October 28, 2017

"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" Matthew 14:28-31

The ultimate result of thinking out of the boat for Peter was that - well, he got out of the boat! Once he realized that it was Jesus Who was coming to Him on the water he wanted to be with Jesus. The storm had not kept Jesus from getting to them, why should the storm keep him from Jesus? So when Jesus called Peter to get out of the boat - he did!

Peter stepped out of the boat and onto the storm-tossed waves and began walking on the water. Only two people I know about that ever walked on water. One of them was Jesus and the other was Peter! That is pretty select company, eh?

We don't really know how far Jesus walked over the waves but HE DID WALK ON WATER! He was so focused on getting to Jesus that he focus on the Savior rather than the storm.

Somewhere between where Jesus was and where the boat was, Peter momentarily took His eyes off of Jesus and began to sink under the waves.

What caused him to sink under the waves that He had just been walking on? Jesus identified the reason as doubt. But was it doubt in Jesus that brought him down or was it doubt in his own inability to walk on water?

I guess in the final analysis it really doesn't which it was, the fact remains he walked on water while He kept his focus on Jesus. But the moment he focused more on the storm and less on Jesus he went from being a walker to being a swimmer.

That brings us to our next Lake Lesson - When you are in the storm stay focused on Jesus! focusing on Jesus is the difference between being IN the storm and being ON it!

Think Outside The Boat

"When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus." Matthew 14:26-29

Storms have a way of getting our attention. I guess that is why we ave these lessons on the lake. So far we have learned:

Lake Lesson #1 - During the storm it helps to know that Jesus put you in the boat.

Lake Lesson #2 - Jesus prayed for you while you are steering the boat.

Lake Lesson #3 - Jesus knows where we are in the storm.

Lake Lesson #4 - Jesus know the perfect time to come to us in the storm.

This morning I have another lesson for you. It is this: When In A Storm, Think Outside the Boat.

Because Jesus knew exactly where the disciples were and because He knew how to get there and because nothing could keep Him away, He came walking to them on the water! That's right! On the water through the storm!

If you were in a boat in a storm being blown by the wind and tossed by the waves, who would you most want to see? Jesus! 

Me too!

Well, He came walking on the waves through the wind and in the darkness. Apparently they weren't looking for Him because when He got in eyesight they thought they were seeing a ghost! They cried out in fear. 

What would you do?

Jesus called out to them so they would recognize Him. Peter did.

This is one of the points I want to make, we need to learn to look for Jesus in new ways. He is always doing new things and He loves to do them in new ways. Our tendency is to look for Jesus in the last place where He appeared to us. He rarely does that!

When you are in a storm things that work in calm weather don't always work. So, a storm can force you to think outside the boat and look for God in new ways and allow Him to come to you like He hasn't before.

If you are in a storm and the old things aren't working, think outside the boat! If you are looking for Jesus to move in the way He did last time, think outside the boat!

Also, thinking outside the boat will cause you to take some risks you have never taken before. Peter had never walked on water before. It had never occurred to him. Why would it?

But when he saw Jesus coming to them in the storm, he took a risk. He thought outside the boat and so he got outside the boat. Risky? Yes, but you know what? The boat was going to sink anyway as things were going! So maybe, getting out of the boat to go to Jesus wasn't that risky after all!

You may be just one big risk away from finding help in your storm!

October 26, 2017

"During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake."Matthew 14:25

We are learning some lake lessons. No, we are not studying issues related to large bodies of water, we are actually learning truths about Jesus based on how He responded to the disciples during a fierce storm. And it is all good!

So far we have learned:

Lake Lesson #1 - During the storm it helps to know that Jesus put you in the boat.

Lake Lesson #2 - Jesus prayed for you while you are steering the boat.

Lake Lesson #3 - Jesus knows where we are in the storm.

Lake Lesson #4 - Jesus know the perfect time to come to us in the storm.

Today we discover another great truth - Jesus knows how to get to us in the storm.

If you have ever watched Baywatch or any other show involving lifeguards you know that they have a variety of equipment designed to help them get to the swimmer in distress. Jesus had none of those items. He didn't need them. Actually, none of those would have helped Him against the mighty winds or the fierce waves. They would have been useless - maybe even dangerous.

Remember, this is Jesus we are talking about! How did He get across the lake to the disciples in distress? How did He navigate the waves and the winds? HE WALKED! That's right, Jesus strolled through the storm!

That assures us that Jesus not only knows where we are in the midst of our fiercest storms, He knows how to get to us! In fact, nothing can keep Him from you! As Paul affirmed in Romans 8, "If God is for us, who can be against us!" NOTHING!

Maybe you are weathering a storm right now. Perhaps life's winds are blowing against you and the waves are tossing you and you are doubting if you'll survive this storm. Take encouragement! Believe this truth proven by Jesus and confirmed by the disciples - JESUS KNOW HOW TO GET TO YOU IN THE STORM!

You will make because HE will make it to you!

Lake Lesson

"During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake." Matthew 14:25

There is something kind of nice about a gentle Summer thunderstorm in the middle of the night. But as a general rule, we don't appreciate storms. For the most part we dread them and do our best to avoid them.

But in Matthew 14 we see how valuable a storm can be. These guys who had walked with Jesus and lived with Him 24/7 for several years, learned lessons about Him during the storm that they had not learned before.

Since all of us face storms in life and since, in fact, some of you are in the middle of a storm right now it is helpful to know that there a important life lessons that can be learned in a storm. To this point we have mentioned three:

Lake Lesson #1 - It makes a difference to know that you are in Jesus' boat when you're in a storm.

Lake Lesson #2 - Jesus prays for you while you steer the boat in the storm.

Lake Lesson #3 - Jesus always knows where you are in the storm.

Today we learn another helpful lesson - Jesus knows the perfect time to come to us in the storm.

Our text tells us that He came during the fourth watch of the night. If it mentions that in the Scriptural account it must be significant. And it is.

In the Jewish mind, the night was divided into four watches: watch one - 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.; watch two - 9:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.; watch three - 12:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.; and watch four - 3:00 - 6:00 a.m. It is during that 3:00 to 6:00 a.m. period that Jesus came to them.

I recommend that you do a study on the fourth watch of the night. It is pretty interesting and inspiring. Just to wet your appetite let me tell you a few other things that happened during the fourth watch: the Israelites fled from Egypt during the fourth watch of the night, after the Death Angel had swept through in the third watch; the Red Sea closed on the Egyptian army destroying them during the fourth watch, and the stone was rolled away from in front of Jesus' tomb so He could arise from the dead!

Some significant things happened during the fourth watch! Another one was about to happen because Jesus headed off across the lake during the fourth watch!

Now let's just be honest about one of our frustrations with God, He never moves according to our time schedule! It always seems like He takes forever to come to our aid. We always wonder if we are going to make it before He steps in to bring relief. But let's also be honest to admit that every time we have thought that He came AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME! Look back on every storm you have weathered and you will marvel at how perfect His timing was!

If you are storm tossed today. If your boat is rocking and the wind is against you and the waves are batting you like a ping pong ball - remember that His timing is perfect and you may be in the fourth watch!

October 24, 2017

"but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it." Matthew 14:24

As I write this post, a storm rages outside. Wind and rain pounding my window.

I have been sharing a series of Lessons on the Lake, that the disciples learned from being in a terrible storm on the lake because storms are a part of life. Storms come in a variety of ways, financial storms, health storms, relationship storms, or spiritual storms will blow into your life from time to time. Learning these lessons will help you survive in the next storm you have to face.

Lesson One - When you are in a storm it helps to know that Jesus put you in the boat.

Lesson Two - Jesus prays for you while you steer the boat.

Today we will learn a third lesson, Jesus knows exactly where we are in the storm.

Jesus had place them in the boat on the lake and while they sailed He prayed. Somewhere near the middle of the lake, a storm blew in. The waves rose and the winds roared and the boat rocked and the disciples freaked! I don't blame them! They were in big trouble! The Scripture said, "they were buffeted by the waves and the wind was against them." Not good.

I'm sure that while they summoned all their skills to keep the boat upright in the water and the water out of the boat, they were wondering where Jesus was when they needed Him. The lake lesson they were about to learn was this: Jesus Knows Exactly Where You Are In The Storm! And He does!

They were far from the shore, they were bobbing like a cork, the spray from the water surrounded them, they couldn't see past the storm, but Jesus knew EXACTLY where they were in the storm.

When you are in the midst of a storm, if you know that He put you in the boat and that He is praying for you, you can also be certain that no matter how severely the storm is raging Jesus knows exactly where you are in the storm! You are never out of His sight or beyond His reach! It doesn't matter how lonely you feel or how fearful you are Lake Lesson Three is always true - Jesus Knows Where You Are In The Storm!

Hold on and ride out the storm, in the middle of the storm you have His full attention!

October 23, 2017

"After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone," Matthew 14:23

So, Jesus put the disciples into the boat and sent them off to cross the lake while He went to pray alone. Yesterday we mentioned that it helps to know that we are in Jesus' boat when the storm comes. That was Lake Lesson number one.

Today we will learn another Lake Lesson.

The information gathered from this verse tells us that both Jesus and the disciples were doing what they did best. Jesus was praying and the disciples were boating. That sets up the opportunity for this lesson.

We know that the disciples were in the boat by the will of Jesus. He put them there. But we do not know if He gave them instructions on where to go or if they just took off on their own. Obviously, they intended to get to the other side.

The point is, they were steering the boat. It was a job they were familiar with and were comfortable doing. That is good - and bad! That is so much like us. We find the will of God and then take over the controls and begin steering the boat. How many times has God made His will plain to you and you began to follow His will feeling confident in where you were headed? But then how many times did your confidence become independence and you began steering the boat?

Easy to do isn't it!?

When you steer the boat trusting in your own knowledge, experience or wisdom, we are headed for a storm. Have you ever steered the boat for any extended period of time and not ended in a storm? Now, we don't know if this storm was spread over the entire lake or if it was localized and they steered into it. But we do know they were steering the boat and it ended in a storm.

Here's a tip from a veteran of many storms, when Jesus puts you into a boat, trust Him to guide you as you steer it. If you steer it based on your own judgement, your own experience or your own wisdom, you will end up in a storm.

So, the disciples were in the boat and steered it into an awful storm. What was Jesus doing while they were steering into the storm?

He was praying! No doubt, He was praying for them. Probably He was praying for them because He knew that they were steering the boat and that they were headed for trouble.

That is the Lake Lesson for today: Jesus prays for us while we steer the boat.

One of the main roles Jesus plays is that of Intercessor. That means He prays for you - and me.

Check out Hebrews 7 and Romans 8.

Isn't it good to know that as you try to navigate through the storms of life, Jesus is interceding for you?! Will you be encouraged by that knowledge? Would you seek His guidance and direction as you steer the ship? That way, if you steer into a storm you can know for sure that it is His will. Even better - invite Him into your boat and let Him steer it! BUT either way, you can rest in the confident knowledge that Jesus is praying for you, interceding for you to do God's will!

Lake Lesson #2 - Jesus prays for you while you steer the boat!

October 22, 2017

"Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd." Matthew 14:22

Much of life is spent between the storms. If you are not in a storm now, you will be. I am not being pessimistic, I am just being real!

In this portion of Scripture, the disciples were headed for a storm. Through this week in my posts on this blog, I am going to share with you some Lessons on the Lake, truths that they learned while in the storm on the lake.

A storm is a terrible thing to waste. If you have to weather a storm, you had best learn from it! I want to help you by sharing these daily lessons from the lake.

The first lesson is seen in verse 22 where Jesus put them into a boat and sent them off on the lake. That sets the stage for the first lake lesson:

LAKE LESSON #1 - When You Are In A Storm It Helps To Know You Are In His Boat

For the purposes of this lesson we are going to imply that the boat represents the will of God. I think that is a safe assumption since it was Jesus Who put them in the boat.

If you are in the midst of a storm right now, let me ask you, "Do you know that you are in the right boat?" If you are in a storm and you are in the will of God, that makes ALL the difference! If you are between storms in your life or if you see the storm clouds forming on the horizon, it would be a great time to stop and make sure you get in the right boat!

There are those who would claim that if you are in His boat then you will never be in a storm. They believe that it is God's responsibility to keep you safe, warm and dry and the only boat He would give you would be a yacht! Their theology states that God's responsibility to His people is make sure they have smooth sailing.

That theology just doesn't track with life nor does it mesh with this Scriptural account. The disciples were in the boat by the will of God and set sail in obedience to Him.

Lake lesson number assures us that when we are in the storm by His will, we can be sure of his protection! 

Do you believe that? 

Faith floats!