Walk On Water

Carter Conlon from the historic Times Square Church in New York City. God is calling you to something you've never even considered for yourself because you spend your whole day now trying to get out of your storm. Welcome to A Call to the Nation with Carter Conlon. Jesus is calling you. He's calling you in the midst of your storm. He's calling you from addiction, from affliction, from depression, disappointment, fear, and weakness.

He's calling you just as you are. Get ready to walk on water. And that's also the title of today's message from Matthew chapter 14 and verse 22.

Let's join Carter now. Matthew chapter 14 beginning at verse 22. Now Jesus Christ has just done a miracle. He's just taken five loaves and two fish. He's looked up to heaven, and God has supernaturally blessed it, and he has multiplied it, and he's given it to his disciples. They've given it to the multitude, and there were about 5,000 men besides women and children that were fed from this little wee lunch that came into the hands of God.

I could stop there and give an altar call right at this point to say, God Almighty, would you take my little lunch of a life, and would you multiply it, and would you begin to feed the multitudes with it? And that's who God is, and that's what God does. He takes us in our nothingness.

He takes us when we feel like the ability we have is so small compared to the need that's all around us. But that's who God is, and that's what he delights doing. I've often said that he can't use us as long as we think we're something, because he doesn't need something to do something.

He needs nothing to do something. That's who God is. He made everything out of nothing.

He just speaks the word, and things come into existence that are not there. So now after he had done this, it says in verse 22, immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he sent the multitudes away. And 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, and the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost. And they cried out for fear. There was and still is this superstition among mariners. May I put it that way? That if you're going to drown, that the spirit of death, in a sense, comes walking towards you.

And that's most likely, or at least part of what they were thinking when they saw this. But immediately, Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer. It is I. Do not be afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. And so he said, 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. And immediately, Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and said to him, Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt?

And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Now, there's other accounts in the Bible describe this or a similar storm to it as a storm that was life threatening. You remember one account says the water was coming into the boat, and the disciples thought that they were going to perish.

It was beyond human ability to navigate. Their faith was beginning to fail, and they were wondering why they had been left to perish. You can just imagine the disciples in this particular boat saying, Where is Jesus? Why is he not? Why did he send us out into this? Why is he not with us? Why has he not come to help us? Did he not know that he was going to be sending us into the storm?

Does he not care about us? You know, we can allow those thoughts sometimes to get into our hearts when we find ourselves in a storm, especially when the storm is beyond our ability to do anything about it. We can't navigate it anymore.

We don't know the way out. It was a time when possibility had become or was becoming impossible. Now, these were seasoned fishermen. They were seasoned navigators. They knew how to get across this particular body of water. They knew how to roll in storms.

They'd obviously been in storms before, but this storm was bigger than anything that they'd ever faced in their lifetime. And it was no longer possible to do anything about it. And I'm thinking about people. When you started drinking, you online, when you started drinking, it was possible to stop at some point, wasn't it? But now it's impossible. Now this substance has gotten a hold of you, and you're in the storm of your life, and you feel like you're going down, and it's simply out of your control. You can't control it anymore.

Somebody else, you thought that that little flirtation in the office was just a passing fancy, and you certainly of all people could handle this thing, but now it's gotten a hold of your heart. Now it's eating at the very fabric of your relationship with your wife or your husband. Now it's destroying your family and your children. Now it threatens to ruin your entire life, and you seem to be unable, you seem to do anything about it. What was once possible is now impossible to control. That's what sin does. It comes in as a smooth journey in the beginning, but suddenly we find ourselves, when sin gets a hold of the human heart, unable to control a situation that now controls us. It was formerly possible maybe to deal with it, but now it can't be dealt with. Now it was at this time that the Lord Jesus appears, and he calls Peter to do something now that is totally impossible. Now I want you to catch the irony of this situation.

What was once possible to Peter is now impossible. They're rowing. The wind is contrary. It is a storm that they can't navigate. It is a place of fear. They're crying out. When it says they cried out for fear, they cried out for fear.

These guys were shouting. They thought they were going to go down. They thought that Father Time had finally caught up with them. They thought that they were getting their first glimpse into perhaps even the judgment of God, perhaps. I don't know what their situation was or what every man was thinking, but it certainly was not faith coming out of their mouths. They were crying out for fear when they saw Jesus approaching them. And in this impossible storm where the waves are still beating against the boat, where everything is still contrary, where everything is out of control, where they're fearing for their future, it's at this time that Jesus Christ says to Peter, come. And he calls him to do something that is completely impossible. I love this about the Lord God. And we ask ourselves the question, why doesn't Jesus wait for a calm, sunny day to take Peter to the seashore and explain what he's about to do? That's the way we would do it. And say, Peter, I want to take your side.

We're going to get down to the seas and it's a lovely morning and the sun is shimmering on the water. And he says, now I'm going to just show you my power. You see, I'm going to, I don't know how he would have said it. I'm going to, I'm going to maybe coagulate the molecules in the water and I'm going to give them a strength they don't have to hold you up or, or maybe I'm just going to make you lighter than you are so that you're able to walk on the water.

I don't know how he was going to explain it. This is the way we would like him to do it. And we'd like him to do it when we feel good about ourselves, wouldn't we? When we feel like we've got faith, when Peter's standing there on the, on the shoreline saying, I can do this, God, I can do this.

Between you and I, I can walk out to the end of this pier on the water and I can walk back and I'll be the first man that does this and how awesome this is going to be. But it's, it's at a season of, of impossibility. It's a, it's at a season in a sense where I'm talking to you who are addicted, are despairing, are depressed, are angry. You can't see a way forward into the future. Your storm is overwhelming you. You're just looking to get out of the storm and suddenly Jesus Christ comes to you and asks you to do something that's way beyond even where you are. And he asked you to do something that is completely impossible to walk in a place you can't humanly walk in, to walk into a place that you know it's not possible for you to do this.

You don't have the ability, you don't have the strength, you don't have the courage, you don't have the faith, but yet still the voice of Jesus Christ is calling you to walk into this place. He calls Peter in his in his storm. And if you can hear it, the voice of Christ is calling you in your storm. Your storm of of discouragement, your storm of depression, your storm of of your marriage breaking up, your storm of addiction, your storm of thoughts in your mind that you can't control any longer.

Your, your, your storm of feeling hopeless about the future and feeling like everything is out of control. Suddenly it's not about your storm now, it's about you. God is calling you to something you've never even considered for yourself because you spend your whole day now trying to get out of your storm. But when he came to the men in that boat and he spoke to Peter, it wasn't about the storm, it was about something bigger than the storm. Peter was going to have to walk in the future in places that he wasn't humanly capable of doing.

And only the power of God could sustain him. And so he calls him, he says, Peter come and walk with me where I am. I am above the storm.

I am, I walk above the elements. There's nothing in this world that can take me down. Come and walk with me now where I am. When he called Peter out of the boat he was showing you and I that he's not, he's not limited by our lack of ability.

A lot of people, you know, you, you and I would stand there and say, but Lord, you know, I can't walk on the water. And God would say to you, as he said to Peter, it's not about you, it's about what I've called you to do. And if I've called you to do something, it will be done. Whatever door I set before you, no one can close it. And whatever I call you to do will be done.

And it will be done in the strength and in the power of God. He was showing us through Peter in this scenario that he is not offended by our fears. When they first saw him approaching, they thought it was a ghost. They, they screamed out for fear.

They thought the death had come to them. He's not offended by the fears that you and I go through when the voice of God, when God himself is approaching us and calling us to do something in our lives that we've never considered that we could be. And lastly of all, he's showing us through the life of Peter that he won't withdraw from us when we fail. You know, Peter got out of the boat and started to walk towards Jesus. And the Bible says when he saw the wind and he saw the waves, he was afraid suddenly.

And he started to sink. And he said, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and said to him, Oh, you have little faith. Why did you doubt? You see, he's not, he's not offended and he doesn't withdraw from us when we fail.

In other words, there's people here saying, well, I'm willing to give this a try, but what happens if I fail? If you falter in your first steps of faith, Jesus will reach out and grab your hand and he will lift you up. He won't abandon you in your moment of trial and difficulty. For many who are online, he's calling you in your storm. He's calling you to himself in your storm of addiction that you can't beat, affliction that you can't overcome, depression that you can't escape, disappointment that you can't get over, fear that you can't overpower, and weakness that you can't subdue. He's not waiting for you to get it all together. He's coming to you just as you are.

And he's saying, step out and walk towards me. And you will begin to understand my keeping power. You'll begin to see what I can do.

That when I call you, I will sustain you. When I saved you, I will cover you. I'll not be ashamed of you. I'll not be ashamed of your trials.

I'll not withdraw from you when you falter. I will be there as a friend that sticks closer to you than a brother. And you can say, like Peter once said, oh God, if it's you that's speaking to me in my home, my living room, wherever you happen to be, if you're speaking to me through this word and through this preacher that's online, bid me to come.

And the Lord says, you come then. Get off your couch and move towards me. Get up off your face and move towards me. Get out of your bed and move towards me. Get off your park bench and move towards me. Get out of your car and move towards me. Come to where I am. Come to where I'm calling you to.

And you will start to understand the supernatural power of God. I don't choose the strong. I don't choose the wise. I don't choose the influential. I don't choose the wealthy.

I don't choose those who have it all together. I call the nothings and the nobodies of this world and things that are not to bring to naught things that are and stand in their own strength. I call the foolish of this world and things that are despised and things that are nothing to bring to nothing things that stand in themselves that no flesh can glory in the presence of God. You know, just as they did, you might feel that a spirit of hopelessness is about to swallow you. In the middle of your storm, though, the voice of God says, it is I. Be of good cheer. Do not be afraid. I love that. I mean, he comes walking on the water and the whole thing is starting to sink and the waves are rocking it. They're crying out for fear.

And he just says, it's me. Be of good cheer. And don't be afraid. Come walk with me that where I am, you can be with me and I'll take you just as you are.

Let me show you what I can do for those who say yes. Now, here's the interesting thing. After lifting Peter out of the water, the scripture says, they go back into the boat and the wind ceased. You know, a lot of folks that are listening online, you say, God, deal with my storm and I'll serve you. And the Lord says to you, no, serve me and I'll deal with your storm.

Hallelujah. You see, you can't use your addiction as an excuse to sit on your couch any longer. You can't use your struggle. You can't use the depression. You can't use anything that's in your life that's causing you to feel like you're losing control of everything.

You can't use that. It's not a bargaining chip that you can use with God to say, Oh God, you do this for me. And then I'll do that for you. The Lord says, no, you step out of where you are right now, just the way you are. And you come to me, you come to me just as you are. And if you'll come to me as you are, I will come back into your situation with you and I'll look after your storm. Praise be to God.

But you get up and you start coming towards me. Fathers that are losing your children and your families, you get up and start walking towards God. Mothers, you get up and start walking towards God. Don't make bargains with God. It's not about God, you do this for me and then I'll serve you.

No, no, no, no. You get up, you walk towards his voice now and then he'll come and he'll calm your storm. And the storm that's in your life today will lose all of its power. On your part, simply acknowledge that you can't help, you can't do it. Just get to the point of saying, God, I give up. I can't do this. I can't save myself. I can't guide myself through this life. I can't roll my way out of this storm. I allowed something into my life.

I got into a situation that is overpowering me. The disappointment, the fear, the weakness, the depression, the addiction, the affliction, the things that are in my life. It's as we heard about the prodigal son. It's as we heard about the daughter who died. It's as we heard about families that are believing God for their children and fathers who need to rise up and take hold of God again so that the covering of heaven can come on their families and their homes one more time. If you will get up and move towards God and simply admit you can't save yourself and believe that God loves you. God loves you so much that he sent his son.

That's what happened in this storm. He sent his son, but God loves you so much. He sent his son to a cross to be nailed there, to be beaten there, to be bruised there, to be whipped there, to pay the price for all the wrong things that you have done and I have done and all the messes that we've gotten ourselves into over the years.

All the things we can't get out of. He went to the cross and suffered the punishment and the penalty for all of these things and brought us back into right relationship with God so that we can step out of what it is that's that's become this all-encompassing circumstance that threatens to destroy us and we can start to move towards the voice of God. And as soon as you do that, you're going to find that you're going to be given the ability to walk in places you couldn't walk before. To walk in ways you couldn't walk. To do things that you were not able to do.

The Bible says that when he rose from the dead he took your captivity captive and kept you alive. He took your captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. Giftings of God. Words of wisdom.

Words of knowledge. The ability to pray and believe. A voice to speak things you've never spoke in your entire life. A heart to love like you've never loved. Courage and faith like you know is not your own.

It's got to be another life that's being lived out inside of you. The things that would have made you sink. The things that would have drowned you. The places that you would have now are under your feet. And you are walking in places that ordinary men and women can't walk. Only people empowered by the Spirit of God can walk there. Doing things that only people gripped by the Spirit of God can do. That is the kingdom of God. That is how we glorify God on the earth. By just simply getting up no matter where we are and moving towards the voice of God. Lazarus was dead and ironically he's the only man who could hear the voice of God in that whole cemetery. Everyone who claimed to be alive and religious and full of prayers and and tears and everything else that they all the accolades that they were perhaps trying to share with one another.

None of them could hear the voice of God except a dead man could hear the voice of God. And when you get to the point where you can't get out. When you get to the point where the addiction is too strong. The affliction is too deep. The depression is too dark.

The disappointment is too grand. The fear is too all-encompassing and the weakness leaves you in a place of powerlessness. It's at that point you can start to hear the voice of God. And he says, simply get up my son, get up my daughter and start to walk towards the sound of my voice and you will find yourself doing things that nobody, nobody apart from those who are called by God are able to do. I'll give you abilities that can only come from God. I'll take you into places that only God can take you.

I'll give you giftings that could only come from the hand of the one who gave his life to bring you back into right relationship. And simply confess that Jesus Christ is your Lord. Say God if it be thou bid me come. In other words if it is you call me. And Jesus said it is me. Come. Peter when he stepped out of that boat it was a confession to everybody around him I'm going with, I'm going with the voice of God.

I'm going with Christ and I don't care what you guys do. Now they may have mocked him later on say ha ha you only got like 30 yards and you sank. But he did get 30 yards walking on water. Nobody else ever did that. There's no record of anybody else ever doing that apart from Peter. Thank God.

Thank God. And when he faltered as we do when we step out and when we we lose our confidence. It can happen to any one of us. We lose our confidence. It doesn't cast us away in our time of difficulty. So don't don't be afraid that if you make this step that somehow oh maybe I'm going to blow it. Maybe I'm going to maybe I'm going to be sober for a week and then I'm going to blow it.

Or maybe I'm going to escape my weakness for a week and it's going to come back and try to overpower me again. No you get up and you start walking towards the voice of God and when you falter and if you falter he will be there to pick you up again. And he will go back with you into your place of storm into that that boat where you thought you were going to drown where you thought you were going to die. And immediately the scripture said the wind ceased. Great is thy faithfulness O God my Father there is no shadow of turning with thee. Thou changest not thy compassion they fail not. As thou hath been thou forever will be. Summer and winter and springtime and harvest.

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above. Join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed thy help have provided. Great is thy faithfulness Lord unto me. I'm heartened for seeing the peace that...