Skip to main content

Stepping Out on The Word of God!

Scripture: Matthew 14:20-35 - Jesus Walks on the Water

22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." 28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" 32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." 34When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. 35And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him.

In this week's passage, we see that Peter stepped out from the safety of the boat to join Jesus as he was walking on water. This is often used to illustrate the importance of stepping out on faith. However, Peter did more than step out on faith; he stepped out on the word of God. Check this out in … 27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." 28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Jesus said one simply word “COME” and Peter heard that from Jesus which strengthened his faith and he acted on that word. Nevertheless, once on the water… 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" Although Peter was with Jesus, walking on water, he allowed himself to doubt his faith but more importantly he doubted the word of God, and began to sink and Jesus reached out his hand and saved him. What a mighty God we serve!

How many of us were on the boat of life, facing the winds of life, bad relationships, family issues, sickness, death, or hopelessness, and then we saw Jesus, asked to join him, we are out of the boat and now we doubt his word? Yet he is still saying to each of us COME, just step out of your situation and join me, and even when you begin to fail I will reach down and save you. Simply step out on my word… COME!

It is simple; usually we make two mistakes while we are out of the boat. When things are going well we tend to believe that things will always be good. When things are not going well, we tend to think they will always be bad. Both ideas are wrong. Life and all it consists of -- our marriage, our faith, our relationships, and our finances tends to go up and down in cycles, but there is one consistent presence in all of this: God's word! His word never changes and as we study his word, as it will allow our faithfulness in him to grow. Today, whether your boat is in or out, lean on the Word of God, and learn of the faithfulness of God and be thankful for his goodness; be thankful for his love and mercy. Be thankful for all that he has given us!
Finally, when you have given your best and seem to be making no progress, there is no need for you to struggle with what ever it is you are trying to deal with. You cannot do it alone. Take refuge in the grace of God's word. Pray and surrender all of ur concerns to Jesus, and open yourself to his guidance and provision. Then step out on his word... "COME" Step out on Faith! AMEN!
Have a blessed week!
Elder Michael L. Hargett
Peace of God Outreach Ministries
Pastors Gary and Patricia Stern
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Put All Your Trust In God!

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others. --Philippians 2:3-4 This past week, God blessed me to minister to my older sister in New Jersey. She called me because of a business deal that had not gone the way she had hoped. In short, a friend under cut the deal and gained the property in their own interest. For those who do not know my sister, she epitomizes this week's scripture. She is a wonderful person with a free and giving spirit. Over the years, I have and watched as she would give loans to family and friends many of these loans were never repaid. I can not recall one single instant where she has every asked for money back that she has given to me. She elected to stay in New Jersey to be close to our Mother, while the rest of us moved on and out of Newark, N.J. and til this day, I have never heard her complain or voice an...
Post a Comment
Read more

SOMETIMES WAITING IS HARD

ECCLESIASTES 3:11 11God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. We are taught at a very young age to be excited about expected events. I remember as a child that I could hardly wait for my birthday, holidays, and Summer Breaks. Sometimes as an adult I find myself anxious waiting for things I desire from God. I heard someone say that as we look at our watches; God looks at the calendar. Waiting on God is sometimes a difficult discipline for believers to develop. By nature we're not patient, and our culture offers little encouragement to develop the habit. We want, we need, and we believe that we deserve what we desire now. Credit card companies and retailers have made billions of dollars on this fact alone. There is no doubt many of us may be waiting for a number of things, too: a victory, a healing, peace in the family, growth in the family, vi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Happy New Year!

Genesis 1:1-5 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was a vast waste, darkness covered the deep, and the spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water. God said: "Let there be light," and there was light; and God saw the light was good, and he separated the light from darkness. He called the light day, and the darkness night. So evening came, and morning came; it was the first day. The year 2007 is gone, finished, past. We cannot reclaim it or undo it. The New Year, like a newborn child, which is placed in our hands as the old year passes away. We cannot rest on the things it has brought us. The days and weeks to come are God's gift; they carry God's blessing and the time to show our faith in Jesus as Lord. Let's journey forward, knowing that God already inhabits the future and promises to provide us refreshment. My prayer for the year ending is that all that was good in it remain with us an all that was harmful be left behind. We...
Post a Comment
Read more