Get Out of The Boat!

Matthew 14:26-30

26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

‘Come,’ is another way of saying, ‘you can do it, it’s your turn, start, jump, quit making excuses, break free of your fears and live your faith.’

So many of Gods people live beneath their potential, they live what we’ll call the ‘safe life.’ But occasionally you run into someone who heard Jesus say “come,’ and they went over the edge of the comfortable and predictable safe zone and they’re walking with Jesus supernaturally.

So many times, we sit back in our comfortable safe places and talk about everything we would do for God if He ever called us, not realizing that He already has – He has called all of us to come. What do you do when Jesus says come? You and I most likely will never get out of a boat and walk on top of water as Peter did. We may never, during our lifetime, be in the situation or the circumstances that Peter was in, in the middle of a life-threatening storm and physically in the presence of eye witnesses walked on top of the water. The truth, most of us have no desire to walk on the water when there is a perfectly good boat anywhere nearby. But while we may never physically leave the safety of a perfectly good boat and leap out onto a raging sea, there will be times in our lives as we follow Christ that we will be challenged to duplicate that same reckless faith and abandon that Peter had when he let go of everything so he could hold onto a word from the Lord – Come!

There is going to be a point in your faith journey, a time when you must choose the high road or the low road, if you choose the higher road it means you will must let go of the safety and comfort of what you know, and step out in faith. It takes faith just to ride out the storm. It takes faith to keep your sanity when all hell is breaking loose against your family, your finances, your health, and your ministry.

Some people are quick to criticize those other disciples as being fearful and faithless, but not me. I know how it feels to be in a storm, and I know how much faith it takes just to stay in the boat and ride it out. It takes faith to keep praising, to keep trusting, to keep tithing, and keep sowing, and keep confessing when you can’t see or feel any relief. I know what it’s like when you can’t see anything but storm clouds and rough waters, when all you can do is just hold on and ride it out. No, I’m not going to condemn them, they made it thru the storm, they made it to the other side, and that’s something to shout about!

I know I'm going to make it through the storm I'm in now, sometimes it feels like I’m not, sometimes it might look like I’m not, and the devil wants me to think that I’m not, but I am going to make it to the other side. I got news for the devil and the naysayers, this ain’t my first storm! I been through a few, and I’m still here. I've gotten wet, I've been nearly drown, but I'm still here! So, I’m telling the Lord, I’m still gonna love you, I’m still gonna serve you, I’m still gonna praise my way through the storm! Hallelujah, my God is calling me to come!

No, I will not criticize them, but I have one thing to say about those other disciples, they missed the opportunity to take the high road. You see they were brought to a place where they could choose a greater glory. They missed the testimony of a water walker. Their testimony was, “We made it, we survived, we rode out the storm.”

On the other hand, when Peter began to testify, his testimony was much different from the other disciples. Yes, he was in the boat with all the rest, and yes, he feared for his life like all the other disciples. But when Peter saw Jesus walking on the water something happened on the inside of Peter, faith told him, you can do that, if Jesus can do it, you can too. Something inside of Peter said: If the teacher can do it, so can the students. All he needed was a word from the Master, and then Jesus said, “Come.”

All you need is a word from the Master. There may be a thousand voices telling you that you can’t do it, and a thousand reasons why you can’t do it. You’re not educated enough, you're not old enough, you're too old, you’re from the wrong side of town, you don’t have enough money, you don’t have any experience. But if you have a word from God, you can do the impossible. You can go where they said you could never go, and you can do what they said you can never do, and you can be what they said you could never be, and you can have what they said you could never have (Philippians 4:13).

“If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” – Matthew 9:23

“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” – I John 4:4

Peter had a word – ‘Come.’ That’s all he had, but that’s all he needed. No doubt the disciples argued with him and told him, it was impossible and begged him to stay in the boat and stay on the same faith level that they were on, but Peter had heard the voice of the Lord calling, come.

Everyone in the boat had the same opportunity Peter had to walk on the water, the circumstances were the same, Jesus was the same, the word was the same, but hey chose to hold on to the boat. Peter chose to step out on the Word. When Peter stepped out on the word of Jesus, he stepped into a fresh anointing, a new anointing. He stepped into a supernatural water walking anointing, He began moving and walking and operating in the same realm and the same anointing that Jesus was functioning in.

Jesus didn’t force Peter to get out of the boat, Jesus didn’t threaten Peter. Jesus didn’t condemn the other disciples for not walking on the water. Jesus simply came to them all in a way that presented an opportunity for them to move to another level in their faith. He created an avenue for them to step from one realm of anointing to another, he called them to a higher experience, and a higher manifestation of his power in their lives. But only one took that step.

That step separated Peter from the rest of the disciples. That step drew a line between the doers and the watchers, between the boat sitters and the water walkers. I prophesy and I declare to you that there is a new stirring in the spirit, and many who have been comfortable and satisfied in the boat of mediocrity and religious expectation and traditions of man are getting uncomfortable. The Spirit is calling, Come!

Many of Gods people are beginning to realize that they weren’t created for the confines, restrictions, and the limitations of a powerless religion. In other words, you’re discovering your destiny, you are discovering your purpose and you are discovering the God’s power can resides in you. You are discovering that you are not chickens, you’re eagles.

You can choose to live on the lower plane as a chicken, but your eagle spirit will never be satisfied. Some reading this message and you can’t figure it out, you’re uncomfortable, you’re uneasy, edgy, and irritable. You go to church, but you leave feeling like something’s still missing, and you want to blame it on the Pastor, or the praise and worship team, or the teacher or the evangelist. But the truth is, it’s not their fault, a different job, a different wife, or a different church, or more money, isn’t going to fix it.

The problem is that your spirit has heard the Master say come, your spirit wants to break free, but your flesh is trying to hold you in captivity. It’s the anointing that is calling you, and it’s the anointing that is pulling at you. It’s that same anointing that pulled Peter out of that boat. It’s that same word that called Peter to a life in the supernatural.

You can talk about the Peter that started to sink, that was rebuked by Jesus, that denied he even knew Jesus if you want to dwell on the negative. But I prefer to talk about the Peter that walked on the water, cast out devils, healed the sick and raised the dead and preached the inauguration of the dispensation of the Holy Ghost and 3,000 souls were saved. I want to talk about the man who let go of everything to take hold of one word from God.

At some point you must make a choice: Are you going to live by what man created, your status, your reputation, or are you going to live by what created man? The Word of God. He stepped out into nothing and with a word he created everything. All you need is a word from Him to create your opportunity to walk in the supernatural power of the Holy Ghost - and he spoke it through Peter, the one who took a single word from Jesus and became forever known as a water walker - here's your word: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." - Acts 2:38

“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” – Hebrews 11:3

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” – Revelation 22:17

Don’t just sit there, get out of your boat and follow Peter into a new anointing! Don’t be afraid, the Lord is ready to take your hand.

Resurrection Settles Your Dilemma

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:” – John 11:25

I love that Easter is in the Spring, because Spring is a perfect illustration of resurrection. In the Spring, so many things that were thought to be dead, come to life again.

For generations the coming of the messiah his death and resurrection had been foretold by the prophets. Each succeeding generation wondered, if they would be the ones to see these prophecies fulfilled. But our faith today does not look to the future for its fulfillment, but rather stands on the solid ground of Christ’s resurrection and declares with Jesus Christ, “It is Finished.”

There is nothing to be added, nothing left undone, all that is required now is for us to believe in the finished work and partake in the benefits.

Everything about Jesus had the mark of resurrection about it. When he raised up Jairus daughter, when he healed the man with the withered hand, when he delivered the demoniac, when he opened the eyes of the blind, caused deaf ears to hear. Resurrection was Jesus’ life and ministry: restoration, healing, deliverance, forgiveness, it all boils down to one word – Resurrection! Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

The very foundation of the Christian Faith is the resurrection:

“Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” – 1 Corinthians 15:12-20

There is a passage in the Old Testament that I believe is a picture of the resurrection:

Numbers 17:

“There was a division and contention over the right to the priesthood, so God said that he would choose the one, and he would make his choice known in such a way that it would put an end to the dispute and confusion. 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod. 3 And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. 4 And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. 5 And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you. 

8 And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. 9 And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod. 10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.”

You might be asking right now, ‘What is the point?’ God caused life to enter what appeared to be dead. An old dry rod was brought to life, and .the dilemma of murmuring was settled.

Resurrection is the final Word! That’s good news today, because it doesn’t matter what the devil has done, what the doctor has said, what the circumstances in your life are saying to you, even if everything you can see and feel may speak of death – God has the final word and that word is ‘Resurrection!’

Resurrection can settle your dilemma: Yes, sin kills, drugs kill, adultery kills, lust and perversion kill, pornography kills, disease kills, But Jesus did not merely resurrect from the dead, He is the resurrection and the life!

“because I live, ye shall live also.” – John 14:9

Because Jesus lives your marriage can be resurrected! Because Jesus lives your faith can be resurrected! Because Jesus lives your dreams can be resurrected, your health can be resurrected, your finances can be resurrected, and I know this to be a fact, because Jesus lives your ministry can be resurrected!

I don’t care what the devil might be trying to convince you of today, or what circumstances may be shouting at you, but I know this, one word from God settles the matter and that word is Resurrection!

Friend, just ask him right now, cry out to Him, call on the name of Jesus right now. Ask Him to let His resurrecting power flow through your life right now. If you have sin in your life, repent! Call upon the name of Jesus and be resurrected.

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” – Acts 2:38

Let the resurrecting power of the Holy Ghost come and fill you and bring life to what appears to be dead, let Jesus settle your dilemma!

Reflecting Holiness

Isaiah 40:3-5

3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Many believers assume that God will do what He wants to do regardless of our participation. There is truth to that assumption, God’s purpose and desire will ultimately be fulfilled, but we can either hinder or assist God in bringing those purposes to pass. However, if we refuse to participate, we will miss the glory of God, be guilty of holding back the revelation of his glory, and the manifestation of His power will pass us by. God wants to do a new thing in our churches today, He has called us to participate, the only question that remains is will we know it?

Isaiah 43:18-19

18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?

God wants to manifest his power and reveal His glory in the earth, and God’s primary instrument of choice for this revelation is the church:

Ephesians 3:10

To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

The Church is the venue for the display of God’s glory and power! David Knew the heart of God, David desired Gods power and glory to be manifested in the earth.

Psalm 63:1-2

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

This passage of Scripture shows us that to bring in the glory, we must experience the glory in the sanctuary. We must come before him in surrender to His holiness and allow Him to purify us. God will only trust a holy anointing to holy lives. When God was preparing to manifest His glory to the children of Israel, He required them to sanctify themselves, He required them to be holy.

Exodus 19:10-11

And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, 11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.

Joshua 3:5

And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.

Here in Isaiah we see this process of preparation for the power and the glory of God. The valley is exalted, and the mountains and hills made low. This tells us, we must evaluate life from Gods perspective not our own, we must align our lives with His Word. That which has been ignored and neglected must be raised to its rightful place, and that which is magnified and glorified and exalted in pride and in self nature, must be brought down. The crooked places must be made straight. This way is to be made in the desert.

Crooked = bent, dishonest, fraudulent, deceitful, polluted, criminal.

Straight = Free from curves, bends, angles, Unmixed, having the elements in order.

Desert= Sterility

Isaiah 62:10

Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.

We were created for glory and God desires to manifest His divine power and glory through the church. There is the demand on the people of God to prepare the way of the Lord, to make the way of Jesus clear, and to lift people onto the highway of Holiness We have all been called to gather out the stones – those things that are offensive to the Holy Ghost and that hinder the work of God in the church. It is our responsibility as the church, to lift up a standard, and to distinguish clearly our connection with the Lord Jesus Christ. How you live matters! How you talk matters! What you wear matters! What you listen to matters! Holiness matters!

We are called to be a reflection of the God we say we love, and by doing so, His presence in us will overflow from us as springs of living water to a world that thirsts for something more than this life can offer them.

If we want to know if we are preparing the way for His glory or hindering the manifestation of His glory and power that the world needs, take a moment to see your reflection against the Word of God. Read it, meditate on it, and allow the Holy Ghost to show you the image that you portray to others. What do you see? The image of Jesus, or a reflection of the world around you? Now, make adjustments as needed, and "prepare ye the way of the Lord.”

I Am Not a Quitter!

Ezekiel 37:3 – “And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.”

All through the history there have been great revivals that have had tremendous impact on their communities. States and even nations have been transformed as the result of God sending Revival. But no Revival has ever equaled the depth and the width of the revival of Ezekiel 37. An entire valley of the dead was raised in one day.

The reason I want to draw your attention to this mighty revival, is to show you the resurrection power when the wind of the Holy Ghost begins to blow. This is essential for believers to understand and see because: God does not change. He is no respecter of persons, race, or nation. It doesn’t matter if your rich or poor, educated or uneducated, black or white, young or old. The same Holy Ghost, the same power, that blew through that valley of the shadow of death and produced the greatest revival in history, is the same Holy Ghost and power available to the church today.

Psalm 85:6 David asked the question, “Wilt thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee.”

That seems like a very appropriate question for the day and the hour in which we live. Sin is running rampant, and much of the church has grown cold and lazy and indifferent. At times I find myself wondering as I look around at the perversion of this generation, can God do anything in the midst of this?

Of course, I know the answer is yes, He can, and He will. How? By the same mighty wind that blew through that valley of dry bones, the same power that blew through the upper room on the day of Pentecost and set upon each head as tongues of fire. Yes, he can, by the Power of the Holy Ghost! 

Only the breath of God gives life to the dead. It started with Adam as God breathed life into His lungs, we see it again in Ezekiel 37, it was the breath of God that formed the words that called Lazarus from the grave, and it was the breath of God that blew into a room and filled 120 with the power of the Holy Ghost and gave them the power to spread the message of eternal life to the world.

Your church may have the most beautiful building, it may have the most talented singers, the most educated preachers, central heat and air, and padded pews, but if you don’t have the power of the Holy Ghost it’s just a dressed-up corpse. It’s the Anointing that destroys the yoke of sin!

When we look at Ezekiel 37 we see the awesome power of God resurrecting, healing, and restoring. We see the power of the Holy Ghost putting broken things back together again. We see hope coming into hopeless situations. We become witnesses to the truth that there is no problem, there is no situation, there are no circumstances – regardless of how hopeless they appear, that can’t be reversed by the power of God.

The Word tells us that with God all things are possible, and all things are possible to them that believe. Brothers and Sisters listen to what I am trying to tell you this morning, the power of God to heal, to restore, and make new, is greater than the devil’s power to kill, steal, and destroy. Jesus said: “The thief comes to steal to kill and to destroy, but I am come that they might have life and that more abundantly.” – John 10:10

My purpose today is to prophesy to God’s people today – Dry bones are going to live again! It doesn’t matter what the devil has done, or how bad the situation or condition is, God is greater! There’s no sickness that He can’t heal, there is no chain that He cannot break, there’s no addiction He can’t deliver you from, and there’s no sin he can’t save you from. Don’t give up hope because, there’s no relationship, no marriage that He cannot restore. There’s no pit that God can’t pull you out of.

David said: “He lifted me up out of a horrible pit, he set my feet upon a rock and established my goings.”

Don’t give up!

As Ezekiel looks at this valley of bones, they were broken, and they were scattered. They represent all the brokenness, all the fears, all the hopelessness and confusion, all the sickness and diseases of humanity. And he sums it all up under one category – ‘they were very dry.’ The category of Dry means they needed the presence and the power of Gods Spirit.

I’m talking to somebody right now who needs God’s presence and power to touch your life. Somebody receiving this word today is suffering from the condition of ‘dry bone syndrome.’ I don’t know who you are, but I know you’re receiving the words God has given me today, I know that in many ways it seems that everything is going good in your life, but there is at least one or more area of your life that is dry and causing you a great deal of pain and discomfort. There is some area of your life that you need the power of God to flow and bring restoration, healing, and deliverance. You need the resurrection power of God to bring life into that ‘dry bone condition.’

God did not give me this word to analyze or criticize, but to prophesy. I prophesy to those dry broken places, I release the power of God into your valley, and I want you to understand, the dry bone specialist is a mere shout or cry away – cry out to him now, God help me!

You don’t have to remain in the valley, you may be lost, sick, broken, confused, oppressed, bound, afflicted, but the dry bone specialist, Jesus, is on call today and he won’t just to diagnose your problem, He will deliver and set you free! Jesus didn’t come just to medicate you so you could live with the mess, he came to get you out of the mess. Jesus is the healer, He is the miracle worker, He is the baptizer in the mighty Holy Ghost and power.

It doesn’t matter if you’re lukewarm, dry, or cold, and have never known the Lord. It doesn’t matter if you’re a backslider and you have walked away from the Lord, or if you’re a faithful singer, attendee, tithe payer – right now you’re dry, no joy, no peace, no fire, no passion, no anointing. The answer is the same: Jesus loves you and he wants to send the power of the Holy Ghost into your life. He wants to heal you everywhere you hurt, He wants to restore your joy, your peace, and he wants to send that same Holy Ghost that came through that valley into your life right now.

We all have broken places, in our lives, we have all suffered loss in some way, we have all went through dry places, dark places, painful and confusing places. We have all had attacks on our joy, our peace, our minds, our bodies, our emotions. And in those places, you must decide, I am not going to quit! No matter what you are going through you must decide, I am not going to quit!.

I’m not going to quit going to church, quit praising, quit hoping, quit expecting – you must be a fighter! These are your options: You can either be a quitter and let life, let the devil, let hell beat you up and break your bones and leave you out to dry. Or you can be a fighter and throw back your head, square your shoulders, look the devil in the eye and tell him, I am not giving up!

The three Hebrew boys could have easily quit when they were thrown into a fiery furnace, Joseph could have easily quit when he was betrayed by his brothers, falsely accused by Potipher’s wife, and thrown into prison. Paul and Silas could have easily quit, they could have given up on God and their ministry. They could have been angry at God, angry at people, and fallen into self-pity. But instead of midnight being their quitting place became the turning point.

I want to tell you, there is a wind blowing, there is a fire falling, there is a resurrection power, resurrection life blowing in today. If you’ll just tell the devil right now - I ain’t a quitter!

Make the decision right now, I’m not going to quit, and make room for the power of God to come into your life. There’s no power that can resist the power of God. I don’t care what you’ve done or what the devils done, or how bad it looks or how bad it feels. God will raise it from the dead if he needs to. He’s the God of the resurrection!

Revival is his business and He’ll Revive your: Health, Joy, Peace, Marriage, Dream, Mind, Emotions, or Finances. “And they stood upon their feet an exceeding great army.”

God is raising up a mighty army right now.