Putting the Git in your Go - February 8, 2015
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Scripture Reading: Matthew 14: 22 – 33
I am fully aware that Pastor Adam has been presenting from this portion of scripture for the last two Sundays. I hope to draw out of this story some very important truth – though different from what Adam has shared. Ten thousand commentaries, ten thousand preachers, ten thousand teachers could address the same set of scriptures and never begin to exhaust the truth of them.
At the beginning of this year I arrived at a particular sense of what the Holy Spirit was speaking concerning the immediate season in the corporate life of this Fellowship. Let me back up and remind you of that. I suggested the following theme: “Go Time.” Or if you prefer: “Putting The Git In The Go.” I told you that I would periodically present this question: “What time is it?” And the scripted answer would be: It’s go time.”
I want to carry this theme and thought into this Matthew 14 story.
In speaking of going I am not addressing physical movement from one location to another. All I have in mind is this: engaging the known directives of the Holy Spirit. We can only stand in the same place and rehearse what God revealed for so long; at some point it is time to go – time to engage what was revealed. This much I can tell you about going; it is much easier in theory than it is in experience.
Early that evening twelve men got into a boat; they did so at Christ’s command. This was not their idea – it was His. For the most part these men were familiar with boats; had grown up in the presence of the sea. They knew what they were doing; knew how to make it happen, how to engage wind and wave and get from one place to another.
At some point during that night a significant storm burst upon the sea. The record does not imply that the disciples had any fear because of the storm. What is clear is that they were powerless in their effort to resist the storm and make any headway toward their destination. The storm had arrested their forward movement. They were stalled and out of strength. And that is exactly where some are in this house right now.
What they did not know was that this was the exact moment the entire night was designed to bring them to. When Christ sent them out, this was the moment He had in mind. When the storm burst upon them, this is the moment God had in mind. This was their “go moment” – the opportunity to go beyond where they had been all their life, go beyond their own ability, go beyond their own strength, go beyond what they had learned, beyond mere training. This was their moment to go where they had never been before.
The “go moment” always shows up at the same place: in the middle of the night, in the middle of the storm, in the middle of our exhausted strength, and when Jesus Himself appears to be a distortion.
Note how Matthew reported this. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. Their fear related to one issue: identity confusion regarding the figure at the heart of the storm. When we don’t realize who is at the heart of the storm there is plenty of room for fear, because whoever is at the heart of the storm is also in control of the storm.
Jesus reveals His identity with a few words: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” I cannot tell you how important this. Once we have revelation of who it is at the heart of the storm – revelation that it is in fact Christ at the heart of the storm, we have a critical choice to make – a choice regarding “go time.” All twelve of those men were faced with the same choice: In the presence of the storm is it safer to be in the boat without Christ, or is it safer to be out there in the storm with Christ?
For Peter this was “go-time” – the “go moment.” Right here he found the “git in his go” and go he did.
Against this background let me bring you to a couple of considerations we need to be aware of as we go.
First, there were eleven disciples of the same Christ who did not go. You have to allow for that. We must not allow those who stay in the boat to become a distraction to us. They must not become our focus. It was not Peter’s responsibility to judge his brothers in the boat; his only responsibility was to go in response to the direction and invitation Christ had presented to him.
The second and final consideration is this: There came this moment in the journey of Peter’s going – a moment described in the words of the record as follows: ‘...and beginning to sink.’
If we read the Bible, if we read church history, and if we are honest regarding our own personal experience of faith I think it is pretty safe to conclude that the vast majority of all who step out in their “go moment” encounter this “other moment” – this moment of sinking. I am not suggesting that when we step out of the boat, we should anticipate and look for this experience of sinking. What I am saying is that, whether we anticipate it or not chances are we will experience these moments. So the question becomes: How should we view such an experience; what should our understanding be?
I love the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases verse 31, and has Christ saying this in response to Peter: “Faint-heart, what got into you?” The Bible speaks of faintness of heart. It exhorts us not to lose heart because of the troubles in the world because Christ has overcome the world. It tells us, men ought always to pray and not faint. It is safe to conclude that in that sinking moment Peter had lost heart; his heart was fainting. That was his state, his condition at the time of the sinking.
But the rest of the question – “What got into you?” – raises the issue that caused the faintness of heart, the lapse of faith, and thus the moment of sinking. The majority of translations read: ‘...but when he saw the wind boisterous,’ or, ‘seeing the wind.’ We all know that the wind is invisible and cannot be seen. But what can be seen are the effects the wind produces in the environment around us. And again Peterson expresses this wonderfully well: ‘But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet...’
The only place we can discern the wind is in our sense realm – the realm of our physical senses. Peter felt the wind. Peter heard the wind. Peter saw the effects of the wind in the state of the sea. He physically felt those effects in the form of the spray of sea water washing his face.
Again the question: “What got into you?” We now know the answer. When Peter’s consciousness became dominated and controlled by his sense realm, he became faint of heart, and so will we. The focus of his consciousness shifted away from the Christ who had called him out of the boat to the sensory realities of the environment into which he had come.
We do not deny the wind, the waves, the storm; we do not deny the realities of the sense realm. What we do is to keep them in proper perspective by virtue of our faith. And that proper perspective is – ALL realities of the sense realm are subject to the lordship of the Christ who called us into them. The same storm that brought Christ to your boat is absolutely subject to the sovereign authority of that Christ.
But our senses tell us that the storm is sovereign, the storm is in control, and that it will take us down and take us out. To the degree that this message “gets into us” we will experience faintness of heart and begin to sink.
What time is it KCF? It is GO-TIME!
Three or four things to keep in mind as we go: First, not everyone will go with us. Second, as we go we will be pushing up against a sense realm (a sense consciousness) that will be contrary to what we know Christ has called us into. Third, there will be times when that consciousness creates in us faintness of heart. Fourth, we may well experience moments of temporary sinking. Fifth and finally, even when our faith falters and fails, the faithfulness of Christ does not, and ultimately it is always Christ himself who saves and delivers us.
I am fully aware that Pastor Adam has been presenting from this portion of scripture for the last two Sundays. I hope to draw out of this story some very important truth – though different from what Adam has shared. Ten thousand commentaries, ten thousand preachers, ten thousand teachers could address the same set of scriptures and never begin to exhaust the truth of them.
At the beginning of this year I arrived at a particular sense of what the Holy Spirit was speaking concerning the immediate season in the corporate life of this Fellowship. Let me back up and remind you of that. I suggested the following theme: “Go Time.” Or if you prefer: “Putting The Git In The Go.” I told you that I would periodically present this question: “What time is it?” And the scripted answer would be: It’s go time.”
I want to carry this theme and thought into this Matthew 14 story.
In speaking of going I am not addressing physical movement from one location to another. All I have in mind is this: engaging the known directives of the Holy Spirit. We can only stand in the same place and rehearse what God revealed for so long; at some point it is time to go – time to engage what was revealed. This much I can tell you about going; it is much easier in theory than it is in experience.
Early that evening twelve men got into a boat; they did so at Christ’s command. This was not their idea – it was His. For the most part these men were familiar with boats; had grown up in the presence of the sea. They knew what they were doing; knew how to make it happen, how to engage wind and wave and get from one place to another.
At some point during that night a significant storm burst upon the sea. The record does not imply that the disciples had any fear because of the storm. What is clear is that they were powerless in their effort to resist the storm and make any headway toward their destination. The storm had arrested their forward movement. They were stalled and out of strength. And that is exactly where some are in this house right now.
What they did not know was that this was the exact moment the entire night was designed to bring them to. When Christ sent them out, this was the moment He had in mind. When the storm burst upon them, this is the moment God had in mind. This was their “go moment” – the opportunity to go beyond where they had been all their life, go beyond their own ability, go beyond their own strength, go beyond what they had learned, beyond mere training. This was their moment to go where they had never been before.
The “go moment” always shows up at the same place: in the middle of the night, in the middle of the storm, in the middle of our exhausted strength, and when Jesus Himself appears to be a distortion.
Note how Matthew reported this. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. Their fear related to one issue: identity confusion regarding the figure at the heart of the storm. When we don’t realize who is at the heart of the storm there is plenty of room for fear, because whoever is at the heart of the storm is also in control of the storm.
Jesus reveals His identity with a few words: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” I cannot tell you how important this. Once we have revelation of who it is at the heart of the storm – revelation that it is in fact Christ at the heart of the storm, we have a critical choice to make – a choice regarding “go time.” All twelve of those men were faced with the same choice: In the presence of the storm is it safer to be in the boat without Christ, or is it safer to be out there in the storm with Christ?
For Peter this was “go-time” – the “go moment.” Right here he found the “git in his go” and go he did.
Against this background let me bring you to a couple of considerations we need to be aware of as we go.
First, there were eleven disciples of the same Christ who did not go. You have to allow for that. We must not allow those who stay in the boat to become a distraction to us. They must not become our focus. It was not Peter’s responsibility to judge his brothers in the boat; his only responsibility was to go in response to the direction and invitation Christ had presented to him.
The second and final consideration is this: There came this moment in the journey of Peter’s going – a moment described in the words of the record as follows: ‘...and beginning to sink.’
If we read the Bible, if we read church history, and if we are honest regarding our own personal experience of faith I think it is pretty safe to conclude that the vast majority of all who step out in their “go moment” encounter this “other moment” – this moment of sinking. I am not suggesting that when we step out of the boat, we should anticipate and look for this experience of sinking. What I am saying is that, whether we anticipate it or not chances are we will experience these moments. So the question becomes: How should we view such an experience; what should our understanding be?
I love the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases verse 31, and has Christ saying this in response to Peter: “Faint-heart, what got into you?” The Bible speaks of faintness of heart. It exhorts us not to lose heart because of the troubles in the world because Christ has overcome the world. It tells us, men ought always to pray and not faint. It is safe to conclude that in that sinking moment Peter had lost heart; his heart was fainting. That was his state, his condition at the time of the sinking.
But the rest of the question – “What got into you?” – raises the issue that caused the faintness of heart, the lapse of faith, and thus the moment of sinking. The majority of translations read: ‘...but when he saw the wind boisterous,’ or, ‘seeing the wind.’ We all know that the wind is invisible and cannot be seen. But what can be seen are the effects the wind produces in the environment around us. And again Peterson expresses this wonderfully well: ‘But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet...’
The only place we can discern the wind is in our sense realm – the realm of our physical senses. Peter felt the wind. Peter heard the wind. Peter saw the effects of the wind in the state of the sea. He physically felt those effects in the form of the spray of sea water washing his face.
Again the question: “What got into you?” We now know the answer. When Peter’s consciousness became dominated and controlled by his sense realm, he became faint of heart, and so will we. The focus of his consciousness shifted away from the Christ who had called him out of the boat to the sensory realities of the environment into which he had come.
We do not deny the wind, the waves, the storm; we do not deny the realities of the sense realm. What we do is to keep them in proper perspective by virtue of our faith. And that proper perspective is – ALL realities of the sense realm are subject to the lordship of the Christ who called us into them. The same storm that brought Christ to your boat is absolutely subject to the sovereign authority of that Christ.
But our senses tell us that the storm is sovereign, the storm is in control, and that it will take us down and take us out. To the degree that this message “gets into us” we will experience faintness of heart and begin to sink.
What time is it KCF? It is GO-TIME!
Three or four things to keep in mind as we go: First, not everyone will go with us. Second, as we go we will be pushing up against a sense realm (a sense consciousness) that will be contrary to what we know Christ has called us into. Third, there will be times when that consciousness creates in us faintness of heart. Fourth, we may well experience moments of temporary sinking. Fifth and finally, even when our faith falters and fails, the faithfulness of Christ does not, and ultimately it is always Christ himself who saves and delivers us.