Gregory Dickow - We're Going Somewhere
Well, it’s once again so good to worship with you today and connect with each of you. Another Sunday, another great week is coming. Your best days are your next days. Amen. They really are. I’d just like to pray for our church right now. I’d like to pray for our nation. I pray for this world, for all that’s going on in it. We can either be people who interpret events through our political lens, through our lens of fear, or through our lens of uncertainty, or we can interpret everything through the lens of faith and trust in God. Amen. So whatever is going on in the world, we need to realize that we have the power to impact it through the power of prayer. In 1 Timothy 2, it says, «I want each and every one of you to pray for those in authority and pray for those who lead, so that they may be led by God to create a world of peace.» We can pray for peace in this world. I know that the Bible says in the last days there will be wars and rumors of wars. But as long as there are wars and rumors of wars, we must also remember that the church is alive and well on the earth, and we have the power to rain down peace when the enemy is trying to rain down war. We have to be people who understand, «Blessed are the peacemakers.» We sang about it, but now we can pray about it and use our faith to bring peace to this world. Amen. I know it sounds idealistic. I used to think, «Oh no, we can’t pray for peace in the world; that’s too vague.» And yet, it tells us to pray for those in authority, pray for kings and all those leaders, so that we may lead a peaceable, tranquil life in all godliness. What a powerful promise that if we pray for the nations, if we pray for the leaders in this world, we can lead a peaceful, tranquil life in all godliness. And we have to pray like we’re believers. We’re not here to pray as Republicans or as Democrats. Amen? And don’t vilify the other side, no matter which camp you’re in. Amen. Amen.
Pray with power. Pray with authority. Pray like Elijah prayed. Amen.
Father, we thank you that your word says to pray for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all peace and dignity and godliness. Father, we pray for our president. We pray for the presidents and prime ministers of the nations of this world. We pray for the kings who govern their nations. We pray that everyone will yield to the Lord Jesus Christ, that everyone will yield to your will. You said, «The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord.» We ask you to turn the heart of the kings with your hand, Lord. Turn the hearts of our leaders toward your purpose and your will. Where we are lined up with your will, we give you glory. And where we are not aligned with your will, we receive your correction. We accept your adjustments. Father, we pray for peace in the Middle East. We speak peace over every nation. We speak peace over Israel and over all who are gathered there. Whatever disposition they come from, you said to pray for peace in Jerusalem, and we pray for peace there. We pray for peace in Europe and peace between Russia and Ukraine. We pray for peace between people of different political views in this country. Let there be peace and appreciation for one another, respect for one another. Lord, deliver us from hate. Deliver us from fear. Deliver us from the fear-mongers in the media. Deliver us from all those set against you and lead them to turn. Give them the gift of repentance to turn toward you, for your glory. And whoever opposes your glory, Lord, use that to move past them and raise up others who will fulfill your purpose. We thank you. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. For yours is the power. Yours is the kingdom. Yours is the glory. Amen. Amen.
Let’s all say this together: «Heavenly Father, yours is the kingdom. Yours is the power, and yours is the glory. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in this earth as it is in heaven, in the nations as it is in heaven, in America as it is in heaven, in my life as it is in heaven.» In Jesus' name, come on, let’s give Him praise today. Come on, let’s give God some glory! Woo! We give you all the glory, Lord. We give you all the glory. Even though it’s not Christmas yet, we give Him all the glory. Amen. Amen.
Well, I want us to dig deeper today into God’s promises and into God’s word. At the end of this service, I want to prophesy over you. I want us to prophesy together. Whatever you hear about, whatever you find in scripture that I share today that you see, I want you to begin to get ready to prophesy these things to come to pass in your life. Amen. We’re not here just to read about things; we’re here to experience them. And God wants you to experience what you read. What you read is what you should expect, what we should believe for. We should believe for healings today-miracles today. Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed. He healed all who were oppressed. I’m a part of that group. I’ve had my share of being oppressed and, at times, being oppressive myself. Does anybody know what I’m talking about? Not about me, but about yourself. But I want you to begin to get ready to prophesy and see things change. Prophesy. He says, «Son of man, can these bones live?» And Ezekiel said, «Lord, only you know whether these bones can live.» And He said, «No, you prophesy to these bones.» God asked a question to Ezekiel, «Can these bones live?» Ezekiel tried to put it back on God, «Well, only you know, oh Lord.» And then God said, «No, you prophesy over these bones.» The Bible says the word of God is like a two-edged sword. That word in the Greek language for «two-edged» means «twice spoken.» So the Bible says that the word of God is living and active, or it’s alive and powerful. In Hebrews 4:12, it says, «For the word of God is alive and active; it’s sharper than any two-edged sword.» Not just a sharp two-edged sword -it’s sharper than a two-edged sword. I want you to understand what that means when he uses that term «two-edged sword.» You can study this out later. I have studied it, and some of my friends didn’t believe me, but they studied it and found it to be true. You’ll see it for yourself. But he says, «A two-edged sword is actually translated as’twice spoken.'» Everybody say «twice spoken.» So now watch this: He says, «For the word of God is alive and active. It’s living and it’s active, doing something. It’s sharper than a two-edged sword,» which is «twice spoken.» What does this mean, that the word of God is «twice spoken»? Well, God speaks His word; God puts His word into existence, which makes it living. But then, when you speak God’s word, it makes it active. Do you see that? He says, «The word of God is living and active. It’s twice spoken.» The first time it’s spoken is by God, which makes it alive. And then, when you speak what God speaks, you make it active. That’s what puts it into activation. That’s what causes it to work in your life. It worked when you got saved. The Bible says if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. If you confess with your mouth-God already said it once, «Jesus is Lord.» But when you said it, when God said it, He became alive; Jesus came back to life. When God said it, He made it alive. When you say it, you make it active. You’re activating what God already made alive. Your words make it active; God’s word makes it living. God speaking it makes it living. You speaking it puts it into activation. Amen.
So we’re going to have a moment at the end of the service to prophesy over our lives and ourselves. Now, I want to drill down on the second of three points that I’ve been trying to make for several weeks now. I haven’t been able to get past the first one, and I’ve been talking about three places Jesus sat in scripture. The Bible says in 1 John 4:17 that as He is, so are we in this world. There’s something about identifying with Jesus. It says that as He is, so are we. Jesus even said, «The works that I do shall you do also, and greater works will you do because I am going to the Father. I’m sending the Holy Spirit.» Who is grateful for the Holy Spirit in your life? And He said, «As He is,» as in the last part of this verse in 1 John 4:17, «For as He is talking about Jesus, so are we in this world.» So we’re not going to be like Jesus just when we get to heaven; we are like Him now in this world. He says, «As He is, so are we.» So when you look at Jesus' life, we have to realize that our lives are also hidden with Christ. We’re hidden with Him, and we’re seated with Him in heavenly places, right? The Bible says when He died, we died with Him. When He was buried, we were buried with Him. When He was raised, we were raised with Him. And when He went to sit at the right hand of the Father, we were seated with Him. Amen. If you could understand identification as the number one thing in your life, the number one pursuit of your life-this isn’t even my topic today but if you could just understand that identity, identifying yourself correctly, not with he, she, we, they, me, yay; we don’t identify with the world’s labels. We identify with who we are in Christ. Who we are in Christ. There are two races in this world: believers and unbelievers. That’s it! Everybody else falls under one of those categories. You’re not this; you’re not, «I’m not an American first.» I love this country; I pray for this country, I prophesy for this country, I live in this country, and I believe God for revival in this country. Amen. But I am a believer. Amen. I am a son of God. You’re a son or daughter of God. Your identity is who you are in Christ. Amen. If you could get this right, you would unlock the mysteries that the world is still searching for and still confused about, even more confused now than ever. And yet there’s really no confusion about it to God. You’re made in His image, according to His likeness, and you are either a son or daughter of God or a child of Satan. I’m going to go with son or daughter; how about you? I know what it’s like serving the devil. I served him really well, but he didn’t help me out much. He made things worse and worse. I started serving God, and things started getting better and better. Amen. He said, «As He is, so are we.» If we could understand this identification in Christ, the trajectory of your life would take off, and you would experience all of God’s best for you and all that He wants to do in you and through you. As He is, so are we in this world.
In which world? As He is! Notice how John doesn’t just say, «I am because I’m John the beloved.» He thought he was the one; he knew he was the one Jesus loved in the book of John. But in 1 John, he wants us to know that we’re all the ones Jesus loves, and we’re all in Christ. When you’re born again, you’re in Christ. Without Christ, you’re in sin. The moment you’re born again, you’re in Christ. You’re not in sin anymore. You may struggle with some sins, but you’re not in sin anymore. «Oh, that person’s in sin.» You’re only in sin in the sense of which one is carrying you. Which one is Lord in your life? When you were under Adam’s nature, you were in sin. But now that you’re born again, you’re in Christ. You’re in Christ. When someone says, «I’m so sorry, Lord; I’ve been in sin,» you know the worst sin there is? It’s thinking you’re in sin when you’re in Christ. Your behavior isn’t the worst part of it; it’s your belief. It’s what you believe about yourself that is the worst part of it. Correct that, and your behavior will begin to reflect the nature of your faith and what you believe about who you are in Christ. Amen. Amen.
So, Jesus sat in three places, and since as He is, so are we in this world, we can identify with these three places where Jesus sat. I talked to you about how Jesus sat at the well. Number two: Jesus sat in the boat with Peter, one of His disciples-he wasn’t even a disciple fully yet. And number three: Jesus sat at the right hand of the Father after His resurrection and ascension into heaven. So Jesus, number one, sat at the well. We spent a lot of time at the well, didn’t we? We’re still at the well today. We’re drinking from the well; we’re on to the second point here, but we’re drinking from the well of our salvation. We’re drinking from the well of water. The well represents water. Wells represent, in scripture, the word of God. The wells also represent the spirit of God, and wells represent, in scripture, the church of the living God, which you are a part of. Can you say amen? Amen!
We found that what happens at these wells is we experience divine encounters with God, divine provision from God, and divine relationships that are part of our journey with God. Nobody’s meant to do this alone. Amen? We’re all meant to be a part of this. But if you go back to the overarching theme of these three places Jesus sat-He sat at the well, He sat in Peter’s boat, and He sat at the right hand of the Father- I want to double-click on Peter’s boat for a moment in Luke 5:1. Now it happened while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God. He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake. But the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. Verse 3: «He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and He asked him to put out a little way from the land, and He sat down and began to teach the people from the boat.» So number one: Jesus sat at the well to rest. Number two: Jesus sat in the boat to teach. And number three: Jesus sat at the right hand of the Father to reign. We need to engage with Jesus in every one of these three places that He sat. We sit with Him at the well of the word, the spirit, and the church. And we sit with Him in the boat, where Jesus teaches. Jesus sat in the boat to teach. Teaching sounds almost powerless. Just to teach? You know, they used to joke about people, you know, «Those who do, do; and those who can’t teach.» That was a joke decades ago. Hopefully, people don’t use that anymore because teachers are awesome. Amen. Teachers are great. Teachers, if they do it right, can model Jesus, who is the greatest teacher of all. He sat down to teach. He sat down to teach. So guess what? If there’s some teaching happening while He’s sitting down, there’s got to be some learning too. There’s got to be some learning. A lot of people just hear a lot of teaching, but they never learn from it because you can’t learn it until you believe it. And then when you believe it, you’ll do it. And that’s when you really learn it. When you’re doing it, you’re still learning while you’re doing it. Amen. True for all of us.
Think about this. It says He sat down to teach. You know what’s so profound to me? Jesus sat to teach because I think, what does this mean that He sat to teach? Obviously, He was teaching them His word. But sitting was His posture. Of course, there are times when He stood to preach, but usually that was because He was preaching to the Pharisees. He had to stand up to them. But when He’s teaching us, He’s usually seated. Why is He seated? Because He’s calm. Why is He calm? Because He loves you, and He’s at peace, and He wants you to understand. When it says that Jesus was teaching in the boat, it means His teaching is meant to take us somewhere. Number one, His teaching is meant to take us somewhere. If teaching is just knowledge, it’s not real teaching. Amen? It’s just reading or listening, but it’s not teaching. What we need to understand about Jesus is that when He is teaching, it means we’re going somewhere. I want you to understand there are three things that Jesus teaching in the boat means. It means three things: Number one, it means we’re going somewhere. We don’t know at that moment where we’re going, but we’re going somewhere. Peter doesn’t know what Jesus is about to do. Peter doesn’t have Luke to read a story about himself. We have Luke so we can read a story about ourselves. Peter didn’t have that. Peter didn’t know where Jesus was going; he didn’t even know he was going anywhere. But make no mistake about it, when Jesus sits down to teach you, when you sit down to listen, Jesus is going to take you somewhere you’ve never been before. He’s going to take you somewhere you’ve never experienced before. He’s going to take you to a level you haven’t reached before, to a depth you haven’t experienced before, to a place you didn’t know existed before. Jesus, when He teaches, is taking us somewhere. Amen! Glory to God! He sat down, and began teaching the people from the boat. Oh, I just love it-that a boat represents He’s taking us somewhere. The boat represents-we’re going somewhere! The boat represents-we’re not alone anymore. Jesus is in the boat with us. We find Him in a boat many times, always with His disciples. But I want you to see that Jesus taught from a place of rest. He taught from a place of authority. He wasn’t focused on our sins. He wasn’t outraged by our sin. You know, He’s not outraged at your sin. He’s not outraged at your mistakes. The biggest thing He wants you to realize is whether you’re in Christ or not. To be outside of Christ is the worst of all sin. That’s right. Because it’s the sin for which there is no forgiveness. To be outside of Christ, because you reject Him, is to be in the worst place of all. Because it doesn’t really even matter what hell is like; to be absent from God forever is hell enough. And Jesus gives us a path; He gives us a way to the Father. He is the way to the Father. He’s the way, the truth, and the life. Amen!
So Jesus teaching in a boat means we’re going somewhere. Jesus teaching in the boat means we’re going with someone. And Jesus teaching in the boat represents that He’s getting us ready for a miracle that He’s about to do in our lives. I think about this: Peter is about to make the greatest catch of fish in his storied life as a fisherman. Does anybody here like to fish? We got any fishers here? Fisher… fishing… fishy. You’re a fisher! A few of us had your hands up. You’re… no, no-you love to fish! You like to fish? But Peter didn’t fish because he liked to fish; he fished because he liked to eat. Peter fished because this was his business. This was his career. This was how he survived. This was how he provided for himself. This is him doing his job, doing his business. And realize this: Peter had been a professional. This is my point. Many of us who raised our hands like to fish, but none of you have done it as a profession. And if you had to do it as a profession, you’d realize how hard it is. Amen? Think about how long it takes to get one fish. You’re sitting out there on a rowboat, gently down the stream, with your pole out there, and it’s taking forever just to get one. You might not even get one today, but you’re out there fishing. I’d rather go to the store and get the harvest of somebody else’s catch. They did all the hard work! But to be a professional at the level Peter was-see, we don’t realize this guy was a pro. But at this point, he had fished all night and caught nothing.
Because what Jesus is getting ready to do in your life is going to come at a time when you feel like nothing is happening. What Jesus is about to do in your life is going to come from a place and in a way you never thought possible, and He’s going to do it in a season of your life when it seems like nothing else is happening. Nothing is happening! So if nothing’s happening right now, rejoice! Because God’s getting ready to do something when nothing is happening! Amen! If something is happening, be encouraged-it’s happening because of the times you believed and praised God when nothing was happening. So the lesson is: learn to praise Him when nothing’s happening, because that purifies the right motives from the wrong ones. When you can praise Him only when things are going your way, it shows your motive is broken; your motive is fallen. Your motive has lost its way. But when you praise Him anyway and give Him glory anyway, believe anyway-that’s what glorifies Him.
You see, anybody can praise God when something good happens, but what about when nothing’s happening? Amen? Peter goes on to say in this passage, «Jesus said when He finished speaking.» Because Jesus never speaks without an objective that’s supposed to happen after. Jesus never speaks so that words alone are left in your life. He speaks to bring to pass what He’s speaking of. Do you read the Bible expecting it to come to pass, or are you just reading it to fulfill your devotional and make sure you check off your duty and feel better about yourself because you read the Bible? There’s nothing wrong with feeling better about yourself by reading the Bible, but reading it isn’t God’s goal. It’s not the end of-it’s not the objective, it’s not the goal! It’s to experience it! Yes! To read it to bring you to a place where you’re actually experiencing it! God’s getting you ready. He’s getting you ready to do something that’s never been done before. Think about it! When Jesus was teaching while sitting in a boat, it told us that we were going somewhere! Jesus was teaching in a boat-it means that we’re not going alone, we’re going with Him. And Jesus teaching in the boat shows He wants to do something miraculous in your life above and beyond what you can ask or think! Peter said, «Lord, we fished all night.» Jesus said, «Put your net out!» Let’s launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch! Let down your nets for a catch! And Peter said, «Master, we fished all night; we’ve worked all night and caught nothing.» This is life without God! You’ll catch nothing! And sometimes, this is life even as believers-sometimes we’re catching nothing, but we’re believing anyway, and we’re acting on God’s word anyway, because He said!
Peter said, «Master, we fished all night and caught nothing, but at your word I will let down the net.» I will do as you say. You know, when nothing’s happening, all you’ve got to think about is what has God said about it. What did God say to do? Focus on what God said! If things aren’t going the way you hoped, what did God say about it? Follow what God says. What does God’s word say to you? What are you supposed to do? We’re supposed to- instead of worrying about what it looks like-get busy with what He just said. Get busy with what He just said! You don’t have to know it all. Jesus doesn’t preach a whole sermon to him; Jesus says, «One sentence: Put out into the deep and let down your nets!» He didn’t say, «Here’s the next ten instructions I want for you.» He said one thing! He said, «Launch into the deep and let down your net!» We need to focus on the one thing! The one thing! Stop trying to figure out everything or saying, «I’ll do it all when I know it all.» Don’t do it all when you know it all! Do the one thing when you know one thing! And if you don’t know that one thing, praise Him anyway!
Boy, if you get a hold of this, often the thing that is holding people back from a lot of what God wants to do in their lives is that we’re not hearing the right teaching. Jesus is about to do something in Peter’s life that has never been done before because Jesus is teaching Peter something he has never learned before. Did you hear that? Jesus is about to do something in Peter’s life that has never been done before because Jesus is teaching Peter something he has never learned before. Often, the things that hold people back are that we’re not hearing the right teaching. What is being taught matters! Where you go to church, matters! What’s being fed matters! You don’t go out to eat today after church and say, «You know what? What they serve doesn’t really matter, because at least I’m going out to eat.» It matters what you’re eating! So better rethink who you’re going out to dinner with or out to lunch with, because it needs to matter. What you eat matters, because you are what you eat in a lot of ways! Right? Come on!
It matters what you’re learning. It matters what’s being taught. It matters who you’re listening to. It matters who you let be your influences. Stop that! Stop being influenced by everybody else’s successes. Focus on what is Jesus saying! What did Jesus say? He said, «Launch into the deep!» You know, the miracles aren’t going to happen in shallow waters, folks! The things that God wants to do in your life, the great things, aren’t going to happen where everything’s just shallow! When you remain a shallow believer, «Oh, I don’t get into any of that giving stuff.» Shallow! You’re being shallow! «I don’t get into that praying in tongues stuff.» Shallow! «I don’t get into serving the church and getting involved and giving my money, my time, my talents, my treasure.» You’re being shallow! You’re being selfish! You’re singing about seeking first the kingdom and all will be added, but many believers want more to be added without truly seeking first. We want it to be added to us, but we don’t want to do the seeking. We don’t want to seek God; we don’t want to get into this book-we don’t want to get involved and go deep and be a learner to be a leader so you can be a true influencer of other people and fulfill your purpose because at the end of the day we’re all going to stand before God and give an account of what we did with our time, our talent, and our treasure. Now God is not going to judge us if we’ve accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. But there are a lot of rewards waiting for you that you can either earn by doing the things of God on this earth or by leaving them behind in heaven.
There are parts of heaven and things in heaven that God is ready to release from heaven to earth when you pray. And then there are things that God wants you to send back to heaven when you get there! Those things have gone before you, like leading someone to Jesus Christ or giving your tithe and offering so that if you can’t even lead people to Christ, at least you’re helping pay the bill to lead people to Christ, which we’re all called to do! Some things are really simple. Jesus is teaching in the boat. And teaching them in the boat represents that we’re going somewhere. Teaching in the boat tells us we’re going with Him and we’re not alone. Teaching in a boat means He’s getting ready to do a miracle of abundance in your life, in a way that’s never been done. Peter makes the greatest catch of his life ever in his professional career! This is the greatest catch, because he went deep and he did it because Jesus told him to! There are a lot of things that are going to happen in your life just because you did what Jesus told you to do. And there are things that you’re going to find you did what Jesus told you to do, and you won’t think anything really is happening. And yet you’ll find out ten years from now that what you did ten years ago by doing what Jesus told you to do is paying off now. Like the couple Olivia talked about, they came to our church for ten years and couldn’t get pregnant and believed God all those years. And what were they doing? Serving! What were they doing? Giving! What were they doing? Being plugged in! What were they doing? Going deep! And what happened ten years later, when it wasn’t supposed to happen? They got pregnant! I know the feeling-some of you don’t know, but there’s a ten -year gap between our two youngest children, Joseph and Roman. There’s a ten -year gap!
So I don’t know how that-I don’t know how it happened. «Oh Lord!» You know, if you’re like Ezekiel, «You know, Lord, you know!» When the people in the Bible were not hearing the right teaching, guess what Jesus did? He didn’t do a miracle! When they weren’t hearing the right teaching and weren’t experiencing the miracles, you know what Jesus did? He started teaching! Just to prove this in scripture, I did come prepared. Mark 6:1-watch this now: «Jesus went out from there and came to His own hometown, and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.» What was He doing in the synagogue? He began teaching in the synagogue! There were many listeners who were astonished at His teaching. And they said, «Where did this man get these things? What is this wisdom given to him and such miracles as these performed by his hands? Is this not…» Now watch this downward spiral: «Is this not the carpenter? Is he not just a carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph, Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us?» The Bible says they took offense at Him. They were offended at Him, and He wondered -and it says, «He could.»
And Jesus said, «A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his own relatives or in his own household.» And He could do no miracle there. Listen: It’s not that He didn’t want to do miracles there-He could not! A lot of people don’t understand this sometimes; this is the problem with bad teaching. You don’t recognize that Jesus is trying to teach us something. If He could do no miracle there, there’s a reason, and if He could do no miracle there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. Notice what it says: «And He marveled or wondered at their unbelief.» He wondered at their unbelief.
Verse 6: «He was astonished at their unbelief.» So what did He do about it? Well, there’s a whole lot to be said in those first six verses, but what He did about it is what my interest is right here for today. He went about teaching. Go back to verse 6- Mark 6: 6: «And He couldn’t do many miracles there except He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them, and He wondered at their unbelief.» And then He went around to all the villages teaching. Why was He going around the villages teaching? Because they didn’t receive His teaching there! So He was going to go around to other places where there were no miracles! And the reason there were no miracles is that there was no teaching in those other places! And the reason there were no miracles here is that He was teaching, but they got offended at what He was teaching! You’re never going to experience a miracle in your life when you’re offended at the one who wants to give you the miracle or offended at the means by which He’s going to give it to you.
«I need a financial miracle, Lord!» «Okay, give me your tithe.» «No, I don’t want to do that, Lord.» «We’re not under the law.» «You’re right; you’re not under the law. Tithing is an honor, tithing is a blessing, tithing is a privilege, tithing will change your life.» But you’re offended at the teaching-guess what? You’re asking for a miracle in your finances, but you’re offended about giving! You’re asking for a miracle to be able to talk to God and listen to Him, but you’re offended at speaking in tongues because they didn’t teach you that at the church you went to! Nothing against the Baptist church, but I don’t like the songs there; that’s not my style. Grow! Expand! Learn! I don’t like to get up early there; I want the teaching!
Here’s the teaching: Come on! Notice what happened! If you’re late, God bless you! Rather you come late than not at all! But you get the point: Don’t be offended! So what did Jesus do about it? He went about teaching! And I just know what happens-He went about the villages teaching. Jesus' remedy for a lack of miracles was the teaching of His word! Jesus' cure for the lack of miracles is teaching the word of God! And this is what He did when there were no miracles happening-He went and He taught, and He taught, and He taught, and He taught! Yes! And here I am, teaching and teaching, and any church you’ve gone to where the word of God is being preached, they’re teaching and preaching the word of God-teaching, teaching, teaching, miracles will come!
Every time the Baptists, at the end of their service, have an altar call, an invitation for people to be saved. And guess what? They preach on salvation, and people get saved! Because whatever they’re teaching, there are going to be miracles that follow what’s being taught! Yes! So if we teach here about the Holy Spirit, there are going to be miracles of people being baptized in the Holy Spirit! This happens all the time, and it’s going to continue to happen! We teach about miracles and healing, and healings come, and miracles happen! Teach about serving, and people serve! Teach about giving, and people give! When we act on God’s word, miracles are going to happen! When He was-when there were no miracles, He started teaching! And the remedy for the absence of miracles was teaching! And as a result, it says He sent out the twelve anointed to heal. He sent them anointed to heal and cast out demons.
In verse 33, Jesus feeds the multitudes-a miracle. In verse 45, this same chapter Jesus walks on water-another miracle. In this same chapter, in verse 53, He goes about healing everyone that was brought to Him, sick and laid on pallets-those that were brought in pallets to the place where they heard the teaching! Wherever He entered villages or cities or countryside -put that up there in verse 56 -they laid the sick in the marketplaces and entreated Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak, and as many as touched it were being cured! Notice the miracle of anointing the disciples to heal the sick and cast out demons came after teaching them! Yes! The miracle of feeding the multitudes came after teaching them! The miracle of Jesus walking on water happened after He was teaching them! The miracle of healing whoever touched Him, and whoever He touched happened because He was teaching them! All of these miracles happened because of the teaching!
Whenever Jesus is teaching, and we’re hearing His word, a miracle is on the other side of your listening! You’re honoring, you’re receiving-the miracles are on the other side of that! Notice what this miracle in the boat did. If we go back to the boat and we close, notice what the miracle in this boat did. Peter had so many fish when they had this miracle of all these fish that there were so many he had to call for the other guys in the other boat, so they could carry all the fish back to shore! In other words, the miracle that Jesus did in Peter’s life brought other people into Peter’s life. The miracle Jesus wants to do in your life is to bring other people into your life. We see when this miracle in the boat took place, Jesus was showing Peter that no one is meant to do life alone. We see that this miracle in the boat did in Peter’s life was it revealed to Peter the goodness of God. There were so many fish he couldn’t even carry them all. He couldn’t even catch them all; he couldn’t even fit them all in his nets! And what this miracle in the boat did was it led Peter to repentance. He falls to his knees at the feet of Jesus, saying, «Depart from me, Lord; I’m a sinful man! Depart from me!» You see, it was Jesus showing him his goodness, and it caused Peter to come to repentance, to fall at the feet of Jesus.
Now, when we fall at the feet of Jesus, we don’t always say everything right. He falls at the feet of Jesus. He’s like, «Go, go, go from me, Lord! I’m a sinful man!» As soon as you get to Jesus' feet, don’t tell Him to leave! Peter tells Him to leave. But it’s because we screw up our words sometimes. We mess up what we’re saying to God sometimes, but it’s okay! We’re sitting at His feet! That’s the bigger miracle! Yeah! In other words, this miracle set the thermostat for Peter’s expectations of the miraculous for the rest of his life! And there’s probably nobody who had more miracles through their life than Peter. Now, I’m sure all the disciples and all the miracles that happen nowadays-they’re still happening! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever! Amen! Amen!
But what I’m saying is this guy particularly-people tried to get in his shadow to be healed! Yes! Thousands and thousands of people got saved through his life and healed miraculously, because Jesus set Peter’s thermostat on expectations of the miraculous! Today we’re leaving with our thermostats changed! Amen! We’re going to set our thermostats on expectation! Amen! Let’s stand together; let’s pray together! And if you’ve never received Jesus into your life, we welcome our global church family, our online community-welcome and thank you for being a part of this service. Sorry I haven’t been focusing on looking directly at you and talking to you, but I want you to hear this too, and I want each of us to pray with you. Let’s bow our heads. If you’ve never received Jesus into your life as your Savior and Lord, bow your heads with me just out of respect for those around you. And I want you to pray this out loud. Those of you that are watching online, as well, pray this out loud! And everybody pray this with us: Heavenly Father, I invite Jesus Christ into my life as my Savior. I believe Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead! I believe, I believe Jesus is Lord! I receive, I receive Him into my life! I accept you at your word! If you prayed that prayer to receive Jesus, on the count of three, lift up your hand quickly! On the count of three: one, two, three! Quickly! God bless you! God bless you! Hands already up! God bless you! God bless you! Who else? Put your hand up if you prayed that prayer! God bless you! God bless you here! God bless you here! Come on, put your hand up high! God bless you here! Congratulations! Come on, let’s thank God for all these people! If you’re watching online, reach out to us and let us know. Comment in the chat or let us know that you received Jesus today so we can send you this book, The Power of a New Life! You can download this anywhere in the world-the Power of a New Life-download it for free! It’s the next steps in this journey with God! For those of you that raised your hand, one of our team members is trying to find you so they can give you one of these. It’s an interactive Bible study! You’ll love it. It’ll lay the foundations that will get you started in the right direction! Next steps, we should say! And by the way, the next steps are happening right after this service. If you want to know what’s next for me? I come to this church; I attend this church. What’s next for me? Go to the next steps class. But before we do, we’re going to prophesy before we go out the door! We’re going to prophesy some things over our lives!
Say, «In the name of Jesus!» Listen, I want you to prophesy! Say, «I can prophesy! I can prophesy! You said in your word, Lord, that your sons and your daughters will prophesy! And I am a son or daughter of yours; therefore, I will prophesy! I will speak forth the word of God! I will speak forth your promises! So in the name of Jesus, I receive! I receive into my boat! I receive! I receive your teaching, because you’re taking me somewhere! I prophesy over my life-I’m going somewhere! And I’m going with Jesus! Jesus, I’m headed in the right direction! There’s movement in my life, and I am experiencing the will of God, with His presence! And I prophesy over my life, I prophesy, God makes me ready! God makes me ready to experience the miraculous! He’s taking me deep! He’s taking me deep! So I can experience the depth of His love, the depth of His love! The wonder of His grace, the beauty of Jesus, the beauty of Jesus! So that I can set the expectations! I declare over my life-I set the thermostat on expectation for miracles in my life! I’m going to wake up every day with expectation! Expect the God of miracles! I’m going to wake up every day and go to bed every night expecting something good to happen in my life! I prophesy over my day-something is going to happen in my life! Something good and miraculous is going to happen in my life on this day! Something good is going to happen to me! Something good is going to happen for me and for my family and for my church! In Jesus' name! Goodness and mercy are following me all the days of my life! In Jesus' name! Amen!