Summary: At what point did Peter start to sink into the water? The moment he took his eyes off of Jesus and started to think about what was going on around him and the way he was feeling about the situation that he was in! Right?

Seeing is believing, "But Only Faith Moves The Hand Of God!"

Eph. 5:18-20 MSG.

16-18. Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

How many have ever heard the saying, “getting old is not for sissy’s?

Even though the older we get, sometimes the more our bodies may want to feel that way, its really contrary to what the bible says.

And even though, sometimes you may not always feel like doing what the bible says to do,

The reality of not doing what it says, has a huge impact, that can be noticed on a daily basis.

TBS. What comes out of your mouth, is what comes into your life,

The devil doesn’t know what today holds for you, until he hears you proclaim what today holds for you!

everyday everyone of us make a choice,

Will I claim what Gods word says for me today, or will I accept what I feel or see.

TBS.(the bible says) everyday we wake up with a choice,

Choose ye this day whom you will serve, will it be God or man, the choice is yours?

Positive thoughts, bring about positive results! Negative thoughts, bring about negative results.

How many like positive results? I know I do, don't you?

TBS. Be cheerful no matter what happens.

You see, you can either focus on the problems in life, or you can focus on the blessings.

The question is: do you want more problems, or do you want more blessings?

Everyone wants more Blessings in life, for their prayers to be answered, for their needs to be met.

And still some would say, if I had more blessings and all my prayers answered, I would definitely be more happy, that would give me something to smile about.

Would that do it for you?

Everyone of us already have access to the abundant life God has promised you, the question is, are we participating in it?

The devil, TBS. goes about seeking one thing, whom he may devour.

he is the one we should be waging our war on terror against, he is the one it all stems from. Amen?

Matthew 14:25-32 NKJ

25. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.

27. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

28. And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

29. So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

30. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

31. And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32. And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

At what point did Peter start to sink into the water?

The moment he took his eyes off of Jesus and started to think about what was going on around him

and the way he was feeling about the situation that he was in! Right?

It’s the same with us, still today!

Which is all the more reason to not be distracted by what’s going on around us, or by what we feel, or what the accuser is up to.

Because the moment we do that, we give the enemy, the little place he needs to force his foot in the door and set up camp

and you know what happens when someone sets up camp, they never want to leave, that's what happens!

What we should be focused on, is what we know to be factual, to be true, which is Gods Holy Word on the subject! Amen?

Psalms 103:1-5 NKJ

Bless the Lord, O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

2. Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

3. Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

4. Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

5. Who satisfies your mouth with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Gods benefits to us who believe are amazing! There so far beyond Amazing!

He Forgives, Redeems, Crowns, Satisfies and Renews us.

And all those benefits are ongoing, not in limited supply, but in a continual supply! Praise God!

The word says He loads us daily, with His benefits and to not forget about them!

TBS. to pray, or to praise Him all the time; to thank God no matter what happens. Now you be thinking, sometimes that's not easy, let me tell you from experience, life is a lot easier when you do!

No one, knew this better than David, the man after Gods own heart.

Were there many issues in David’s life?, only everything ranging from small ones, to ones of giant proportion!

David faced everything under the sun, he was a shepherd, a hero, he was hunted by Saul, he was a Warrior, a King, a Friend, an adulteress, a musician and a poet.

But the thing he was most remembered for, was being a praiser, a lover of God! A man after Gods own heart!

He knew no matter what happened in his life, even the biggest set of circumstances, was no match for Gods amazing Love and abilities!

How else could he have went through so much and still have written such beautiful Love Songs to the Lord!

Psalms 23 NKJ

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

2. He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

3. He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

Forever.

He knew that things were going to happen in his life, but as long as he chose to focus on the things of God, (to not forget about His benefits) “Everything” would be alright!

I love how the MSG. says the last part of Ps. 23, “Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.”

That’s how we should all want to be, with “Gods beauty and love chasing after us every day of our lives!”

Can you imagine? Gods beauty and love just a "Nipping" at your heels.

This is not some far fetched notion, this is Gods word and Gods plan for your life were talking about here!

TBS. everything you set your hand to, will prosper! This is how it happens, with Gods beauty and love nipping at your heals, with His blessing hunting you out, looking for every opportunity to make good things happen in your life! Praise God!!

This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live, He doesn’t want you to be in want!

If your living and constantly worried about what’s happening, or not happening in your life,

Because you think its something that you can control yourself, your mistaken!

that’s like Peter was when he took his eyes off of Jesus and sank into the depths of the water!

You will never walk on the water, you never will experience all that God has for you!

As long as you make about what you are capable of on your own!

His grace and His love for you is the only thing, that makes anything possible!

Its when your able to praise and thank Him and keep your eyes on Him in the midst of the storm,

and thank God and trust Him no matter what happens, that’s when the impossible becomes possible,

He wants you to know, that you can rest on Him and trust Him that He will take care of it, regardless of what it is!

That means, no matter what you are facing today, His grace is sufficient to meet your need!

*no matter what’s going on in the world around you,

*no matter what anybody says, friends or foes

*no matter what the media says,

*no matter what the economic advisors say,

*no matter your doctor is saying,

*no matter what your family is saying,

*no matter what your body is saying, no matter how loud it is talking to you

“Gods Grace, Love and His Mercy, His beauty and love is chasing after us every day of our lives!”

We don’t fight for the victory today, we fight from Jesus Victory and what it has already accomplished for us who believe,

Not by what we feel or see, but by what we believe!

you should always be thanking and praising God, because the victory has already be won,

Praise God, for the blood of Jesus has already made us victorious over every situation!

Jerm. 17:7-8 NKJ

7. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,

And whose hope is the LORD.

8. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

Which spreads out its roots by the river,

And will not fear when heat comes;

But its leaf will be green,

And will not be anxious in the year of drought,

Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

Singing about Gods Glory and Grace is wonderful, but experiencing it first hand and living in it, is so much better, its where He wants you to be, where He wants you to live!

Will you always feel like singing a praise song to God,

When you get the news and the challenge you are sitting there facing, is like a mountain parked on your front door step?

You probably wont feel all that much like singing anything but the blues,

And that’s exactly what the devil is counting on, his success depends completely upon the way you feel, after all he is the one who invented depression

But you can foil his plot with just one thing, your breath!

David’s last Psalm was one of his most important ones!

Psalms 150:1-6 MSG

1-6. Hallelujah!

Praise God in his holy house of worship,

praise him under the open skies;

Praise him for his acts of power,

praise him for his magnificent greatness;

Praise with a blast on the trumpet,

praise by strumming soft strings;

Praise him with castanets and dance,

praise him with banjo and flute;

Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,

praise him with fiddles and mandolin.

Let every living, breathing creature praise God!

Hallelujah!

You don’t have to wait and you shouldn't wait for everything to be perfect before you decide to celebrate what God is going to do in your life.

Because if you do, you never will!

Its when you praise Him the midst of your situation, that He recognizes your faith and is moved to reward your diligence for doing so! Amen?

Praise is putting action behind your faith.

Praise is about what God is capable of, not what you are capable of.

So many times in David’s life, the devil thought he had him where he wanted him, thought that he had him on the ropes, But he seemed to forget about the praise factor,

you see, every time David got down because of his situation around him,

He picked himself up by the bootstraps and started praising God right in the middle of the situation, for the victory

and the those praising words that came flying out of his mouth, Changed the situation, with Gods help each and every time!

And they will do the same for you in your situation, Amen?

Thing is, he didn’t care what everybody else was thinking,

everybody else wasn’t going to get him out of his situation,

You see, its When you don't feel like praising Him, that's when you need to praise Him the most, (repeat)

That's were you faith gets stronger, when you praise Him in spite of your circumstances!

Nobody else, can touch God for your need, they can't go where you need to go,

They can't receive what you need either, only you can!

TBS. That God in habits the praises of His people, there is no closer form of communication than praise and worship!

There is no better way, or time to ask Him to meet your needs, then when you praise Him!!!

John 16:23-24 MSG.

23-24. "This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I've revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he'll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!

Praise God, that can only be described with one word that comes to my mind, UNCONTAINABLE, that's what!

Each and Every time you and I praise God it is giving God an opportunity to get us ready for the miracle we are seeking Him for!

I want you to know, He stands ready this morning to not only meet your every need, but to exceed your expectations

God is still in the miracle working business!

#1 Praise God for what He is Doing right now in your situation!

#2 Keep Praising Him, until the answer comes

If you have any questions, repeat steps 1 and 2, until you arrive at the desired result!!! Praise God?

TBS. He who started a work in you, will be faithful to complete it!

2 Cor. 2:14 NKJ

14. Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ,

God already provided everything we would ever need, when He sent His Son into this world,

*Every trial we will ever face, has already been tried and acquitted by Jesus, our counselor!

*Every obstacle we will ever come up against, has already been overcome, by Jesus our over comer!

*Every ache and pain, has been conquered, by Jesus our conqueror!

*Every sickness and decease that has been discovered and is yet to be found, has already been cured and by His stripes we have already been healed, by Jesus our healer!

Praise God Forever for His Gift of Grace to the world, His one and only Son Jesus!!

Jesus has faced them, each and everyone and has been victorious over each and everyone of them. thank You Jesus!

All we have to do is have the faith to believe that He did,

And that He willingly did it for us.

MSG. says it this way

1st John 5:4-5

Every God-begotten person conquers the world's ways. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. The person who wins out over the world's ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God.

It's time for Christians all over the world to stop trying to do it on their own, stop trying to figure it all out and take the Lord and His word for what it says!

It's time to only believe, forget about everything else and just believe!

All things are possible, if you only believe!

The person who wins out over the world's ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God.

Amen?

Lets pray!