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Help us all to learn something great from your word in Jesus name I pray. Amen Thank you brother Dave All right part of the chapter that I'd like to focus on is the part beginning verse number 25 where you see this story about Jesus Christ coming out on the water. He walks on the lake of Tiberius here the Sea of Tiberius Sea of Galilee and he walks out on the water to the disciples in the middle of the night and They were troubled. They thought it was a ghost. They thought it was a spirit They cried out with fear But he says in verse number look down if you would in verse number 27 He says be a good cheer and as I be not afraid verse 28 Peter answered him and said Lord it would be thou Bid me come unto thee on the water and he said 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 beginning to sink he cried saying Lord saving immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said in him will thou little faith wherefore did sow doubt Title my sermon tonight is this Get out of the boat Get out of the boat. Now you say what in the world are you talking about? Well, think about this What is the boat representing this story to me when I read this story? Who was the person in the story out of all the 12 disciples who's really I don't know having the most fun in this story Who's the one who's really? Doing something in this story. Who's the one who's really the key player in the story Peter Why because he's the one who had the faith The guts to get out of the boat to go out on the water where Jesus was now to me the boat represents the lame plain boring Predictable Christian life and getting out of the boat walking out on the water with Jesus represents faith according to Jesus represents excitement represents Getting out of the ordinary out of what's predictable out of what's expected of you and Stepping out living by faith the exciting Christian life taking a chance doing something great for God I mean, I think it's pretty amazing that Peter walked on the water. I mean, can you imagine saying hey, I have walked on water I mean, I have literally stepped out of the boat and walked on the water. That's pretty amazing I mean at the end of the day and yeah There was a time when he lapsed in faith and was singing but at the end of the day, who do you think? was the one That was most well think about this don't think the other disciples kind of wish they were Peter a little bit later on man I wish it would have been me out there walking on the water. I Mean I was just sitting on the boat now. Sure. It's dry on the boat. It's comfortable on the boat It's safer on the boat But where do you want to be in your life? You want to just sit on the boat all day or do you want to get out there on the water where Jesus is? Living the exciting Christian life not a boring life. Not a predictable same as everybody else Hey, I want to be like Samson who said I don't want to be like another man Remember he said if you if you do this to me if you weave my seven locks in my head into the weavers Shuttle I'll be just like any other man or a few By me with new ropes that a note and have never been tied I'll be like any other man or if you were to take Seven green whips that have never been dried and to tie me up with them I'll be like any other man, but Samson was not like any other man Samson was unlike any man on the face of the earth. Hey, that's what I want to be I don't want to be like everybody else. Yeah, I want to be different I want to do something that maybe nobody else has ever done before I want God to use me in a great way But you've got to have faith if you're ever going to be used by God I think of Hebrews 11 8 By faith Abraham was called to go out into a place which he should have to receive for an inheritance And he went out not knowing whither he went God said arise get thee up out of thy land and out of thy kindred and out of thy father's house unto a land that I'll show thee He said where is it? I'll show you That's faith. I mean some people don't even have the faith to make a geographic move when they do know where they're going You know and I've had to make some moves in my life some major Cross-country move somebody don't have the faith to do that. Hey Abraham the faith had the faith to go somewhere He didn't know where he was going I mean can you imagine packing all your stuff in a u-haul getting in the car and just saying we're going out west You don't know what town you're going to you don't know what the job is gonna be you don't know what your house is gonna Be that's what Abraham did He didn't even have a destination. I mean he didn't even couldn't even say like well. I'm going to this town You know I remember when I when I moved before I had a place to live But I didn't have a job when I moved here. I wasn't really sure about my job. I Had a house at least that I knew I was going to this house But imagine not knowing where you're going not even having a clue where you go well I guess we run out of gas you know that's where we're gonna start the church I mean can you imagine that kind of faith? That's the faith that Abraham had I'll tell you something Abraham was not somebody that would have been in the boat He would have been out on the water with Jesus. I mean here's a man in faith Here's a man who is willing to step out in faith and do something great for God and be used mightily by God Hey get out of the boat in your life. I love what Esther said in Esther chapter 4 verse 16 She said go gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan and fast ye for me And neither eat nor drink three days night or day I also in my maintenance will fast likewise and so will I go in unto the king which is not according to law and if I perish I perish right hey if I die I die if I perish I perish But hey, I'm willing to take a chance for God I'm willing to step out in faith to save my people I'm willing to do something that might not make sense it might not seem reasonable in fact It's even against the law, but I'm gonna do it anyway And if I perish I perish if I die I die if I fail I fail But hey, I'm gonna step out and do something for God. That's the kind of lady that Esther was That's why there's a book in the Bible called Esther It's a great lady You see I'd rather die for something than live for nothing Get out of your comfort zone is what I'm trying to say get out of the boat Take some chances in your life step out in faith do something I was thinking about this I went rafting. I've been rafting literally. I believe this I've been rafting over 40 times Literally okay, but let me tell you something Only one of those times with white water rafting, okay? I'm serious because when I grew up in Sacramento, California, we wrapped down the American River There was one little part that had rapids. It wasn't even it wasn't class for it wasn't class three It wasn't it was probably like class one half You know I don't know we thought it was neat You know the little bump, but we were just more have a good time just enjoying the nature and just relaxing down the river and we'd go rafting and Then we used to go rafting in the Walker River in Nevada all the time when we would ride dirt bikes and again It wasn't that intense although my dad almost drowned one time That's another story, but it wasn't really that intense, but one time. I got to go white water rafting man I was excited. I won a contest at church, and if you won this contest at church For bringing the most people I don't remember what it was some kind of a contest and and I was one of the winners and We all got to go on a rafting trip up in Wisconsin eight hours away, so we got in the car We it was after church on a Sunday night. We drove up to Wisconsin. We drove all night We got there in the morning and that note the guy who drove on he drove all night And so that morning we went out rafting this was in March and there was ice in the water Just right up along the edges there was just little bits of ice and frozen bed They give you an idea of the temperature of the water a little bit ice on the edges So the water is probably right at you know about 32 degrees okay, and we put on wetsuits But it wasn't really doing that much I mean it helps you a little bit, but if you've ever worn a wetsuit and gone in cold water It doesn't it's not exactly gonna Make you feel all warm and toasty. It's not It's not that warm so we had our wetsuits on and we went rafting and Let me tell you something there were some times when we got out of the boat But we weren't walking on the water like Jesus okay But we got thrown out of the raft a few times And it was cold and now we get to the very end we got to the very end right and this was the class four And it was just a waterfall. I mean you just went off the edge So they paired us up for some reason skinny with skinny and big with big okay I don't know what but anyway the guy I was with was skinny like I am and so we're in the raft We go sailing off the edge Whoo that was great, so we get off on the shore, and we're kind of watching what's gonna happen and The two biggest guys in the group were in the same raft okay one of them I kid you not Was 375 pounds I mean seriously the other one was probably about 250 275, but that you know you combine that that's a lot of weight, okay, so these guys come sailing off the edge of that waterfall They landed in the bottom in the water, and they just disappeared Where are they right? It just went under and we're sitting there for literally like five or six seconds. I mean we're just sitting there like Where are you? And all of a sudden just really slowly they just started surfacing Slowly started and waters running off the edge They just Emerged, but think about this. What do you think was the funnest part of that rafting trip? Was it the times that we were in the raft or the times that we were out of the raft or let me put it To you this way. What do you think we were talking about on the way home? the time when we were dry The time we're eating a granola bar Sitting in the raft yeah, oh man that granola bar was so good No We were talking about you remember that one when we got thrown out of the raft and you know you're somebody gets thrown out And they're sailing down the river, and you're like let's go And you're trying to get to them, and then you're like grab the oar You know you're trying to like reel them onto the raft that was the fun part. That's the excitement Huh the excitement is not in the boat. It's not in the rap. It's not in the comfort zone I mean if you wanted to you can just not even go rafting you'd be a lot more comfortable You can just put on a wet suit and lay in bed And get in a warm shower. Huh sit in the bathtub with the wetsuit on pretend like you're acting hey But if you want to have fun if you want the excitement hey you got to go out and face a little danger Huh you got to go out and spend a little time getting thrown into ice-cold water Hey, that's fun. That's the excitement, and you say well. I think Christianity's bored. I think this church is bored I think my life is bored Hey It's because you're sitting in the boat too much you need to get out there and take some chances Live my faith and do something big for God with your life Number two number one My first point is the title of the sermon and get out of the boat What are you afraid of? Jesus is out of the boat. He's inviting you to come out on the water with them What are you doing sitting on the boat? What are you doing? Just whatever you're comfortable with? Why don't you step out in faith and get out of the boat with Jesus? but look look at Mark chapter 3 verse 20 mark just the next book in the Bible Mark chapter 3 verse 20 and My second point is this first get out of the boat, but number two don't listen to the boat talk You know the boat talk. It's the kind of people who never get out of the boat You know the people that are in the boat all the time. They'll try to get you down They'll try to tell you it can't be done They'll try to tell you all the reasons why you're not going to succeed or all the reasons why it's too risky Or it's not going to work, or you're going to flop you're going to fail It's you're going to sink you can't walk on the water. You can't do it. That's the boat talk Don't listen to the boat talk don't listen to the naysayers don't listen to the doom and gloom But look if you would at Mark chapter 3 verse 5 We'll see that you know Jesus had some some naysayers and some people that were criticizing him. I guess you could say The Bible says in Mark chapter 3 verse 20 and the multitude came together again So that they could not so much as eat bread and when his friends heard it This is Jesus's friends. They went out to lay hold on him for they said this is what they said he is beside himself You say what does that mean to be beside yourself? Well look at acts 26 24 the Bible always defines itself look at acts 26 24 They said Jesus you are beside yourself. We're going to lay hands on you We're going to drag you out of here. You said what does it mean to be beside yourself? well look at acts 26 verse 24, this is Paul preaching to festus and And he's preaching to king Agrippa in this sermon And it says in verse 24 and as he thus spake for himself Festus said with a loud voice so picture this Paul's preaching all of a sudden festus just yells out with a loud voice Paul Thou art beside thyself much learning does make thee mad What does mad mean crazy? You know obviously we don't really use that word because we're not in the UK but over in England They say I remember when my when me and my wife first got married. She's like. Oh Steve. You're mad You know she used to talk like that You should have heard it. She's yeah, but I'm a glass of water She'd say like oh Steve. You're so mad. You know listen. I can't do it very well, and she'd say that I was mad and Be beside yourself means you're crazy They're saying Jesus. You're crazy. You're nuts. We gotta drive. They said we're gonna lay hands on him. We're gonna drag him out of here He's crazy. Why because if you read the book of Mark beginning chapter one I mean we're reading that in chapter three where they said he's crazy Read the book of Mark It's the most intense Fast-paced of the four Gospels the words that you'll see over and over again in the book of Mark are these words Immediately I'm gonna get it immediately and then you'll see this word straight way Which is basically the same word as immediately same type of word immediately and then Jesus went and did this and then straight way he went And then immediately did this and he had these crowds of people and he couldn't even eat bread He didn't even stop to eat, and then he missed a bunch of sleep, and he's just go go go go go They said you're nuts. You're crazy. What are you doing? And these are his friends saying you gotta take care of yourself You gotta slow down you gotta relax here. We're gonna drag you out of here physically because you're beside yourself here You're mad you're out of your mind Paul they thought Paul was crazy. They said Paul. You've studied the Bible too much. You're going nuts You're crazy. You've lost your mind. I Looked up the word crazy in the dictionary Said the first definition was mad It's for all those British people and mad insane Or listen this one impractical Impractical erratic Crazy it gives an example crazy drivers You know sudden turns sudden changes, okay? The erratic or how about this being out of the ordinary unusual distracted with desire or excitement Passionately preoccupied Obsessed that's what the word crazy means that's from the Merriam-Webster dictionary I'm just not some of the definitions of what it means to be crazy But you know I should admit to you today that you if you really get out of the boat I Think you're crazy, and you don't really in order to get out of the boat. You have to be a little crazy To say I'm going to walk on the water I'm going to get up Jesus if it's really you then beat me come on to be on the water Jesus said come and he stepped out He literally walked on the water and even while he was doing it he started thinking I'm crazy, but he started to sink It says when he looked around he saw the wind and the way it's boisterous and the storm What am I doing, and he started singing and Jesus said wait a minute? Jesus is basically tell them you had it right the first time peter. Why are you now doubting? Now you're starting to sink Why are you fearful give little faith, and he reached out pulled him out and put him back in the boat Some people need to get a little crazier is what I'm trying to say maybe you should be a little crazy You know some things that that we do may be a little bit impractical Maybe a little out of the ordinary Sometimes we might be very passionately preoccupied or obsessed. Hey, I'm going to tell you something I want to be obsessed with soul with obsessed with Bible reading obsessed with Christianity Obsessed with church. Hey you say well, you're crazy Well, that's a little I'm willing to accept that label if you want to call that crazy If you want to call that nuts you want to call that madness. I say you know memorizing the entire Bible Does that sound crazy? You're nuts you're out of your mind. You're out. You're crazy memorizing the whole new testament memorizing the Bible Hey, I'm already half done with the new testament. I guess I'm just crazy. I guess I'm just out of my mind I guess I'm just lost it you know starting a church Which which we started the search a little lesson or a little over two years ago with no money no support No contact didn't know anybody in the town no plan didn't know what we were going to do got the town December 22nd 2005 start knocking doors got into our house got the keys to our house went to the DMV Change the license plate turned on the water turned on the gas turn on the electricity Did all that garbage? Unpacked the truck car bought food at the grocery store bought a mattress because we didn't even bring a mattress Bought a bed we went out and I started knocking doors on Thursday December 22nd had the first service on December 25th, which Contrary to popular belief is not a day when people come to church by the droves when church falls on Christmas day in fact every Church in America is pretty much down on that day of anybody I ever talked to but you know it's kind of crazy to do that huh pretty crazy to start out on Christmas day pretty crazy Somewhere where you don't know anybody you start a church after three days you have no Building didn't have anything started in the living room. I set up a bunch of chairs have a few songbooks. I woke up on Sunday morning December 25th 2005 and I woke up, and I just said I don't think anybody's gonna come You're not I've been winning a bunch of souls get people saved, but I just woke up with this stuff. What if nobody comes I? don't think anybody's gonna come and People have said that they were gonna come, but people say that a lot, and then they don't come So I got in the car, and I said I'm gonna go talk to some people I mean, I'm gonna go see these people come you know so I went around it and knocked on the door some people and said Hey, Merry Christmas. You know it's Christmas morning They've got family over presents and everything and this crazy guy comes that door. Hey, Merry Christmas You're coming to church right remember. It's the first service faithful word Baptist Church, and they're like are we going Okay, sure why not that was kind of the way they reacted And you know the only people who came we had with people but but people come from different households But you know the and our total attendance was nine And the only people who came were people who I went and knocked on the door And I asked every single one of them next week a week later I said would you have come if I had to knock on your door on Sunday morning and said it starts in an hour And they said no We weren't coming so I was right when I woke up and thought what if nobody comes, but we had nine in the morning We had seven at night and then on Wednesday night we had Five but that's my family But then on Sunday morning again we had eight or nine or whatever it was on Not thinking straight right now Amanda was there on the second Sunday morning, and it's been coming ever since and so boy It was crazy. It was nuts it was madness But thank God look at our church today Growing thriving People who love God love so many love the Bible know the Bible understand the Bible hey I love this church, but it started a little bit crazy Hey, I got married when I was 19 no money No decent job Poor no place to live didn't know what to do crazy It was nuts, but hey two weeks later, man We have a great place to live great job everything was moving right along and we lived happily ever after boy having our first child Seemed crazy time we get barely. I could barely even support my wife and myself When we had the first child Here's another crazy story one time I Knocked on the door. You're not gonna believe this I was in Sacramento, California I knocked on the door of my brother-in-law's Cousin that's a real close relative my brother-in-law's cousin at 1045 at night I Drove to his house. I looked and I could see that people were up. They're sitting around the TV I knocked on this door at 1045 at night said hey, you've never met me before my name's Steve I'm your I'm your cousin's brother-in-law He's like, okay, what are you doing here? I said, I'm gonna ask you if you died today Do you know for sure you go to heaven? And he said no, I said well, let me show you I pulled out my Bible. I wanted to Christ passing 11 o'clock You say oh, you're nuts man. You're crazy. Yeah, maybe I am crazy, but he's gonna go to heaven someday He I believe even went to church with my brother-in-law's brother After that, and hey, he's gonna be in heaven someday. Why? Because Sometimes you just have to get out of the boat You can't just sit around and be a nothing all your life and and just sit on the boat. You're comfortable. It's predictable It's boring and you better know that was fun Hey, it was fun because it then at 11 something I got on the phone called somebody in a time zone an hour later and I said, hey I just want your cousin to the Lord and they said glory to God praise the Lord Hey, that's fun, that's exciting, huh? I believe God was leading me when I did that and so he's got to be a little crazy People might think you're mad. They might think you're beside yourself, you know, it's just our new program of canvassing these towns In Arizona these villages these places for what kind of a crazy fool is gonna drive these Podunk towns an hour and a half away and two hours away These backward towns these places where There's barely anybody there. There's no good church there. Hey, we're gonna give the gospel We actually crazy enough think that it's gonna work. We actually think people are gonna get saved We actually think that God's gonna lead us to the people in that town They're gonna be the most receptive to hear the gospel because that's what we're praying ask them to do Say well, I've never heard of anybody else doing that Well, maybe you know what I've never heard of anybody else doing it and you know Here's the thing when you try things that are Unusual, you know, I'm looking at my definitions here when you try things that are impractical Like going soul-winning in a town where people can never even make it to church Probably they're probably not gonna drive to church or or it's difficult to get there when you do things that are Impractical or out of the ordinary or a little bit crazy You know sometimes Your crazy idea is not gonna work out Sometimes you got it Sometimes you try something and you flop and you fail but you know I'm not afraid to fail because the Bible says a just man falls seven times and rises up again And so I'm not afraid of failure. I'm not afraid to make a mistake I'm gonna try and do something. I mean Peter obviously he knew that there was a chance that he couldn't sing when he got out of that boat But he still stepped out of faith and did it and said hey I'm gonna try it if I perish I perish and I remember what that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said They said we're willing to take a chance here They said we believe God's gonna deliver us from the fiery furnace, but he says but if not But if not, I love that phrase that they put in there in Daniel chapter 3, but if not Be known unto thee that we will not serve thy gods Whoa, if we fail if we die, we're willing to take our chances And so I'm willing to take some chances in life is what I'm trying to say I think Abraham was taking a chance quote unquote when he went out to go to a place he'd never seen I think Peter was taking a chance when he got out of the boat and tried to walk on the water I mean don't you think David was taking a chance quote unquote when he went toward Goliath swinging a sling Against a man who was probably twice his height a man who was a giant a man who was a warrior from his youth I mean he was born and raised to fight. He wasn't just big he was born and bred and raised as a fighting machine You don't think that there was a chance quote unquote and obviously God was in control of these situations But you don't think that there was a thought in David's mind that he could be killed That he could make a mistake that he could be failing But he stepped out in faith and did something and that's why he was used greatly by God I love what Jonathan said When Jonathan and his armor-bearer went into the host of the Philistines I mean Saul was back in the camp trembling I believe he had what 600 men with him tiny army the Philistines the Bible said they were spread out like the sand of the sea Gathered against him to battle Jonathan takes one man with him Not 600 that was crazy enough. He said no just me and my armor-bearer. We're just gonna go right into the lion's den We're just gonna run right into the heart of the Philistine Harrison, and he said who knows I love what he said who knows? Maybe God will do paradventure. God will deliver them into our hand God's not limited to save by many or by few he didn't say I know for sure that God's gonna do it He said hey paradventure. Let's give it a shot. Maybe God's gonna do something I'm willing to give it a shot and Jonathan's armor-bearer said you know what if you're willing to take it shot I'll give it a shot and He said okay. Well. Here's what we're gonna Do we're gonna pray to God and if if the men say that come up to us Then we'll know that God's gonna deliver them into our hand and go up to them And he said if they say we'll come down to you then maybe this is such a good idea Okay, and so they come down to the bottom of this little steep mountain right below the Philistines garrison And they yell up to the Philistines and the Philistines say come on up here And we'll show you a thing and the Bible says that Jonathan ran up the hill on his hands and knees I mean, that's how steep it was. I mean he must have looked like an animal He must have looked like a wild dog or is that running up the hill on his hands and knees clawing at the ground? He ran up the top of the hill pulled out his sword and started swinging his sword and killed 19 Philistine soldiers and the armor-bearer was behind him just making sure they were dead I mean Jonathan was the one to read it read the story. It's a great story. Jonathan was just swinging his sword He was knocking him down and Jonathan's armor-bearer was finishing him off What a wild man Picture he's running on all fours up a hill anybody knows in a battle Jonathan's running up the hill like an animal like a wild man He comes flying up the hill and just starts swinging his sword kills 19 people and the Philistines were so shocked by this guy They were so taken aback that the Bible says they got so Scared that they were shaking and trembling and the earth began to shake because they were shaking Even The earth began to shake and tremble and they were scared to death And that's how the children of Israel won that battle because the one man who got out of the boat Jonathan what a warrior what a power you wonder why Jonathan and David were such close friends You can see why okay because they had that same heart that same faith It said God can do anything if I'm if God be for us who can be against it And you know God preached this in the book of Deuteronomy One of you shall put a thousand to fight and two of you will put ten thousand to flight He said if I'm with you, you can accomplish anything. I can do all things through Christ with strength to the beat It's anything too hard for the Lord. Hey, they believe that They were just well, come on. God doesn't really mean that literally Jonathan David you get a little extreme here. Okay, that's not really I know that's what it says But you gotta take it into the context When it says you can do anything it doesn't really mean anything When it says all it doesn't really mean all But no these guys were crazy enough to say you know what I think I think we can do this I just believe God can do it. I just believe that if I'm doing God's will I'm gonna be unstoppable. I can't be stopped But sometimes Sometimes you're gonna fail When you step out of the boat, sometimes you're gonna sink like Peter did I mean he sucked Sometimes you might start sinking in your life when you step out of the boat, but I'd rather be out of the boat sink God has to bail me out that it'd just be a spectator in the boat Because number three number one was what get out of the boat number two. Don't listen to the boat talk people telling you You're crazy number three When You get out of the boat. You're a spectator. You're a participant, and I'm a spectator You got that the people in the boat are spectators people out of the boat participants Who's the participant in the story Jesus and Peter who's the spectator the other 11 disciples? I don't want to go through life being a spectator See pastor Anderson. Do you love sports? You know I love playing sports, but no I don't love watching sports But I don't like to be a spectator. I like to be a participant It's what you don't you don't one thing. I love about our church I Love how in our church. It's all congregational singing Why because I used to hate the church sitting there being a spectator while somebody wows us with all their talent up there You know singing their solos Hey, I want to participate when I come to church and the midst of the congregation I will sing praise under the Hebrews 2 17 and so I want to sing out when I go to church And I hope you don't come to church and just listen everybody sing I hope you're participating and that's why we love Congregational singing glory to God we like for everybody to lift up their voices and say and be a participant not a spectator Hey, go out solely. You're a participant. You say well. I'm just the silent partner you are a participant if you're the silent partner because God said to go two by two and you're allowing I mean think about this if Me and you go out solely right That's one group But you know both of us know how to talk at the door and if we can each take a silent partner now the soul You better know you're participating when you're a silent partner, and you know what the silent partner when we got so when he's praying You know one person's preaching the gospel to somebody the other person's praying in their heart No, God, would you please let the person live? Oh God, please help. They're not being distracted I remember you were talking to what was it yesterday? We were out solving you were talking to What's that right right? Thank you for reminding me. He was he was I never would have thought of that Bailed me out. Thank you. I owe you one, but anyway Taking chances take a risk in my sermon stuff. It's not in my notes But I was on Sony and say we're talking to this guy we later found out He was kind of a jack mormon that kind of gotten away from church. We didn't know that time and You were given the gospel okay, and I was the silent partner. He's given the gospel and This guy started this other guy from the house walked out and he starts kind of blowing off his mouth really distracting Kind of confusing the issue of what but Dave was trying to say and so I just started praying Oh, God, would you please help this guy? That's why I'm praying and The guy you know he was he came out to smoke a cigarette was what it was so then he went in the house and Threw away the cigarette, but and then he was kind of coming back out You can tell he wanted to get involved with the conversation now And I'm thinking this guy Is gonna mess things up because of some of the dumb things he was saying from the background and so the guy who walked up To finish the conversation. I was in begging God that he would leave and also he just kind of said well be inside Yes And so the guy didn't end up getting saved, but at least he heard the whole gospel You're the whole plan of salvation, and so you know that's your job when you're the silent partner Participating is you're praying just by being there You're you're supporting you're helping you're you're part of the you're part of the action You're a participant when you go out solely no matter what your role is or your function is hey, you're a participant I don't want to go through life watching everybody else do it. I don't want to just hear about everybody else Hey, I want to be a participant not a spectator. I don't want to sit on the sidelines I want to be in the game. I want to be a starting player. I don't want to be a bitch warmer I don't want to be the spiritual water boy I want to get in there and be the star player hey I don't want to be left behind in the in all the the the the excitement. I want to be right in the middle of the action Because that's the exciting person life I want to be bored. I don't want to sit around and do nothing, but when you try things Sometimes you try things in the end you fail You know I've had a lot of ideas that were just a flop You know I was thinking about this We're going to have to go way back. You know for some of these ideas where I flop, but I remember when I was When I was like I want to say only about Seven it's hard for me to judge exactly all that was maybe seven eight somewhere actually no I think it was about seven maybe six or seven because I was pretty young to have this kind of crazy idea But I had this idea. I was going to build air tanks so that I could scuba dive in my swimming pool, okay? So this is how I built the air tanks. You know you have kids So I got a two-liter bottle And it was all emptied out, and I thought man. There's enough air in this bottle to Breathe this for a while stay under for a few minutes So I got this bottle and I had a snorkel and I I man I worked hard on this because I taped a tube from the snorkel to that Two-liter bottle and then I attached the two-liter bottle with my back Tied it on my back I've got this tube coming up into a snorkel so I had a great mouthpiece you know because that snorkel had a great built-in mouthpiece And I went in there and I said well this could be great and so I jumped in the water And I took my first big breath of that air out of the bottle and just went like the bottle just I was like No, and then you can't get the thing off your mouth And because you're going to water this pressure and so my mom would cry out a heart attack See hopefully she never hears the take that's done, but she would see was and I told her about So then I had a new idea I was like okay, that didn't work Okay, so this time I got the snorkel And I decided to make a really long snorkel so I can go way down Okay, so I got the snorkel and I attached pieces of pipe and I made the snorkel like about this long There's a four foot deep pool But I didn't realize that that doesn't work. You know so I put it in my mouth, and I went down underwater and You know you can't breathe through four or five foot snorkel You know at the time I thought maybe is the pressure from being down four feet underwater But then I started realizing that even when I came out of the water. It's a little hard to breathe through four feet of pipe and then when you go under the pressure makes it bad too, so I was One time when I was five I tried to build a ball And I built this bomb out of caps because I knew they had gunpowder so I thought man if we get enough gunpowder Put it together. It's gonna blow up. You know so I jammed caps You know like a cap gun I jammed caps into a 7-up can and I needed a wick so I used a piece of yarn So I put a piece of yarn in and I was literally five So I put a piece of yarn in jammed a bunch of caspo my kids are really this is the most they've ever paid attention I Jammed all my caps down the 7-up can with yarn, and I'm trying to light the yarn the yarn is In case you don't know I'm trying to light the yarn. It's not working It's not working summer then I finally just took the can and threw it into the fireplace It didn't do anything did nothing okay? You know sometimes you try things and they don't work You know I mean I I tried that I've had a lot of ideas You know I can't I can't think of any recent examples, so I'm just gonna tell you those old examples You know I've had some things that I've tried and they didn't really work You know I've tried things and attempted things, and I failed at it. It didn't work But you know I'd rather try something and fail and then try something and fail and then try something failed nice I bet and then actually get it right and and achieve something great I mean I think about Thomas Edison what he tried thousand different filaments For the light bulb and none of them worked, and he said well, and they said man you've wasted your time He said no because now I know a thousand ways not to make a light bulb I know a thousand things that don't work okay, and he kept on trying and kept on trying Maybe it was even more than that it was some huge number where he tried almost every material known to man And he finally found the right material that would glow very brightly when electricity was passed through it at a high current And he invented the light bulb. That's pretty big. Yeah, I wonder if he made any money off that He probably took a lot of money when he patented that the light bulb and so in vain light bulb pretty amazing But a man who failed for years Failed and failed and failed, but at least he stepped out and tried to do something that nobody never done nobody never attempted it and So what I'm trying to say tonight is you want to stay in the boat and just be average You don't want to stay in the bowl in the mundane the comfortable. What's easy What's What everybody else is doing you know I don't measure myself by what everybody else is doing I'm not trying to be just you think I want faithful word Baptist Church to be just like every other church Now why did I start faithful word Baptist Church was it because we needed another franchise? You know and and a lot of churches are just like another franchise Because kind of like Burger King you know they open up franchises in all different towns now They don't open up a Burger King right across the street from another Burger King Why not? Same thing Okay, Burger King is Burger King So if you put two of them next to each other doesn't really make a lot of sense because it's the same thing I remember When I was knocking doors solving in my neighborhood when I first started the church I said hey I'm starting a Baptist Church and just wanted to invite you and if you died today You know for sure you go to heaven and the guy laughed at me and was made fun of me a little bit, and he said It's like there's a Baptist Church right there on 48th Street like 200 feet from here It's like why are you starting another one? You know he laughed and he made fun of me. I said well you know Not all Baptist Church do the same And so I wasn't when I started faithful word Baptist Church. I wasn't just trying to open up another franchise You know I'm not just trying to be like every other independent fundamental Baptist Church You know be part of the denomination another branch Oh, we need another independent fundamental Baptist in Tempe there's not enough or there isn't one or whatever No the reason that I started a church is to be different To offer something different a different kind of church and anybody who's been to this church for any amount of time knows that this church. Hey like love or hate it. This is a different church than the typical you know independent Baptist And that's the whole point because we're trying to we're trying to do it the Bible way God's way We're trying to improve upon it. We're trying to do more. We're trying to be more zealous We're trying to be more right on with Scripture and so things aren't always the same We're not another franchise I'm not trying to be like everybody else because honestly what would be the point of being just like everybody else I might as well just go join another church Why would I sit here and work my job full-time 50 60 hours a week go out knock a bunch of doors Go out and struggle and strive and start out with just a couple of people and my family meeting in my living room Not know what it is to have a sofa or a dining room table because my living room and dining room is a church Building for a year and a half like we met in that Living room for a year and a half and then what a year ago a little a little less than a year ago We got into the building across the street now. We're in this building now. Why don't we do it all? What's the point Join why not just join them join the other one? No, we're not going to join the other one because we're doing it different more soul winning more zealous more righteous stronger harder preaching More right down the line with Bible doctrine harder preaching on sin more door knocking more soul winning Hey, I love this church, and there's no other church. I've ever been to life You say well, you just love it because you're the pastor no. I love the people that make up this church This church isn't Steven Anderson go around and talk to other people in this church And you'll see that they love God they're on fire for God They have a seal for God they love God and walk with God and know God and know the Bible and love the Bible Hey, this church is has unity like no other church It does I mean unity uh this church has zeal like no other. I love this church I wouldn't want to join. I mean you can join another church. You know, but hey this church is unique I'm not saying everybody should come here I'm not saying that everybody's gonna like it, but I'm saying that this church is if it's anything. It's unique period I'm not saying it's the best church in the world I'm not saying that it's the church that everybody should go to and honestly I'm Thrilled that there's a church just two miles down the road from here That I believe is a soul-winning church and the pastor loves God and he and he preaches straight down the line Yeah, I thank God for that Praise the Lord pastor Nick Minerva. That's two miles down He's my friend say oh man. You guys are right next to each other So what he doesn't care and I don't care you know why because we're both on the same team We both love God, and you know as far as I'm concerned. I believe this I strongly believe this listen to me carefully I believe that there are people Who don't maybe will never like this church, or maybe will never like me personally There are good people that love God that are good Christians that are good solar There that there's nothing in the world wrong with them, but you know maybe it's just a different personality Okay, and so I believe that's why God ordained all these different churches You know not not just one denomination or one church I think it's wonderful that there are many churches in Phoenix different kinds of churches For different kinds of people and there are people that would be happier down in his church two miles down God bless them Thank God there might be people that are happier here people that might be happier there Hey, God's going to use both of us in our own individual way There are people that you could win to the Lord that I'll never win the Lord They don't like me there are people that I could win the Lord that you know what they don't like you Okay, and so there are people that you might not be able to win the Lord that I couldn't advice person That's why God wants us all to be ourself and God can use each of us in a way Where we could do something that nobody else could do There are people that only you could win the Lord. I mean you're the one that can reach them You're the one that God did I can't reach them you can't You can't reach them. I can whatever the case may be and so I praise God that there are different kinds of church But you know I'm not trying to be exactly like every other church And I'm glad that there's a little bit of diversity among independent fundamental Baptist churches So that different people might be happier in a different style of church. This church might be a little too loud and conscious for some people Hey, that doesn't make them a bad person does it I mean that doesn't make them a bad Christian Hey, God bless them. God God can use them, but this church is one thing unique And I love it I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world and many people come here and love it and you know some people don't love it That's fine. God bless them They can go where they want to go and do what they want to do and God can use both of us But that's not the point this church is unique. That's why I started this church, and we're going to keep it that way I'm not trying to be in the boat where everybody's doing the same thing acting the same talk the same walk the same Everybody's just sitting in the boat. Hey, I might do something a little bit different a little crazy. That's all right That's okay, but number four Number one was hey get out of the boat number two don't listen to the boat talk number three being on the boat makes you a Spectator and not a participant, but number four When you get out of the boat you'll be a lot closer to Jesus You want to have fellowship with Jesus Christ I'll tell you where Jesus is He's out of the boat Because Jesus it says here in Matthew chapter 14 where we originally read and Peter answered him and said Lord if it be thou bid me come unto thee on the water He didn't just say bid me come on the water bid me come out where you are Jesus Because when you get out of the boat, what does it mean to get out of the boat when you step out in faith? When you do something a little out of the ordinary When you say I'm going to kick it up a notch Maybe it's a little impractical, but I'm going to I'm going to step out of faith and live for God I'm going to get out of the boring mundane routine and just go crazy with Bible reading Crazy with my Bible memorization crazy out soul-willing crazy living for God Uh, I'm going to step out of the boat and let God do something miraculous with my life Jesus said that's where I'm at. That's where I am. They said the same thing about me They said I was beside myself. Come on out here with me I like what Jehu said he said come with me and see my zeal for the Lord He said to John and Dab the son of recap and John Dab the son of recap was a great man And he was a godly man. There's a whole chapter about him in the book of Jeremiah a whole chapter Dedicated to Jonathan Johanna the son of recap whole chapter about and how he raised his children and about how Righteous his family was for a generation to come after a great man in the Bible Jehu is riding in his chariot He rides up to John Dab the son of recap and he says to John Dab the son of recap is thy heart right with my Heart as my heart is with thy right? Say that five times fast He said is thy heart right with my heart as my heart is with thy heart? Can you repeat the question? He said is your heart right and John Dab the son of recap said it is And he said if it be then come up with me in the chariot And he reached out his hand and he lifted him up into the chariot He said come with me and see my zeal for the Lord and I believe that represents Jesus Christ You know that the symbolism there Jesus Christ comes to us and he says hey is your heart right as my heart is with thy heart? Then take my hand come aboard and see my zeal for the Lord and you know what Jehu did of course What he did was a little crazy what he did was a little bit out of the ordinary if you remember the story Jehu takes John Dab the son of recap he comes to Jerusalem and he plays a trick on them. He says boy, you know Ahab and his house they served Baal and Baal of course is a devil Okay, and they said they served Baal little he said I'm gonna serve Baal much And he said I'm gonna put on the biggest feast to Baal That's ever been done in Jerusalem and he brings it and said we're gonna do it in the house of God In the house of Jehovah the Lord, we're gonna bring Baal worship in it. So Jehu you're like, where's this story going? But listen to the story. He says I'm gonna serve Baal a lot. Okay, John and Dab the son of recap is crazy Okay, and so he says we want all the worshippers of Baal all the I mean all the key players all the people that are Preaching Baal the prophets of Baal. We want them all to come to this great feast of Baal I mean they must come and they all came Hundreds of them and he said give them all a garment, you know a worshiping garment put them all in a special robe You know so that they could really worship Baal properly and so they put them all in a special bright colored robe So there were any said wait a minute stop. Let's make sure there better not be any of those Christians here There better not be anybody who's a worshiper of the Lord make sure that it's only Baal worshippers here Because this is for Baal worshippers only and so they went through the hosts and just listen to the Bible You might read it sometimes really got a lot of interesting stories. But anyway, they all got in there in there in there They went through to make sure there's no worshippers of the Lord here Just the worshippers of Baal and then he brought in the army that he just been leading He said all right now go in there and just kill every single one and they went in there and they slew the prophets of Baal by the hundreds and killed every single one of them and said yeah, right worship Baal. We're gonna worship God We're gonna serve the Lord we're gonna worship we're done with Baal huh? Ahab's gone his wicked murderous bloody house is gone and we're gonna serve God as a nation He turned that whole nation back up and you better know that the people of the children of Israel were Trembling and scared to death when they heard about this crazy wild man Jehu and what he done Said you want to see zeal for God? Come with me. If you have the guts come hop on the chariot with me We'll show them something we'll win the battle for God A little unorthodox, a little crazy, yes, but God used him mightily. And of course, later on, sad to say, after the battle was all over, after the fighting was over, after the walking on the water was over, so to speak, Jehu, of course, got comfortable. He was anointed king. He got in that Kush palace. He got really used to the luxury and the perks that are associated with being the king and what happened? He said, you know what, I don't want to lose my position. He got comfortable. He said, I don't have the faith that I can keep this. And you know what he did? He said, I'm afraid, just like Jeroboam the son of Nebat was, that if the children of Israel go down to Jerusalem to worship the Lord at the set time each year, their heart's going to be turned to the house of David and the kingdom's going to be reunited. I'm going to lose my position. What did he do? He allowed them to worship the calves that Jeroboam the son of Nebat set up in Bethlehem and Dan because he didn't have the faith. He thought, man, you know, I don't think God can keep me in my kingdom, and that's sad. But he was a man of great zeal for God early in his life, later he lapsed in faith. I don't want to be faithless and unbelieving. I don't want to be, oh, thou of little faith. I don't want God to refer to me like that. I want God to refer to me as somebody of great faith, somebody of great zeal for God. I was thinking about Hebrews chapter 13 verse 13 where it says, let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp bearing his reproach. Jesus said to Peter, come out to me outside of the boat. He said in the book of Hebrews, let's go out to Jesus outside the camp because you're never going to be in the crowd. You're never going to be in the group. You're never going to be in the club when you're following Jesus. You're always going to be an outsider. You're always going to be thought of as a little different. Little bit of an outsider, not necessarily the in-crowd. Jesus was not in the gate, he was out of the gate. Peter was not in the boat, he was out of the boat. You're going to be an outsider on the job many times. You're not going to be the cool group at school, kids, if you go to school, if you're not homeschooled, then you're not always going to be in the coolest group. You're going to be an outsider if you're living for God because God doesn't use always big crowds and groups. He'll use one man like Jonathan, Jonathan and his armor bearer. He looks at a big crowd, like 32,000 people that followed Gideon, he looks at that big crowd and said, this is too many people because I know right now that 22,000 of them don't even want to be here and they don't even have the guts to be here and he said, anybody who's fearful go home. You remember this, Judges chapter 6? Anybody who's fearful, go home, 22,000 of them left. God's like, we don't need them anyway and then he said it's still too many people, let's whittle it down to 300. He got it down to 300 men and did something great. God doesn't usually work in crowds, he usually just takes one man. He said in Ezekiel 33, 20, I sought for a man to stand in the hedge and make up the gap. I sought for a man among them. He didn't say I sought for a crowd, I sought for many thousands. Think about King Ahab, who's going to fight the battle against the Syrians, who's going to order the battle? God said to King Ahab, you are, who, who's going to do it? 7,000 men that haven't bowed their knee to Baal and that haven't kissed the calves is who I'm going to use to fight the battle against the Syrians. 7,000 against almost a million. God's not always looking for just a giant crowd, he's just looking for a few people that are willing to step out of the crowd and be a little different. Step out of the crowd and maybe do something a little crazy. Step out of the crowd in faith and not always worry about, oh, my finances, oh, oh, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed. After all these things do the Gentiles seek, your Heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. God can feed you, God can give you to drink, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. When you step out in faith, God doesn't leave you high and dry, God's not going to let you drown beneath the waves, step out and do what God wants you to do, take a chance financially, take a chance spiritually, take a chance in your life and don't sit around on the boat all day, get involved. You say, I don't know if I'd flop at soul length, hey, give it a shot. Oh, man, I've been a silent partner, I'm afraid to try, I've been a silent partner for months, I'm thinking about doing the talking, I'm afraid I'm going to miss out. Hey, did you ever mess up when you first started soul length? I remember he was dropping his Bible, literally, I mean, dropping his Bible. He's sitting there, he'd sit there sometimes and just be like this, you know, and the person at the door is looking and like, are you going to say something, I don't know, oh, wait, okay, wait, did you ever mess up? Of course he messed up, of course he messed up, but you know what, now, man, is he a great soul winner, man, is he being used by God, he's seen somebody save almost every week, because he wasn't afraid to mess up, he wasn't afraid to make a mistake, he wasn't afraid to get up on the boat, maybe be a flop, maybe be embarrassed, you know, today, I was out soul winning today, you know, no, they didn't habla and glace, so I'm sitting there and I gave the gospel and you were with me, brother Edwards, I stand, remember that first, the first one I did today, I was stammering and stuttering, for some reason, I was struggling with my Spanish and I stammered and stuttered, you better know it was a little embarrassing when you're stammering and stuttering and saying dumb things that don't make sense, it was embarrassing and you say, well Pastor Anderson, you just don't know what it's like because you've been soul winning for years and years and you've been so, I think I've been soul winning now for almost 10 years, this year, 10 years, a decade of soul winning, every week and virtually every week, that is, but many times much more often than that, but the point is, you say, oh, you've been doing it for years, it's easy for you, it's easy for you to say, but you know what, I still know what you feel like and I keep my finger on the pulse of what you feel like because when I'm trying to win souls in another language, I feel the same way, struggling, stammering, stuttering, not knowing what to say, not finding the word, looking like a fool, turning red, embarrassed and struggling but you know what, the guy got saved and I mean, I was making many to myself but the guy ended up getting saved, you know, 20 some minutes later of stammering and stuttering and doing the verses and whatnot, you know, and then the second door, and usually I'm pretty smooth with it but man, I was struggling and then the second person that we talked to in Spanish, I did a little better but I was still really stammering, stuttering, really embarrassed, felt a little bit like a fool, you know what, that's okay though to fail, it's okay to mess up and the great thing about soul-wetting is, you're never going to see these people again, make an idiot out of yourself, so what, hey, I'm a fool for Christ is what Paul said, we're fools for Christ, we're willing to be reproached and mocked and make fun of him, sometimes you look stupid, you mess up, you do dumb things but hey, I'd rather mess up, be a fool, draw up my Bible, say dumb things, mix in German words when I'm speaking Spanish and get confused and mix people up, if they're embarrassed, I'm embarrassed, hey, but if they are in heaven one day, glory to God, that's all that matters to me, I'm not trying to see how cool I can be, I'm not trying to be the Fonz, you know, I'm not trying to just be Mr. Cool, you know, I'm always so cool, you know, I'm willing to make a fool out of myself, the Bible says the foolishness of preaching, some things I preach are crazy, you know, you ever see a preacher who won't get out of his comfort zone, he just stands behind the pulpit and he's got his perfect little outline and he just reads it off, you know, I like the preacher who, you know, jumps up on the pulpit and you want me to jump on the pulpit, jumps up on the pulpit and preaches on the pulpit, you know, does crazy things, knocks things over, you know, kick a chair around, hey, do something crazy, I'd rather listen to that guy who's got some fire and he's got some vision, he's got some passion, huh, he's got something to say, some guy reading off some homily, I don't even know what a homily is, you say are you afraid here to fall off the pulpit, you know, look how slanted this pulpit is, hey, I'm willing to fall a couple times, I'm willing to hurt myself a couple times to jump on the pulpit, it hasn't happened yet, thank God, but what am I trying to say, all that to say this, hey, get out of the boat, you know, don't, if you want to live the dull, plain Jane, blah, blah, blah, boring, boring, blah, you know, the same old thing every day, hey, you ever ask people, so what's going on, what's new, nothing, you know, he asks him like again next week, nothing, next week, nothing, ask me what's going on, oh man, we're doing this new soul winning, we just got into a new building, we're getting a big lit up sign on the outside of the building, and we're going soul winning in all these small towns, and we're going soul winning, we're canvassing Awatukee, we're canvassing Scottsdale, we're on soul winning yesterday, we're on soul winning today, let me show you what I'm memorizing, let me show you what I'm preaching on, let me show you what I'm doing right now, I'm learning how to play the piano better, I'm learning how to play the guitar better, I'm learning how to do backflips so I can preach better, no I'm just kidding, I'm learning how to jump on the pulpit and scream and yell, and I'm, hey, I hear, ahhh, you're crazy, yes I'm crazy, crazy about soul winning, crazy, serving God, what does it mean to be crazy, obsessed, impractical, erratic, you're nuts, you're mad, you're insane, hey but you know what, I'm doing something for God, come with me, hop on board, and see my zeal for the Lord, let's bow our heads in prayer, thank you so much for this story, I love the story in the Bible, and I love Peter because he was a man who was willing to get out of the boat, do something a little bit crazy, and he wasn't scared, he had faith, and he failed, he's sunk beneath the waves, but that's okay, because he got back up again, Jesus lifted him up, and at the end of the day he was the one who had the excitement, he was the one that was used as an illustration in the sermon almost 2000 years later in Faithful Word Baptist Church, and so God, if I had my choice of who I wanted to be in the story, it would be Peter, the guy who got out of the boat, and Father, help us not to be, help us not to go through our lives scared, you said in the Bible, God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind, and I just pray that you would please just take away the spirit of fear that people have, and give us boldness to step on and do something maybe that we're not comfortable with, going soul winning, stepping out and trying to memorize one of these passages, and maybe if you've been out, maybe people have been out soul winning just to do the talking, whatever the case may be God, I don't know why you got me to preach this sermon, but whatever the case may be, those that are sitting in the building tonight, just whatever it is that they need to get out of the boat, maybe they're stuck in a rut, maybe their Christianity has become a rut and boring and routine, help them to get a little excitement by kicking up the soul winning a notch, kicking up the Bible reading a notch, starting some new goals, starting some new endeavor for God.