Rabbi Schneider - Manage Your Fears
I'm going to take you into Israel to the Sea of Galilee. Did you know that the Sea of Galilee is the lowest freshwater lake on earth? It's also called the Lake of Kinneret. The Jordan River flows into it, so many important Biblical events happened here. Jesus calmed the sea supernaturally, he walked on water, he called his disciple from this place. Beloved, we were on the sea in a boat. I began to minister the word of God. I had a musician on the boat that was softly playing while I ministered. There was an overwhelming peace of God's love that fell upon everybody on that boat.
It's interesting, the Bible tells us in the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, that when the minstrel began to play the word of prophecy was released. The spirit of the Lord so often moves through music. In fact, the ancient rabbis say that when God spoke the heavens and earth into existence he didn't just say "Let there be light," but he actually sung it. So this is what was happening as I was ministering on that boat on the Sea of Galilee. I had music behind me, I began to minister, and the spirit of God himself was released. Beloved, you are going to feel inspired today, I believe, by the Holy Spirit as I speak today from the Sea of Galilee on overcoming doubt. Stay with me today.
Father God I pray for each and every one under the sound of my voice right now that's watching this broadcast that you might strengthen them supernaturally by your Holy Spirit as I preach and teach your word, Father, glorify your word, and bless your people, I ask Abba, in Jesus name and for Jesus name. God bless you, beloved ones.
I'm in Israel on the Sea of Galilee. Behind me is where Jesus fed the 5,000, and I'm going to begin reading today from the Book of Matthew chapter 13, then into Matthew chapter 14, and we're going to look at the incident after Yeshua got done feeding the 5,000. How he sent the disciples out on the boat in the Sea of Galilee because he had just heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded. And when he had heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded, he was so grieved he just wanted to be alone. So he went to a lonely place to pray, and he sent his disciples out ahead of him onto the Sea of Galilee. So let me just read to put it in context a little bit. After Jesus had heard that John the Baptist was beheaded, he withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place to pray by himself.
And so Jesus again, he's just alone with the Lord, as he always did, he spent time alone with God. And it's a great example, obviously, beloved ones, for us, for you and I to break away from all the friendships we have in the natural realm to just be with God so that he can give to us what we need to walk with him and to be united with him as we're in the world. And he sent the disciples again ahead of him in the boat. They were on the Sea of Galilee as you see around me now, and I'm going to pick up now reading in Matthew chapter number 14, verse number 22. Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray, and when it was evening, He was there alone. But the boat was already a long distance from the land battered by the waves, for the wind was contrary. In the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.
So let's put it in context. Jesus is by himself praying, he sent the disciples ahead of him, they're on the Sea of Galilee, it's in the middle of the night, the scriptors tell us that it was in the fourth watch of the day. Now, the fourth watch, beloved, translates to between 3:00am and 6:00am in the morning. And while it was in this fourth watch, between 3:00am and 6:00am in the morning, the disciples on the boat, the sea is begin to pick up, in other words the Sea of Galilee is notorious that when things shift here and the winds begin to blow this sea becomes very unstable. And it was so unstable that water was coming in over the boat. It's also interesting here at what time this happened. Again, between 3:00am and 6:00am in the morning is when this incident happens. They begin to get terrified and in the midst of this, Jesus, beloved, comes to them walking on the water.
Now the thing that I think is so interesting about this is that I think about my own testimony back in 1978. Jesus appeared to me in the middle of the night. It was 3:30 in the morning. So what was it, it was the fourth watch of the day. And when I read of people that have had a supernatural visitation from Jesus, or talk with people that have had supernatural visitations from Jesus, it almost always happens in this fourth watch of the day between 3:00am and 6:00am in the morning. I just think that's really interesting. Let's continue on here. When in the fourth watch of the night, get this now, He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea they were terrified. It's interesting that they didn't recognize it was Him. And the point, beloved ones, is this that sometimes Jesus will come to us in circumstances and in supernatural means that we don't recognize that it's him and we get afraid. That's what happened here.
Listen again. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea they were terrified and said, "It is a ghost," and they cried out in fear. But immediately, Jesus spoke to them saying, "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid". Many of us, we put Jesus in a box and we can only accept his supernatural activity in our life when he comes to us in the box that we've placed him in. But God is so far outside of our box. He's so much bigger than our own paradigms. And if we're going to grow in grace, and grow in our experience with God, and grow in our experience of experiencing his supernatural activity in our life, we're going to have to be willing to recognize him, beloved ones, when he comes to us in ways that are outside of our boxes.
In other words, let me give you an example. I hear often times people say, "God would never do that, he would never act like that," because they say the Holy Spirit is always a gentleman. And they think anything that does not create immediate peace couldn't be God because many of us have heard this statement before, the Holy Spirit's always a gentleman. And so people, then, that come from that persuasion, they can only accept a movement of God, or an activity of God, when it doesn't create any disruption or doesn't create any disorder because they say, "God's always a gentleman, he'll only be a gentleman". But, beloved, that's just not who God always is. That's a paradigm that people have locked him in that sometimes prevent them from recognizing a supernatural move of God.
For example, remember Paul. Paul, when he was on his way to Damascus, what happened? He was blinded by a supernatural light, God knocked him off his horse, Paul was on his tucuis, we say in Yiddish or Hebrew, he was on his behind laying on the ground terrified, and he said, "Who are you? Who art thou"? And he said the voice said from the light, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, now get up and it will be told what you must do for me". And Paul was left blind until God healed him. Let me ask, when Paul got converted to Jesus, when he came to Jesus by faith he was still a Jew, but he became converted to knowing that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, did Jesus come to him as a gentleman? No! Jesus blinded him, knocked him off his horse. Paul was on his back, he said "Who are you"? So Jesus came to Paul and really shook him up not as a gentleman, but rocking Paul's world. And so we see the same thing here. Jesus came to them in a way that wasn't as a gentleman, it really shook them up, they didn't know who it was, they were terrified.
So be careful that you don't write something off in your life just because it doesn't seem peaceful at first, because God is so much bigger, beloved, than our paradigm, and we want to be willing to be stretched, and to do that requires that we're open, and trusting Him to work in our life how He wants to, because He is God. Like Daniel said, he quoted Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar says, "He does what He will with the host of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth, and no one can say to Him 'What are you doing?'" Let's continue on. Jesus said, "Take courage, it is I". When they thought it was a ghost, Jesus said "No it's me, take courage". Look at what's going on in your life right now. Is there something going on in your life right now that seems unique, it seems supernatural, but you're afraid? Maybe it's Jesus! Ask him, "Lord, if this is you, help me to perceive you in the situation".
We continue on in verse 28. Peter said to him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water". And He said, "Come"! So Jesus spoke the living word, the word made flesh, spoke to Peter and said, "Come"! And when Peter heard that there was such authority in it, such fullness in it, Peter knew he was hearing God's word. And so what did Peter do, listen. He seized God's word. When Jesus said "come," Peter seized that word, and listen what happened. And he said, "Come"! And then Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. You know, one of the most supernatural encounters, beloved ones, I ever had in my life, is when I heard the audible voice of the Lord speak to my soul in the middle of the night. And it was like fire, I literally felt the fire of the living spirit of God moving in my soul, coming from God the Father, rolling through my soul, and then going back to God the Father, and then rolling around through my soul, back to God, in my soul, back to God, like a holy circle of fire, and this is what I heard the Lord say, audibly and distinctly, clearer than I'm speaking to you with my own voice right now through my lips, I heard his voice and he said to me, beloved, this, he said, "Seize my word," the Lord said, "and don't let anything else in".
I want you to hear that again, and I'm telling you, this is the word of the Lord. The Lord said to me this, he said, "Seize my word, seize my word," he said, "and don't let anything else in". So notice what happened. When Peter seized the word that Jesus spoke, because when Jesus speaks a word to us, whether it's in the scriptures, or whether it's by the spirit, Jesus said, "He that has an ear to hear, let him hear what the spirit is saying to the churches". Jesus is still speaking today. That's why in Acts chapter two, we read that those whom the Holy Spirit has been poured out on would operate in the realm of prophecy, dreams, and visions. Read Acts chapter two, what happens, the experience of those that receive the spirit. So God is still speaking today. Peter heard his voice, Jesus said, "come".
Again, Jesus is still speaking to you, so be listening. And when Peter seized the living word that Jesus spoke to him, what happened? Peter was able to get out of the boat, listen to me now beloved ones, and supernaturally walk on the water. "Seize my word," the Lord said to me, "and don't let anything else in". When Peter seized the word, and didn't let anything else in, he walked on the water. And when you seize God's word in your life, beloved one, and step out and act on it, supernatural things will happen in your life and you'll operate at a supernatural level. But notice what happened next. When Peter did let something else in, when he looked at the waves and he got terrified with the wind, no longer seizing God's supernatural word, but instead being overcome by the circumstances, letting something else in, he sunk.
So listen what happened. Jesus said, "Take courage, it is I do not be afraid". Peter said to him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water". And he said, "Come"! And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came towards Jesus. But listen, now, Peter then let something else in. But seeing the wind, he became frightened. Beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me"! Immediately, Jesus stretched out his hands. I love that. The merciful Jesus. The Jesus that's so tender towards us, so tender towards our frailness and humanity. When Peter began to doubt, what did Jesus do? He reached out and pulled him back up and saved him. You know, the Psalm has said, "even though I fall, I will not fail completely, I'll not fall completely, even if I slip I will not fall because his right hand upholds me".
And the same is true for you and I, beloved ones, when we really love Jesus. We do our best to believe, we're growing, we're stepping out in faith, we're seizing his word, we're practicing not letting anything else in. But Father's so patient with us that when we're growing on the journey and we trip, and stumble, you know what? He saves us, he's there for us, beloved. Don't be afraid of failure. He'll lift you back up, just like he did Peter. Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and took hold of him and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt"? You see, beloved ones, the root of fear is doubt. Because what happened? At the beginning of the story we read that Peter got afraid. He looked at the waves and became terrified of the wind, and then Jesus said, "You of little faith," Jesus said in verse 31, "Why did you doubt"?
I'm speaking to you right now. If you're struggling with a fear in your life, the remedy to that fear, beloved one, is a faith in God's word. And when you take God's word and apply it to your fear, whatever your fear is, if it's the fear of growing old, you use God's word. God's word says, "Even when I am old and my hairs are gray, He will not forsake me". Jesus said, "I will never leave you or forsake you, I am with you even to the end". So if you're struggling with the fear of aging or growing old, how do you overcome that fear? You overcome the fear, beloved, in the same way that Peter was able to walk on water. You put your faith in God's word, just as Peter put his faith in Jesus' word when Jesus said "come". If you're struggling with a faith because of your finances, what do you do? You take your eyes off of your fear, and you begin to put your faith in God's word. God's word says what? He shall supply all our needs according to his riches in glory.
Whatever your fear is, find a portion in God's word that combats that fear and keep that portion of God's word out in front of you, quote it, memorize it, speak it, listen, you have to resist the devil. You see, the Lord has assigned us, hear me now church, to be overcomers. And so, seven times in the Book of Revelation Jesus said, "He that overcomes will inherit these things". At the end of Paul's life, Paul said, "I have fought the fight of faith". And so, the overcoming life, beloved, is overcoming, get this now, through the faith of God's word. We've been given faith, and we now need to apply that faith to God's word, and when we do that we overcome. And every single one of us, beloved, has been assigned to overcome.
And so God is going to strategically even place challenges in your life. Whether they're circumstantial, whether you're just dealing maybe with some mental challenges. Maybe you're just dealing with irrational fears. How many of the things that we're afraid of in life actually happen? So many of the things that we fear, they're all in the realm of the spirit and the mind. What do we do to break these fears, beloved? Through our faith in the word of God. We overcome, by the blood of the lamb, get this now, and the word of our testimony. And what's the word of our testimony? It's, beloved, testifying God's word. We're speaking God's word. So I challenge you today, live the life of an overcomer. Live the life of faith.