Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / When Jesus Walks on Water | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series)

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When Jesus Walks on Water | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Jehovah Jireh, my provider, God is Not intimidated by our
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economy. He believed that he has his own
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economy, right? He'll take care of us.
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You'll guide us in this time of inflation and recession and all
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the craziness and all the rumors of the American dollar.
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What's going to happen? A new currencies and all these
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things. God owns a thousand cattle on a
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thousand hills. He has everything under control
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my brother, he has everything under control my sister, I want
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you to see that with me and God's word today.
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Would you meet me in Mark chapter 6?
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Meet me in that, glorious text. That is so, so, so common to our
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understanding to our Vault of testimonies of what God has done
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in the past, in the person of Jesus Christ.
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But I pray today that you would see it in a new light that you
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would see it with fresh fresh eyes.
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And our brother prayed so beautifully, but I can't help
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but pray again. Would you pray with me and maybe
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pray for me while you pray as well.
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Lord, we come to you in. Absolute, reverence absolute
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awe. What we do to come.
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Knowing that we have been accepted in the Beloved but Lord
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our hearts our hearts are so easily distracted consumed with
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the things of this world so weak so frail.
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So, given over to emotion. Lord, we ask for a personal
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Grace. Especially for the delivery of
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this word. We pray that there would be a
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special power in it. We ask Lord that there would be
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a sense of your nearness Lord. We pray that you would peel back
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the veil and that we would be able to behold you Lord, let
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everybody disappear like Christ takes center stage.
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And what we pray again that you would do wonders in our hearts
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and our understanding. Yes.
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But in our lives, practically speaking, we pray that you would
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come and do Miracles Lord. Heal us heal the broken body.
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Heal the broken marriage heal, the Wayward heart heal, the
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confused. Soul heal the broken in spirit.
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Oh Lord. We pray that you would indeed
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heal us. Your Holy Spirit would speak to
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us. O God, we pray that there would
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be unction in the Holy Spirit this afternoon, true unction and
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power Lord. We know that your own Apostles
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could not go without the holy spirit being bestowed upon them
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with a special Grace Lord, we do not presume and we do not rely
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on our own strength. Let the Holy Spirit.
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Have his way and may Christ be pleased with what he sees and
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hears in this house. And Jesus name, we pray.
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Amen. Twelve. twelve baskets was a
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total number of leftovers that the 12 disciples were able to
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gather after Jesus Christ performed, a miraculous banquet
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to feed thousands of men, women and children at the time where
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they could not eat for themselves. 12 12, baskets of
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bread and fish. For 12 of Jesus, closest
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servants, who were willing to suspend their getaway in order
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to serve strangers in a desolate place.
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It was no coincidence that the number of baskets that they were
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holding in their arms was 12. Because in that Miracle of the
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loaves, Jesus did not just want to communicate to a crowd who
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are like sheep without a Shepherd that he is
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compassionate. He also wanted to communicate to
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his own that he does not Overlook them.
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When Jesus mysteriously Made bread appear in fish to come
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about out of nothing. He also calculated the amount
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that would be left and that would be retrieved by his own
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and Jesus wanted to teach so much in that one miracle.
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And one of the things that you and I concluded on last week, Is
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that when the Lord sees you, the Lord sees me serving him.
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He does not forget us. He will not leave us to
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ourselves. In fact, when we serve him
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sacrificially, he will take care of us perfectly and more than
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that one day, he will reward us abundantly.
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I'm telling you that this is the truth for those who are indeed
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dedicated to his purposes. In fact, there is a verse that
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confirms that truth and I know we already we haven't even read
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a verse from Mark, but I'm telling you to go somewhere
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because I want you to make this a verse that you will cling to,
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as you serve him day by day, month after month.
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Month year by year. So keep your place their Mark,
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but go quickly to Hebrews 6 10 because this is what will
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Comfort some of you. and Hebrews 6, 10, the holy spirit says, for
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God is Not unjust. So as to overlook your work and
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the love that you have shown for his name and serving the Saints
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as you still do. For God is Not unjust to
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overlook your service. Your love to the church to the
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people of God. Why would the Holy Spirit
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include a verse like this and Holy Scripture?
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Why would he insert this? Kind of a promise in the text.
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You know why? Because we are prone to believe
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at times that, as we give our efforts, and our resources, and
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our energy to, the things of God, that he might forget us,
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that he doesn't see us. And that awful thought is often
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strengthened when we perceive and people that they don't
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notice what we have to offer, and they don't express their
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appreciation for our sacrifice and what we do to benefit and
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all the time that we take apart from our families, or from other
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activities that we could be doing on the weekend.
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And so we interpret how people fail to see us.
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And then we bring that to God, and we think surely Lord, you
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have indeed in some measure. Forgotten me.
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People may forget even God's people God doesn't and what this
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text shows is that it is contrary to his nature to be
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forgetful and not to remember, every single deed of love that
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you have performed in his name. It is actually a violation of
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his character to dismiss whether smaller great, what you have
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done for his namesake and that is what you saw last week when
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Jesus provided 12, baskets of food for 12 of his servants, who
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gave up that evening? That was devoted to them to
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others. And we will continue to see that
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truth conveyed though, manifested differently today.
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You and I are going to witness another miracle and the miracle
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that we're going to witness is going to teach a different angle
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of God's all seeing Grace, the same disciples, who are able to
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perceive that the Lord sees me. In my service are the same
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disciples who are going to see that the Lord watches me.
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Not just in my service, but in my struggles, And the way the
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Lord is going to convey that gracious truth is by walking on
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water. Yes, by walking on water Christ
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is going to convey to the disciples.
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And to us that he sees us not just as we toil and service, but
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even as we struggle, while we try to serve him, And I want
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your heart to be open to that truth and to believe it for
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yourself, and though that might be the Central Point that's
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going to be driven down into our souls.
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That is not the only Point, there's so much.
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There's so much that beautifies this text that we cannot ignore
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and I want you to see it with me as we begin to read here in
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verse 45, Mark 6:45. Immediately.
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He made his disciples, get into the boat and go before him to
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the other side, to bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.
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And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain
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to pray. Something happened right after
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Jesus fed the multitudes, the Lord perceives something.
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Something came to his attention. And clearly, it was urgent
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enough for the Lord, to look at the 12, all of a sudden to say,
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get in the boat and go get out. Meet me in B.
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Ida go before me. And we may not perceive what it
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is exactly here, but it's the concert of the word of God, that
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actually shows us, but we might think to ourselves a what
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happened exactly what happened for Christ to commission his
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disciples and this way. And not only that, but to slip
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into Solitude himself Did the Pharisees and Sadducees show up
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on the scene again with another devious plot that Herod sent for
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his men freshly after killing John, the Baptist to apprehend
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Christ and his closest followers.
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What was it that demanded such dispersion after a mighty
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display of his majesty are. You don't have to guess, praise
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God. You have to read your Bible more
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carefully. And where we get the answer is
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in the parallel account of this very same incident, and that
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isn't John. And in John, chapter 6, I want
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you to see exactly why it. That Jesus did this very thing
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John 6:14. We read.
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When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said this
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is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.
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They interpreted the miracle of the bread and fish and linked it
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to the promise that was spoken through.
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Moses, that there is a prophet who is to come and you shall
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listen to him. And they saw the correlation
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between a Moses Who provided Manna in the wilderness.
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Now with Christ, Who provided bread for them in a desolate
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region. And so they said it's got to be
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him. But more than that in verse 15
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perceiving, it says perceiving then that they were about to
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come and take him by force to make him King.
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Jesus withdrew, again to the mountain by himself perceiving,
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then that they were about to come and take him by force to
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make him king. That's the reason.
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That's the reason Jesus looked at his table and said go.
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And that's the reason where he pulled himself away up into a
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Hilltop. So that he can be in prayer.
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Why isn't as an encouraging thing don't we want Jesus to be
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crowned as King by the Jews? Especially no actually it's not
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a good thing. Because John goes on to tell us
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that their motive, their desire and wanting to exalt him.
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And give him a throne is purely because he made their bellies
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full. They're their intention here is
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just because purely because of material Miracles that were
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performed and think about what Jesus can do for us, if we elect
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him as our leader, think about all the days off work, Think
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about all the vacations, think about all the endless meals,
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think about all the things that he can do and so they were now
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so excited and ready to start a revolution.
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They were ready to overthrow Rome with this kind of Miracle
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Worker on their side. Surely, we can do it.
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And so, there is enthusiasm, but it's a misguided enthusiasm.
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These people enjoyed the bread that Jesus could provide, but
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they would not Embrace him as the bread, from heaven.
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That's why Christ wanted nothing to do with their proposal.
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And so, he looks at his 12 and he says, knowing their weakness
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that they can get caught up in this frenzy and entertain the
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ideas for themselves and side with them and say, Lord, come
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on, this is good. They want you to be king, is in
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this what we want. You're the Messiah.
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This is our time. No, he doesn't even give him a
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moment more. He says, get in the boat and go.
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And he does tell them to do that, but at the same time, he
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also senses the need to retreat himself to pull away, not just
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from the crowd but from his own and to do what of all things.
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After a long day of ministry, Of exercising, power teaching,
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healing and doing things with bread and fish, he wants to
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pray. That's for your instruction.
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My brother. And my sister.
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That's for our Council. This is included for us to know
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something about prayer and here's what it is.
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When you are presented the opportunity, the temptation to
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Veer away from the will of God, you must learn to turn to
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prayer. Jesus will one day Rule and
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Reign on this Earth as king. You better believe it, he will,
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but before he would be crowned King there in Jerusalem as that
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mountain would be exalted above all other mountains.
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We are told he had to face the cross.
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No Crown before a cross. Jesus knew that.
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Jesus knew that, but that didn't stop Satan in the wilderness to
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give him a shortcut to the throne.
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Jesus knew that the but didn't talk didn't stop the crowd to
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approach him and to give him an easier way out.
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And so what you have here in essence is the persuasion to
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avoid the cross and to come to the throne.
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Early. And the Lord would not have any
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of it. And the way the Lord would be
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strengthened to resist it. So to speak, is by exemplifying
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what you need. And what I need when similar
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Temptations, are brought before us to say why don't you just do
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it this way? Prayer is what anchors Us in the
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purposes of God prayer is what will fortify you on.
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The path that God has ordained for you prayer, is what clears
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your vision and helps you to perceive past the carnal prizes
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and promotions of this life and to have a righteous perspective
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on all things. That's what prayer does. and if
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there's any take away, That you will make from this point,
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please let it be this that apart from prayer, you you.
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And I will not know, longevity in the will of God.
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We will not know how to be sustained in the sweet purposes
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of our King. If we don't know how to
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cultivate a life of prayer, listen to this, Jesus had to
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pray, that's fascinating to me. He didn't stand there and
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linger. He didn't stand there and
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entertain the thought he didn't, he didn't engage with those
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people and what they would offer him now.
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He went into secret and met with the father.
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And the type of prayer that I'm speaking about that, will
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promise you success and honoring the Lord Jesus Christ with your
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life is the prayer that is modeled by Christ here.
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What do I mean by that? Yes, the Lord sees your
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thoughts? Yes, he sees your springing
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concerns as you work in as you travel but there are conflicts
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of the soul and there are certain temptations that require
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this kind of caliber of praying. Do you know what that means?
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Secluded undistracted, undivided time.
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Time in prayer. And until you.
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And I believe that about prayer and are willing to give
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ourselves to this kind of prayer.
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We will never know. The weighty promises that it
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offers then, fusing Grace the shield and the strength that we
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can know and isolation, with God.
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And to meet with him and to wait on him until he gives us what we
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need to be able to push through all the noise.
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And I'm telling you in this day of surrounding Seductions in
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this day of bombarding, Persuasions, if you and I don't
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know how to pray. Not going to make it very far.
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I can tell you that. Floor, praise.
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But after he prays, we're told something else here in verse 47
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and when evening came, the boat was out on the sea and he was
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alone on the land. And he saw that they were making
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Headway painfully for the wind was against them and about the
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Fourth, Watch of the night, he came to them walking on the sea,
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he meant to pass by them. We don't know how much time
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Jesus spent in prayer, but eventually came out of that
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intimate place, and we are told that he now made his way to the
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disciples who were struggling at sea.
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But before we see him planting his feet on those, Raging Waters
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the Holy Spirit pauses and he wants you to pause and as we
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pause he wants us to see that Christ sees something.
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He wants us to have Christ perspective on this very scene.
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and what it is that Christ saw from that Hilltop, As I like to
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imagine the moon was shining on those Waters.
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And as the Crickets filled the air, That they were making way
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painfully. Translation, they were
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struggling to go where Jesus told them to go originally.
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He was watching them. And in John 6, 18, you're on to
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turn there. We were told that it was a
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strong wind, a strong wind. It was in a light Breeze.
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It was a strong forceful wind that even made the waves rough.
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Matthew tells us that those waves were beating against that
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very boat and so they were struggling.
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Indeed. And this is a familiar thing for
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these men, but we see here that the Lord is watching them.
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Watching them attempting to honor his wishes when he said I
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need you to go Before me, I'll meet you there.
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And they were met with opposition.
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The wind was against them. It wasn't for them, it was
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against them. And here's the point that I want
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to make to you today, that obedience often is met with
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opposition. You will know resistance as you
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dedicate your life to serving Christ no matter what he asks of
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you and what makes that resistance, especially more
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challenging for the true soldier of God is that, while they are
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trying to row forward, they sense the absence of Christ's
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presence in the midst. Isn't that the most bothering
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thing? I'll go where you go.
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But Lord, let me just sense you along the way if you can just
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walk with me. Lord, if you can, just peel off
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this layer from my perception to help me.
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See you and every step, I'll go wherever you go, but what do you
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do when he's not on the boat? That is precisely what's
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happening here and to add to this description, John adds to
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it. John says in chapter 6 verse 16,
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this time, John 6, 16 when evening came, his disciples went
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down to the Sea, got into a boat and started across the sea to
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Capernaum. It was now dark and Jesus had
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not yet come to them. Jesus had not yet.
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Come to them. There's an expectation for
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Jesus. And this is not the first time
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the disciples endured and uncomfortable storm, right you
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were here when we preach on that first time, but this is the
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second and the main difference between the first episode of the
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storm. And this episode of the storm is
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that this time Jesus was not on the boat.
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He was the first time he was taking a nap, but he was there
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I'll take Jesus having a nap on the boat then I having Jesus at
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all. This time he's nowhere to be
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found this time. He left us to ourselves.
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And it's a good reminder. That with these two episodes you
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see a principle that Lord is trying to illustrate he wants to
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mature us. And in wanting to mature as he
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does, so by allowing us to face circumstances that are more
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challenging than the last. If you're going to grow in
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Christ and expect to face greater trials greater test of
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faith. And even this I was thinking
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about this last night, you know, I have many conversations with
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people who have very awesome questions and one of the
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questions that I've heard over the years is brother.
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Is it true for you? Because it's been true of me
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that when I walk with the Lord. And when I was walking with him
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in the beginning, God was just so real to me.
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It's like I went to bed with him being by me.
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I woke up with him being in the very same room when I went to
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work. It was just this open Heaven.
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Wherever I went, I just sensed The Nearness of the Lord, I
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enjoyed him, that was uninterrupted Devotion to him.
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And, and just him making himself known and specific ways in ways
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that were tailor-made for me. And I had those conversations
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with many sisters and brothers and then they, all they always
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end up saying the same thing when they walk with the Lord
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long enough, but it's not really the same.
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Now, I just feel like the testimonies are less.
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I just feel like the the Warmness of that place and
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prayer is not as intense as it was when I first encountered him
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at, this is make sense to anybody, okay?
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And it's 100% always the same for those who are truly walking
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with the Lord and I get it. And I think this is a perfect
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illustration to explain why. That is the case.
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Because when you start with them, he is so gracious with us.
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Is he not? He is so patient with us and
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he's always patient with us but there's a special sense of who
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he is and where he is. When we first start out, But
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then, as time goes by, we sense that he pulls away.
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And why is that the case I'll tell you why.
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It's the case because he wants to mature your faith.
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Faith, pleases God. And what will require from us?
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Often is for him to hide himself in order for you to Simply take
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him at his word and not, wait for a testimony or an experience
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to solidify your trust in him and what better illustration
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than this, when the disciples were walking with the Lord early
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on, he went in the boat with them.
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And after some chapters go by, he tells him to go without him.
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What is he doing here? He wants to train their faith.
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What is he doing here? He wants to pull out of the more
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trust and Reliance on him though.
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They cannot immediately perceive him.
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And so like a actual child grows up.
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You sense this Independence though.
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You're not completely Not relying on the Lord.
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But there's a sense in which the Lord will let you move forward
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and cloak himself as you go. So that when you go you're
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trusting and what he had said and necessarily on how you feel
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him that morning, what he did in your life last weekend.
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I hope that gives you some kind of comfort.
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This is what the Lord wanted to convey.
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But the distant presence of Jesus did not mean that he was
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any less mindful, right? Mark tells us that the watchful
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eye of Jesus was over. The disciples, the watchful eye
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of Christ was laser focused on those 12.
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And that no matter how far they were, they were never outside of
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his caring reach. That's the point here.
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The Lord monitors you The Lord supervises you, you might not be
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aware of it, but that doesn't matter.
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It doesn't make it any less true.
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He is there though. It's dark.
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He is there though. It's difficulty is there though.
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You feel deserted? He's there.
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He never ceases to oversee you're going and you're coming.
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And he is always ready to bring Deliverance when the time is
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right. Here's Christ, watching them
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all. Oh, what a sight, what a sight.
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And he is ready to do just that to come to their rescue.
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But before that may make a comment about the disciples.
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The disciples here were told. Were rowing when it was really
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challenging to do. So the wind was against them but
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they didn't quit. They didn't quit, all they had
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from. Jesus was one short, brief
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command. Go to the other side, that's all
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they needed. And when they went, they kept
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going, they did not give up, you know, how tempting it would have
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been to make a u-turn. The wind is now rushing against
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them. All they had to do is make a 180
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and the wind would support them, and they just come back to their
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original place and, you know, call it a night and just go when
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the weather was better, but they didn't why?
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Because Jesus told him to go. And so, they gave themselves
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over and you can imagine the muscle cramps and you can
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imagine the frustrating process very slow.
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And we often see the disciples in a negative light by here's a
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praiseworthy thing, they were committed to what Jesus had
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said. In this day of microwave
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results, right? It's becoming more of a trend
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for believers to be less committed less committed to
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their Ministries, less committed to the local churches, less
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committed to devoting themselves to the things that Jesus told
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them to do. And I could tell you, the reason
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for that, and it might sting, but it's okay.
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Christ is not their primary audience.
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All these disciples had was a word.
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All they wanted to do is please the master and if Christ, my
27:03
friend is not your primary audience, then don't be
27:07
surprised when you jump from Ministry to Ministry.
27:11
Don't be surprised if you find yourself jumping from church to
27:13
church. Don't be surprised when you
27:15
resign from one community. And think it's gonna be better
27:17
with another community. That is a sign of immaturity in
27:21
the faith. Christ is worthy of loyalty.
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He is worthy of loyalty. And if you don't have him as
27:34
your motivation, then you will be tossed to and fro in
27:37
different ways. And I don't want that for you,
27:41
and I praise God. That in this place, there are
27:43
solid Christians, who don't give up so easily they row, and they
27:49
push and they fight and in those days were their body betrays
27:53
them, or their schedule conflicts with them, they
27:55
realized this is for my Jesus. He told me to do this and that's
28:03
enough for me. Wouldn't be nice to gather
28:06
yourself with 11 others who had the same conviction.
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Oh, may this be a boat filled with people who feel that way
28:13
about Jesus. We're going forward, it's not
28:16
easy but we're going forward. We're going for we're not seeing
28:19
the results that we wish we would see.
28:20
We're going forward, I'm not being promoted or recognized.
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The way I would like to be promoter recognized, but it's
28:24
not even about any of that. My Jesus told me.
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That's all I need. Whether the fruit that I
28:31
expected after two years of doing this is here or not,
28:34
whether the progress is slow, my Jesus told me, and that's enough
28:40
for me that kind of caliber of Christianity, makes the devil,
28:44
pull his hair. Christ, here.
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Sees this And he's going to do something in a moment.
28:53
Verse 48, we read in the beginning that he saw that they
28:57
were making Headway painfully for the wind was against them.
29:02
And about the Fourth Watch of the night, you know what time
29:04
that is 3 to 6 a.m.? Think about how long they were
29:10
rowing for then hours. Hours.
29:15
When I try to paint something or chisel that my shoulders.
29:18
Get so sore after 5 minutes, these guys were these were
29:22
expert fisherman. Yes but not all of them.
29:25
And here they are treading. Wrestling.
29:31
Advancing. Till 3:00 to 6:00 in the
29:34
morning, and in those early hours, that's when Jesus decides
29:39
to plant his feet, on those, vicious waves on those
29:43
bulldozing wins. And he makes it seem like a walk
29:47
in the park. Like, it's a sunny afternoon in
29:50
Galilee. He just makes his way in walks
29:53
and their Direction. And when he does Mark tells us
29:58
something unique. Mark tells us that the end of 48
30:04
walking on the sea, he meant to pass by them.
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Interesting and difficult to interpret.
30:14
You have many people believe different things about what this
30:16
means. What do you mean?
30:17
Jesus meant to walk by them. Are all these ideas.
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But this is not the only time we've seen Jesus do this, right?
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This is not the only time we've seen the Lord planning to move
30:30
ahead with his disciples when they were physically heading in
30:33
a certain direction. Do you remember those two
30:36
sorrowful disciples on the road to Emmaus with heavy hearts?
30:40
Jesus appears hides his identity and the way that he gives them a
30:45
prescription for their weariness is a terrific Old Testament
30:50
Bible study. And he goes through the Hebrew
30:54
scriptures and reveals Christ in them, and those Heavy Hearts
30:58
begin to burn. And at some point during that,
31:03
several mile, Journey, Jesus, and these to come to a
31:06
Crossroads. And when they come to the
31:09
crossroads, Luke tells us what Jesus was planning to do.
31:15
And in Luke 24, 28. So they drew near to the Village
31:18
to, which they were going, he acted, as if he were going
31:23
further. He acted as if he was going
31:27
farther. So here's the Lord with these
31:31
two others and mesas that way. And The opposite direction is
31:36
here and the Lord. Begins to make way in the
31:40
opposite direction. Why why would why would he do
31:45
that? And why is the holy spirit?
31:46
Telling us that he's doing that? Because the Lord in this moment
31:49
after revealing so much of himself wanted to see if they
31:52
wanted more. That's why.
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Christ is so precious. He is such a treasure.
32:01
And in his personality, he Delights in seeing us seek him.
32:07
He enjoys seeing us pursue him. And at times he reserves himself
32:15
in order, to see if you're willing to, as you heard
32:17
earlier, press on to know him, do you want more truth?
32:23
Do you want more Revelation? Do you want more understanding?
32:28
Do you want more intimacy? There are times in your walk
32:32
with the, Lord will get quiet and I'm becoming quiet.
32:36
It's not, because he's playing games with you.
32:39
He wants to see if you want more of him.
32:44
These two disciples. They passed the test they
32:47
compelled him. It says to come with him.
32:50
You know what? Christ did?
32:51
When he came over for dinner. He honored that and he opened
32:53
their eyes even more. And they proceeded to he was, he
32:58
disappeared. And they made way to Jerusalem
33:00
to tell him about the resurrected Christ.
33:03
Could it be that Jesus doing the same thing here?
33:06
here they are and this storm tossed moment and through the
33:11
wind and the waves, you see somebody just strolling by I
33:17
wonder if he even looked at them, I don't think he did.
33:21
Just graciously and Heavenly like walking by them.
33:26
Perhaps wanting to teach him to cry out.
33:32
To cry out to cry out for his holy company.
33:37
For him to be near closer. The Lord desires that from us.
33:45
And it wasn't until they did cry out that he turned his attention
33:47
toward them and actually comforted them.
33:51
And entered into the boat, but maybe there's something deeper
33:54
with this. Maybe maybe that is part of it,
33:58
but maybe the Lord had a deeper desire in wanting to pass by.
34:03
Could it be that in passing by? He wanted to display his glory
34:10
This is not the first time, the Lord has passed by some of his
34:13
servants with the sole intent of demonstrating his Beauty.
34:21
Remember Moses said O Lord, Show Me Your Glory.
34:26
Show Me Your Glory. And the Lord agrees to that.
34:31
But he gives him a set of instructions.
34:33
He says, I am going to allow my glory to pass by you but I'm
34:38
going to put you in the cleft of The Rock and I'm going to put my
34:40
hand over you until I do pass by you.
34:45
That's Moses. In Exodus 33.
34:49
What about Elijah and First Kings, 19, 11, Elijah's
34:52
distraught, he is defeated, he's depressed, the Lord gives them a
34:56
meal, a drink couple of naps and he tells him to go on Mount
35:02
Horeb. Elijah goes, we're told they're
35:05
in First Kings, 19, 11, that the Lord passed by And when the Lord
35:13
passed by a wind came, and it broke some of those mountains.
35:19
And after that, wind came an earthquake came.
35:21
And after an earthquake came fire came, and he wasn't, and
35:25
are either of those things, finally, a low whisper came.
35:30
And the Lord spoke. The Lord passed by Moses and he
35:35
had a glimpse of his glory. The lord passed by Elijah and he
35:39
got a glimpse of his glory. Could it be that the Lord is
35:42
passing by these disciples to give him a glimpse of his glory?
35:49
That might be speculation. But there might be validity to
35:52
that when you see what Jesus says to them, when they
35:56
understand that it is him or at least At least discovered after
36:01
these words, what does he say here in verse 50?
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For they all saw him and were terrified but immediately he
36:09
spoke to them and said, take heart.
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It is, I do not be afraid, take heart, it is, I do not be
36:16
afraid. Take heart.
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It is I 3 English words, right? those three English words are
36:27
two in the Greek ego and my Do you know what?
36:33
That translates. As take heart.
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I am. Take heart.
36:43
I am don't doubt that that is a direct reference to how God
36:49
revealed his personal name to Moses.
36:51
In Exodus 3:14, when Moses was to go to the people of Israel.
36:56
God told him, tell those people I am sent you to them.
37:03
And here's Jesus passing by and as he passes by and they cry
37:10
out, he Comforts them with this Revelation, take Heart, The
37:16
Great. I Am.
37:18
I am was walking on those Waters and in job, 98.
37:22
We are told that God Alone is the one who spreads out the
37:26
heavens and who tramples on the sea.
37:30
I am. Is it no wonder that in Matthews
37:33
version? They fall down and they worship
37:35
him in that boat. This is what Jesus is doing.
37:40
He's revealing his glory. he's revealing his glory and he did
37:45
in indeed reveal it but that's not how the disciples
37:49
interpreted as first. They didn't see Glory at first.
37:54
You know what? They saw a ghost.
37:58
You saw Glory. I hope and me explaining this.
38:01
That's what, that's what we perceive.
38:03
They didn't they thought they saw a phantom.
38:07
Isn't that what we see here? Verse 49.
38:11
But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a
38:13
ghost. And cried out.
38:18
They thought it was a ghost. Wonder if this is exhaustion
38:23
playing with their minds, you wonder if there is superstition.
38:26
What was it? I mean, it's not common that you
38:28
see rabbis Walk on Water. I get it.
38:30
But a ghost of all things. They were terrified and we might
38:36
feel the right to criticize these men because they didn't
38:38
put the pieces together, but be very slow with your criticism.
38:44
Can we be humble this afternoon? Can we be humble?
38:47
And admit that what happened to them is often what happens to us
38:52
when it comes to our perception of Jesus during our trials and
38:55
our tribulations? How often do we discern Christ
39:01
in our troubles? Come on.
39:02
Be honest. Be honest.
39:03
This is church. You have to be honest.
39:07
How often do we calmly? Consider The Sovereign God.
39:16
In our storms. You know what, Christians are
39:22
more quick to do, oftentimes acknowledge and confess the
39:26
presence of Satan and demons. In their trials and
39:30
difficulties. It's very rare to hear a
39:34
believer that I praise God. It's not rare here for them to
39:39
assess. What is going on in the lives
39:41
and be able to say. But Christ is here.
39:45
God is here. I know that he is here, I may
39:50
not fully understand it. I might be very tired but I know
39:55
that he is here. Some good hearted believers.
40:02
Unfortunately don't. They are more willing to admit
40:07
that they are being harassed by Satan.
40:10
But listen, if you're walking in obedience like these disciples
40:14
were, he can't harass you and he can't haunt you.
40:20
And whatever Affliction might be upon you you know that Christ
40:24
permitted it to sanctify you Know when you're in the boat,
40:31
the boat that Jesus told you to be in it to go, where Jesus told
40:34
you to go, you don't have to be afraid of ghosts.
40:39
You don't have to be afraid of anything.
40:41
There are many Believers in 2023 who are Unfaithful churches, who
40:46
believe that they can have a curse placed on them.
40:49
They believe in the power of witches and warlocks.
40:55
They believe that the devil can have his way with their lives
40:58
and that he's in charge of the direction of their boat.
41:03
And all they do is live with fear seeing ghosts.
41:07
Thinking that Satan has somewhat the same level of power, and
41:10
there's a tug, of war happening in The Invisible realm.
41:12
No, no, no, no. God has all the rope and Satan
41:15
has on the end of it, like a leash.
41:19
They saw a ghost. No, it's Christ.
41:23
It's not a ghost. We see are suffering and we see
41:27
Satan and we see a forgetful God and we see all these different
41:30
things. When in fact, it's Jesus And
41:36
he's on top of the water, the very same water that you're
41:39
afraid of. And he is standing still.
41:43
Those waves seem to and those winds seemed to push you from
41:47
left to, right? Can I give you a life verse?
41:52
Let me give you a life first and Isaiah, 50 verse 10 and I would
41:56
love to hear those Bible Pages turning to Isaiah 50 10.
42:00
There it is. What a Sweet Sweet Sound.
42:07
Because I want you to see with your own eyes.
42:12
Isaiah, 50 verse 10. Make this a banner over your
42:17
heart, make this a banner over your future.
42:21
Isaiah 52:10 declares who among you fears?
42:25
The Lord and obeys, the voice of his servant pause.
42:29
I hope you can read that. And save me, I do.
42:34
Who among you fears the Lord. Lord, I fear you who among you
42:37
obey the voice of his servant. I tried to I desire to you
42:41
should stop at verse 10 and say me if you were questioning that
42:46
then the rest of this doesn't apply to you but if you can
42:49
confidently say my conscience is clear, I do want to fear God.
42:54
I do want to make my life of obedience to him.
42:56
Then the next part is for you. Let him who walks in darkness
43:00
and has no light. Hold on.
43:03
You just ask from the readers who fears, God, and who obeys
43:08
the voice of his servant. Why are you talking about
43:10
darkness and not having light? Isn't that for the person who
43:12
doesn't fear God and who doesn't obey?
43:15
No. This darkness is not talking
43:18
about the darkness of Disobedience or sin or being in
43:21
the Dominion and the domain of Satan, that's not the darkness
43:24
that we're talking about here. He already clarified and
43:28
screamed the Audience by saying, okay, let's just determine this
43:31
first. Who your fears God, who hero,
43:33
boys, the voice of a servant good.
43:35
So you can expect something in your walk and as you fear Him,
43:38
you might find some Darkness along the path.
43:42
Meaning, what you may not perceive?
43:45
You may not know. You may feel a sense of lack of
43:48
Direction, may not understand what is happening.
43:50
You may not have light on the current circumstance that can
43:54
happen to those who fear God and obey the voice of his servant.
44:00
and so when you do come to that season, where there doesn't seem
44:03
to be light somebody switch the light off, And they're all your
44:07
aimless or you're stuck or there's something there, that's
44:10
frustrating you and your progress and your advancement in
44:13
your confidence of what tomorrow will bring, what are you going
44:16
to do? Trust In The Name Of The Lord?
44:19
And rely on his God. That's what you do.
44:25
I can't tell you how much, how many times this verse has
44:29
consoled, my soul and I give it to you if you haven't heard it
44:33
before. To lock it deep down inside and
44:37
realize even for those who fear Him and Obey him, you might walk
44:41
in some season of darkness and what are you supposed to do?
44:45
See ghosts, no trust in the name of God and rely on him.
44:51
He'll pull you through, he can come and everything can change
44:56
in one moment. That's what happens.
45:01
Here. Everything changed in one
45:02
moment. Verse 51 of Mark 6 and he got
45:06
into the boat with them and the wind ceased.
45:11
He got into the boat and the wind ceased and they were
45:14
utterly astounded. You know what?
45:18
John tells us that not only did the wind cease but right away
45:23
the boat was transported to shore.
45:28
There is this like form of teleportation that happened, the
45:31
moment Jesus got in the boat, not only did the waves and the
45:34
wind quiet down, but within a blink sigh, they show up on the
45:37
dock. That's for another time. but
45:41
what's interesting here is we expect this reaction but look at
45:45
the commentary of Mark about their astonishment in verse 52
45:50
for they did not understand about the loaves but their
45:53
hearts were hardened That's interesting.
45:59
You know, what this tells me they were utterly astounded,
46:03
rightfully so. But you know what?
46:04
Mark says. In some sense, where was this
46:08
reaction, when Jesus multiplied, the bread and the fish?
46:12
It wasn't there. When Jesus did that, they were
46:18
not utterly astounded. The way they are here though.
46:21
That Miracle demanded this kind of recognition.
46:24
It was missing. It was missing.
46:30
And this shows me at least the patience of Jesus Christ.
46:35
The absolute steadfastness of his love that even when he made
46:39
himself known so powerfully, the disciples didn't give him.
46:43
What was his due? And he did not give up on them.
46:47
Nonetheless, he worked in a way to soften those hardened hearts
46:55
and this is an extremely important point that I want to
46:57
make. Your heart and mind.
47:02
Can be hardened even in the midst of God doing amazing
47:06
things. Isn't that a sad reality?
47:09
God can place you in an amazing. Local church.
47:11
God, can put wonderful people in your lives.
47:13
He can bless you through and through, and he can make things
47:17
appear when they were not there. And still what I see here is a
47:21
commentary. What's possible with us?
47:23
Our hearts can still be indifferent, we still don't get
47:28
it and we don't give the Lord, the worship that is his due and
47:31
we don't offer him the Zeal that he deserves and we don't commit
47:35
ourselves. The way, we should be committed
47:37
despite all that he did. Plays, we still can remain
47:41
hardened. And what I see here is that
47:43
those hardened Hearts were obviously softened.
47:48
And God knows exactly what to do with our hardened hearts.
47:53
You know what he doesn't do? He doesn't give up on us.
47:56
You know what? He doesn't do this and put us on
47:57
the shelf and recruit more disciples for your place.
48:00
No, he doesn't. He works on you but here's the
48:05
part that some people don't get you ready for this.
48:07
Listen. Sometimes it requires a storm.
48:15
You know what I learn about some Christians.
48:19
Blessing doesn't do them very good.
48:23
Blessing doesn't really keep them closed.
48:26
They appreciate it. And the spontaneous moment of
48:29
receiving it but afterwards, they go their own way.
48:32
And the hearts are hardened. You know, how God's often the
48:35
hearts of these hardened men. He put him on a boat and he sent
48:39
him into the sea and he allowed waves and wind to come.
48:44
To wake them up. That might be true of you
48:51
because as you sit here and you've been sitting here week
48:54
after week, nothing has changed. You know what's going to happen.
49:01
If God loves you, he's going to realize that the hundred
49:04
sermons. You've heard haven't worked.
49:07
So, here comes a storm. And when that storm comes and
49:12
you realize that you are not standing on Solid Rock as you
49:15
thought and things Begin to Fall Apart all around.
49:18
You can I give you a word of suggestion cry out to him.
49:23
If you forgot anything with the sermon, remember that?
49:26
Cry out to him. When the storm comes. and when
49:32
the storm comes and you cry out to him and he reveals himself in
49:34
his grace and mercy, stay with him, Matthew gives us a
49:40
different angle on this and this is how we're going to end.
49:44
Go to Matthew chapter 8. Matthew's way of teaching is a
49:54
little different about what happened with the disciples but
49:56
it's encouraging still. Now, do you remember when the
50:00
disciples went through the first storm?
50:03
Do you remember the response? If you don't, look what Matthew
50:06
826 says and he said to them. Why are you afraid o?
50:10
You of little faith, then he arose and rebuked the winds and
50:14
the Sea and there was a great calm.
50:16
It's not the same incident, he this is it.
50:18
This is the first one and look what happens in verse 27 and the
50:21
men marveled saying, what sort of man is this that even winds
50:27
and sea obey him they marveled. And rightfully so.
50:33
But what happened when they underwent the second storm, what
50:37
happened with The Following episode, the spirit of God,
50:41
records for us, their reaction in that, as well.
50:45
And you will notice the difference.
50:48
Matthew 8 is the first storm, Matthew. 14 is the second storm.
50:52
And in Matthew 14, I want you to see here in verse 32 What
50:56
happened after Jesus got on the boat. and when they got into the
51:02
boat, the wind ceased and those in the boat worshipped him,
51:09
Saying truly you are the Son of God.
51:14
The first time they marveled and they questioned his identity.
51:18
This is different. I've never seen a Pharisee, do
51:22
that. I've you Andrew know I've never
51:24
seen a Sadducees do that know? This Rabbi is different.
51:27
Who is this man? And they left it at that the
51:31
second time. You're the son of God.
51:36
And it isn't just marvel, they praised him.
51:39
They worshiped him. And guess what?
51:41
Jesus didn't deny their worship. He received it the first time
51:46
they Marvel. The second time they worshipped.
51:50
Do you want? You know what, you see here and
51:52
increase in their faith? Growth, and their understanding.
51:57
And I love how the Holy Spirit teaches that in the context of
52:02
storms. Because that's what storms do.
52:07
That's what trials do they stretch your soul.
52:12
They help you see. Who Christ?
52:14
Is they train, you? They bring you to a clear
52:18
understanding of his person. And if you respond correctly, he
52:24
receives more Glory from you. They marveled.
52:30
And then they worshipped. Truly we go from glory to glory.
52:38
And truly, our paths are determined, no matter how unique
52:41
they might look in comparison to the person sitting beside you.
52:44
The goal is the same. To take you into greater
52:49
understanding of who he is and to take you from one degree of
52:53
Glory to another and for him to receive greater glory from one
52:56
degree to another. This is Christ.
53:00
He doesn't just see you in your service.
53:02
He sees you in your struggle as you serve him.
53:05
And perhaps you are in a place today.
53:09
Where you're tired and the last, you looked you're here because
53:14
you've been following Jesus. and you're wondering, Lord, I
53:20
remember the early days where it wasn't really like this.
53:26
He sees you. he sees you, he knows you, he perceives you, he
53:32
studies you and at the right time, he'll pull you through
53:36
those who walk in darkness and have no light trust in the name
53:39
of the Lord, and rely on his God Lord, we thank you for these
53:44
glorious truths but we pray Strengthen our stride.
54:03
Thank you for not giving up on us when our hearts become hard.
54:09
And we don't give you what you deserve and we eat from your
54:13
hand. And we're blessed by your power.
54:21
but we don't give you the honor and that moment thank you that
54:25
when we walk with calloused hearts, You know how to deal
54:30
with us, accordingly to soften us again.
54:35
And yes it is true that your goodness and kindness leads us
54:38
to repentance but Lord, it is also true that you afflict us
54:42
for our good. Although we love you.
54:51
You are an awesome God lord of prayers for the people here.
54:58
That they may know you. and perhaps some have come here and
55:02
they Marvel about you and they Marvel about sermons about you
55:04
but they have not yet worshipped you We asked for that the Holy
55:08
Spirit would bring into that place.
55:11
And they would confess, he is the son of God.
55:15
And I want to give my life to him.
55:18
Only you can do that in Jesus name.
55:21
Amen. Can we stand worship mark?