WEBVTT 00:00:00.650 --> 00:00:03.169 Hello, you are listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:03.270 --> 00:00:06.209 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:06.870 --> 00:00:08.750 It's our hope that these sermons will draw you 00:00:08.750 --> 00:00:11.169 more into the life of following God, Father, 00:00:11.310 --> 00:00:14.150 Son and Holy Spirit. Please consider coming and 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:16.469 joining with us each Sunday morning at 10am in 00:00:16.469 --> 00:00:18.809 the heart of Midtown Harrisburg. You can find 00:00:18.809 --> 00:00:22.329 us online at SecondCityChurch .org and on Facebook, 00:00:22.629 --> 00:00:25.030 Instagram and YouTube. We hope you enjoy this 00:00:25.030 --> 00:00:30.390 sermon. God Bless. Lord God, we thank you for 00:00:30.390 --> 00:00:34.130 your Word. God, I pray that you would speak today 00:00:34.130 --> 00:00:40.229 into the places of our fears, of our uncertainty, 00:00:41.409 --> 00:00:46.549 and that you would assure us of your great loving 00:00:46.549 --> 00:00:49.409 presence to us. Lord, we're thankful for the 00:00:49.409 --> 00:00:51.649 Word that you give us. We pray that we would 00:00:51.649 --> 00:00:56.579 hide it in our hearts this morning. Amen. All 00:00:56.579 --> 00:00:59.240 right, so let me tell you about one of the things 00:00:59.240 --> 00:01:04.840 that my kids are into these days. We have a competitive 00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:08.540 crew and so this spills out into all kinds of 00:01:08.540 --> 00:01:09.980 things. One of the things that spills out too 00:01:09.980 --> 00:01:13.780 is in watching commercials. So we're watching 00:01:13.780 --> 00:01:16.079 like a basketball game or something and a commercial 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:19.920 comes on and the game is who can name what company's 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:23.469 commercial it is first, right? So that's what 00:01:23.469 --> 00:01:26.030 they do. They saw it's this company or that company. 00:01:27.430 --> 00:01:31.549 And it becomes a game and it becomes competitive. 00:01:31.989 --> 00:01:33.750 But the commercials that they know the best are 00:01:33.750 --> 00:01:37.349 the ones that seem to be on the most, which are 00:01:37.349 --> 00:01:43.409 insurance companies. They know Flo well, and 00:01:43.409 --> 00:01:46.569 they know that she goes with Progressive. They're 00:01:46.569 --> 00:01:52.540 familiar with Doug and the Emu, right? and the 00:01:52.540 --> 00:01:56.920 jingle, liberty, liberty, liberty, right? You 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:00.519 all know it, come on. They know the farmer's 00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:06.120 insurance, we are farmers. Yeah, you all know 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:08.159 it, you all know it just like I do, just like 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:10.599 they do. They know that when Dean Winter's face 00:02:10.599 --> 00:02:13.319 comes onto commercial, the end of the Allstate 00:02:13.319 --> 00:02:16.740 commercial will say pretty much something like, 00:02:17.139 --> 00:02:22.129 and you can be protected from mayhem. Like me 00:02:22.129 --> 00:02:28.129 y 'all know that Now I think this is a rather 00:02:28.129 --> 00:02:31.449 controversial take And it's something that can 00:02:31.449 --> 00:02:33.370 be debated, but I think the best ones are those 00:02:33.370 --> 00:02:38.430 ones the mayhem like me ones I think maybe because 00:02:38.430 --> 00:02:42.870 flow kind of just annoys me anyway But I also 00:02:42.870 --> 00:02:44.590 think because a lot of them are actually fairly 00:02:44.590 --> 00:02:48.370 mundane like things that are taking place There's 00:02:48.370 --> 00:02:51.430 the one with the baseball dad You know who I'm 00:02:51.430 --> 00:02:54.210 talking about? If you don't even know the commercial, 00:02:54.310 --> 00:02:57.150 you know the baseball dad. The guy who was yelling 00:02:57.150 --> 00:02:59.490 at his kid to hit the ball, and he's getting 00:02:59.490 --> 00:03:01.650 in the ref's face, and he's like yelling at the 00:03:01.650 --> 00:03:04.909 coach, put my kid in. And then the end of it 00:03:04.909 --> 00:03:07.349 is this baseball bat flying through the air and 00:03:07.349 --> 00:03:09.530 just landing in the middle of this lady who's 00:03:09.530 --> 00:03:13.330 in the parking lot with windshield. And you're 00:03:13.330 --> 00:03:15.889 like, yeah, I can see that happening. Pretty 00:03:15.889 --> 00:03:22.189 sure that happens. There's one. Where I hesitate 00:03:22.189 --> 00:03:23.870 to do this because I'm gonna go probably out 00:03:23.870 --> 00:03:25.430 of I know there's people watching online But 00:03:25.430 --> 00:03:29.129 where where he's he's a raccoon in an attic, 00:03:29.150 --> 00:03:31.270 you know, and he's just like he's bundled up 00:03:31.270 --> 00:03:34.289 like this with all this like You know all the 00:03:34.289 --> 00:03:38.189 stuff around him all the attic insulation and 00:03:38.189 --> 00:03:42.090 and he's like nodding on some wires and you're 00:03:42.090 --> 00:03:45.840 just like yeah, yeah Raccoons, we know those 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:47.939 problems. We had them a lot growing up. They 00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:49.439 would get into our trash and the trash would 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:51.439 be all over the place. And actually, my parents 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:53.520 had tons of chickens growing up. And it was just 00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:54.919 sort of a normal thing that all of a sudden there'd 00:03:54.919 --> 00:04:03.939 be a lot of feathers. There's the beauty blogger. 00:04:04.379 --> 00:04:08.680 Oh, y 'all, I know that you have this fear. The 00:04:08.680 --> 00:04:13.000 beauty blogger, she leaves the hair straight. 00:04:15.769 --> 00:04:18.009 And you know how many times you've done this 00:04:18.009 --> 00:04:20.649 and you're like, I better go home because I do 00:04:20.649 --> 00:04:23.689 not know if I left the curling iron on, the hair 00:04:23.689 --> 00:04:26.449 straightener on, whatever it is, right? They're 00:04:26.449 --> 00:04:30.870 playing off of us, off of the real realities 00:04:30.870 --> 00:04:33.310 of our fear. And then there's this one that I 00:04:33.310 --> 00:04:35.629 actually have had this thought quite a bit. I 00:04:35.629 --> 00:04:38.529 still kind of have this thought where he's playing 00:04:38.529 --> 00:04:42.050 the gate that comes down when you're driving 00:04:42.050 --> 00:04:46.459 out of a parking garage. and it malfunctions, 00:04:46.939 --> 00:04:49.759 and he's like, and then your car's just got this 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:52.519 crease on the front hood. And I'm telling you, 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:55.139 I have that thought somewhat regularly when I'm 00:04:55.139 --> 00:04:57.339 leaving a parking garage. I'm like, I'm pretty 00:04:57.339 --> 00:05:00.060 sure it's gonna malfunction. I'm pretty sure 00:05:00.060 --> 00:05:01.819 the hood of my car is gonna have a crease in 00:05:01.819 --> 00:05:06.800 it now. And of course, why are these ads so ubiquitous? 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:14.560 Because fear sells. And because these things 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:16.319 actually really could happen to us. It's not 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:19.939 totally divorced from real experience. I mean, 00:05:19.939 --> 00:05:22.519 I can tell you, I really do sometimes have the 00:05:22.519 --> 00:05:24.779 thought when I am leaving one of those garages 00:05:24.779 --> 00:05:27.420 that has one of these, it's gonna, it's possibly 00:05:27.420 --> 00:05:29.540 gonna come down on me. And maybe it's because 00:05:29.540 --> 00:05:32.180 I watched the commercial. I don't know, but I 00:05:32.180 --> 00:05:38.300 have those thoughts. Or, you know what? I was 00:05:38.300 --> 00:05:40.839 up above the ceiling two weeks ago with a roofing 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:43.240 contractor. I'm pretty sure there's a squirrel 00:05:43.240 --> 00:05:45.439 up there. Thankfully, it looks totally fine. 00:05:46.300 --> 00:05:47.959 But these are like real things. We're like, yeah, 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:50.899 raccoons really do get into these spaces and 00:05:50.899 --> 00:05:54.379 they really do wreak havoc on us, right? And 00:05:54.379 --> 00:05:55.899 I don't know what part of the house they're eating, 00:05:55.899 --> 00:06:00.910 you know, this time or whatever. Or the fear 00:06:00.910 --> 00:06:04.790 of your child being on a team and one parent 00:06:04.790 --> 00:06:07.529 just going berserk on them is a legitimate fear 00:06:07.529 --> 00:06:10.649 that happens. I mean, it really happens. That 00:06:10.649 --> 00:06:15.310 stuff happens. So why are there so many insurance 00:06:15.310 --> 00:06:17.870 ads? Partly because the fear sells, but partly 00:06:17.870 --> 00:06:19.629 because these things are actually true. We actually 00:06:19.629 --> 00:06:26.470 live in a world that can be very fearful. One 00:06:26.470 --> 00:06:30.740 of them is leaving. coals on a grill and then 00:06:30.740 --> 00:06:33.100 going into the football game and then you come 00:06:33.100 --> 00:06:34.980 out and your car's on fire and you're like that 00:06:34.980 --> 00:06:38.040 probably doesn't happen but except when it does. 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:42.439 And these of course in some ways aren't actually 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:45.699 the big fears that we actually have but they 00:06:45.699 --> 00:06:49.079 are real fears. In fact, the big fears we have 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:51.980 are in some ways like what our dear sister Donna 00:06:51.980 --> 00:06:54.040 Weatherly is living through right now. She's 00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:56.519 spent the last two months not at home, not able 00:06:56.519 --> 00:06:59.439 to be at home. She's been moved from one rehab 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:04.079 to another rehab, one hospital actually at times 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:09.699 to another hospital. And as grateful as I am 00:07:09.699 --> 00:07:11.560 that some of you have gone and visited her and 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:14.519 ministered to her, the truth is that very likely 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:18.220 she will not be with us again in worship. I mean, 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:22.240 that's very likely where that is going for her. 00:07:23.740 --> 00:07:26.639 In some ways, the stories of the insurance are 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:28.639 like, they're real, but they're not like the 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:31.100 deep ones. Instead, we actually know sort of 00:07:31.100 --> 00:07:37.800 the deeper fears that we have. We live, of course, 00:07:37.819 --> 00:07:42.420 in a time of such upheaval. If you maybe kept 00:07:42.420 --> 00:07:46.480 track of speeches to Europe recently, last year 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:48.300 you might have heard our vice president sort 00:07:48.300 --> 00:07:51.250 of distance. the US relationships with Europe, 00:07:51.250 --> 00:07:53.629 and then you just heard maybe our Secretary of 00:07:53.629 --> 00:07:55.870 State tried to bring them back together, and 00:07:55.870 --> 00:07:58.269 you're like, I don't really know where we are 00:07:58.269 --> 00:08:03.649 internationally. Maybe you've actually followed 00:08:03.649 --> 00:08:07.329 somewhat the fact that we as a country have moved 00:08:07.329 --> 00:08:10.649 aircraft carriers and destroyers close to Iran. 00:08:11.470 --> 00:08:18.750 How unsettling. An uncertain time. Will we be 00:08:18.750 --> 00:08:24.129 in another war? But it brings up all kinds of 00:08:24.129 --> 00:08:25.750 unknowns, right? And of course unknowns bring 00:08:25.750 --> 00:08:28.750 up all kinds of fears. What is going to happen? 00:08:30.689 --> 00:08:32.610 I spoke a little bit on Wednesday, if you were 00:08:32.610 --> 00:08:35.990 here, to just the unbelievably quick development 00:08:35.990 --> 00:08:39.769 of AI. And it is going so much faster than I 00:08:39.769 --> 00:08:44.330 had any idea of. What will happen when you look 00:08:44.330 --> 00:08:47.500 for your next job? That is a legitimate question 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:51.639 for many. Will it be overtaken by a computer 00:08:51.639 --> 00:08:56.440 as many jobs have been? What will happen with 00:08:56.440 --> 00:08:58.860 the prospect of where your children are when 00:08:58.860 --> 00:09:01.779 they are looking for jobs? Those are like real, 00:09:01.820 --> 00:09:04.919 real deep -seated fears and understandable ones. 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:10.799 So is it any wonder that insurance ads are ubiquitous? 00:09:10.820 --> 00:09:15.419 Of course it's not. Is it any wonder that we 00:09:15.419 --> 00:09:18.360 live in a world where we are so eager to vote 00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:21.440 for people that say they want strong power and 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:24.960 control, or that you could offer you some level 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:30.259 of safety with free things? That's not surprising, 00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:35.940 given the uncertainty of our life, given the 00:09:35.940 --> 00:09:39.629 fear that we live in. Now I want you to, I wanna 00:09:39.629 --> 00:09:42.110 think this morning of our passage really in two 00:09:42.110 --> 00:09:44.049 ways. I want us to sort of walk through where 00:09:44.049 --> 00:09:46.029 the disciples find themselves and then I want 00:09:46.029 --> 00:09:49.730 us to walk through where Jesus finds himself 00:09:49.730 --> 00:09:52.789 and where they find him. And the first thing 00:09:52.789 --> 00:09:54.029 that I think you're gonna see, actually the thing 00:09:54.029 --> 00:09:56.110 you're gonna see kind of throughout is that where 00:09:56.110 --> 00:09:58.049 the disciples find themselves is actually often 00:09:58.049 --> 00:10:01.549 just in a place of fear. The first one I wanna 00:10:01.549 --> 00:10:04.210 say is related to relational fear and I wanna 00:10:04.210 --> 00:10:08.100 say this is relational escape in a way. So verse 00:10:08.100 --> 00:10:12.159 45, that first verse that I read, it said, immediately 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:15.080 he made his disciples get into the boat and go 00:10:15.080 --> 00:10:19.059 before him to the other side to Bethsaida while 00:10:19.059 --> 00:10:23.960 he dismissed the crowd. What we read, if we were 00:10:23.960 --> 00:10:25.899 reading the same passage in the Gospel of John 00:10:25.899 --> 00:10:30.740 is that he does this and he does it quickly because... 00:10:32.190 --> 00:10:34.909 Because Jesus had perceived that after he fed 00:10:34.909 --> 00:10:37.409 this enormous crowd, they would want to make 00:10:37.409 --> 00:10:39.649 him the king. And of course they would. I mean, 00:10:39.649 --> 00:10:41.929 he's just able to feed this enormous crowd of 00:10:41.929 --> 00:10:43.289 people and tend to them and care for them. And 00:10:43.289 --> 00:10:44.850 they're like, we don't know where else where 00:10:44.850 --> 00:10:46.669 we can have this kind of safety and provision. 00:10:49.990 --> 00:10:53.549 So Jesus sees this possible riot of this crowd 00:10:53.549 --> 00:10:55.529 and he puts his disciples in the boat. He says, 00:10:56.950 --> 00:11:02.379 leave. Think about this, the disciples, had already 00:11:02.379 --> 00:11:05.960 tried to get away from people, right? I mean, 00:11:05.980 --> 00:11:09.019 the passage that Melise read for us actually 00:11:09.019 --> 00:11:11.720 begins with Jesus trying to get them away from 00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:13.740 people and them needing to get away from people 00:11:13.740 --> 00:11:17.460 because they had no leisure even to eat. And 00:11:17.460 --> 00:11:22.980 what happened in that story, of course, they 00:11:22.980 --> 00:11:25.419 get in the boat and they cross over and then 00:11:25.419 --> 00:11:27.519 it says the. people from all the different towns 00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:29.860 run and they beat them there and they get to 00:11:29.860 --> 00:11:35.059 shore and they're like oh man people again um 00:11:35.059 --> 00:11:40.120 all right another crowd um and what do they say 00:11:40.120 --> 00:11:42.799 what do they say to jesus i'm actually i'm really 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:47.419 glad malice read this for us send them away we 00:11:47.419 --> 00:11:53.470 are so tired of people And now there's this crowd 00:11:53.470 --> 00:11:55.409 that we know from John is acting in some kind 00:11:55.409 --> 00:11:59.389 of riotous way, which of course once again makes 00:11:59.389 --> 00:12:01.490 the disciples in some ways want to hear Jesus 00:12:01.490 --> 00:12:04.250 and get in the boat and get to the other side. 00:12:05.289 --> 00:12:07.389 Now we're gonna get to their experience of when 00:12:07.389 --> 00:12:08.950 they get to the other side and what happens in 00:12:08.950 --> 00:12:12.769 the boat and all of that. But listen to what 00:12:12.769 --> 00:12:16.669 does happen in verse 53 and 54. When they crossed 00:12:16.669 --> 00:12:20.100 over, they came. to land at Gennesaret and more 00:12:20.100 --> 00:12:23.840 to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, 00:12:24.840 --> 00:12:28.899 the people immediately recognized them and ran 00:12:28.899 --> 00:12:31.139 about the whole region. It's the exact same thing 00:12:31.139 --> 00:12:32.879 that was happening before, people running all 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:38.500 over and coming to find them. The crowds are 00:12:38.500 --> 00:12:43.419 at it again. I mean, people can be exhausting. 00:12:44.730 --> 00:12:47.490 They're wanting a relational escape. Jesus even 00:12:47.490 --> 00:12:50.509 invites them to it and then they don't find it. 00:12:52.590 --> 00:12:54.529 And okay, I just want to say this very seriously. 00:12:55.210 --> 00:12:57.590 Isn't some of the great fears that we have in 00:12:57.590 --> 00:13:00.769 our lives that we won't be able to handle the 00:13:00.769 --> 00:13:09.549 relational dynamics that are given to us? On 00:13:09.549 --> 00:13:13.720 a really small level, Some of you feel this at 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:17.139 the passing of the peace, right? And I want to 00:13:17.139 --> 00:13:19.299 say it's totally fine if you just want to stay 00:13:19.299 --> 00:13:21.340 exactly where you are while other people come 00:13:21.340 --> 00:13:23.879 up to you. And if you don't want to say the peace 00:13:23.879 --> 00:13:26.220 of the Lord be with you to everybody, that's 00:13:26.220 --> 00:13:29.779 okay. Churches need to be very welcoming to people 00:13:29.779 --> 00:13:34.240 that are more introverted. And I know I'm I'm 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:36.179 eager to say hello to everybody, and so maybe 00:13:36.179 --> 00:13:38.799 I need to give people some space, right? So some 00:13:38.799 --> 00:13:40.740 of you know, like, there's a relational thing 00:13:40.740 --> 00:13:43.039 that you're like, I cannot handle this, right, 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:51.340 on that kind of level. But, of course, this happens 00:13:51.340 --> 00:13:53.840 on much more serious levels, right? Think of 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:56.120 the mother who is overwhelmed by a child who's 00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:59.879 so sickly. and a husband who doesn't know how 00:13:59.879 --> 00:14:02.200 to engage with this well and their relationship 00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:07.059 is more and more distant. And the friends that 00:14:07.059 --> 00:14:09.179 seem to be going to the wayside because so much 00:14:09.179 --> 00:14:12.679 time is spent just caring for the child whom 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:15.500 this parent loves and who now there's like this 00:14:15.500 --> 00:14:17.779 almost anger towards and there's a relational 00:14:17.779 --> 00:14:20.379 dynamic that is just so overwhelming and so full 00:14:20.379 --> 00:14:22.840 of fear and it brings up so much insecurity and 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:29.200 so much uncertainty. Or think of Ben Rector's 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:32.899 song, Wonderful World. The second verse he sings, 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:37.279 I've taken medicine, I bought an ottoman. He's 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:40.460 talking about becoming a middle -aged dude. I've 00:14:40.460 --> 00:14:42.740 taken medicine, I bought an ottoman. I got a 00:14:42.740 --> 00:14:45.000 bigger house with bigger trees. And then he says 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:48.019 this, I'm getting better at not blaming mom and 00:14:48.019 --> 00:14:52.259 dad. I'm trying to figure out what it all means. 00:14:54.040 --> 00:14:57.200 And some of you are parents living with the real 00:14:57.200 --> 00:14:59.039 heartache that your children are still blaming 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:06.340 you. Still so upset. With seemingly everything. 00:15:09.820 --> 00:15:11.960 On the other hand, maybe some of you are learning 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:14.399 actually how deeply wounded you are from your 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:19.899 family. From your family life. Some of you are 00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:23.110 angry at your parents. and you don't know what 00:15:23.110 --> 00:15:25.070 to do with it and you don't know when that anger 00:15:25.070 --> 00:15:30.669 will subside. What I'm saying is that there's 00:15:30.669 --> 00:15:33.549 like a relational overwhelm this in this passage. 00:15:34.590 --> 00:15:36.830 And that's part of like the fear that the disciples 00:15:36.830 --> 00:15:39.049 live in given that the last passage is them saying, 00:15:39.110 --> 00:15:43.570 send them away. And then they are fraught with 00:15:43.570 --> 00:15:45.789 the idea that they're all still right there. 00:15:48.579 --> 00:15:50.460 The first movement that we see the disciples 00:15:50.460 --> 00:15:53.960 make here is a relational escape and they find 00:15:53.960 --> 00:15:56.559 themselves right back in it. And what I'm saying 00:15:56.559 --> 00:15:58.700 is that some of the great fears that we live 00:15:58.700 --> 00:16:00.840 in is actually the relational dynamics and how 00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:04.279 can we actually live into them well or how do 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:06.980 we do this when we don't live into them well? 00:16:08.419 --> 00:16:14.000 It all seems so broken. Where is the crowd at 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:16.240 the end? Did you actually notice this? The crowd 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:22.779 is like everywhere at the end. with 55, and this 00:16:22.779 --> 00:16:24.720 is talking about the people, they ran about the 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:27.600 whole region and began to bring the sick, the 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:30.240 people in their beds, and whoever they heard 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:32.779 he was. And wherever he came in villages, cities, 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:34.740 and country sides, they laid the sick in the 00:16:34.740 --> 00:16:37.519 marketplace. Villages, country sides, cities, 00:16:37.899 --> 00:16:40.100 marketplace, wherever they're running, and just 00:16:40.100 --> 00:16:42.620 like, okay, we're right back in it. Which is 00:16:42.620 --> 00:16:44.639 to say, in some ways, there's no real escape. 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:48.360 And for a lot of us that's a great fearful thing 00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:50.679 because we don't know how to deal with even the 00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:54.299 relationships that we are given. Okay, so that's 00:16:54.299 --> 00:16:55.879 the first movement I'm suggesting. The second 00:16:55.879 --> 00:16:58.620 movement I want to call vocational toil, okay? 00:16:58.820 --> 00:17:01.240 So there's this relational dynamic that's at 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:02.840 play and then there's this vocational dynamic 00:17:02.840 --> 00:17:06.180 that's at play. So verse 47, where do we find 00:17:06.180 --> 00:17:16.140 them? Verse 47, the boat was out to sea. These 00:17:16.140 --> 00:17:20.400 people are out at the sea, which, let me remind 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:22.480 you, in some ways would have been the most normal 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:25.180 thing for these people. In some ways, this would 00:17:25.180 --> 00:17:27.140 have been the place of some of their comfort. 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:32.119 You know what I mean, right? Some of you going 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:34.500 to work is actually the relational escape that 00:17:34.500 --> 00:17:38.349 you... Like at least I can kind of control things 00:17:38.349 --> 00:17:41.210 here a little bit. You know, my students listen 00:17:41.210 --> 00:17:44.069 to me when I talk to them and they do what I 00:17:44.069 --> 00:17:47.809 tell them because they get a grade or I can control 00:17:47.809 --> 00:17:51.349 this little bit of work that I'm given. So they're 00:17:51.349 --> 00:17:55.690 out there on. on the sea, we know that at least 00:17:55.690 --> 00:17:58.190 four of the disciples, four of the 12 disciples 00:17:58.190 --> 00:18:01.190 are fishermen. We think that probably two of 00:18:01.190 --> 00:18:03.309 the others are fishermen. So six of them probably 00:18:03.309 --> 00:18:04.990 just live most of their life on the sea. And 00:18:04.990 --> 00:18:07.529 this is the place where they are comfortable. 00:18:09.210 --> 00:18:12.309 But then what does verse 48 tell us about their 00:18:12.309 --> 00:18:18.289 experience of where they are? And he saw that 00:18:18.289 --> 00:18:26.220 they were making headway. painfully. They were 00:18:26.220 --> 00:18:31.940 making headway painfully. And what we know actually 00:18:31.940 --> 00:18:35.980 is that they did this all night long. Because 00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:38.059 what it says is it was the fourth hour of the 00:18:38.059 --> 00:18:39.799 night, the fourth watch of the night, the fourth 00:18:39.799 --> 00:18:41.799 watch of the night would have been right before 00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:45.680 dawn. And the passage began with immediately, 00:18:45.779 --> 00:18:47.740 they had just eaten all this, they got the 12 00:18:47.740 --> 00:18:52.079 baskets. So from dinnertime to dawn, all they're 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:55.039 doing is rowing painfully. So in the place where 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:56.880 they're like, this is the kind of stuff that 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:00.599 I can control my work, they're actually finding 00:19:00.599 --> 00:19:03.980 that their work itself is filled with pain and 00:19:03.980 --> 00:19:09.160 toil. In fact, the word painfully there can be 00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:17.609 translated troubled or even more tortured. It's 00:19:17.609 --> 00:19:20.309 in their vocational life where maybe they can 00:19:20.309 --> 00:19:23.789 get a relief from their relational angst, where 00:19:23.789 --> 00:19:25.289 they're actually finding that they are being 00:19:25.289 --> 00:19:30.450 tortured. And think about this, a lot of our 00:19:30.450 --> 00:19:34.230 fear is that even in our work, even the work 00:19:34.230 --> 00:19:35.890 that we've been trained to do, it just doesn't 00:19:35.890 --> 00:19:39.150 yield what we long for, what we desire, what 00:19:39.150 --> 00:19:41.769 we think we've been made to offer into the world. 00:19:42.869 --> 00:19:46.769 And even what we do work on and what we do yield 00:19:46.769 --> 00:19:50.369 into the world is so painfully accomplished. 00:19:52.269 --> 00:19:54.869 We can work on even good things that we believe 00:19:54.869 --> 00:19:57.630 God has called us to, and at times it feels a 00:19:57.630 --> 00:20:03.690 little bit like torture. We're told to pursue 00:20:03.690 --> 00:20:05.470 our dreams, then we find out that our dreams 00:20:05.470 --> 00:20:11.250 are hard. and that they need to shift and we 00:20:11.250 --> 00:20:12.730 don't know how they're gonna shift and we don't 00:20:12.730 --> 00:20:14.269 know what we're gonna do and we don't know how 00:20:14.269 --> 00:20:18.430 we're gonna provide and all of that. And of course, 00:20:18.470 --> 00:20:20.930 so much of the fear around work has to do with 00:20:20.930 --> 00:20:23.849 our inability with regards to our agency that 00:20:23.849 --> 00:20:25.869 we actually don't accomplish the things that 00:20:25.869 --> 00:20:27.529 we think we're supposed to accomplish and they 00:20:27.529 --> 00:20:30.390 don't provide what we think they're gonna provide 00:20:30.390 --> 00:20:36.029 or offer into the world what we had hoped. I've 00:20:36.029 --> 00:20:38.799 said this before. though Jess shared with me 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:41.680 that she has similar dreams. I have an ongoing 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:44.079 nightmare that I've shared with you before, and 00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:47.759 that is that I show up and either one, I don't 00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:51.339 have my notes with me. And for some reason, even 00:20:51.339 --> 00:20:53.559 though I've worked on it quite a bit, I have 00:20:53.559 --> 00:20:56.299 no idea what I'm saying. And then the other thing 00:20:56.299 --> 00:20:59.539 is that while I'm blabbering on having no idea 00:20:59.539 --> 00:21:02.920 what I'm saying, You're just one by one getting 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:05.180 up and leaving and then I'm stuck here and like 00:21:05.180 --> 00:21:07.579 not even my family's here and I'm like, what 00:21:07.579 --> 00:21:10.539 am I doing with my life? What am I doing with 00:21:10.539 --> 00:21:13.220 my life? I work on this and I have nothing to 00:21:13.220 --> 00:21:20.039 offer. Nothing. There's so much fear around our 00:21:20.039 --> 00:21:23.960 work. They make their way in what they actually 00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:28.519 do vocationally painfully, tortured. all the 00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:38.339 way through the night, just plowing along. Of 00:21:38.339 --> 00:21:43.740 course, the experience in a way of the disciples 00:21:43.740 --> 00:21:48.400 builds even. So there's this relational dynamic 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:50.660 that's at play, there's this vocational dynamic 00:21:50.660 --> 00:21:52.380 at play, but then of course, there's also this 00:21:52.380 --> 00:21:55.000 spiritual dynamic that's at play in this story. 00:21:55.420 --> 00:21:59.720 Because what we next find about the disciples 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:07.339 about their experience. Well, let me begin this. 00:22:07.619 --> 00:22:10.539 Where is Jesus? Well, according, they don't actually 00:22:10.539 --> 00:22:12.279 know where he is. We know where he is because 00:22:12.279 --> 00:22:15.559 we're reading, but all he does, let me read it, 00:22:15.660 --> 00:22:20.049 okay. He made his disciples get into the boat, 00:22:20.069 --> 00:22:22.750 verse 45, and go before them to the other side 00:22:22.750 --> 00:22:24.589 to Bethsaida while he dismissed the crowd. And 00:22:24.589 --> 00:22:26.690 after he had taken leave of them, he went up 00:22:26.690 --> 00:22:28.450 to the mountain to pray. All they know is that 00:22:28.450 --> 00:22:32.410 they're in the boat without Jesus. They're like, 00:22:32.930 --> 00:22:35.430 okay, our experience of this painful toil is 00:22:35.430 --> 00:22:40.029 that Jesus isn't with us. And we're not really 00:22:40.029 --> 00:22:42.829 sure where he is. He just made us get in the 00:22:42.829 --> 00:22:49.519 boat and said, leave. As far as they're concerned, 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:51.920 he's just gone. And in his absence, which is 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:55.019 to say in the absence of God, who knows what's 00:22:55.019 --> 00:23:02.039 gonna happen. And what does happen? Well, what 00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:04.700 happens is that they see this guy walking on 00:23:04.700 --> 00:23:09.019 the water past them. And verse 49 says, they 00:23:09.019 --> 00:23:21.779 thought it was a ghost and cried out. They saw 00:23:21.779 --> 00:23:25.519 him and they were terrified. They were terrified. 00:23:26.140 --> 00:23:29.019 They have a spiritual experience that God is 00:23:29.019 --> 00:23:31.059 not with me and some kind of spiritual dynamic 00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:36.079 is at play and I'm freaked out because something 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:38.339 is still going on, but Jesus is not in the boat 00:23:38.339 --> 00:23:43.160 with us. I love that Eugene Peterson's translation 00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:48.460 of the message said, They screamed. Which is 00:23:48.460 --> 00:23:49.900 exactly what you would do if you thought you 00:23:49.900 --> 00:23:52.819 saw a ghost. Then he says, for they were scared 00:23:52.819 --> 00:23:57.160 out of their wits. Which is to say that part 00:23:57.160 --> 00:23:59.259 of the, so some of their fear is not just relational 00:23:59.259 --> 00:24:02.059 fear or vocational fear, but it's also spiritual 00:24:02.059 --> 00:24:09.019 fear. The abandonment of God. Which is to say 00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:11.359 isolation and abandonment from God, anything 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:16.170 could happen. their greatest fears could be there 00:24:16.170 --> 00:24:23.890 right before them. Now, I do think it's kind 00:24:23.890 --> 00:24:26.250 of wild that with the decrease in church attendance, 00:24:26.309 --> 00:24:29.309 there's actually been an increase in spirituality 00:24:29.309 --> 00:24:31.789 broadly and specifically more in the occult. 00:24:32.230 --> 00:24:35.000 Some of you probably know this that, Church attendance 00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:37.000 for adults in the United States went from about 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:40.599 42 % in 1975 to now they think it's around 22, 00:24:40.700 --> 00:24:43.119 23%. It's kind of hard to exactly measure this. 00:24:43.339 --> 00:24:45.279 And there is a little bit of an increase just 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:47.859 the last couple of years, which makes sense with 00:24:47.859 --> 00:24:53.420 the big dip during COVID and all. But as you 00:24:53.420 --> 00:24:55.440 read about these things, what has not diminished 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:59.230 necessarily is the idea of the spiritual. Maybe 00:24:59.230 --> 00:25:01.769 it's the rejection of God's presence with us 00:25:01.769 --> 00:25:05.150 in Jesus, but there's this attentiveness to the 00:25:05.150 --> 00:25:11.289 broadly spiritual. And to see ghosts still freaks 00:25:11.289 --> 00:25:15.269 people out. Maybe you've heard this. I think 00:25:15.269 --> 00:25:17.470 some of you are probably familiar with the idea. 00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:20.859 that we live in what's called a closed world. 00:25:21.180 --> 00:25:23.519 And all of you will understand this. That for 00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:26.599 the most people in the world, they engage with 00:25:26.599 --> 00:25:29.380 the world as though the world is all there is, 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:33.539 right? So it's kind of odd. It actually feels 00:25:33.539 --> 00:25:36.460 like it feels separated from this idea that spirituality 00:25:36.460 --> 00:25:38.579 doesn't necessarily decrease with church attendance, 00:25:38.660 --> 00:25:40.119 but a lot of people treat the world as though 00:25:40.119 --> 00:25:42.900 it's sort of just a natural world, that God is 00:25:42.900 --> 00:25:45.000 not present, that the divine is not present. 00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:47.700 And maybe some of you know that actually a lot 00:25:47.700 --> 00:25:49.339 of people have treated this passage and the one 00:25:49.339 --> 00:25:52.859 before it out of this closed world kind of idea. 00:25:54.539 --> 00:25:57.440 So a lot of people say, Jesus didn't really walk 00:25:57.440 --> 00:26:01.660 on water. I mean, when he gets in the boat, it 00:26:01.660 --> 00:26:04.680 seems as though they're already there. They were 00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:08.220 just in shallow water. And he's just walking 00:26:08.220 --> 00:26:10.480 and they think that he they're actually they've 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:12.900 they've travailed so far that they actually have 00:26:12.900 --> 00:26:16.400 gotten farther. And they just think that he was 00:26:16.400 --> 00:26:18.000 walked nowhere. He wasn't really doing that. 00:26:18.259 --> 00:26:20.859 Maybe some of you know that there's an explanation 00:26:20.859 --> 00:26:22.720 that some people give for the feeding of the 00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:25.099 five thousand there. Jesus didn't really multiply 00:26:25.099 --> 00:26:28.980 five loaves into fish. the young boy who gave 00:26:28.980 --> 00:26:31.960 these, that is mentioned in John, inspired everybody 00:26:31.960 --> 00:26:35.000 else to go, wait a second, I did bring my dinner 00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:40.720 and I should share it with others. But what I'm 00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:44.599 saying is that we vacillate spiritually from 00:26:44.599 --> 00:26:50.140 this idea of Jesus isn't present with us. We 00:26:50.140 --> 00:26:52.839 don't know if we should engage with him, but 00:26:52.839 --> 00:26:54.559 we'll kind of engage with some kind of spirituality 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:59.960 ghosts. Let's just explain everything away materially. 00:27:01.380 --> 00:27:05.640 Close world. But I wanna suggest to you that 00:27:05.640 --> 00:27:08.960 everyone, or nearly everyone, when they're actually 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:11.140 deeply in the deepest place of their fear, when 00:27:11.140 --> 00:27:13.940 their spouse is on their deathbed, it cries out, 00:27:14.039 --> 00:27:22.220 God, help. God, do something. God, I cannot do, 00:27:22.299 --> 00:27:26.490 I cannot control, I need you. God, heal. God, 00:27:26.490 --> 00:27:32.710 act. And in some ways, I think this is, we don't 00:27:32.710 --> 00:27:34.910 know what they cried out. We know they were terrified, 00:27:35.089 --> 00:27:37.170 but I wonder if they cried out in that moment, 00:27:37.329 --> 00:27:42.849 oh Lord, help. Because their fear had been increasing 00:27:42.849 --> 00:27:46.109 and increasing. Now, this is the experience of 00:27:46.109 --> 00:27:48.509 the disciples. Now, I want to shift and I want 00:27:48.509 --> 00:27:52.509 us to see what Jesus was doing. And we do not 00:27:52.509 --> 00:27:54.069 have a lot of time, so I'm going to try to race 00:27:54.069 --> 00:27:56.920 through this. So where's Jesus in the midst of 00:27:56.920 --> 00:28:00.119 our fears, right? Our relational, vocational, 00:28:00.220 --> 00:28:02.500 our spiritual fears, where is he? First place, 00:28:02.619 --> 00:28:07.220 he is up on the mountain. And my guess is that 00:28:07.220 --> 00:28:08.680 for a lot of us, we're like, that's not very 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:12.960 helpful. Jesus, why aren't you in the boat with 00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:16.079 your disciples? But what's he doing on the mountain? 00:28:17.299 --> 00:28:21.059 Two things it says he's doing. He's praying and 00:28:21.059 --> 00:28:25.190 he's seeing. Verse 46 said he went to the mountain 00:28:25.190 --> 00:28:28.930 of the prey, verse 48, and he saw that they were 00:28:28.930 --> 00:28:35.829 making headway painfully. And I think so much 00:28:35.829 --> 00:28:37.769 of our fear is actually related to the idea that 00:28:37.769 --> 00:28:41.829 we're just not sure where Jesus is or what he 00:28:41.829 --> 00:28:45.410 is doing. But what the Bible tells us is that 00:28:45.410 --> 00:28:48.339 Jesus is seeing what's going on. And specifically 00:28:48.339 --> 00:28:50.880 right now, what the Bible tells us again and 00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:52.579 again and again is that He is at the right hand 00:28:52.579 --> 00:28:58.940 of the Father and He is interceding for us. So 00:28:58.940 --> 00:29:00.220 that we hear that Jesus is at the right hand 00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:03.059 of the Father and Acts and Romans and Colossians 00:29:03.059 --> 00:29:05.700 and Hebrews and Peter and Revelation. They're 00:29:05.700 --> 00:29:09.539 all saying God is right at that place of authority. 00:29:10.019 --> 00:29:11.920 And then what we hear about a couple of times 00:29:11.920 --> 00:29:14.380 is that He is, what is He doing in that place 00:29:14.380 --> 00:29:16.400 of authority? He is interceding on our behalf. 00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:19.579 It is not that in the midst of their sort of 00:29:19.579 --> 00:29:22.359 travail that God is just absent. It's not in 00:29:22.359 --> 00:29:24.380 the midst of your travail that Jesus is just 00:29:24.380 --> 00:29:27.220 gone. He is seated at the right hand of the Father 00:29:27.220 --> 00:29:30.839 and He is interceding for us. That's the first 00:29:30.839 --> 00:29:36.700 place Jesus is. Second place Jesus is is on the 00:29:36.700 --> 00:29:39.779 water. So verse 48 says, and about the fourth 00:29:39.779 --> 00:29:44.180 watch of the night, He came to them walking on 00:29:44.180 --> 00:29:46.730 the sea. Now we just talked about how the disciples 00:29:46.730 --> 00:29:53.390 are like, ah, a ghost! But what this says is 00:29:53.390 --> 00:29:58.069 that He came to them. Right? They're not actually 00:29:58.069 --> 00:30:02.410 in the midst of their vocational travail all 00:30:02.410 --> 00:30:07.470 alone. They're not. He had seen them and He comes 00:30:07.470 --> 00:30:13.609 to them. Think of Jesus and John saying I'm with 00:30:13.609 --> 00:30:16.210 you always even to the end of the age or peace 00:30:16.210 --> 00:30:19.309 I leave you my peace I give you When he gives 00:30:19.309 --> 00:30:23.049 us the helper the Holy Spirit the Holy Ghost 00:30:23.049 --> 00:30:31.150 it Comes to us in our place of fear Okay, where 00:30:31.150 --> 00:30:37.069 is Jesus next Jesus again in the midst of people 00:30:37.769 --> 00:30:40.869 In the midst of the crowd doing what he does, 00:30:40.910 --> 00:30:43.609 which is to say Jesus is the compassionate shepherd 00:30:43.609 --> 00:30:47.829 that we heard of in the last passage He's providing 00:30:47.829 --> 00:30:51.869 for he's caring for the crowd in their need The 00:30:51.869 --> 00:30:54.690 story ends right with Jesus being this compassionate 00:30:54.690 --> 00:30:57.809 shepherd who provides and who tends to and who 00:30:57.809 --> 00:31:04.150 cares Jesus is feeding. He's healing. He's teaching 00:31:06.690 --> 00:31:10.190 Which is to say that he addresses our spiritual 00:31:10.190 --> 00:31:13.410 fears and our vocational fears and our relational 00:31:13.410 --> 00:31:16.549 fears What we do not hear in the last passage 00:31:16.549 --> 00:31:18.730 is actually what we heard the disciples say before 00:31:18.730 --> 00:31:22.309 send them all away Because Jesus in some ways 00:31:22.309 --> 00:31:24.869 has addressed that fear with his disciples and 00:31:24.869 --> 00:31:27.430 now they're present and able to minister as he 00:31:27.430 --> 00:31:31.390 calls them to to have these relationships That 00:31:31.390 --> 00:31:37.410 he's calling them to have Okay, now here's here's 00:31:37.410 --> 00:31:39.490 the I need I need to end and I need to end with 00:31:39.490 --> 00:31:42.109 this Aren't there a couple weird passes parts 00:31:42.109 --> 00:31:45.750 of this passage? What do you think is the weirdest 00:31:45.750 --> 00:31:54.329 part it's anybody Anybody had a weird part The 00:31:54.329 --> 00:31:56.289 hearts were hardened yeah, okay, we're gonna 00:31:56.289 --> 00:31:57.750 get we're actually gonna talk about that when 00:31:57.750 --> 00:32:01.009 we go to the supper, but what's another part? 00:32:02.470 --> 00:32:07.259 He meant to pass by them What is going on? Is 00:32:07.259 --> 00:32:12.359 Jesus like, hey guys, I'll show you how fast 00:32:12.359 --> 00:32:15.259 I can walk on water. I was saying, you know, 00:32:15.380 --> 00:32:16.660 on the mountain over there and now I'm going 00:32:16.660 --> 00:32:25.640 to be to the shore. What's going on? No, I mean, 00:32:25.640 --> 00:32:30.109 that can't be it. Why would Mark highlight he 00:32:30.109 --> 00:32:33.109 meant, he had intention to pass by them? Why 00:32:33.109 --> 00:32:38.150 would Jesus want to pass by them? Well, I think 00:32:38.150 --> 00:32:42.329 the clue is in what he says to them. And what 00:32:42.329 --> 00:32:44.710 does he say to them? He says, take heart, it 00:32:44.710 --> 00:32:49.809 is I. And that it is I is the Greek words, ego 00:32:49.809 --> 00:32:55.480 a me. Those Greek words are the very words in 00:32:55.480 --> 00:32:59.160 the Greek Old Testament when the Lord appears 00:32:59.160 --> 00:33:02.119 to Moses in the burning bush and Moses is freaked 00:33:02.119 --> 00:33:05.460 out. And of course he's scared for all kinds 00:33:05.460 --> 00:33:07.279 of reasons. Moses is scared. Relationally, he's 00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:10.539 had to flee Egypt. He's had to leave his job 00:33:10.539 --> 00:33:14.640 vocationally, right? He's wandering. He says, 00:33:15.099 --> 00:33:18.359 what is this, you know, this phantom I'm seeing, 00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:20.420 this bush that's burning and it's not, what's 00:33:20.420 --> 00:33:27.400 happening? What does the Lord say? I am. Those 00:33:27.400 --> 00:33:33.440 are the Greek words, ego a me. In the midst of 00:33:33.440 --> 00:33:35.519 the deepest places of fear, what God is saying 00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:41.960 is, I am. You can take heart because I am with 00:33:41.960 --> 00:33:50.990 you. Do not be afraid. Take heart. Brothers and 00:33:50.990 --> 00:33:54.069 sisters do not be afraid. That's what Mark is 00:33:54.069 --> 00:33:57.869 saying. The very God who was hovering over the 00:33:57.869 --> 00:34:01.150 face of the waters in Genesis chapter one, bringing 00:34:01.150 --> 00:34:06.269 order out of chaos. The same God who actually 00:34:06.269 --> 00:34:09.829 very interestingly in Job chapter nine, Job talks 00:34:09.829 --> 00:34:12.869 about God walking on the waters. The same God 00:34:12.869 --> 00:34:14.630 that was with Job when it seemed like he had 00:34:14.630 --> 00:34:20.719 lost everything. The same God who who met with 00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:23.280 Moses in the midst of almost everything seeming 00:34:23.280 --> 00:34:26.239 to be taken away and his people being enslaved 00:34:26.239 --> 00:34:32.420 down in Egypt. That same God is the Lord Jesus. 00:34:33.940 --> 00:34:36.840 That same God is the one who says, I will never 00:34:36.840 --> 00:34:41.840 leave you. I will never forsake you. He's telling 00:34:41.840 --> 00:34:46.940 us today, take heart, take heart in his eye. 00:34:47.820 --> 00:34:52.380 There is no fear that's too great for me. I am 00:34:52.380 --> 00:34:59.079 with you Let's let's do this let's collectively 00:34:59.079 --> 00:35:05.500 end By saying together Take heart do not be afraid 00:35:05.500 --> 00:35:10.519 Say with me Take heart do not be afraid when 00:35:10.519 --> 00:35:12.920 you turn to your neighbor quickly really look 00:35:12.920 --> 00:35:17.969 at somebody say take heart Do not be afraid Okay, 00:35:17.989 --> 00:35:20.429 turn to your other side, please. I'm serious. 00:35:20.590 --> 00:35:23.670 Look at each other in the eyes. Say, take heart. 00:35:23.710 --> 00:35:30.429 Do not be afraid. Let me pray. Lord God, what 00:35:30.429 --> 00:35:33.329 a wonderful passage. Lord, we pray that in the 00:35:33.329 --> 00:35:35.889 midst of all that is so fearful in our world 00:35:35.889 --> 00:35:37.630 that we would know that you are with us. You 00:35:37.630 --> 00:35:41.150 are the great I am. It is you. Therefore we may 00:35:41.150 --> 00:35:46.269 take heart and not be afraid. Amen. Thank you 00:35:46.269 --> 00:35:48.550 for listening to Second City Sermons podcast. 00:35:49.130 --> 00:35:51.050 We hope this sermon has encouraged you to worship 00:35:51.050 --> 00:35:53.989 God and to celebrate the gospel of Jesus. Please 00:35:53.989 --> 00:35:56.349 consider subscribing to this podcast and joining 00:35:56.349 --> 00:35:59.530 us in person each Sunday at 10 a .m. You can 00:35:59.530 --> 00:36:02.849 find us online at secondcitychurch .org and on 00:36:02.849 --> 00:36:05.429 Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Thanks again 00:36:05.429 --> 00:36:06.929 for listening. God bless.