# How you can walk on water

Key Passage: Matthew 14:22-32
Date: June 7, 2024

Turn your Bibles, if you look, to Matthew chapter number 14. Matthew chapter 14 tonight. And just for a bit, how you can walk on water. How you can walk on water.

I was sitting there thinking about, I think the closest I’ve ever seen someone come to walking on water. We had a canoe trip. I was a youth pastor in Alabama. And we had a canoe trip. You know, they’re in the canoes. They got that little, just little old tin metal part, and it protects the very tip of it, you know, and there’s a little, you know, you can get something. And one of our teenagers was paddling a canoe, sitting up front there, and a snake came out of that right there.

That boy came real close to walking on water, I promise you. I was like, wow, that was amazing, you know? And we, you know how it is with country people. We held the tip of that canoe underwater for a long time trying to get that snake out. He never came out. So a boy, it’s the boy, his dad, I mentioned not too long, his dad had 32 snakes in their master bed. Maybe I’m just in Sunday school, and so he wasn’t afraid of snakes. So he’s, “Hey, that’s your canoe right there,” and he’s like, “That’s fine with that,” you know. So, anyway, walking on water reminded me of that story right there for sure.

But Matthew chapter number 14 of God’s word. Matthew chapter 14, and we’ll start reading in verse number 22 of God’s word. Matthew 14, verse number 22. Would you please stand as we read God’s word together, just showing it respect?

And we’re going to try to apply this a little bit in the beginnings as we’ll just apply this to mine and your lives this morning or tonight.

Matthew 14, verse number 22. And the Bible says, “And Jesus constrained his disciples.” I hope that’s you, one that’s disciplined himself to follow Jesus. That’s a disciple. “And straightway, Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship.”

I compare that to the church. He told us, he said, “But get in there and get in that little ship together.” Would have been a local Baptist church, local church, local New Testament church. I told those disciples, “To get in that ship and go to the other side, and to go before him and to the other side while he sent the multitudes away.”

It’s not a perfect parallel, but Jesus did take the Old Testament saints. He led captivity captive to the home.

“And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray.” But I’m glad he ever liveth to make intercession for us. Isn’t it wonderful Jesus is praying for his amazing flock?

“And when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea.” We’re in a messed up old world down here, aren’t we? Pray, Lord Jesus intercedes for us.

“But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary.” And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them walking on the sea.

Now, the fourth watch of the night, that’s somewhere between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. And it’s interesting, they have been rowing all night long. I love what a parallel scripture says about it. They were toiling in rowing. That means they were working real hard trying to do what Jesus said, but just seemed like they were spinning their wheels. The wind was contrary to them. They weren’t getting anywhere. And Jesus saw that. And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them and walked out there to them.

Verse number 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.

“But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer.” I like that. I like in the Bible where it tells us, be of good cheer. Jesus says that several times, be of good cheer. “It is I. Be not afraid.” Sometimes when Jesus comes up and he’s working, we just fear. Be of good cheer. It is I. I’m working. Be not afraid.

“And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” And he said, “Come.” It’s wonderful when you hear the voice of God say, “Come.”

“And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.” But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, “Lord, save me.” And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”

“And when they were coming to the ship, the wind ceased.”

And would you pray that the Lord would use this just to speak to our hearts, maybe challenge us, comfort us, and have his will and his way in our hearts and our lives tonight? Would you do that as I pray the same?

Father, we come to you. Lord, would you take your word in this story, Lord, from your word? And would you apply it to our hearts, our lives? Thank you, Lord, for you’re still calling to us, “Come.” And Lord, use tonight to help us to respond to your voice in faith. Lord, every single person here tonight, would you speak to them, Lord, please? Thank you for the family. And, Lord, thank you for speaking to Hartford to do so again tonight. And we’ll brag on you for what you do. Father, we ask for these things. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated.

Look back very, very quickly at 28 and 29. Let’s just draw our attention to those verses again very quickly here. “And Peter answered and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on water.” And he said, “Come.”

Now, I want you just for a moment, can you hear the voice of God tonight speaking to you? And it says, “Come.” Come on the water.

Now, walking on water, friend, you know, that’s just impossible. Maybe if you saw a snake, you can walk on water for a bit, you know, but not going to last too long. And it’s God calling you to really to do the impossible. Some of you say, “Well, Pastor, for me to be a godly man or the godly lady that God wants me to be in my background in my life is just really impossible.”

But if you listen to the Spirit of God, you’ll hear the voice of Jesus saying, “Come.” I don’t know what all it is for you. It may be God calling you to teach the Sunday school class, help in the bus ministry, start a neighborhood Bible club, be a part of the jail ministry. I don’t know what all it might be for you, but if you listen real close, you’ll hear that voice saying, “Come.”

Jesus is still speaking; he’s still calling, and he’s calling people and he’s saying, “Come.” And it’s hard for us because we’re like, “Hey, there’s no way I can do that.” And on your own, you’re right, there’s no way for you to do it. There’s no way for us to walk on water. But if you listen closely…

Maybe it’s for you to be a testimony on your job and for you to win souls on your job. Maybe it’s for you to witness to your neighbor. Maybe it’s for you to witness to your aunt or your uncle. And these things, you say, “Me to do those things? That’s impossible.” But you’ll still hear that voice just ever so faintly sometimes. If you listen, it might be in the middle of the night, but if you listen closely, you’ll hear that voice saying, “Come.”

There’s still the voice of God working in every time saying, “Come.”

Raising godly children in 2023, yes. Being a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ, seeing people say yes, starting a Christian school and God working there, whatever, building a new building—all those things. You said, “That’s impossible in 2023.” Yes, on our own it is. But if you listen closely, you’ll hear the voice of Jesus saying, “Come.” Amen. Come.

I’m thankful. I’m glad I hear the voice of Jesus still speaking, “Come.”

I was speaking to a man yesterday, and he’s in a little tough situation. He’s talked to me many times about it, and I think the Lord has given me clear leadership on what to say to him and what to do about it. And he’s even said, “I know that’s God’s will for my life.” But I say this often when I tell him, “This is what you ought to do and whatnot,” but I always say this to him, “It’s a whole lot easier to say, ‘Do this,’ than it is to do it.” He’s in a very, very tough situation.

And I told him yesterday, I said, “Brother, I understand it’s easy for me, and anybody else can give you the advice. And I think it’s probably pretty clear of what he’s supposed to do about it all. But my goodness, to follow it.” I said, “Brother, I realize it’s like, that’s a tough thing for you to do.” I’m very appreciative. Yesterday he said, “Yeah, it is.” He said that it is. But, “With God, I can do all things through Christ.” I thought, praise the Lord for your attitude. What a blessing.

If I were in his shoes, I probably would have given up, you know. I loved his attitude: “With God, all things are possible.” God’s still doing the impossible things in our day and time.

You know, Fourth of July, we just focused on our country, and I love that, and just thinking about it, I had to pull up this story. It’s a wonderful story. You’ve probably heard it before, but America was born out of the supernatural.

Let me read it for you. I’m not a good reader, but I’ll do the best I can. During the fighting on Long Island, British General Howe and his 32,000 well-trained troops had inflicted heavy losses on Washington’s army, but had not succeeded in capturing or destroying it altogether. General Howe then prepared to attack the 8,000 American troops on Brooklyn Heights. The British Army had Washington’s army surrounded in a great semicircle with their backs to the mile-wide East River. General Howe had remained in this position for two days and did not attack. Had he attacked, victory would have been certain for the British force. It is not known even to this day why he delayed. Nobody understands it. Why?

The British completely blocked any routes on land, which left the wide East River in their backs. The American Army could have easily been surrounded by the British, but providential adverse weather conditions kept British ships from sailing up the East River.

To make sure the British did not discover their retreat, Washington set out to evacuate his army in great secrecy. He set orders for every rowboat, sailboat, sea-going vessel to be collected in the area. And at 8 p.m. on the 9th of August, 1776, the evacuation of the troops commenced. Heavy rain was falling as evacuation began.

And the adverse winds which hindered the British ships continued. In this weather, the sailboats were of little use, and only a few rowboats were employed in the retreat. At this rate, evacuation seemed impossible. But at 11 p.m., the northeast wind, which had raged for three days, amazingly stopped. The wind became so calm that the boats could be loaded with extra weight. And a gentle breeze arose from the south and southwest, which favored their traveling across the river to escape.

The retreat continued throughout the darkness of the pre-dawn, but as the sun began to rise, many troops were yet to be evacuated. Their death seemed apparent. But again, an astonishing thing occurred. Major Benjamin Talmadge was still on the island. He recorded what happened in his memoirs: “After dark, the next day approached. Those of us who remained in the trenches became very anxious for our own safety. When the dawn appeared, there were several regiments here on duty. At this time, a very dense fog began to rise out of the ground and off the river. It seemed to settle in a peculiar manner over both encampments. I recollect this peculiar providential occurrence perfectly well. And so very dense was the atmosphere that I could scarcely discern a man six yards distance. We tarried until the sun had risen, but the fog remained as dense as ever.”

The fog remained until the last boats left Long Island. As his story in Christopher Ward points out, the freakest nature had again favored the Americans.

Now, I’m just simply telling this story to show us, hey, God’s still doing the impossible today. He did it for America to start; he’s doing it today. He’s doing it every day in time. Even the fact three people getting baptized this morning—that’s the hand of God.

I think about us. I was speaking with some people who visited yesterday, and the fact that that 15 acres we bought was sold for almost $3.5 million years ago, and with the prices going sky high on land around here, us buying it a couple of years ago for 1.3 million—that’s God for it. I’m saying God’s still doing miracles. He’s still working. And he’s still saying, “Come.”

And closely, you’ll hear that voice saying, “Come.” For me to be a preacher—if you knew me as a kid, I was just a loner, quiet guy in the corner, didn’t want to talk, scared of my shadow, you know. For me to be a preacher, that’s impossible. But the Lord’s still saying, “Come.”

I think about David and Goliath. All those military men there that day were much better equipped than David to kill Goliath. But God says, “Come,” to David’s.

I think about Gideon, hiding behind the grain. The Lord sent the angel of the Lord there, and he came there and he said, “Hey, hail, thou mighty man of valor.” I always think that’s interesting. He was back there hiding, and he says, “Hail, thou mighty man of valor,” you know. When God said, “Gideon, it’s going to be you,” 32,000 was too much. And he sent them back home because they were afraid. 22,000 left—10,000. God said, “Still too many.” Go down to the river and drink, and those that drink with caution, keep them. And just 300.

And God said, “I want to use those 300 that way everybody knows God did that right there.” And God’s still doing the impossible. And he’s still speaking to hearts and lives. He’s speaking to young people today. And if you listen closely, he’s saying, “Come.” You’ll hear his voice if you listen close. It’s just, “Come.”

Saul? God saw him. He’s the man that had a part in Christians being killed. And yet God said to Saul in that great light, and he was saying, “Come.” And Paul said, “Hey, Lord, what have you been doing?” Lord said, “I got a lot for you to do. I got the New Testament—probably 14 books of the New Testament—for you to pen. Spread the gospel down to Europe over there in the western hemisphere.” And God’s still speaking, saying, “Come.”

Just like to Peter that night in that boat, in the middle of the night, it was still dark. That voice said, “Come.” And if you listen, in some manner, some way, he’s saying, “Come” to you tonight. Come. Come.

Let’s give another thought out of this saying here. Would you look back at 28, verse number 28 right there, just very quickly here tonight? I want you to see where Peter is going. I want you to see it. Where does Peter going? Lord told Peter, “Come,” but watch this. Where is Peter going? Verse number 28: “And Peter answered and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto where?” Unto where? Unto thee. Unto Jesus?

The water. And he said, “Come.” And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to who? Jesus. Now, friend, the only way you can walk on water is when you’re coming to Jesus. You won’t walk on water when you’re doing your own agenda. You won’t walk on water when you’re doing what you want to do. You walk on water when you’re coming to Jesus. That’s when you walk on water.

Would you look at a couple passages? Kind of keep the finger there, but look over in chapter number 10 of Matthew. And we’re going to find where Jesus is calling his 12 apostles. And what you’ll notice how he does. Matthew 10, look at verse number one. Matthew 10, verse number one. When you’re there, would you say, “Amen?” Look at Matthew 10, verse number one right there. “And when he, Jesus, had called unto…” What’s the next word? Him. I want you to know, as Jesus called these apostles, he was calling them unto him. “…When he had called unto him his 12 disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out, to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of diseases.”

Look over Mark 6 very quickly. Mark 6, very quickly. Mark 6, and verse number 7. I just want you to notice Jesus is calling these 12 men, his apostles. He was going to use them once he was ready to turn the world upside down. But it’s very important how his calling—what he called them unto. Look at Mark chapter number six in verse number 7. Mark 6 in verse number 7. You there? Amen? Good deal. Verse number 7 right there: “And he called unto who? Him, the 12, began to send them forth by two and two and gave them power over unclean spirits.”

Look in Luke chapter number six. Luke chapter 6 and verse number 13 of God’s word. By the way, when you hear the voice saying, “Come,” this is what he’s saying to you. I want you to know what he’s calling them unto. Luke chapter number six, look in verse number 13. Luke 6 and verse number 13 of God’s word. “And when it was day, he called unto who? Him, his disciples, and of them he chose 12 whom he also named apostles.”

When the Lord calls you and he says, “Come,” he’s not necessarily initially or first or primary calling you to a mission, to a job; he’s calling you to him. That’s the key, by the way. If you come to Jesus, you get to Jesus, the mission kind of takes care of itself.

Walking on water takes care of itself, but the key is that you come to Jesus. That’s the key. Those people that have been the most effective in getting things done for the Lord throughout history have not been those with great talents. It’s been those that have focused on getting to Jesus.

That’s always the key. That’s always the main, the primary job: getting to Jesus. He’s the one that has the power. He’s the one that has the mind. That’s why Jesus said, “If you believe in me, these works and greater than these you will do, because they’re going to my Father.” Why? Because you can ask them in the name of Jesus, but it’s a matter of us believing in Jesus. He’s always the key to getting things done in the kingdom of God.

Peter set sail not to walk on water. He set sail to get to Jesus, and in the process of getting to Jesus, he walked on water. That’s always the key.

I think about my former pastor, Brother Howes, and God had used me. He wasn’t a perfect man, for sure, but God had used me in a great way. He pastored five different churches, and every one of those just took off when he was pastor to that church. And people would come say, “Hey, what’s the secret? What’s the key to it?” And he would say this: “Walk with God.”

Friend, those—I think John Wesley, God used him in a great way, and he wasn’t really trying to start a church, but God used him to start the Methodists, back when the Methodists meant something, amen. Those old Methodists were pretty good folk, I tell you for sure, you know. I mean, there’s watered-down Methodists, you know, “Good Lord and good devil and good heaven, good hell”—that’s hogwash from what we used to be back in the day, amen. I didn’t have anything with that. You know, the Sodomites are welcome to get married, the rest of that being in the pulpit—no, none of that was going on back in the day.

But John Wesley, God used him in a great way. John Wesley, he would say this: He said, “I have to spend two hours getting close to God every day.” Maybe that’s why God could use him so greatly.

Martin Luther, that great German reformer, really the Reformation—he said this, and I quote: “If I failed to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory throughout the day. I have so much business, I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.” Maybe that’s why God used him so much and so greatly.

Friend, I’m saying those that walk on water, they step out of the boat not to do something mighty, but they step out of the boat to get to Jesus. And Jesus takes care of the water walking. But the key is to get to Jesus. I’m not asking you tonight to do some great thing. I’m asking you would just step out and get to Jesus. And in the process, he’ll accomplish the impossible. That’s the key.

It’s just those people say, “Lord, I got to have you. I want to get to you. I want to come unto you, Jesus, on the water.” And in the process, I’m like, “Wow, it’s pretty amazing. I’m walking on water.” But the big thing is, Jesus can’t have come to you come? And he set out to get to Jesus. You set out to get to Jesus, and God will do the impossible through you.

Now, I was looking at things we’re going to be done tonight, amen, because McDonald’s still serves hot fudge sundaes. Somebody say amen right there. Caramel sundaes? Caramel, have you said? How many for a hot fudge? How many for caramel? How many for both? All right, good deal, good deal. All right, we’re there.

Look at verse number 30, would you please? Look at verse number 30 of Matthew 14. Would you look there just briefly here? “And when he saw…” That’s key. Very important where your eyes are looking. “…But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid, and began to sink, and he cried, saying, ‘Lord, save me.’”

I say this: Satan will do anything to get your eyes on the storm and get your eyes off of Jesus and get your eyes… He’ll use people. He’ll use financial burdens. He’ll use sickness. He’ll use social networks, whether it be Instagram or TikTok or Facebook. He’ll use all that. He’ll use the news. He will use circumstances. He will use anything he can to get your eyes off of Jesus and to get your eyes on the wind. He’s busy about that.

It’s interesting how the Bible words “wind boisterous.” It kind of reminds me of a, not just a lion, but the roaring lion. By the way, help me out, who’s the prince and power of the air, the media, if you will, the roaring lion? Boy, he’ll use that all he can to get your eyes off of Jesus and on everything, and on the wind. He’s so good at that.

But can I say, if you’re going to walk on water, you must keep your eyes on Jesus. That is vital, friend. And if you watch it, you’ll see how the devil, he’s just trying to roar to get you to look at the wind and get your eyes off of Jesus.

Now, here’s the amazing thing. Once we get our eyes off of Jesus, get our eyes on the wind, what happens? What is saying that last part of verse number 30 right there? What do you say in that last part of verse number 30? He cried, saying, “Lord, save…” What’s the last word? Me. And I’m not saying that’s wrong. I mean, Peter was wise in calling out to Jesus. But once our eyes get off of Jesus and on God, the next thing our eyes go to is us. Me. Me.

And I’m not saying it’s wrong for Peter to cry, “Lord, save me,” but you just watch it, friend. Once my eyes get off and on the wind, the next thing the devil wants me to do is just focus on me. Now, I’m walking with Jesus. Jesus meets my needs, and Jesus says, “Hey, I want to use you to help others.” When I’m looking at all the problems, got my eyes off of Jesus, I’m tempted to focus on me.

Friend, the key is just keeping your eyes on Jesus.

Now, here’s the wonderful thing about it. Look at verse number 30, verse number 30 right there, 14, excuse me, verse number 31. “And immediately…” I like that, immediately. “…Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him, ‘O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’”

The thing about it: When you’re on the water, you’re not going to do everything right. By the way, can I just say this? I say this often: There’s no Christian with an ‘S’ on their chest. If they do, it doesn’t represent Super Christian, because there’s no such thing. There’s just Super Christ. If there is an ‘S’ there, it stands for sin or saved by grace, amen, you know.

Nobody passes a test 100%. Job, as wonderful as he did, did 10,000 times better than me. But can I say this, Job didn’t pass 100%. He talked about he had a lot of self-righteousness, and God was getting out of there.

Nobody does 100%. But here’s a wonderful thing about it. When you set out to come to Jesus on the water, and you’re going to Jesus, and all of a sudden you’re like, “Wow, this is amazing. God’s doing something here.” But then the devil, you know, he’s got that wind boisterous, he’s roaring, and he gets your eyes off of Jesus. Get your eyes on the wind. “When he saw the wind boisterous, he began to sink.” Just, just… What? “Lord, save me.” Just three words.

And the Lord immediately. When you’re trying to come to Jesus, you’re not going to be perfect. I promise you, friend, nobody is. But boy, the Lord is so gracious and merciful. I mean, immediately. Jesus didn’t tear him down. Jesus didn’t say, “Well, you’re big, tell me, why did you get charged? Why are you looking at the wind?” He didn’t do that because Peter was about ten feet under, you know what I mean? Immediately.

By the way, it’s wonderful when you’re coming to Jesus. You’re trying to live for the Lord. You’re going to church. It’s something you’ve got your battles. You’ve got your problems. You’ve got your opposition. I remember some people got in our church, and their friends started saying, “Well, you don’t want to hang out with us anymore. You’re always at that church.” And so you had relatives say that about you. And so, “I bet you put money in. I bet you do that thing they’re called tight. What are you doing? Giving your money at church.”

And I’m just saying, you’re trying to serve the Lord. There’s opposition. It seems like here lately I’ve heard the most car problems, you know. I mean, how many—I said in Sunday school—I mean, I haven’t figured out if cars are a blessing or a curse yet, you know. Thought about buying a horse, me and probably break a leg, you know, so I better not do that. But battles come.

And you’re trying to walk on water. You’re trying to go to Jesus and do his will. Man, you want to get to Jesus. You want to serve the Lord. But there are problems. That’s just part of it. And you’re not going to be perfect in all the problems. And they met one of them in, and they’ve been through such a severe test, and God’s allowed that in their life. And boy, you can just see it. It’s a great, great test. And I said, “Brother, man, you did good,” you know. And he said, “Man, you don’t know.” I felt it. We all do. All of us do.

But isn’t it wonderful, when you’re walking, coming to Jesus on the water, you’re right there by him? Those fellows in the boat, they were a little bit distant from Jesus, you know. Jesus is God; he could do anything, but just humanly speaking, his arm’s not going to be long enough to reach out to those fellows. If the boat sank, Jesus had to go over there or speak it or something, you know, but he wasn’t right there by him. But Peter was walking on the water, coming to Jesus. Peter was right there by Jesus.

And just three words, “Lord, save me,” and Jesus immediately—boom—he is right there. When you’re serving the Lord, trying to—not perfect, we’re all far from perfect—but you’re in church trying to live for God, trying to read his word, trying to be a witness, trying to be a testimony at work, trying to stand in our old country, trying to do all those things he wants us to do. Hey, you’re not going to be a perfect friend. Nobody is. But he’s right there. Man, you just said, “Lord, save me,” and he’s there. I love that, immediately, boom, he’s there.

And friend, it’s a difference for those in the boat. Well, you know, I’m saved, but they’re not living for the Lord, and I’m not many anyways. But there’s a difference between those out in the water and those in the boat.

Now, they’re not me. I’m not trying to shoot those in the boat, but those people there on the water trying to live for the Lord, trying to make a difference, and trying to shine for the Lord Jesus Christ—those are the ones that are right there by Jesus. Jesus just said, immediately, immediately, he lifted him up.

Friend, do you hear that voice tonight? “Come?” I don’t know what it might be for you. I think about the Powers over here, they just started in their closet, and now they’ve got the Liberty Station and all that going, you know, the burden of all that, or whatever it may be for you. It’s different for every person here. But you’ll hear that voice, “Come.” You hear that voice.

And he said, “Boy, there’s problems. I sink every once in a while,” and we all do. But can I say, Peter was a whole lot safer than the fellows in the boat. The fellows in the boat were a little far from Jesus. He’s right there with Peter. You know, if a missionary God’s called them, they’re in the middle of a jungle, snakes all over, crocodiles and, you know, vipers and all that whatever may be, you know, all around them—they’re safer there in the will of God than somebody back here in Tennessee out of the will of God. They’re walking on water. They’re right there by Jesus. Three words, “Lord, save me,” and Jesus immediately, boom, he’s there.

The Bible talks about, “My sheep know my voice,” and just a sheep hearing the voice of its shepherd brings peace. You know, we brought it in before we changed your carpet years ago. We brought that little—we had that sheep, Sarah had bought a little lamb. It grew up a sheep, and we had it for, I don’t know, a year or so. And Snowball was its name.

And Snowball would be in the backyard, our sheep. He thought he was a dog, you know, he really did. He’d run with the dogs in the neighborhood if you could. But he was our pet, you know, Snowball was. And it’s amazing how Snowball knew that Sarah was his shepherd. And there’s a storm going on or something, you know, Snowball would get all fidgety, sheep are like that, and get all afraid and everything, you know, or a new dog in the neighborhood. Snowball would get fearful of that, you know. And it’s not good for sheep. If a sheep is fearful, they won’t eat. If it keeps going, days and days, they’ll get sick; they can even die from it, you know.

But Snowball knew Sarah’s voice. Sarah, maybe ten—do you know how old yours is? Somewhere around ten, you know. Snowball being out in the backyard, and, you know, I’d yell for Snowball. Snowball wouldn’t come. But Sarah called for Snowball, and Snowball would come. So I went out a couple times. I went out there and I tried to mimic a ten-year-old girl’s voice, “Snowball!” you know? Snowball wouldn’t come. She knew.

But Sarah could call Snowball, and just the voice of the shepherd would calm the sheep. And so it’s like mixed emotions a little bit, you know? That’s your mother-in-law driving your new car off a cliff—that’s mixed emotions, you know. But it’s mixed emotions. When you hear the voice of God, you’ll get that in a second here now, you know. I don’t know where that came from. But you hear God say, “Come.” There’s a little fear there: “How am I going to walk on water?” But there’s also assurance, a calming, a peace of faith, because you hear the shepherd’s voice. And that’s what you focus on: Jesus and his voice. And he’s saying, “Come.” That faith calms all the fear and all worry.

And so just listen for that voice: “Come.” Jesus has come. Would you do that? Glad you’re in church tonight. Thrilled you’re here. And I appreciate you being faithful. If you can come tomorrow, that’d be great. We’ll be working on Building B over there and see what all gets done in the day. I can’t believe we have working restrooms over there. What a blessing. That’s something right there. And praise the Lord for God’s goodness on the church. I just thank the Lord for that. What a blessing.

Original File: Pastor Paul Chisgar - How you can walk on water - Sunday PM 07092023