Make Room - Week 7: Between Here and There

Tim Ross | November 21, 2021

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Transcription

I'm so grateful that you're here. I just want to jump straight into the word, is that all right? If you have your Bibles, I want you to open them to the gospel according to Matthew. The gospel according to Matthew 14. How many people were here last weekend?

Katy Kazadi walks straight through the entire Bible talking about Jesus. If you did not hear the message, please go back and listen to it. It was absolutely amazing. Has anyone seen Jesus? It's a brilliant message. Thank you, Katy, so much for sharing your gift with this house. I love you so much.

Matthew 14. We've been in a series called Make Room. I don't even know how many weeks it's been thus far, but we're still in it, and I don't know when it's going to be over. I'm just going to keep going until the holy spirit tells me to stop. Has anybody been blessed thus far by the series? Is anybody getting some questions answered that you need answered by the Lord? That's good.

All right. Matthew 14, starting at the 22nd verse. This may be a passage that you recognize. Is one that I have heard my whole life growing up and I've preached many times over the years, but again, when you're dealing with God's word, it continues to unfold. There's manifold wisdom within these pages. The more you open the Bible, the more it will indeed open you. The more you read it, the more it will read you. Anybody read Psalm 23 at one stage of your life and was like, "Oh my God, thank you, Lord."

Then seven years later read the same thing and was like, "Oh my God, thank you, Lord." Like you had never read it before. You're like the Lord is- Is my shepherd, not was, is? Present tense? Changes the whole thing from you, right? That's the way we always want to approach God's word. We never want to make it become basic. I already know what that says. I already know where he's going. You close yourself off to revelation and impartation when you try to finish the holy spirit sentence. I felt that thing. I don't know who that was for.

I'm going to say politely to you, just stop cutting the holy spirit off. When He starts talking, don't be like, "Yes, I already know." Get quiet. Let him complete his sentence. The other thing is when the holy spirit speaks something to you, you can hear what He says clearly, but that doesn't mean you know what He means. You ever heard somebody tell you something and you heard what they said but did not pick up on what they meant? Some married couples should be saying amen right here.

"You told me to do the dishes. I heard you say, 'Do the dishes.' I told you I would do the dishes after the game."

"You came at halftime mad that the dishes weren't already done. I heard you say, 'Do them,' but you didn't say when. You heard me say yes, but I did not mean now."

If you could get miscommunication in your relationship with another human being, let's not think we know spirit like that. He'd been around much longer than all of us. Matthew 14, starting at the 22nd verse. "Immediately after this--" I'll explain "after this" later. "Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that His disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while He sent the people home. After sending them home, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. Night fell while He was there alone."

"Meanwhile," at the same time that he was there praying alone, "the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. About three o'clock in the morning Jesus came toward them walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, 'It's a ghost.'" Three o'clock in the morning? Yes, I'd be scared. Anybody beside me? If I get up at three o'clock in the morning and I see a broom with a coat on it and my eyes ain't focused-- [screams]

This is justified. Even though these are grown men at work, let's not call them weak. Let's have a little empathy. It's three o'clock in the morning. We thought we were going to get to the other side with no danger, and this wind came out of nowhere while we were far away from land, that's scary. But Jesus spoke to them at once. As soon as they were like, "It's a ghost," Jesus spoke to them at once, "Don't be afraid." He said, "Take courage. I am here." Then Peter called to him, "Lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you walking on the water." Was voice ID not enough? "Yes, come," Jesus said. Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.

When he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. "Save me, Lord," he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. "You have so little faith," Jesus said, "why did you doubt me?" Then the disciples worshiped him. Oh, when they climb back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. "You really are the Son of God," they exclaimed.

I want you to go back to this verse where he says, "Take courage. I am here." I want you to see this because I want you to have this in your mind and in your hearts because this is what I want to focus on. "But Jesus spoke to them at once, 'Don't be afraid. I am here.'" If you're taking notes on this, the subject is between here and there. I want to talk to you about what it feels like to be in between here and there. Anybody besides me ever felt like you were in between where you are and where He is, that feeling of doubt and uncertainty when you are here and He's saying He's here? I just want to talk about that.

Bow your heads. Let's pray. Holy Spirit, help us to get here. Amen. Matthew 14 is dense with perspective on the emotions Jesus had to navigate in His earthly body. While most of Jesus's three and a half years of earthly ministry seem adventurous and revolutionary, there's a lot of emotion packed into it as well. Matthew 14 does not start with the miraculous. It does not start with turning water into wine. It does not start with Jesus opening up deaf ears or opening up blind eyes. It literally starts with the news of His cousin's death. Let us not forget that this was God fully man, man fully God.

The same man that would baptize Him, according to the narrative in both Matthew 4 and Luke 4, the same man that would baptize Him to start His earthly ministry, he now gets news in Matthew 14 starting from the first verse. The narrative is how John's life, John the Baptist's life, comes to an end. This is the report that Jesus, his cousin, gets. Understand the link between the two. Remember that John is six months older than Jesus. That their first meeting was before they were even born. They were brought together by their mothers while they were still in the womb.

John's first introduction to Jesus is through another realm, through a completely different dimension. There's such a connection between the two that John leaps in his mama's womb when he's in the same room as his cousin because his cousin also happens to be his savior.

Before we get to the narrative of Him being baptized by His cousin, let's think about how many people got cousins in the room that you grew up with and played with and hung out with. This is how you connect these family bonds outside of siblings to your first friends or your siblings and your cousins and they've grown up together and now ministry has to start, and we didn't know it was going to be this messy. We didn't know when we were playing around as kids that when we grew up, that what God had assigned us to was going to be so messy, so dangerous that we have no idea how we're going to navigate these waters.

John baptizes Jesus after declaring, "There He is, the Lamb of God that's going to take away the sins of the world. I'm not worthy to unlatch His sandals." That same man later being in prison would tell His disciples to go ask his cousin, "Are you really the one?" Because it's easy to declare when things are going good, but when things get a little risky and now you're facing some obstacles and some trouble, things start to change, and so he just said, "I just want to make sure, is it you? Because I didn't see it playing out like this."

How did it play out? It didn't just play out that he was in prison, it plays out with determination of his life. John is beheaded. He is beheaded in King Herod's palace, and the disciples are only allowed to retrieve his body, not his head. John's head is never buried with his body. Because John had no idea that when he said, "I must decrease for him to increase," it was going to cost his headship.

John had no idea that in order for the chief apostle to really take his place as the head over the body, his head could not be found. John's influence as a prophet was so strong that you can still find it in Acts 19. A man named Apollos is declaring the gospel of Jesus, but he had not been filled with the Holy Spirit. When they asked him, "Have you received since you believed?" They asked a group of people that were disciples, "Have you received since you believed?" They said, "We didn't even know there was a Holy Spirit?" He said, "Whose baptism were you baptized in?" He said, "John's." Oh.

"There was another guy that came." "There's been an update, why do you still have an iPhone 5. There has been-

-several updates since that time, sir." Literally, his head has to come off because there's only one head of the church. Before God will allow there to be diversion with a two-headed monster. He took the head of the prophet so that the head of the apostle could be established. He mourns his cousin's death, and he flees to the other side of the lake. When he flees to the other side of the lake under duress, understanding what that means for his own life, that the clock is ticking in his own ministry, people show up. People show up to be with Jesus while he's trying to grieve the loss of his cousin.

Jesus, being who he is, comes out of amongst the people, starts to heal all the people. People are being restored, they're being set free, they're being delivered, and they're now hungry. This is clearly a Pentecostal service.

A lot of deliveries going on, a lot of people being set free, chains being loose, but now we are starving because it is five hours later and I thought the Holy Spirit would move faster than this. I didn't know you were going to lay hands on everybody individually. I don't know who started corporate prayers, but amen to them because, man, that prayer line got long. The disciples were persistent, they said, "Let's send them away. They got to be hungry. I know we're hungry. Let's send them away so they can go get something to eat." Jesus scripture says, being moved with compassion, said, "We don't need to do all of that. You feed them." They were like, "We don't have. There's no Costco. We can't buy enough bulk bread for all of this."

With two fish and five loaves of bread, I know you all are familiar with this, He blesses it, breaks it, and gives it away and everybody eats. Seated in groups of 50, everybody eats. They don't get a sample. They get full because it's impossible to be in God's presence and not leave full. Fully satisfied. Fully capable of moving on to the next thing that He wants you to do. He's so great that he feeds everybody. After He feeds them, He dismisses service and excuses every single one of them Himself. "Thank you for coming. God bless you. Bye, bye. Please go to the other side of the lake back to your homes. Just, I'm so grateful you came."

He tells his disciples, "I want you all to get in the boat and go to the other side of the lake." After He dismissed the service and hugs everybody and handshakes everybody, He goes up into the hills to retreat to be alone. Finally, maybe I can pray to my dad and grieve the loss of my cousin in peace. Night falls, He's still praying. Still in God's presence. Let this be a lesson to you all that everything doesn't come like that. That sometimes you just need to be in God's presence and sit and cry until you feel a release. Maybe it's not wise all the time to just schedule 15 minutes of prayer because it could be in the 32nd minute that your breakthrough comes.

He was just strategic enough to go, you know what? I'm making space now. I know we just ministered and I know it was all good, I need some time alone. Retreats up into the hills. He's praying. He's alone. He stays here so long. It is now what Scripture calls the fourth watch of the night, between 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM, is the fourth watch of the night. I know this very, very well. Not because of my microscopic views on Jewish culture but because my mother prays between 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM, and she's called it the fourth watch since I was a child.

"I am in the fourth watch and I am going to pray. If anybody calls, I'm not available. You only come get me for one reason. Do you know what that is?" "Yes, mama." "What is it?" "If the house is burning." "That's right. If anybody calls and someone died, what are you going to say?" "She's not available?" "Why?" "Because they'll still be dead after your prayer, mama."

Big facts. My mother has two surgically repaired knees as a direct result of praying on them. She wore the cartilage out of her knees in His presence. When you see her hopping around the front, that's a miracle all by itself because that cane cannot be found while she's in His presence. It can be found every time else. Okay?

The fourth watch, He is up there and His disciples are on a journey across the lake. This is a journey that they've taken time and time again. They're familiar with these waters. This is no surprise to them that it would be windy. It's no surprise to them that the waves will kick up because of the wind. It's just a surprise that of when it hits. It's like Texas weather. You don't know. I got this on right now because I thought based on what I read in the weather reports, this was necessary. Then I got here fully committed and this is not the weather for this sherpa denim coat, but I'm fully committed and I have no backup. Thank God for 48-hour deodorant.

I just thank God for it. It just works. They are on a boat. The wind kicks up. The wind is the issue, not the waves. The wind starts kicking up, and because the wind kicks up, it makes the waves kick up, and the waves kicking up make the boat rock. I'm going to say it again. The wind kicking up makes the waves kick up, and the waves kicking up rock the boat. The waves are not the issue, the wind is. This is very, very important, ladies and gentlemen, because when certain troubles break out in your life, you need to have enough discernment to know what to rebuke.

I'm going to take my time this morning. Sometimes we are getting mad at the wrong thing. Our frustration is pointed in the wrong direction. The direct result is the waves knocking the boat, but the real instigator is not the waves, for if the wind was minding his business, the waves would be minding their business. This is why anytime my kids were acting crazy, I ask more questions because I want to know what's disturbing them. Sometimes it's just not what you think it is, and so upon further investigation, you find out, oh, it was the sugar.

That's what did you in. Oh, it was this rap song. That's what made you talk reckless for a second before you realized whose house you were in and the fact that that rapper can't save you from God nor I.

They're on the boat. The winds and the waves make the boat rock with such turbulence that they are deathly afraid. Experienced man on a lake in a boat, that they know very well, they know exactly what it can do, what it cannot do, what it's capable of, and what it is not capable of. They're there and it's going great until it's not. Anybody besides me been in a season where it was going great until it wasn't, and it seemed like it happened in the same trip? Anybody prayed for the job and then got mad at the job after 92 days?

Anybody prayed for the car and then got mad at the car after a year? Anybody prayed for that relationship, now you're mad at the relationship you're in? Why? Because it was good until it wasn't. They're on that boat and these winds and waves are rocking. This is like the most gangster scene, one of them, in Scripture for me because in the theater of my imagination, Jesus I don't know when he came. I don't know what hill he was on to finally like, "John, I'm going to miss you, boy. I'm going to see you soon, though. Good"

"Father, thank you for giving me the strength." He just comes down the hill. I just got to see it like I see it. Your boy walks down a hill straight to the shoreline, and where the shoreline ends and the water starts, this is what happens.

You see it now, don't you? You're like, "Oh my God." Where the shoreline stopped and the water started, this is what happened. He didn't get to the shoreline like-

-because the same guy that created the shoreline created the water. The shoreline and the water knew who was walking on it. Oh my God. The word can't sink in what it spoke to. Got on that water and just went to walk in, casually. He wasn't like, "Oh my boys."

They are in the middle of Fright Night and he just casually strolls up to them. He gets close enough for them to see Him and they're like, "Is that? Is that Jesus?" Their brains can't compute because it's not happened before. "That cannot be Je-- it's a ghost." Jesus says, "Don't be afraid. I am here. Don't be afraid, take courage. I am here."

Now, I don't know where He stopped. They could see Him, they could recognize Him. He was even close enough that while it was still windy and it was still wavy, He could speak to them. He didn't walk all the way up on them and get in the boat. This man comes to a certain point in the water, close enough for them to see Him and for Him to have a conversation with them, and just stops. Chills out on the water. "Hey, take courage. I'm here." Peter is in the boat and you would think that it would be enough for Jesus to be near but Peter wasn't having that. I don't know why Peter wasn't having that, but he was not comfortable with Jesus being near him while he was going through something.

He was not comfortable with Jesus being in close proximity while he was going through something. He wanted to be exactly where Jesus was in the middle of the storm. I don't want you close to me in the middle of the storm, I don't want you by me in the middle of the storm, I want you with me in the middle of the storm. I don't know what you are going through, I don't know what situation you might be in, but it's not enough to know that He's nearby. I want Him here.

When my kids are in our house and a storm breaks out and all the hail starts dropping like it does in Texas, they don't find comfort knowing they're in the same house as me; they run to the room I'm in and get up under me. Now they could just be like, "Hey, dad's in the house somewhere, it's all good." They're like, "No, no, no, where's dad?" I don't know why they think my guns can do something against hail.

They're always like, "Daddy has guns. It's hailing outside; we'll be fine." I'm like, "I don't shoot hail. It's not the way my license is set up." Peter is in the boat and everybody else is having a conversation with Jesus. Peter does not accept this conversation as comfort. He said, "If that's you, tell me to come to you like you are right now. I'm not diving in after you. If that's really you, tell me to come to you like you are right there right now. Tell me to come to you walking on the water." With two words, He gives Peter permission to get out of his comfort zone.

"Yes, come." "Oh. Oh, I didn't know. I thought maybe you would-- Are you going to come get me, or? Maybe I should have been clear with my instructions. Sir, can you come get me by the hand and take me out to where you are?" Jesus does not move from wherever He is. He says, "Yes, come." Peter's like, "Fellas, y'all? No? Well, shoot I'm not staying here." Peter. Now Peter-

Peter knows what water is. He's a fisherman. He has spent his whole life on the water. He knows the water, but he knows the water based on the thing that has kept him safe in the water. He knows the water based on the boat he's been in. He does not know the water based on the God that made it. The invitation for Peter and for us is, do you want to stay in your place of comfort, or are you willing to risk it all to come out here and see what it's like to live off my word alone? Not the vehicle that you trust in, not the job that you got, not the 401(k) that you got sucked up, not the degree that you worked so hard for, not the trust fund that you have built up. Are you willing to risk it all to be out here with me?

Peter was like, "I'm going." Now, this is water.

I don't know if I told you all this. It's not that Peter has never been in water, he's never been on water. He's been in water, he's never been on water. What do you do when God gives you an invitation to step out onto something that you're used to being in, not being on. See, you're used to being in trouble, you're not used to standing on trouble. You're used to being in a situation. You don't know what it's like to be on a situation. On Christ the solid rock I stand, not in, on. Are you willing to take that risk? Do you know how unstable water is? Do you know without it being solidified into ice, this stuff is turbulent? Have you ever dove into a pool from three feet?

It feels completely different than 15 feet, and it's the same water. Depending on when you are entering and from where, it can sting. Peter was used to swimming in this, he is not used to walking on this. How do you take your first step onto something that has, for your whole life, been unstable? How do you take your first step onto something that has always let you down? How do you take your first step into something that has always covered you up? How do you take your first step into something that has always got you wet? You're going to stand on this?

Peter don't even know if this is going to work, except he had two words. He had a yes and he had come. The yes was permission. The come was the invitation. I got to take my time with this. There is a difference between getting permission and an invitation. The yes, come, permission, and an invitation, which meant the water now had to do for Peter what it was doing for Jesus. I don't know who I'm talking to right now. When you get your permission and your invitation, the stuff that usually you would sink in and drown in, now has to treat you the same way it treats Jesus.

Just the first step for getting over to Jesus. How though. That don't even seem like just devise physics. Just based on what I know about hydrogen and oxygen, this should not be. Anybody been in a season with your life where you thought she was going to die, and this shouldn't be, but you still standing on something that everybody in your whole family drowned in, the generational curse that took your mama and your daddy out, you're standing on top of the thing while they're drowning in the thing? You see your cousins, they still getting drunk every weekend, but you're over here sober-minded.

That second foot on the water, we out here. Everything's changed. While I was still straddling, I could have made the decision that I don't like this feeling. I could have made the decision to start to rationalize, "This ain't really what the Lord wanted. When I get out here, He probably going to kill me for even trying." No, no, no. With that second step, second foot out the boat, here's what He was saying, "I'd rather be out here in the storm, and the wind, and the rain with Jesus than to be in my boat without Jesus." Get that?

See, Peter was between here and there. The Holy Spirit told me I had a different message to preach today. The Holy Spirit said, "You can't go any further until you preach this message because you've been talking about making room, but you need to tell the people what it feels like when God makes room in between you and Him." You've been making room for God, but I'm telling you, God is making room for you. The way God makes room is He steps back. He starts putting distance in between the relationship to see how far you will trust and come to Him.

I know there's five people in here who's like, "Jesus would never do that. That's me. That's not my Jesus. The grace of the Lord, He will always come and scoop you up and coddle you, just make you feel good about everything going on in your life. No matter what's going on, he's never going to leave you like that. Stop preaching, Tim. I'll leave."

I'm telling you, because He is a disciple maker, He will take you where you are, but his intent is not to leave you like you are, and so He steps back. Where you thought your blessing was, and what you thought your provision was, and where you thought your safety was, and where you thought your breakthrough was, He backs up. He says, "I am now here.  You thought you were here. While I was with you, that was here, but when I moved back, I am now here, you are now there. I just want to know if you recognize that there's some distance between us, and if you have enough faith to move forward even in the unfamiliar."

See, my boys are 13 and 11 now, but I remember when they were between 9 months and 12 months, and they're getting ready to take their first steps, I would stand them up and they would get their balance. I would do just like this, "Come on." They would go— My response was, "I can't believe you just stumbled. Trying to teach you how to walk. Just lay down there."

Holler at me in four months when you get your legs right. Nobody got time to be around you falling all the time. See, we're so used to being critiqued over failure, that you don't realize that he's using failure to teach you how to grow.

Peter got out on that water, and as long as he was focused on Jesus-- Now, remember, the wind is still going and the waves are still going, but he's no longer being disturbed by them. When he was in the boat, [thumping sounds] [screams]. He got out of the boat. The same wind and the same waves were still disturbing the boat, but they were no longer disturbing him. Perhaps the only reason why you're being disturbed in this season, because you are still sitting in something He's called you to stand on.

You are so used to rationalizing your way through a season. It's you, God, and your intellect, and your spreadsheet, and your budget. Well, we just don't have enough to-- Just practically speaking, the Lord, He does stuff, but we have to use common sense, too. Point me to a scripture in the Bible talking about faith that's common and made sense.

Perhaps your biggest breakthrough-- I don't know. I just feel something for the intellectuals in the room. I love your mind. God loves your mind. He created your mind, but not for it to become your idol. You're not going to think your way through this next season. You won't outsmart your way through this next season. You are going to have to step out of what has been comfortable because it ain't comfortable no more anyway. It's rocky.

You might as well just try it. Instead of getting in here seasick all the time, because you're, "[whines] oh, my God." Peter is now standing on what he was sitting in and the wind is going and the wave is going, he's no longer bothered and his eyes were fixed on Jesus. He starts walking towards Jesus and he's like, "Oh my God." He's looking back at the boat like, "Gosh, it just--" This is such a human response. I empathize with Peter. This is so human because he's walking and he's got his eyes on Jesus. I would've done the same thing. "What am I doing? Where am I?

I heard you and I obeyed but now halfway to you, this is crazy. What am I doing?" Scripture says he immediately begin to sink. Preachers that have no empathy with the benefit of hindsight punished Peter. He should have kept his eyes on Jesus because [sings] if you keep your eyes on Jesus, there'll never be a demon in hell that can stop you. If you keep your eyes on Jesus. [wheezes]

That asthma kicks in at the close of this sermon. I'll never take my eyes off Jesus.

Too soon? No? I'm an empath. I can't get mad at Peter for this. This is such a human reaction. I'm doing something I've never done, and it's working? What is happening right now? As soon as he takes his eyes off Jesus, he begins to sink. Get this. Everybody say 'begins'.

Started.

He began to sink. As soon as he began to sink, he immediately had the wherewithal to go, "Save me, Lord." It didn't say he was neck-deep. It didn't say he was flailing. It didn't say Peter began to drown. Peter began to have a human experience. The moment Peter began to have a human experience, he had the wherewithal, the self-awareness enough to say, "Oh, I'm drowning in this. [stutters] Ah, my eyes are off of you because this is [yells]." Lord have mercy. The water was only submitted to Peter as long as his faith was in Jesus. The moment he got his eyes off Jesus, the water was like, "Well, I ain't got to hold you up no more since-- Oh, you want to do it in your own strength? Well, you can join us."

The only thing that is holding you up is the Word that He gave you. The moment you stop trusting in that Word, we stop holding you up because we're not submitted to your self-will, your willpower, your grind. I'm about that action, boss. I'm out here getting mine. Water is like, "You can drown."

The only reason why you're out here the way you're out here is because He gave you permission to do what He's doing. He began to sink and Jesus walked over there and He put out His hand. This is the tone I want you to get used to with Jesus. In this moment, Jesus' tone is not. "Why do you have such little faith? Gosh, how long do I have to be with you? I mean dang, all the stuff I've done, Petey. Let's rewind the tape, bruh. I turned water into wine, that's me, son. I opened up deaf ears, I popped open blind eyes, I raised up dead people, and you scared of this water over here with this little faith."

That's not His tone. His tone is, "Buddy, you was out here. We was doing this together. Why do you have so little faith, bro? You was already out here. Why did you start doubting, dude? You know that in years to come, Peter, people are going to make this quote, 'Only Jesus walked on water.' You blew up the quote, Petey.

Your faith, even though it was that little, they can never say only I walked on water because you're out here with me. You did this, bro. Come on, get up, get up, get up." That's the tone. He was like, "I appreciate you even coming out here. Now, let's go back to where you're comfortable. This was a test. I was never asking you to leave that vehicle forever. I just want you to know what it feels like if you never have a boat again."

They walked back to that boat and as soon as Peter and Jesus got in the boat, the wind stopped. Immediately, Scripture says the wind stopped and when the wind stopped, guess what happened? The waves stopped. When the waves stopped, guess what happened? The boat stop rocking. When the boat stopped rocking, guess what happened? They got a revelation. "I think, I mean I could be wrong, but I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to just call it now. I think you're the Son of God."

All the disciples, even though all of them didn't do it. It only took one, the rest watched while Peter went out there and they all came to the same conclusion. This has to be the Son of God. I've seen what you did for others but now that you're doing it with me, this got to be you. Then this happens two chapters later. I didn't read it, but two chapters later, Matthew 16, Jesus gives all his disciples a pop quiz.

"Who do men say that I am?" "Some say John the Baptist, your cousin that got killed, rest in peace. Some say you're one of the prophets like Elijah, one of the other ones," and he goes, "Yes, but who do you say that I am? Peter." This type of revelation is reserved for water walkers. Peter was the first one to raise his hand. "Oh, I got this one. You are Christ the Son of the living God." He goes, "Flesh and blood did not reveal that to you, Peter, but my Father in heaven." Keys go to water walkers.

He said, "I'm going to give you the keys to the kingdom and upon this rock, upon that little bit of revelation that you got, I can build my whole church off that. You don't have to have a revelation on everything, but that little piece of revelation that you get and your relationship with me, I can build my whole enterprise off the revelation that you get." See, the revelation between here and there is that there is no distance great enough or small enough that will keep me away from risking it all to be in His presence.

I do not want to be stuck here for the rest of my life when He is saying I am here. Whether that is 1,000 miles away or 10 feet away, I want to have the faith. I don't know what this is. I don't know how I'm doing this. I don't know if I'm going to die or not, but I'd rather be out here with you than be over there without you. God is making room for your relationship to grow, and your pursuit has to change. The way you go after Him has to change.

This just happened for me, y'all. I don't preach stuff that's in theory. It's only what I've experienced. The last 90 days, He just-- and I'm like, "I just don't. I just feel like this is-- [walking sounds]" I told my wife. I said, "I feel like I got to start getting up at 5:00 AM Monday through Friday so I can have time with the Lord." Now, I'm not a morning person. There's nothing about me and early mornings. They go together, it's not that I don't like them. I like late nights. That's my vibe, but if I try to meet with Jesus late night, I come with the whole day. When I got up at 5:00 AM, He came with His day, so I get up in the morning 5:00 AM. The boat is my bed.

I'm trying to make it practical for y'all. We're landlocked. There ain't no boats around here unless you want to get one in these dirty lakes.

"We have a little boat off Lake Lewisville." "At brown water? Go ahead."

"Got a little something off Lake Ray Hubbard."

"We have a little villain Galveston." I got to stop. I'm going to stop. I'd be tripping sometime, y'all know. I'd be tripping sometime.

What is wrong with me? The boat is my bed and I had to get out of it. I got out of it at 5:00 AM which is still the fourth watch of the morning. "Take courage, Tim. I am here." I'm like, "I'm so happy to be here." It's 5:07, "I'm so happy to be here."

"What do you want to do? What do you want to talk to me about?" He's, "I just want to talk to you about how much I love you. I'm really proud of you." "You can't be proud of me, because I got this going on and that and I'm still trying to get over that and you know I've been thinking this and then--"

That's how we do. We show up reminding Him of why we're so bad. "Oh, I'm such a wretch under."

"How could you possibly use me?"

"I'm just a broken vessel in need of a savior." He's like, "Stop."

"I made you fearfully and wonderfully. I made you my masterpiece, and you're good. I had you on my mind before I said let there be light. You are good. I didn't redeem you and die on a cross so you had a relationship with my dad for you to call yourself a wretch for the rest of your life." I'm trying to get you back to Genesis 2, last two words of the second chapter. "No shame." We live in a Genesis 3 culture. "You're broken. You're so broken. Remember you're broken. You're a sinner saved by grace so you're broken." Before there was a Genesis 3, there was a Genesis 2. He said we were good.

It doesn't negate Genesis 3. I'm not trying to preach something crazy. I'm just saying I want to be more reminded of what it's like to be where He is, because wherever He is is where I want to be. In between here and there is too far for me to feel comfortable in my relationship with Jesus. Where are you right now? What boat are you in that's rocky right now, that he's given you both permission and an invitation to move away from?

I promise you, I know it feels so scary to be out walking on something that you should be drowning in but I can tell you, I can testify, in the last 25 years that I've been in this relationship with Jesus, He keeps calling me out. He won't let me be comfortable. As soon as I think I can relax, He's like, "Now, come out of that."

I'm like, "This is nice. How come we just can't live here?" "Because I don't want you to turn a moment into a monument. Come. Yes, come. I know only a few ever ask but I'm telling you if you want to come, yes, come. You can join me where I am, things will be different." In the same way this chair is the meager example that I felt like I could use to show you what it's like to step out of something onto something, I want to give you the invitation to do the same thing.

If there is something that you know about your relationship with God where you can feel that distance, you're in between here and there and you're like, "I got to be closer. I can hear his voice, I see him, I got to be right next to Him. Here is not here anymore, here is now there and he's saying this is here now, I want to be there," if that's you, I just want to give you an invitation to come from wherever you are.

No clapping, no clapping, no clapping, just because you're sober, it's scary. It's like, I don't even know what it's going to look like on the other side of this, but I'm just going to come. I don't know what it's like to walk on, I've just been used to being in stuff. I'm constantly in some drama, or I'm in a fight, or I'm in some confusion. It's like the Lord is like, "No, no, no. Just come. Yes, you. Come, you can just come. From wherever you are, just come." You're making a conscious decision to come out of your comfort zone, to stand on which you usually used to sit in. I promise you, no matter how scary it feels, it's so much better out here with Him. [laughs]

I remember when I left California. I'm West Coast, that's where I'm from, born and raised. I was in Cali, my whole life was West side for life, I was going to be in Cali for the rest of my life. I just knew it. In June of 1997, a year and a half after I gave my life to Jesus is the first time I heard the audible voice of the Lord. He said, "Buy a one-way ticket to Dallas." I said, "What?" I started crying because I was like, "Sir, have you forgotten?"

"I see walk for no reason in my house, to this day. What are you asking me to do?" He said, "I just want you to come. Everything around you is so familiar. I need you out of the whole state, trust me." [chuckles] "Come out the whole state. The whole culture has you acting a certain way and I need to bring you somewhere else and slow you down, and I may have you walking on stuff that you used to drown in." You don't need any signs of familiarity with your old life. I hear Him saying it so I'm going to say it. I would put a bunch of disclaimers around it, but I'm learning not to do that anymore because I think you all know the intention of my heart.

You were raised in a certain type of church. You already aged out. You already graduated from it, but it's so familiar, you refuse to move on. Hear me. That could be this church. I'm not saying at the expense of some other. I'm saying some of you all have possibly aged out of Embassy City. Not possibly. Thank you, Holy Spirit. You have. He's telling you, "I got more for you. This is not your forever place. I need you to step up." "I like it here. It's just, the boat is so nice. It's a nice boat. It's not even rocking, Lord."

It will if you stay there. Because once that grace lifts, if you try to stay in that same place, ooh, that boat is no fun. He's like, "I need you to step out." "I don't even know where I'm going to I go." God don't talk to you until you make your first step. You keep trying to get God to finish the details for you because you like to be in control. Well, just tell me exactly where though. He's like, "Leave first and then I'll talk to you about that later." It's like, "Yes, let me just get me four or five of my prayer partners, see what they think. Ask 17 of my mentors." Why you got that many?

I don't want to be here rest of my life. All these people, you all are water walkers. You all are graced and anointed to walk on water. It's just water. You're not going to drown. You will not be defeated. Thank you, Holy Spirit. You will not be embarrassed. God is not playing with your emotions. He didn't get you all the way out here to be like, "Psych, thought you had one." God is growing you up and it's in between here and there that you learn to trust Him in a new way.

I'm just so proud of you all for coming up. As you let Him talk to you in the next days, weeks, and months to come, I promise you, what He has to tell you, it's going to sound crazy, but if you get permission and you get the invitation, just go. I came out here with $400 to my name on a one-way Greyhound bus ticket and three ugly suitcases. The last 24 years has been ridiculous. I could have never imagined this is what God had planned for my life. You could have never paid me to believe that you all were in me, that this church was in me, that this is what he wanted to birth. You couldn't have paid me to believe it. If I'd have stayed in that boat, I'd be in Cali right now.

On the other side of there, He says, "I am here." When you get that "I am" to say "here," provision is there, blessing is there, protection is there, safety is there, His anointing is there. Would you just lift your hands? Not like cops down surrender. I don't think I should use that joke in '21. Too sensitive. I want them right here. You're out here to receive something. You're not out of here to, "I give up. I'm coming out."

I'm going to close my eyes and whatever you want to put in my hands, I'll say yes to it. It might surprise you. What He wants to put in your hand might surprise you. It might shock you, but if you let Him put it in your hands, He will give you the grace to hold it. Father God, I thank you for my brothers and sisters, your sons and daughters. I thank you for the grace that has been multiplied in this service. Thank you for speaking to our hearts right where we are. God, so many of us are in between here and there. [chuckles] We just want to close the gap. We just want to shrink the distance, because we don't want to be in a relationship where you're around. We want to be in a relationship where we can walk alongside you.

God, I come against the spirit of fear right now in Jesus' name. I thank you that perfect love cast out fear and that you have not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind. I speak power to all my brothers and sisters today, your sons and daughters. I thank you that you have given them a sound mind. They will sleep good tonight. They're going to sleep good tonight. Out of the boat, they're going to sleep good tonight. We come against depression, and fear, and worry. Lord God, our lives are in your hands, not ours.