YOU’VE GOT TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT
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Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661
Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org
OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”
Nobleton Community Church
Date November 2, 2025
Text Matthew 14:22-36
Pastor Paul Lehmann
Carl Boyle was a sales representative. One day, he was driving home when he saw a group of young children selling Kool-Aid on a corner in his neighborhood. They had the typical hand-scrwled sign over their stand. “Kool-Aid, 10 cents.” Carl was intrigued. He pulled over to the curb. A young man approached and asked politely if he would like strawberry or grape Kool-Aid. He placed his order and handed the boy a quarter. After much deliberation, with the other kids, they determined he had some change coming, so they rifled through a cardboard box until they finally came up with the correct amount. The boy returned with the change and the drink, then stood by the side of the car. After a few seconds, he asked if Carl was finished drinking. “Just about,” he said,” why”? “Well, that’s the only cup we have answered the boy, and we need to stay in business,”
It’s difficult to operate a Kool-Aid business if you only have one cup. We sometimes make that mistake in the church. We think that perhaps we don’t have enough money to buy any more cups (maybe not cups), but whatever we need. Or perhaps we don’t have the personnel to do what needs to be done. We ourselves are too busy. We sometimes even look for reasons why something can’t be done.
We could speak this morning about the fact that the workers are few (Matt. 9:32) and that we need to pray more for workers. This would be true. We could also emphasize the evangelistic task that is necessary to be engaged in if we are to do what Jesus commanded us to do. For many people, the word evangelism either brings up negative feelings about TV evangelists or presentations of the gospel that are not only confrontational, but not Biblical. Before I became pastor here, I worked with my son Eric at Freedom Church, with international students, and I had a Bible Stand on the campus of U.S.F. There was a church group that came near the “Bull Market” where we had set up as well as a lot of student groups, and off campus merchants. The “evangelist” would draw a crowd by confronting the female students who were wearing shorts and calling them sinful whores. I couldn’t believe the things they said to these girls. Soon, other students joined in yelling back at him, and the confrontation was far from loving. Even though he would quote scripture to back up what he was trying to communicate, his method was far from Biblical.
Some so-called evangelical Christians think protesting is an important way to witness. It isn’t! All it does is ostracize those who are resistant to the gospel. When protestors hold up signs declaring that a certain group of people is going to go to hell, it does not open up their hearts to accept Jesus and transform their lives. This used to happen frequently in front of abortion clinics, and also every year when the Church of Latter-day Saints holds its annual conference, some hold up signs across the street from the conference hall, and when they have to walk by with their children, they have to cover their ears because of the awful things so-called Christians are yelling at them. One Mormon missionary said that it just makes her decision to follow Mormon teachings more solid. That is not evangelism. We must never hold back the truth, but it must be given in love, in faith, believing that the Spirit of God would speak that truth to all who will listen. That’s evangelism.
Our problem is that we are so used to the way we have always done things, or the fact that we have never really done any evangelism, and we don’t want to “rock the boat,” let alone “GET OUT OF THE BOAT.”
WE DON’T WANT TO ROCK THE BOAT BECAUSE THERE IS WATER OUT THERE AND A STORM IS COMING UP.
Our idea of evangelism, may not be as outrageous as the protestors in Utah, or some who try to do evangelism on the campus of U.S.F. –but we may only have “a one cup “ kind of evangelism. A special event now and then, or a particular strategy to try and incorporate people into the church. By limiting our vision of evangelism to one of these “cups,” we may be stifling Cffhrist’s work on earth, and cheating ourselves out of one of the most rewarding endeavors Christ offers us: Evangelism that involves all of us. Even though we are a small church, we have a core group of committed Christians.
THE PROBLEM IS THAT OFTEN WE ARE NOT MOVING TOWARD JESUS. WE’RE TOO OFTEN CONTENT TO STAY IN THE BOAT.
We’re too often just like the disciples in this account from our text this morning. Before we can know what we are to do, once we are out of our “boat,” where it is comfortable, we must obey Jesus. We must approach Him when he tells us to come.
John Ortberg has written a book with the title that I have used for the title of my message.
IF YOU WANT TO WALK ON WATER, YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT.
Usually when we hear sermons on this passage the emphasis is on Peter’s lack of faith. He was okay until he took his eyes off of Jesus, and began looking around ot the wind and the waves,—his circumstances—that cause him to begin to sink, and Jesus reaches out and pulls him back up. We are always admonished to have more faith and to keep our eyes on Jesus. That’s all very good and accurate. However, Ortberg takes another angle, which you get very quickly from the title.
PETER GOT OUT OF THE BOAT!
Peter had enough faith to ask Jesus to tell him to come to Him. Jesus said, “Come,” and he got out ot the boat and walked on water for a some distance. We usually emphasize his lack of faith because Jesus did that. But the other 11 disciples didn’t even have as much faith as he did. They just stayed in the boat.
What’s a little astonishing to me is: they had all just seen the event of Jesus feeding 5,000 men plus women and children—a minimum of about 15,000 people, with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. After the miracle where everyone ate, Jesus went up on the mountain to prayl Jesus told them, go ahead. I’ll catch up to you, so they got in the boat and started for the other side. When evening came the boat was a considerable distance from land. Some translations say (many Stadia) A stadion was 600 feet. By the time Jesus finished praying it was the fourth watch, and by our time standard it was about 3:00 am. By this time the boat had moved out to the middle of the lake, because it was a good 9 hours later, even though the boat was buffeted , sometimes w e read tormented, by the wind which was against it. The sails weren’t doing much good, they had to row. Otherwise they would have been clear to the other side. The distance across the Lake of Galilee is about 8 miles at the width, so they were about 3 or 4 miles out. Jesus begins to walk out to them. It’s dark and they don’t recognize who it is. They just saw this figure walking on the water, and they were terrified. They think it is a ghost. Now we might think, how can they not know that it is Jeus. Who else can it be. He had just multipled the bread and fish, and fed all those people. You would think that they would have said; Hey you guys, or Hey y’all look out there—that’s got to be Jesus. Cool , see what he’s doing now —water walking. Wow! Nothing like that. Matthew in this account wants us to know that;
SOMETIMES IT TAKES EYES OF FAITH TO RECOGNIZE WHEN JESUS IS AROUND.
Often when we are going into the wind so to speak—tossed around by the enemy—by disappointment and doubt, we are no better at recognizing his presence than they were.
Now what was Jesus up to, walking around on the lake at 3:00 in the morning? In Mark 6:48 we have some more details. It says that he went out to them walking on the lake, and he was about to pass by them, when they saw him. That’s when they thought he was a ghost.
David Garland points out that the Greek word used here is the same word used in the Suptuegent (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) for a theophany—it is a technical term used to refer to those defining moments when God made “striking and temporary appearances on earth to a select individual or group for the purpose of communication a passage. There is a pattern to these accounts. Moses in a cleft in a rock so he could see, while my glory passes by—the Lord passed before him.
Elijah was told to stand on the mountain. “For the Lord is about to pass by”
God had to get people’s attention—through a burning bush, he finally got Moses’ attention—through wind and fire.
Through walking on water, he got the disciples’ attention.
With each person, God was going to call them to do something extraordinary. In each situation, the person that God called felt afraid. But every time that people said “yes” to their calling, they experienced the power of God in their lives.
He is saying by walking on the water—take courage it is I. Don’t be afraid.
This command is used more than any other command in the Bible—Don’t be aftraid, or Fear not!
He is not looking for risk takers, simply for th sake of doing something different or exciting. Some respond to this kind of and adventurous challenge. But he is not looking for someone to do hand gliding, or bungee jumpi ng, or parachuting, or mountain climbing, or some extreme sport, like you would fin on the TV program “Fear Factor” Jesus is looking for us to discern between fait and foolishness. Ortberg says:
WATERWALKERS DISCERN BETWEEN FAITH AND FOOLISHNESS
Water-walking is not something Peter does for recreational purposes. This is primarily about obedience. It is about discipleship. Before Peter got out of the boat, he made sure it was a good idea. He says; “Lord if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus didn’t respond negatively to him, by saying something like, “are you nuts Peter. Just because I’m walking on the water, doesn’t mean you can.” No, He says; COME. So—–
WATER-WALKERS GET OUT OF THE BOAT
You’re scared to death—which would you choose, the boat or trying to walk on the water? The boat is safe and secure, and comfortable. That’s what the other disciples chose. On the other hand, Peter who saw that the water is rough, and the waves are high and the wind is strong, but since Jesus is telling him to do it—-he does.
So if you get out of the boat—whatever your boat might happen to be—there’s a good chance you might sink. But it you don’t get out ot the boat, there’s a guaranteed certainty that you will never walk on the water.
FOR US, THERE IS SOMEONE ELSE –THE HOLY SPIRIT INSIDE OF US
The Holy Spirit tells us, that there is more to life than sitting in the boat. You were made for something more than merely avoiding failure. There is something indise you that wants to walk on the water—to leave the comfort of routine existence and abandon yourself to the high adventure of following god so let me ask you a ver important question.
WHAT’S YOUR BOAT?
Your boat is whatever represents safety and security to you apart from God himself. Your boat is whatever you are tempted to put your trust in, especially when life gets a little stormy. Your boat is whatever keeps you so comfortable that you don’t want to give it up even if its keeping you from joining Jesus on the waves. Your boat is whatever pulls you away from the high adventure of extreme discipleship.
Fear will tell you what your boat is. Ask yourself what it is that most produces fear in me when I think of leaving it behind and stepping out in faith?
WATER-WALKERS MASTER FAILURE MANAGEMENT
If you fail, you might just have to be given another opportunity to get it right. Before Jonas Salk developed a vaccine for polio that finally worked, he tried 200 unsuccessful ones. Somebody asked him, “How did it feel to fail 200 times? “I never failed 200 times in my life.” “I was taught not to use the word failure. I just discovered 200 ways not to vaccinate for polio.
When Winston Churchill was asked what most prepared him to risk political suicide by speaking out against Hitler during the years of appeasement in the mid-1930s. to lead Great Britain against Nazi Germany. Churchill said it was the time he had to repeat a grade in elementary school. “You mean you failed a grade in grade school?”
“I never failed anything in my life; I was given a second opportunity to get it right.”
Did Peter fail? Perhaps to some extent, but there were 11 other bigger failures sitting in the boat.
Only Peter knew the glory of walking on water.
He alone knew what it was to attempt to do what he was not capable of doing on his own.
He felt the empowerment of Jesus.
Only Peter knew the glory of being lifted up by Jesus in a moment of desperate need.
THE WORST FAILURE IS NOT HAVING THE CHANCE TO GET OUT OF YOUR BOAT AND LETTING JESUS, —-PASS YOU BY.