John K. Jenkins Sr - Transition Requires Courage

I want to read a familiar passage: Matthew chapter 14. If you have your Bibles, please turn to Matthew chapter 14. After I read it, we will pray. I want to encourage you to pray for the people you know who need to be saved and whom you are connected with.

Beginning at verse 22, Matthew chapter 14: Immediately, Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side while He sent the multitudes away. 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. 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?»

When they got into the boat, the wind ceased, and those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, «Truly You are the Son of God.» Amen. Thank God for the reading of His Word.

Let 's pray. Father, we thank You; we give You glory, honor, and praise for Your loving-kindness and the multitude of Your mercies. Thank You for waking us up and giving us a heart and a mind to be in the house of God. We thank You today and pray that You take these next moments by the power of Your might. Speak to us, Father; allow Your truth to prevail in us. Save somebody; reclaim somebody; deliver somebody today, for such a time as this. I pray not only for the people in this facility but also for those who are watching around the world. In Jesus' name, we pray, and everybody said, «Amen.»

Amen. You can be seated. I’m going to take a moment to acknowledge that we have people in South Carolina, North Carolina, Illinois, Louisiana, Arkansas, Florida, Washington State, Ohio, Georgia, Alabama, Nebraska, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Texas, Connecticut, New York, Delaware, Arizona, Kentucky, Botswana, South Africa, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Trinidad, Japan, Brazil, Nigeria, and Jamaica watching us today. Thank you; we welcome all of you for being with us today. Thank you for joining us, wherever in the world you are.

I want to talk today about how transition requires courage. Can you all say that? Let 's try that again. I’m just trying to wait for everybody to say it. If I can just get everybody to say, «Transition requires courage.» Try that again. That 's what I’m looking for right there. Well, that’s the kind of fervent passion I need you to get a hold of.

Let me talk about this situation real quick. This is a narrative message. Let me tell you right off the bat: this is a narrative message. What does that mean? I’m going to tell the story. Don 't wait for any points to come up on the screen; there are not going to be any points that I’m outlining. The whole message has multiple points. Write down what the Spirit of God says to you. Tell your neighbor, «Write down what the Holy Ghost says to you,» and go ahead and tell them the Holy Spirit is going to say a whole lot to you.

Go ahead and tell them. Jesus has just finished feeding thousands of people, and He sends His disciples to get on the ship and go to the other side, while He spends time in prayer. When He finishes praying, He catches up with them. He walks on the water to go to them while they’re in the middle of the sea. While they 're in the middle of the sea, they encounter a storm. The winds are boisterous, and the ship is being tossed from side to side. They see Jesus walking toward them on the water, but they don’t know it’s Him; they think it’s a ghost.

I wonder how many of you have ever seen something that you thought was a ghost? They thought it was a ghost, and they became afraid. Jesus said, «Don 't be afraid; it’s Me.» «Bid me to come to You,» Peter says to Him. «If that’s You, Jesus, tell me to come to You on the water.» I always have trouble with this passage because, I’m just saying, that when Peter says to Jesus, «If it’s You, bid me to come,» what if it’s not Jesus? And whatever’s out there says, «Come!»

But there they are, in the middle of the sea, in the middle of the night, in the midst of a storm. Something 's walking out to them, and Peter says, «If it’s You, bid me to come.» Jesus says, «Come.» Peter gets out of the boat and walks on the water. While people in the past have been very critical of Peter-people have criticized him, judged him, and talked about him-I want to salute him for having the courage to do what some of the other ones did not.