Never Stop Praying – 6

 Never Stop Praying – 6

Subject – Get Your Feet Wet

By Rick Welborne

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT2) ¹⁷  Never stop praying.

Joshua 3:11-17 (NLT)
¹¹  Look, the Ark of the Covenant, which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the Jordan River!
¹²  Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.
¹³  The priests will carry the Ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.”
¹⁴  So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them.
¹⁵  It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge,
¹⁶  the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.
¹⁷  Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground. 

--Last week we talked to you about the message of the manna, holy complications, and making the comfortable uncomfortable. God wants us to trust Him. Give us this day our daily bread. Jesus is the Bread of Life!

--Think about it, your complications or discomfort could be the working of Holy Spirit to get you where you need to be doing what you are supposed be doing for His glory.  

Donald Gee:  There are so many situations in which we need to see, not the working of Satan, even though he may be actively involved, but the hand of God. We should not be asking “What is Satan doing here?” but “What is God saying here?

--God is not so much interested in your comfort as much as He is in His Name receiving honor and glory. Sometimes God wants us to step in before He steps out and does the miracle. The crossing of the Jordan.

Joshua 3:14-16 (NLT)
¹⁴  So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them.
¹⁵  It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge,
¹⁶  the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam…

1. Get your feet wet.

--When the Israelites were getting ready to enter the Promised Land, God commanded the priest not to just look toward the sea (like Elijah with the cloud), He commanded them to step into the river.

--Have you ever noticed that you cannot put God into any of your little man made boxes because as soon as you do He will surely do, whatever it is, a different way. 

--He may just speak healing to lepers and tell them to go show themselves to the priest and the next time He may be taking a loogy (spit and mud) and putting in your eyes and telling you to go and wash.

--Moses came to the Red Sea and God just told him to raise his staff and God parted the sea and the Israelites walked across on dry land. We personally prefer this method…who wants to get their feet wet?

Joshua 3:8 (NLT)
⁸  Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.’” 

--The Jordan river was at flood stage and rivers that have overflowed their banks are dangerous…God, part this mile-wide river and we will walk right across. We want God to go first. That way we don’t get our feet wet.

Batterson – It’s often our unwillingness to take a step of faith and get our feet wet that keeps us from experiencing a miracle. Some people spend their entire lives on the eastern shore of the Jordan waiting for God to part the river while God waits for them to get their feet wet. 

--Right after I became pastor of Life Church we ran into our first crisis in our mission’s program, we had a decision to make. We were three thousand dollars short with no money in the General Fund. 

--Some said, just contact the missionaries and let them know and send what we can…We had a choice to get our feet wet or just camp on the eastern side on the Jordan on dry ground.

--As the former youth pastor we had raised several thousand dollars (back then we had no budget unless we raised it) and we still had about $4000 in the account. I said let’s get our feet wet.

--We went to the newly hired youth pastor and asked him to loan us the $3000 for our missionaries and we would pay him back as soon as possible. Of course, he said yes. 

--God saw we were serious about missions and that we were willing to do whatever it took to keep our commitment…we paid our missionaries and we paid back the youth ministry in a couple of months. 

--We have never faced that problem again because God saw we were not afraid to trust Him and to get our feet wet. What if the money had not come…wrong question…what would have happened if we had not jumped in?

--This promise of going into the Promised Land was 400 years old. The promise of God was in sight but they could easily lose it by their fear and disobedience. 

--What if the priest had not stepped into the river? What if they would have waited for God to part the water? 400 years could have turned into 500 years or more. Spending the rest of their lives on the wrong side.

--That is where many of us spend our lives…we are so close to our dreams, so close to the promise, so close to our miracle but aren’t willing to get our feet wet. If you move, He will move heaven and earth to do the miracle. 

2. The Apostle Peter had wet feet.

Matthew 14:25-29 (NLT)
²⁵  About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.
²⁶  When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”
²⁷  But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!”
²⁸  Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”
²⁹  “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 

--Peter’s resume may not have been the greatest…he had a big mouth, he denied the Lord three times, he was called Satan by the Lord, he fell asleep when Jesus truly needed him to pray.

--He passed the wet feet test by getting out of the boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee (a 91 square mile dunk tank) when he responded to one of Jesus’ craziest commands, “Come!”

--Two keys I see here about getting your feet wet in the Sea of Galilee is, first of all, hearing the voice of God and, secondly, know Jesus was in the sea already waiting for you. 

--The Israelites were commanded… The priests will carry the Ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth into the river. This was God’s voice commanding them and the Ark represented God’s Presence. 

--Do you see the similarities…both received God’s command to get in the water and God’s Presence was already there. If Jesus says come…then get out of the boat but if He doesn’t say come…stay in the boat.

--One evening I had been at the hospital visiting sick folks and I was on my way back to the church to do some more studying…our house was on the way to church. Holy Spirit said “Go to your house.”

--He didn’t know I was not finished studying so I reminded Him and He apologized and said, of course go on to the church and get your work done. Of course, He didn’t say that. Go to your house and check on Stephanie. 

--I asked Tricia is Stephanie ok and of course she said yes…she is sleeping. Holy Spirit said go check on her again with much intensity. She was sleeping peacefully I thought…I rolled her over on her back.

--I looked at her and she looked fine until I looked deep in her mouth…I saw something tiny on the back of her tongue…I tried to carefully put my big fingers in her mouth…I grabbed it and starting pulling. A dryer sheet!

--She had almost completely swallowed the whole dryer sheet…thank you, Holy Spirit for speaking to me and saving my daughter…it is imperative that we hear His voice.

--When you have the presence of Jesus and you hear that still small voice do not ever be afraid to step out of the boat and get your feet wet. God will be glorified…Peter could say…I walked on water!

3. Get your feet wet when it comes to Holy Spirit!

--Some of you need to have the walls fall and you need to get your feet wet when it comes to Holy Spirit. You have been on the sidelines too long looking in and wondering if He is real and if He is for you!

--If any other subject was in the Bible as much as Holy Spirit is…It would be a Cardinal Doctrine in every denomination. Satan does not want you to understand about Him and His power. It is time to jump in!

John 14:16-17 (NKJV)
¹⁶  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--
¹⁷  the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:26 (NKJV)
²⁶  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

John 15:26 (NKJV)
²⁶  "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

John 16:7-8 (NKJV)
⁷  Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
⁸  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

John 16:13-14 (NKJV)
¹³  However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
¹⁴  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.