Walking on the Storm | Pastor John Harke | Faith Church

This morning, I'm going to take a text that many

of you have heard. I'm going to preach it much

differently than you've ever heard before. I

want you to turn in your Bible to Matthew chapter

Matthew 14:22

14, verse 22. I'm going to read out of the NIV

tonight, this morning rather. Very familiar passage

of Scripture, but let me give you a context.

Let me contextualize. I want to remind you out

in the foyer, I have a brand new book called

Taught by God. And it's out there. You can see

Meliana at the end if you'd like to get a copy.

But listen to what it says here. Immediately,

Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and

go on ahead of him to the other side. Everybody

say, go to the other side. Let me give some context.

Jesus had just fed the 5 ,000. How many want

to multiply? How many don't care if you multiply?

Come on. Most of us in this room want to multiply.

And Jesus teaches me something when he multiplied

the five loaves and two fish about multiplication.

I want to multiply. I want Pastor Darren and

Pastor Cammie to multiply. I want everybody in

this house to multiply. And a lot of times we

have an assignment from God. We have a call from

God. But yet what we have in our hands is not

enough to do the things that God has called us

to do. For instance, the five loaves and two

fish cannot feed 5 ,000. It's mathematically

impossible. Even if you go to school in Illinois,

it's still mathematically impossible. Come on.

And so you have to, because, you know, Common

Core, you know what I'm saying? They still do

that, right? It's whatever you think it is, right?

But Jesus receives what can't meets the need.

And I love what he does. Because how many know

that life and death are in the power of our tongue?

He doesn't curse what doesn't meet the need.

He blesses it. Because what I bless multiplies.

You follow me? That's why I want to bless my

country. That's why I want to bless my marriage.

That's why I want to bless Sister Kathy. That's

why I want to bless the church because I want

the church to multiply because if I curse it,

it doesn't multiply. I want to bless my kids.

I want to bless my grand, especially my grandchildren.

I really want to bless my grandchildren, you

know. And so I blessed them. Come on. And so,

however, when he did that, when he fed the 5

,000, as we read that he dismissed the crowd,

however, There's something that began to transpire.

Because he met the need, people followed him

not because he was a lord of lords and the king

of kings. They followed him because all he did

is meet needs. And this is something that we

can understand because how many know that Jesus

can meet every need? How many know that Jesus

can meet every need? But there comes a time in

our life when we're not seeking him to meet our

needs. We're seeking him because we want to obey

him. We're seeking him because we want to worship

him. We're seeking him because we want to know

him. Come on, are you hearing what I'm saying?

Not just that he meets my needs. Because every

one of us in this room have needs. We all have

need. If you don't have a need, you're probably

not alive. Come on. We all have needs. And so

what God is doing with the disciples when he

tells them to go to the other side because the

crowd started following him because he gave them

free food. And so what happened, because I guarantee

you, you put a sign up there, free food, the

church is packed. Come on. And so what happens

is, at that process, he wants the disciples to

graduate from the ministry of need to the ministry

of maturity. And he wants them to go to the other

side. Now, notice what he says. Then he says,

after he had dismissed them, he went up to the

mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night,

he was all alone, which means he's praying for

the next assignment. But here's where it gets

interesting. Here in verse 24 of Matthew 14.

And the boat was already a considerable distance

from land, buffeted by the waves because the

wind was against it. Everybody say the wind was

against it. Now, how many believe in fasting

and prayer? Why do you fast and pray? Because

there are things in our life that are buffeting

us from getting where we need to be. Right? That's

why we believe in fasting and prayer. So think

about this. These disciples are actually in the

boat of obedience. They're actually doing what

God has called them to do. They're not resistant

to the call of God. They're saying yes to God.

They're getting the boat. They're going to the

other side. But sometimes the tendency is, if

I am doing everything God has commanded me to

do, then guess what? I am now immune to any kind

of warfare. Are you hearing me? I'm in the will

of God. For instance, I'll give you an example.

You know, my wife is a righteous woman. She's

a holy woman of God. She's a giver, but she still

gets cancer. Are you hearing what I'm saying?

And there's a tendency, especially within our

Western culture, to think that as long as I'm

living perfectly, as long as she, as long as

I'm doing what God called me to do, I'm now immune

to any kind of warfare or any kind of storm.

Come on. And so Meliana, I want to tell you something.

Meliana got cancer, but guess what? She got healed.

Come on. She doesn't have cancer. She wanted

to make sure I was aware of that, you know. But

here she is in the will of God, but she's still

under attack. You follow what I'm saying? And

a lot of times, a lot of times we think, oh,

what have I done? What should I have done? And

what we do is we stop rowing to the other side.

Because we're trying to figure out why we're

in the middle of this mess and why we're in the

middle of this storm. Come on, are you hearing

what I'm saying? Because every one of us in this

room is in a storm. And let me tell you something

right now. The fact that you're in the storm

is saying that you are in the will of God. Because

the storm is exposing the opposition. Doing God's

will is going to expose. This is a real enemy

that doesn't want to get this church to the other

side. Can I hear an amen right now? I feel like

preaching. I thought I was in a Pentecostal church.

You should be running by now. Come on. But here

they are in the will of God. Doing everything

God says, and there's this opposition, this thing

that is buffeting them. And so we find out the

famous, the only place in the Bible where this

is recorded. We find out that here they are.

Because sometimes we go, God, why is obeying

you so hard? Because there's a real devil and

a real darkness that doesn't want to get me to

the other side. Church, can I tell you something?

You know, I'm a fundamentalist conservative and

by political stance. But I can tell you something

right now. You know what? Even the fundamentalist

conservative media didn't post the Democrats

and Republicans worshiping God together. That

was never, never said. I was there. I watched

them lift their hands. I watched a congressman

say, I'm a Democrat and I love Jesus. Come on.

You follow what I'm saying? No, I don't believe

that, but he does. No, I'm just kidding. I'm

just kidding. But here they are, buffeted by

the waves and the winds against them. But listen

to this, verse 25. Shortly before dawn, Jesus

went out to them, walking on the lake. Everybody

say, walking on the lake. Well, here's something

I realized. Because why isn't Jesus calming the

storm? Wouldn't that be a lot better? Wouldn't

that give a little bit less drama? A little anxiety

and worry and fear. If you just calm the sea,

everything is going to be fine. That's a lot

easier. Why aren't you calming the storm? Why

are you walking on the water? I'll tell you why,

ladies and gentlemen. Because sometimes Jesus

doesn't calm the storm. And because I'm a prophetic

voice, I'm going to tell you the truth that Jesus

doesn't always calm the storm. He can. He can

do whatever he wants to. He can solve the problem.

He can fix it just like that. But this is exactly

what he's doing. The reason why he's walking

on top of the water is he's telling us, guess

what I'm doing? I'm walking on top of the storm.

Come on, are you hearing what I'm saying? Because

he's trying to teach me. He's trying to teach

you and I that guess what? There are some storms

that I'm not going to calm. But I want to teach

you how to walk on top of it. Come on. Because

there's something in the water. There's something

that's hindering the church from getting across

to the other side. And what I'm telling you is

I'm telling you that you have dominion over this

storm. That this storm doesn't have dominion

over you. You have dominion because you belong

to me. And I'm showing the disciples that as

I'm walking over the storm, so you can walk on

top of the storm too. Can I hear an amen right

now? If you're suffering from depression. You

can walk over depression. If you're suffering

from financial lack. And abandonment. And all

kinds of stuff that you've gone through. I'm

here to tell you. Jesus is your model. Jesus

is your guide. Jesus is supposed to look for.

And as he walked on water. He's saying I want

you to walk on the storm too. Why is that? And

it is as if. He's not even paying attention to

what's under the water causing all the chaos

and disturbance. As if he's not disturbed. We're

so easily disturbed by what we don't understand.

Let me tell you what happens here. It's very

interesting. Because what Jesus is doing is Jesus...

Showing me that I don't have to be conditioned

by the conditions. Are you hearing me? Jesus

showing me he's demonstrating his dominion over

the disorder. Listen to this. Verse 26. When

the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they

were terrified. It's a ghost, they said, and

cried out in fear. I'm not talking about the

unsaved. I'm talking, the disciples say, oh,

he's a ghost, and cried out in fear. Well, let

me tell you what happened. Last October, I was...

I was visiting my grandchildren. All five of

my grandchildren are now in Florida. I praise

God they're in one place going to one church

because my son and my daughter and my son -in

-law are all on staff at one church. And I'm

so thankful for that because I don't have to

go all over the country chasing my grandkids.

Just go to one place. You know what I'm saying?

And so I'm very, very thankful. And so we took

Monday through Friday off to not to speak so

I can go and visit them. And so on Tuesday morning,

I get a phone call from a friend of mine in Santiago,

Chile. I've known him for a long time. He has

a church of about 800 in the capital of Chile.

He calls me up and he says, Prophet John, I'm

sorry to bother you, but is there any way you

could come to Chile? I said, I'd love to come

to Chile. When? He goes, today. Right? I said,

what do you mean today? I thought you were doing

a conference. He said, yeah, but one of the speakers

had something happen in his family. He can't

make it. Is there any way you could come today?

And then, of course, I'm thinking, oh, man, I

took this time off to be with my grandchildren,

and I don't want to disappoint them. But under

the circumstances, I said, yeah, I'll do it.

So he said, I'll get your ticket. I'll send you

a text with your ticket, and you'll fly out this

afternoon. So this is like 7 a .m. in the morning.

I go in the room. We're staying at my other home

where my kids live in Florida. I start packing.

I end up waking my wife up, and she says, what

are you doing, and where are you going? I said,

I'm going to Chile. She says, I'm not. And I'm

staying here. So, you know, I get on the plane

to go to Chile. And, of course, we're on the

phone a couple times with each other a day. And

then she looks that, you know, because we were

going to leave on that Saturday, and I'm in Chile,

and we were going to go other places. And she

said, honey, I looked on our calendar, and we're

going to be on the plane four times in seven

days. I'm just going to stay with the grandkids.

I said, okay. So that night after church, and

you know how on your phone you'll get a memory

picture will come up. And a picture came up of

my wife's beautiful face looking all elegant

and stylish and beautiful and Polynesian as she

does. And I don't post on social media. So I

decided to post her picture on social media and

put a caption, missing my wife today. You know,

that's what I posted. So I wish I never would

have posted, Pastor Darren. Because when I posted

that. All of a sudden, Meliana saw it. She didn't

say anything. She didn't think anything. All

of a sudden, threads started coming up, and half

the people in the thread thought my wife was

dead. Or sick. Come on. Dead or sick. And I realized

something about human nature with these disciples,

ladies and gentlemen, that our default, I thought,

what we're saying about this church is called

faith assembly. It's not called fear assembly.

It's called faith assembly, right? I like that

name. Come on, I like that. We're assembled under

the canopy of faith. Come on. Are you hearing

me? But what I saw is that, Pastor Darren, that

the disciples' default and the human default

is not faith. It's fear. And many of these people

that posted were pastors and leaders and worship

leaders across the country. And I was completely

shocked. So then I had to rewrite it. Come on.

But no, she's not dead. And she's not as sick.

That was the last time I posted on Facebook.

Really, I'm serious, you know. And so I'm done

with social media. Because I don't want people

thinking my wife's dead, you know. She's very

alive. But what is that? That's the response

of fear. Oh, there's no way anybody can walk

on this storm. There's nobody that anybody that

can walk on water. It has to be a ghost. And

these were church people. These were not worldly

demonic people. They were people that saw miracles.

Because God wants to do something in us and you

and I where we all of a sudden realize that faith

has to become our default. Come on. You know

what? I'm just going to say something. You know,

we don't understand. You know, Kathy, I had my

best friend pass away in front of me on February

8th. We don't understand why that happens. But

God wants my response. Not to be fear. God wants

my response to walk in faith. Come on. I don't

understand everything. Come on. I don't understand

why a man of God goes and leaves a widow. I do

not understand that. My 64 -year -old best friend,

pastor friend, on Sunday morning falls dead,

has a massive heart attack right in front of

me on February 8th. I don't understand that.

And then I go to the hospital, and for two hours,

I pray that he would be raised from the dead.

And then nothing happened. Come on. I don't understand

that. I had faith for him to rise from the dead,

and nothing happened. But guess what? I am not

going to allow fear to control me. You follow

what I'm saying? The pastor's wife, come on,

the pastor's wife was just at our house. We were

there also on Monday and Tuesday because I was

only preaching an hour away. We spent the whole

day. On Monday night, she led prayer meeting,

and on Wednesday night, she preached after losing

her husband. Come on. Because she understood

something. I've got to walk upon this. I've got

to walk upon this storm. I can't let the storm

walk over me. Can I hear an amen right now? It's

a ghost, they said. And cried out in fear. Now

they're really in trouble, Meliana. They're in

a storm and ghosts are coming at them. They assumed

he was a ghost. Isn't it interesting that our

assumptions can promote our fear? But Jesus immediately

said to them, take courage in his eye. Don't

be afraid. Everybody say, take courage in his

eye. Sit in, take courage in his eye. Why does

he say that? Well, obviously, the New Testament

is written in Greek and the Old Testament written

in Hebrew, but there's kind of two, it's different

language, but they mean the same. When Moses

met the Lord on the burning bush, he asked who

he was, and God said, I am that I am. Well, that

word in Hebrew and the same what Jesus said in

this text, take courage. It's me saying, it's

the I am talking to you. It's the I am walking

on your storm. Because notice where he's walking

toward. He's not walking across the lake. He's

walking towards his church. Oh, come on. Because

he wants his church to get across the lake. He

wants faith assembly to get across the lake.

He wants faith assembly to accomplish everything

that he called them to do. And guess what? I'm

walking towards you. I'm not walking past you.

Even though you're in fear, I'm not going to

walk past you. I'm not leaving you. I'm not forsaking

you. I'm walking directly to you. Can I hear

an amen right now? I'm not bypassing you. I'm

not giving up on you even though you're in that

state. Take courage in his eye. If I've got a

word for this house, take courage. Take courage

in his eye. Now, you're in the middle of the

storm. Notice he has never said anything about

calming the storm. He hasn't even acknowledged

the storm. What he's saying is take courage.

Because your fear will kill you before I get

there. Now, think about this. When he says this,

take courage of your desire, don't be afraid.

Because you've got to understand that it's directed

toward every single person in the boat, every

disciple in the boat. And you have to begin to

think like, okay, what would you do if God said,

take courage of your desire? But sometimes, We

can be so engulfed in the storm. We can so internalize

the chaos that we don't even hear the words of

Jesus. So I've got to ask myself this question.

What was different about Peter? Because that

word, take courage, it is I, was directed to

everybody. They all heard it. But they heard

it, but it didn't mean anything because the fear

had so gripped their soul and gripped their mind

that it didn't enter in and didn't produce faith.

Unless this were true about Peter. Because when

Peter heard it, this is exactly, this is what

separated Peter from the rest of the disciples.

When Jesus said, take courage in his eye, He

got a vision. He got a vision. He got a vision

that could it be that if he's out there, I could

go out there too. Oh, come on. Could it be he's

trying to tell me that there's no courage in

this boat that I'm stuck in right now, that the

courage is actually being with his presence?

Because let me just tell you right now, I would

rather be with Jesus, even if he's out on the

water, than be in the boat when Jesus is not

in the boat. Come on. You follow what I'm saying,

ladies and gentlemen? Because what was different

about Peter? What was his mindset? What was he

thinking? What was going through his mind? Because

he doesn't have a reference point. He doesn't

understand everything. But he heard, it is I.

It is I. Take courage. It is I. Let me just tell

you something when you really get that in your

spirit. All of a sudden, you can go through hell.

You can go through anything. But all of a sudden,

something rises up within you and say, guess

what? Storm, you're not controlling me. Cancer,

you're not lording over me. Sickness, disease,

and death, you're not telling me what to do.

I'm telling you what to do. Because I just heard

my Lord say, take courage. It is I. Come on.

Come on. It is the I am. Because if the I am

is not over your life, then you are over your

life. Come on. So notice this. So if something

happens, a vision happens, I can go out there.

That's why Peter said, Lord, if it's you, tell

me to come on the water. Why? Because again,

God doesn't want to be the only person walking

on water. Because he's showing us, I have dominion

over the chaos. But not only do I want to walk

on the storm, I want you to walk on the storm.

Notice that he doesn't even tell Peter, if you'll

step out, I'll calm the storm. That he invites

Jesus, he invites Peter, excuse me, he invites

Peter out of the boat. Come on. Even when his

life is a mess. Oh, man. And because sometimes

we're waiting for the perfect moment, the right

extent to step out in faith. Come on. That is

not faith. Faith steps out when it looks crazy.

when it doesn't make sense, when you don't even

have enough, but all of a sudden you heard God

say, come. Lord, if it's you, cause me to come

upon the water. Because Peter had the proper

theological understanding that faith is not an

intellectual concept. It must be walked out.

For instance, I'll give you an example. Here's

a perfect example. You know why people don't

tithe? Because they don't have faith. Yeah. Because

if they had faith, they would tithe because they

would believe that if they tithe, they give 10

% of their income, that God would open the floodgates

of heaven and pour out a blessing that they can't

contain. Right? That he would provide for them.

But because of the fear of not having enough,

It puts them in a boat where now money is their

God instead of Jesus being their God. And so

they don't see God, I mean, because he reigns

on the just and the unjust because of his grace.

However, they don't see God's intervention in

their life like they could be because they haven't

given up. their financial stronghold and have

them say, God, I'm going to be committed to giving

to you. And when I'm giving to you, this is what's

going to happen. You're going to bless me. Come

on. They don't believe that. And so, for instance,

when Peter said, if it's you, bid me to walk

on the water, or let me walk on the water, he

was actually saying, I don't want to just know

you intellectually. That faith is not an intellectual

concept. Faith must be walked out. Or it's not

faith. It must be walked out in my actions. So,

when God said, come, everybody say, come. That

invitation wasn't just for Peter. That invitation

was for everybody in the boat. Now, think about

this. Think about this in this room. What would

it look like if everybody at Faith Assembly was

walking on water? Or just one person was walking

on water? What would glorify God the most? Come

on. It would glorify God the most when everybody

stepped out of the boat and said, I'm walking

out on the water. Come on. We don't need this

boat. We've got Jesus. Come on. So, when God

said, come, Eliana, this is what Peter does.

Peter then got out of the boat, walked on the

water, and came toward Jesus. Why is this important?

Because this is exactly what Jesus is trying

to teach Peter. Peter, you know I have dominion

over everything. But I'm giving you dominion

over everything too. I'm giving you dominion.

over what's under your feet. Come on. Because

sometimes in Pentecostal churches, we don't speak

enough about dominion theology. God said this

in Genesis 1, 26. I've created man in my image

and likeness and gave them dominion. Come on.

That means sickness shouldn't have dominion over

you. Doubt shouldn't have dominion over you.

Depression shouldn't have dominion over you.

Divorce and brokenness and fractured soul should

not have dominion over you. You should have dominion

over it. Come on. I understand that we are emotionally.

I understand that things happen. When you lose

your spouse, it would be easy to get depressed.

You know what? You know what? We had the widow

over at our house. She's sitting at the counter.

We're fellowshipping. And she says, I haven't

got rid of Pastor Steve's clothes yet. And I

mean, I can't imagine that. I can't imagine getting

over, getting rid of Melianas' clothes. But I

do know this. When God invited Peter and God

invited the disciples, he says, I'm going to

even have dominion over what's hard. I'm going

to give you dominion over what you don't understand.

Come on. I'm going to give you dominion what

you don't have a reference point for. I'm going

to give you dominion. But then this question

has been stirring on the inside of me. I've been

wrestling with it inside my soul. Because he's

walking on earth. He's coming toward Jesus. But

verse 30 is what I've been struggling with. But

listen to this. But when he saw the wind. Everybody

say, but when? He saw the wind. Wait a minute.

Wait a minute. I've never seen wind. I've seen

the results of wind. I've felt the wind, but

I've never seen the wind. Have you? Has anybody

in the room ever seen wind? We live in Illinois.

Come on, maybe we can felt the wind. I'm so thankful

it was warmer today. Come on, most of the time

I come here, I'm freezing. It doesn't matter

where I come from, I'm always cold in Illinois.

And I'm just waiting for it to thaw out, and

it never does. Come on. But what do you mean,

saw the wind? What does that mean? What is that

implying? Because see, when he saw what he was

supposed to have dominion over it, the Bible

says when he saw the wind, he began to sink.

You know what's causing people to sink? They're

paying attention too much to the wind. And then

I have to ask myself this question. This is the

question. What is under the water that is pulling

Peter down? What's under the water that's pulling

you down? Pulling me down. Pulling my precious

wife down. What's under the water that's attempting

to pull Kathy down? Because there's something

under the water that's trying to pull us down.

Oh, come on. And see, nothing was going to pull

Peter down as long as his focus was on Jesus.

Are you hearing me? As long as he looked toward

Jesus, but when he saw the wind. Can I tell you

something? That's why I believe that the media,

oh, I got to tell you this. I'm not going to

preach it, but I want you to hear this. You know,

Meliana has English as her second language. And

sometimes, you know, when we drive back to the

hotel or back home and I'll come up and I will

critique her because I want her to critique me.

And sometimes she has a way of saying opposite

or not using her S's and R's and all of that.

So, you know, I talk to her on the way home and

sometimes I pick my times when I do. Sometimes

I don't because I want to sleep that night. Come

on, you know what I'm saying? And so, but when

she's in a good mood, when she asked me, honey,

what could I have said? We will critique each

other to be better public speakers. And so the

other night, Melianna reads this scripture out

of 1 Chronicles 10, 13, which says, and Saul

died because he was unfaithful. He did not heed

the word of the Lord. And he even went and saw

a medium for guidance. So instead of saying medium,

Meliana says media. That's what comes out. And

see, I'm sitting in the front row. I go, oh,

Jesus, come on. So I run up to the platform.

I actually show her the text on my iPad so she

can read it, right? I'm kind of like, I'll tell

you this. You know? And so then I go back and

I sit down. And you know, when you're a public

speaker, it's really advisable to understand

what words mean and what they don't mean. Right?

So ladies and gentlemen, you want to hear something

crazy? I look up the root word for medium. And

the root word for medium is media. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry if I said that. I blew your bubble.

But the root word for media is medium. They're

root words. Come on. My wife in her broken English

was correct. Come on. You heard what I'm saying.

And she didn't even know it, you know, under

the Holy Ghost. You know what I'm saying? And

this is the problem with America. We're looking

at the wind. The wind is determining the narrative.

Instead of this man, Jesus, who's saying, I'm

going to give you authority and dominion over

the narrative. And certainly he begins to sink.

And when he begins to sink, ladies and gentlemen,

Lord, save me. Because there was something pulling

him down. I call it Leviathan. I don't have time

to go into that. But that's why Israel didn't

have a navy. That's why Israel was afraid, deadly

afraid of water because they believed that the

demon, the serpent, the snake, however you want

to call that, lived in the water and caused the

chaos. Can I tell you something right now, ladies

and gentlemen? There's some people that God is

going to raise up in this church. They're going

to have dominion over Leviathan. They're not

going to let Leviathan pull them down. They're

walking on top of the water. Can I hear an amen

right now? Now, I'm so thankful because all of

us aren't just thankful. This is why when pastor

told us to get up and come to the front, I'm

going to come to the front because you know why

I'm coming to the front? Because I'm so thankful

that God pulled me out of chaos. When I was sinking,

he pulled me out. When I was lost, he found me.

When I was blind, he put eyes on me. When I was

lame, I got to walk. When I was depressed, he

gave me joy. Come on. When I was distraught,

he gave me a purpose. He gave me meaning. Are

you hearing what I'm saying, ladies and gentlemen?

That's why I can't help but praise God. Because

he didn't have to pull me out of the chaos. He

didn't have to pull me out of jail. He didn't

have to pull me out of my dark pit. He didn't

have to pull me out. When I said, Lord, save

me, that's exactly what he did. I'm not going

to let you get swallowed by the enemy. I'm going

to pull you out. And when he pulls him out, why

are you out? Peter, you have little faith. I

said, Jesus. Why do you call Peter of little

faith? He just walked on water. I mean, we don't

know how long, at least for a few seconds, you

know. That's pretty cool. But the Bible said,

in verse 32 of Matthew 14, that when they climbed

into the boat, the wind died down. I'm thinking,

Jesus, why didn't you cause the wind to die down

in the beginning? It would have been a lot easier.

Why do you have to wait till you come in the

boat to have the wind die down? You can walk

on the water once you stop the wind. I mean,

are you into drama, Jesus? Do you like drama?

It seems like you like drama all the time. You

know why he waited for the wind to die down?

Because he wanted to show me. Are you going to

walk on the water even when the storm and the

wind is all around you? Or are you going to only

serve me when the wind dies down? Think about

this. Think about this. The wind dies down, very

profound. Then those who are in the boat worshiped

him, saying, truly you are the son of God. A

few moments, a few seconds ago, he said he was

a ghost. Let me ask you a question. Is Jesus

the ghost or is he the son of God? Now think

about this. These are the disciples. It's interesting

that they worship him when the wind dies down.

That's not worship. You're worshiping circumstances.

I don't want to worship God just because he calms

the wind. I want to worship God when it's windy.

I want to still worship. Kathy didn't have to

come to church today. She just lost her husband.

You know what I'm going to do? She didn't have

to come. Family's here. All of these kinds of

things. But you know what she's saying? She's

saying, guess what? I'm still going to worship

God in the middle of my wind. I'm not going to

just wait for everything to get calm and everything

to settle down before I worship God. I'm going

to worship God in the midst of the storm. Do

I got anybody at Faith Assembly that is going

to worship God in the middle? I'm not going to

wait until everything's perfect. Look at it.

They said, truly, you are the son of God. Why

didn't you tell us? Why wasn't he the son of

God when he was walking on water? So now that

he calms the wind, then he solves my problems,

that now he's the son of God. No, he's the son

of God whether he heals my body. He's the son

of God whether he does anything for me. He's

still the son of God. Because I'm going to tell

you right now, God healed Meliana. But if God

did not heal Meliana, he's still the son of God.

Are you hearing what I'm saying? Are you hearing

what I'm saying? He's still the son of God. I

don't question what he does or what he doesn't

do. That's not my job. My job is to acknowledge

you are the king of kings and lord of lords.

Whether you do anything for my life or am I just

coming to get free food. He is the son of God.

Truly you are the son of God. Why didn't you

say that? What would have happened if he would

have said that when they were buffeted by the

waves and the wind? You're the son of God. But

here's what happened. Write this down, please.

Write this down. Because there's a sequence that's

happening here. Very clear sequence. They get

a revelation of Jesus. Not only do they get a

revelation of Jesus, but they recognize Jesus.

So recognition. Revelation. Recognition. Worship.

Say that with me. Revelation. Recognition. Worship.

Now I can tell you, I'm not trying to pick on

you, I'm just telling you the truth. They're

all up here worshiping God. This young lady that

was worshiping God has such a beautiful voice.

We could feel the weight of the presence today.

But yet there were people who were oblivious.

They weren't entering in. Why is that? I'll tell

you why it is. They don't have a revelation of

Him. And they don't recognize Him. Because if

you had a revelation of Him and you recognize

Him, you would worship Him. You worship that.

We worship this. This is in our face. All the

time. All the time. Right? What does that tell

me? I don't want that to be my place of worship.

I want the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to

be. See, I want to come to church so I can get

a revelation of him. So I can recognize him more

clearly. So I can worship him now. This is exactly

what happens. I've got to move on. There's a

lot into this. But as soon as they get Meliana,

as soon as they get a revelation, as soon as

they recognize him, as soon as they worship him,

they're on the other side. Oh, come on. Are you

hearing what I'm saying? Because how many want

this church to get to the other side? And it's

not just one couple. It's not just Alexandria.

It's every single person in this room. Come on.

I mean, faith. Come on. I'm sorry, that was your

sister. You forgive me. But anyhow, when they

get to the other side, very interesting, and

I've got a couple more verses. And this is what

they said. When they crossed over, verse 34,

and landed in Janzarat. See, that may not mean

anything to you, but it means a lot. Because

this is what it means. Because the last time

they were there, it was called the Gadarenes.

And then Jesus put his foot down, and, you know,

a demon that didn't have any clothes on came

running at them. Now, ladies and gentlemen, can

you imagine having a greeter that's demon -possessed?

Come on. And doesn't wear any clothes. Come on.

I'm not coming to that church. Come on, are you

hearing what I'm saying? That runs at them. They

landed and this guy comes running out of the

tomb, stark naked, demon possessed, screaming.

And one translation says that when the disciples

saw him, he turned around and ran back to the

boat. I would too. Come on. They went from worshiping

to being back into fear. Come on, act quick.

Take your call. There's a lot into that, and

I don't have time after another sermon. But,

you know, Jesus heals him, completely delivers

him. I mean, he just completely delivers him.

He's standing there all by himself. Where's my

associate? Where's my worship team? They all

left me. I'll have to deal with this by myself.

Come on. I've had that happen to me a few times.

A guy levitated. A guy levitated in Idaho. And

the whole half the church took off. Right at

the altar. Like right here. Like picture this.

You're all here. And this guy comes up. I prophesy.

He falls out and levitates. And the whole church

comes back up. I thought you read the gospel.

What happened? Obviously, you probably thought

it was science fiction. Come on, I guess. You

know, it's real, right? But anyway, anyway, anyway,

he cast the devil out of the sky, goes into the

pigs, and he's sitting there in his right mind

fully clothed. I love that. Everybody say fully

clothed. You know what that means? That Jesus

didn't just deliver him. Jesus fully empowered

him. Not just put clothes on him, but actually

clothed him and empowered him to do the will

of God. So it's interesting that when the pig

farmers went and told everybody, they all came

out to see this guy, fully clothed, sitting in

his right mind, and the Bible says they were

afraid. Everybody say, afraid! I'm thinking in

my mind, what kind of people are these? That

they are, they weren't afraid when he was demon

possessed. Why he was, why he was running around

naked. They were kind of used to it. You know

why? Because we've normalized evil. And there

are people sitting in this room right now and

people online watching. You know what? This is

what's happened. We've become more familiar with

the demonic than the power of God. We're more

familiar with the chaos than we are God walking

on water. Are you hearing what I'm saying, ladies

and gentlemen? And we have to change the narrative.

This is why I have a microphone. This is why

I believe God called me, because I want to be

more familiar of freedom than I am chaos. I want

to be more familiar with healing than I am disease.

Come on, come on, church. And then, not only

that, because they were afraid, they asked him

to leave. Jesus just leaves. Let me guess. How

many churches in Lincoln, you'd say? 35 churches?

How many of the 35 churches have asked Jesus

to leave? Now, I don't mind if you leave. Pastor

would. But I don't want Jesus to leave. Because

if Jesus leaves, we're really in trouble. Let's

kick the presence of God out and keep the demons.

I mean deacons. No, I didn't say that. I didn't

say that. And keep the demons. Which tells me

something. They saw Jesus as a threat. Not as

a deliverer. Because they were more familiar

with chaos than they were the power of God. That's

why the media are mediums. Are you hearing me?

Because you will not hear this. You're not going

to hear this, but I don't mind saying it. I don't

have no mind saying it because, listen, I believe

that God's raised the church up at this hour

to speak the truth. Come on. And we cannot water

the truth down in order to peace people who don't

want Jesus around. And that's why, you know,

that is why I tell you that Illinois needs a

move of God. The state of Illinois needs an awakening.

And Chicago needs a revival. Springfield needs

a revival. We need a move of God where this state

becomes more familiar with the power of God than

they do the power of the enemy. Otherwise, they'll

kick God out. Come on. Your own governor said

this during COVID. We need to close the church

down for four years. He said that out of his

mouth. What does that tell me? You know what?

If the church was operating in power, nobody

could ever say that. Don't blame the governor.

He's not saved. We can look at the church because

we're more familiar with chaos than we are the

power of God. Why don't you leave? I'm the guy.

I mean, he's sitting there clothed fully in his

right mind. His life is back. His life's been

restored. I want to go with you, man. Who wouldn't?

And besides, They're kicking you out. Don't leave

me here. I mean, who wants to stay in a church

where they kick Jesus out? You know they kicked

him out. Churches kicked him out. When they say

that God doesn't heal, God doesn't raise the

dead, God doesn't redeem, God doesn't speak.

They kicked him out. We can't, we can't. Let

me tell you something. When they kick him out,

what do they have? All they have is religion.

There's no life. I'm not saying people are bad

people, but guess what? They're then open to

demonic counsel. I don't want to stay here. You

know what Jesus tells them? No. You stay here

and you go tell everybody what God has done for

you. Because sometimes, because we can sit here

and soak in the presence of God under this atmosphere

and this worship team. But sometimes God wants

our obedience as we go out of these four walls

and tell everybody what God's done for us. Come

on. That's more of an act of worship than sitting

down, listening to good music. Come on. And so

now they're back in that region. They're back

in that region. And the reason why I believe

that that storm that they were in, that Jesus

walked on water, is the enemy did not want the

church, didn't want the disciples to get to the

other side because the enemy doesn't want to

see how effective your labor was. Because sometimes

in the middle of the storm, there's a tangible

thing. I'm not making a difference. Nobody's

getting healed. Nobody's getting touched. I'm

in this blue storm. What is my life worth? Come

on, where's my purpose? Where's my meaning? And

the enemy wants to keep you blind to the impact

that you have given somebody else. And so when

they get to the other side, there's an impact

that happens because of this one man's testimony.

Listen to this. And when the men of that place

recognize Jesus, Meliana, everybody say recognize

Jesus. It's interesting Jesus is walking on the

water to his disciples. He's a ghost. But these

people, they recognize him as soon as he shows

up. How do they recognize Jesus? By that man's

testimony. Oh, come on. They sent word to all

the surrounding country. People brought all their

sick to him. And they begged him to let the sick

just touch the edge of his cloak. And all who

touched it were healed. Everybody say all that

touched it were healed. Last November, I'm going

to close right now. I'd like the praise team

to come up to the platform. Last November, my

wife and I, right before Thanksgiving, Sunday

before Thanksgiving, had the privilege to speak

in London, England. We spoke at a church there

near Wembley Stadium. After that, we got on a

plane and flew to the island of Malta. And the

reason why we flew to the island of Malta, we

were in England, it's very inexpensive when you

get into Europe to fly to other places around

Europe. Because of a number of years ago, I had

preached a message out of the book of Acts about

Paul being shipwrecked in Malta. And when he

landed on that island, a snake comes out of the

fire, bites him. And a poisonous snake, he doesn't

swell. He shakes it off, keeps right on doing.

The people falsely assume that because the snake

came out and bit him, he must be a murderer.

And so after they sit there and wait, he doesn't

swell up. Nothing happens. He just continues

to go about what he's doing, gathering wood.

And at that moment, what begins to take place

is he then, they deem him to be a god. And so

now he's got some supernatural power. And even

though their theology was messed up, it gave

him the opportunity to start praying for people.

And he starts praying for people. And the Bible

does say, everybody on the island that were sick

were healed. I wanted to go there. I wanted to

go there. You know why? Because that's not just

a historical story. That scripture that I just

read to you in Matthew 14, it's not just something

that happened in the ministry of Jesus and something

here historical. I want everybody in Lincoln

healed. And let me just tell you there's an anointing.

There's a healing anointing in this church. There's

an anointing for people to get healed. I want

to see our brother's blind eye open. Come on.

Don't you want to see that? Don't you want to

see that? But ladies and gentlemen there's something

I have to understand something. The enemy is

trying to buffet us so we won't believe. The

enemy sends storms so our focus will be on the

wind instead of having dominion over sickness

disease. And so we don't actually take on the

inheritance or don't spend the inheritance that

we've been given by the cross. Can I say, I'm

going to say this. When I was sitting in D .C.,

we were there on a Wednesday night, all day on

Thursday, and then we left on Friday. We had

four meals. One was with the president, the other

was with different people and dignitaries from

all over the world. Had people sitting at my

table that I, I said, Lord, what am I doing here?

And he said, oh, you're, You're here, John, to

prophesy over them. You're here to give them

the word of the Lord. I said, okay, God, that's

what I'll do. I didn't have to get invited. I

didn't have to get invited. There are great voices

around the country. I felt honored. I want to

see this nation get on the other side. I want

to see evil destroyed. Come on, I want this nation

to get healed. Come on. You know, people need

to get healed in Washington, D .C. too. I think

the president needs to get healed after hearing

him. Meliana likes him. I tolerate him. He was

supposed to speak 20 minutes. He spoke an hour

and 17 minutes, you know. And I don't know what

he said. Come on, I'm just kidding. He just rattled

on. But then all of a sudden he said something

that everybody stood up. Because on May 17th

of next ethnic month on at the Washington Mall

there in DC They're going to dedicate the United

States of America as one nation under God the

God Under God one nation under God No president

has ever done You don't have to like him. Sometimes

I see says stuff. I said, oh Jesus help him.

I mean doesn't he have a speech therapist? Come

on Isn't there somebody that writes this? Nobody

does that. It's Donald Trump. And I have to tell

you this. When he said that, I said, oh God,

I'm so thankful to be alive right now. Because

I want to see in my lifetime one nation, what

a nation looks like when it's under God. What

a nation looks like when it's under God. Not

under the demonic, not under evil, not under

unrighteousness, but under God. What happens

when a nation is under God? That is why we have

to walk on top of the chaos. Oh, come on. I'm

telling you. I'm telling you, if we don't walk

upon the chaos right now, the chaos will walk

over us. Lift your hands to Jesus all over the

house. Father, we thank you for your word. It's

a lamp unto our feet. And it's a light upon our

path. I thank you for your sons and your daughters.

And I thank you for who they are and what they

do. And I thank you for giving them dominion

even right now.