FROM THE FAMILIAR INTO FAITH

Mark 6:45-54 - Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus.

Eph 3:20-21 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen

The Fourth Watch: The Jewish night is divided into four watches. The fourth or final watch is that time just before dawn, in the darkest hours. It was during the fourth watch that Jesus came to the apostles as they struggled against the storm in their boat on the Sea of Galilee. It will be in those darkest hours when Jesus returns for His people. Matthew 24:29 says, "The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;" But, just when things are at their darkest, we know that "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky," (Matthew 24:30).Jesus will return. We do not know when, so we must keep watch (Matthew 24:42).

Romans 13:12 - The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

PETER WAS A FISHERMAN AND JESUS MADE HIM A FISHER OF MEN!

At least Peter took a step of faith, the rest of them were just Boat people!

Boat people just sit

Boat people just watch

Boat people just wait

Boat people just wonder

Why might people want to stay in the boat?

Fear – Storms are scary

Failure – this seems inevitable

Friends – Peer pressure; no one else is doing it

Fanaticism – Jesus told us to get into the boat originally

Familiarity – Even when things are not working often times we are more comfortable to stay where we are at then to step out in faith to do something new.

God calls us to leave the familiar – to the strange that He might use us for something great.

I can imagine the look in your eyes-that look caused by unimaginable pressure and grief; that look caused by helplessness and hopelessness; that look caused by incessantly rowing of a boat that isn't going anywhere. I see the look because I know the feeling.

Get out of the boat.

Granted, there is a sense of security in the boat. After all, it seems solid, gives at least some protection at times, and seems to be moving, even if only in a circle

But what I thought was security was actually an anchor pulling me to the depths, robbing me of confidence and beauty and love and health.

We may appear to be sinking at first, we get out of the boat and it seems like things are getting worse. What do you think was the reaction of those who stayed on the boat when they saw Peter begin to sink? I am glad that I stayed here. Peter, you misunderstood the voice of God. Peter, you are always so impetuous. The boat seems to always have naysayers.

Teddy Roosevelt said, “It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat.”

We are not told how far away Jesus was from the boat, but when Peter stepped out of the boat to walk to the Lord, even when he was sinking, he was closer to Jesus than the rest of them.

Neither are we told how deep the water is, but the fact is if you are already in over your head it does matter how much deeper the water is.

We are not told that Jesus carried Peter back to the boat. I believe that once Peter got himself righted, with the storm still raging, he and Jesus walked back together. We all have to walk to Jesus before we can walk with Jesus.

The rest were content to sit in the boat and wait for Him to get there. In v. 32 we read that the wind ceased once Jesus and Peter got into the boat, but what they missed out on was the opportunity to experience divine. Walking with Jesus allows us to do things that we could never accomplish on our own.

We need not fear because His arm is not too short that it cannot save us.

Isaiah 41:10 – So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

He holds us by our hand

Here is what God does - even in the midst of a storm:

Ps 94:13 MSG - Providing a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil,

Ps 94:13 AMP - That You may give him power to keep himself calm in the days of adversity.

Are you a risk taker or a comfort seeker?

Do you have any unopened gifts?

Goethe said, “Hell begins the day God grants you the vision to see all that you could have done, should have done, and would have done, but did not do.”

Unless someone gets out of the boat we will never get out of the storm. If everyone stayed in the boat they would have died because Jesus would have passed them according to the Scripture.

When God bids us to come into a place that is not in our comfort zone, He is already in that place. He would not tell us to go to a place that he is not present. In fact He is present everywhere but he bids us to get out of our comfort zones so that He can reveal Himself to us. He not only reveals Himself to us but He reveals what is in our hearts. Many of us have hidden fears that God wants to replace with faith.

Many might say that God does not take us to stormy places but that is not true, for Jesus himself was led into the wilderness by the Spirit of God to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:12-13). It was a place of revelation for Jesus, for he was tempted to replace his trust in God in order to ease his flesh. In other words he was tempted to take the easy way out, but he stood firm on the word of God. He stood firm on what he knew about God. Luke 4:1 tells us that Jesus was full of the Spirit but from that place Jesus left with POWER of the Holy Spirit.

Do we fixate on sins of commission? Things that we do that we are not supposed to do. Do we never really consider sins of omission? Things that we should have done.

In the Seinfeld show finale, Jerry and the gang have to make an emergency plane landing in the small, fictional town of Latham, Massachusetts. While killing time in Latham, waiting for the plane to be repaired, they witness an overweight man getting carjacked at gunpoint. Instead of helping him, they crack jokes about his size while Kramer films it all on his camcorder, then they proceed to walk away. The victim notices this, and tells the reporting officer. The four main characters are then taken into custody for violating the Good Samaritan law that requires bystanders to help out in such a situation. Good Samaritan laws describe a legal requirement for citizens to assist people in distress, unless doing so would put themselves in harm's way. Citizens are often required to, at minimum, call the local emergency number, unless doing so would be harmful, in which case, the authorities should be contacted when the harmful situation has been removed. Almost a portent of the future judgment, they are all cast into jail.

I am convinced that the greatest regrets in life will come from regrets of inaction.

Cornell sociologists named Tom Gilovich and Vicki Medvec. Their research found that time is a key factor in what we regret. Over the short term, we tend to regret our actions. But over the long haul, we tend to regret inactions. They did a study and found that over the course of an average week, action regrets outnumber inaction regrets 53% to 47%. But when people look at their lives as a whole, inaction regrets outnumber action regrets 84% to 16%.

We need to be able to discern between faith and foolishness. Here is the easiest way: You can say I am going to step out in faith and do this or that which is foolishness, but faith is doing what Jesus has given you permission to do.

Gen 12:1 - Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee:

Mark 6:4 KJV - A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

God asked Abram to remove himself from the things that would prevent him from fully following after God. We will have to be willing to do the same. Jesus said, "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matt 10:37-39