Why We All Don’t Get Out Of The Boat | God Only Knows | Pastor Nick Person

It is built onto the immovable cornerstone of Jesus. So what that means for us, church, is it doesn't matter what storm that rages, doesn't matter the wind that blows, it doesn't matter the waves that come our way, because of where our house is built, our house will never fall because of the firm foundation of Jesus. [00:23:27] (21 seconds)  #FirmFoundationInJesus

For some of us who have been in church for a while, we can hear, oh, we're talking about Peter and Jesus inviting him to walk on the water, and we can dismiss it. But I want you to just for a moment, just think about this, that Jesus, your king, walked on the water, and he invited a normal human to come do the same, and he did it. Like, that never gets old. [00:27:50] (24 seconds)  #WalkOnWaterWithJesus

And hear me church, here's what is true about me. I tend to cling to the perceived safety of the boat when the king calls me into his presence on the waves of faith. But here's our challenge for us today. Here's what I wanna encourage all of us to take a step together. I don't want for us to cling on our perceived boat of safety. I want us to step out with God onto the waves of faith. [00:29:36] (30 seconds)  #StepOutInFaith

Maybe for for you, it's the perceived safety of your finances. You woke up this morning, you checked your checking account, and you went, oh, god. You're good. And as long as the decimal's in the right place, everything is fine for you. Because you think that because you have said money in the bank that everything is gonna be okay. But we all know that that number is fleeting. Amen? Amen. [00:30:48] (25 seconds)  #MoneyIsNotSecurity

And we think to ourselves, as long as I hold on to this, everything will be okay. Because if I step upon the waters of faith, it is just unknown, although we know who is calling us out. One of my favorite authors and pastors is a guy named Levi Lusko. And in his book, he talks about this temptation that we all have to run towards what we perceive to be safety and to not step out in faith because that is scary. [00:32:21] (27 seconds)  #OverrideFearChooseFaith

What they don't know is that as scary as it sounded, the one who did the roaring is more bark than bite. So away they go directly into the path of the real threat, the waiting lionesses. In other words, the prey's instincts are wrong. Going with their gut causes them to make the last mistake of their short little lives. It's counterintuitive, but the right choice would be to override their emotions and run towards the roar. [00:34:04] (30 seconds)  #RunTowardsTheRoar

When you run from things that scare you, you move towards danger, not away from it. If you fail to face your fears, they will always be there right behind you. You must suppress the little voice inside that's telling you to get out of Dodge. It is not your friend. When you feel that panicky fight or flight sensation and you want to run away, do the opposite. Run towards the roar. [00:34:38] (24 seconds)  #FaceFearsDontFlee

You might be going, what do mean pastor? That's not true. God knows where your faith is. Can I tell you he is not in heaven wondering, I wonder where my sister is in her faith? You have given him plenty of evidence to show him where you are in your faith. So this opportunity is so that they can see where they are in their faith. [00:39:14] (21 seconds)  #OpportunitiesRevealFaith

And here's the other thing that is crazy. That they are being obedient and they still find themselves in the middle of a storm in the middle of a precarious position. How often have you thought that if I'm obedient, it will be smooth sailing? But yet God in his kindness is saying, no. I'm not taking you around the storm. I'm taking you through the storm so you can see who I really am. [00:39:35] (23 seconds)  #ThroughTheStormWithGod

When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. It's a ghost, they said, and cried out in fear. And you might look at that if you're anything like me and go, come on, y'all. Who else is it going to be? Like, who else would be walking on the water towards you? Who else would be navigating the storms to come to you? Who else would do it? [00:41:17] (24 seconds)  #JesusComesThroughTheStorm

Let's say tomorrow, you wake up, your day goes well. On your way home from work, you stop by your mailbox to get some good news. You open up that mailbox and you see a bill. And it's a bill that was unexpected. It was a bill that's way more than you have in your checking account right now. What's your response? [00:42:13] (25 seconds)  #RespondWithFaithNotFear

I would dare say that most of us are like, God, you got it. Jesus, I'm gonna surrender. You're gonna multiply what's in my checking account. I would dare say most of us are gonna go, Jesus, do you see this? And then what we start to do is give an account of how we've been faithful in the past. Don't tell me you don't do this. Well, Jesus, you know I go to church and I gave you 10% of my money. He's like, you got it wrong, but whatever. And we start telling him all the facts. Most of us don't run towards faith. We run towards fear. [00:42:37] (40 seconds)  #DontTradeFaithForFear

Write this down. God gives us himself in the midst of our fear. He is the answer. He's given us the thing that we need. Just like he gave the disciples exactly what they needed, his presence. He is giving that to us still today. Hear me, church. The Lord wouldn't go through what he went through to reach you, to leave you right where you are. Let me say it again. Jesus would not go through what he went through to leave you right where you are. [00:43:45] (37 seconds)  #GodGivesHimselfInFear

And before you lawyer up and tell me why you shouldn't be invited, I'm telling you that God has made up his mind on you already, and he invites you anyways. There is nothing that you could have done that you've ever done that could make him not invite you to come to him. You are invited. So if you're wondering, am I talking to you? Let me say with full clarity, I'm talking to you. [00:47:06] (24 seconds)  #GodInvitesYou

When we take our eyes off of God and fix them on the waves of disruption, we sink. When we take our eyes off of God and fix our eyes on the waves of destruction and disruption, we sink. This is where anxiety has a field day, everybody. Because we're going, hey, God, are you really who you say you are? [00:47:51] (27 seconds)  #EyesOnJesusNotWaves

Let me tell you all the ways that this could go wrong. Let me tell you all the ways how I could fail. Let me tell you all the ways why this isn't a good idea. And Peter stepped on that water with confidence because he was fixing his eyes on Jesus. The moment he took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink. [00:48:17] (18 seconds)  #StepWithConfidenceInJesus

And every time I say it, I'm reminded of how good our God is. Here it is. God doesn't give you condemnation when you are sinking. He gives you his hand instead. God doesn't give you condemnation when you are sinking. He gives you his hand instead. Let's say it another way. When you are sunk, God doesn't give you condemnation. He gives you himself through his son Jesus. [00:50:20] (33 seconds)  #HeLiftsNotCondemns

Where everybody else would give you condemnation, where everybody else will remind you of how you're failing. What does the king do? He meets you right where you are, and he gives you his hand, and he invites you to trust him. And for some of us to go, man, don't even know what that looks like. I don't even know what that means. Because maybe some of us have gotten so used to condemnation that we don't know what grace and love looks like. [00:50:53] (24 seconds)  #HeMeetsYouWithGrace

We were not made to dwell in boats of perceived safety, but to be present with our water walking God, who has shown us there is no condemnation. He has shown us that he loves us. He has shown us that there is nothing that could stand in the way for his love for us. [00:53:15] (25 seconds)  #WalkWithJesusNotInBoats