God of Second Chances – Part 2

By Pastor Bob Rasmussen

Welcome congregation. Welcome those watching online on Facebook, YouTube, our website, Roku, and Christian World Media. Explain issues – what we are doing to resolve.

If you recall, last week we were in the Book of Matthew. Jesus had fed the 5,000. He told His disciples to leave by boat to get them out of there, and He went to pray.

• Matthew 14:24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 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.

Like I said last week, Jesus did not rebuke them. He did not scold them in their fear.And what He does is that He comforts them. And what does He comfort them with? His Word and His presence.

• Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

I love this for its simplicity. Jesus says Here I am. Some days, for me, that is what I need the most. Just to get into His presence.And I think, it can be whenever and wherever you are.

There are times when I have been so sad thinking about the ones I have lost in this life. I miss their smiles and laughs; I miss their humor. I miss hearing all the stories.

This is Memorial Day weekend. A time when we honor and remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. My family has never lost someone to a war. But I do think about my father and his service in Vietnam and Korea, and I know that he lost friends.

As I was thinking about these things, a feeling of sadness welled up, but when I choose to get into His presence, there is calm and peace that comes over me.

• Phillipians 4: 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I love to cook. As I have said before, we watch way too many cooking shows, but I love the creativity and learning about new flavors. Sometimes, we will find a recipe. Recently, my wife made Michael Voltaggio’s – he is a little weird, but man, can he cook. Anyway, she made his Vindaloo Chicken for me. It was spicy and good. To make it, she had a recipe with all of the ingredients and the steps required to make that dish.

And what we have in Philippians 4 here is a recipe for getting into that peaceful presence of the Lord Jesus Christ; Prayer and supplication.Supplication is a big word. Supplication refers to a humble and earnest request or plea, often made to God in prayer, expressing a deep sense of need or a sincere desire for divine intervention, according to one reference.

Jesus is also the Word for them in this moment. The disciples would have a good knowledge of the Old Testament, for sure. Jesus is there, walking on the water. I know some people who think they walked on water, but to my knowledge, Jesus is the only one who did. Well. Maybe one more.

And if you could walk on water, there would be something missing compared to when you walk on land – and that would be footprints. One does not leave footsteps on the water. Let’s look at some of Psalm 77

• Psalm 77:13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? 14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. 15 Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. 16 The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. 17 The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad. 18 The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. 19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.

That is beautiful. Jesus is coming to them. Jesus is walking on the water, leaving no footprints, revealing more and more that He is the culmination of the Old Testament.

He is the Word, walking and reminding them of when God freed the nation of Israel, leading them on a supernatural highway carved into the sea by the power of His might. A revelation of His power and authority over everything and every situation.

• John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

So, is Jesus walking on the water because He couldn’t find a speedboat? Is He walking on the water because He can’t swim? Is Jesus showboating?

He is walking on the water and walking out the Word.He is revealing Himself to the apostles. He is walking and fulfilling the scriptures. He is the Word walking on the water.

• John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Hallelujah and amen!

• Matthew 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

Peter, a prominent and important figure in the early church, doubts Jesus. Jesus just told him who He was and told him not to be afraid. Jesus told the Apostles who He was, but Peter needed just one more confirmation.

If I were Jesus, I would be like, wasn’t my Word enough? If I were Jesus, I would say Isn’t my presence enough?

Jesus gave him a Word, but does He rebuke him? No, He shows grace. Jesus could have given up on Peter, but He is the God of second chances, amen?

Let me ask you a question: how many times have you asked for confirmation for something the Lord has laid on your heart?I know that I have, and what I see here is that it is OK to ask God for confirmation, amen?We have a Lord who is gracious and merciful. Who is patient and kind with us and will give us a second chance? Hallelujah and amen!And what happens next?

• Matthew 14:29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

Jesus said “Come”, and Peter was obedient. And he walked on the water.I am pretty sure the other apostles heard Jesus say to come to him, but Peter was the only one who did.In that moment of obedience, Peter did something impossible. Something that was only made possible by faith.

There is another good lesson for all of us there. When I asked earlier about getting confirmation, how many of us also ask for confirmation over and over and over so that we never actually do what the Lord has laid on our heart?

A while ago, years ago Diana and I had an opportunity to participate in Bible Studies with homeless men at GIFTS. GIFTS was not as well funded as it is now, and it went from church to church to church. I think that JAM was a host church as well.

 In the flesh and the spirit, I just wasn’t feeling it. So I just kept asking God, Are you sure, God? I kept looking for a no – when the whole time it was a yes. And I knew it, it was just “I don’t want to moment”.

But Jesus, in His mercy and Love, gave me that second chance, and when I was obedient and said “yes” – that was where Diana and I were able to worship together with these men, to do bible studies, and try to build relationships. To bring Jesus in that place and bring them to meet Jesus, who loved them. It was a good reminder that Jesus really does not want any to perish, and He can use anyone to accomplish His will – if only we say yes.

• 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

These ordained opportunities for ministry, prayer, testifying, and evangelizing will only occur when we take that step of faith, like Peter. When we say yes to the Lord Jesus.

When we, like Peter, step out of our comfort zone and trust Him, that He will be with us, supporting us, and keeping us from drowning in our fears, or our anxiety, or whatever it is.

But let me also say this. There are things that God will lay on your heart that are quite simply – a no. It may be something that you have been struggling with, or it may be people who are not good for you. It may be at work or at home, but sometimes a no in your life is more important than a yes.

Perhaps it is a sinful pattern you have struggled with repeatedly. If God reminds you of it, have faith that He will carry you through it. He will be there with you when you need His help. He will make the way through whatever it is, like He did for the slaves of Egypt.

So, take that step out of the ship,  of whatever it is: anger, resentment, lust, envy, drugs, pornography, alcoholism – whatever it is, leave it behind and walk with Jesus. And don’t look back! Amen!

• Matthew 14:30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

As Jesus sustains Peter as he walks on the water, Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus and focuses on the circumstances around him. He is looking at the winds around him, not the one thing that will sustain him.

And he begins to sink. Does that ever happen to us? We are going through something that is difficult, that is challenging. We have all these things called feelings. Feelings can make things even more complicated. As we experience these feelings and emotions, it is like the boisterous wind for Peter. And it can pull us away from the very one that can sustain us, just like Peter.

That is an area where discipline can be invaluable. We should consistently read the Word of God, have a prayer life that lasts longer than a meal, and say, “Thank you for this meal; let’s eat.”

A relationship with Jesus requires consistently seeking His face. Some of us, can’t even spend 2 minutes praying and we have to be back on or phone or whatever it is.

We had this banner up here for years. It was PUSH, an acronym for “Pray Until Something Happens”. Sometimes, it is like that. There are some things that Diana and I prayed for, and it took years to come to fruition. Did God not hear us? I don’t think so. Praying for something once or for 20 seconds, and we expect a response from God?

Yes, when Peter was sinking, all he had time for was Lord help me! I got that! We have been in a couple of accidents, and all we could muster was “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!”But I will refer back to that recipe from Ephesians- Requests with prayer and supplication.

I think sometimes that whether the issue is big or small, 99% God does it not the way that I wanted. And perhaps, there are so many moving parts that more had to be done that I most likely did not see.

I may ask that when I go to heaven, but until then, I will rely on the Word of God and keep on praying for whatever needs to happen. Amen?

There are still things that I am praying for, if I am honest. Do I believe that He still can, absolutely and amen! Do I wish they have been answered, yes and amen!

Until then, I will stay in His Word, I’ll keep praying, and I will keep praising His Name!Because I know me. When I start relying on myself, I will sink. When I get prideful, I will sink. When I take my eyes off of Him, I sink.

However, He is still the God of second chances. If I falter, He will reach out with His loving arms and pull me up, just like He did with Peter. And I can refocus, I can PUSH, and I can repurpose myself for His will.

• Matthew 14:32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

If you recall, this is not the first storm the Apostles went through. In Matthew Chapter 8 verses 23-27. The disciples were in a boat with Jesus, there was a storm, the disciples said Lord save us and Jesus calmed that storm. What did they say then about Jesus?

• Matthew 8:27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

The disciples are getting a fresh and complete revelation of who Jesus is! From Matthew 8 until this point, they have been seeing Jesus healing, teaching, praying, and performing miracles. They now understand Jesus is truly their Lord and Savior! “Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”

Do I think that we have to have water walking faith? Yes. Do I think you will be walking on water? Probably not. But I think that if we take this scripture and we understand that keeping our eyes on Jesus through His Word, prayer, worship, fasting and obedience – we too can have a fresh revelation of Jesus and His Lordship, amen?

I think the focus of this scripture is more about Jesus than it is about Peter. I didn’t always feel that way.It is not about Peter, it’s about Jesus, developing their faith and OUR faith, clearly showing us that He was indeed the Son of God, fully man and fully God. It is about the One who walked on the water and didn’t sink.

I am not making Peter the hero of this story, not because he failed, because I have, too. No, Peter is not the hero, because it was Jesus who saved Him from sinking – Jesus is the hero.

It is Jesus who gave him a second chance, because He is the God of second chances. As we look deeper into the heart of Jesus, we begin to grasp the amazing concept that He, being fully Man and fully God, loves each and every one of us with a never-ending love the extent of which is hard for us to imagine. But we can see it more and more as we spend time in the scriptures, in prayer and in worship.

So, the fresh revelation for me is that the victory in all the trials that we have isn’t just about us saying look at me, I survived.

Diana started her Bible series on domestic violence this past Thursday. Let me say, I am grateful and proud of her for sharing her story. There are parts that will be shocking to some, and some that are very, very ugly.

Domestic violence is ugly and evil. It is more prevalent in the United States than I thought as my awareness is raised. I said this before, but we need to bring it into the light, and bring it to Jesus. If you are under the sound of my voice this morning and you need a safe space, that you are in a situation where you are fearful for your safety – please, please, please let us know. You can email us at jamjanesville@gmail.com and you can let us know if you want us to reach out to you. I can also tell you that if you come here – it is a safe place. We also have the ladies of this church work with you if that is more comfortable, amen?

As Diana shares her story, you will see that she is a survivor. But the true testimony will be how, through all the trials she has been through and survived, we will see how the wonder and greatness of Jesus is revealed. That He is the central theme for her and all of our testimonies, amen?

It is not that Diana, or you, or me were strong enough – it is that Jesus was more than enough! That is what builds our faith!

• We needed a healing, who healed us? Jehovah-Rapha – The Lord who heals! Jesus!
• We needed some things to get through a life situation, who provided? Jehovah-Jireh – Jesus! The Lord shall provide!
• We needed peace in the loss of a loved one or a relationship. Maybe a marriage has failed, or we lost a child. Who gives us peace? Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord Who Is Peace! – Jesus!

As I think about Diana’s story, some of us may also be going through something. When we go through something where our world is turned upside down, maybe going through a storm, I am reminded that He is the God who sees me, he sees you—even in the middle of all the messy, ugly junk. Jehovah-El Roi: The Lord who sees me! – Jesus!

We are going to open up this altar. This morning, whatever storm you are going through, be confident that you can get through and have a victory, because of Jesus.

Open your heart and invite Him in, let Him take whatever it is. You can give Him all of it. You can lay it down at His feet and leave it for Him to deal with.

Maybe you have been afraid, you think it is too ugly. You think it is too dirty. I challenge you to take that shame and guilt and just put it on the altar. It’s nothing he has not seen before; it will not shock him.

He is here willingly to heal your heart, to make you new, and to give you hope, amen? If you need prayer for anything, we will pray with you and for you.

• Matthew 14:35 And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased; 36 And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.

The altar is open