​GET OUT OF THE BOAT

I wanted you guys to read and see the growth that is taking place with our Ironmen group. This is a 
sermon Dennis Greene presented at brotherhood breakfast. He studied very hard and prepared diligently for this message. I have shared his sermon below read it and let me know how the Lord speaks to you through this message. 
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​Matthew 14 22-33
22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

The miracle of Jesus walking on water in this passage comes on the heels of feeding the 5000 with only five loaves of bread. It’s recorded in three gospels (Matthew, Mark, John).  This passage took place on the Sea of Galilee. I have heard this passage preached a couple of times. What God revealed to me in previous sermons was

1. Jesus Walked on Water (Convincing the disciples he was the son of God)
2. Jesus always comes to us in the storms of our lives. God’s words to Isaiah “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” Isaiah 43:2
3. Why did they not recognize Jesus? They were not looking for him. Fear and faith cannot live in the same heart; fear frequently blinds our eyes to the presence of the Lord.
4. Peter was obedient to Jesus and walked on water to him.
5. Peter took his eyes off Jesus because of fear and began to sink
6. Jesus will save us in times when we are sinking if we ask him to.
7. When Jesus joins us in our violent storms of life, he calms the sea.

Jesus revealed some things to me this time that I haven’t seen before in this passage. 

Even after Jesus spoke to them “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Peter still doubted who Jesus was. Peter said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”  A lot of us, myself included, don’t understand what God is asking us to do.  It just doesn't make sense because faith is not in the mind; faith is in the heart.  And when the Lord asks us to do something that you and I cannot even fathom, we cannot even relate to, it doesn't fit into your schedule, it doesn't fit into your budget.  God is asking us to come.  That's one word, “come”.  And then you look at your life, and you go, “Wow, Lord, I came to you and I’m coming to church every Sunday.  I’m even doing my devotions, and we pray now.  And, wow, look, I’m going through more storms.  I’m going through more trials and tribulation.”  And the Lord is saying, “Come.” 

How often does Jesus speak to you and you doubt who he is?
Jesus spoke one word “Come” and it set Peter in motion. All it took was one word for him to overcome his fear, his doubt, and his apprehension to get out of the boat. Peter came out of the boat and started to walk on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind was boisterous, he was afraid and began to sink. He cried out saying, “Lord, save me.”

Nevertheless, what Peter did was he took a leap of faith by going from his comfort zone into the miracle zone; and he walked on water, the only other human being outside of Jesus Christ to walk on water. That's what happens when the Lord gives us a word and we're walking into His miracles and we take our eyes off of the Lord. We start to sink.

How many of you know that if God brings you to it, he's going to get you through it? 
We can blame Peter for sinking, but at least he wanted to walk with the Lord instead of cowering in his comfort zone.  The other 11 disciples did not get out of the boat. They stayed in their comfort zone. I'd rather get out of my comfort zone and sink trying to be like Jesus than staying over there and just being comfortable and good. Good is the enemy of great, and Peter walked into greatness even though only for a moment. It was a risk.

We have to stop believing that we don’t have faith for certain things. When we believe that we lack something, we believe that Jesus has no ability to impact that situation through us. When we live in self-imposed lack, we have no ability to live from His abundance. As long as we believe in lack, we will live in fear and not step out in the faith that God has given us.
God told us in Mark 16 to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and preach the gospel. What is it that keeps us from doing all those things? Fear. So, how do we overcome the fears that keep us from walking in God.

When we know who we are in Christ, and we know who Christ is in us, it opens up a world of possibilities, and risk begins to come easier to us.
For some of you today, taking a risk may entail just coming to church.  It's a risk of getting out of your comfort zone.  Others, maybe you’d say, “I'm going to start to serve now.”  That's a risk.  Doesn't fit your budget, doesn't fit your schedule, doesn't fit any of your time, but you’re going to start to serve. But when you look at it, God is setting you up for you getting out of your comfort zone to walk into a miracle zone.
If you get anything, get this today.  Some of the best fruit, in fact, the best fruits in life are always on a limb.  Out on a limb is where you’ll find the best fruit.  Stop hugging the tree because when people risk nothing, they gain nothing, and then wonder why they have nothing. 

Risk is not about the results; risk is about the journey, “Come” get out of the boat….