Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 515 | You Gotta Get Out of the Boat

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515 | You Gotta Get Out of the Boat · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  God is in control.
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  She's a happy girl. Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman
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  at the Well Ministries, where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus
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  like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org, we invite you to sit down with us as we look
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  to the scriptures to learn more about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Living her life for Christ She's a happy girl,
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  She's a happy girl.
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  God wants to do things for you and through you, but you have to show up and
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  get out of the boat if you are going to be effective for the kingdom.
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  Join us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries as Kim takes us on a
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  journey through Matthew 14, 22 through 33, revealing the need to keep our focus
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  on Jesus and not our circumstances.
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  Come follow us through the scriptures
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  as we dive deeply into our responsibility to get out of the boat.
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  Hello, and thank you for joining us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries. Let's pray.
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  Our kind and most gracious, dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we come to you earnestly
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  asking for your presence upon this message, that you would clean our hearts
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  out and that you would remove anything that doesn't belong.
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  Lord, we ask you to search the crevices, the closed doors, the very corners
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  of our hearts to purify them, to make them what you would have them to be.
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  Lord, prepare our hearts and our minds for this message.
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  Remove me from it and may you be fully seen and high and lifted up.
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  Lord, we ask for your blessings and your favor.
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  And may you help us hear exactly what you would have for each of us to hear.
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  In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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  We're going to talk about a very familiar scripture tonight,
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  especially if you listen to me at all.
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  You know, I talk often about Peter on the water, and it comes out of Matthew
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  chapter 14, verses 22 through 33.
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  But before we do, I want to draw your attention to a truth that's going to frame
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  this account in Matthew 14, 22-33.
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  And that verse in James 4, 8 says this, draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
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  So as you take a step towards God, you can be absolutely certain that God is moving towards you.
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  He is chasing after you because he loves you.
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  And he wishes that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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  And he tells us that we are to cleanse our hands, ye sinners.
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  In other words, he's saying, give yourself over to the ways of the Lord.
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  Allow the Lord to touch you and cleanse you from the top of your head to the
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  bottom of your feet and purify every part of your hearts.
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  And don't be distracted by the things of this world and be careful to place me first.
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  Purpose in your heart to stay focused on Jesus, because he tells us that we
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  need to cleanse ourselves and to purify ourselves and to not be double-minded.
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  It's time that we get busy doing the work of the Lord, Serving God with our greatest efforts.
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  Loving him with our whole mind, strength, body, and soul.
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  And allowing him to be not only God, because he is, but God of our life.
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  Lord of our life. King of our heart.
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  This is what Matthew 14, 22-33 teaches us.
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  It teaches us to get
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  out of the boat we
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  all have a work to do we all
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  have a calling on our life we all have
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  gifts and skills that he's given us for the good of the kingdom to glorify him
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  to teach and preach the gospel to those around us to share his love his joy
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  his peace and his goodness to all.
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  This is what it means to get out of the boat.
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  And when we take one step of courage, when we take one step of faith.
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  When we do what he's asked us to do, he not only meets us where we are,
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  he comes to us and takes us to where we need to be.
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  And that is clearly demonstrated in Matthew 14, verses 22 through 33.
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  Read with me, please.
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  And straightway Jesus constrains his disciples to get into a ship and to go
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  before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
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  And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray.
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  And when the evening was come, he was there alone.
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  But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves,
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  for the wind was contrary.
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  And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them walking on the sea.
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  And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit.
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  And they cried out for fear.
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  But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer. It is I, be not afraid.
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  And I and Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto
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  thee on the water. And he said, Come.
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  And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
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  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid. And beginning to sink,
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  he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
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  And immediately, and immediately, Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught
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  him and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
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  And when they were coming to the ship, the wind ceased.
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  Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying of a truth,
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  Thou art the Son of God. May the Lord have his richest blessing on the reading of his word.
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  When we begin to start teasing out the pieces of Matthew chapter 14,
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  verses 22 through 33, this account of Peter doing the miraculous.
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  We often miss the opening, and the opening is all about obedience.
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  And if you want to do big and mighty and great things for the Lord,
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  you're going to have to be obedient.
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  You're going to have to go where he says go.
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  You're going to have to trust him to provide the way, and you're going to have
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  to trust him for the results.
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  You've got to get out of the boat, the boat of your calling,
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  the boat of your comfort, the boat of what you know, the boat of your pride,
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  and the boat of you being captain.
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  You've got to get out of the boat, be focused on Jesus Christ,
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  and you must follow him in all his ways.
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  When you see him say that Jesus constrained his disciples to get in a ship,
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  what he's saying is that Jesus directs the disciples to get in a ship,
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  and he sends them off ahead of himself.
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  And you say to yourself, well, what's important about that? Well,
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  here's what's important about that, and we'll talk more about it later.
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  But he wasn't going to be in the ship with them,
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  and it wasn't all that long ago that he
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  had been in a ship asleep when the
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  boys were in the boat and had a problem but they could go wake him up and then
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  he said peace be still and the winds and the waves they ceased but now he's
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  sending them off by themselves and he's not going to be physically present with them.
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  I also believe that it took some obedience because they loved him.
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  They loved him a lot. Jesus loved them.
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  And no doubt, some of them were saying, I don't want to leave him here with
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  a multitude all by themselves.
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  I don't want to be wondering if he's okay, wondering if he has what he needs,
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  how's he going to get across to the other side.
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  I don't want to do that. I need to be with him. I need to be in his presence.
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  In Exodus 33, 15, we are told, And he said unto him, If thy presence go not
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  with me, carry us not up hence.
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  This is such an important piece to understand,
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  because I believe the disciples were in the same place mentally and emotionally
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  that Moses was when he wanted God's presence and God's leadership more than
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  he wanted the destination of the promised land.
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  And so Moses declares to the Israelites that they shouldn't proceed. Don't go.
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  See, the disciples knew the value of the presence of God.
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  They understood the comfort and the care that comes from being in God's presence.
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  And they simply didn't want to go.
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  But he had directed them to go. And so the question remains,
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  do you want to be without his presence?
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  Are you reluctant to proceed without God's visible presence in your situation?
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  Are you a person that just goes headstrong on your own?
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  These boys had learned the value of having God's presence in their life.
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  No doubt you say to me, Kimmy, we don't have him physically here.
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  He never leaves us or forsakes us.
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  He says, call unto me and I will
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  answer thee and show the great and mighty things which thou knowest not.
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  Every situation, every circumstance that you find yourself in,
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  God wants to be part of it.
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  He says, behold, I stand at the door knocking. If you open, I'll come in and you.
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  Hey, I'm knocking on his door in very difficult situations.
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  I'm knocking on his door that he will come and fellowship and sup with me when
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  I am afraid because perfect love casts out all fear.
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  Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
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  And so often we are just as happy as we can be,
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  to go on about our circumstances and not invite God into them. But he says.
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  That we are to be anxious for nothing, but in everything with prayer and thanksgiving,
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  let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God will keep your
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  hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
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  He says to be anxious about nothing, but in everything.
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  So every circumstance, every situation, good, bad, or ugly,
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  we need him to be there, and he will be because he never leaves us,
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  but we have to invite his presence to have a role and a place in our life.
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  Too many of us have put him on as Sunday and Wednesday companions.
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  We take him to church with us. We're meeting when we're there.
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  But things that we decide are too simple, we don't ask him about.
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  And situations that we think we can control and we are relying upon our own
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  intelligence, our own knowledge, our own data, well, we just don't bother him with it.
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  But I want you to know he's bigger than any mountain, and he's small enough
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  to live inside your heart, and he loves you from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet,
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  created you in his image, and he's knocking on your heart's door asking you to hang with him.
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  The problem is so many of us right here would not have obeyed because we would
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  have thought it would have been better to stay.
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  And some of us would have obeyed because we don't value who God is.
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  But these disciples were obedient.
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  And even though they knew that they had had a problem previously when they did not have God.
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  They still went. And I think to myself, how difficult must that have been?
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  But more importantly, I think to myself, how difficult is it for us to leave Jesus behind?
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  Do you long to be in his presence? Careful how you answer that.
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  Because he's got wide open arms begging you to call unto him,
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  I'm begging you to give him your burdens and he'll make them light.
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  Begging you to spend time with him.
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  Can you honestly say that you're
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  reluctant to proceed without his presence being seen in your situation?
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  I'm afraid that's not always the case.
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  I think sometimes we leave him behind, not out of obedience,
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  but because we ignored him.
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  But these disciples are teaching us the way to live in his presence And to do
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  miraculous things And it begins with obedience,
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  And as we continue in the passage, it says this It says, and when he had sent
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  the multitudes away He went up into the mountain apart to pray And when the evening was come,
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  he was there alone.
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  There's a lot to learn here. Jesus was fully man, and Jesus was fully God, and he had to pray.
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  How much more do we need to pray if the Son of God found it necessary to pray?
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  And listen, he prayed a long time because he sends them off,
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  and then the multitude goes away, and then he goes out to the other side to
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  pray, and he's still by himself,
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  Praying, when they see him at 3 a.m., he's now moved to abide over the water.
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  So from the time he left to the time at 3 a.m., Jesus is praying.
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  Though he was God, he prayed as a man and found it necessary to petition God through prayer.
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  For strength and answers. The very person that people pray to.
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  Himself as man, prayed to God.
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  We as children of God with a great invitation to come to Him in all ways and
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  all things, we must spend time in prayer, and we must spend time alone.
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  We have got to want to be with Jesus.
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  To the point we don't want to leave him as the disciples did it,
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  to the point that we want to talk to him about all the things in our lives.
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  In Matthew 6, 6, he says that we're to pray in a closet and,
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  the Father will reward you openly. It's wonderful to have prayer partners. I do.
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  And they have a tremendous place in our life of prayer.
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  But there are just some things that you have to pray about between you and God.
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  There's just some business you have to do that's just you and God.
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  And as a result of that, we must spend some time alone in prayer.
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  I once heard as a child that seven days makes
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  one w-e-e-k week and
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  seven days without prayer makes one week w-e-a-k we need to pray without ceasing
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  we need to be instant in season and out of season we need to pray within our
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  hearts and we need to live with an attitude of prayer.
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  How much do you pray?
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  When do you pray? Do you have set times that you pray?
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  As we continue to look, it says, but the ship was now tossed in the midst of
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  the sea, and the wind, it was contrary.
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  It was boisterous. It was kicking up. In my mind, I see massive waves,
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  and no doubt they're afraid.
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  They were afraid when he was asleep.
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  How much more afraid are they now that he's not with them physically?
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  And they didn't have the Holy Spirit inside of them. Holy Spirit at that time just lit on people.
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  But here they are. They're in the midst of the storm. He's nowhere to be seen.
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  He's not physically with them.
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  In their mind, they are without him.
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  But they look out of the boat, and there on the sea, he is.
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  They just spent all day with him. They've walked with him.
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  They've watched him do incredible miracles, but they could not recognize him.
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  And before we get so self-righteous and wonder how could that be,
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  there are so many times that God is in our midst, his hand is working on our
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  problems, he's blessing us immeasurably,
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  and we simply don't see him at work.
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  We don't recognize him. Part of it is we're not looking for him.
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  Part of it is that we are so caught up in our own selves that we don't have
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  any time to see anything else.
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  But these individuals were afraid, and fear causes us to think illogically.
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  It causes us to make big errors, and it's not of God because perfect love casts out all fear.
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  So Peter's in the boat. The other disciples are in the boat.
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  They look out and they see the Spirit. They're afraid of everything.
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  And Jesus begins to speak. And he says, be of good cheer.
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  It is I. Be not afraid.
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  In John 14, verse 1, he says, let not thy heart be troubled.
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  You believe in God, believe also in me.
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  They're not able to recognize Jesus in the storm, but then he speaks and he says, be of good cheer.
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  And we've heard that before. He tells us in John, be of good cheer.
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  You might have trouble in trials in this world, but be of good cheer for I've overcome the world.
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  And so there's a couple of problems going on right here.
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  And one of them is they don't recognize him, but he reveals who he is.
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  If you are seeking God and you are in his presence, he's going to reveal himself
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  to you. He doesn't want to stay hidden.
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  It's not his goal to be elusive.
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  He wants a relationship with you, a personal relationship with you.
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  And so he will draw nigh to you as you draw nigh to him.
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  But do you trust him in the storm? peter is
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  so sure that if god
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  is speaking and god is on
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  the scene and god is in control that he can do miraculous things and so peter
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  says if it be you lord bid me come So Peter's now on the edge of the boat.
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  The only thing that has changed is he now has an emotional, mental,
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  physical belief that that being is God.
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  So he's gone from not recognizing him to recognizing him. And then...
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  Jesus says, come. And we're faced now with the realization that once you realize
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  who God is, do you trust what he says?
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  That's a big ask. Then we come. Well, that seems like a good idea until you
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  get ready to step in the water, I'm sure.
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  Remember, the storm is still raging. And so in your storm,
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  when you're on the edge of the boat, do you step out as Peter does and trust what he says?
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  Or do you do it your way and shrink and cower and remain in fear?
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  I guess what I'm asking you is, are you a fair weather Christian?
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  He's in the midst of our storms and friends
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  you may start out a day smooth sailing everything going exactly the way you
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  want it everything as it should be but then all of a sudden the winds start
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  blowing the waves start raging the storm is rising and you are in a mess.
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  You recognize him? Because I promise you, I've said it before, and I believe it.
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  You're either in a storm now, you just got out of a storm, or you're on your way into a storm.
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  Because he said a man born of a woman and a few days full of trouble.
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  He said this world is not our home.
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  He explained that the world despised him, and they will despise us.
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  We shouldn't be comfortable.
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  Problems are going to arise. But do you recognize him in your storm?
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  And when he speaks and tells you what to do, are you willing to step out of
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  the boat? Do you trust what he says?
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  In Proverbs 3, 5, 6, and 7, he says that we are to trust in the Lord with all
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  thine heart and to lean not into thine own understanding and in all thy ways
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  acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path.
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  Be not wise in thine own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
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  Again, we go back to that James 4, 8.
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  That's the word to cleanse our hands, ye sinners.
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  Purify our hearts and not be double-minded.
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  Here we're told to depart from evil. It's pretty direct. Correct.
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  Walk in the ways of the Lord, not in the ways of the devil or the world.
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  Peter is at the edge of the boat, and if he's like some of us,
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  he'd never get out, because it sounds like a bad idea.
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  Everybody knows you can't walk on water. See, logic will kill you every time.
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  Logic has no faith in it, and in faith, there's no place for logic.
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  Faith is just believing that because God is God, what he says is right.
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  Faith is taking that step out
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  of the boat when you're not even sure where that step is going to land.
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  But he said, Go, and so you go.
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  It's important that you trust what he says in the storm.
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  And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
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  My friend, the anchor holds.
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  Is in the boat, and he's placing the anchor of his life in the hands of Jesus Christ.
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  He takes him at his word when he says, be not afraid.
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  And so as he's keeping his eyes upon Jesus,
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  as he's walking on the water,
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  because he knows in whom he believes,
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  he's persuaded that he will keep it and complete it he knows that he is god
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  and god has asked him to come and so as long as he's following the ways of the
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  lord he understands he can do miraculous things,
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  see we are that same person he's not a respecter of persons when we keep our
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  eyes on the lord we need to know that we will not perish.
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  Psalms 118.6 says, the Lord is on my side. I will not fear.
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  What can man do unto me? In the midst of your storm, sometimes we take our eyes
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  off of Jesus and begin to look at the storm.
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  As long as Peter had his anchor in Jesus, He was doing the miraculous.
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  In John 14, 27, he says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you,
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  not as the world give I unto you.
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  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
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  The world didn't give it to you, so the world can't take it away.
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  You have to dump your face and thereby dump your peace.
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  But Peter is walking. He's doing what he cannot do, the miraculous.
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  Anchor holds when the anchor's in Jesus.
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  He says in John 16, 33, These things I have written or spoken unto you,
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  that in me you might have peace.
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  In the world you'll have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I've overcome the world.
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  These words of truth keep Peter firmly on the strength of faith.
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  The disciples are right
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  there in the midst of the storm they've done
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  exactly what god said do they've gone
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  on before him they're in a boat he's no longer with them on their duty to do
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  what god has told them to do they've met a problem they went where they were
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  instructed to go they were afraid they were confused they're doing what they're
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  supposed to do and now they're facing a storm.
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  How many times has that caused us to take our eyes off of Jesus,
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  to not look directly at him, to put on blinders to the world?
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  How many times have we failed to walk by faith and instead walked by sight?
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  Jesus had taken him through the storm before, but now he's not in the boat with him.
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  Doubt. Then he taught them who he was, but he's increasing their faith with each event.
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  He's growing them spiritually, emotionally, physically.
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  He's allowing them to see the depth and breadth of what faith can do.
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  It was faith in Jesus when they awoke him that he used his power to cease the winds and the waves.
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  But he was right there.
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  Now he's not right there in the boat with them, but he's still giving them the
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  power that he has because he's never left them.
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  And now their faith has to be stronger because the storm, the test, is far more difficult.
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  And that's when Peter kicks it up.
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  That's what we have to do. We have to kick up our faith.
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  We've got to get out of the boat, and we've got to remember all that he's brought
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  us through, because without faith it is impossible to please him,
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  and you must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
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  You've got to face your way through.
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  This is what we're told. As the winds kick up as the storms get bad.
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  In Philippians 3, 13 through 14, we are told, Brethren, I count not myself to
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  have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are
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  behind and reaching forth to those things which are before.
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  Pressed toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
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  We've got to leave the world behind. In 2 Corinthians 5, 17,
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  he says, Behold, we are new creatures. Old things are passed away.
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  As we build our muscles of faith by watching him deliver us time and time again,
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  we have to leave our fears behind because he's always with us.
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  We don't need to be jealous of what anybody else has, because we have Jesus,
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  and he's more than enough.
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  And he said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you.
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  Jesus came that night to where they were.
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  He met them where they were, and their faith, as Peter steps out on the boat,
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  he comes towards them, and he came in great power.
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  See, he's not just out there helpless or in the same shape they are in.
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  No, Jesus comes to where you are with great power.
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  1 Corinthians 15, 27 tells us that,
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  for he hath put all things under his feet, but when he saith all things under
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  him, is not God, but every other thing is put under him.
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  The winds and the waves, they obey his voice and they bow to his commands.
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  He parts the Red Sea and makes room for the Israelites.
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  He made iron swim. He's created all things under our feet and he allows Peter
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  to walk when Peter's face is in Christ to keep him afloat.
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  But the story doesn't end there. And I'm glad it doesn't.
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  All of us have moments of doubt. And if we didn't know how this story went,
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  we might feel as if we're hopeless and helpless.
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  But Peter, when he saw the wind was boisterous, he sinks.
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  He was afraid because he began to say, no doubt, I can't walk on water.
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  Man cannot walk on water. And he took his eyes off of Jesus.
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  He's out of the boat, but he's trying to do it his way.
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  When we step out of the boat in faith, we've got to commit to walk by face and not by sight.
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  We've got to commit to do it God's way.
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  We've got to commit to trust with all thine heart.
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  We've got to commit to not be wise in our own eyes or to lean into our own understanding.
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  But when we fail, 1 John 1.9 says he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins
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  and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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  Friends, you need to be of good cheer.
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  Can you recognize him? Do you believe what he says?
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  You got to get out of the boat. You got to be purposeful in your obedience.
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  That's what God rewards.
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  You've got to believe that you can do miraculous things when you keep your eyes
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  on Jesus and do it his way and you allow him to fight your battle.
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  There's unconditional forgiveness.
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  He's not asking for perfection, but he sure requires a heart that is purposed
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  to follow, A life that is habitually holy.
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  Keep our eyes on him. It all started with obedience.
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  1 Samuel 15, 22 says, And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great a delight in burnt
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  offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
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  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams.
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  Obedience set these disciples on the course for growth and to have miraculous
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  power and to be delivered from the storms they were facing.
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  Tonight, we've got to be obedient.
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  And we've got to keep our focus on Jesus and not on our circumstances.
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  We can't look left or right. We can't employ logic.
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  Faith is what happens when Jesus
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  is on the scene and you believe him for who he is and what he can do.
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  The Lord is on my side.
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  Oh, how he loves you. And oh, how he loves me.
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  You got to show up and you got to get out of the boat if you're going to be
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  effective for the kingdom. You have to obey and follow.
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  It's really that simple. And our entire message can be summed with those words.
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  Obey and follow.
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  Don't look left or right. Keep fully focused on the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
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  You gotta get out of the boat.
• 36:52
  For joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for quotes from
• 36:56
  today's podcast and scripture references.
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  We pray today has been a blessing and we encourage you to reach out to us through
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  our app, our website, or our Facebook page.
• 37:05
  You can find our app by searching for Woman at the Well Ministries in your app
• 37:09
  store or through our website at watwm.org.
• 37:13
  We're on Facebook at facebook.com slash watwm.
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  If you visit our website, you'll be able to subscribe to Bible Bits,
• 37:21
  a daily devotion written by Kim and delivered Monday through Friday by text message.
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  Woman at the Well Ministries is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving
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  our Heavenly Father, and it is through your loving and generous support that
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  our ministry continues to bless others.
• 37:37
  To learn how to partner with Woman at the Well Ministries, please visit our website.
• 37:42
  Thank you to the Gospel Group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
• 37:47
  We greatly appreciate your prayers. We are praying daily for our listeners.
• 37:52
  Remember that God loves you. You.