GOD INVITES YOU TO BECOME A PART OF HIS WORK

Good Morning. We are glad that you made it this morning. A few weeks ago, we began a sermon series on the 7 realities of Experiencing God, and it is my hope this series is making an impact on your life.

The First Reality in experiencing God is that God is at work all around us.

A pastor asked his college students as they attended classes to be on the lookout for where God is at work and if other students began to ask about spiritual things, stop what they were doing, and listen and address them. One young lady was approached at the end of a class by another who inquired about her faith, and she took the time with the young lady to find out she was one of a group of young ladies studying the Bible who did not know Christ and they did not know how to study the Bible. As a result of just that one encounter, the church began a vibrant college ministry where God was already at work.

The second reality is:

God pursues a love relationship with us.

God created humanity to have a relationship with Him and listen more than anything else God wants us to be reconciled to that relationship.

God tangibly showed His love for us.

The Bible tells us that "there is no greater love than this that someone would lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Then Jesus went to the cross to die for us. The perfected example of God being incarnated (becoming a human) to die for the world's sins is our example of God's great love for us.

I will never forget the day that it clicked in me. I was like so many people today, I heard the Word preached, I prayed and heard others pray, I sang the songs, I gave a little here and there of my tithe, my time, and my talents, and but I just wasn't there. Then one day, two and two were put together, and I experienced God's incredible love for me. I was blind to the ministry of reconciliation, but then my eyes were open. The most important factor of knowing and doing God's will is your relationship with Him.

Over the years, I have realized that God initiates our connection. When we are connected to Him, we see love, feel the love, and grow relationally with Him, and each day, we have a choice to live a life with God or live our life without God.

This is what following God is about, being an un-perfected person in the presence of perfection, and learning our way until we meet Jesus face to face.

If you choose to live your life each day with God, then reality 3 of experiencing God is for you.

Let's pray.

The Third Reality of Experiencing God is:

GOD INVITES US TO BECOME A PART OF HIS WORK.

If you have your Bible with you today, I invite you to open with me to Matthew chapter 14, Matthew chapter 14; the book of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament.

Matthew 14 is where we will be today.

Did you know that God has His own agenda?

Often, I meet with pastors and leaders and what I find is that often many leaders have their own agenda, and no matter the topic - they seem to be able to manipulate the time with their personal agenda.

Maybe you know someone like that. But I must tell you that God has His own perfect plan- He is the sovereign ruler of the universe, and He has been working in the world from the beginning to accomplish His objective. And when GOD approaches us, he desires to get us from where we are to where He is working to achieve His agenda.

God has tried many times to get our attention by revealing where He is at work. We see it, but often do not immediately identify it as God's work. We say to ourselves, "Well, I don't know if God wants me to get involved here or not. I had better pray about it." Prayer is not a bad thing; however, by the time we leave that situation and pray, the opportunity to join God may pass us by. We need to have a sensitive heart and the willingness to be ready to respond to God at the slightest prompting. God uses the love relationship to give us this tender heart!

I remember one time we were doing a homeless outreach every Saturday. We would load two mini-vans with clothes.On day a group from another church wanted to do this type of work. They came with us and brought a UHaul truck. It was fixed specifically to be used as a clothing truck. Later in the next week this guy called me and said would you pray about us giving this truck to you.

My reply was that I don't need to pray for this because I already know that God wants us to have it.

Many people want to pray first when God has already said yes. Some want to question God when God is already calling you to do something.

Well, if you are there in the book of Matthew chapter 14, we will begin reading from the 22 verse, but first, let me catch you up on what has gone on.

In chapter 13, the people in Nazareth rejected Jesus. Chapter 14 John the Baptist was Be-headed, when Jesus heard of this, he went to be alone, but the crowds of people followed Jesus. When He saw the crowds, he had compassion; he healed the sick and fed the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. It is after that miracle is where we find our Scripture.

Read with me from verse 22. This is the Word of God, and It begins like this:

"Immediately (He fed the 5,000 they pick up the leftovers and 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, for 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. 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." 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, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."

Notice with me that when Jesus heard that John the Baptist was dead, he tried to be alone, but the crowds followed, then Jesus healed the sick and used the Disciples to help feed the 5000, then Jesus sent His disciples away, dismissed the crowds and was by Himself. Now He comes to the disciples while walking on the water.

This brings us to our take-home today:

THE TAKE-HOME TRUTH IS:

TO BECOME PART OF GOD'S WORK, WE MUST GET OUT OF THE BOAT.

Listen, folks, God desires that we follow Him, worship Him, and honor Him in our daily lives.

To join God in His work, you need to know where He is working. When you find God working, you must get out of the boat to join Him.

I love the story of Peter- Peter is called the Rock- remember I said before that Peter is rash, He is the one who always talks first for the disciples, He is the one with who Jesus had the most trouble with. It was Peter who rebuked Jesus, and it was Peter who cut off the ear of the soldier. Peter denied Jesus- He was the one to go into the tomb first.

Peter loved Jesus and wanted to be there for Jesus, to stick up for Him and live and lay down His life for Jesus. You want to know something about Peter--- He took the initiative.

Peter got out of the Boat! And like Peter, when God speaks to us, we have to learn to get out of the boat. That safety net, that comfort zone that we can find ourselves in.

Today I want to share 5 Steps to getting out of our boat to join God in His work.

THE FIRST STEP IN BECOMING PART OF GOD'S WORK IS TO PRAY.

I know, I know. It seems so cliché, so easy, and it seems that prayer is always at the beginning of everything… That's because it should be the beginning of everything.

I know that I involve my wife in decisions, ask her opinion, get her advice, and talk to her regularly about my day and plans or appointments.

Why? Because I am married and have a loving relationship with her, the things that I do impact her.

Let me ask you- Do you get advice from the people you are in a relationship with?

Do you talk to them about your day?

Do you ask for their opinions and thoughts of doing things in your life?

Everyone does.

That's what prayer does. We are seeking God's will and purpose. Seeking His knowledge, wisdom, advice, what we should and shouldn't do in our lives.

The Bible tells us in James 1:5, "Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God," and then it goes on to say that God gives wisdom generously."

You know I find it very interesting that Jesus spoke to the Father on a regular basis.

Look at verse 23 with me:

"After dismissing the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray."

When it comes to Jesus seeking the Father in Prayer – in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus prayed some 25 times.

He prayed alone as we see in our Scripture, He prayed in public, He prayed before meals, before decisions, before healing, after healing, He prayed for His disciples, and He prayed for us today, He prayed to do the Father's will.

Jesus also taught us the importance of prayer during the Lord's prayer. Jesus said, "Ask and it shall be given" even to "pray for your enemies."

In my estimation, prayer is key to having and continuing our relationship with God.

Yet it is not taught on the same level.

The Bible says in 1st Thessalonians to "pray without ceasing" While I don't believe that this never means ever to stop praying, I think that it means we should pray more than once or twice a day. God's intent when Jesus died was to have open communication with His people so that we could not only speak to Him but so that He could speak to us.

Look at what Jesus said in v28, He came to them and said, "Have courage, It is I. Don't be afraid."

Before we step out of our boat, we must be sure of what God calls us to do. That means we must be in communication with God.

THE FIRST STEP IN BECOMING PART OF GOD'S WORK IS TO PRAY.

THE SECOND STEP IN BECOMING PART OF GOD'S WORK IS TO MAKE THE CONNECTION.

After we pray, we need to stop and see what God is doing next. We need to make the connection between our prayers and what happens next.

Once Jesus prayed, look at verse 25. Around three in the morning, Jesus was praying for a long time, and He came toward them walking on the sea.

Jesus prayed, then HE walked on the water. Did Jesus pray to walk on the water? I don't think that He prayed that, but if you look back at times where He healed people and prayed other prayers, it was for the Glory of God.

Too often, we miss the answer from God because we are not focused on the answer but rather the prayer. We want to focus on us rather than the Glory of God--- Isn't that true? We are so focused on asking rather than the solution that God gave us. I am sure that through the wind and the waves the Disciples may have been praying, when Jesus appears, they don't see the solution; they see a ghost until Jesus spoke to them and them Peter said:

Peter said, "LORD, IF IT IS YOU, COMMAND ME TO COME TO YOU ON THE WATER."

Peter made the connection that Jesus said It is I, and Peter Immediately connected and said, if it is, then tell me to come out to the water. He connected with Jesus for the Glory of God.

Illustration:

You see, we pray and then make the connection of what happens next- the key is to pay attention to what God is doing and that He gets the glory.

THE FIRST STEP IN BECOMING PART OF GOD'S WORK IS PRAYER.

THE SECOND STEP IS TO MAKE THE CONNECTION.

THE THIRD STEP IN BECOMING PART OF GOD'S WORK IS TO ASK QUESTIONS.

Look at verse 26; the disciples were terrified- Peter asked, "If it is you?"

When we are praying for God's work to be accomplished, we must begin to ask ourselves questions and ask others that God has placed before us. What is God doing in your life? Where is God working right now? Am I in the middle of where God wants me to be?

Notice with me that the disciples were in a storm, look at verse 24 "the boat was already over one mile from land, battered by the waves because of the wind of the sea." Sometimes storms come suddenly, amen? That is why we have tornado sirens often; people don't know when a storm pops up.

Meteorologists often call them pop-up showers- This past week, storms hit several states, bringing tornadoes, high winds, rain.

The disciples were in the storm. The winds and the waves battered their boat.

Just because we are disciples, Just because God calls you doesn't mean it will be a smooth ride. Folks, we live in a broken world; we live in a world where if you stand in one place long enough, trouble will surely find you.

We live in a world where people don't value human life. Since 1973, Roe versus Wade, there have been over 60 million abortions in America. Today Saint Louis is was named one of the most dangerous cities. We live in a world where people think that the world owes them something and they will get it no matter what. We live in a devilish society. We have to know who is talking to us, the Enemy or God.

The disciples were scared of the image coming towards them in the storm. Peter and the other disciples did not recognize Jesus in the storm- but when Jesus spoke, Peter asked, "if it is you Lord command me to come to you on the water."

And look what happened – beginning of verse 29, Jesus answered with one word “COME.”

What I have realized is that sometimes we often look to hear the voice of God, and we expect it to be some theological, mystical, booming voice, but Jesus just said one word that summed it all up—COME. Some of you have been asking where is God? Some of you have been searching for a sign, if we ask the right question, Jesus answers us simply, and with all the power He has been given—some of you need to know that Jesus is saying to you right now, COME. Get out of the boat and come.

The Bible tells us that Jesus has said, "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT AND BECOME PART OF GOD'S WORK, WE MUST PRAY. WE MUST MAKE THE CONNECTION, AND WE MUST ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.

THE FOURTH STEP IN BECOMING PART OF GOD'S WORK IS TO LISTEN FOR GOD'S VOICE.

DO YOU WANT TO HEAR GOD SPEAK TO YOU?

Charles Stanley said, "If you want to hear God, you must listen for Him with the Right Attitude."

Whether you are talking to someone about Jesus or have just prayed for something, you have to have an attitude of listening. Did you know that many arguments would never occur if we had an attitude of listening?

Although Peter did not know that it was Jesus, I imagine that Peter could not get out of the boat fast enough when he heard the answer. He knew the voice of Jesus.

The Bible tells in John chapter 10 that Jesus said.

"I assure you: Anyone who doesn't enter the sheep pen by the door but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The doorkeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice."

Look back at verse 26 with me- The disciples were terrified- they were not just scared, they were terrified, they thought they saw a ghost.

Have you ever been scared before? Maybe it was in the dark; maybe it was in a storm; perhaps someone jumped out from the corner to scare you.

It was 3 am the Bible tells us; it was dark, there was a storm, the waves battering the boat. Even for advanced fishermen, this was a terrifying situation.

They saw a figure. A ghost. in our imagination a ghost is a figure in white maybe growing from the ora around it they Frighten beyond belief!

But all of a sudden, Jesus speaks, "IT IS I HAVE COURAGE – DON'T BE AFRAID."

Peter immediately recognized Jesus' voice and, in Peter's fashion, said it is you tell me to come.

Listen what John 10: 4 says, "When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice."

Jesus said, "I AM THE GOOD Shepherd I know My sheep and they know me" (10:14).

Folks, we must listen attentively to hear the Savior's voice. Although the Bible tells us to pray without ceasing, to pray at all times, we should be listening without stopping, listening at all times for the voice of God.

When God called me into the ministry, It was 3 am on a Sunday, a loud thundering voice. I could not go back to sleep, and I spent days replaying what had happened to me and how God was calling.

I remember one time I was awoken in my sleep, laughing and saying these words Good one, God.

I was laughing so hard it woke me up. But I knew it was God.

Hearing and understanding God's voice is critical to our walk-in with HIM.

THE FIRST STEP IN BECOMING PART OF GOD'S WORK IS PRAYER.

THE SECOND STEP IS TO MAKE THE CONNECTION.

THE THIRD STEP IS TO ASK QUESTIONS.

THE FOURTH IS TO LISTEN.

THE FIFTH STEP IN BECOMING PART OF GOD'S WORK IS TO RESPOND TO GOD.

Here is where the rubber meets the Road!

One of the great realities of Scripture is that God chooses to invite us to be involved with Him. How we respond to God shows Him our commitment to HIS purpose in our life.

In our Scripture, we find that the disciples are in somewhat of a dilemma. Here they are at 3 am in a boat, there is a storm, the waves are battering the boat around and all of the sudden they see this figure, thinking it is a ghost, Jesus calls out to them, and Peter says, "If it is you then command to walk to you."

Peter Immediately responds to JESUS.

Look at verse 29,

HOW MANY OF US WOULD HAVE JUMPED OUT OF THE BOAT?

Have you ever been hesitant to respond to God? I know I have in the past, and I understand why. Because we all must make adjustments to join God in what He is doing, that can be a problem for many of us.

We are adjusting, making changes in our lives to do God's will and purpose for us.

Illustration - Army – Adjustment Disorder-

In Church, we have that when we are unwilling to adjust our lives to fit in with God's plan and purpose.

Look at verse 29 later part- But when He saw the storm the strength of the wind – he was afraid again--- he began to sink. Because walking on water was not a natural thing, the storm caught him off guard- the strength was in the storm rather than in Jesus at that moment ---

Verse 31 “Immediately Jesus reached out His hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased.”

Why do you think the other disciples did not get out of the boat? Was it fear Of a ghostly figure, was it the comfort of being in the boat, the storm or was it a little of the three?

TO BECOME A PART OF GOD'S WORK, WE NEED TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT.

There was a message for the disciples; they were not on the boat by themselves, on accident, the storm did not come by accident, Jesus did not go to pray by Himself on accident, Jesus did not appear to them by accident, Peter did not respond to Jesus on accident. They had little faith.

Often fear paralyzes us to where we cannot do anything. Isn't that true when it comes to responding to God?

Look what happened when Jesus got in the boat, the wind stopped – the storm ended- they began to worship Him right there in that boat at 3 am.

Look at the response of the disciples- Immediately they began to worship Jesus-

TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT AND BECOME PART OF GOD'S WORK, WE MUST BE IN PRAYER. WE MUST MAKE THE CONNECTION; WE MUST ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. THEN WE MUST LISTEN.

LASTLY, WE MUST RESPOND TO HIM.

God is calling us to reconcile our communities back to HIM. He is calling us to be ambassadors of the Kingdom of God; He is calling you to tell others of the grace that has been achieved in your life.

God wants us to get out of the BOAT!

TAKE COURAGE- IT IS I – DON'T BE AFRAID!

And then God wants us to worship HIM at that very moment.

Will you respond to God today?

Prayer

Invitation

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