Get Up and Stand | Eric Sewing

Jesus has a hope. Jesus has a future. He's done it for me. He can do it for you. It's too late for me y'all. I've seen Jesus heal people physically. I've seen Jesus heal people mentally. I've seen what he can do in someone's emotions and in a marriage and in a family. I've seen Jesus move in the miraculous. It's too late for me. I've seen Jesus pick people up and I want to be part of this story of picking others up. Today we're gonna open up God's Word. I'm excited to open up the Bible y'all. How many know this is not just a book? It's not just like a historical account okay of the people of Israel. Like this is the Lord's Word to us. And this Bible tells us the beautiful story of God's relationship with mankind and how even though man sinned and was separated from God, that God actually made a way through Jesus Christ. That you and I now have salvation, hope, redemption. We have been redeemed because of Jesus Christ. How many know that's some good news in this place? I love the Word of God. It's alive. It's not like crusty-dusty okay. The Bible is like alive and active and it speaks to you. Whenever I first got saved y'all, I would I would always walk around with my Bible. Not like to Walmart okay but like to church you know I walked to church and stuff like that with my Bible and I would always just be hugging it you know just weird okay. I was just being weird but I just loved the Word of God and I've seen Jesus do some miraculous things. He's alive. Jesus is alive. And this last week we celebrated with Easter that Jesus did not stay on the cross and he did not stay in the grave but instead Jesus has resurrected and he's alive and he's active. And I've seen Jesus do so many, so many, so many miraculous things in my life. Whenever I was seven years old, y'all I gave my heart to Christ. I'll never forget it. I was in our living room and I felt like the Lord was like just nudging on my heart. Surrender your life. Surrender your life. I grew up in a, growing up in a broken household and I remember walking over to my mom who was washing the dishes and she had like this pink tub that she was washing the dishes. I don't know why she was washing in the pink tub. I don't know, she's like trying to conserve on water but anyways that's a random detail. And I remember saying to my mom, mom I think I want to give my

heart to Jesus. And she was like okay we'll go into the living room and get on your knees and say a prayer. So I went and I walked over to the living room. I remember I got down on my knees and we had this silver couch and I got down and I said this prayer, Jesus I give you my heart, I give you my life. Went on through my teenage years and kind of you know just you know teenage years. Y'all know, y'all know teenage years. 19 years old and gave my heart to Christ. This is where I feel like I really gave the Lord my life. And my stepdad had actually been walking through some difficulties. He had been going through, it had been a few weeks where he had just had like all these physical ailments. Like things going on with his body and these sores and all this stuff. And emotionally was just kind of a rollercoaster and mentally he was like being tormented in his mind. I remember these like few weeks it was really, really dark in our household. And my stepdad actually got to this point where he went to my mom and he was like, hey I've lost it. I need you to take me to a mental hospital. Like I'm not there. I've totally, I've totally lost it. I have no clue what's going on right now. My mom was like, okay we can do that. But before we go to the hospital, can we stop at the pastor's house? And can they say a prayer over you before we go? He was like, yeah, yeah of course. Totally. So my mom and my stepdad drove to our pastor's house and they anointed him and they prayed over him. Y'all in that moment he was miraculously healed. Physically, mentally, emotionally. Like Jesus did something miraculous in his heart and in his life. Y'all within six months basically everybody in our family gave their heart to Christ and felt called to go into full-time ministry. Jesus literally swept through my entire family with the revival. And so I just, you cannot convince me otherwise. Jesus is alive and he is active and he is still doing miracles today. I've seen it with my own eyes. Come on, if you have a testimony with Jesus Christ, can we give him a little bit of praise? Can we give him an amen? Jesus is the real deal. And the Word of God is the real deal too. So we're about to open up to one of my favorite passages. Okay, this is one of my favorite stories of Jesus Christ in all the gospel accounts. We're gonna go to Matthew chapter 14. Matthew chapter 14.

14, I'll give you a little bit of time to get there. We're gonna be reading a number of verses here. And as we read and open up God's word, I'm praying that your eyes would be open, that you would see something brand new. I'm praying that your ears would be open, that the Holy Spirit would speak something to you. I have learned whenever God speaks, so many things can happen. And when the Lord opens our eyes, so many things can happen. And Jesus has now redeemed us, but he also has the authority and the power to heal us and to restore us. So here, let's find ourselves in the story of Jesus. Chapter 14 of Matthew, starting verse 22, says, immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone. And the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because of the wind that was against it. Verse 25, shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "'It's a ghost,' they said.

They cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them, "'Take courage. "'It is I. "'Don't be afraid. "'Lord, if it's you,' Peter replied, "'tell me to come to you on the water.' "'Come,' he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and began sinking, crying out, "'Lord, save me.' Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "'You have little faith,' he said. "'Why did you doubt?' Verse 32. And when they had climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were with him worshiped him, saying, "'Truly, you are the son of God.'" Here we see, and we get to read this account. Y'all, Jesus walked on water. Have you ever seen anybody walk on water? I mean, I tried running really fast. You know, when you go to the ocean and the waves are crashing in, you're like, maybe this is my chance. You know, you go running into the ocean, but then the wave just like smashes you over, okay?

I've never seen anybody walk on water. Matter of fact, I've only heard of this happening twice. Jesus, well, now Peter. We get this beautiful account of Jesus with his disciples and what they're going through and what it looked like day in and day out. Do you know right before this, Jesus had actually fed thousands of people? Do you realize that before this, Jesus had actually already raised a little girl from the dead? Do you realize that before this, Jesus had actually opened up blind eyes and healed the lame? Jesus had literally gone about doing miracle after miracle after miracle. But whenever they see Jesus walking to them on the water, in verse 26, when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. It's a ghost. Does that not seem crazy to y'all? Okay, now pause. Okay, we're gonna pause here for a second, okay? You know one of my favorite things in life? Being a dad. Guys, it's the best, okay? Being a dad, nothing makes you more tired and filled up inside than being a dad, okay? Like it is my absolute favorite. Matter of fact, I actually gave my heart to Christ

because I wanted to be the best husband and father that I could possibly be. I grew up in a household with a single mom for a while and I knew that following the teachings of Jesus Christ was actually the best way to live. So I gave my heart to Christ because yeah, I was afraid of hell, but really, I wanted to be the best husband and father that I could be. Well, this past week, my wife was out of town from Tuesday until basically Saturday, okay? She got home really late on Friday night. No, it was like early Saturday morning. So that means I was rocking solo as a dad, okay? I have three kids, not one, not two, I got three, okay? We have a beautiful five-year-old, Giovanni, okay? Then we have Pierre, who's just as feisty as can be. He's three years old. And then we have perfect angel baby, Amelia. Uh-huh, one years old, 18 months, okay? She's 18 months. Being a dad, it's the absolute best. I love it, y'all. This past week, we had so much fun. We ate donuts for breakfast, okay? We played in the mud, okay? The house was dirty, okay, but nothing got broke, okay? We stayed up late. We went to parks and we threw rocks and we rode bicycles and we played with baby dolls, you know,

like we did all of these things. It was so much fun. Like, I absolutely loved it. It was a party, okay? But you know one of the best moments? So being a father is whenever you get home after work and you walk in the door and your kids, they come running up to you. Dad, Gio comes running, elbows his brother. Pierre comes through, elbows Gio. And they run up and they jump in both of my arms and I pick them both up. And then Amelia, you know, cause she's only 18 months. She's like, dad, dad. She does this face. She's like, ah, I pick her up and I scoop them all up. It's the best feeling. Parents in the room, like, you know this. Or, okay, dog parents. Dog parents, y'all know this too, right? You come through the, you go and walk up to the door and you hear them scratching at the door. And then you open the door like. Right? They're just so happy to see you. It just fills you up. It's the best. The disciples have seen Jesus do miracle after miracle after miracle, literally raise the dead. They're on a boat.

The waves are crashing against them. Jesus is now walking on water towards them. They are not. They're like, ah, a ghost. It's a ghost. What's going on here? How you see Jesus matters. How do you see Jesus? How do you see him? Because I've actually learned that the storms of life can actually change our perception of Jesus sometimes. Storms can make it feel like Jesus is far away. Storms can make it seem like Jesus has lost his power. Storms can make it distort or distract or cause doubt. Pain, I have learned in life can change our perception. And here we see the disciples, because they're in the middle of a storm, they now see Jesus as a ghost. The one that they've seen raise the dead, they're looking at him incorrectly. How do you see Jesus? How do you see him? Do you see him as a good guy? Peace, Jesus? Do you see him as maybe a prophet? Maybe you see him as a fairy tale. How do you see Jesus? Do you see Jesus as cold and apathetic or far away? How do you see Jesus? Do you see Jesus as the one who left you

in the middle of a storm and he's off praying in a mountaintop somewhere, but like real life is happening and Jesus is nowhere to be found? How do you see Jesus? Whenever you think of the Lord, what comes to your heart and what comes to your mind, how do you see Jesus? Here we see the disciples going through a storm, doing exactly what the Lord had called them to do and asked them to do. It was Jesus that sent them out into the boat and now they're hitting a storm and as Jesus approaches, they're misidentifying him and saying that he's a ghost. How do you see Jesus? Can I just remind you, church family, that Jesus Christ is still on the throne and he is still alive and he is still active. Jesus did not leave you in the middle of a storm, but instead Jesus is actually pursuing you and coming towards you and ready to heal and ready to restore and ready to deliver that Jesus actually has all power, authority, and might. Jesus is the goat. Jesus is Jesus. Sometimes in our life, we like to, you know, put Jesus on the bench and be like, you know what? Lord, this is my life

and I'm the one that's gotta make this happen. Thank you for the skills, thank you for the talents, but God, it's really up to me. It's kind of like putting Michael Jordan on the bench. You know, like Jesus is actually the hero of the story. We're actually just the person on the team. This is like everything that we do now in this time, in this day and age that we live in, this is actually all a part of Jesus's story. We get to play a part in what God is doing throughout all of creation. How do you see Jesus? Seated at the right hand, full of power, above cancer, above fear, above anxiety, above depression. He is able to silence every single storm just with his presence. How do you see Jesus? But here we see here in these next verses here, okay? They're crying out, it's a ghost, crying out in fear. Verse 27, it says, but Jesus immediately said to them, take courage. It's I, don't be afraid. Then Peter has the audacity to say, well, Lord, if it's you, ask me to come out into the water with you. Verse 29, Jesus says one word, come. Come. Jesus doesn't say go. Jesus doesn't say go. and say, okay, walk out, walk out the boat, we'll go where you wanna go.

Jesus says, come, come closer to me. I couldn't help be reminded of the word of the year. Closer, closer to Christ, closer to his church, closer to his mission. That God is calling us to come towards him. Jesus is instructing Peter how to walk on water. It's not a five-step plan. It's not a detailed list of things to do. It's not a 10-year plan. It's one word, come, come. I've learned that the calling of the Lord is actually one act, over and over and over and over and over again. It's obedience. What does the Lord say? Come. I saw this in my own life. I remember when I gave my heart to Christ and I had this moment where I opened up the scriptures. I was reading in Ezekiel 22, verse 30. It goes on to say, I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. And I remember reading these scriptures. I now know that he's talking about Christ, but I read this and I was like, hold on a second. You're about to destroy the land. You don't want to, but the prerequisite for you to not destroy the land is for someone to stand.

And that word stand just stuck out to me. Stand, stand, stand. And I remember reading this and I was like, hold on a second. God, you're telling me to do something miraculous. All I have to do is stand? You're telling me that you're wanting to heal, you're wanting to restore, you're wanting to bring hope, you're wanting to bring life, and all I have to do is stand? You're telling me that to be used by God, to be his hands and feet in my generation and in my city and my time, all I have to do is stand? God, am I overcomplicating this? Am I making this too simple? God, all I have to do is stand? And I felt like this has been something that the Lord has just drilled on the inside of me. Yes, son, I've called you to stand. Yes, my son, I've called you to stand. And I'm telling you, church family, there have been times when I've wanted to quit. There have been times when I've been hurt. There's been times when I've been offended. There's been times when it's been difficult. There's been times where it's felt like I've been without hope. But I just hear the Lord continuously saying to me, son, I need you to get back up. What I called you to do was stand. Son, I need you to get back up.

What I called you to do was stand. And I just felt this churning inside of my heart that there are people today that you're looking at your marriage and you're like, my marriage is on the rocks. Our marriage is done. And I just wanna remind you, husband, wife, get back up. It's time for you to stand for your sons or for your daughters. Moms, do not quit praying. It's time for you to stand. Do not give up on the business. Do not give on the things that the Lord has called you to. Do not stay on the ground. What the Lord has called you to do is stand. Get back up and get in the game. Jesus wants to do something miraculous. I know it. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, the Lord wants to show up and show up in power. And it might not for your fame, but for his fame, for his glory. And all you gotta do is get back up and stand. Keep fighting for your marriage. Keep fighting for your children. Now we're gonna get to my favorite part of this story. We see here that Peter, Jesus says, come. It says, then Peter got out of the boat and walked on water and came towards Jesus. Hold on a second.

Peter got out of the boat and walked on water. What was this moment like? You know, like I try to visualize, what was this like, you know, with Jesus and all the storm and the clouds, you know, and it's like right before dawn. So it's like, it's still dark, you know, but like maybe the sun's gonna come up, but it's still dark. And here you see Peter now is gonna get out of the boat. What did this look like? Did Peter do it with like full confidence? Was he like afraid? Did he hesitate? What was it like for Peter to take that first step where he shifted his weight from his own strength to now depending on the Lord? What was that millisecond like for Peter? I'm walking on water. Are you kidding me? Now Peter is walking on water. He's doing something miraculous. Only two people have done this that I know of. But what was Peter actually really doing? Well, it's something that Peter's probably done since he was one years old. Peter's walking. All Peter was doing was taking a step. Wasn't doing anything extra. Wasn't doing anything special. But he was doing a step while he had faith in God. He was doing a step while he was empowered by the spirit.

He was taking a step while he was walking in obedience to the Lord. And it just, I want to remind us that it's just different whenever you're walking with the Lord. Whenever you're walking empowered by his spirit. Whenever you're walking in step, in obedience with what God is calling you to do, it's just kind of different. Now Peter is doing something that he's done since he was one years old, but the Holy Spirit has empowered him and it's completely different. Completely changes everything. Peter's now able to do something that no one had ever been able to do before. Did the storm stop? Well, I thought if I was following Jesus, every storm would stop. Well, I thought if I gave my heart to Christ, everything would be good. Oh, I thought if I was obeying what the Lord had said, there would be no more pain. There would be no more difficulty. Oh, I thought if I was giving my everything to the Lord, everything would just be easy. We don't see that with Peter. We know that Peter was actually in perfect obedience with what God was asking him to do in that moment, but the storms were still raging. The waves were still hitting him. He was still getting soaking wet from all the wind and the rain and the waves.

He was still in the middle of the storm while walking in obedience with God. But he was empowered by the spirit. You see here that whenever Peter was walking on the water, he begins to doubt. It says here in verse 30, but when he saw the wind, he was afraid and he began to sink and he cried out, Lord, Lord, save me. You see here that as Peter began to take his eyes off of Christ and began to now look at the wind and the waves, he began to sink. But there's something that Peter did in this moment that I would actually say is genius. Because I think for me, and I think for some in the room, for some of us online, you have a moment like this where you step out in obedience and you begin to sink and you're like, nah, I'm just going to swim to shore. Can I swim back to the boat? How can I get back to the boat? Let me swim to the shore. Let me solve this myself. This is my problem. Let me get me out of my problem. I'm the one that's actually supposed to fix this. Come on, let me lace up my boots. Let me pull up my pants and let me get to work. Let me wake up early. Let me stay up late. Let me go in double time. This is a problem that I now have to solve.

But Peter didn't respond that way. You actually see that his very next words were, Lord, save me. Lord, save me. Lord, save me. Peter is now sinking into the water and he is now crying out for the Lord. Now, I think this is a beautiful moment that Peter needed to learn what it looks like to walk through failure with God. And I think it's a lesson that every single one of us need to learn. How do we deal with failure with the Lord? Do we quit? Do we give up? Do we try to solve it ourselves? Do we take something that began in the spirit and now move it towards the flesh. We're the ones to figure it out. Do we begin to ignore the last thing that the Lord has spoken to us and come up with our own game plan. Jesus had spoken just one word. Come to me. Come on. Come this way. And now is Peter going to switch up what he's doing? Is he going to now turn his back to God to try to figure out himself? Peter was turning towards the Lord. Now, this is, in this story, y'all, this to me is the pinnacle of the story, okay? This is my absolute, the favorite part of the story.

Jesus sees Peter sinking in the water. 31, it says immediately Jesus reaches out his hand and catches him. Jesus doesn't condemn him. Jesus isn't like, are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Sinking. Really? Jesus is like, come on, have faith in me, man. Come on, you can do this. Come on, man, have faith in me. Come on. That's Jesus' response. I'm with you. I'm right here with you. Jesus was showing Peter how to respond in moments of failure. Be reminded, I'm with you. Come on, I'm with you. I know it's hard. I know the trial is difficult. I know the storm is raging. I know you feel like you're sinking. I know you feel like you're over your head. I know you feel like you'll never get out of debt. I know you feel like these generational curses are never going to be broken. I feel, I know you feel like the addiction is always going to be there. I know you feel hopeless, but come on, hold on a second. I'm with you right here.

You see, Jesus reaches down and grabs Peter. This is why it's my favorite. Acts chapter 3, y'all. Acts chapter 3. Starting at verse 1. One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer about 3 in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called beautiful where he was put every day to beg from those who were going into the temple courts. And when he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Verse 4. Peter looked straight at him as did John. Then Peter said, look at us. Look at me. So the man gave him his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, silver or gold, I do not have. But what I do have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up. And instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. Do you see the lesson that Jesus was teaching Peter? In this moment where Peter was sinking in the water, Jesus picked up Peter. Now you fast forward to the book of Acts and Peter's picking up the lame. It's the exact same motion. Peter was just doing exactly what he had seen Jesus do.

Picking people up. And I feel like today, there are some fathers that are going to reach down and pick up some sons. Saying, hold on, I know what it's like to struggle with addiction, but I also know what it's like to be free through Jesus Christ. And I'm going to reach down the testimony that I have with Jesus Christ and I'm going to pick you back up. And I feel like there are some mothers in the room that are going to be reaching out to their daughters who are struggling with an eating disorder and saying, no, no, I know what it's like to walk through that, but I have freedom through Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And he's going to pick them up and bring freedom and joy. I see sons picking up their fathers and I see daughters picking up their mothers. I see connect group leaders pulling people up saying, come on, no, no, no. Jesus has a hope. Jesus has a future. He's done it for me. He can do it for you. It's too late for me, y'all. I've seen Jesus heal people physically. I've seen Jesus heal people mentally. I've seen what he can do in someone's emotions and in a marriage and in a family. I've seen Jesus move in the miraculous. It's too late for me. I've seen Jesus pick people up.

And I want to be part of this story of picking others up. Jesus picked up Peter so he could pick up others. When I was praying for this moment, I was praying over those who were struggling with addiction. That the Lord would send someone in their life that could pick them up. I was praying over, I felt like there were some who were struggling with eating disorders, that God would send someone to them. To pick them up. But if you've also walked through those things, I just want to remind you, there's an anointing on your life to pick others up. I felt like there were those who maybe grew up fatherless or motherless, that they were actually going to go and they were going to adopt some orphans and pick people up. Do you see how beautiful the body of Christ is? And the way the Lord takes our testimonies and our trials and our pains, and he actually doesn't leave it in a closet in the past, instead he actually turns it around. He walks you through it so you can now go and you can pick someone else up. This is the beauty of the cross of Jesus Christ. This is the good news of the gospel. This is the power and the authority that we find only in Jesus Christ. So what would it look like, Shoreline City family? How would Dallas, Texas look if we were picking up every single person that we came across?

What would our families look like? And what would our marriages look like? What would our children look like if we just kept picking people up and not pointing them to ourselves and saying that we can actually do it? Peter didn't say, hold on, I know how to pick you up out of that. He said, hold on a second, silver and gold I don't have, but what I do have is some authority that's only found in Jesus Christ. So in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk. And I feel like there are sons and daughters gonna be walking out of here today free, whole, restored, and redeemed. Amen. Because the best days for the body of Christ are ahead. The best days for your family are ahead. The best days for your marriage, your children, I believe they're ahead. Your finances, your friends, I believe the best days are ahead. Peter didn't know that walking out of a boat getting stuck in a storm, getting pulled out of the water by Jesus was actually all just a setup to heal a lame man at the gate called beautiful. If everybody can bow your heads.

What's the story that the Lord has you in right now? The season that you're in right now? Do you feel like you're sinking? Anxiety, thoughts, depression, sinking, physically, emotionally, financially sinking? And your response has been, let me try to swim to the shore. I got this. I can do this. But today, you're wanting to do like Peter did. Say, Lord, save me. Maybe you've never given your heart to Christ. Or maybe there was a time in the past where you were walking in obedience, but the storms have caused you to see Jesus incorrectly. And you begin to doubt him. And what you need is a fresh surrender to the Lord, that he would open your eyes and see you. And what you need is a fresh surrender to the Lord, that he would open your eyes and open your ears. And if that's you here today, and you're like, I need a fresh surrender to God, I'm gonna ask you to do something simple. I'm gonna ask you on the count of three to just shoot up your hand saying, yep, that's me. You ready? One, two, three. Shoot up your hand saying, yep, I need a fresh surrender. It's beautiful. So hands all over the room.

Hands in the balcony. Church family, can we do this together? Can you put your hand over your heart? I want you to repeat these words after me. Say, dear Jesus, thank you for forgiving me all of my sins. I give you my heart. I give you my life. Give me a fresh start. Give me a fresh surrender. Empower me by your spirit. In Jesus' name we pray. Everybody said, amen. Amen.