WEBVTT 00:00:00.460 --> 00:00:02.759 Amen. If you have your Bibles, I'll invite you 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:05.400 to go ahead and grab those and turn on over to 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:09.099 Matthew chapter 8. Today we're going to start 00:00:09.099 --> 00:00:14.900 our reading in Matthew chapter 8 verse 23. Matthew 00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:17.179 8, 23. And we're in our series called Who Is 00:00:17.179 --> 00:00:19.839 He? As Jesus begins to reveal a little bit more 00:00:19.839 --> 00:00:22.100 about who he is after the Sermon on the Mount. 00:00:22.179 --> 00:00:26.780 And it began with Jesus, the Lord over our afflictions. 00:00:27.640 --> 00:00:30.440 The Lord over our afflictions, that our pains 00:00:30.440 --> 00:00:33.399 and our illnesses and our sickness, our frailty 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:38.000 as humans are not some rogue, unaccountable thing, 00:00:38.100 --> 00:00:40.560 but there is a Lord over them, and that Lord 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:43.159 is Jesus. And today we're going to be looking 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:46.140 at this other aspect of Lord over nature or Lord 00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:49.439 over creation. And in Matthew chapter 8, beginning 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:58.219 in verse 23, it reads, a violent storm arose 00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:01.420 on the sea so that the boat was being swamped 00:01:01.420 --> 00:01:05.760 by the waves. But Jesus kept sleeping. So the 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:08.159 disciples came and woke him up saying, Lord, 00:01:08.280 --> 00:01:12.400 save us, we are going to die. And he said to 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:14.799 them, why are you afraid, you of little faith? 00:01:15.420 --> 00:01:18.340 Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, 00:01:18.459 --> 00:01:22.099 and there was great calm. And the men were amazed 00:01:22.099 --> 00:01:25.480 and asked, what kind of man is this? Even the 00:01:25.480 --> 00:01:30.400 winds and the sea obey him. This is God's word. 00:01:32.540 --> 00:01:37.060 Today's passage isn't a promise that God will 00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:44.290 always calm our external storms. Instead, Today 00:01:44.290 --> 00:01:48.430 it shows us who Jesus truly is, Lord over all 00:01:48.430 --> 00:01:52.230 creation, Lord of nature, and invites us to trust 00:01:52.230 --> 00:01:58.989 him to calm the storm within, even as the waters 00:01:58.989 --> 00:02:03.010 rage around. It would be very easy to preach 00:02:03.010 --> 00:02:06.189 this scripture a certain way, done a thousand 00:02:06.189 --> 00:02:08.909 times before, and it goes something like this. 00:02:09.030 --> 00:02:12.349 Jesus is stronger than any of the storms of life. 00:02:12.810 --> 00:02:15.349 That you will encounter. And he will calm the 00:02:15.349 --> 00:02:18.590 storm. If you don't fear. And you just believe 00:02:18.590 --> 00:02:23.110 a little bit more. Jesus is stronger than any 00:02:23.110 --> 00:02:24.689 storm in your life. That you're going to encounter. 00:02:24.990 --> 00:02:26.729 But you just need to believe a little bit more. 00:02:26.949 --> 00:02:29.789 And not fear. And if it's not calm yet. It's 00:02:29.789 --> 00:02:32.729 because you haven't believed enough. Keep believing. 00:02:34.189 --> 00:02:39.810 Don't stop believing. And it is. Literally the 00:02:39.810 --> 00:02:42.430 title of a number of YouTube videos on this passage, 00:02:42.689 --> 00:02:46.169 Calming the Storms of Life. Calming the Storms 00:02:46.169 --> 00:02:48.710 of Life. And don't get me wrong, I believe Jesus 00:02:48.710 --> 00:02:52.849 can absolutely bring peace and solution to whatever 00:02:52.849 --> 00:02:58.270 is going on in our lives. He is 100 % able, amen? 00:03:01.210 --> 00:03:03.969 But what happens when your marriage doesn't get 00:03:03.969 --> 00:03:08.340 better? After you have believed and prayed and 00:03:08.340 --> 00:03:14.300 prayed and prayed and prayed, what then? What 00:03:14.300 --> 00:03:18.500 happens if the sickness wasn't healed, even though 00:03:18.500 --> 00:03:20.900 you prayed and cried out and sang a bunch of 00:03:20.900 --> 00:03:24.719 times Waymaker at the top of your lungs? Waymaker, 00:03:25.020 --> 00:03:29.620 miracle worker, promise keeper, light of the 00:03:29.620 --> 00:03:33.759 world. What happens if the healing doesn't come? 00:03:36.039 --> 00:03:38.780 What happens when your flawlessly crafted and 00:03:38.780 --> 00:03:42.659 curated vision for life falls apart to dust? 00:03:43.939 --> 00:03:49.580 Who is he now? The circumstances surrounding 00:03:49.580 --> 00:03:53.419 the birth, the baptism, the testing and the teaching 00:03:53.419 --> 00:03:56.240 of Jesus have all been screaming at the top of 00:03:56.240 --> 00:04:00.189 the lungs, this is the Messiah King. This is 00:04:00.189 --> 00:04:03.629 the promised one. This is God in the flesh who 00:04:03.629 --> 00:04:05.969 is bringing the kingdom of God, the restoration 00:04:05.969 --> 00:04:09.409 of all things in himself. It's been there on 00:04:09.409 --> 00:04:11.729 the eight chapters we've been reading up to this 00:04:11.729 --> 00:04:17.290 point. It's been everywhere. Yes, Jesus can calm 00:04:17.290 --> 00:04:19.910 the storms of life, but Matthew 8, 23 through 00:04:19.910 --> 00:04:23.889 27 is first and foremost about who Jesus is. 00:04:24.910 --> 00:04:28.120 And so let's see how the text itself unveils 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:32.680 the identity of Jesus. But before we get into 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:35.600 the text we just read, there were a few verses 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:38.060 you may have noticed that were between what we 00:04:38.060 --> 00:04:39.860 covered last week and what we covered this week. 00:04:39.980 --> 00:04:41.860 And I'm just going to read them and then summarize 00:04:41.860 --> 00:04:44.199 them really quickly because I think they set 00:04:44.199 --> 00:04:47.519 up where we're going today. Verse 18 said, when 00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:51.060 Jesus saw a large crowd around him, he gave the 00:04:51.060 --> 00:04:53.899 order to go to the other side of the sea. And 00:04:53.899 --> 00:04:56.879 a scribe approached him and said, Jesus, I will 00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:01.040 follow you wherever you go. And Jesus told him, 00:05:01.060 --> 00:05:05.060 foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, 00:05:05.060 --> 00:05:08.720 but the son of man has no place to lay his head. 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:13.360 Lord, another of his disciples said, first let 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:18.459 me go bury my father. But Jesus told him, follow 00:05:18.459 --> 00:05:24.529 me and let the dead bury their own dead. We don't 00:05:24.529 --> 00:05:26.449 have time to go verse by verse through this section 00:05:26.449 --> 00:05:29.649 today, but I think in helping to set up the next 00:05:29.649 --> 00:05:32.970 section, I'll summarize it this way. Jesus is 00:05:32.970 --> 00:05:36.189 not handing out fast passes to an easy life. 00:05:37.689 --> 00:05:43.290 He's calling for all in loyalty. And don't expect 00:05:43.290 --> 00:05:47.949 comfort. This mission isn't about some plush 00:05:47.949 --> 00:05:52.850 pillow or me time. It is about sacrifice, sacrifice, 00:05:52.970 --> 00:05:56.329 and more sacrifice. That will be the name of 00:05:56.329 --> 00:06:03.170 the game in following Jesus. Jesus accepts no 00:06:03.170 --> 00:06:09.769 half -hearted tagalongs. You're in or you're 00:06:09.769 --> 00:06:14.250 out. There's no cozy backup plan, no delayed 00:06:14.250 --> 00:06:17.410 obedience allowed. He calls for our immediate 00:06:17.410 --> 00:06:24.519 yes. The Lutheran scholar, Chad Bird, he puts 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:27.459 it this way, he says it this way. Yes, God has 00:06:27.459 --> 00:06:31.600 a wonderful plan for your life. To crucify, bury, 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:35.040 and resurrect you with Christ. Now you know. 00:06:36.819 --> 00:06:40.220 Now you know. And some of us, I think today, 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:45.860 are half -hearted tagalongs. And you thought 00:06:45.860 --> 00:06:49.259 you signed up for an easy life. You thought you 00:06:49.259 --> 00:06:52.790 signed up. to plug directly into the power of 00:06:52.790 --> 00:06:57.509 heaven to make your life smooth sailing. Now 00:06:57.509 --> 00:07:02.569 you know. That's not the case. The disciples 00:07:02.569 --> 00:07:06.829 had just heard, witnessed Jesus saying how costly 00:07:06.829 --> 00:07:10.029 it is to follow him. And now they're going to 00:07:10.029 --> 00:07:12.370 experience it because they're going to be asked 00:07:12.370 --> 00:07:15.790 to get into a boat with him and firsthand recognize 00:07:15.790 --> 00:07:18.430 the cost. The storm is going to threaten their 00:07:18.430 --> 00:07:23.540 lives. If you're taking notes, we first encounter, 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:29.300 number one, the crisis. The crisis. As he got 00:07:29.300 --> 00:07:31.860 into the boat, his disciples followed him, and 00:07:31.860 --> 00:07:34.699 suddenly a violent storm arose on the sea so 00:07:34.699 --> 00:07:36.779 that the boat was being swamped by the waves, 00:07:36.819 --> 00:07:41.480 but Jesus kept sleeping. Oh, to have that skill. 00:07:45.379 --> 00:07:48.019 I'll note this front to front. Jesus intentionally 00:07:48.019 --> 00:07:52.519 led his disciples on this boat trip. He commanded 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:55.319 them to get the boat. Jesus knew what was going 00:07:55.319 --> 00:07:57.800 on. He said, let's get this boat, let's get on 00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:00.379 the sea. He led his disciples onto this boat. 00:08:00.980 --> 00:08:04.600 And we have to know that Jesus will lead us into 00:08:04.600 --> 00:08:07.779 challenges where our faith is tested. He will 00:08:07.779 --> 00:08:10.079 lead us into challenges where our faith is tested. 00:08:10.660 --> 00:08:14.220 Storms are inevitable in our lives. And being 00:08:14.220 --> 00:08:16.439 with Jesus doesn't mean you avoid all the storms. 00:08:18.019 --> 00:08:21.689 The disciples followed Jesus into the boat. into 00:08:21.689 --> 00:08:24.670 the storm. And Jesus doesn't offer an escape 00:08:24.670 --> 00:08:27.829 from our hardships, but he does offer us presence 00:08:27.829 --> 00:08:34.169 in our hardships. His presence. The presence 00:08:34.169 --> 00:08:36.409 of the storm doesn't mean the absence of God. 00:08:37.950 --> 00:08:40.870 The presence of the storm doesn't mean the absence 00:08:40.870 --> 00:08:44.110 of God. And I think some of us need to know that 00:08:44.110 --> 00:08:47.649 today. Now, they're heading out on this boat 00:08:47.649 --> 00:08:50.980 into the Sea of Galilee. And the Sea of Galilee 00:08:50.980 --> 00:08:55.000 is known for sudden, unpredictable, violent storms 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:59.899 that just arise out of nowhere. But also, beyond 00:08:59.899 --> 00:09:04.779 the natural, the sea was also viewed as the symbol 00:09:04.779 --> 00:09:09.320 of wild, untamable power. In Jewish writing, 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:12.720 the sea was a place and a power of darkness and 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:17.940 evil that was threatening and out of hand. beyond 00:09:17.940 --> 00:09:21.820 their ability to tame it. And so a violent storm 00:09:21.820 --> 00:09:25.799 comes on suddenly, and Matthew, Matthew recalling 00:09:25.799 --> 00:09:28.320 this, and here's a little sidebar, Matthew is 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:32.279 writing this many years later. Here's how you 00:09:32.279 --> 00:09:34.700 should imagine this with Matthew. Matthew's in 00:09:34.700 --> 00:09:38.500 a church. He's one of you guys attending a church. 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:41.700 And he decides at some point in time, I'm going 00:09:41.700 --> 00:09:43.899 to take all of my writings and my recollections 00:09:43.899 --> 00:09:46.480 of Jesus and I'm going to put them down on paper 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:48.919 and write them so that y 'all know about this 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:51.519 Jesus that I knew and that I loved before he 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:55.019 died and resurrected and went to heaven. This 00:09:55.019 --> 00:09:57.299 was written in the context of a fellowship with 00:09:57.299 --> 00:10:00.769 people like you and I. And Matthew communicating 00:10:00.769 --> 00:10:03.610 that. And Matthew is choosing. He's a part of 00:10:03.610 --> 00:10:05.669 an editorial process where he's trying to tell 00:10:05.669 --> 00:10:08.470 us something. And his choices of words and his 00:10:08.470 --> 00:10:11.649 choices of which scenes to put with other scenes. 00:10:11.889 --> 00:10:15.409 And here Matthew doesn't use the normal Greek 00:10:15.409 --> 00:10:17.990 word for storm that you would expect to see here. 00:10:18.070 --> 00:10:25.169 Instead he uses a word, seismo. Seismo. Have 00:10:25.169 --> 00:10:27.690 you been keeping up on the news recently? There 00:10:27.690 --> 00:10:29.870 are some things going on over in Thailand and 00:10:29.870 --> 00:10:35.009 Myanmar and Tonga this morning. The earth is 00:10:35.009 --> 00:10:39.690 what? It's quaking. And we Californians, we know 00:10:39.690 --> 00:10:41.490 all about that, right? That's our major natural 00:10:41.490 --> 00:10:44.389 disaster that we're all prepared for is the earthquakes 00:10:44.389 --> 00:10:48.289 that are coming. We know all about earthquakes. 00:10:48.470 --> 00:10:51.269 Well, Matthew is saying that the storm that they 00:10:51.269 --> 00:10:55.690 encountered on the Sea of Galilee is a seismoportion. 00:10:57.879 --> 00:11:00.659 Basically, it's the word that we get seismic 00:11:00.659 --> 00:11:08.399 from, the Greek word. It's a seismic storm. And 00:11:08.399 --> 00:11:10.799 so what is he saying? He's probably saying something 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:14.779 like, this isn't a normal storm, but it is a 00:11:14.779 --> 00:11:19.679 earth -shaking storm. It is a supernatural storm. 00:11:20.100 --> 00:11:23.620 Is this an attempt to take out the Messiah by 00:11:23.620 --> 00:11:28.740 Satan? Is this an attempt for the darkness to 00:11:28.740 --> 00:11:33.919 kill the Messiah before he does his work? Is 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:37.120 this the darkness reacting to verse 16 that just 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:40.019 came where Jesus with a word is casting out demons? 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:42.679 Jesus is doing ministry and he's casting out 00:11:42.679 --> 00:11:45.320 demons and he's healing people. Is this storm 00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:49.659 the result of supernatural powers resisting God's 00:11:49.659 --> 00:11:53.600 kingdom come? If you want to know more about 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:56.460 supernatural powers, Satan and demons, and Jesus 00:11:56.460 --> 00:11:58.580 as Lord over those things, that's next week. 00:11:58.620 --> 00:12:00.639 So come next week, we're going to dig into that 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:05.460 stuff. But Matthew is saying, there's something 00:12:05.460 --> 00:12:08.320 going on here beyond what is natural. This storm 00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:14.840 is not normal. But if it is, Jesus doesn't seem 00:12:14.840 --> 00:12:17.840 all that concerned with it, does he? He's asleep. 00:12:17.940 --> 00:12:21.110 He's unfazed by the torrent. Probably exhausted 00:12:21.110 --> 00:12:23.570 from the demands of ministry, he ministered all 00:12:23.570 --> 00:12:27.850 night the night before. But the disciples, oh, 00:12:27.950 --> 00:12:30.850 they're not sleeping. And so if you're taking 00:12:30.850 --> 00:12:32.649 notes, the next thing that we hear is the cry. 00:12:34.210 --> 00:12:37.940 The cry. So the disciples came and woke him up 00:12:37.940 --> 00:12:41.360 saying, Lord, save us, we're going to die. And 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:43.440 I just remind a key word that we've seen through 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:46.799 this chapter. And when you, there was an old 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:48.779 thing that I remember in Bible college, they 00:12:48.779 --> 00:12:51.870 said repetition equals significance. Repetition 00:12:51.870 --> 00:12:53.450 equals significance. So when you see something 00:12:53.450 --> 00:12:56.090 repeated over and over again, a word or a phrase 00:12:56.090 --> 00:13:00.169 in a certain chapter or verse or book, take note 00:13:00.169 --> 00:13:02.529 of it. Write it down. This is a key word. What 00:13:02.529 --> 00:13:04.870 is this word trying to communicate? Well, the 00:13:04.870 --> 00:13:07.429 word Lord has been repeated in this chapter. 00:13:07.549 --> 00:13:10.950 Verse 2, verse 6, verse 8, verse 21, verse 25. 00:13:11.230 --> 00:13:13.149 And it's how the people are approaching Jesus 00:13:13.149 --> 00:13:15.649 and communicating with him. They always begin 00:13:15.649 --> 00:13:19.509 with Lord. Lord. And here we see it again. Lord, 00:13:19.649 --> 00:13:23.960 save us. We're going to die. It would be easy 00:13:23.960 --> 00:13:26.879 to think that the disciples' cry for help was 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:29.980 actually a cry for a miracle. If you consider 00:13:29.980 --> 00:13:33.159 the stories that were around this, leprosy had 00:13:33.159 --> 00:13:36.179 been healed and demons had been cast out. And 00:13:36.179 --> 00:13:38.399 so you might think, oh, the disciples, when they 00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:39.980 say save us, they're saying, hey, do something 00:13:39.980 --> 00:13:42.379 powerful. Do one of those tricks you've got up 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:44.740 your sleeves. But most scholars agree that at 00:13:44.740 --> 00:13:47.059 this point, the disciples, they have a very limited 00:13:47.059 --> 00:13:50.340 understanding of who Jesus is. and a very immature 00:13:50.340 --> 00:13:54.019 understanding of Jesus' power and ability. It's 00:13:54.019 --> 00:13:57.019 one thing to cleanse leprosy. It's a whole nother 00:13:57.019 --> 00:14:00.480 thing to tame or control the fury of nature, 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:06.100 especially a storm of seismic proportions. And 00:14:06.100 --> 00:14:08.379 so it's more likely that the disciples, when 00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:10.659 they say, Lord, help us, it's something more 00:14:10.659 --> 00:14:14.840 like this. Lord, do something. Like, bro, like 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:17.899 you're in charge. Take the lead here. Tell us 00:14:17.899 --> 00:14:20.500 what to do. If nothing else, grab a bucket. We're 00:14:20.500 --> 00:14:29.320 sinking. And you're sleeping. I'll also plant 00:14:29.320 --> 00:14:30.860 this in your mind too as you think about this 00:14:30.860 --> 00:14:34.240 because you may have overlooked it. Some of these 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:38.539 disciples, they are expert, lifelong fishermen 00:14:38.539 --> 00:14:43.759 on the Sea of Galilee. And they're crying out, 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:48.580 Lord. Save us. Something about this story is 00:14:48.580 --> 00:14:53.440 supernatural. Overwhelming. I'll have you think 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:55.600 about a moment in your life when the situation 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:59.860 was so overwhelming that you felt helpless. Maybe 00:14:59.860 --> 00:15:04.600 it was a medical scare, a health issue or a financial 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:10.539 catastrophe or a broken relationship. We live 00:15:10.539 --> 00:15:13.100 up in Georgetown, me and my family. It's a beautiful 00:15:13.100 --> 00:15:16.409 place to live. Pines, madrones, oak trees, everywhere. 00:15:18.110 --> 00:15:20.190 Some of the pines or the fir trees that we have 00:15:20.190 --> 00:15:22.789 up there, they stand upward of 120 feet tall. 00:15:23.409 --> 00:15:26.769 Just beautiful and majestic. And it's wonderful 00:15:26.769 --> 00:15:28.870 to look at and hear the wind blow through those 00:15:28.870 --> 00:15:32.850 trees, you know, and smell the smells of the, 00:15:33.009 --> 00:15:37.429 we're about 2 ,600 feet in elevation, so the 00:15:37.429 --> 00:15:40.830 hills up there. It's all fine and dandy and fun 00:15:40.830 --> 00:15:45.419 and beautiful until a snowstorm comes. And after 00:15:45.419 --> 00:15:50.980 a week plus of constant rain, it saturates the 00:15:50.980 --> 00:15:52.779 ground, it saturates the roots and the trees. 00:15:54.179 --> 00:15:57.580 We then had a once in a hundred year snowstorm 00:15:57.580 --> 00:16:00.580 hit us, which knocked out our power and gave 00:16:00.580 --> 00:16:02.559 us feet of snow and trapped us in our house. 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:08.220 And wet ground, saturated branches, heavy snow, 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:10.580 those are an interesting combination. What ends 00:16:10.580 --> 00:16:14.759 up happening to trees in that circumstance? branches 00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:19.679 fall, trees snap in half, and many trees, especially 00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:23.659 our oaks, uprooted and just fell over. They're 00:16:23.659 --> 00:16:30.120 like, we're out, peace out, we're done. And there 00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:32.059 were a couple of nights where the power is out, 00:16:32.120 --> 00:16:34.600 we're sitting in our house, we're listening intently 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:37.759 to the sounds going on outside, because every 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:41.779 few hours, we would hear a tree beginning to 00:16:41.779 --> 00:16:45.870 uproot. And we would listen, and we'd get tense, 00:16:46.009 --> 00:16:50.549 and then the ground would shake. But the house 00:16:50.549 --> 00:16:53.549 wouldn't crash down on us. And we thought, okay. 00:16:54.070 --> 00:16:57.710 We made it through another one. And another one, 00:16:57.809 --> 00:17:00.309 and another one. At one point, a big branch did 00:17:00.309 --> 00:17:03.090 hit the house, right over where two of our boys 00:17:03.090 --> 00:17:05.650 sleep in their room. It didn't pierce through. 00:17:06.109 --> 00:17:10.480 But we were terrified. We were. We were scared. 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:12.380 We were worried. We didn't know. And we were 00:17:12.380 --> 00:17:14.880 out of control. We could, we were helpless. There's 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:17.059 snow in, we were snowed in. We couldn't get out 00:17:17.059 --> 00:17:19.660 of the house. All this was happening around us. 00:17:19.740 --> 00:17:22.359 It was just listen and wait and pray and hope 00:17:22.359 --> 00:17:25.819 to God that it doesn't come through the house. 00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:29.819 But here's the deal with a situation like that 00:17:29.819 --> 00:17:31.920 or what the disciples have found themselves in 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:34.339 or many of the stories that you could tell of 00:17:34.339 --> 00:17:36.319 a moment when you were in a place where you felt 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:40.009 helpless. That fear always reveals what we truly 00:17:40.009 --> 00:17:44.730 trust in. Fear reveals where we've put our hope. 00:17:44.930 --> 00:17:50.130 Fear reveals where we stand. And the disciples' 00:17:50.289 --> 00:17:53.089 panic revealed that they had misaligned their 00:17:53.089 --> 00:18:00.069 faith. It wasn't in proper alignment. But, enter 00:18:00.069 --> 00:18:06.309 number three, the Christ. He said to them, Why 00:18:06.309 --> 00:18:09.450 are you afraid, you of little faith? And then 00:18:09.450 --> 00:18:11.490 he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, 00:18:11.630 --> 00:18:15.930 and there was a great calm. Literally, Jesus 00:18:15.930 --> 00:18:18.509 says something like, hey, little faith ones, 00:18:18.690 --> 00:18:23.170 what's up with the fear? Hey, little faith ones. 00:18:23.250 --> 00:18:25.089 Some of us are little faith ones, aren't we? 00:18:27.069 --> 00:18:29.369 And Jesus addresses two things here. He addresses 00:18:29.369 --> 00:18:32.859 the disciples first. Why are you afraid? And 00:18:32.859 --> 00:18:35.539 then he rebukes the storm. And God oftentimes 00:18:35.539 --> 00:18:37.740 addresses our hearts before he addresses our 00:18:37.740 --> 00:18:40.619 circumstances, doesn't he? Because what we've 00:18:40.619 --> 00:18:42.960 seen throughout Matthew so far is that God is 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:45.180 far more concerned about what's going on in here 00:18:45.180 --> 00:18:48.559 than what we do on the outside. The majority 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:51.000 of the Sermon on the Mount was to undo the thinking 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:53.920 that it was only about external religious observance 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:55.900 that honored God, but it was really about the 00:18:55.900 --> 00:18:58.980 motive and where your heart was set on trusting. 00:18:59.980 --> 00:19:02.700 Was your heart set on trusting God or was your 00:19:02.700 --> 00:19:05.319 heart set on trusting yourself? Was this an attempt 00:19:05.319 --> 00:19:07.900 to save yourself through your righteousness or 00:19:07.900 --> 00:19:10.700 your righteous acts or to obligate God to save 00:19:10.700 --> 00:19:12.759 you because of what you've done or had you put 00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:14.779 your hope and faith and trust in Jesus alone? 00:19:16.019 --> 00:19:21.220 And we see that again here. Jesus is addressing 00:19:21.220 --> 00:19:23.539 the disciples first. What's going on in your 00:19:23.539 --> 00:19:27.460 heart? Why are you afraid? Which sounds like 00:19:27.460 --> 00:19:29.039 a ludicrous question considering what's going 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:31.740 on around them. But he still says, why are you 00:19:31.740 --> 00:19:36.000 afraid? Some of you have been like, give Jesus 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:40.839 a lip, right? I'll tell you why I'm afraid. You've 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:42.200 been sleeping and you don't even know what's 00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:47.599 going on around us. What's wrong with you? Yeah, 00:19:47.619 --> 00:19:49.720 yeah, son of God, but get up here and grab a 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:53.240 bucket. But I love that there's so much grace 00:19:53.240 --> 00:19:55.039 here because Jesus could have come out of the, 00:19:55.039 --> 00:19:56.740 you know, out of the sleep and he could have 00:19:56.740 --> 00:19:59.400 come and said, I rebuke you disciples first. 00:20:00.059 --> 00:20:02.240 And until you get your doctrine and your theology 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:04.339 straight about who I am and what I'm here to 00:20:04.339 --> 00:20:07.000 do, I'm not going to save you. In fact, I'll 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:08.700 let this ship go down. The angels will carry 00:20:08.700 --> 00:20:13.680 me to the land and I'll start over. Right? That's 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:18.859 what I would have done. Some of you are like, 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:26.119 yeah, you would have. No, but try again. Okay, 00:20:26.220 --> 00:20:31.740 I'll give you the right answer now. But instead 00:20:31.740 --> 00:20:33.299 of saying, get everything straight, he says, 00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:35.680 you know what? I'm gonna challenge your understanding. 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:38.900 At this moment, I'm gonna challenge your understanding 00:20:38.900 --> 00:20:41.119 and get you in a place where when I do what I'm 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:44.460 about to do, you're gonna have to examine your 00:20:44.460 --> 00:20:47.339 preconceived notion of who I am. It's going to 00:20:47.339 --> 00:20:53.180 blow your mind. Just wait. Another thing I want 00:20:53.180 --> 00:20:54.480 to point out, though, that he doesn't say, though, 00:20:54.500 --> 00:20:58.700 is he doesn't say, hey, friends, you didn't say 00:20:58.700 --> 00:21:01.039 the right combination of words, or you didn't 00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:04.339 have enough faith in your magical words to get 00:21:04.339 --> 00:21:06.279 something done. Get me to do something here. 00:21:06.440 --> 00:21:09.839 He doesn't say, hey, work up some more incantations 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:12.720 and get this going on. Instead, he exposes their 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:16.200 lack of trust in who he is and what that means 00:21:16.200 --> 00:21:19.230 for their peace. Because true biblical faith 00:21:19.230 --> 00:21:22.250 is a posture of confidence in Jesus' authority, 00:21:22.549 --> 00:21:25.210 in his love and compassion and presence, even 00:21:25.210 --> 00:21:27.930 and especially when the storm is raging around 00:21:27.930 --> 00:21:30.130 us. That's the most important moment when our 00:21:30.130 --> 00:21:35.049 faith is tried. And biblical faith stands in 00:21:35.049 --> 00:21:38.950 stark contrast to faith that is taught by prosperity 00:21:38.950 --> 00:21:43.150 or word of faith teachers, which they reduce 00:21:43.150 --> 00:21:46.759 trust in God. all the way down to a transactional 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:51.720 formula. Name it, claim it, and get it. Name 00:21:51.720 --> 00:21:53.920 it, claim it, and get it. Get health and wealth 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:58.279 or success on demand. And that version of faith 00:21:58.279 --> 00:22:01.299 can be destructive because it puts the force 00:22:01.299 --> 00:22:07.460 on our efforts or on spiritual power that we 00:22:07.460 --> 00:22:10.220 must somehow get in order to manipulate outcomes 00:22:10.220 --> 00:22:13.559 rather than on the sovereign grace of God. who 00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:17.839 works for our ultimate good and his glory. Biblical 00:22:17.839 --> 00:22:21.819 faith, by contrast, never makes promises of constant 00:22:21.819 --> 00:22:25.220 comfort or easy living. Instead, it gives us 00:22:25.220 --> 00:22:28.339 the confidence that our heavenly father is with 00:22:28.339 --> 00:22:30.799 us and for us, even when the boat feels like 00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:37.220 it's sinking. You guys, if you grew up in a church 00:22:37.220 --> 00:22:40.559 and you're around my age, thereabouts, or a little 00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:43.200 younger, a little older, You might remember Rack, 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:45.200 Shack, and Benny. Anyone remembers Rack, Shack, 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:51.910 and Benny from the Veggie Tales? Yeah. Rakshak 00:22:51.910 --> 00:22:54.029 and Benny, well, it's just referencing Shadrach, 00:22:54.150 --> 00:22:56.930 Meshach, and Abednego from the story out of Daniel 00:22:56.930 --> 00:22:59.869 in the Bible. And this is an amazing story of 00:22:59.869 --> 00:23:01.890 trust in the Lord because they're about to be 00:23:01.890 --> 00:23:04.190 thrown into a furnace because they will not bow 00:23:04.190 --> 00:23:08.269 down to the king of their time and more or less 00:23:08.269 --> 00:23:11.130 worship him as if he was a god. They refuse to 00:23:11.130 --> 00:23:13.910 do it, even to the point of their death. And 00:23:13.910 --> 00:23:15.589 when they're addressing the king and they're 00:23:15.589 --> 00:23:19.349 answering why they refuse to do it, they say, 00:23:20.299 --> 00:23:24.119 Our God will save us from the flame of the furnace. 00:23:24.859 --> 00:23:29.259 Our God will save us. But even if he doesn't, 00:23:29.259 --> 00:23:33.339 we will not bow down to you. We will not fear. 00:23:33.539 --> 00:23:36.599 We will not doubt your goodness. We will not 00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:38.779 doubt God's goodness in this situation, in the 00:23:38.779 --> 00:23:42.400 circumstances. Even if he doesn't come through, 00:23:42.579 --> 00:23:48.039 that won't change things. We put our hope and 00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:50.720 faith in. We believe God will save us, but even 00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:54.119 if he doesn't. And so I want to push it a little 00:23:54.119 --> 00:23:56.220 bit further because I think sometimes we think, 00:23:56.259 --> 00:24:01.019 yes, I want to trust God as the winds and waves 00:24:01.019 --> 00:24:04.039 bat around us, that God will pull me through. 00:24:04.099 --> 00:24:06.160 But we still have a little bit of that part that 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:09.180 says, but he's going to pull me through. He's 00:24:09.180 --> 00:24:11.759 going to stop the winds and the waves. He's going 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:14.319 to get me out of this situation. He's going to 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:16.359 make my relationship better or my financial situation 00:24:16.359 --> 00:24:18.500 better or my marriage better. He's going to do 00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:20.960 something miraculous. Any moment now, I want 00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:23.619 to push it further and say that even if the boat 00:24:23.619 --> 00:24:28.259 goes down and you drown, God is still good. Even 00:24:28.259 --> 00:24:31.119 if the boat goes down and he doesn't save you, 00:24:31.319 --> 00:24:33.940 he is still worthy of praise and honor and glory. 00:24:36.359 --> 00:24:38.319 Even if the boat goes down and you don't get 00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:40.859 that miraculous rescue or that outcome that you 00:24:40.859 --> 00:24:44.259 were hoping for, our hope in Christ doesn't evaporate 00:24:44.259 --> 00:24:46.460 because the real presence or the presence of 00:24:46.460 --> 00:24:48.880 real faith isn't marked by everything working 00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:51.880 out in our lives exactly the way that we want. 00:24:52.059 --> 00:24:55.680 But the presence of true faith is our hearts 00:24:55.680 --> 00:24:59.299 anchored to the one who is good. Our hearts anchored 00:24:59.299 --> 00:25:03.200 to the one who is sovereign and the one who is 00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:07.480 with us in every outcome. Even if the water is 00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:13.519 up to our neck or goes over our head. The promise 00:25:13.519 --> 00:25:16.640 of scripture isn't that no storm will ever harm 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:19.920 us. The promise of scripture is that we belong 00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:23.279 to a God who will never forsake us, even when 00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:27.619 the worst happens. And in that sense, genuine 00:25:27.619 --> 00:25:32.460 faith, true faith, is less about demanding certain 00:25:32.460 --> 00:25:35.920 results. And more about clinging to a person 00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:40.960 who holds us with every last wave, even if the 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:47.700 boat sinks. And at this point in the story, Jesus 00:25:47.700 --> 00:25:52.059 gets up, rebukes the wind, the seas, and it's 00:25:52.059 --> 00:25:55.859 calm. And it's the most anticlimactic moment 00:25:55.859 --> 00:26:01.440 in the story. It's like an afterthought. It's 00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:05.940 like he's like, And it's done. He does this powerful 00:26:05.940 --> 00:26:10.200 act of calming the seas and the winds. And all 00:26:10.200 --> 00:26:12.380 Matthew gives it is Jesus rebukes the winds and 00:26:12.380 --> 00:26:16.680 the seas and they're calm. I love that. It is 00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:22.500 so beneath his ability. But now there's another 00:26:22.500 --> 00:26:26.200 storm brewing because the disciples are now faced 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:30.819 with number four, the challenge. The men were 00:26:30.819 --> 00:26:35.799 amazed and asked, What kind of man is this? Even 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:40.079 the winds and the sea obey him. Do you hear that? 00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:44.799 They don't say, who is this man? They say, what 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:49.440 kind of man is this? What kind of man is this? 00:26:49.559 --> 00:26:52.140 What's going on is they're having like a category 00:26:52.140 --> 00:26:58.980 error. Who you thought he was, he's not. Whatever 00:26:58.980 --> 00:27:01.900 category they had put him in before was utterly 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:05.940 shattered when this took place. And we might 00:27:05.940 --> 00:27:08.359 gloss right over it in this story, but why? Why 00:27:08.359 --> 00:27:11.400 was their category shattered? Well, these men 00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:15.319 who are in the boat, these men are Torah or scripture 00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:19.650 reading and memorizing guys. They love the scripture 00:27:19.650 --> 00:27:21.930 because the scripture and the study of scripture 00:27:21.930 --> 00:27:24.190 teaches them about the God that they love and 00:27:24.190 --> 00:27:26.569 they serve and they worship. They love it. And 00:27:26.569 --> 00:27:28.750 what I'd like to think in that moment as Jesus 00:27:28.750 --> 00:27:31.109 stands up and he rebukes the wind and the seas. 00:27:31.839 --> 00:27:34.299 That at that very moment, the disciples are there 00:27:34.299 --> 00:27:36.359 and the words of the Torah, the words of scripture, 00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:39.220 which shaped their deepest conception of who 00:27:39.220 --> 00:27:43.059 God is, begin to draw to mind scriptures. And 00:27:43.059 --> 00:27:45.500 one of the disciples, the words of Job flashes 00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:49.619 across his mind. And he goes, wait, who enclosed 00:27:49.619 --> 00:27:52.799 the sea behind doors? when it burst from the 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:55.460 womb, when I made the clouds its garments and 00:27:55.460 --> 00:27:58.019 total darkness its blanket, when I determined 00:27:58.019 --> 00:28:00.279 the boundaries and put its bars and doors in 00:28:00.279 --> 00:28:03.200 place, when I declared, you may come this far, 00:28:03.259 --> 00:28:07.720 but no further, you proud waves, stop here. And 00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:11.440 one of the disciples, maybe Psalm 65, comes to 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:13.319 mind and he's seized by the words because it 00:28:13.319 --> 00:28:15.579 was just in his morning devotions. And he was 00:28:15.579 --> 00:28:17.980 reading it and he said, you answer us in righteousness 00:28:17.980 --> 00:28:21.279 with awe -inspiring works, God of our salvation, 00:28:21.460 --> 00:28:23.579 the hope of all the ends of the earth and of 00:28:23.579 --> 00:28:26.039 the distant seas. You establish the mountains 00:28:26.039 --> 00:28:28.980 by your power. You are robed with strength. You 00:28:28.980 --> 00:28:31.460 silence the roar of the seas and the roar of 00:28:31.460 --> 00:28:35.319 the waves and the tumult of the nations. And 00:28:35.319 --> 00:28:39.960 maybe another disciple, Psalm 89, grips him and 00:28:39.960 --> 00:28:43.539 he says, Lord, God of armies, who is strong like 00:28:43.539 --> 00:28:47.460 you, Lord? Your faithfulness surrounds us. You 00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:50.799 rule the raging seas, and when its waves surge, 00:28:51.200 --> 00:29:02.220 you still them. Who talks to the sea like it 00:29:02.220 --> 00:29:05.000 is a child that they have created and it must 00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:10.359 obey them? Who does that? Like my kids, they 00:29:10.359 --> 00:29:12.539 know the look. I don't have to say anything. 00:29:13.339 --> 00:29:15.539 I can look and it's done. Conversation's over. 00:29:17.220 --> 00:29:20.480 Jesus just does something. We don't know. Did 00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:23.799 he do a hand motion? Did Macarena dance? Boom. 00:29:24.579 --> 00:29:32.559 Whatever he did, it obeyed. And what the disciples 00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:36.180 are asking, what these scripture -loving guys 00:29:36.180 --> 00:29:42.099 are asking is, in essence, Whoa. In all of our 00:29:42.099 --> 00:29:49.160 reading, only God does these things. Only God 00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:52.059 does these things. In all of our scripture reading, 00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:59.259 all of our devotions, only God does this. John 00:29:59.259 --> 00:30:02.640 said, in the beginning was the word. And the 00:30:02.640 --> 00:30:06.880 word was with God. And the word was God. He was 00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:10.480 with God in the beginning. All things were created 00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:14.279 through him. And apart from him, not one thing 00:30:14.279 --> 00:30:20.460 was created that has been created. You know, 00:30:20.519 --> 00:30:25.940 who's the wind in the sea's daddy? The one who 00:30:25.940 --> 00:30:30.940 just spoke and said, silence. Jesus is indeed 00:30:30.940 --> 00:30:35.759 the divine word. Through him, all things have 00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:39.980 their existence. And he sustains all things in 00:30:39.980 --> 00:30:46.900 himself. This text isn't telling us to expect 00:30:46.900 --> 00:30:50.900 that every storm will vanish in our lives. It's 00:30:50.900 --> 00:30:52.819 telling us that the one in the boat with us is 00:30:52.819 --> 00:30:57.119 the sovereign God who placed boundaries around 00:30:57.119 --> 00:31:01.339 the sea and said no further. And that changes 00:31:01.339 --> 00:31:06.319 everything about how we endure the storm. The 00:31:06.319 --> 00:31:11.259 peace and the calm are in who he is, not in what 00:31:11.259 --> 00:31:17.599 we expect him to do for us. I don't know. The 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:19.559 storms are actually useful. Do you know that? 00:31:20.299 --> 00:31:22.759 I'll bet our older folks in this room could tell 00:31:22.759 --> 00:31:25.480 us more than anyone. The storms are actually 00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:29.380 useful. Because they drive us to acknowledge 00:31:29.380 --> 00:31:32.400 our dependence on Jesus when we go astray and 00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:36.250 we look to other things. They drive us to acknowledge 00:31:36.250 --> 00:31:40.130 his dominion and reign as king over all things. 00:31:41.750 --> 00:31:45.109 And the storms wake us up and invite us to trust 00:31:45.109 --> 00:31:49.630 again anew the sovereign king of all things. 00:31:52.490 --> 00:31:55.269 But I understand, what do we do with our unanswered 00:31:55.269 --> 00:31:59.950 prayers? What do we do when our prayers for healing 00:31:59.950 --> 00:32:02.420 or restoration never materialize? What do we 00:32:02.420 --> 00:32:04.440 do for our unanswered prayers for restoration 00:32:04.440 --> 00:32:08.920 of health or relationships or so on? And I would 00:32:08.920 --> 00:32:11.359 say that those prayers are not useless at all. 00:32:12.599 --> 00:32:15.319 Because even the prayers that are not answered 00:32:15.319 --> 00:32:19.920 point us somewhere. They orient us somewhere. 00:32:20.859 --> 00:32:24.579 They put us toward true north. Even our unanswered 00:32:24.579 --> 00:32:28.420 ones. Because they ultimately point us to a new 00:32:28.420 --> 00:32:32.619 heaven and a new earth. to a greater restoration 00:32:32.619 --> 00:32:35.779 of all things than we could ever experience here 00:32:35.779 --> 00:32:39.240 on earth. When Jesus healed the leper, the leper 00:32:39.240 --> 00:32:44.079 was healed, but the leper still died. When Jesus 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:47.140 called Lazarus out, I haven't met him, have you? 00:32:48.380 --> 00:32:51.779 Because he died, was brought back to life, and 00:32:51.779 --> 00:32:53.819 then he died again at some point in time. He 00:32:53.819 --> 00:32:55.779 ain't around anymore, unless you find him and 00:32:55.779 --> 00:32:57.619 let me know, because I'd love to meet him. That'd 00:32:57.619 --> 00:33:01.339 be awesome. But he ain't around anymore. Because 00:33:01.339 --> 00:33:03.759 all of those miraculous healings and all of those 00:33:03.759 --> 00:33:08.640 miracles of life and restoration, we all know 00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:15.099 they're temporary. But all of them will be ultimately 00:33:15.099 --> 00:33:18.440 answered and fulfilled in what those prayers 00:33:18.440 --> 00:33:23.259 point to. A reality we know only as a faint whisper 00:33:23.259 --> 00:33:27.119 that will is to come and that is a new heavens 00:33:27.119 --> 00:33:30.809 and a new earth. They point us forward to a future 00:33:30.809 --> 00:33:35.450 with no more tears, no pain, a place where the 00:33:35.450 --> 00:33:38.089 very foundation of all things is God himself 00:33:38.089 --> 00:33:46.390 who is unshakable, unsinkable, immovable. I love 00:33:46.390 --> 00:33:50.650 this scripture, Revelation 21. Then I saw a new 00:33:50.650 --> 00:33:54.769 heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and 00:33:54.769 --> 00:33:57.970 the first earth had passed away. And the sea 00:33:57.970 --> 00:34:02.210 was no more. And it always struck me. I was recently 00:34:02.210 --> 00:34:05.809 studying in a Bible study. And it struck me again. 00:34:06.289 --> 00:34:08.510 The sea was no more. Why did he put that in there? 00:34:09.829 --> 00:34:11.929 And if you understand that first century understanding 00:34:11.929 --> 00:34:18.889 of the ocean, the sea, untamable, unwieldy, place 00:34:18.889 --> 00:34:21.349 you go out to die. Who knows what monsters are 00:34:21.349 --> 00:34:26.409 out in that sea? There's a promise that in the 00:34:26.409 --> 00:34:28.130 new heavens and new earth, the sea is no more. 00:34:29.030 --> 00:34:35.610 The sea is no more. The promise helps you face 00:34:35.610 --> 00:34:38.250 the storms that we face. The storms we come in 00:34:38.250 --> 00:34:40.809 contact, they are terrifying. But you and I have 00:34:40.809 --> 00:34:44.429 to not forget that it is the one who sails with 00:34:44.429 --> 00:34:46.869 us in the boat that matters most. The one who 00:34:46.869 --> 00:34:49.070 rebukes the winds and the waves. The one who 00:34:49.070 --> 00:34:53.730 walked out of his own grave. And the one who 00:34:53.730 --> 00:34:56.230 promises a future where that wild, untamable 00:34:56.230 --> 00:35:02.869 sea is no more. I think Matthew is trying to 00:35:02.869 --> 00:35:08.809 get us to understand who Jesus is. Will you join 00:35:08.809 --> 00:35:10.849 me in praying? Father, we thank you for your 00:35:10.849 --> 00:35:13.829 word. And we pray that we would be awestruck 00:35:13.829 --> 00:35:21.800 in wonder by you, the one who goes with us. the 00:35:21.800 --> 00:35:25.699 immovable, unshakable presence, that through 00:35:25.699 --> 00:35:28.599 all the storms and the trials, through all the 00:35:28.599 --> 00:35:34.900 testing, even unto the end, we can cling to Jesus 00:35:34.900 --> 00:35:38.940 and have hope and peace in our very core, in 00:35:38.940 --> 00:35:43.480 our heart. That doesn't mean that any one of 00:35:43.480 --> 00:35:48.019 the external circumstances change, but you can 00:35:48.019 --> 00:35:53.920 change us. You can do something in us that changes 00:35:53.920 --> 00:35:57.320 our perspective and our hope. I pray for those 00:35:57.320 --> 00:36:01.780 who are here today, Lord, who have come in burdened 00:36:01.780 --> 00:36:04.840 down and heavy. Those who have put their hope, 00:36:04.920 --> 00:36:09.320 Lord, in a sort of prosperity, name it and claim 00:36:09.320 --> 00:36:12.639 it type understanding of you that you are a power 00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:16.139 source to tap into to make my life what I want 00:36:16.139 --> 00:36:20.360 it to be. I pray that you Would gently and without 00:36:20.360 --> 00:36:26.000 your grace. Teach us. Teach us to trust in who 00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:29.059 you are. Teach us to love you for who you are 00:36:29.059 --> 00:36:32.880 and you alone. Teach us to be in wonder and awe 00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:38.000 of you. And to know that it is sufficient that 00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:43.099 you are with us. Come what may. In all the trials 00:36:43.099 --> 00:36:47.820 and storms. and all the relationships that fall 00:36:47.820 --> 00:36:50.739 to pieces and all the health scares and issues 00:36:50.739 --> 00:36:53.239 that we have to face and deal with, that you 00:36:53.239 --> 00:36:56.900 are with us and you will never leave us or forsake 00:36:56.900 --> 00:37:00.420 us. But may we not hear in that, Lord, that you 00:37:00.420 --> 00:37:02.599 will change every circumstance and situation 00:37:02.599 --> 00:37:06.000 the way that we want it, but may we hear in that 00:37:06.000 --> 00:37:09.440 that you will never abandon us and that you are 00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:11.659 ultimately pulling us and drawing us forward 00:37:11.659 --> 00:37:18.070 to our future hope. An eternity with you. All 00:37:18.070 --> 00:37:20.690 that we have is transient and passing anyway. 00:37:20.829 --> 00:37:24.030 Everything that we have is temporary. And Lord, 00:37:24.090 --> 00:37:26.630 I pray that while we may be stewards of certain 00:37:26.630 --> 00:37:31.250 things in our lives at this time, relationships, 00:37:31.570 --> 00:37:37.730 kids, we would recognize all that we have is 00:37:37.730 --> 00:37:43.210 yours. And all that we have is temporary. That 00:37:43.210 --> 00:37:49.030 you are eternal. And we would cling to you, all 00:37:49.030 --> 00:37:53.349 of our strength, trusting in you as our firm 00:37:53.349 --> 00:37:57.909 foundation. I pray that you would bring us peace. 00:37:59.750 --> 00:38:02.550 We thank you, God. You are the God of power. 00:38:03.329 --> 00:38:07.030 You are the God of wonder. You are the God who 00:38:07.030 --> 00:38:10.590 holds and sustains all things. You are worthy 00:38:10.590 --> 00:38:14.130 of our worship. We thank you in Jesus' name.