1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,880 Amen. Well, my name's Eric. 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:06,880 I am glad to be here with you guys here at Redemption Church, 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:10,640 North Ogden. And we are continuing on in our 4 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,080 series, Our King and His Kingdom. 5 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:19,760 In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is represented as not only just 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:26,080 king of the Jews, but king of the whole world, the whole 7 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:28,080 universe. And he came and he started 8 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:33,320 setting up his Kingdom. And we as the church are the 9 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:36,720 visible Kingdom of God here and now. 10 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:41,320 Even now, spiritually speaking, God is taking more and more 11 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:43,800 ground. It's only really visible where 12 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,960 the gospel is preached and presented. 13 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,400 But the more people come to faith, the more the Kingdom 14 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:55,360 grows. And so as the church were tasked 15 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:58,720 to help build this Kingdom, he uses us to do that. 16 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:07,200 But along the way, it can be scary, it can be troubling, it 17 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,280 can be hard. If anybody ever told you that 18 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:13,480 becoming a Christian is going to make your life so much better, 19 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:15,280 you're going to be wealthy, healthy, and happy. 20 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,680 They were lying to you. They're probably a false 21 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,520 teacher. I'm not saying that there isn't 22 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,160 much joy. In fact there's more joy as a 23 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:27,600 Christian than there is to be a non believer. 24 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:32,040 But it does not mean that your life will in fact get easier. 25 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:39,160 In fact, Jesus has been teaching his disciples up into this 26 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:41,560 point. We're in Matthew chapter 8 and 27 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,680 he's been teaching his disciples about what it means to be a 28 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:48,800 follower of Jesus and what it means to set up the Kingdom of 29 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,800 God on earth and how much work it will be and how much 30 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,840 rejection there will be, how many trials there will be the 31 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,200 the spiritual warfare that happens in this life. 32 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:04,800 And so if you're here today and you can resonate and relate to 33 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:09,039 some of that, that maybe life isn't always gum drops and 34 00:02:09,039 --> 00:02:13,120 lollipops for you, well, you're in good company because that is 35 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,120 what Jesus said was going to happen in this life. 36 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:20,880 It was going to be difficult. And for us then as followers of 37 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:25,720 Jesus, as disciples, we need training in order to live this 38 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,440 life. And, and so Jesus is in this 39 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:33,160 section, Matthew is revealing to us some things about Jesus and 40 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:38,240 his teachings where he's doing a lot of miracles in chapter 8 and 41 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,600 9, where he focuses on these miracles of Jesus. 42 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:46,600 And it's to prove his power, to prove who he is and also to show 43 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:51,040 us what the Kingdom looks like that that there will be no more 44 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:55,280 sickness and death and evil in his Kingdom as he casts out 45 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:59,520 demons and he heals lepers and he heals the centurion servant. 46 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:04,040 And but he's also teaching along the way. 47 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:07,120 There's all these lessons that we can learn for our own lives. 48 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:13,000 And in this lesson today, we're talking about going through a 49 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,960 storm. Jesus leads the disciples 50 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:22,720 through a storm, and I've titled the message Fear through the 51 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:27,560 storm. In fact, that's a wrong title. 52 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:29,440 Let me just change that really quick. 53 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:33,280 It's supposed to be faith through the storm. 54 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,560 Now, fear is what we see, the natural reaction of the 55 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,800 disciples when they're first on these waters and a storm pops up 56 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:45,200 in the boat. But really what they're supposed 57 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:49,320 to learn is to fight their fear with faith. 58 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:55,040 We are a people that live by faith in the midst of trials and 59 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,080 storms. And I want to ask you this 60 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:02,120 question then. How do you react to fear when 61 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:07,400 things pop up in your life that that maybe 'cause you to to be 62 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,520 afraid, to be worried, to have anxiety? 63 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,000 Well, I've heard that it was said that there are kind of 64 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:19,680 three reactions to things in our lives that can be troubling or 65 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:24,120 scary, and it's the fight, flight and freeze. 66 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:30,680 It's almost like a physiological reaction that's built in US. 67 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:35,040 You see, fear isn't necessarily always a bad thing. 68 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:42,880 Fear is an emotion given to us. It can be healthy or unhealthy, 69 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:47,280 but by itself it's kind of neutral and it's emotion that 70 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:49,920 helps us be vigilant about our safety. 71 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,240 That's the the first reason for it is automatically when fear 72 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,320 pops up as an emotion. You're not in sin because of 73 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:59,520 fear, but how you react. That's the difference, how we 74 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:03,720 react in fear. Are you one of those people that 75 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,160 automatically fights? I was watching you. 76 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:11,440 Ever seen those a video where there are people like that where 77 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:16,600 I was watching this family where somebody was dressed in like 78 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,680 this clown had a clown mask on and was hiding around the 79 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:23,320 corner. And as soon as someone jumped 80 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,040 out or as soon as someone was coming around the corner, he 81 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,000 jumped out and immediately the guy just punched him in the 82 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,040 face. Like that's a natural reaction. 83 00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:34,320 I was, I was pretty amazed by it that he was that quick. 84 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:39,240 You know, that's a fight reaction to fear, just automatic 85 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:43,200 response. Some of us are the flight. 86 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,800 Is that you when you get afraid immediately you run for safety, 87 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:52,840 run for cover, try to get alone, try to to get away from the 88 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:54,960 chaos that's causing the anxiety. 89 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:59,080 Or are you one of those people that freezes where it's like 90 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:01,880 something happens automatically, your brain shuts down for a 91 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:03,040 moment. You can't even move. 92 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,920 You can't even talk. I've I have been that way in my 93 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,240 own life where when a lot of chaos is going on, all of a 94 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:15,280 sudden I can't think. I think there's a fourth one 95 00:06:15,280 --> 00:06:17,720 though. All these words that start with 96 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:22,400 F and today, what do you think that word is that? 97 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:30,040 I think our reaction should be faith, fight, flight, freeze or 98 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:33,360 faith. And Jesus wants to teach us 99 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:40,040 today that faith should be our reaction in situations that 100 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:45,880 bring about fear. So the context, as I've said, 101 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:48,920 we're in in in Matthew chapter 8, we're going to be in verses 102 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,680 23 to 27. Dwight, just read those verses. 103 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:57,680 This is a famous story where Jesus calms the storm, and so 104 00:06:57,680 --> 00:06:59,560 far we've seen all these miracles. 105 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,680 But today we're adding to the list of the miracles that we've 106 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:05,200 seen. This is now a nature miracle. 107 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:10,160 Not only does Jesus have the power to heal your physical body 108 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:15,160 or to cast out evil spirits to fight against evil and darkness 109 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:20,720 in the world, but he has control over nature itself. 110 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,760 Now let me give you a little visual or a geography lesson 111 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:29,400 about this, this place, where are they at in the water? 112 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:34,520 This is the Sea of Galilee. And on the Sea of Galilee, it's, 113 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,840 it can be treacherous water sometimes because it's 114 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:43,240 surrounded by mountains. And, and with that, the swirling 115 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:47,440 winds can come and, and, and bring about waves really 116 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:50,480 quickly. And it can get get pretty 117 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:54,400 treacherous sometimes because of the weather and the winds that 118 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:57,760 swirl. It's about four times the size 119 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:01,040 of Willard Bay over here. So if you can think of that or 120 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,760 imagine that. And in fact, I have a friend who 121 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:09,800 used to be, you know, Box Elder County Sheriff, and he used to 122 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:12,000 get called out to Willard Bay often. 123 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:15,120 Willard Bay is this shallow body of water. 124 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:18,960 And when when it gets really windy, it's very easy for boats 125 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:22,600 to capsize. I know, I'm not saying you 126 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:24,560 shouldn't go there and have fun on the water. 127 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:27,160 You should. But I'm just using this as an 128 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:32,360 example that it can it can turn ugly really quickly if it gets 129 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,280 really windy, like water, big waves. 130 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,200 And so that's the context of where we're at. 131 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,600 Jesus had just got done preaching the Sermon on the 132 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:44,800 Mount. He's come to Capernaum where 133 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:49,880 he's doing miracles. And now in in verse 18, if we 134 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:54,880 back up, it said now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave 135 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:57,760 orders to go over to the other side. 136 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:00,920 And so where are they going to the other side? 137 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:03,280 They're trying to escape this crowd that's been following 138 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,800 because of the miracles. He's become famous now and it's 139 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:10,080 getting a little bit chaotic and they're like, we, we need to go 140 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:16,640 to the other side. But along the way, Jesus wants 141 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:19,120 to teach them lessons. And that's my first point. 142 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:25,080 There are lessons in the storm, verse 23 and 24. 143 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:29,440 When he got into the boat, his disciples followed him, and 144 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,880 behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the 145 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:39,080 boat was being swamped by the waves, but he was asleep. 146 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,640 So they get into this boat. They're on their way over the 147 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:45,600 Sea of Galilee. A storm pops up. 148 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:51,400 In fact, that word in the Greek here is seismoth and it comes we 149 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:55,280 we get our word seismograph from that, which literally means a 150 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:59,960 quaking or a shaking. And in this context it's the 151 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:04,520 shaking of the boat or the shaking of the the waves in the 152 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:06,360 water. Other places in the Bible this 153 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:08,920 is a word used for a literal earthquake. 154 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:12,280 Now, we don't know that that's what happened, that it was an 155 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:17,000 earthquake that caused these waves or if it was just the wind 156 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:21,080 alone, but this meant that it was a great storm. 157 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:26,440 That's what it says, great storm, a violent shaking and 158 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:32,080 quaking. And just so you know, there's 159 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:36,160 there's in the Bible and in our faith in especially in the Old 160 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:42,680 Testament, the seas, the ocean, the waters, they represent a 161 00:10:42,680 --> 00:10:47,520 powerful and scary place that can cause pain and death. 162 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:52,440 Did you know that it wasn't until about the 1800s that 163 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,760 people started swimming recreationally? 164 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:00,040 Before that, people were have been afraid of the waters for a 165 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:04,480 long, long time. Recreational swimming worldwide 166 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:10,120 didn't become a thing until about the 1800s because people 167 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:13,160 always looked at the water and kind of saw this. 168 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:18,120 There's kind of an unknown. There's an uncertainty about it. 169 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:22,200 There's a scariness to it. There's a there's an immensity 170 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:27,080 to the global water. In fact, the stories of the 171 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:29,800 flood, God has used water in judgment. 172 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:34,840 If you go back to the beginning in in the book of Genesis, 173 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:40,960 before God created everything, he did it in sequential days. 174 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:44,560 And in the first day, it says the spirit was hovering over the 175 00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:48,800 waters and the, the everything was formless and void. 176 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:52,880 There was a darkness. There was a deep darkness and a 177 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,320 chaos. And it wasn't until God said, 178 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:59,680 you know, let there be light and, and made the sun and the 179 00:11:59,680 --> 00:12:02,600 moon, the stars on the different days and things like that, he 180 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:06,360 was bringing, he was bringing order into chaos. 181 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:11,040 So I say all that to say, in Old Testament theology, there's the 182 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:18,480 fallenness and A and a, a darkness, even some fearful 183 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:23,120 undertones of great bodies of water. 184 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:26,520 We have to take these into consideration when we're reading 185 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,720 these texts and their stories because there's lessons for us 186 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:35,000 to learn in here. Not only were humans, by the 187 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:39,880 way, when they sinned in Genesis chapter 3, cursed, but it says 188 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:47,680 the whole world was cursed. And so there's this proper fear 189 00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:50,000 probably of great bodies of water. 190 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:53,480 Now, these were fishermen though, so we need to understand 191 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:54,920 that they were comfortable in a boat. 192 00:12:55,600 --> 00:13:00,240 So it must have meant that this was a very scary situation. 193 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:06,200 Now I, I have to tell you this, that Jesus is sovereign. 194 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:11,760 He is God in the flesh. Do you think that he knew what 195 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:15,240 he was doing? Do you think he knew what was 196 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:18,880 going to happen when he called them to go into the boat to go 197 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:22,200 to the other side? I submit to you, He knew all of 198 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:23,480 it. He knew everything. 199 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:27,680 He knew the outcome, He knew what he was going to do, and he 200 00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:34,120 purposely sent his disciples through this storm for a 201 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:38,160 training time, for a lesson. These were his, his followers 202 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:41,040 that we're learning how they were going to have to pick up 203 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:45,440 and carry this thing after Jesus died, resurrected and ascended. 204 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:49,200 They were going to now be the ones left to start building the 205 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:51,560 Kingdom. And they needed some training. 206 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:56,920 They had a lot of gaps. They had a lot of things to 207 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:00,000 overcome. They needed their faith to be 208 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:09,480 strengthened, and Jesus is the great Master and instructor and 209 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:16,040 He uses this storm to help them contemplate their lives, to 210 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:21,320 contemplate their hearts, to test their faith. 211 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:26,840 Storms are the same for us. Then it might not be a literal 212 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:31,400 storm in our lives that God uses, maybe sometimes an 213 00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:37,400 earthquake, a hurricane. But this is although this is a 214 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:41,320 literal story, what we are supposed to consider here is 215 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:44,440 what happens in scary moments of our lives. 216 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:49,400 What's the point of it? Do we ever consider God? 217 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:53,600 What are you doing here? Do we have that type of faith? 218 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:57,200 Do we believe God is as big as the Bible says he is, or do we 219 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:02,960 think that he's some kind of some kind of man upstairs? 220 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:07,600 You've heard that saying before. He's just the man upstairs who 221 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:11,720 he started everything. He set it in motion, but now 222 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,280 he's sat back and now he just watches us. 223 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:16,040 Let's see how this all turns out. 224 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:21,040 Let's see what they do. That's not what the Bible says 225 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:26,800 God is like. In fact, God is ordaining all 226 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:30,640 things that come to pass. He looks at everything and he 227 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:35,320 says, OK, I will allow that, or oh, I will cause that, or oh, 228 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:40,760 this is going to be good for us. Though we see trials in our 229 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:44,680 lives, we see storms in our lives as man, this is terrible. 230 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:50,080 This can't be from God. Certainly God has no hand in 231 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:56,880 this whatsoever. But remember, Jesus is in the 232 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:03,440 boat with them. Jesus is with the disciples in 233 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:05,840 the storm. He's not worried. 234 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,360 He's actually asleep is what this says. 235 00:16:13,820 --> 00:16:19,440 He knew He had the power to stop the wind and the waves, but if 236 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:22,720 he has that power, does he have the power to start them as well? 237 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:29,120 I don't think we think of God this way sometimes, but this 238 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:34,200 story is what is trying to show his disciples and us is that 239 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:38,400 sometimes God calls us to go through a storm. 240 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:42,280 Now, sometimes storms come in our lives because of our own 241 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:47,240 sin. We cause problems, but the Bible 242 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:51,760 says that God is a good father who disciplines those in whom he 243 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:55,040 loves. But sometimes storms in our 244 00:16:55,040 --> 00:17:00,120 lives aren't anything to do with because of our decisions. 245 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:03,360 It's because God wants to strengthen our faith. 246 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:07,119 He wants to teach us something through this. 247 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:12,480 So what are some examples of storms marriage problems? 248 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:16,280 Now I would probably say that most of our marriage problems 249 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:20,599 are probably because of sin, because of your sin, husband, 250 00:17:20,599 --> 00:17:25,720 wife. But sometimes God even puts us 251 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:31,400 with a person who will almost be the exact opposite. 252 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:35,800 Why? Because he wants us to be more 253 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:39,080 well-rounded. He wants us to be a a full 254 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,560 person, not just this one sided person. 255 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:45,600 He wants to humble us. He wants to make us into people 256 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:49,040 that are more like Christ. And the only way we can do that 257 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:52,720 is to be put with someone who can help us get there, whether 258 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:56,880 through the loving way or through the the hard way. 259 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:03,960 God uses marriage problems to bring about yours. 260 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:06,720 And my Holiness, I want you to understand that if you're going 261 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:11,400 through something right now in your marriage, don't blame the 262 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:14,120 other person. I know that's what we always 263 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:16,720 want to do. We want to blame the other 264 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:19,520 person. Well, they do this and they do 265 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:23,640 that, and our marriage would be good if they would just stop 266 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:28,600 doing this or that. But have you ever thought that 267 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:33,080 maybe God wants to change my perspective? 268 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:38,400 Maybe God wants me to be forgiving and gracious because 269 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:42,760 he doesn't hold all my sins against me, that I shouldn't be 270 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:44,640 holding all my sins against them. 271 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:48,560 How did he change us? Did he come to us and say, I 272 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:52,160 will only be in a relationship with you if you love me 273 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:55,840 perfectly, but every time you mess up, I'm out of here? 274 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:00,480 No, he said, I love you. I came and died for you while 275 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:06,640 you were still a Sinner. God is teaching us things 276 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:08,640 through our marriage, through our family problems, through our 277 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:13,240 wayward children. When our children walk away from 278 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:18,760 the faith or are being rebellious, is that I? 279 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:22,120 I hope that causes us to question, man, did I do that to 280 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:24,040 my parents? Right. 281 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:27,400 Or do I do that to my heavenly Father? 282 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:34,560 It's a grace of God for us to learn these lessons in these 283 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:37,480 hard times about financial issues. 284 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:39,880 We've gone through the Sermon on the Mount where he says, don't 285 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,760 worry, don't have anxiety over money. 286 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:49,320 I will provide for you. How about physical ailments, 287 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:52,440 problems in our bodies? They're wearing out. 288 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:55,800 Did you know it's the grace of God to remind us, hey, that this 289 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:57,960 body isn't going to last forever, but I'm going to get 290 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:00,280 one that does one day and live for eternity. 291 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:05,600 Is he not trying to build our faith through the, the, the 292 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:07,360 struggles and trials of our life? 293 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:10,520 And we think God has no part of any of this. 294 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:18,920 And yes, he does mental and emotional disorders. 295 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:23,440 How about accidents? That happen in life. 296 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:28,000 Are there really truly accidents if God is sovereign. 297 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:31,920 They seem like that. And sometimes we don't know. 298 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:36,440 I mean, so many, you know, car wrecks have happened and just it 299 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:39,920 seems like senseless evil throughout the world. 300 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:43,800 And we, we think, how can any good come from this? 301 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:49,960 But yet, as believers, we're supposed to say, wait a minute, 302 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,560 God causes all things to work together for good. 303 00:20:58,360 --> 00:21:04,440 We need to look at life's storms, even natural disaster, 304 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:09,040 spiritual warfare as opportunities to see God's 305 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:13,400 transforming power and His work in our lives. 306 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:19,560 This verse, I love this verse because it reminds me how 307 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:24,000 sovereign God is. Isaiah 45, seven. 308 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:27,520 He says I form light and create darkness. 309 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:30,920 I make well-being and create calamity. 310 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:35,280 I am the Lord who does all these things. 311 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:44,000 So I tell people all the time, did you know that God uses 312 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:49,000 trials for his purposes and it's OK Then instead of saying this 313 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:53,000 is unfair or I can't believe this randomly happened to me or 314 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:58,600 all this evil is coming against me, it's OK to say instead, OK 315 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:01,560 God, what are you trying to teach me? 316 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:08,880 If we, those people of faith could come to every trial and 317 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:14,520 storm this way, rather than the faithless way or reacting with 318 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:19,360 fear, I think we could learn our lessons a lot quicker. 319 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:24,160 That's my my healthy fear of the Lord, or at least I try to have 320 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:28,000 it as soon as something comes up in my life, I have to remind 321 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,200 myself, OK, God, you're solving. What are you doing? 322 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:32,960 What are you doing in this? What do you want me to know? 323 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:41,440 But as we move on then from learning lessons in the storm, 324 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:46,080 we need to understand although this can make seem make God seem 325 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:51,720 like wow, he can be extreme sometimes or maybe that's mean 326 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:56,720 to make people go through such difficult circumstances. 327 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:06,120 But just remember, as I said earlier, that Jesus is with us 328 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:11,680 in these storms. God himself came down to earth 329 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:17,800 to be with us in all of this, to be mistreated by others, to go 330 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:22,240 through the ultimate storms and trials and tribulations of being 331 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:27,320 rejected by His own people, suffering and beaten and taken 332 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:29,280 to the cross and be put to death. 333 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:33,800 That was the most unfair act in human history, that He was the 334 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:38,800 one and only man who never deserved, served punishment, 335 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:46,280 never sinned. He's not a God who's trying to 336 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:48,720 put us through all kinds of things that he wouldn't go 337 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:54,120 through himself. Jesus is with us in the storms. 338 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:58,360 He's with his disciples in the boat. 339 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,760 And there are three things I want you to see in this point 340 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:08,000 here is that he's calm, caring and in control. 341 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:14,840 Verse 25 and 26 and they went and woke him, saying, save us, 342 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:18,280 Lord, we are perishing. And he said to them, why are you 343 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:22,240 afraid, O you of little faith. Then he rose and rebuked the 344 00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:26,360 winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 345 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:35,000 Now it's interesting because Jesus is sleeping, and yet Psalm 346 00:24:35,360 --> 00:24:38,680 121 tells us that God never sleeps. 347 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:41,640 It says he neither sleeps nor slumbers. 348 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:45,960 And that Psalm is meant to be a Psalm of, of giving us 349 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:50,520 confidence and assurance that while we are going through this 350 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:53,280 life, that he's there to protect us. 351 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:57,320 He protects us. It says he's he's the shade for 352 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:00,480 us. And it's a it's a Psalm of 353 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,000 protection for God's people as they go up the mountain. 354 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,400 It's called one of the psalms of ascent. 355 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:08,760 When they go up to worship at the temple, they would sing this 356 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,920 song that God never sleeps nor slumbers. 357 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:16,880 But Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. 358 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:24,640 OK, so in his humanity, it shows that he is fully human as well. 359 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:29,120 Here while he was on on Earth and even now resurrected, he's 360 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:34,400 in his human flesh, in heaven, glorified. 361 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:39,920 But on Earth, he'd been doing all these miracles for hours on 362 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:44,400 hours, lacking sleep, worn out. People were pressing in, coming 363 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:48,120 to to find him, to get him to do miracles for him. 364 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:53,840 And so he was tired and he was able to sleep, but not only was 365 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:59,840 he able to sleep because of his body being worn out, but he's, 366 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:04,280 he's, he's able to sleep because he's calm. 367 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,200 Why is he calm? Because he's God and he knows 368 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,400 what's going to happen. He was not worried whatsoever. 369 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:15,800 I could you could just imagine that Jesus is sleeping, maybe 370 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:17,960 even snoring at the front of the boat. 371 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,280 The disciples this, this, the storm comes up and they're like, 372 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:23,880 what is going on? And you, you hear it in their 373 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:26,760 voice. Save us, Lord, we're perishing. 374 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:33,880 God's not wringing his hands during our storms as if he's 375 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:35,720 worried how it's going to turn out. 376 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:40,920 The version of this in Mark chapter 4, verse 38, it's 377 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:44,680 interesting we see a little bit more in the dialogue of what the 378 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:49,880 disciples say. It says he was in the stern 379 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:53,600 asleep on a cushion, and they woke him and said to him, 380 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,400 Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? 381 00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:58,800 And here's the second part of that. 382 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:02,920 We know he's calm through our storms, but he's also caring. 383 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:08,120 They say, do you not care? And he awoke and rebuked the 384 00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:10,440 wind and said to the sea, peace be still. 385 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:14,440 And the wind ceased and there was a great calm here. 386 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:18,440 The disciples are downright rude and unfaithful. 387 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:24,560 They've watched Jesus do all these miracles time and time 388 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:30,720 again and yet right next to him even and they say, do you not 389 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,240 care? Maybe that's a question when 390 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:36,680 we're going through tough times in our life for us, Have you 391 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:40,880 ever thought that about God? Do you even care, God? 392 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:44,160 I mean, this is intense. This is a big deal. 393 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:48,320 How are you allowing this to happen in my life? 394 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:54,000 But he does care. He's proven that he cares. 395 00:27:55,120 --> 00:27:58,240 He cares. He he wakes up immediately 396 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:03,760 rebukes them, but then rebukes the wind and the waves. 397 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:06,440 He says, OK, I'll take care of this. 398 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:13,440 God hears our prayers even if we're rude sometimes. 399 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:17,000 I'm not saying to do that, don't be rude, but you can ask God 400 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:18,080 questions. Like I said. 401 00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:21,560 What are you doing in the storm? Lord, do you care? 402 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:26,440 He hears our prayers even in our frantic fear and our 403 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:33,400 unfaithfulness, even in our sin. He hears our prayers because we 404 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:39,240 are his children. I love what Psalm One O 7, 28 405 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:42,280 through 30 says. Then they cried to the Lord in 406 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:46,440 their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 407 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:49,280 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were 408 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:51,120 hushed. Then they were glad that the 409 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:54,520 waters were quiet, and He brought them to their desired 410 00:28:54,840 --> 00:29:00,360 haven. He hears our cries. 411 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:03,320 And this is interesting. By the way, this is written 412 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:05,960 about 1000 years before this even happened. 413 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:10,480 And this to me looks like a fulfilled prophecy of the story 414 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:14,640 that we're reading right now. Why is he calm? 415 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:18,480 Because he knows he's the caring God who is going to deliver 416 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:25,440 them. But sometimes it's not in our 417 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:30,560 timeline. Sometimes it might take a long 418 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:33,000 time. Sometimes now we know that the 419 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,080 disciples make it to the other side. 420 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:40,000 We have the story delivered them to their desired haven. 421 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:44,840 But what if in God's will, the desired haven is heaven? 422 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:48,480 Are you willing to endure and have faith that long? 423 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:56,680 God does care. Through our tough times and 424 00:29:56,680 --> 00:29:59,960 trials, Jesus is a compassionate God. 425 00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:04,320 We've seen it time and time again when He He does miracles 426 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:08,400 that He doesn't have to do for people, and He did not have to 427 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:11,040 come and die for us so that we could live in an eternity in 428 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,040 heaven with him. That's a caring God. 429 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:19,040 He's also in control. As I said, He's sovereign. 430 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:23,720 He's not worried, He's trying to teach them that they don't need 431 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:27,280 to worry because he's the promised king who has not only 432 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:31,320 authority over sickness and disease, but now over creation. 433 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:33,720 Do you know who stands among you? 434 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:35,800 Basically is what he's saying to them. 435 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:42,520 By doing this miracle, only God can have control over the 436 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:48,400 weather and over the waters, over the the universe, and 437 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:51,240 that's Jesus. It's the Bible says in him all 438 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:54,360 things hold together. Jesus even now holds all things 439 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:56,120 together. Without him this world would 440 00:30:56,120 --> 00:31:01,920 spin out in chaos, but he holds his creation together. 441 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:05,800 Psalm 89.9 says you rule the raging of the sea when it's 442 00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:08,520 waved, waves rise, you steal them. 443 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:14,000 Jesus can command with a word. He's in control. 444 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:19,520 And I know we say this a lot as Christians, God's in control, 445 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:23,920 God's got this, but we have to be reminded from Scripture time 446 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:28,080 and time again to fight our fear. 447 00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:33,480 Going back to this, I want to see, I want you to see how 448 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:37,640 powerful he is. It says he rose and rebuked the 449 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:39,800 winds in the sea and there was a great calm. 450 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:43,160 Now most of us probably imagine him saying something. 451 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:49,440 Peace be still and all of a sudden it just slowly, have you 452 00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:52,440 ever seen like a, a tub of water and you move it back and forth 453 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:55,800 the waves and then you stop it and it just slowly comes to a 454 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:59,480 calm. Well, that's not what happened 455 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:01,240 here. I don't believe that that's what 456 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:05,640 happened here. Immediately it was windy and 457 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:12,120 crazy and WAVY and shaking. And immediately with the word, 458 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:18,200 it's like the sea was a sea of glass and all it says a great 459 00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:21,160 calm. It didn't say eventually there 460 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:24,160 was a great calm. It said there was a great calm 461 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:26,640 after he rebuked the wind in the waves. 462 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:32,120 My commentary from William Hendrickson says wind and waves 463 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:37,440 synchronize in the sublime Symphony of solemn silence. 464 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:45,760 That's a beautiful thing to think about in your mind, even 465 00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:51,320 in a in a storm in your life. A lot of the storms that we have 466 00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:54,720 are internal, aren't they? Like the things are going on 467 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:57,360 outside. But the real problem is in our 468 00:32:57,360 --> 00:33:00,040 hearts and in our minds. It's our little faith, as he 469 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:02,200 says. Why are you afraid? 470 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:05,880 Often times we worry about things that 90% of the time 471 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:08,760 don't actually come about and don't actually happen. 472 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:14,920 We work ourselves up in a frenzy over fear and if only we could 473 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:22,360 go to the Lord Jesus because He cares and he's with us and 474 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:27,600 believe that he could calm us that way, would you start doing 475 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:28,960 that, Christian? Me too. 476 00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:38,360 We we all together need to stop in our fear and by faith pray to 477 00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:43,200 the sovereign God who's in control when we're worried and 478 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:45,040 in fear. And one of my favorite quotes is 479 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:50,240 from Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who says this, when you go 480 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:54,280 through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which 481 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:56,720 you lay your head at night, giving you perfect peace. 482 00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:04,680 There been things going on, you know, recently, like in my own 483 00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:11,600 life, anxiety, I've had fear, you know, about certain things. 484 00:34:12,199 --> 00:34:16,920 And I don't know if you know what it's like. 485 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:19,120 I'm sure you do. But when your mind is racing 486 00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:22,760 about what could happen or what's going to happen if this 487 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:29,320 or if that, in fear of a situation, you can't sleep when 488 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:33,960 you're overthinking. But this gives me comfort. 489 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:42,360 Why am I overthinking things and circling around this fear of 490 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:49,960 this possible trial when I could be excited about what God is 491 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:56,199 going to do, even though it's scary, even though I have to go 492 00:34:56,199 --> 00:35:02,240 across this, this stormy, raging sea of uncertainty and darkness? 493 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:09,520 If God is in control and He has my good and His glory in mind, 494 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:14,760 then what if we started getting excited when trials came? 495 00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:17,680 I know that sounds extreme, right? 496 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:28,080 Or at least when we're lying in bed trusting God's got this, He 497 00:35:28,080 --> 00:35:33,080 is in control. Why have I worried time and time 498 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:37,000 again when He has come through time and time again? 499 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:39,040 And that's the last thing I want to talk about. 500 00:35:39,040 --> 00:35:46,520 Then he's trying to teach us to fight fear with faith, hearing 501 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:48,600 this story back to our verses again. 502 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:53,400 And he said to them, Why are you afraid, O you of little faith? 503 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:56,600 Then he rose and rebuked the winds in the sea, and there was 504 00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:59,640 a great calm. And the men marvelled, saying, 505 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:02,920 What sort of man is this that even wins? 506 00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:11,000 And sea obey him the disciples fear revealed their lack of 507 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:18,600 faith and really that is kind of the great battle is fear and 508 00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:24,520 faith our faith is really put into action and proved when 509 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:29,720 these circumstances come up and here's the crazy thing they were 510 00:36:29,720 --> 00:36:32,880 with him. They've watched him deliver, 511 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:35,600 they've watched him heal, they've watched him do miracles. 512 00:36:37,240 --> 00:36:46,160 And I know in our world, when we're fans from far away, we're 513 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:48,160 really impressed by somebody, right? 514 00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:52,000 Like think about your favorite musician or your favorite 515 00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:56,680 athlete. And from far away, we think so 516 00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:59,400 highly of these people. We're so impressed with these 517 00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:03,040 people. But what happens when you get 518 00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:07,920 closer to these people? You, you know them. 519 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:10,400 You start to become less impressed and you start to 520 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:12,160 realize they're just a regular person. 521 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:15,520 You know, there's nothing really impressive at all about them. 522 00:37:17,240 --> 00:37:23,040 John MacArthur once told this story about his grandson who 523 00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:26,720 came in and sat on his lap after, you know, Sunday morning 524 00:37:26,720 --> 00:37:28,960 preaching. And he said, you know, Grandpa, 525 00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:32,840 you are really something when you're up there in the pulpit 526 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:34,920 preaching. You really are. 527 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:37,560 People are listening to you and they follow. 528 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:40,600 And he's like, when you come down there, come down from the 529 00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:44,560 pulpit, though, and in your regular life, you're really not 530 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:50,840 that special at all. And isn't that the truth of 531 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:54,640 regular people? We can idolize people out there 532 00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:58,080 in the world and you get to know them and they're just as fallen 533 00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:01,120 and just as broken as we are. And they're not really that 534 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:04,560 impressive. But it is the opposite with the 535 00:38:04,560 --> 00:38:09,960 God man Jesus Christ. They should have been more and 536 00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:14,360 more and more impressed the closer they were to Him. 537 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:18,440 And they were failing in their faith. 538 00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:24,920 They still weren't close enough to him in relationship to trust 539 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:31,200 and know who He really is. Their faith kept wavering. 540 00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:37,840 This proves this is one more lesson and among many other 541 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:41,280 lessons he's going to teach in the book of Matthew and in the 542 00:38:41,280 --> 00:38:45,160 narrative of a of his life that the the short three-year 543 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:50,240 ministry that he had on earth of of why we should trust him as 544 00:38:50,240 --> 00:38:54,080 his followers. But we got to get closer to him. 545 00:38:55,960 --> 00:39:01,600 We've got to know who he is. We've got to know the words that 546 00:39:01,600 --> 00:39:06,360 he said, we've got to pray to him, and we've got to look at 547 00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:09,760 the miracles He's already done. We need to look back at life, 548 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:13,920 our lives as believers, and all the times that we have worried 549 00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:16,320 about this or that or the other thing. 550 00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:19,080 And how many times has He come through for you? 551 00:39:20,160 --> 00:39:24,640 How many times did that storm not turn into such a storm at 552 00:39:24,640 --> 00:39:26,760 all? Or how many times did He deliver 553 00:39:26,760 --> 00:39:31,280 you through a hard situation, but you've come out on the other 554 00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:35,800 side as someone with greater faith, more maturity? 555 00:39:38,720 --> 00:39:43,280 How many times has God taken care of you? 556 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:47,320 Are you not close enough to even notice? 557 00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:53,040 Do you not have the faith to notice that the good and the bad 558 00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:55,760 in your life He has been sovereign over? 559 00:39:55,840 --> 00:40:01,520 He's been trying to teach you something this whole time, and 560 00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:04,560 just the fact that you're here, living and breathing is the 561 00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:10,040 mercy and grace from Him. When will we recognize who He 562 00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:12,760 is? That the even the wind and the 563 00:40:12,760 --> 00:40:23,320 waves obey Him. When we recognize that Jesus 564 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:28,440 Christ is God in the flesh who created everything and His, and 565 00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:32,800 He rules over all, He is the King of kings and He is the Lord 566 00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:36,920 of Lords, we should not fear, we should not worry. 567 00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:40,320 We are favored by Him. Did you know that that's what 568 00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:43,080 grace means, the word grace, it's favor. 569 00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:46,960 We as children of God are favored by Him. 570 00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:51,040 He looks down on us like you favour your own children over 571 00:40:51,040 --> 00:40:54,920 other people, but even more so, God is like, I've got plans for 572 00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:58,040 them, I want to teach them, I want to provide for them, I'm 573 00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:01,280 going to use them and I am going to bring them all the way to 574 00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:05,720 eternity, to heaven one day where they will never have to 575 00:41:05,720 --> 00:41:09,800 worry about anything ever again. That is our future, that's our 576 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:14,240 inheritance, that's our hope. And with that type of promise, 577 00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:21,520 can we not go through some things here on earth with faith? 578 00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:35,240 The Bible 365 times at least says do not fear, fear not 579 00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:41,320 Isaiah 4110, fear not, for I am with you. 580 00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:43,680 Be not dismayed, for I am your God. 581 00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:47,240 I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with 582 00:41:47,240 --> 00:41:53,680 my righteous right hand. When he says you have little 583 00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:57,640 faith, you know that we we think of small faith, like barely 584 00:41:57,640 --> 00:42:05,520 believe, but really it means not lasting faith, short faith, 585 00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:09,520 wavering faith. Your faith is like the waves of 586 00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:13,240 the sea. It doesn't last. 587 00:42:13,240 --> 00:42:18,000 When things pop up, you're just like this up and down and up and 588 00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:23,160 down with your faith. You believe me a week ago when I 589 00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:25,840 delivered you from the one thing, but now the new things 590 00:42:25,840 --> 00:42:28,800 popped up and you've you've got little faith again. 591 00:42:29,080 --> 00:42:36,280 It's short, it's not lasting, but we and I just, I just need 592 00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:40,320 you to know I'm here with you like I am constantly repenting 593 00:42:40,320 --> 00:42:43,320 for my lack of faith almost on a daily basis. 594 00:42:43,320 --> 00:42:46,720 Am I saying, Lord, forgive me, I didn't trust you here. 595 00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:51,800 I had fear here I had. I was so afraid I wasted hours 596 00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:57,920 in a day and I didn't get sleep at night and I was useless the 597 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:05,880 next day because of my own fear. I'm sorry, Lord, I do have 598 00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:08,400 little faith. Forgive me. 599 00:43:08,400 --> 00:43:14,440 Give me great faith. And by the way, there's a 600 00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:16,120 healthy fear that I talked about. 601 00:43:17,760 --> 00:43:24,040 The wrong fear is fearing the storm, the anxiety, the worry, 602 00:43:24,280 --> 00:43:29,200 the the being afraid of what's to come. 603 00:43:30,480 --> 00:43:32,760 The right fear is the fear of the Lord. 604 00:43:33,720 --> 00:43:38,680 That's faith. Proverbs 910 says this. 605 00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:42,120 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the 606 00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:44,440 knowledge of the Holy One is insight. 607 00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:48,320 In our verses it said man, what kind of man is this? 608 00:43:48,320 --> 00:43:52,800 And then in Mark 441, in that version, it said they were fear 609 00:43:52,920 --> 00:43:56,560 filled with great fear and said to one another, Who then is 610 00:43:56,560 --> 00:43:58,640 this, That even the wind and the sea obey Him. 611 00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:02,520 They weren't filled with fear anymore about the storm. 612 00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:04,600 Why? Because that was still there was 613 00:44:04,600 --> 00:44:07,440 no more storm anymore. They said, wow, they had a 614 00:44:07,440 --> 00:44:12,840 reverent fear for Jesus. That's a good thing. 615 00:44:12,840 --> 00:44:18,360 Not because he's going to judge you Christian, but because he's 616 00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:24,600 he's powerful. And God as a father does want to 617 00:44:24,600 --> 00:44:28,280 teach you and I lessons. There's a healthy fear from a 618 00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:32,240 kid to a parent. If I do something wrong, he's 619 00:44:32,240 --> 00:44:35,000 not going to disown me, but he's probably going to discipline me. 620 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:37,640 He lets a lot of things slide, I'll tell you that. 621 00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:45,720 But I have a healthy fear of my Heavenly Father if I do this 622 00:44:45,720 --> 00:44:47,760 thing. I don't want to have to go 623 00:44:47,760 --> 00:44:55,040 through a self caused storm, so I'll just trust you in that. 624 00:44:58,600 --> 00:45:01,080 Jesus is the God who will save us through the storms. 625 00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:07,240 So I want to close then with answering the question, who is 626 00:45:07,240 --> 00:45:09,160 this man? We've already talked about it, 627 00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:11,240 but I need to end with who he is. 628 00:45:11,240 --> 00:45:17,920 He is God, He is good, He is the second member of the Trinity. 629 00:45:17,920 --> 00:45:23,560 The Son of God who came down 2000 years ago, was born as a 630 00:45:23,560 --> 00:45:26,400 human. He took on human flesh. 631 00:45:26,600 --> 00:45:33,200 He lived here, lived a sinless life, and at the age of 33 or so 632 00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:43,320 he was wrongfully accused, arrested, tried and persecuted, 633 00:45:43,520 --> 00:45:48,080 convicted wrongly as a blasphemer and as a Sinner. 634 00:45:48,680 --> 00:45:53,320 And they beat him and hung him on a cross to die. 635 00:45:54,880 --> 00:45:59,240 But it didn't stop there. He rose from the dead, proving 636 00:45:59,720 --> 00:46:03,840 even greater than his power over creation. 637 00:46:04,160 --> 00:46:09,120 He rose from the dead, proving he was God who had power over 638 00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:15,320 sin and death. He went through much trial and 639 00:46:15,320 --> 00:46:19,200 much pain. He didn't try to escape the 640 00:46:19,200 --> 00:46:24,600 storms that were, by the way, sovereignly ordained in planned 641 00:46:24,760 --> 00:46:29,000 by God before the foundation of the world. 642 00:46:29,160 --> 00:46:32,880 Everything that happened to Jesus was in God's will and 643 00:46:32,880 --> 00:46:34,360 plan. You think? 644 00:46:34,360 --> 00:46:40,480 And I think then that somehow our lives aren't ordered by God 645 00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:43,200 as well. Well, I'm here to tell you that 646 00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:45,800 they are Christian Christ follower. 647 00:46:45,960 --> 00:46:49,680 He has all of the things that happened in our lives planned 648 00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:52,840 out as well. We must then know and have 649 00:46:52,840 --> 00:46:58,040 confidence by faith that He's got a reason for this, That my 650 00:46:58,040 --> 00:47:02,160 Savior didn't try to escape. He never had No Fear or worry. 651 00:47:02,280 --> 00:47:06,920 Neither shall I, because He will deliver me one day, whether it's 652 00:47:06,920 --> 00:47:11,600 here on earth or in heaven, I will get safely to the other 653 00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:20,400 side. So let me say this about Jesus. 654 00:47:20,760 --> 00:47:26,080 Proverbs 30 told us verse four, Who is ascended to heaven and 655 00:47:26,080 --> 00:47:28,880 come down? Who has gathered the wind in his 656 00:47:28,880 --> 00:47:30,960 first? Who has wrapped up the waters in 657 00:47:30,960 --> 00:47:33,600 a garment? Who has established all the ends 658 00:47:33,600 --> 00:47:36,920 of the earth? What is his name and what is his 659 00:47:36,920 --> 00:47:39,240 son's name? Surely you know? 660 00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:43,040 And then Job 98, we know all the things that Job went through, 661 00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:47,560 and even Job comes to know who alone stretched out the heavens 662 00:47:47,720 --> 00:47:50,000 and trampled the waves of the sea. 663 00:47:50,120 --> 00:47:55,080 We know it's none other than Jesus Christ God in the flesh, 664 00:47:56,080 --> 00:48:00,120 and he will deliver us. And he asked for our faith. 665 00:48:03,200 --> 00:48:10,000 If you're not a believer here today, I plead with you to say 666 00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:13,440 what the disciples said, save me, save us, O Lord, I'm 667 00:48:13,440 --> 00:48:15,960 perishing. Will you do that today? 668 00:48:16,560 --> 00:48:19,640 You don't know what what's happening tomorrow. 669 00:48:19,920 --> 00:48:24,840 You don't know what your life is going to be, but do know that 670 00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:28,200 there is a God that can save you through the trial and 671 00:48:28,200 --> 00:48:34,360 tribulation of this life. And ultimately, if we wait too 672 00:48:34,360 --> 00:48:40,280 long, there will be a storm like nothing compared on earth for 673 00:48:40,280 --> 00:48:45,080 eternity for those who will not submit and bow to King Jesus. 674 00:48:46,360 --> 00:48:50,360 And that is in a place of eternal destruction in hell. 675 00:48:51,480 --> 00:48:57,680 So ask Him to save you today. For the believer, we've must 676 00:48:57,680 --> 00:48:59,800 trust Him as sovereign Lord over our life. 677 00:49:00,640 --> 00:49:06,040 He hasn't brought you this far to not bring you through 678 00:49:06,120 --> 00:49:07,720 whatever it is you're going through. 679 00:49:10,840 --> 00:49:14,400 He chose these disciples shortly before He. 680 00:49:14,640 --> 00:49:16,680 He took Him through this storm and He's chosen you. 681 00:49:18,480 --> 00:49:20,360 He's got a plan to strengthen your faith. 682 00:49:20,520 --> 00:49:24,720 Will you follow him without having to be dragged kicking and 683 00:49:24,720 --> 00:49:28,440 screaming? Will you see the trials in your 684 00:49:28,440 --> 00:49:31,360 life as a way to deepen your walk with Him and rejoice, 685 00:49:31,360 --> 00:49:34,320 knowing you will be delivered to the other side, whether it be in 686 00:49:34,320 --> 00:49:36,040 this life or the life to come? Let's pray. 687 00:49:37,840 --> 00:49:46,960 Father, we are amazed by you and your plan. 688 00:49:49,400 --> 00:49:51,880 Your ways are so much greater than our ways. 689 00:49:54,120 --> 00:50:02,080 We acknowledge that you are king of all things, that you do have 690 00:50:02,080 --> 00:50:06,280 control, that you are big enough to do whatever you want. 691 00:50:07,520 --> 00:50:11,880 And if you have that power and you are doing your will in our 692 00:50:11,880 --> 00:50:18,360 lives, then we say, do with me what you will only Lord, stay 693 00:50:18,360 --> 00:50:24,120 close to me. Help me in my unbelief, in my my 694 00:50:24,120 --> 00:50:29,720 weak faith sometimes, Father, deliver us, Father, through the 695 00:50:29,720 --> 00:50:35,160 storms in these in these trials in our lives, and help us to 696 00:50:35,160 --> 00:50:41,000 have peace as we follow Jesus. And it's in his name I pray. 697 00:50:41,160 --> 00:50:41,440 Amen.