Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20230820 - At Peace In The Storm - Matthew 14:22-33

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#20230820 - At Peace In The Storm - Matthew 14:22-33 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the Study of God's Word recorded live at Calvary
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Church in Aurora, Co To learn more about the many resources
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available through a Bounding Grace Media or to tune into our
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live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot church
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or download our free Calvary Church.
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App. Now let's open our Bibles and
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study God's Word. Amen.
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All right, so this scene in Matthew, chapter 14, we're going
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to be looking at verses 22 and 23 is again, not only a familiar
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passage, it's it's one that you can read of also in the book of
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Mark, in the book of John, however, they only record the
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scene that the part of the story with Jesus walking on the water.
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It's only Matthew of all four Gospels.
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That also includes Peter walking on the water here.
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And of course anytime we open up the Bible, it's always important
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to look at the context, which simply just means what are the
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verses that came before this passage and what are the verses
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that come after this passage. And that way we have a full
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picture of what it is that God wants to say what the Bible has
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for us today. So earlier in Matthew chapter
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14. Before the section we're about
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ready to look at, Jesus was teaching here on a mountainside.
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And then it says the people that he was teaching began to get
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hungry. There were thousands of people
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there. Multitudes, it says.
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And so he performs this incredible miracle, which I wish
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we also had time to look at, where he took a few loaves of
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bread and a couple of fish and he multiplies them.
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And it says there that he feeds 5000 people, probably men plus
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women and children. So this incredible miracle,
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miraculous. And then that's where our story
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picks up here, and that's where we jump in.
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So again, this story that we're looking at, the scene here from
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Matthew 14, was written this morning for us, as is all of
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God's word. But this particular scene I
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believe. It's for you.
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I believe God has a word for you.
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Not because you're going to be out in the middle of a physical
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storm, Not because we're sailors or we're fishermen, but because
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there are going to be storms of difficult days that all of us
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are going to face. And because Jesus is the same as
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he is in the story we're going to read here, he has something
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to say to you today in the middle of your storm.
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And our pastor Ed always tells us when it comes to the
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Christian experience, that we either seem to be in the midst
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of the storm right now and maybe some of you could be like, yeah,
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that's that's me. I am in the middle of something
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very overwhelming right now or we're on our way out of the
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storm and some of you guys are like, praise the Lord.
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I made it. God has been faithful.
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I'm I'm. I'm getting through this by the
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grace of God. And then for some of us, this
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just might be preparation because some of us are going to
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enter into a storm at some point in the future.
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And so for any of us in any of the the places that we are
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today, God does have something to say.
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I am not a fan of storms. I will say that right away.
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If there's anything I could do to avoid the storm, I would do
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it. If I could just get around it
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and bypass it and say, Lord, I'll is there another way I can
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learn the lesson? Please.
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Right. But the reality is.
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We all have storms. Every single one of us.
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We're going to face storms of difficulty.
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And so again, they're inevitable.
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So Jesus, this morning I believe would speak to us wherever we
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are regarding these things. So again, Matthew 14 beginning
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here in verse 22 starts here by saying This is again after the
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feeding of the 5000 immediately. He made the disciples get into
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the boat. Literally.
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There is the idea of he constrained the disciples and it
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says he said says to them go ahead to the other side while he
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dismissed the crowds. So at some point after this
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incredible miracle of feeding 5000 people, Jesus pulls the
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disciples aside. He says, guys, we're going to
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cross over the Sea of Galilee here.
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We're going to head to this area called Gnessret.
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And as you notice after the scene that we're looking at
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today, there's a divine appointment there for Jesus and
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the disciples. But Jesus says, hey, this is
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what we'll do, guys, you go ahead of me, I'll meet you guys
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there, and I'll take care of dismissing the crowds here.
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And again, this is a big deal. The disciples were probably
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always part of this dispersion of these thousands of people.
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Now the Sea of Galilee, here that they're about ready to
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cross, was 15 miles long. But right up at the top of the
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Sea of Galilee, it's 7 miles wide.
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That's the part that they're going to cross those 7 miles.
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And so they're headed from where they currently are in this area
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called Bethseta to this area called Genneserate.
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Across those 7 miles, they're moving from the east to the
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West. And one thing we do know is
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Peter and this crew here are very familiar with this
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territory. They sailed the Sea of Galilee
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multiple times. They're they're fishermen.
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They're they're familiar with boating.
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So this is not unusual for them to do this.
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Again, very familiar terrain. And at this point in the day,
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the sun is setting. Jesus stays behind.
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He begins to dismiss the crowds. The disciples here get into the
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boat without Jesus. They put their sails up.
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And they head out to the West of the on the Sea of Galilee to to
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the seven miles to get to Gnessret again, something they
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had done multiple times before. Now verse 23, it says, after
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dismissing the crowds. He Jesus went up on the mountain
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by himself to pray well into the night.
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He was there alone. We read that a lot about Jesus.
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He often would go away to pray. A lot of times it would be well
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into the night. Other places say that he would
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get get alone with the Father and pray all night long.
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Obviously he must have told this to his disciples later, at least
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Matthew here, who's writing this down, because at this point
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they're on the boat. They weren't there to know what
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was taking place. They had already left, and
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they're in the middle of their journey across the Sea of
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Galilee. They didn't watch him
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dispersing, dispersing the crowd there.
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They didn't see Jesus getting a loan with the Father at that
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point to pray. But I always think, man, if
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Jesus had to get a loan to pray Jesus, how much more do I need
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to get a loan with the Father to pray?
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What a great little lesson there for us.
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If this was life for Jesus, if this was how he received
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direction, if this was refreshment for Jesus, then how
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much do we need to be praying? And to get alone with the
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father, when the horizontal becomes less important than the
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vertical, our relationship with him becomes attractive to.
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Us. And so here's Jesus on this
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mountain praying. Here's his disciples on the
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boat. And we're going to take a look
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at three particular things if you guys are taking notes here,
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three things that we're going to take note of here in the story.
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And then they'll be 3 takeaways at the very end.
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And so the first thing we want to take note of here, number
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one. Is the terror of the storm the
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terror of the storm. We'll see this in verses 24
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through 26, verse 24 says. Meanwhile, the boat was already
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some distance from the land. So John in his gospel giving us
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the same account here, gives us a little bit more information
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and tells us that they had already rode 3 or 4 miles.
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So again, if it's seven miles, they're at about the halfway
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point, maybe just a little bit further.
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So they're right pretty much an equal distance between either
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side of the land there. And it says here that as they
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were some distance from the land, they were battered by the
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waves because the wind was against them, Mark tells us in
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Chapter 6. That Jesus could see them from
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the mountain that he was on while he was praying, and I
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think most likely he he was able to see them supernaturally and
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he could see them, it says in Mark toiling.
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And he could see them rowing because the wind was coming
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against them. Again, John in his account in
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John 617 says this, that the sea arose because a great wind was
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blowing. And the tents there in the
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Greek. Gives us a little bit of a of a
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of a picture because it says there that verse John 617, it
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means the sea of rose more and more.
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The idea is it was getting worse and worse that this storm that
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came out of nowhere was a pretty significant life threatening
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storm because of the great wind that was blowing against them.
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So if any of you guys have been to the Sea of Galilee, you can
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probably picture that in your mind, what it looks like.
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Some of you guys have been on a boat in the Sea of Galilee.
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As you know, it is 600 miles below sea level.
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And what will happen even still to this day, is that the cold
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air will drop from the Mediterranean into something
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called an inversion layer. And all of a sudden out of
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nowhere there can be 8 to 10 foot waves on the Sea of
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Galilee. And that can still happen today.
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I was just looking at Instagram earlier and there's this massive
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hurricane evidently that's coming to Southern California.
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Doesn't happen much, but we've got a lot of friends out there
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and one, one guy posted some pictures of these 6 foot waves
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as they're preparing for this hurricane that's on its way.
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I think it's arriving, I think today or tomorrow.
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So imagine 8 to 10 foot waves here on the Sea of Galilee.
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As a matter of fact, just last year in Israel.
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There was a massive storm that they recorded gusts of winds up
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to 87 mph that would be considered Gale force winds.
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It caused so much flooding and so much damage that they
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estimated it it was $50 million in damage from just this one
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storm last year in in the book of Mark, just a few months
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before the scene that we're looking at here in Matthew.
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It tells us that there was a fierce windstorm, and the
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disciples were also in a boat at that time as well, this fierce
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windstorm, the NIV translation of Mark Forrest tells us it was
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a furious squall. So that gives us a little bit of
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an idea of what they're up against here in the midst of
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this particular storm. So at some point the sails on
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their boat have to come down and the oars come out.
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And so they're battling, and they're pushing against the gust
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of wind trying to make their way to the other side.
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Culturally, at the afternoon here would start at 3:00, so
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evening starting at 3, after they got on the boat and they
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left the multitudes and left Jesus behind.
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Commentators say that at this point in Matthew 14, they could
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have been rowing for six hours, if you can imagine that, some
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commentators say, and it's probably even more likely. 8 or
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9 hours of rowing in the midst of the storm, just trying to get
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to the other side. So they're still here in the
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middle of the sea. They're not getting any closer
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to the land because of the resistance that they're facing.
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Mark tells us in his gospel that at this point they are troubled.
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They're troubled. They're concerned.
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The King James Version actually uses the word tortured.
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Gives us a little bit of a of a deeper perspective.
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These these guys are on the boat and they're experiencing terror.
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They're afraid. You can imagine after hours and
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hours of rowing the blisters at that point on their hands, they
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are feeling physically exhausted and worn out.
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Their backs are probably hurting and I got to give it to them
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that these guys were persistent. Jesus said get to the other side
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and they were making their way with everything that they had
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trying to get to the other side they could have potentially.
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Cut and run and turn back around, which probably would
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have been easier to get back, but they they kept persisting,
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moving forward. They kept working and working
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and they kept rowing and rowing. And yet they weren't getting any
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further to their destination. And and by the way, they're in
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this situation because as we noticed back in verse 22, Jesus
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made him get them, get into the boat there.
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Literally, he constrained them. It says there.
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So this was no option. That's the idea.
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Jesus said no, you guys must get into the boat and go ahead of
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me. That was the idea here.
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So and now they here they are without Jesus in the middle of a
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storm. Not even sure if they're going
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to be able to make it to the other side.
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So they're in again, this storm that's not letting up anytime
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soon, feeling the terror of the storm.
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It tells us in the previous storm that they were afraid they
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were going to drown. They they woke Jesus up, He was
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sleeping on the boat and they said, Jesus, we're going to die.
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We get the same idea that that's what they're feeling here, Not
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sure they're even going to make it out of this particular storm
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alive. And these disciples, I think,
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are going to learn a lesson here because they're in a physical
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storm in this scene, but they're going to go through many storms
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for the rest of their life and not all physical.
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Some of them are going to be storms of difficulty.
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Some of them are going to be storms of persecution all the
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way up until the day of their martyrdom.
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All of the disciples, with the exception of John, all gave
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their lives that were murdered for the sake of the gospel and
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preaching the gospel and sharing the message of Jesus.
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And so they're learning lessons here that I believe God wants
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for you and I this morning. And he wants us to see some
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things that he's putting forward here.
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And as I mentioned before, I would much rather take the
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online course. If there was a course that said
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storms 101, I would pay my money, I would take the course
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and wouldn't have to worry about it, right?
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Like I could just give me all the information and I'm good to
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go. But obviously it's not the way
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it works because storms are a part of all of our lives.
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And the point is that we are all going to go through our own
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storms. So again, the disciples here
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just hours. Before being in the middle of
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this scene had just experienced the great mercy of Jesus as he
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fed 5000 people. Plus he was concerned the people
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were hungry and Jesus cares about all of the details of our
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lives and so he asked if there was any food.
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They brought him some bread and fish and he multiplied it and it
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says that there were even baskets full left afterwards.
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And so they just saw Jesus and experienced this incredible
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miracle and saw the mercy of Jesus.
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But somehow in the midst of the storm here, it seems that they
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are forgetting the mercy of Jesus for them.
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So it tells us here, verse 25, Jesus came towards them walking
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on the sea very early in the morning.
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I love how just out of nowhere, as if it's just something that
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happens every day, Jesus just happens to walk on the sea,
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right? This is an incredible miracle
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that's happening here. Jesus walking on water.
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Now it's probably about the 4th watch of the night here, which
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would probably be somewhere between 2:00 to 4:00 here in the
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morning. And verse 26 tells us when the
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disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and I
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completely get it, because I would be too right.
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It tells us earlier when they were in the storm that they were
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troubled. Now they see this figure walking
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to them and it says they're terrified at this point.
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And of course their first response, as it says here in
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verse 26, is it's a ghost, they said, and they cried out in
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fear. Now just imagine the scene.
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At first, Jesus supernaturally sees them from the mountain
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while he's praying. And I think it's supernatural
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because again, he's at least 3 1/2 miles away from them.
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It's overcast because of the storm.
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It's the middle of the night. Who knows how long he was
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watching him, but Mark tells us he was watching him.
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I'm sure they didn't know that Jesus was watching them.
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They probably felt very alone and afraid.
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But meanwhile, 3 1/2 miles behind them, there's their
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savior with his eyes on them. No doubt he was praying for them
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as he was in the middle of his prayer there.
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And I think for you and I today as well, it's good for us to be
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aware that Jesus also sees us in the middle of our storms.
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That whatever you're walking through.
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In this moment, he's aware of it.
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He hasn't turned his face away from you.
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He sees you. He loves you.
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And I believe scripture tells us as well that he is praying for
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you. That's an amazing reality to
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know that if you're in the middle of a difficulty, whatever
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that difficulty might be, there's various kinds of storms
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that we can walk through. Physical storms, sickness,
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financial storms. But there is Jesus in heaven,
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the right hand of the Father, and he is praying for you, it
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tells us in Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 25.
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He is able to save completely those who come to God through
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him. Since I love this, since he
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always lives to intercede for them for you, Jesus is praying
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for you. Jesus is going before the Father
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on your behalf. What an amazing thought.
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I mean, it's a privilege to have you guys praying for one
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another, isn't it? To know you can come into the
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House of the Lord here and to know that there are people here
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that love Jesus, that will carry your burden with you.
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But man, to know that Jesus is praying for us is powerful, so
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good. And then Jesus comes to them so
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he's on the mountain praying. I don't know what this was like,
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but. At some point he walks down the
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mountain. There they are in the middle of
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the boat, and they're fighting against the wind and pressing
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against it. And somewhere down on the shore,
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Jesus takes his first step onto the Sea of Galilee and he begins
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to walk. And and I can't imagine what
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that was like. I I, I also wonder, were there
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other fishermen, maybe even one guy that was there batcheting
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down his boats? And he's there on the shore
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watching. Perhaps he knows it's Jesus,
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perhaps he doesn't. But watching.
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This dude get on the water and start walking on the water.
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You know, I wonder if we'll meet that guy at some point, because
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I want to find out what it was like for him.
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But just imagine the scene. Here's Jesus.
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The wind is strong. So strong at this point that no
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doubt the sails now on the boat have to go down.
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We know the oars came out, so here they are now, battling the
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wind to get to the other side. The disciples are, because
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they're rowing, they would be facing backwards, moving in the
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direction that they're headed, which would have meant then that
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they're facing the area that Jesus himself would have been
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walking the direction that he was walking towards them.
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Again, we don't know here if there was a lightning, if it was
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that kind of a storm. Does Peter at some point, look
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in the distance and say, like, I think I see looks like a guy out
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there walking, and then there's another flash of lightning and
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and a couple of other disciples go, you know what?
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I think there is. I think there's somebody out
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there walking towards us. Marks Gospel actually said
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something really funny. I don't understand what it
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means, but it says that Jesus kept walking as though he would
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have walked right by them. So just fuck free information
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there. I don't know if.
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Jesus would have just said so you guys over there, right?
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Just kept walking. But I love that.
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Jesus here is walking to them on the sea.
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This had never happened before, by the way, and human history,
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has anyone ever walked on water before?
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And so, as the disciples are seeing this, there was no
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category to file this in their minds, right?
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This is, this is new. And again, he must have been
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close enough to them for them to see him.
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Maybe they didn't recognize who he was, and they clearly didn't
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because their first response was that it's a ghost.
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It's some kind of apparition, and it says that they cried out
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in fear. Now, literally in the Greek, it
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gives us a deeper picture of what's happening there.
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Literally, it says they began to shriek and they began to scream.
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So if you can imagine 12 burly dudes on this boat, Fishermen,
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right? And here they are, shrieking and
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screaming in the middle of the storm.
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These are, by the way, the apostles are heroes of the
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faith, right? Screaming on this boat here.
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These are the guys that Jesus is going to hand the keys of the
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Kingdom to. These are the guys that are
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going to start the early church. But in this scene here, they are
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screaming and shrieking in the middle of the storm and terror.
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But the reality is they'd never been here before.
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They never been here this. This was not.
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They didn't know the next chapter.
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They didn't know what was happening.
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And again as we mentioned before, they were previously in
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another storm which was probably preparation for this storm.
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But back in Matthew chapter 8 and that scene, the difference
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is Jesus was in the boat with them.
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And it says that as they were on the boat, Jesus lays down and
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falls asleep. And the storm comes quickly
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again as it does in this scene. And it says there that the
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disciples wake him up and they say Jesus, we are going to die.
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And so Jesus stands up, puts his hand out, It's he says peace be
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still. And it says there that he
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rebuked the storm, and the storm ceased immediately.
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And then Jesus turns around to the disciples and it says, he
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rebukes them. And he says, you guys, you have
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such little faith, why are you doubting I'm here, I'm here with
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you. But this time in Matthew 14,
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Here they're without Jesus, and they're alone here.
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And then, of course, here comes Jesus walking across the water
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towards them, one Greek scholar says the way that it reads here
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when it says that they saw him walking upon the water is that
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they saw his sandals on the surface of the water, like they
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actually saw his feet on top of the water.
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That's the idea here. That's the picture.
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So he's got to be close enough. Here again, Matthew says that
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their first thought, their first response is it's a ghost.
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And that might sound kind of like a funny thing, like these
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guys believe in ghosts, but they, again, the majority of
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them were Jewish. Matthew here is writing to a
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Jewish audience, and there was a lot of superstition, Jewish
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superstition. So it could have been very
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likely that they thought something along the lines of
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this is an old fisherman who drowned in the sea, and now he's
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coming to talk to us. Right?
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Something's happening here that is so unusual.
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Plus, you know, they've been rowing for hours.
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They're exhausted. Who knows what their, their
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mental state was in that moment? But their first thought was to
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think that it was a ghost. But understand this.
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In this picture, Jesus is coming to them as they are being
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terrorized. By the waves it says he saw
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them, that his eyes were upon them, that his concern is for
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them, that when he was on the mountain praying, no doubt it
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was his prayers that were holding them up.
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And I want to make note of that because it's important for us to
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know that whatever is terrorizing you today, that he
23:17
sees you right now here, however, you've been trying to
23:23
maneuver through your storm, that you're walking through the
23:26
toiling and the rowing, and you're feeling worn out, and
23:31
you're exhausted, and you're not sure if you're going to be able
23:33
to make it further. And you're trying to navigate
23:36
whatever difficulty it is that you're up against.
23:39
I just want you to know today that he is coming to you, that
23:44
in the dark of your storm, his eyes are upon you.
23:49
He's promised to never leave you, and he's promised he will
23:53
never forsake you. Now, some of you here might be
23:56
in the throes of the storm right now and feeling like he has left
24:00
me. I don't sense his presence.
24:03
I don't understand why I'm in the middle of this right now,
24:06
but I can tell you that he has not forsaken you.
24:09
He He He hasn't left you. Whether your storm is the storm
24:14
of a broken family or a broken relationship or broken hearts or
24:21
illness or loss, whatever your storm is, no doubt it hurts and
24:28
it cuts deep. But Jesus would never give
24:31
himself. He would never leave heaven and
24:34
come to earth to Diana Cross for you, to bring you into this
24:39
relationship with him, to have you find yourself in the middle
24:43
of the storm, just to abandon you.
24:46
That's the Jesus would never do that.
24:47
That's never been his heart. That's not who he is.
24:50
As a matter of fact, he said the opposite.
24:51
He says I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
24:56
I will never leave you. I will never forsake you.
24:58
Nothing is going to separate my love, the love of God, which is
25:02
in Christ Jesus. And Jesus wants us to understand
25:05
today that he sees, that he sees you, He understands and he comes
25:13
to us. And I believe even through this
25:16
study, this is a way that Jesus wants you to know I'm coming for
25:19
you. It's going to be okay.
25:21
You're not going to drown. So again, number one, there is
25:25
the terror of the storm. But #2 there is now the test of
25:29
the storm. The test of the storm versus 27
25:33
through 31. Here they are.
25:35
They're crying out. They think it's a ghost.
25:37
They begin to shriek. They begin to scream.
25:39
And I love verse 27. It starts by saying immediately
25:43
I love that word. Because when I'm crying out to
25:45
God in fear, I like the word immediately, right?
25:49
Immediately Jesus speaks to them and he says something so
25:53
powerful. And it is a word for us today.
25:56
No doubt, he says. Have courage.
26:00
It is I Don't be afraid. Have courage.
26:06
Jesus says it is I literally there.
26:09
He says I am. It's the same thing that God
26:14
said through the burning Bush to Moses.
26:17
It's the same way God identified himself to Abraham.
26:20
I am, Jesus says have courage. I am.
26:26
Don't be afraid again in the Greek there, it's it's it's a
26:31
tense called the president imperative.
26:32
Literally what he's saying there's you must stop being
26:36
afraid. You must stop being afraid.
26:40
Now that's hard to hear. I think at least in the middle
26:44
of the storm like I I understand.
26:46
I I read this and the Holy Spirit speaks to me and says,
26:50
Josh you must stop being afraid. And I know it's true.
26:55
And I'll even say, Lord, I I get it.
26:56
Like I know I don't need to be afraid, but God, I am afraid and
27:01
I'm still struggling because I don't know what's coming and
27:05
this is scary storm. Lord, I this is overwhelming and
27:10
and many of us could probably say we feel that way, especially
27:13
if we're in the middle of the storm.
27:14
I I've been walking through storms for months now in my own
27:17
life. One of the reasons I felt even
27:19
led to bring this passage to us this morning is because as a
27:23
pastor, I'm having so many conversations with you guys and
27:26
I'm just hearing about difficulty after difficulty,
27:29
storm after storm. And it can feel overwhelming,
27:32
can't it? It really can and and and my
27:36
heart breaks to hear some of the things that you guys are going
27:39
through. And we do get afraid.
27:41
But notice what he says here before he says don't be afraid,
27:47
he says it is I. And that makes all the
27:51
difference. That always comes.
27:54
Before don't be afraid. His presence.
27:58
He's saying it's I I am, I am here with you.
28:02
You don't need to be afraid. I'm with you like the Psalm says
28:06
the Psalm 23. I will fear no evil because.
28:09
You are with me. So they hear his voice here,
28:16
above the wind, above the raging sea.
28:18
If you can imagine that you can't hear anything, typically
28:21
in an environment like this because the wind is screaming,
28:23
the waves are crashing, you got these 12 dudes screaming and
28:27
shrieking. And yet his voice carries, I
28:30
believe, supernaturally over all of the chaos to say have
28:34
courage. It is I.
28:36
Don't be afraid. And I believe, too, that his
28:39
voice carries over whatever it is that you're walking through.
28:42
If you feel like you're in the midst of the crashing waves and
28:45
the wind is all around you and you can barely think straight,
28:48
that his voice carries over, all of that to say to you, have
28:52
courage, you don't need to be afraid.
28:54
Stop being afraid because I am here.
28:58
I am with you. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac,
29:01
and Jacob. I am the rock that's immovable,
29:04
unshakable, The same yesterday, today, and forever.
29:08
It's the rock that we build our lives on.
29:10
Like a house, right? And when the waves crash, it
29:12
doesn't come down because it's built on a rock.
29:15
The Psalm that says when my heart is overwhelmed lead me to
29:19
the rock that is higher than I, he says That rock is a refuge
29:23
and I run to it and I find safety there and I'm hidden
29:27
there within the cleft of that rock.
29:30
And Jesus is saying to you today, that's who I am.
29:33
The storm may feel scary, but it's no match for me.
29:36
Jesus would say, and because he's the same yesterday, today
29:39
and forever. If you are in a tough situation
29:42
this morning, know this. The Holy Spirit is speaking to
29:46
you through his words saying because Jesus never changes that
29:52
yes the storms are terrifying and yes the the things seem
29:56
threatening to us. But he would say again, I am God
30:00
Almighty. Take courage.
30:03
You don't need to be afraid. I am with you.
30:06
It is I, the familiar voice of Jesus.
30:09
We all know the voice of Jesus. Anyone here that has walked with
30:13
the Lord for any amount of time, we can all say I know when it's
30:17
Jesus speaking to me, I don't audibly hear Jesus, but there's
30:20
a language of the heart and he speaks to me there, and there's
30:23
His word and he speaks to me there.
30:25
And it's a familiar, gentle, tender, comforting voice.
30:30
Sometimes it's a strong word, right?
30:33
But when we need it, it it is. It is.
30:35
Life always is life to us, and Jesus is speaking.
30:41
Notice here we don't need to stop being afraid because the
30:44
storm goes away, but we can stop being afraid because Jesus is in
30:50
the midst of it with you. Again, we live very much in this
30:53
physical existence. Our sense is what we see, what
30:56
we feel, what we experience. So that's why it can be so
30:59
difficult. But there is coming a day on the
31:02
other side of eternity where the storms will stop.
31:05
There will be no more storms. Every tear will be wiped away.
31:08
No more death. No more sorrow.
31:11
No more addiction. No more pornography.
31:14
No more divorce. No more abuse.
31:17
It will be wonderful. It will be wonderful.
31:20
Glory awaits us on the other side.
31:22
Healing awaits us on the other side.
31:25
Restored relationships await us on the other side.
31:30
But this ain't heaven, right? We're still on earth.
31:35
We're still walking through. The journey is going to be
31:38
difficult. Difficult days are going to
31:40
come. But take note that the storms
31:43
that come are tests. The tests.
31:46
This storm was a test for them. Your storm is a test for you.
31:49
And the test is are we going to trust more what surrounds us, or
31:55
will we trust the one who stands with us in the middle of it?
32:00
So verse 28, Peter of course of all of the disciples decides to
32:05
speak up here in the middle of the storm and then the boat.
32:26
So he says. Peter shouts out.
32:10
They think it's a ghost and Peter says Lord if it's you.
32:15
And and some scholars say that the class condition there is
32:17
since it's you. But either way it's still Peter
32:21
trying to determine Jesus's identity here.
32:24
First they thought it was a ghost, now Peter's it's
32:25
becoming. Lord, if it's you, Peter
32:28
answered him, command me to come to you on the water.
32:33
That, by the way, such a Peter thing to say.
32:36
Like if you study the life of Peter, he's always saying
32:38
things, putting his foot in his mouth.
32:41
I don't know what the other guys were thinking when they heard
32:42
Peter say this, right? Like, Peter, keep your mouth
32:45
shut, please. Just let Jesus get into the
32:47
boat. That worked really well for us
32:49
last time, right? But Peter decides for whatever
32:51
reason to say, to command me to come out to you on the water.
32:56
What a, what a funny thing. What a remarkable thing, right,
32:58
for Peter to say, Jesus, you're walking on the water, so maybe I
33:04
could walk on the water too. And if you commanded me, I could
33:07
come out to you. So verse 29, Jesus speaking here
33:11
to Peter says he. He says said come.
33:17
So at that moment, if I was Peter, I'd be thinking, I really
33:21
wish you wouldn't have said that, right?
33:23
Like that was just supposed to sound impressive.
33:25
I didn't actually think you would tell me, Lord, to come out
33:27
right? I wish he would have said no,
33:29
no, no, no. You stay in the boat, Peter.
33:31
I'll come to you. But Jesus says, okay, you want
33:34
this? Let's go.
33:35
Come verse. The rest of verse 29 says
33:38
climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and
33:45
came towards Jesus. So again, the storm is still
33:49
raging. Let's remember that this is the
33:50
middle of chaos and supernaturally Jesus speaks to
33:55
them. Peter responds, Not sure exactly
33:58
what was going on in Peter's mind at that at that time.
34:00
But but Peter says he gets out of the boat.
34:02
So I can imagine this is what I would do.
34:04
At least I would put my foot over the boat and just test the
34:06
water. It's like.
34:08
Oh, wow. I can act like my foot's not
34:09
going down and I get out the other side.
34:12
And I would hold on to the boat just to make sure I'm
34:13
stabilized. But Can you imagine?
34:15
Peter? Let's go.
34:16
And he's on the water and all the disciples are like Peter.
34:20
What? Dang, that's impressive, right?
34:22
And here he is. He takes one step after another
34:25
and it says he walks on the water and came towards Jesus.
34:33
And I don't know what's more amazing in this scene, honestly,
34:35
it's the fact that you have the Lord of creation himself, Jesus,
34:39
the Lord of the wind, the Lord of the storm walking on water.
34:43
That's remarkable. Or is it more remarkable that
34:46
you have a Sinner like you and me walking on the water?
34:50
They're both pretty impressive. They're both remarkable.
34:53
Jesus says, Peter, come and and I just want to take note here
34:57
that Jesus often will call us to a place like this where he will
35:02
say come in the midst of what might seem illogical, in the
35:08
midst of what might seem like it doesn't make sense.
35:11
It's it's not something that I had planned for.
35:15
It doesn't even look like it's the right thing to do.
35:18
But Jesus bids come. And you know, there's moments in
35:21
our lives aren't there, where we sense the voice of Jesus calling
35:25
us into something out of our comfort zone to accomplish
35:29
whatever it is that he wants to accomplish.
35:32
But when we're unwilling to take a step of faith out of the boat
35:36
into the water, then we will miss the promise that he has for
35:41
us in the middle of that situation.
35:42
And we're going to miss whatever miracle it is that he wants to
35:46
do through you in your life. And even more important than
35:50
that, we're going to miss some of the death of his love for us.
35:55
So just a word from maybe any of you that have sensed in your
35:57
heart the bidding of the Lord into something, whatever that is
36:01
moving you towards something, calling you, saying come, don't
36:05
be unwilling because you're afraid.
36:07
But take the step of faith as Peter climbs out of the boat and
36:12
walks on water here defying gravity.
36:16
Right he this is a miracle what's taking place.
36:21
So as Peter is walking, it says towards Jesus verse 30 tells us
36:25
when he saw the strength of the wind and and again it was noisy
36:29
too. The crashing waves, the wind
36:32
perhaps lightning. It was just chaotic all around
36:36
Peter there looks around, sees the strength of the wind.
36:40
It says he was afraid and I would be too right and beginning
36:45
to sink. He cried out.
36:48
Lord, save me. There's an important lesson here
36:52
because it tells us beginning as he was beginning to sink.
36:57
And I would just say that is the most important time.
37:00
So beginning, it says there, imagine that some people wait as
37:04
they're drowning just right up until their nose is over the
37:06
water. They're like, OK, Lord, I give
37:08
that's the moment I cry out to you.
37:10
It says Here, though, the moment Peter began to sink, think of
37:14
someone like Jonah, right? He was thrown into a different
37:17
kind of a storm. He was swallowed by a whale.
37:20
And it tells us there that he was in the whale for three days
37:22
and three nights and at. And then it's then that he
37:25
decides to cry out. He's already in the whale at
37:27
that point, right? Some people like Jonah.
37:30
Like me, we can be stubborn sometimes, but this is
37:33
important. When you are beginning to sink,
37:36
cry out. When you're beginning to sense
37:39
yourself going down, cry out to him.
37:42
He's there. Peter cries out here, 3 simple
37:46
words. Lord save me.
37:50
Lord, save me. Again, sometimes there's no time
37:53
for a big, eloquent prayer. Peter here wasn't thinking
37:57
through. How can I be with the most
37:58
eloquent and the most theological here as I'm about
38:02
ready to drown? No, sometimes it's just a a
38:04
quick, desperate prayer. And and again, scripture tells
38:09
us that he doesn't hear us for our many words.
38:12
That's not the point. Jesus isn't impressed by our
38:15
prayers. When we say a lot, he's looking
38:16
at our hearts. And so three simple words like
38:20
this from a sincere heart can mean so much more than 100
38:25
eloquent words from somebody that's just going through the
38:27
motion. So just a word of encouragement
38:29
for some of you that are here that are afraid to pray in front
38:32
of other people or think that your prayers aren't as spiritual
38:37
or don't sound as good as other people.
38:40
Sometimes our prayers just need to be like this.
38:42
Lord, save me. You can't get much more simple
38:44
than that, right? And I've no doubt Peter was so
38:47
sincere in this prayer here. And then again verse 31, another
38:50
word immediately there. I love that as Peter is crying
38:55
out, Lord save me immediately, immediately right there Jesus
39:01
response to his prayer. When you cry out in prayer, I
39:05
just want you to know immediately Jesus will respond
39:09
to your prayer as well. He never turns a deaf ear to any
39:12
of us. As a matter of fact, he inclines
39:14
his ear to us. The psalmist says he bends down
39:18
and he listens. There's actually in the Hebrews
39:20
a beautiful picture where it says that he Stoops down and he
39:23
looks at you face to face is this beautiful idea when you
39:27
pray, when you cry out to him. And then it says here that Jesus
39:31
reached out his hand. So Peter obviously is close
39:35
enough now for Jesus to reach out his hand, to take hold of
39:38
him and to lift him up out of the water.
39:43
Now, sadly for someone like me, there's more times in my life
39:47
where I will cry out to him when I'm sinking, but I'm not often
39:51
crying out to him when I'm walking.
39:54
Those those prayers become more desperate when difficulty comes
39:57
into my life. And I want my prayers to be the
40:00
same. I want in the good seasons of
40:01
life. I want to be desperate, and I
40:03
want to seek the Lord in this kind of a way.
40:05
But what's interesting is as Peter is closer to Jesus and
40:09
going down into the water, he's more closer than as Jesus is
40:14
rescuing him than he is as he's walking.
40:16
It's in his drowning and in his desperation, he's closer to
40:20
Jesus than it was when he got out of the.
40:21
Boat and walked. Towards Jesus and it says here
40:23
immediately Jesus reached out his hand.
40:27
And he takes hold of Peter's life.
40:30
And Jesus is no respecter of persons.
40:34
So he responds again to you and to I as your as his daughter, as
40:39
his son. He'll respond to us just as much
40:42
as he responds here to Peter. So know that if you feel that
40:47
the Lord doesn't hear your prayers and decease, no, He
40:49
hears you. He hears you.
40:51
If you feel like the Lord has forgotten you, know he, He's
40:54
watching you. He sees you.
40:56
If you feel like the Lord is distant, no, He's coming to you.
41:00
If you feel like the Lord has forsaken, you, know he is
41:03
exactly where he needs to be. And He's not distant from you at
41:07
all. He's close, and I love this.
41:10
It says that Jesus caught hold of him.
41:14
What a picture. And maybe that just needs to be
41:17
your prayer. Lord, I am drowning right now.
41:23
I I don't know what's coming. But this is difficult.
41:27
But, Lord, I see you catching hold of Peter here.
41:31
Lord, would you catch hold of me if it's true that you're the
41:35
same yesterday, today and forever?
41:38
Lord, I need you to catch hold of me.
41:42
And as Jesus does this, and no doubt he brings Peter up, back
41:46
up on the water, he looks at Peter and there's a little bit
41:50
of a rebuke. I believe it's a gentle rebuke.
41:53
But he looks at Peter and he says, here Peter, you have
41:56
little faith, why did you doubt? Why did you doubt?
42:01
And I wonder if at this point the other guys in the boat are
42:03
just like, I am really glad I didn't get out of the boat,
42:06
Peter, that was all you, right? But when Jesus here says, why
42:10
did you doubt that the word for doubt there in the Greek is it
42:13
pissed us. And it means to take two stands.
42:17
It means to stand for one thing and to stand for another thing.
42:22
So Jesus is saying here to Peter, you have little faith.
42:24
Why did you say, let me come out to you on the water, And then I
42:28
say come, and then you become more afraid of the storm than
42:33
you do my beckoning you to come. And so this was a test of faith
42:38
for Peter and Peter, by the way, we got to give him credit.
42:41
He did have the measure of faith, right?
42:43
He He had enough faith to get out of the boats and to begin to
42:47
walk which. Requires faith.
42:49
But somewhere along the way his doubts began to overwhelm him.
42:55
So we see here again the terror of the storm.
42:58
We see the test of the storm. And then our Third Point here is
43:02
that we see the truth of the storm.
43:05
The truth of the storm versus 32 and 33, it says here in verse 32
43:09
when they got into the boat. And again, what were the guys
43:14
thinking at this point? You know, it tells us and John
43:16
to help them get into the boat. So they're pulling them into the
43:19
boat and there they are standing in the boat together.
43:22
Jesus back in the boat with them, Peter back in the boat
43:24
with them again. When Peter and Jesus got back
43:27
into the boat, it says the wind ceased and the storm was over.
43:33
And verse 33 those in the boat worshipped him and said truly
43:37
you are the Son of God. Now John again, in his account,
43:42
it says in John 621. Then they were willing to take
43:46
him into the boat, and it says they're immediately the boat
43:50
reached the shore where they were heading.
43:52
So again, they're in the midst of the sea a second before Jesus
43:58
gets into the boat with them and the bow crunches up against the
44:02
shore and they're there. They're at their destination.
44:05
They literally traveled 3 1/2 miles in a moment.
44:09
It says here immediately. John tells us immediately they
44:12
were they were at the shore where they were headed.
44:14
When Jesus gets into the boat with them, then they are
44:18
immediately where they want to be.
44:21
And it says here that the wind ceased.
44:23
So the storm is over as soon as Jesus steps into the boat with
44:29
them. The wind stops the crunch and
44:32
there they are on the land. And it says here no doubt they
44:37
looked at each other. Storm is over.
44:40
Peter's alive. Jesus is there with them.
44:44
They're at the destination there, and I just got to believe
44:48
they're looking at each other with amazement.
44:50
And then they look back to Jesus and they say truly, truly you
44:56
are the Son of God. And for any of us here that have
45:00
walked through storms, because we are a family of believers,
45:03
many of us have been walking with Jesus for a long time.
45:06
Many of us could testify here I have been through storms.
45:10
As a matter of fact, there are some of you here that I know
45:12
have walked through some of the deepest storms and you are some
45:17
of the most joyful, peace filled Christians that I've ever met.
45:22
But you are able to say, man, it was scary.
45:25
But God has been nothing but faithful to me, and God has been
45:28
nothing but good. And you're able on the other
45:30
side to look back and see that me, on the other hand, I I will
45:37
often go through a storm and struggle my way through it.
45:40
And then after I come through the other side, I'll say, Lord,
45:43
of course you were there with me the whole time.
45:46
Why did I even doubt? Of course.
45:50
Jesus, you were true to your word.
45:51
Why didn't I just lay hold of you?
45:54
Truly, you are the Son of God, and it says that they
45:57
worshipped. And so if you're in the middle
46:00
of a storm now, or your storm is just recently ended, or you're
46:05
about ready to enter into the storm, and this is just a word
46:07
of preparation for you, we get to declare in this place, no
46:13
matter what surrounding us right now, that Jesus is the Son of
46:18
God. In your life, that Jesus walks
46:21
upon the waters of your difficulty, that Jesus speaks a
46:25
greater word over your struggle, over the wind, over the waves.
46:29
He sees you as you're toiling, He sees you as you're
46:32
struggling, and he's never left you and he will not leave you.
46:37
So 3 very quick takeaways as we close here, just to kind of help
46:40
wrap this up and to help us sort of have three things that we can
46:44
hold on to from all that we've looked at this morning.
46:47
Number one, our first take away. As we mentioned before, Jesus
46:51
never loses sight of those he loves.
46:56
Jesus never loses sight of those he loves.
46:58
And that may be a word for you today.
47:00
See the first time, the first storm that the disciples were in
47:03
it says they turn to Jesus and mark 438 and they say, teacher,
47:07
don't you care if we drowned? And that was when Jesus, by the
47:12
way, was in the boat with them. He was there with them.
47:15
And here in this scene I got to imagine they're saying where is
47:18
Jesus when we need him the most? Why is he not here with us?
47:23
And must have felt like Jesus had abandoned them and must have
47:27
felt like Jesus had forgotten them.
47:29
But the reality is Jesus was on a mountain 3 1/2 miles away.
47:34
On his way to them, he was praying for them and he saw
47:38
their struggle. Because Jesus never loses sight
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of those he loves, and He hasn't lost sight of you either.
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He sees you whether or not you sense him right now, in this
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moment, Whether or not you feel the power of God in your
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circumstances or not, He is there and He will catch hold of
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you and it will be okay #2. 2nd take away The wrong perception
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of the savior is greater danger than the storm.
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The wrong perception of the Savior is greater danger than
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the storm. In other words, if we think
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Jesus is just here to give us what we want, a life of comfort,
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a life of ease, a life inside the boat, there are plenty of
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churches that will teach that. It's called the prosperity
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gospel. But that's not what Jesus
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teaches. Because if we think that that's
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what he has for us, a life of comfort and ease and health and
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wealth, then we will end up frustrated the moment a storm
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comes into our life. And we will end up despairing,
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and we will end up questioning the ways of God.
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But it's true that again, in all of our lives, storms come, and
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some of them are storms of correction.
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Not all of them, but some of them God allows into our lives.
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Just as he did with Jonah. Jonah needed a storm of
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correction. God loved Jonah, and God loved
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the people that Jonah was being sent to.
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But that storm in Jonah's life was a storm of correction.
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But there's also storms of instruction, instruction, and
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that's what we're seeing here in Matthew 14.
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They are in the middle of his will when they go out to the
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sea. They are in the middle of his
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will when the storm hits them. And we have to remember that
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when we're in a difficult situation, we are still in the
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middle of his good will. My first thought is to say, OK,
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Lord, what is it that I did this time that's bringing this on
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like, right, What did I do to deserve this?
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But I often don't think, and God's working with me on this.
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OK, Lord, this is difficult. What is it that you're wanting
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to show me in this? What?
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What is it? How are you wanting to deepen me
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in this? How are you wanting me to trust
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you more in this? How are you conforming me into
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the image of your son making me more like Jesus?
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In the midst of this, So if you're here today and you're
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frustrated at God, or perhaps even angry at God because you're
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in a difficult situation, and if you have had a wrong perspective
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of him, I just want you to know this today.
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The whole reason you're in a storm is because he wants to
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rescue you from the storm and show you something in the middle
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of that. In other words, he hasn't saved
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you and then brought you this far in your walk with Jesus.
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And then leaving you in the middle of the storm to frustrate
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you. That's not his heart.
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He doesn't want that. And again, he hasn't brought you
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this far to abandon you. That certainly is not who he is
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or what he wants. No, you don't have to understand
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all the ways of God in this moment.
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And that's okay. We don't all understand the ways
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of God. But I believe that he would say
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to you, do you trust me? Not how you feel right now.
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Not whether you can sense my presence or not right now.
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But do you trust my character? Do you believe I will come
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through? And do you trust that I will not
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let you go? So again, the wrong perception
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of the Savior is greater than the storm itself.
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And then our third and final take away as we wrap up here,
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peace is found not in the absence of storms, but in the
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presence of Jesus. Peace is found not in the
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absence of storms, but in the presence of Jesus.
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You see Jesus. Didn't invite Peter into the
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water once he calmed the water. That's the way I would like to
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be invited into the water. But that's not what Jesus did.
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He invited Peter into the water in the middle of the storm.
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The calming of the storm didn't happen until later, and in the
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rebuke of Peter there it was because Peter took his eyes.
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Off of Jesus, he started, focusing on the storm around
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him. Rather than Jesus, who was right
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in front of him, because peace is found in the presence of
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Jesus. It's not found in the absence of
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Storm. It's the opposite again of how
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so many of us operate. We think of peace like I'm going
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to retire, I'm going to play golf, and everything's going to
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be great for the rest of my life.
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We think of peace as the good life.
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Or the easy life, or smooth sailing from this time out,
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right? That to us is often how we think
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of peace. That if we trust him again,
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he'll give us exactly what we want.
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But Jesus never promised us that, and I think it's important
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for us to hear that. As a matter of fact, he he, he
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promises the opposite. He said in this world you will
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have trouble. He says you will have trials.
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He says you will have storms that will come upon your life.
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But. You can have peace, Jesus would
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say, if you keep your eyes on me, no matter what's happening
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around you. Walls are crashing,
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relationships are burning, finances are crumbling.
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The world is getting more and more insane.
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But keep your eyes on me and you will find peace.
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The Psalmist says it this way. He will keep you in perfect
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peace. Whose mind has stayed on you?
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I like what the 20th century British pastor Martin Lloyd
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Jones says. This is great.
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He says if we only spent more of our time in looking at Christ,
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we should soon forget ourselves. So when our eyes are in Jesus,
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they're not on the storm. And that's how we are at peace
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in the storm. So as the worship team comes out
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and as we close here, I just want to.
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Say you know, normally a, a, a message like this can often be
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wrapped up in. I mean I could ask you guys to
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stand and if you're in the middle of a storm and I would
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suspect that probably most of us could stand and then we we would
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have people lay hands and and pray for you.
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And that's appropriate and that's wonderful.
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And that's the body of Christ. I'm bearing one another's
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burdens. But but I just felt the Lord say
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today, no, this is this is your storm right now.
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This is between you and Jesus. And what did the disciples do
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when Jesus got in the boat? They worshipped.
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And I just want to take this moment here to close.
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And and as the worship team comes out in this final song of
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worship, and this is our way of saying, no matter what storm I'm
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in, no matter what it is that I'm walking through, Jesus,
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truly you are the Son of God. And I'm going to proclaim it,
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and I'm going to shout it above my storm, above my difficulty,
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above my pain, above my confusion, above my doubt.
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God, that you are here, You are in this place.
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You are coming towards me. You're nothing but good.
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You will be faithful. There's a room full of people
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here that will say God will be faithful to you because He's
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been faithful to me. He will see you through, because
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He's seen me through. And so we're just going to lift
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our voices and lift our hands and worship the Son of God in
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this place. And lastly, if you're here today
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and you don't know Jesus, the very Jesus that we're reading
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about here, I just want to say this.
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Whatever your difficulty is, He loves you, He loves you, and he
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offers his hands to you today as you're drowning in your sin.
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And your sorrow. And like Peter, you have to
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willingly receive him. You can't receive him again
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because a Christian is trying to shove him down your throat.
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Mom or dad dragging you to church.
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You can't receive him because people will give you pat answers
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for pat problems. But you can receive him, because
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today, suddenly you see him walking on the waters toward
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you. And he offers himself to you as
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your savior. The Bible says that we're
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separated from him because of sin.
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So we're drowning. That's our destination.
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We're we're going to sink. But Jesus came from heaven to
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earth, lived a perfect life, died of death.
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That you and I deserved. Pay the price that you and I
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could never pay. So that he could declare over
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your life it is finished. No matter who you are, no matter
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what you've done, matter how awful your life has been, only
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Jesus has the ability to say to you, I can forgive all of it and
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take it away as if you never did it, and I'll prove it.
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And Jesus did prove it, because he died to pay that price.
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And three days later he rose up again from the dead, proving he
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has the power not only over death.
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But he has the power over your sin to wipe it away, to forgive
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you. No person has ever forgiven us
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the way that Jesus forgives us. Pastor Ed has a verse on the
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pulpit here that he says he reads every time he comes up
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here to preach. It's from Romans 10 versus 9
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through 10. And this is the invitation for
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those of you here that don't know Jesus if you confess with
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your mouth. The Lord Jesus and you believe
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in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
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saved, for with a heart one believes unto righteousness, and
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with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
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So it would be our honor as pastors, as a church team, as a
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prayer team, as a church family here that if you don't know
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Jesus that you would come up at the end of the service.
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Grab one of us. Say I am the one that has been
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sinking and I'm reaching out my hands knowing that Jesus has
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already reached out his hand to me and he will catch hold of you
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and we'd love to pray with you. And that goes for any of us
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here, any of us in the storm. If you're just needing somebody
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to be the hands in the feet of Jesus today and and walk through
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that storm with you, to pray with you, just to tell you it's
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going to be okay, we are here. That's what this gathering is
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all about. We need one another.
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We can't do this alone, especially when we're in the
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storms that some of you guys are walking through.
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But our response now, before we go to one another and these
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things, is to go to Jesus. Truly, you are the Son of God.
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So let's stand and let's worship and let's sing louder than the
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storm in our lives and praise him for all that he's done.
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We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study
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delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church.
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For prayer, call us at 87730 Grace.
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That's 877-304-7223. To listen to this message in its
58:56
entirety or to join us for our live stream services, visit us
59:00
online at Calvary, Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
59:05
Church app. Be blessed as you worship Jesus
59:08
this week.