Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 604 | Launching Into the Deep though Faith and Obedience

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604 | Launching Into the Deep though Faith and Obedience · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  Hello, friends, and welcome back to the Woman at the Well Ministries podcast.
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  With Kimberly Miller, where we believe that every man, woman,
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  boy, and girl must come to Jesus just like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
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  Our highest priority is helping you experience the reality of God in your everyday life.
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  Whether you're listening in our app, on your favorite podcast platform,
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  are on our website at watwm.org.
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  We invite you to sit down with us as we open the scriptures to learn more about
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  who God is and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  What is keeping you from stepping into your calling, your purpose,
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  or your full potential in Christ?
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  Is your faith weak? Do you have a spirit of unbelief?
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  Perhaps you have an attitude of disobedience. At the root of disobedience is unbelief.
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  At the end of faith and obedience are blessings and peace.
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  Given these truths, why is it that you won't launch into the deep to live your best life possible.
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  John 10.10 says that Jesus came that you might have life and have it more abundantly.
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  The abundant life is found in living, faithful, obedient lives.
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  Join Kim Miller as she takes us on a journey through the scriptures,
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  examining Peter as he launches into the deep and encouraging each of us to do the same.
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  Hello and welcome to this broadcast of Woman at the Well Ministries.
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  As we begin to look at the scriptures, the question that remains with us is this.
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  Why is it we're not reaching our full potential in Christ?
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  And you say, well, Kim, how do you know I'm not reaching my full potential in Christ?
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  Because the Lord said that he came that we might have life and that we might have it more abundant.
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  And I think many of us are just happy with the status quo.
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  And God is saying something in our heart and in our spirit.
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  He's wooing us to go deeper, to move out further on faith, to take that journey
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  with Him further than where we are right now.
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  But for some reason, we're not doing it.
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  And perhaps the reason we're not doing it is because our faith is weak.
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  Maybe the reason we're not doing it is that we simply live our lives suffering from nearsightedness.
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  We can't see beyond the present.
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  We can't see beyond what we know. We can't see beyond the familiar or even beyond the ordinary.
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  But I tell you today, there's a cure for this.
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  But it's not going to be found even at the best optometry offices.
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  Is going to be found at the feet of Jesus, and it's wrapped in unstoppable faith.
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  The Bible says in Hebrews 11.6 that without faith, it's impossible to please
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  God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he is,
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  and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
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  Now, I believe that sometimes we don't step out into the deep,
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  not because we don't want to, but because we're afraid to.
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  And the Bible says that you got to believe who God is.
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  You got to believe that when he said, I'll never leave you or forsake you, that he meant it.
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  You got to believe that when he said, I'll supply all of your needs,
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  according to my riches and glory, that he means it.
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  You've got to believe that he says that he will supply all of your needs,
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  that he will give you the strength necessary to do the job he's put on your heart.
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  But it does require faith. It requires unstoppable faith.
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  So how is it that we get this unstoppable faith?
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  What is it about unstoppable faith that some people have it and others don't?
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  I submit to you that one of the biggest reasons some people have it and other
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  people don't is because they have spent time having a working relationship with Jesus.
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  They've read the Word of God. They've spent time in prayer.
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  They hear the voice in their ears of the Holy Spirit leading them and guiding
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  them, and they don't just hear it.
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  They're willing to heed it because they know who God is, and they believe Him
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  for what He says He will do.
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  And they also understand that there's a reward for going deep.
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  There's a reward for stepping out on faith.
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  So what I'm going to ask you to do over the next few moments with me is to take
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  a journey through the scriptures where I want you to seriously consider in your
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  heart, is God calling you and asking you to go deeper?
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  Is God asking you to step out on faith?
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  Is God asking you to be obedient to his call and trust him to give you what
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  you need to get where he asked you to go,
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  that you may live the abundant life that God has asked of you and promised for you.
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  See, God has a plan for you to prosper you, to give you a hope and expect it in.
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  God understands what he has for you, and he has a plan and a path,
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  and he wants you to have a life full of joy and peace and to be in the center
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  of God's will so that you can experience it's all that God has for you,
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  but it requires stepping out on faith.
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  So we're going to take a look at Peter's life. You know, Peter,
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  sometimes he gets a bad rap.
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  Peter's impetuous. Peter's the one who said, oh Lord, I love you.
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  I love you. I'll never fail you. I'll never, I'll never deny you.
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  And before the cock crew three times, he had denied Christ three times.
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  See, Peter, his heart is always in the right place, but sometimes it gets a little ahead of God.
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  But in the two encounters of God, of Jesus and Peter.
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  Contemplating stepping out into the deep where Jesus is calling him and drawing
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  him and requesting that him just trust him and just come a little further,
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  you're going to see in these two accounts that Peter answers the call.
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  And it's my hope that as you watch Peter respond positively to the call of God
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  to come a little deeper, that you yourself will reflect inwardly.
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  And you'll ask yourself, what is God calling me to do? Because as long as you
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  have breath, he's got a job for you.
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  And let me tell you something someone may not ever have told you.
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  That job that he has for you is specifically designed for you.
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  And when you don't do it, yeah, his work will get done.
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  Somebody else will get the blessing.
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  But it's not going to be what it could have been for you.
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  And so as we begin to look at Peter's life, the first account we want to look
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  at is found in Matthew 14, in verses 22 through 33.
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  And as we come into verse 22, we see that Jesus has just fed the greater than
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  5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fishes.
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  And just a little side note here, I want you to know that when he finished producing
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  that miracle, he sent his disciples back and they collected 12 baskets full of scraps.
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  And I want you to know that there's an important message in that.
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  And that message is this, that everybody counts.
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  See, he didn't need those scraps to feed anyone else. He had just fed over 5,000
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  people with five loaves and two fishes.
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  He didn't need the scraps because he was out of miracles.
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  I believe he picked them up because he wanted us to know that everybody matters.
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  There are no such thing as discarded people and things that we can discard and
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  that God has a purpose and he has potential for you and he has a calling upon your life.
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  And no matter what you see other people doing, no matter how grand you think
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  their lives are for Christ, God has a purpose and he has a calling for you.
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  And he's asking you to step out into the deep, to launch out of the gate and to follow him.
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  And so we pick up in verse 22, where Jesus has told the disciples that they
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  need to just sort of stay here.
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  He's going to go away and he's going to pray.
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  And just stop for a second and think about that. If Jesus felt he needed to
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  go away and pray and he is part of the Trinity, he is God the Father,
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  God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit wrapped in one, then how much more do we need to pray?
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  How much more do we need to come to God and ask him for the strength that he's promised us?
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  How much more do we need to read the scriptures to get the game plan that he
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  has that we might live the abundant life that he's promised us?
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  If Jesus needed to pray, I promise you, we need to pray even more.
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  But yet I wonder how many of us just set aside some time just to go pray.
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  The disciples were on this boat, and they had drifted a bit because of the wind
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  had picked up and kind of kicked them away.
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  And so it's just a little bit before dawn when we see what happens next.
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  So Jesus goes out to the disciples. He's walking on the lake or the Sea of Galilee.
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  And this sight terrifies his disciples.
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  They think that he's a ghost. Now think about that for a moment.
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  They had just been with him when he had fed the 5,000, which is five loaves
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  and two They walk with him every day, and he's already on the scene,
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  but they don't recognize him.
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  And I think there are times in our lives that we're not looking for the Lord,
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  so we don't recognize him.
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  And we call upon him and he answers us and he shows us great and mighty things that we don't know.
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  We're told in Jeremiah 33, but we're not looking for him.
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  We're not recognizing who he is. And as a result of that, we become terrified.
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  But no matter what the storm is in your life, just like he was there for Peter, I promise you,
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  he's there for you, and he's already there, and he's asking you,
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  recognize me, come to me, call unto me, allow me to assist you,
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  allow me to give you the answers that you need, follow me in faith.
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  But Peter, he's unsure.
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  But I believe somewhere in the depths of Peter's heart and mind,
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  he knows if this is God, all things are going to be okay.
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  And I believe in his heart of hearts. He wants it so badly to be God.
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  And he believes that if he calls on God, God's going to help him.
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  So Peter does what we should all do, because we know from his word,
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  and we know from our experience that God is in the midst of the trouble.
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  He's in the midst of the fire. He's the fourth man in the fire.
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  He shuts the mouths of lions.
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  We are fully aware that God is on the scene and we need to do what Peter does.
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  We need to bid Jesus to call us to him.
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  What happens is, is we see that in Matthew chapter 14 and verse 28 through 29, it reads like this.
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  Lord, if it's you, Peter replies, tell me to come to you on the water. Come, he said.
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  Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.
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  Now, I want to tell you something.
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  Peter meets Jesus and has a personal experience that no one else on that boat has.
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  Do you see that because Peter
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  gets out of the boat Peter launches into
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  the deep because when Jesus says come Peter
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  goes Jesus says come
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  and Peter answers by faith and gets out of the boat now I think some of us today
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  are still in the boat we can see God afar we're pretty sure that's him We've
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  heard the voice of God that says, get out of the boat,
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  answer my call, do this work for me,
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  do this for your family, listen to what I have to say, heed the word of God,
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  I've got a job for you to do, and we're sitting in the boat.
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  And Jesus is saying, come, come.
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  You got to get out of the boat.
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  And so peter he gets out of the boat
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  and as a result of that he experiences something with jesus he's in the presence
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  of jesus like no one else is because he was willing to get out of the boat so
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  he steps out on faith and i want you to see what happens jesus meets him there.
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  What are you missing in your life because you won't get out of the boat?
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  What is the cost of your unbelief?
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  Hebrews 11, 6 says that you must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder
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  of them that diligently seek him. What are you missing?
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  What are you not getting in your life? What peace, what blessings,
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  what favor is being left off of your life because you have unbelief.
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  And perhaps even more importantly, what's causing your unbelief.
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  See, Peter's right there. He's out of the boat. He stepped out by faith.
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  He is standing in the presence of Jesus.
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  And then he begins to look around and he takes his eyes off of Jesus and he
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  begins to look at the storm.
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  He begins to rationalize within his own mind. I am a human being.
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  I cannot walk on water. I can't float above the water, walking on my feet.
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  And he begins to turn and he looks at the storm.
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  And instead of telling the storm how big his God is, he begins to tell God how big his storm is.
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  And he begins to assess the situation and his doubt fills his heart and his
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  mind. And immediately he sinks.
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  In verse 30 through 31 of Matthew chapter 14, it reads like this.
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  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid. And beginning to sink,
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  cried out, Lord, save me.
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  Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and called him, You of little faith,
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  he said, Why did you doubt?
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  See, as long as our eyes and our heart is fixed on Jesus and we believe him
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  for who he is and what he can do and take him at his word through faith,
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  we can rise above the storm,
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  but we lose our way when we take our eyes off of him.
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  See, but Jesus didn't leave him there. He didn't forsake him. He didn't get rid of him.
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  Now, you know what Jesus did? he immediately picks him up and he reaches out
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  and he saves him when Peter calls on him.
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  See, right now you might be in a situation where you just haven't launched out
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  and God has asked you to, but you're still in the boat.
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  And as a result of that, you may be sitting here thinking, I've missed my chance.
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  But first John 1, 9 says, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to
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  forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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  Call on him and he will answer you.
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  See, Romans 10, 13 says, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
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  Here we see that the launching of Peter, he launches out because of his faith.
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  How strong is your faith? See, his faith resulted in an experience that no one else had.
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  Jesus met Peter and he protected him.
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  When we launch out into the deep, beyond our fears, outside of our comfort zone,
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  and into the arms of Jesus, it will result in an experience like none other.
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  Blessings and peace are found in the presence of Jesus.
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  So now let's look at another account of Peter, one where Peter's obedience results in blessings.
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  As Peter launches out, not only by faith, but because of obedience,
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  he is blessed beyond measure.
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  We're going to see that there's tremendous benefits to be had when we launch
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  into the deep with Jesus.
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  The next account that we're going to talk about is found in Luke chapter 5.
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  And Jesus is standing by the Sea of Galilee. He's speaking to a crowd of people
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  who've come to hear the word of God.
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  And he could have seen that there were two boats that was on the shore there,
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  that are being just hooked up to the side.
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  And there's two fishermen that have left them there.
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  And they're out cleaning their nets. They've been fishing all night long.
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  And this is Peter we're talking about.
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  Jesus, he gets up, and he sets down in one of the boats, the boat that belonged to Simon Peter.
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  And he says, shove out from the shore a little bit.
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  Now, I am sure that Peter was tired. I'm sure he's frustrated.
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  I don't know if you've ever been fishing and fished half the night and caught
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  nothing, but generally doesn't make for a happy camper.
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  So Peter gets in the boat.
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  Jesus is in the boat, shoves off the shore a little bit, and Jesus begins to
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  teach the people from the boat.
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  And let's pick this story up in Luke chapter 5, verses 4 through 5.
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  When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, put out into deep water and
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  let down the nets for a catch.
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  Simon answered, Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything,
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  but because you say so, I will let down the nets.
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  Now look at this situation.
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  Peter's tired. He's frustrated. He's fished all night in that same area. Hasn't caught a thing.
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  Peter is a professional fisherman. Peter knows how to fish.
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  I'm sure that in his mind, he thought
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  of his knowledge and his opinion and everything he knew to be true.
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  He didn't think it was a good idea, but he surrenders to Jesus and does what
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  Jesus says and does not rely upon self.
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  Peter launches into the deep, and he drops the nets. And Peter catches such
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  a large number of fish that their nets begin to break.
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  They had to call for help from the other boat. And they filled both boats so
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  full that they began to sink, all because Peter obeyed.
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  Jesus said, launch out a little deeper. And Peter was obedient.
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  We see this trend in Peter. he's
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  faithful and his obedience with
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  his faith allows him to launch
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  out get out of the boat to follow the
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  directions of god and to reap the rewards that
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  god already had planned for peter you see you can't out give god when you give
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  of yourself and you surrender your will and you allow god to take over and you
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  allow him to be the lord of your lives the king of your heart you can't out, give him.
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  My friend, he will give you more and abundant above all that you ask or think,
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  according to his riches in glory.
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  So what do we learn from Peter as the faithful servant and the obedient worker?
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  What do we learn from them? We learn that we launch out into the deep,
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  even if you don't see clearly the why or the how.
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  We understand that we must have sufficient faith to follow and that lack of
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  faith leads to disobedience.
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  We must trust and obey.
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  We need the life that Peter had that reflected a relationship with Jesus and
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  he walked in the presence of Jesus.
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  You can do that too.
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  We don't see him face to face, but we can walk in his presence as we walk in
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  the center of his will, as we follow the commandments and the word of God.
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  See, Peter welcomed Jesus into his life, into his routine, and into his work.
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  Jesus was welcome in every facet of Peter's mind, soul, and being.
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  Peter obeyed Jesus when he didn't understand or even didn't agree with his plan.
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  Some of us are a little too hard-headed for our own goods. Some of us won't
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  surrender to God no matter what.
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  But when Peter surrendered and he followed in faith, in both accounts,
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  Peter reaped amazing blessings and benefits.
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  So the next time you find yourself living a life that is status quo,
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  you need to remember Simon Peter. Get out of the boat.
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  God came that you might have life and have it more abundantly.
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  God has a plan for you. Are you fulfilling it?
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  You see, what I'm asking you today is this.
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  Get out of your comfort zone. Stop doing what you've always done and launch into the deep.
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  Live your life in the presence of God.
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  Welcome him into every aspect and part of your life. Obey His voice and sit
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  back and reap the amazing benefits.
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  May God bless you in amazing ways.
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  Thank you for joining us for today's podcast. You can find quotes and scripture
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  references from this episode in the show notes.
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  We pray today's message has been a blessing.
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  If it has, please consider leaving a rating or review on your podcast platform.
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  Your feedback helps others discover the truth of God's Word.
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  You can connect with Woman at the Well Ministries through our app at watwm.org
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  and on Facebook and Instagram.
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  While you're there, learn more about Bible Bits, Kim's daily devotional delivered
• 23:56
  Monday through Friday by text message and the Bible Bit Podcast.