Getting Out Of The Boat

Well, good morning, First Baptist Church family.

My, what a privilege and a joy it is to be back here.

Thank you, choir, so much for your leadership and worship this morning.

And thank you, Pastor Sam, for the invitation to come back, for Susie and I to be with you today.

I keep hearing good things about you as far as some conversations that we would have with First One

and then another.

And, of course, I'm glad to hear those things.

I particularly have been pleased to hear about the election of several young deacons.

I'm grateful for those veteran deacons, as I know you are within the church that has served the church for many years.

But what a joy to hear about the election and the ordination of these young men.

And that's going to be something that I'm convinced will make First Baptist Church a better church

and speaks well of the future.

And I'm also so pleased to hear how the church is following the example of the pastor

and moving outside the church to minister to those within this community.

I truly believe, as I spent some time with you, that I could see that the brightness of your future as a church family

would be tied in so much with the relationship that you would have with the schools,

with other organizations within the city, with coming to know and minister to the people that are truly outside the walls of this church,

some of which need to be in some of our churches.

But right now, they're different from us.

They don't all look like you do or smell like you do or act like you do.

But that's our field of service, isn't it?

That's our target group.

And we need to certainly be engaged in those ways in which we can

that would move us outside the walls of the church and beyond ministering just to each other.

And I commend you in that.

Thank you so much for the way in which you were so gracious and good to Susie and I.

During the months that we were here, we have such fond memories,

and we'll have those all the rest of our life.

And thank you for the way you treated us so graciously.

At the present time, we have been called to serve as the interim pastor up at First Baptist Church Bonham.

If you know where Bonham is, up there between Sherman and Paris,

had our first Sunday there last Sunday.

And I kind of apologized last Sunday to say,

I'm sorry to be here one Sunday and go on the next,

but we promised the people up at First Baptist Henrietta that we would be there next Sunday.

And they understood that.

But every time you can think about it, my, how we would appreciate your prayers for us

as we come to deal with a church that, folks, let me say to you straight out,

is a very different church in many ways from the one here in Henrietta.

They're facing some really difficult challenges right now,

and only the work of God is going to be able to really make a difference.

Hey, we brought help this morning.

James and Wanda Nichols are with us as our guests.

They're neighbors to us there in McKinney,

and we're going to head on up into Oklahoma for a couple of days

and aggravate one another up there.

But if you've not met the Nichols,

well, I hope you'd feel free to introduce yourself after the amen

or maybe during our potluck lunch today.

Well, on this Sunday preceding Thanksgiving,

I am reminded of one of the things for which I am most grateful.

I'm referring to the thing that helps me perhaps more than anything else

when I find my back against the wall,

when I find myself facing a difficult and trying situation.

Folks, I am so thankful for the character

and the nature of the God we call our Savior.

That is such a source of a resource of strength and help to me

when I face trying times to remind myself

of the kind of God that we serve.

One of the places that we see God's character expressing itself

is there on the Sea of Galilee

when Simon Peter decided that he would walk on the water.

Remember?

I'm sure you do remember,

and I want us to go there this morning.

There's a man by the name of John Ortberg

who has written a book entitled

If You Want to Walk on the Water,

You've Got to Get Out of the Boat.

And I want to springboard off of some of the things

that John said about this passage

that's found in Matthew chapter 14.

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

So if you have your Bible,

and I hope that you do,

turn with me this morning to Matthew and chapter 14.

And you follow along with me in whatever translation

that you have with you.

I'll be reading out of the English Standard Version this morning,

or you can follow along there on the screen

to these verses 22 through 33

in Matthew chapter 14.

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

The Bible speaks to us there to say immediately.

He made the disciples get into the boat

and go before him to the other side

while he dismissed the crowds.

And after he had dismissed the crowds,

he went up on a mountain by himself to pray.

When the evening came, he was there alone,

but the boat by this time

was a long way from the land,

and then beaten by the waves

for the wind was against them.

And in the fourth watch of the night,

that would be between 3 and 6 a.m.,

in the fourth watch of the night,

he came to them walking on the water.

And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,

they were terrified and said,

it is a ghost.

And they cried out in fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying,

Take heart.

It is I.

Do not be afraid.

And Peter answered him,

Lord, if it is you,

command me to come to you on the water.

He said, Come.

So Peter got out of the boat

and walked on the water

and came to Jesus.

But when he saw the wind,

he was afraid.

And beginning to sink,

he cried out,

Lord, save me.

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand

and took hold of him,

saying to him,

Oh, you of little faith,

why did you doubt?

And when they got into the boat,

the wind ceased.

And those in the boat worshipped him,

saying,

Truly, you are the Son of God.

Well, we were approaching Denver

at about 20,000 feet.

It was a rough day.

And I was thinking

I might just fill up

one of those little bags

that they place in the seat

in front of you,

you know,

with my motion sickness.

However, more importantly,

I was concerned

as to whether or not

we were in some serious trouble.

I was flying Frontier Airlines

for the first time.

Any of you remember Frontier

out of Denver?

Well, my questions were things like,

Can this pilot be trusted?

Was he or she

of sufficient competence

that I can place my destiny

in his or her hands?

Well, it was too little late

for those kind of questions.

You know,

I was simply going to have to have faith

that they knew what they were doing.

Have you found yourself

in those situations

from time to time in life

where matters very important to you

or in the hands of somebody else?

That requires faith, doesn't it?

And intimately connected to faith

is risk.

Where there can be no faith

without risk.

And risk is intimately connected to fear.

There can be no faith

without risk

and sometimes failure.

Faith requires risking failure.

And that brings us to the story

of Peter here in the boat.

According to verse 24 there,

a storm comes along so rough

that the disciples can't be able

to make it across this body of water.

And these,

I would remind you,

are professional sailors.

Several of them are.

Verse 25 tells us

that Jesus came there

between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.

in the fourth watch of the night.

Now picture in your mind,

if you will,

the size of the waves,

the strength of the wind.

Picture the darkness of the night

and this little boat

struggling to avoid being capsized.

Picture in your mind,

I say,

this little boat.

Well, Matthew says

the boat was tormented by the waves.

That's the Greek word that he uses,

tormented by the waves.

So here they are.

Cold,

wet,

exhausted,

terrified.

Those are the conditions

under which Peter

is going to get out of the boat.

I spent a little time

on Lake Texhoma

and Ray Roberts,

Sam Rayburn,

some of those reservoirs

around our state.

When the waves were high

and the wind had gotten up

and I was glad

to be in a large bass boat,

you know,

we negotiated those waves

carefully

as we would make our way

to safety.

I can hardly imagine

someone suggesting

that I would step out

of the boat

under those kind of traditions

trying to stay upright

in that kind of weather.

I would think

that it would be difficult enough

to get out of a boat

and try to walk on the water

when it's calm in the daylight.

I mean,

good night.

How much courage

would it take

to average person

could be able to

do what Simon Peter

did that night?

Imagine doing it

with the waves crashing,

with the wind

at gale force

and three o'clock

in the morning.

Well,

Peter gets out

and he falls.

He doesn't make it.

It's a story of failure.

Or is it?

Is it a story

of failure?

failure.

Include yourself

if you've ever

flunked a test.

If you've ever been

cut from a team.

If you ever

didn't get that job

or that promotion

that you wanted.

Include yourself

if you've ever

been impatient

with a three-year-old.

If you've ever

said the wrong thing

or eaten

with the wrong fork.

Oh my lens,

if you've ever

experienced failure

of any kind,

I say to you,

all of us

are would-be

water walkers.

All of us.

And God

did not intend

for human beings

His children

that are created

in His divine image

to go through life

in a desperate effort

to avoid failure.

The Lord

never intended

that for us.

But the boat

is so safe

and so comfortable.

The waves are high.

The night is dark

and a storm

is out there.

And if you get

out of the boat,

you very likely

are going to sink.

But if you don't

get out of the boat,

you're never going

to walk on water.

Duh.

You know?

God,

yeah,

there's something

inside of us,

folks.

Wouldn't you agree?

There's something

inside of us

that tells us

that our lives

are about more

than just sitting

in the boat.

Something that wants

to walk on the water.

Something that calls us

to leave the routine

of a comfortable existence

and abandon ourselves

to the adventure

of following Christ.

Yeah,

there's something

inside of us

that tells us

now that's the right

thing to do.

Jesus comes

to his disciples

here and

the disciples

see him

walking on the sea

and they are

terrified.

You can imagine.

Put yourself

you ever seen

anybody walk on?

Of course

they were afraid.

Terrified.

Jesus says

have no fear.

It's me.

He says you can

he's saying

in so many words

is he not?

You can trust

my character.

You can trust

my confidence.

You can safely

without reservation

with no hesitation

you can place

your hands

in my hands

and your life

in mine.

You have this storm?

you have me.

Now decide

which is more powerful.

And so

Simon Peter

says all right

Lord

if it's you

then command me

to come to you

on the water.

And as we read

Jesus said

all right Peter

come on.

And now can't you

just see it?

Picture it in your mind.

as Peter

throws one leg

over the side

of the boat

and then he lifts up

the other leg

and puts it over

the side of the boat

and puts both feet

down in the water

and then

he lets go.

And he's still

standing.

And he turns

and he takes a step

toward the Lord Jesus

and then he takes

another step.

And folks

for the first time

in human history

the first time

in the history

of the human race

an ordinary

mortal man

is walking

on the water.

And for just a moment

it's Peter

and Jesus.

and then

all of a sudden

Peter realizes

what he's doing.

He sees the waves.

He feels

the sting

of the water

and his faith

gives way.

He is afraid

again

and he sinks.

Some people say

he took his eyes

off Jesus.

The Bible says

he was afraid.

He was afraid

and he sank.

So my question

for you this morning

is

well did Peter fail?

I mean really

did he fail?

This text

I believe

radically defines

failure

in the life

of a follower

of Christ.

Failure is not

so much of an event.

It is a way

that we interpret

and judge

that event.

It's a label

that we might

attach to it.

Jonah saw

I understand

attempted

200

unsuccessful

vaccines

before he

found the

vaccine

that would

take care

of polio.

Somebody asked

how did it

feel to fail

200 times

trying to

invent a

vaccine

for polio.

His response

was I've never

failed 200

times at anything

in my life.

My family

taught me

never to use

that word.

He said

I simply

discovered

200 ways

how not

to make

a vaccine

for polio.

Somebody

asked Winston

Churchill

one time

said

what most

prepared you

to lead

Great Britain

through World

War II?

As most

of you know

for a period

of time

Great Britain

stood virtually

alone

against

Nazi Germany

as it

dominated

the western

world.

Here was

Churchill's

response.

It was

the time

I repeated

the class

in grade

school

he said

and the

questioner said

you mean

you flunked

a grade?

Churchill said

well let me

just say

I was given

a second

opportunity

to get it

right

he said

yeah

did Peter

fail?

Well

yes

in one

way

he did

fail

his faith

gave way

he could

not stay

locked

in to

Jesus

he sank

he failed

his faith

gave way

I say

but now

listen to me

this morning

folks

there were

eleven

other

men

who were

bigger

failures

I would

suggest to

you in

that boat

yeah

they failed

privately

they failed

quietly

their failure

was safe

and unnoticed

and

uncriticized

only

Peter

experienced

the

shame

of public

failure

but then

only

Peter

knew the

glory

of walking

on the

water

amen

only Peter

knew the

glory of

walking on

the water

only Peter

knew in a

way that

others would

never perhaps

know that

when he sank

Jesus would

be there

he knew that

Jesus is

wholly adequate

to save

and Peter

he had a

shared moment

a connection

like nobody

else could

have and

that could

not have

happened

if he had

never thrown

that leg

over the

side of the

boat

and gotten

out on the

water

faith means

choosing

to follow

Jesus

perhaps

you're

wondering

this

morning

what it

means

to get

out of

the

boat

you say

brother

Wallace

that

sounds

exciting

I'm

all for

it

but I'm

wondering

what you

do

at the

heart

of it

I'm

convinced

is the

choice

to become

a disciple

of Christ

Jesus

the disciple

is not

simply

someone

who believes

in certain

things

so they'll

go to

heaven

when they

die

a disciple

is someone

who says

it is my

ultimately

my ultimate

goal in

life

to allow

Jesus

to live

as if he

were in

my body

it is to

live and

love

like Jesus

a non-disciple

is somebody

who has no

other goal

you're not

likely to

drift

into

discipleship

you have

to choose

you have

to decide

to step

out

on the

water

some of

you

this

morning

who sit

here

first

baptist

church

henrietta

I dare

say

some of

you

need

to do

what

you need

to do

in

conjunction

with your

marriage

in

relationship

perhaps

with your

children

or for

some of

you

perhaps

in

relationship

to your

parents

some of

you need

to pull

the trigger

and throw

your legs

over the

side of

the boat

in connection

with your

addiction

God knows

your alcohol

addiction

or other

drug

your

pornography

some of

you regarding

your job

your future

God's calling

in your life

some of

you need

to let

go

and let

God

have

his

way

in

relationship

to your

boyfriend

or your

girlfriend

or perhaps

your health

all you

thought about

it

and for

some of

you

it's

about

all

you

think

about

anymore

you've

examined

that

thing

from

all

the

angles

and

now

it's

time to

do

something

about

it

you

need

to

quit

talking

about

it

and

begin

to do

something

about

it

God

said

to

Peter

come

and

he

says

to us

this

morning

trust

me

depend

upon

me

in

this

thing

this

is

something

that

you

cannot

do

on

your

own

and

I

am

worthy

of

your

trust

well

what

about

it

this

morning

this

day

in

which

our

world

and

our

country

in

particularly

is

talking

about

thanksgiving

I'm

wondering

if you

are allowing

the God

of your

salvation

to really

be

the Lord

of your

life

in such

a way

that you

are willing

to give

him the

circumstances

some of

you to

give to

him

the

difficult

circumstances

within

your life

and that

is the

great need

this morning

you do

need to

come out

of the

closet

so to

speak

as far

as some

of those

areas

or that

area

in your

life

in which

you need

to trust

him

and realize

as the

choir sang

it so

well

this

morning

to

recognize

that he

does

walk

on water

and that

he'll give

us the

opportunity

to do

what for

otherwise

would have

been impossible

for us

to do

except

for his

strength

his

courage

his

presence

within

our

lives

I

think

about

a

seamstress

a member

of the

Dexter Avenue

Baptist

Church

devoted

Christ

follower

who

believed

that

Jesus

had

something

to teach

a segregated

world

about love

and justice

and community

and so

one morning

in the

December

of

1955

it was

a bus

driver

told her

she must

vacate

her seat

and move

to the

back

of the

bus

because

she was

an African

American

and a

white

person

needed

the seat

and in

one of

the most

courageous

choices

of the

20th

century

she did

not move

and she

started

the revolution

the next

Monday

night

10,000

followers

of Christ

gathered

together

at her

church

to pray

and to

ask God

so now

what do

we do

next

because

of that

choice

a revolution

started

that was

not easy

it had

a high

cost

many

were

beaten

some

were

imprisoned

some

even

died

but it

changed

the

conscience

of a

nation

it

didn't

change

it

enough

but it

changed

it

all

because

a

mild

mannered

soft

spoken

Christ

follower

a

seamstress

got out

of the

boat

and that

brings us

to an

aspect

of

discipleship

that

a lot

of

people

don't

like

I

don't

like

it

much

myself

I

mean

a

commitment

to a

life

of

following

Christ

is a

commitment

to the

constant

experience

of

fear

did you

hear me

I

say

a

commitment

to a

life

of

following

Christ

is a

commitment

to a

constant

reoccurrence

of the

experience

of fear

it'll

happen

over

and over

again

Jesus

commands

the

disciples

to get

into the

boat

they do

a

terrific

storm

comes

up

and they're

afraid

Jesus

comes

on them

by walking

on the

water

and when

they see him

they're

terrified

he says

take heart

don't be

afraid

Peter

asked

what

he's

supposed

to do

Jesus

tells

him

the

next

step

Peter

gets

out

of

the

boat

walks

and then

sinks

what does

he

experience

more

fear

but

Jesus

rescues

him

once

again

and of

course

that won't

be the

last

time

that

Peter

is

going

to

experience

panic

or fear

is it

not at

all

oh

to a

disciple

it's

to be

a

learner

and

a

student

it's

to

choose

to

grow

in

Christ

and

growth

means

entering

new

territory

getting

out

of

the

boat

and

every

time

you

do

that

I

say

every

time

you

do

that

you're

going

to

experience

fear

do you

realize

that

you are

going

to

here

is

the

amazing

thing

about

discipleship

or

one

of

those

amazing

things

about

discipleship

you

will

always

experience

fear

it

will

never

go

away

every

time

you

get

out

of

the

boat

every

time

you

enter

a

new

challenge

area

to

be

every

time

you

you're

going

to

experience

discipleship

is

always

a

choice

between

comfort

and

fear

to

be

a

disciple

is

to

renounce

comfort

you

found

that

out

haven't

you

I

say

to

be

a

disciple

is

to

renounce

comfort

that's

bad

news

for

many

of

us

because

our

society

is

heavy

duty

into

comfort

aren't

we

oh

we

like

to

come

home

and

say

I

just

want

to

veg

out

you

know

usually

in

front

of

the

television

set

and

people

that

do

that

we

call

them

couch

potatoes

don't

we

yeah

not

good

training

for

discipleship

may

I

suggest

to

you

that

eleven

other

disciples

were

boat

potatoes

yeah

they

didn't

want

to

run

the

risk

they

didn't

want

to

experience

the

fear

churches

are full

of folks

that we

might

well

call

pew

potatoes

yeah

people

who's

who do

not

want

to run

the

risk

churches

are full

of folks

like

that

their

religious

faith

amounts

to

little

more

than

spiritual

padding

that will

comfort

the rest

of their

lives

oh

you've

got

such

a

really

nice

boat

here

you

you

you

you

haven't

been

out

of

in a

long

long

time

maybe

there

was

a

time

earlier

in your

life

in which

you

stepped

out

of the

boat

some

of you

maybe

even

on a

regular

basis

Jesus

just

give me

the word

and I'll

come

maybe

you

now

however

gotten

really

comfortable

in your

boat

where you

are

and for

some

of you

maybe

you're

just

flat

out

afraid

I

know

that

feeling

I've

stepped

out

of the

boat

a few

times

and

getting

out

of the

boat

for me

was not

just

taking

a

risk

it

was

dying

to

this

crazy

obsession

of

needing

to

appear

successful

sometimes

I wanted

to walk

on the

water

to impress

the boat

potatoes

you know

that's not

what walking

on the

water is

about

walking

on the

water is

about

coming

to the

Lord

Jesus

and if

you try

that

you very

well

may sink

but I've

got a

secret

for you

it doesn't

matter

it really

doesn't

matter

because

Jesus

is adequate

to save

sinking

people

huh

and he

does

Peter

got out

of the

boat

he noticed

that strong

wind

became

frightened

and beginning

to sink

he cried

out

what

Lord

save me

Lord

save me

did you

notice he

didn't go

in our

heavenly

father

majestic

above

creator

he said

Lord

save me

it was a

pretty simple

prayer

wasn't it

it was a

pretty strong

and we

become

desperate

as we

find

ourselves

in those

kind of

situations

we don't

try to

become

creative

we just

simply

want to

call

on his

name

and that's

exactly

it's a

confession

of the

lordship

of Christ

and a

plea

for

deliverance

and Jesus

immediately

reached out

his right

hand

and caught

him

the point

is not

that Jesus

will constantly

bail us

out

it is

that he

is always

ready to

respond

however

there is

no failure

that can

place you

beyond the

length of

his arm

is it

not a

thing you

could do

ah

Jesus

as he

reached out

to Simon

Peter that

night

was able to

say what

the scripture

says

casting all

of your

cares upon

him

because he

cares for

you

I wanted

to ask

you this

morning

what about

that kind

of faith

in your

life

is it

a faith

that you

recognize

requires a

risk

if it is

then it's a

risk

that will be

characterized

by fear

faith

can result

in some

remarkable

things

but we've

got to

move through

that area

of having

both a

confidence

and a

faith in

God

being willing

to take

that risk

and being

willing to

declare

ourselves

as

uncomfortable

and at

times quite

fearful

as a result

of Peter's

having gotten

out of the

boat and

as a result

of his

failure and

the redeeming

hand of

Christ that

entire boat

began to

worship Jesus

when people

get out of

the boat

when people

get out of

the boat

the power

of God

is put into

play and

some remarkable

things can

happen

I wanted to

close the

message this

morning by

telling you

about a

man by the

name of

Bob

Bob

I learned

about Bob

from a man

whose name

was Doug

Cole

he had a

ministry

in Washington

D.C.

mostly to

the political

types

Bob became

a Christian

though he

wasn't involved

in politics

as a matter

of fact

he sold

insurance

he didn't

have any

church

background

he really

didn't know

very much

at all

about

Christianity

Bob did

not

Doug was

teaching him

some of

the basics

and he

was teaching

him some

things about

prayer

Doug

told him

for instance

that Jesus

said

ask whatever

you will

in my name

and it

will be

yours

Bob was

amazed

at that

Doug told

him that

he would

have to

understand

it with

some common

sense

but Jesus

was ready

to respond

Bob decided

he wanted

to pray

for a

certain

country

in Africa

and so

Doug said

alright

you pray

for a

month

for this

country

and if

at the

end

of the

month

nothing

happens

I'll

give you

$500

but if

something

remarkable

happens

then you

give me

$500

he said

if you

don't pray

every day

though

all bets

are off

well Bob

agreed to

that

and he

started to

pray

and it

was getting

on toward

the end

of the

month

and nothing

had happened

he was

at a

dinner

people at