1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,440 Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located 2 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,680 in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship 3 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:21,920 Ministries with 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism, 4 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:27,300 discipleship and church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church 5 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:31,860 and other sermons from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bigford and I will be your 6 00:00:31,860 --> 00:00:36,420 host for this podcast. I thank you for listening today and we hope these messages are a blessing 7 00:00:36,420 --> 00:00:41,320 to you and bring you closer to God. 8 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:51,600 Hello and welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. My name is David Bigford. I'm 9 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:58,600 the pastor here in town. I want to thank you for tuning in to today's message. I want to 10 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:03,080 welcome you out again to our church here in Salmon Arm. If you live here in or around 11 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:08,440 town please come by and check us out on Sunday. We'd love to have you. We love having new 12 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:14,000 visitors come to the church and we'd love to invite you in to what God is doing here 13 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,120 in town in Salmon Arm. 14 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:22,400 The text that we'll be working off of today is Matthew 14, 22-33 and the title of this 15 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:29,240 message is Vocal Point. A young lady named Sally took a seminary class taught by Professor 16 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:35,360 Smith who was known for his elaborate object lessons. One day Sally walked into class to 17 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:41,520 find a large target placed above the wall. With several darts resting on a nearby table, 18 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:46,660 Professor Smith told the students to draw a picture of someone they disliked or someone 19 00:01:46,660 --> 00:01:52,440 who had made them angry and he would allow them to throw darts at this person's picture. 20 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:57,560 Sally's friend on her right drew a picture of another woman who had stolen her boyfriend. 21 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:01,780 Another friend on her left drew a picture of his younger brother. Sally drew a picture 22 00:02:01,780 --> 00:02:09,080 of Professor Smith putting a great deal of detail into her drawing. Even drawing pimples 23 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:14,040 on his face, she was quite pleased at the overall effect she'd achieved. The class lined 24 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:19,320 up and began throwing darts amidst much laughter. Some of the students threw with such force 25 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:24,880 that they ripped apart their targets. But Sally looked forward to her turn and was filled 26 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:29,600 with disappointment when Professor Smith asked the students to return to their seats so he 27 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:31,640 could begin the lecture. 28 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:37,080 As Sally was fuming about missing her chance to throw the darts, the professor began removing 29 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:44,520 the target from the wall. Underneath the target was a picture of Jesus. A hush fell over the 30 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:51,420 room as each student viewed the mangled image of their savior. Holes and jagged marks covered 31 00:02:51,420 --> 00:02:58,640 his face. His eyes were virtually pierced out and Professor Smith said, only these words, 32 00:02:58,640 --> 00:03:04,440 Matthew 25, 40, and as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, 33 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:11,880 ye have done it unto me. Let's read our scripture this morning. It's Matthew 14, 22-33. 34 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:15,640 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him on to the other 35 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:20,640 side and while he dismissed the crowd and after he had dismissed the crowds, he went 36 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:26,480 up onto the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the 37 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:32,320 boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was 38 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:38,600 against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them walking on the sea. 39 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:42,440 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, it 40 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:46,940 is a ghost. And they cried out in fear, but immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, take 41 00:03:46,940 --> 00:03:52,320 heart it is I. Do not be afraid. And Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command 42 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:57,960 me to come to you out on the water. He said, come. So Peter got out of the boat and walked 43 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:04,200 on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind and he was afraid and began to 44 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:10,320 sink and he cried out, Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took 45 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:15,720 ahold of him saying to him, Oh, you have little faith. Why did you doubt? And when they got 46 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:21,520 into the boat, the wind ceased and those in the boat worshiped him saying, truly you are 47 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:25,880 the son of God. Let's pray. Dear Lord, I pray that this message will resonate in people's 48 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:32,600 hearts that it will do your work in their heart, leading them to you, to a deeper relationship 49 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:39,160 with you in Jesus name we pray. Amen. So as we look at that, that portion of scripture 50 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:45,880 and as we think of that illustration I use to kick us off, the same problem is present 51 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:53,120 in both. We lose focus in our lives. We have all had battles in our life. The old man, 52 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:59,400 our old sinful nature can cause us to struggle at keeping our focus on what is right. In 53 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:05,360 our texts, we are shown an interesting picture. We see Jesus acting with authority and power 54 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:11,580 and this came right after the miracle of feeding 5,000. But now we see the apostles are confronted 55 00:05:11,580 --> 00:05:17,720 with the Lord who multiplied the bread and can calm the seas and walk on the waves. They 56 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:25,760 had missight of the power of the earlier miracle. So when this new miracle was happening, they 57 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:31,800 had a lapse in faith. They couldn't believe it. We also see this secondary picture in 58 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:43,040 our text. This picture of faith or maybe you might question and say Peter's hubris. Some 59 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:48,840 interpret Peter's brief walk on the water as prideful or something that's full of vainglory. 60 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:53,520 When he falters and his short journey nearly ends in disaster, the lesson seems to be Peter's 61 00:05:53,520 --> 00:06:00,480 desire to walk to Jesus on the water is preposterous, an example of being shunned or to be shunned. 62 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:05,000 But Peter does seem impetuous when he says, Lord, if it is you, he's not even certain 63 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:11,720 the figure is Jesus. Command me to come onto the water. Yet Peter's logic is valid. If 64 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:17,520 Jesus can walk on the water, Peter can too. Matthew often notes that the disciples imitate 65 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:22,680 their master. In chapters eight through nine, Jesus blends words and works while the disciples 66 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:27,600 watch. Then he commissions the twelve for their first mission and tells them to do exactly 67 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:35,400 what they have seen him do. Jesus went first to Israel and the disciples must too. And 68 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:40,560 we see that in Matthew 10, five through six. Jesus proclaims the kingdom and then they 69 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:46,440 do the same. Jesus freely heals the sick and raises the dead, cleanses lepers, expelled 70 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:54,480 demons. And then he told his disciples to do the same. 71 00:06:54,480 --> 00:07:01,360 Thus Jesus expects the disciples to follow his example. Further, Jesus chides Peter for 72 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:07,400 doubting but not for the request of walking on the water. In fact, Jesus commands Peter 73 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:14,440 to come and Peter comes. So the real question is what courage did it take for Peter to get 74 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:22,900 down off that boat and take those first steps? That's why I want to look first at the boat. 75 00:07:22,900 --> 00:07:27,840 We have faith and we put our trust in boats because they carry us over the dark waters. 76 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:32,940 For the most part, boats represent safety and security, just like we get from the picture 77 00:07:32,940 --> 00:07:40,900 of Noah's Ark. When the whole world is flooded, we look to Noah's Ark as a safe haven during 78 00:07:40,900 --> 00:07:47,320 times of calamity. We think we should stay in God's boat as we strive to pull others 79 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:51,960 out of the depths of their sin and into the lifeboat that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. 80 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:57,700 This is a common picture. In fact, when my daughter graduated from Anchor Academy Christian 81 00:07:57,700 --> 00:08:05,880 Home School, the picture was being in the boat, to stay in the boat, which is the gospel 82 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:12,720 of Jesus Christ or the new covenant of the New Testament. It was a very big emphasis 83 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:18,040 of staying with God because if you stay in the boat, which is God's will, you'll stay 84 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:23,200 safe. This is true. There's a lot of truth to that. I don't deny the validity of that 85 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:28,400 picture, but I want to challenge you for a different picture. 86 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:37,240 With all the minds of everybody who is listening to this today or experts out there, we think 87 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:42,760 that staying in the boat is what it means to live by faith. But there are times when 88 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:49,240 the opposite is true. It reminds me of the American or US Coast Guard rescue swimmers. 89 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:54,840 The Navy has rescue swimmers too. I'm not trying to begrudge the sailors. As a Marine, 90 00:08:54,840 --> 00:09:04,320 I was a part of the naval service. But the US Coast Guard rescue swimmers are a cut above 91 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:12,460 as their entire mission is to go out and save people who put themselves into dangerous situations. 92 00:09:12,460 --> 00:09:18,180 They show immense courage when they jump out of those helicopters and boats to save people 93 00:09:18,180 --> 00:09:24,360 who are drowning. They go into the most tumultuous of water and tumultuous situations to save 94 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:28,600 people and rescue them, pull them out of that water. 95 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:34,160 In Mark 6, 45-46, it says, immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go 96 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:39,480 before him to the other side, to Bethesda, while he dismissed the crowd. After that, 97 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:45,040 he had taken leave of them. He went up to the mountain to pray. The Jesus boat, when 98 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:49,760 we think of it this way, the deck of the boat is large enough to transport Jesus and his 99 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:56,680 disciples plus Fisher cargo. They had to be several feet above the waterline. So I want 100 00:09:56,680 --> 00:10:01,920 you to picture this boat that the apostles were riding in. You want you to picture and 101 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:08,120 think about the waves rocking and rolling and the idea of climbing over the side of 102 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:15,140 the boat into the water and taking that initial, what you would think is plunge of several 103 00:10:15,140 --> 00:10:21,480 feet downward from the relative safety of the boat. Now it's dark, the waves are heaving, 104 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:27,720 and this remarkable act of faith, Peter takes that first step and he walks on the water 105 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:35,120 and moves over to Jesus. He leaves behind him a place of comfort and security. The rest 106 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:39,720 of the disciples, you know, they're, they're on the boat still. Many of the disciples were 107 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:44,460 fishermen and this was something they were very comfortable with. Even in the storm, 108 00:10:44,460 --> 00:10:51,280 they would cling to this boat. Being on the sea was their home as long as they were attached 109 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:57,800 and holding on to and clinging to this creation, this manmade creation of the boat. So that 110 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:02,480 brings a question to mind is what does the boat represent in your life? Because often 111 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:13,280 we can become focused on the comfort, the security, and the normalcy of our surroundings. 112 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:16,840 As our car safe enough, some people won't drive a little car because they feel safer 113 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:23,240 in a big truck. Right? Others, others have no concern of their safety and they'll ride 114 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:27,700 a motorcycle. Well, that's a different story and something that I always have to tell my 115 00:11:27,700 --> 00:11:34,040 daughter how dangerous they can be, especially since she has balance issues like her dad. 116 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:42,620 But are we becoming too focused on our creature comforts and our surroundings rather than 117 00:11:42,620 --> 00:11:49,780 what is what God is doing in our midst? See, the boat is not the issue who is in or who 118 00:11:49,780 --> 00:11:54,880 is with you in the boat can be the issue. When the disciples were alone, they tended 119 00:11:54,880 --> 00:12:00,080 to become very fearful and they would lack faith. A lot of us would deal with this the 120 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:05,060 same way. There are times where I'm hiking off into the woods by myself and if I feel 121 00:12:05,060 --> 00:12:11,040 like the weather's turning against me or I've maybe gone too far and now I've even 122 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:16,440 sapped my own strength and I'm feeling pretty tired and I'm out in the middle of the bush, 123 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:21,100 I start to think Lord, what did I do coming out here by myself? Because I go into areas 124 00:12:21,100 --> 00:12:27,040 where I know there's wolves or I know there's bears and I'm out there by myself and the 125 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:33,160 only thing with me is the tracks of the animals that I see. So there's this struggle in all 126 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:39,840 of us to surround ourselves with comfort when we find ourselves in these stormy times. We 127 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:47,480 don't want to be alone in these periods of discomfort where our faith is being constantly 128 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:53,560 challenged. We want comfortable, easy things. So staying in the boat, although they were 129 00:12:53,560 --> 00:13:01,820 scared of the storm, it was still clinging to their blankie, if you will. 130 00:13:01,820 --> 00:13:08,860 In John 6, 16 through 17, Jesus walks in the water. So when the evening came, his disciples 131 00:13:08,860 --> 00:13:14,160 went down to the sea, got into a boat and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was 132 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:19,960 now dark and Jesus had not yet come to them. So I keep reiterating this story from the 133 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:27,680 different portions of the Gospels, John, Mark, and of course Matthew in our text. And I do 134 00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:34,080 that because I want you to see that this story is told from multiple perspectives. Because 135 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:40,920 as we're out in the sea, what should be our focus? With this story, what should be our 136 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:47,400 focus? Should it be the strength of our boats? Or should we put our faith in our skill or 137 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:54,580 our talent? What did the disciples put their faith in when they were out there in the storm? 138 00:13:54,580 --> 00:13:59,240 As they were fearing the storm and the waves and the darkness and they were alone and their 139 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:05,920 Messiah or their teacher, their rabbi was nowhere to be found. Their faith wasn't in 140 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:10,800 God at that point. They were terrified. And to the point when someone was coming, they 141 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:14,400 didn't immediately think that it was their Lord. No, they thought that it had to be a 142 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:21,760 ghost because they were terrified. They had lost focus of the miraculous things that they 143 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:31,120 had encountered earlier in the day. And now they were only focused on their current situation. 144 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:36,640 This brings me to my next point, which is the sea. The sea or the ocean is mighty and 145 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:42,360 needs to be respected. In this portion of scripture, it can represent many things. But 146 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:49,240 today we will look at it as our life before Christ, the tumultuous life that we had before 147 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:54,360 we gave our lives over to Jesus Christ. The storms of our past and the sins that we'd 148 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:59,440 once battled, the darkness of the sea and its ferocity are like the filthy rags of our 149 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:05,240 old life before salvation. In Mark 6, 47 through 49, it says, and when the evening came, the 150 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:10,360 boat was out to sea and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway 151 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:15,520 painfully for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch at night, he came to 152 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:21,320 them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them. But when they saw him walking on 153 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:29,600 the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. So Jesus had not intended to even come 154 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:35,000 to them. He meant to meet them on the other side, but he could see that there was a loss 155 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:40,720 of focus and that they were terrified. And he knew he had to intervene. So I want to 156 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:45,440 look first here at understanding the seas. So I pulled this from an article I found about 157 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:51,360 boating. So boating tips for rough seas, how to safely navigate small boats in rough seas. 158 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:57,520 This comes from a Captain Dave Lear that I, and I just thought it'd be interesting. So 159 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:04,600 unless you've got a 50 foot or more boat, you know, or as he puts it, he says, unless 160 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:10,800 you've got 50 plus feet of fiberglass underneath you, you're not immune to the stormy weather 161 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:14,560 conditions, run offshore this time of year, and sooner or later, you're going to get 162 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:20,360 caught in high winds, big seas or boat. Large sport fishing boats in rough seas have the 163 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:27,220 length and beam to handle the slop. But small to mid side vessels are at a greater mercy. 164 00:16:27,220 --> 00:16:32,560 If you slow down and drive accordingly, potentially hazardous situations can be avoided for small 165 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:37,160 boats in rough seas. In the summertime, sooner or later, you're going to have a big line 166 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:43,200 of thunderstorms, 40 knot winds and six to eight foot seas between you and the dock, 167 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:48,780 explains Marcus Kennedy, a tournament competitor of Yamaha's professional tour. Navin's boaters 168 00:16:48,780 --> 00:16:54,480 in rough water don't realize that and they panic and don't know what to do. But all 169 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:59,680 it takes is common sense to drive a boat in rough water. If you tack like a sailboat with 170 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:06,780 quartering waves off the bow or stern, you'll have a better ride and make better time. Safety 171 00:17:06,780 --> 00:17:13,080 is always paramount. This brings you to the next idea, which is respecting the sea. So 172 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:18,640 you actually have to understand the sea as we just read, meaning you need to be skilled 173 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:24,520 in understanding that how the tides work, how the waves work, how the wind works so 174 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:30,640 that you can keep your wits about you because it's not surprising when you're headed into 175 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:39,080 heavy winds and you're dealing with those heavy seas. You gain experience with it and 176 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:45,200 you do that by respecting the seas. Some ways that boaters will tell you that you can show 177 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:51,340 respect to the seas is by checking weather conditions, preparing the boat for navigating 178 00:17:51,340 --> 00:17:54,880 rough water. So even though you know that the weather might be good, you're prepared 179 00:17:54,880 --> 00:18:00,060 for if it turns because out on the water, the conditions can change quickly. You want 180 00:18:00,060 --> 00:18:05,040 to prioritize safety. That means there's nothing loose on the deck of the boat that's going 181 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:11,440 to become a hazard. That means if you're not the one driving the boat, you're buckled down, 182 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,600 you're safe. You're not going to be a risk of going overboard. You're going to have your 183 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:19,900 life vest on just in case. You're going to slow down so that you can actually time the 184 00:18:19,900 --> 00:18:25,680 waves and then stay on top of them. You're going to make sure, like I said, that all 185 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:30,520 the belongings, everything's lashed down. That's part of prioritizing safety and above 186 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:35,800 all, you need to stay calm because if you don't stay calm, then you're not going to 187 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:43,080 be able to make common sense decisions. So then finally, what the last recommendation 188 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:49,240 is to keep your eye on the horizon. And this is what the disciples lost sight of. They 189 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:55,760 lost sight of keeping their focal point on Jesus and on their destination. And so when 190 00:18:55,760 --> 00:19:01,160 the waves and the wind and everything was coming against them, they got scared. They 191 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:08,880 no longer knew their direction. They no longer understood which way they should go. 192 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:15,520 So when I was in the United States Marine Corps, I had the opportunity to live on LHA 193 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:20,280 5, Pellaloo, which is a helicopter carrier. I only had to do it for a couple of weeks. 194 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:25,880 Thank goodness. I didn't enjoy it that much. But when I was on the Pellaloo, which is a 195 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:36,920 big giant ship, it's a Tarawa class amphibious assault ship, I had to learn to ride the ship 196 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:40,280 so that I wouldn't get sick. Now you might think, well, if you're going to get seasick, 197 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:44,760 you're going to get seasick. Well, I found that if you make sure you're hydrated, but 198 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:50,760 you have enough salt in your diet or you take additional salt, it could really manage some 199 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:54,800 of the motion sickness that you'd get until you got your sea legs, if you will. And again, 200 00:19:54,800 --> 00:20:02,760 I was only on the ship for a couple of weeks. But when I was doing this, I was an air crew. 201 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:11,240 So I had to fly. I had to fly as a, not a pilot, but as the way that we call it as a 202 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:17,000 crew chief or playing captain crew chief. But basically it's like a flight engineer 203 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:22,560 if you live in Canada. So I'm like the onboard mechanic. And the helicopter I was crew on 204 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:30,120 is so big that the pilots actually need guidance from the crew on the aircraft to direct them 205 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:37,720 when they land because it's such a big helicopter, they can't see behind them, behind themselves. 206 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:41,500 So I had to make sure when I was doing this job, as we were coming in for landings or 207 00:20:41,500 --> 00:20:47,560 take offs off of LHA 5 or off the, you know, the Peleliu to make sure that if I was on 208 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:52,680 the right side, that they were over far enough to be safe for landing, but not over too far 209 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:56,920 that they've become a danger of having a strike, you know, striking a rotor blades on any of 210 00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:01,240 the ship or any other aircraft. If I was on the left window, I had to make sure that we 211 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:06,440 cleared the scupper. The scupper is a net that kind of hangs around to the off side. 212 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:12,400 And it's very perilous because when I was in basic training, there was a frog or a, 213 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:16,920 um, a CH 46, a different helicopter. It's, it's not as big as a Chinook, but it's the 214 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:23,420 dual tandem rotor kind of style. If you can picture that. And when I was in either Marine 215 00:21:23,420 --> 00:21:29,920 combat training or basic training, can't remember, there was a case where a crew came in and 216 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:36,120 they tried to land on a different helicopter carrier and their left rear landing wheel 217 00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:41,840 or landing gear caught the scupper. The pilot made a decision to try to pull power, but 218 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:48,000 that he created a fulcrum or a lever that caused the entire aircraft to go upside down 219 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:54,940 into the water. And several people died, um, during that mishap. These are real world things. 220 00:21:54,940 --> 00:21:58,120 So what's the issue here? And what's this have to do with this message is it has to 221 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:05,500 do with focus. And so the pilot needed to keep his eye on the horizon. And so he needed 222 00:22:05,500 --> 00:22:10,840 to keep the plane steady. And then he needed to understand that if he pulled a little bit 223 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:16,320 of power and it caused this action, he needed to drop it back down. We don't exactly know 224 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:23,120 what happened. If the left window crew chief saw that it was in the scupper, the call should 225 00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:26,680 have been made to say, Hey, you're in the scupper. It's not breaking free. And they 226 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:34,080 would have tried to at least off board those passengers that were on the, on the aircraft 227 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:41,320 and a huge tragedy could have been avoided. The point, I guess, with this story is, is 228 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:48,520 one of focus, keeping your wits and staying focused. So as I was a crew chief and flying 229 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:57,440 around and San Diego and Jacksonville, North Carolina, it's, it was imperative to stay 230 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:03,440 focused in that role. It's also why I don't really like to swim in the ocean anymore. 231 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:08,920 Flying off those posts, I saw far too many sharks, but you know, that's just an aside. 232 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:13,360 I'd still go to the beach if I had the opportunity to go back down to California, but it was, 233 00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:19,760 it was real. There's a lot of sharks in that water. It's definitely their property, but 234 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:26,400 you have to remain focused and nothing was a better example of focus for me. Then when 235 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:33,520 I went through water survival training in Florida, in Pensacola, Florida, they, this 236 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:38,920 training is, is similar to what those Navy rescue swimmers or Coast Guard rescue swimmers 237 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:45,060 go through. Not as extensive. They go on to do a lot more, obviously real world oceans, 238 00:23:45,060 --> 00:23:49,040 ocean drops than I would have done, but I still did, you know, water survival school, 239 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:54,380 which is includes a helo dunk tank. And what that means is it's a simulated helicopter 240 00:23:54,380 --> 00:23:58,880 dropped in water, rolls upside down, fills with water and you have to egress. So they 241 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:04,700 train you for this and you end up doing it blindfolded in the dark water. And so you've 242 00:24:04,700 --> 00:24:10,760 lost your horizon. What do you do? How do you, how do you escape this perilous situation? 243 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:18,200 Well, you're trained to go one hand at a time, feeling your way out of that helicopter in 244 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:24,280 a calm composed manner. Now you're holding your breath. You're underwater. It's dark. 245 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:30,040 You can't see anything, but you know, the airframe, you know where your next hand has 246 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:35,200 to be and your next hand has to be. And when you get to that, that window opening and you're 247 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:42,080 able to claw claw your way out and push clear away from that airframe and come to the surface, 248 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:51,760 you had the training, you had your focus right. And you were able to do it without any hassle. 249 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:58,200 You had to allow your training to take precedent. You had to allow yourself faith in the process 250 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:04,400 and the disciples had to have their faith tested in this way so that they would eventually 251 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:09,280 have the strength to put their faith into practice as well. In John six, 18 through 252 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:14,480 19, it says the sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. And when they had 253 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:19,880 rode about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat 254 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:26,880 and they were frightened. They had this test that gets reinterpreted in three of the scriptures 255 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:33,920 as we've already seen. And it's when this story is pounded in for us as believers so 256 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:37,760 that we will understand that there is going to be times where we're going to be out in 257 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:45,480 the storm. We're going to have a headwind blowing against us. That doesn't mean that 258 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:51,160 Jesus isn't right there next to us walking with us and that he isn't going to come to 259 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:57,400 our rescue again if he sees us floundering. This brings my final point, which is the savior 260 00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:04,640 in verses 26 to 33 of our text. So now we have this primary purpose of our message, 261 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:11,000 the focal point. What should we be focusing on our lives? Where should we be focusing 262 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:17,960 our lives? When the storm is raging and the seas are rough, where do we put our trust? 263 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:23,040 In Mark 6, 53-52, it says, For they all saw him and were terrified, but immediately he 264 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:27,600 spoke to them and said, Take heart in his eye, do not be afraid. And he got into the 265 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:34,080 boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand 266 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:43,360 about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. Even the disciples, even Jesus' hand-picked 267 00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:56,520 few had to deal with hard hearts. What a tremendous testimony that is for us. So many, you know, 268 00:26:56,520 --> 00:27:03,560 at this point, thousands of years removed from Jesus Christ walking on the earth. To 269 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:08,680 understand that there are times where your heart will be hard, but that doesn't mean 270 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:15,440 that Jesus is going to forget about you. When Peter arrives, he takes his eyes off Jesus. 271 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:21,720 But when he saw the wind, yet he was afraid and he began to sink, he cried out, Lord save 272 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:31,800 me. Even though Peter succumbed to fear and he ended up taking his eyes off Jesus, Jesus 273 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:38,480 was still there for him. The point of our text in Matthew was hardly that Peter succumbed 274 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:49,640 to that fear. The point wasn't that Peter was a failure or that mankind is a failure. 275 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:58,040 It's about Jesus. In every biblical narrative that we read about the acts of sinners, we 276 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:06,080 see that Jesus is the point. Matthew's message isn't that Peter failed. He's not saying 277 00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:17,320 don't be like Peter. No, the passage teaches us that Peter's failure did not bring catastrophe 278 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:24,860 because Jesus did not fail Peter. Even though we fail our Lord and Savior every day, oftentimes 279 00:28:24,860 --> 00:28:35,360 it feels like. Even though we're failing here or there, where we have faith tested, 280 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:40,240 we have faith like a mustard seed because that's what Jesus tells us. If you never 281 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:44,520 had faith like a mustard seed, you could move a mountain. It means that we must have a lot 282 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:50,400 less faith than that most of the time. But it doesn't matter because even though Peter 283 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:57,280 took his eyes off Jesus, Jesus never took his eyes off Peter. Peter was safe when he 284 00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:04,360 took his eyes off Jesus because Jesus kept watch over him. And as Peter started to sink, 285 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:12,040 Jesus was there to catch him. In John 6, 20 to 21, but he said to them, it is I do not 286 00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:18,000 be afraid. Then they were glad to take him into the boat. And immediately the boat was 287 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:22,640 at the land to which they were going. While this whole situation was going on and they 288 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:32,960 were confounded by their fear, Jesus was there and they were still moving to their destination. 289 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:38,120 And then eventually once they got their focus right and it was placed back on their Lord 290 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:45,620 and their Savior, they had arrived at their destination. Peter and the apostles were traveling 291 00:29:45,620 --> 00:29:53,420 in their boat. They had just witnessed that dramatic miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. 292 00:29:53,420 --> 00:30:00,360 They were likely tired and worn out from that event. And we know from, you know, from Mark 293 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:05,480 that they were already in a state of shock and disbelief. This is what happens in our 294 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:11,080 lives. God will move on our behalf. We're in shock and we're in disbelief. And then 295 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:19,480 we become tired and we lose focus. As they traveled through the stormy sea, they see 296 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:26,320 him and they can't, they can't comprehend another miracle happening so close to the 297 00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:33,080 one that they just seen. They think it's an apparition or a figure in the distance. Jesus 298 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:40,920 has to call out to them in their fear. And our mighty apostle Peter was the only one 299 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:50,400 of them to respond and call back out. This image is so powerful and so relevant to our 300 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:56,240 lives today. When we are gripped with fear, God and our Savior Jesus Christ calls out 301 00:30:56,240 --> 00:31:02,600 to us. In those moments, we are convicted to step out of the comfort of the boat and 302 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:08,960 meet the Lord in the storm. Even so, we lack faith and sometimes begin to sink. We lose 303 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:17,960 our focus, we stop focusing on Jesus and instead focus on our troubles and our sins. We focus 304 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:25,920 on everything around us except the one important thing, Jesus. In 1 Timothy 1 19 it says, 305 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:31,960 cling to your faith in Christ and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately 306 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:37,960 violated their consciences and as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. Remember 307 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:45,100 that it is not Jesus that takes his eyes off of us, but we that take our eyes off of him. 308 00:31:45,100 --> 00:31:49,780 Keep your focus on the Lord and you will be able to stay above the darkness of the waters. 309 00:31:49,780 --> 00:31:57,120 If you lose focus, remember that he is there with his hand out to pull you back out of 310 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:08,960 the water. He is watching us always. Always. So this message is one of hope, not just one 311 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:14,920 of judgment on the apostles for their lack of faith. No, this is a message of hope because 312 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:21,800 even though we lose faith, we can always turn back in faith and he will be there to pull 313 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:29,680 us out. That's the powerful testimony of King David, someone who had a heart after 314 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:41,880 God's will and he messed up a lot, but God was always there because his heart was right. 315 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:48,480 Let's live a life of challenge. Let's live a life of faith, but let's not beat ourselves 316 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:57,800 up when we falter. Rather, let's just get back. It's like I do some photography and 317 00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:02,000 oftentimes you'll take a picture and you'll be like, wow, that's really out of focus. 318 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:10,120 Don't beat yourself up for being out of focus. Just get in focus. Take the time. Shake, give 319 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:18,200 your head a good shake and then focus back in on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. With 320 00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:21,880 that, with that, if I could have every head bowed, every eye closed as I finished this 321 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:32,360 message up with an invitation. It's a very simple invitation. We know that Jesus Christ 322 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:36,440 is our Lord and Savior, so if this message has impacted you and you know that your heart 323 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:43,960 is not right, but you want to get it right, you want to take the time to get your heart 324 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:49,480 right with him right now, you want to signify that the uplift and wherever you are, because 325 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:55,840 I can't see it, but God can, right? I know it gets old with me saying that. I want you 326 00:33:55,840 --> 00:34:00,720 to just repeat this prayer after me. Dear Lord God, I know that I'm a sinner, but I 327 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:06,200 know that you sent your son, Jesus Christ, and that he died for my sin. I repent of my 328 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:13,940 sins and I accept you, Lord Jesus, as my Lord and Savior, and I give you all the praise 329 00:34:13,940 --> 00:34:19,600 and glory in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. So with that, I want to thank you for listening 330 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:24,200 to this message again. I want to thank you for coming back to the podcast. And if I can 331 00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:31,000 ask a favor, I'd love it if you would like this podcast, subscribe and share it so we 332 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:36,280 can get this message out. The more people that hear it, the more we can grow this movement 333 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:40,600 for Salmon Arm and for the world. You know, us here in Christian Fellowship Ministries 334 00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:46,800 at Potter's House, we have a vision for the world. I have a heart to someday reach Africa 335 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:52,080 from this place. Specifically, if I was going to say that it'd be French speaking Africa. 336 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:56,800 I don't speak French, but I've had a burden on it from meeting dozens and dozens of French 337 00:34:56,800 --> 00:35:05,280 Africans who live in Canada over the years. And so with that, just like, share, and subscribe 338 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:09,960 to this podcast. That's the best way to help us. You can find out more on our website, 339 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:13,980 all the information is in the show notes. And I'd love for you to come out to service 340 00:35:13,980 --> 00:35:18,480 if you live in Salmon Arm or the surrounding area. It's a blessing to have visitors, it's 341 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:23,520 a blessing to meet new people. And I just pray that God will help you this week in Jesus 342 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:27,600 name and I want to thank you again for listening and I can't wait for you to come back next 343 00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:28,600 time. God bless. 344 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:34,880 Thank you for listening to the PHA Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. Be sure to follow 345 00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:40,080 us on Instagram at pottershouse underscore salmon arm to keep up to date on what we're 346 00:35:40,080 --> 00:36:05,920 doing in conversation and discover how Jesus Christ can revolutionize your life.