January 19, 2013 "Don't Be Scared - Walking By Faith Part II" Pastor Howard-John Wesley

good is to know that our God continues to prove himself faithful thank God for this privilege an opportunity to share what I believe the Lord has laid on my heart as we continue in a journey that we began last week trying to describe in detail what it means to walk by faith tonight as we pick up in part two of that series I would invite you to yet another instance in the life of Jesus or we find faith at work Texas tailored to teach us what it truly means to put our faith in God and to apply it in our daily living invite you tonight turn to the Gospel of Matthew very first book of the New Testament the 14th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew we find another instance of great faith Matthew chapter 14 I want to begin our reading out of the New King James Version in verse 22 and as those who are physically able to stand with us as together we reverence the authority and the anointing of God's Holy Word for Matthew the 14th chapter beginning in the 22nd verse here the word of the Lord in an instance that may be familiar to many immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he sent the multitudes away when he had sent the multitudes away he went up on the mountain by himself to pray now when evening came he was alone there but the boat was now in the middle of the sea tossed by the waves for the wind was contrary now on the fourth watch the night Jesus went to them walking on the sea when the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were troubled saying it must be a ghost they cried out for fear but immediately Jesus spoke to them saying be of good courage it is I do not be afraid Peter answered him and said lord if it's really you command me to come to you on the water Jesus had come and when Peter had come down out of the boat he walked on the water to go to Jesus but when he saw that the wind was boisterous he was afraid and beginning to sink he cried out saying lord save me immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and called him and said to him o you of little faith why did you doubt when they got into the boat the wind ceased and those who ran the boat came and worshiped him saying truly you are the son of God but immediately Jesus spoke to them saying be of good cheer it is I do not be afraid do me a favour give somebody tonight's sermon tired look at him show him you brushed all your teeth before you came to church tell them neighbor don't be scared you may be seated in the presence of the Lord don't be scared continuing on the foundation of what was late last week I believe without argument and with full unanimous agreement we could say in this church family today that it is almost virtually impossible to overestimate the value of faith faith is at the core of your relationship with God for it is by grace that we are saved through faith as a matter of fact you can't walk daily with God without faith for the Bible teaches us that without faith it's impossible to please God faith is the key that allows you to access the goodness that God has in store for you that's why Jesus says be it unto the according to thy faith somebody here's lived long enough now going through enough ups and downs in life to know that sometimes faith is all you have to hold yourself together the faith will hold you faith will carry you through faith will bring you out of some situations that you know you'd still be stuck in had you not believed in the power of matter of fact on this historic moment as we celebrate the life to great african-american men I would say that our forefathers and foremothers in heaven are living witnesses that we've come this far by faith they used to add a verse on that leaning on the Lord trusting in his holy word because he's never failed us yes that faith is one of the most critical components of your life suggest to you in part one of this sermon that kind of faith that pleases God it's faith that surrenders to his sovereign will faith that believes no matter how inescapable his presence may be in your life when you don't feel God around you there's always his power at work in you and then finally that faith is that which always acknowledges the authority of God in every situation that you find yourself going through so you continue on today and talk about what it means to walk by faith I want to suggest to you that faith my brother and my sister is not a characteristic faith is not a personality trait faith is not a sanctified degree you put on your wall faith is not even a possession that you have faith is not just a word in your vocabulary that sits in your mouth when you sit in the Alpha Street Baptist Church no faith even though it is a noun best operates as a verb because if faith is anything it is that which requires and demands action faith is that which moves you and motivates you faith unsettles you faith shaky faith calls you to stand up and do something faith is not just something you talk about faith is something that when you really have it it pushes you and it urges you and it forces you not to become complacent in places that God has not called you to but faith calls you to stand up on your feet and make a movement in life I believe with my friend dr. Joe Ratliff who simply said this that faith literally translated means risk that wherever you see faith in the Bible you are translated as the word risk because wherever there is no risk there is no faith at work huh for we are saved by risk through grace we walk by risk and not sight that without risk it is impossible to please God for he who comes to God must believe that God is and a reward of them that diligently seek Him be it unto you according to your level of risk it is your risk that has made you whole risk is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen if you don't reach a point where you lay it all on the line then you're really not walking by faith hear me in case you didn't catch all of that it is simple faith does not operate where there is the guarantee of victory faith only operates when there's the possibility of defeat don't preach pastor Wesley it's not faith if you've got a written guarantee that it's all going to work out in your favor it's only faith when you lay it out on the line and know that if God doesn't show up if God doesn't handle this if God isn't in this then I might die in my tryin but if the Lord's hand is on it if God speaks to it if God is involved in it everything will be all right somebody holler risk if you couldn't say man I got my first Amen from brother Peter up in heaven cuz if anybody knew that faith and risk were synonymous it was the disciple Peter we see Peter at his best and his worst in Matthew chapter 14 that shouldn't surprise you Peter often times is good and bad mixed together Peter is the brother that can say thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God and the same under whom Jesus has say get thee behind me Satan there Pete Pete Pete Peters just like person sitting in your seat tonight yes he is he's he's a mixture of good and bad and sometimes he gets it right sometimes he gets it wrong touch yourself and say he talking to me now he he talking to me here is Jesus at the end of the feeding of the 5000 the Bible says he's tired I can imagine that when you ministered the 5000 folk over the weekend it leaves you kind of weary little tired folks and got on his nerves and got on his nerves so much he sends the disciples away because sometimes disciples can get on your nerves sends them away just me y'all get on the boat going over there and leave me alone Jesus goes up on a mountaintop to pray baba says while he's praying sunsets and evening comes and about the fourth watch of the night somewhere between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. he looks out he finds an interesting thing that the disciples have not yet made it to the other side of the sea it's been hours and they still ain't God where they supposed to be why it's simple because the Bible says that there was a wind that was contrary I need to paint the picture so that you catch this it is a contrary wind meaning Deegan bogan it is a wind that is blowing against the direction that the disciples are sailing in they're trying to get somewhere but there is a force that's keeping them from getting where they want to be Jesus looks out from the mountain sees them stuck in the middle of the sea and the Bible says he goes to walk to them on the water when he's almost at the boat we don't know how far off but obviously close enough for them to discern that something is coming the disciples started looking and the tragedy and terror of the text is that they don't know it's Jesus they think it's a ghost and they become afraid Jesus has to speak out to him and he says be of good courage it is I don't be afraid and then Peter gets up with a question and a request Peter Essen says is it really you if it's you Lord bid me walk to you on the water that sounds like Peter always making a bold request if you go ask God for some of you might as well ask boldly Peter says Lord let me come and then we are drawn to really what is one of the most dramatic moments and movements of faith in all the Bible paint the scene in your mind if you will it's dark outside the wind is blowing contrary the disciples have been rowing and getting nowhere they see something but they're not sure what it is and the disciples are trembling in fear because they don't know what the outcome is going to be and Peter makes the request to be able to come and walk on water and in the midst of a contrary wind and disciples rowing and getting nowhere the son is nowhere to be found Peter now stands at the edge of the boat making a decision about whether he's really going to I've heard the Lord say come but but I really don't know what's going to happen when I now now vibrancy but we got to that the other disciples were not as encouraging of this as they should have been because sometimes you've heard God in a way that others have not and even disciples can discourage you from Peter steps and miraculously he begins to walk on water now you all know the story that's not how it is after a few steps st. Peter begins to sink it made me wonder James what is it that motivated his faith to walk on water and at the same time causes him to sink how can he be walking and then be sinking ok say with me because it all hinges on what Jesus says to them when he approaches the boat you need to hang out in verse 27 because Jesus in good Baptist tradition says three things be of good cheer it is I don't be afraid can we teach her a little bit that that's what we come here for tonight little in-depth Saturday Bible study here's what Jesus says he walks up to him he says beat up good cheer the term he uses there is this word far sail in Greek and it literally means be confident it means hold your head up it means be optimistic that almost seems cruel and callous as if Jesus doesn't understand the context of the disciples they've been rowing and getting nowhere the wind is contrary it's dark outside and they are afraid they got a lot on their mind things are not going well they're not progressing as they should things are dark in their world they've never been stuck like this before they are rightfully afraid and Jesus shows up says y'all cheer up because the point Jesus wants to make is that faith first of all requires a proper perspective then what Jesus understands is that your perspective how you see things shapes your prediction of how things are going to turn out pause rewind press play your perspective shapes your prediction and Jesus as your problems disciples is that you have the wrong perspective of your situation and that is going to limit your ability to see what is about to happen if you simply change your perspective come by to tell you tonight that the greatest enemy of your faith is a negative mindset go on teach pastor that faith cannot grow in a mind that refuses to see the possibilities of faith faith cannot grow when all you see is the bad when all you believe is the worst when all you predict is is gonna go down like it's always going down before when you think ain't nobody no good they all a bunch of liars ain't nobody on your side is no reason to try all to give up now and there's somebody to date I understand things have gotten dark in your life you've been and not getting anywhere you're not where you expect it to be but the Lord showed up tonight to speak into your life and to say to you you've got to change your perspective because if you would walk by faith you got to stop dwelling on what ain't and start dreaming about what can be you've got to open your eyes to unprecedented possibilities you've got to change your negative stinking thinking and start believing that with God all things are possible the Bible says that when you find yourself in situations like that here's what y'all to think about whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are of a good report if there be any virtue don't think on the negative things but think on the good report of God and the justness of God and the truth of God and the power of God think on these things you've got to change your mindset Jesus says this now don't care how dark has been don't care how long y'all been ruined I don't care how long you been stuck where you are change your mindset watch why he tells me cheer up because he comes to them in the fourth watch of the night now you may not understand the timing that's between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. understand that that Michelle is not the darkest time of night the darkest time is the third watch between 12:00 and 3:00 April 3 to 6 the fourth watch that's just at the break of dawn so so if you hold on and know that I have shown up you got to believe that the Sun is about to rise and things are about to get better I don't know who I came to preach to but I came to tell you that things are about to get better the Sun is about to rise you're about to break out where you are and that's what faith believes faith refuses to give in to a defeated mindset faith refuses to believe that there is no hope faith refuses to accept that there's not any way to get out of this faith does not acknowledge dead in and closed doors and locked up windows faith believes that no matter how dark it has been the Sun is about to rise no matter how much I've been rowing I'm about to start moving no matter how many folk don't stand with me God is about to lift me up my faith refuses to accept a negative mindset and maybe that's what allows Peter to walk on the water because Peter unlike the other disciples has a different perspective I heard him say come so I believe I can I believe at the Word of God I can survive this I believe I can walk on this I believe I can handle this I believe I can live through this I believe I can survive this I know nobody else has but I heard Jesus say come and at some point you just got to believe you will survive you will make it you will endure you will come out you will prosper you will grow you will try I believe I can now say with me this is why you come to Alfred Street because it is that same perspective that causes him to walk on water that causes him to sink they stay with me Saints here it is why does this man who's walking on water begin to sing till I tell you why because here's the Bible says he saw that the wind was boisterous no mrs. Haynes what he saw caused him to sing come on come on here it is he sees the wind I did a little Bible study and read this passage and there are three things we learn about the wind in these few verses can I tell you what it is we learned first of all from verse 24 the wind is contrary somebody say contrary it's blowing against the direction they're rowing in it's hindering their progress it's limited to their ability to go forward towards their destination it is contrary and then we find out from Peter in verse 30 that the wind is boisterous somebody say boisterous that word boisterous and Greek literally means to half force it means to have strength it means to be able to cause violent reaction the wind is contrary the wind is boisterous oh but here's the good news of grace we find out in verse 32 that that wind that was contrary and that wind that was boisterous was also a win that ceased the wind was contrary the wind was boisterous but the wind also meant to cease can I tell you what that word cease means in the Bible you're gonna love this it means to grow weary it means to get tired that the wind that was stopping them the wind that was violent it had been violent so long and it been contrary so long then it got tired and just gave up and stopped bothering the disciples I don't know who I come to preach Eva I know the winds are contrary I know the wind is boisterous but let me just be a preacher and tell you that if you hold on and live a little while longer if you trust God the same wind that was contrary is the wind that will cease it makes this text so amazing this is not the instance where Jesus was in the boat and fell asleep and woke up and told the wind to stop the wind just gave up I need to go old school to somebody I just come to tell you like Jose should say the storm is passing over them and if you have enough faith to wake up in the morning if you've got enough faith to not die in the middle of the day I come by tell you that you will find no storm lasts forever that sooner or later even the winds get tired because you just keep on surviving sooner or later lying lips give up because you just keep on surviving sooner or later your haters just to retire because you keep on surviving sooner or later everything that stands against you has to give up and quit because you keep surviving somebody say proper perspective look can I go a little deeper though you get that faith that doesn't just have a proper perspective but watch this you have to have a faith that discredits your doubts oh god I feel preaching right here mark Jesus shows up he doesn't just say be of good cheer he says it is I that's your Bible put number two right there it is I kiki--the since you're in seminary that that that greek term is eagle ami EG o e IMI it is literally a greek translation of a phrase that you have seen before yes it is i is not new to you if you've read the bible and getting past genesis into exodus you've seen this phrase before because this is the same translated phrase that shows up in exodus chapter 3 when God tells Moses I'm about to do a great thing in the life of the people of Israel and Moses said the Lord who shall I tell him sent me to tell them they gonna do this great thing god says listen I can't give you a name because you're gonna limit me just tell him I am so when Jesus comes in the middle of the sea he gives them something they've heard before I am which is to let them know God is right here God is in this thing with you the winds of contrary it's dark out but God is here now here's the tragedy and terror of the text they don't know it's Jesus now now why come they didn't know it was Jesus it's a sad thing not to recognize the presence of Christ it's a sad thing to be in a place where Christ is there and you don't see it I know you think I'm talking about the text but that happens in church air Sunday there those who are so focused on the wind and the darkness that they can't identify the presence of Christ why do they not know it's Jesus well I would suggest you Jim that part of the problem is that when they last saw Jesus he was on the mountaintop praying and it's hard for them you rain to believe that the same Jesus who was on the mountain praying is now on the sea in the middle of the storm come come come on cuz anybody can have faith to hold God in majestic mountain moments but God says you've got to have a faith that does not doubt my reality in your life when you find yourself on storm-tossed seas ah you've got to have a faith that believes that God is not just with me in my mountaintop moments but I serve a God who can come to me in the darkest of nights and a God who is there with me when the wind is blowing contrary in my life her real faith hangs its hat on Romans chapter 8 and verse 38 which simply says this and I am persuaded I wish I had some Bible reasons that neither life nor death nor Angels nor principalities nor height nor death nor any other created creature shall be able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus that if there's one thing you ought to believe it's that God will never leave you God will never forsake you it's easy to believe God is there when you're on mountains but I want to talk to you about a God who shows up in storm-tossed seas as a matter of fact there's some neighbors on your pee who are living witnesses of some storms you have been in and the Lord showed up showed up I ain't talking to folk that just wanna holla I'm not my some folk they got some bona fide a resume experience to success that I've been in some low valleys and God walked with me I've been in some storms and the Lord brought me out i sat in that doctor's office and heard a diagnosis I didn't want to hear but look at me now cuz God's been there can I teach Bible that's why you come down for treat here it is watch the tragedy of Peter we oftentimes highlight Peters success but I want you to see one of his failures Peter comes to the edge of the boat see something that looks like Jesus the voice sounds like it and this what he says if you really you let me if you really you give me the authority to walk on water now now Bible students and say why this is dangerous because its phrase if it's you is the same term Satan used in Matthew 4 in tempting Jesus for it is there that Satan says if you're really the Christ have Peter mimics the same language which shows that he really doesn't know if it's Jesus and I would suggest you that part of the reason he sinks is not simply because he saw the wind Jesus has no why did you doubt Jesus in Deitz Peter on the charge of felonious doubting now now stay with me Saints Bible King Johnson what did he doubt he really could not have doubted that he could walk on water because by the time he doubts he's already walking on water say with me as a matter of fact he's walked on water so much James then when he begins to sing all Jesus has to do is reach out look how far he's come walking on water from the boat to the art reach of Jesus and he begins to sing it's not walking on water that he doubts he's doubting even though he's gotten close is it really you and the indictment of Jesus is your wondering is it me look how far you've come who else could it be look at what you've been able to do who else could it be I double dare you to just think about what's been happening in your life how dare you doubt if God is with you you're still in your right mind who else could it be your bills are still paid who else could it be you still got a job who else could it be you laid off you ain't hungry who else could it be I wish I had some folk that could declare that when you see how far you've come and what the Lord has enabled you to do there's no doubt in your mind there's no question in your soul you know that it must be it had to be nobody but God it says after all you come and the ways in which you've walked you ought to be able to say you can't make me down I know too much about it look at what I've done and how far I've come it must be the Lord just right tell them don't doubt him God's done too much for you to doubt him now this ain't your first test of faith this ain't your first storm isn't your first group a enemies this ain't the first folk that lied on you this ain't the first time you didn't feel good this ain't the first time your money ran short they say the first time you wondered how you make it and God says look back over everything I've caused you to walk on thus far you walked on stuff that should have killed you you lived through stuff that you should have drowned in you survived some stuff you should have killed yourself in but look how far you come and you ought to be the first one to stand up and declare if it had not been for the Lord oh my hi can I help you tonight so I come back to you got to switch your language that faith does not say if God faith says since God you'll get admitted faith doesn't say if God will move and if God heard and if God knows faith says since God heard him and since God knows and since God is able and since the Lord's will make away and since the Lord's gonna sustain me I'm gonna walk in faith y'all God let me sit down here is you gotta have the proper perspective you you've got to discredit your doubts but let me give you the third thing with me the third thing you get 1/2 of faith that not only has a proper perspective not only discredit your doubts but a faith that faces your fears I'm glad y'all shouted because now we can talk fear and faith are mutually exclusive you cannot be afraid and trust God at the same time you can say it but fear and faith cannot operate in the same space at the same time faith says go fear says no you don't faith liberates fear incarcerate faith empowers fear paralyzes fear will lock you in situations that God has called you out of fear will cause you to accept things when God has better things fear will cause you to surrender yourself to people whom God has called you to be liberated from fear will hold you hostage from the goodness and the greatness and the glory of God because you're scared about what's going to happen can I suggest you that there really was nothing miraculous about Peter what made Peter different than the other disciples was that they were scared and Peter chose faith over fear I told you all I have a therapist she has a slogan to make me think of this text the slogan says this leap and the net will appear don't know miss that as long as you are afraid you will never see how you could survive sometimes baby Bubba you got to leap you got to step out the boat you got to make the first step to find out that God will sustain you can I show you why I'm done now let me show you why because I read this text and I realize all the time I've read it wrong Peter did not primarily ask to walk on water no his desire was come to Jesus I'm tired of being in this boat I'm tired of the winds blowing Lord let me come to you and here's what the Lord says that when your desire is to draw close to God don't be scared when your sincere prayer is to walk in the will of God don't be afraid when you ask God to make you what he designed you to be don't you worry about what folk will say and what folk will do and what folk will think when you desire to draw close to God God will sustain you God will provide for you God will lift you up when you desire righteousness and hunger after holiness and wanna be closer to God God will sustain you can I preach it now and even when you falter on that journey to Jesus when you slip and stumble as you will in trying to be what God wants you to be when you make mistakes and you shall even though you're trying to be better tomorrow than you were yesterday let me show you the grace and the glory of God in walking by faith watch what the Bible says that when Peter lost a proper perspective and when Peter began to doubt the Bible says right here in verse 30 don't miss it look at it he began to sink he began to sing which implies that there was a time lapse between the beginning of sinking and actually sinking who come here come here now the reason you ain't shout yet is because you don't remember that nothing begins to sing if you go out to the Potomac River and throw a rock it's not gonna begin to sing it's just go but because Peter has put its trust in Jesus and he's walking by faith he just begins to sing that what should have happened didn't happen and he didn't go down like he should have gone down and he didn't drown like he should have drowned I come out of priests of somebody who knows that what started didn't finish what should have happened didn't happen what could have happened got delayed from happening the Bible says then Wilde he was going down he had enough faith to know I still got time to call on God I still got time to call on Jesus and when I call him the same God that enabled me to walk is the God that will reach down and lift me up hey hey goodbye outfit Street may the Lord bless your mighty good but I came out to tell you while you got breath you still got time if you call on him and trust him and walk to him yes he will the Lord will pull you up would you just nut somebody tell him you still got time you've got time right now to call on God somebody today here you are you're beginning to sink and all you've got to do is call on the Lord he will pull you out any good to know you didn't go down as quickly as you should go come on you

Channel: Alfred Street Baptist Church

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Length: 44min 18sec (2658 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 21 2013