WEBVTT 00:00:00.110 --> 00:00:02.870 Back when I was getting a master's degree in 00:00:02.870 --> 00:00:05.889 urban planning, I regularly had to drive back 00:00:05.889 --> 00:00:09.730 and forth from my work near Baytown and Texas 00:00:09.730 --> 00:00:12.750 Southern where over in Third Ward. And there 00:00:12.750 --> 00:00:15.849 was this one particular spot on the drive that 00:00:15.849 --> 00:00:19.190 I eventually came to dread. See, I would follow 00:00:19.190 --> 00:00:21.350 the directions on my phone, okay, and the map 00:00:21.350 --> 00:00:24.059 would tell me exactly where to go. And I would 00:00:24.059 --> 00:00:27.280 follow the route, make the turns, and eventually 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:29.859 it would direct me toward the freeway. And then 00:00:29.859 --> 00:00:32.659 I would arrive at the spot where I was supposed 00:00:32.659 --> 00:00:35.460 to get on the freeway. Except there was one small 00:00:35.460 --> 00:00:40.340 problem. There was no on -ramp. It wasn't a closed 00:00:40.340 --> 00:00:43.600 on -ramp. It wasn't an on -ramp under construction. 00:00:43.979 --> 00:00:46.299 It wasn't even an old on -ramp that had been 00:00:46.299 --> 00:00:50.390 torn down. There was nothing there at all. And 00:00:50.390 --> 00:00:52.310 I would sit there looking at the road saying, 00:00:52.469 --> 00:00:57.509 this cannot be right. So I'd drive past it, expecting 00:00:57.509 --> 00:01:00.850 then that surely the map would realize something 00:01:00.850 --> 00:01:05.180 was wrong and recalculate. Nope. It would reroute 00:01:05.180 --> 00:01:07.959 me back to that exact same spot and I'd try again 00:01:07.959 --> 00:01:09.959 and again and again and every time the direction 00:01:09.959 --> 00:01:12.459 would insist This is where you get on the freeway 00:01:12.459 --> 00:01:15.780 and I'd be staring at my phone. There is no freeway 00:01:15.780 --> 00:01:18.799 entrance here Why am I talking to you phone and 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:21.680 I'd report it and again and again and apparently 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:24.420 Apple Maps had decided that this Non -existent 00:01:24.420 --> 00:01:27.620 on ramp was a hill worth dying on which is one 00:01:27.620 --> 00:01:30.900 more reason why I left Apple and got myself a 00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:35.409 real phone with Android I'm teasing, I'm teasing. 00:01:35.969 --> 00:01:39.950 Jesus died for Apple users, too. Okay. But you 00:01:39.950 --> 00:01:41.870 know, there is something about that experience 00:01:41.870 --> 00:01:44.510 that is actually more profound than just my long 00:01:44.510 --> 00:01:47.069 -standing disagreement with Apple. Because there 00:01:47.069 --> 00:01:50.090 are some questions for which we simply do not 00:01:50.090 --> 00:01:52.689 have an answer. There are some things that we 00:01:52.689 --> 00:01:56.489 just cannot see. Some things we cannot explain. 00:01:57.109 --> 00:01:59.400 And if we're honest... There are some questions 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:03.659 about God that bother us more than almost any 00:02:03.659 --> 00:02:08.039 others. Because what about the person who has 00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:10.800 never heard about Jesus? What happens to them? 00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:13.900 What about someone who was raised from childhood 00:02:13.900 --> 00:02:16.500 to believe that Christianity is false? What if 00:02:16.500 --> 00:02:19.000 they never really had an opportunity to understand 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:22.759 who Jesus is? What happens to them? What about 00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:25.379 someone who sincerely wants to know what is true? 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:28.099 but never seems to have a genuine opportunity 00:02:28.099 --> 00:02:31.259 to hear the gospel as it really is. What about 00:02:31.259 --> 00:02:35.020 the person who believes deeply in mercy, forgiveness, 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:38.400 doing what is right, but never understands that 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:40.740 mercy and forgiveness that they long for are 00:02:40.740 --> 00:02:44.719 found in Jesus. What happens to them? And we 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:48.520 want an answer. We want God to show us the map. 00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:51.979 We want to know exactly how and why everything 00:02:51.979 --> 00:02:55.370 works. We want to understand what happens in 00:02:55.370 --> 00:02:58.449 every circumstance, how God's judgment works, 00:02:58.550 --> 00:03:01.590 how His mercy works, and how every person fits 00:03:01.590 --> 00:03:05.330 into this plan of salvation. And sometimes, despite 00:03:05.330 --> 00:03:08.990 all of our theological reasoning, we eventually 00:03:08.990 --> 00:03:14.530 come to a very uncomfortable place. We don't 00:03:14.530 --> 00:03:18.650 know. And that's hard, because we don't like 00:03:18.650 --> 00:03:22.560 not knowing. Especially, we don't like it whenever 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:25.900 we know the question matters. But here's the 00:03:25.900 --> 00:03:29.819 thing about not knowing. Not knowing everything 00:03:29.819 --> 00:03:35.939 does not mean that we know nothing. Not knowing 00:03:35.939 --> 00:03:39.960 everything does not mean we know nothing. And 00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:42.159 not having the entire map does not mean that 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:45.500 God has given us no direction at all. For the 00:03:45.500 --> 00:03:48.439 record, I did know where a different on -ramp 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:51.319 was to the freeway, and I did know the path to 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:54.280 get home after that. Just because something at 00:03:54.280 --> 00:03:57.439 the beginning was confusing me, that didn't mean 00:03:57.439 --> 00:03:59.719 I was forever stuck and unable to get where I 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:03.159 needed to go. Christians have wrestled with questions 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:08.240 like ours for centuries. And sometimes... Our 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:12.759 wrestling can take us to some remarkable territory. 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:17.680 We start asking some strange questions. We may 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:20.379 ask, perhaps every religion is somehow secretly 00:04:20.379 --> 00:04:24.129 pointing toward Jesus. Or maybe there's some 00:04:24.129 --> 00:04:27.050 other path that God provides for people who never 00:04:27.050 --> 00:04:30.930 hear the gospel. Or maybe there's some intermediate 00:04:30.930 --> 00:04:34.189 state, some place between places in which people 00:04:34.189 --> 00:04:37.310 are given another opportunity to come to faith, 00:04:37.529 --> 00:04:41.370 whether you are or are not a Star Wars fan. And 00:04:41.370 --> 00:04:45.569 there is a place for recognizing there are things 00:04:45.569 --> 00:04:48.149 about God's judgment and God's sovereignty that 00:04:48.149 --> 00:04:52.290 we don't know. That's true. But there's a danger. 00:04:53.490 --> 00:04:56.449 We can become so fascinated with what God has 00:04:56.449 --> 00:05:00.829 not revealed that we lose sight of what He has 00:05:00.829 --> 00:05:04.949 shown us. There's a distinction between what 00:05:04.949 --> 00:05:08.149 God has revealed and what God has kept hidden. 00:05:08.329 --> 00:05:11.529 And today, our readings from Romans and Matthew 00:05:11.529 --> 00:05:17.029 bring us right into that tension. Romans 10 speaks 00:05:17.029 --> 00:05:20.720 powerfully as Paul says, The righteousness based 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:24.680 on faith says, do not say in your heart who will 00:05:24.680 --> 00:05:29.279 ascend into heaven. What is Paul talking about? 00:05:29.339 --> 00:05:31.980 Why is he suddenly talking about ascending into 00:05:31.980 --> 00:05:35.959 heaven? What's that mean? He is exposing one 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:38.740 of the deepest instincts of the human heart. 00:05:39.660 --> 00:05:44.459 We want to know what we have to do to get to 00:05:44.459 --> 00:05:49.339 God. What ladder do I climb? What spiritual achievement 00:05:49.339 --> 00:05:53.220 do I accomplish? What moral standard do I need 00:05:53.220 --> 00:05:57.639 to meet? What secret knowledge of God do I discover 00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:00.620 or religious system that will get me there? And 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:03.959 even this stuff about you have to believe with 00:06:03.959 --> 00:06:06.519 your heart and confess with your mouth. Are these 00:06:06.519 --> 00:06:08.920 two different processes? Did I somehow get it 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:12.060 all wrong somehow? No, they're not different 00:06:12.060 --> 00:06:14.540 processes. You believe on the inside and you 00:06:14.540 --> 00:06:17.699 reflect it on the outside. this whole thing of 00:06:17.699 --> 00:06:21.000 how do I ascend into heaven, Paul says don't 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:25.480 ask that question. Why? Because you don't have 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:28.339 to climb up to heaven to find Christ. Christ 00:06:28.339 --> 00:06:34.509 has come down to you. Paul says, or who will 00:06:34.509 --> 00:06:37.689 descend into the abyss? Paul, you've got a really 00:06:37.689 --> 00:06:40.449 terrible travel agent. In other words, don't 00:06:40.449 --> 00:06:43.509 ask who is going to go down into the depths to 00:06:43.509 --> 00:06:47.569 bring Christ back up from the dead. Why? Because 00:06:47.569 --> 00:06:49.889 Christ has already conquered death. He's not 00:06:49.889 --> 00:06:54.449 there. You don't have to accomplish His resurrection. 00:06:55.389 --> 00:06:57.649 You don't have to discover some secret route 00:06:57.649 --> 00:07:00.579 through the kingdom of death. You don't have 00:07:00.579 --> 00:07:03.839 to invent some alternate way of salvation. You 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:06.060 don't have to bring Jesus back from the grave. 00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:10.839 God has already done it. Christ came down. Christ 00:07:10.839 --> 00:07:14.379 died. Christ rose already. And now Paul says 00:07:14.379 --> 00:07:18.420 the Word is near you, in your mouth, and in your 00:07:18.420 --> 00:07:22.100 heart. And that's the remarkable thing about 00:07:22.100 --> 00:07:26.560 the Gospel. We are always tempted to think that 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:29.899 salvation must be Somewhere far away that we 00:07:29.899 --> 00:07:33.240 we got to reach somehow We imagine that God is 00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:35.279 hiding himself at the top of some mountain and 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:37.720 we have to climb high enough in our spirituality 00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:41.459 to find him But the gospel says something completely 00:07:41.459 --> 00:07:46.680 different God comes to us Christ comes to us 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:50.680 his spirit comes to us by his word and Paul says 00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:52.720 Faith comes from hearing and hearing through 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:55.800 the word of Christ So when we start asking all 00:07:55.800 --> 00:07:58.980 these questions about what God might be doing 00:07:58.980 --> 00:08:03.879 in circumstances that we cannot see, Romans 10 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:09.720 brings us back to what we do know. We know Christ. 00:08:10.540 --> 00:08:12.420 We know His death. We know His resurrection. 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:17.819 We know His promise. We know His Word. And we 00:08:17.819 --> 00:08:21.639 know all the thousands of witnesses who saw what 00:08:21.639 --> 00:08:25.379 really happened. We know that Christ has commanded 00:08:25.379 --> 00:08:29.399 His church to proclaim that gospel. It doesn't 00:08:29.399 --> 00:08:32.340 mean that we've solved every mystery. It means 00:08:32.340 --> 00:08:37.399 that maybe we don't have to. Think about the 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.860 disciples in the gospel reading. This is right 00:08:40.860 --> 00:08:44.740 after Jesus was attempting to be alone, sort 00:08:44.740 --> 00:08:46.340 of like a parent trying to go to the bathroom 00:08:46.340 --> 00:08:48.559 and the kids keep banging, let me in, let me 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:52.679 in. But all the people came to find Him. And 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:57.159 so, He helped them. He fed them with five loaves 00:08:57.159 --> 00:09:00.759 and two fish. And Jesus sends the disciples ahead 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:05.740 of Him in a boat. And He stays behind. Imagine 00:09:05.740 --> 00:09:07.779 being one of those disciples, and Jesus says, 00:09:07.980 --> 00:09:12.659 get in the boat and go. So you go, and you're 00:09:12.659 --> 00:09:14.740 rowing across the lake, but Jesus isn't with 00:09:14.740 --> 00:09:19.080 you. At least you don't think He is. and the 00:09:19.080 --> 00:09:21.120 wind starts fighting against you, and the waves 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:23.179 are pounding against the boat, and it's dark, 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:26.620 and you start wondering, if only Jesus were here, 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:30.700 why did He make us leave without Him? He sent 00:09:30.700 --> 00:09:33.539 us out here. He told us to go, but where is He? 00:09:34.740 --> 00:09:37.519 How is He even going to get to where we're going? 00:09:37.980 --> 00:09:40.279 Is He going to walk all the way around the lake? 00:09:40.919 --> 00:09:43.159 Is He going to take another boat? Is He going 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:45.419 to meet us somewhere on the other side? You can 00:09:45.419 --> 00:09:48.799 imagine. The disciples trying to figure all this 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:53.100 out. And then in the middle of the night, they 00:09:53.100 --> 00:09:57.159 see something coming toward them. What appears 00:09:57.159 --> 00:10:02.799 to be walking on the water. They don't recognize 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:05.860 it. If you have been rowing against winds and 00:10:05.860 --> 00:10:08.460 waves which are probably kicking up the water 00:10:08.460 --> 00:10:11.779 to the low point of visibility, then you're probably 00:10:11.779 --> 00:10:14.649 not going to recognize who it is because... How 00:10:14.649 --> 00:10:16.590 often do you need to look at a person walking 00:10:16.590 --> 00:10:20.669 on water? And there's really only one answer 00:10:20.669 --> 00:10:24.929 that they can come up with. It's a ghost! Like 00:10:24.929 --> 00:10:27.950 a Terrible Friends episode. And after all this, 00:10:28.350 --> 00:10:32.710 somewhere between 3 AM and 6 AM, they're probably 00:10:32.710 --> 00:10:37.090 exhausted and brain -dead after a long day of 00:10:37.090 --> 00:10:41.509 feeding people and after rowing that far. But 00:10:41.509 --> 00:10:49.480 Jesus says, Take heart. It is I. Do not be afraid." 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:52.120 Yeah, clearly, everyone's going to be okay with 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:55.659 this now. But we as the readers, we suddenly 00:10:55.659 --> 00:11:00.139 realize the mystery has become clearer. Jesus 00:11:00.139 --> 00:11:05.720 wasn't lost. Jesus wasn't late. Jesus wasn't 00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:09.220 wondering how He was going to get to them. He 00:11:09.220 --> 00:11:11.519 was doing something the disciples never imagined 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:15.019 was possible. The shortest distance between two 00:11:15.019 --> 00:11:18.360 points is a straight line. And he just walked 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:22.159 across that water. Nobody had that on the schedule. 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:25.340 It wasn't on their list of possible explanations, 00:11:25.500 --> 00:11:27.440 top ten ways in which Jesus might get to us. 00:11:27.580 --> 00:11:31.360 It wasn't on their bingo card that day. Yet Jesus 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:37.429 did it. Even as they begin to cry out. And I 00:11:37.429 --> 00:11:39.529 think that is one of the things that Scripture 00:11:39.529 --> 00:11:42.230 keeps teaching us about God, is that God is not 00:11:42.230 --> 00:11:45.950 limited to the possibilities that we imagine. 00:11:47.230 --> 00:11:49.750 He's not waiting for us to predict what He could 00:11:49.750 --> 00:11:55.809 do before He picks what He's going to do. Who 00:11:55.809 --> 00:11:58.509 would have predicted that God would save the 00:11:58.509 --> 00:12:00.889 world through a crucified carpenter of Nazareth? 00:12:01.549 --> 00:12:03.490 Who would have predicted that the Messiah would 00:12:03.490 --> 00:12:07.110 conquer death by dying? Who would have predicted 00:12:07.110 --> 00:12:09.850 that the tomb would be empty? Who would have 00:12:09.850 --> 00:12:11.889 predicted that the risen Christ would come to 00:12:11.889 --> 00:12:14.129 frighten disciples in a locked room and say, 00:12:14.450 --> 00:12:18.690 Peace be with you? And who, sitting on that shore, 00:12:18.769 --> 00:12:21.470 would have predicted that Jesus would simply 00:12:21.470 --> 00:12:24.769 walk across the water to catch up with the disciples? 00:12:25.370 --> 00:12:28.809 Because God does things that we don't expect. 00:12:30.029 --> 00:12:33.580 He's allowed to. And that means there will always 00:12:33.580 --> 00:12:37.039 be mysteries about God that we cannot solve. 00:12:38.740 --> 00:12:41.200 But notice what Jesus does with His disciples. 00:12:42.379 --> 00:12:46.440 He doesn't tell them, stop the boat, stay here 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:49.740 until you understand everything that I'm doing, 00:12:49.820 --> 00:12:51.580 and then you can go ahead and pick up again. 00:12:51.899 --> 00:12:54.940 He doesn't say, figure out exactly how I'm going 00:12:54.940 --> 00:12:57.620 to get to you through the storm before you continue. 00:12:58.820 --> 00:13:03.720 He says, go. Trust me. And that's where Peter 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:05.919 comes in. You know, we give him a hard time. 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:09.240 But you see, Peter sees Jesus walking on the 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:11.919 water. He says, Lord, if it is you, command me 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:15.480 to come to you on the water. And Jesus says, 00:13:15.740 --> 00:13:18.940 come. How often is it that we say, God, if this 00:13:18.940 --> 00:13:20.960 is what you want, let me know, and then we'd 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:23.840 actually be willing to do it? Peter gets out 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:27.409 of that boat. There's something important about 00:13:27.409 --> 00:13:29.909 that. Peter didn't just decide that morning, 00:13:29.970 --> 00:13:31.590 you know, I think I'm going to walk on water 00:13:31.590 --> 00:13:35.210 today. He doesn't manufacture a miracle through 00:13:35.210 --> 00:13:38.009 positive thinking. It's not like I believe in 00:13:38.009 --> 00:13:42.350 myself and my floatable feet. Peter asks Jesus 00:13:42.350 --> 00:13:48.830 for a word. Command me. And Jesus does. Come. 00:13:49.870 --> 00:13:52.590 So Peter steps out of the boat because Christ 00:13:52.590 --> 00:13:55.740 has spoken. And frankly, that's faith. He may 00:13:55.740 --> 00:13:58.580 have trouble with it. It may sometimes be small. 00:13:59.820 --> 00:14:02.840 But it's still faith. See, faith is not believing 00:14:02.840 --> 00:14:05.159 that I can accomplish something impossible if 00:14:05.159 --> 00:14:07.799 I just believe hard enough or if I understand 00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:11.000 everything well enough. Faith is trusting the 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:14.200 one who spoke it. See, Peter's confidence is 00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:17.519 not ultimately in Peter. Peter's confidence is 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:20.980 ultimately in Jesus. And for a few moments, let's 00:14:20.980 --> 00:14:25.019 face it, Peter walks. But then he looks at the 00:14:25.019 --> 00:14:29.299 wind, and he looks at the waves. He becomes afraid, 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:34.200 and he begins to sink. And we get judgmental 00:14:34.200 --> 00:14:37.600 about Peter, as if the rest of us would have 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:40.860 gotten out of that boat, noticing the other disciples 00:14:40.860 --> 00:14:45.559 didn't. But what does Peter say? Does he say, 00:14:45.779 --> 00:14:48.700 I need more faith? Does he say, I need to try 00:14:48.700 --> 00:14:50.580 harder? Does he say, don't worry, I got this? 00:14:52.329 --> 00:14:56.850 Lord, save me. Isn't that what we should always 00:14:56.850 --> 00:15:00.529 be doing? Jesus immediately reaches out His hand 00:15:00.529 --> 00:15:04.590 and takes hold of him. That is the Gospel. Peter's 00:15:04.590 --> 00:15:08.230 faith, it's little, it falters, he sinks, but 00:15:08.230 --> 00:15:12.730 Jesus saves him. Who does he cry out to? And 00:15:12.730 --> 00:15:15.750 that brings us back to Romans 10. Because we 00:15:15.750 --> 00:15:18.210 can spend an enormous amount of time trying to 00:15:18.210 --> 00:15:20.990 argue questions about things that God has not 00:15:20.990 --> 00:15:23.960 revealed. What about the person who never heard? 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:26.320 What about someone who has taught something else? 00:15:26.779 --> 00:15:29.000 What about the person who never really understood 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:32.200 Jesus or all the mysteries surrounding the judgment? 00:15:33.539 --> 00:15:36.399 And we can keep asking those questions until 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:39.500 we have constructed some elaborate machinery 00:15:39.500 --> 00:15:41.720 to try to explain something that Scripture never 00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:45.460 really explained. But eventually, we have to 00:15:45.460 --> 00:15:48.490 come back to what Jesus actually told us. Paul 00:15:48.490 --> 00:15:50.850 says, how are they to call on Him in whom they 00:15:50.850 --> 00:15:54.009 have not believed? How are they to believe in 00:15:54.009 --> 00:15:57.389 whom they have never heard? And how are they 00:15:57.389 --> 00:16:01.570 here without someone preaching? Faith comes from 00:16:01.570 --> 00:16:03.730 hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. 00:16:03.909 --> 00:16:07.690 And that is what we know. We know that Christ 00:16:07.690 --> 00:16:10.870 saves. We know that Christ has commanded His 00:16:10.870 --> 00:16:13.210 gospel to be proclaimed to everyone. We know 00:16:13.210 --> 00:16:16.220 that people hear the gospel. We know the Spirit 00:16:16.220 --> 00:16:19.320 creates faith through God's Word. We know that 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:21.480 we've been entrusted with that proclamation. 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:25.379 We don't know every mystery surrounding God's 00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:28.679 hidden work, but we know what He has given us 00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:32.919 to do. I want you to imagine you're watching 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:36.679 someone driving a car at an incredible speed 00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:39.860 toward the edge of a cliff. You see the cliff, 00:16:40.179 --> 00:16:42.419 you see the car, you know what's about to happen, 00:16:42.679 --> 00:16:45.919 and you start shouting, stop, don't keep driving, 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:50.039 you're heading toward the cliff. Now, imagine 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:52.220 someone standing beside you, there's always that 00:16:52.220 --> 00:16:54.919 one friend, saying, well, if they didn't hear 00:16:54.919 --> 00:16:57.480 you, perhaps there's a cable hidden somewhere 00:16:57.480 --> 00:17:02.240 that will catch the car, maybe. Perhaps there's 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:05.160 some mechanism you don't know about. Perhaps 00:17:05.160 --> 00:17:07.519 someone actually put a parachute into that car. 00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:10.240 Perhaps there's some other possibility you don't 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:14.599 see. Would you stand there and say, well, since 00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:16.579 there might be some mysterious mechanism that 00:17:16.579 --> 00:17:18.400 I don't know about, I guess there's really no 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:22.000 reason to warn the driver? Of course not. Those 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:24.759 are crazy. You know the way to save that person. 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:30.019 Tell them to stop. You don't need to know every 00:17:30.019 --> 00:17:33.180 possible thing that might happen. You know what 00:17:33.180 --> 00:17:36.619 you have been given to do. And that is something 00:17:36.619 --> 00:17:39.259 of what Paul is saying. We don't proclaim Christ 00:17:39.259 --> 00:17:42.200 because we've solved every mystery of God's sovereignty. 00:17:42.279 --> 00:17:44.980 We proclaim Christ because Christ commanded us 00:17:44.980 --> 00:17:48.240 to do it. We don't know everything God is doing, 00:17:48.299 --> 00:17:51.519 but we do know that that is where salvation lies. 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:56.940 That is where salvation exists. What He has revealed 00:17:56.940 --> 00:18:02.299 is enough to give us our mission. But there's 00:18:02.299 --> 00:18:05.880 something else to consider too. Sometimes we 00:18:05.880 --> 00:18:09.660 assume that because we don't understand how God 00:18:09.660 --> 00:18:13.420 could possibly work, God might not actually be 00:18:13.420 --> 00:18:17.859 doing that work after all. Matthew 14 deprives 00:18:17.859 --> 00:18:21.680 us of that arrogance. The disciples did not know 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:24.119 how Jesus was going to get across the lake. They 00:18:24.119 --> 00:18:27.319 could not have imagined the answer. Let's just 00:18:27.319 --> 00:18:29.420 not go until we understand everything that God 00:18:29.420 --> 00:18:34.440 is doing. But suddenly, there He was. not when 00:18:34.440 --> 00:18:37.319 they were waiting for Him on the shore, but coming 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:40.099 to them across the water as they had followed. 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:44.619 The disciples could not have imagined the resurrection 00:18:44.619 --> 00:18:48.460 either, but the tomb was still empty. They could 00:18:48.460 --> 00:18:50.740 not have imagined God bringing salvation through 00:18:50.740 --> 00:18:53.640 a cross, but the cross was still the place where 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:57.099 God accomplished redemption. They couldn't have 00:18:57.099 --> 00:18:59.720 imagined how Christ could conquer death, but 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:03.630 He still did it. So perhaps there are things 00:19:03.630 --> 00:19:05.910 about God's work that we don't understand and 00:19:05.910 --> 00:19:08.710 frankly that should make us humble it should 00:19:08.710 --> 00:19:12.009 not make us hopeless Because the God who does 00:19:12.009 --> 00:19:14.210 things that we cannot imagine is also the God 00:19:14.210 --> 00:19:17.190 who has given us a promise that we can trust 00:19:17.190 --> 00:19:20.269 The promise of grace and forgiveness in his son 00:19:20.269 --> 00:19:23.730 and his sacrifice There's a beautiful distinction 00:19:23.730 --> 00:19:27.670 between God's hidden work and his revealed work 00:19:27.670 --> 00:19:30.450 There are things that God has hidden from us 00:19:30.450 --> 00:19:34.430 but We don't pull back the curtain to try to 00:19:34.430 --> 00:19:38.690 find the wizard in Oz. God has revealed Himself 00:19:38.690 --> 00:19:42.769 already in Jesus. And when we want to know who 00:19:42.769 --> 00:19:46.730 God is, we look there. We don't climb into heaven 00:19:46.730 --> 00:19:48.869 to look for extra opportunities for grace. We 00:19:48.869 --> 00:19:50.730 don't descend into the abyss because we need 00:19:50.730 --> 00:19:54.690 to fix this whole crucified Jesus thing. We don't 00:19:54.690 --> 00:19:57.690 search for secret knowledge. We don't need alternate 00:19:57.690 --> 00:20:01.849 paths. we look to Christ. And Christ comes to 00:20:01.849 --> 00:20:04.289 us through His Word. And that's why the church 00:20:04.289 --> 00:20:08.190 preaches. That's why the missionaries go. That's 00:20:08.190 --> 00:20:10.650 why the parents teach their children. That's 00:20:10.650 --> 00:20:13.069 why the Christians tell their neighbors. That's 00:20:13.069 --> 00:20:15.430 why we gather around the Scriptures. That's why 00:20:15.430 --> 00:20:18.329 we need all of you involved in the ministry here. 00:20:18.890 --> 00:20:21.630 Because we don't want people to have to guess 00:20:21.630 --> 00:20:25.109 who God is. We want them to hear. And how are 00:20:25.109 --> 00:20:27.170 they to hear without someone preaching? The answer 00:20:27.170 --> 00:20:31.859 is they can't. And even more than that, the very 00:20:31.859 --> 00:20:34.119 thing that changes our hearts, the rebellious 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:37.180 ones, into being people who actually embrace 00:20:37.180 --> 00:20:42.420 God, that comes through the Word itself. Our 00:20:42.420 --> 00:20:46.119 hearts need more than just a message. They need 00:20:46.119 --> 00:20:48.420 the power of God through that Word to change 00:20:48.420 --> 00:20:52.660 them, to reform them, to kill off the old and 00:20:52.660 --> 00:20:56.000 to bring them to the new. And that only happens 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:59.859 as God proclaims His Word through us. He sends 00:20:59.859 --> 00:21:02.259 His church, He sends His people, He sends the 00:21:02.259 --> 00:21:04.779 gospel, and He puts the words into our mouth. 00:21:05.579 --> 00:21:08.359 And through that creates faith. You know, there 00:21:08.359 --> 00:21:12.099 was one time where I was still on the crazy phone, 00:21:12.519 --> 00:21:15.980 and I tried to go from Illinois into St. Louis. 00:21:16.779 --> 00:21:19.660 But the iPhone, for some reason, sent me through 00:21:19.660 --> 00:21:22.279 East St. Louis instead of keeping me on the freeway. 00:21:22.900 --> 00:21:24.900 If you know anything about East St. Louis, you 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:26.839 know you do not want to be driving there unless 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:29.900 you have to. and there were about a dozen people 00:21:29.900 --> 00:21:33.839 standing around a giant barrel with fire coming 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:38.940 out of it, and someone's front yard, and I still 00:21:38.940 --> 00:21:41.920 have no idea why, and I did not stick around 00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:46.000 to find out. But fortunately, while I did not 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:50.500 understand why the iPhone sent me there, I did 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:54.759 finally make my way through and get home. There 00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:57.180 are always times where we come across something 00:21:57.180 --> 00:22:00.440 that leaves us wondering. There are questions 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:03.740 we can't understand. There are things about God's 00:22:03.740 --> 00:22:05.700 sovereignty that are mysterious. And there are 00:22:05.700 --> 00:22:07.619 always moments where we look at the storm and 00:22:07.619 --> 00:22:11.779 say, where's Jesus? Moments in our circumstances 00:22:11.779 --> 00:22:14.140 where we say, I don't understand what God is 00:22:14.140 --> 00:22:17.299 doing. But our faith doesn't require that we 00:22:17.299 --> 00:22:21.000 understand everything about God. It asks us to 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:23.259 trust the God who has already revealed Himself. 00:22:24.120 --> 00:22:28.579 And so with Peter, we just say, Lord, save me. 00:22:29.579 --> 00:22:32.819 As Jesus says, come. We don't know what tomorrow's 00:22:32.819 --> 00:22:35.640 going to look like. We don't know if the water's 00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:37.319 going to hold us, and we don't know when and 00:22:37.319 --> 00:22:40.380 how God is going to solve the problems. Any of 00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:45.839 them. The mystery for now looks unresolved, but 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:50.619 Christ is still saying, come. We know who conquered 00:22:50.619 --> 00:22:53.880 death. we know who rose from the grave. And we 00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:55.960 know who has promised that whoever calls on the 00:22:55.960 --> 00:23:00.200 name of the Lord will be saved. So we don't have 00:23:00.200 --> 00:23:04.299 to find some alternate path to God or some alternate 00:23:04.299 --> 00:23:08.640 path to conquer the problems of this world. Christ 00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:12.400 has already died, risen, and brought His Word 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:17.420 to us. So go. Go and proclaim what you do know. 00:23:18.059 --> 00:23:20.960 Go and tell people. Go and make disciples. Let 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:23.099 them hear. Because we may not know everything 00:23:23.099 --> 00:23:26.000 that God is doing, but we know what He has done. 00:23:27.140 --> 00:23:31.160 And we know the One who is with us. So when the 00:23:31.160 --> 00:23:34.420 wind is against us, we keep going. When the waves 00:23:34.420 --> 00:23:37.720 are high, we keep going. When we don't understand, 00:23:37.720 --> 00:23:39.940 we keep going. And when our faith is little, 00:23:41.220 --> 00:23:46.960 we keep going. When we sink, we cry out, Lord, 00:23:47.019 --> 00:23:50.079 save me. Because where else will we find salvation? 00:23:51.079 --> 00:23:53.259 And the hand that reaches for us is the same 00:23:53.259 --> 00:23:56.559 one extended on the cross the one who walked 00:23:56.559 --> 00:23:58.700 across the water is the one who walked out of 00:23:58.700 --> 00:24:01.940 the tomb and The one who says come says I am 00:24:01.940 --> 00:24:05.259 with you always even to the end of the age So 00:24:05.259 --> 00:24:09.019 we may not know everything but we do know Christ 00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:13.660 and We know who he truly is and that he wants 00:24:13.660 --> 00:24:18.289 all people to know him and for today That is 00:24:18.289 --> 00:24:20.849 enough. Thanks be to God.