been walking on water 1071 00:48:45,746 --> 00:48:52,702 to have the Lord say, "Why did you doubt?" 1072 00:48:52,702 --> 00:48:55,515 What are you going to say? 1073 00:48:55,515 --> 00:48:57,285 Think about this. 1074 00:48:57,285 --> 00:48:59,603 Peter - seasoned fisherman. 1075 00:48:59,603 --> 00:49:02,142 Sailor. 1076 00:49:02,142 --> 00:49:05,633 Something happened in that wind right there. 1077 00:49:05,633 --> 00:49:08,491 And it says it caused him to fear. 1078 00:49:08,491 --> 00:49:10,171 What would it have taken to cause 1079 00:49:10,171 --> 00:49:13,264 a man like Peter to suddenly fear? 1080 00:49:13,264 --> 00:49:14,873 A great big gust 1081 00:49:14,873 --> 00:49:16,982 that took him off his feat? 1082 00:49:16,982 --> 00:49:19,092 But still, why? 1083 00:49:19,092 --> 00:49:21,758 He'd been walking on water. 1084 00:49:21,758 --> 00:49:23,643 "Why did you doubt?" 1085 00:49:23,643 --> 00:49:28,279 In other words, you never need to. 1086 00:49:28,279 --> 00:49:31,426 Peter thought about water. 1087 00:49:31,426 --> 00:49:33,185 You can imagine. 1088 00:49:33,185 --> 00:49:39,397 "I felt a firmness under my feet. 1089 00:49:39,397 --> 00:49:40,976 It was like walking on land, 1090 00:49:40,976 --> 00:49:43,419 and yet it wasn't like walking on dry land 1091 00:49:43,419 --> 00:49:45,360 because there was no ground there. 1092 00:49:45,360 --> 00:49:49,567 There was some unseen reality 1093 00:49:49,567 --> 00:49:52,394 that held me up. 1094 00:49:52,394 --> 00:49:53,735 And I felt it. 1095 00:49:53,735 --> 00:49:57,279 I felt it give way 1096 00:49:57,279 --> 00:50:00,423 when my eyes came off of Christ. 1097 00:50:00,423 --> 00:50:02,502 I felt it. 1098 00:50:02,502 --> 00:50:04,162 I felt it. 1099 00:50:04,162 --> 00:50:11,135 It caused that knee-jerk prayer: 1100 00:50:11,135 --> 00:50:13,114 'Lord, save me!' 1101 00:50:13,114 --> 00:50:17,575 I felt it give way. 1102 00:50:17,575 --> 00:50:21,868 And I know it was not faith that held me up. 1103 00:50:21,868 --> 00:50:24,328 It was God that held me up. 1104 00:50:24,328 --> 00:50:25,402 And He held me up 1105 00:50:25,402 --> 00:50:27,455 and there was a firmness 1106 00:50:27,455 --> 00:50:31,854 as long as I was looking to Christ." 1107 00:50:31,854 --> 00:50:34,019 And he could remember. 1108 00:50:34,019 --> 00:50:35,537 There was a confidence. 1109 00:50:35,537 --> 00:50:37,938 Peter had a confidence. 1110 00:50:37,938 --> 00:50:41,467 A tremendous sense of safety, 1111 00:50:41,467 --> 00:50:43,177 of security. 1112 00:50:43,177 --> 00:50:46,923 A tremendous freedom. 1113 00:50:46,923 --> 00:50:53,999 "Peter, why did you fear?" 1114 00:50:53,999 --> 00:50:57,419 Him just thinking, you know, 1115 00:50:57,419 --> 00:51:08,740 I never did have a good answer to that question. 1116 00:51:08,740 --> 00:51:12,294 Father, I pray 1117 00:51:12,294 --> 00:51:22,962 that some boats would be stepped out of. 1118 00:51:22,962 --> 00:51:25,956 Father, please, 1119 00:51:25,956 --> 00:51:30,400 help us to trust Your Son. 1120 00:51:30,400 --> 00:51:33,079 Help us to bring You more glory. 1121 00:51:33,079 --> 00:51:34,676 We see that it is a glory; 1122 00:51:34,676 --> 00:51:36,108 it's a worship issue, 1123 00:51:36,108 --> 00:51:40,295 as we see Abraham there in Romans 4, 1124 00:51:40,295 --> 00:51:44,946 and we know that trusting You 1125 00:51:44,946 --> 00:51:48,518 brings You glory. 1126 00:51:48,518 --> 00:51:51,444 And I pray Lord, I want this. 1127 00:51:51,444 --> 00:51:52,629 I want this. 1128 00:51:52,629 --> 00:51:58,145 I want to trust You more. 1129 00:51:58,145 --> 00:52:01,652 Help us. 1130 00:52:01,652 --> 00:52:06,236 Help us to go forth from this place 1131 00:52:06,236 --> 00:52:09,353 resting, trusting. 1132 00:52:09,353 --> 00:52:11,235 I pray that this account may help us 1133 00:52:11,235 --> 00:52:15,366 to be more certain, more confident, 1134 00:52:15,366 --> 00:52:18,412 more established on this Person of Christ 1135 00:52:18,412 --> 00:52:20,060 willing to help; 1136 00:52:20,060 --> 00:52:22,231 would have walked past, 1137 00:52:22,231 --> 00:52:25,188 but He came immediately. 1138 00:52:25,188 --> 00:52:27,496 "It is I." 1139 00:52:27,496 --> 00:52:29,208 "It is I." 1140 00:52:29,208 --> 00:52:30,397 "Be of courage." 1141 00:52:30,397 --> 00:52:36,021 Lord, we want that courage. 1142 00:52:36,021 --> 00:52:40,829 I pray in Christ's name, Amen.