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Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church Henley and thanks so much for tuning

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into our podcast.

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Our prayer is that through this podcast you can have an encounter with Jesus that will

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change your life.

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And now get ready for an inspiring message from our preaching team.

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I want to start off by praying and then we'll get into it.

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Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this opportunity to bring your word Lord.

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I thank you that you have prepared a message for me to bring on stepping into the impossible

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and what it means to encounter the impossible Lord.

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I pray that your word would be speaking into the people in this room tonight Lord and that

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you would, that your Holy Spirit would be on the move.

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May we be receptive to what you want to say.

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May we be open to how you want to cool us in our lives and what you want to do within

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this space.

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I pray that we'd be listening to this message with open hearts and open ears Lord and that

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we'd just be, yeah, that we'd just be open to what you have to do.

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In your name we pray, amen.

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So as you saw my passage that we're preaching on tonight is Peter walking on the water.

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I told a few people last week, they're like, oh, what are you doing this week?

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I'm preparing a sermon on Peter working the water like, oh, cool, you should do a live

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demonstration.

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I'm like, no, it's too cold for that.

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Don't get me wrong.

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I love the ocean and I love swimming and all that stuff, but not when it's this cold.

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And we're on Beach Street and stuff, but sorry, not today.

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On a warm summer day, absolutely.

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If you guys can stick around till summertime, let's go for it.

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We'll go down to the beach.

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I'll do my best at walking on water.

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We can have Chiqui Grig down at Henley Square.

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It can bring honey every great time.

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I think something interesting that I realised about the beach though is that beaches in

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Adelaide are very different to beaches in Queensland.

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Since Matt and I started dating, we've done a couple trips up to Queensland together so

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that I can meet his friends and his family.

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And I can see where he grew up.

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His brothers and his friends think it's hilarious to tease us, mostly me, that the beaches and

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pretty much anything in Queensland is better than Adelaide.

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No.

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But I'm not too sure if I agree with that the beaches in Queensland are actually better,

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because when I go to them, I actually kind of find it a bit stressful.

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The waves are so much bigger than the waves down at Henley.

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I mean, obviously.

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I'm not like that.

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And you have to be aware of rips in the water, because we live in a lovely peninsula where

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it's kind of sheltered a bit.

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And I'm also convinced that the water gets deeper faster.

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When Matt and I go for a swim together, we do the classic run-up-the-water thing.

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Sometimes Matt has his sunnies on and it's all good he can see.

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Other times, he does in and it's the blind leading the short person.

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I'm like running in and he's like, I don't know, I'll see.

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And then by the time the water is up to Matt's shoulders, I'm trading water like he's trying

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not to drown.

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At least when I'm in the beach in Queensland.

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Actually, Matt, can you come up here?

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He just loves being up the front so much that I want to bring up.

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You need to pretend that you're swinging.

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Yeah.

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And then you can touch the bottom.

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At this point, I'm trading water like this and the waves are sweeping me all around the

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place like this.

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Matt's fine.

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I'm struggling.

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And then I go, Matt, I need your help.

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He reaches out his hair like this and I found my feet and it's all good.

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And we just do that on repeat at the beach until we're tired and Matt's like, no, this

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is enough.

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And then he's out.

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And usually I'm like, well, I don't want to do this on my own.

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So, yeah, you can go now.

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So I just wanted to give you some context of the beach because we, I'd laid people, we

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don't see many waves.

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And let's just go down to Port Elliott.

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These waves kind of give us context also on how scary it would have been for Peter when

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he was out on the water and how impossible walking in water would have been.

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Another piece of contextual information that I often miss when I'm reading this passage

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is that after Jesus says, take courage, it is I, don't be afraid.

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Peter invites himself out onto the water by saying, Lord, if it's you, tell me to come.

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When Peter does this, he gains the assurance that he isn't alone.

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Jesus saying, come, encourage us, Peter, to take a risk or a step of faith, knowing that

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someone he loves and trusts is right beside him and that all will be okay.

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As I read the part that says Peter got out of the boat and walked towards Jesus, I find

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myself in awe of the courage it would have taken to make that first move.

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Part of the nature of taking a risk, especially if you're over 25 and have a fully developed

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prefrontal cortex, is that in our minds, we assess how the action we take is going to

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be beneficial and what the cost is going to be.

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We run through scenarios in our heads to help us decide whether or not taking this action

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will help us or harm us.

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Things of fear and uncertainty also play into this thought process and keep us out of danger

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if the risk we're thinking of taking is not safe or have a negative outcome.

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I remember in high school during health and PE, we had a lesson about peer pressure and

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how there is a difference between positive and negative risk taking.

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The mental health service Reach Out describes positive risk taking as learning new things

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and exploring unfamiliar territory.

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They say that the risk is positive because while it still evokes a feeling of uncertainty

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or fear, you develop a new skill or there's a possibility of a positive outcome.

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They also describe negative risk as something that can have harmful consequences on our

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health, safety or well-being.

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Believe it or not, the concept of positive risk taking is something that I get to witness

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on the daily.

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In early childhood, taking risks has been found to support decision making and problem solving

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later on in life.

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Risk taking has been recognised as an important aspect in a child's development as it builds

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resilience and develops a sense of motivation to accomplish goals and master new challenges.

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Risky play is a form of play that we give children with access to with the intention

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of encouraging them to engage in positive risk taking.

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This kind of play is all about being adventurous and creating opportunities for children to

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explore and test their own capacities.

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It's associated with fun and thrilling outdoor activities such as sliding, swinging, climbing,

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bike riding, balancing, jumping, chasing and even play fighting.

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Taking positive risks has been found to have a positive impact right from early childhood

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all the way through to our teenage years.

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Could you imagine if you didn't take the risk of applying for your job?

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Or if you never took the leap to come to church?

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Or if you never made an effort to build a friendship with someone new?

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Now that we know that some risks help us develop new skills and have a possibility of a positive

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outcome, maybe we need to consider that God calls us into impossible scenarios to deepen

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our relationship with Him.

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Coming to Lev Vygotsky, there's a few teachers in the room, you've probably heard about this

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guy.

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He says that children don't magically get to a point where they're ready to take on

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new risks or understand new concepts all on their own without absolutely no input from

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those around them.

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I'd like to introduce you all to, sorry, I'd like to teach you all about the zone of proximal

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development, which is a theory on cognitive development in children.

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I know you all came here to learn about the power of the impossible, but I believe that

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this will help us have a better understanding on how Peter had the courage to take a risky

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bold step of faith.

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The zone of proximal development is a theory that children are constantly constructing

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their learning and understanding and risk taking with support from those around them.

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They look to people known as more knowledgeable others who have a greater understanding of

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the particular tasks, processes or concept the child is exploring.

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Often a more knowledgeable other can be a peer, a sibling, a parent or a teacher.

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As I mentioned earlier, I'm lucky enough to see this on the daily, particularly out on

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the playground.

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People often come up to me and say, Miss Clark, I need help on the rock climbing wall.

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Can you come watch me?

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And that is an invitation for me to be the more knowledgeable other, to stand with the

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children and to reassure them that someone they trust is right beside them and that all

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will be okay.

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When Peter invites himself out on the water by saying, Lord, if it's you, tell me to

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come.

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He is looking to Jesus as a more knowledgeable other.

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I believe that Jesus is supporting Peter to deepen his relationship with him by taking

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a risk and stepping out into what seems impossible.

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You see, I think it's interesting that when we're teenagers, we're taught to be cautious

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of peer pressure.

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And don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of that.

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But when we're children, we're encouraged to look at those around us and involve them

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in what we do and what we learn.

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Peter is looking to Jesus as he takes a positive risk.

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And we know that Jesus isn't setting Peter up because Jesus isn't that dodgy friend that

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we hung out in high school.

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Jesus is the Son of God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

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Jesus loves Peter because God loved Peter so much that Jesus came to give him eternal

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life.

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Walking on water isn't impossible because it is something that Peter can't do.

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Not it walking on water is impossible because it is something that Peter can't do in his

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own strength, rather than it being something that breaks the laws of physics.

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In last week's message on consecration, Mark explained that the impossible is God's job

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but obedience is ours.

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He went on to say that through the power of the Spirit, impossible things happen and that

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God is the one doing the miracles.

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Once we call out saying, Lord, if it's you, tell me to come and we feel our reply, it

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is our job to be strong and courageous, to fear or be afraid, to trust that the Lord

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goes with us and that he will never leave us or forsake us.

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Being strong and courageous and stepping into the impossible is hard and confusing.

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But when I was praying about this message, I felt God remind me of the times in my life

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where I was challenged by him, where I challenged him to use me for his kingdom and then found

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myself in places and spaces that felt impossible.

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Some of these examples include going to uni, doing the internship program that encounter

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offers, leading and coordinating our youth group, being a part of prison ministry and

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being a part of the launch team at Encounter Henley.

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All of these scenarios had some level of risk.

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They took commitment and there were opportunities that I offered to God and when I prayed about

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them, I felt God say yes in the same way that Jesus said, come.

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These examples have been times in my life when I was stepping into something that felt

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impossible because I was not capable of doing it in my own strength.

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Thoughts of why am I doing this?

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It's all too much.

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I will never see fruit from this, would flood my brain when I took my eyes off of Jesus.

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In those moments where I took my eyes off of Jesus and my brain was clouded, all of

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a sudden things that I was doing for the glory of God were clouded by my own comfort, my

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own agenda and my own anxiety.

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Quitting would seem like the best option and I couldn't possibly fathom how God was going

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to turn it for good.

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In those moments where I took my eyes off of Jesus, they felt the most overwhelming.

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I was so overcome with motion that I would be crying on my bedroom floor saying, God,

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how am I going to finish this unique degree that you called me into?

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Where am I going to find the time to do XYZ?

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Or I'm not too sure how you're going to use me inside of a prison, God.

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What are you going to do?

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Why are you calling me into this?

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But calling out to God when I was sinking is exactly what we're told to do.

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That's why he is here.

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That's why we have our more knowledgeable other who we love and trust right beside us,

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making sure that everything will be okay.

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When Peter was afraid of all that was going on around him and beginning to sink, he cried

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out, Lord save me.

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And immediately Jesus reached his hand out and caught him.

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And the hand of Jesus is an image of the hand of God.

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And something we need to keep in mind when we're looking to be rescued by the hand of

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God is that we need to be close enough to be within his reach.

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Peter was walking towards Jesus, sharing this experience with him, allowing him to be the

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more knowledgeable other.

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When I'm swimming with Matt at the beach and the waves are crashing into me, I want his

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help to find my feet.

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I need to be close enough to be within his reach.

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I need to, when I'm taking a positive risk that God has called me into, I need to be

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close enough that he can help me when I'm in trouble and overwhelmed.

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In a letter that Peter wrote, that the Peter in this story wrote, he said, humble yourselves

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therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

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casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.

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The Peter in this letter, the Peter in this story wrote this in his letter because he

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knew how powerful the mighty hand of God is.

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He had seen it provide in moments of hunger.

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He'd seen it give peace in the middle of storms.

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He'd seen it heal and his experience to save him when he was starting to sink.

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Master Steven Furtick from Elevation Church says that the hand of God will let you sink

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down low enough to let you know that you need him, but it will bring you back up high enough

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to let the world know he is with you.

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I believe that in one way or another God is calling us to take a step of faith in order

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to deepen our relationship with him.

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I understand that being strong and courageous is easier said than done and that sometimes

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when we stuff up and that sometimes we stuff up by taking our eyes off of God.

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I also understand that reaching out for God's help and humbling ourselves before him can

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be hard, but I often wonder what I or we would have missed out on if we didn't go when God

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says come.

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I sometimes wonder where my faith would be if I didn't do internship or what our youth

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group would have looked like if I wasn't a part of it.

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It's such a beautiful thing to look back on how God used you and who you have impacted.

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Before I finish up I came up with some alliteration for us to remember when we face impossible

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things that would deepen our relationship with him.

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I've called him the three P's of encountering the possible, not to be mistaken with Henley

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Homework, this is an opt-in scenario.

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I might be a teacher but I teach early childhood, we don't have homework.

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Like I said, we explore our own learning.

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Anyway, because you guys are all learners and I know that you're going to do your not

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homework, the first P is to pray.

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I find that praying is the best way for me to call out to God and ask him if I should

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come.

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I might put something to God and say, God, I'm thinking about X, Y, Z and leave it with

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him and see what he says.

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I also find that when I pray to God regularly, at least once a day, my eyes are fixed on

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him and I'm actually living my life for his glory.

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Calling out to God in times of need is also a form of prayer.

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It's what is required from us when we are looking to be rescued by God's mighty hand.

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According to yesterday's prayer room was a reminder for me of how prayer can look different

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for different people but it's equally powerful for all people.

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You see, some people like to pray with music and candles while others create a space for

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prayer with a special chair.

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For me, it depends on where my head is at but most of the time, I like to make a cup

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of tea and write down my prayers in a journal like this one.

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By reaching out to God, I'm able to go where he is calling because it is his voice that

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I'm seeking and following.

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I think something else that I love about praying to God, especially writing your prayers down,

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is that you can look back on what you've prayed for and see how God has answered it, see where

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God has called you in the past and how he's used you.

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Use that as a stepping stone for where you're going to go next.

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The next P for encountering the impossible is people.

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As Lev Vygotsky has discovered, for us to take new risks and learn new things, we need

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to have people around us who are going to support us and help us.

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If you are facing something that requires a step of faith or you're feeling overwhelmed

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by what's around you or if you're reaching out for the hand of God, I encourage you to

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find someone who's going to help you.

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The other night I was feeling overwhelmed about this sermon.

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I prayed about it and I still wasn't sure what to do, so I called Tim.

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Tim was able to give me the reassurance that I was going to be okay and that I should keep

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on going and he was able to encourage me to fix my eyes on Jesus.

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What's also cool about Tim is that when he knows that God is calling you to something,

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he will encourage you to step out of the boat.

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He will give you books to help you along the way, even if it takes you a year and a half

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to read them.

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I love that Tim will also send you a message to see how you're going and that he's ready

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to listen if you feel like you're falling apart.

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Tim didn't know I was going to say all this, but I think he's great.

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You guys should too, he's your pastor.

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But whenever you're encountering them possible, I encourage you not to do it alone.

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I encourage you to reach out to a friend or somebody like Tim who's going to support you

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in taking positive risks and to walk with you when it gets hard.

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I encourage you to find someone who's going to point you back to Jesus and who's going

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to push you towards where God's going to deepen you and going to challenge you.

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My last P for encountering the impossible is process.

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When you are facing something that requires a step of faith or when you are feeling overwhelmed

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by what's around you, after you've prayed and after you've reached out to people, sometimes

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you simply need time to process.

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As I said earlier in our brain, we think about scenarios and what's going to be good about

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or what's going to be bad if this is going to be a positive outcome or not.

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You need to allow yourself time to be able to think that and to take that step of faith

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to come to that decision.

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Again like prayer, this can look different for different people.

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For some people writing down a list of pros and cons may be helpful but for others it

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may be helpful to go for a walk in nature or it may be helpful to do something crafty.

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Some people might like to bake or others might like to crochet.

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Encourage you to give yourself a time frame and see and think about the risk that you're

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going to take and what positive outcomes on new skills could occur.

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Encourage you to tell the people who are supporting you the time frame for your processing so

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that you don't spend so long thinking about the risk that you miss out on taking it.

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The conversation could go something like, hey Tim, I was praying about doing internship

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and I think God is calling me too.

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I want to think about it and I'm going to try and decide by the end of the week what

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do you think and then Tim knows that God's calling you to something that you're thinking

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about it and that you're praying about it and at the end of the week you'll probably

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check up on you and go, what do you think?

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You say, yeah God is calling me.

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If the band could come back up that would be great.

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With the three P's of encountering impossible in mind in one way or another God is calling

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us to take a step of faith in order to deepen our relationship with Him.

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Without human history the hand of God has been guiding, comforting, directing and rescuing

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people in places and spaces that seem impossible.

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Martin Luther King, Corey Tamboum and Bethany Hamilton are some of my favourite examples.

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If these guys can take a step of faith in the middle of a civil rights movement in a

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concentration camp or when their arm has been bitten by a shark, I think you can too.

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I believe that you are courageous and strong, that you do not need to be afraid or terrified.

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I believe that you can trust the Lord will go with you and that He will never leave you

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or forsake you.

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I believe that when you take a step of faith and say, Lord if it's you tell me to come,

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you will see God move in your life in ways He never has before.

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When you humble yourself before God and fix your eyes on Him you will be able to take

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a positive risk that will deepen your relationship with Him.

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As you come close to Him you will be in His reach and you can trust Him that all will be

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okay.

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He's got you.

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His mighty hand will save you and guide you.

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I'd like to finish my message with an opportunity for us to step out of the boat.

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I want to give those who have never had Jesus in their lives an opportunity to welcome Him

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in.

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I want you to have a space where you can invite Him to be a more knowledgeable other.

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He will never leave you or forsake you and He'll make you sure that you will be okay.

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And if this is you, I'm going to pray a prayer.

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We're at the end.

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You can raise your hand if you're feeling ready to take a step of faith.

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Feel free to close your eyes and bow your head.

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Father God, I pray for the people who are no longer wanting to or able to face the impossible

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on their own.

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I pray for those who are needing the guidance, hope, love and peace that comes from your

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mighty hand.

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I pray that if there is anybody feeling a prompt from your Holy Spirit that they would

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be open to what you're going to do.

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And Father God, I pray that if there is anybody in this room wanting to say yes to you that

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you would give them the courage to do so.

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With every head bowed and every eye closed, I'm going to count to three and if you're

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wanting to take a step of faith and have Jesus in your life, I'm going to encourage you

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to raise your hand.

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One, Jesus loves you and he's ready to walk with you.

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Two, he will never leave you of a sake you.

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And three, if you'd like to walk with Jesus, raise your hand.

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Father God, I thank you so much for the way that you love us and the way that you constantly

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call us out into places and spaces that seem impossible.

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Father God, I thank you for the way that you move in our lives and the way that you speak

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to us, Lord.

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I thank you for the way that you rescue us when we feel lost and overwhelmed.

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God, I thank you that you are constantly with us and that you never, ever leave us.

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I pray all these things in your name, my men.

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If you've already said yes to Jesus, whether it was recently or a long time ago, I also

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want to give you an opportunity to step out of the boat and to deepen your relationship

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with him.

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And if you're facing something that feels impossible to step into or if you're looking

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around and feeling overwhelmed by what you see, take this opportunity to humble yourself

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to before God and to reach out for his mighty hand.

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Use this space down the front as a place where you can step out in faith, where you

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can get down on your knees or you can raise your hand.

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You can also use this space in the front as an opportunity to test out the first two

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P's of encountering the impossible.

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See, not homework.

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Myself, Tim, Emma, we'll be down here ready to pray with you and we are all people that

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care for you.

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So we'd be honoured to walk with you in this journey.

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And I'm going to pray one more time to finish up.

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And if you feel God stirring anything at all in you, that is your sign to respond.

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If you feel butterflies in your tummy or if you feel goosebumps on your arms, if you start

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feeling the shakes, that's God moving.

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That's a sign to come to the front.

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I'm going to pray and then God's going to move.

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Father God, thank you so much for the opportunity to share this message, Lord.

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I pray that your spirit will be on the move and I pray that we be ready.

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In your name we pray.

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Amen.