James 1:22 (NIRV)
22 Don’t just listen to the word (Bible).
You fool yourselves if you do that.
You must do what it says.
Every day you make a choice.
The chair or the challenge.
Are you going to just sit back or go all in?
There are a bunch of us who have a whole lot of excuses.
Here is a story about a bunch of guys who stayed in the boat, and one who stepped out.
Matthew 14:22-29 (NIRV)
22 Right away Jesus made the disciples get into the boat.
He had them go on ahead of him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
Then he sent the crowd away.
23 After he had sent them away, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.
Later that night, he was there alone.
24 The boat was already a long way from land.
It was being pounded by the waves because the wind was blowing against it.
25 Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to the disciples.
He walked on the lake.
26 They saw him walking on the lake and were terrified.
“It’s a ghost!” they said.
And they cried out in fear.
27 Right away Jesus called out to them, “Be brave!
It is I.
Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, is it you?”
Peter asked.
“If it is, tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” Jesus said.
So Peter got out of the boat.
He walked on the water toward Jesus.
Get out of the boat.
The journey of a 1,000 miles begins with the first step.
Being in a boat during a storm is terrifying.
They were afraid of dying.
They were tough fishermen.
It had to be bad if they thought that they were going to die.
Then, one of them yelled out "It's a Ghost" in terror!
When they were yelling Ghost, Peter was calling out to his Lord.
Water walkers always recognize God's presence.
When we become too comfortable, we don't look for God's presence.
We get content outside our calling.
The Bible says sin is fun for a season (Hebrews 11:25).
Sin is not your calling.
Success is not your calling.
Education is not your calling.
God has called you to do something great with your life.
If salvation were your calling, God would have killed you right after you got saved.
We relax in our fake lives, and stay awake at night wondering about our true destiny.
Water walkers listen for God's voice.
Do you hear Him calling you?
You can't have faith without obedience.
Obedience is proof of your faith.
You don't have to say that you are a Christian.
We see it in your obedience to God's word.
We have the desire, but need the discipline to do it.
Decisions are easy to make.
Discipline is required to make your decisions come true.
Jesus said go and make disciples not believers.
Disciples are those who follow the teachings of Jesus.
You can't pray your way out of the problems that your decisions created for you.
You've got to discipline your way out.
I'm trying to help you salvage your calling.
Some of us are following people who shouldn't be mentoring anyone.
Why would you listen to the guys who are afraid in the boat instead of the one walking on the water?
Sometimes, God will give you only one word like come.
God told Abraham to go that way.
To the land that I will show you.
We'd want more information.
Go.
Where?
I'll show you.
God doesn't give you a GPS because He is the GPS.
When Jesus says follow me, we have to stay right up on His bumper making sure that nothing gets between Him and us, but isn't that His purpose.
Hang on to Jesus.
He'll get you there.
Keep your eyes on Him.
This encourages dependence.
His word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105).
Jesus taught us to ask God to give us our daily bread (Matthew 6:11).
Not weekly.
Not monthly.
Daily.
Stay close Jesus.
Stay in step.
You'll find your place with Him on your knees.
Follow Jesus.
Not me.
Build a relationship.
You're not ready for your destiny yet.
It is the journey that prepares you.
God is trying to develop our hearts.
Not just our gift.
Do not follow your gift, but what His calling is for you.
Calling is something that's discovered through prayer probably outside your comfort zone.
If you're following your gift, you'll prostitute your gift to those who give you the most applause.
God, please call me.
Don't leave me on call.
God's calling does not go away (Romans 11:29).
The Bible is filled with people with crazy calls.
What about David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17).
David was cultivating His call while watching sheep as he fought off Lions and Bears.
The other warriors were gifted to fight Goliath, but David was called to do it.
Before his calling arrived, his gifting would help him get there.
What are you called to do?
More often than not it is outside your comfort zone.
I love studying words, and my word for the week is metamorphosis.
Meta means the process of forming.
Morphosis means beyond and unexplained.
You can't explain it, but its a process.
How does a caterpiller change to become a butterfly?
We don't understand the process, but it works.
It is the struggle to come out of the cocoon which develops the process within it.
Jesus gave Peter one word "come".
Do you need more information than just one word?
Let's walk with Jesus.
Walking is amazing.
Walking requires falling.
Walking is controlled falling.
We lean forward and catch ourselves with one foot.
Water walkers get out of the boat.
Setbacks are God's setups for your breakthrough.
Every great invention is a solution to a problem.
Light bulbs were created to solve darkness.
Telephones were created to solve distance.
Start looking at your problems as opportunities.
Step out of where you are into where God is.
We talk about Peter's failure (Matthew 14:29-31), but we remember him for who he finally became a great man of God.
We don't focus on Peter's failing after he got distracted.
We remember that Peter walked upon the water far enough to touch Jesus and to be pulled up close to Him.
We don't focus on Peter's three denials (Matthew 26),
but we applaud God using him to reach the masses through his words on Pentecost (Acts 2).
Peter took risks.
He wasn't afraid to step out.
Your destiny isn't a probability but a possibility which requires effort on your part.
331 times the Bible says if you will God will.
If you will ask, it will be given to you.
If you will seek, you will find.
If you will knock, it will be open to you (Matthew 7:7).
What is God asking of you to do today?
Your destiny is right outside your boat.
I love trouble.
I love giants.
Giants are indicators that we're getting ready to go to the next level.
When the enemy fights me, its getting ready to be awesome.
The enemy sees something that we don't see.
The whole host of heaven fights through your problem with you (Hebrews 12:1).
We've got too many people.
Too many cars.
But we will not be a people who despise the blessings of God, and get frustrated when God answers our prayers.
We asked God to give us revival.
He said okay.
God is calling us, and we can't stay here.
What's your boat?
Step out of your boat, and walk upon his word.
It's not easy to trust God.
Getting out of your boat might mean that you need to go to marital counseling.
Maybe it's starting a business, or going back to school.
Maybe, it's writing a book.
I don't know what it is.
I'm not calling you to it, but God is.
Saying yes to Jesus before He asks the question is a hard one.
Maybe your boat is your own life.
Would you step out and give your life to Jesus?
Will you step out to become His disciple?
Say Dear Jesus, you are my only hope.
You are the only one who can save me.
I turn from my sins, and give my life to you.
Now and forevermore.
Amen.
Notes taken from Jeremy Foster, Hope City Church
https://hopecity.com/sermons/awaken-adventure-part-3/
