He Told You He Would Meet You on the Other Side

Sermon outline

When Jesus sends you across, He has already promised to meet you on the other side, so keep your eyes on Him and on His word rather than on the noise of the wind and the waves.

1. Jesus insisted, and promised to meet them on the other side

   Straight after feeding the five thousand, Jesus insisted that the disciples get into the boat and cross over while He sent the crowd home. She imagines them resisting, remembering the last storm when He was asleep in the boat. But He told them to go and that He would meet them there, and He arrived at the right time even when it felt as if He was taking forever.

   “Jesus told them, go into the other side. I will meet you there. So don't worry.”

   • Matthew 14:22-24

2. The noise of the wind and the waves

   The disciples had seen the miracles and seen Him calm a storm, but they did not believe the same power was in them. When Jesus tells you to cross over, the noise starts: I am not qualified, how will I pay my rent. Answer the noise by confessing the word.

   Illustration: As a teenager on a mission trip to a hidden village in the mountains, she was told to hide the Bibles in her clothes because Christians could be burned alive. During the first service in a small house, the town was summoned over loudspeakers and came with sticks and stones. Confessing that no weapon formed against them would prosper, she walked out and saw the crowd unable to get past the parked car, as if a wall stood there. The next week she went back, this time in sneakers and pants in case she had to run.

   “They didn't believe that the power that Jesus has, they have the same power in them.”

   • Isaiah 54:17

3. Peter's problem was where his eyes went

   Peter was impulsive and ready to conquer, and he really did walk on water. Then the first big wave came and he looked at the wind instead of at Jesus. Many believers are the same: full of faith on Sunday after a touch from the Holy Spirit, and sinking by Monday when the bills, the rent and the back pain arrive.

   Illustration: Peter, walking on the water and calling out, 'Jesus, I'm walking on the water,' until the first big wave turns his head.

   “You need to believe that he will meet you in the other side.”

   • Matthew 14:28-31

4. Put the word where you will see it

   The word of God is like medicine for fear and doubt. When her husband faced a grave diagnosis and surgery, they chose not to have a pity party but to believe the promises of God. She wrote scriptures on yellow sticky notes and put them on the fridge, in the bathroom, in the kitchen and on the mirror, so they read them even while brushing their teeth. The surgery succeeded and the doctor said he did not understand the recovery. Faith needs consistency, endurance and watchfulness, because the enemy comes to steal your joy, and the joy of the Lord is your strength.

   Illustration: Yellow sticky notes of scripture on the fridge, the bathroom and the mirror, confessed day and night.

   “Faith requires consistency. Faith requires endurance.”

   • Jeremiah 29:11
   • Romans 10:17
   • Nehemiah 8:10

5. Worship is how you live when everything is chaos

   It is easy to be distracted by Instagram comparisons and a Facebook newsfeed first thing in the morning. We need to come back to the foundation. Worship is not a Sunday activity; it is how you conduct yourself and how you hold on to the promise while the storm is raging. He is taking care of you and your children.

   “Your worship is not Sundays. Your worship is 24 7. Your worship is the lifestyle.”

6. See through His lenses

   Trusting God means looking beyond what you can see and letting Him give you His vision for your life. When she married, she could not speak English and expected to give up ministry, but God told her to follow her husband to America and that He would meet her on the other side. The first time she led worship in English, in a church of three thousand, her legs were shaking and she felt like Moses. Now she preaches and leads worship around the world.

   Illustration: She and her husband first communicated through Google Translate and signs, and he had to propose three times before she understood, until he pulled out the ring.

   “I am a simple person who believed God. That's it.”

In this message